GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. CHAPTER I. THE FORCING OF ROSES. While other departments of floriculture have made wonderful progress during the past ten years, in none of them has it been as great as in the winter forcing of roses, and to-day hundreds of large establishments are almost entirely devoted to this work, while every smal florist has his rose house, and the sale of cut bloom generally equals the amount received from all other flowers combined. Although it is true that roses, to be successfully grown, require careful attention, it is not true that there is any wonderful secret that one must acquire in order to grow them, and, while the inexperienced rose grower cannot expect the highest success, it is hoped that if the directions here given are carefully followed many mistakes may be prevented. The work of the rose grower generally begins with the propagation and growing of the plants, and therefore we will commence with that operation and follow along with the various steps as the season advances. PROPAGATING THE PLANTS. Rose plants for forcing purposes are generally grown from cuttings of the new wood made any time from November to February, but for most purposes the earlier date is preferable. The rule generally given for learning if the plants are in proper condition to be used for cuttings, i. e., when in bending a branch the wood snaps, does not hold for roses, as cuttings should not be made until the buds in the axils of the leaves have become firm and hard. Some consider that the lower buds on a stem are in good condition when the flower buds are ready to be cut, while others believe that the best time for making the cuttings is when the buds begin to show color. At any rate, the cuttings should be made before the leaf buds begin to swell. The cuttings made as soon as the buds have formed and the wood has lost its succulent nature, will root quicker, and a much larger per cent of them will form roots, or "strike," as it is called. If the variety is a new and choice one, the blind shoots, or those that have not formed flower buds, are often used for making cuttings. While it may be done occasionally without marked injury, if persisted in the tendency will be to develop plants that form few flowering stems, and the results will not be satisfactory, so that the continued use of the blind shoots for cuttings is not to be recommended. When the stems have long internodes, and particularly if it is a new sort, a cutting should be obtained from every good bud, but those at the lower part of the stem, and all at the upper portion that are to any extent soft and succulent, should be rejected. The cuttings of American Beauty, and other varieties with short joints, should contain two or more buds. Cuttings should be from one and one-half to three inches long, with one bud near the top, at any rate, and with the lower end cut off smoothly at right angles, with a sharp knife. If the upper leaf is large, about one-half of it should be cut away, and the other leaves, if any, should be rubbed off. The cuttings should be dropped into water to prevent their drying out, and as soon as possible should be placed in the propagating bed. This should contain about four inches of clean, sharp sand of medium fineness, and should have heating pipes beneath, to give botom heat. Set the cuttings in rows, about two inches apart and three-fourths of an inch in the row, and press the sand firmly about them. At once wet them down thoroughly, and if the weather is clear and bright the beds should be shaded during the middle of the day for the first week. The propagating house should be kept at a temperature, at night, of fifty-eight or sixty degrees, with about ten degrees more of bottom heat. During the day, it should be well ventilated to keep up the bottom heat and thus promote root development, and to admit fresh air, but a temperature ten degrees higher than at night is desirable. In about three or four weeks, with proper care, every cutting should be rooted. The requirements for success, as noted above, are, good cuttings, clean, sharp sand, a proper temperature, shading when necessary, and an occasional wetting down of the bed, in order that the cuttings may not at any time become dry. If the house is inclined to dry out, or if the weather is bright, the cuttings as well as the walks should be sprinkled occasionally, and the ventilation should have careful attention. It is best to use fresh sand for each batch of cuttings. POTTING AND CARE OF THE PLANTS. When the roots are three-fourths of an inch long, the cuttings should be potted off into two or two and one-half inch pots, pressing the soil firmly. The best soil for the potting of rose cuttings is made of equal parts of leaf mold, or decayed pasture sods, and garden loam, with a little cow manure and bone meal, and sand in proportion to the heaviness of the soil. After being potted the cuttings should be placed in a house with a night temperature of a little less than sixty degrees. They require the same care as other plants, careful watering, with an occasional syringing to keep down the red spider, proper ventilation, and an avoidance of drafts and direct sunlight for a few days, being the main things desired. Unless tobacco stems are strewn on the beds, it will be necessary, once or twice a week, to burn tobacco stems in the house, or syringe them with tobacco water. From the time the cuttings are potted off until they have finished flowering and are ready to be thrown out, or rested, they should be kept growing, every precaution being taken to avoid a check, if the best results are desired. Some, however, prefer to grow the plants rapidly until they are in four-inch pots, and then give them a short rest. As soon as the roots have filled the pots, and before the plants become pot-bound, shift to three or three and one-half inch pots. By the last of April, if they have had good care, the first batch will have filled four-inch pots and will be strong enough to plant in the beds for early flowering, while the others, as they come on, can be repotted, and will soon be large enough to be transferred to the beds. Only strong, well-grown plants should be used, and if possible all should be planted out by the first of July. By this early planting not only can a large crop of blooms be secured during the summer, when there is a good demand at a fair price, but the plants will be so strong that they will be able to give large crops during the fall and early winter, when they are most needed. Planting some of the beds by the first of April, for summer use, will often be desirable. SOIL FOR ROSES. While the different varieties will not always thrive with the same kind of soil, it is generally admitted that, at all events, a soil for roses should contain decomposed pasture sods and cow manure. The sod should be ob tained during the previous summer from some old pasture with a thick, fibrous sod, if possible, and should be piled up with alternate layers of cow manure, using one part of the manure to from four to six of the sods, according to the character of each. The sods should be cut just thick enough to remove the thick, fibrous portion, and if from an average loam soil, neither very heavy nor light, but with a good admixture of clay, the compost prepared as above will be of a suitable character for the rose benches, but if the sods come from a sandy loam soil the addition of one part of clay to five or six of the mixture will be desirable. On the other hand, if the soil is inclined to be heavy, an equal quantity of sand should certainly be added. While considerable clay is desirable in soil for roses, there is danger of its being too heavy, as, even in shallow benches, if the soil at any time becomes too wet, particularly in the fall before the fires are started, or during a cloudy period in the winter, it will not only be longer in drying out than a lighter soil, but "black spot" and other diseases will be much more likely to follow. Early in the spring the compost pile should be worked over and the coarser sods broken up. After lying in the pile for two or three weeks more it will be ready to place on the benches. When the houses are long, it will be convenient to have openings in the side walls, through which the soil can be thrown upon the benches, and if there are side ventilators this can be readily done. If it is not feasible to have openings in the sides of the houses, it will be a great convenience if a small car can be run along the edges of the benches. As an entire chapter was devoted to "Rose Houses" in the companion volume, "Greenhouse Construction," in which the form and width of house best adapted to the |