134 PARSONS ON THE ROSE. 



root fibre is formed, and when, being in the act of germ- 

 ination, there can be no possible danger of its rotting, 

 which is frequently a serious objection to sowing seeds at 

 once in the open ground. The trouble and risk of loss 

 occasioned by subsequent re-pottings are also avoided, 

 and the plants have, by this mode, full liberty to grow as 

 luxuriantly as they choose, with only the slight attention 

 required by watering and shading. As the plan of Rivers 

 is materially different, we will give his directions in de- 

 tail, admitting, at the same time, that, under some circum- 

 stances, it may be preferable to that we have presented 

 above. 



'* The hips of all the varieties of roses, will, in general, 

 be fully ripe by the beginning of November ; they should 

 then be gathered and kept entire, in a flower pot filled 

 with dry sand, carefully guarded from mice. In Febru- 

 ary, or by the first week in March, they must be broken 

 to pieces with the fingers, and sown in flower pots, such 

 as are generally used for sowing seeds in, called 'seed 

 pans '; but for rose seeds they should not be too shallow ; 

 nine inches in depth will be enough. These should be 

 nearly, but not quite, filled with a rich compost of rotten 

 manure and sandy loam, or peat ; the seeds may be cov- 

 ered, to the depth of about half an inch, with the same 

 compost ; a piece of kiln wire must then be placed over 

 the pot, fitting closely at the rim, so as to prevent the in- 

 gress of mice, which are passionately fond of rose seeds ; 

 there must be space enough between the wire and the 

 mould for the young plants to come up — half an inch will 

 probably be found enough ; the pots of seed must never 

 be placed under glass, but kept constantly in the open air, 

 in a full sunny exposure, as the wire will shade the mould 

 and prevent its drying. Water should be given occasion- 

 ally, in dry weather. The young plants will perhaps 

 make their appearance in April or May, but very often the 

 seed does not vegetate until the second spring. When 



