OCTOBER. 



151 



leaves, which, lodging on the branches, crushed them to the ground, so that they never reco- 

 vered. Some old specimens of the Double Apple-bearing Rose still exist here : one has a stem 

 nearly 18 inches in circumference." 



One of the new features in gardening that is now coming into vogue and Which bids 

 fair to become an object of attraction, is the Tea-scented Rose- house. We saw one some 

 time ago at Mr. William Paul's, of Waltham Cross, and we cannot imagine anything 

 more delightful than such a structure. The naturally delicate and tender constitution of the 

 Tea Rose unfits it as a permanent out-door inhabitant in our English climate, and the 

 protection that a house affords is therefore beneficial to it ; but apart from this consideration, 

 the extreme beauty and delicacy of the colours and forms of the flowers are so enhanced 

 and preserved, that the additional charms they convey are ample compensation for the extra 

 care bestowed on their cultivation. Mr. Rivers says — 



"A house for those beautiful Roses, to be enjoyable, should be span-roofed — glazed with 

 large squares of glass, the rafters light, and the roof fixed. Its dimensions should be as 

 follows— width, 14 feet; height of sides, from 5 to 6 feet; height to ridge, from 9 to 10 feet ; 

 it should be ventilated at each side by shutters on hinges; or sashes 18 inches wide ; no 

 roof- ventilation is necessary. A nicely gravelled path, i feet wide, should occupy the centre, 

 and a border made on each side 5 feet wide. Each border will hold three rows of Rose 

 trees, which should be planted so as to form two banks of Roses in this manner : the back row 

 should be of low standards, 3 feet in height ; the middle row, standards 2 feet 6 inches 

 high ; and the row next the path, dwarf standards 2 feet high. When the trees are in full 

 foliage and flower, a perfect bank of beauty is formed ; for, owing to the favourable climate, 

 the trees grow with a vigom hardly conceivable. Previous to planting, the borders should 

 have a dressing of manure 6 inches thick, which should be well mixed with the soil to a 

 depth of 2 feet. I have been induced to suggest this mode of culture for Tea-scented Roses, 

 owing to my having planted, in December, 1862, a border in one of my span-roofed orchard- 

 houses with low standards of the most choice varieties of this beautiful group, I have never, 

 in the whole course of my experience, seen anything in Rose-culture so beautiful and so 

 gratifying : for during the whole of this month (May, 1863), not only their flowers but their 

 large beautiful leaves, unscathed by frost, wind, or rain, have been a source of untiring 

 gratification. No artificial heat is employed, so that the air is always pure and most agree- 

 able. In a house of this description, Tea-scented Roses will bloom beautifully from May 

 till November ; but in spring and autumn — say in May and part of June, and again in Sep- 

 tember and October— they will be in the greatest perfection. In June, July, and August, 

 the ventilators should be open night and day in calm weather, and closed only to exclude 

 violent wind." 



The extent to which Roses are now grown in pots has called forth new modes of culture, 

 and 'there is no more agreeable and beautiful form in which to bloom those favourite flowers, 

 than in the close compact little bush such as we see now so extensively exhibited at the 

 metropolitan flower shows. On this subject Mr. Rivers has the following very useful 

 observations : — 



<_'A very simple and efficient method of gaining two years' growth in one has been 

 practised here for many years, and imitated by numerous Rose-growers. 



"About the 1st of May a hotbed should be made, 5 feet wide and 3 feet in height — if of 

 leaves and manure equal parts, all the better, its heat will last longer. On this bed some 

 light mould should be placed, about 6 inches thick, supported by boards. Roses intended 

 for rapid growth should be taken from their small pots, their balls of earth loosened, and 

 potted into 24-sized or eight-inch pots, with the usual compost; these should be plunged up to 

 their rims in the bed, and the surface of each pot covered with rotten manure, about an inch 

 thick, They may remain thus plunged for six or seven weeks, at the end of which time the 

 heat of the bed will have declined ; the pots should then be removed, and the soil they are 

 plunged in; the bed should then be remade with about half its bulk of fresh manure mixed 

 with it, the pots re-plunged, and the plants suffered to grow till autumn, when they should 

 be removed to pits or houses appropriated to their culture." 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 



Conservatory. 

 A good stock of Tulips, Hyacinths, and other Dutch 

 bulbs should at once be potted for winter and spring- 

 flowering, if not already done. Attend to Salvias, 

 Chrysanthemums, and other plants for autumn deco- 

 ration. Keep them neatly tied and well watered. No 

 time should now be lost in housing the plants; but, 



before doing so, the summer-flowering climbers and 

 others should he cut freely back, and the permanent 

 plants should all he gone over, and cleaned and tied- 

 in if they require it. The house should also be tho- 

 roughly cleaned before the plants are brought in. 

 Have all the pots well washed, and the plants cleaned 

 and neatly tied before they are housed. Avoid crowd- 



