THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
most accessible, and nothing can be better. It is no use to mulcli I’oses with well- 
rotted manure, because it is only what washes down by rain that feeds the roots, 
and the stuff should be pretty fresh and strong to convert every shower into 
liquid manure in passing it through the roots. But in addition to the mulch- 
ing, they should have a careful pruning after the first bloom, to get the next growth 
and bloom from plump well-placed buds, those next below the flowers being the 
first to push, if left to do so, but not so good for late bloom as those a little lower 
down. It must be remembered that mulching not only feeds by manuring the 
roots, but also keeps the soil moist, an object not of much importance in a wet 
season, but a good fixed rule in rose-culture. After August we would never mulch 
roses, for fear of getting a rank soft growth late in the year, when the wood of the 
season ought to be well ripened. 
'WiNTEBiNG Ganna Roots. — hady Gardener. — You can take them up, and 
store in a cellar or outhouse, or under the greenhouse stage. In either case, keep 
them from the wet, and put a little dry soil or sand over them, to prevent their 
being dried up. You can also allow them to remain in the beds where they are now 
growing without any danger of losing them, if you choose. The beds must be 
covered with some kind of protecting material, to prevent the frost getting to them. 
Long litter, cocoa-nut refuse, or dry leaves are all good. We, however, prefer the 
latter. Lay them on the bed a foot or eighteen inches in depth, and cover with soil 
to a depth of about four inches. If you leave them in the ground you will be per- 
fectly astonished at the growth they will make next season, if any way favourable. 
Keeping Caladium Corms through the Winter. — K. W. Johnson. — If 
they are still growing, dry the plants off as soon as you can do so with safety. When 
the foliage is nearly or quite dead, lay the pots on their sides in a warm corner of 
your stove: a temperature of 50° is the lowest that you must keep them in through 
the winter ; ten degrees higher would be better, as we have repeatedly proved. Let 
the corms remain in the pots until you start them. If you are short of room, you 
can shake them out of the pots, and place the tubers in smaller pots, and then fill 
up with dry sand. They will do either way, provided they are kept dry. 
Pit for Pot Roses. — W. M. — It all depends upon when you want your 
roses in bloom whether you should employ heat or not. If you want them in 
winter, you will do well to have a small upright conical boiler at one end of the 
house, and two rows of four-inch pipes all round. The cost would not be great, 
and there would be nothing experimental or uncertain in the arrangement. If you 
do not employ any heating apparatus at all, the roses will thrive with proper care, 
and in forward seasons will begin to bloom in April, and in late seasons in May. 
No need to plunge the pots in the pit, unless you have a brick-bed in the centre (a 
very good plan, by the way) ; and by filling that every spring with leaves, tan, or 
hot dung three or four times turned, to force them gently into bloom. In that case 
they would have to be plunged in some clean material. 
Marechal Niel Rose. — Amateur. — Do not prune at all, except to remove any 
soft unripe wood. 
Manetti, What i3 it ? — Amateur. — The Manetti rose is an alpine species 
from the south of Europe ; it grows in the form of a bush in the style of a China 
on its own roots, and is budded close to the ground, and afterwards planted, with 
the insertion below the surface of the soil, so that the base of the bud forms 
roots for itself. Contrary to what has been said, it may be used for standards, by 
getting strong rods on established plants ; but we have yet to learn how long such 
standards live. In your light soil the Manetti will probably prove of more service 
than the dog-rose, and it may be had in quantities from almost any nursery at a low 
price. It comes from layers quicker than any rose we know. 
Protecting Magnolias.— jR. W.S. — If your plant belongs to the grandiflora 
section, it will need no covering in winter. The soil that suits it best is a very 
sandy peat, with a dry subsoil on good artificial drainage. They will do, however, 
in stift' loams, but should then be planted in peat, sand, and leaf-mould, to give 
them a start. If the leader is of sufficient length to feel the action of the wind, 
tie it in at once to prevent accidents. 
To Flo WEB the Tube ROSE.— M New Subscriber, WisheacJi, — There is onlyone cer- 
tain way to flower the tuberose, Polyanthes tuberosa, and that is to get old bulbs from 
Italy every year, pot in rich sandy loam, and give them a comfortable bottom-heat 
to start them, and keep them under glass to bring them into flower for the drawiug- 
January. 
