JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 6,1882. ] 
281 
expand naturally, and pure white when forced in heat. Under 
cool treatment the flowers, though much lighter than those pro¬ 
duced outside, are slightly tinged with pink, which gives them a 
more beautiful and delicate appearance. In gardens where choice 
early flowers are in daily request this variety should be grown in 
quantity. 
R. blandum is compact in habit, very hardy, and partakes of 
the R. Nobleanum and R. caucasicum character. Its foliage is 
better than the former, and the buds set more freely : in fact, with 
very rough treatment it seldom fails. Frequently lifting it for 
forcing appears to make it even more free in this respect. It 
stood in the grounds here uninjured during the winter of 1880-81, 
when large plants of R. Nobleanum were killed. I was informed a 
short time ago that R. blandum was raised out of the same batch 
of seedlings as R. caucasicum album (Cunningham’s dwarf white), 
R. c. pictum, Jenny Lind, and a few other varieties, R. Noble¬ 
anum flowers a little later here than the first-mentioned, and is 
invaluable for outdoor planting as well as forcing, especially the 
bright scarlet variety coccineum. The foliage of this variety is 
generally injured by insects while making its growth. With me 
it does not set its buds freely the following season after being 
forced. R. Jenny Lind flowers at the same time as the last- 
named, and is distinct—its only recommendation. In habit it is 
rather loose, and does not flower very freely. 
The caucasicum varieties are invaluable ; album and the variety 
pictum flower about the same time. The latter when forced in 
moderate heat and then placed in a shady position is even more 
delicate and beautiful than when allowed to flower naturally. 
R. c. album compactum is a very dwarf compact-growing variety, 
and forms a capital succession to the preceding varieties, and is 
very useful when forced in early spring. The flowers are pure 
white and slightly fringed ; the leaves are neat but rather small. 
I 6hall not enumerate a large number of varieties, for those 
already named are decidedly the best and most useful for early 
flowering either inside or out. For real service one or two good 
varieties are sufficient, and if confined to one only, R. blandum 
would be my selection in preference to all others.—W. Bardney. 
PETROLEUM AS AN INSECTICIDE. 
I can fully endorse “ Single-handed’s ” statement on page 
239 respecting the usefulness of this oil when mixed with softsoap 
and warm water, say from 95° to 100°, for many kinds of plants, 
especially Gardenias, Stephanotis, &c. I have very healthy plants 
of the former well set with buds, which a few months ago were 
infested with mealy bug and green and black fly ; but since 
giving them a weekly syringing with the above mixture I have 
not the least trouble with them, and not an insect is to be found. 
There are five Peach honses here, all of which are more or less 
infested with the black aphis, a most troublesome pest, but with 
the aid of petroleum, hot water, and soap, I live in full hope of 
entirely exterminating it in the autumn as soon as the fruit has 
been gathered ; but were I required to get rid of the pest with 
anything but the above mixture at the same cost, 1 should regard 
the task as a hopeless one. I consider petroleum a gardener’s friend, 
but would advise beginners to be cautious in applying it, especially 
if soda is added, as I have seen plants much injured thereby. 
I was delighted to see such an authority as Mr. Taylor recom¬ 
mending its use for Vines, and having Vines under my charge 
infested with mealy bug I intend using it more largely than ever. 
The smell arising from plants which have been syringed with the 
mixture soon passes off.—W. J., Durham. 
ROSE CUTTINGS FAILING. 
I am sorry that “ W. M.” and his friend are not the only 
persons who have failed this mild winter with Rose cuttings, for 
those inserted last September are almost if not quite as bad as 
those mentioned in the Journal on page 232. 
I have often thought that more trouble was taken with H.P. 
Rose cuttings than was necessary, for previous to this season I 
have been able to strike 90 per cent, without the aid of glass. 
My plan is to make the cuttings with heels and insert them at 
least 6 inches deep, taking care to have the heel surrounded by 
sharp sand, then treading them in very firm, taking no further 
thought until frosty weather, then covering all over with bracken 
until spring. From such cuttings I have cut blooms the following 
summer which have been placed in first-prize stands in respectable 
company, so that I attribute the failing entirely to the past mild 
winter ; for no doubt Rose cuttings, like all other half-hardwooded 
plant-cuttings require a long time to callus.—J. Mallender. 
I have much pleasure in giving “ W. M.” the benefit of an 
experiment with Rose cuttings made without my knowledge by 
my wife, who is a great lover of Roses, and tries all means to 
increase her stock. 
Some time in August of last year she took cuttings having a 
ring of the old wood at the base and inserted twenty on a spent 
hotbed under a handglass, twenty in the open ground under a 
glass, and twenty without glass. In November I potted twelve 
from the hotbed and placed them on a cold frame under glass. 
Most of these are now nice plants with three or four shoots from 
the ground. From the open under the handglass I potted thirteen, 
of which ten are now doing well. Those without protection all 
died except two, and my man, not knowing about them, hoed 
those two up. 
From this I should say that the quickest and safest plan is to 
raise them on an old hotbed under glass.— Wm. H. Crossley. 
Seeing a paragraph in a recent impression about Rose cuttings 
failing, I write to say that early last November I told my gar¬ 
dener to put in several hundred cuttings of strong-growing varieties 
in an open border without any protection, south exposure. They 
are looking most vigorous, having shoots an inch long, and I think 
they are nearly all alive. The frost and snow we lately had does 
not seem to have hurt them at all. I think that placing lights 
over the cuttings was the chief cause of “ W. M.’s” failure, as it 
entails delicacy of constitution.—C. A. Hanbtjry, Belmont. 
Replying to a correspondent (page 232), I would observe that 
I always insert a number of cuttings about October. The wood 
must be thoroughly ripe, and whenever possible I give prefer¬ 
ence to a cutting about 6 or 8 inches long with a heel. There 
are several varieties that this cannot be readily secured. I then 
procure boxes, say 10 or 12 inches deep, and fill them with friable 
loam to the depth of 4 or 5 inches. The cuttings are protected 
during severe winters, but especially against the keen winds 
peculiar to the months of March and April. Half a handful of 
sand is placed at the base of every cutting. By this method 
three-fourths generally succeed in the open air.—W. J. M. 
“W. M.,” on page 232, asks how Rose cuttings inserted last 
autumn have succeeded with Rose-growing readers this winter. 
I inserted about two hundred last November, and believe by their 
appearance that nine out of every ten will live and grow. A t 
present the young shoots or buds are only just starting into growth. 
The cuttings, mostly Hybrid Perpetuals, were prepared about a 
foot in length and inserted firmly in the ground, half of which 
were on a border facing north, the rest on a border facing the 
east, in rows a foot asunder and 6 inches apart in the rows. No 
protection was given except that afforded by the wall a little 
distance off. 
