OCTOBEK -L^^ 1912, 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



805 



AMONG THE ROSES. 



Last year September was one of the best 

 months for ro.ses during the season^ and 

 with the present-day varieties it is likely 

 to be so in future. The slightly cooler 

 weather after July and August is admirably 

 suited to the better deA'elopment of the 

 charming decorative teas and their hybrids. 

 Such varieties as Betty, G. Nabonnand, 

 Peace, Madame Ravary, lliclimond. Gene- 

 ral MacArthur, Lady Asht-own, Theresa, 

 Molly Sharman Crawford, Lady Battersea, 

 Clorallina, and Gustave Regis — ^onl3'to name 

 a dozen that occur to me as I write — are 

 invariably better and more Listing than 

 during the heat of midsummer. A\lien the 

 sun is apt to expand them too (|ui('kly. In 

 addition to these lighter oolouis we now 

 have several capital dark varieties, the 

 flowers of some almost maroon. Victor 

 Hugo, Chateau de Clos Vougeot, Etoile de 

 France, Kaiser Wilhelm, l^aurent Carle, 

 and W. E. Lippiat, all give excellent 

 autumn flowers. A fcnv of our best late 

 bloomers among climbers and pillar roses 

 are Ards Rover, Gruss an Teplitz, Aimee 

 Vibert seandens, Madame Alfre<l Carriere. 

 and William Allen Richardson, which sel- 

 dom fail to 

 blossoms. 



gi\e A 



fairly good sliow oT 



Pruning: Ramblers. 



There is consi<lerabIe work to be done 

 among roses this month. Strong shoots 

 of this year's growth upon climbers ami 

 ramblers should be made secure against 

 the winds. These being the most valu- 

 able part of the plants for next season's 

 display, it Ls imiwrtant to avoid any chaf- 

 ing and bruising of the woml and eytvs. It 

 ought not to bo necessary, but 1 would 

 again like to wni u my readers agaiust the 

 too ruthless riMuoval of these rambling 

 growths, simply because they are (lowiM-le^s 

 now, and sometimes rather in the way. Far 

 be^tter cut out more of the growths that 

 have alrea<ly floweri^L and so make room 

 to tie these in loosely but securely, allow- 

 ing plenty of air and light to reach the 

 wood. 



The lu'ps upon the r ugoNas nro bnglu and 

 sliouv. In connection with t host' 1 am 

 much j)lr;iS4H[ with the small au<l lni;ihi 

 scarlet lie])s of American I'illar, wlii* h ;m*' 

 now very prominent up<»n t ho dfc|> stM- 

 grocn f<iling(Aso (■hnra<'l<M i.sl !<• of thi.s usrtul 

 rosf. I ,|o not r*'iiHMiil*<'i- AuHM-icjui Pilhir 

 betti'r than it has hciMi this st-MMUi. in what- 

 ever f<irm it was giitwn. Perhaps it was 



sriiU- 

 likc 



givat 



seen to the greatest a<lvantag<< as ia 

 weeping standards. Tliis \ a ruM \ 

 Oorothv Perkins a?id its rclatncs. has tlu' 



a(h an t a^)^ of c^arrvin^ a< **f ull v 

 roopuig rods oi growth, witli dr**]), ij.h ssy 

 grccii h'afajj;e that is always clfMU an<l 

 pleasing after the flnw«Ming .^easnti is pa^t. 



Rooting: Cuttingrs. 



Bin t(» ji^turn a little elos* r to scason- 

 Jjhl,. Work. 'I'lio present nu>ntl) should fiinl 

 \ov\ Iminv uitli ruttinirs, hotli of stocks 



I' ' 

 i nsps. Mnst of t ho clinibin^ |»olyanthas 



'>n<l \\ i< h 1 1 l ii i;i na - root a ^ 1 1 <^ol v a ^ a n\ 

 *)f the stdrk"- atid w liotf ihis )^ tit*' < a^f ! 

 strongly atl\ isc their rulture m lliis term 

 rather thari havinix them woi ker] upi-n 

 fo.ster roots, which are ahvays li-ihie to 

 ])ro(hn'e ;ni mnlesij ab^A su< k4'r , ^\ luu *'as. 

 f»'*'in euttinus. th(^ whole of tlie i:ro\vtii is 

 valuable, ami the suekers most of all. I 

 '^av<v Ii;if] \^^yy indifTcreTit sn < e^^ in rnot'tr: 

 •"^onie .if Ijiter hybrids of tlie wiehu- 



*"»i;inas. and have deiided mu to attemi>t 

 >^ome of the?n \u tliat forivi afjain. 



r)orothy Perkin,s, striking so treely. and 

 jiinkiny; roots <a full of filue. it orenrreii 

 1^ nie to use it as stoek for i>t]ier r< ses ; 

 '"•t it will not do. True, thev iirow freelv 

 ,^ >- botli as ])udded plaius and grafted 



binder glass, leu m koe]> 4lown sue k, t > wn-^ 



found quit<» impossible. Even when grafted 

 u])on pieces of root alone, suckers formed 

 alter the maimer of bramhles and rasp- 

 berries, and it needed constant attention 

 to confine the roots to supporting the 

 bud or graft only^ and when once the ori- 

 ginal growtli got away the rose was quickly 

 starve<l. 



Briar, Manetti, Polyantha, and De la 

 Griff eraie cuttings for future stocks should 

 have the lower eyes carefully removed be- 

 fore the cuttings are inserted. But roses 

 not intended for stocks should- have the 

 whole of their eyes or buds left intact, 

 more particularly those at the bottom, for 

 it is these that will prove the mainstay ot 

 the future plant. It is by no means neces- 

 sary that the wood of these and stocks 

 should be thoroughly ripe before making 

 them up. Indeed, I greatly prefer to catch 

 this wood when a little more than half 

 ripened, because at that time the- ground 

 is still warm and the cuttings contain a 

 considerable amount of sap, which is a 

 great help towards quick callus and early 

 rooting, that will prove a great support to 

 the cuttings during the winter months. 



The best medium I have found for root- 

 ing l)oth stocks and roses is a rather sandy 

 loam, and the freer this is from manure of 

 any kind the better are the results. It is 

 verj^ important that all cuttings should 

 have their base well down upon fairly firm 

 soil. To '^hang'' them means many 

 failures, and results in the survivors mak- 

 ing a larger number of side roots, from 

 where the eves were removed, instead of 

 at the base, where we can leave them when 

 trimming the stocks previous to shallow 

 jdanting in beds to be buddetl upon. Should 

 the ground be dry, I woidd not delay insert- 

 ing the cuttings, but pour some water into 

 the opene<l slit made by the spade previous 

 to setting the cuttings in. I have found 

 this a great help, and would prefer plant- 

 ing in this way upon a dry soil rather than 

 waiting for more natural moisture. 



Preparing: for Planting;.. 



As soon as the opportunity comes, 1 

 wouUl prepar^v groTUul int<*nde(l f<u" new 

 plantatHUis ^»f roses. This <ainu»t l>e done 

 um) tlioroughly. ami the bottom soil neetls 

 much !nore attenti(Ui wlien preparing than 

 ilie surface. Wt^ <annot reach the bottom 

 soil so \\iA\ at any future time, whereas the 

 111]) is always rnore or less accessibb\ Tluue- 

 fore he sure and <liseov(M' the mature of the 



siii>soil now, and treat it accordingly. It 

 should he moved at least two and a half feet 

 e]) : three feet w<iuld be better. If stiff 

 a!id elav*n\ a<hl s(une manures calculated 

 to liiihten tin's, such as soot and crushed 

 lumes. Hut if natinallv of a liuht ^ravellv. 

 and jxirous iiature. sup})]y wel] decaye<l 

 manures ^u< h as fr<un the cow-shed or pig- 

 slve. Kven a little <'lay. or. hetter 



will do 



(le 



loam. 



nion* 



s\ ill. sonn^ sT itf 

 ^o(w] in su<*li a (*ase tlian 

 manure <n' a light "liara-ter. Always diu' 

 un tlie l:ottoiH as 4l*vply as the tool will 

 allow. .\dd a dressing of the manurf^ i>e- 

 for*' tui'uiiu: it over, and a sec(tn<! <lres>ine: 

 atter. ami I'efore placim; the top spit of soil 

 ui^on this. If this w(U"k is done soon, the 

 ^nil will have a chan{"e to settle <lowu a 

 little. I^o not ]dant when tlie soil is wet ; 

 if it cle^s til the feet or si icks to the tools 



in anv wav it is seldom in the best t (Ui- 

 r it ion foi- jdant i]iir, iUid T m (Uild rather 

 v.ait a con>i<lerabIe time ]a'f<n*e w(U'kini: 

 upon grouml in that state If it must 

 he done, us*^ ]>lanks. an<l tak,^ the littl*' 

 *'\tra tremble to ]dace some ]U'epared < otu- 

 post around th*^ roots before a<lding the 

 staple soil. Always make the latter firm 

 aliout the r(atts. hut no\ ratnm* <1 <low!i 

 liard. Adding a litth^ at n timt\ aiid ius' 

 placino the foot upon ibis, is fa" 1>etier ^^'an 

 one 1h a\ v t]*\idmij: at tlie la^t. \ V. 



BARK DISEASES OF FRUIT 



TREES. 



The following is the text of the lecture 

 by Mr. F. J. Chittenden. F.L.S., at the 



Xorthern Fruit Congress held at Carlisle, as 

 given in the current issue oi the North of 

 England Horticultural Society's Magazine, 

 from w^hich it is reproduced by permission. 



One of the results of the extension of fruit 

 growings is the knowledge that to deserve 

 success the cultivator must be ready to take 

 preventive measures against diseases, or to 

 tight them when they appear. Of recent 

 years the State has made some laws regard- 

 ing plant diseases, but the State is almost 

 powerless unless the individual doe^^ his work 

 well, and if every individual does that there 

 is nothing for the State to do. 



Everywhere in every county of England, 

 from south to north, one still linds, however, 

 plenty of neglected orchards, and one of the 

 most common evidences of neglect and ignor- 

 ance is the prevalence of canker. Canker is 

 a bark disease so conspicuous that no one 

 can fail to observe it, but there are two 

 others far less conspicuous that I hope to 

 refer to if time permitt^. 



In order to deal intelligently with any 

 disease it is imperative that an accurate 

 knowledge of the way a plant lives its life 

 should be in the possession of the cultivator, 

 and a few minutes devoted to a consideration 

 of the part the bark plays in the plant's 

 economy. A little experiment which anyone 

 may perform will show us much. 



Take a leafy willow shoot, and about three 

 inches from tlie bottom end cut out a ring 

 of bark about three inches deep. You may 

 strip away the bark from the wood quite 

 easily^ for between them lies the cambium, 

 which is the most active of all the living 

 tissues in this part of the stem. It has deli- 

 cate \valls which are easily ruptured, and by 

 its division, and the chemical changes in 

 the^e walls it adds to the wood on the inside 

 of it the annual rings familiar to everyone, 

 and also adds to the bark on the outside of 

 it in the same way, hut to a less extent. The 

 cambium is of the utmost importance, but 

 we must not stop to discuss it now. Let us 

 place our shoot with the bottom nine inches 

 111 water, and leave it for three or four weeks. 

 At the end of that time we shall find it has 

 rooted, but rooted in a peculiar way. Tliere 

 will be roots from the bottom three inches 

 on which wo left bark, none on the part from 

 which the Inirk was removed, but there will 

 be roots from tlu* ]iart above the cut. Com- 

 parint^ tlicse roots we tiud tliase in the lower 

 ]>art smaller and less well developed than 

 those above, and if we leave them long they 

 will eventually die, wliile the higher series 

 flourish apace. Willow is useful for this ex- 

 periment, as its roots can absorb oxygen from 

 the water. 



To grow the ]dant requires, as we do, air, 

 wai-mth. water, and food, and a])])arently 

 these roots have air. warmth, moisture, and 

 toixl. eKe tliev could not gr(iw at all. What 

 is ihvvi' to ac^"ount for the diftereuce in tlieir 

 growth, thou: Only tluit one or otlier of 

 these ue(es>it iv^s sui)])licd lunre liUorally 

 in one ca-t^ than in anothei'. and a little con- 

 sideratiiMi will sue:<^est that tlie vital thing 

 not well su])plitHl to the lower roots i> tnod. 



All irardeners know that all the food a 

 mature plant feeds u])on eouies froui the 

 leav^v^ — is. in fact, made in the leaves, where 

 the food of the whok^ world is made, and 

 where and by which that energy of which 

 coal is the source was oi inrinally stored long 

 before our age. Our e\]KM'imeut ^llows us 

 tliat the tood is carried down the bark. The 

 r* nioval of the bark did not interfere with 

 the How of water up the stem, but interfi^red 

 > \ reriou>ly with the flow <!t" tVtod down that 

 the r(X>ts lielow the cut were in time starved. 

 A little food had already V)een stored in the 

 ^tem. and that tliey coidd use, but a.^ soon as 

 it was exhausted they began to witl.er and die. 

 Tlio-e above the cut c(Uild draw on tlv^ rich 

 su])])lies sent down from the leav.^ and ( on- 

 Vu^]" *n (>\i-t ■,^]^(] tlouri>li 4>u tliis long after 



;u tl)»' ^tfin h.ul b; riin*- t^:\li.\u-ted . 



i en]|t]ia-i-;' tlw n-ct that th ■ -ulv- 

 stanii- iak;n in by tlie plant, hy it-v i<<^- 



