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JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 23, 1872. 



from its base, and in this slit is inserted the tongue of a small 

 fibrous piece of root (Jig. 1), and secured by being tied with 

 a strip of calico. The cuttings so treated are then planted 

 firmly, -without claying, in rows 3 feet apart, and 9 inches 

 between each cutting. Properly done and planted in a good 

 soil on a warm sheltered border, there will not be a single 

 failure, and the plants will make a growth of from 4 to 6 feet 

 in the first season. The time best suited for the operation in 

 Victoria is the usual grafting season (July and August) ; but 

 the late autumn months (April and May), are also suitable 

 there. At the June (midwinter) meeting of the Society fine 

 strong plants of the Northern Spy Apple were shown with a 

 mass of healthy root-fibre proceeding from the base and 

 sides of the cutting. These plants were from 6 to 7 feet in 

 height, and more than an inch in diameter at the base, and 

 the Honorary Director reported that in no case had a failure 

 occurred in the rows of cuttings. 



At the end of the first season the plants are headed-back, and 

 the. foster root which was inserted in the cutting may be cut 

 away if liable to blight, but if known to be blight-proof it is 

 left. These plants may be taken at once and planted in their 

 permanent position, or they may be trained in the nursery 

 rows ; or, better still, they will be available for stocks for 

 grafting the tender varieties. 



There seems as yet to be no valid objection to the use of 

 stocks so raised, and it may be commended to English growers 

 as worthy of a trial. It may be argued that plants from 

 cuttings will not have the constitutional vigour and stamina 

 of a seedling, and therefore would be found unsuitable as 

 stocks for standard trees, but this objection is a purely theo- 

 retical one. The plant from a well-rooted cutting differs but 

 little from the seedling plant from which the tap-root has been 

 removed in the seed bed, and this is the common treatment 

 of seedlings in inducing them to throw out lateral roots, and 

 in preparing them for transplanting. The plan suggested has 

 this advantage, and in a climate like that of England it is not 

 a trifling one — the cuttings may be prepared under shelter, or 

 at night when more pressing work is on haud during the day. 

 It is only necessary to have ready a few bundles of pruning 

 cuttings and a supply of fibrous roots taken from the healthiest 

 of the established trees, when the operation becomes an in- 

 teresting one in which women and even children may take a 

 part. An expert hand could easily manage to prepare two 

 hundred an hour. 



It is surely a great point gained to be able in a single season 

 to secure robust plants, which may be budded or grafted as 

 the time comes round for those operations. — W. C. 



FORMING A ROSE GARDEN. 



Leaving the situation of the Rose garden and the form and 

 arrangement of its beds to be noticed further on, let us at 

 once turn our attention to the preparation of the soil, the 

 selection and planting of the Roses, and their after-manage- 

 ment. Many kinds will grow fairly in the poorest soil if it is 

 well drained and enriched with manure ; but when we wish for 

 perfection in foliage, bud, and flower, better fare must be 

 provided. A rich mellow loam very fibrous, with an admix- 

 ture of quite one-third old well-rotten dung, is the kind of 

 soil to make success a certainty, and to enable one to almost 

 defy orange fungus, mildew, and other diseases. Care must 

 be taken to guard against any chance of stagnant water ac- 

 cumulating near to or among the Rose roots, and to do this 

 thoroughly a simple drain or two of common pipes will be all 

 that is necessary. 



Planting is undoubtedly most advantageously done in Novem- 

 ber, yet it may be safely carried out at any favourable time 

 during winter, or even early in spring, only in the latter case 

 a season will be lost, for a Rose planted early in November 

 immediately puts forth numerous rootlets, thus enabling it to 

 start into growth in the following spring as quickly as an esta- 

 blished plant, and with an equal degree of vigour; in fact, it is 

 an established plant. Advantageous as this system is, it may 

 not always prove desirable to follow it strictly, as I experienced 

 last season, when, in forming a collection of Tea and Noisette 

 Roses, most of the choice old kinds were procured from a 

 nursery where these tender kinds are raised entirely in the 

 open ground, and they were at once planted in the stations 

 prepared for them against the walls. The new kinds were 

 only to be had in pots, the long weakly growth bearing sure 

 token of the high-pressure system by which they had been 

 forced into size at the expense of strength, and plainly showing 



that they possessed neither stamina nor hardihood to withstand 

 the effects of severe frost. They were, therefore, kept under 

 shelter in the pots till spring, when they, too, were turned out 

 into the permanent stations. It need hardly be stated that 

 the autumn-planted trees have thriven best, yet considering 

 the later season of planting and the weakly condition of the 

 pot plants, it may justly be said that they have made a satis- 

 factory growth. 



Some other important cultural details have so lately been 

 practised, that they will be best noticed as I tell what was done 

 in the formation of a Rose garden last season, and the treat- 

 ment of the plants during the past summer. The beds were 

 excavated 2 feet deep, and filled with rough and very fibrous 

 sods of a deep red loam largely impregnated with oxide of 

 iron, and a liberal mixture of manure was worked-in with the 

 soil. I was unable to plant the Roses till the third week in 

 December. Now, these Roses were not upon their own roots 

 as I have so often advised they should be, but were on Manetti' 

 roots, not stems, for they were dwarf bushes. The reason 

 such plants were selected was because it was found difficult to 

 obtain plants on their own roots from a nursery. Pruning 

 and mulching were done with the planting. The plants were 

 stout and healthy, and notwithstanding the lateness of plant- 

 ing, I looked forward to the spring with confidence. Mean- 

 while steps were taken to ensure an abundant supply of liquid 

 manure, and with a few bundles of slight stakes we were ready 

 for the summer campaign. 



Pinching and training followed the first spring growth, and 

 were continued constantly till August, during which time no 

 plant was allowed to cany a single blossom. Sheep-dung 

 water was given in large quantities once, and very often twice 

 a-week, especial care being taken to have this well attended to, 

 for on it depended not only the health of the plants, but my 

 especial aim, which was to obtain so much vigour as to ensure 

 a good display of bloom in autumn without affecting the con- 

 stitution of the plants. Success crowned these efforts, and by 

 the end of August abundance of flowers were opening, and the 

 plants continued blooming profusely till checked by the cold 

 rains of autumn. 



As each plant became large enough to develope the peculiar 

 features of its kind, it was interesting to note how much 

 sooner some could be brought to the desired form than others. 

 This diversity of growth is, of course, a guide in training ; 

 thus the stiff, sturdy, and erect growth of Baroness Roths- 

 child requires pinching at every two or three eyes, while the 

 short-jointed flexible shoots of Imperatrice Eugenie may 

 with equal advantage be allowed much greater freedom of 

 growth. 



Of the varieties which appear to me to be the most suitable 

 for such a purpose, I may extract the following from my list, 

 with a word or two descriptive of then' size and appearance 

 while they were in flower in September. 



La France. — Several fine pyramids ; the best was 2 feet in 

 diameter at its base, and quite 4 feet high, with twenty clusters 

 of its full and exquisitely-formed pink flowers. 



Madame Alfred de Rougemont. — Literally a mass of blush 

 white flowers in large clusters ; the plant measured 2 feet in 

 diameter at its base, tapering upwards to the height of 3 feet. 



Empereur de Maroc. — As large as La France, and very sym- 

 metrical. The exquisite deep rich colour of its flowers offers 

 a brilliant contrast to the dull hue of many dark varieties, 

 and renders it a desirable sort. 



Dr. Andry. — Eighteen inches in diameter and 3 feet high. 

 All the plants of this fine Rose have done well and flowered 

 freely. 



Imperatice Eugenie. — This is a charming kind, form in g pretty 

 low bushes, and yielding a profusion of blush- white flowers. 



Alfred Golomb. — Eighteen inches in diameter at the base, and 

 2 feet 6 inches high. This Rose, from the beauty of its 

 foliage, as well as the splendour of its very fine flowers, is as 

 desirable for the Rose garden as it is for the exhibition table ; 

 it possesses so many points of excellence that few are equal to 

 it. Its growth was very robust, with the foliage free from 

 the slightest flaw or disease throughout the autumn. I was 

 agreeably surprised at this, as I understood it was not a strong 

 grower on the Manetti. On the 20th of September I par- 

 ticularly noticed one plant, which then had twenty trusses of 

 partly expanded flowers, contrasting beautifully with its foliage 

 of a deep glossy green. 



- Prince de Portia. — An attractive kind of a compact habit of 

 growth, with flowers of a fine, deep, rich tone. 

 Marie Baumann. — This beautiful kind produced its very large 



