158 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  15,  1901. 
Hoses  in  Pots  v.  Roses  Planted  Out. 
In  the  majority  of  private  gardens  there  is  a  great  demand  for 
good  Roses  during  the  spring  months  to  succeed  those  produced  on 
early  forced  plants,  but  in  very  few  instances  are  adequate  measures 
taken  to  provide  a  sufficient  supply.  During  April  and  May  it  is 
usual  to  depend  upon  bushes  or  climbers  planted  out  under  glass, 
but  it  has  often  occurred  to  me  that  plants  grown  under  such 
conditions  give  too  little  return  for  the  space  they  occupy  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  This  objection  does  not  of  course  apply  to 
Roses  trained  thinly  to  the  roof  of  a  conservatory  to  give  additional 
beauty  and  interest  to  that  structure,  nor  to  others  trained  on  the 
back  wall  of  any  structure ;  but  to  devote  a  house  entirely  to  Roses 
throughout  the  year  is  to  my  mind  a  mistake.  During  summer  we 
can  get  hosts  of  fine  blooms  from  the  open  air,  and  during  the  spring 
months  a  greater  number  of  good  blooms  can  be  grown  in  a  given 
space  by  keeping  the  plants  in  pots  than  by  adopting  the  planting 
out  system.  And,  moreover,  the  pot  system  has  this  great  advantage 
— viz.,  that  soon  after  the  flowering  period  is  over  the  plants  can  be 
placed  out  of  doors,  and  for  the  following  six  months  the  house  can 
be  utilised  for  other  purposes.  The  above  remarks  apply  especially  to 
H.P.’s,  but  also  in  some  degree  to  Teas. 
I  have  thoroughly  tested  both  systems,  and  am  so  convinced  of  the 
advantages  of  the  pot  system,  that  last  year  I  uprooted  the  bushes  in 
a  house  100  feet  in  length,  and  next  year  another  house  will  be 
similarly  treated.  By  taking  the  course  indicated  we  have  been  able 
to  grow  a  heavy  crop  of  Tomatoes  in  the  100  feet  house ;  as  soon  as 
these  are  over  Chrysanthemums  will  succeed  them,  and  when  the  latter 
have  been  disposed  of,  the  opportunity  occurs  to  cleanse  the  house  and 
refill  it  with  Roses  in  pots  or  Callas.  From  a  market  grower’s  point 
of  view  these  three  or  four  crops  form  an  admirable  succession  with 
which  to  keep  a  structure  profitably  employed. 
The  management  of  Roses  in  pots  is  simple  enough  when  any 
suitable  system  is  well  carried  out,  and  it  is  well  to  point  out  here  that 
success  may  be  obtained  by  following  various  methods  which  sometimes 
seem  to  be  diametrically  opposed  to  each  other.  For  instance,  I  have 
known  growers  and  writers  to  assert  that  it  is  useless  to  expect  good 
Roses  from  plants  in  .pots  which  were  only  potted  up  the  previous 
autumn,  but  I  have  proved  the  assertion  to  be  wrong  on  more  than 
one  occasion.  The  man  who  lifts  dwarfs  from  the  open  air  and  pots 
them  during  the  autumn,  and  the  following  January  places  them  in  a 
forcing  house,  cannot  expect  good  results,  but  if  they  are  placed  in  a 
cool  house  in  March  the  finest  ot  blooms  may  be  obtained  a  few  weeks 
in  advance  of  those  grown  in  the  open  air. 
Those  who  wish  to  have  abundance  of  good  Roses  in  pots  during 
next  April  and  May  should  adopt  the  following  plan.  Early  in 
November  procure  strong  dwarfs  lifted  from  the  open  air;  pot  them 
in  6-inch  pots,  and  plunge  over  the  rim  pots  in  the  open  air.  The 
compost  I  use  is  one  formed  of  three  parts  rather  stiff  loam,  one  of 
horse  droppings  (prepared  as  for  a  Mushroom  bed)  with  a  6-inch 
potful  of  bonemeal  added  to  each  barrowload.  The  compost  should 
be  used  in  a  fairly  dry  state,  be  rammed  firmly,  and  the  plants  be 
thoroughly  watered  once  before  they  are  plunged.  About  the  middle 
of  February  cut  the  shoots  on  half  the  number  of  plants  hard  back, 
and  remove  the  plants  to  a  cool  structure,  where  they  can  be  brought 
on  gradually.  A  month  later  treat  the  remaining  plants  in  the  same 
way,  then  with  due  attention  to  watering  and  feeding  occasionally 
with  top-dressings  of  artificial  manure,  fine  blooms  may  be  obtained. 
Early  in  June  plunge  the  whole  collection  in  ashes  in  the  open  air, 
and  throughout  the  summer  pay  due  attention  to  watering,  feeding, 
and  syringing,  but  no  repotting  will  be  required  next  season.  Such 
plants  may,  if  necessary,  be  forced  early  during  the  following  winter, 
and  during  the  succeeding  June  or  July  they  will  need  repotting. 
After  that  operation  has  been  performed  they  ought  to  be  shaded  with 
canvas,  or  placed  in  a  shady  position  for  a  few  weeks  to  insure  the 
production  of  strong  clean  growths.  Anyone  who  will  put  the  above 
simple  ideas  into  practice  will,  I  am  sure,  be  satisfied  with  the  result. 
Two  cardinal  points  which  should  he  kept  constantly  in  view  and 
acted  upcn  are,  first  get  plenty  of  active  roots,  then  feed  regularly 
with  artificial  and  other  liquid  manures. 
Instead  of  growing  a  large  number  of  varieties  I  find  it  best  to 
select  a  few  really  good  ones  and  grow  them  largely,  and  the  following 
may  be  relied  upon  for  pot  work  : — H.P.’s,  Mrs.  J.  Laing,  La  France, 
Baroness  Rothschild,  Mme.  Gabriel  Luizet,  Merveille  de  Lyon  ;  all 
the  above  are  pink  or  rose  in  colour.  The  following  are  good  red  or 
crimson  Borts  :  —  General  Jacqueminot,  Alfred  Colomb,  Earl  of 
Pembroke,  Grand  Mogul,  Duke  of  Edinburgh, tMdlle.  Annie  Wood,  and 
Duke  of  Albany.  Teas — Catherine  Mermet,  Grace  Darling,  Hon. 
Edith  Gifford,  Isabella  Sprunt,  Kaiserin  Friedrich,  Mme.  Lambard, 
Niphetos,  Perle  des  Jardins  and  Souvenir  de  S.  A.  Prince. — D.  K,  N.  i 
He  Oldest  Flower, 
There  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Rose  is  the  oldest 
flower  of  which  there  is  any  record ;  so  great  is  its  antiquity  that  all 
account  of  its  origin  has  been  lost.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
biblical  writings  earlier  than  the  reign  of  Solomon,  but  the  allusion  to 
it  then  made  is  such  as  to  indicate  that  the  flower  had  already  long 
been  known.  In  Egypt  the  Rose  is  depicted  on  a  number  of  very 
early  monuments,  believed  to  date  from  3000  to  3500  B.C.,  and  in 
the  tomb  of  an  Egyptian  princess,  disinterred  a  year  ago  in  southern 
Egypt,  several  hermetically  sealed  vials  were  found,  which,  when 
opened,  contained  genuine  attar  of  Roses,  so  that  the  modern  claims 
for  the  discovery  of  this  delicious  perfume  are  vain.  Rose  water,  or 
the  essence  of  Roses,  is  mentioned  by  Homer  in  the  “  Iliad.”  Both 
the  Greeks  and  Hebrews  probably  borrowed  the  idea  of  its  manufacture 
from  the  Egyptians,  and  these,  for  aught  anybody  can  tell,  may  have 
had  it  from  the  Chinese.  The  Rose  is  a  flower  that  is  supposed  by 
the  people  of  every  land  to  be  so  well  known  as  to  need  no  description 
and  hardly  mention,  for  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  every  continent  on 
the  globe,  with  the  solitary  exception  of  Australia,  produces  wild  Roses. 
Even  the  frozen  regions  of  the  north,  where  the  summer  heat  lasts  but 
two  or  three  months,  and  is  at  best  a  season  which  may  be  described 
as  very  late  in  the  autumn,  produce  their  wild  Roses,  and  travellers 
through  Greenland,  Kamchatka,  and  northern  Siberia  found,  in  the 
proper  season,  an  abundance  of  blossoms,  while  the  crews  of  whaling 
vessels  which  call  at  Spitzbergen  usually  come  off  shore  with 
bouquets  of  the  native  Spitzbergen  Rose. 
- - 
Societies. 
Royal  Horticultural,  Drill  Hall,  August  13tli. 
A  brilliant  display  of  flowers  was  brought  together  in  the  Drill 
Hall  on  Tuesday  last.  The  major  portion  of  the  exhibition  came  with 
the  floral  section,  Gladioli,  Begonias,  and  Dahlias  contributing  largely 
to  the  beauty  of  the  show.  Orchids  were  few  in  numbers ;  Messrs. 
J.  Veitch  &  Sons  were  the  only  exhibitors  in  this  section,  sending  about 
a  dozen  plants.  The  finest  exhibit  in  the  fruit  section  was  the  collection 
from  Mr.  G.  Keif,  Regent’s  Park,  which  was  remarkable  from  the  faot 
that  all  the  specimens  were  grown  within  two  miles  of  Charing  Cross. 
Fruit  Committee. 
Present  :  G.  Bunyard,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ;  with  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks, 
and  Messrs.  J.  Cheal,  W.  Bates,  W.  Farr,  S.  Mortimer,  A.  Dean,  W.  Pope, 
G.  Keif,  H.  Markham,  G.  Woodward,  F.  Q.  Lane,  J.  H.  Veitch,  W. 
Poupart,  J.  Willard,  and  G.  Reynolds. 
Mr.  Geo.  Keif,  gardener  to  Miss  Adamson,  South  Villa,  Regent’s 
Park,  contributed  a  collection  of  twenty-eight  dishes  of  fruit.  The 
table  was  rendered  additionally  attractive  by  the  aid  of  small  Cocos 
and  Crotons.  The  specimens  proved  admirable  culture  under  conditions 
that  are  by  no  means  favourable  to  gardening.  Amongst  others  we 
noted  Grapes  Buckland  Sweetwater,  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  Foster’s 
Seedling,  and  Black  Hamburgh  ;  Peaches  Bellegarde  and  Barrington ; 
Nectarine  Early  Rivers ;  Melons  Ringleader,  Frogmore  Scarlet.,  and 
Hero  of  Lockinge ;  Cherries  Morello ;  Plums  Jefferson,  Early  Trans¬ 
parent  Gage,  Golden  Gage,  Reine  Claude  de  Comte  Althann,  and  Kirke’s ; 
and  Tomatoes  Sunbeam  and  Diamond  Jubilee. 
Messrs.  W.  Ray  &  Co.,  Teynham,  Kent,  contributed  several  boxes 
of  the  grand  late  black  Cherry  Noble,  which  is  fast  gaining  in  favour. 
From  Messrs.  Cross  &  Son,  Wisbech,  came  very  fine  fruits  of  Apple 
Early  Victoria.  Messrs.  Kelway  &  Son,  Langport,  sent  fruits  of  the 
Japanese  Honey  Berry.  A  collection  of  Peas  was  shown  by  Mr.  B. 
Lockwood,  gardener  to  Alderman  A.  Walker;  there  were  eighteen 
dishes  in  all,  of  which  The  Gladstone,  Lichfield  Hero,  Hartforth  Success, 
Sutton’s  Perfection,  Daisy,  Phonograph,  Glory  of  Devon,  Duke  of 
Albany,  and  Carter’s  Seedling  were  the  best.  Messrs.  Barr  &  Sons, 
King  Street,  Covent  Garden,  staged  Cabbages  Best  of  All  and  Little 
Queen;  while  Messrs.  Nutting  &  Sons,  106,  Southwark  Street,  staged 
Cabbage  Prince’s  Improved  Nonpareil.  Messrs.  Sharpe  &  Co.,  Sleaford, 
were  represented  by  Potato  Express ;  Messrs.  Dickson  &  Robinson, 
Manchester,  by  Potato  Early  Jubilee;  and  Mr.  R.  D.  Hughes,  Middle 
Lane,  Denbigh,  by  Potato  Glory  of  Denbigh.  Mr.  A.  Dean,  62,  Rich¬ 
mond  Road,  Kingston-on-Thames,  showed  Dwarf  Beans  Smythe’s 
Fawn  and  Surrey  Prolific. 
Some  handsome  roots  of  Beet  Dobbies’  Selected  New  Purple  were 
staged  by  Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co.,  Rothesay.  Apple  trees  in  pots  made 
quite  a  feature  of  the  exhibition.  They  had  been  sent  by  Messrs. 
H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  Swanley,  and  were  well  fruited.  The  varieties 
comprised  Bismarck,  Wellington,  Lady  Sudeley,  Devonshire  Quarrenden, 
