318 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Aprii 16, 1904. 
Pruning Roses. 
Talking to a. gardener friend of mine the other day, I was 
told that he had been accosted by his employer as to when 
lie, would prune the Rose tree®. The question, of course, came 
from one of the fair sex, who said that Mr.-had done his. 
Very good. Time will show if Mr. -is wise or otherwise, 
say I. I am led to believe that there are a, good many the 
same as the good lady above mentioned—yes, of the male sex 
of employers, more is the pity. They seem to think that when 
the Rose bushes are pushing out green leaves at the tips of 
last year’s wood they are getting all behind if the gardener) 
doe® not start pruning. But the old practitioner has more 
patience,, and lets these premature growths carry off the sap 1 
that is excited by a. few mild days, and wait® mi til March is 
well advanced before he cuts back to the buds he expects to 
get his crop of bloom from. Then, asi w,e usually get cold 
winds and slight frost at night, it is some time before these 
firm buds get pushed out enough to take any harm from, frost, 
and more genial weather, may be reasonably expected after 
: April is past. 
In addition to pruning too soon, the majority do not prune 
hard enough to get fine blooms. Far better result® would 
follow if they first of all cut- away all dead and very small wood, 
and then shortened the strong shoots; to a few realty- good buds-, 
for it is. surprising how few strong (good strong) shoots make 
a fine head of bloom. And if really largei blooms are desired 
the Rose must, he disbudded similarly to Chrysanthemums, for 
many kinds; of roses produce far more buds than, they can bring 
to perfection, and then they only rob each other, so* that, none 
'of them can, attain full size. The disbudding should be done 
as soon, as it is possible, to see which are the best buds to retain, 
and, having done this, proceed to apply liquid manure freely 
to the; roots, for the rose needs liberal feeding if size, colour, and 
perfume are to be of the best; and fine;, healthy foliage denote® 
perfect health and good culture. Trevor. 
Two Pretty and Effective Stove Plants. 
Poinsettia pulcherrima is. a noble flowering plant, fully den 
serving the most earnest attention and careful management, in 
■order that it may he so; grown as to produce its flowers a® 
perfect in our stove® a® those; grown at Philadelphia, where, it, 
is stated, the beautiful scarlet whorls of bract.ea.e which ter¬ 
minate the branches measure as much as 20 in. across;, and are 
equal in colour to; the finest, tints of the; richest China. Rose;. 
It is; decidedly a splendid feature among our 1 ornamental winter 
blooming plants, and, along with Calicarpa, purpurea, with its 
beautiful light purple berries, coming in a® it does about. 
Christmas L time, it is certainly a. great acquisition. But, owing 
to its style of growth (it being a stove climber), a trellis on the 
back wall of a, stove or Orchid house suits it best. I may have 
-something to say about, its culture later on, as I have grown it 
very successfully here this; good number of years on the trellised 
hack wall of the; Orchid house, .above where the other plants 
were shaded in summer, for it, must get all the light going. 
As; for Poinsettia pulcherrima,, I am quite confident from, the 
habit, and by what I have -seen and tried, that it may be cul¬ 
tivated with the application of the common treatment given to 
stove; plant®. It must be; kept in rather a, close, moist atmo¬ 
sphere in the stove, along with other tender plant®, all of which, 
are now and then syringed over, and underneath too, when the 
weather is fine, in. order to. prevent the attack® of red spider 
or other insect, pests in the day if fine. A free circulation of 
air is; kept up, and at night, the temperature; of the house 
averages from 65 deg. to 70 deg. 
The soil used for the Poinsettia®, and which seems to suit 
well, is very sandy loam. In potting - , care is to be taken to 
ensure .a good drainage, and a.® soon a® the roots reach the. 
inside surface of the; pot a,n, additional shift is immediately 
given., so that the; growth is never checked, and the plant in 
consequence is kept, continually progressing. It, requires a 
great supply of water .at the. root®. Plants procured in spring- 
will furnish good specimens 1 for the following autumn and 
winter’s bloom, and a plant now cut down will supply cuttings, 
which are easily struck in heat, and a stock of young plants for 
later bloom will be obtained. The large beads of rich crimson 
flowers are highly prized, and are fine, ornaments in the dining 
or drawing rooms. After blooming, give the plants, if to be 
retained, a few weeks’ rest; then repot, a,s done with the newly- 
struck plants. Never keep a plant longer than blooming 
twice. Strike cuttings every spring. 
British Fern. 
Flower Shows. 
As the summer approaches the subject of the annual flower 
show become® a. much-discussed topic in the country villages. 
In many places it is; tlip annual holiday, and too often the pro¬ 
ducts of the gardeners’ art and industry take; quite a secondaiy 
place. Athletic sports; (the last event of which is one in which 
wjomen try to catch a. greasy pig), hands, and other entertain¬ 
ment, s provide the .attraction, to lure; the; inhabitants to. the 
gardeners’ display, which not seldom is, unattractive in itself. 
There; are, fortunately, a good many people; who. are. sufficiently 
interested in the village; gardens to spend the afternoon com¬ 
paring the size of Cabbages, the; relative rotundity of Potatos, 
and the length and strength of Rhubarb ; but these people are 
in a minority, and it is necessary to provide inducements to 
secure the attendance of equally useful, if less interested, 
visitors. 
Ofttimes the village show consists of several tents with 
stages of a depressing flatness, crowded with monstrous Cab¬ 
bages and huge Potato®, while the decorative department con¬ 
tains, perhaps, a, few bunches of wild flowers gathered by the 
children, and .arranged in a, crowded flat bunch veiy un¬ 
naturally. In fact, in. many villages the flower show generally 
degenerates into an industrial show, where flowers; have but a 
small place, needlework and cookery attracting a far keener 
interest,, and if it, were not for these attractions the horticul¬ 
tural department, alone would be. dull in the extreme. 
But, where the; fault, of it all lies is; with the; gardeners them¬ 
selves;. In the; past there ha® been so much jealousy between 
the gardeners of local magnates; that it has quite upset, the 
harmony of the village. The prize can only be given t. 0 ' one, 
and it is only right that the best exhibit should receive it, 
and unless the judge comes from some distance away, and 
awards the prizes with impartiality, only friction and bickering 
ensue. In this way the show has become what it, often is—a 
flower show in name only. The exhibitors become yearlv less 
and las®, and the show is kept up for three or four gardeners 
only. 
Until these mean-spirited men can be eliminated matters 
cannot be improved; but, it, is to; be hoped that, the; younger 
race of gardeners now coming to. the front, will be more generous 
than their predecessors, exhibiting in friendly rivalry, and 
striving only for the production of the best in fruit®, vege^ 
tables, and flowers. 
Perhaps if the; size of vegetables was considered of less, 
value than the quality more; competitors might join in the 
show, and so, make it of more general interest. 
From a, salesman’s point, of view, no one would buy a. Cab¬ 
bage of 10 in. to 1 ft. in diameter, and why should this point 
of size be so exaggerated and made much of at a show? 
It, is the; quantity and quality of the exhibits and the number . 
of different competitors which make a good, useful, and suc¬ 
cessful show, and in this way only can it he maintained. 
Of course, athletic sports and other attractions help the gate- 
money very considerably, and are desirable in that, respect, hut 
they should certainly not be allowed to; take the place of the 
horticultural show. Horticulturist. 
A Truffle Hunter.— There is still the Truffle hunter, a soli-, 
tary man roaming the New Forest with a nondescript dog at his 
heels, stopping occasionally to dig at, likely spots pointed out 
to him by his canine friend. It is not a vei’y lucrative business, 
the demand for Truffles being small, and of late years there has 
been considerable competition from dealers in France. 
