THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
ately in our hot dry climate they give only 
one satisfactory bloom in June, with occa¬ 
sionally a few stray flowers during the sum¬ 
mer and fall. In England this is the favorite 
class of roses, seen at all the exhibitions in 
London and other large cities, where they are 
bought in large quantities by our American 
travelers, who usually get sadly disappointed 
at their refusing either to give such good 
blooms, or to bloom so frequently when grown 
in our tropical summers. Quite a number, 
however, grow them for the grand display 
they make for the two or three weeks in June, 
and for such I give the following dozen as 
combining those having the greatest variety of 
color and form. 
Anna de Diesbach—rich pink. 
Baroness Rothschild—rich shade of rose. 
Countess of Oxford—very large, soft, rosy 
carmine. 
Fisher Holmes—dark scarlet shaded ma¬ 
roon. 
Merveille de Lyon—pure white; other char¬ 
acteristics, same as Baroness Rothschild. 
Magna Charta—splendid bright pink. 
Ulrich Brunner—scarlet crimson. 
Mme. Gabriel Luizfet—light pink—splendid. 
Mabel Morrison—white. 
Queen of Queens—pink, large and full. 
Paul Neyron—deep rosy pink. 
Marquis de Castellaine—brilliant pinkish 
carmine. 
Pride of Waltham—peach-color, pink. 
Of the above class there are also many hun¬ 
dreds—by far too many varieties, in fact. 
Some of them are nearly identical with others, 
being of similar colors, and many more that 
are comparatively worthless are still kept on 
the lists. The class of 
HARDY CLIMBING ROSES 
suitable for the Northern States is compara¬ 
tively limited, and the best are comprised in 
the followiug list: 
Prairie Queen—bright pink. 
Baltimore Belle—white. 
Gem of Prairie—violet crimson. 
Greville or Seven Sisters—color ranging 
from white to crimson. 
Russell’s Cottage—dark crimson. 
Superba—rosy pink. 
Pride of the South—satiny rose. 
Crimson Boursault—crimson. 
OF EVERBLOOMING CLIMBING ROSES 
that do well in the Southern States only, the 
best are: 
Mardchal Niel—golden yellow. 
Cloth of Gold—golden yellow. 
Solfaterre—straw color. 
Waltham Climber—crimson. 
Gloire de Dijon—salmon-rose. 
Lamarque—pure white. 
James Sprunt—violet crimson. 
Climbing Hermosa—soft rose. 
All these roses are more or less tender, and 
few of them give any satisfaction north of 
Richmond, but in most of the Southern States 
grand specimens of all of them can be seen, 
that have stood for many years. Roses of all 
classes require a rich, deep soil, well enriched 
with bone dust or well rotted stable manure, 
and must be exposed at all times to full sun¬ 
shine to be obtained in best perfection. 
A FEW NOTES ON WINTER FLOWER¬ 
ING ROSES. 
JAMES TAPLIN. 
When to start cuttings; roofs of houses; 
soil; difficulty in obtaining it; fertilizers; 
depth of soil; when to plant; insect, 
remedies; ‘■'■when the first specie of mil¬ 
dew appears" 1 ; larvae of the rose bug; 
aphidae, red spider, etc.; hardy roses; 
roses on their own roots preferred . 
It is well to start from the cutting and give 
successive hints for treatment through the 
season. Some of our best growers say it is best 
to strike their cuttings in March and later; 
but I consider it makes little difference if the 
plants, after rooting, do not receive any check 
from want of pot-room or lack of water. I 
strike cuttings at any time when I can obtain 
good spare wood. I have tried wood from 
which buds have been cut, but this, from the 
demand for long-stemmed flowers, is now 
more limited than in our young days. I have 
also tried those shoots which have no flower 
bud; or, in other words, have none of what is 
known as blind wood. I have potted and grown 
the plants side by side and have never seen 
any difference in growing and flowering. I 
have noted this fact from the time I propa¬ 
gated a few hundred each year until the pres¬ 
ent time. I consider a moderately stiff soil 
the best for growing roses; although I saw 
some of the best American Beauty roses 
giown in almost pure sand and fresh cow ma¬ 
nure, still it is usually said that the rose 
requires very stiff soil. 
The rose forcers now build their houses with 
what is known as a hip roof; that is, one 
short length of glass at the back or north side 
and amuch longer roof at the front or south 
side. This plan of house gives all the light 
and sun obtainable in the winter from having 
the stages fitted near the glass; in fact, one 
enthusiast had a number of screw-jacks ar¬ 
ranged under his stage so as to raise and lower 
at pleasure. There is no doubt that many 
varieties do better in this plan of house, espec¬ 
ially in a very dark winter like the present; 
but with some' old-established plants of La 
France, Bon Silene and Safrano I have 
never seen more or better flowers than when 
they were grown in the open border in an or¬ 
dinary span-roof house running north and 
south; but of late years we do not appear to 
get so much sun in winter as we got years ago 
and as a result we obtain fewer flowers. 
The best time to procure soil is at the end of 
the summer for the next year’s planting; that 
procured from a good permanent pasture is 
preferable, though we often see places where 
the soil has to be obtained by the roadside, or 
from lots where they are making new streets. 
From the large demand for soil it appears to 
get scarcer each year. Many growers near a 
city have to cart it long distances; sometimes 
it .is transported a long distance by rail or 
boat at a large expense. The soil is usually 
mixed with about a third of well-rotted cow 
or stock-yard manure, to which a moderate 
proportion of ground bone is added. How- 
growth. They flower but once. For very 
early forcing these are grown on benches or 
in pots; for flowers required after the end of 
January they are best in the open border 
These must have their wood thoroughly 
ripened before starting, or but few flowers 
will be obtained. 
The insects to be guarded against are chiefly 
the red spider and rose-bug, and also a small 
caterpillar which curls up the leaf and spoils 
the bud. The only remedy for the last is to 
pinch the leaves where they are stuck together 
concealing the caterpillar, and also to de¬ 
stroy its parent, a small, brown moth rather 
difficult to capture. Red spider is easily kept 
in check by abundant moisture and syringing 
the under side of the leaves, although it 
often gains a footing during mild, damp 
weather in the beginning of the season, when 
sufficient water cannot be given. A coat of 
sulphur on the heating pipes also keeps it in 
check. 
Sulphur being the only specific for mildew, 
it is also of value in keeping that down. The 
pipes being painted with this at the com¬ 
mencement of the season will be useful for 
both these pests. When the first speck of 
mildew appears the foliage should at once be 
dusted with flowers of sulphur. This is best 
applied by one of the various sulphur bellows; 
LUCIOLE. 
Fig. 80. 
(See psge 230.) 
ever, it is usually preferable to add manure, 
either liquid or in the form of mulching, 
rather than give too much to the young 
plants. A liquid composed of fresh cow ma¬ 
nure, chicken manure or guano, with the ad¬ 
dition of sulphate of ammonia, is excellent; 
better to use a weak solution frequently than 
a strong one, and the liquid should be used 
clear; the sediment chokes the soil and sours 
the surface. On benches the usual plan is not 
to use more than four or five inches of soil, 
which many growers say is better than a 
greater depth, but in this case it is necessary 
to plant young plants each year, as the roots 
of the plants and the frequent waterings re¬ 
quired completely exhaust the soil in one sea¬ 
son. When planted in the open border I pre¬ 
fer soil twelve inches in depth, which will last 
for a dozen or more years if not attacked by 
disease or insects. This requires a good sur¬ 
facing of ground bone and cow or stock-yard 
manure each year when the plants are trimmed 
over and re-tied for the winter. This process 
should take place about the end of August or 
beginning of September. 
The best time for planting is from early 
in June to the end of July. If planted much 
later than this, the plants do not get thorough¬ 
ly established for flowering the first winter. 
This applies especially to Teas. Hybrid Re- 
montants are best planted at the same time, 
but they are grown entirely cold, as if out-of- 
doors, during the time they are making their 
a very small portion being effective, while il 
is more easily and quickly distributed. 
The Rose Bug is the most troublesome in¬ 
sect we have to contend with; for, althougfc 
the parents nibble the leaves to some extent, 
the larvte concealed in the ground, eat th« 
roots and either weaken or kill the plants. 
Many good growers recommend picking by 
hand. No doubt this is thorougly effective if 
every one could be picked before the eggs are 
la’d. But being of a gray color, they are nol 
easily seen. One grower recommends keep¬ 
ing Bantam chickens in the rose houses, and 
I believe th*s is an excellent plan. The chick¬ 
ens will pick every insect visible, not only on 
the plants, but also on the ground. 
Aphides or green flies are often troublesome 
on forced roses, as they are outside. The only 
effective remedy is tobacco in some form, as 
smoke from tobacco stems, if possible; but 
this destroys the tints of all colored roses, so 
it can be applied only before the buds are far 
advanced. Many growers now strew tobacco 
stems under the benches or on the pipes, but 
they should be frequently removed, as they 
soon lose their power when wetted by water¬ 
ing. I have often used tobacco water with 
good results; but it must be used rather weak 
and freshly made, tor after standing a few 
days it leaves a white sediment on the plants, 
caused by saltpeter or some other material 
used in the manufacture of the tobacco. With 
this pest, as with meldew, it is necessary to 
apply the remedy in time, before any green 
fly is seen. 
Roses to be planted in the open ground, 
should be at least a year old; the kind usually 
sold for forcing are not sufficiently established 
to stand the winter. I prefer all sorts obtain¬ 
able on their own roots, with no forcing, and 
out-door planting, although some of our 
growers have produced wonderful results, at 
least for one year, on grafted plants. I may 
mention that none of the Tea Roses are really 
sufficiently hardy to remain outside during 
the winter in this latitude. 
Maywood, N. J. 
THE PREPARATION OF SOIL FOR 
ROSES. 
JOHN N. MAY. 
The soil needed', what to avoid ; location of 
the first importance-, manure-, distance 
apart-, depth to plant-, a selected list. 
There is a mistaken idea with many ama¬ 
teurs in regard to the soil, etc., necessary to 
grow roses successfully, and many are de¬ 
terred from cultivating this, the Queen of 
Flowers, because they think their soil and sit¬ 
uation are not suitable to the rose. To re¬ 
move such erroneous ideas should be the ob¬ 
ject of every lover of flowers, and the Rural 
will do a good work for many if it follows up 
this subject and thoroughly discusses it. 
To all who wish to grow a rose or roses, but 
have hesitated in the past, I would say, “If 
you have a soil in your garden that will grow 
weeds well, you can grow roses well also, as 
they will thrive in any good soil ranging be¬ 
tween a light sandy loam and a heavy clay 
loam, provided other conditions are favorable, 
but I do not advise any one to try growing 
roses in a gravel or sand bank, or in a low, 
marshy, undrained piece of land; but presum¬ 
ing that the soil in which it is intended to 
plant roses is naturally of a fairly suitable 
nature, the next thing to be considered is the 
location, and herein lie very much more the 
chances of success than merely in the soil. In 
choosing the place to make a rose-bed avoid 
anywhere near trees or within their shadow. 
The place must be open and free from all 
chances of tree roots finding their way to the 
bed, or they will soon rob the roses of all 
their nourishment, and leave them to pine 
away and die. Choose, then, the most open 
place you have for the size of the bed you 
wish to make. Then have the soil trenched or 
dug 20 to 24 inches deep, mixing well with the 
soil during the digging a good heavy dressing 
of well decomposed cow manure. If to be 
had, chicken droppings are also good, but 
they should be used more sparingly. Better 
to mix them with other manure thau to use 
them alone. After this has been well done, 
let the whole lie for eight or ten days; then 
choose a nice, dry day, and have the 
bed lightly forked over nine or ten 
inches deep, and thoroughly mix and 
break up any manure which may have 
escaped in the first digging. If the soil 
is of a very heavy clayey nature, add a light 
dressing of sharp sand before forking it over. 
If, on the other hand, it is naturally of a light, 
sandy nature, add, if possible, at the first dig¬ 
ging a liberal coat of heavy clay loam and 
work it well in during the first digging; then 
the second digging or forking over will thor¬ 
oughly incorporate the whole and leave the 
bed in the best possible condition to receive 
the roses. In choosing the position and de¬ 
termining the size of the bed it should be 
borne in mind that a good, healthy rose bush 
ought to have at least 15 inches for growth 
between itself and its next neighbor; or, in 
other words, H. P. and H. Teas in dwarf 
bushes (which are by far the most satisfactory 
for our climate) should be planted not less 
than 15 inches apart each way,and in planting 
care should be taken that they are not buried 
too deep. If on their own roots,they should be 
planted only deep enough to bury the roots 
comfortably. If budded (they should be 
worked very low) bury the union between the 
stock and cion only just under the surface; 
press the whole soil carefully about the roots 
and make it firm; then rake the whole sur¬ 
face over and the bed is complete. But do not 
suppose that this is all that will be required 
for the whole summer; on the contrary, if you 
wish fine roses the plants must have care and 
attention. Should very dry weather follow 
immediately after planting, they should have 
liberal waterings. Keep, the surface of the 
bed stirred with a hoe frequently to kill all 
weeds and let air into the soil. 
The varieties most suitable to plant must 
very largely depend on the taste of the owner, 
as there is a great difference in taste in select¬ 
ing varieties and colors; but the following may 
be taken as the cream of the long list—and 
embraces nearly all the colors obtainable in 
the two classes—Hybrid Perpetuals and Hy„ 
brid Teas: 
White: Boule de Neige, G'olumbia (new), 
