370 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 1, 1883. 
in this line. Mr. Wliitwell, who won it last year, was not 
able to put in even an appearance at South Kensington, the 
scene of his last year’s triumphs. 
I think the most remarkable feature in all the exhibitions 
has been the immense strides that the Tea Rose has made. 
Growers have learned that the Rose is not anything like so 
tender as it used to be represented. Many who only used to 
grow it by tens now grow it by hundreds, and I may safely 
affirm that there were dozens of stands this year which were 
not placed at all, that two or three years ago would have well 
taken a first prize. The wisdom of the rule excluding Hybrid 
Teas has been abundantly proved, and the extreme beauty 
of the stands has not been marred by flowers which, however 
beautiful in themselves, only detracted from the symmetry and 
refinement that ought always to be the chief characteristics of 
this most lovely tribe. That the favour which the Tea Rose 
has found is not likely to be evanescent I know, for wherever 
I have been there I have found that more space was being 
allotted to them; and that while many have said, “I shall 
not increase my Hybrid Perpetuals, I mean to go in for two 
or three hundred more Teas.” I know one grower for 
sale who in one day received five orders for 1100 plants. 
Of new Roses there is not much to be said. Etoile de 
Lyon has not been so extensively shown as I had hoped it 
would have been. Merveille de Lyon, of which so much has 
been said, has been shown several times, but it is not strictly 
speaking a new Rose, but a sport fromBaronne de Rothschild, 
like Madame Moreau and White Baroness, hut at present 
better than either of these. Of Roses which have not yet 
been in commerce Her Majesty, one of Mr. Bennett’s seed¬ 
lings, undoubtedly made the sensation of the year. It ob¬ 
tained the gold medal of the National Rose Society, and was 
greatly admired. It was described as a Hybrid Tea, but it 
was extremely difficult to trace any Tea blood in it. Whether 
Mr. Bennett is wise in holding it back is a matter of question. 
Already he has lost some of it, as his advertisement proves, 
and it would seem to me that it would he better for himself 
and for the Rose world in general if he had put it into com¬ 
merce this year; but that is his business, and not mine. 
Another new English Rose is Lord Frederick Cavendish, 
raised by Mr. Frettingham of Beeston near Nottingham, to 
which the gold medal of the National Rose Society was 
awarded at the Wirral Rose Show. It is a very vigorous- 
growing Rose of the same type as Duke of Edinburgh and 
Duke of Teck, brilliant in colour but somewhat different in 
build : it is likely to prove a useful Rose to exhibitors. Lady 
Mary Fitzwilliam, a Hybrid Tea Rose of Mr. Bennett's, has 
been well shown, and is likely to be a popular Rose. Mr. 
House of Peterborough showed a promising Rose at Sheffield, 
but as he had not complied with the rules of the Society it 
.could not be adjudicated upon. It is likely, however, that 
we may see more of it next season ; but in truth the dearth 
of new Roses of value is very great, and although we still 
continue to have a number from France they fall into the 
background very quickly. 
No event of the year was more welcome to the Rose-loving 
world than to see once more Mr. R. N. G. Baker of Exeter 
entering the lists; and although he did not exhibit in his 
usual form, yet the confident hope was expressed that he 
would another season resume his old place. 
I have hitherto written of the Rose season from an exhi¬ 
bitor’s point of view; but what a glorious season it has been 
for the Rose as a garden flower! All through August and 
September.Roses have been gathered in all parts which would 
not have disgraced a stand in July, while the Teas have been 
something astonishing in their floriferous character and in 
the quality of the blooms. By-tlie-by, how very unlooked 
for (by me) is the position occupied this Rose season by that 
lovely and most variable Rose Madame Lambard. For what¬ 
ever purpose required, exhibition or garden, it is ever good. 
The glory of Roses is, however, well nigh gone for the 
season, and the chief thought of the Rose-grower now is 
not to look out for blooms, but to be preparing for planting 
for the ensuing year. This autumn has been a favourable 
one. Wood has well ripened in most places, and I trust 
that we look forward to another year with even more con¬ 
fidence than usual, and that old exhibitors will maintain 
their fame and new ones win honours in the cultivation of 
England’s foremost flower—the Rose.—D., Deal. 
ECONOMY IN STOKING. 
Economy of fuel in the heating of our horticultural buildings is 
a subject which may be discussed with advantage at this season, as 
with the present month begins the stoker’s year. The introduction 
of and almost universal adoption of hot water, the powerful modern 
boilers, the general use of the one-boiler or double-boiler system, 
and a better class of stokeholes, has much lessened the labour and 
weary night-watchings of the stoker. In addition to the saving of 
labour there must also be a great saving of fuel where one fire is 
now doing the work of half a dozen. It is not my intention, how¬ 
ever, to say anything on the actual saving effected by our modern 
appliances, but it would be interesting to have the subject discussed 
by some of your able correspondents who have facts and figures at 
their disposal. My present object in writing is to give a few plain 
directions to those of your readers who may have a fire to attend to 
during the coming winter months, and I hope they may be found 
useful to the amateur and simple enough to be understood by the 
youngest of the young gardeners. 
In the first place let us consider what tools are necessary for our 
work. These are few and simple. A good stout poker ; a similar 
piece of iron with end turned at right angles and flattened a little, 
so that it may be inserted between the bars in cleaning ; a soot-rake, 
made by fixing a stout piece of sheet iron 5 inches by 3 inches (or 
larger, according to size of flues) at the end of an iron rod, fixing 
the rod in the centre of the plate. A similar article, but circular, is 
necessary where a boiler is perforated with smoke tubes. Each of 
these should be made of sufficient length to be worked with comfort, 
and be turned at the end to form a handle. 
Before lighting a fire see that all the flues are clear and that the 
furnace is thoroughly cleared out, leaving neither clinkers, ashes, 
nor cinders. Let the wood get well ignited before placing any coals 
or coke on it. A few shovelfuls of the cinders just removed from 
the furnace are best to start with, allowing a full draught to play 
through the bars till a bright fire is produced. More fuel may then 
be added, and the draught modified to suit circumstances. Except 
in cases of hard forcing, and where a boiler has a great length of 
pipes to heat, fires should generally be a slow-combustion speed 
during fine days. Suppose, then, we commence our four and-twenty 
hours’ routine duties on the afternoon of a fine day when the fire has 
been banked up for the day. After the warmer houses have been 
closed and damped down in the afternoon, the fire is usually stirred to 
keep the temperature up after the sun is losing power. First draw 
the damper fixed in the chimney to regulate the draught out to its 
full length, and keep the ashpit door shut, so that any sulphur fumes 
may be drawn up the chimney and as little dust as possible escape 
from the ashpit. If the fire is burned low clear the bars of ashes 
and remove any clinkers, pull the fire together, and add a little 
fuel, leaving more or less draught according to the amount of heat 
likely to be required. 
After a bright day we oflen have frost at night. If there are 
signs of frost it will be more economical to make a brisk fire at once 
than have to fire hard during the evening to raise the temperature 
when it is found to be getting too low. A kettleful of water may 
take some time to boil, but when it does boil it does not take a large 
fire to keep it boiling. So it is with a hothouse or a heating appa¬ 
ratus. Once heated it may be maintained for a considerable time 
with but little waste of heat. If there is no appearance of frost 
leave the damper out about an inch and the ashpit door open. This 
will keep the necessary heat in the pipes, and will be in a fit state 
for making up for the night any time from five to seven o'clock, as 
may be thought desirable. By a fit state for making up for the night 
I mean it should be bright but not burned too low. Draw the hot 
cinders together towards the front of the furnace, but do not stir 
them so as to knock the ashes out of the bars. Place what fuel may 
be thought necessary on the fire, but do not cram the furnace as is so 
often done. Let the greater part of the fuel be placed near the 
furnace door. Next draw some water from the sludge tap and pour 
it on the ashes below the bars, and place two or three shovelfuls of 
the wet ashes over the front of the fire, close both furnace and 
ashpit doors, and leave the damper out just so far as to let the smoke 
away and no more. Thus made up the fire will last for twelve or 
fourteen hours and retain a fair amount of heat. 
As to the time fires are made up for the night, opinions may 
differ. I see no reason why 80 per cent, of our garden fires may 
