204 JOURXAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Alex. Bemaix showed at Lyons a group of roses all of whieh 

 had been budded on B. polyantha. Their healthy growth and 

 their numerous much -branched roots attracted my attention, as 

 well as that of the many visitors. As M. Bemaix mentions among 

 the merits of this system of budding that it is adapted to pot- 

 culture and for hastening the forcing of roses, I resolved to test 

 the accuracy of this assertion. I bought a great number of roses, 

 budded some on B. polyantha and some on B. canina. I divided 

 them into two sets and put them on the same day in the same 

 soil, in pots of the same size. I submitted them all to exactly 

 similar treatment in all ways. I may add that they were all 

 placed in one house, and kept constantly at a uniform tempera- 

 ture. I should also say that I employed only one variety of rose 

 for this experiment, the well-known Etoile de Lyon. 



** Now this is what happened : The roses budded on B. poly- 

 antha gave twice as many blooms as those budded on B. canina, 

 and furthermore they were fifteen days in advance of the others. 

 Certainly, such an experiment, made on a large scale, deserves 

 consideration. If the same results are produced with all varieties 

 of roses, henceforward when forcing roses I shall only use 

 varieties budded on polyantha ; and I do not need to be a very 

 far-sighted prophet to see and to say that, in spite of custom, 

 JEt. polyantha is bound to completely take the place of B. canina 

 for the purpose of increasing roses for cultivating in pots. It is 

 only a question of time. 



%< I think it will be useful to my brother rosarians to let them 

 know the results of my experiments, and I thank M. Alexandre 

 Bemaix for having given me the opportunity of making these 

 trials, of completing them successfully, and especially at the 

 same time of realising- a great profit ; for it is certain that roses 

 can be forced in this way at half the cost of the old method. — 

 B. Pecoud, Rose and Lilac grower. Lyons. 



" N. B. — The plants of the rose Etoile de Lyon, budded on 

 polyantha, had on an average ten to fifteen flowers; those 

 budded on canina bore five to seven." 



This question of budding garden roses on B. polyantha has 

 passed oat of the experimental stage, and should be adopted by 

 practitioners. I especially invite English rosarians and amateurs 

 to make experiments, to ascertain if the climate of England is 

 as favourable to this method of cultivating roses as is that of Lyons. 



