November  27,  19C2.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
493 
Rose  Analysis:  Bessie  Brown,  H.T. 
Readers  of  the  Journal,  seeking  to  learn  from  Mr.  Mawley’s 
painstaking  analysis  the  best  Roses  to  plant  in  their  gardens, 
should  not  he  led  astray  by  the  premier  position  occupied  by 
Bessie  Brown  in  the  long  list  of  exhibition  H.P.’s  and  H.T.’s,  to 
plant  it  largely  for  any  other  purpose.  It  is  an  indispensable 
and  most  reliable  Rose  for  exhibition,  but  is  almost  useless  for 
the  general  grower.  This  is  not  because  it  is  delicate,  weak  in 
growth,  difficult  to  manage,  or  shy  in  flowering,  for  it  has  none 
of  these  faults;  but  simply  because  it  hangs  its  head  so  much 
that  it  cannot  be  seen  or  admired  unless  the  stem  is  wired.  It 
is  very  much  in  its  favour  that  it  is  possible  to  wire  the  stem. 
There  are  several  Tea  Roses  which  are  apt  to  have  crooked 
flower-stalks,  the  weight  of  the  bud  dragging  it  down  while  the 
stalk  is  yet  pliable,  and  most  of  these  have  stiffened  and  hardened 
in  their  crooked  state  by  the  time  the  flower  is  fit  to  be  cut, 
and  then  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  wire  them  at  all.  Marechal 
Niel  is  an  offender  in  this  respect,  and  Empress  Alexandra  of 
Russia  is  the  worst  Rose  I  know  for  crookedness  of  flower-stalk. 
The  stalk  of  Bessie  Brown,  however,  immediately  below  the 
seed-vessel,  remains  pliable  to  the  last,  and  offers  but  little 
difficulty  to  the  anxious  and  hurried  exhibitor.  Nevertheless, 
the  pendant  flower  very  much  detracts  from  its  value  for  the 
ordinary  cultivator.  It  does  not  matter  so  much  with  small 
garden  Roses,  of  which  you  gather  a  bunch  in  all  stages,  and 
which  are  more  dependent  for  beauty  on  their  habit  and  colour 
than  on  the  form  of  the  individual  blooms,-  if  at  certain  stages 
cf  development  they  do  hang  their  heads.  But  Bessie  Brown 
is  a  very  large  fine  bloom,  whose  beauty  does  depend  upon  its 
splendid  form;  the  outer  petals  are  likely  to  be  somewhat  dis¬ 
coloured,  and  if  you  cannot  see  its  “  face  ”  the  beauty  is  lost. 
We  dt)  not  want  to  have  to  wire  blooms  on  the  tree,  or  even 
in  vases;  and  so,  though  I  hardly  like  to  describe  Bessie  Brown 
as  “  purely  an  exhibition  Rose,”  I  should  strongly  advise  those 
who  do  not  grow  for  exhibition  not  to  plant  too  many  of  it. 
Mrs.  John  Laing,  H.P.,  though  second  to  it  in  the  analysis, 
is  fifty  points  ahead  of  it  at  least  in  value,  for  general  use. 
Another  H.T.,  Marquise  Litta,  which  holds  the  high  position  of 
seventh  in  the  analysis,  is  a  difficult  Rose  to  show  well.  Several 
times  last  season  I  saw  it  as  quite  the  worst  flower  in  the  stand. 
It  is  very  beautiful  when  quite  young,  but  is  apt  very  soon  to 
become  coarse  in  colour  as  well  as  form. 
Another  H.T.,  Killarney.  which  deservedly  occupies  a  good 
place  at  No.  29,  is  a.  good  show  Rose  of  quite  first-class  form. 
This  is  one  of  the  very  few  Roses  which,  sent  out  as-“  garden,” 
have  proved  to  be  good  show  Roses.  There  are  plenty  of 
examples  of  the  converse.  It  is  not  a  good  garden  Rose,  and  does 
not  appear  in  the  analysis  of  that  class,  at  all ;  so  we  may  hope 
that  when  the  new  N.R.S.  catalogue  is  issued,  it  may  be  removed 
to  its  proper  division. 
None  of  the  above  remarks  are  intended  as  criticisms  on  Mr. 
Mawley’s  analysis,  which  only  shows,  and,  no  doubt,  quite  cor¬ 
rectly,  the  number  of  times  each  variety  has  been  shown  at 
exhibitions  of  the  National  Rose  Society.  They  are  only  meant 
to  prevent  one  or  two  wrong  lessons  being  learnt  from  it. — W.  R. 
Raillem.  » 
Irish  Rosarians. 
Will  you  kindly  permit  a  twenty  years’  correspondent  of  the 
Journal  to  express  the  pleasure  felt  in  seeing  the  portrait  of  an 
old  friend,  Mr.  George  Dickson,  sen.  (page  474),  and  the  accom¬ 
panying  kindly  references  last  issue.  Irishmen  specially,  north 
and  south,  feel  a  legitimate  pride  in  a  firm  that  has  sent  out 
fifty  new  Roses,  vide  last  issue  of  their  catalogue;  and  as  the 
very  interesting  Rose  analysis  of  Mr.  Mawley  shows  (page  463), 
fourteen  of  those,  Hybrid  Perpetuals  and  Hybrid  Teas,  are 
actually  among  the  sixty-six  finest  and  most  generally  grown 
Roses  in  the  world;  and  a  similar  proportion  among  Teas  and 
Noisettes.  When  visiting  Messrs.  Dickson’s  nurseries  some  years 
ago,  I  ascertained  that  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  their  hybridised 
seedlings  can  pass  the  trial  before  being  sent  out.;  and  this 
gives  an  idea  of  the  labour  and  care  involved. — W.  J.  Murphy, 
Clonmel. 
New  Roses  from  Lyons. 
Perle  des  Neiges. — A  Polyantha  Rambler,  having  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  Crimson  Rambler,  but  with  white  flowers — a  very  re¬ 
markable  plant.  The  foliage  and  habit  are  identical ;  its  pecti¬ 
nate  stipules  indicate  its  origin.  This  variety  is  extremely 
floriferous,  and  bears  corymbs  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
flowers  till  late  in  the  season.  The  blossoms  are  June  blancheur 
cclatante — a  spotless,  dazzling  white,  and  expand  well.  This 
variety  was  awarded  a  first-class  certificate  of  the  Lyons  Horti¬ 
cultural  Association  on  October  19,  1902. 
Belle  Capricieuse. — A  Tea,  of  medium  height  in  growth, 
and  having  bright  green  foliage.  The  flowers  are  perfectly 
double,  odorous,  opening  easily  and  well,  the  petals  thick,  coloured 
salmon-yellow  above,  and  a  rose  shade  on  the  reverse ;  the  centre 
of  the  flower,  when  fully  developed,  is  rose-peach.  A  variety 
cf  the  first  order.  The  beautiful  variety  Madame  Martignior, 
which  has  received  many  awards  this  year,  will  be  sent  out  this 
autumn,  along  with  the  two  above  named,  by  M.  F.  Dubreuil, 
Rose  Grower,  Route  de  Grenoble,  146,  a  Monplaisir-Lyon. — 
(From  “  L’Horticulteur  Nouvelle.”) 
Pruning  Fruit  Trees  After  Planting. 
The  question  regarding  the  pruning  back  of  fruit  trees  after 
planting  is  one  that  has  often  puzzled  a  considerable  number  of 
people.  Some  advocate  planting  and  not  pruning  the  first  year, 
while  others  pin  their  faith  on  shortening  back  the  first  season. 
For  my  part,  I  consider  the  latter  the  best  practice. 
Why?  I  will  endeavour  to  explain  the  principles  on  which 
this  practice  is  founded,  and  leave  it  to  the  reader  to  judge  as  to- 
whether  it  convincingly  appeals  to  his  reason.  I  will  deal  only 
with  young  and  easily  portable  trees,  because  these  are  the  kind' 
of  trees  which  are  the  most  frequently  planted  to  form  fresh 
plantations.  When  a  young  tree  is  dug  up  from  the  soil  in 
which  it  has  been  growing  for  a  considerable  time,  it  is  seldom 
that  it  can  be  removed  with  the  full  complement  of  roots  that  it 
possessed  previously.  The  utmost  care  may  be  exercised  in  lift¬ 
ing,  but  it  is  certain  that  a  number  of  roots  will  be  broken  in 
the  process,  especially  if  they  are  thick  roots,  and  extend  to  a 
distance.  Fibrous  roots  lift  readily  because  they  are  short, 
slender,  and  numerous,  and  are  far  the  best ;  but  it  is  net 
possible  to  ensure  them  in  quantity  on  young  trees  without 
special  treatment  for  a  few  years  in  lifting  and  replanting.  The 
majority  of  trees,  therefore,  for  planting  have  a  reduced  root, 
system,  owing  to  breakage  in  lifting,  and  further  reduction  by 
the  necessary  pruning  back  of  the  damaged  roots. 
It  will  be'  seen  that  the  roots  and  branches  are  unevenly 
balanced,  and  according  to  the  extent  of  root  pruning  so  should 
the  branches  be  dealt  with.  The  less  fibrous  roots  a  tree  has, 
the  closer  the  pruning  should  be.  Trees  with  sparsely  furnished 
root  systems  require  time  to  rebuild ;  consequently  the  energy 
which  must  first  of  all  be  utilised  in  recruiting  the  root  power 
is  not  sufficient  to  induce  vigorous  growth  over  the  whole-  of  the 
original  extent  of  branches,  hence  the  desirability  of  shortening 
back.  Pruning  after  planting  does  not  necessarily  mean  imme¬ 
diate  pruning,  but  before  growths  push  in  spring.  It  is  always 
necessary  to  cut  away  unripe  points  of  shoots,  and  this  may  be 
done  before  or  just  after  planting ;  but  the  main  pruning  of 
newly  planted  fruit  trees  should  be  carried  out  just  before  the 
buds  push  in  spring  strongly,  so  that  it  can  be  seen  where  it  is 
likely  that  the  most  promising  shoots  can  be  originated. 
The  advocates  of  non-pruning  the  first  year  say  that  the 
greater  extent  of  leaf  surface  will  increase  the  root  power,  and 
when  the  trees  are  shortened  back  the  following  year  much- 
better  growth  will  result  than  if  similar  pruning  was  done  the* 
first  year.  This,  however,  docs  not  necessarily  follow,  as  if  the 
roots  are  weak,  energy  will  not  be  transferred  over  the  whole 
branch  system,  and  growths  will  either  be  weakly  or  die  back. 
This  is  an  effort  of  the  trees  to  adjust  themselves  to  altered  cir¬ 
cumstances.  By  pruning  back  the'  first  year  they  are  assisted  to 
grow  evenly  and  well  balanced,  and  are  in  the  right  way  to 
become  fruitful  in  future  years. 
The  general  rule  for  pruning  back  the  first  season  is  to 
shorten  to  onerthird  or  less,  according  as  to  whether1  vigorous 
growths  are  wanted  to  multiply  branches.  In  reply  to 
“  Observer,”  on  page  450,  Cob  Nuts  should  be  cut  back  after 
planting,  supposing  the  plant  has  a  single  stem,  2ft  or  30in  high. 
Shorten  to  18in,  and  select  half  a.  dozen  of  the  growths  that 
push,  which  train  at  equal  distances  to  form  the  tree. — E.  D.  S, 
- «  «  c  o-  • - - 
Webster's  Forester's  Diary. 
This  book,  which  is  neatly  bound  in  limp  leather,  and  con¬ 
tains  half  a  page  of  separate  writing  space  for  each  day  of  the 
year,  with  marker  and  note-tablet,  is  made  additionally  valuable 
by  a  complete  list  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  all  foresters 
throughout  the  United  Kingdom.  Special  information  is  supplied 
within  the  scope  of  its  pages  on  thirty-nine  subjects  of  par¬ 
ticular  interest  to  a rb or i cultural  circles.  It  is  published  by 
William  Rider  and  Son,  Limited,  Timber  Trades  Journal  Office, 
164,  Aldersgate  Street,  London,  E.C.,  price  2s.  Cd.  net. 
