448 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 26,1891; 
not be prepared now or any time during the winter for planting 
next spring, this being especially desirable where the subsoil is of 
a heavy clayey nature. Asparagus revels in a fairly rich and deep 
root run, but the less clay there is about the better, excessive 
moisture being most detrimental. It pays well, therefore, to 
remove a good depth of clay subsoil and to substitute a variety of 
other substances, soluble or otherwise. Raised beds are certainly 
the best for heavy land, and they may be either 5 feet wide and 
hold three rows of plants, or 3 feet wide for two rows of plants, 
alleys 2 feet wide being allowed between them. Commence by 
staking out the first bed, and then throw out all the best of the top 
soil right and left. 
Next dig and wheel away a good spit or more of the clay or 
clayey subsoil, place a 3 inch pipe drain through the middle, cover 
this and the bottom of the bed with brick ends, coarse mortar 
rubbish, clinkers, or stones, a little finer material being spread over 
this. Continue by wheeling in all the road trimmings, decaying 
garden refuse, charred clay, or even ballast, and any other slowly 
decaying material that can be looked up or which is an eyesore 
above ground, and well mix the lot with about half of the garden 
soil first thrown out, the lightest or best portion of the latter to 
be reserved for surfacing the bed, and with this should be mixed as 
much sand, sea sand being preferred if procurable, fine mortar 
rubbish, the remains from a garden “ smother ” or slow fire, leaf 
soil, old potting material, decayed manure, fresh loam, and such 
like. All being evenly and thoroughly mixed together and laid up 
roughly till planting or sowing time arrives, a capital root run will 
be provided and a strong start being made. Beds thus well made 
can be enriched from the surface at will, and would produce extra 
good Asparagus for a quarter of century or longer. 
Forcing Asparagus. 
Nothing is more easily forced, and no extra early vegetable 
gives more pleasure to those whose good fortune it is to get it. 
Unfortunately early forcing necessitates the breaking up of esta¬ 
blished beds, unless, indeed, the requisite number of strong roots 
are specially prepared for the purpose. The usual practice is to 
break up the oldest bed every winter, strong root3 being thus 
obtained, and to meet the demand for open air produce another 
new bed is formed every spring. This naturally entails a consider¬ 
able amount of work, but the labour is not wholly expended on the 
Asparagus, especially seeing that when once the ground is well 
prepared and kept manured for that important crop it is in splendid 
condition for any vegetables, plants, bushes, or fruit trees that may 
succeed it. 
Hard forcing is most undesirable, but if the start is made at 
once abundance of good Asparagus ought to be available at Christ¬ 
mas. Heated pits, deep enough to hold a hotbed 3 feet in depth 
of well sweetened stable manure and leaves is the best position for 
forcing Asparagus, ordinary garden frames on well made hotbeds 
also answering well. Directly it is found there is no danger of 
overheating cover the beds with a layer of rich moist soil, and on 
this closely pack the carefully lifted roots, covering with about 
3 inches more of the same kind of soil, somewhat fine this time. 
One well filled light would be enough for a small establishment, 
but two or three are none too many where extra large dishes are 
required. A bottom heat of from 60° to 65° is quite high enough, 
ought not to be exceeded, in fact, while the top heat may well be 
5° lower. Heavily mat over or cover the lights with litter in 
preference to turning on much fire heat, the unheated pits and 
frames especially requiring this attention, more light being ad¬ 
mitted when top growth is strong.—W. I. 
Stray Notes. 
The Rose analysis so ably set forth by “ E. M.” (on pp. 319, 320) 
cannot fail to be interesting to Rose lovers and exhibitors, and we 
ought all to be grateful to him for the pains he has taken in the 
matter. Statistics are very useful, but it has been said they may be 
made to prove anything ; and somehow I cannot help fancying that 
the Rose elections we used to have seemed to produce more trust¬ 
worthy results, though it is difficult to see how this could be. It 
should be remembered that not only did we want (as “ E. M.” says) 
an early season in 1891 to make things square, but a hot dry time was 
even more needed—for instance, Marie Rady in H.P.’s, and Madame 
Hippolyte Jamain and Madame Margottin in Teas, have really not had 
a chance of late years. The earliest H.P.’s with me are Violet Bowyer 
(generally the first), Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, and Mrs. Baker; the latest,. 
Alfred Colomb, Camille Bernardin, Pierre Notting, Earl of Dufferin, 
Emile Hausberg, and A. K. Williams. I do not know how it is the 
latter is so late with me, but certainly the best and strongest shoots- 
on cutbacks generally do not flower till all shows are over. Of those- 
that have “ disappeared,” I think John Stuart Mill will certainly be 
heard of again in a gocd season as nearly a first-class Rose, though I 
had not one worth looking at this year, and Lord Macaulay I find a. 
good doer, seldom failing, though not first-class. But none of the Teas- 
which have gone from the list are really now worth growing, and I am 
surprised that Devoniensis holds its place so well. Madame Hippolyte 
Jamain, La Boule d’Or, and Madame Margottin will probably, however 
(as I have said) make up lost ground when a dry season comes, and the 
same may be said of the H.P.’s Reynolds Hole, Monsieur Noman, Marie 
Rady, and Star of Waltham, &c. 
“ E. M.” has naturally not gone entirely by the order of merit as< 
shown in his analysis in selecting varieties as “ the cream of the Rose 
world, few of which are difficult to grow and but little fault can be 
found with his selection of H.P.’s, though Prince C. de Rohan is lucky 
to get a place, and Her Majesty, Etienne Levet, Lady Mary Fitzwilliam^ 
and Xavier Olibo (or for the matter of that any Rose) are surely not 
more difficult to grow than Horace Vernet. But in his list of Teas and 
Noisettes it is strange indeed to find such sorts as Catherine Mermet,. 
Comtesse de Nadaillac, The Bride, Niphetos, Souvenir d’Elise, Marshal 
Niel, and Madame de Watteville omitted from a selection of the 
“ cream of the Rose world,” none of them with me being more diffi¬ 
cult to grow than Innocente Pirola. But it is indeed an awkward 
task to make out a list of certain number of best Roses, suitable for 
all and sundry, though it is one I am often set to do. 
Horace Vernet, H.P., gives me more trouble to grow than any other- 
Rose, and 1 sadly fear that the difficulty is increasing, and that the 
constitution of this grandest of show varieties is getting even worse than 
it was. Here is a Rose, which, with a strong shoot and uninjured bud r 
is pretty sure to come good, and, being good, would find A. K. 
Williams its only rival perhaps to the title of King of Show H.P.’s ; yet 
how seldom is it shown, 15.3 being its figure, while that of Madame 
Gabriel Luizet is 38-3 ; and how seldom comparatively do we find it 
taking the medal as best H.P. I find it by no means always doing well 
even as a maiden. I have seen a long row of them looking very badV 
and this would not be the fault of the stocks, as with me it refuses* 
to take or grow at all except upon the best and strongest of stocks, j 
wish some means could be found of instilling new vigour into this 
splendid sort, for a strong growing, hardy and healthy Horace Vernet 
wonld be as great a boon to exhibitors as almost any grand new Rose. 
My standard stocks, got by myself last February, when the worst of 
the winter was over, have done very well, 2 or 3 per cent, only having- 
failed. They were cut to a maximum height of 2 feet, and budded witha 
Teas. I am surprised to see that it is a common practice to take off all 
laterals that are not wanted for budding. It is true this very much 
facilitates this operation ; but I am accustomed to cut off nothing, not 
even strong shoots, like suckers coming from the bottom of the stem 
for though it may not be desirable to encourage suckers which you- 
cannot effectually extirpate later on, yet my idea is that all growth 
strengthens and increases the roots, and is as good for the next season* 
as so much manure. It may be true that a standard stock can be too 
strong for some of the weaker Teas, but at all events a stock can always, 
be weakened in as many minutes as it would take weeks to strengthen 
it, for it is a good deal easier to destroy roots than to make them. 
The result is a veritable jungle, and untying the buds was not child’s- 
play, for they were utterly hidden under a complete hedge of Briar 
growth. Instead of now cutting away all this tangle, I am going to- 
lace the long shoots in or clip it like a hedge, and my idea is that I shall 
then get a natural thorny platform or hedge on which it will be easy to- 
lay mats or Fir boughs for the protection of the inserted Tea buds during- 
the winter. The use of collodion will hardly be needed here, I imagine p 
but I hope to experiment with it elsewhere. 
The raisers of the two English gold gedal Roses of last year 
offered this summer twelve buds for propagation at the same usual price 
as a pot plant, viz. 10s. fid. I think this was decidedly a good bargain- 
for amateurs. The expense and risk of the carriage of a pot plant are- 
avoided ; one very seldom gets a decent bloom from such a plant; the- 
plant itself rarely does any good afterwards; and, except with very 
strong growers, if you get twelve good buds for propagation from one 
such you are extra lucky. From a dozen such buds thus purchased 
and put into strong Briar cuttings, I have got this year no less than, 
six which have “run out.” I like to see H.P.’s run out, one is pretty 
sure of them then, and I have never lost any of such shoots by frost. 
I am speaking of course of those buds which grow at once of their own- 
accord, not those which are forced to it by the cutting back of the stock 
and consequent weakening of the roots. Why do some buds run out 
more than others ? 1 suppose it is that in those cases the act of budding 
and the subsequent union have been most perfect, for it is by no means 
always on the strongest stocks. 
The question of the date of the Metropolitan Show is a very 
important one. There is no written law, I believe, that it should be the 
first Saturday in July, and, as that will be July 2nd in 1892, and 
July 1st in 1893, it is well worth the consideration of those interested 
whether a more suitable date could not be found. The Crystal Palace 
Show is the show of the year, and, therefore, it seems to me it should 
naturadly be as near as possible to the very centre of the season, taking 
the average situations of the members of the N.R.S. into consideration. 
