78 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



Jun© 



Tree, or Standard Roses. 



The Rose is too generally known as a 

 straggling bush, unprunecl and uncultivated, 

 and comparatively few of our country read- 

 ers, we presume, are familiar with the fine 

 and striking floral effect? of the Upright 

 Roses, which are often formed of several dis- 

 tinct varieties budded ujjon one strong- 

 growing, perpendicular stock, four or five 

 feet from the ground. Skillfully managed, 

 the tastefully mingled colors of the blooms 

 on this Rose Trse form a very lovely object, 

 and we commend the culture of these petits 

 arbres to all amateurs. 



The old Manetti, or " Dog Rose," has gen- 

 erally been used as the stock upon which tlie 

 other varieties were budded ; but, in strolling 

 around the Fair Grounds, the other day, 

 with Mr. Joseph Muller, (the gardener of 

 the Association,) he informed us that the 

 Souvenir de la Reine d'Angleterre promised to 

 take the place of Manstti entirely ; being a 

 very atrong and upright grower, and free 

 from the Manetti's very bad habit of thrown 

 ing up suckers. 



Among the varieties which Mr. Muller has 

 very successfully worked high up as Tree 

 Roses, we noticed Charles Margottin Soutcnir 

 du Dr. Jamin, and Marschall Neil. This fine 

 new yellow Rose surpasses even the Chro- 

 matdla, or " Cloth of Gold," in richness and 

 beauty, and is a very decided acquisition. — 

 South Land. 



Room or Parlor Plants. 



Eastern windows are preferabk to south- 

 ern ones, the sun is now too powerful, and 

 the morning sun being more congenial than 

 that of the after part of the day, even west 

 and north windows are now better than 

 those opening toward the south. Plants 

 that become dusty should occasionally be 

 put out during light showers, taking care 

 not to drench them. Roses and geraniums 

 should be kept very near the light, or they 

 will lose color and become pale. 



Re-pot or plant out such as require root- 

 room. Keep hydrangeas in shady situations. 

 Cleanse wood and foliage as early as practi- 

 cable. A little pulverized wood charcoal on 

 the surface of the earth in pots containing 

 parlor plants, is always advisable, and by 

 changing it two or three times during the 

 season, it will be found to obviate bad odors, 

 and to increase the thriftiness of the plants. 

 When potted plants are placed in the ground 

 some earth should be drawn up about the 

 stems, so as to form a cone to lead ofl" the 

 excess of moisture. Very few plants that 

 have been housed during the winter will 

 stand the full sun in early spring and 

 summer ; therefore the warmest exposures 

 should not be selected for them. — Tlie Worh- 

 ing Farmer. 



Selection and Treatment of Roses. 



The rose stands at the head of the entire 

 list of flowers ; and every home should be 

 made beautiful and fragrant with them. To 

 succeed in their cultivation, the inexpe- 

 rienced should observe the following con- 

 siderations: 



1. Instead of selecting varieties from the 

 catalogues of nurserymen, which, because of 

 glowing descriptions are perfectly bewilder- 

 ing, it is wiser to request some reliable 

 person, who grows them for market, to 

 furnish, according to his own judgment, a 

 few varieties, ambracing diversity of colors, 

 which are strong growers and first rate 

 bloomers. 



3. While summer and climbing roses will 

 grow in shaded locations with little atten- 

 tion, it is otherwise with moss, and "also 

 perpetual Ijloomers. 1 hese need kind treat- 

 ment, and eunligb*. They should stand in 

 rich mellow soil, kept free from grass and 

 weeds. And if the ground around them is 

 covered with manure, in the Fall or Spring, 

 they will repaj' the cost, by a more abun- 

 dant yi;'ld of fine blossoms. 



3. Close annual pruning will cause more 

 new wood to grow, and consequently ensure 

 a better show of flowers. 



4. Roses budding on the wild root, grow 

 freely and blossom abundantly. But they 

 always throw up suckers from old roots 

 that, because of vigorous growth, will over- 

 run and destroy the cultivated jiart of the 

 bush, unless constantly watched and kept 

 oft". Hence the inexperienced should always 

 order bushes grown upon their own roots. 



5. In summi r, keep them free from tlie 

 little slug or worm that works upon the 

 leaves. In our nursery, we pick ofl" and 

 destroy all leaves they are found on. But 

 strong soap suds can be applied to advan- 

 tage. — Cor. Western Rural. 



A Comforting Use of Flowers. 



Miss. F. Hudson writes : " A friend lost a 

 little child. When vay mother heard of it, 

 her sympathetic feeling urged immediate 

 action. The universal desire to as.sist or 

 relieve the mourning family, which is always 

 felt when such tidings reach one, was always 

 hers. So she went to our beautiful cemete- 

 ry and gave directions for a pile of ever- 

 green boughs to be placed in the yard where 

 the little one. was to be laid. While this 

 order was being executed, she procured 

 several baskets of exquisite flowers and 

 returned to the yard where the grave was 

 already excavated. Under her direction it 

 was then completel}' lined with spruce and 

 hemlock boughs, the heap of earth taken 

 from the grave was also covered with them. 

 Then, with the assistance of a friend, 

 mother arranged flowers amid all the green, 

 literall}' lining the grave with flowers. — 

 They were secured in their places either 

 singly, or in tiny bunches by hair-pins. The 

 elfect of the arrangement was most beauti- 

 ful, but its comparative efl'ect still more so, 

 when one saw and felt the difl'erence be- 

 tween a bed of sweetest flowers, and the 

 bare open grave. The earth used in the 

 burial service being but a symbol, certainly 

 the single lump softly dropped by our pastor 

 fulfilled its purpose better than the ordinary 

 unerring spadeful." 



Flower Seeds in Pots. 



A few general rules are applicable to all 

 seed sown in pots : 



1. All pots and pans used for seed sowing 

 should be well drained in the ordinary way ; 

 and, as fine soil is much employed in seed 

 sowing, a layer of dry moss or of roughish 

 soil should separate the drainage and the 

 fine soil above. 



3. The soil on the top surface of all pots, 

 pans, etc., used for seed sowing, should be 

 finely pulverized by sifting. 



3. Good sandy loam may be taken as the 

 basis of all soils used for seed growing, but 

 it should always have at least half its bulk 

 of finely pulverized leaf-mould, peat, or 

 some vegetable soil in it, and fully one-fourth 

 of the whole should be sand. 



4. The soil should be made perfectly fine 

 and firm in the pots, particularly in the case 

 of small seeds. 



5. All seeds sown in pots, frames or houses 

 require shading during sunshine, and it is 

 particularly necessary for the smaller seeds 

 on the surface. 



About Striking Cuttings. 



Professional florists often throw much 

 mystery about this operation, but it is a 

 simple thing. For .starting grape cuttings, 

 roses, verbenas, geraniums, fuschias, try this 

 method: 



Get a box, say three feet long, two wide, 

 and eighteen inches deep. Fill it half full 

 of stable manure, pressing the same down 

 with a fork. Pour on two buckets of water, 

 then laj' on a few inches of common soil, 

 leaving four inches depth on tlie top for 

 sand. Over this bo.x put a glass sash. Let 

 the first crude heat pass ofl' before putting in 

 the cuttings. After putting them in, keep 

 the soil moist from day to day by watering, 

 and by shading for a few hours at mid-day. 

 When the slips have rooted (and this will 

 be shown by the growth of leaves) give 

 them more and more light and air. — Rural 

 Anvrican. 



Mignonette. 



This fragrant hard}' annual is too well 

 known to need any description. To obtain 

 plants for blooming from December to Feb- 

 ruary, a sowing sliould be made in July in 

 the open ground, and the plants potted in 

 September. The crop for March, April and 

 May should be sown no later than the 25th 

 of August ; the plants of this sowing will 

 not sufl"er by exposure to rain whilst they 

 are young; they must, however, be protected 

 from eaidy frosts, like the winter drops. — 

 The third crop should be sown in pots the 

 last of February. Thus, by attending to 

 the sowing of the seed at these three several 

 times, and nursing the plants in a proper 

 manner, this fragrant flower may be had to 

 perfume the bouquet the year round — Breck's 

 Book of Flower's. 



Planting Roses. 



In setting out my Tea and Bengal Roses 

 I have cut them all down close to the 

 ground, both those that I had kept dormant 

 during winter and those that had come to 

 me from propagating houses. It has been 

 my practice in former years, and althmigh 

 ni_y neighbors don't do it, yet while they 

 have a few poor quite early blossoms, I find 

 mine keep blooming, after they once com- 

 mence, all the summer long, and so I believe 

 it's the best way. In reiiotting roses there 

 is really nothing better than good fresh turf 

 loam, with, say, a fourth to a sixth of well 

 rotted manure thoroughly intermixed. — 

 F. A. in Rural New Yorker. 



CovEBiNG Seeds with Grass. — A cor" 

 respondent of the Rural Neio Yorker says : 



"I once saw advice by Thomas Rivers of 

 England, to use in covering flower and other 

 small seeds the short grass from the lawn. — ■ 

 On this hint I acted "with good results last 

 year, and am now doing it again. I sow the 

 seeds, pressing them nicely with a board into 

 the fine soil; then I sift just a shade of clear 

 sand over and cover from one-half to an 

 inch deep, according to the delicacy of my 

 seed, with the tine green grass cut from my 

 lawn. As it dries and shrivels it becomes 

 light and the seeds come freely. 

 *-** 



B^'A correspondent of the Soriicvlturist 

 says that a fine low standard for hanging 

 basket is the Chinese Primrose {Primula 

 Sinensis) bearing white or crimson flowers. 

 Soil — two parts garden mold, and one part 

 sand. 



