PROPAGATION. 5S7 



Bometimea' bi'oiight over the tube to protect it from contact with tlie air ; 

 more commonly it is cut oflf, and the tube fitted closely to it, taking care, 

 however, to protect the parts above the tube as well as the ring below, from 

 contact with the atmosphere. 



1858. In the month of March the head of the stock is cut down. The bud 

 will now begin to show itself. If there are two of them, they already begin: 

 to show a head by the end of the first year ; but in order to encourage this 

 development of the bud, it is necessary, in cutting down the head of the wild 

 stock, to leave one eye above the graft, — the ceil aspirant, as the French gar- 

 deners call it, which serves to draw the sap to the summit ; the old shoots 

 thus keeping the bud in a state of vigorous growth. When this eye 

 has, however, pushed out two or three leaves, the leading shoots should be 

 pinched ofi" in order to throw the sap into the buds ; and when these attain a 

 length of five or six inches, this shoot may be suppressed altogether. It is 

 equally necessary to permit a few buds to develop themselves below the graft, 

 otherwise it would be flooded, as it were, with the flow of sap, and failure- 

 would probably result. 



1859. In the spring of the second year the first attempt may be made at. 

 training the head; all the wood above the graft is cut down close to the 

 stem ; the head is neatly trimmed, and the wounds covered with wax or clay ; 

 the stem is cleared of all spray, and the roots of all suckers. From this time 

 constant attention is required to the stock and the development of flowers. 



i860. With a little art. all roses may be made to bloom in winter ; but the 

 perpetuals are forced with less diflficulty than the summer roses. 



1861. The rose grows vigorously in most kinds of soil ; nevertheless, it 

 does best in a light free soil, a little fresh, amended fi-om time to time with 

 some well-decomposed manure. A calcareous soil is especiall)'' recommended, 

 and Rosa indica and Laicranceana and other delicate varieties, do best in 

 fertile sandy soils and in peat-earth. The dog-rose grows vigorously in stiff 

 earth. 



1862. In respect to its aspect, an inclination either to the rising or setting 

 sun, by which it avoids the direct rays of the sun, is better than a due south or 

 north aspect ; and in forming a rose-garden either of these aspects may be 

 recommended. A walled inclosure, where the free circulation of air is 

 seriously impeded, is to be avoided. It should be removed from the influence 

 of overhanging trees. One thing is imperative, — the soil must be thoroughly 

 drained : few plants grow well in soil soured by stagnant water ; the rose 

 least of all. 



1863. Having fixed on the site of a rose-garden, and made arrangements) 

 for draining it, the next point is to prepare it for receiving the future trees. 

 Is it a stifi" clay ? A month or two of exposure in its roughest possible state 

 is the first preparation required, unless the owner is willing to incur the cost 

 of calcining the earth, which yields the best of all soils for roses, according to 

 some of the best authorities, Mr. Paul among the number. The process 

 of burning soils is described at p. 44. Where burning is not considered neces- 



