220 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
men of your association than by myself, though I still 
have clear cut pictures in my mind of those magnificent 
sorts Frau Karl' Druschki, Paul Neyron, Ulrich Brunner, 
(leneral Jacqueminot, Anna de Diesbach, Alfred Golomb 
and Hugh Dickson; these are still widely known. 
The lUigosa has a future for the hybridist and from 
the admixture of the blood of this rugged species will 
come beautiful varieties for the colder climes of Canada 
and of this country. This we may now anticipate with 
certainty, for are they not already arriving. The need of 
novelty,of new Roses, holds good with the nurserymen in 
only less degree than with the florists. At one of our 
exhibitions in New York City a prominent lady thus crit¬ 
icized the Rose growers; ‘You florists have compelled me 
for the past ten years to put before my guests, time after 
time, three or at most, four varieties of cut Roses; why 
don’t you give us a wider choice? What would you 
think if we women wore the same flowers in our hats 
year after year?” Happily the criticism has been felt 
and has produced a change at the source of supply, and 
now we have a greater variety and a heavier demand for 
our product. 
If I might venture a criticism I would suggest that all 
the old wood cuts and the colored lithographs of bygone 
days he pronounced taboo. New half tones of Roses 
made from good photos attract and please, while the old 
stereotyped plates are anything but enticing, and further 
the firm using them in its catalog too often propagates 
or buys obsolete varieties to fit its old plates! 
Trading in old varieties which should have gone into 
the discard is not treating the amateur fairly, especially 
the beginner in Rose growing; but happily many of your 
firms are putting out catalogs which it is a joy to handle. 
The information possessed by the amateurs and es¬ 
pecially the women amateurs of the country respecting 
the names and suitability of varieties for different pur¬ 
poses is most marked; this has come about through the 
])uhlication of news items appearing in the press frojn 
time to time. “Say it with Flowers” is an awakener not 
only to the prospective purchaser of flowers, but to the 
commercial growers as well; it is absolutely necessary 
for men in the nursery and greenhouse business to be 
able to talk intelligently and intimately with their eus- 
tomers and prospective buyers. 
The Rose test gardens being established in different 
sections of the country are proving to be a forceful 
method of bringing the better varieties of Roses to the 
knowledge of the man or woman who wishes to adorn 
the home with the finest and best in Roses. These test 
gardens also indicate poor and unsuitable varieties, thus 
avoiding much disappointment in seleeting varieties. 
I understand that you are raising a publicity fund for 
the spread of information respecting your products; this, 
with the ])ublicity fund of the S. A. F. and 0. H. will 
surely hel]) both lines of trade, the nurserymen and flor¬ 
ists; in fact, the propaganda by the two associations will 
tend to mutual benefit in furthering trade. 
The American Rose Society deseiwes your hearty sup¬ 
port, for with the spread of information regarding the 
Bose ill come a desire for all kinds of ornamentals and 
evergreens. Eveiy nurseryman should he a member of 
the American Rose Society; one of your number is its 
newly eleeted president, Robert Pyle, and the annual re¬ 
port of the society is replete with timely articles on the 
Rose in all its bearings. 
Rose Test Garden 
I would especially call attention to the Washington 
Rose Test Garden. This is fostered and cared for by the 
Department of Agriculture, and with its great variety of 
named Roses is an education in itself for any one inter¬ 
ested. Here are to be viewed the newer introductions 
from the leading rosarians of Europe and America; this 
of itself is a matter of prime importance to those inter¬ 
ested. If present plans are carried out, a great garden 
where Roses, grown in mass backed by the most interest¬ 
ing of the newer shrubs, will be one of the forthcoming 
features of interest to plantsmen. 
Another item which should enlist your interest in the 
operations of the department is the highly ijitcrcsting 
scientific work being accomplished by Dr. Van Fleet, 
under departmental control. He is cross-fertilizing hardy 
Roses and producing results that are as delightful as sur¬ 
prising, these varieties being disease resisting hardy var¬ 
ieties with showy flowers, will prove most valuable and 
welcome additions. 
Another amateur who is devoting time and money to 
Rose culture and is accomplishing far-reaching lesults, 
is Gapt. George G. Thomas, Ghestnut Hill, Pa. This gen¬ 
tleman is breeding on special lines, but his one great pur¬ 
pose is to give us perpetual blooming Roses of the Wich- 
uiaiana and Rambler types. The work he is doing is 
most interesting. Out of the six or seven thousand seed¬ 
lings he is working with there will surely he forthcoming 
some remarkable types of new Roses. Some of his seed¬ 
ling Roses were the delight of the officers and members 
of the American Rose Society on the occasion of a recent 
visit. 
Propagation of Roses 
Nearly all the climbing types of Roses can be pro¬ 
pagated from ripened wood made into long cuttings and 
planted in the open during early Spring. 
The placing of ground peat or dried muck at the bot¬ 
tom of the trench where the cuttings are inserted is a 
practice followed in Europe with good results, a sandy 
loam being preferable to heavier soil. 
Greenhouse growing of wood for propagating purposes 
is the one method employed extensively by finns in the 
Middle West; in order to get the wood intended for pro¬ 
pagation in suitable condition a close temperature with a 
humid atmosphere is sought; wood thus grown is placed 
in shaded frames with a muslin cover some 3 or 4 
feet above the glass; about 12 inches of fresh horse 
manure is used as a base and on this is placed 4 inches 
of sand. The frame is kept close, the sashes not being 
raised for some eight or ten days. Gutting thus treated, 
grown from wood prepared in the foregoing manner, root 
in about three weeks. 
Winter grafting of Roses is practiced by the Rose 
growers on a large scale, where Winter forcing varieties 
are demanded. Manettis being used for this purpose. 
The stocks are potted in 2 V 2 inch pots and when root ac¬ 
tion takes place they are splice-grafted with scions from 
green or growing wood, and placed in frames with bot¬ 
tom heat, the temperature ranging from 70 degrees to 
