ii 4 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



comes out easily enough, leaving the germ of the bud intact. If this 

 germ is missing, and there is a hole about the size of a pin head under the 

 bud, it is waste of time to insert the bud. Some varieties behave in this 

 way and must be cut rather thinner than others. Before cutting off 

 the bud wipe the stock clean and make a cut upwards, and then cross- 

 wise in shape like the letter T (see Fig. 2, A B). Do not cut so deeply 

 as to injure Mie wood of the stock. Raise only the bark gently on each 

 side of the long cut by inserting the bone of the budding knife. Then 

 insert the bud at C and gently push it down to the end of the cut D. 

 Many budders dispense with the cross cut, but it facilitates the inser- 

 tion of the bud. When the bud is placed in position cut off the surplus 

 piece of bark and bind up the wound tight (see E, Fig. 2) with raffia. 

 When the soil is free from insect pests draw up some of the finest mould 



to the bud so as to 

 quite envelop it. This 

 is essential in a dry 

 season. A month after 

 budding remove the soil, 

 examine the bud, and 

 if found alive (which 

 can be easily seen from 

 where the leaf-stalk was 

 attached, but which has 

 now decayed), return 

 the soil again and leave 

 it until spring. Do not 

 touch the tops of stocks 

 until after the leaf has 

 fallen, and not then 

 unless they are wanted 

 for cuttings. The time 

 to remove them is in 

 FIG. 2. February. They are 



then cut quite away to 



within an inch of the bud. Seedling briars are budded in the collar, 

 that is, the thick root immediately below the branches. 



Budding Standard Briars. These are budded in the best lateral 

 growths, but close up to the upright stem two or more kinds may be 

 budded on one standard, but they should agree in growth for instance, 

 La France (pink) and Alfred Colomb (red) would associate well together. 

 In the case of the standards remove the raffia after the fourth week, but 

 do not cut away any of the growths until February. When the buds 

 start out (as they often will and blossom), leave them until autumn, and 

 then cut back to one eye. Retain the raffia on dwarf stocks ; the soil 

 will rot it off before February. 



Propagating by Cuttings. There are many different ways of striking 

 Roses from cuttings, but the best one for the beginner is as follows : 

 Early in September a piece of ground in a sheltered part of the garden, 

 but not necessarily under a north hedge, should be deeply dug, or, better 



