December 10, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
501 
and also to take good care of these same delicate fibres. Very few of 
the latter will be lost in moving them out of light, fine soil, and plenty 
of the latter, as before hinted, ought always to be used in planting 
Roses. It may be asked, Why order Roses when there is not much likeli¬ 
hood of their being finally planted for some time longer 1 But it must 
be remembered that there is every probability of the nurserymen’s 
stocks being early exhausted this planting season. Orders have already 
been largely received, and the stocks are far from being up to the 
average in numbers. Standards of both Hybrid Perpetuals and Teas 
are the first to suffer from severe frosts, and frequently fail badly where 
dwarfs have succeeded well. For beds wholly given up to Roses, 
standards might well be interspersed among dwarfs, the latter being 
disposed not less than 2 feet apart each way, and be the most extensively 
planted. Dwarfs are also the best for massing in borders or the kitchen 
garden. Own-root Roses are to be preferred to any worked on stocks of 
any kinds, but these cannot be bought. If, however, the point of union 
of scion with stock is buried 2 inches below the surface the good fresh 
soil surrounding will usually cause the former to emit roots freely, so that 
it soon amounts to their being own-root Roses. To raise the Manetti 
stock above the ground is fatal to good progress, an early death being 
far more likely to occur. They must, therefore, be buried below the 
ordinary border level. Standards on the Briar stock and bushes raised 
from cuttings ought not, however, to be deeply planted, the collar being 
kept just up to the surface. Too often Roses are planted and then left 
to take their chance till pruning time arrives. Not a few are furnished 
with one or two extra strong shoots, and it is largely owing to these that 
the roots are being constantly loosened, and a good sized hole formed 
by the oscillating stems. If these strong shoots were materially 
lightened, or say, made into cuttings at once, the wind would have far 
less power over the bushes ; but whether this light pruning is done at 
once or not, there should be no delay in staking standards. Wooden 
stakes are to be preferred to iron ones, the latter being cold-conducting 
and injurious to the stems accordingly. Much exposed dwarfs ought 
also to be supported by stakes, and all should have the benefit of a loose 
mulching of strawy litter, this being added or loosened up considerably 
so as to protect the lower portion of the bushes whenever severe frosts 
are imminent. This may be the means of saving the lot, the loss of the 
upper portion of dwarfs not greatly impairing their usefulness, but 
rather the contrary. 
Tea. and other Roses. —Teas and some few of the Noisettes succeed 
fairly well in the open as standards and more often as dwarfs, especially 
if protected during the winter with a heavy mulch of either bracken or 
strawy litter as just suggested for newly planted Roses generally. It 
is against warm garden and house walls and fences that they are most 
at home, and they ought to occupy all such sites to the utter exclusion 
of Hybrid Perpetuals generally. Even these will do but little good if 
starved at the roots, but if given the benefit of a fairly deep and rich 
loamy root run, it is really surprising what grand blooms will be 
forthcoming, the season extending from May to November inclusive. 
It is only those starved at the roots that are addicted to mildew ; there¬ 
fore plant in wholly fresh and fairly rich loamy compost. Teas and 
Noisettes were rather hard hit by frosts last winter, but they recovered 
better than expected. It would pay well to cover strong trees with 
mats, or even to protect with branches of Spiuce or othsr Firs during 
the prevalence of severe frosts. China and the Hybrid Bourbon and 
China Roses, are also well worthy of a place against sunny fronts 
of dwelling houses, the first-named being almost continuous flower¬ 
ing, and are better known as the “ Old Monthlies.” 
Own-root Roses. —Many of the Hybrid Perpetuals strike root nearly 
as readily as Gooseberries, the cuttings being formed of well-ripened 
young wood. Late in October or early in November is a good time to 
insert these cuttings, but this year the wood is in a very backward state, 
and still largely clothed with green leaves. Long and strong shoots are 
more abundant than usual, and it is not yet too late to make the 
attempt to strike many of these. Prepare a good open border by well 
working it, mixing in a little old Mushroom bed manure or leaf soil. 
For cuttings select the best ripened shoots, and if it can be done without 
injury to the bush cut them off with a small slice of old wood—that is 
to say, a heel attached. The latter, though, is not indispensable, lengths 
of firm young wood cleanly cut to a joint answering nearly as well. 
All should be about 12 inches long, and cleared of thorns, but not buds, 
and be inserted directly they are made. Open a straight trench 6 inches 
deep with a spade, put in the cuttings 9 inches apart, return half the 
soil, trample this firmly against the cuttings, and then level over the 
ground prior to opening the next trench 18 inches apart from the first. 
Mulch over the surface with either short manure, leaf soil, or ashes. 
Most of the cuttings will strike root and flower next summer, and will 
require to be thinned out the following planting season.—A Somerset 
Grower. 
THE CHEMISTRY OF CARDEN CROPS. 
In the fifth edition of Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ excellent work, “ The 
Culture of Vegetables and Flowers from Seeds and Roots,” are several 
new chapters of great interest and importance to cultivators, one of 
which we take the liberty of reproducing. As an illustration of the 
appreciation in which this work is held, it may be stated that 18,000 
copies have been sold of the four preceding editions, and of the fifth 
no less than 10,000 have been printed. 
A consideration of the chemistry of the icrops that engage 
attention in this country will afford an explanation of one great 
d ifference between farming and gardening. And this difference should 
be kept in mind by all classes of cultivators as the basis of operations in 
tillage, cropping, and the order and character of rotations. The first 
thing to discover in the cropping of a farm, is the kind of vegetation for 
which the land is best adapted to insure in a run of seasons fairly profit¬ 
able results. If the soil is unfit for cereals, then it is sheer folly to sow 
any more corn than may be needful for convenience, as, for example, to 
supply straw for thatching, and oats for horses, to save cost of carriage, 
&c., &c. On large farms that are far removed from markets, it is often 
necessary to risk a few crops that the land is ill fitted for, 30 as to satisfy 
the requirements of the homestead, and to save the outlay of money and 
the inconvenience of hauling from distant markets. But everywhere 
the cropping must be adapted to the soil and climate as nearly as 
possible, both to simplify operations and enlarge to the utmost the 
chances of success. 
In the cropping of a garden this plain procedure cannot be followed. 
We are compelled certainly to consider what the soil and climate will 
especially favour amongst garden crops, but notwithstanding this, the 
gardener must grow whatever the household requires. He may have to 
grow Peas on a hot shallow sand, and Potatoes and Carrots on a cold 
clay, and Asparagus on a shallow bed of pebbles and potsherds. To the 
gardener the chemistry of crops is a matter of great importance, because 
he cannot restrict his operations to such crops as the land is particularly 
adapted for, but must endeavour to render his land capable of carrying 
more or less of all the vegetables and fruits that find a place in the 
catalogue of domestic wants. That in certain cases he must fail at 
certain points is inevitable ; nevertheless his aim will be, and must be, 
of a somewhat universal kind, and a clear idea of the relations of plants 
to the soil in which they grow will be of constant and incalculable 
value to him. 
We are bound to say at the outset that a complete essay on the 
chemistry of vegetation is not our purpose. We are anxious to convey 
some useful information, and to kindle sufficient interest to lead those 
who have hitherto given but slight attention to this subject to inquire 
further, with a view to get far beyond the point at which we shall have 
to quit the subject. 
Plants consist of two classes of constituents—the inorganic, which 
may be called the foundation ; and the organic, which may be con¬ 
sidered the superstructure. The first alone concerns us now. A plant 
must derive from the soil certain proportions of silica, lime, sulphur, 
salt, phosphates, alkalies, and other minerals, or it cannot exist at all; 
but given these, and its manufacture of fibre, starch, gum, sugar, and 
other organic products will depend very much upon the action of light, 
heat, atmospheric air, and moisture upon it, for these have to be pro¬ 
duced by chemical (or vital) action within the structure, or, as we 
sometimes say, the tissues of the plant itself. To a very great extent 
the agencies that conduce to the elaboration of organic products are 
beyond our control (though not entirely so), whereas we can directly, 
and to a considerable degree, provide the plant with the minerals it 
more particularly requires, first by choosing the ground for it, and next 
by tilling and manuring in a suitable manner. A clay soil, in which in 
addition to the predominating alumina, there is a fair proportion of lime 
and silica may be regarded as the most fertile for all purposes ; but we 
have few such in Britain, our clays being mostly of an obdurate texture, 
retentive of moisture, and requiring much cultivation, and containing, 
moreover, salts of iron in proportions almost poisonous to plants. But 
there are profound resources in mo3t clays, so that if it is difficult to 
tame them it is also difficult to exhaust them. Hence a clay that has 
been well cultivated through several generations will generally produce 
a fair return for whatever crop may be put upon it. 
Limestone soils are usually very porous and deficient of clay, and 
therefore have no sustaining power. Many of our great tracts of moun¬ 
tain limestone are mere sheep walks, and would be comparatively worth¬ 
less except for the metal3 that may be extracted from them, or the lime 
that may be obtained by burning. On the other hand, chalk, which is 
a more recent form of lime, is often highly productive, more especially 
where, through long cultivation, it has been much broken up and has 
become loamy through accumulation of humus.' Between the oldest 
limestone and the latest chalk there are many intermediate kinds of 
calcareous soils, and they are mostly good owing to their richness in 
phosphates, the products of the marine organisms of which these rocks 
in great part and in some cases wholly consist. For the growth of 
cereals these calcareous soils need a certain proportion of silica, and 
where they have this we see some of the finest crops of Wheat, 
Trifolium, and Peas and Beans in all these islands. If we could mix 
some of our obdurate clays with our barren limestones, the two com¬ 
paratively worthless staples would probably prove remarkably fertile. 
Although this is impossible a consideration of the chemistry of the 
imaginary mixture may be useful, more especially to the gardener, who 
can in a small way accomplish many things that are out of the region 
of practice on a great scale. 
Sandy soils are characterised by excess of silica, and deficiency of 
alumina and phosphates. But here the mechanical texture is as serious 
a matter as it is in the case of clay. The sand is too loose as the clay 
is too pasty, and it may be that we have to hold the estate as it were in 
our hands to prevent it from being blown away. It is especially worthy 
of observation, however, that sandy soils are the most readily amenable 
of any to the operation of tillage ; and if we cannot take much out of 
them we can put any amount into them, and must always calculate 
nicely where the process of enrichment is to stop. It is not less worthy 
of observation that sandy soils can be rendered capable of producing 
