PROPAGATION. 73 



series will have a good stock from which to select. 

 Having secured what you require, bring all your trees 

 into the house in November, and for the first two or 

 three weeks give plenty of air, when they may be 

 pruned according to variety, but not so severely as 

 when out in the open. 



Ordinary care in watering and syringing is all that 

 is necessary. No liquid manure should be given, only 

 a free supply of water when the growth is strong. 

 Start with a temperature of 45 degrees by night and 

 50 degrees by day, increasing this until 55 

 degrees by night and 60 degrees by day is 

 reached. When the sun is strong the tempera- 

 ture may go up for a time to 70 degrees, or even 80; 

 but this will do no harm so long as the atmosphere is 

 not too dry. Try and get your trees out into bloom at 

 one and the same time about the beginning of March. 

 If Hybrid Perpetuals and Teas are grown, start the 

 former a little earlier, especially in the case of very 

 full-petalled Roses, since the thin varieties always open 

 first. If your pollen-bearing parent is out a day or two 

 before the seed-bearing, then the hybridist must pre- 

 serve the pollen by dusting the same on to a small 

 piece of clean glass, and place another piece of the 

 same size upon the top. Some stamp paper round the 

 edges will keep it airtight, and it can be preserved 

 until it is required for a few days, or even weeks, if 

 necessary. When the blooms of the seed-bearing 

 parent are ready, the pollen can be applied. Great 

 care must be taken to prevent the bloom fertilising 

 itself; therefore,^ before the stamens produce their 

 pollen, they should all be removed with a pair of 

 tweezers. Do not leave this operation too late; start 

 when the Rose is in the bud, and at about the time it is 

 showing colour. The best plan is to cut with a sharp 

 knife right round the bud all petals a quarter of an inch 

 from the base, laying bare the stamens and pistils 

 without cutting the calyx. Remove with tweezers 

 every anther upon the top of the stamens without 

 bruising or scratching the surrounding parts, at the 

 same time taking care that not one be left. 



