20 THE BOOK OF ROSES, 



The best plan is to sow the seed as soon as 

 it is fully ripe, in which case the plants appear 

 the following spring ; whereas, by waiting for 

 the following spring to sow them, they do not 

 appear till the second year. If beds have not 

 been prepared to receive them, there is no ob- 

 jection to waiting till the spring, provided the 

 seeds are placed in a case of sand or fine porous 

 earth, in a cellar or some other dark and damp 

 situation, where the temperature is safe from 

 frost. The sand or earth should be kept slightly 

 moistened. In the spring, the seeds must be 

 sown with care and caution, so as not to injure 

 the germs, which will be already in some de- 

 gree developed. 



The usual mode of sowing is in pots or beds 

 prepared for the purpose, filled with light bog- 

 earth: for the more delicate kinds, it is mixed 

 with a little sifted earth. If borders are chosen 

 for the purpose, they should be under shelter of 

 a wall, exposed to the east. The mould should 

 be fine and light, prepared with choice manure. 

 The seeds are to be taken from the fruit just 

 previously to sowing ; and, if sown immediately 

 after they become ripe, without further prepa- 

 ration : but if left in the fruit till the following 

 spring, it is advisable to soak them in water 

 for four-and-twenty hours. Whether sown in 

 pots or borders, the seed should be covered very 

 slightly with mould ; the seeds being apt to 



