394 



HOW TO GROW ROSES AV CITIES. 



off, and they grow more rapidly when pi inted. Duds 

 must be kept pinched out until the young rose-bushes 

 are strong enough to bloom ; with proper care they 

 ought to be in good condition for this by September 30. 



The house in my charge has a span-roof east and west, 

 and is heated by hot water. I use for roses elevated 

 benches five inches deep, with the bottom boards left 

 wide enough apart to allow free drainage. I put a light 

 layer of shavings over them to keep the soil from going 

 through th;se openings. The benches are from 4 to 6 

 feet from the glass and I use galvanized wire to keep the 

 roses in place. The w-ires are arranged like those over 

 which smilax is trained, thus making a neat support for 

 the plants. Stakes for roses should be discarded ; they 

 look so unsightly, rot so quickly, and in sticking them 



lightly over all diseased plants ; this is a sure remedy for 

 mildew The ventilators of the house are left open 

 night and day until the evenings get chilly in September, 

 after which I close the ventilators on the sides and shut 

 down the top, leaving a little opening until obliged by 

 cold weather to close tight. Night heat through the 

 winter should range from 50^ to 55° ; day heat should be 

 60° in dull weather, allowing the temperature to rise 15° 

 or 20° more with sun heat. I syringe the roses every 

 bright day, heavily or lightly as the occasion requires. 



Almost every one that has a greenhouse wishes to 

 grow roses, but many people fail in such attempts, be- 

 cause they lack knowledge concerning methods of cul- 

 ture. Unless the house has a sunny aspect — sunshine 

 from early morning until late in the afternoon — it is un- 



B.ARB.AR.A Floral Fbte Carriage in Louis XVth Style. (See next page.) 



down there is danger of injuring roots. The soil that I 

 use for roses is heavy loam from a rich pasture ; four 

 parts of this soil are mixed with one of fresh cow-dung. 

 In the fall I procure soil and fertilizer, and let them lie 

 all winter in a heap, keeping the fertilizer well on top of 

 the soil, so that frost and snow may act upon it and the 

 soil get the benefit of the wash from it, I have this 

 heap turned over two or three times in the spring, mix a 

 little bone-dust with it, and by planting-time it is in 

 proper condition for the plants to feed upon. 



To keep down the greently, fresh tobacco-stems are 

 moistened and strewn on the hot-water pipes ; and the 

 evaporating-pans are filled with a liquid prepared by 

 steeping tobacco-stems in water. My roses are seldom 

 troubled with mildew, but in such cases I dust sulphur 



wise to attempt the cultivation of roses. Again, let it be 

 understood that a few dozen plants do not pay ; they re- 

 quire as much attention as so many hundreds. They do 

 not take up so much space, of course, but it is the time 

 spent ill keeping up the proper temperature that counts, 

 and where only a few dozen plants are grown the gar- 

 dener is often asked to perform other duties around the 

 place, on account of which he is obliged to neglect the 

 temperature of the rose-house — a bad thing for the 

 plants. 



Unless my readers have houses suitable for the culti- 

 vation of roses, and are willing to engage a man skilled 

 in rose-culture to care for the plants, they will find it 

 cheaper to buy roses than to grow them. 



Brook/vii, X. )'. John A, Boyle. 



