February  20, 1896. 
■JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
167 
on  Saturday,  alternate  Sundays  on  duty,  and  night  duty,  should  in  some 
measure  be  remedied. 
Our  system  is  one  that  gives  general  satisfaction  to  all  concerned, 
the  hours  being  7  A  M.  on  Mondays,  with  6,30  on  other  mornings,  to  5.30, 
and  4  P.M.  on  Saturday,  thus  enabling  the  men  to  be  clear  for  Sunday. 
As  to  duties  :  we  have  two  on  together  on  Sundays  until  evening.  Then 
one  takes  night  duty  for  the  week,  which  comes  every  four  weeks,  there 
being  four  in  the  bothy,  thus  giving  the  men  as  much  liberty  as  possible. 
To  give  half  a  day  on  Saturday  would  not  be  possible,  as  in  the  summer 
it  is  generally  the  busiest  day  in  the  week,  both  for  inside  and  outside 
men,  and  every  exertion  is  required  to  finish  by  4  p.m.  Mr.  Bardney 
puts  in  a  plea  for  the  young  men  in  bothies  which,  I  hope,  will  strike 
home  to  all  who  have  such  dilapidated  hovels  as  depicted  by  him.  Very 
often  they  are  shut  in  some  corner  on  the  north  side  of  a  wall,  or 
connected  with  potting  sheds  or  stokeholes. 
I  think  in  many  cases  much  could  be  done  by  head  gardeners  to  alter 
this  state  of  things.  I  had  it  to  contend  with  when  I  came  to  my 
present  situation,  but  after  bringing  the  case  before  my  employer,  he 
at  once  decided  the  men  should  have  comfortable  apartments,  including 
bath  room  with  hot  and  cold  water,  and  the  aspect  is  full  south,  which 
makes  it  always  pleasant.— T.  B.,  Leeds, 
Isle  of  Wight  Eose  Society. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  of  this  Society  for  the  year  1895  has 
just  come  to  hand  and  shows  a  satisfactory  state  of  affairs,  while  the 
balance-sheet  proves  that  there  is  a  small  cash  balance  in  hand.  Lf 
arrangements  can  be  made  the  show  will  this  year  be  held  at  Kyde  on 
Thursday,  June  18th.  We  hope  the  exhibition  will  be  favoured  with  fine 
weather. 
The  White  Bath  Rose  and  the  Crested  Moss. 
I  AM  gratified  to  learn  that  “  H.  D.”  has  not  been  displeased  by 
my  criticism  of  his  interesting  article  on  “  Roses  for  the  Garden.”  I 
had  no  intention  whatever  of  contradicting  his  assertion  that  the 
White  Bath  Moss  Rose,  which  he  10  justly  eulogises,  was  admirably 
adapted  by  Nature  for  growing  in  bush  form.  I  do  not  doubt  that 
when  left  alone  its  natural  tendency  is  to  assume  this  shape.  It  was 
raised  by  Salter  at  Clifton,  near  Bristol,  in  1810.  I  have  an  idea  that 
its  constitution  is  somewhat  delicate,  having  lost  a  strong  plant  of  it 
during  the  winter  of  1893.  Since  that  period  I  have  been  careful  to 
place  the  White  Bath  in  strongly  sheltered  situations.  Like  other 
members  of  the  same  fascinating  family  of  Roses  it  requires  close 
pruning  and  generous  nourishment,  under  which  conditions,  if  the  soil 
be  congenial  (for  it  is  somewhat  exacting  in  this  direction  also),  it  is 
certain  to  do  well.  It  is  the  most  attractive  of  all  the  Moss  Roses,  quite 
eclipsing  the  White  Perpetual  Moss,  which  also  flowers  with  great 
freedom  here.  There  is,  indeed,  no  French  variety  which  equals  this 
exquisite  Rose  of  English  extraction.  I  hope  your  correspondent  is 
equally  familiar  with  the  beiuty  of  the  Crested  Moss,  a  unique  variation 
from  the  Pink  Provence,  which,  as  I  learn  from  “  The  Rose  Garden,” 
was  originally  found  growing  on  the  walls  of  a  convent  near  Berne  in 
Switzerland,  in  1827.  The  buds  are  highly  picturesque,  being  heavily 
mossed. — David  R.  Williamson. 
NOTES  ON  ROSES. 
Outdoors. 
With  such  a  prolonged  and  grand  time  for  planting,  very  little 
should  remain  undone  in  private  gardens.  Growth  ripened  very  steadily 
and  efficiently  in  the  autumn,  and  with  no  frost  of  importance  up  to 
the  end  of  January,  there  once  more  seems  bright  prospects  before  us. 
When  we  remember  the  splendid  and  unexpected  way  in  which  our 
Roses  came  through  the  severe  trial  at  this  time  last  season,  recovering 
themselves  so  well  that  1895  was  by  no  means  a  bad  Rose  season,  the 
present  well  matured  wood  on  all  varieties  can  scarcely  be  seriously 
injured  now  that  we  are  so  far  advanced. 
I  would  recommend  that  very  little  pruning  be  done  yet,  although 
past  experience  has  convinced  me  that  the  date  this  is  done  is  by  no 
means  so  important  as  many  suggest.  Looking  over  the  budded  stocks, 
I  find  them  far  better  than  usual.  Last  Beason  those  on  the  standard 
Briars  were  much  crippled,  but  this  year  such  varieties  as  Comtesse 
de  Nadaillac,  Cleopatra,  and  Princess  of  Wales,  are  in  really  first-class 
condition.  In  a  number  of  Horace  Vernet,  also,  there  is  not  a  single 
failure,  and  this  is  a  good  sign  as  regards  other  varieties.  Fortune’s 
Yellow  with  several  of  the  more  tender  climbers  suffered  terribly  last 
year,  but  at  present  their  wood  is  perfectly  sound,  the  long  growths  made 
late  in  the  summer  ripened  steadily  and  well.  Where  the  ground  was 
not  mulched  earlier  this  is  a  good  time,  as  roots  will  be  more  or  less 
on  the  move  by  the  time  the  soluble  parts  of  organic  matter  are  washed 
down.  If  we  leave  this  till  later  in  the  spring  much  waste  occurs  from 
evaporation  in  the  drier  atmosphere. 
Referring  once  more  to  pruning.  Our  climbers  and  strong  growers 
need  next  to  none  of  this,  and  we  may,  therefore,  finish  our  work  with 
wall  Roses  at  the  same  time  as  Peaches  and  similar  fruits.  All  we  have 
to  do  is  to  cut  away  as  much  as  possible  of  the  old  and  sear  wood 
without  sacrificing  growth  made  last  summer.  No  grower  will  deny 
that  we  get  the  best  blooms  and  in  greater  number  from  such  growth, 
and  it  is  merely  a  question  of  covering  our  space  as  far  as  possible  with 
the  same.  It  is  also  often  advisable  to  complete  all  necessary  work 
upon  walls  and  fences  befoie  the  narrow  borders  receive  their  spriDg 
attention. 
The  delightful  article  on  page  94  from  “H.  D.”  is  some  of  the 
pleasantest  Rose  chat  we  have  had  for  some  time.  I  can  endorse  the 
whole  of  it,  and  would  especially  recommend  the  Penzance  Briars  for 
arches  and  arbours.  Lady  Penzance  has  a  drooping  habit,  and  all  of 
them  may  be  brought  into  service  for  arbours.  Not  only  do  we  get 
some  unique  colours,  but  there  is  the  always- pleasant  perfume  from  the 
foliage,  and  perhaps  of  all  early  summer  blooming  Roses  none  can 
surpass  the  Hybrid  Sweet  Briar  in  profusion.  The  best  of  the  newer 
varieties  as  seen  at  various  exhibitions  are  Green  Mantle  and  Jeannie 
Deans.  The  former  has  a  distinct  shade  of  pale  green  throughout  the 
blossom,  and  the  latter  is  a  crimson  semi-double.  I  hope  your  corre¬ 
spondent  will  give  us  more  notes,  especially  on  that  much-abused 
class,  the  Hybrid  Teas  ;  his  impressions  of  Caroline  Testout,  Viscountess 
Folkestone,  and  others,  for  example. 
Indoors. 
Here  we  now  have  a  goodly  number  of  Roses  in  bloom.  Early  plants 
of  Marshal  Niel  are  coming  on  rapidly  ;  in  fact,  all  under  glass  have 
not  only  responded  to  the  influence  of  sun,  but  were  already  inclined 
to  push  earlier  than  usual  owing  to  the  mild  winter.  Grafted  Roses  of 
this  season  need  careful  attention  at  present,  and  do  not  want  too  hot  a 
temperature  until  the  scion  is  well  set  to  the  stock.  Some  thousands 
are  now  out  of  the  cases  and  on  an  open  bench.  These  will  receive  a 
shift  in  course  of  a  few  days,  just  as  soon,  in  short,  as  the  callus  has 
hardened  a  little.  Even  the  latest  of  our  pot  Roses  now  need  to  be 
brought  under  cover  and  advanced  steadily,  or  we  shall  have  bloom  on 
warm  sheltered  walls  with  us  too  close  on  their  heels.  If  bright 
weather  prevail,  there  will  be  need  of  more  care  in  the  avoidance  of 
mildew  by  keeping  a  regular  temperature.  I  do  not  mean  we  should  be 
so  precise  as  to  keep  between  55°  and  60°,  but  avoid  those  sudden  rises 
caused  by  sun  heat  and  fire  heat  combined.  A  very  little  of  either 
causes  an  astonishing  rise  in  the  temperature  when  in  combination,  and 
on  bright  days,  unless  a  keen  wind  prevails,  we  need  scarcely  any  fire 
heat. 
Last  season  I  had  much  better  success  with  Teas  and  Noisettes 
grafted,  and  kept  growing  very  steadily  after  a  junction  was  well 
secured,  then  planted  out  on  a  prepared  border  in  the  open,  than  with 
those  budded  the  previous  summer.  This  has  been  my  practice  during 
all  severe  winters,  and  the  invariable  success  has  encouraged  me  to  make 
it  annual.  All  of  our  more  delicate  Teas  are  readily  and  safely  increased 
in  this  way,  and  I  venture  to  say  with  even  less  trouble  than  in  budding 
in  their  case.  So  many  of  them  do  not  produce  any  quantity  of  good 
buds,  but  we  can  get  many  fairly  well  ripened  shoulders  and  eyes  by 
the  end  of  November.  Comtesse  de  Nadaillac,  Madame  de  Watteville, 
Princess  of  Wales,  Cleopatra,  and  others  are  here  alluded  to. 
A  slight  fumigation  carried  out  on  consecutive  evenings,  and  also 
supplemented  by  a  weak  insecticide  through  the  syringe,  will  keep  down 
all  insect  foes,  and  do  no  harm  to  tender  young  growth.  The  secret  is  to 
use  a  weak  solution  early,  not  waiting  until  one’s  plants  are  fairly 
infested.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  so  many  amateurs  will  pass  over  a 
few  stray  insects  under  the  impression  it  would  be  better  to  delay 
remedial  measures  until  the  plants  are  more  affected.  Kill  the  first 
invaders,  and  not  only  keep  your  foliage  clean  and  healthy,  but  avoid 
the  necessity  for  stronger  measures  in  the  near  future,  which  would 
probably  cripple  your  plants,  in  addition  to  the  harm  done  by  an 
increased  number  of  insects,  not  only  feeding  on  them  but  choking 
the  pores  at  the  same  time. — Rosarian. 
USEFUL  GARDEN  ROSES. 
Continuing  my  remarks  on  this  subject  from  page  94  I  will  first 
deal  with  Noisettes.  These  are  by  no  means  a  numerous  section,  but 
some  of  the  varieties  rank  among  the  sweetest  and  most  floriferous  of 
the  Rose  family.  Unfortunately  a  few  of  the  most  charming  varieties 
are  too  tender  for  arches,  except  in  sheltered  positions  ;  they  are, 
however,  well  adapted  for  planting  against  walls.  Aimde  Vibert  is  one 
of  the  hardiest  and  oldest,  being  a  true  Noisette,  and  is  thoroughly 
suitable  for  arches  or  pillars,  its  full  white  flowers  are  borne  in  large 
bunches  ;  Cornelia  Koch,  yellow,  and  Deschamps,  bright  carmine,  form 
a  capital  pair,  hardy  enough  for  arches  and  pillars. 
That  general  favourite,  Celine  Forestier,  is  often  regarded  as  some¬ 
what  tender.  My  experience  does  not  bear  this  out,  for  here  in  the 
Midlands  bushes  in  the  open  have  during  the  last  two  severe  winters 
remained  uninjured  by  frost,  this,  too,  without  the  slightest  protection 
being  given  except  the  usual  covering  over  the  soil.  I  can  therefore 
confidently  recommend  it  as  a  good  pillar  Rose.  Bouquet  d’Or,  with  its 
flowers  of  fine  form,  in  which  yellow  and  coppery  shades  of  colour  are 
so  exquisitely  blended,  is  one  of  the  best,  and  should  be  given  a  wall  in 
a  warm  sunny  position.  Ophirie  and  Reve  d’Or,  both  of  which  have 
yellow  and  coppery  tints,  are  free  bloomers  and  excellent  for  cutting 
with  long  shoots.  Notwithstanding  the  many  supposed  improvements 
on  William  Allen  Richardson,  I  question  if  the  flowers  of  any  Noisette 
are  more  generally  admired.  Its  weak  point  is  that  in  severe  winters 
