ROSES IN POTS. 



439 



ROSES, INSECTS IN. 



such as Hybrid Provence, Hybrid China, 

 Hybrid Bourbon, French, Moss, Alba, 

 Hybrid Perpetuals, and the strong-growing 

 Bourbons and Noisettes, should be potted 

 in autumn ; the delicate Bourbons and 

 Noisettes, together with the Tea-scented 

 and Chinas, should be left till the spring. 

 In the autumn, before potting, examine 

 the stocks minutely, particularly among the 

 roots, cutting out any decayed parts, all 

 knots, and the remains of suckers ; lop any 

 wounded or bruised roots, and clean all 

 well, as no such opportunity will again 

 offer. When potted, cut back the head 

 about a third, and at the end of February 

 or the beginning of March cut back to 

 from two to four eyes. In potting, let the 

 pots be well drained with from one inch to 

 an inch and a half of broken crocks, used 

 in large rough pieces, having the concave 

 side downwards. The pots should not be 

 over large, from six to eight inches inside 

 the rims will be sufficient, according to the 

 size of the plant, condition of its roots, &c. 

 The pots should be plunged to their rims 

 in coal ashes, or any garden soil, on an 

 inverted flowerpot, leaving a cavity under- 

 neath each to prevent the ingress of worms. 

 In this state they should remain till about 

 the middle of May, when they will require 

 a shift. The same soil as before should be 

 used, but, if possible, more rough, and they 

 should be again plunged to the rim. During 

 summer they will require constant attention 

 as to watering ; they should have liquid 

 manure at least once a week, using soft 

 water at other times. The best liquid 

 manure is the drainage of dunghills, and 

 sheep or cow dung steeped in water and 

 drawn off clear. Guano is excellent, but it 

 requires great caution in using, owing to its 

 variable quality. If, therefore, it is used, 

 err on the safest side, and give it weak, 

 half a pound of guano to eight or ten gallons 

 of water. During summer the plants re- 

 nuire constant attention in taking off all 



suckers as they appear, as well as all flowei 

 buds, as they are not intended to bloom 

 this season. If the plants are too crowded 

 with wood, they should be thinned out 

 moderately, so that the remaining shoots 

 may perfect their growth. All strong, 

 gross, or watery shoots should have their 

 extreme points pinched off before tbey get 

 long, say at six or eight inches : they will 

 soon break out afresh, and add to the bushi- 

 ness of the plant. If all goes well, these 

 plants will, about the beginning of August, 

 require another shift, which should not be 

 over large. They must be treated in every 

 respect as before until the end of September, 

 when they should be shifted into their 

 blooming pots. 



Roses, Precautions against In- 

 sects in. 



In pruning roses, every bit of old wood, 

 loose bark, &c., should be carefully re- 

 moved, as it is exactly amid such debris 

 that the larvae of caterpillars, aphides, &c. , 

 are deposited. Whenever trees have been 

 much affected with these pests, they might 

 be coated over with a similar mixture to 

 that recommended for vines, namely, equal 

 parts of sulphur, soot, lime, and cow dung, 

 made into a paste with strong soapsuds. 

 This would remove all moss, &c., from the 

 stems and branches, and prove an effectual 

 preventive and eradicative measure ; it is 

 less troublesome and unpleasant than hunt- 

 ing throughout the summer for green cater- 

 pillars, buried deep in rosebuds or wrapped 

 up in leaves, and driving away the delicious 

 perfume of the roses with the noxious fumes 

 of tobacco water or other disagreeable com- 

 pounds. When the green fly does make 

 its appearance, a strong infusion of carbo- 

 nate of ammonia (smelling salts) is the only 

 remedy that ought to be admitted among 

 choice roses in bloom. This will not only 

 destroy the aphis, but supply the plants 

 with useful food, and heighten, by its voU 



