RO S 



519 



RO S 



is not too low. If the plants meet with 

 one frosty night or two in the beginning 

 of October, so much the better ; for 

 they will push more vigorously after 

 the heat is applied. The first year 

 none of the crops will come in so early 

 as afterwards; and I advise all the 

 young suckers to be forced in succes- 

 sion the first year, not waiting till ihey 

 have had one year's growth in the open 

 air. Moreover, if the suckers are 

 strong, they will produce more blos- 

 soms than might be expected. The 

 second crop of plants introduced on the 

 first of November will blossom from the 

 middle of January to mid-February ; the 

 third crop, introduced December 1st, 

 from mid-February to the middle of 

 March ; those of the fourth crop, intro- 

 duced on the first of January, from the 

 middle of March to the middle of April ; 

 those of the fifth crop, introduced on 

 the first of February, from the middle 

 of April to the middle of May ; those of 

 the sixth and last crop, introduced on 

 the first of March, from the middle of 

 May till the middle of June, when 

 several varieties in the open ground be- 

 gin to blossom. 



'•' As soon as the plants begin to push 

 their buds, whether any apliides ap- 

 pear upon the young shoots or not, fill 

 the frame with tobacco-smoke ; and do 

 not fail to repeat this every third week 

 till the flowers appear; smoking, for 

 the last time, just before any red tints 

 appear on the earliest buds. No un- 

 pleasant smell of the tobacco will re- 

 main upon the plants after a day or 

 two. The young shoots must also be 

 carefully examined when half an inch 

 long, and any grubs feeding upon them 

 destroyed. 



" After the blossoms are gathered 

 the plants must not be removed to a 

 back shed, but kept in the frame, or 

 brought back into it, if they have been 

 taken into the apartments of the owner, 

 permitting them to grow as they do in 

 summer, in the open air, for at least 

 two or three months. They must then 

 be placed in a shady situation, and kept 

 rather dry than moist, to throw them 

 into a state of rest. 



" After the mouth of May, Mr. Salis- 

 bury prefers inverting them, especially 

 the earlier crops, between two planks 

 raised upon tressels, high enough to 

 prevent tiie branches from touching the 

 earth, as in the amiexed sketch, having 



for twenty-five years experienced the 

 utility of this treatment, and suspecting 

 that it strengthens the future blossoms 

 by retaining sap in the branches, which 

 would otherwise descend to the root or 

 form suckers. 



Fig. 150. 



" While the plants are growing they 

 must be constantly supplied with moist- 

 ure — water and guano, or pigeons' 

 dung infused in it a few days before, in 

 the proportion of one ounce of the 

 former, and of the latter one ounce to 

 a gallon of water. Where pigeons' 

 dung cannot be had, two ounces of 

 sheep or deer's dung may be substi- 

 tuted to each gallon of water. 



" It now only remains to add, that it 

 is most important in forcing roses to 

 mark all the plants, so that those intro- 

 duced into tlie frame in October, the 

 first year, may be introduced on the 

 same day, the second and every suc- 

 ceeding year. To secure this, paint 

 No. 1, 2, 3, &c., upon the pots them- 

 selves. No. 1 to go in first, and so on. 



" Every year, about a fortnight be- 

 fore the plants are forced, they must be 

 shifted into larger pots, exactly one 

 inch wider in diameter, and not more, 

 turning them out without breaking the 

 ball or disturbing any of the fibres, and 

 filling the pots with the same compost 

 of hazel loam, charred turf, and vege- 

 table earth. By this method the same 

 plants may be forced for ten years, 

 without the inconvenience of using a 

 very large pot, as the last season they 

 will not want to be removed, or may 

 be shifted into the same pot again. 



"With respect to pruning, I have 

 never been in the habit of leaving more 

 than two buds on each branch, and, as 

 the plants increase in size and number 

 of branches, often only one bud upon 

 the weaker branches. It is much bet- 

 ter to have from ten to twenty strong 

 blossoms than a larger number of weak 

 ones, and the foliaL'o is likewise more 

 healthy." — Gard. Mag. 



Pot-Culture has been more fully dis- 



