General Notices. 417 



seasons, lo prepare them. Select strong young plants, pot them in strong 

 loam and dung, with good room for their roots ; plunge them in the open 

 air until December ; now put them in a greenhouse, prune all the strong 

 wood into the lowest two eyes, cut out close all the thin weakly shoots, 

 and sec tkat they have the genial warmth of the greenhouse, plenty of air 

 when the weather is warm enough to do it safely, and water occasionally, 

 and the shoots will soon push strong and well ; let any that come out 

 weakly from different parts of the tree or bush be rubbed off, they are of 

 no use, and only weaken those which are. Of course, they will be much 

 forwarder than those in the open air, and especially if the weather be cold ; 

 as soon as the buds appear, remove them. The plant must not be weak- 

 ened by blooming ; let there be abundance of water to sustain the growth, 

 and as soon as May is pretty nearly out, plunge them to their rims in the 

 open ground, taking great care that they do not suffer for want of water ; 

 when the growth is completed, and the leaves are fully developed, and 

 their shoots at full length, let there be no more water given ; the wood 

 will soon ripen, and the leaves will have fallen long before the plants that 

 have been all through their growth in the open air. When the leaves have 

 fallen, the plants may be looked upon as at rest ; they may be removed 

 into the shade. In November, the roots may he examined, that is to say, 

 the balls turned out ; and, if the roots are matted round the pot, they must he 

 shifted to pots of a larger size, without disturbing the ball. All the strong 

 branches may be again shortened to two eyes, all the weakly ones cut 

 close again ; they may be placed in the greenhouse at once, which will be 

 a month sooner than they were the previous year. They will soon start 

 again ; they must be guarded from frost, or any near approach to it, as 

 jealously as a tender plant ; they will show their buds much sooner this 

 year than they did last, and you would find them, if allowed to go on to 

 bloom, very respectably grown compared to forced roses generally, — hut 

 we take off the buds as soon as we can get hold of them, again to throw all 

 their strength into the growth. They will this year be fully established, their 

 growth will be strong, they may be plunged in the open air again at the 

 end of May, and be carefully tended as to water, till their growth is com- 

 plete, and the leaves are turning ; now comes another season of rest, far 

 earlier than they rested last year. In due time, when the leaves are fallen, 

 remove them to the shade again, to abide the period of being set to work ; 

 again examine the balls, and if the roots are matted, change their pots to 

 a larger size, keeping to strong loam and dung for their compost. They 

 may be housed this time in October, pruned as before, and allowed to 

 grow ; syringe them if there is any appearance of green fly, and if this does 

 not clear them, fumigate them with tobacco-smoke, and syringe them after- 

 wards. They will make rapid advances ; let the house be kept through 

 the winter at forty -five degrees in the day, and forty at night; whenever 

 air can be given, and the temperature kept to this, be it so, for they cannot 

 have too much air. The trees or bushes will continue their growth, and 

 go up to bloom without drawing or weakening at all ; and when in flower 

 they should be kept in a temperature not exceeding forty-five degrees. It 



