AUGUST. 
187 
Both Diel and Forsyth have erred in making this synonymous with the • 
Bergamotte d’Autoinne of Duhamel. which is a very distinct variety. 
(Zb be continued.') H. 
A LECTURE ON ROSE CULTURE, 
DELIVERED BEFORE THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, AT SOUTH 
KENSINGTON, BY THE REV. W. F. RADCLYFFE, JULY 19TH. 
I thank the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society for the high com¬ 
pliment which they paid to me in asking me to give a short, popular, and useful 
lecture on matters connected with the Rose. As the time is limited, and as “ a 
great hook is a great evil,” I can only select. I will endeavour to avoid prolixity, 
laxity, and obscurity. Nothing new can I say—nothing that has not been said 
before, and said much better. The best lectures on the Rose are the noble works 
of Rivers, W. Paul, and Cranston—works that should be in the library of every 
rosarian. Gfood, however, and truthful as these works are, I am persuaded that 
nothing but experience can make a man a first-rate rosarian. I will endeavour to 
speak from experience, making this observation, that all, or almost all, I shall say, 
has been given already to the public in my published articles from time to time. 
1. Soil. —The best soil for Roses, and for such stocks as I possess, is friable 
loam. Where this soil exists not naturally, it may be approached by an admixture 
of stiff soil, sand or ashes, and black manure, in equal parts. Oak trees, Roses, 
and Strawberries have all an affinity for clay. I had nearly said they are con¬ 
vertible terms. Still, even where there is not a particle of clay, which is the case 
where I live, certain Roses, on suitable stocks, with good high cultivation and 
attention, may be grown, and very fine Roses too. There are also Roses that 
cannot be grown without an admixture of clay. I need hardly say these are Roses 
which, though good in themselves, are not fit for the public generally. 
2. Planting. —Much depends upon how this is done. Briar Roses should 
not be planted deeper than 4 inches ; indeed, if people would mulch the plants in 
a radius of 18 inches, they may be planted nearer the surface. Manetti Roses 
should be planted over the collar of the bud : and hence they should be propagated 
sufficiently low that the sources of the roots are not deeper than 6 inches. 
3. Staking and Tying. —All freshly-planted Roses, especially if exposed to 
wind, require to be staked and tied. Iron stakes are the best; but I use, for 
small plants, thatchers’ spars, 6s. 6d. per 1000; and, for strong plants, I use 
hurdle shores, at 7s. per 100. For tying I use matting. Where winds do not 
prevail, after the first year ground plants and two-feet standards (the most con¬ 
venient height where numbers are to be packed in), will not require staking and 
tying. If ground plants are grafted, they must always be staked and tied, or the 
weight of flowers will break them off at the point of union. 
4. Rose Stocks. —The Dog-briar, the Manetti stock, and the Celine stock, 
are all good stocks for certain Roses, under certain circumstances. Roses are 
volatile things, and all rules admit of exception: in the rosery there is not, as in 
our courts of law, “ rule absolute.” As regards the Celine stock, I know but 
little of it. Mr. Wood, of Maresfield, kindly gave me four specimens of the 
Duchess of Norfolk on this stock, ranging, with shoots of one year’s growth, from 
12 feet to 12 feet 9 inches high. They bloomed admirably last year at their full 
height. This year I shortened to 9 feet, and they have again bloomed well. I 
budded last year the Due de Rohan, a splendid vermilion Rose, on the Bour- 
sault Amadis, and it has thrown up a fine truss, and bloomed well. As regards 
the Briar stock, it is an admirable stock for strong lands, and better than the 
Manetti stock for dwarf and moderate growers; but, if land is light or shallow, 
unless you can afford to replenish constantly, and also to mulch, you had better 
have Roses on the Manetti stock. This stock is suited to strong growers, and to 
all lands. Though an Italian stock it is, on well-drained grounds, the hardiest of all. 
In such inferior land as mine, Roses budded in loco on the Briar, and manured very 
highly, bear no comparison with purchased Manetti Roses for earliness, abundance 
