168 HARDY SHRUBS. 



pruning and top dressing, for 15 years. The varieties Ulrich Brunner^ 

 Mrs. John Laing, Mme. Gabriel Luizet and Anne de Diesbach force well, 

 and for outdoor culture they are among the best. 



Forcing— In forcing hybrid perpetuals the plants should be lifted 

 when the growths are matured, pruned back, potted hard and placed in 

 a cold frame. Plunge the pot among leaves, if there is a probability of 

 their making a few roots before freezing weather without the buds 

 starting into growth. Plunging will keep the roots safe and in a condi- 

 tion ready for active work. When brought into a cool house, in the 

 early part of the year, they need to be brought on very gradually so as 

 to have feeding roots when the buds break. An examination of the 

 roots will show when it is safe to force growth by giving gentle heat. 

 American Beauty, sent out in 1885, is a perpetual bloomer and has, to a 

 certain extent, taken the place of most of the older forcing varieties of 

 the so-called hybrid perpetual class. This variety has had a wonderful 

 career as a forcing Rose, and it is unlikely that its place will be taken by 

 newcomers for some time at least. 



Propagation— Roses of this class for outdoor growth are propagated 

 by budding, grafting and from cuttings. When it is desired to put in 

 cuttings in the open ground the work should be done during the first 

 half of October. Select a sheltered spot. Have the ground freshly 

 worked, or, better still, the cuttings may be put in as the ground is dug. 

 The cuttings should be at least 9 inches in length and only an inch or so 

 should be exposed above the surface. Those cuttings having a heel are 

 not so liable to decay as those cut between leaves, or at the base of a 

 leaf. They should always be put in with the aid of a spade, as it allows 

 firming with the feet; and if the soil needs it a little sand should be 

 added while the trench is open, to induce healthy rooting. Half-rotted 

 leaves, or rough stable litter, should be spread over the whole during 

 hard freezing weather. When they are to be rooted indoors, the cuttings 

 should be taken off later, tied in bundles and their bottom ends placed 

 in moss, in a place low enough in temperature to keep the buds dor- 

 mant. In Spring place in a gentle bottom heat, with the atmosphere 

 cool. They will root readily by this method. The cuttings must be 

 potted before the roots get long. In potting have the soil moderately 

 moist, so that they will need little water until the roots begin to take 

 with the soil. In grafting, which is done in Spring, cut back plants of 

 the Manetti and Dog Rose are used, or pieces of the roots of these, or 

 the roots of any of the free growing Roses, such as Mme. Plantier. 

 Budding on stocks of Manetti, or the Dog Rose, is done in the open 

 ground in late Summer. 



Propagation by Seeds— New varieties are largely raised from seeds 

 ripened from hand-pollinated flowers. In raising plants from seeds, 

 if sown as soon as ripe, they germinate very irregularly. Some of 

 the hybrid perpetuals will germinate part of a crop and some of them 

 will flower in two months from date of sowing. Other seedlings, ger- 

 minated at the same period, will take at least a year to bloom, while 

 other seeds of the same batch will lie in the seed pan over a year before 

 vegetating. The reason why the seeds sometimes remain a long time 



