238 THE PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE 



considerable care be taken to insure at least ten degrees 

 of bottom heat in the benches. 



The cuttings should be taken when the wood is com- 

 paratively cool. The wood selected should be plump and 

 firm. Avoid all wood which is soft and succulent, or 

 hard and fibrous. The cuttings may be made with but one 

 bud, or they may have two or more buds ; much depends 

 on the texture of the wood and the distance between the 

 buds. In short-jointed varieties, it will be necessary to 

 make cuttings with two or more eyes. 



Propagation by grafting was quite fully discussed in 

 Chapter IX. 



288. Potting the rose cuttings. As soon as the roots 

 are about one-half inch in length, the plants should be 

 potted, for if left too long in the cutting bench, the tissue 

 of the wood hardens and the subsequent health of the 

 young plant is injured. 



The soil for the first potting should contain but little 

 fertilizer. A small amount of thoroughly decomposed 

 manure or bone-meal will not hurt the young plant, but 

 no active fertilizer should be used. The cuttings should 

 be potted firmly in two or two and one-quarter-inch pots, 

 placed on a bench where there is good air circulation, and 

 thoroughly watered. A table is preferable to a bench, for 

 if the sides are high, they cause the atmosphere to become 

 stagnant, and diseased conditions may prevail. It is 

 also easier to syringe the foliage to prevent attacks of red- 

 spider, if the plants are on tables. The young plants 

 should be placed out of the reach of drafts, and shaded 

 for a few hours only, during the hottest part of the day. 

 Their vitality is low at this period of growth, and there is 

 danger of attacks of mildew. 



The young plants require the best of care, and as soon as 



