178 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



ation of the reader, and at once proceed to explain the means by 

 which my conservatory has been made beautiful, and my drawing- 

 room redolent with perfume by the roses. 



To enable me to do this in an intelligible manner, I must go 

 back three years — to the season of 1872. About the middle of the 

 summer of that year, I called upon a nurseryman who makes rose 

 growing somewhat of a speciality, to purchase a few plants of various 

 kinds, and amongst other things I bought one dozen of roses, nicely 

 established in six-inch pots. These cost twenty-four shillings per 

 dozen; and in the autumn following I obtained from the same 

 source two dozen plants lifted from the open quarters. These were 

 on their own roots, and cost twelve shillings per dozen. I thus had 

 a stock consisting of thirty-six plants, and comprising as many 

 varieties. Those purchased in the summer were transferred to pots 

 one size larger within a week or so of their being received, and were 

 then placed on a bed of coal ashes, upon which a portion of the stock 

 of bedders had been placed in the spring previous, and between the 

 pots was packed some partly decayed leaves, to prevent the moisture 

 being dried out of the soil too quickly. On the approach of winter 

 they were removed to a cold pit, and about Christmas were pruned. 

 They were furnished with from three to five shoots each, and these 

 were cut back — some to two and some to three buds each. It was 

 not considered desirable to leave the shoots longer than this because 

 of the risk, as in the case of roses out of doors, of the growth 

 being weak. Moreover, I was anxious to keep the shoots well 

 down. 



The majority of gardeners do not prune their pot roses low 

 enough, and in a few years they, owing to the weakness of the 

 shoots, have a thin appearance, and produce miserably poor flowers. 

 About the middle of February they were removed to a pit half 

 filled with leaves collected in the autumn, and the mean temperature 

 of the pit was 60°, until the young shoots were about three inches 

 long, and after arriving at that stage it was increased to 65». These 

 produced from eight to twelve blooms each, of excellent quality, 

 and just as they commenced to expand they were removed to a con- 

 servatory. They were syringed once a day whilst in the pit, and 

 more blooms would have been borne by all the plants had not the 

 buds been thinned out at an early stage. 



The plants lifted from the ground were put in six-inch pots and 

 placed in the cold pit with the first lot. These were pruned in the 

 last week of January, and allowed to remain in the pit until they 

 were coming into bloom. The flowers were not so abundant nor of 

 such good quality as those produced by the other batch of plants, 

 and this may be accounted for by their not being so well established'; 

 but they made a very nice display, and as they formed a good suc- 

 cession to the others, were much appreciated. The following season 

 they bloomed superbly. Each autumn since I have bought a dozen 

 plants similar to those now being referred to. This has been done 

 to enable me to have a stock of plants of medium size for the draw- 

 ing-room, and also for the purpose of having young plants to take 

 the place of older specimens, as they grow out of shape or assume 



