94 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



I seen plants bloom better, and indeed few so well. I make no comments on this 

 management, but I certainly wonder what your Kentish subscriber will think 

 of such a system. 



Manchester, March 8th, 1843. G. T. D. 



On Fumigating Greenhouses. — Recently I saw some useful remarks in the 

 Cabinet on fumigating a greenhouse. I add my mode of procedure to aid in 

 getting rid of the pest green fly. I used to put hot cinders in a large garden 

 pot or pots, and sprinkle over the top as much tobacco as I judged requisite to 

 fill the house with smoke. I often observed, however, that the foliage of the 

 plants suffered, and I was apprehensive it must be from gas emitted from the 

 coal cinders. To obviate this evil, I have had red hot small irons placed in the 

 pots instead of coal cinders, and find my expectations fully realized, no injury 

 sustained, and the tobacco more gradually consumed, and giving out more 

 smoke. By this mode of operation no blowiug is required, nor any dust occa- 

 sioned. 



A Welshman. 



On Pruning Roses. — In pruning Roses, much must depend upon situation. 

 My garden, containing upwards of 900 varieties, lies greatly exposed ; the few 

 China Roses which I can grow I have no opportunity of pruning, the winter 

 generally killing them to the ground, or nearly so. The same event happens 

 with most of the Isle de Bourbons and several of the Noisettes. In the spring, 

 I have only to cut away the dead wood : the Rosa Gallica I prune about the 

 middle or third week of November, in doing which I cut them in very closely, 

 leaving one, two, and sometimes three buds to preserve the form of the tree. 

 The Hybrid Climbers I prune next : having allowed them to grow freely, I 

 shorten the main shoots but moderately (cutting away close in all superfluous 

 and feeble shoots); the laterals I leave about four inches long. Some of the 

 Pillar Hybrid Chinas I prune less than the rest of this division. The Provence, 

 Hybrid Provence, and some of doubtful variety, with their buds further apart 

 than the true Gallica. I prune less closely than I do the Gallica. The same, to 

 a greater degree, holds good with most of the Moss Roses. The climbing varie- 

 ties of the Sempervirens and Ayrshire divisions require little more than to be 

 thinned out. For the Boursault, Multiflora, and Hybrid Climbing, the treat- 

 ment is much the same as that of the Hybrid China Pillar Rose, leaving some 

 of the laterals longer in proportion as they may be required to cover vacant spaces. 

 I only thin out the Sweet and Austrian Briars, unless their situation compels 

 me for the sake of appearance. Most of the Alba and Damask Roses I prune 

 less freely than the Gallicas, or more after the manner of the Hybrid Provence. 

 I find the Perpetual, Hybrid Perpetual, and Four-Seasons Roses require more 

 variation of pruning than any other kinds, some of them being more tender than 

 others. As a general rule, the longer and straighter the growth of the wood, the 

 less closely I cut them. To secure a good bloom. I also find it necessary to spare 

 the knife a little with some of the Spotted, Striped, and Mottled Roses, although 

 they may be of the Gallica tribe. 



Rosa. 



On Gloriosa superba. — As this plant is not so generally cultivated as it 

 deserves, principally, I believe, from the supposed difficulty of growing it, perhaps 

 the following hints relative to its culture may help to remove that difficulty : — It 

 naturally requires about six months' rest, and will seldom start for growth before 

 March, at which time it will require a good bottom-heat of at least 80°, either in 

 a bark-pit or cucumber-bed. The greatest error committed with regard to its 

 treatment is leaving the root to start in the same pot, &c, it grew in the previous 

 year. As it makes its shoot from the lower end of the new tuber, which is con- 

 sequently at the bottom of the pot, if it is not taken out and that end placed 

 upwards, it has to struggle through the whole mass of mould to reach the surface, 

 which it often fails in doing. It should be potted at the beginning of March in 



