320 
April  10,  190e. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Disseminating  New  Roses. 
A  discussion  on  the  very  important  trade  question  of  liow  best 
to  disseminate  and  gain  profit  from  a  new  Rose  (or  other  plant) 
was  entered  upon  before  the  Florists’  Club  of  Philadelphia 
(U.S.A.),  at  its  meeting  on  March  4.  A  considerable  amount  was 
road  and  spoken,  but  nothing  definite  seems  to  liave  been  for¬ 
mulated.  One  member  asks  :  “  If  a  patent  can  be  secured  on  a 
devicej  or  upon  some  useful  article,  or  medicine,  why  not  on  a 
charming  new  Rose,  plant,  or  fruit?”  Ah,  why?  Because  a 
“  device  ”  is  usually  fixed  in  all  characters,  but  with  plants  we 
are  dealing  with  life  itself.  However,  the  system  of  securing  a 
large  number  of  orders  at  a  high  rate  each,  or  of  binding  buyers 
not  to  sell  under  a  certain  figure  till  a  date  fixed  on  has 
been  reached,  are  means  now  adopted  by  raisers  to  ensure  a 
sufficient  reward  for  their  patienoe  and  risks. 
Rose  Cogitations. 
No  time  .should  be  lost  in  bringing  the  planting  of  all  kinds 
of  Ro.ses  to  a  close.  I  note  many  plants  that  are  now  laid  by  the 
heels  are  swelling  their  buds  quite  fast.  Numerous  new  roots 
are  being  made  which  will  receive  a  check  when  they  are  taken 
up  to  be  planted.  Of  all  things,  perhaps,  Roses  make  more  roots 
during  the  winter  than  aught  else  in  the  shrub  or  tree  line.  This 
is  perhap.s  owing  to  the  fact  that  Roses  are  somewhat  premature 
in  pushing  their  buds  for  some  time  before  they  actually  make 
new  growth,  the  sap  being  active,  and  hence  the  roots  are  early 
on  the  move.  Roses  planted  so  late  as  this  need  not  be  mulched 
for  a  time,  as  is  customai’y  with  autumn  planting,  which  is  then 
done  to  preserve  the  newly-planted  roots  from  frost. 
Where  an  early  batch  of  Rose  blooms  are  required,  and  the 
plants  are  growing  in  a  sheltered  position,  secure  from  spring  frost 
— for  instance,  where  they  are  planted  at  the  foot  of  a  south  •wall, 
tlie  first  batch  may  be  ju'uned  without  delay.  In  the  case  of 
Teas,  cut  hard  back  to  within  an  eye  or  two  of  the  base.  In  all 
cases  where  the  plants  were  put  out  this  autumn,  the  plants  are 
all  the  better  if  pruned  hard  back  at  first. 
In  the  case  of  climbing  varieties,  close  pruning  the  first  season 
gives  much  more  vigorous  shoots  and  finer  flowers  later  on. 
Remove  the  mulching  from  newly  pruned  plants,  letting  in  the 
sun’s  rays  to  the  soil,  warming  it,  and  -thus  inducing  an  eaidy 
growth.  Roses  rambling  over  pergolas  will  now  require  atten¬ 
tion.  Cut  away  all  weakly  growths,  leaving  more  space  for 
stronger  shoots,  and  from  which  the  finest  blossoms  are  obtained  ; 
especially  is  this  the  case  with  cluster  flowered  sorts.  With  these 
it  is  not  individual  size  of  flower  that  is  needed;  it  is  strong 
sprays  bearing  a  quantity  that  renders  this  type  so  pleasing  a 
feature  in  the  garden. 
Cuttings  inserted  in  the  open  ground  in  the  autumn  will  now 
require  attention,  as  the  recent  frost  will  have  disturbed  the 
cuttings  at  the  base  by  the  upheaval  of  the  soil  where  due  pre¬ 
caution  was  not  taken  to  place  a  layer  of  coal  ashes  between  the 
rows,  which  is  the  best  preventive  that  I  know  of  loosening  the 
soil  about  the  cuttings.  Examine  every  cutting,  pressing  it 
down  firmly  at  the  base.  Roots  cannot  form  properly  if  the 
cutting  does  not  rest  firmly  on  the  ground. 
All  Briers  intended  for  budding  should  be  planted  without 
delay.  For  the  tallest  standard  4f-b  of  stem  is  sufficient.  When 
preparing  these  cut  away  as  much  of  the  thick  root  as  possible,  as 
this  portion  throws  up  so  many  suckers.  Retain  all  fibrous  roots, 
as  seldom  do  wm  find  too  many  of  these  in  Brier  Roses.  Half¬ 
standard  Roses  make  interesting  subjects  for  a  variety  of  sites. 
Many  varieties  are  assisted  by  the  growth  of  the  common  Brier. 
Naming  Roses  is  often  a  trouble,  and  not  always  satisfactory. 
When  ordinary  wood  labels  are  used  they  rot,  and  the  name  too 
often  quickly  becomes  obliterated.  The  Acme  Label,  manufac¬ 
tured  by  Pinches,  secured  by  a  stout  piece  of  galvanised  wire 
thrmst  into  the  soil,  is  the  best  method  I  find,  and  they  are  not 
objectionable  in  appearance  either. — E.  Molynetjx. 
Feathered  Friends. 
Not  the  least  interesting  instruction  recently  given  by  the 
London  County  Council  is  that  providing  a  shelter  for  the 
feathered  songsters  which  fly  to  Hampstead  Heath.  Near  the 
little  Red  Bridge,  says  the  “  Sun,”  a  small  portion  of  the  Heath 
is  to  be  enclosed.  Gorse,  Sloe,  and  other  plants  will  here  be  set, 
in  addition  to  Flags  and  Rushes  in  the  parts  mo,st  suited  for  them. 
The  spot  chosen  will  make  an  ideal  home  for  the  birds,  and  there 
will  be  few  who  ■will  regret  the  enclosure  of  a  portion  of  the 
public  land  for  this  pui'pose. 
The  Clematis :  Its  Culture  and  Uses. 
(Concluded  from  page  293.) 
There  is  a  lovely  Clematis  which  has  a  section  all  to  itself, 
and  that  is  C.  montana,  a  magnificent  climber,  and,  by  many, 
considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  with  its  abundance  of  star- 
like  Anemone  flowers  in  May  and  June.  It  grows  to  a  great 
height,  and  is  perfectly  hardy.  No  pruning  is  really  necessary,  as 
it  is  so  beautiful  in  a  wild  state,  running  over  the  roofs  of  out¬ 
houses  or  verandahs,  or  even  among  the  branches  of  trees.  A 
little  shoi-tening,  however,  .strengthens  it. 
C.  lanuginosa  is  a  beautiful  species  of  les.s  extended  growth 
than  those  we  have  been  considering,  and  is  interesting  as  the 
founder  of  a  very  fine  section  of  hybrids,  perhaps,  judged  by 
individual  flowers  alone,  the  finest  of  all,  the  flowers  being  very 
large  and  finely  formed.  Therein  is  a  verj'^  allui’ing  bait  for 
those  with  little  experience  of  Clematis  hybrids.  If  one  is 
di-sposed  ^o  take  a  moderate  chance  of  success  and  risk  failure, 
he  could  not  do  better  than  choose  Beauty  of  Worcester,  which 
has  large  bluish--violet  flowers,  some  as  much  as  4in  or  oin 
in  diameter,  sometimes  double  in  the  early  part  of  the  season, 
and  is  of  very  vigorous  growth,  being  more  or  less  in  bloom  a 
good  part  of  the  summer. 
Another  one  quite  as  fine  is  Henryi,  a  rather  late  sort,  bloom¬ 
ing  in  August  and  September,  and  even  later,  having  vei-y  large 
pure  white  flowers,  and  growing  some  6ft  or  8ft  high,  or,  under 
very  favourable  conditions,  10ft  or  12ft.  This  lanuginosa 
section  should  be  only  moderately  cut  back,  and  not  to  anything 
like  the  extent  to  which  the  Jackmanni  section  are  cut.  They 
should  be  given  some  protection  during  the  winter,  for  though 
called  hardy  they  will  not  stand  exposure  to  severe  frost  without 
some  protection,  though,  of  course,  much  depends  upon  the  damp¬ 
ness  of  the  soil. 
The  above  forms  a  small  list  of  most  beautiful  climbers,  all 
except  the  last  two  being  absolutely  reliable  with  fair  treat¬ 
ment.  The  florida  and  patens  sections  include  some  very  beauti¬ 
ful  hybrids,  the  former  section  mostly  double-flowered,  and  the 
latter  very  large-flowered.  No  pruning  should  be  done  to  those 
in  either  of  these  sections  as  they  flower  on  the  old  wood  of  the 
.previous  year.  The  patens  section  are  specially  valuable,  as 
they  bloom  so  early  in  the  summer.  As  to  the  best  of  the 
twenty  or  so  named  sorts  in  these  twO'  sections,  the  discreet 
policy  is  to  say  nothing,  as  there  is  not  one  of  them  that  can  be 
guaranteed  not  to  disappoint  the  imrchaser. 
C.  florida  is  a  Japanese  .species  whose  varieties  mostly  flower 
in  June  and  July.  Occasional  flowers  appear,  however,  from 
April  to  September.  It  grows  9ft  to  12ft  high,  with  temately 
decompound  leaves,  and  ovate-acute  entii’e  leaflets.  The  illustra¬ 
tion  depicts  the  form  and  character  of  the  creamy  white  flowers 
(with  purple  stamens  in  the  centre)  of  this  species. 
The  ways  of  growing  the  Clematis  are  numerous  and  diverse. 
Few  plants  are  so  well  adapted  as  they  are  for  both  climbers 
and  bedding  plants.  The  most  robust  of  the  family  will  imn  to 
a  height  of  20ft  to  30ft,  and  these  are  well  adapted  for  the 
most  usual  purposes  to  which  the  Clematis  is  put,  namely,  co 
run  over  aixhes,  pergolas,  verandahs,  out-houses,  unsightly  walls 
and  fences.  They  form  splendid  pyramids  if  rough  branches  are 
set  up  in  pyramidal  fashion  and  the  plants  allowed  to  run  all 
over  them.  Another  effective  use  for  these  very  strong  growing 
sorts  is  to  let  them  run  up  into  trees,  the  effect  of  a  sheet  of 
blossom  at  the  top,  or  coming  out  at  the  side,  of  a  sombre  Holly 
or  Yew  being  very  striking,  and  yet  very  natural  and  graceful. 
To  succeed  in  this  way  they  must  be  planted  some  little  distance 
from  the  stem  of  the  tree,  so  that  they  may  get  a  suflSciency  of 
moistui'e  and  nutriment.  When  they  have  got  well  up  into  the 
tree,  say  after  the  second  season,  they  will  need  nO'  further  atten¬ 
tion  be,yond  seeing  that  the  growth  does  not  got  thick  enough  to 
kill  any  part  of  the  tree. 
Yet  another  excellent  way  of  growing  the  Clematis,  whether 
tall,  medium,  or  dwarf,  is  in  beds.  Varieties  such  as  Henryi  and 
Beauty  of  Worcester  make  a  good  show  if  a  single  plant  is  put 
in  a  round  bed  about  3ft  in  diameter,  and  by  means  of  a  few 
sticks  or  small  branches  trained  in  spherical  or  pyramidal  fashion 
over  them.  One  or  two  such  beds  on  a  lawn  with  plenty  of  space 
round  them  show  to  great  advantage.  It  is  as  large  beds  of 
Clematis  that  the  finest  effect  of  this  sold  is  produced,  a  number 
of  plants  of  the  same  variety  by  preference  being  put  round 
the  edge  of  a  large  bed,  the  number  depending  upon  the  nature 
of  the  growth  of  the  sort  chosen,  the  less  rambling  sorts  being 
about  2ft  apart,  and  the  rampant  growers  3ft  to  4ft.  If  the 
bed,  has  a  very  great  diameter,  or  the  sort  chosen  is  not  vary 
vigorous,  a  couple  of  plants  may  be  put  in  the  middle  of  the  bed 
as  well.  A  stoi;t  stake  or  post  should  be  driven  intO'  the  centre 
of  the  bed,  leaving  it  3ft  or  4ft  high.  Round  the  edge  of  the  bed 
strong  sapling  sticks  of  Sallow  or  HazOl  should  be  stuck  in  at 
2ft  or  3ft  apart,  bent  to  the  centre  and  tied  to  the  central  post, 
while  a  fcAV  strings  should  be  run  round  the  bed  and  attached  to 
the  sticks  at  convenient  distances  apart. 
The  plants  will  completely  cover  up  this  arrangement  at  the 
second  season  if  not  the  first,  and  though  there  will  not  be  much 
show  the  first  season  unless  exceptionally  good  plants  are 
