March 9, 1882. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
191 
asunder in the most favoured part of his garden, and covered them 
with the decomposed mounds on the surface of an Asparagus bed. 
Unfortunately he forgot that these mounds were heavily impregnated 
with salt, which had the effect of destroying the young Pea growths 
as soon as they touched it. Mine are progressing admirably, and I 
shall be able to test its merits during the season.—W. J.M., Clonmel. 
NOTES ON PRUNING ROSES. 
The time has now arrived when Roses will require pruning, 
and from the unusually mild winter many persons are uneasy on 
the subject. The uppermost buds have produced shoots in many 
cases from 2 to 3 inches long, and to cut these eaily growths away 
appears to be injuring the plant. It is not so, however ; for 
though we can scarcely be said to have had a real winter’s day 
up to this time, it is doubtful as to what weather we may expe¬ 
rience between nowand next June. Experience teaches us that 
frost is frequently injurious in May, and we must therefore prune 
for safety as well as for continuity of bloom. With these objects 
in view those who have left their Roses untouched up to this time 
will be better repaid when the summer months arrive than those 
that have been impatient to check the precocious growths. My 
advice is that pruning is best done during the first fortnight in 
March : by pruning then the sap is concentrated in the lower 
part of the plant, which causes the lower buds to plump up 
previous to starting, and by this delay we are brought forward to 
more genial weather. How frequently do we find in early-pruned 
Roses the flowers coming with hard green centres. This is usually 
the result of late frost and ungenial spring weather. 
The Roses of the present day are, generally speaking, on the 
Briar stock as standards, half-standards, and dwarf standards, or 
on the Manetti as dwarfs only. Roses on the Manetti bear cutting 
back well, as the object is not generally to retain such symmetrical 
heads as on the taller standards ; but a very good plan, and one 
which I often adopt, is, that instead of cutting a strong growth 
entirely away, is to remove the tips, and if it does not produce 
exhibition flowers the blooms will add to the quantity and 
be found most useful for decoration. If flowers of greater sub¬ 
stance are required prune hard—that is, prune all the Hybrid 
Perpetual section to three or four plump buds, and wherever prac¬ 
ticable cut to a bud that points outward, as by following this 
simple practice it causes the bush to spread and the branches 
gain strength, whereas if the inner buds were left the growths 
would be directed inwards, and thereby become crowded and 
considerably weakened. I am fully aware that at all times even 
this simple procedure is not practicable ; therefore the greatest 
secret in Rose-pruning is doubtless bringing practical knowledge 
of the characteristic of each variety in operation ; but in writing 
it is impossible to do this, therefore it is well to explain collectively 
and briefly as possible the general method. In dealing with 
Baronne de Rothschild, for instance, the growths are so rigid and 
the buds of irregular substance, that I have found it a good prac¬ 
tice to select the plumpest bud for cutting back to, while with 
Charles Lefebvre and other dark varieties all the lower buds are 
of equal substance and plumpness. In these cases it is easy to 
select. Teas and Noisettes require far less pruning than the 
Hybrid Perpetual section, cutting away weak and unripened 
growths and thinning out weak wood. After pruning gather up 
the fragments and dig the ground lightly, which will give a neat 
appearance to the beds.—J. W. Moorman. 
THE PAST WINTER AND TIIE PRESENT SPRING. 
Most welcome, perhaps because wholly unexpected and ex¬ 
ceptional, has been the winterless winter that that we may now 
consider gone. In this district, with the exception of a few 
snowflakes which melted almost before they fell, and one or two 
sharp frosts which occurred about the last days of December, 
nothing approaching the normal winter temperature has been 
experienced. January was mild, occasionally lainy, and if some 
fringes of the fogs which prevailed elsewhere slightly shadowed 
these parts, we were more than compensated by an almost in¬ 
creased brilliancy of sunshine afterwards. February throughout 
has given us clear and increasing light, and little if any rain until 
the concluding days ; a very high temperature often, an almost 
entire absence of wind—in short, it has been like the best April 
weather without its uncertainty. March now blusters strongly, 
and there are indications that we shall not be forgotten by the 
easterly winds. 
Spring flowers everywhere are beautiful and abundant. Bees 
were seen visiting their blossoms unusually early. The birds, 
in-pirited by plenty of food and warmth, are in full call to one 
another, and as early as February 20ih a blackbird’s nest with 
eggs in it was found in a garden in Scotland close to the Moray 
Frith. Vegetation generally, however, as far as fruit trees are 
concerned, seems happily not so advanced as might have been 
expected. Apricots are thickly set with as yet closely-shut buds. 
Our Rose trees have pushed on wonderfully, and it is hard to say 
how their present’state may affect their future vigour.—A. M. B., 
Mid-Lincoln, 
CEROPEGIA GARDNERI. 
Amongst interesting climbiDg plants for a warm plant stove 
this elegant species of Ceropegia is well worth notice. If planted 
out it grows quickly, and it is not too leafy to injure other plants 
by shading them too much. It has the merit of producing its 
singular flowers in profusion in the axils of the young shoots, 
which are themselves so flexible that they may be trained in any 
limited space which may be at command. Cuttings root freely 
in clean sand on a slight bottom heat in a stove temperature, and 
soon make flowering plants. We have bloomed it in the cutting 
pots even, and also as a trained plant on a wire umbrella. 
Another species, C. Saundersoni, is of a more fleshy habit of growth, 
and also, with the old C. stapeliseformis, deserves a place in all 
gardens where plants of a botanical interest are appreciated.—D. 
THE APPLE ELECTION. 
In response to the invitation given through the medium of 
your Journal for lists of the best twelve kitchen and twelve 
dessert varieties of Apples I have received replies from twenty- 
four different counties. Eighty-five varieties have been named 
for kitchen purposes and eighty-two for dessert, but I have only 
given the names of those that received more than three votes. 
AVhere Apples have been named, sometimes as culinary and 
at others as dessert, I have put them in the list for which they 
received most votes. There were not many, Duchess of Olden- 
burgh, Reinette de Canada, Gravenstein, and Dutch Mignonne 
being the chief. 
Before giving the votes I may premise that an Apple election 
would not be of much value if it only caused the reader to take 
