Angasfc 5, 1S83. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
121 
for early forcing, must have abundance of air day and night to harden 
and ripen their wood. They must be syringed at least once daily to keep 
their ioliaae clean, and watered at their roots whenever they need it. 
If the last is not attended to they are certain to become a prey to mildew, 
which if once established in the house may prove a source of trouble for a 
long time. All the flower buds that appear from this date should be re¬ 
moved, so as to give the plants every opportunity of growing and flowering 
well when they are required to do so. Plants in pots may now be turned 
out and repotted. The soil used for these should be of a lighter 
nature than advised for Hybrid Perpetual?. If the loam is modera'ely light 
add about one-third of leaf mould to it, and it may require a little sand. 
These plants should be restaked and their branches tied, and then either 
plunged outside and treated the same as the H.P.’s or placed again under 
glass until they are partially established in their pots. They are better 
outside, when once established, for two months, and then if properly 
treated when housed will yield abundance of buds until Christmas. The 
remaining portion can be started into growth to succeed them. The plants 
harden and ripen their growth outside, and when placed in a temperature 
of 50° to 55° break quickly into growth and flower freely. 
Young plants that it may be necessary to grow on and are now 
vigorous in C or 8-inch pots may be transferred into others 2 inches 
larger. These plants, if grown under glass, will give a good autumn 
supply of flowers and bloom again abundantly towards the end of March 
or early in April. Young plants rooted in the spring and now in 5-inch 
pots may be placed into 7-inch pots. They should be grown under glass, 
removing all flower buds as they appear, so as not to induce the plants 
to make growth until the end of September, when they may be allowed to 
flower. Gloire de Dijon, William Allen Richardson, and all of similar 
growth that have been trained up the roof close to the glass will have 
made abundance of firm wood by this time. When these are well 
ripened early in the season and kept under glass they often start into 
growth in autumn and flower irregularly. To prevent this the plants 
should be turned outside and secured to a wall until the end of September. 
They can then be trained round stakes ready for housing after the first 
frost or two. When removed the position they occupied can be given to 
others of later growth. 
Exhausted Plants. —Any plant?, whether Tea or Hybrid Perpetuals, 
that have become bare or exhausted from continuous forcing, may be stood 
outside and left in the pots in which they have been growing. They can 
either be taken out and repotted now or left until the spring, which is 
preferable. They should be partially pruned in autumn, so that they will 
stand in a cold frame and finally pruned close back to near the surface of 
the soil early in January. These old plants will, if given cold frame treat¬ 
ment, produce very strong shoots, and during the season make bushy 
healthy specimens. 
Striking Cuttings. —For growing on in the place of any plants that 
may be discarded after flowering in spring a good batch of cuttings should 
now be rooted. In order to maintain a healthy stock of Gloire de Dijon, 
Mardchal Niel, Rove d’Or, and others, cuttings should always be rooted at 
this season of the year. Plants established in 5-ioch pots and wintered in 
a cold house make earlier and stronger growth than if propagation was 
deferred until the early part of the year. If half-ripened wood is selected 
for cuttings they will root freely at this season, either in a handlight 
under glass in a cool vinery or behind a north wall. Two or three joints 
are ample for a cutting, and may be inserted in all sand in preference to 
a mixture of soil and sand. When rooted the tender brittle roots can be 
lifted out "f sand without breaking them with greater freedom than out 
of soil. The roots also appear to extend more rapidly in sand than soil. 
A g od s aking of water should be given when inserted, and the hand- 
light? kept air-tight until they are rooted. Directly they are rooted place 
them singly into 3-inch pats, and prow them on in a close frame until 
they are ready for 5-inch, and when ' r 'iheyare established in these 
they may have cool treatment under . 
THE FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND. 
Propagating Boses. —Dwarf plants on their own roots are the best 
for most soil?, but as these cannot often be procured, those who can get 
suitable cuttings should endeavour to raise their own stock. There are 
two ways of striking cutting?, one being under handlights at the present 
time, and the other with well ripened growth in October and November, 
much as we would Gooseberry cuttings. It is to the former and least 
practised method we will at p eser.t confii e our remarks. The best 
position for striking cuttings at this time of the year is at the back of a 
north wall, and either handlights or bottomless hexes, closely covered 
with squares of glass, are required for-he purpose. In these should be 
placed 3 or 4 inches of gritty 1 amy soil faced over with more of the 
road grit, or failing this silver sand. The cuttings to be preferred are 
short firm shoots that have recently perfected a bloom, and these should 
be taken off with a heel, and if necessary shortened so as to reduce them 
to about four joints. If a sufficiency of these cannot be procured, then 
medium-sized firm shoots may be cut up into lengths of three or more 
joints, trimminsr off the lower leaves, and cutting clean across below the 
lowest joint. The lowest buds ought not to be removed, as these will 
eventually pu«h up strong shoots, thereby greatly improving the plants. 
As fast a? the cuttings are made they should be dibbled in firmly and 
about 4 inches apart each way. If allowed to lay about for an hour or 
two after t k -ey are cut from the parent plants, a failure to strike will be 
almost certain. They should be watered in, and the glass kept closely 
over them until they are rooted, which may take place in about a month, 
when they ought to receive ple.nty of air. If the position is at all open 
to the lull sunshine at the hottest part of the day, the cuttings must be 
carefully shaded at that time, or they will lose their leaves and fail to 
strike. These summer-rooted plants may either be potted or bedded 
out on good ground where they will be sheltered somewhat, this being 
done in October or early in November before the leaves fall, and they 
may then form a few fresh roots before the weather sets in. In cold 
districts it may be advisable to allow them to remain where they were 
struck, as they can then be more readily protected in severe weather. 
We are alluding principally to the Hybrid Perpetuals, but we have struck 
Gloire de Dijon, Mardcbal Niel, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Safrano, 
Devoniensis, Catherine Mermet, and other Teas in a similar manner, 
only the cuttings were obtained from plants trained on sunny walls. 
It is useless to attempt striking soft nnripened growth. 
Budding Briars. —The recent rains will have been favourable to this 
work. In dry hot weather the buds do not separate readily from the 
wood, neither do the bark of the shoots to be budded open freely. The 
rains or heavy soakings of water correct this, and directly it is found 
that they are in good condition a start should be made. About three 
shoots on each Briar is ample. Select plump but not far advanced buds, 
use a sharp knife for cutting this away from the wood, the small piece of 
wood accompanying the bud being carefully separated, without, however, 
removing the heart. If the latter comes away with the wood it useless to 
insert the bud into the Briar. Insert the bud in a T cut, and between the 
bark and the wood of the Briar shoot, the smooth bone handle of a 
budding knife being the best for opening the bark. The bud should be 
carefully slid in so as to be near the main stem of the Briar as possible, 
and should face outwards. Many novices are apt to fix the buds 1 inch 
and even 2 inches from the main stem, where the shoots which eventually 
form are much more liable to be blown out than they would be if only 
one-quarter inch, or rather more from the stems. The closer they are to 
the stems the sooner they become firmly attached. The buds, whether on 
the branches or remozed, ought to be kept moist till they are inserted, 
should at once be bound in with matting or worsted, and in very hot 
weather are best shaded with Cabbage or Rhubarb leaves. 
Late Bloom on Boses. —The very hot and dry wea'her experienced 
late in June and early in July had the effect of rapidly opening all the 
Roses, and the season was much shortened thereby. The dwarfs were 
the least affected, and these are now pushing up strong young shoots, 
which will give a good succession of bloom till injured by frosts. In 
order to assist the plants and to improve the quality of the blooms it is 
advisable to lightly shorten all the old strong-flowering growths, picking 
off all dead blooms, and at the same time any deformed buds that may be 
formed. Then if sufficient rain has not fallen a good soaking of soft 
water or weak liquid manure may be given with advantage. We also 
make a point of disbudding early and freely, so as to concentrate the 
strength of the plant on a few well-formed buds, and the superior blooms 
resulting give more pleasure than do clusters of thin and much smaller 
blooms. It is useless to do this disbudding after the buds are far ad¬ 
vanced, but it should be done as soon as they are large enough to be 
rubbed out without injuring those reserved. No trimming should be 
resorted to in the case of the Mardchal Niel on walls, but the long strong 
shoots should be reiained to their full length, and carefully tied or nailed 
in, and unless injured by very severe frosts will next seas-m develope 
fine blooms at nearly every joint. Gloire de Dijon shoots formed early 
will, if preserved, frequently develope a strong bloom at the ends and 
many late blooms throughout their entire lengths. It is only the earliest 
shoots that do this, but many of the later ones may also with advantage 
be laid in to their full length, these blooming early next year. It should 
be remembered that this fine old Rose is very apt to become exhausted, 
and large trees may be irreparably ruined before their owners have 
realised that they ought to have been well fed at the roots. 
Boilers. —I should be pleased to know if any of the readers of the 
Journal have had experience wit-h K ith’s patent sectional challenge boiler, 
and if it is suitable for heating horticultural buildings, and what fuel is the 
best for it? My employer wants me to have one, but I have had no 
experience with it.—A. S. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
The weather up till the 26th July was very changeable. 
The honey season seldom extends beyond this date, and this 
year with us it has not yet appeared. There have only been 
seven days in July that bees stored any surplus, and these days 
occurred at intervals being all the worse for the secretion of 
honey. There have been only two consecutive fine days, and the 
weather is, while I write, gloomy with a low temperature. There 
are some localities where a fair surplus has been gathered, but 
with us it is much below the average. 
During ihe height of the Clover season, and for three days 
in succession, the wind blew a perfect hurricane, never before 
experienced here in July. At least 50 per cent, of my hives have 
swarmed, which not only gave extra labour, but taxed my 
ingenuity to make the most of them. I have often stated the 
