18T0. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



299 



arisen from this knowledge. His disgraceful orgies 

 would thus be unspoken of. Sappho wrote, "If 

 Zeus had willed to set a king over flowers, the 

 rose would have claimed that distinction. It is 

 the ornament of the earth, the glory of the plants, 

 the eye of the flowers, and the blush of the 

 meadow." 



How replete with all that is lovely, rich and rare 

 are the spicy, old fashioned Damask roses, the 

 thomless and the white Unique ! Hundreds and 

 hundreds of new varieties are now offered by the 

 florists, but the roses of our childhood are the 

 dearest to our heart. The Lamarque is one of the 

 most beautiful climbing roses, and in a southern 

 climate produces a fine effect. "We shall never for- 

 get one we saw growing in Washington's garden 

 at Mount Vernon. It was twenty feet high, and 

 we counted over three hundred buds and blossoms 

 of a delicious fragrance and creamy hue to which 

 no other rose can attain. Hybrid perpetuals con- 

 stitute a class of great number and variety. The 

 French and English gardeners have paid special 

 attention to the production of new varieties. They 

 are found in all colors and shades, from nearly 

 black into crimson blush and pure white. Cov- 

 ered with sods they will survive our severest win- 

 ters, even within the shadow of Mount Washing- 

 ton's snow capped head. GerCl Jacqueminot is of 

 the richest crimson scarlet, no garden rose equals 

 its coloring or the beauty of its buds. It is indis- 

 pensable in the smallest collection. Mad. Plantier 

 Is of the purest white, and takes the front rank of 

 white roses. Reine D'Anc/leterre is a lovely bright 

 rose Baronne Prevost a rich pink. Triumphe de l' 

 Exposition is a brilliant crimson red. Fifty cent 

 currency will purchase any one of these peerless 

 flowers. $4.50 will give you one dozen of the va- 

 rieties of this most desirable class. Bourbon and 

 Bengal roses are hardy and in constant bloom, 

 but they do not possess the fragrance of other 

 species. Hermosa, Louis Phillippe, Malmaison and 

 Bourbon Queen are well known varieties and need 

 no recommendation. Tea roses are much culti- 

 vated for their rare fragrance and delicacy of col- 

 oring. They are not as hardy as those we have 

 mentioned. In many parts of New England they 

 must be wintered in the parlor or 'cellar. Isabella 

 Sprunt, Marshal Neil, Sajfrano and La Pactole are 

 of a canary or orange yellow. Their buds are 

 very beautiful, unsurpassed by any other roses and 

 the fragrance of Marshal Neil baffles description. 

 Madame Margottin is very lovely indeed, — all 

 the roses of this class are most desirable. The 

 moss roses — loveliest of all the rose tribe — have 

 greatly increased in beauty in the last ten years. 

 Raphael is a lovely blush ; Eugene Guinoisseau is 

 a very mossy, and of a rich cherry-violet tint ; 

 Madame Edicard Ory is of large size and of a deep 

 rosy hue. Moss roses of yellow crimson, blush, 

 white and pink hues are all most beautiful, and 

 some of them should be found in every garden. 

 Their culture is simple, and their profuse buds and 

 blossoms richly repay the cultivator. They de- 



light in a clayey soil, and a shovelful of clay dug 

 about their roots will greatly increase their 

 growth. Superphosphate of lime is an excellent 

 fertilizer for them. Dig about them two large iron 

 spoonfuls every month during the summer, and 

 notice its efiects — but take care not to touch the 

 main stalk with the disgusting black powder. 



Roses will grow and bloom in common garden 

 soil, yet no plant will flourish vigorously unless 

 given a congenial soil. The most desirable com- 

 post is well rotted manure and leaf mould mixed 

 with good garden loam and a sprinkling of sand — 

 enough at least to prevent the ground from crack- 

 ing during the heat of summer. Wet, boggy soil 

 is not calculated for its wants, but it is well to 

 mulch the roots with barnyard litter in July and 

 August. The amateur often fails to grow roses in 

 perfection because he hesitates to use the knife 

 freely — cannot endure to cut away the fair growth 

 of a previous summer, yet it is very needful to do 

 this, if a liberal supply of flowers is desired. The 

 buds are produced on the new wood which should 

 be well cut back every spring, and as the shoots 

 come forth, all weaklings should be rubbed off as 

 they weaken the blooming shoots. Use the knife 

 without fear of injuring the plant— often the finest 

 roses are produced from new shoots started at the 

 roots. The best compost for potted roses is one- 

 third each of stiff clay, sand and decayed black 

 manure. In this mixture they will blossom finely 

 and make vigorous growth. They are easily 

 raised from cuttings in this month — taking care to 

 cut the slip partly of old growth, and partly of 

 new. They will strike root in a saucer of sand 

 more quickly than in a pot of earth. Fill a shal- 

 low dish with comuion scouring sand, wet it thor- 

 oughly and insert the cutting with a bud at the 

 base. In two or three weeks tiny leaves will ap- 

 pear. Then transplant into rich soil ; place in a 

 cool, shady place for twenty-four hours, then give 

 all the light and air possible. Peter Henderson 

 recommends this saucer mode of propagation for 

 all succulent cuttings— geraniums, fuchsias, carna- 

 tions, verbenas, &c. Cuttings of Hybrid Perpetual, 

 Bourbon, Bengal, Remontant and Moss Roses can 

 easily be propagated by this process, and by next 

 year will make fine plants. 



After our roses have blossomed freely, if the 

 weak, unhealthy shoots are cut otf, and even a few 

 strong ones if the branches are crowded, the au- 

 tumn blossoms will be finer, and we can find plenty 

 of friends willing to take the cuttings. Of late 

 years the rose-bug and slug have greatly injuied 

 the roses in every section of the country ; but last 

 June we saw the rarest roses possessing the green- 

 est foliage, untouched by slug or bug, and their 

 fair possessor informed us that they had been de- 

 stroyed by a wash made of ten gallons of warm 

 water, one pint of common soft soap, and half a 

 pint of salt ; syringe the roses once or twice a 

 week with the mixture, late in May and until the 

 middle of June, as often as once a week, and no 



