183 



BUDDING THE ROSE. 



Those who have stock?, should go over 

 them at once, and note which are in the best 

 trim for budding on. It is useless to work 

 weak stocks ; the shoot to be worked, should 

 be plump and vigorous, and the operation 

 should be performed when there is a free 

 flow of sap, as after rains. The first thing 

 necessary is to trim the stocks, and remove, 

 by a clean cut, any small spray that would 

 incommode the hand of the operator, but, any- 

 thing like a [severe pruning is to be avoided. 

 If the thorns were not removed from 

 the stem when the briers were planted, they 

 should be got rid of before the buds are 

 entered. Have your budding knife as keen 

 as a razor, some strips of bass in a can of 

 water at hand, or, better still, some coarse 

 hank worsted. Choose on the brier the best 

 shoot of the year, and from the rose to be 

 propagated, cut a strong shoot of growing 

 wood — thac is wood that has not bloomed, 

 and that is without bloom-buds. 



From this shoot, choose a bud that is suffi- 

 ciently plump to be visible, but it must not 

 have begun to push, or it will never take. 

 First cut away the leaf from that bud, but 

 leave the base of the leaf-stalk on the stem. 

 Hold the shoot in the left hand, and enter 

 the knife half an inch above the bud, and 

 cut slantingly towards the centre, past the 

 bud itself, and bring the kuife out again half 

 an inch below the bud. The bud is thus re- 

 moved from the shoot, and with it you have 

 a portion of the wood of the shoot in the form 

 of a crescent, or like the printers' paren- 

 thesis mark ( the bud occupying the 

 celitre. The pretty part of the operation is 

 to get the wood out from the bark so as to 

 leave the latter in the form of a miniature 

 boat with the leaf-stalk and bud attached to 

 the keel. This is called the shield, and this 

 shield is to be inserted under the bark in the 

 stock, where, in time, it will unite with it. 

 If the bud comes away with the wood, the 

 shield is useless, and some kinds of roses are 

 more likely to part with the bud than others. 

 The best mode of detaching the wood from 

 the shield, is to hold it in between the finger 

 and thumb of the left-hand, bark-side down- 

 wards, and then enter the point of the bud- 

 ding knife between the wood and the bark 

 at that end of the shield, which is below the 



inside, and must not be so long exposed to 

 the air, as to lose sap. 



To enter it on the stock, hold the knife 

 firmly in the right hand, and make a straight 

 cut across the shoot that is, to receive the 

 bud. The cut to be made as far from the 

 main stem as the length of the shield will 

 require, that is, about three quarters of an 

 inch, or a little more. Then make another 

 slit along the shoot, from the stem to the 

 cross cut, so as to form on the shoot the 

 letter T. Turn the knife and enter the 

 ivory blade under the bark at the top of the t, 

 and pass it down under the bark, so as to 

 loosen it from the wood quite to the stem. 

 Then slip the shield, using the leaf-stalk as a 

 handle, under the bark at the cross-cut ; thrust 

 it down till it reaches the base of the shoot 

 under the bark, and whatever projects beyond 



bud. 



of the left thumb, the wood will come clean 

 away, leaving the bud uninjured in its place 

 in the axil af the leaf stalk. The shield is, 

 generally, held gently between the lips by 

 the operator, while the incision which is to 

 receive it, is made in the stock. If any grit 

 g«ts inside the bark of the shield, the bud 

 will probably fail, and it must not be wetted 



[1, bud just cut; 2, shitld parting from 

 wood; 3, shield ready for use; 4, the incision 

 on the stock] 



the top cross cut, must be removed by one 

 clean cut of the knife, and so that the top 

 edge of the shield fits exactly to the bark of 

 the upper incision. 



It is where these two edges meet that the 

 junction will first take place, hence the top 

 of the shield, when entered, must be cut away 

 to a nicety. The final act is to tie up with 

 bass or worsted. Begin next the stem, bind 

 it firmly, but not excessively tight, and be 

 careful not to displace the bud, or injure the 

 portion of leaf-stalk on it. The bud itself 

 must not be tied over, but be allowed just to 

 peep through, so as to be free to start ; and 

 the leaf-stalk must be left free also. Tie 

 above the bud, on the under side of the shoot, 

 giving a rather tighter twist at the point 

 where the shield fits to the top of the inci- 

 sion. After having performed the operation 



By a little twist, and the use of the nail two or three times, so as to get used to it, 



you will have to adopt the better plan of 

 making the incision first, and then preparing 

 the shield for it, keeping the scions, mean- 

 while, in a can of water beside you ; but in 

 the first attempts, make sure that you can 

 prepare the shield properly, before you make 

 incisions in the stock. We never use wax, 

 or any other covering than bass. 



