290 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 4, 1895. 
Rose Show Fixtures for 1895. 
June loth (Wednesday).—York.* 
„ 20th (Thursday).—Colchester. 
„ 25th (Tuesday).—Isle of Wight (Cowes). 
j, 27ch (Thursday).—Gloucester (N.R.S.) and Canterbury. 
„ 28th (Friday).—Exeter. 
„ 29th (Saturday).—Windsor. 
July 2nd (Tuesday).—Diss and Sutton. 
„ 3rd (Wednesday).—Croydon, Ealing, Farningham, and Lee.f 
„ 4th (Thursday).—Eltham and Norwich. 
„ Gth (Saturday).—Crystal Palace (N.R S.). 
„ 9th (Tuesday).—Wolverhampton.* 
„ 10th (Wednesday).—Chelmsford, Hitchin, and Redhill. 
„ 11th (Thursday).—Helensburgh and Worksop. 
„ 17ch (Wednesday).—Derby (N.R.S.). 
„ 18‘.h (Thursday) —Halifax. 
„ 23rd (Tuesday).—Tibshelf. 
„ 24th (Wednesday).—Chesterfield. 
„ 25th (Thursday).—Trentham. 
* A show lasting three days. f A show lasting two days. 
I shall be glad to receive the dates of other Rose shows than those 
named above for publication in the next list, which will be issued early 
ia May.—E dward Mawley, Roseianlt , Berliliamsted , Herts . 
The Winter and Roses at St. Michael's. 
Though the winter has been more severe here than usual. Camellias, 
Lilies, Rhododendrons, and Tea Roses have been flowering almost 
perpetually. I think my present visit to St. Michael’s will have helped 
to make known the best Roses, as some of the leading families have 
procured the same from England, our best Teas having been there 
previously unknown.— Alexander Hill Gray. 
A New Hybrid Rose. 
Mr. Jackson Dawson, of the Arnold Arboretum, has raised a 
hybrid with Rosa Wichuraiana as the seed parent, and Rosa rugosa as 
the pollen parent. The plant has the perfectly prostrate habit of 
R. Wichuraiana, lying flat to the ground, but with the vigorous constitu¬ 
tion of R. rugosa, and large, deep green, glossy leaves. The flowers are, 
says a transatlantic contemporary, single, nearly as large as those of 
R. rugosa, and of a clear rose-pink colour. If it had no flowers what¬ 
ever, the lustrous leaves and vigorous habit of the plant would make 
it desirable. 
Influence of the Frost. 
In my recent communication on this special subject I recorded the 
injuries which had been sustained by the Roses of Messrs. Croll of 
Dundee. I am gratified to learn from Messrs. Cocker of Aberdeen 
that they have suffered but slightly from the effects of the severe frost, 
though their Roses are much exposed. I have j ust received an interesting 
letter from this firm, in which they say, “ We have escaped wonderfully; 
some of the more tender varieties are, of course, slightly cut down. Our 
escape from such a disastrous winter proves what we have always main¬ 
tained, that Roses grown in an open situation in a severe climate like 
ours have advantages, for we believe our nursery is the most exposed 
in the kingdom. We are strongly of opinion that Roses well grown 
and not pampered or rushed up with chemical manures, but ripened as 
they grow, are in the best position to withstand a severe frost like that 
which we have experienced this winter. The frost has been so general 
that it will test severely the different modes of culture throughout 
the country.” 
My own experience is very similar to that of the Aberdeen rosarians. 
I have in my garden at least 150 distinct varieties of the Rose, and in 
many notable instances (as in those, for example, of A. K. Williams, 
Ciroline Testout, Duke ot Edinburgh, and Gloire Lyonaisse), and though 
the vast majority were entirely unprotected, not one of them has been 
killed, while only a few, such as Ethel Brownlow, Thbr^se Levet, and 
Perle des Jardins have been severely injured, but not destroyed. I have 
always been strongly opposed, like Messrs. Cocker, to the over-protecting 
of Teas and Noisettes, Had the leading English and Scottish introducers 
of them, the rosarians of Waltham, Colchester, and Oxford, proceeded on 
the principle that these required extraordinary attention during the 
winter to insure safety and prolong their existence, few of them at this 
moment would have survived the climate to which during January and 
February they were subjected. “ Tea Roses,” says a great authority, 
Mr. George Prince, “are becoming hardier every year; and varieties 
such as Catherine Mermet and Princess of Wales, which would have 
been the first to be covered up a few years ago, are now quite as hardy 
as Hybrid Perpetuals.” 
Roses, I have observed, are very like children in this special respect: 
the more they are exposed to every kind of weather the stronger they 
become. Treat them as if they possessed delicate constitutions, and 
under this treatment we shall certainly find that whatever vitality they 
may have inherited from their parents will speedily disappear.— 
David R. Williamson. 
Rose Notes. 
From all quarters I have had sad accounts of the late frost. Many 
and wide are the gaps, while more than one correspondent reports his 
Roses as practically exterminated. Let us hope it is not so bad as this 
in any case. Spring planting is being done, but it will not be an easy 
matter to replace some choice and rather delicate sorts, my intention is 
to fill up with small pot plants of last season’s working. Several lists 
have come to hand in which these are offered almost as cheaply as 
plants of the same varieties from the open ground, and I certainly 
prefer a small quantity of well ripened wood to any which has gone 
through the past winter outside. We do not secure such large bushes, 
but the whole of the wood is sound, while the greater quantity of 
fibrous roots are a great advantage. It is the same with climbers ; those 
scarcely strong enough for forcing are excellent to plant in the open now. 
With strong growers dug from the open ground we derive no advan¬ 
tage whatever during the first season, simply because the wood is not 
in conjunction with established roots, and the wood, good as it may 
appear, will practically have to be cut away to the base. A small 
plant from a pot will give us a few blooms the same season and still 
produce excellent growth for the following year. 
Before the planting season is over I would like to call attention to a 
matter often overlooked. We select a variety from a bloom seen, and do 
not sufficiently bear in mind or inquire into its habit of growth and 
other characteristics. The result of this is often unexpected, as we find 
a weak grower placed against a high wall, or as a neighbour to a Rose 
of extra vigour, and consequently utterly out of place. The latter 
class must have room if we are to see them to advantage, while the 
former are altogether out of place in such positions. Medium growers, 
such as Marie Van Houtte, Madame Lambard, and Madame Falcot will 
do well against low walls and fences, but when we can have so nearly 
the same colours with extra vigorous growth it is a pity to use the 
dwarf growers on high walls and buildings. This matter also needs 
more attention in the Rose border ; in fact, it is unwise to plant Roses 
so indiscriminately as many do ; nor is there any excuse for so doing, 
as all trade lists inform us on the habit of growth. No doubt this 
indiscriminate and careless planting has caused more than one grand 
Rose to be banished from a garden, whereas it might have been grown 
successfully if a suitable site was selected and room allowed according 
to habit of growth. 
Spring mulching needs attention. I am greatly in favour of this in 
preference to autumn and summer mulching. It is not theory alone, 
but long practice that keeps me to this plan. But some little considera¬ 
tion in this matter should be given to the class of soil we are working 
with, a light and porous soil needing more summer mulching than one of 
a rich and stiff nature. Cultivation of the surface soil is not easy where 
mulching is indulged in to any extent, and with growing Roses surface- 
stirring is of great benefit. Keep the spade and spud away, but use the 
hoe freely. Why should we mutilate the valuable surface roots in such 
a wholesale manner season after season, as a spade or spud must 
necessarily do ? We profess to encourage these, and yet many injure 
them annually at this season for want of a little thought.— Practice. 
EXAMINATIONS IN HORTICULTURE. 
I FULLY endorse the remarks of a “ Young Gardener” on page 134 
of the Journal, that there should be two grades—one for seniors, and 
one for juniors. It seems to me beyond dispute that a thoroughly 
practical man of thirty years of age and upwards must of necessity 
possess a greater knowledge of horticulture than a young man from 
eighteen to twenty-five, whatever his capabilities may be from a 
literary point of view. 
In the first place, what is the object and utility of the examination 
and the certificate awarded by the R.H.S. ? In my humble opinion it 
should be to test a candidate’s ability or proficiency as a thorough 
practical gardener. It is admitted ly an “Instructor,” on page 251 
of the Journal, that no literary examination can furnish a true test of 
any person’s professional capacity ; and it appears to me, from what I 
can glean from the correspondence on the subject, that it is a literary 
examination pure and simple. 
Your correspondent “ W. D., TwrnfordJ says young gardeners might 
take courage from the fact that the medallist last year was an amateur, 
and the student, only four marks behind him, a schoolmaster. With all 
due respect to the gentleman in question I am inclined to think if I 
required a man to undertake the arduous duties of head gardener I 
should want one with more practical knowledge than a schoolmaster. I 
have no doubt such men are well versed in the theory of gardening by 
what is gained from a multiplicity of books. But a great deal more 
than this is requisite to make a man master of his vocation. 
To my mind a certificate obtained under present conditions is mis¬ 
leading as a true test of a man’s actual practical abilities as a gardener. 
Let a man by perseverance and study obtain a first-class certificate for 
superior cultivation of fruits, fiowers, and vegetables at some of the 
leading horticultural exhibitions ’neld at various places throughout the 
country, with a first-class testimonial from his employer for proficiency 
in the various branches of his calling, and I venture to say that will 
have more weight with the majority of employers than any first-class 
certificate granted by the R.H.S. for what I connider a literary exami¬ 
nation based on theory.—H. 0. H, 
