REMARKS ON CULTURE OF ROSES IN TOTS. 117 



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bered that I do not now speak of their being crowded into a dark and 

 shaded corner during any of this time, as though they were regarded 

 to be mere common-place shrubs, which would thrive under any 

 treatment ; on the contrary, I am rather considering that the opera- 

 tions I have hinted at, as well as the manifold others of routine prac- 

 tice, such as watering, destroying insects, plunging, &c, are really 

 attended to, just as they would be in the case of a new Pelargonium, 

 a Calceolaria, or any other favourite. It cannot reasonably be ex- 

 pected that roses will rank among these as specimens of culture, 

 unless they are also permitted to rank with them as objects of care 

 and attention ; and if this care and attention be bestowed, they are 

 calculated far to surpass them. 



The plants under this treatment will have formed three or more 

 vigorous shoots, each of which, just before they cease growing, should 

 be partially cut through, at a length sufficient to leave about three 

 prominent buds on each shoot; and in the autumn, when they are 

 perfectly at rest, and about to be placed in the cold frame for another 

 winter, they should be completely severed at this point ; their winter 

 treatment would comprise nothing beyond the ordinary routine, the 

 most important point being that they should be kept inactive by with- 

 holding water from them as much as possible. In spring they should 

 be taken out, the balls of each slightly reduced, without destroying 

 the fibres, and then re-potted into pots larger than before, and in a 

 similar rich loamy compost. A close frame or pit is suitable for 

 their growth, where they may have the advantage of a free exposure 

 to light, and enjoy a degree of temperature gradually progressing 

 from 40° to 50° and 55° by day, with a decrease of at least 5° during 

 the night; this adjustment of temperature will admit of considerable 

 variation, and may be regulated either to accelerate or retard their 

 period of blooming, without submitting them to what is usually con- 

 sidered to be implied by the term " forcing." 



During this period of development they would require a due and 

 constant supply of water, and they will be benefited by an occasional 

 application of very much diluted liquid manure ; they ought also to 

 be frequently syringed, and every attention should be paid to arrest 

 the progress and increase of insects, which will certainly make their 

 appearance, and may be as certainly destroyed by the timely applica- 

 tion of any of the common and well-known remedies. Probably they 



