198 THE ROSE BOOK 



that attends systematic cross-fertilisation. The amateur 

 can achieve similar success in a small way, if he has a 

 greenhouse that can be kept warm in spring when the 

 roses are in bloom. It may be asked why the cross- 

 fertilisation of roses cannot be carried on out of doors. 

 Unfortunately, the lack of sunshine renders the results 

 problematical. If the reader possesses roses upon walls, 

 he may make an attempt with them, especially if 

 there is a glass coping over them, such as is sometimes 

 used for peach trees. 



After the pods are well developed, the plants may 

 be placed out of doors, care being taken to protect them 

 from birds by means of netting. The pods will ripen 

 here, and may be left on the plants until late autumn. 

 They should then be gathered, each with the stalk 

 attached, and inserted in pots of sand, and placed in 

 the greenhouse. The sand must be kept moist. 



In November the seeds are sown in pots or boxes 

 filled with sandy soil. The seed pods are broken with a 

 hammer, care being taken not to bruise the seeds. Some- 

 times as many as thirty seeds are obtained from one 

 pod, and probably each seed will produce a rose of 

 different colour. 



It is fatal to success to allow the small seeds to 

 become dry before sowing. When the seeds are first 

 taken from the pod, they are covered with a substance 

 something like gum, and this, no doubt, is a natural 

 protection against dryness. It is wise, therefore, to have 

 the pots of soil prepared for the seeds before the latter 

 are taken from the pods. In sowing, place the seeds on 



