ROSES THAT BLOOM IN JUNE. 



enougli to be wafted along by the air, is very 

 curiously formed, and varies exceedingly in differ- 

 ent plants. Under the microscope, each grain of 

 it in the rose is a membranous round bag, which 

 remains entire, and can be kept dry and perfect 

 for days and weeks. On its application to the 

 moist tip of the pistil (which in the rose is a stiff 

 protuberance in the very centre of the flower), it 

 bursts with great force. When flowers are de- 

 signed to be operated upon, the one intended to 

 produce the seed should be deprived of its anthers 

 early in the morning, which can readily be done 

 with a pair of fine scissors ; then, during the day, 

 or within two days, take a fine camel-hair pencil, 

 and obtain, about noon, the pollen or dust from 

 the plant or plants with which you intend to make 

 the cross, and apply this dust to the pistil of the 

 roses from which you have previously extracted 

 the anthers. It will require some practice before 

 proficiency can be attained in the operation, but a 

 little attention will insure some success. The 

 organs are fit for the operation when the pistil has 

 a glutinous appearance on its summit, and the 

 pollen is dry and powdery. The flowers may be 

 one or two days old ; rain is fatal to the operation 

 ' — dry weather, therefore, must be chosen. Pa- 

 tience and assiduity can accomplish wonders in 



