May 0. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
87 
tions in rose culture, and requires a knowledge of the 
habits of at least each class of roses. Whoever, there¬ 
fore, takes the knife in hand to prune roses, should, as 
the old proverb says, look before he leaps, or he may 
fall into the ditch of mistake, the bad effects of which 
will last for one season at least. It would weary the 
patience of our reading rose-growers were we to give 
rules for priming every variety. Our rules must he 
general, and the application for each variety left to 
the thinking powers of the operator. 
It is a good maxim, that example is better than 
precept, and acting upon that excellent rule, we will 
give a few examples how to prune the rose. In the first 
I place, it must be remembered that roses in pots require 
l a somewhat different mode of pruning than those 
! planted in the open ground, and for the satisfactory 
| reason that they do not grow so strong; yet in a degree 
the same rule applies, namely, that the shoots of strong 
growers must be left nearly the whole length, and weak 
growers be primed to two, three, or four eyes, in pro¬ 
portion to their strength; and, secondly, that in order 
to have a succession of bloom to suit the different ex¬ 
hibition days, there must at least be two seasons of 
pruning, one in November, and the other in March. 
Remembering these two points, then prune accordingly. 
There is, for example, the rose Fulgens, it is a strong 
grower, and if pruned close it will continue to grow and 
produce few blooms. Now, instead of cutting in close, 
thin out the branches; that is, cut part of them close oil' 
to the old wood, leaving a sufficient number to form a 
full, compact head. The branches that are left should 
be those of moderate growth, taking away the very 
coarsest, and the very smallest, then only just end the 
shoots that are left; cutting off, perhaps, only two or 
four inches, as the case may be, according to their 
strength. Now, this rule applies to all Hybrid China 
and Bourbon roses of similar habit to Fulgens. 
Then, again, others of the same group, such for in¬ 
stance, as Cramoisiesuperieure, and Mrs. Bosanquet, being 
weaker growers, require not only to be tliiuned-out, but 
also cut in pretty closely. Also, the groups of Moss, 
Provence, Alba, and the Cfallica's, should, almost without 
exception, be pruned to within three or four eyes. The 
Perpetuals and autumnal-flowering roses will bloom well 
at their season, and when forced to bloom in May, if 
pruned pretty closely at the season proper for their 
flowering when desired. 
A considerable amount of pruning at the proper 
season would be avoided, if the roses in pots, and, in¬ 
deed, in the open ground, wero thinned during the 
season of growth. At that time cut away close to the 
old wood all the very strong shoots, and all the weak 
straggling ones. This not only strengthens those that 
are left, but allows more air and sunshine to play upon 
those that are left, and thereby the wood will be more 
perfectly ripened, the buds filled with flower-sap, and 
the health of the plants preserved. T. Appleby. 
THE TOMATO. 
I 
Op late many complaints have reached us from cor¬ 
respondents who have been unable to ripen this fruit in 
anything like a satisfactory mauuer; and the time being 
at hand when the plants may, in most cases, he trusted 
, out-of-doors, a few words on their culture and general 
management will, we trust, be of service to those whose 
success has not hitherto been in accordance with their 
\ wishes: but before we say anything on the rearing and 
preparing of the young plants, let us examine the situa¬ 
tion they are to occupy, which we need hardly observe, 
must exercise great influence on a plant of such 
ephemeral existence as the Tomato (or Love-apple, as it 
is sometimes called). Now, though the favoured cul¬ 
tivator of our southern counties has little difficulty in 
securing a succession of well-ripened fruit from the 
beginning of August until the end of October, his less 
fortunate brother, occupying some cold, bleak situation in 
the northern part of the island, has to exercise all his skill 
in order to obtain, perhaps, only a few of the first-formed 
fruit ripened, or rather only coloured, in a very indifferent 
way. Now as we know the The Cottage Gardener is j 
read by both the above classes, as well as many inter¬ 
mediate ones, it is easy to see that the treatment adapted 
to the one can hardly be applicable to the other, we 
therefore commence with the less favoured one first. 
In those gardens situated in a moist, dull locality, and 
where, probably, shelter is only partially afforded, there 
the Tomato has to struggle against many difficulties to 
arrive at anything like a usable condition, unless all the 
available means be taken that can be to forward their 
maturity; not the least of which is preparing the plants 
early in the spring by potting and repotting, so that by 
the time you are able to plant them out, they are good 
stocky well-established plants, with a degree of firmness 
(not succulence) about them, which their partial ex¬ 
posure to the air, &c., ought by this time to have given 
them; they ought also to be occupying pots six or seven 
inches diameter, and altogether to present that hardy, 
robust appearance so essential to their well doing. 
Let us next examine the site they are to occupy, which, 
in this ungenial climate alluded to, ought to be against 
a south wall or paling, and to possess every other advan¬ 
tage of that exposure. 
Now to the plantiug out, and on doing that judiciously 
much of the after success depends, and certainly to 
plant them in the deep rich soil common to wall borders 
in such situations would defeat the purposes you have 
in view; therefore, in the place where the plant is to be, 
scoop out a little of the earth, but not deep, and ram in 
some mortar-rubbish, or other material that will beat 
tolerably tight, so as to make a sort of concrete bed, the 
top of which may be nearly level with the surrounding 
ground; on this platform or foundation spread your 
compost soil, and forthwith put in the plants, which will, 
when finished, stand on mounds. Now the soil we have 
found best adapted to grow and ripen the tomato, was 
one containing a large proportion of mortar-rubbish, 
which, checking undue luxuriance, induced fruitfulness. 
So essential do we consider this substance, that we prefer 
it to mere enriching matters, even where the prospect 
of ripening is less uncertain than the cases alluded to. 
We therefore advise our readers, who have in former 
years found some difficulty in curbing their plants, even 
by severe and oft-repeated amputations, to try the 
effects of a liberal allowance of this far-from-barren 
substance, and we have no doubt as to the result. We 
may add, that good saudy loam might form the other 
principal part of the compost; but decayed turf, leaf- 
mould, and other open surfaces had better be withheld. 
We next shall suppose the plants put in and all going 
on aright, and a few boughs stuck in front of them will 
shelter them considerably from the cold nights, should 
any occur. Water will have to be administered until 
they get established, which, if all be right, will soon be 
effected; after which they require but little attention 
until they want nailing or fastening up, when some 
stopping and training may be put in operation, which 
it is better not to delay too long, as no advantage 
attends encouraging the plants to a large size. We 
never allow our plants to get more than four feet high, ; 
and often much less ; and we commence stopping and j 
thinning pretty early in the season ; and as the above 
remarks apply principally to those having to contend 
against many natural disadvantages, we urge on them 
the necessity of using the knife very freely. 
We now turn our eyes southward, and, by a move 
quicker than the express train, have left not the Tweed 
