U.NDEII GLASS 353 



until nearly December. The cuttings used are the young shoots that have 

 just made a flower bud. The upper part of such shoots will usually be found 

 too soft for propagation, and some experience is needed to detect the exact 

 condition of the wood which is best suited for rooting. It must not be too 

 ripe, but just ripe enough to present some woody fibre to the knife in making 

 the cutting. We make the cuttings with three buds. The base of the cutting 

 is cut right below the bottom bud and the top is made half an inch above the 

 top bud. The leaf is left entire on the upper bud but removed from the two 

 lower ones, If this leaf decays in the cutting bed then reject that cutting 

 even though it roots. The loss of the leaf is an indication of weakness in the 

 cutting and it will not make a first class plant. We place the cuttings in 

 water as fast as made, for it is important that the cut may not be allowed to 

 dry before setting. Now the bed in which the cuttings are to be set should be 

 ready. This is simply an ordinary cold frame in which a bed of three inches 

 of clean sand replaces the usual rich soil. Standing in front (or on the south 

 side) of the frame, the propagator marks a deep cut in the sand with a 

 straight edge across the frame. Beginning at the extreme left end of the 

 frame as he fronts it, he sets the cuttings up to the top leaf in the sand, and 

 turns all the leaves to the left so that they will be out of the way of the next 

 row. The cuttings are set about an inch apart and the rows are marked three 

 inches apart, and the sand packed closely to each row as set. Turning the 

 leaves all to the left, they will, as the setting proceeds, nearly entirely cover 

 the surface of the sand. As fast as a sash is filled it is well watered with a 

 fine rose to settle the sand about the cuttings. The glass is heavily white- 

 washed or painted for shade, and is propped up an inch or more at the back 

 to allow a circulation of air. Wooden labels are used to indicate the names of 

 the varieties in the rows and parts of rows to prevent mixing. After the cut- 

 tings are set, the bed will need watering daily to keep the sand wet, and if 

 all goes right they should be forming roots in about four weeks. As soon 

 as they have made roots the fourth of an inch long they must be potted into 

 pots two and a half inches in diameter, using a compost made during the sum- 

 mer of rotted grass sods and old manure. This should be composed of sods 

 from a clay loam and not a sandy soil, for the rose prefers a firm soil. Potting 

 must be done firmly and the plants are then packed into another frame, prefer- 

 ably on a bed of sifted coal ashes to prevent the earth worms from getting 

 into the bottom of the pots. They are well watered, and the shaded sashes 

 placed over them ; they must never be allowd to suffer for water. By the time 

 cold weather comes these plants will have made some growth and have become 

 well established in their pots. They are now salable as two and a half inch 

 pot plants, or they can be carried over winter in the frames and planted in the 



