November  9,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
403 
The  Forcing  of  Tea  Roses. 
Of  all  the  many  plants  that  are  forced  every  year  Tea  Roses  are 
amoDgst  the  most  useful,  and,  without  exception,  are  the  greatest 
favourites.  To  force  them  successfully  care  should  be  taken  to  select 
only  the  strongest  and  healthiest  plants,  and  these  must  be  specially 
prepared  the  preceding  year  for  what  they  have  to  do.  Young 
vigorous  plants  that  are  grafted  on  the  Manetti  or  common  Briar  are 
best,  those  on  the  former  for  preference,  as  it  is  more  quickly  started 
into  growth,  though  it  is  not  so  long-lived  as  the  Briar. 
When  outdoor  Roses  begin  to  open  all  those  plants  which  have 
been  forced  should  be  turned  outside,  plunging  them  in  ashes  or  any 
material  that  will  serve  to  keep  the  roots  cool.  They  should  be  fully 
exposed  to  the  sun,  and  placed  far  enough  apart  to  reap  the  benefit  of 
all  light  and  air.  Water  must  be  fieely  applied,  and  frequent 
syringings  are  also  beneficial  in  keeping  down  fly  and  red  spider. 
Little  or  no  manure  ought  to  be  given  whilst  outdoors,  the  chief  thing 
being  to  give  the  plants  a  good  rest  and  to  thoroughly  ripen  their 
wood. 
About  the  end  of  August  or  beginning  of  September  the  plants 
should  be  potted,  every  one  being  thoroughly  shaken  out  and  replaced 
in  clean  pots  with  plenty  of  drainage.  By  doing  this  in  the  autumn 
the  plants  get  a  good  hold  of  the  soil  by  the  time  they  are  required 
for  forcing,  whereas  if  it  is  deferred  until  spring  they  lose  time  in 
forming  roots,  and,  if  excited  by  too  much  warmth,  often  push  a  few 
buds  and  then  fall  into  a  miserable  state,  the  result  of  imperfect  root 
action.  The  soil  used  for  potting  should  be  good  fibrous  loam,  leaf 
mould,  and  well-decayed  stable  manure,  with  enough  sharp  sand  added 
to  keep  the  whole  porous.  After  potting  they  ought  to  be  stood  on 
coal  ashes  and  frequently  syringed,  water  being  applied  very  sparingly 
to  the  roots  at  first. 
At  the  end  of  October  they  should  be  taken  into  a  cool  house ;  but 
this  removal  depends  entirely  upon  the  weather.  If  no  sharp  frosts 
or  heavy  rains  intervene,  they  may  be  left  outside  much  later.  The 
earliest  plants  can  be  started  about  the  end  of  December  in  a  tem¬ 
perature  of  45°,  gradually  increasing  this  as  the  plants  grow,  and 
affording  air  on  all  possible  occasions.  Before  being  started  they 
should  be  pruned,  and  any  that  require  it  must  be  staked  at  the 
same  time.  They  should  be  syringed  every  day  if  the  weather  is 
favourable,  and  fumigated  if  fly  appear.  Liquid  manure  may  be 
frequently  applied  when  they  are  growing  freely,  and  occasional  top- 
dressings  of  any  good  artificial  manure  are  beneficial. 
Good  blooms  in  plenty  should  be  ready  for  cutting  by  the  middle 
or  end  of  February;  but  the  amount  of  sunshine  received  makes  a 
great  deal  of  difference  in  the  actual  time.  After  being  in  flower  some 
time  Tea  Roses  often  make  small  weak  shoots  with  few  flowers. 
"When  this  is  the  case  the  plants  should  be  kept  drier  after  removing 
all  the  small  wood,  and  no  manure  must  be  given  for  a  time. 
Alter  a  short  rest  they  will  commence  to  bloom  again,  when  they 
may  be  more  liberally  treated.  If  Tea  Roses  are  treated  as  above  a 
constant  supply  of  flowers  can  be  obtained  for  a  long  period,  and  it 
is  very  rare  that  the  supply  of  early  Roses  is  greater  than  the 
demand. — C. 
VERONICA  SPECIOSA. 
Of  the  many  shrubby  species  of  Veronica  cultivated  in  gardens 
none  is  more  popular  than  this  and  its  numerous  varieties,  for,  besides 
being  remarkably  easy  to  grow,  it  flowers  well  at  a  time  of  year  when 
outdoor  flowers  are  very  scarce.  Objections  could  be  raised  against  its 
universal  cultivation  outside  on  account  of  tenderness,  but  in  the 
southern  and  south-west  counties  it  will  stand  all  but  the  severest 
winters  uninjured  if  planted  in  a  sheltered  corner,  and  during 
September,  October,  and  November  it  may  be  relied  on  to  produce  a 
large  quantity  of  flowers. 
The  species  bears  upright  axillary  racemes,  3  inches  long,  of  blue 
flowers.  This  in  itself  is  very  pretty,  but  cannot  be  compared  with 
the  brilliant  colours  of  some  of  the  varieties.  Of  these  Eclatante, 
Constellation,  'and  La  Seduisante  among  the  reds  are  exceptionally 
fine,  while  of  pnrph-s  Madame  Chretien  is  by  far  the  best,  but  Purple 
Queen  and  Mervillie  are  also  well  worth  growing.  The  four  former 
bear  dense  racemes  of  flowers  4  inches  long,  and  are  really  first  rate 
varieties. 
In  places  where  the  climate  is  not  favourable  for  the  cultivation  of 
this  species  outside  during  winter  V  is  a  good  plan  to  root  cuttings  in 
autumn  and  grow  the  plants  in  a  frame  through  the  winter  and  spring, 
planting  out  in  May.  During  the  summer  nice  bushy  plants  will  be 
made  which  may  he  potted  in  September,  and  will  be  found  to 
make  excellent  plants  for  the  cold  greenhouse,  conservatory,  or 
dwelling  house  throughout  the  winter,  for  after  the  flowers  are  over 
the  deep  green  foliage  still  makes  the  plants  attractive. — D. 
THE  NATIONAL  CHALLENGE  TROPHY. 
Mr.  Owen  Thomas,  in  his  contribution  to  the  discussion  on  this 
subject  (page  378)  certainly  opens  in  relation  to  it  a  far  wider  range 
than  had  hitherto  been  suggested.  Practically  were  his  proposal 
adopted  it  would  become  not  a  mere  Grape  challenge,  but  a  national 
horticultural  challenge  trophy,  and  for  the  simple  reason  that  its 
existence  would  as  a  great  object  for  competition  arouse  interest  in 
every  section  of  gardeners.  I  think  it  is  excellent.  The  great 
growers  of  Grapes  for  exhibition  are  few  [indeed,  but  if  we  add  to 
these  the  great  growers  of  fruit,  indoors,  outdoors,  or  vegetables,  then 
do  they  become  legion,  and  there  would  be  far  better  prospects  of 
getting  the  large  sum  suggested  than  would  be  the  case  if  limited  to 
Grapes  only.  Really  such  a  grand  trophy  should  be  offered  only  for 
say  twenty  bunches  of  Grapes,  twenty  dishes  of  indoor  fruits,  to 
include  four  Grapes,  thirty  dishes  of  outdoor  fruits,  or  forty  dishes  of 
vegetables. — A.  D. 
[It  is  a  long  time  since  a  subject  has  been  found  so  tempting  to 
gardeners  as  that  which  was  introduced  by  Mr.  D.  Buchanan  on  page  272 
of  our  issue  of  September  28th.  The  proposition,  as  might  be 
expected,  has  widened  out  in  the  discussions  in  subsequent  issues, 
culminating  in  the  broad-minded  suggestion  of  Mr.  Thomas  for  what 
may  be  fairly  described  as  a  grand  national  challenge  trophy  for 
horticultural  produce  grown  for  utilitarian  purposes.  The  whole 
of  the  opinions  expressed  in  the  last  five  issues  of  the  Journal 
of  Horticulture  may  well  be  pondered  over  during  the  present  month, 
and,  when  the  sun  of  the  autumn  queen  has  set  once  more,  the 
whole  subject  can  be  reverted  to,  deductions  compared,  and,  if  possible, 
a  definite  issue  arrived  at  and  methods  formulated  for  the  production 
of  a  trophy  that  would  embody  the  earnestness  and  redound  to  the 
honour  of  the  gardeners  of  the  United  Kingdom.] 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
DRILL  HALL.— November  7th. 
The  confliction  with  numerous  Chrysanthemum  shows  invariably 
prejudices  the  display  at  the  Drill  Hall;  on  this  occasion  the  space  was 
very  sparsely  occupied.  There  were  exhibits  in  each  section,  but  Orchids 
were  not  numerous.  Mr.  Hudson  made  a  splendid  show  with  Begonia 
Gloire  de  Lorraine,  and  one  or  two  growers  showed  capital  collections  of 
fruits. 
Fruit  Committee. — Present :  P.  Crowley,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ;  and 
the  Rev.  W.  Wilks  with  Messrs.  J.  Cheal,  E.  Shaw  Blaker,  J.  H.  Yeitch, 
W.  Poupart,  A.  F.  Barron,  A.  H.  Pearson,  A.  Dean,  S.  Mortimer,  W. 
Farr,  0.  Herrin,  G.  Woodward,  G.  Wythes,  F.  Q.  Lane,  H.  Balderson, 
G.  Norman,  W.  J.  Empson,  and  W.  H.  Divers. 
Mr.  W.  H.  Divers,  gardener  to  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  Belvoir  Castle, 
Grantham,  contributed  a  collection  of  eighty-four  dishes  of  Apples  and 
Pears.  Though  the  former  were  not  particularly  large  they  were  firm 
and  of  good  colour.  The  most  prominent  dishes  were  Newton  Wonder 
(excellert),  Peasgood’s  Nonesuch,  Alfriston,  Bismarck,  Stirling  Castle, 
Tower  of  Glamis,  Warner’s  King,  Allington  Pippin,  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin, 
Bess  Pool,  Ross  Nonpareil,  Rosemary  Russet,  and  Cockle’s  Pippin.  Of 
Pears  Huyshes’  Victoria,  Beurre  Clairgeau,  Emile  d’Heyst,  Marie 
Louise,  Beurre'  Ranee,  Beurre  Diel,  and  Bergamotte  Esperen  were  con¬ 
spicuous  (silver-gilt  Knightian  medal).  From  the  Chiswick  Gardens  came 
a  small  collection  of  Cabbages.  Several  exhibitors  contributed  single 
dishes  of  Apples. 
A  magnificent  collection  of  Apples  and  Pears  was  staged  by  Mr.  A.  J. 
Thomas,  Rodmersham.  Grand  dishes  of  Bramley’s  Seedling,  Newton 
Wonder,  Annie  Elizabeth,  Warner’s  King,  Bismarck,  Lady  Henniker, 
Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  Royal  Jubilee,  Chelmsford  Wonder,  Lord  Derby, 
Lane’s  Prince  Albert,  Emperor  Alexander  and  Gascoyne’s  Scarlet 
Seedling  Apples  were  observed,  with  such  Pears  as  Pitmaston  Duchess, 
Beurr4  Clairgeau,  Beurr6  Diel,  Beurr6  Fouqueray,  Glou  Morgeau, 
Marie  Louise,  Beurre  Bose,  Princess  and  Magnate  (silver  -  gilt 
Knightian  medal.)  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons  sent  from  their  Langley 
Nursery,  Apple  Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild,  which  has  been  raised  from 
a  cross  between  John  Downie  Crab  and  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin  Apple. 
Floral  Committee. — Present :  W.  Marshall,  Esq.  (in  the  chair) ; 
with  Messrs.  C.  T.  Druery,  J.  H.  Fitt,  J.  Jennings,  J.  F.  McLeod, 
G.  Gordon,  W.  Bain,  E.  II.  Jenkins,  J.  W.  Pawle,  C.  E.  Shea,  H.  Turner, 
D.  B.  Crane,  E.  T.  Cook,  G.  Paul,  C.  Jefferies  and  E.  Mawley. 
"Mr.  J.  Hudson,  V.M.II.,  gardener  to  Leopold  de  Rothschild,  Esq., 
Gunnersbury  House,  exhibited  a  splendid  collection  of  Begonias  Gloire  de 
Lorraine  and  Mrs.  Leopold  de  Rothschild.  The  plants,  in  48-pots,  were 
grandly  flowered  (silver-gilt  Flora  meaal).  Messrs.  F.  Sander  &  Co., 
St.  Albans,  showed  miscellaneous  foliage  plants,  with  a  few  Orchids  ; 
while  Messrs.  H.  Low  &  Co.  contributed  Statice  profusa.  Messrs. 
