158 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
to part with the secrets of their craft. But some- 
' thing may be said on the matter, which may give an 
outline of the proceedings, and perhaps lead some 
amateurs to make experiments in such a fascinating 
pursuit. 
It is hardly worth while to undertake it except 
on a somewhat large scale: only a very small pro- 
portion of the seedlings raised will be found worth 
anything at all, a good many coming single, and of 
those that are pretty good, few will be found to be 
any advance upon existing kinds. A great deal of 
patience will be required: it is sometimes as much 
as six years before a representative bloom can be got, 
and two or three years more at least, perhaps twice 
the time, may elapse before a good stock of the sort 
can be worked up. 
Hybridising consists in preventing the pistil of a 
Rose being fertilised by its own stamens, and con- 
veying to it the pollen from the stamens of another 
Rose. This is sometimes, perhaps often, done in 
the open by bees and other insects, and some means 
must be taken, by muslin bags or by working only 
under glass, to prevent their access to the blooms. 
When the stamens of the Rose to be crossed have 
been taken away, and the pistil is ready, the pollen 
is conveyed to it repeatedly for a day or two from 
the stamens of the other Rose by a small camel’s- 
hair pencil, and this pollen may be stored if necessary 
in a box in a dry place before the operation, which 
should be performed with great care on a dry and 
sunny day. 
Both plants should, of course, always be kept in a 
thoroughly healthy condition, and as the ripening of 
the hep or seed pod will take about three months 
