The Philipsburg mail., 1898-08-05
Outdoor Roses.


be careful that the ground is rich and
well drained, says New England Flor
list. heavy or clay subsoil is pecul-
iarly adapted to roses, and for enrich
ing it nothing is so good as thorough
ly-rotted cow manure. Sandy soil re-
Quires more manure. In planting, the
roses should be set somewhat deeper
if they are budded or grated plants.
deep enough that the union may be
below the surface of the soil. For
small collection of rose bushes good
sized bed in a circular form, with the
four sides scalloped toward the center,
would be desirable. This arrangement
would enable the cultivator to reach
all the points without having to step
on the bed. Roses may be planted eth
er in the fall or spring, though pre-
fer the latter. There is less danger OF
severe winter cutting back the shoots
or of alternate freezings and thawings,
exposing the unestablished roots May
and June are the best months for
planting. The beds should be protect
ed from the northwest winds. and have
! a southern or eastern slope If possible.
| 1t is good plan to have the hybrid
roses on the east side of fence, and
the harder and free-growing climbers
to cover the fence itself. Roses that
are to be grown for the perfection Of
their blooms should never be in close
proximity to a building or trees. Al
ter planting it is we'll to cover the bed
with light mulching Of manure; this
will be all the dressing they require
the first year. After the roots have
become we'll established, fertilizer may
be applied more literally. Every fall
five or six inches of mulch should be
placed on the beds-cow manure if OBJ
tainable-and in the spring as much
of this dug into the ground as possible.
and the residue raked up and carried
away. The correct pruning Of roses
rule, the strong-growing plants
should be pruned but little, while the
weak-growing sorts should be pruned
severely to induce vigorous growth.
The proper time for pruning is late
winter or early spring, before the sap
commences to move. A summer prun-
ing of many hybrid perpetuals after the
June blooming induces the formation
of buds for fall blooming. A common
mistake with many is leaving the
branching spray wood that has already
flowered. This will never produce fine
roses again. 1t is we'll to remove LONG
stems when cutting flowers If new
wood is beginning to show at the base
of the plant; especially in the case q:
hybrid perpetuals should these oldest
branching stems be cut out if autumn
flowers are desired. The older spray
will not produce fine roses, while the
weak and crowded growth affords a
harborage for every rose pest. Where
roses grow vigorously and throw large
shoots from the bottom it would be
we'll to pinch out the crown bud. This
will induce growth of lateral shoot!
which will produce good flowers in Ju
ly and August, and, in fact, give
good supply of roses all summer. Thi
is especially true of Brunners. Rose
in perfect health and vigor are les
liable to attacks from insects thai
those that have been neglected an
are stunted. The free use of clear wa
ter by Swinging the plants daily is
preventive against insects.
Oklahoma-Oklahom contains nov
about 10000 square miles. Governo
Barnes officially estimates its popula
ton at over 100000. The great mas
of it's people are engaged in some form
of agriculture. The greater part of tn
territory is we'll settled, but there ar
about 100000 acres of public lands
The soil varies much in appearance
a..d considerably in composition. Their
are considerable areas where the sol
is bright red in color, owing to iro1
oxides. Many of the "black jac
ridges" and some stream bottoms ar
quite sandy. There are many "alkal
spots" in different parts of the terri
tory, but these are usually not large
AS a whole the soil may be describe
as fine sand the particles lying YER
compactly largely because OF the lac
OIL any CULSlucldDlc Ol u0Cdy
ed vegetable matter. Its appearance
leads many to think of 1t as a clay sol
Most of it has a good degree of fertil
ity; much of it an abundant supply O
plant food.
Thinning Fruit-The number G
fruits produced per tree may be regu
lated in two general ways: BY prun
ing away part of the branches t
prevent the formation of too muc
fruit, or by picking off the superllu
Gus fruits soon after they have form
: ed. With such fruits as grapes, rasp
berries, blackberries and the like. tn
; former method is employed almost ex
clusively. An experiment reporte
from New York Cornell Station indj
Gates that in the case of blackberrie
and raspberries no means of regulat
, ing the number of berries per plant i
, necessary other than the annual prun
;.~ Tho fruit of Cuthhart r,cpbo,