26 THE BOOK OF ROSES 



out the seeds. They will be found to be damp with an 

 acid substance, and this must not be allowed to dry. 

 Thousands of Rose-seeds have been destroyed by 

 having been allowed to become dry. As the seeds are 

 picked out take three of them and push them down with 

 the blunt end of a lead-pencil to a depth of half an 

 inch. Cover the surface with sand, and record the 

 name of the parent or the cross on a label pushed down 

 the side of the pot, and when several pots are complete 

 begin to water with a can with a fine rose. Now stand 

 the pots on slabs of slate or shingles as near as possible 

 to the glass. Each fine bright morning gently spray 

 over the surface of the pots with a fine syringe. The 

 seedlings should appear about March, and they will then 

 require the most careful nursing. Every drop of water 

 that may lodge on the tiny leaves after they have been 

 sprayed must be removed with a camel-hair brush. Get 

 ready some compost as recommended above, and clean 

 thoroughly a number of thumbpots. As soon as the 

 seedling appears take a sharp label or other strip of thin 

 wood and push it into the soil, lifting out the seedling. 

 Pot this off into a thumbpot, placing the latter inside a 

 larger pot to keep it from drying off too rapidly. Great 

 care is needed to avoid breaking the tip of the root. If 

 lifted and potted before making a leaf the little plant will 

 not flag at all. As it progresses it should be potted off 

 into larger and larger pots, which should always be 

 placed as near the glass as possible. In June it can 

 be hardened off, and planted in the open in July, unless 

 room can be found for it indoors. The latter is the 

 best plan, and is that adopted by all practical growers. 

 By the Autumn the seedlings should be quite strong 

 plants and will bloom. Even in the first year buds may 

 be taken from some of them, and may be budded on to 

 briars in the open. At least one bud should always be 



