Growing Flowers 119 



seeds will ripen in good season, and they will be 

 more reliable than those that ripen out of doors. 

 A piece of stalk should remain attached to each 

 seed pod when gathered, and stalk and pod should 

 be buried in pots of moist sand. 



Tender, young rose seedlings should be handled 

 very carefully. It is extremely difficult to raise 

 plants from seed. The seed should be kept cov- 

 ered with a glass in a temperature of forty-five 

 degrees, and when the young plants appear, the 

 glass should be removed and the seedlings brought 

 to the light. They should be hardened gradually 

 before transplanting, and when transplanting is 

 being done, as much soil as possible should be 

 taken up with the plants. 



Entirely new roses are bred often by chance from 

 home seed pods. The growing of roses is one of 

 the most fascinating bits of work in floriculture, 

 as one can never tell what a new rose will be like. 

 Always the finest blossoms should be left to form 

 rose-apples, or seed. 



Rose bushes should be kept clean to aid in keeping 

 them free from insects and disease. All fallen 

 leaves should be gathered and burned or they will 

 harbor insects. 



