December 26, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
963 
sparingly, but no doubt having had to be changed 
to fresh positions, inducing bunches of fibry roots has 
been much in favour of their free-flowering. Some 
cannot be classed as exhibition Roses, especially the 
whites, but immense quantities of these when half open 
are not to be despised where large quantites have to be 
cut. 
Alfred Colomb, Aimoe Yibert, Baroness Rothschild, 
Beauty of Waltham, Boule de Heige, Captain Christy, 
Charles Lefebvre, Comtesse de Serenye, Countess of 
Oxford, Docteur Andry, Duchess of Bedford, Coupe 
de Hebe (an old kind, but very fine in autumn and 
of excellent lorm), Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Wel¬ 
lington, Dupuy Jamain, Edouard Moreen, Exposition 
de Brie, Emily Laxton, Fisher Holmes, Ferdinand 
Lesseps, Firebrand, Frangois Michelon, General Jac¬ 
queminot, Hippolyte Jamain, Jean Soupert, John 
Hopper, Jules Margottin, La France, Leopold 1st, 
Lord Beaconsfield, Lord Macaulay, Madame Chas. 
Wood, Madame Clemence Joigneaux, Madame 
Baronne de Rothschild, Madame Isaacs, Madame Marie 
Rady, Madame Lacharme, Madame Maurice Cote, 
Madame Plantier, Madame Therese Levet, Marquise de 
Castellane, Merveille de Lyon, Miss Toole, Paul Heron, 
Princess Beatrice, Queen of Bedders, Reynolds Hole, 
Annie Laxton, Senateur Vaisse, Sir Garnet Wolseley, 
Souvenir de Leon Gambetta, Souvenir de Paul Heron 
(Tea), Star of Waltham, John S. Mill, Triomphe de 
Coeur, Triomphe de Rivers, Victor Verdier, and White 
Baroness. Duplicates or more of all these have done 
well, and a goodly number of Souvenir de la Mal- 
maison have been of much value. — M. T. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
_ 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Protection of Plants. —The frost went as sud¬ 
denly as it came ; hut we must not be lulled into false 
security on that account, and think we have got over 
the winter, as a similar change may, and most likely 
will, recur again ; and should we be visited with severe 
weather, plants, unless protected, must suffer, as they 
are in a tender state from so much wet, and growing so 
late in the autumn. All that is necessary, however, 
with most of them is to have something of anon-con¬ 
ducting nature, such as leaves or dry litter, round the 
collars, or Cocoa-nut fibre over herbaceous subjects or 
bulbous plants under ground, as then the tops or roots 
will be in a position to take care of themselves. 
Roses. —The best way of dealing with these is to 
mulch the beds with stable-mauure, and if the Roses 
are dwarfs, to let it come up loosely round the lower 
part of the heads, as it matters not about the top part 
of the wood being killed so long as the base and buds 
there are safe from the frost. The only thing that can 
he done with standards is to thrust some loose hay into 
the heads ; hut it is only the Tea varieties that require 
this care, as the perpetual sorts are hardier and seldom 
take harm. 
Planting. —How r that the weather is again open, 
this operation should be pushed on to completion with 
all speed, as Roses planted before the end of the year 
stand a much better chance of becoming established 
and flowering strong and well than those disturbed later 
on, which have less time to root. 
Preparing the Ground. —To have fine blooms, 
the ground where the plants are to be grown must be 
well enriched, and not only that, hut broken up deep 
either by digging or trenching, the latter being best ; 
and while that work is going on the manure should be 
buried below, where the Roses will find it when most 
needed, and that is while forming and perfecting their 
bloom. 
Gravel Walks. —These, unless where very sound 
and well made, have suffered from the frost, the ex¬ 
pansive force of which, when there is moisture in the 
gravel, is great ; hence the upheaval of the surface and 
the looseness it leaves. To remedy these evils, the roll 
must be put in use, and if this is run slowly over the 
walks a few times it will soon consolidate them and 
render them firm again, especially if done as soon after 
rain as the gravel will bear. 
Lawns are made soft from the same cause, and the 
more rolling the turf gets during the winter the finer 
will the grasses come, and the better appearance will 
they present, as worms are constantly turning up soil 
and making the surface look untidy by the numerous 
casts they exude. Killing the Worms : It is a good 
2 >lan at this season to get rid of these troublesome 
pests, which may easily be done by watering the lawn 
with lime-water, as when this touches their skins they 
quickly wriggle out of their holes. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Temperature. —The temperature most suitable for 
the greenhouse at this season of the year is about 50° 
by'day, and a few degrees, less during the night, which 
heat will agree with most plants, and keep those that 
are in flower fresh by preventing damp lodging on and 
spoiling the petals. 
Pelargoniums and Chrysanthemums. — Pelar¬ 
goniums of the show and fancy classes will now he all 
the better for having the weakest of their shoots 
thinned out, and all the stronger stopped by nipping 
out the points, which will cause them to break again 
and become furnished below'. The most suitable place 
for the plants is a light shelf well up to the glass, 
as there the growth they make is sure to be sturdy 
and strong. Excepting such sorts as Golden Dragon, 
Ethel, Meg Merrilies, and a few other late kinds, 
Chrysanthemums are mostly over, but it will soon 
he time to start again, and to get good cuttings 
the old plants must be taken care of by being cut down 
and stood, or, better still, turned out of their pots and 
plunged in rich light soil in some cold frame, where 
they will soon send up some fine strong shoots from 
the crow'ns. 
Camellias. —These often cause much diappointment 
by shedding their buds ; one of the reasons of this evil 
being too much heat, hut the most general is allowing 
the plants to get dry at the roots. This being so, they 
should he examined frequently, and watered in such a 
way when they require it as to thoroughly soak the ball 
of soil through. 
Composts. —As it will soon he time for re-petting 
most plants, it is of the greatest importance to he 
provided with suitable composts to shift them in, and 
that the stuff may be in good condition, it should be 
got under cover at once. The chief thing to secure is 
fairly fresh fibry loam, and this, with a little peat, 
leaf-soil, and rotten manure, will he all in that way 
that anyone w'ants. 
Pits and Frames.- —The great enemy with plants 
in these now is damp, and to fight against such a foe 
every opportunity must be seized when the weather is 
favourable to give air, as it is a confined atmosphere 
that-starts and engenders the mould and helps to bring 
on decay of the leaves. Any that are affected in this 
way should be picked off at once, and it is a good plan 
to just stir the surface of the soil at the same time, 
and give the frame or pit a rake out, which will make 
the floor fresh and sweet, and give the inmates a chance 
of holding their own till the days lengthen and start 
them again. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
Vines: Ripe Grapes. —Amateurs who have a vinery 
generally essay to keep ripe Grapes till Christmas, hut 
this year, owing to the excessive rainfall, it will have 
been a very difficult matter, and only done by much 
watchfulness and care, unless the sorts grown happen 
to be of the thick skinned kinds, and even then the 
bunches must have been constantly looked over to see 
that there are no mouldy or decaying berries, which, if 
there are, should be snipped out at once, as otherwise 
they are sure to spoil others they touch. Gentle Fires: 
The way to preserve Grapes to as late a period as 
possible, is to have the pipes or flues just warm, but 
not sufficiently so to raise the temperature, as that 
would cause a shrivelling of the berries, the thing to 
aim at being coolness and dryness of the air, under 
which favourable conditions the Grapes remain fresh 
and plump. 
Bottling the Grapes. —In cases where there are 
only a few hunches hanging, it is best to cut them 
with as much wood attached as can he got, and to place 
the lower ends, where severed from the Vines, in a 
bottle of -water, which may then be suspended in any 
dry room, treated in which way Grapes will keep 
a long time, and are not a tithe of the trouble they are 
■when left in the house. 
Pruning the V ines. —This is an operation that is 
generally left till too late, and always when it is, it is 
at the expense of the Vines, which then suffer from 
bleeding or sap-letting, which flows out at the cuts, 
and once it starts it is almost impossible to stop it, and 
it only ceases when the buds break, which they do 
under such circumstances very weakly, as the juices 
have oozed out of the rods. By pruning early these 
evils are prevented, as, instead of the pores of the 
wood being open, they have had time to close, and 
the life giving fluid shut in, when it takes its natural 
course and pushes forth strong vigorous shoots that 
show plenty of fruit. 
The Way to Prune. —There are several ways of 
pruning Vines, the one most generally adopted and 
considered the best by nearly all practical gardeners, is 
the spur system, which consists of having a single rod 
to each rafter, or a vine about every 3 ft. apart, and 
the shoots that are made yearly at each side cut hack 
close to the last bud, and though the hunches produced 
under this method of treatment may not be quite so 
large, they certainly are more close and compact than 
those obtained from young canes. 
Running up Fresh Rods. —Those who adopt the last 
mentioned method of growing Grapes run up fresh rods 
annually, cut out those that have borne annually, or if 
not annually they are frequently renewing the canes, 
but the doing of this crowds the house with foliage, and 
is a tax on the Vines. Although not agreeing with the 
perpetual running up and cutting out of rods, we would 
strongly recommend extension of growth, and if there 
is one vine in a house that shows more vigour and 
health than the others, by all means lead fresh canes 
from it to where the others are, and let it gradually 
replace them, or fill any vacant space there may be. 
Young Vines. —Vines that were planted last spring 
and have made good rods, the size and thickness of 
one’s thumb, will not need heading back much, and 
may be left 5 ft. or 6 ft. long at least; but others, 
smaller and weaker, will be all the better for being 
pruned closer in, and in either case they should he 
shortened to a good plump bud, the proper distance 
to makejihe cut from it being about half-an-inch, and it 
is a good plan to rub the wound over with a little white- 
lead to prevent the part bleeding. 
Vine Borders.— The digging and disturbing of 
these cannot be too strongly condemned, and instead 
of subjecting them to that treatment, they should have 
a few inches of horse-droppings or other short rich light 
manure laid on. the top, which will not only feed and 
nourish the roots, hut encourage them to come nearer 
the surface, where they will be more under the influence 
of sun and air, and keep in a healthier state than they 
are when driven below. 
Strawberries. —These often get much injured 
during severe weather, and especially is this so when the 
plants are dug between and get their roots cut and 
disturbed, a practice that is still common in gardens, 
instead of which the beds should be heavily mulched 
with a mixture of soil and rotten manure, so as to 
partially cover up the crowns, which will greatly 
strengthen them when they begin to grow in the 
spring. Cutting off the Leaves : Hot only are Straw¬ 
berries much weaker by the treatment already referred 
to, but they are made more tender by the exposure 
they are subjected to by cutting off the old leaves, 
all of which should he left on, as they are a great 
protection to the young ones, and the trusses of flower 
which they shelter from the keen winds and frosts that 
we often get, even to the middle of May. 
Bush Fruits. —Gooseberries and Currants are often 
left till they get old and hare below, but instead of 
allowing them to arrive at that state it is far better 
to grub them up, and replant; hut this should not be 
done in the same ground. A good way of growing 
them to economise space being to plant them alongside 
of walks, and by having single rows so arranged, they 
are handier to net or get at for the purpose of picking 
the fruit. 
Making and Putting in Cuttings. —To keep up 
a stock, and always have some small bushes at hand 
ready for filling up gaps or making fresh plantations, 
cuttings should be put in annually, the best wood for 
forming them being the young strong shoots, and the 
way to prepare these is to take them off about 18 ins. 
long, and then trim off all the lower buds, leaving only 
three or four at the top, when the cuttings will be ready 
for inserting, which may be done in fresh-dug soil by 
pushing them down by the side of a line in rows, or 
dibbling them in with a small dibble, and making 
them firm. 
