264 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October i, 1ST 



transitions from heat to cold, long-continued drought, or wet, 

 as in the present year, are thus enabled to act upon them so 

 as to cause alterations in their condition of health. Thus the 

 attack of fungus accelerates the morbid action of the plants, 

 which practical experience and science are alike unable to 

 prevent or care. Dr. Greville gives it as his opinion that " as 

 the production of mildew is probably the result of a peculiar 

 state of the atmosphere, there is little chance of any means 

 being found for its prevention." 



Close observation for many years leads the writer to dread the 

 ravages of mildew most in the beginning of spring and in au- 

 tumn — in the rising and ebbing of the sap — seasons when even 

 under normal conditions the Rose under cultivation is peculiarly 

 sensitive of variations of temperature. If healthy but not 

 too strong plants at starting, close pruning, especially Roses 

 on Manettis according to sorts, great care in not ovc-r-manur- 

 ing, especially in a wet season like the present, or manuring 

 either under ground or top surface-dressing with raw or 

 green manure; judicious choice of situation, especially as 

 regards free circulation of air ; deep trenching, according to 

 the nature of the soil; frequent hoeings, and copious water- 

 ings with soft water, and heavy mulchings in arid exhausting 

 soils ; — if expedients like these fail to meet the difficulty of 

 the case (and in the writer's case and your correspondent's 

 already alluded to they have failed), then he must confess he 

 knows no other; for such applications as sulphur pulverised 

 or in solution, or soot, he utterly abhors on the ground of the 

 remedy being worse than the disease ; so he will content him- 

 self with waiting for an occasional propitious season, and 

 meanwhile keep looking through the pages of successive Jour- 

 nals in the fond hope of finding some successful nostrum for 

 the prevention and cure of that hateful pest mildew, certainly 

 not known as y6t to the — Hebefobdshibe Incumbent. 



OUE BOKDEE FLOWEES— LILYWORTS. 



The time is at hand for our selecting bulbs for the deco- 

 ration of our borders, spring gardens, and other places where 

 we may choose to place them. Various as the kinds of plants 

 are for this purpose, I would invite attention to the family of 

 Grape Hyacinths, They have been far too long in the back- 

 ground. Being natives of more genial climes than ours we may 

 not see them in all their beauty, yet some of them have long 

 been occupants of our borders and done us good service during 

 the spring and early summer. We may not be favoured with 

 such sunny skies as those charming plants enjoy in their 

 native homes, yet we welcome them for their beauty and their 

 fragrance. They are a very accommodating race, equally in- 

 teresting in bed, border, rockery, or pots, for in or outdoor 

 decoration, and are invaluable for bouquets when to be had 

 thriving in any ordinary garden soil. The lovely white colour of 

 some of them, and the beautiful deep sky blue and rosy purple 

 of others, with their delicate perfume, is a sufficient recom- 

 mendation for their extensive cultivation , and being cheap withal 

 they come within the reach of most cultivators. They may 

 remain in the same place year after year, and will bear a good 

 deal of rough usage into the bargain. If it is desinble to in- 

 crease them the bulbs may be separated after they have per- 

 fected their growth, but they are just as well left alone. Any 

 of our importers' lists will afford a good opportunity for making 

 a selection and forming a collection. 



For pot culture they succeed with the eame treatment as the 

 Hyacinth. Half a dozen bulbs in a 5-inch pot afford a charming 

 display of flowers. One of the most interesting of the family 

 is the Feathered Hyacinth (Muscari monstrosum), its curious 

 frizzled cluster having a very striking appearance; it lasts a 

 long time in flower and ought to be in all collections. Mus- 

 cari raeemosum is a very attractive plant ; M. neglectum is still 

 more beautiful ; then we have M. maritimum (luteum), a real 

 gem and deliciously perfumed ; M. eandicane with its beautiful 

 white bells in pendant form is also an acquisition ; M. Heil- 

 drichi (pulchellum) is a charming plant, the queen of the race. 

 There are many others worthy of cultivation, and which will 

 repay any amount of care bestowed upon them. — Vebitas. 



THE EOSE ELECTION. 

 The declaration of the poll has come at last. What will it 

 be ? Will it satisfy everyone ? Certainly not ! Did it achieve 

 this wonderful result, I myself should be the first to say it 

 was useless. The old Latin proverb applies to Roses as to all 

 other things — different men have different opinions, and if in 



matters generally, why not in Roses ? They suffer according 

 to climate, they are grown in different Eoils, they have varying 

 treatment. Necessarily under such circumstances the opinion 

 of their merit here and there must differ. The election at any 

 rate has this effect, no insignificant one — it shows from a 

 variety of sources collected together the general opinion of 

 their merit ; and now that I have divided the merit into first, 

 second, and third grades, it makes it the more improbable 

 that two Rose3 will appear bracketed together; and the first 

 forty-eight on the list will represent, at any rate for the present, 

 the general opinion of the best exhibition Roses. 



What, it may be asked by some, constitutes a good ex- 

 hibition Rose ? Dare I attempt to answer this? I can only 

 give my own ideas. They are these : In equine matters there 

 is an old saying, that a good horse is never of a bad colour. 

 In Roses I would alter this, and say that the best-coloured 

 Rose cannot compensate for bad form. It is essential, it 

 seems to me, that in a stand say of forty. eight form should 

 be the first requisite. Sometimes for the sake of diversity 

 of colour we may, perhaps, give up the greater for the lesser 

 attribute, but to me it would not compensate for deficiency 

 in form. A fcyro in Rose culture may perhaps imagine that 

 a good-formed Rose in Devonshire, for instance, with its 

 genial air, would retain its beauty of form in some of the 

 bracing spots to be found in Wiltshire. Differences of soil 

 and climate affect in a great degree the form of our fa- 

 vourites, and so one of the electors writes — " I can never 

 depend hare on Comtesse d'Oxford or Eugenie Verdier to 

 exhibit, as they always show their centre sometimes during 

 the day of exhibition, even if they are perfect at the time of 

 judging, so I have not put them in my list." Marechal Niel, 

 one of the gTandest-formed Roses when in perfection, has 

 some seasons with me been hopelessly deficient, never, how- 

 ever, to the extent that seems to have attended the efforts of 

 my friend Mr. Parsons of Frome, who writes — "I have now 

 grown that Rose (Marechal Niel) for many years out of doors 

 and under glass, worked on all sorts of stocks, placed in every 

 situation I can command, and yet I can eafely say that I never 

 yet had a bloom that was a pleasure to lcok at, still less one 

 fit for an exhibition stand." This opens-up a Eubject to which 

 I shall revert presently. To return to a good exhibition Rose. 

 Next to form I should place substance. By substance I mean 

 texture of petal. This should be firm and Etiff though fine in 

 quality. How many of the lighter-coloured Roses fail here, 

 eEpecially amoDg the Perpetuals ! La France on some stocks 

 and in some situations ; whilst Comtesse de Serenyi, Miss 

 Ingram, Duchess of Edinburgh, and many others are soiled 

 and injured by bad weather. In this particular no light Rose 

 in my opinion equals Baronne de RothEChild. Next I would 

 place colour, and lastly stuff. I only place thi3 last because a 

 good form will often hide deficiency of stuff. Some of our 

 very best Roses would be all the better for additional petals. 



And now to the subject alluded to above. Should the lists 

 returned be the experience, each in his own situation, of each 

 elector? or should he be allowed to enter in his lists Roses 

 which, failing in his own, may yet attain the greatest perfec- 

 tion in a neighbour's garden ? If another exhibition 13 ever 

 carried out this point ought to be settled. Personally I con- 

 sider the former the correct course, but I am afraid that some 

 of the electors have thought differently and acted on it. The 

 utility of these elections, it seems to me, is to show intending 

 purchasers what in all the varying soils and climates of our 

 isles are generally the best. If, then, an elector gives a vote 

 founded on the experience of others this result is in some 

 degree defeated. But I fancy I hear some enthusiastic and 

 ardent worshipper exclaim, Let us have the state of the poll. 



This requires a little loDger explanation. The first column 

 gives the position of the Rose named ; next comes the name 

 of the Rose, its variety, year of introduction, and name of 

 raiser ;* then follow the columns headed 1, 2, 3, representing 

 respectively the votes obtained by each Rose in the first and 

 6econd twelves and next twenty-four given by amateurs, then 

 the total of such votes ; the same numbers with an asterisk 

 denote the same votes given by nurserymen; lastly, the grand 

 total represents the whole votes received by each Rose from 

 both sections of voters. 



It is only necessary further to add that the position of any 



* This list is now very nearly complete. It has beeD a great addition due 

 to the workiig-out of the Eev.'C. P. Peach's idea, aid I thick all growers of 

 the Eose are indebted to him for the suggestion. There are still missing 

 links -which I thould be glad to fill up; and there may be eirors, for which 

 I apologise beforehand. 



