December 19, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
243 
as oaks.” The structure of the flower is similar, but 
the petals of the Pear are always pure white ; the 
structure of the fruit is also similar, but the tissue 
Usually contains woody or gritty matter which is not 
found' in the Apple. 
The pips are black, and in the Apple brown ; 
another curious fact regarding the fruit is that twin 
Pears (two united) are quiet unknown, whereas twin 
Apples are often met with. 
The rule in plants is for the ripe fruit to consist of 
the matured ovary. But the Pear is an exception to 
that rule, inasmuch as the ovary is the smallest 
portion of the fruit, and is popularly known as the 
core. 
Botanically speaking the Pear is a fruit within a 
fruit. 
The five cells of the core contain two black seeds or 
pips each, so that each Pear is destined by nature to 
produce ten more Pear trees. When we take into 
consideration the number of fruits borne by some 
trees, the possible offspring is something astounding. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
ROSES FOR TOWN 
GARDENS. 
Now that the planting season for these is at hand, a 
few notes upon the kinds most suitable for this pur¬ 
pose may be useful to many. Most persons who 
possess a bit of garden, however small, try to grow a 
few Roses. But the many unnatural influences at 
work, in and near to large towns, frequently causes a 
failure. This can be avoided to a remarkable extent 
by only planting such varieties as are recommended 
below, and which I have proved to be good Roses for 
town work. 
In choosing Roses for this purpose, one must not 
go to the exhibition stands and select those kinds 
which most take their fancy ; as many, in fact most, 
of the exhibition varieties are quite unsuitable for 
the purpose. 
I propose naming a dozen Hybrid Perpetuals and 
a dozen Tea-Scented and Noisette kinds, with a few 
others of various classes, that are eminently were 
Buited for town gardens. 
Hybrid Perpetuals. 
Abel Carriere : one of the darkest Roses grown, 
of splendidly strong and free growth ; foliage hand- 
gome, with flowers well-shaped and large. 
Baroness Rothschild : clear and bright flesh colour. 
In appearance this flower is very delicate, but in 
reality it is one of the hardiest, and also quite the 
best Rose during wet weather. Large and good 
form, but, unfortunately, it has no perfume. 
Boulc de Neige : a splendid pure white Rose, very 
free and of good habit. 
Captain Christy : another very delicate flesh-co¬ 
loured variety, but like the old Baroness Rothschild, 
it is one of the finest town Roses one could wish for. 
The foliage is a pretty crimson and rose colour, with 
a distinct metallic shading. 
Duke of Edinburgh : very rich velvety-crimson, of 
first-rate shape and size, good growth, and one of 
the finest dark varieties. 
Fisher Holmes : rich purple-crimson, of splendid 
size and shape, and a good grower. 
General Jacqueminot: bright scarlet-crimson; one 
of the freest flowering and sweetest scented Roses 
grown. This kind comes of a good size if left to 
open, while in the bud state it is excellent for button¬ 
holes. 
Henrich Schultheis : delicate pink, very large and 
full ; ■ free-flowering and sweet scented. 
John Hopper : a well known old Rose; colour : 
bright rosy-crimson ; excellent grower. 
Jules Margottin : like General Jacqueminot, this is 
one of the very best for town work; colour, a glossy 
pink. 
Baronne Prevost: deep salmon-pink, very large and 
full, rather flat, but an excellent and robust habited 
Rose, with most exquisite perfume. 
Mrs. John Laing : deep pink, first-class shape; 
every flower coming good ; sweet scented and very 
free blooming. 
Tea-Scented and Noisettes. 
Gloire de Dijon : buff, with an orange-coloured 
centre ; very strong grower, will grow in any aspect, 
and is by far the finest Rose for any town garden, 
Everybody knows this grand old Rose now, and yet 
have never done praising it for general purposes, 
Hom'ere : blush on the edges, deeper in the centre 
pf the flower; very free blooming, and one of th§ 
prettiest of button-hole kinds that will grow well in 
towns. 
Madame de Tartas : soft rose, much brighter in its 
young state; a vigorous grower and very free bloom¬ 
ing ; I have counted as many as twenty flowers upon 
one truss of this variety. 
Marie Van Houttei pale yellow, coming with a 
beautiful rosy tint on the edges of the petals during 
autumn; very free in growth and flower, and one of 
the best. 
Viscountess Folkestone : creamy pink, extra large 
and good ; good habit and wonderfully free blooming, 
as well as sweet-scented, r 
Reine Marie Henriette : deep red, of very similar 
habit to Gloire de Dijon. 
Aimee Vibert-. pure white, flowering in immense 
clusters of tiny white flowers. The foliage of this 
kind is almost evergreen, and is a very glossy green. 
Jaune Dcsprez: fawn colour, with a pink and fawn 
coloured centre; very strong growth and sweet 
scented. 
Celine Forestier : pale yellow, small and very pretty; 
one of the freest flowering Roses of all. 
Madame Lambard ; deep red early in the season, but 
more often coming a pretty salmon-flesh colour to¬ 
wards mid-season and autumn ; good grower, and 
an abundant bloomer. 
Safrano : bright, apricot colour, very free, and a 
splendid button-hole Rose; handsome foliage. 
Gloire de Bordeaux : practically a pink Gloire de 
Dijon, and very good for town growers. 
Japanese Roses. 
These are among the best of the single varieties for 
towns. These Roses make splendid bushes, are very 
hardy, and carry fine green foliage. They flower as 
early as any, and the blooms are followed by hips as 
large as a medlar, and of most intense orange and 
scarlet colours. They are about the first and the last 
to flower ; and all through the summer and autumn 
one can be sure of finding both flowers and fruit upon 
these. 
Mrs. Bosanquet and the old Blush China are the two 
most serviceable among their class. Each of these 
are well worth room among any flowers. 
Souvenir de la Malmaison is the best Bourbon variety 
for our purpose. This kind is a most delicate 
pinkish-white, very free blooming, and a fairly good 
grower. 
Any of the above named kinds will, with reason¬ 
able attention, do very well in a town garden.— 
Experience. 
SOILS, POTTING, AND 
WATERING. 
(Concluded from page 232.) 
I have observed, and others will have done likewise, 
that, on turning out a plant that has been potted in 
peat, the outside of the ball appears all right as re¬ 
gards the state of dampness, but on breaking into it 
a considerable portion towards the centre is found as 
dry as dust. Indeed, I have on more than one occa¬ 
sion wondered how it was possible for it to have 
remained so. This fact points to the necessity of 
giving at each successive watering a quantity 
sufficent to moisten the whole mass of soil contained 
in the pot. It is difficult to get some people to 
understand how much of a plants well-beingdepends 
upon the care' taken in the matter of watering. I 
have met with some who on starting to water a 
varied collection of plants had no scruple about 
treating all alike, each pot in its turn getting filled 
with water without taking the trouble to ascertain 
whether the state of the soil demanded it or not. 
This may be considered by some an extreme case of 
careless watering, but I fear it is not of rare occur¬ 
rence. Then there is the other class who have a 
peculiar liking for the dribblet system, and firmly 
believe in little doses often repeated. Of the two 
modes of watering this last one is the worst. If the 
drainage is good and the soil has been firmly packed 
in the pots in the first instance the former mode is 
not so much to be feared ; but both systems are bad, 
and no one who practices either of them will ever 
become a first-rate plant grower. 
I am inclined to think that many young gardeners 
do not give the amount of attention to this subject 
which its importance entitles it to. There are few 
amongst them who have been for any length of time 
at the profession who could not tell all about the 
proper ingredients necessary for forming a compost 
in which to grow a choice Pelargonium or rare 
Orchid, and yet in this every day matter of watering, 
there are not so many of them who can perform it 
with judgment, and to the greatest advantage of the 
subjects to which it is being applied. One thing 
should be kept in mind on each occasion that plants 
are watered, that is, the temperature of the water, 
which should not be below that of the atmosphere of 
the house in which the plants are located. In the 
case of stove plants, if the water is a few degrees 
higher it will be benefical to them. 
I might here give a hint anent the watering of 
plants in dwelling houses for the benefit of any 
amateur friends who may be present. It is a general 
cry when getting a plant, how often should it be 
watered, and how much water should it get ? It is 
impossible for anyone to say exactly how often the 
operation should be performed. Every thing depends 
on the situation of the plant in the room ; if on the 
window-sill and exposed to the sun it will require 
water oftener than if it were on a table in the centre, 
but in either case it should never be given until the 
plant requires it, which can be easily ascertained by 
feeling the soil on the top. By carefully watching 
the plant, the most inexperienced can learn to keep 
plants well in a house. When watering I think it 
always best to soak them well in a sink or pail for a 
few minutes to be sure that when watered they are 
probably soaked through, and upon no account 
should the plant be set in a saucer of water. Should 
any water collect in such vessels it ought to be 
emptied out as soon as possible—it would soon rot all 
the roots if continually standing in water. The sys¬ 
tem of dribblets is equally bad in this case as in the 
others. How often we hear the story from our 
friends in cases where their plants do not succeed 
with them, “ I have watered them every day and I 
cannot understand how they do not grow with me.” 
In all such cases it is mistaken kindness, and a little 
consideration ought to show people the undesirability 
of so doing. Give a good watering, as I have directed 
when required, and there is not much fear but the 
plants will succeed well in the house. I was lately 
in a refreshment room where about a dozen table 
plants are kept, and, on passing a remark to a friend 
who was with me about the one standing on the 
table, within earshot of a waiter, that worthy at once 
lifted the common water bottle from another table 
and made the contents of it serve the whole dozen 
plants, thinking, I have no doubt, they had got suffi¬ 
cient for that day. I have no doubt , their shabby 
appearance is attributed to the presence of gas in 
the room; although I am confident there is less 
harm done to them by gas than by inattention to 
watering. 
A few words may be said about the application of 
liquid manners. After-a time the plants will be 
found to have pretty well filled the pots with roots, 
and will begin to go back if not stimulated 
by the application of some artifical manure 
sprinkled on the surface of the soil and watered in, or 
by the more common method of dissolving it in 
water and applying it in that way, or by the appli¬ 
cation of farmyard liquid, the diluting of which 
should be very carefully watched, and should not at 
any time be given strong. I am a great believer in 
applying liquid manure weak and often. Using 
stimulants on plants is something like giving alco¬ 
holic or other stimulants to human beings, which is 
agreed by most people to be best kept in moderation. 
For instance, give an exhausted man for the first time 
a strong dose of whisky or any other stimulant and 
it will be found to do him more harm than good ; 
but when applied weak it has the desired effect of, for 
the time, maintaining and strengthening him. The 
stimulants may in either case be increased in strength 
as the constitution becomes able to stand it, but 
should never exceed the bounds of moderation, and 
in no case should either clean or manure water be 
given until we are pretty certain that the application 
will be benefical to the plants. In using artifical 
manure in a dry state, especially to large plants such 
as Camellias or fruit trees in pots or tubs, care should 
be taken to thoroughly soak the balls with clean 
water before applying the manure. After this is 
done the manure may be applied and a slight water¬ 
ing given with clear water to carry it into the com¬ 
post. This may be a little more troublesome, but 
anyone wishing the best results will jiot grudge the 
little extra labour that it entails. The same remarks 
have reference to the use of liquid manure, with this 
difference that it does not require washing in wjt|j 
clean water. 
