HINTS FOR THE CULTURE OF POPULAR FLOWERS. 
careful to look after it closely as it ripens, or 
it will be Lost. Sc.w it in pans or boxes, in B 
frame, and do not disturb it till it dies down. 
The n. -\t year the young roots may be planted 
si\ inches apart, and will give you a much 
stronger bloom than old roots. 
Rh< Di \i>ia>\. -The Rhododendron 1ms 
advanced wonderfully and properly in public 
estimation, and a few hints as to peculiar 
points in its culture may not be out oi* 
place. First, looking out of doors at those 
which grow without protection, a general 
complaint is. that sonic years they have no 
bloom. There are certain matters an atten- 
tion to which will ensure it every year. As 
soon as any (lower, or rather bunch of flowers, 
is past its prime, it should be taken off as 
close up as possible to the under flower, 
because, as there are embryo branches in 
every part of the stem, the strength of the 
plant will be immediately devoted to the pro- 
duction of some of them ; whereas, if the seed- 
pods are left to swell, they require the ener- 
gies of the plant, and take it from new branches. 
Another point to remember is, that from the 
instant the bloom buds begin to burst, the 
plants should be watered copiously, and this 
6hould be continued, every four or five days, 
until the bloom buds have set again for the 
next season. Even the rain may not reach 
the roots, as these plants are of themselves 
such a complete cover to the ground. Rho- 
dodendrons, however, when planted in a hollow, 
rarely miss bloom or require water. The 
proper soil for the Rhododendron is a turfy 
peat, with a little turfy loam, three parts of the 
peat, and one of the loam, and wherever this 
kind of soil abounds, they do well ; witness 
Bagshot, Knap Hill, Beddington Park, Wim- 
bledon, &c. In growing the plants of the half 
hardy and tender kinds in pots, the same 
description of soil is used ; the watering is in- 
creased at the same seasons of growth, and the 
shifts from one pot to another take place at 
the periods when the pot is full of roots ; but 
the shift should be just before the buds swell 
for bursting the bloom. Seed should be sown 
in pans, and the plants pricked out as soon as 
they can be well handled, three or four in a 
small forty-eight sized pot, or a large sixty ; 
when they have attained sufficient size, they 
may be potted singly, if tender or doubtful, and 
have the protection of a frame all the winter. 
They may be grafted or inarched, like the 
Camellia, and, if desirable, budded ; but as 
one eye and an inch of wood is enough for a 
graft, that is the best mode. The handsomest 
grafted plants are made from the ends of shoots. 
If seedlings are hardy, they may be bedded 
out six inches apart one season, twelve inches 
the next, and there tbey may remain to bloom. 
Layering is also a favourite mode of pro- 
pagation, though it takes a year to root pro- 
perly. 
ROSE. — The Rose will flourish in a rich 
bam better than in anything else. "Were 
a meadow turned up, it would be the best 
adapted for the success of this beautiful 
shrub ; but it should be remembered that 
a Large proportion of our Roses are budded or 
grafted on the common briar, which will grow 
in any kitchen garden, and thrive in any soil. 
In most cases the Rose will grow well in ordi- 
nary soil for a year or two; for the head does 
not require half the nourishment that the 
stock would yield ; and it is too much the 
practice to cut in every branch to one or two 
eyes from the first. This should not be clone 
until the head is as large as it is required. In 
general, the Rose-planter may put a spadeful 
of well-rotted dung in the hole in which he is 
going to plant, and mix it well with the other 
soil ; the roots should be pruned wherever 
they are damaged, and all the bruised ends be 
cut smooth ; the plant should be no deeper in 
the ground than just to cover the roots. 
Dwarf Roses, on their own bottoms, thrive well 
anywhere, and on almost any soil, with the 
addition of a little rotten dung. One point in 
the culture of Roses should be attended to 
especially — pruning, and this should be done 
so as to bring them into the form required, 
or nearly so, before they are cut in too hard, 
which nearly every standard Rose is subject to 
now. Indeed, it is ridiculous in the extreme 
to preserve, as a majority of growers do, the 
form of a common moss, year after year, 
instead of encouraging a handsomely formed 
head, which should be, when perfect, as large 
in diameter as the stem is long. Climbing 
Roses are of various kinds, and these for the 
most part should have only the weak roots cut 
out until they fill the place allotted to them; 
they may then be spurred or pruned almost 
any how, so that they be not allowed to get 
too thick of small wood. Roses from seed 
afford the highest gratification; for while it is 
nearly impossible to produce worse than three- 
fourths of those in cultivation, the very best 
are likely to be beaten by the cultivators of 
the day. Let the seed be sown in a common 
frame, say in April, the berries having been 
bruised, and the seeds got out, during the winter 
months. When they come up they may be 
thinned, and those taken away be planted out 
in another frame. Keep them clear from weeds, 
and let them have plenty of air ; while very 
young they should be shaded in the heat of the 
day. Any that promise from their foliage to 
be new, may be hastened in their bloom by 
being budded or grafted on healthy stocks ; 
but some will bloom in two, and most of them 
in three seasons without any aid. The budding 
of a Rose is a very simple operation. It is done 
