16 
AMERICAN AC1UC UETURIST. 
ROSES IN POTS. 
We present above a drawing of a s peci- 
rnen Rose in a pot, which our artist has ex¬ 
ecuted in a masterly manner. We give this 
as a standard of excellence at which our 
amateur and professional readers should aim. 
The trouble at first may seem great, but the 
satisfaction is greater. The Rose selected 
for this purpose should be some free-bloom¬ 
ing and free-growing variety, such as Her- 
mosa, Bourbon Queen, Paul Joseph, Mrs. 
Bosanquet, Caroline de Sansal, Pius IXth, 
Agrippina,Devouiensis, Le Pactole, Safrano, 
&c. 
We prefer keeping the plants in pots 
through all their stages of growth from the 
cutting; but this requires much care and at¬ 
tention. Another mode, and perhaps better 
one for the young amateur, is to select strong 
vigorous young plants from the border in the 
fall of the year, and put them in pots just 
large enough to hold them without cramping 
the roots too much. If any of the roots be¬ 
come bruised or broken, cut them off. Cut 
away all but two or three of the strongest 
shoots, and shorten these in. The soil must 
be rich and strong, yet not retentive of mois¬ 
ture. A good compost may be made of two 
parts of well rotted sod, one part of old ma¬ 
nure, and one part of leaf mold. Let the 
pots be well drained. When the plants have 
been potted as above, place them in the cold¬ 
est part of the greenhouse ; or, better still, 
keep them in a frame or pit out of doors till 
about the middle of February or beginning of 
March. The object now must be to push 
them into a vigorous growth. This will be 
accomplished by the occasional use of a so¬ 
lution of guano or manure water, and a shift 
into a large pot. This is the point where 
failure generally begins, especially with 
young amateurs. They can not make up 
their minds to pinch and cut; it seems to 
them like Vandalism ; and yet, as a gener¬ 
al thing, a fine specimen plant can not be 
obtained in any other way. It would con¬ 
sume a great deal of space to go into all the 
detail of pinching and cutting in ; and too 
much detail is apt to lead to confusion. We 
will state generally, that two or three lead¬ 
ing shoots must be selected to form the 
body of the plant. The side shoots or later¬ 
als must be cut in to give form and comeli¬ 
ness, and it will be necessary to cut some 
out entirely where they interlace each other 
too much. Let no buds form until you get 
ready for a general bloom. To produce the 
desired result, good judgment and taste 
must be exercised, which will be greatly as¬ 
sisted by the cut at the head of this article. 
Keep that before you as a model, and if you 
do not succeed in your first attempt, try 
again. Few great objects are attained in a 
single trial ; but perseverance will in the end 
crown your labors with success, and your 
gratification will be great. If you do not 
succeed in producing as magnificent a speci¬ 
men, you may approach more or less near 
to it.— Ed. 
THE VERB ENA. 
Our “ young friend George,” of Westport, 
Connecticut, writes us for information about 
the Verbena. We shall always be glad to 
impart to our young friends any information 
we possess, and speak a word of encourage¬ 
ment to them. The matter that puzzles you 
so is only a seeming contradiction. The 
Verbena is not an annual, but a perennial ; 
however, as it ripens its seed every year, 
it may be grown as an annual. The 
book you refer to was written many years 
ago, before the introduction of the splendid 
I^brid varieties now cultivated, and when 
the Verbena was chiefly grown from seed. 
You might grow a thousand plants from 
seed obtained at the stores, and not raise 
one at all comparable to the best kinds now 
•sold under name. We therefore say, in an¬ 
swer to your second inquiry, grow from 
cuttings, and not from seed ; as it is only 
by cuttings that choice kinds can be per¬ 
petuated. In answer to your other inquiries, 
we answer, buy the plants, not the cuttings. 
Most of our florists have them for sale, and 
good kinds can be bought for about $1 50 
per dozen Some very choice varieties of 
recent introduction will cost more. The 
following is a select list: Brilliant de Vaise, 
Scarlet Defiance, Lord Raglan, King of Scar¬ 
lets, Sarah, Admiration, Blue Defiance, Fair 
American, General Taylor, Henry Clay, He¬ 
roine, Jeannie Deans, Madame Lemounier, 
Iphigenie, Queen Victoria, Phenomenon’, 
Salamander, Striped Eclipse, Thalia, and the 
list might be greatly extended. These you 
can buy in the Spring, and turn out of the 
pots into the border. In the Fall, take up 
rooted joints of each, or put down cuttings, 
which, when rooted, pot off, and keep in a 
warm room during the winter. We advise 
George, and all our readers, young and old, 
to grow the Verbena, for it is among the 
most charming bedding plants we have. In 
one respect, however, you will be disap¬ 
pointed ; unless your olfactories are amazing 
sharp, you will certainly fail to discover the 
“ exquisite fragrance” spoken of by your au 
tlior. The person who can snuff “ exquisite 
fragrance” from the Verbena, must be blessed 
with sweet olfactories. We have grown 
all the so-called sweet-smelling Verbenas, 
and regard such epithets as an abuse of 
words. We wish the Verbena were “ex¬ 
quisitely fragrant,” for it only lacks this to 
make it. probably the loveliest gem that 
decks either the green-house or lawn. 
There is a plant commonly called the 
“ Lemon-scented Verbena,” which is de¬ 
lightfully fragrant; its proper name, how¬ 
ever, is Aloyzia Citriodora. 
Our young friend also inquires if annuals 
can be grown from cuttings. We have 
struck cuttings of Mignonette, Sweet Alys- 
sum, Lobelia (gracilis), Clarkia, Ladies’ 
Slipper, and other annuals; but it is need¬ 
less to do this, since they are so readily ob¬ 
tained true from the seed. 
Our young friend is right in supposing 
that a knowledge of the names of plants 
adds much to the interest and pleasure of 
their cultivation ; and our advice to him 
and to all others is, never to buy of a man 
