342 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October II, 1888. 
and desire rest. As late Peaches have a high value in the market, the 
extra expense is fully repaid to the cultivator. 
The various methods of cultivating the Peach would require another 
paper, which I hope maybe furnished at another meeting. The subject 
will be one of great interest and value, as I venture to think that we 
are still only on the threshold of Peach cultivation in this country. 
RESTORING ROSES TO HEALTH. 
My recent remarks were directed to Roses grown in pots and planted 
out that were subjected to early forcing. I never attempted recruiting 
unhealthy plants outside, when once they are thrown out. I should do the 
same with unhealthy forced plants. If they are left until they are too 
far gone, it is useless to attempt to do anything with them. But the 
strain of forcing will in time weaken plants, and if they are operated 
upon as soon as they display signs of exhaustion, fresh soil and a 
year's rest will often restore them to health and vigour. 
SPORTS. 
It is pretty clear, I think, that some Roses are much more liable to 
sport than others, the same as many other plants. Merveille de Lyon 
was in the market before I noticed it produced on a plant of Baroness 
Rothschild. For several years this plant has continued to yield flowers 
of both varieties. One half of the plant has flowers of the former and 
the other flowers of the latter. Both are beautiful Roses, and would be 
more highly appreciated if they possessed fragrance. Scentless Roses 
ought to be discarded, they are no better than Camellias. 
ROSE THE BRIDE. 
The Bride is a stronger grower than Niphetos, and in some respects 
a fuller and better Rose. In growth and the construction of its flowers 
it closely resembles its parent, Catherine Mermet. The greater number 
of petals in the flower than Niphetos possesses is in favour of its lasting 
longer, but the flowers have not the pure whiteness of Niphetos. The 
greenish tint, however, is not objectionable in either wreaths or bouquets. 
We have lately had occasion to use it for these purposes, and good full 
flowers are lovely. It will never supersede Niphetos in my opinion for 
market purposes, for although it is a stronger grower it does not flower 
so profusely ; in fact it possesses the character of its parent in this 
respect in a marked degree. 
ROSE HER MAJESTY. 
This seems to be a shy bloomer. I have only two or three plants, 
but they have not yet produced a single bloom. They have grown 
strongly this year, and were the first in the garden to be attacked by 
mildew. I had hopes, judging from its thick leathery foliage and robust 
growth, that it would have been proof against this parasite. — W. B. 
DRESSING ROSE BLOOMS FOR EXHIBITION. 
Mb. W, R. Raillem, page 287, has not referred to this matter too 
soon, and certainly his dispassionate method of treatment is most com¬ 
mendable. The question cropped up a short time since at the last 
Show of the Royal Irish Horticultural Society at Dublin, and the blooms 
shown by Messrs. Dickson of Nevvtownards were sought to have their 
size and beauty minimised by saying they were “ dressed.” A dis¬ 
tinguished amateur hearing this buzzed about took my arm and said, 
“ Come, Murphy, let us see how Dickson’s Roses are said to have 
been spoiled.” We went carefully through them—two forty-eight 
stands, I think—to see how many would wear the unnatural contorted 
appearance we heard of, but except Madame Eugenie Verdier, and if I 
remember right, Caroline Durden, not one seemed otherwise than they 
might have been cut off the stem, and those two would be passed except 
you were searching for evidence. But is not the dressing of Carnations, 
Dahlias, Chrysanthemums,&e., permissible, especially in a bad season? — 
W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
RECOLLECTIONS OF ROSEBANK. 
RoSEBANK is the residence of E. Mawley, Esq., the well-known and 
popular junior Secretary of the National Rose Association. Arriving 
from Euston at Berkhamsted, and having passed the interesting re¬ 
mains of its once renowned castle, a house appears reproducing the well- 
known Croydon wonders of wind and rain-gauge, while the grounds 
are full of other gauges of various mysterious meteorological appli¬ 
ances. There is no such private observatory in the kingdom, but 
what is more to the point there is no such highly scientific scene of 
Rose-growing, and desire to inspect this strongly added to the claims 
of friendship. Here are 1000 Roses in the highest state of cultivation. 
A field of half an acre contains them, excepting a few Teas on a south 
wall in the adjoining garden. It is divided into two parts by a lawn 
tennis court, and has narrow strips of turf between the long narrow 
beds. These contain two rows of thirty-five each, this arrangement 
be’ng better than any other for getting easily at each plant, all Rose 
bushes, and in a high state of excellence, the wood for next season being 
strong and robust. 
The Teas, about 200 in number, were even finer than the H.P., and 
perhaps the most striking of all were a few high-class Teas on 3-feet 
standards. They were but one year old, and the heads come larger 
than is mostly attained in three years. I am still of opinion the stan¬ 
dards are not sufficiently used nowadays, and the finest blooms of all 
come from maiden standards. The cold wet season, though fatal to 
Mr. Mawley’s hopes up to June of very first-rate exhibition blooms, has 
done wonders for the growth of his Marechal Niels against walls, which 
give the highest promise for next year. Side by side with these were 
two W. A. Richardsons as large and bushy as if they had been Gloire de 
Dijons, although quite young plants. 
It was interesting to hear that Mr. Mawley considers Ulrich 
Brunner as the best H.P. It is so good all round—colour, size, magnifi¬ 
cent growth, handsome foliage, and freedom from mildew. Her 
Majesty in this latter respect appears rather the opposite. The Tea 
beds, on Mr. George Paul’s system, were considerably above the level in 
the middle. On herbaceous borders and giant Chrysanthemums coming, 
on I may not enter, as Mr. Story says :— 
“ For, O mv Rose, my frank, free-hearted, 
My perfect above all conscious arts. 
What are others beside thee ? O Rose, my darling 1 
To thee I have given my heart of hearts 1” 
—A. C. 
ROSE GLOIRE DE DIJON. 
This is once more asserting itself as one of the finest autumn bloom¬ 
ing Roses in existence. During September very fine blooms were- 
obtainable both from plants from walls and also in the open border. 
It is largely used by cottagers in many districts for training up the- 
front of their houses. It is one of the few varieties of Roses which 
will thrive and flower on a northern aspect.—M. 
THE MANETTI STOCK. 
If it should be of any interest to record the opinion of another Rose- 
grower, who has also exhibited, on the question of Manetti as a stock 
for Roses, I should like to say ditto to Mr. Pemberton, on page 312- 
Olivier Delhomme, a very beautiful Rose, is, on Manetti, an impossi¬ 
bility.—T. W. Girdlestone. 
It is, I think, quite possible that Mr. Murphy saw many thousands of 
old Roses on the above stock when visiting the home of the celebrate 1 
North of Ireland Rose at Newtownards recently. The last time I visited 
the nursery there was in August, 1886. There was then an enormous quan¬ 
tity of old Roses carrying such massive blooms as I have never before 
or since seen except in the Messrs. Dickson’s stands at the Dublin 
Exhibitions. That the soil at Newtownards is peculiarly adapted to the 
Manetti stock no one who has seen the Roses there can deny. Here, 
however, they will not thrive ; we have tried them in every fertiliser, 
and always with the same result—failure. Those on the Briar do 
exceedingly well. Two years ago we produced a hundred of each. 
More than two-thirds of those on the Manetti are gone over to the great 
majority, wfliile of those on the Briar there are but eleven deal. Soil, 1 
believe, has a great deal to do with Roses as regards success or failure 
on the different stocks. In the neighbourhood of Clonmel magnificent 
Roses will be found in their season growing on the Manetti stock. On 
one occasion when in that locality I saw some in Mr. Murphy’s 
collection that would have been highly creditable in the stand of cut. 
blooms from any professional Rose grower. D mbtless Mr, Murphy 
will inform Mr. Gilmour the size of the blooms I saw, also the age of 
the plants, as I ascertained neither of these facts.—R. Weller. 
I HAD no intention of embarking in a controversy on this subject, 
and may say I quietly stood aside until my name was brought promi¬ 
nently forward by two writers in your Journal. Mr. Duncan Gilmour, 
jun., is evidently determined to give the Manetti no quarter, and to 
strengthen his arguments quotes from page 20, “ Rosarian’s A^ear Book, 
1888,” that I favour the Briar cutting, but he altogether ignores what 
I wrote about the Manetti, page 19. If Mr. Gilmour cannot grow 
Roses on Manetti others do. How can he get over the fact that two of 
the most celebrated amateur exhibitors (I refer to Mr. R. N. G. Baker 
and Mr. Jowitt), year after year contested for the championship 
(during that time no one could approach them) with Roses grown on 
Manetti? The former gentleman, writing in 1879, says that all the- 
blooms he exhibited that year were grown on cut-back plants on 
Manetti, most of which were five years old. Probably if Mr. Baker had 
any Teas in his stands they were cut from Briar stocks, but singular 
enough this year Mr. Baker again wins the champion trophy, and this 
time there was not a single Tea Rose in his forty-.eight. Perhaps he will 
kindly tell us w T here he had those splendid blooms from, Manetti or 
Briar? I once had the pleasure of spending a few days with Mr. 
Jowitt at the Old Weir, Hereford, at a time when he was heads and 
tails with Mr. Baker as to who should be first; his Roses were all on 
Manetti, and many of them three or four years old, and splendid they 
were. Again, an ex-amateur champion wrote me last spring, that 
the strongest plants he had in his garden are “old” ones on Manetti 
It is no argument to say then they must be on their own roots. Does 
that in any way damage the value of the stock on which they were 
budded ? The secret of success is by careful study to find out the most 
suitable stock for the various kinds of Roses. As a rule, all the strong- 
growing Hybrid Perpetuals, Moss, and summer Roses, also those of 
robust habit, such as Baroness Rothschild, Merveille de Lyon, &c., Ac., 
