306 
January 14, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
LIFTING ROSES. 
Your northern correspondent, writing upon this 
subject at p. 292, reminds me of the advice given by 
my old master, Mr. J. D. Parks, when living with 
him in 1838. He at that time stated that Roses in 
beds and borders should be lifted every three years, 
not later than November, and as early in that month 
as possible, and this practice I have subsequently 
adopted and have proved the soundness of the advice 
given at that remote period in the cultivation of this 
the most seductive and beautiful of all our hardy 
flowering plants. I have proved again that this 
triennial lifting is of significant value and importance 
in the economy of judicious treatment. It is only 
twelve months ago last November that I took up a 
good sized bed of plants, which were root-pruned and 
divested of all sucker-like growths, ofttimes trouble¬ 
some when the Roses are worked on stocks which 
are buried below the surface of the earth in which 
they are planted. In the process of munipulation 
the plants were carefully laid on one side and 
covered with mats, the weather being mild and 
genial, whilst the bed was thoroughly renovated 
by being trenched quite 18 in. deep, with a good 
quantity of horse manure well decomposed placed 
regularly at the bottom as the digging was proceeded 
with, the plants being replanted the following day, 
and in the issue the results are of the most satisfac¬ 
tory character. In this way I have very successfully 
treated Roses of large size, consequently aged plants. 
Some thirty years ago, at one cf the places which I 
had under my management the gentleman was very 
passionately fond of Roses, but failed in producing 
good plants and flowers owing to the soil and sub¬ 
soil being composed of a dry, hungry dark gravel. 
It was only when the season was a wet one that 
there was the least possible chance of getting a good 
display of flowers. To alter this state of things the 
soil was taken out about 4 ft. square and 2 ft. 6 in. 
deep and substituted with that of a more retentive 
character, such as clay and loam of good texture 
with a good portion of well decomposed cow manure, 
it being good practice to use this for light, gravelly 
soils, and horse manure for heavy, retentive soils. 
The treatment cf the ground here mentioned was for 
standards, which were planted on the lawn and 
flower borders, and which proved highly satisfactory, 
both as enhancing the growth of the plants and 
exuberance and quality of flowers. In my early 
days similar treatment was had recourse to in 
making Peach and Vine borders, as is well known, 
ere success could be attained under similar circum¬ 
stances .—George Fry, Lewisham. 
-- 
GRAFTING OF CHRY¬ 
SANTHEMUMS. 
M. Alexis Callier, a Continental grower of Chry¬ 
santhemums, relates in the Revue de L' Horticulture 
Beige for January his experience in the grafting of 
Japanese Chrysanthemums upon C. frutescens. He 
says the practice is not new, as he merely imitated 
the Chinese according to the testimony of Fortune 
as stated by Burbidge in his book on The Chrysan¬ 
themum. The writer speaks of the extreme vigour of 
C. frutescens and its suitability as a stock. In the 
course of two years from the seed it develops 
into a little tree. Ail the varieties of this in 
cultivation are not equally suitable, but he con- 
si lers the yellow-flowered Etoile d’Or as one of the 
best. Then again, it is not every variety of Chrysan¬ 
themum that will take kindly to such a stock. 
Etoile de Lyon and Ernest Fierens are eminently 
suitable, and Val d’Andorre, Paul Fabre, Melanie 
Fabre, Hiver Fleuri, Made'moiselle Paul Dutour, 
Madame Elize Nej't, Source d’Or, Cinna, and 
Cavour Hermann also prove capable of forming a 
successful union with the stock and to make good 
growth. 
Cleft grafting is practised and the graft is bound 
with raffia, and the whole covered with cold mastic, 
or left uncovered, as no advantage is apparently de¬ 
rived from the use of it. The fitting of the graft and 
stock has to be neatly and accurately effected. Care 
is also taken in selecting grafts and branches on the 
stock of equal thickness. As the operation has to be 
performed in winter or early spring, the plants have 
to be kept in a house at a temperature of 53° to 61° 
by artificial heat, rising to 58 Q with sun heat. 
Grafting, furthermore, maybe done at any time from 
December to May. It depends upon the resources 
at command and the results desired. Only a few 
grafts are necessary to produce a large plant by 
November following. Nine grafts of Ernest Fierens 
inserted upon a plant in January, 1892, and which 
was itself struck from a cutting in August, 1891, gave 
rise fo a fine specimen last November, bearing 300 
blooms. Grafting later on, say in March, is much 
surer and safer work, as the outside climate is then 
more favourable. A union is formed in three weeks, 
more or less, according as circumstances favour it. 
The rapidity of growth of C. frutescens is such 
that grafts put upon it in April make much 
greater growth than cuttings of Chrysanthemums 
made in December. 
Peas. 
Towards the end of this month is a good time to 
make the sowing of Peas indoors for planting out. 
The crop from these may be small, but it comes a 
little in advance of the first sown out of doors, and 
a week gained is worth all the trouble. They can 
be sown in various ways, either in long narrow 
boxes, in pots, or on turves ; if boxes are used they 
should be made to take to pieces easily, and when 
planting time comes the sides can be removed, 
and the whole carefully placed in the trench that is 
ready to receive them. Pots are the handiest to use 
for this purpose—either 5 or 6-in. ones—being so 
much easier to move about and plant out without 
damage to the roots when ready. When first sown 
a Peach or Fig house just started is a good place for 
them until the young plants come through the soil, 
when they should be removed to a cool pit or frame 
near the glass, but so that they can be protected 
from the frost. Grow them on as hardy as possible 
until the ground is ready for them. As to the time 
of planting, this must be regulated by the weather 
and the position of the garden, but they should be 
planted out before the growth becomes stunted. 
After planting draw some soil towards them, and 
stake them at once, and if possible protect on the 
north side with some evergreen boughs. The best 
varieties for this purpose I find to be William the 
First, Veitch’s Selected Extra Early, and American 
Wonder. 
The first sowing out of doors must be made as 
soon as the ground is in good working order, and 
one row or more should be sown every fortnight 
according to the requirements of the establishments 
to be supplied and the ground that can be spared 
for this particular crop. For a good cropper to 
start with, a selection of William the First is as 
good as any ; there are few better croppers and few 
are earlier, with the exception of the very dwarf 
varieties. A few rows of American Wonder on a 
border, or any warm place, should be sown as early 
as possible ; these will come in a few days before 
those quite in the open. For a general crop, where 
there is plenty of room, there is none to beat Ne 
Plus Ultra for quality. Some of the new dwarfer 
varieties are coming near to it in flavour, but none 
that I have yet seen are equal to it. bor exhibition 
some Duke of Albany should be grown. Give all the 
varieties plenty of room, both in the row and from 
row to row. — G. H. S. 
Notes on Potatos. 
At this season, when so many gardeners will be 
conning over the seed lists and making up their 
minds as to what they will grow during the coming 
summer, I am tempted to relate my experience last 
year with Potatos, believing that there is nothing 
like the teaching of our successes and failures. I 
planted seven and a half bushels of Sutton’s Early 
Regents, and early in the season lifted a crop of 
about 2\ tons of good serviceable tubers ; which we 
are now using, and which give the greatest satisfac¬ 
tion to our customers. Our Magnums gave us a 
crop of about 13 tons to the acre, but a large quan¬ 
tity of them have gone bad since they were stored, 
as is also the case with Reading Hero and Beauty 
of Hebron. The Regents have been turned on 
several ocassions, and no bad ones have been found. 
Their flavour when cooked is far before the other 
varieties named. An old neighbour who called the 
other day complained of the bad quality of the 
Potatos he was eating, and after trying a dish of the 
Early Regents subsequently declared them to be the 
best he had had this season. The Early Regent has 
a great advantage in the dwarfness of its haulm, 
which enables us to make the most of the ground by 
secondary cropping. We have for some time been 
cutting good Cabbages which were planted between 
the rows. We want more of these short-topped 
varieties and fewer of the strong coarse growers.— 
A. J. Biown, School of Handicrafts, Chertsey. 
-- 
VEGETABLES FOR EXHIBITION. 
{Concluded from f. 291.) 
The soil for Cauliflowers and Brussels Sprouts can 
scarcely be too rich, though it must not be loose, but 
moderately firm or the result will be more leaves 
than anything else. When trenching the ground in 
the autumn two spit deep, manure may be placed at 
the bottom of the trench and between the two top 
spits. For early shows, Cauliflowers are best sown 
thinly in boxes in a little leaf soil about the beginning 
of March, and as soon as they have made their seed 
leaves should be removed to cool quarters and when 
sufficiently hardened should be pricked into a frame 
with a little hot manure placed at the bottom and 
3 in. of half decayed leaves and turfy loam. In this 
compost they will grow well, and lift with good balls. 
When being transferred to their summer quarters, 
the ground should be thoroughly forked over, and 
for the strong-growing sorts, of which Autumn Giant 
is an example, the lines should not be closer than 3 ft. 
and 2 ft. from plant to plant. Cauliflowers can easily 
be had from outside sowings, which should be made 
as soon as the weather will permit in the month of 
March. 
The seed should be sown very thinly, and the 
young plants should not be allowed to crowd each 
other. After they have made four leaves they 
should be pricked into other beds, and thoroughly 
watered. When ready for planting out they should 
be lifted with good balls with a trowel, and placed in 
their new quarters, a handful of soot and lime being 
thrown round the stems. This will help to prevent 
the little white maggot, which sometimes Joes great 
damage, rendering the plant useless by eating off 
the roots. Plenty of water should be given when 
the weather is dry, and liquid manure may be given 
with advantage once a week. When the heads begin 
to form, a strict watch must be kept on the cater¬ 
pillar, and the only effectual remedy I know off is 
handpicking. 
Good Cauliflowers should be perfectly white when 
cut ; this can only be accomplished by tying the 
leaves over the head and excluding the light imme¬ 
diately they begin to form. A good head can be 
kept in good condition from ten to fourteen days by 
pulling up the whole plant and storing away in a 
dark, cool shed. In my opinion the purity of the 
curd is improved by so doing. This plan has much 
to recommend it, especially when they are too earl)'. 
If left in the open ground the same heads would be 
useless. The stems should never be cut off before 
staging at the show, and even then they sometimes 
come in useful, as they serve as a prop when they 
require to be placed on the top of each other. For 
early shows, Veitch’s Pearl is good, and for later 
ones nothing can equal Veitch’s Autumn Giant when 
in good condition. Brussels Sprouts require the 
same cultivation as Cauliflowers ; only, if the soil is 
rich, the firmer it is the more solid the sprouts wil 
be. Sutton’s Exhibition and the Wroxton are good 
types for show purposes or general use. 
Onions. 
Onions for exhibition require a long season of growth,, 
and should be sown in boxes about the first week in 
February in a temperature of from 50° to 55^. 
When the seedlings have reached the height of ij in. 
they should be transplanted into other boxes 2 in. 
apart, and grown in the same temperature till they 
are about 6 in. high, when they should be hardened 
off in cold frames ready for planting in the open 
about the middle of April. The ground should be 
thoroughly trenched in the autumn, and heavily 
manured, placing the manure at the bottom of the 
trench and between the top spits. In the early 
spring soot and salt should be sown over the ground 
to wash in by the rain. Then about a month before 
planting the ground should be forked over and a 
little more soot scattered over it. When ready for 
planting give a good dressing of wood ashes, then 
with a trowel transplant the Onions 10 in. apart and 
18 in. from row to row. If the weather is dry much 
water will be required, and, as soon as they are 
thoroughly established, a little soot, nitrate of soda, 
or liquid manure, not too strong, should be given at 
intervals of ten days. It is an excellent plan through- 
