88 CULTURE OP THE ROSE. 



We have before spoken of the difficulty of cultivating 

 standard roses, or roses budded on tall stems, in our cli- 

 mate. It is possible, however, to produce a kind of stan- 

 dard without a resort to budding. We may choose some 

 of the most hardy and vigorous of the June roses, we 

 may find such especially in the class known as the Hybrid 

 Chinas, and encourage the growth of a single, strong, 

 upright stem, removing all other shoots from the base of the 

 plant as fast as they appear. The stem should be kept 

 straight by tying it to a stick till it has gained strength 

 enough to hold itself erect. Thus, in a single season, we 

 shall have, with some varieties, a stem five or six feet high. 

 Early in spring, prune it down to the first healthy and 

 plump bud. During the following season, allow no shoots 

 to develop themselves, except at the top ; and, in the suc- 

 ceeding spring, prune back these top-shoots to two or three 

 eyes. All of these eyes will, in their turn, develop into 

 shoots ; and these, again, are to be pruned back like the 

 first. Thus, in two or three seasons, we obtain a thick 

 bushy head at the top of a tall upright stem ; in short, a 

 standard, capable of bearing even a New-England winter. 



