PROPAGATION 01 s ROSES BY CUTTINGS. 137 



ticle of manure, the object being to produce a hard and 

 slender woody growth of cuttings, instead of a soft and 

 pithy one. Obtaining cuttings of this kind, there is no 

 difficulty in rooting them, if the proper attention to shad- 

 ing and watering, already described, has been given. I 

 will state, however, that after they are potted off, carefully 

 shading from the hot sun is necessary until the root strikes 

 through to the side of the pot. I have found it to be a 

 great help in propagating in summer, to sift a thin layer 

 of fine moss, sawdust, or cocoanut fibre, over the Rose cut- 

 tings after potting. This keeps them moist, acting as a 

 mulch, and also, after they have rooted, it keeps them 

 cool in hot weather, both materials being excellent non- 

 conductors. 



It is a curious fact that, no matter how healthy Rose 

 cuttings may be when growing in the open ground, they 

 can rarely be got in condition, during the summer 

 months, to root. I have tried them at all seasons and in 

 all conditions, but do not think I ever made a success 

 during the months of June, July, or August. They in- 

 variably drop their leaves, and this means failure every 

 time. Why they should do so more than those grown 

 inside, I have never yet been able to discover, but that 

 such are the facts, any one trying it will very quickly find 

 out. My experience in this matter has been confined to 

 the latitude of New York. I believe that in some sec- 

 tions of the country, when the shoots become better 

 ripened, they may be successfully propagated from out- 

 door wood in the summer. 



Hybrid Perpetual, and even Monthly Roses, however, 

 can be propagated from cuttings of well-ripened hard wood 

 grown in the open ground, put in in October or Novem- 

 ber in any place (a cold greenhouse or a cold frame), where 

 they can be kept just above the freezing point at night 

 say from thirty-two to forty degrees, with ten to fifteen 

 degrees more during the day. They must not get much 



