THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
237 
plants have absorbed that which the soil naturally con¬ 
tained. 
Mildew .—Whenever this shows itself apply a little 
flour of sulphur to affected parts, and in the fall when the 
plants become badly affected paint the water pipes while 
hot with sulphur made into the consistency of paint; 
mixed with either buttermilk or skim milk is perhaps as 
good as any way, though some florists are in favor of 
linseed-oil. For my part I do not like the very dis¬ 
agreeable smell in the houses after it is put on the pipes. 
Green Fly .—For this pest there is nothing better, I 
think, than to spread a thin layer of tobacco stems over 
the floor of the house, and in a few days the flies will all 
disappear. I do not recommend putting the stems di¬ 
rectly on the soil in which the plants are growing, as I 
have found it injurious to them. 
Red spider and all the other thousand and one pests 
which will be found to bother the cultivator, I must pass 
over for fear of tiring you all out. 
Second—The Hybrid Perpetual, or H. Remontant. 
These require a very different treatment from that of 
the tea-roses. For very early blooming perhaps the most 
sure way is to grow them in pots altogether. To do this 
start the plants the same way in every particular as the 
tea-rose, but change their treatment in the fall. 
If the flowers are wanted for Christmas begin to with¬ 
hold water gradually about the ioth of August and con¬ 
tinue to reduce the quantity given till the wood gets quite 
hard and solid, which under ordinary circumstances will 
be by the middle of September, when the pots can be 
laid on their sides and a little loose bedding or a like ma¬ 
terial thrown over them. This is a precaution which 
need only be taken in case of showery weather, as long 
as the weather remains dry they can be left standing, but 
do not let them get so dry as to cause the wood to shrivel. 
Should there be indications of this, syringe them overhead 
occasionally till the wood plumps up again, but not enough 
to make them start their eyes. In this condition hold them 
till about the ist of October, then they should be pruned 
back to a good hard wood and sound eyes. Thoroughly 
soak them with water as soon as pruned, and place in a 
cool frame or house where they can be slightly protected 
at night in case of frost. 
Let them remain in this position until the eyes begin 
to swell, which will be in about two weeks ; then place 
them in the house where they are to bloom; mulch the 
plants with a composition as given above for tea-roses in 
pots ; water and syringe as required ; let the temperature 
be kept at about 45 0 at night, with plenty of air during 
bright days. Follow this treatment till the plants are 
showing bud, then increase the temperature to 56 (grad¬ 
ually), and give an occasional soaking of liquid manure 
till the plants are in flower, which will be about the 20th 
to the 28th of December. As soon as the flowers are 
cut the plants can be removed to a cool house, and their 
places filled up with a succession of plants of later va¬ 
rieties. 
But for general cultivation of this class of roses per¬ 
manently planted, outhouses are undoubtedly the best— 
such as may be seen at almost any large rose-growing 
establishment near the Eastern cities. They should be 
so constructed as to be able to remove a part of the roof, 
if not all, during the summer. 
Cultivation under this system is very simple. The 
plants should be set out in the bed of the house. First 
well manure it, and then put your plants about twenty- 
four inches apart each way, and allow them to grow all 
they can during the summer; then when frost sets in in 
the fall, and the plants are well rested, they can be pruned 
back to good hard wood with all the small wood cut clean 
out. 
Then give the whole bed a good mulching three to four 
inches thick of the best cow manure, put the sash on, 
and as soon as the frost is out of the beds, give a thor¬ 
ough soaking of water. This, of course, should all be 
done according to the time the crop of bloom is wanted ; 
for early and midseason crops about twelve weeks should 
be allowed from the time of commencing, and two to 
three weeks less for later crops. 
As soon as the beds are well soaked the house can be 
started with a temperature of about 40°, allowing a rise 
of two degrees each week till it reaches 56° at night, 
which is really the best temperature to produce first-class 
flowers. Give two or three good waterings at the root as 
required in the first month, syringe frequently overhead 
till the buds begin to show color, then stop till all the 
blooms are cut. As soon as that is done the temperature 
of the house can be reduced to 50° at night and kept at 
that with the needed amount of water syringing, &c., to 
keep them healthy and clean. 
By the 15th or 20th of May the sash can be removed 
altogether, and the same course of treatment followed 
year after year, with better results each time as the plants 
grow older. 
The varieties of this class are very numerous, and the 
cultivator can choose almost any color except yellow to 
suit himself. Fashion changes so much in this respect 
that it would be almost useless to give a list here. 
Far better for the intending planter to consult the pres¬ 
ent taste for color and be guided thereby in making his 
selection. To illustrate this : Two years ago in New 
York, Black Prince and its kindred varieties were in great 
demand ; this season they could hardly be sold at any 
price. 
Third.—Raising of new roses and those of recent in¬ 
troduction. 
This is comparatively a new field for the rose growers 
of this country, but it is one that must certainly, in the 
near future, become a very important one. The immense 
growth in the cultivation of this queen of flowers, and 
its consequent demand for new and improved varieties, 
must and will stir up our rosarians to this important 
feature. 
To those who are new to this branch and are contem¬ 
plating trying experiments in that line, I would say that 
the first and most important thing to consider is an im¬ 
proved variety over anything we have on the market at 
the present date, and to obtain that it is necessary to 
select the parents with a view to that end. 
They, the parents, should possess a large percentage of 
the first-class qualities requisite to form a good rose. 
Those qualities, I need hardly say, are, first, free flower- 
