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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  31,  1898. 
When  I  wrote  the  recent  article  on  pruning  we  were  having  spring¬ 
like  weather,  and  a  large  number  of  growers  were  busy  with  the  knife. 
Although  our  Roses  were  by  no  means  forward,  neither  for  the  date  nor 
exceptionally  mild  season,  one  was  tempted  to  begin  earlier  than  usual. 
But  we  soon  had  a  taste  of  winter,  and  although  we  happily  escaped 
storms  and  snow,  it  was  enough  to  check  the  rapid  pruning  going  on. 
On  the  13th  inst.  we  had  13“  of  frost  (Fahr).  It  has  been  advocated 
that  such  late  growers  and  bloomers  as  Baroness  Rothschild  and 
Merveille  de  Lyon  should  be  pruned  a  week  or  two  earlier  than  other 
Hybrid  Perpetuals  ;  but  did  anyone  really  observe  that  this  early 
pruning  caused  a  correspondingly  early  break  1  I  have  pruned  half  a 
dozen  plants  of  each  at  an  interval  of  three  weeks,  and,  although  they 
were  side  by  side,  failed  to  discover  any  material  difference. 
Having  recently  seen  some  young  Roses  under  glass  that  were 
badly  attacked  by  mildew,  it  occurred  to  me  how  much  more  prone  some 
varieties  are  than  others  to  this  pest,  whether  in  the  open  or  under  glass. 
I  noted  that  Innocente  Pirola,  Edith  Gifford,  and  Souvenir  de  Paul 
Neyron  were  most  affected  in  the  above  instances.  They  are  also  our 
worst  Roses  in  this  respect  outdoors.  One  can  scarcely  put  the  attack 
down  to  a  feeble  constitution,  for  Edith  Gifford  is  a  hardy  and  robust 
grower.  Then  how  seldom  we  find  mildew  on  the  Manetti  stock  while  the 
Dog  Rose  or  common  Briar  is  particularly  liable  to  infestation.  We 
do  not  find  it  (except  in  rare  cases)  on  the  Banksians,  which, 
although  very  strong  growers,  are  certainly  much  influenced  by  chills. 
As  further  proof  that  feeble  or  tender-growing  Roses  are  not  prone 
to  this  disease  more  than  others,  let  us  call  to  mind  how  badly  Her 
Majesty,  Margaret  Dickson,  Abel  Carriere,  and  Madame  Gabriel  Luizet 
are  affected  ;  while  we  find  Ulrich  Brunner  and  Gloire  Lyonnaise  almost 
exempt.  _ 
I  am  looking  forward  to  reports  from  various  growers  of  the  way  Rose 
wood  has  come  through  the  winter.  Perhaps  this  is  premature,  for  1 
remember  that  the  end  of  March  was  very  severe  in  1893.  At  present 
my  own  wood  is  in  grand  condition,  and  I  do  not  notice  that  Portune’s 
Yellow  (the  tenderest  Rose  we  grow)  has  any  injured  wood.  When 
reports  are  given  upon  the  wood,  which  can  scarcely  be  done  thoroughly 
except  when  pruning,  I  hope  all  will  give  their  locality,  and  if  close  to 
water  or  upon  high  ground.  Such  reports  can  be  of  no  service  otherwise. 
Already  the  Hybrid  Sweet  Briars  are  pleasing.  They  are  considerably 
more  forward  than  the  common  variety,  and  make  their  presence  known 
by  the  perfume  of  bursting  buds  before  coming  into  leaf.  They  are 
quite  hardy  in  this  country,  and  would  soon  make  an  impenetrable  hedge. 
I  have  the  first  set  over  a  large  arbour,  aud  which  can  be  completely 
covered  this  spring  when  tying  down  the  ripened  branches.  If  Lord 
Penzance  could  only  impart  the  scented  foliage  to  our  miniature  Poly¬ 
anthus  without  additional  strength  in  growth,  what  pretty  and  sweet- 
scented  little  pot  plants  they  would  make  ! 
How  grandly  Roses  in  unheated  houses  are  coming  on  ;  but  unless 
we  keep  them  back  as  far  as  possible,  we  shall  suffer  later  on.  There  is 
such  a  vast  difference  in  temperature  in  an  unheated  house.  A  clear  day, 
even  with  a  keen  wind  outside,  soon  raises  the  temperature  to  60“  or  70°, 
only  to  fall  to  almost  freezing  point  should  the  night  be  cold.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  hurry  Roses  in  such  a  house.  We  also  suffer  much  from 
mildew,  and  the  damping  of  young  leaves  during  a  spell  of  dull  weather. 
Even  one  row  of  pipes  around  the  house,  would  avoid  this  humid 
atmosphere,  and  tend  to  equalise  the  temperature.  In  a  ho, use  some 
60  feet  long,  24  across,  and  12  feet  to  the  top  of  the  span,  I  have  seen 
some  grand  Rose  blooms  cut  already,  and  this  house  only  had  one  row 
of  4-inch  pipes  around  it.  There  will  soon  be  a  fine  crop  if  the 
temperature  can  be  kept  fairly  uniform.  Climbing  Perle  des  Jardins, 
LTdeal,  Rubens,  Catherine  Mermet,  Niphetos,  and  Maman  Cochet  were 
the  best  when  I  saw  them,  on  the  11th  of  the  present  month. 
The  foliage  of  Roses  deserves  attention.  Some  of  them  are  by  no 
means  bad  foliage  plants  in  themselves.  Take  Perle  de  Lyon  for 
example.  This  has  the  deepest  shaded  bronzy  purple  leaves  we  can 
imagine,  and  although  not  of  much  value  as  a  flower,  is  well  worth 
growing  for  its  foliage  alone.  Maman  Cochet  is  exquisite  under  glass 
just  now  ;  far  deeper  in  its  salmony  shades  than  from  open  air  plants, 
and  although  its  own  foliage  is  good,  when  the  flower  is  placed  with 
the  bronzy  leaves  of  Perle  de  Lyon  the  effect  is  gready  heightened. 
I  do  not  care  for  other ,  foliage  with  flowers  than  Nature  provides,  and 
have  often  been  looked  upon  with  horror  by  the  gentler  sex  when 
disapproving  of  the  universal  use  of  Maidenhair  Fern.  But  this  is  a 
different  matter,  for  do  we  not  try  to  get  perfume,  size,  form,  and 
various  other  characteristics  transmitted  to  those  not  possessing  it  ? 
A  deep-green  foliage  suits  a  white  Rose,  but  the  bronzy  purple  is 
almost  ideal  for  apricot  yellows  and  deep  salmon  flesh  shades.  What 
beautiful  shades  a  young  leaf  of  Duke  of  Connaught  possesses.  Then  w’e 
have  the  deep  green  of  the  Rugosas — Roses,  by  the  way,  that  I  have  never 
found  affected  by  mildew.  _ 
No  less  than  three  times  during  the  present  season  I  have  been 
asked  for  the  “Yellow  Provence”  Rose.  This  is  so  frequently  the 
case  that  I  have  looked  up  many  old  authorities  ;  but,  as  I  felt  sure 
would  be  the  result,  without  success.  Do  any  of  your  readers  know  of  it  ? 
or  could  they  give  any  aid  ?  I  believe  either  the  Persian  Yellow  or 
Harrisoni  was  meant  in  each  case. 
Rose  pests  will  soon  be  very  numerous,  but  need  do  no  great  harm 
under  glass,  if  we  will  only  bear  in  mind  the  value  of  taking  prompt 
measures  towards  their  destruction.  Nor  need  these  be  of  so  drastic 
a  character  as  is  often  used  when  the  enemy  has  gained  a  firm  hold. 
It  is  easy  to  kill  the  aphides,  thrips,  and  red  spider  if  we  syringe  freely 
from  the  first  and  use  a  mild  insecticide.  I  am  not  promising  total 
extermination,  but  an  early  check  that  will  prevent  the  insects  doing 
irreparable  damage  and  save  our  plants  from  the  need  of  powerful 
insecticides.  It  is  such  an  obvious  error  to  leave  the  foes  alone  until  they 
have  increased  in  the  enormously  rapid  way  they  do  that  there  should 
surely  be  no  need  lor  any  reminder.  And  yet  we  find,  year  after  year, 
plants  so  left  as  to  become  hopelessly  crippled.— Pkactice. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES. 
In  the  majority  of  gardens  these  luscious  fruits  are  extensively  culti¬ 
vated,  aud  it  is  essential  that  those  in  charge  shall  annually  produce  good 
crops.  Unfortunately  the  best  results  are  sometimes  prejudiced  by 
neglect  of  one  or  more  of  the  several  operations,  and  I  have  penned  the 
following  brief  notes  as  reminders  to  my  brother  craftsmen,  who  have 
probably  found  to  their  cost,  as  I  have,  that  with  disbudding  and  other 
points  procrastination  is  one  of  the  worst  of  sins. 
Disbudding. 
Attend  to  this  early,  but  it  must  be  done  carefully,  commencing  as 
soon  as  the  shoots  can  be  displaced  with  the  finger,  and  following  up  day 
by  day  until  onl}'  the  shoots  required  for  future  bearing  are  retained. 
Leave  one  shoot  at  the  base  of  the  branches  or  last  year’s  shoots  now 
fruiting,  and  another  on  a  level  with  or  above  the  fruit ;  the  latter  not 
being  required  for  extension  must  be  stopped  at  a  few  joints  of  growth. 
In  the  case  of  trees  not  fully  grown  it  will  be  necessary  to  leave  shoots 
about  15  inches  distance  apart,  calculating  from  the  base  of  last  year’s 
growth,  to  form  the  bearing  shoots  of  next  year,  the  terminals  being 
trained  in  full  length  as  space  permits.  The  leading  growths  must  not  be 
less  than  12  to  15  inches  apart.  Close  training  is  practised,  with  the 
result  of  weak  crowded  growths,  not  nearly ^so  satisfactory  in  fruit  as 
growths  fully  exposed  to  light  and  air. 
Thinning  the  Fruits. 
Directly  the  fruit  is  fairly  set  and  those  properly  fertilised  can  be 
detected  by  their  taking  the  lead  in  swelling,  commence  thinning. 
Remove  the  smallest  first  and  these  on  the  under  or  at  the  back  of  the 
trellis,  beginning  with  the  weakest  parts  of  the  tree,  thinning  proportion¬ 
ately  more  than  on  stronger  wood,  which  will  tend  to  the  equalisation  of 
the  vigour  of  the  tree.  The  fruit  ought  not  ultimately  to  be  left  closer 
than  one  to  every  square  foot  of  trellis  covered  with  growth,  in  order  to 
have  fine  specimens  of  the  large-fruited  varieties  ;  but  the  medium-sized 
kinds,  such  as  Early  Louise,  Hale’s  Early,  and  Stirling  Castle  Peaches, 
with  Early  Rivers  Nectarine — indeed.  Nectarines  generally — may  have 
one  to  every  9  inches  square  of  trellis  covered  by  the  trees  ;  even  the 
small  varieties  are  the  better  for  the  latter  mentioned  amount  of  space, 
especially  on  weakly  trees.  The  first  thinning  must  commence  not  later 
than  when  the  fruit  is  the  size  of  horse  beans,  the  second  when  the  size 
of  marbles,  and  again  when  the  fruit  is  the  size  of  Walnuts,  leaving  very 
few  indeed  over  the  proposed  crop,  though  there  must  always  be  a  margin 
for  casualties. 
Syringing. 
Syringe  all  trees  not  in  flower,  but  having  the  leaves  advanced  in 
formation,  twice  a  day  when  the  weather  is  bright,  so  as  to  keep  them 
free  of  red  spider.  Attend  to  the  afternoon  syringing  at  closing  time,  or 
sufficiently  early  to  have  the  foliage  nearly  or  quite  dry  before  night. 
Vigorous  trees  with  sappy  growths  and  large  leaves  require  less  syringing 
than  trees  with  sturdy  well-formed  growth  and  stout  textured  leaves,  the 
strong  growth  perspiring  considerably  at  night,  moisture  often  hanging 
on  the  leaves  in  the  morning,  whilst  the  foliage  of  the  adjoining  sturdy 
growing  tree  is  dry.  If  the  trees  have  water  hanging  from  the  points  or 
edges  of  the  leaves  in  the  morning,  omit  the  afternoon  syringing,  and  on 
dull  days  damp  the  path  and  border  instead  of  syringing  the  trees. 
Tying-in  the  Shoots. 
When  the  growths  are  suffBciently  advanced  tie  them  carefully  to  the 
trellis,  not  bringing  the  shoots  into  place  too  sharply.  In  securing  the 
shoots  to  the  trellis  take  care  to  leave  sufficient  space  in  the  ties,  for 
too  tight  tying,  abrasions  of  the  bark,  and  similar  injuries,  are  prolific  of 
gumming,  and  too  tight  tying  otherwise  causes  an  indent  which  renders 
the  shoot  liable  to  breakage  at  that  point.— Practitioner. 
