September 12, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
201 
shall be much surprised if the Doctor does not turn out to be 
an acquisition. But—truth must be spoken—the Doctor is 
nowhere beside the Duke of Teck. This variety is the brightest 
scarlet Rose yet raised. It is most vivid, and by far the best 
seedling from the Duke of Edinburgh I have yet seen. It is 
of good form and double, and of dazzling brightness, and an 
immense advance upon all others of this class of colour. 
Another Rose which cannot be too highly praised is Charles 
Darwin. This is one of the freest autumnal bloomers to be 
found anywhere. It is very dark in colour, and in form like 
Fisher Holmes. All the Roses I have yet named are good 
autumnal bloomers. To these must be added Duke of Con- 
naught, which as seen at Cheshunt is nulli sccundus, and Lady 
Darnley. 
John Bright, one of Mr. George Paul’s, and Magna Charta, 
one of Mr. William Paul’s, will not bloom in the autumn at 
Cheshunt, and I shall see whether they will do so at Waltham 
Cross. 
One of the new French Roses of last yearis a good autumnal 
bloomer and a valuable light-coloured Rose ; it is called Com- 
tesse Adéle de Murinais, and is very like Mrs. Rivers in colour 
and form. Sultan of Zanzibar, the grandest of all Mr. Paul’s 
children, is also a good bloomer at this season, and Cheshunt 
Hybrid keeps him company. With regard to this last-named 
Rose, I may say that Mr. Paul no longer calls it a Tea, but 
classes it and two new French Roses of this year as Hybrid 
Teas, and as such they will appear in his new catalogue. It 
remains, therefore, for secretaries to decide whether they will 
allow Hybrid Teas to appear in a box of Teas and Noisettes. 
Of new or comparatively new Roses noted for their true 
perpetual character I noticed Sophie Fropot, somewhat like 
Lelia in form and colour, and Madame Gabrielle Tournier. 
Mr. Turner’s Oxonian and Mr. Laxton’s Empress of India are 
also both good bloomers now ; so are Emily Laxton and Duke 
of Connaught. This Rose may be described as truly splendid 
both in form, which partakes of the Charles Lefebvre character, 
and in colour, which is scarlet veined with purple, and it is 
also one of the freest bloomers in autumn. Abel Carriére and 
Duchesse de Vallombrosa are also good Perpetuals, and Capi- 
taine Christy one of the best, also that grand Rose Jean Lia- 
baud. Of older varieties most conspicuous are the Bourbons. 
Modéle de Perfection, Bourbon Queen, and, in fact, all the 
Bourbons, are splendid at this time of the year. 
Of the Hybrid Perpetuals of the darker varieties I should 
unquestionably say that Annie Wood is the best, and of the 
lighter ones La France. Henri Ledechaux, a grand autumnal 
on the Dog Rose, will not do on the Manetti. Duke of Edin- 
burgh, Madame Victor Verdier, and Charles Lefebvre are also 
fine Roses in August and September. Of the true rose-coloured 
varieties Edouard Morren and Paul Neyron are the best ; good 
also are Abel Grand and Auguste Rigotard. Dr. Andry, that 
grand old Rose, is alsoa fine and free bloomer now. Marie Bau- 
mann and Alfred Colomb possess this as wellas all other virtues. 
The very dark varieties, Abel Carriére, La Rosiére, Camille de 
Rohan, Louis Van Houtte, and Pierre Notting, are all Per- 
petual. Marquise de Castellane, Marie Finger, Dupuy Jamain, 
and Royal Standard, all these are good. Among the lighter 
shades Comtesse de Serenye, Princess Mary of Cambridge, 
Bessie Johnson, Mrs. Bellenden Kerr, which is the finest Rose 
of the Mdlle. Bonnaire stamp, are all good bloomers at this 
season, as are also Boule de Neige, Baronne de Rothschild, 
and Princess Beatrice. 
All the Teas with the exception of Souvenir d’Elise are good 
free bloomers, but the most noticeable are Belle Lyonnaise, 
Madame Berard, Rubens, Madame Falcot, Safrano, Marie Van 
Houtte, and Souvenir d'un Ami. 
Of the Noisettes Céline Forestier, Triomphe de Rennes, Réve 
d’Or, and Solfaterre are the best, but all the Noisettes do well 
except Cloth of Gold. 
I could mention many more, such as Jean Cherpin, Prince 
Arthur (Mr. Cant’s seedling), and Sénateur Vaisse, but I am 
afraid to occupy more space with a list of names. I have 
given a list sufficiently large for any amateur grower to choose 
from. I can assure him that if he will order any of those 
above named he will have true Perpetuals, and will enjoy a 
feast of Roses in autumn. Many people have no chance of 
seeing Roses till late in the year. The rich and great are in 
London when the summer Roses bloom, and except at Rose 
shows they never see a Rose; but in August and September 
they are far from the madding crowd and can enjoy their 
flowers. They come at a time when all can enjoy them, when 
as a rule they are less likely to be spoilt by the weather, and 
their blooms, if not so numerous as in summer, linger with us 
longer and are more fragrant.—WYLD SAVAGE, 
PUNCTURING FIGS. 
THE following extract from Loudon’s ‘ Encyclopedia of 
Gardening” may be of use to “H. F. C.:’— A very general 
French practice is to prick the frmt with a straw or quill 
dipped in olive oil. In Italy a wound with a knife is some- 
times made on the broad end of the Fig, or a very small part 
of the skin of the fruit is removed for the same purpose... . . 
Monck split a Fig from the eye to the stalk, and found it 
ripened six weeks before others which were left untouched.” 
All the good the puncture can possibly do is to admit air to 
the interior of the Fig and thereby hasten the impregnation of 
the flowers, which under natural circumstances does not take 
place till the Fig is half grown or more. The oil or spirit 
used may possibly help to heal the wound made. Im sucha 
treacherous climate as ours the puncturing would possibly do 
more harm than good, as the Fig blossom is very tender and 
might be expected to suffer if exposed to our low night tempe- 
ratures before its natural time. Nevertheless, if there is the 
remotest chance for a longer succession of fruit by puncturing 
a portion, or by any other means, it is worth the serious and 
unprejudiced attention of cultivators, for when we have a crop 
of Figs there is generally rather more than enough of it fora 
week or two, and then it is all over. F 
In the number of this Journal for January 31st this year is 
a woodcut of the Fig blossom, with some descriptive matter 
explaining the natural method of fertilisation, and also an 
extract from a Naples‘ correspondent relative to the punctur- 
ing of the fruit. As stated above, Monck’s split Fig ripened 
six weeks before the natural time. The natural time for 
ripening in this country is the end of August or beginning of 
September. We will say then that Monck’s Fig ripened in 
the middle of July, and it must have been operated on some 
considerable time before then ; we will suppose it was split in 
the middle of June, and if I were going to experiment on 
the subject I should begin at that time and carry on a series 
of experiments with a few fruits at a time till the end of 
aus fastening the date of puncture near each fruit with a 
abel. 
It must not be expected, however, that puncturing of Figs 
will prevent imperfect fruit falling, whatever it may do to- 
wards hastening to maturity that which is perfect. As will be 
gathered from the above, the fruit grows to a considerable 
size before flowering, and there is also a great difference in 
this respect with different varieties ; the White Marseilles, for 
instance, appears nearly full grown in size before the end 
opens to admit air for fertilisation, and on account of its 
comparative late flowering it is one of the best Figs to grow 
in this country. When Figs fall before coming to their full 
size it is generally a sign that the wood has not been properly 
matured during the previous season. In a summer like that 
of last year the growth of Fig trees was not matured in any 
but the most favoured localities, and consequently the crop in 
less fayoured places is a failure. 
Figs grown on chalk or near the sea will generally take care 
of themselves, but otherwise they often require special culture, 
and one of the principal points is to prevent them making 
gross growth which they cannot mature. This is best done by 
confining the roots and spreading the branches thinly over a 
large space, at the same time avoiding cutting as much as 
possible.—WILLIAM TAYLOR. 
VALLOTA PURPUREA AT SUMMERHILL. 
THIS is one of the handsomest and most brilliant of the 
whole Amaryllis family. and were it more generally known 
that its growth is so easy and profusion of bloom so magni- 
ficent and continuous, its culture would necessarily become 
more extensive. It need not be stewed in a stove or parboiled 
in an Orchid house ; it need not—should not—be potted or 
repotted every season ; it need not, or ought not, be indebted 
to any other Lily, Maidenhair Fern, &c., for foliage to orna- 
ment its flower scapes when used as a cut flower. So much 
for some of the negative “necessities ” (?) commonly believed 
respecting this valuable Amaryllis. The flowers are bright 
crimson scarlet, except in case of sports, which I believe seldom 
occur ; and, whether used as cut flowers or for conservatory 
decoration, find few compeers. In this locality one of the 
finest collections is that possessed by Mrs. Moore, Summerhill, 
