arto 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 8. 
number of bottles, ready filled with water, to put his 
roses into. We have seen beautiful roses, cut perhaps 
only that very morning, put into a basket carefully 
enough, with damp moss, and carried by hand as gently 
as possible, placed in bottles judiciously, and put in 
competition with others conveyed in the way we are 
about to describe, and have wofully failed. And why? 
Because, carried in baskets ever so carefully, the want 
of water at the base of the stem, and being so many 
hours without that sustaining refreshment, causes them 
to lose their freshness and beauty in a great degree, and 
in many instances to drop their petals. 
To prevent this it is necessary to have oblong boxes, 
made with a moveable cover; this cover or lid to have 
sides to it deep enough to keep the lid clear from the 
roses. The lower part of the box should have a division 
hoard resting upon a ledge of wood ; this board should 
have holes in it wide enough to admit tin or zinc bottles 
through them, and these bottles should have a flat rim, 
wider than the hole, for them to rest upon the board, 
and so prevent them slipping through. If the bottles 
fit pretty tight, so much the better; but as the board is 
moveable and can be lifted out, should any of the bottles 
feel loose they may be wedged tight with chips of wood 
from the underside. The lower part of the box should 
be deep enough to allow the bottles to hang clear of the 
bottom; if this were not so, they would be pushed up¬ 
wards, and the roses spoiled. The box being so made, 
and fitted with bottles placed at such distances as to 
allow the roses to be put in them so as not to touch 
each other, let the whole have two or three coats of 
paint, the last being a pleasing grass-green. This 
ought to be done time enough to allow the paint to get 
perfectly dry, and then the box or boxes will last for a 
man’s life-time. 
This box or boxes, for more than one will be neces¬ 
sary when a large number of roses are required, having 
been duly prepared, and the day previous to the exhibit¬ 
ing one having arrived, then examine the roses in the 
garden, and cut such as are rather more than half- 
opened. Some Societies offer prizes for single blooms 
only—one of a kind; this is not judicious, for it is 
always desirable to see the mode in which they bloom. 
To do that they should be exhibited in clusters of at 
least three blooms on one stem, each to be as much as 
possible in different stages of development—the fully- 
grown bud, the half-opened, and fully-blown flowers. 
The exhibition of these lovely flowers then becomes 
exceedingly interesting and instructive, giving the 
I spectator an opportunity of observing and noting their 
i beauties in the different stages of blooming. The ex¬ 
hibitor will, as a matter of course, be guided in the 
selection and cutting his blooms by the schedule. He 
should first fill the bottles three-parts full of water, and 
take the box into the garden; then choose the best 
flower, or bunch of flowers, as may be required, put 
them into the bottle at one corner, and mark that with 
a number corresponding to the name, say, No. 1, Coup 
d’Hebe; then cut the roses for the second bottle, mark 
it No. 2, Grant des Battailes, and so on, arranging the 
colours with taste and judgment, so that the whole shall 
form a blended pleasing composition. If a few leaves 
are placed in each bottle, round each kind of rose of the 
same tree, by way of garnishing, they add greatly to 
the general effect. As soon as the box is quite full, 
remove it into a cool room, and fit on the lid just before 
commencing the journey. If you travel by tiie rail, see 
them placed carefully in the parcel’s van yourself, for 
the porters are not very particular how they handle or 
place such perishable or easily-injured articles. If you 
can get them placed under the seat in the same carriage 
you travel in yourself, so much the better, you can have 
your eye upon them all the way; but if they are too 
large for that, have them put upon the floor of the 
parcel’s van; they will not be injured by having other 
parcels put upon them half so much as they would if 
put upon other parcels, and be knocked about probably 
at every station to get at the luggage underneath them. 
Then, at the terminus, take care to be at the van the 
very first, and see the roses are lifted out the right side 
up, and carefully carried to a cab or omnibus, and 
placed upon them equally as carefully. All this may 
seem trifling and unnecessary, but we know how need- , 
ful it is to lie on the look-out, and how grievous it is to ! 
find, for want of a little care bestowed at the right mo- 1 
ment, your blooms, or at least part of them, so injured ; 
by, perhaps, a fall or a turning topsy-turvy, as to render 
them unfit for the exhibition. If the exhibitor takes | 
bis own conveyance even, the same care must be taken; 
but that he will do of course. It is those porters on the 
different stations and at the terminus that are to be 
watched and warned. It is them we fear; for the hurry 
and bustle at the time is often so great, that without 
thinking, or, perhaps, knowing the consequences, they 
throw about a box of choice roses with as little care ns 
they would a box of soap. 
Well, then, all this care having been duly exercised, 
you arrive at the place of exhibition in good spirits, and 
firm assurance that your stands of roses are all right 
and in good order; but just unfasten the lid, and take 
a good peep at them, you will then be sure that they 
are so. And if due care has been taken to be there, as 
in the case of roses in pots, an hour or two before the 
time appointed for the censorship, let the lids be fast¬ 
ened down again, and placed upon the table appointed 
for them; then seek for the entry office; have your name 
and what you intend to compete for written ready upon 
a slip of paper; hand this to the entering clerk, and 
obtain from him the cards to place to the stands; then 
return to the exhibition tent, and if the time has come, 
take off the lids, observe the blooms, and trim and set 
them off to the best advantage, so as to show every 
bloom to the eye; place the cards to them, and leave 
them to the skill and patience of the censors. 
In our next, we shall treat upon the raising of new 
varieties from seed, which will complete the series of our 
essays upon this all-worthy and lovely flower. 
T. Appleby. 
CULTURE OF SUPERIOR CELERY. 
There are few things in which gardening skill is 
more required than in the production of good, useful 
celery, in such a succession as to carry on the supply 
for some nine months out of the twelve. It may be ; 
true that a something bearing the name of celery may 
be had during the other three months likewise, but this 
only resembles superior celery by the flavour which it is 
capable of giving to soups, &c., during the early summer ! 
months, which we shall state to be from tbe middle of 
April till the middle of July. During this period, the 1 
abundance of other description of salads renders the ; 
want of good well-blanched celery a matter of less . 
moment, yet all gardeners try to have some of it as 
early as they can; and though its first appearance at 
table is less an object of attention than that of “ Peas,” 
still a considerable interest attaches to it, and being 
a more general favourite than many other tilings, it 
deserves all the attention and encouragement that can 
be given in its progressive career; but as we have at 1 
various times, for the last few months, urged the pro¬ 
priety of assisting the earliest crop in every mode pos¬ 
sible, we need say no more here than again advise the 
use of liquid manure, which seems more peculiarly 
adapted for celery than anything else. We now come 
to that more essential portion of the quantity cultivated, 
“ the main crop,” and preface our remarks by a few 
observations on this vegetable generally. 
