October 6, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
805 
had no difficulty in colouring Grapes provided the Vines are fairly 
healthy and the foliage good and free from insect pests. 
All that is needed, in addition to adequate support, to colour 
Grapes well is abundance of air day and night during the colouring 
period. The majority of badly coloured Grapes is not alone due to 
overcropping, or the foliage devoured by red spider, but by growing 
the Vines in too close, too moist, and too confined an atmosphere! 
Such treatment is detrimental to the colouring of Grapes. I 
have found Grapes to colour best when the structure in which 
they are grown is ventilated from the time they commence 
colouring as liberally as a greenhouse. Early in the season a 
check is avoided by gradually subjecting the Vines to cooler and 
more airy treatment. If this liberal ventilating principle were 
carried out more generally we should hear less of scalding in the 
case of Lady Downe’s and other late kinds. 
I remember once saying there was no more difficulty in'scald- 
ing Black Hamburgh and Madresfield Court than in scalding 
Lady Downe’s. The statement met with a good deal of opposi¬ 
tion at the time. As I stated then, I can state now in good faith, 
that scalding is not constitutional to Lady Downe’s, but is brought 
about by the cultivator, and can by him be prevented. — 
Wm. Bardney. 
Boses at the Principality Nursery, Deganwy, Llandudno. 
On paying a recent visit to the above—the latest addition to Messrs. 
Wm. Clibran & Son’s nursery grounds—I was agreeably surprised to 
observe such a transformation scene in so short a time, rough unculti¬ 
vated grass land having been quickly changed to a breadth of Roses. The 
nursery is about 15 acres in extent, and is mainly devoted to Rose¬ 
growing, for which purpose the marly loamy soil is eminently suited, 
as evidenced by the clean and healthy appearance of the 30,000 or 
40,000 plants grown. There was not a weakly plant to be seen, nor 
was any mildew or rust to be observed on the place. All classes were 
making strong, sturdy, useful growth with every prospect of splendid 
well-ripened plants for sending out in November. It has been unne¬ 
cessary as yet to use manure of any kind, and as long as the natural 
soil will produce similar blooms, and such strong and sturdy, but not 
gross plants, none will be needed. In the pure air of their breezy hill¬ 
side the blooms of H.P.’s develop wonderful depth of colour, and the 
exquisite and delicate shades of the Teas and'Noisettes come out to 
perfection. 
All, or nearly all, the plants are grown as dwarfs, the stock most 
extensively used being the Briar in both its cutting and seedling form, 
and the results so far have proved the wisdom of the selection. Hybrid 
Perpetuals, as a matter of course, are largely grown. Of varieties of 
recent introduction, the white La France, Augustine Guinoisseau, and Sir 
Rowland Hill are conspicuous, and they are very effective in contrast. 
Among the older varieties the following are particularly noticeable :— 
Alfred Colomb, A. K. Williams, Baroness Rothschild, Duchess of Bedford, 
Duke of Edinburgh, Merveille de Lyon, Annie Wood, Captain Christy, 
Chas. Lefebvre, Comtesse de Serenye, G^nffial Jacqueminot, Her Majesty, 
La France, Lord Macaulay, Louis Van Houtte, Madame Gabriel Luizet, 
Marie Baumann, Monsieur E. Y. Teas, Mrs. J. Laing, Mrs. Jowitt, Prince 
Arthur, Prince Camille de Rohan, Reynolds Hole, Rosieriste Jacobs, 
Senateur Vaisse, Sultan of Zanzibar, and Ulrich Brunner. The Teas are 
pictures of health and vigour. They are grown in immense quantities, 
and where all are so good it is almost invidious to make comparisons ; 
still some are found to merit a special note. Climbing Niphetos is in 
grand condition, and there is no doubt of its climbing propensities as 
grown there. Mrs. James Wilson is also strongly in evidence, and 
likely to prove a fine acquisition, and so is White Perle. Of Anna 
Ollivier, Catherine Mermet, Innocente Pirola, Madame Cusin, Marie 
Van Houtte, Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, The Bride, Rubens, Souvenir d’un 
Ami, Princess of Wales, Perle des Jardins, Niphetos, Madame Lambard, 
Madame de Watteville, Devoniensis, and Climbing Devoniensis, I can 
say no more than that they are seen at their best. Among the Hybrid 
Teas Grace Darling and Lady Mary Fitzwilliam are conspicuous even 
in good company, and so are Marshal Niel and W. A. Richardson 
among the Noisettes. Bourbons also receive their quota of space and 
careful attention. In this class Kronprinzessin Victoria and Mrs. Paul 
struck me as being a pair of grand autumnals. 
Space will not admit of copious notes, so that many of the varied 
classes of Roses cultivated have to be passed over hurriedly j moreover, 
my time was short, but even with the probability of missing my train I 
was compelled to halt and admire the lovely Rugosa Madame Georges 
Bruant, its ample glossy leafage and exquisite elongated Niphetos-l?ke 
buds being charming. It is worthy of extensive planting—if not in the 
Rose bed or Rose border proper, then in clumps, skirting lawns and 
shrubberies and similar positions, where it would prove as interesting 
and be as great a source of beauty and usefulness as its larger brethren 
are in more favoured spots. Let us hope that others of the same class 
in different colours will soon be added to the list. 
Although this is a Rose nursery, we find many gems in shrubs suit¬ 
able for sea-coast planting, and such as are too tender to winter safely 
out of doors in Cheshire. Hardy herbaceous plants, too, if not as yet 
in large numbers are in great variety, forming the nucleus of an exten¬ 
sive stock, and of such quality as the firm is already so deservedly noted 
for. The thriving condition of all the plants is apparent throughout 
the grounds, reflecting high credit on the skill and painstaking care of 
the manager of this branch, Mr. Heath.— John Roberts, llie Gardens , 
Tan-y-bwlch, R.S.O., A. Wales. 
New Irish Roses. 
I suspect that others of your readers, as well as myself, felt disap¬ 
pointed by the announcement that Messrs. A. Dickson & Sons had sold 
their splendid gold medal Rose Mrs. W. J. Grant to an American nursery¬ 
man, because this will mean that we shall not be able to get it until 
the spring of 1894. There seems to be no possibility of denying “ cousin 
Jonathan” when he sets his mind upon the acquisition of anything 
first-class, whether it be a thoroughbred Hereford or Derby winner, or, 
as in this case and that of Mrs. J. Laing and Her Majesty, a gem of the 
first water among Roses. And this Rose is certainly unique. La France 
is generally regarded as a hybrid, and hybrids are considered to be non¬ 
seed-bearing, yet this is a seedling from La France and Lady M. Fitz¬ 
william. Its colour, too, will ensure it a hearty welcome from lovers of 
old-fashioned flowers, for it is the true old bright rose-pink, and as 
sweetly scented as Roses were when Shakespeare uttered his oft-quoted 
dictum, “ A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Add to 
this that it is constantly in flower from early June until frosts cut it off, 
and it will be conceded that our American friends are to be congratulated 
indeed. 
But if we are disappointed about Mrs. W. J. Grant we must find 
consolation in the fact that Marchioness of Londonderry is still in the 
raiser’s hands, and to make her dfibftt next spring. From the exhibitor’s 
point of view solely this will probably prove the finest Rose yet seen. 
With Margaret Dickson Messrs. Dickson touched high-water mark, but 
with the Marchioness they certainly go a step farther, for the new 
comer is of a pure ivory whiteness, while the bloom is shaped like a 
first-rate example of Alfred Colomb, and about twice the size. The 
flower stem also is as thick as an ordinary lead pencil, and quite as 
sturdy, so that the flower stands as erect as an Oak, even after travelling 
twenty-four hours without water. As additional proof of its staying 
powers, I may say that a bloom so sent retained its form completely 
for three days after. No wonder this fine variety was awarded two special 
first prizes at the Ulverston Show. If it is beaten for the gold medal 
at the Crystal Palace next July its conqueror will have to be a wonder. 
The foliage is large and leathery, and the scent very distinct—some¬ 
thing like a Magnolia. Judging by these two splendid novelties and 
others which have come to us from the same hands, the days of 
our dependance upon French raisers seem to have for ever passed 
away.—J. B. 
STEAM versus HOT-WATER HEATING. 
In order to determine whether steam or hot water were the best for 
heating greenhouses, a series of experiments have been made at the 
Agricultural Experiment Station in connection with the Cornell Univer¬ 
sity (New York, U.S.A.), in which the following conclusions were 
arrived at:—1, The temperatures of steam pipes averaged higher than 
those of hot-water pipes throughout the entire circuit for the entire 
period of test. 2, The higher the inside temperature in steam pipes 
the less is the proportionate warming power of the pipes at a given 
point. The heat is distributed over a greater length of pipe, and as 
steam is ordinarily carried at a higher temperature than hot water, it has 
a distinct advantage for heating long runs. 
3, When no pressure is indicated by the steam gauge, the difference 
between the temperatures of the riser and the return is greater with 
steam than with hot water. 4, Under pressure the difference is less 
with steam than with hot water. 5, There is less loss of heat in the 
steam risers than in the hot-water risers, and this means that more 
heat in the steam system is carried to the farther end of the house and 
more is spent in the returns as bottom heat. 6, This relation is more 
uniform in the steam risers than in the hot-water risers, giving much 
more even results with steam than with hot water. 7, When the fires 
are operative the fluctuation in the temperature of the risers at any 
given point is much greater with hot water than with steam. 
8, An increase in steam pressure raises the temperature in the entire 
circuit, but the temperature does not rise uniformly with the pressure. 
9, The first application of the pressure increases the temperature of 
» the returns much more than that of the risers. 10, Steam is better 
than hot water for long and crooked circuits. 11, Pressure is of 
greater utility in increasing the rapidity of circulation of steam and 
in forcing it through long circuits and over obstacles. 12, Unfavourable 
conditions can be more readily overcome with steam than with hot 
water. 
13, Hot water consumed more coal than steam, and was at the same 
time less efficient. This result would probably be modified in a shorter 
and straighter circuit with greater fall. 14, Under the conditions here 
present steam is more economical than hot water and more satisfactory 
in every way, and this result is not modified to any extent by the style 
of heaters used. 
