May 2;, 1866. | 



JOURNAL Of HOKI'ICULTUKE AXO C0TTA5S GA11DEJ$EE. 



?.Z3 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day Dny 



el I of 



M 'nth Week. 



23 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 

 29 



W 



Th 

 F 

 8 

 Sun 

 M 



MAY 23-29, 1865. 



Mulberry leaves oppn. i 



(lo>:r.N Victoria Born, 1819. 

 AscKNsioN. Princess HELKr^xj 

 Wliite Clover flowers. [Born, 18J6.: 

 Avens flowers. j 



KU.VDAY APTBR ASCENSION, 1 



Commoa SoiTel flowers. I 



AvcraRe Temperature 



Rain In 



last 

 38 years. 



Sun 



Sun 



near London. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Day. 



Night 



Mean. 



Days. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



G7.7 



44.9 



56.3 



13 



Oaf 3 



54af7 



63.3 



44.0 



56.1 



11 



58 3 



55 7 



66.3 



43.7 



.■iS.O 



15 



57 3 



56 7 



67.1 



43.1 



55.1 



17 



56 3 



58 7 



65.8 



4-5.2 



55.5 



21 



S5 3 



59 7 



67.6 



44.8 



56.2 



15 



54 3 



8 



66.9 



44.8 



55.8 



13 



53 3 



1 8 



Moon { Moon 

 Rises. Setd. 



h. ra. h. 



S 10 6 



3 ! 24 7 



4 j 29 8 



5 ' 25 9 

 ' 13 10 



7 ■' 52 10 



8 , 22 11 



Moon's 



Age. 



28 

 • 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day of 



Tear. 



143 

 144 

 145 

 146 

 147 

 148 

 149 



From observations taken near London during the last thirtv-eight years, the average day temperature of the week is 67.1", and its night 

 temperature 44.3'. The greatest heat waa 91° on the 28th, 1847; and the lowest cold, 26°, on the 23rd and 25th, 1863. The greatest fall of 

 raiu was 0.97 inch. 



EOSES m GEOUPS. 



HEEE are few of the readers of 

 The Journal of Hoeticul- 

 TUEE wlio do not feel deeply 

 I indebted to tke Eev. W. F. 

 Eadclyffe for Lis most excel- 

 lent and practical hints on the cul- 

 tivation of the Eose, his favourite 

 flower, given from time to time Ln 

 these pages. iN^or can we feel less 

 sensible of the honour done the 

 "queen of flowers " by "D., Deal," 

 Mr. W. D. Prior, and other ama- 

 teur horticulturists in their articles. 

 I cannot but observe that these 

 gentlemen pay especial regard to 

 their favourite flower, and having 

 their energies rivetted, as it were, 

 on one or two particular subjects 

 are enabled to be more successful 

 and acquire a greater insight into 

 these than we gardeners are able to 

 do from the great variety of subjects daily demanding our 

 attention. jS'o wonder then that they are so weU qualified 

 to give advice, and that their papers are read with so 

 much interest as being the experience of those who weU 

 understand the subject, and are, besides, enthusiastic in 

 their love and treatment of the Eose. I fuUy beheve 

 that our distinguished Eosarian of Tarrant Eushton is 

 possessed of a florist's eye, and views the Eose through 

 no other, ■whilst there cannot be a doubt of " C, Deal," 

 not seeing any merit in those Eoses that wUl not go 

 through the ordeal of an examination by florists. The 

 circular form is all-powerful with a florist. A Eose 

 must not only be of good habit, possess fine healthy 

 foliage, and be profuse and continuous in its blooming, 

 but it must have a certain shape of flower, much suIj- 

 stance of petal, and open well, or it wUl not suit a 

 florist. His standard is that of a good flower ; he does 

 not mind so long as he can obtain a few good blooms 

 from a plant so that he maj' exhibit them in a stand on 

 a certain day, and by the merits of the flower alone the 

 judges award the prizes, little being known of the habit 

 and hardiness of the plant. Gardeners, on the other 

 hand, require the flower to be not only of good shape or 

 form, but profuse-blooming and lasting, enduring rain 

 and sun, and opening well in all weathers ; the plant 

 hardy and vigorous, but not rampant. Whatever its 

 habit it must bloom profusely, have fine, bright, bold, 

 and healthy foliage, and be of good constitution generally. 

 As to coloxu-, we want this bright and decided, and not 

 the colours that run with rain and fade with sun, and 

 we could do with some good wlntes, which are scarce, 

 and more of the true rose colour, but not one more of 

 the crimson scarlets, unless decided improvements on the 

 old ones. These are the Eoses wanted for general pur- 

 poses — good hardy Eoses that are eflective when in 

 No. 217.— Vol. Till , New Sebies. 



bloom, or out of bloom through their foliage, fine for 

 cutting, and also of fine form, such as Mr. EadclyfTe 

 recommends to be obtained by the hundred. Those that 

 are inconstant and only open in certain seasons, and 

 give but few flowers and fewer of them of good shape, 

 are not suitable for general cultivation. 



Besides these we want good Eoses of dwarf, yet free, 

 compact habit for groups or beds, the more free and 

 continuous-blooming the better. A slight degree of 

 imperfection in the flower is more tolerable than fijie 

 form with scarcity of bloom. A combination of hardi- 

 ness, dwarf habit, profuse foUage and bloom, and a con- 

 tinuance of them is what is much wanted for groups. 

 Good continuous-blooming Eoses for groups are what 

 we may long and wait for ; but it would tend to hasten 

 the attainment of the object in view if those amateur 

 rosarians who grow new Eoses for trial would record their 

 experience of the kinds that, from their habit and profuse 

 blooming, are adapted for beds, and give us their notes 

 of the old which they have tried and not found wanting. 

 Groups of Eoses are highly pleasing when in bloom, and 

 more encomiums are passed on. them and more time is 

 spent in looking at them than at all the rest of the flower 

 garden. Everybody likes Eoses, but their charms can- 

 not be fully appreciated unless the blooms are seen in 

 quantity. A score of varieties is not half so eflTective 

 dotted here and there as when grouped in one spot 

 with room for them individually; and a dozen, again, wUl 

 be much more eflective when planted in a group of one 

 colour or variety than a hundred scattered here and 

 there. 



Dwarfs are the only description of Eose suitable for 

 grouping, and thej'' are best on their own roots. The 

 next best are those on the Manetti stock, grafted or 

 budded so low as to have both the stock and scion or 

 bud covered with sod, so that they may derive nourish- 

 ment from their own roots as well as from those of the 

 stock. On their own roots they do better on dry, sandy, 

 and gravelly soils than when on any stock with which I 

 am acquainted ; whilst those on the Manetti seem as if 

 they do not care what kind of soil they grow in. The 

 Manetti, though the best of Eose-stocks, and veiy de- 

 sirable for grafting or budding Eoses on in cold w-et 

 localities and strong soils, where it is not troublesome on 

 account of its throwing up suckers, is rather troublesome 

 in this respect iu light sods, and in such these Eoses 

 do much better on their own roots. The Manetti 

 after the first or second year does not cause trouble 

 on the score of suckers, even in light soils, if pains be 

 taken to remove the eyes when the cuttings are made, 

 and to take these out afterwards quite close to the stem 

 with a sharp knife. From carelessness or neglect in doing 

 this eflfectually the Manetti stock sometimes sends up 

 suckers, but it is never half so bad in this respect as the 

 Dog Eose, which is of no value for light soUs, its strength 

 being expended in suckers, and, besides, Eoses on it are 

 short-lived. On cold, w-et, heavy soil the Dog Eose is 

 more at home, but even there it will throw up suckers, 

 and these are extremely diSicult to get rid of when the 

 No. 869.— Vol. XXXIII., Ou) Sisies. 



