August 4, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



87 



But the thinnesB of these walls will not only save surface space, 

 but also give up a large area of ground to the roots. No cum- 

 brous and massive foundations will be needed for them to 

 stand upon. The sharp dividing lines between north and 

 south borders will be abolished. The roots of trees on both 

 sides of the walls will turn to the warmth, and Beek supplies 

 of food from the most genial quarters. 



Through the courtesy of the inventor and patentee, Mr. 

 Charles Beard, of the Yictoria Works, Bury St. Edmunds, I 

 am enabled to give woodcuts of sections of his straight and zig- 



zag glass walls. As will be seen, they have an iron coping to 

 ward off rain and frost. They are offered complete at a consider- 

 ably less coBt than 9-inch brick walls. Their complete portability 

 will render them invaluable to tenants, who are often prevented 



from building walls for horticultural purposes by the unsatis- 

 factory law of fixtures, which leaves us free to put property 

 down almost anywhere, but hinders us from taking it up again. 

 These walls may be covered with fruit trees or flowers to-day, 

 and to-morrow be resolved into their original elements of a 

 bundle of iron, a crate of glass, and a roll of felt on ship or 

 rail, and carried to any part of the world. For forming bound- 

 aries between small gardens, screens between different parts 

 of the same domain, barriers between kitchen and flower gar- 

 dens, partitions in offices or even dwelling-houses — different 

 forms of glass walls will prove most useful. Within the gar- 

 den they provide shelter without shading, and for this reason 

 they cannot fail to improve the health and increase the fruit- 

 fulness of most of our wall fruit trees. 



In a word, the glass walls threaten to drive the north pole 

 out of our gardens, which some have protested against, inas- 

 much as this cold region has been useful in steering our 

 desserts through the arctic regions of winter. But my idea of 

 this matter is, that we may gather as late Plums, Cherries, and 

 Pears off standards in cold aspects, as we can from north walls, 

 and that in our climate it is a sheer waste of money to build 

 walls to increase the cold. By the use of glass walls we shall 

 double the extent of our genial climate, and may grow superior 

 fruits successfully on both sides. Late winter supplies wo 

 even gather as good, or better, off espaliers, pyramids, or com- 

 mon standards, as from the backs of north walls. — D. T. Fish, 

 F.R.H.S. 



AMONGST THE KOSES AT SOUTHWELL. 

 " Have you seen Merryweather's Roses ? " This is a familiar 

 and oft-repeated query, and has escaped the lips of hundreds 

 during the past few weeks in the midland counties, where the 

 stands of this yotuag aspirant to Rose fame have been a great 

 centoe at attraction by their sterling excellence and the hi^h 



honours achieved. In every case this season, save one, that 

 these Roses have entered the competitive lists they have carried 

 off the first honours. The exception was Loughborough, where 

 they ran second in the race in a field of veteran rosarians. 



Mr. Merryweather has brightened many otherwise bright 

 horticultural exhibitions where, in " all-England " lists, in the 

 short space of three weeks, he has carried off in his quiet modest 

 manner ten first prizes. It was on the evening of one of these 

 exhibitions, under the hospitable parsonage roof of " C. C. E.," 

 that a trio met in solemn conclave, discussed and decided all 

 about Roses, and settled that the next meeting — of the majority 

 — should be held at the hom6 of the Roses at Southwell. The 

 train duly set me down, and permitted a stay of twelve hours 

 " among the Roses." I have seen many collections public and 

 private, but have not seen those of Messrs. Rivers, and Paul, 

 and Radclyffe ; so set it down for what it is worth when I say 

 that I never saw a finer, healthier, better-managed lot of Roses 

 than in the little nursery at Southwell. It was a veritable 

 feast of beauty. It is the result of an alliance of great power 

 and unlimited resources — viz., natural position and cultural 

 skill. The part of the nurseries Bet apart for Roses may be 

 termed one of Nature's miniature hollows, and is sheltered 

 by the gradual rising of the ground on the one hand, and by 

 distant trees on the other. The soil is a fine, sound, good- 

 hearted, alluvial loam, just the kind to build up a sound con- 

 stitution for the Rose. 



But Roses here do not grow themselves, but are tended in a 

 very practical manner from their very infancy by Mr. Merry- 

 weather, jun., for be it understood he is not of the kid-glove- 

 and-lavender-water school. No, his gloves are pruning gloves, 

 and his " rose water " is far more relished by the roots of his 

 RoseB than by delicate noses. To these let me commend that 

 exquisite Rose La France, which has a delicious scent and is 

 truly a grand Rose. The most attractive of the new Roses was, 

 undoubtedly, Marquise de Mortemart, with examples of blooms 

 4i inches across, of a satiny white colour deepening towards 

 the centre. A useful feature in this fine Rose is, that it seems 

 to inherit the robust nature and free-blooming habit of its 

 parent, Jules Margottin. Another worthy son of a worthy sire 

 is Henry Ledechaux, from Victor Verdier. Montplaiser is 

 very promising, though its outliving its parent, Gloire de Dijon, 

 is very problematical. Two other fine new Rose3 were Theress 

 Levet and Victor le Bihan, the latter quite first-rate in every 

 respect. Of the general collection there were strikingly fine 

 examples of Abel Grand, good all over ; Black Prince, looking 

 as bold a3 his great prototype ; Comtesse de Jaucourt and 

 Madame la Baronne de Rothschild in their calm beauty of 

 colour and superlative foliage ; Duchesse de Caylus, Madame 

 Victor Verdier, Le Rhone, Marie Baumann, Maurice Bernardin, 

 and Xavier Olibo, all extra grand, with Horace Vernet, Mar- 

 guerite de St. Amand, Princess Mary of Cambridge, and Edward 

 Morren simply magnificent. But I must close my note-book 

 for fear the matter may be interesting only to myself, just 

 chronicling the remarkable vigour of a batch of Marechal Niel, 

 and the mildew-resisting powers of that fine Rose, Madame 

 Clemence Joigneaux ; not a particle of the parasite can be found 

 on this variety in any part of the nursery. The Noisette and 

 Tea section is well represented, a larger number being in pots 

 of a handy portable size. 



Mr. Merryweather's secret — no, he has no secrets — his basis 

 of success rests with the sound practical attention bestowed 

 from the very moment of planting his Briars. His power lies 

 in his mulching, a practice in general gardening which cannot 

 be over-estimated. The Manetti as a stock is a great favourite 

 here, and as managed is an unequivocal success. Out of a 

 batch of several hundreds or thousands worked on this stock, 

 budded close to or below the ground, hardly a sucker can be 

 found, and all are growing in the perfection of vigour. 



To those who know little or nothing of Roses I append a 

 short list compiled with great care on the spot. It is a 

 selection of generally useful varieties, free growers, and free 

 bloomers, and such as may be planted with confidence to give 

 a good display iu the garden ; many good kinds are left out, even 

 fine ones ; its merit is, that no bad " miffy " growers are kept 

 in. If six only are wanted, take the first six ; if twelve, the 

 first twelve, and so on. It contains nothing unproved or ex- 

 pensive, and may be useful to some one. The names are — 

 Alfred Colomb, Charles Lefebvre, Madame la Baronne de 

 Rothschild, Marechal Vaillant, Marguerite de St. Amand, 

 Marfichal Niel, Docteur Andry, Duchesse de Caylus, John 

 Hopper, Madame Victor Verdier, La Franee, Madame Willer- 

 moz (Tea), Black Prince, Duo de Rohan, Duke of Edinburgh,, 



