YODEI <) REARING OF ROSES FROM CUTTINGS 255 



REARING OF ROSES FROM CUTTINGS 



BY ELIZABETH YODER 



Class 1905, Los Angeles State Normal School 



I The following article illustrates what can be done in nature work by an enthu- 

 siastic young teacher who is given perfect freedom. Miss Voder had had some 

 experience in raising roses at home, and for this reason chose this line of work 

 with the fifth grade that she taught as a student teacher. From nurserymen and 

 others interested in the culture of roses she obtained such information as she 

 could, but many of the points noted in this paper were worked out experimentally 

 by herself and the class. The members of the class wers enthusiastic and intelli- 

 gent in making their experiments, discussing with the greatest interest the pro- 

 blems which arose. The results of this term's work, which Miss Yoder has heie 

 put into concise form, is a positive addition to our nature-study literature, giving 

 as it does a working plan for any teacher who may be interested in the rearing of 

 roses. — J. R. Croswell.] 



A. Choice of Cuttings. — Cuttings must be healthy and free from 

 scale. Cuttings of the most common roses are usually the most 

 easily grown. The Duchess, the Olga cle Wurtenberg and the La 

 Marque are among the best. 



B. Time of Cutting. — Cuttings to be used in schools should be 

 made before the bushes put out leaves in the spring, or during any 

 rest period. Soft wood, i. e., new growth, taken just before the buds 

 set is often used where bottom heat can be applied in greenhouses 

 but this is impracticable in schools. 



C. How to Cut the Slips. — Many advocate cutting the slip off next 

 the parent branch, taking the wood of the joint known as the "heel;" 

 but a method which is equally successful and less extravagant is the 

 following. Cut the branch into cuttings, letting the lower cut of each 

 slip be just below a bud. Cut at an angle of about 45 °. A cut at 

 this point callouses better and the foots start more quickly than at 

 any other point, because the branch is specially strong at the buds. 

 The cut should be smooth and the bark unbruised. The cuttings 

 from the lower end of the branch are somewhat stronger than those 

 near the tip. 



D. Length of Cuttings. — Cuttings one-half inch or more in dia- 

 meter may be about eight inches long. The smaller cuttings should 

 be shorter in proportion to their diameter. There should be at least 

 two buds above the ground. 



