66 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 26, 18G4. 



touched was so unstable that I feared it had been broken at 

 the base by some accident. However, it continued to 

 lengthen with increasing rapidity, and also to fall over, until 

 it hung down with a sharp curve. At the same time the 

 tips of the green flowers began to protrude from the summit 

 of the great rosy egg, and soon the ample convex bracts, of 

 elegant shape, and spotless purity of colour, opened, and 

 the massive thyrse of many blossoms was revealed. These 

 I can compare to nothing so well as a cluster of short reeds, 

 each about 3 inches long, pointed, polished, green, with its 

 base enlarged, in form of a sculptured knob, which was 

 encased in an envelope of pure opaque white. 



As the thryse continued to grow, the lengthening axis 

 became distinct, stout, cylindrical, and of the same snow- 

 white hue. The lower flowers now began to open, each in 

 its turn ; and a new peculiarity entertained us, for what 

 had hitherto seemed the undivided green skin of the short 

 " reed," split into three strap-shaped divisions, which then 

 quickly rolled themselves up scroll-fashion, as you might 

 roll up a nan'ow strip of paper, and finally projected in three 

 bundles just above the white envelope of the basal knob. 

 Thus it was manifest that these three light green straps, 

 which as they rolled up reflected a satiny lustre, were the 

 petals of the corolla, and the white envelope, which termi- 

 nated in three points, was the calyx surrounding the knob- 

 like germen. The rolling back of the petals exposed the 

 stamens, which clung together as a long straight fascis, of a 

 greyish green hue, each terminated by its anther in the same 

 line, and the pistil projecting from the midst. It was in- 

 teresting to note how the anthers instantly began to open 

 as soon as they were exposed, and to display the black 

 pollen of their interior. 



Observations of these phenomena beguiled my wife and 

 myself of an hour's sleep. I had removed the plant, on the 

 protrusion of the thyrse, from the hothouse into the draw- 

 ing-room, where it attracted no small attention. When 

 night came, and we were about to tarn down the lamp, we 

 noticed that the petals of one flower were just separating 

 at their tips, and saw one start up, and roll itself over in the 

 first coil of its curious scroll. This one, then, we sat down 

 to watch, and for a full hour our eyes were steadily fixed on 

 the flowers, as one petal after another rolled back. Our im- 

 patience induced us to assist nature, by just lifting with a 

 pin's point now and then, when the adhesion of the petals' 

 suture was more than usually strong, or the coiling more 

 than ordinarily tedious. The process occupied about an 

 hour to complete it, and was visible only by our setting the 

 position of the coil against some immoveable part, and 

 looking at it again in a few minutes ; it was rather less than 

 that of the minute-hand of a watch. About three complete 

 turns perfected the scroll. — P. H. Gosse, Torquay. 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



On Tuesday last a lecture on the Rose was delivered at 

 the Garden of the Royal Horticultural Society, at South 

 Kensington, by the Rev. W. P. Radclyffe, of Rushton, Dor- 

 setshire. One would have expected, from the popularity of 

 the lecturer, and the universal interest with which his 

 subject is regarded, that there would have been a large 

 attendance on the occasion. We regret, however, to state 

 that, with the exception of a few familiar faces, the audience 

 was one which would have discouraged even the most in- 

 different ; and we are much mistaken if the Rector of Rush- 

 ton puts himself to the trouble and expense again of travel- 

 ling nearly a hundred miles to oblige the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society, after such treatment as he received on this 

 occasion. 



As is usual in all cases where the legitimate objects of the 

 Society are concerned, there was no trouble taken to give 

 publicity to this meeting. Had it been an entertainment of 

 the Mumbo Jumbo class, or an evening meeting to burn gas 

 and blue lights, the announcements would have met you at 

 every corner ; but as it was only a gathering of horticul- 

 turists, they could tell each other, and that would suffice. 



But what if the lecturer himself was not told ? We have 

 the best authority for stating that, from the time Mr. Rad- 

 clyffe consented to deliver this lecture, he was not officially, 

 by the Secretary, nor by any other person, informed of the 



time when it was to take place ; and it was not till the evening 

 before the lecture was to be delivered that he was informed, 

 by electric telegraph, that his presence was required. Can it 

 be wondered at that the affairs of the Society should be so 

 muddled when they are entrusted to the management of 

 people so utterly incompetent to fill the offices they so dog- 

 gedly, yet so inefficiently, hold ? When the Assistant Sec- 

 retary goes wool-gathering he should leave the message-boy 

 or some other competent person in charge. 



Notwithstanding the small attendance, the audience con- 

 sisted of those fully able to appreciate the subject. Sir 

 Daniel Cooper, Bart., occupied the chair; and the only other 

 member of Council present was the Rev. Joshua Dix. Among 

 the audience we observed Drs. Lindley and Hogg, Messrs. 

 Thomas Moore, R. Fortune, William Paul, George F. Wilson, 

 W. Beattie Booth, Charles Turner, &c, &c. After some 

 preliminary business, Mr. Radclyffe proceeded : — 



" I thank the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 for the high compliment which they paid to me in asking me 

 to give a short, popular, and useful lecture on matters con- 

 nected with the Rose. As the time is limited, and as 'a 

 great book is a great evil,' I can only select. I will endea- 

 vour to avoid prolixity, laxity, and obscurity. Nothing new 

 can I say — nothing that has not been said before, and said 

 much better. The best lectures on the Rose are the noble 

 works of Rivers, W. Paul, and Cranston — works that should 

 be in the library of every rosarian. Good, however, and 

 truthful as these works are, I am persuaded that nothing 

 but experience can make a man a first-rate rosarian. I will 

 endeavour to speak from experience, making this observation, 

 that all, or almost all, I shall say, has been given already 

 to the public in my published articles from time to time. 



" 1. Soil. — The best soil for Roses, and for such stocks 

 as I possess, is friable loam. Where this soil exists not 

 naturally, it may be approached by an admixture of stiff 

 soil, sand or ashes, and black manure, in equal parts. Oak 

 trees, Roses, and Strawberries have all an affinity for clay. 

 I had nearly said they are convertible terms. Still, even 

 where there is not a particle of clay, which is the case where 

 I live, certain Roses, on suitable stocks, with good high 

 cultivation and attention, may be grown, and very fine 

 Roses too. There are also Roses that cannot be grown 

 without an admixture of clay. I need hardly say these are 

 Roses which, though good in themselves, are not fit for the 

 public generally. 



"2. Planting. — Much depends upon how this is done. 

 Briar Roses should not be planted deeper than 4 inches; 

 indeed, if people would mulch the plants in a radius of 

 18 inches, they may be planted nearer the surface. Manetti 

 Roses should be planted over the collar of the bud : and 

 hence they should be propagated sufficiently low that the 

 sources of the roots are not deeper than 6 inches. 



" 3. Staking and Tying. — All freshly-planted Roses, espe- 

 cially if exposed to wind, require to be staked and tied. 

 Iron stakes are the best; but I use, for small plants, 

 thatchers' spars 6s. 6<J. per 1000 ; and, for strong plants, I 

 use hurdle shores, at 7s. per 100. For tying I use matting. 

 Where winds do not prevail, after the first year ground 

 plants and two-feet standards (the most convenient height 

 where numbers are to be packed in) will not require staking 

 and tying. If ground plants are grafted they must always 

 be staked and tied, or the weight of flowers will break them 

 off at the point of union. 



"4. Rose Stocks. — The Dog Briar, the, Manetti stock, and 

 the Celine stock, are all good stocks for certain Roses under 

 certain circumstances. Roses are volatile things, and all 

 rules admit of exceptions : in the rosery there is not, as in 

 our courts of law, ' rule absolute.' As regards the Celine 

 stock, I know but little of it. Mr. Wood, of Maresfield, 

 kindly gave me four specimens of the Duchess of Norfolk on 

 this stock, ranging, with shoots of one year's growth, from 

 12 feet to 12 feet 9 inches high. They bloomed admirably 

 last year at their full height. This year I shortened to 

 9 feet, and they have again bloomed well. I budded last 

 year the Due de Rohan, a splendid vermilion Rose, on the 

 Boursault Amadis, and it has thrown up a fine truss and 

 bloomed well. As regards the Briar stock, it is an admir- 

 able stock for strong lands, and better than the Manetti 

 stock for dwarf and moderate growers ; but, if land is light or 

 shallow, unless you can afford to replenish ^constantly, and 



