72 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
seen, in true Japanese relief, against a 
clear green-blue, western, evening sky. 
Toward this corner your glance will of¬ 
ten stray. The bamboo can be rooted 
from cuttings, buried about two inches 
beneath the surface of the ground, in 
the month of Januai*y. But, as you 
value your bamboo corner, don’t let it 
have one dry moment for two years. 
Like the children, I have kept for the 
last the best of all the game, and in 
closing will say a few words concern¬ 
ing my favorite ornamental—the rose. 
Queen of the garden, she is yet with¬ 
in reach of all, for any one who has a 
pump can have at least half a dozen 
vigorous, flowering rose bushes. That 
is, provided the pump is united with 
muscle, patience and a high resolve to 
rise above the pleasantries of an unbe¬ 
lieving family. I have had roses on 
my breakfast table for fifteen years, dur¬ 
ing the greater part of which time they 
were the result of the aforesaid combina¬ 
tion of pump and patience. 
A rose bed 9x14 feet will hold ten 
bushes and do well. In preparing the 
bed, first dig out the earth to a depth 
of from 2 1-2 to 3 feet. Over the bot¬ 
tom of this excavation lay a floor of 
old boards; fill in above this, for two- 
thirds of the depth, a mixture of old 
chips and leaf mold; then finish with 
about one foot of well rotted stable ma¬ 
nure and sand mixed. Soak down thor¬ 
oughly. 
The best time for planting is Decem¬ 
ber. I have never lost a plant set out 
in this month. 
Never let the rose bed get dry and 
hard, yet do not keep too wet. Re¬ 
member that one soaking is better than 
a dozen sprinkles, and, when bushes are 
well established, one weekly soaking is 
better than seven soakings. 
I always set out two-year-old budded 
roses. Some of my friends prefer roses 
grown on their own roots. We do not 
argue the question—I just keep on pick¬ 
ing roses! 
Once a month I give my 9x14 foot 
bed eight quarts of hard wood ashes. 
Once every month I also give two 
tablespoonfuls of Painter’s Special Rose 
fertilizer, to each bush, working it care¬ 
fully into the soil and wetting down 
well. Once a year, in the fall, I cover 
the bed with a 3-inch mulching of to¬ 
bacco stems, bought by the bale. In 
picking the flowers cut every rose stem 
so as to leave one leaf next the parent 
stem from which the flower stalk has 
sprung. Leave one leaf, not more and 
not less. Then the new growth comes 
quickly, and new growth, with roses, 
means flowers. There are no pests, in 
particular, to be feared, but there is no 
harm in an annual spraying with either 
water and whale oil soap, or water and 
pearline, using one package of pearline to 
ten gallons of water. Generally speak¬ 
ing, tea-roses give the best satisfaction; 
that is, they bloom most continuously, 
in this climate, though certain others, 
such as Chromatella and Clothilde 
Soupert can always be depended upon. 
The following list comprises the names 
of those roses which I hold as ‘^tried and 
true 
Chromatella, a climber which can be 
cut back. 
Clothilde Soupert. 
Marie Van Houtte. 
Bon Silene. 
Catherine Mermet. 
Souvenir of Malmaisou 
Helen Gould. 
Duchess of Brabant. 
James Sprunt. 
Bridesmaid. 
The Bride. 
