198 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 26, 1887. 
(Nicotiana affinis), Petunias, and a host of others, will 
afford material from which a selection may be made to 
fill the boxes. Taste and convenience or circumstances 
will have to determine what is to be used ; and a few 
different kinds are all that are necessary for any one 
box, as incongruous or inharmonious mixtures, both as 
to foliage and arrangement of colours are to be avoided, 
at the same time using plants of various kinds with 
sufficient foliage to tone down the glare of colour that 
might be produced by the use of crimson or scarlet 
Pelargoniums, or Calceolarias alone. 
The back line should be occupied by the taller or 
upright-habited subjects, while the dwarfer ones should 
be arranged along the front. Drooping plants are 
invaluable in decorations of this kind, as they not only 
serve to hide the boxes, but give variety to the whole, 
and greatly increase the area of available space to be 
occupied. The slender-habited Ivy-leaved and Mangle’s 
Silver Pelargoniums are invaluable for this purpose, 
and may be augmented or varied with Tropieolums and 
Convolvulus mauritanicus, not forgetting the universally 
popular and extremely accommodating town plant, 
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia). Annuals 
may be used at discretion, but they are longer in 
coming into flower, and their duration is shorter than 
in the case of the perennials named. Candytufts, Ten- 
Week Stocks, Virginian Stocks, China Asters, Phlox 
Drummondi, Tagetes signata, Saponaria calabrica, and 
Rhodanthe Manglesii, are some of the many that might 
do duty in this respect, assisted by the more con¬ 
tinuously flowering perennials. By careful attention 
in the matter of watering, training and staking, where 
the latter is found to be necessary, a tasteful and 
respectable appearance may be maintained throughout 
the summer, even in the atmosphere of crowded towns, 
where the requisite amount of sunlight is available for 
the production of bloom. 
Window Sills. 
If it is necessary or convenient to dispense with 
boxes, the window-sills may still be advantageously 
occupied and rendered gay with a line of pot-plants. 
More attention will be required in the matter of water¬ 
ing during dry and bright weather, especially if the 
pots are at all exposed, than where a larger body of soil 
is used. Most of the above subjects may be used as 
pot-plants ; but how often do we see cultivators remain 
contented with a dazzling display of scarlet Pelar¬ 
goniums, a Fuchsia or two, or a line of blue Lobelias, 
when their is no end of plants at command. Besides 
those already mentioned, Myrtles, Hydrangeas, 
Echeverias, American Aloes, Cupheas, Nierembergias, 
cut-leaved and scented Pelargoniums, Eucalyptus 
globulus, and for shading windows Ferns may be 
employed with fine effect. 
The employment of scented-leaved subjects, especially 
such as Eucalyptus, is advisable from a sanitary point 
of view, as the ozone generated by them is an excellent 
antidote against organic impurities always too plentiful 
in the atmosphere of towns. To use a figurative term, 
the air is filtered as it were through the instrumen¬ 
tality of scented plants before it enters the room. The 
importance of this is not fully recognised at present, but, 
probably, the time is not far distant when the laws 
that regulate a healthy condition of the atmosphere will 
be better understood. 
( To be continued.) 
-“'XTC-- 
A FEW HINTS ON ROSE 
GROWING. 
(Continued from p. 181.,) 
Some Eoses do not require any pruning. Gloire 
de Dijon, Cheshunt Hybrid, and all the rampant¬ 
growing climbing Roses are examples of this breed. 
Here the best plan is to cut out a branch or two quite 
from the base, leaving the blooming shoots the full 
length. The small-growing Roses, Teas and hybrids, 
may be cut in as hard as you please, and the more you 
cut them the better and finer will be the blooms. But, 
remember, if you wish for a quantity of flowers you 
must not cut so hard ; leave more wood, and you will 
have more blooms, but they will not be so fine. The 
best time for pruning is, in this neighbourhood, about 
the middle of April. Teas should be pruned as late as 
possible, as they are more susceptible to frost. 
Now as to stocks. I suppose most of you know that 
Roses are generally grown on roots not properly their 
own. You are all familiar with the standards, and 
you know these are got from the hedges round about 
and budded. But you do not know so much about 
dwarfs. Now, dwarf Roses are generally grown on one 
of two stocks, the Manetti or the Briar. All the cheap 
Roses are grown on the former, and the reason of this 
is that the nurserymen like to see their customers as 
often as possible, for if we grow or buy plants on the 
Manetti we shall have to visit the nurseryman very 
often, to get Roses from him to fill the gaps made by 
the winter wet and cold. But lately there has been a 
demand springing up for dwarf Roses on the Briar, and 
the French people, who first commenced budding and 
grafting Roses, are now all using the seedling Briar— 
that is, a plant raised from the seed of the wild Briar ; 
and I may say that those who know most about the 
seedling Briar are loudest in its praises. It is, to use 
the term, as hard as nails. I do not wish you to 
think for a moment that I praise this stock for any 
other reason than because I believe in it. It is easier 
for me to procure the Manetti, but I was sick of that 
years ago. The fact is, I want to grow the best Roses, 
so I get the best stock, that, in my opinion, being the 
seedling Briar. 
I advise everybody everywhere to grow their Roses as 
dwarfs, not standards, and I will explain why :—(1) 
because they are cheaper ; (2) because they are not so 
much trouble ; (3) because they last longer. You all 
know they are cheaper, and you also know that 
standards cause more trouble, because they require a 
greater amount of staking and tying up than dwarfs. 
I will tell you why they last longer. When a dwarf is 
properly planted, the most vital part of it is buried 
below the surface of the ground. The part I allude to 
is where the bud is inserted in the first instance, and 
when the winter cold and frost comes, and destroys all 
the tops of our Rose trees, if this part be properly pro¬ 
tected, as it should be, by a good covering of soil, we 
have no ground for fear, as our plants will be safe. 
When spring returns, and the sunshine causes plants 
to grow and burst into life again, our Rose trees will 
send up fresh shoots from the base, and bloom as 
before ; but I am very much afraid that our friends 
who grow standards will not be in our happy position. 
If the winter has been severe, they will have to go 
with long faces and heavy hearts to the nurseryman for 
a fresh supply of plants. Well, it is an ill wind that 
blows nobody good. Even without a hard winter, 
after standards get beyond two or three years old they 
seem to die off. Sometimes the stock dies—sometimes 
the root; but, as a rule, I have noticed that the plant 
generally perishes round about the place where the bud 
was put in at first. There is a rule in Rose growing—I 
am speaking now of the production of show blooms— 
that wood of more than two years’ growth is of no use. 
The best blooms come from young wood—viz., that 
not more than two years old. I should almost prefer 
to go a little further, and say that the best flowers are 
grown on wood of the preceding year. Many people 
suppose that the very finest blooms are only cut from 
maiden plants—that is, those which have never bloomed 
before. I know what I am about to remark is rank 
heresy, but I say that I do not believe it; and, 
further, that the Roses which have been most successful 
at the big shows this year—I am alluding to one firm— 
have all been grown on cut-backs. My belief is that 
the latter, if properly treated, are just as good as 
maidens ; but who could cut a standard back as it 
should be done ? And if anybody did so, how fearful 
it would look ! I will say no more about standards, 
except this—that those who grow them will soon get 
tired of them, and probably go in for dwarfs. 
Now, I am afraid I shall have to pick out the more 
prominent parts of Rose culture, if I am to touch on 
many more to-night. Budding is almost impossible 
to explain without drawings ; so this I will pass by to 
mention other modes of propagation. Many people 
speak of Roses on their own roots, and where we can 
get these, I believe they will give the owners satis¬ 
faction. But many of the best Roses are such poor 
weak growers that it is impossible to get the wood 
from them to make cuttings ; such a Rose, excellent 
in all respects, is Lady Mary Fitzwilliam. However, if 
we are in possession of a few Rose trees which have 
grown well and made good shoots during the season, 
about September we can proceed to make and put in 
cuttings as follows:—The shoots should be about 
10 ins. long, and the soft unripe tops should be thrown 
away ; they are no good. Two good leaves should be 
retained on each cutting, which should be cut close up 
to a bud at the base. As a rule, the central and lower 
parts of a shoot make the best cuttings, as the wood is 
riper. If they can be taken off with heels they will 
strike more readily. I should say that all the smooth- 
barked Roses, except Boule de Neige, strike the most 
freely. Do not make the cuttings and then leave them 
knocking about in the dry atmosphere while you go 
away to do something else. Get your ground ready 
first; this is easily done by digging the soil, working 
in some old manure, plenty of sharp sand, and road 
scrapings ; then make the cuttings, and insert them in 
lines or any way you like, only remember to plant 
them so that all but the leaves at the top shall be 
underground, and that the ground is made very firm. 
Now, if you have a frame and cover the cuttings 
with it, keeping them close for about a month, not 
allowing them to get dry, nor wetting them to such an 
extent that the leaves rot or die off—in a word, if you 
can retain the leaves fresh and green for that time, 
your cuttings will be a long way'on the road to making 
roots for themselves. 
The most certain method of raising own-root Roses is 
by layers. These are made by bending down the long 
branches until a portion can be pegged down just below 
the surface of the soil. We assist the rooting process 
very much by making a cut in the branch so bent 
down in the part which is to be below the soil; a little 
piece of flower-pot or a small stone should be inserted 
into the cut to keep it open, and the branch may be 
removed when we find that it has made root. 
( To be continued.) 
-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
Style Hall, Gunnersbury. 
The Chrysanthemums at this place had suffered great 
neglect till Mr. Beaton succeeded to the charge. The 
collection—not, as yet, extensive—is receiving additions 
from time to time. Being grown solely for decorative 
purposes, the main object is a large quantity of moderate- 
sized heads ; and that this has been so successfully 
attained in small pots—many of them 6 ins.—affords 
additional evidence of the accommodating nature and 
floriferous character of the Chrysanthemum. Some of 
the most abundantly flowered were Roseum superbum, 
Elaine, Hiver Fleur, Triomphe de la Rue des Chalets, 
Bouquet Fait, Source d’Or, and Mons. Tarin. Amongst 
the Japanese kinds, Dr. Macary, pink ; Margaret 
Marrouch, crimson; Comtesse de Beauregard, and 
Gloire de Toulouse are also suitable for decorative 
purposes. The largest-flowered amongst the incurved 
section were Lord Wolseley, Empress of India, Gloria 
Mundi, Queen of England, and Lord Alcester ; while 
Jeanne d’Arc proved itself a free-flowering variety. 
The flower-heads of Gluck seem but little reduced in 
size when allowed to develop a large number on the 
plant ; while Dr. Sharp and Cullingfordi are very 
floriferous. Amongst Anemones, Lady Margaret will 
always commend itself to those who are fond of this 
type ; and Fabian de Mediana we consider more beautiful 
in a moderately-developed state than when the fringe 
assumes a huge reflexed and twisted mass like the head 
of Medusa, when it is more curious than ornamental. 
Melbourne Lodge, Ealing. 
The collection at this place, the residence of J. Moore, 
Esq., is not large ; but the plants reflect credit upon 
Mr. James Ross, the gardener. The house in which 
they are located is low and well lighted, but too small 
to accommodate anything but a limited number ; yet 
those that are cultivated are of a high order of merit, 
and well repay hcuse-room. A great many plants on 
the side stages were struck in June, and being confined 
to one stem, are now exceedingly dwarf, and bear com¬ 
paratively large flower-heads. Mons. J. Laing, in 
6-in. pots, formed handsome dwarf specimens for 
decorative purposes. 
Cloth of Gold, Felicity, and the brilliant Culling¬ 
fordi, amongst reflexed varieties, were represented in 
fine form. The same might be said of Mrs. G. Rundle, 
Bendigo, a buff-yellow sport from Eve, and more 
rightly named Mabel Ward ; Mr. Bunn, and the 
delicately-coloured Lord Alcester. The greater pro¬ 
portion and the most prominent kinds are, however, 
Japanese varieties. Mons. Astorg bears a large head 
of silvery white, broad, spreading florets, offering a 
strong contrast to Mademoiselle Lacroix, the chamois- 
rose Margot, the rosy purple Madame de Sevin, the 
maroon-crimson of Jean Delaux (F. A. Davis), or 
even the pure white Elaine, that becomes bright rosy 
red with age. The crested and ragged florets of 
Grandiflorum are both curious and interesting. 
Crown Point, Ealing. 
Amongst the numerous collections about Ealing, 
that at Castlebar Hill, the residence of — Capps, 
Esq., is reckoned one of the best in the locality for size 
of bloom. Unfortunately Mr. Harman, the gardener, 
is not allowed to compete at shows, so that he has no 
opportunity of displaying his skill as a grower, nor of 
