Jane 11, 1691. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
4G7 
Stray Notes. 
A FEW of the leading rosariane have been kind enough to answer my 
questions as to the amount of damage they estimate to have received 
from the Whitsuntide frost. Yorkshire and Herefordshire seem to have 
been the greatest sufEereis, and I do believe that for a wonder I got as 
little of it as anyone ; 'J° or 10° of frost seems to have been the general 
amount, our Irish friends being no better off than the majority, and 
Devonshire not escaping. My thermometer was unfortunately on a 
north wall, where it was much sheltered ; it there registered 30° F., 
and I estimate that my Eoses were not exposed to more than 7° of 
frost. I think a friendly haze or cloud must have come over and 
protected me in the small hours, as was certainly the case on the 
severest nights in the past winter. It was plain a frost was coming, 
though we had no snow ; and we worked as long as there was any light 
in covering up Potatoes and everything we could. The worst damage 
was to the early blossoms of Noble Strawberry. 
On May 1st, 1886, my thermometer happened to be in the same place, 
and then registered a minimum of 25°, 5° colder ; vegetation was then 
pretty nearly as forward as it was on the 18th this year. I remember 
this by the length of my Eose shoots, which were then much injured ; 
the majority of shoots, both H P. and Teas, were stopped— i.e., went 
blind, and much of the foliage was considerably hurt. I have now a 
few blind shoots, but quite a few, and such Tea buds as had appeared are 
apparently likely to be deformed, otherwise I can see no injury whatever, 
and a sufficient time having elapsed it is plain that there has been none. 
I fear my friends are likely to find a good many blind shoots, but 
I would try to comfort them by the assurance that my Eoses in 1886, 
though all fresh planted, wonderfully recovered afterwards ; and I am 
in hopes, in view of the present forcing weather and the great vitaMty 
of strong-growing shoots at this season, that in a short time most of the 
Eoses will have forgotten that terrible AVhitsuntide, and will perhaps 
not be so very late after all. _ 
As an instance of the recuperative power of a strong young shoot, I 
had a single strong maiden H.P. shoot budded an inch below the sur¬ 
face on a very strong Briar cirtting. It was 8 or 10 inches long, and 
had had its first tie to the bamboo which was to support it. One 
morning it was apparently broken. The tie had slipped by the shoot 
becoming flaccid, and all but the bamboo was flat on the ground. 
Probably the bambeo had received a blow which had jarred the shoot, 
somewhat strained by the tie, nearly orrt of the stock. The place of 
rupture was beneath the ground, and I left it alone. A day or two ago 
I very nearly gave it up ; the leaves had withered completely away, 
and the poor thing was prostrate and apparently quite dead. We had a 
warm shower in the night, and in the morning it was off the ground. 
This morning it is nearly upright again, and though there is no sign yet 
of its shooting at the eyes, I have little doubt that it will reunite and 
form a strong plant by the end of the season. A good many years ago 
I remember that going out one morning I found a “ blown out ’’ 
maiden shoot beneath a standard stock. I cut it back to two or three 
buds, popped it in again and tied it up, and it lived and grew. I often 
tried this again with blown out shoots, but was never afterwards 
successful. 
I think the bamboo canes sold as sticks and supports are a great im¬ 
provement on the extemporised stakes that used to be in vogue. Them 
not being likely to rot and break just below the surface is a considerable 
advantage. I should think they are very trustworthy in that way, but 
they are difficult to cut, turning the edge of my pruning knife in an 
alarming manner. Another point in their favour is their smooth and 
shiny surface, which not only looks neat but must a’so offer little pro¬ 
tection for the eggs and seeds of insect and vegetable pests. I have 
always looked upon an old stake with loose bark as a very likely source 
of infection. 
A well-known amateur informs me that this year maiden H P.'s 
seem to be coming into bloom before the cut-backs. This is very unusual, 
but on looking at my own col'ection 1 find that it is also the case to a 
considerable extent with me. It is difficult to account for this ; we 
must lay it, like everything else, to the weather. 
In looking over an old edition of Eivers’ “ Eose Amateurs’ Guide,” I 
find it suggested that dormant Tea buds in stocks may be protected 
from frost by two or three coats of collodion. This is a new idea to me, 
and it seems a very good one if it is effectual, so simple, quickly, and 
easily done. And if effectual, why should not the lowest inch or two 
joining the stock be thus preserved in standard Teas ? I do not think 
it would be a bit more trouble than some of the elaborate modes of 
covering now used, and if thought necessary we could still employ them 
as well. I am sure I should find it of groat service if it is a real protec¬ 
tion. Will anyone say who has tried it how far it is a preservative 
against severe frost ? 
The edition is dated 1863, and it is very interesting to sec what Eoses 
were considered the best twenty-eight years ago by so good an authority. 
One is of course prepared to find some varieties held in the highest 
esteem which have since nearly, if not quite, gone out of cultivation ; 
but, on the other hand, it is odd to see sorts still held to be of sterling 
value placed without comment among the common herd. Thus, in 
crimson H.P.’s of the sorts commended, Senateur Vaisse and Gloire dc 
Santenay arc selected for especial praise ; while Charles Ijefebvre, still 
one of our best, is reckoned with Fran 9 oisLacharme, Alphonse Damaizin, 
&c. It had, however, only b‘en introduced two years. Among the 
carmine, Madame C. Crapelet, now a first-class Ecse, goes with Duke of 
Cambridge, Lord Palmerston, &c., while Jules Margottin is pronounced 
the finest Eose known. In pink the highest possible praise is given to 
Comtesse de Chabrillant, it is good if it were not so very small ; while in 
this section there appear to be none now he'd of much account, with the 
exception, perhaps, of Victor Verdier or Louise Peyronny. In blush Mrs. 
Eivers and Madame Vidot were most esteemed—above Mdlle. Eugdnie 
Verdier, which I thought was much later. There was no good white 
H.P. at that time. 
In Teas Adam, Devoniensis, Gloire de Dijon, Madame Willermoz, and 
Souvenir d’un Ami are deservedly prai-ed ; while Niphetos is com¬ 
mended, La Boule d'Or deprecated, and Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, 
which had been out nine years, mentioned, but omitted from the abridged 
list. Ah, Well ! it is easy to be wise after the event. These Eoses were 
no doubt not estimated from the same exhibition standpoint from which 
they are now judged ; and Mr. Eivers’ representative twenty-eight years 
hence would not have much trouble, I fancy, in picking some serious 
holes in my notes.—W. R. Eaillem. 
HARDY FRUIT. 
[A prize Essay read at a meeting of tlie Cardiff G-ardeners’ JIutnal Improvemoiit 
Society.] 
(Continued from page 424.') 
Eed and White Currants. 
The cultivation of these fruits is of the simplest description ; new 
varieties, of course, are only ob'ained by seed, propagation by cuttings 
being the customary mode. Shoots well ripened from 10 inches to a foot 
long make the best cuttings. Eemove all the eyes with the exception of 
the top three or four. A heel at the base is not essential, and a joint only 
will suffice. Plant them 6 inches apart in rows 1 foot asunder. Nearly 
all will take root, and shoultl be transplanted the following autumn into 
nursery lines 1 foot apart, in rows 18 inches asunder. Prune hard to 
three or four cjms ; they break away with vigour and form from five to 
ten shooted plants, with a clean stem from 6 to 9 inches; one year in 
the nursery beds and they are fit for sale, and generally realise Ss. per 
dozen. Tne second year they generally increa.se 6d. to Is. per dozen ; 
but 4s. per dozen is the top price for Currant bushes. So easy is their 
cultivation that many nurserymen have been led to prop.agate too many, 
and I. daresay Currant bushes four or five years old, stunted, and in 
hundreds could be had at less than the above prices, but they are not 
the best for the purchaser. 
For garden cultivation plant in rows 4 feet apart, or if space is 
plentiful 6 feet. An open centre is best. After sufficient shoots are 
formed and a moderate height is attained spur them in by cutting all 
lateral growths to three or four eyes, increasing the height of the bush 
by allow'iug the main shoots to extend five or six eyes annually until 
the maximum height is reaehed, about 5 or 6 feet. They are never 
allowed to exceed this height, more generally they are kept at about 
4 feet by hard pruning. In this state they will continue to yield good 
crops annually. New branches when required are formed by encourag- 
iog new growth from below. It is best to fork between the rows, as the 
spade is liab’e to injure the roots. Give liberal dres.sings of manure > 
alternating with road scrapings, soot, and lime. A plantation would 
last twenty years, but twelve years is long enough. After that they 
deteriorate rapidly, and may be said to be worn out. 
Birds in severe winters play havoc with the buds of Eed and White 
Currants and the Gooseberry. Netting is the best remedy, but all 
persons cannot afford nets, and they should wash their bu.shes occasion¬ 
ally with a mixture of soot and lime ; in fact, anything that would 
make the buds bitter to the taste without injury to the bushes would 
prevent the birds attacking them. 
Black Currant. 
Birds never touch this fruit, owing to the bitter nature of its buds, 
and it is one of the most profitable and useful fruits known. Under the 
most neglectful treatment it will continue to yield its fruit ; but with 
good care it will increase the size of its berries to an astonishing extent, 
and pays well for the extra attention. It differs from the Eed and 
White in bearing its fruit along the wood of the last season’s growth, 
and not upon spurs. It is propagated and grown on like the Eed and 
White, sold at the same price ; the distance between the rows when 
planted permanently should, however, be a foot or so more, as it is 
taller. 
I do not know why the single stem is preferred. I suppose it is more 
accommodating to the nurserymen who sell them, and it is hard to break 
through an old custom. But the most profitable bushes of Black 
Currants are invariably those which are allowed to throw up shoots 
from the very base of the plant. It loves moisture at the roots in 
abundance, .and is a gress feeler. In pruning, or rather thinning, do not 
