General Notices. 263 



crops. The soil is a remarkably friable sandy loam, on a substratum of 

 loamy brick earth, much spotted with gravel, having a tendency to burn 

 in dry summers. The quantity of nitrate used, was at the rate of \h lb. 

 to the rod. In the case of the asparagus, the whole of the land was 

 measured, and no nitrate was put in the alleys. In every instance except 

 the turnips, when it was harrowed in with the seed, it was applied when 

 the plants were in a growing state, being strewed on the ground and 

 allowed to be washed. It appears to me, that whenever discrepancies arise 

 as to its action, it must either be attributable to the sort of plants to which 

 it is appHed, or to the time and mode of using it. I, of course, mean on 

 the same sorts. — {Gard. Chronicle, 1843, p. 22.) 



Treatment of Russilia, juncea. — Four or live years ago, splendid speci- 

 mens of this plant were exhibited at the shows at Chisvvick, but they 

 have since fallen off. I treat exactly like the vine, pruned on the spur 

 system. I rest it for three or four months in winter, in a cool vinery, 

 where the frost is excluded. If I wanted it to be in flower in May, I 

 should prune it in January, by cutting out the whole of the drooping slen- 

 der shoots, made last year, to tlie last eye next the principal shoots ; and 

 I would cut off two thirds of the last groicth of the principal shoots. I 

 would remove it to the peach house, or any place kept at 50 degrees, till 

 it began to grow, when I would shake off all the mould from its roots, 

 and repot it in as small a pot as I could get the roots into without crowd- 

 ing them, using rich turfy soil. It should then have more heat, and by 

 the time all the eyes pu.shed a few inches, it would require as much heat 

 as any of the stoves could afford. Never allow rampant suckers to arise 

 from the bottom, unless wanted for principal main shoots. By this treat- 

 ment they do beautifully for three or four months, in the conservatory, 

 when in flower. — {Id. p. 40.) 



Cultivation of Roses in Pots. — The Horticultural Society of London 

 have determined upon a prize for roses in pots, in place of cut flowers, 

 and this decision has excited a good deal of interest among cultivators of 

 the rose, some doubting the possibility of doing so with success, and oth- 

 ers saying it cflnV be done. It seems, however, that the plan is generally 

 considered a good one, and that it will tend to bring the rose into as gen- 

 eral cultivation as the pelargonium, to which it will form a formidable 

 rival. There are, it is true, some difficulties in the way of complete suc- 

 cess, but then these may be all overcome after a few experiments, and 

 success will be sure to follow. The editor of the Gard. Chronicle, in an 

 article upon this subject, introduces a communication on the culture of the 

 rose, from Mr. R. Read, formerly a gardener in Philadelphia, detailing the 

 mode in which roses are cultivated by the florists of that city ; as the re- 

 marks appear to be valuable, we copy them here : 



The Boursault Rose, being for pot culture superior as a stock to any 

 other kind, should be planted in good rich soil, in a sheltered situation ; 

 and, if cut down to form stools for the purpose of producing layers, it 

 will in the second year be strong enough to produce abundance of fine 

 shoots, the earliest of which will make such rapid growth that they may 

 be layered the same season. If this operation is carefully performed, and 

 if the end of the layer is tied up neatly to a stick, it will in a few weeks 

 be sufficiently high to allow one bud to be inserted in the stem. It is a 

 safe plan to cut the tongue on the upper side of the layer, whereby all 

 danger of breaking the shoot is prevented. It is, however, advisable to 



