1S72. ] 
ROSES AND ROSE-CULTURE. 
27 
just as they show colour, that the energies of the plants may not be diverted 
from making wood. On the approach of winter a covering—Russian mats 
will be sufficient—should be provided to draw over the glass in case of severe 
frost, for be it remembered we are assuming that no heating apparatus is in 
use. Slight frosts in autumn or in winter rarely injure Tea-scented Roses ; the 
plants growing out of doors are injured or destroyed in winter and spring by 
severe frost and water at the root, or by the sudden alternations of frost and sun¬ 
shine after damp or rain. If, therefore, the plants in a house not heated, become 
at any time covered with rime from the severity of the night’s frost, it is well to 
leave the mats on the house during the day, to exclude the sun. When the roses 
have been planted a year, they may be pruned sparingly—the outer row of both 
centre and side beds should be cut into round bushes, while one leading shoot from 
each plant in the back row of the side beds should be left full length, fastening it to 
a wire leading to the top of the house. A stick should be put to each plant in 
the middle row of the centre bed, to which the leading shoot should be tied, and 
left unpruned; the other shoots may be shortened to one or two eyes each. 
This year the flowers may be allowed to mature themselves, not, however, in too 
great numbers, as the plants cannot yet be considered thoroughly established. 
But we now begin to reap the fruit of our labour. We now prune in winter 
instead of in spring, for we want the first flowering to take place in April and 
May, before the roses are in flower out-of-doors. 
The routine of cultivation is henceforth the same as that followed with Roses 
in general. A top-dressing of cow-dung should be given once a year in winter, 
and the surface soil should be loosened frequently afterwards with fork or 
hoe. Mildew, if it appears, should be kept down by the use of the sulphurator, 
and green-fly must be destroyed by fumigating with tobacco. It must be re¬ 
membered, however, that the seasons are earlier within doors than without, and 
we must suit the various operations to the seasons. 
In dealing with Roses under glass, great care should be taken at all times to 
keep the air pure. If damp, the remedy is a free admission and circulation of 
air from without; if dry, the use of the syringe, morning or evening, or both if 
required. Shortly after the winter pruning, the house may be closed early, 
and opened late in the day, to encourage the buds to break ; and when they do 
so, caution is necessary in the admission of air, for in the early growing season the 
young leaves are tender, and easily injured by the cold cutting winds of spring, so 
that,- above all things, is it then necessary to avoid currents of air or draughts. 
As the leaves and young shoots harden, air may be admitted more freely, up to 
the time of flowering, when night air improves the colours and lengthens the 
duration of the flowers. 
When the first flowering is over, the plants naturally fall into a state of rest, 
and this state should be artificially preserved for as long a period as possible. 
Remove the top-lights altogether, except in rainy weather, and leave the side¬ 
lights constantly open. Give no water till such time as the buds are seen to be 
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