THE 



Canadian Horticulturist 



Vol. XVII i. 



1895. 



No. 6. 



THE ROSE. 



HE most coveted and most highly prized of all the flowers ! The 

 rose is as easily cultivated, under the proper conditions, as the 

 most ordinary house plant. What the amateur wishes to know 

 is, what these conditions are. The first to claim our attention is 

 the soil : this should be three parts of heavy clay loam, mixed 

 with one part well-rotted cow manure. Each pot should have in the bottom a 

 layer of bits of broken pot or charcoal, preferably the latter, to ensure perfect 

 drainage, without which success is impossible. Care must be taken to press 

 the earth firmly around the roots of the plant, yet not so solidly as to prevent 

 growth. The next essential conditions are light, air, warmth, and judicious 

 watering. A sunny southeasterly situation insures the full rays of the sun, and 

 with the temperature never below 60 degrees, and above that point most of the 

 time, the amateur should be able to grow roses with the professional. 



A shaded and cold situation will always induce mildew, one of the rose's 

 blighting enemies. When this enemy appears on the foliage, a little sulphur 

 sprinkled on some coals in its vicinity will aid in checking it. Another pest is 

 the red spider. This can be driven away by ample spraying with water, both 

 underneath and above the foliage, or the plants may be dipped in water, which 

 insures their being thoroughly wetted. The aphis or green fly also needs con- 

 stant attention. This is more difficult for an amateur to combat than the others, 

 but with care one may easily fumigate with tobacco, by placing the plants in a 

 small shed and burning near them some tvet tobacco on red-hot coals. The 

 commonest tobacco is the best, and I emphasize the word wet, for if it flames. 



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