August 2, 1S64. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



87 



BEST OF THE jNTEWER EOSES. 



It is due to Mr. Murray to say that lie wrote to me on 

 the subject of the lecture (date July 11th), but directed it 

 to Congleton. It went to Rushton near Leek, and Rushton 

 near Kettering, and hence arrived too late here. To prevent 

 mistakes in future, letters to me should be directed to 

 Tarrent (corruption of Torrent) Rushton, near Blandford, 

 Dorset. There was formerly a wealthy family of the name 

 of Tarent in this county. It is not improbable that the 

 prefix was derived from them. 



I have read " D," of Deal's two interesting Rose commu- 

 nications. His descriptions are very good. There is one 

 Rose, Madame Julie Daran, that he is mistaken about. It 

 has but one fault — it wants fixity of colour. It is perfectly 

 full to the centre, of fine outline, with smooth well-disposed 

 petals of great substance, and blooms abundantly. The 

 growth and foliage are admirable. It is one of the fullest 

 of its year. 



Perhaps it may assist nurserymen and amateurs if I give 

 a list of the newer Roses worthy of propagation. 



1. Charles Lefebvre, Due de Rohan, Maurice Bernardin, John 

 Hopper, Prince Caniule de Rohan, Madame Julie Daran, 

 Francois Lacharme, Mareehal Yaillant, Madame Boutin, Pro- 

 fessor Koch, Madame C. Wood, Madame Clemence Joigneaux, 

 Alphonse Damaizin (smallish), Soeur des Anges (occasionally 

 magnificent, but often cracky, or unilateral), and Olivier 

 Delhomme, not a strong grower. Mr. Cant's trebles of 

 Monte Christo were extra beautiful on June 29th. It is 

 suitable only to first-class lands, and requires more looking 

 after than the above. 



2. Roses of 1862. — Alfred de Rougemont, Baronne Adolphe 

 de Rothschild, Madame Freeman, Tainqueur de Goliath, 

 President Lincoln, Madame W. Baul, Mr. W. Paul, Baron 

 de Rothschild, and Le Rhone, not a sturdy grower. 



3. Roses of 1863. — Lord Macaulay, a fine Rose of great 

 substance, endures sun well — Al. Lord Herbert and Lord 

 Clyde I only know by the sight of their blooms. They 

 appear to be Roses of great excellence. Mr. "W. Paul kindly 

 sent me buds of Lord Macaulay, Princess of Wales, and 

 Lord Herbert. The buds have taken, and are growing 

 freely. The wood sent was strong. I cut up my plant of 

 Lord Clyde (apparently not a very strong grower)," for the 

 same purpose. It took immediately, and is growing freely. 

 Mr. George Paul's specimens of it at the lecture-room were 

 grand. Mr. W. Paul also exhibited fine specimens of Lord 

 Macaulay and Dr. Lindley, a good Rose of great substance. 



In conclusion, till we get Roses on strong stocks we can 

 only approximate. All the above Roses, not excepted to, 

 are good growers, hardy, and beautiful. These are good 

 useful Roses for the garden : — Due de Bassano, Peter Lawson, 

 Vicomte Vigier, and Madame Alfred de Rougemont. They 

 are good growers and hardy. — W. F. Radclttfe, Tarrent 

 Rushton. 



gaede;xta t g todee difficulties. 



I used to imagine, in looking back on some of my gar- 

 dening experiences, that I deserved some little credit for 

 the manner in which, at certain periods of my horticultural 

 experience, I had surmounted some difficulties. For ex- 

 ample, when on the top of a cliff overhanging the sea I used 

 to have flowers the admiration of the neighbourhood, or in 

 a small back yard in a confined street of a fashionable 

 watering place I managed to grow some creditable speci- 

 mens ; but what I have seen lately induces me now to think 

 that I have had no difficulties, and that they were only the 

 effect of a disordered imagination. It may be useful, per- 

 haps, for those " Constant Readers/'" " Subscribers," &c, 

 who are oftentimes sorely puzzled because their Scarlet 

 Geraniums are not all of a height, or that their Hyacinths 

 will not grow if they plant them upside down, and who want 

 to know why the wind will persist in blowing off the blooms 

 of their Roses, to record what I have seen lately of garden- 

 ing under difficulties in the west of Ireland. 



I have not visited these regions (for this is written on 

 the very borders of the Atlantic in Donegal), for thirty 

 years ; but even then I knew something of flowers, and can 

 appreciate now the change which care and time have wrought. 

 No one can have any conception of the opposing elements 



in these regions. It is not that the soil is at fault, for in 

 many places it is good, and can be made so ; but the awful 

 hurricanes that sweep along, and the continuous rains, are 

 something that we in our southern counties know but 

 little of. 



In Achil, a gentleman of the name of Pike has built for 

 himself a commodious house, where he dispenses an opes- 

 handed and generous hospitality, and where he has fairly 

 combated and beaten the elements. His difficulty, and 

 indeed the difficulty all along this coast, is to beat out the 

 westerly gales, and consequently plantations must be made 

 at some distance as a fence ; and when they have grown up 

 a little, then more tender trees, shrubs, and gardens may 

 be arranged. Thirteen years ago there was not anything 

 higher than a Heath near his house, now plantations are 

 rapidly rising up ; and his garden was well supplied with 

 various fruits and vegetables. Abundance of Cherries 

 (though, I am bound to say, not equal to our Bigarreaus), 

 Gooseberries, Currants, and excellent Strawberries were 

 found there ; while Fuchsias formed bushes as large as 

 Laurels, and. various herbaceous plants, Roses, &c, en- 

 livened the gardens. Here, of course, a lady's hand was 

 visible, and well was she rewarded for her pains. I saw two 

 Wellingtonias about to be planted, but I fear they will 

 never attain very gigantic proportions ; but the Pinus ma- 

 ritima, of which the proprietor had received a quantity from 

 Lord Palmerston, promised to be a very valuable tree, as it 

 withstands the sea breezes so well. From its proximity to 

 the sea there is one advantage gained — that frosts do not so 

 easily affect things as they do in more inland situations. 

 At Cliffoney in Sligo our noble Premier has made a laudable 

 attempt to induce the peasantry to have a little more care 

 over their gardens, and has striven to encourage a love of 

 flowers. He has a large space enclosed, which is called his 

 lordship's garden; and in this his steward cultivates some 

 of the more hardy herbaceous plants, Phloxes, Delphiniums, 

 &c, as well as Roses and shrubs, and distributes these 

 amongst the people. Their little front gardens are enclosed 

 with walls, and in these their flowers, &c, are planted. 



I am sorry to say, however, that the cocks and hens, which 

 form the invariable accompaniment of every cabin, wage 

 deadly war with the flowers, and the results are not such 

 as his lordship would wish. It was very curious here to 

 witness the effect of the westerly gales : where a thin hedge 

 had been planted, not only had the trees received a bias 

 towards the east, but there was not a single leaf on the 

 westerly side, while they were completely arched into green 

 arbours, the foliage all being on the easterly side. Again, 

 in this place (Gweedore), an hotel for the convenience of 

 travellers has been built by Lord George Hill, in a gully 

 (for it is not a valley), into which the whole force of the 

 westerly winds sweeps. To this hotel there is attached a 

 garden, and in it there is a very good assortment of hardy 

 plants, which are thriving well, while the Mignonette, Nemo- 

 phila, &.c, enliven it. 



Oh ! ye thick-and-thin advocates of the bedding-out 

 system, what would ye do here ? or how could a garden like 

 this be supplied but for those " rubbishy" herbaceous plants, 

 which are now not considered good enough for our gardens ? 

 Twenty years ago there was nothing but Heather and 

 bog in this place ; I saw now in the garden as good crops 

 of vegetables as one would wish — late Marrowfat Peas, 

 Raspberries, Currants, and Strawberries, while the staple 

 commodity, the Potato, was flourishing. All this surely 

 shows what can be done by perseverance. I should add 

 that I have never seen Cotoneaster microphylla in greater 

 luxuriance and abundance; and I have little doubt that, 

 were time to be bestowed, many a pretty flower might be 

 induced to bloom ; and what noble ferneries might be made 

 here ! I saw a plant of Osmunda regalis growing on the 

 roadside to-day, and many fine plants are to be found in 

 various localities in the neighbourhood. 



These few notes are somewhat out of my ordinary course, 

 but they may be useful in leading some to see that their 

 difficulties are hardly worth mentioning when compared 

 with such as these, and also may encourage some who might 

 think that they are too unfavourably situated to attempt 

 anything; and it is to be remembered that these are not 

 the efforts of professed gardeners, they are done in a quiet 

 farmer-like way, and I have no doubt that were a little more 



