October, 1913 



THE GARDEN FIELD. 



201 



quite the feature of the garden . 

 Some of them last year threw up 

 spiUes of bloom many feet hij;h, 

 >uul looked magnificent ; but I 

 consider this is reallv too tall ; 

 as it is So dillicidt to prevent their 

 being broken in a hij^h wind. So 

 I intend lifting and re-planting 

 them, as 1 find thai after bving 

 moved thev don't attain such a 

 great height fo'r a year or two. 



I lind it very easy to propa- 

 gate from any of those 1 admire 

 most. After thev have flowered 

 I pull up a few of the long stems, 

 giving them a jerk from the roots; 

 these pieces have two small white 

 buds, just at the end, which, on 

 being- placed in gentle heat, root 

 freely, and 1 daresay would root 

 quite well outside, if no frame 

 were available but the heat hast- 

 ens the growth. When either the 

 seedlings or offshoots are growing 

 slugs must be carefidly watched 

 for. They are enemies to most 

 growing plants, but quite ravenous 

 when Delphiniums a're to bei ' had, 

 either as seedlings or when the 

 old plants are appearing above 

 ground in spring, and will clear 

 off a box of seedlings in a night, 

 and, in spite of care and watch- 

 fidness, thev have eaten . down 

 the old plants when starting to 

 grow. 



♦ 



Points in Rose Culture. 



The following ar.ticle on rose 

 growing is from " American Gar- 

 dening." Readers will find in it 

 some helpful hints on the subject. 

 Roses with us grow and bloom 

 most freelv with but little atten- 

 tion, yet there is a " best," to 

 which the enthusiastic grower 

 may attain bv knowledge and sys- 

 tematic treatment, and the reward 

 is worth the effort. 



The writer says : — 



As early as the condition of the 

 ground and the weather permits, 

 I dig over the beds deeply, mixing 

 well with the soil, and sometimes 

 adding a dressing of bonemeal, the 

 manure that has through the win- 

 ter protected and enriched the 

 plants. As the new growth pro- 

 gresses I frequently fork over the 

 ground and keep it clean, loose 

 and friable at the surface. As the 

 buds develop I watch closely for 

 the leaf roller, or green worm, 

 which is so deadh^ an enemy to 

 the flower, and perform without 

 mercy the unpleasant duty of 

 " scii'mching " him in his 'leafy 

 home, or picking? him off by hand. 



About this time I give my beds 

 .1 top-dressing of guano, or other 

 tcrlili.ser, and lightly fork it in 

 about the plants, and as tlie 

 buds are swelling 1 give each 

 plant, about once a wc^;k, if the 

 weather is dry, a good bucketful 

 of liquid manure, and see that the 

 roots get the full benefit. It is 

 wonderful how quickly and well 

 they respond to this treatment. 

 The liquid must not bq too strong, 

 and judgment, which comes by ex- 

 perience, must be used in its ap- 

 plication. 



— Liquid Manuce. — 

 An eas}' method for small col- 

 lections is to have a 50-gallon bar- 

 rel simk in the ground, in some 

 out-of-the-wa}' corner, and half 

 filled with cow or chicken manure, 

 then filled up with straw. I put 

 in also a tin of concentrated lye, 

 which prevents souring. After fer- 

 mentation the mixture is ready 

 for use, and about one-fourth of 

 the liquid to about three-fourths 

 water is about the right propor- 

 tion. The barrel can be filled up 

 continually with water, until the 

 strength of the manure has disap- 

 peared, when a new supply can be 

 put in and the process repeated. 

 I never give my roses more than 

 three or four applications during 

 the season, and they never get 

 watered on the foliage, except by 

 the rain or the dew. The rose, 

 in its growing season, is a good 

 and hiingry feeder, and we cannot 

 have fidl success unless we satisfy 

 its appetite with appropriate foods 

 and stimulants. 



And now our care and attention 

 is to be rewarded , and as one by 

 one our roses bloom', our hearts 

 are filled with admiration and love 

 for these most beautiful of na- 

 ture's gifts to men. 



" Earth hath no princelier fiower 

 than roses white and roses red." 



But we have no time for rhap- 

 sody, for time of the rose show is 

 at hand, and we must prepare to 

 send our beauties to be judged. It 

 is necessary now, in order to 

 show our roses in perfection, to 

 take care and means to protect 

 them from the sun and weather. 

 The dark ones (and I think they 

 are the most beautiful) are very 

 susceptible to injury from the sun, 

 and quickly burn. I was much 

 amused some yea'rs ago by the fol- 

 lowing incident :• — A business friend 

 who was coming to mv home for 

 the first time, on getting to the 

 neighborhood found himself uncer- 

 tain of the house. He asked a 

 small boy where I lived. The reply 



was— "Do you mean Mr. , the 



rose crank ? " My friend asked iii 

 astonishment what meant, and 



was informed that I got up in the 

 morning at daylight and put um- 

 brellas over my ' roses — and I had 

 to adm.it the soft impeachment. 



— Shading. — 



In order to jirotect my dark 

 beauties from the sun I get some 

 cheap .Japanese 'parasols, attach 

 the handles to long garden stakes, 

 and as my roses are opening I 

 jjlace the umbrellas against the 

 sun, and so save the flowers. The 

 rose books tell us to use for this 

 purpose zinc cans, painted green, 

 but I think my simple and inex- 

 pensive plan equally as good. Try 

 this with youT dark roses like 

 Jean Liabaud, Abel Carriere, 

 Prince Camille de Rohan, Charles 

 Lefebre, etc., and you will be well 

 repaid in seeing their fuU and~" un- 

 scorched beauty, and shades of 

 color, so rich and indesariab e 

 that you, like me, wiUy I feel sure, 

 not mind being called a crank. 



— Exhibiting. — 

 One point in regard to exMbit- 

 ing I will mention, and that is 

 the arrangement of the flowers in 

 their blooms. The largest blooms 

 should always be m tne back row, 

 and the size should gradually taper 

 so that the smaller are in front. 

 And see that the colors contrast 

 e^^^ctiyeh^ I usually take careful 

 survey of my flowers the day be- 

 fore the show, and jot down on 

 paper the arrangement I intend to 

 make. Let tubes and boxes be 

 nicely painted green, and the latter 

 liberally furnished with clean green 

 moss, and a neat card, bearing 

 its nam.e, should be beside each 

 respective rose. We now have 

 about six weeks in which to: enjoy 

 the fruits of our tender care, with 

 little to do except to gather the 

 flowers. Even in cutting my 

 flowers,, I keep an eye to the future 

 growth of the plant, and through 

 this period continue rubbing off 



WHAT TEA C\ 



are ^ 



YOU J 



Drinking. 

 For Quality YOU can't Beat 



AMLUCKIE TEA. 



H. H. MANSFIELD, 



Dnley Eoad & Culvert St., Unley City 



