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THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 17, 1897. 
Hints for Amateurs. 
Roses. — For some weeks past Roses have been the 
chief feature in the flower garden, and the rosarian 
will have been repaying himself for all the months 
of trouble ihat his Roses have cost him. He will 
feel fully repaid in fact, by the sightof his favourites, 
in all their rich and varied hues, making his garden 
beautiful, and every sniff of the fragrance exhaled so 
freely by the blooms, is grateful to his inmost soul. 
If, apart from this, competition at one or more of the 
local or central shews has been included in the pro¬ 
gramme, the excitement attendant upon competition 
will doubtless have acted as an incentive to further 
efforts in the cultivation of the queen of summer 
flowers. 
Where it is intended to enter the competitive lists, 
the grower naturally tries to get as many of his 
plants into flower about the time of the show as 
possible. This gives him a greater quantity of 
material Irom which to choose his winning lot, but 
at the same time it means that just as there is a flush 
of bloom for a short time, there will also be a 
re-action when very few flowers will be obtainable, as 
the bushes will be all out of flower at one and the 
same time. The break between the first and second 
crops of bloom among the hybrid perpeluals is thus 
brought greatly into evidence. 
On the other hand the amateur for whom the 
show tables have no allurements as far as he is 
personally concerned, and who has no wish to lick 
his neighbours, far or near, for the best dozen or 
whatever quantity his resources may suggest, is able 
to husband the flowering qualities of his Roses. By 
a judicious distribution of the pruning over the 
autumn, winter, and early spring, the break between 
the first and second crops may be greatly reduced, if 
not obviated altogether, and a continual succession 
of bloom obtained from June until the advent of the 
autumn frosts. 
Note taking—This is one of the things that every 
rosarian must do assiduously. With regard to the 
matter of pruning, for instance, the time at which 
any particular plant is dressed should be noted, and 
then in the summer the time at which it commenced to 
bloom should likewise be marked down. Reliable data 
for the locality is thus obtained, which cannot fail to be 
of guidance in future years. Books dealing with Rose 
culture are all very well, and advice from practical 
growers is even better, but both of these should be 
supplemented by personal observation and experience 
if a full measure of success is expected. The different 
habits and characters of each variety should be 
made the subject of a note, also the behaviour of the 
plants under special climatic conditions such as 
drought or superabundance of rain. This will all 
prove handy for reference. Naturally, in the case of 
exhibitors, successes and failures are commented on 
so that a standard for comparison may be set up. 
Bushes in bloom should be treated liberally with 
some stimulant. There is really nothing better for im¬ 
parting depth and vividness of colour to the blooms 
than good liquid farmyard manure, and happy is he 
who can obtain a supply of such material. Then again 
the cutting off of dead flowers, although really a 
matter of detail, is of considerable importance, if 
only for the sake of the trimmed air it imparts to the 
plants. 
Gathering Roses —It may be of service to make a 
remark ortwounder thisheading. In very fewgardens 
indeed are all the Roses allowed to remain on the 
bushes ; some are cut—often the greater quantity— 
and used for the embellishment of the house. Now 
in order to get the most out of the blooms they 
should be cut early in the morning, while the dew is 
yet on them, and placed in water immediately. 
Blooms culled at this time will last much longer than 
those which have dried up with the fierce sun for a 
few hours before cutting. The next best time for 
cutting to the early morning is late in the evening 
after the flowers have to some extent recovered from 
the effects of the heat. The exact stage at which a 
flower should be cut in order to have it at its best 
will depend to a very great extent upon the variety. 
Many of the thin petaled sorts should be less than 
half expanded, whilst some of the thick petaled sorts 
may be allowed to open a little fuller than this with 
advantage. From 4 in. to 5 in. of the stem should be 
cut with the bloom, although in special cases, and if 
it can be spared from the tree, a longer stem may be 
allowed. The necessity for judgment in cutting 
Roses is, of course, greatest when the blooms are to 
be staged for exhibition. For ordinary house 
decoration fairly full blown flowers may be cut, as 
the season wears on, and autumn approaches with 
its heavier dews and damper atmosphere generally. 
A Good Rose. —Before making a selection of any 
varieties, or passing an opinion upon others it is 
needful to know what a good Rose is. Possibly we 
should not find absolute accord between the various 
growers as to the exact value to be attached to the 
various qualities, and the precedence which one 
qualification should have over another, but the 
various opinions, although they might differ to some 
extent in matters of degree, would yet tend generally 
in the same direction Broadly speaking, a good 
Rose should be hardy and possess a healthy and 
fairly robust habit, so that when the blooms appear 
they are backed up by good substantial foliage. Not 
a few cultivators attach primary importance to the 
quality of habit, and justly ask what is the value 
of a Rose that may be up to exhibition standard as 
far as blooms go, but whose habit and constitution 
are such that the plant can rarely be had in good 
condition. 
After habit may well be listed fine form, good size, 
and substance. The form may vary to a consider¬ 
able extent, from globular to cup-shaped and ex¬ 
panded. The petals must be even in size, distributed 
regularly, with their margins entirely free from 
cutting. The outer row of petals ought to be broad 
and closely folded, and of very great substance. 
Such flowers will stand much longer, and will come 
better in dry seasons than those varieties which 
have thin and flimsy outer petals. 
The colour, too, is a most important point, and it 
is the one upon which probably more prizes are won 
and lost than upon any other. Two stands may 
have flowers of equal size, shape, and refinement, but 
let the colour of the one lot be even a little better 
than that of the other, judges do not as a rule hesi¬ 
tate long. The colour, then, must be distinct and 
decided. It should, moreover, be uniform and last¬ 
ing, and not liable to change after the flower has 
been cut to a duller and less attractive shade. 
Freedom of blooming must on no account be for¬ 
gotten, and this quality will recommend itself very 
forcibly to amateurs who grow Roses for the adorn¬ 
ment of their gardens simply. Fragrance, although 
of considerable importance in the writer’s estima¬ 
tion, is not looked after so closely as it ought to be. 
People seem apt nowadays to forgive a lack of fra¬ 
grance if size, depth, shape and colour are all good ; 
but really half the charm of a Rose is, we opine, in its 
lovely smell, and we are sure there are many lovers 
of the Rose who think the same. 
With regard to the flower stem, a qualification in 
which not a few varieties are behind :—It should be 
stout, and capable of supporting easily the weight of 
the flower in such a way that the beauty of the latter 
may be seen and admired without having to lift it up 
with the hand. During wet weather where the 
blooms are large the weight and strain upon the 
flower stem is considerable, and even stout stems 
will hang their heads occasionally under the strain. 
Budding. —Very shortly now the budding season 
will be in full swing, and the professional Rose 
grower, as well as the modest amateur will be busy 
working up stock for another season, increasing the 
supply of plants in order either to extend the area of 
land devoted to Roses, to make good deficiences by 
death or old age, or to substitute good varieties for 
others which have proved to be comparatively 
worthless. The amateur, who aspires to grow his 
own stock, has to think about all these things, but he 
assuredly has his reward in knowing that he has 
nobedy but himself to thank for his success. We do 
not propose to go into the theory of budding on the 
present occasion, as there is plenty of time to do that 
in a subsequent issue, but we may take the opportu¬ 
nity of pointing out that the Briers to be operated 
on may want a little attention in the meantime. 
Often enough they are planted closely together, and 
like the wheat and the tares allowed to " grow to¬ 
gether until the harvest,” and as they please. The 
results are that when budding time comes the Briers 
are all in a delightful condition of ” mix-up.” It is a 
good plan, therefore, to regulate the growths, leaving 
two well-formed and vigorous ones which are situated 
in the best positions on the central stem, and cutting 
away the rest. The growths that are allowed to 
remain must not be shortened, but allowed to re¬ 
main at their full length. They may cost the 
budder a little skin, and possibly try his temper by 
the way they lovingly cling to his legs, but these are 
only some of the delights of Rose growing, for who 
would have a Rose without its thorn ?— Rex. 
-- 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening unit be answered on this page. 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
" Amateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
Cinerarias Dying .—Francis : From what you say 
we are inclined to think the Cinerarias have been 
overwatered. Give less water, air freely, and shade 
during that part of the morning when the sun is on 
the frame. As the latter faces to the north the sun 
will be off it by about n a m., when the artificial 
shading had better be taken off. 
Melons in Frame.—I have planted Melons in a 
frame placed on the top of a hot-bed made up for pro¬ 
pagating purposes in the spring. There is very little 
heat left in the manure now, and I have been think¬ 
ing that the Melons will not ripen. They are now 
about the size of swan’s eggs. Please tell me if you 
think they will have time to ripen.— L.L. 
It all depends upon the season. If we get a bright 
August and September your Melons should finish 
fairly well, but they will have a rough time of it if 
the weather is cold unless you give a little artificial 
heat by adding linings of fresh fermenting material 
round the frame. Shut the frame up early in the 
afterncon, say soon after three o'clock for the 
present month, and thus imprison a good deal of the 
sun’s heat. 
Vines. — M. N. : Your Vines are badly infested 
with Tbrips. The leaves you sent us bore unmis- 
takeable traces of their presence, and as if to make 
assurance doubly sure two or three of the insects 
themselves accompanied them. We should not 
advise you to fumigate unless the Thrips are very 
numerous. If only a comparatively few leaves are 
attacked you might try sponging with tobacco water. 
Suckers on Raspberries. —I notice that in a 
couple of rows of Fastolf Raspberry that are grow¬ 
ing in my garden the whole of the plants are throw¬ 
ing up a lot of young suckers. Shall I thin these out 
now, or wait until presently when the crop of fruit is 
gathered ? — Alton. 
You will gain nothing by waiting, for you will 
husband the strength of the plants, and obtain 
stronger canes for next year by cutting out the sur¬ 
plus suckers now. Leave from three to five to each 
stool according to the strength of the plant, 
Endive. — Rory : The strongest plants will be those 
left by thinning out the rows as they will be able to 
grow on without any check. The plants that are 
pulled out if carefully handled may be dibbled into a 
situation where the soil is light and rich. Keep 
them watered, and they will soon take hold of the new 
soil and make plants. 
Border Carnations in Pots. — James Crurie: After 
flowering the plants may be stood out of doors. The 
old flowering stems should be cut away as soon as 
possible after the flowers have all finished, and 
layering may commence. A little fresh soil, rather 
sandy if possible, should be worked over the surface, 
and the layers pegged down all round the side of the 
pot. If the plants are in S-in. pots you will find 
plenty of room to do this. 
Weevils on Peach Trees. — Y. A.\ In order to 
catch the pests you may spread a white cloth beneath 
the tree, and give the latter a smart shake. The 
weevils will drop from the tree at the slightest alarm 
or disturbance, and being easily visible on the white 
cloth can then be made short work of. 
Tulip coming Double.—Some bulbs of what were 
supposed to be single Tulips that I bought last 
autumn have this year thrown semi-double flowers. 
Will they do the same thing next year, or will they 
revert to the normal single form ? The flowers in 
question were rather coarse, and not very good 
colour .—Norman T. 
If you have grown your Tulips in very rich soil 
