96 THE ROSE GARDEN. 



good only with the autumnals, for the summer kinds will not flower for two, 

 three, or even four years. Seedling Roses should be watered only when the soil 

 is really dry, and then always in the evening, about sun-set. The same frame-work 

 used to protect the plants from frost in spring will answer for summer shading ; 

 but shade only when the sun is powerful, and then only for a few hours in the 

 middle of the day ; for shading as well as watering may be carried too far, and if 

 so, favours the development of mildew. Watch your seedlings closely, to see 

 what amount of sun they will bear without injury, and determine your movements 

 accordingly. 



At the time of weeding it is well to have a sharp-pointed stick in the hand, 

 with which to stir the soil round the seedlings. This must be done with great 

 care, or the plants just protruding will be injured ; indeed, if they are germinating 

 thickly, it is a dangerous operation, and perhaps better left alone. 



So soon as the seedlings have formed their second leaves, if they should have 

 sprung up so thick as to impede each other's growvh, a part may be safely drawn 

 out after a good shower of rain (raising the soil in the first instance with a hand- 

 fork), and transplanted to a shady border in the evening of the day, watering and 

 covering with a hand-glass until they take hold of the soil. Let it be understood, 

 however, that transplanting at this season is not recommended: it is here 

 chosen because less injurious than suffering the plants to remain crowded together. 

 It may not involve any positive loss, but it ordinarily retards the period of 

 flowering. 



When the plants have formed a few leaves the pleasure attendant on the raising 

 of seedlings increases ten-fold. In looking over the bed, how anxious are we to 

 discover to what groups certain curious-looking individuals belong. We look, 

 and look again, and often depart without coming to any satisfactory conclusion. 

 The plants, however, increase in size, the scrutiny goes on, fresh features are 

 noticed at each new gaze, until at length we have something tangible to work 

 on. We pronounce this to be a Provence, and that a Bourbon : here is evi- 

 dently a Hybrid, and there a Chinese or Tea-scented. Or if we feel inclined 

 for a closer analysis by descending from groups to individuals, we may in some 

 instances trace the seedling from a particular variety. Here is one evidently 

 bom of Hybrid Celine, there another from Gloire de Rosomene. Thus far 

 we may amuse ourselves, and settle the matter in our own minds, although 

 the flowering of these individuals may not always substantiate our pre-conceived 

 notions. 



I have seen seedlings of the Bourbon and Chinese Roses flower when little 

 more than a month old. This, however, should be prevented rather than encou- 

 raged. It weakens the plants, and does not impart any real knowledge to their 

 proprietor. The flowers may be white, they may be red, and this is the absolute 

 amount of knowledge to be gleaned from them. As to size, form, fulness, and 

 the other valued properties of Roses, no true idea can be formed. It is well, then, 



