52 
THE MANUAL OF GARDENING. 
the plants will speedily degenerate, the stems becoming bare: it 
is a mistake to think that by closely pruning the number of flow- 
ers will be lessened ; on the contrary, more and finer flowers 
will be produced. The shoots, however, must not be uniformly 
cut to within a short distance of the stem; but the strong and 
vigorous shoots should be annually shortened to within six inches 
of the base, while slender and weak shoots should be cut to with- 
in three or four inches; young suckers, not required for layering, 
should be pruned down to within six inches of the soil, to supply 
the place of the old wood, which should be cut out: when suck- 
ers are too numerous, they should be eradicated. Standard Roses 
require to be very closely pruned, in order to make them form a 
uniform and compact head. The young shoots should be annually 
cut to within two or three inches of the part they started from ; 
and when the head becomes too large, some of the old wood must 
be cut out, allowing the young shoots to supply its place. Prun- 
ing should be performed in March. Standard Roses, when care- 
fully pruned, are among the most beautiful objects of the garden. 
When they flower, each will present the appearance of a dense 
cluster of blossoms, and occupy but little room; they however 
require support by a stake, and no suckers must be allowed to 
remain. 
Several sorts of insects infest the Rose ; the best way to get 
rid of them is to pluck off* the leaves or flowers affected, and burn 
them. The green fly must be destroyed by fumigations with to- 
bacco smoke. [The Alphis Rosea, plant louse, is the green fly 
alluded to by the English editor. It may readily be exterminated 
by syringing the plant once or twice with a solution of tobacco, 
or weak whale-oil soap, afterward rinsing with clear water.] 
Roses are propagated by layers. The China by cuttings, which 
strike under a hand-glass ; this should be done early in the spring. 
In layering Roses, and other shrubby plants, it is only neces- 
sary to run a penknife through the shoot to be layered, at a bud 
or joint; and, having slightly twisted the shoot, so as to open the 
bark, bury it about three inches below the surface of the soil, 
treading the soil slightly round it, so as to place it almost erect. 
The Rose has become so numerous in variety, that cultivators 
have arranged them into several classes, by which means they 
are more easily recognized, and their quality understood. — 
The following, which we have extracted from the catalogue of 
D. Landreth, & Fulton, may enable amateurs who cannot see 
them in bloom, to make a selection without disappointment. 
The Bengal ever-blooming Roses, comprise the old 
Chinese varieties, monthly or daily, as formerly called, with the 
new varieties of similar character ; a little protection in winter 
is advisable. 
