December 2, 1905. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“The Potato still holds the first place among edible tubers.”— Filmorin. 
ww NOTICES. 
To Readers and Correspondents. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD” is published by MaOLAREN 
And Sons, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. Telegrams 
and Cables: “Buns,” London. Telephone Humber: 997 
flolborn. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD” Is published every Tues¬ 
day and dated for the following Saturday. Price One Penny. 
Annual Subscription (Prepaid), post free, 6s. 6d. United 
Kingdom ; 8s. 6d. Abroad. Cheques and remittances 
generally should be made payable to Maclaren and Sous, and 
crossed London City and Midland Bank. 
Advertisement Orders should be addressed to the Pub¬ 
lishers. The insertion of advertisements cannot be guaran¬ 
teed for the following issue unless received by Saturday 
before date of publication. 
EDITORIAL.—Letters for publication, specimens for 
naming, requests for information, manuscripts, and photo¬ 
graphs must be addressed to the Editor. Correspondents 
should write on one side of the paper only, and give name 
and address as well as nom-de-plume. The Editor will not 
be responsible for loss of unaccepted manuscripts, photo¬ 
graphs, etc., but if stamps be enclosed ordinary care will be 
exercised to ensure return. If payment for photographs or 
text is desired the price for reproduction must be distinctly 
stated, and it must be understood that only the actual 
photographer or owner of the copyright will be dealt with. 
All contributions of any kind in the Prize Competitions 
become the property of the Proprietors of “ The Gardening 
World.” The Editor’s decision in Prize Competitions is final. 
SPECIMEN COPIES.—The Publishers will be pleased to 
send specimen copies of “The Gardening World" for distri¬ 
bution amongst friends and will appreciate the services 
rendered by readers in this connection. 
AN AMATEUR'S LETTER 
TO AMATEURS. 
By the Author of “ The Garden Decorative,” 
etc., etc. 
XVII. 
An appreciation of the Climbing Rose. 
V hen we have learned the wonderful value, 
from a decorative point of view, of the generous 
use of climbing Roses and other subjects, we 
have gone far in mastering the secret of achiev¬ 
ing a beautiful garden. In the ordinary small 
garden the pergola is quite out of place and in 
every way unsuitable, but not so the use of 
arches and posts, about which the climbing- 
subjects may be trained. 
Much beauty and picturesqueness result 
from breaking the dead level, and this applies 
more especially to the small town and suburban 
gardens where the crude hard lines of the 
straight sides and palings need in some way to 
be balanced so that their aggressiveness is less 
apparent. In a small slip of garden there is 
not much object in attempting anything but 
straight paths ; but if these are made as long 
as possible, and are spanned at fairly close 
intervals by arches, then, as we look down the 
long vista, a wonderfully pretty, and even 
beautiful, effect is the result. In the garden 
surrounded by palings there is, if it is to have 
a'ny real beauty the need of objects to raise the 
eye, at any rate to a height equal to the palings 
themselves, and arches or posts are perhaps 
the most satisfactory means of achieving this 
end. 
Preparing the Soil. 
Every year, too, the inducement to grow 
climbing Roses becomes greater, because so 
much attention has been devoted to them that 
the varieties now obtainable have great beauty 
to recommend them. For the purposes of this 
paper we will suppose that a dozen climb¬ 
ing Roses are desired for arches or posts. The 
question arises, how shall we set to work to give 
them a fair start 1 We want in due time our 
arches covered with dense masses of bloom and 
to have strong growing, healthy specimens. 
First, then, let me emphasise the fact that 
Roses need an ample root run. If the subsoil 
is but a foot and a half below the surface it is 
not likely that so hungry and vigorous a subject 
can find sufficient sustenance. At least three 
feet of good soil should be supplied, and well- 
rotted stable manure should be dug in. The 
Roses are being established for many years, 
and though in the future top-dressings of 
-manure and soil may be given there will not be 
again the opportunity of supplying these well 
down below the roots: and it is therefore 
worth while to see to it that the trees are at 
the outset well supplied with nourishment. 
Some Beautiful Climbing Roses. 
I often think it is a little sad that so many 
of our most beautiful climbing Roses are 
passed over for a few varieties that, as it were, 
have taken the country by storm. Very many 
novices seem to be quite ignorant of the fact 
that some of our most charming Roses have 
strains with the climbing habit. The climbing 
Mrs. W. J. Grant, the climbing Captain,Christy, 
and the climbing La France make really 
beautiful subjects for arches, and they have the 
merit (lacking in many climbing Roses) of 
dowering over a long period. This, it seems to 
me, is a matter of real importance and should 
never be overlooked in making a selection of 
Roses. 
We want our Rose arches to be beautiful the 
season through, and therefore it will be essential 
that some varieties that are noted for their fine 
autumnal blossoms be chosen. Among these 
we may well include that grand brilliant red- 
flowered variety Gruss an Teplitz, worthy to 
be known as the Queen of autumn climbers, 
and having the charm of great fragrance. 
Another delightful variety for the purpose 
under consideration is the climbing Cramoisie 
Superieur. I do not for a moment wish to imply 
that this Rose produces first-class blossoms ; it 
does not, but all the same it is a true decorative 
variety, having a brilliant, even gorgeous, effect 
in the sunshine. 
Reine Marie Henriette is another brightly 
coloured red climber, but it needs an open airy 
position and plenty of light and sunshine, as it 
is prone to attacks of mildew, but where it 
grows to perfection it is invaluable, and no one 
would be ill-advised to give it a trial if the 
above conditions can be assured. It is a quick, 
vigorous grower and a profuse bloomer. 
Noisettes and Ramblers. 
Very beautiful are the Noisettes W. A. 
Richardson and Mme. Alfred Carriere, the 
last being of the palest liesh tint. Finally we 
come to that section which includes the well- 
known Crimson Rambler Dorothy Perkins, and 
Aglaia, among others. Those great clusters of 
flowers of whatever colour are grand, almost 
beyond description. But how brief the flower¬ 
ing period ! July ofteD sees them into flower 
and out again ; and it is for this sole reason 
that too much space should not be given to this 
section, that is to say, if it means excluding 
varieties that give us blossom for many months. 
Climbers not Costly. 
Climbing Roses add greatly to the permanent 
beauty of the garden. Every year expensive 
bedding plants are bought and have their little 
day, but when it comes to the purchase of, say, 
a dozen climbing Roses it is looked upon as too 
costly. It is not nearly so costly as those fleet¬ 
ing bedding plants, and certainly a few plain 
arches are no great outlay; and the novice 
does well to gain his experience in Rose grow¬ 
ing by beginning with a really good selection 
of climbers. 
Gloire de Dijon. 
I have said nothing of the Penzance and 
other Briers, because in this article I have con¬ 
sidered more especially the needs of the small 
garden ; and charming as are these beautiful 
single forms, they are not for the really small 
garden. I have still one Rose to add to make 
up my dozen, I add the name of the old Gloire 
de Dijon, that at any rate we must possess if 
we would have Roses early and late in the 
year, and for beautiful effect let us plant in 
close proximity to it a deep blue Clemati 
Jackmanni. No piece of autumn gardening 
will yield us more pleasure in the future. 
F. M. Wells, 
A Woman's Thankoppering.— Unable to 
afford fruit or vegetables, a poor woman re¬ 
cently sept to St. John’s (Blackpool) as her 
harvest thankoffering a bottle filled with 
water, and labelled, “ Thank God for the 
rain.” 
A Worm-eating Worm. —A Wakefield gar¬ 
dener has discovered a worm which is 12 in. 
long, and with a mouth 6 in. -away from tho 
head, and on the under side of tho body. It 
is fond of worms, and eats one a third its 
own length in a matter of twenty minutes. 
* * * 
Fruit Imports. —The following figures ap¬ 
pear somewhat startling, as they represent 
the value of fruit which ought to be produced 
in this country^—The value of Apples im¬ 
ported in 1904 was £2.118.000; Cherries, 
£319,000 ; Currants, £143.000 ; Grapes, 
£827,000; Pears, £503.000 ; Plums, 
£526,000; Apricots, Peaches, and Straw¬ 
berries, £102.000. The total value amounted 
to £4,538,000. 
