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ROSES

SUMMER MEETING

HORTICULTURAL GOSSIP. III.

EXPERIMENTS WITH THE GRAPE VINE FLEA-BEETLE

TREE ROSES AND WEEPING ROSES

In the very midst of the wealth of bloom with which we are surrounded, the scent of the roses wafted to us on every passing breeze, it seems exceedingly appropriate to enjoy a little talk with our readers about roses. There is no need to tell of their beauty. Acknowledged to be the queen of the flowers, the rose holds a position of pre-eminence that requires no words of praise from us to establish; ours shall be the humbler task to tell her admirers how best to care for their favorite, so that she may be able to put on her royal apparel, and come forth in all her loveliness.

There is required for the growing of roses in their perfection a something that is not to be found in books. “Poets are born, not made” it is said, and there is somewhat of the same truth in this matter of growing roses. The perfection of the art is the outcome of a devotion that ever burns but never consumes. Deep down in the secret chambers of the heart it is continually glowing, and when to other eyes the rose is no longer a thing of beauty, in the days of the “sere and yellow leaf,” it waits tenderly and lovingly upon the object of its devotion. To such care she most generously responds, arraying herself in gorgeous beauty, putting on her most lovely tints and beaming with most bewitching smiles.

We have some obstacles to overcome in the cultivation of the rose which are quite unknown to her devotees in England. Our mid-summer suns are so scorchingly hot that our roses soon lose the richness of their fresh tints. To enjoy the full beauty of the rose, to see it in the freshness of its coloring, while the delicacy of the tints is yet unimpaired, one should stroll through the rose grounds at sunrise, before the dew-drops are exhaled, and see the flowers unfolding to the morning light. Could we shade our roses from about ten o’clock of the morning until four in the afternoon, the lustre of their beauty would be preserved much longer. But that is almost an impossibility in our latitude, where the sun at mid-day is so nearly vertical. The best thing we can do is to cover the ground over their roots with a thick mulch, so as to keep it moist and cool. Again, the severity of our winters is very trying to our rose trees. Usually the shoots are more or less killed back, so that they require to be cut down in spring almost or quite to the ground. Some protection can be given to them by sticking evergreen boughs around them, so as to hide the rose trees from sight during the winter, while other kinds that are tenderer must be taken up in the fall and heeled-in in the cellar, where they will not be exposed to much frost. Yet, notwithstanding all these difficulties, we can grow roses of great beauty, and that too in the full blaze of our vertical sun, and fully exposed to the severity of our winter frosts.

It is very desirable to have a strong soil in which to grow roses, a rich clayey loam is the very best. And this should be well enriched every year, indeed there seems no danger of making it too rich. An excellent fertilizer is made by composting sods from an old pasture with barnyard manure in about equal quantities. And the ground should be well drained, not merely on the surface, but the sub-soil, if tenacious and wet, should be thoroughly relieved of all surplus water by means of sub-soil drains, having a good outlet, so as to carry off the water rapidly and fully. Nevertheless, where clay loam soil cannot be conveniently had, cultivation and liberal fertilizing will largely compensate for its absence, indeed some of the finest roses have been grown on a sandy loam which had been stirred to a good depth and liberally supplied with compost, the best of all composts that of the farm-yard, where the sweepings from the stable are mingled with the litter of the bedding, and thrown out to be trampled by the cattle, and worked over by the pigs.

The planting may be done either in the fall or spring, as may be most convenient; and whatever time it may be done, after it is completed, the surface should be deeply mulched with a heavy covering of strawy manure, thick enough to keep the ground cool and moist in the hot days of summer, or to keep out the frost in the cold winter nights. If the trees are on their own roots, that is, have not been budded nor grafted, they should be planted so as to stand at the same depth in the ground as before, when the soil has become settled. But if they have been grafted or budded upon another stock, the rose trees should be planted deep enough to bring the point of union two or three inches below the surface. This is desirable for several reasons, but especially that in case the plant is killed back by unusually severe frosts quite to the ground the tree might not be wholly lost, which would be the case if the point of union with the stock be above the ground; for though sprouts might come up from the stock, the roses that would appear would not be the roses desired; whereas, if the union be a few inches below the surface, there is a possibility that a sprout may be thrown up from the part above the union, and thus the desired variety preserved.

In pruning roses, attention must be given to the habit of the variety. Those of a very vigorous habit should be moderately pruned, for if they are severely cut back they will make a large growth of wood, and give but little bloom. But those which naturally grow feebly should be cut back more severely, so that the supply of sap may be sufficient to make the flower-buds that are left grow vigorously, and the roses to be fully developed. The form best suited to our climate is that of a low bush, for the cold of our winters and the heat of our summers bear very injuriously upon tall standards or tree-roses. For this reason it is a waste of money to buy these tree roses and weeping roses which are sold through the country at from three to five dollars each. They are produced by grafting upon tall stems of the Dog-rose, but in two or three years, at best, they succumb to the peculiar extremes of our climate. The so-called Weeping roses, are made by grafting some slender growing variety, sometimes two or three sorts of different colors, upon tall Dog-roses, and frequently the sorts that are grafted upon them are tender varieties, wholly unable to endure our winters; and if they live through the first summer are sure to perish during the first winter, unless carefully housed on the approach of winter.

The rose has also some insect enemies that will require to be watched and treated according to their works. One of the most annoying and injurious is the Rose-slug. It is a small light-green shiny creature that eats the soft green portions of the leaves, so that they have almost the appearance of having been skeletonized, making the rose-bush look brown and very unsightly. The Slug usually makes it appearance as the roses are beginning to bloom, preying first upon the more concealed leaves near the ground, and ascending as its food is exhausted to the higher branches; and as the number is usually very great, in a short time the leaves are all destroyed. The writer has found white hellebore, applied by putting a large table-spoonful into a pail of water, and sprinkling the rose bushes with the water by means of an ordinary watering can, a sure means of destroying them. It is perhaps a better plan to stir a handful of the hellebore into a pail of water and allow it to stand over night until the next evening, and then stir it up thoroughly and add about a pint of the mixture to a pailful of water, and with this sprinkle the rose bushes. It is a very cheap and easy way of getting rid of the Slugs. In some seasons the Green-fly or Aphis are very abundant, covering the ends of the shoots, and sucking out the juices. These are easily destroyed by dipping the ends of the shoots in a strong decoction of tobacco, or by sprinkling the plants, if very badly infested with them, with the tobacco water through a watering can. But a more determined and obstinate insect pest than either of these is the Rose-leaf-hopper, insignificantly small in size, yet making up by infinitude of numbers for all lack of individual magnitude. Entomologists call these little scamps Tettigonia rosae. They are, when full grown, not more than three-twentieths of an inch long, the body is of a yellowish-white color, the wing-covers and wings are white, and the eyes, claws, and piercer, brown. They begin to hatch out about the middle of June, and appear upon the under side of the leaves without wings, but with an exceedingly sharp piercer or proboscis with which they pierce the skin of the leaf and feed upon the juices. This operation they keep up, increasing in size, casting their skins when their jacket becomes too tight for them, and sucking the juices out of the leaf all the more vigorously as they grow larger, until it assumes a pale sickly appearance, and no longer is able to perform its proper functions. The cast off skins of these insects may be found in great numbers adhering to the under side of the leaves, and likewise the little creatures themselves, manifesting their vitality by hopping about with great agility. Their hind legs are made somewhat like those of a grasshopper, which enable them to leap very briskly. After a time their wings appear, and then they seem to be more active than ever, and spread about till they find every rose-bush in the garden. The writer has had considerable experience in fighting these little pests, but cannot say that he has succeeded in winning any great victories. Sprinkling the bushes with hellebore and water or with tobacco water from a watering can, is a useless expenditure of labor, for the little hoppers have only to keep their place on the under side of the leaf and use it as an umbrella to shield themselves completely from the shower. The only way of reaching them is with a garden syringe. At one time it seemed as though the hellebore in water applied to them in this way, when they were quite young, was effectual in killing them, but later experiments have suggested the question whether they were not washed off by the force of the shower thus directed against them, and were unable in that early stage of life to find their way back again. If the latter be the correct solution, there need be neither hellebore nor tobacco in the water. The Rose-bug, macrodactylus subspinosa feeds on the leaves, and when numerous are very destructive. Thus far the writer has never been troubled with this insect. They pass the larvæ state in the ground, and come out in the month of June as perfect beetles, remaining about a month to carry on their destructive work. The only certain method of combatting them, known to the writer, is that of gathering them by hand and crushing, burning, or scalding them. They are perfectly proof against whale-oil-soap and decoctions of tobacco; whether they can digest hellebore is not known, but probably they would succumb to paris-green. Should they not appear in too great numbers it would not be a difficult task to pick them off by hand, for they are very sluggish creatures, and easily caught.

Having given these hints on the cultivation of roses and the means of preventing the ravages of these insect enemies, we have but a few words to say concerning the different varieties. These all naturally fall under four heads, the summer, autumnal, climbing, and monthly roses. By summer, is meant those hardy kinds which bloom in the early summer only; the autumnal sorts not only bloom in the early summer, but also again more or less in the autumn. These are also called Hybrid Perpetuals, and Remontants. They are indeed hybrids, but the term perpetual is only calculated to mislead, for they do not bloom perpetually, and many of them give but few autumn flowers.

By climbing, is meant those hardy, free-growing, rambling varieties which can be trained to climb over a trellis or cover the side of the house or verandah. It is not intended to embrace those tender climbers, such as climbing Devoniensis or Marechal Niel, which can be grown only in the house, and are grouped under the head of monthly roses, which includes those known as Bourbon, Tea, and China Roses, which bloom almost constantly during their growing season.

It is not proposed to give anything like an exhaustive list of the roses which are classed under these different heads, that would be wearisome, but only to name a few of those which have been well tested and are likely to become favorites in every rose garden. Of the summer sorts we name first of all one that is probably well known to every one of our readers, one that has been the companion of our childhood’s happiest hours, and fraught with many, many memories, the Cabbage Rose. It is yet one of our very prettiest roses, double to the perfection of fulness, and its petals suffused with blushes. Very like this, only with an added beauty, is the

Common Moss Rose, which is believed to be a sport from the old Cabbage Rose. A German writer has ventured to tell us how it happened:

There is another variety of this which is known as the

Crested Moss Rose. The calyx is most beautifully edged with a mossy fringe, which gives to the buds a very attractive appearance.

Madam Plantier is the best white, a most abundant bloomer, and very hardy.

Persian Yellow is the richest and most desirable, as it is the most double of the yellow roses.

Kean is a magnificent, rich, velvety purple, with scarlet centre, making a most delightful contrast with the light-coloured roses.

In the autumnal class there is an almost endless list of names, and every year more are added, some of which are no improvement on those we already have. The few names that are given comprise some of the most desirable that thrive well in our climate. It should be borne in mind that the autumnal display can be considerably increased by cutting off half of the summer bloom as soon as the buds appear, and when the flowers that are suffered to remain have faded, cut back the shoots to three or four buds, so as to throw the plant into a vigorous new growth.

Boule de Neige, a beautiful pure white that also blooms freely in the autumn.

Madame Alfred de Rougemont is white delicately shaded with rose, a most charming flower, also blooming well in autumn.

Duke of Edinburgh is a brilliant scarlet crimson, shaded with maroon, large and full; a most gorgeous flower.

Fisher Holmes, reddish scarlet, shaded with deep velvety crimson, large and very brilliant.

Lord Macauley, a rich clouded crimson, large and full, with petals of great substance.

Le Rhone is dark vermillion, very rich and brilliant, one of the very best.

Souvenir de William Wood is a very dark maroon, shaded with scarlet; a large and showy flower, and blooms well in autumn.

Xavier Olibo is velvety black, shaded with amaranth, blooms freely in the fall, and is one of the best.

Madame la Baronne de Rothschild is most magnificent; the color is a clear rose, shaded with white, the petals are of a shell-like substance, and each flower of great size.

Madame Fillion is another large, finely formed flower, of a salmon rose color, one of the best.

Madame Rival has a beautiful clear satin rose color, of large size, most handsomely cupped, and blooms well in the fall.

Madam Marie Cirodde, has a large and handsomely imbricated flower, of a most beautiful rosy-pink color, and is certainly one of the best.

John Hopper is a very attractive flower, large and full, of a clear rosy crimson deepening in color at the centre.

Comtesse de Chabrilliant is handsomely cupped, the color is a bright pink, and it is richly perfumed.

Mademoiselle Annie Wood blooms very abundantly in autumn, and is a large flower of a fine, clear red color.

Duchesse de Vallambrosa, when it first opens is of a light peach-blow color, but gradually changes to pure white, the flowers are large and globular in form.

Madame Lacharme is another beautifully clear wax-like flower, white, with a light blush in the centre.

Triomph de France is an extra large flower of perfect form and of a beautiful, bright rosy carmine.

These eighteen by no means exhaust the list of beautiful remontant roses, but they are sufficient to give some idea of their great beauty, variety and richness of coloring. Our climate will not admit of the use of any but the most hardy of the climbing roses. There is something indeed very enjoyable in a climate that will admit of festooning the verandas with climbing Devoniensis, or that glory of yellow roses, Marechal Niel; but we must content ourselves with those that will bear severer cold, and though lacking in perfume are by no means wanting in beauty.

Queen of the Prairies is probably the best of the hardy climbers; color bright rosy-red, globular in form and somewhat cupped, of good size, and produced in great profusion.

Baltimore Belle is a most delicately beautiful flower, white, suffused with a soft blush, quite double, and borne in very full clusters.

Gem of the Prairies proves to be quite hardy, the flowers are large, perfectly double and fragrant, though not in a high a degree, color a light crimson.

The Ayrshire Family is not so hardy, yet may be used to run over a bank, or upon the ground, where they will be protected by the snow.

The Queen of the Belgians is the best of this class, a pure white rose, flourishing even in a poor soil.

The Monthly Roses are too tender to bear the cold of our winters. They can be planted out in the summer, but must be taken up in autumn, and either potted and kept in the window, or the roots may be buried in earth in a cool cellar, and the plants kept there until spring. They bloom almost continuously, and it has been by crossing with these that our autumn blooming section has been obtained. We name a few of these that have been thoroughly tested, and are general favorites.

Gloire de Dijon is a very beautiful tea-scented flower, yellow, shaded with salmon, very large and full.

Marechal Niel blooms best when it is allowed to ramble; it makes a splendid green-house climber, and is the best deep yellow rose, very large and full, and delightfully scented.

Souvenir D’un Ami is a favorite flower, rose color, shaded with deep salmon, large and full, excellent for pot culture.

Cheshunt Hybrid proves to be a large, cherry-carmine rose, very beautiful in bud, and the plant a strong grower.

Hermosa is a valuable light pink, a most profuse and constant bloomer.

Those who wish extended collections will consult the lists of our florists, which are indeed perplexing because of their abundance, especially to those who wish for only a few of the best. The hints here given we trust will be found helpful to our readers, who we feel sure enjoy nothing more than a bed of beautiful roses.

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This was held in the City Hall, St. Catharines, on Wednesday, the tenth of July. The President, Rev. R. Burnet, of London, called the meeting to order, and after the transaction of some routine business, the meeting proceeded to discuss the question how far the fruit crops of Ontario had been injured by the late spring frosts. Chief Johnson, of Tuscarora, stated that his grapes had been badly injured, and that he should not have half a dozen bunches; while Mr. Taylor, of Hamilton, thought that the near proximity of Burlington Bay had been very serviceable to his grapes, as he should have a medium crop, though further back they had suffered more severely. P. C. Dempsey, of Albury, stated that the grape vines were frozen entirely back, but they had put forth a second growth, but when this was in bloom there came a rain which washed off the pollen, so that the fruit did not set. Strawberries turned out a fair crop. Plums were not injured, and there was every prospect of a most abundant supply. Of pears, there would be a fair crop of all sorts except the Flemish Beauty, which since the fruit set had mildewed very badly and dropped off. The apple crop was thin, but the samples would be very fine. L. Woolverton said that about Grimsby the apple scarcely suffered at all; pears suffered but very little; peaches were more injured than was at first thought, for they have been dropping off very badly; cherries were a total failure; currants were not hurt, indeed they were the finest they had raised in some time; the grapes were not much hurt.

A. Morse, of Smithville, reported that in his neighborhood the peaches were all gone, but a few grapes had escaped; plums were badly injured; cherries, a failure; pears, nearly half a crop; the raspberry crop never better; currants good; and apples half a crop. Red apples had escaped better than the light colored. W. Saunders, of London, said that on the nights of the 12th and 13th of May the thermometer fell to 26°. Up to that time everything promised well, but this frost killed two-thirds of the strawberry crop; black currants were nearly all killed, and the other sorts badly injured; the cherries were ruined, unless a few Maydukes, and some of the common Kentish; plums were blackened inside and fell off; pears suffered very badly; the injury to apples was sectional, very serious in some orchards; and the crab apples suffered the most; the grapes partially recovered when a second frost injured them, though not as seriously as the first; up to within ten days ago raspberries promised well, but the great heat accompanied with severe drought has dried them up very badly, and the fruit is small; and the apples are falling off from the same cause.

In the vicinity of Port Dalhousie, W. H. Reed informed the meeting the fruit crops had not suffered materially from frost, but that when the fruit trees were in blossom the weather was so wet that the pollen did not fertilize the blossoms, consequently the apple crop will be small, and cherries a failure; but there will be a fair crop of plums; a good crop of gooseberries, currants, and raspberries, and there has been an excellent crop of strawberries. C. Arnold remarked that at Paris the frost destroyed the blossoms of the grapes entirely, but that a second growth on some varieties has bloomed later, so that there will be a few grapes. Those plum trees that had set their fruit well before the frost, and those that bloomed after the frost, have escaped injury; there were but very few blossoms on the pear trees; apples bloomed profusely, and there will be a large crop. In some localities the strawberries were killed, in others they escaped, his own were all killed; raspberries were not injured by the frost, but the extreme dry and hot weather had totally dried up the berries, especially those of the black-cap family; black currants are a poor crop, of other sorts a passably fair crop, as also of gooseberries; the common red cherries were a total failure, a very moderate crop of other sorts. Wm. Roy, of Owen Sound, reported that there was four degrees of frost there when the strawberries were in full bloom, hence there had been only about a quarter of a crop; there will not be more than one-quarter of the usual crop of plums; apples were materially injured, yet there will be an average crop; pears are badly injured by the frost, but the grapes had not put forth, and so escaped, so that those who have grape vines will enjoy a good crop, though they have not been very generally planted; there were no cherries, but the raspberry crop was large and fine, and the gooseberries are very fine. W. McKenzie Ross said that at Chatham strawberries were badly injured by the frost, and grapes a complete failure; there was plenty of fruit on the quince bushes, and a large crop of the common red cherry, but none of the sweet varieties; apples would be a small crop, but on the shore of Lake Erie it would be good, and likewise a good crop of peaches, and a considerable crop of pears. Jonas Neff, of Port Colborne, states that there had never been a better display of blossoms on the pear trees, but the frost had destroyed them all; and the crop of apples would be small, though the Baldwin trees were well laden with apples; the plums have fallen off; there are no peaches; strawberries and cherries are a failure, but currants are abundant.

R. Werden reported for St. Catharines that though the frost killed the earliest strawberries, yet the crop was one of the largest; the raspberries were also very abundant and good; currants, a large crop; plums set their fruit abundantly, but the Curculio is causing them to drop off; and there is a good crop of gooseberries; apples promise to be only a medium crop. Mr. Laing said that at St. Thomas there was not more than half a crop of strawberries; black currants were a total failure, and of red and white sorts there would be only half a crop; the grapes are all gone; cherries, very few; a good many plums; and a pretty fair crop of apples, which promise to be an excellent sample. Geo. Leslie remarked that about Toronto there had been a medium crop of strawberries; cherries were a failure; and black currants about half a crop; there was a full crop of raspberries; an entire failure of plums; and almost a failure in pears, the Flemish Beauty giving the best crop of any variety; grapes escaped the frost; apples set their fruit well, but the late severe drought, which has lasted for five weeks, is causing many of the apples to drop. A. M. Smith said that at Drummondville all kinds of fruit had been injured; strawberries, apples, pears, &c., were not more than half a crop; cherries, almost a failure; black currants were more injured than the red and white; and grapes were very seriously cut off. At Jordan Mr. Honsberger said the strawberry crop had been fair; raspberries were a medium crop; red and white currants were not much hurt; black currants suffered more, but there was a fair crop; gooseberries are good; peaches, not half a crop, the Crawfords and Foster are hurt the most, Early Beatrice and Early Rivers are well loaded; the apple crop is light, the best show of fruit is on the Northern Spy.

Col. McGill stated that at Oshawa the strawberry crop lost its earliest berries; pears were nearly a failure; no cherries except the common red; and the plum crop would be about one-third as large as usual; grapes never promised better; raspberries were good; and apples not more than half a crop. J. G. Miller, of Virgil, reported that the first growth of the grape vines was wholly killed by the frost, but that a second growth was coming on, and there would probably be a pretty fair crop; there will not be half a crop of apples; the pear crop is very much injured; plums never promised better, and in my grounds have been unable to find a single Curculio, though traces of their work are to be seen; strawberries have been a good crop; cherries, half a crop; peaches will be a light crop; currants abundant; and apricots few.

The meeting then considered the question What new varieties of strawberries are promising well? Mr. Biggar, of Drummondville, thought that the Great American promised to be a good fruit. Mr. Laing, of St. Thomas, that the Monarch of the West is doing well. A. M. Smith named Cumberland Triumph as having done well this year, Great American as promising, and Monarch of the West as large, very productive, and of good flavor; and Mr. Morden thought Long John wonderfully productive. Dr. Watt, of Niagara, remarked that Col. Cheney was one of the best with him. Mr. Stewart, of Virgil, had found the Duchesse to be of medium size, early, very good, and fairly productive; Crescent Seedling moderate bearer, fair size, and good quality; Col. Cheney very productive, even more so than the Wilson, but the fruit was not perfect; Captain Jack to be of small size, very productive, and of good quality; Great American, after two years trial had not done well, the plants seemed to be weak and unable to make runners. Mr. Gilchrist, of Guelph, said the New Dominion had been about as productive as the Wilson, but was too soft for shipping; and that Col. Cheney had done well. A. M. Smith remarked that he had sent a few crates of the New Dominion to Hamilton and Toronto and had received fifteen cents per quart for them, while the Wilson brought only ten. Mr. Honsberger said he had shipped the New Dominion to Montreal and Ottawa and received no complaints as to the shipping qualities of the fruit.

The meeting spent an hour in discussing the methods of cultivation best adapted to the successful growing of small fruits. As was to be expected, a variety of opinions were elicited, yet the weight of opinion seemed to be in favor of making the soil quite rich for currants, raspberries, and gooseberries; only moderately rich for strawberries, and less rich for blackberries; with plenty of water for strawberries and gooseberries, and thorough clean surface cultivation for all, stirring the surface of the ground frequently. In the case of raspberries and blackberries, members were advised to cut out the old canes as soon as the fruit was gathered; take away any weak or superfluous young canes, and shorten in the remainder.

On the question as to what varieties of the raspberry succeed well, it was conceded generally that the Philadelphia was the most prolific of all, and several thought it also the most profitable, others had found the dark color of the fruit objectionable, and on that account preferred the brighter colored sorts, as the Clarke and Highland Hardy; the Highland Hardy was early, coming in before any other, even before strawberries were gone. Diadem was mentioned as being of fine flavor, and hardy. In Prince Edward County the black-cap raspberries had proved more profitable than the red, but this did not seem to be the experience in the western and southern sections.

There was a display of fruit of very fine quality, consisting of cherries, currants, raspberries and gooseberries, but very much less in quantity than was to be expected in such a famous fruit-growing section as St. Catharines and vicinity.

Most of the gooseberries were seedling varieties, raised from the European, and if they continue to be free from mildew they will be great acquisitions. Mr. Scott, of Orangeville, sent some fruit from a seedling gooseberry that he has cultivated for ten years without mildew.

The next meeting will be held in Sarnia, on Wednesday, the eleventh of September next.

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BY L. WOOLVERTON, M.A., GRIMSBY.

The Fruit Grower should read up on science, especially in the subjects of Botany and Entomology. A knowledge of these will help his prosperity very materially, and give weight to his opinions. He should know the principles that underlie his methods, so that he may have independence of action, and not be swayed about by every opinion and superstitious notion of another.

A short time ago a neighbor came to me in great consternation, a large species of Hemiptera, (Belostoma Americana,) such as he had never seen before, flew into his window one night. He was terribly frightened, and brought it me, saying, “it was surely an omen of some great calamity!” The same man thought he had made a great discovery. One day, seeing countless numbers of Aphides upon his cherry trees, and many ants visiting them to suck their sweet juices, he at once concluded that the ants brought the lice, and exultingly told us he had found a method of keeping the ants from climbing his trees! Such men in their ignorance of science, will be very likely to mistake friends for foes; and the Lady Beetle or the Calosoma are as much in danger of destruction at their hands as the Aphis, or the Doryphora.

A Common Mistake in Pruning.—We notice those trees need most pruning that have had most of it. Vigorous shoots in the crotches of apple trees, in most cases indicate injudicious pruning. Some people try to make their trees grow dish-shaped, and cut out the central limbs; but nature rebels against such abuse. A little attention to botany shows that every tree has its normal shape, and that all the pruner should attempt is to thin out weak and superfluous limbs, or shorten in long and slender ones. Several young orchards here show much feebleness resulting from abusive pruning.

The Early Season.—Blossoms were out three weeks sooner this spring than usual, as is seen by the following comparative memoranda: apple blossoms, May 25th, 1874; May 27th, 1875; May 26th, 1876; May 20th, 1877; May 3rd, 1878. Peach blossoms were out this year on the 24th of April, on which date in 1875, the ground was still frozen up and covered with snow.

The May Frost has done considerable damage. Cherries have suffered worse than any other fruit, for the connection not yet being severed between the corolla and the receptacle, the frosting of the flower destroyed the fruit also. The peach suffered very little, being protected by the corolla, which was loosened, but not yet cast. Other causes, however, combine to destroy our hopes of a very abundant crop. The apple is intact, with the exception of the Greening and the Russet, which have been somewhat thinned.

The Curl is a malady which has this year attacked the peach orchards about Grimsby to an extent hitherto quite unknown. It made its appearance toward the end of May, and was a source of great anxiety to some who mistook it for that terrible scourge, the yellows. The leaves curled up, became much thickened with reddish swellings on the upper side. Then they took a yellowish hue, and began to drop, and about the first of June our orchards presented an almost deathly appearance. Fortunately the experience of the past shows us that it does no material injury to the tree, and that we may expect a new crop of healthy foliage. The variety that has suffered most from the Curl with us is the Early Beatrice, from which not only the leaves, but most of the fruit has fallen.

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BY HENRY BONNYCASTLE, CAMPBELLFORD.

Having waited for some time in order to try the effects of several remedies to kill or stop the ravages of the grape vine bug, I beg leave to state that I applied hellebore thoroughly, in both liquid and dry state, without any effect. I then mixed two table-spoonfuls of carbolic acid to one bucket of rain-water, (a strong dose,) and sprinkled the vines well, but this had no effect. I then put two table-spoonfuls of white hellebore to one bucket full of soap suds, producing no effect. I also caught the bug and covered him with hellebore, putting him under a glass, after two days he was as lively as ever. I now find the only plan to exterminate them is hand-picking in the morning when the dew is on the leaf; by doing so I have nearly got rid of them. I now find a small brown slug on the leaves, eating holes in them, this is evidently the offspring of the bug; I also pick them off, thus preventing the breeding for next year. My vines, from being mere bare poles, are now bringing forth buds and leaves, but of course no fruit this year. I should much wish to hear if any remedy has been found. I find the wild ones in the woods are also infested with the slug. The slug when full grown is about one-eighth of an inch long, brown, and when crushed, full of a yellow liquid; they are on the inside and outside of leaves.

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Since the remarks in our article on Roses, on the impossibility of growing these in this climate, were written, the following notes on this subject by one who evidently speaks from personal experience have attracted our attention, and we give them a place here because it is desirable that the public should be made acquainted with the fact that they have been tried many years ago, and found to be a failure in such a climate as ours. In a picture, the tree-rose laden with roses of several colors, or gracefully drooping, like a weeping tree, under its burden of pink, and scarlet, and yellow blooms, looks beautiful, and the expenditure of from three to five dollars to possess such an ornament to one’s grounds seems reasonable, but it is well to know that at best in a year or two it will fail. Our writer says, much as I admire those beautiful things, standard or tree-roses, I am afraid they will never become really established in our gardens, or do us much good in the long run. I have had in my garden and on my lawn about fifty specimens. They were all, but ten, imported plants, got out by a neighbor of mine at different times within five years. Little by little they have all died off. At first they thrived and bloomed very well. Afterwards they were gradually affected by the winters, and one after another I lost them. Then again, I fancy that our summers are too hot for the tall naked stems. They seem to get dry and shrivelled, and thereby they affect the growth and health of the top. I am all the more convinced of this since I have seen some specimens grown by a neighbor. He covers the stem with moss bound around them. This he leaves on all the year. It undeniably gives more health and vigor to the head, but it also gives the whole tree-rose, so unsightly, bandaged, a look that I cannot endure it in a neat place. On the whole, therefore, I shall feel obliged to return to the old, and in the main more satisfactory mode of growing roses. Farther south, say at Baltimore or Cincinnati, where the weather is not so cold in winter, no doubt standard roses will do better.

TRANSCRIBER NOTES

Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. Where multiple spellings occur, majority use has been employed.

Punctuation has been maintained except where obvious printer errors occur.

[The end of The Canadian Horticulturist Volume 01, No. 07 edited by D. W. Beadle]