36 
THE FLORIST, 
MR. RIVERS ON CHRISTMAS ROSES. 
Every cultivator of the Rose is well acquainted with the difficulty of 
having Roses in bloom in the “ dark and dreary” month of Decem¬ 
ber. I feel therefore much pleasure in giving the result of some 
experiments ending in perfect success; so that in future a bouquet 
of Roses on Christmas-day may grace the festive board in company 
with the holly, rivalling in brilliancy the colour of its berries. 
The Bourbon Rose, Gloire de Rosamene, is now well known by 
every lover of this favourite flower as a most brilliant and beautiful 
variety; but, like many other Roses remarkable for the brilliancy of 
their tints, its flowers are deficient in fulness ; in fact, they are merely 
semidouble; and, like all Roses of this description, they fade very 
quickly in hot weather; it is only in the cool cloudy days of 
autumn, when their flowers never fully expand, that they are seen in 
perfection. This quality induced me to turn my attention to this 
variety, as well-calculated to give a crop of very late autumnal or 
winter flowers. 
Nothing can be more simple than their management. Towards 
the end of May, young plants from small pots should be shifted into 
32’s or 6-inch pots, in a good compost of two-thirds loam and one- 
third rotten manure or decayed leaves, and plunged in sawdust or 
old tan in the open ground, fully exposed to sun and air; they may 
be allowed to bloom freely all June and July, but in August and 
September every blossom-bud should be pinched off; this will make 
the plants stout and very robust, and towards the end of October 
an abundant crop of incipient flower-buds will be apparent; the 
plants may then be removed to a light and airy glazed pit or green¬ 
house, and placed as near the glass as possible: no fire-heat, unless 
frost is very severe, should be employed, and abundance of air—they 
cannot have too much—should be given : it will also be much better 
to place the pots on slates or on a layer of sand, rather than on a dry 
wooden shelf. I am induced to recommend sand from the perfect 
success I have had with my plants, which, after being taken from 
