APPENDIX. 295 



February 



the cry is '' All in to begin," as it used to be the show- 

 man's when we went to the fair, for no more Rose-trees 

 can be planted when tliis month has passed. The 

 grafting of Rose-cuttings on the Brier or Manetti stocks, 

 grown in pots for the purpose, is now a very interesting 

 process, where there is a propagating-house, or other 

 means, as in the tan-bed of a stove, of supplying a 

 regular bottom-heat to the roots. The art may be 

 learned in a lesson, and I know of few things more 

 pleasing in the pleasant life of a Rosarian than to watch 

 the conjunction of stock and scion, which commences 

 almost imm.ediately, the repotting, and the gradual 

 growth of the Rose-tree. Darwin, in a free translation 

 of Virgil, has happily described this development: — 



" On each lopped shoot a foster scion bind, — 

 Pith pressed to pith, and rind applied to rind,— 

 So shall the trunk with loftier crest ascend, 

 Nurse the new bud, admire the leaves unknown, 

 And blushing glow with beauty not its own." 



March 



is the month for our final pruning of all save Noisettes 

 and Teas. I say final, because all the longer shoots will 

 have been previously shortened in October. Different 

 varieties will, of course, require different treatment ; and 

 the intentions of the operator, as well as the habit of the 



