CHAP. XI VILLA GARDENING 67 



made just through the bark of the branch in which we intend 

 placing the bud, starting away from near the main stem. This 

 cut should be a trifle longer than the shield of the bud, in order 

 to permit of the latter being easily pushed under the bark. A 

 transverse cut is made also just through the bark a short distance 

 from the upper end of the cut lengthwise of the branch, and inter- 

 secting it. The ivory handle of the budding knife is then used to 

 detach the edges of the bark from the wood, which, if all works 

 well, will be a very easy matter ; the bud is then slipped in and 

 pushed home, and tying -in completes the process. In nurseries 

 the young shoots in which the buds are inserted are not, as a rule, 

 headed back till the following spring, it being considered that the 

 plants from buds remaining dormant are the stronger for their long 

 period of rest. In this way I have seen very strong plants from 

 one season's growth. But when the stocks are strong and well 

 established, and the buds are inserted early in the season, if the 

 stocks are headed back as soon as the buds are swelUng and 

 showing signs of growth, a crop of flowers may be obtained in 

 autiimn. 



Grafting Roses. — This is usually practised in spring under 

 glass, and is mostly confined to nurseries, though for a good many 

 years past I have annually grafted a few Roses, — there is so little 

 trouble, when one has a hotbed at work, to graft a few dozen of 

 the choicest kinds. Just about the time the Briers are pushing 

 their buds on the south side of the hedges on the warm sunny 

 l)anks, I, accompanied by a man with a spade, go into the fields. In 

 the course of a very short time we come back with a basketful of 

 roots of the common Brier, or Dog Rose. These are cut into 

 rather small pieces, each piece having a fibre or two to lead it into 

 growth. The grafts are procured from plants when the buds are 

 dormant, and are cut into pieces about 4 inches long. A slice is 

 cut off one side of the thick end of the root, and a corresponding 

 slice is cut off one side of the graft at the lower end. The two 

 cut edges are fitted and bound together, and all the grafted roots 

 are potted into as small pots as they can be got into nicely; 

 usually 4-inch or 5-inch pots are the best. The pots are then 

 plunged into a bottom-heat of 75°, kept close, and, when the sun 

 shines brightly, shaded by laying a "mat over the glass. When 

 the grafts have shot forth several inches, ventilation will be re- 

 quired, and less shading should be used. The growth is very rapid 

 with plants propagated in this way. They may be planted out 

 and be in flower by August if well cared for. 



Roses from Cuttings. — There are many ways of striking 

 Rose cuttings, but the best I have yet seen or practised is to pre- 



