28 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  8,  1903. 
Roses  in  the  isle  of  Wight. 
From  this  delightful  little  southern  island  we  lately  re¬ 
ceived  a  pamphlet  entitled,  “  The  Selection  of  Roses  for  a 
Garden,”  being  a  paper  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight  Horticultural  Improvement  Association,  on  June  6, 
1896  (revised  November,  1902),  by  the  Rev.  (j.  E.  Jeans, 
M.A.,  F.S.A.,  Vicar  of  Shorwell  and  Rector  of  Mottiston. 
Mr.  Jeans  deals  chiefly  with  Roses  as  they  behave  in  the 
Island,  and  the  passage  which  we  quote  hereunder  is  a 
sample  of  his  interesting  and  useful  essay.  He  says  : 
“  The  most  delicate  Teas  can  indeed  be  grown  amongst 
us  with  a  very  little  care  (especially  under  eaves  which 
keep  off  the  rain  from  the  blooms  while  letting  it  reach  the 
roots),  easily  enough  to  drive  a  northern  or  eastern  grower 
Avild  Avith  envy.  On  several  cottages  in  my  parish  Marechal 
Niel,  which  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful,  and  therefore, 
also,  one  of  the  tenderest  of  Roses,  is  freely  grown,  and 
sometimes  of  magnificent  size  and  shape.  And  a  lady, 
from  a  bud  Avhich  I  gave  her,  grew  under  the  shadow  of  her 
thatch  a  fine  plant  of  that  exquisite  Rose,  Madame  de 
Watteville,  with  blooms  Avhich  I,  haAung  no  such  wall, 
never  was  able  to  rival. 
“  On  the  other  hand,  Ave  must  remember  that  the  very 
same  reasons  which  make  our  situation  so  favourable  for 
many  of  the  most  beautiful  and  most  delicate  of  Teas  are 
just  as  distinctly  unfavourable  for  many  much  hardier 
Roses,  Avhich  need  a  drier  climate.  Of  some  Roses  I  have 
never  once  obtained  even  a  decent  bloom,  even  in  the  hot, 
dry  summers  that  we  have  had,  as  in  1893.  In  my  part,  at 
any  rate,  however  Avarm  the  summer,  there  are  always 
morning  mists  from  the  sea,  Avhich  most  Roses  revel  in, 
and  so  indeed,  as  to  foliage,  do  such  Roses  as  Etoile  de 
Lyon  and  La  Boule  d’Or ;  but  they  aauII  not  unfold  a  decent 
bloom.  The  tendency  to  ‘  gum  ’  is  not  confined  to  Teas, 
though  principally  found  among  them.  That  noble  but 
rather  difficult  Rose,  Horace  Vernet,  and  still  more  the  fine 
dark  Roses,  Reynolds  Hole,  Eclair,  and  Earl  of  Dufferin, 
are  certainly  made  unsuitable  thus  for  a  selection  to  begin 
AAuth.  Ancl  the  principle  Avhich  AA^e  come  to,  both  for 
choosing  and  for  avoiding — so  soon  as  Ave  are  come  to  years 
of  Rose  discretion — is  this  tolerably  obvious  one,  that  we 
should  take  the  sorts  Avhich  by  general  agreement  are  the 
strongest,  the  most  constant,  and  the  easiest  to  grow  to 
their  perfection  of  bloom,  modifying  the  general  choice  by 
the  local  circumstance  of  a  mild  moist  climate,  Avhich  highly 
favours  some  Roses,  and  is  highly  unsuitable  for  others. 
“  Again,  an  obvious  and  important  principle,  Avhich  is 
nevertheless  scarcely  brought  out  sufficiently  in  lists  of 
Roses,  is  their  time  of  blooming.  Of  course,  this  principally 
affects  anyone  Avho  groAvs  for  exhibition,  but  that  practi¬ 
cally  means  everyone  who  grows  good  Roses.  When  any¬ 
one  tells  you  Avith  an  air  of  superior  virtue  that  he  does  not 
care  to  exhibit  his  Roses,  you  may  be  sure  that  they  are 
not  Avorth  exhibiting.  Directly  he  thinks  that  his  Roses 
are  really  good — not  merely  a  fine  mass,  but  good  indi¬ 
vidually — he  will  Avant  other  people  to  see  them  ;  indeed, 
it  Avould  be  selfish,  not  virtuous,  if  he  did  not  do  so  ;  and 
Avhen  they  come  to  the  exhibition  table,  the  OAvner  finds 
that  it  is  a  very  different  test  from  the  in’esponsible  auto¬ 
cracy  of  his  own  garden.  The  Roses  to  be  selected  should 
therefore  come  mainly,  though  not  entirely,  from  the  ex¬ 
hibition  list ;  and  the  OAA'ner,  if  he  is  a  sensible  man,  Avill 
consider  his  prospects  for  exhibiting  if  he  gets  a  convenient 
chance  Avithin  reach,  as  everybody  in  the  Island  now  annu¬ 
ally  has.  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  the  Crimson 
Rambler,  William  Allen  Richardson,  or  the  lovely  singles 
that  have  been  much  favoured  of  late,  are  to  be  snubbed 
or  treated  as  poor  relations  ;  but  only  that  they  are  the 
decorative  fringe,  Avhile  the  main  staple  of  the  Rose  garden 
ought  to  be  of  exhibition  sorts,  many  of  which  are  just  as 
hardy  as  the  commonest  ‘  Garden  ’  Roses,  and  only  differ 
from  them  in  having  fine  indi\udual  blooms.” 
Mr.  Jeans’  essay  concludes  Avith  Avell  chosen  lists  of 
varieties  for  small  gardens.  This  little  publication  is 
issued  to  all  the  members  of  the  I.W.  Rose  Society. 
Members  can  obtain  additional  copies  at  6d.  a  copy. 
FRUIT  NOTES. 
Steady  progress,  even  Avith  plants  that  are  to  give  fruit  at  a 
stated  time,  is  important,  for  any  hurrying  may  result'  in  a  bad 
set  and  ill-shapen  fruits.  A  temperature  of  bOdeg  to  55deg  is 
ample  for  those  started  in  December,  that  not  being  exceeded  on 
dull  days,  Arhen  the  day  and  night  temperature  vary  little,  and 
60dcg  to  65deg  in  the  daytime,  Avuth  gleams  of  sun,  up  to  70deg 
to  75deg  with  bright  sun,  will  bring  the  plants  on  quite  fast 
enough  for  insuring  a  satisfactory  result.  Ventilate  Avhenever 
there  is  a  chance;  the  trusses  rise  boldest  and  the  flowers  are 
strongest  when  the  plants  have  the  foliage  sturdily  formed,  and 
that  elaborates  more  food  and  is  healthier  than  draAvn  and  thin. 
Close  atmosphere  induces  soft  tissues,  Aveakly  oi'gans  of  fructifica¬ 
tion,  imperfect  sets,  and  deformed,  ill-shapen  fruits.  La 
Grosse  Sucree,  however,  seems  to  do  better  in  moister  atmo¬ 
sphere  than  most  varieties;  even  Black  Prince  does  not  mildcAv 
Avhen  it  is  syringed,  or  when  a  little  Avashing  .soda  is  used  in  the 
Avater,  a  2  per  cent,  solution^ — 21b  AAashing  soda  to  10  gallons  of 
Avater — in  case  of  attack  being  effective  against  the  mildew, 
Oidium  balsami.  A  little  sulphur  on  the  hot-Avater  pipes  in  good 
time  gives  off  fumes  fatal  to  mildeAv  growths. 
Perhaps  the  Avorst  plague  to  Strawberries  in  pots  is  aphis. 
This  passes  the  winter  in  the  egg  state  as  little  black  specks  on 
the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  and  start  into  life  directly  the 
groAvth  takes  place  in  the  buds.  Therefore  keep  a  sharp  look-out 
and  fumigate  with  tobacco  or  vaporise  Avith  nicotine  directly  the 
first  is  .seen,  and  repeat  at  intervals,  for  it  does  not  answer  to 
do  either  after  the  blossoms  appear,  repeating  occasionally  until 
the  pests  are  annihilated. 
Introduce  morel  plants  to  shelves  in  Peach  houses  or  vinerie.9 
started  about  this  time.  Rectify  the  drainage,  remove  moss  or 
other  matter  from  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  Avash  the  pots 
clean.  Surja^  dress  Avith  an  approved  fertiliser  mixed  Avith  a 
little  thoroughly  decayed  manure  rubbed  through  a  sieve.  There 
is  nothing  better  than  a  quart  of  soot  and  a  similar  amount  of 
superpho.sphate  mixed  with  a  bushel  of  turfy  loam,  or  blood 
manure  (blood  dried  and  ground  to  powder),  Avood  ashes,  and 
superphosphate  in  equal  quantities,  and  similar  amount  of  the 
last-named  mixed  Avith  loam,  are  excellent  for  stimulating  groAvth. 
Royal  Sovereign  is  a  good  variety  for  introducing  noAv,  also 
Noble  and  Auguste  Nicaise,  these  producing  large  fruit,  and  are 
very  prolific;  President,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  James  Veitch,  and 
Sir  Charles  Napier  may  also  be  introduced  noAV  ;  but  to  maintain 
the  succession  plants  of  La  Grosse  Sucree  or  Vicomtesse  Hericart 
de  Thury  should  be  introduced  at  the  same  time.  Lucas  is  one 
of  the  best  forcing  Strawberries,  and  the  quality  is  unsuiqiassed. 
— G.  A. 
- - 
ROSSDHU,  DUMBARTONSHIRE. 
This  is  the  seat  of  the  Colquhouns,  of  Rossdhu  and  Luss,  a 
family  who  have  retained  possession  for  over  700  years.  It  is 
a  lovely  place.  The  mansion  is  situated  on  a  promontory  pro- 
rounded  with  its  Avaters,  Avhilei  the  lake  itself  is  in  turn  en¬ 
compassed  with  scenery  of  the  mo.st  sublime  character,  the  lofty 
rounded  with  scenery  of  the  most  sublime  character,  the  lofty 
and  everlasting  hills  of  which  Ben  Lomond  forms  a  very  con- 
.spicuous  part'.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  situated  on  the 
western  .shores  of  the  loch,  near  the  village  of  Luss,  and,  on 
account  of  the  nature  of  the  surroundings,  is  sheltered  from 
every  wind  that  blows. 
The  present  proprietor  is  Sir  James  Colquhoun,  of  Colquhoun 
and  Luss,  Barti.  The  policies  contain  over  1,000  acres,  Avhile  the 
carriage  drives  to  and  from  the  mansion  aggregate  the  tidy 
length  of  five  miles,  and  the  policies  stretch  along  the  banks 
of  the  loch,  unquestionably  combining  a  gi'andeur  of  scenery 
without  compeer.  As  would  be  expected  in  a  place,  having  an 
unbroken  dynasty  of  such  length  that  its  origin  brings  us  face 
to  face  with  antiquity,  much  is  about  it  that  is,  therefore,  ex¬ 
tremely  intere.sting. 
Near  the  present  mansion  stand  the  fo'Ur  Avails  of  an  ancient 
chapel,  which  contains  the  ashes  of  the  family  for  seven  centuries. 
Tlie  present  house  is  200  years  old,  and  in  its  vicinity  is  a.  well- 
preserved  relic  of  the  former,  Avhich,  from  appearance,  must 
have  existed  for  at  least  tAvice  that  number  of  years. 
There  are  very  remarkable  specimens  of  trees  in  the  policies. 
A  Yew  tree,  12ft  in  circumference,  7ft  to  8ft  of  a  olen.n  stem, 
must  be  an  extraordinary  age.  Several  SilA'er  Firs,  130ft  high, 
and  6ft  in  circumference ;  and  a  specimen  of  Abies  Douglas!  is 
over  100ft  higli.  A  rugged  specimen  of  Pinus  montana,  said 
to  be  the  finest  in  Scotland,  is  interesting.  Oaks,  Beeches, 
Ashes,  and  the  finer  Coniferse  are  well  represented.  All  appear 
to  thrive  exceedingly  w’ell. 
The  Liriodendron  tulinifera.  .flo Avers  every  year.  Catalpa 
syringsefolia  succeeds  well  here  also.  Wellingtonia.s.  Araucarias. 
Abies,  Piceas,  and  other  species  indicate  the  suitability  of  soil 
and  climate  of  the  place  for  such.  Mr.  Macpherson  is  Sir  JauAcs’ 
1  head  gardener. — D.  C. 
