182 THE AUTUMNAL ROSE GARDEN. 



any of these roses can be made to produce seed, 



interest 



result. 



interesting and curious varieties must be the 



PROPAGATION OF AUTUMNAL ROSES. 



As with the Summer Roses, these may be 

 propagated by layers, budding, grafting, and by 

 cuttings; the latter mode is the only one re- 

 quiring especial notice, as the other methods ap- 

 plied to Summer Roses are of equal use in propa- 

 gating these. All the families in this division 

 are propagated with great facility by cuttings ; in 

 fact, with China, Bourbon, and Tea Roses, it is the 

 only eligible way of getting plants on their own 

 roots. There are three seasons in which this 

 operation may be performed with success, in spring, 

 summer, and autumn. 



For spring cuttings, it will be necessary to re- 

 sort to the forcing-house in the month of March, 

 when those roses that were commenced to be 

 forced in January will be just shedding their 

 first crop of flowers ; these blooming shoots will 

 then be ripe and, as a general rule, fit for immediate 

 propagation, either for cuttings or buds. It 

 must be borne in mind, that no shoots are mature 

 till their blooming is past. The cuttings may be 

 made with three joints or buds, from the lower 

 end of which the leaf should be cut, leaving the 

 others untouched ; the cutting must then be in- 



