258 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
sons illustrative of the veneration in which this 
flower was held by the ancients, and pointing 
out its claims on the attention of the moderns. 
The discussion of the regular subject was then 
entered upon. 
David Scott. The subject is a very extensive 
one, including as it does the entire routine of plant 
cultivation, and should be taken point by point; 
propagation, soil, watering and general treat¬ 
ment. At the last meeting it was remarked, 
that the propagation of the rose was not of 
much importance to the public, as they desired 
to know how to treat a plant after procuring it 
from the florist, and that those whose business 
it is to raise cuttings were already acquainted 
with the various methods adopted. This part 
of the subject then had already been disposed 
of. 
The proper soil is a matter of the greatest 
importance. For my own part, I use chopped 
turf, preferring it with the undecomposed fiber 
and grass, taking care in potting to place the 
rough pieces in the bottom of the pot immedi¬ 
ately over the drainage. The fiber will gradu¬ 
ally decompose and furnish a substitute for ma¬ 
nure, which is not necessary in a distinct form, 
until the plant has been growing for some time, 
when it may be applied in a liquid state. 
J. C. Parsons. Many of our members being 
very familiar with the minute details of this sub¬ 
ject, do not consider it important to state them, 
but such information is just what is important 
to us. We want to know the entire routine, not 
only how to make a plant produce its flowers in 
the house, but also how to preserve it in a luxu¬ 
riant and healthy state. In looking over a peri¬ 
odical lately, I was interested with the account 
of an improvement made in the construction of 
pots, to insure the circulation of air between 
the pot and the stand on which it is placed, by 
providing the pot with feet. This would pre¬ 
vent the evil arising from the use of saucers, 
which have been supposed by some unskilled 
persons to be intended for the reception of water. 
A. Reed. Many of those present are fully 
competent to cultivate a rose with success, from 
a cutting to a large and luxuriant plant, though 
perhaps like myself they may not he accustomed 
to describe their method of doing so. We may 
differ in some points, but each is more or less 
successful in the end. Of one thing I am con- 
convinced, and that is, that climate has more to 
do with the success in rose culture than is gen¬ 
erally supposed. For instance, in South Caro¬ 
lina, about 800 miles south of this, where the 
soil is light, and composed chiefly of vegetable 
matter and sand, roses grow much more luxu¬ 
riantly than in New York, with the best soil, 
and greatest care. Now why is this? It must 
be the influence of climate and the genial tem¬ 
perature of the soil. They could not be grown 
in New York in such a compost, therefore I con¬ 
sider climate of more importance than soil. 
Loam is decidedly good for this locality, but not 
essential in all cases. I have seen whole hedges 
of Tea roses in South Carolina six feet high, cov¬ 
ered with bloom, and have cut them down with 
the shears as I would clip boxwood, and the cut 
tings, without any preparation, set in a trench, 
8 to 12 inches, deep in November, rooted and 
had reached a height of from G to 10 inches in 
the June following, and were in full bloom. In 
New-York, the climate is different, and we could 
not succeed so easily. The roses which grow 
so luxuriantly at the south, are the China, Musk, 
Cluster, and other similar varieties. The Hy¬ 
brid Perpetuals, Moss, and other garden roses 
also flourished. The climate is mild, the temp¬ 
erature in winter varying from 40 to 50 °. 
When you turn up the soil to the depth of 18 in¬ 
ches a moderate warmth is felt, equal to that of a 
hot-hed. There is no doubt but loam is best in 
colder locations, but in South Carolina the Rose 
grows quite luxuriantly in light sandy soil, with 
abundance of vegetable matter. At Natchez, 
Miss., I have seen hedges of roses in bloom in 
January, without receiving any special atten¬ 
tion. Tea roses arc the most common at the 
South. 
David Scott thought the debate was proceed¬ 
ing very indefinitely, and that it should be 
treated under separate heads, in order to embrace 
the whole. 
P. B. Mead described the method of proceed¬ 
ing, after the preparation of cuttings. The soil 
he preferred for striking cuttings was princi¬ 
pally red sand, with some charcoal mixed. 
Amateurs did not generally succeed in striking 
cuttings, and if in their first attempts, they pro¬ 
cured two out of a dozen, they might consider 
themselves successful. He would recommend 
them rather to procure a rooted plant from the 
florist, than to raise one from a cutting. Care 
should be taken to remove the cuttings as soon 
as rooted properly, into small pots; using a 
compost made up of rotted sod, four parts; gar- 
den-loam, four parts; manure and sand, each, 
two parts, with small pieces of charcoal added. 
The soil may be readily measured with a large 
flower-pot. After potting, the young plants 
should be shaded for a few da®;; but when they 
commence to grow, they should be fully exposed 
to the influence of the sun, so as to secure strong 
wood. The plant should be shifted as often 
as required, taking care not to over-shift, 
but using one size larger each time. A pot 
about the size of a hat, will be sufficient for a 
rose for four or five years. Pruning is a very 
important point, which cannot be very clearly 
explained without a specimen to illustrate it. 
All the dead wood should be cut out, and the 
clean portion’with strong eyes left. Tojnanage 
the plant properly in a room, a table the width 
of the window should be provided, such as I 
described at last meeting; and all the saucers 
thrown away, as they are not required. The 
plants should be shifted in the latter part of 
August or beginning of September, at latest. 
All decayed roots should be pared off with the 
exhausted soil. Watering should be very care¬ 
fully attended to, for if this is neglected, the 
plants will fail, no matter how carefully treated 
in other respects. 
David Scott. I wish to know why rotted sod 
is so much recommended as the best material for 
compost. For small pots it may be necessary 
to have it reduced to a fine state, but for large 
pots it is not essential. I also wish to know how 
pieces of charcoal act upon the soil, as they do 
not lose any of their weight or change in appear¬ 
ance after twelve months’ use. Plants have 
been successfully grown in sphagnum (a kind 
of moss) without any soil. 
P. B. Mead. Charcoal is beneficial to plants 
by absorbing gases from the atmosphere, and 
the importance of rotting the sod, and reducing 
it to a state of comminution, is in accordance 
with the principles laid down by Liebig, and 
practised by English cultivators, that the food of 
the plant should be supplied in the form most 
easily appropriated by the roots. I do not 
recommend reducing it to powder, as then it 
would become bound , as it is termed. 
R. R. Scott. The principles laid down by 
Liebig are general, and refer to field crops 
rather than to plants in pots, which are in an 
artificial state to a certain extent, and require 
special treatment. In cultivating a plant in a 
pot, the soil should be of such a nature as to 
furnish the food to the plant gradually, as the 
supply is limited, and it should be selected with 
attention to the mechanical condition necessary 
for the support of the plant; extra food can be 
supplied by other means, and in a liquid state. 
The practice of reducing the soil to a fine state 
for potting, has been discontinued by the best 
cultivators. 
A. Reed. I do not believe soil of so much 
importance as the general treatment, climate, 
and location. It has been proved that while one 
cultivator uses the most approved soils, another, 
who may have, by mistake or necessity, used 
soil much inferior, may be much more success¬ 
ful from attention to other points. Location has 
not been sufficiently discussed, and I would re¬ 
quest Mr. Bkidgeman to explain his system of 
cultivation. 
A. Bridgeman. My practice does not, I pre¬ 
sume, differ much from that pursued by other 
growers. For compost, I prefer a proportion of 
two bushels of vegetable mould or rotted leaves, 
two bushels of chopped sod, passed through a 
coarse sieve, wide enough to allow moderate 
sized lumps to pass through; one bushel hot-bed 
manure, and one of sand. The sod I use is 
clayey. In propagating by cuttings, I find that 
wood of one month old will strike in many cases 
very readily; and when put in during the latter 
part of February, will be rooted in March. I 
use cutting-pans, about three inches deep, and a 
compost of tw T o-thirds sand, to one of loam, and 
apply bottom-heat. I have a bed heated by a 
flue passing through it, which I find very useful 
for this purpose. When well rooted, I pot them 
off into small-sized pots, and plant them out in 
May. In the fall I re-pot them in the compost 
already mentioned, and keep them in a cool 
house, without fire-heat, till January; unless 
the frost is too great, when I protect them 
slightly, but use no fire-heat, till last of January 
or February. These plants flower well. The Tea, 
Bourbon, and China are treated in this way; 
the Hybrid Perpetuals, or Moss roses are not in¬ 
cluded, as neither these nor the noisettes are 
adapted for winter flowering. I do not prune 
very closely in the fall, but in May prune 
thoroughly, and sink the pots in the soil, and 
lift them in September for winter flowering, 
re-potting them if necessary, and pruning out all 
dead wood. At this season, care must be taken 
not to break the ball much. The temperature 
should be kept moderate. A dry atmosphere 
is very injurious, and is the chief cause of failure 
in keeping plants in rooms. The water should 
always be applied at top; where saucers are 
used it is only for cleanliness. Planting 
out secures strong plants, but is not admis- 
sable for winter blooming. I have found 
hybrid-perpetuals to succeed best in their own 
roots. Teas and Bourbons will do well from 
layers. In England and the north of France, 
budding is generally practised and succeeds well, 
