January  23, 18%.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  79 
10  feet.  Cuttings  of  the  Briar  may  also  be  rooted  for  budding.  The 
Manetti,  Maiden’s  Bluih,  and  many  other  stocks  can  be  used  with  every 
likelihood  of  success. 
Grafting  may  be  done  under  glass  during  the  wiuter  or  outside  in 
March,  but  is  not  so  sure  as  budding.  If  a  piece  of  Rose  wood  is  grafted 
on  the  roots  of  any  of  the  different  stocks  the  plants  will  produce  no 
suckers. 
Planting. 
Having  obtained  the  plants,  it  is  necessary,  to  grow  Roses  well,  to  have 
rich  soil,  a  deep  loam  of  a  stiff  nature  being  most  suitable.  When 
beds  are  required  and  the  soil  is  good  it  should  be  trenched  and  plenty 
of  decayed  manure  worked  into  it.  If  the  loam  is  of  a  light  nature  use 
cow  manure,  which  will  help  to  stiffen  it.  After  the  soil  has  settled 
planting  may  proceed.  Bury  the  stems  two  or  three  eyes  below  the 
surface,  then  if  during  severe  frosts  the  plants  are  cut  down  to  the 
ground  the  buds  below  the  surface  will  be  sound  and  grow  strongly. 
October  and  November  are  the  best  months  for  planting  the  hardiest 
varieties  and  the  tender  Teas  in  the  spring,  because  if  they  are  not  well 
established  before  the  winter  some  will  probably  be  lo9t.  In  this 
district  we  must  be  careful  to  select  only  the  hardiest  Teas,  as  the  tender 
ones  will  not  stand  our  winters.  The  strongest  dwarfs  should  be  planted 
3  feet  apart  each  way,  the  weaker  ones  2  feet  ;  never  allow  anything 
else  to  grow  on  a  Rose  bed. 
The  bed  or  beds  should  be  heavily  mulched  in  the  autumn  with  half- 
decaved  manure,  which  acts  not  only  as  a  feeder  but  as  a  protector 
during  frosty  weather.  In  the  spring  it  should  be  lightly  pricked  in, 
but  no  attempt  must  be  made  to  bury  it  or  the  surface  roots  will  be 
injured. 
Pruning. 
One  great  thing  in  pruning  the  Rose  is  to  know  the  varieties  you 
have  to  deal  with,  as  some,  if  pruned  hard,  produce  very  few  blooms. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  good  old  Rose  Gloire  de  Dijon,  known  to  all.  If 
this  is  pruned  hard  it  will  produce  strong  shoots  and  few  blooms,  but 
if  the  strong  shoots  are  left  a  mass  of  good  flowers  results  ;  therefore  in 
this  case  only  the  weak  wood  should  be  taken  out,  and  a  few  strong 
growths  if  necessary,  to  shape  the  plant.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  old 
Hybrid  Perpetual  John  Hopper  be  allowed  to  grow  the  same  as  the 
Gloire  de  Dijon  plenty  of  flowers  will  be  produced,  but  of  poor  quality. 
In  this  case  hard  pruning  should  be  practised  ;  strong  wood  pruned  to 
about  six  eyes,  the  weaker  the  wood  the  harder  it  should  be  pruned, 
cutting  out  as  much  of  the  two-year-old  wood  as  can  be  spared,  keeping 
the  centre  of  the  plant  open.  Do  not  use  a  pair  of  hedge  shears  and 
clip  them  like  a  hedge,  as  I  have  sometimes  seen  done. 
If  good  Roses  are  required  over  a  long  period  prune  some  the  first 
week  in  March,  and  the  rest  about  a  fortnight  later.  Another  way  to 
lengthen  the  period  of  flowering  is  to  push  a  spade  under  the  plant  and 
gently  lift  it,  then  tread  it  back  in  its  place.  Perhaps  this  can  hardly 
be  termed  pruning,  as  it  is  really  breaking  the  roots,  thus  causing  the 
plant  to  throw  flowers  between  the  summer  and  autumn  seasons. 
It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  all  the  details  of  the  different 
varieties.  Certain  sorts  must  be  studied,  and  not  condemned,  till  their 
habits  are  ascertained.  For  instance,  the  early  blooms  of  the  old 
Bourbon  Rose,  Souvenir  de  la  Malmaison,  are  often  very  inferior,  whilst 
its  later  flowers  are  all  that  can  be  desired.  The  game  might  be  said  of 
other  varieties  I  could  name  that  are  good  one  season  but  not  another. 
Roses  in  Pots. 
Here  again  I  would  recommend  them  to  be  grown  on  their  own  roots. 
I  can  get  better  plants  and  finer  flowers  this  way  than  when  worked  on 
a  stock.  Of  course  if  standards  are  required  stocks  are  necessary,  and 
certainly  it  is  a  charming  sight  to  see  standards  forced  well.  For  pot 
Roses  use  a  rich  compost  of  fibrous  loam,  a  little  decayed  manure,  and  a 
few  crushed  bones,  giving  good  drainage,  and  potting  firmly.  They 
should  be  established  at  least  one  season  before  being  taken  to  a  warm 
house,  if  not  most  likely  the  buds  will  drop. 
In  pruning  pot  Roses  the  Teas  should  simply  have  the  weak  wood 
taken  out,  and  the  hybrids  be  cut  hard  back.  The  syringe  must  play  an 
important  part,  as  also  should  watering.  When  well  advanced  in  growth 
they  will  require  feeding  with  liquid  manure.  Ventilate  at  the  top  of 
the  house,  not  at  the  sides,  or  the  plants  will  be  attacked  by  mildew. 
— ( Paper  read  by  Mr.  F.  Mason  at  the  Bessie  Gardeners'  Mutual 
Improvement  Society.') 
ENGLAND’S  STRENGTH  AND  WEAKNESS. 
The  matter  you  bring  forward  in  your  leading  article  (page  45)  calls 
on  all  hands  for  the  very  most  careful  consideration.  “  For  ninety  days 
in  the  year- we  feed  on  bread  from  BritiBh-grown  corn,  and  batten  for 
275  days  on  the  aliens’  com.”  I  believe  it  is  a  fact  that  during  many 
months  in  the  year  there  is  now  hardly  enough  food  supply  in  the 
country  for  six  weeks.  And  what  would  be  the  result  of  a  naval 
disaster?  The  Navy  League  has  been  for  months  trying  to  get  the 
country  to  see  it.  “  The  cheapness  of  bread  in  war  depends  on  the 
strength  of  our  Navy.  If  we  were  once  defeated  at  sea,  bread  would  not 
be  2s.  or  2s.  6d.  the  quartern  loaf,  but  simply  unprocurable.  If  we 
can  just  hold  our  own,  bread  will  not  be  4d,,  as  now,  but  2s.  ;  and  as 
we  grow  stronger  and  stronger  it  will  grow  cheaper  and  cheaper.” 
(Special  leaflet,  1895).  Recent  events  have  shown  how  quickly  a  war 
storm  cloud  may  blow  up,  and  from  how  many  various  quarters.  It  is 
by  no  means  certain  we  might  not  find  ourselves  suddenly  now  at  any 
moment  in  the  position  emphasised  by  a  poet  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
“  A  world  is  up  in  arms,  and  then  a  spot 
Not  quickly  found,  if  negligently  sought, 
Thy  soul  as  ample  as  thy  bounds  are  small, 
Endurest  the  brunt,  and  dar’st  defy  them  all !  ” 
I  fear  the  analogy  goes  even  yet  farther  ;  that  there  is  not  that 
looking  to  the  only  real  defence  which  there  should  be.  How  very 
seldom  is  there  any  public  recognition  of  our  entire  dependance  on  the 
protection  of  the  Almighty  1  And  what  are  wooden  walls,  or  ironclads, 
or  the  thin  red  line  without  this  ?  I  again  quote  Cowper  : — 
“  They  trust  in  navies,  and  their  navies  fail, 
God’s  curse  can  cast  away  ten  thousand  sail ! 
They  trust  in  armies,  and  their  courage  dies, 
In  wisdom,  wealth,  in  fortune,  and  in  lies ; 
But  all  they  trust  in  withers,  as  it  must, 
When  He  commands  in  whom  they  place  no  trust !  ” 
God  grant  this  may  be  never  realised  ! — Alan  Cheales. 
GARDENERS’  ROYAL  BENEVOLENT  INSTITUTION. 
Special  General  Meeting. 
A  special  general  meeting  of  members  of  the  above  Society  was 
held  at  Simpson’s,  101,  Strand,  London,  on  January  16th,  at  2.15  p.m., 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  proposed  alterations  of  several  of  the 
rules.  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch  was  elected  Chairman,  and,  after  the 
Secretary  (Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram)  had  read  the  notice  calling  the  special 
meeting,  Mr.  Veitch  proceeded  to  put  the  proposed  alterations  and 
additions  to  the  meeting  in  rotative  order.  Some  little  discussion  took 
place  on  several  points,  and  suggestions  were  offered  culminating 
eventually  in  the  alterations  bt  ;ng  unanimously  adopted. 
One  of  the  additions  was  to  the  effect  that  the  Committee  of  Manage¬ 
ment  should  be  increased  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  members,  twelve 
of  whom  shall  be  resident  fifty  or  more  miles  from  London,  and  one-third 
of  whom  shall  be  practical  gardeners.  “That  Messrs.  W.  Atkinson,  F. 
Bedford,  P.  Blair,  H.  J.  Clayton,  W.  Crump,  G.  A.  Dickson,  M.  Dunn,R. 
McKellar,  R.  Piper,  R.  Tait,  J.  H.  Vallance,  and  P.  C.  M.  Veitch,  who  are 
resident  fifty  miles  from  the  registered  office  of  the  Institution,  shall  con¬ 
tinue  part  of  the  Committee,  and  hold  office  as  members  thereof  until 
the  next  general  annual  meeting.” 
Annual  General  Meeting. 
This  followed  the  meeting  recorded  above,  Mr.  H.  J.  Veitch  again 
occupying  the  chair.  After  the  usual  preliminaries,  the  Chairman  called 
upon  the  Secretary  to  read  the  report  of  the  Committee  for  1895  and  the 
statement  of  accounts,  which  are  appended  below. 
“  The  Committee  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution  have 
great  pleasure  in  presenting  their  fifty-seventh  annual  report  to  the 
subscribers  to  the  charity,  whom  they  desire  to  congratulate  upon  the 
flourishing  condition  of  the  Institution,  whose  worth  they  feel,  is  still  a 
great  and  much  appreciated  blessing  among  those  who  have  been  forced 
by  adverse  circumstances  to  solicit  a  share  in  its  benefits.  It  is  the 
greatest  satisfaction  to  the  Committee  to  be  able  to  report  that  their 
annual  festival  dinner,  held  in  June  last,  was  one  of  the  most  successful 
on  record.  They  desire  to  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  their  deep 
sense  of  gratitude  to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Fife,  who  so  ably  presided 
on  this  occasion.  It  is  also  gratifying  to  know  that  his  Grace’s  earnest 
appeal  on  behalf  of  the  Institution  was  met  with  a  very  liberal  and 
generous  response.  The  Committee  likewise  offer  their  sincere  thanks 
to  all  who  acted  as  stewards,  and  to  all  friends  who  in  any  way  rendered 
assistance,  thereby  ensuring  the  success  of  the  festival. 
“  In  the  past  year  eighteen  pensioners  have  died,  five  of  them  leaving 
widows,  whose  cases,  having  been  investigated  and  found  deserving,  have 
been  placed  on  the  pension  list  at  £15  per  annum  in  succession  to  their 
late  husbands,  under  Rule  III.,  13.  After  careful  consideration  the 
Committee  have  decided  to  recommend  an  increase  of  fifteen  pensioners 
to  the  number  now  on  the  books,  five  of  whom,  having  complied  with 
the  conditions  of  Rule  III.,  5,  they  ask  the  subscribers  to  place  on  the 
funds  without  the  trouble  and  expense  of  an  election.  The  remaining 
ten  will  therefore  be  elected  in  the  usual  way.  It  is  a  source  of  great 
satisfaction  to  the  Committee  to  be  enabled  thus  to  increase  their 
number  of  pensioners  by  two,  making  a  total  number  of  158,  but  at  the 
same  time  they  feel  sorry  that  they  are  not  able  to  render  assistance 
to  more  of  the  exceptionally  large  number  of  applicants,  whose  cases 
are  all  deserving  of  that  aid  which  must  perforce  be  denied  them  at 
present. 
“  In  their  last  report  the  Committee  were  enabled  to  announce  the 
formation  of  an  additional  auxiliary  at  Wolverhampton.  They  now 
have  the  pleasure  to  state  that  a  new  branch  has  been  established  at 
Worcester,  after  a  most  successful  inaugural  meeting,  presided  over  by 
the  Right  Hon.  Earl  Beauchamp,  and  addressed  by  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Institution  and  the  Secretary.  To  the  organisers  of  the  meeting,  to  the 
Hon.  Secretary,  and  to  all  who  worked  so  zealously  in  the  cause,  the 
Committee  would  express  their  hearty  thanks.  The  Committee  desire  to 
thankfully  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  £257  3s.  5d.,  being  in  part  the 
proceeds  of  the  fund  raised  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  late 
Mr.  William  Thomson  of  Clovenfords.  This  sum  has  been  invested,  and 
will  henceforth  be  known  as  the  “William  Thomson  Memorial  Fund.” 
The  sincere  thanks  of  the  Committee  are  also  tendered  to  the  promoters 
