Januaet 20, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



47 



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NEW RAMBLER 



ROSE ROWENA, 



Rambling roses continue to increase in 

 [lopularity and numbers, and considering 

 the trend of the taste of those who are 

 specially interested in roses and the activi- 

 ties of raisers of new varieties, it may be 

 assumed that the day is far distant when 

 -ome decline may be anticipated in the 

 lavour with which these elegant roses are 

 ; egardedj or in the number of novelties in- 

 iroiluced. The list of rambling roses is 

 somewhat lengthy, but, owing to the raisers 

 ijeyond the boundaries of the I nited King. 

 <Iom not so fully appreciating the import- 

 ance of a high standard in selecting from 

 the seed bed as growers at home, the num- 

 l>er of really first-class varieties is as yet 

 considerably short of requirements. Hence 

 it is that novelties which possess the attri- 

 butes essential to a variety of the first- 

 <'lass not onlv merit the attention of the 

 rose-loving public, but are likely to receive 

 the warmest welcome when their high quali- 

 ties become known. 



The beautiful variety Rowena, which we 

 have the pleasure of illustrating herewith, 

 is one of the most notable roses of its class 

 that have been introduced within a recent 

 })eriod, and should, when distributed in 

 the coming spring, have the instant atten- 

 t .on of those who are interested in rambling 

 roses. It belongs to the "Wichuraiana sec- 

 tion, is really vigorous, and the flowers are 

 l)rofusely produced in large and elegant 

 trusses. The colour is best described as 

 transparent rose-pink, with a slight shad- 

 ing of mauve, and in this respect the 

 variety is quite distinct. Rowena was 

 ra^'sed fro-n seed in the nurseries of Messrs 

 William Paid and Son, Waltham Cross, and 



is a valuable addition to the list of rambler 

 roses. 



CONTROLLING THE ROOT 

 SYSTEM OF FRUIT TREES, 



(Concluded from page 27.) 



Apricot Trees. 



Apples will succeed in nearly all classes of 

 sods, provided that, where necessary, a 

 little special preparation is given, but such 

 cannot, however, be said of apricots. In 

 its native country the apricot is found to 

 flourish on poor sa.ndy soils, which may 

 account for the fact that nowhere in this 

 country do we find the apiicot making a 

 luxuriant growth in soil naturally heavy 

 and damp, but only at the higher eleva- 

 tions where drier soil conditions prevail. 

 Also, if such soils have a fadr percentage 

 of lime and sand in their composition, 

 much the better. 



The difiiculty which many experienced 

 ^cultivators encounter is that of being un- 

 able to procure really strong healthy 

 young trees ; too often it is found that, 

 through being cut back, snags have formed, 

 which indicate that constitutional trouble 

 has already wmmenced. The ntx^essity for 

 this practice of hard cutting back is be- 

 cause the trees have made an abundance 



of rank growth. Where these difficulties 

 exist it ' 



o 



wise to purchase maidens, not 

 «nly of apricots, but of all other stone 

 Prints, and plant them where they are to 

 remam, giving the trees such soil and root 

 «irea as will conduce to a steady and wc'I- 



balancrd growth of wood. 



Av to soil requirements, I doubt if there 

 - anything better than good fibrous loam, 

 ^vit h which is incorporated a liberal supply 



<>t brnk and mortar rubble: in fact, the 

 noahlucst apricots I have ever seen were 

 growing in material wliich was excavated 

 to lay bare the foundation of an old castle, 

 ^nat liad been buried by debris for quite 



a century. Further^ it may be remarked 

 that, given an ideal soil, it matters little 

 how firm and hard these soils become. 

 Where apricots are found growing under 

 these ideal conditions of soil, elevation, and 

 climate, the roots call for little, if any, 

 special attention, while if, on the other 

 hand, the trees are placed in unsuitable 

 soils, not sufficiently compressed, or where 

 heavy tenaceous soils receive too much ram- 

 ming, root troubles must be exptH't^nl. 

 Where young trees exhibit signs of canker, 

 and the limbs commence to die back^ the 

 sooner they are lifted and examined the 

 better. Lifting must be performed care- 

 fully, all suckers and disease<l growths re- 



been planted in deep, rich, or cold^ damp 

 soils. 



Mulching is often attended with excellent 

 results wJiere soils are natura-lly shallow^ 

 and light, and equally good eflFects are to 

 be foiuid wheie mulching is practised for 

 the purpose of preventing roots from pene- 

 trating into an undesirable stratum of soil 

 beknv, as. for instance, a blue clay, which 

 1 have known prove fatal to many specimen 

 trees when on<*e the roots have penetrated 

 into it. liLi^>onie estabhshments that 1 have 

 visited, 1 have been impressed by the many 

 large trees cankered and diseased, which 

 ought to have be<ui grubbed out long ago. 

 Sentiment, doubtless is the reason for the 



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moved, after which the tree should be re- existence of many such trees^ and if the 



EOSE ROWKXA. 



A distinct and beautiful Wichuraiana variety raised 



Waltham Cross, and bearing a profusion 



by Me^lsrs. William Paul and 

 of rose-pink flowers. 



plants in a. compost as above advised. 

 Soil stagnation is often the cause of uii- 

 hcalthv root action, which is speedily fol- 



lowed bv decay. 



The greatest difficulty is often experi- 

 enced with large trees, in which case it 

 is advisable to excavate carefully uncbr 

 the roots, and note if any have their exi.^- 

 tence in cold, damp, or unwlioicM)im^ sub- 

 soil. If so. sever these roots carefully. 



gardener liad his own way, probably the 

 ground would long ago have been planted 

 with young an<] healthy specimens. Wiien 

 <)n< c the^^c aged ^subjtH*ts have gone beyond 

 ri'novatioii tlu' sooner they are destroyxl 



better, but before replanting, very 



soli. it so sever tnese iuul> van-imij, mr- ...^ ....v.. 



afterwards ramming a thick layer of lime considerable time. 



the 



cai-eiul attention must be paid to making 

 good aiul replenishing the n(H-es>ary soil 

 con>tituents and destroying injurious germ 

 life which is undoubte<lly active for some 



rubble into the space between the ball of 

 the tree and the subsoil. It would appear 

 that the cause of barrenness in the ma- 



Peach Tree 



is 



Of late years fewer peaches are to 



be 



ritv of ca^^es is traceable to trees having seen growing in the open throughout the 



