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CHAPTER IX. 



PROPAGATION. 



" Thick Rosaries of scented thorn." 



— Tennyson. 



THE HYBRIDISATION OF ROSES. 



If a Rose is distinct, and also attractive, it needs 

 only to exhibit it in quantity to catch the fancy of the 

 crowd. There is many a new Rose of sterling worth 

 that, owing- to poor introduction, has been almost over- 

 looked, and, in fact, forgotten. Some Roses, of 

 course, like Juliet, Rayon d'Or, Mildred Grant, and 

 others, stand out from all the rest, and demand atten- 

 tion, even to a single bloom, when exhibited amongst 

 thousands, but the grand majority to be seen to advan- 

 tage must be shown in number. It is not upon the 

 exhibiting of Roses that I wish to dwell here, but upon 

 their raising, an ever-interesting subject to the enthu- 

 siast. To be instrumental in creating a new Rose has 

 ever been my greatest wish ; it is, indeed, the Waterloo 

 of Rose-growing ; but few care to undertake the work 

 necessary for assured success or the labour of careful 

 study. For those amateurs who wish, however, to 

 venture or are interested in this most engrossing sub- 

 ject, the following information will, I trust, prove 

 useful. 



Chance should never be allowed to enter into the 

 dictionary of the hybridiser; it is like the advertise- 

 ment which promises to teach Greek without a 

 grammar, or French while you wait. There is only 

 one road to sure success, and that is by scientific 

 methods. It may be interesting to gather a few seed- 

 pods at first, and to try one's hand at raising seedlings 

 and tend them through every stage of growth ; but this 

 should never see the limit of the Rosarian's ambition. 



