THE KOSE AND ITS CULTURE. 



20i 



proved in many styles of arcliiteoture by the pro- 

 jecting roof, and yet further genialisedby the latent 

 heat from the chimney, furnishes the most favourable 

 conditions for the successful cultivation of such mag- 

 nificent Hoses as Mavechal Niel, Lamarque, Devo- 

 niensis, Catherine Hermet, Marie van Houtte, &c 



Northern gable-ends would in most situations j-ield 

 Hybrid Perpetuals in perfection in summer, or, if too 

 cold for these, the handsome Ayrshire and other 

 climbing Roses could be used for the northern end 

 and eastern side of the house, whUe choice Tea, Hy- 

 brid China, Bourbon, or Noisette Roses could be 

 used to cover the western side. Stables, farm build- 

 ings, factories, workshops, warehouses, and, in a word, 

 all bare buildings could be treated and clothed exactly 

 on the same principles as dwelling-houses, the most 

 choice and tender Roses being chosen for the most 

 favourable aspects. 



R00& are not quite so easy to deal with as walls, 

 though small roofs may be clothed with Roses, at small 

 cost, and with little trouble . Larger ones will need a 

 rough, strong trellis of some sort raised up from six 

 inches to a foot above them, to carry the Roses and 

 hold them fast and taut against wind and weather. 

 As roof Roses can hardly be too wild and free, they 

 will need hardly any attention after being estab- 

 lished. It is needful to state this distinctly, as other- 

 wise visions of frequent scrambling on roofs to prune, 

 train, or gather the Roses, with the risk of falls and 

 of broken tiles and slates, might discourage the roof- 

 culture of the Rose. After a first training and strong 

 fixing of leading branches, the way at once to the 

 most picturesque effects, and the highest I'esults, is to 

 leave the Roses to ramble at their own sweet will. 



Roses up chimneys, church -towers, walls, or 

 buildings of any sort, as well as on roofs and in the 

 streets, have special difficulties of many sorts to 

 contend against. These must be either mitigated 

 or abolished before the Roses can be expected to 

 thrive. The soil left by builders in such places is 

 generally a vile compound of barren sub-soil, brick- 

 bats, concrete, or other builder's rubbish, made 

 more utterly vile (were that possible) by being 

 trampled and puddled into barrenness by the tread 

 of horses and the weight of heavy cartage in all 

 weathers. This inert and dead mass is hidden 

 with a few inches of fi-esh soil spiinkled over it — a 

 skilful trap for the unwary. Before planting Roses 

 against dwelling-houses, or in streets, see to it that 

 all this rubbish is bodily removed, and good earth 

 put in its place. 



The root-runs should always bear some sensible 

 and proportionate ai-ea to the extent of surface the 

 Rose is expected to clothe and the length of time it 

 is to live. If a mere mushroom growth is desii-ed, 

 a very limited area for the roots wiU suffice. But 



for a Rose that is to last for yeai-s and cover a largo 

 space, three square yards or more of root-run will 

 prove by no means excessive. As far as possible, 

 too, the whole surface of the soil should be left open 

 to sun and air, and not paved over. 



Quality of soil is of more importance than quan- 

 tity. Either or both, however, become almost 

 useless if resting on a saturated base. Excessive 

 drought is almost equally fatal to the utilisation 

 of the feeding properties of soils by the roots. 

 A happy mean between those two extremes must be 

 provided. Roses may, however, be rendered almost 

 independent of local conditions by the following 

 simple plan : — Remove bodily or place on the top of 

 existing soils in back gardens, areas, &c., a cubic 

 yard or load of the best maiden loam, enriched by the 

 addition of manure, if practicable, for every vigorous- 

 growing Rose, such as Marechal Niel and Gloire do 

 Dijon, planted. The further the Rose has to ramble 

 over roof, wall, tower, or chimney, the more liberal 

 should be the provision made for its roots. The 

 daily overhead washing of street Roses in dry dusty 

 weather, by attaching a hose to the main, is tilso of 

 the utmost importance to their health and beauty. 



Koses in Hedges, and Hedges of Roses. 

 — Seeing that the Sweet-briar, and the common ami 

 more uncommon — for they are by no means all 

 alike — varieties of the Dog-rose have been ever re- 

 vealing to us the beauty and fitness of mixing Roses 

 in our hedgerows, it is surprising that this happy 

 thought has seldom or never been adapted and carried 

 further by planters of hedges. Doubtiess, while the 

 Roses would be welcomed as things of beauty by all, 

 and a joy to most, if not for ever, at least while the 

 hedge lasted, yet the mere fence-maker would de- 

 nounce them as a source of weakness to the resisting 

 force or protecting power of the hedge. But this 

 need hardly be so if a judicious selection of the more 

 spiny and %-igorous Roses are chosen. It is by no 

 means always the weaker portion of the hedge in 

 which the Sweet-briar or common Dog-rose forms a 

 part of the fence, or fills the gap where the White- 

 thorn or Quick may have died out. And the yellow 

 Austrian Briar, or Persian Rose, and several of the 

 Scotch, so woU named Sosa spinosissima, are equally 

 formidable and stiU more beautiful in hedges. 

 Another very spiny and hai-dy species of Rose, 

 JS. Bi-unoni {really S. moschata of Miller), or Hima- 

 layan Briar, has pure white fiowers and thorny stems. 



Several of our older Roses, as some varieties of 

 the White, the Provence, and Moss, with their per- 

 petual - flowering or other hybrids, are also well 

 furnished with sharp prickles. Not a few of the 

 Hvbrid Perpetuals, such as Baronne Prevost, Madame 

 Alfred Dumesnil, Gloire de Bourg-la-Reine, Emilie 



