A summary of the following paper was read by L. C. Corbett: 



IMPROVEMENT OF ROSES BY BUD SELECTION, OR 



BLIND VS. FLOWERING WOOD FOR 



ROSE CUTTINGS 



L. C. Corbett, Horticulturist, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



The results which are recorded in the article prepared under the above 

 title are based on a series of tests with rose cuttings made from "blind" and 

 "flowering" wood, and cover a period of five years. 



The work was undertaken to settle a point in dispute among commercial 

 growers of roses as to the relative value of plants grown from blind and 

 flowering wood for flower productions. 



VIEW POINT^ OR QUESTIONS TO BE SETTLED. 



1. Do cuttings tend to perpetuate the individual peculiarities of the 

 parent branch from which they are taken? 



2. Can accumulative results be obtained from a continuous use of cut- 

 tings from wood with like habits? i. e., can the flowering habit of plants be 

 increased by the continuous use of flowering wood selected through successive 

 years from plants which have themselves been produced from flowering wood ? 



For many years discussion has been rife among commercial growers of 

 roses in regard to the flower or bloom-producing power of plants grown 

 from what is known as "blind wood," and those grown from "flowering wood." 

 These terms are familiar to all accustomed to the propagation and cultivation 

 of the rose under glass ; but in order that none may hold a misconception of 

 the point in question, I present, (page 95), a figure representing the two types 

 of wood spoken of. The branch at (a) in the engraving represents a char- 

 acteristic shoot of the so-called "blind wood." This shoot, it will be noticed, 

 is of slender growth, somewhat willowy in character, and is terminated by a 

 leaf instead of a flower bud. Branch (b) is a flowering wood shoot, as is in- 

 dicated by the terminal flower bud. As a rule, "flowering shoots" are larger 

 and more vigorous, but are also softer and contain a larger percentage of pith 

 in proportion to the woody tissue than "blind wood" shoots. In general, how- 

 ever, the "flowering wood" shoots are longer than the "blind wood" branches, 

 and if the flowers are cut with short stems, then there is a considerable length 

 of wood suitable for purposes of propagation at the base of each flowering 

 shoot. This wood is harder and more mature than the wood close to the 

 base of the bud, and for that reason is better suited for making cuttings. 

 With plants which are blooming profusely it not uncommonly happens that 



