402 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 13, 1908. 
that they were too small when planted. 
When this is tlhe case they throw up only 
one large leaf, and florists speak of these 
as widows. If they have grown well this 
year and you aid not -lift them too early 
very likely a good proportion of the bulbs 
will be large enough to flower next year. 
If you do not care to keep the old bulbs, 
see that you get good sized bulbs on an¬ 
other occasion. Some varieties have larger 
bulbs than others, but if you make yourself 
acquainted with the varieties which you 
grow you can easily tell whether they are 
capable of flowering by their size. 
ROSES. 
2928. Gloire de Dijon Not Starting. 
I planted a climbing Gloire de Dijon last 
November, and at the end of March I cut it 
down, so that the longest stem is 20 in. and 
the shortest about 6 in. It is 3 ft. in front 
of a wall facing west. The stems are still 
green, but there is no sign of the buds mov¬ 
ing. I should be obliged if you could in¬ 
form me if I can do a^thing to assist it to 
start. Several other i<oses planted at the 
same time are well advanced and carry seve¬ 
ral flower buds. (W. R. S., Essex.) 
Gloire de Dijon is a Rose which often be¬ 
haves an the way you state. It may be a 
peculiarity of the variety, or the plant had 
been scantily furnished with roots. We think 
it would have helped it a little if you had 
cut 'back the stems as you state in November 
when planting .it. There is a great amount 
of variation amongst the different varieties, 
but even the same variety does not always 
behave in the same way. Some individuals 
may start weeks in advance of others of the 
same kind. The only thing you can do now 
is to keep the ground moist in dry weather. 
There is no necessity to use manure water, 
nor anything in the way of a fertiliser, as 
that would only inconvenience the roots, 
which are probably few and in a weak con¬ 
dition. 
2929. Sulphate of Ammonia and 
Roses. 
I wish to get good growth into my Roses, 
and have been told that sulphate of ammonia 
is good for them. Please let me know if this 
is so, and also what strength to give it and 
how often. (J. Dunnell, Yorks.) 
If your Roses are in vigorous condition 
you can water the ground with sulphate of 
ammonia at the rate of 3 oz. to a gallon of 
water and spread this over a square yard. 
This may be done once a week till the plants 
are coming into flower. After they are 
finished blooming cut off the withered flowers 
and the short piece of stem till you come 
to a good plump bud. This will give rise to 
a fresh shoot and the variety will probably 
bloom again in the autumn. To encourage 
a second growth give a good watering with 
clean water and then, the sulphate of am¬ 
monia at the rate we have ' already men¬ 
tioned. 
2930. Rose Leaves with Orange Blight. 
I am sending you a Rose leaf with an 
orange blight on it. My Rose had about 
twelve leaves attacked. I have tried all 
kinds of insecticides, but it seems quite with¬ 
out effect. Will you tell me what it is and 
what to do with it ? (Waratah, Devon.) 
Your Rose is attacked with the Rose_ rust, 
caused by a fungus named Phragmidium 
subcorticatum. The first stage is cluster 
cups in late spring, then the Rose rust, fol¬ 
lowed by teleutospores. The last named is 
the rust brand and appears in the form of 
minute black specks upon the leaves of Roses. 
All three are forms of the same fungus. Re¬ 
move and burn those leaves that are fur¬ 
nished with red patches, and then spray with 
something that will kill the spores upon the 
leaves and thereby prevent a fresh attack. 
■Sulphate of copper at the rate of 2 ozs. to 
three gallons of water is a good thing for 
checking the fungus, but as it lives inside 
the plant you can only spray to keep the 
fungus in check and to destroy the spores 
that ultimately break through the surface of 
the leaf. Next spring before the leaf buds 
expand you should spray the plants with the 
above solution, and also the soil around the 
plants. All leaves that come off diseased 
Roses should be raked up and burned, as the 
■fungus lies attached to 'the leaves and com¬ 
mences to grow again in spring. That is the 
reason why we tell you to commence early. 
The spray might.be repeated at intervals of 
ten days to make sure of destroying the 
spores. 
2 9 31. Points of a Rose. 
I should be pleased if you would name the 
points of a good Rose for exhibition pur¬ 
poses, telling me what to avoid. (H. Stap- 
don, Essex.) 
A bloom or truss of a Rose means one 
fully expanded bloom as cut from the plant 
with or without buds and foliage if they 
belong to the same; that is, you must not 
tie on any leaves or buds to the stem of the 
Rose. When Roses are to be shown on 
boards, however, very seldom are any buds 
shown with a Rose when a stand of six or 
twelve blooms is asked for. The Roses 
shown must be of good form, of large size 
for the variety, of good substance, and in the 
best colour according to the variety. The 
foliage, if any is shown with each bloom, 
should also be good. With regard to the 
form of the flower it mean*; that it should 
have plenty of petals arranged round one 
centre without twisting or confusion of parts. 
The bloom should, of course, be equally dis¬ 
played all round, so that a surface view of 
it would form a circle as it were. Size 
would depend to some extent upon the 
variety, and the rest would be due to good 
cultivation. It is possible, however, to grow 
a Rose to such a size as to make it coarse. 
You should avoid this by getting your 
blooms more nearly of a uniform size, rather 
than using blooms that are actually coarse 
owing to too much feeding with manure. 
In the matter of colour the same variety may 
vary according to treatment and the season, 
■but you should look for the best hue of the 
varieties you exhibit. Defects in a Rose 
would apply to a lack in any of the above 
characters, such as, confusion of petals, un¬ 
equal arrangement, undue size, faded 
colours, either by being left too long- on the 
bush or due to starvation in a poor soil. 
When three blooms have to be shown in a 
truss each of the .triplets should be as nearly 
as possible of equal size and perfect in every 
other respect as the above. You cannot ex¬ 
pect them to be so large as Roses that are 
shown singly, but it would be a blemish to 
have them of unequal size or a defect in any 
one of them. The three are judged as one 
Rose. Then, again, the arrangement of the 
blooms often has the effect of winning a 
prize in cases where the competition is keen 
and the blooms are nearly of equal merit. 
The various colours should be equally dis¬ 
tributed through the stand. The blooms 
should be in perfection at the time of judg¬ 
ing them. They should not be dressed in 
such a way as to alter the character of the 
different varieties. Avoid duplicates either 
of one variety or of too closely allied varie¬ 
ties. For instance, you should not show 
Mrs. W. J. Grant and Climbing Mrs. W. ]. 
Grant in the same stand. The blooms of 
these two varieties do not differ from one 
another, although the plant does. There are 
various other rules dependent largely upon 
the wording of the schedule of each local so¬ 
ciety. When Teas and Noisettes are asked 
for you should not exhibit H.T.’s along 
with them, although these are permissible in 
mixed stands or amongst H.P.’s. 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
2932. Propagating the Flowering Cur 
rant. 
Could you tell me how .to increase th 
flowering Currant? I have two fine trees 
and could layer them if necessary. (T. M. 
Beds.) 
The flowering Currant may be propagate 
in a variety of ways, but is usually ir 
creased by means of cuttings in the winte 
time or spring.' You can insert them at an 
time after the leaves are off, and onwar 
until the .buds are bursting again in spring 
Cuttings about a foot long should be take 
off and inserted in lines about a foot apa] 
and about 6 in. between the cuttings. Yo 
can also propagate the plant by means < 
layers, and this can be done in July. 
2933. Name and Propagation of Shrut 
Could you kindly tell me what the nam 
of the enclosed shoot and bloom is, and ho 1 
to increase it by cuttings or'layers? (T. M 
Beds.) 
The flowers and sihoot you sent us wei 
those of the Japan Quince, which may 1 
increased in a variety of ways, such £ 
taking off. suckers that come up from tt 
roots. This may best .be done in Marc] 
Layers may also be made in July much ) 
the same way as a Carnation, using 
stronger peg to hold the shoots down. Ke< 
the soil watered at intervals during Ju 
and August, and roots wild soon be forme- 
Cuttings of the stems or young shoots mt 
also be taken in September or October ai 
planted on a shady border. This could 
done by spreading some sand and le; 
mould over the border, digging it over at 
then taking out trenches about a foot apa 
so that you can put dn the cuttings abo 
5 in. deep. Tread the soil quite firm 
about them and water if the weather ha 
pens to be dry at the time they are inserte 
October would, perhaps, be more moist, th 
dispensing with the necessity for givii 
water. They should root towards sprin 
but the best plan is to allow them to grc 
for a year in the same position before trai 
planting them. 
2934. Climbers on House. 
I should feel grateful for your adv: 
about the creepers on my house. Where t 
aspect is due south I .should have thoug 
any Roses would have flourished, but < 
line Forestier and two pink Roses, of whi 
I do not know the names, always flag a: 
drop their foliage during the summer, . 
though I water them frequently. A sm; 
Wistaria does better, ’but it does not gr< 
rapidly. The house has stucco or roug 
cast walls up to a certain point, and a frie. 
tells me no creepers will flourish on t 
surface. This theory seems probable, ■ 
where the creepers reach the .tiles they 
covered wiith leaves and blossoms, and t: 
plants of Gloire de Dijon, which are train 
to the wood of a verandah, flourish sa 
factorily. Would it be .best to cover ; 
sides of the house with lattice or is th: 
any cheaper way of training the Ros, 
etc.? (Vera, Surrey.) 
We suspect that you either have not sv 
oient depth of soil or else that it has I 
been properly prepared previous to pla- 
ing the Roses you mention. We understt: 
the houses in your neighbourhood are mos. 
new, and builders have a habit of throw:: 
in all sorts of rubbish .into the place win 
they may be taking out sand or gravel, 1 
as it is a chalk formation in your dist: 
we suspect that the ground wanted tren 
ing and some heavier material or -better lot 
put in before planting the Roses. See? 
that the Wistaria also grows very slow ■ 
this would also point to the same lack i 
preparation. With regard to the rough-c-i 
walls, their newness, we imagine, would" 
agaiflst the Roses, but after the lime £ : 
