214 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Apbil 6, 1912. 



THE ROSARY. 



ber of the dwarf Polyantha varieties by graft 

 ing, because it is often a difficult matter to 

 obtain suitable buds for open-ground working, 

 planting them in well-prepared ground as soon as 



THE ORLEANS ROSE. 

 I predict a great future for this beautiful 

 Polyantha Rose. The variety has a vigorous con- 

 stitution, and it flowers abundantly and continu- 



CULTURAL NOTES FOR APRIL. 



Any further planting should be carried out 

 with pot-plants, even though the expense is 

 greater. All pruning should be completed dur- 

 ing the first half of April. Stir the soil with the 

 hoe whenever the conditions are suitable: few 

 subjects benefit more by a constant moving of in May. Roses are not harmed by a fairly severe April 22; they remained for several weeks, and 

 the surface soil than Roses. Stocks left over from frost if they are treated in this way, but their even after it had been planted out of the pot for a 

 grafting will now be pushing into growth suffi- hardening must be gradual. Let them be planted fortnight some of the same flowers were still 



danger from frosts is passed. Should the ground ously. The colour has been described by some 

 be not quite ready, it must be attended to at as a Geranium red, but my description is rose- 

 once. I have found it an excellent plan to stand 

 the Roses in the meantime in cooler quarters 

 during the present month, and turn them outside 



pink. The most remarkable point about it yet to 

 be noted is the longevity of its blossoms. A speci- 

 men I grew in a pot expanded its blossoms on 



ciently to allow the bark to be lifted for budding. 

 Those that are backward in this respect may be 

 afforded weak liquid manures and given every 

 encouragement to cause the sap to become active. 

 The earliest forced Roses under glass will gener- 

 ally supply plenty of suitable buds, which may 

 be inserted in forward stocks in the ordinary 

 way. This provides a capital method of increas- 

 ing choice, new or scarce varieties of Roses. If 

 budded early, many of the plants may be cut 

 down to the bud after it is united well with the 



quite firmly, and always cover the union of scion 

 and stock with about two or three inches of soil. 

 Planting in this manner favours a freer growth <jf 

 the lowest eye on the graft, and assists in making 

 a firmer union. By the end of this month many 

 of the buds inserted last summer will be pushing 

 up from both dwarf and standard plants. Look 

 very closely for suckers and remove them if pre- 

 sent before drawing a little of the surrounding 

 soil up to the growing buds of dwarfs : it is an 

 excellent plan to first scatter a little prepared 



stock. By putting a little mastic or grafting wax compost around the base of the plants. Old com- 

 upon the cut before it has become too much wetted post from a pit or frame or light soil with a 





fadrdchran 



^^Wi 



FlG, 93.— HAFOD, CARDIGANSHIRE, THE RESIDENCE OF T. J. WADDINGHAM, ESQ. 



by the sap, the inserted buds will grow and 

 form good heads by next season. Green shoots, 

 a little more than half-ripened, will root freely 

 under glass in a compost consisting of loam, leaf- 

 mould and sand in equal proportions. Give the 

 cuttings one good watering, and then keep them 

 under close conditions until roots have developed. 

 After hardening them gradually, the rooted 

 cuttings may be potted up and grown on in the 

 ordinary way. Take care not to break or even 

 bruise the new roots, which are particularly ten- 

 der and brittle. Let the plants be kept close 

 again for a short time after the first potting. 

 Employ a stronger compost at each successive 

 shift and use relatively small pots. Roses under 



suspicion of some concentrated manure (bone meal 

 is very suitable) will help the dwarfs to develop 

 their own roots. It also aids the union by keeping 

 both scion and stock softer, while not the least 

 advantage comes from the extra support afforded 

 at a time when the young Rose is too small to tie 

 to sticks. Writing of sticks reminds me that a 

 goodly number of these should be prepared for 

 use. Sticks and stakes are more lasting when 

 the bark is removed, and bark onlv harbours in- 



V 



sects. It is well to have the sticks in various 

 sizes and lengths : small Hop-poles are useful for 

 standards. The present is a good time to lift and 

 pot a number of dwarf stocks for budding or 

 grafting next season. Use a stiff, rather rich 



glass need a slight shading during periods of loam, and plunge the pots in ashes or cocoanut 

 bright sunshne : ordinary herring netting affords fibre and sand on a sheltered border, so that the 



V Q tJ — — 



just sufficient protection to break the sun's glare ; 

 later on it may be used a double thickness. Fish 

 netting is cheap, effective, and readily removed 

 at any time. 



Roses grafted during winter may be shifted 

 once more, if they are destined to remain in pots. 



plants may become well established during the 

 coming summer. 



Standards and climbers in pots will need extra 

 food, either in the way of mulchings or liquid 

 manures. Large pots are not needed for 

 standards 5 1 have had much the best results when 



present. I would advise all Rose growers to add 

 this variety to their collection. E. M. 



T ,1 ■ .,,.,* , , * J y - *■— »« "«.V4 mum vuv ucsl results wnen 



In this establishment we propagate a large num- growing them in relatively small pots. Practice. 



HAFOD. 



The main road that leads from Aberystwyth 

 tc Rhavader brines the traveller to the lod^e 



gates of Hafod, but the house itself is situated 

 two miles at least from the roadway. The drive 

 leading to the residence is cut along the mountain 

 side, and is so tortuous that it is never possible to 

 see much more than a hundred yards ahead. It 

 is so happily designed that at all points the 

 traveller can see and hear the river Ystwyth, 

 meandering hurriedly through the deep, narrow 

 valley on the south side, over its bed of blue 

 slate rock, tumbling over rocks, roaring and 

 foaming. From the river brink the mountain 

 range rises 500 to 600 feet, or 1,400 feet above 

 sea-level, terminating at Pontrhydygroes, a 

 quaint, scattered village, about four miles dis- 

 tant, but only to commence again after the val- 

 ley and river are crossed. The mountain-slopes 

 — for there are three of them — are clothed with 

 Larch, and between the mountains are stretches 

 of grazing land, but so poor that an acre will 

 only support a couple of sheep, the allotted num- 

 ber per acre in the mountainous districts of East 

 Cardiganshire ; yet trees thrive in a still poorer 

 material. On the north side of the drive there 

 are scores of acres of mountain slope planted with 

 Larch as second crop, and, as well as I could 

 see, there was not a failure amongst them; the 

 previous crop was felled with the saw within 

 the past dozen years. As there are no suckers, 

 I conclude that the previous crop must have been 

 Larch. Much of this area is carpeted with the 

 Wild Hyacinth and Anemone nemorosa in the 

 season, and, later on, Hypericum quadrangulurn 

 and Scabiosa succisa, which, with the dwarf 

 Larch trees, made a lovely picture at the time of 

 my visit. 



The journey is now through a wood. On the 

 way I noticed trees growing on the face of a 

 well-nigh perpendicular precipice. It is sur- 

 mised that the seed must have been sown there, 

 and, as it would be impossible for anyone 

 to stand there and handle tools, unless secured 

 with a rope, it is not unlikely that they 

 may have had such a contrivance, for a slip 

 would mean a fall of 50 feet to 60 feet. There 

 are some fair-size trees on the very brink of the 

 precipice — a Beech measured 8 feet round w 

 breast high, and an Oak 5 feet 8 inches. The 

 wayside is sweet with Violets in the season. I 

 have resided in eight different counties in England 

 and Wales, but hitherto had never met with \iol» 

 lutea and V. tricolor. The Navelwort, Cotyledon 

 Umbilicus, nearly covered the face of a projecting 

 rock, and I have been told that it is common in 



Cardiganshire. 



Among Ferns, Polypodium vulgare, Aspleniuni 

 trichomanes, and Lomaria Spicant are numerous. 

 A few small waterfalls are passed 5 but now tne 

 loud roaring of water denotes the presence 01 

 cataract of no small dimensions. Belts of Com- 

 mon Spruce and Douglas Fir skirt the r0 ^V^ 

 standing at 9 feet apart, and 80 feet to 90 tee* 

 high. Larch trees are still taller. A typic 

 specimen, about 100 feet high, had a girtn 



