July 7. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
263 
Comte Bonbert, rose, sometimes tinted with flesh; 
large and very double. 
Coup d'Hebe, rich deep pink ; largo and very double ; 
form exquisite. 
Hybrid in which the Noisette character predominates. 
The example is :— 
Madame Plantier, pure white; beautiful and full. 
Class 8. — Rosa spinosissima, or Scotch Roses. —These 
Roses are, as their name imports, natives of Scotland, 
and are found in bushy brakes on hill sides. In then- 
wild state they are single, but cultivation has greatly 
improved them. There are numbers of varieties with 
double flowers of every hue. For the front of shrub¬ 
beries, or even in beds, in wild parts of the grounds, 
they are useful as ornaments. They are easily known 
by their small, weak branches, tiny leaves, and small 
flowers. There are some hybrids that are desirable 
even for the Rosarium ; Williams's Yellow is an example. 
Class !).— Rosa lutea, Austrian Roses. —This class is 
a very distinct one, but difficult to describo. Examples 
will teach more by a single glance than pages of de¬ 
scription. They are remarkable for brilliancy of 
colouring. The best Yellow Roses in cultivation are in 
this class, namely, Harrisonii and Persian Yellow. Out 
of bloom they look like small, weak growing, wild briers. 
Rosa sulphured, and the Sweet Brier, with its hybrids, 
are nearly allied to this class. The former is the Old 
Double Yellow Rose, so difficult to bloom, but when it 
does bloom it is very beautiful. The examples are :— 
Austrian Copper Rose, Yellow Rose, both single, but 
very beautiful. 
Sweet Briers. 
Celestial, blush; semi-double. 
Double Scarlet, rich deep rose; distinct and double. 
Double Margined Hip, flesh, edged with crimson; 
very large and double. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
WALK EDGINGS. 
Whatever may be the merits of the various articles 
used as edgings to walks, it seems agreed on, by usage, 
that one of Box stands pre-eminent; and whether we take 
it for its hardihood, durability, or general appearance, 
as a live edging it would seem the first in its class. 
Nevertheless, there are places where it is inexpedient to 
have Box; places where neither that nor anything else will 
grow; and places where it almost refuses to grow, from a 
dislike to the soil. Now, though we profess to advocate 
the use of Box in all cases where it will thrive, unless 
other circumstances render another edging necessary, 
we will, nevertheless, advert to other kinds for the special 
purposes for which they may be wanted. 
From time immemorial, edgings for paths have been 
deemed requisite for appearance, and in some respects 
for stability. The various Roman causeways, which in¬ 
tersected the cultivated parts of this country during the 
time that wonderful people held possession of it, have all 
a row of larger stones at the edge than in the centre, 
showing that “an edging” was not unknown at that 
early period; and from them, down to the present period, 
some sort of margin seems be considered necessary to 
all sorts of pathways, be that a turnpike foot road, a 
street pavement, or the more humble crossing that 
carries the cottager from his back door to some out¬ 
house. To all an “edging” of some sort seems requisite, 
and all have their edging accordingly. 
Let us, first, warn the inexperienced amateur against 
falling into error by planting a wrong kind of Box. 
Like many other plants, more noticed perhaps, the Box 
has divided itself into varieties, differing in their dwarf 
or robustness of habit, the extremes being denominated 
“tree,” and “edging Box;” but, independent of these 
I 
! 
! 
extremes, there are (as in most other things) inter¬ 
mediate kinds, too coarse for edging purposes in many 
places, though not in all; and in those situations where 
the very dwarfest kind refuses to grow, this stronger 
growing one may be introduced to advantage. Which¬ 
ever may be used, be sure that all the edging planted in 
one place be all of a kind; for though we advocated 
cutting and trimming, yet the jagged and very uneven 
growth that takes place when the dwarf and robust arc 
intermixed, or, what is equally bad, half one, and half 
the other, in the same line, renders it necessary to be 
very exact in having it true. We will not here go into the 
details of planting, which are well known, but merely 
say, that we cut but little (seldom any) of the top at the 
time of planting. It is likewise necessary to be careful 
that the ground on which it is planted be all alike in 
quality, and not to have the roots of one piece luxuriating 
in the rich soil of the kitchen-garden squares, and 
another struggling for existence amongst the hungry 
gravel and other substances the walk may be made of. 
These matters are often neglected, and the edging 
presents afterwards a diversity of growth not to be 
wondered at, when we consider the circumstances in 
which it was placed. It is scarcely necessary here to 
point out the best season for this duty, for it rarely 
happens that any regard can be had to that; we have 
planted it at all seasons, but prefer the month of April. 
Whenever it is planted in dry weather, it should have 
the advantage of water for some time afterwards, and it 
will seldom fail to grow, even when its roots have been 
much curtailed. In moist, cool districts, large quantities 
are often put in without any root at all. The middle of 
the growing season is the worst for planting, but we have 
done that in a case of necessity, and been tolerably 
successful. 
Notwithstanding the reputed hardihood of Box, we 
have seen it show more signs of suffering from spring 
frosts than many things supposed to be more tender. 
Some frosts we had in the early part of May, 1862, fol¬ 
lowed by a bright sun, “ cut up ” the tender growth of Box¬ 
edging on the east sides of those lines which run north 
and south, and were exposed to the morning sun. This, 
we suppose, to be owing to the cold air floating nearest 
the ground, and the sudden exposure to unclouded sun 
shine after. Nevertheless, we need not be afraid to 
plant it in exposed situations; for, though it suffered 
severely, and for some days was quite black, still it 
recovered itself without any p'ortion falling a victim to 
the ordeal to which it had been subjected. 
We have heard it said, “ There cannot be any good 
gardening where Box-edging will not grow.” From 
this we entirely dissent, as we have seen an excellent 
and well-kept garden, where, after repeated trials, in 
which the Box perished piecemeal, its use was given up, 
and a dead edging, we believe of timber, substituted in 
its place. This was in a garden, the gardener of which 
received medals at the London Horticultural Shows; 
and it proves that there are some soils which do not 
possess in sufficient quantities the necessary ingre¬ 
dients on which Box lives, or some which it dislikes; con¬ 
sequently, after dragging out a miserable existence, it 
dies, piece after piece, until the edging becomes no 
edging. It would be difficult to describe the precise 
kind of soil the Box dislikes, but we may say, that 
where Sorrel is found very abundantly it is often a proof 
that the Box will not be at home there; while we have 
seen it thrive on a sandy soil that would almost drift 
before the wind, and it thrives equally on a retentive 
loam. 
Though it cannot well be planted at this season, yet 
it may be successfully trimmed into order, which is a 
point equally necessary to its general appearance. For 
this purpose, damp, dull weather is the most suitable 
! time. Its mutilated leaves are not then subjected to 
