236 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



make a slit upwards in it about half way through, just below 

 a bud ; in the tongue thus formed insert a small chip to pre- 

 vent its closing up ; then peg down the shoot in the soil three 

 or four inches below the surface, fill up the hole and cover 

 the earth with moss or grass or a flat stone. The extremity 

 of the layer should be several inches above ground, and be 

 tied to a stake to prevent injury to the forming rootlets. In 

 some cases it may not be necessary to resort even to this 

 mode of propagation, for many sorts throw up suckers, which 

 may be removed annually from the parent stock. Some 

 gardeners increase their roses by budding and grafting. 

 They hold that the feeble and low-growing varieties are im- 

 proved by inserting them on more vigorous stocks. This, 

 certainly, is an easy way of multiplying choice and rare plants ; 

 and if they are carefully fastened to rods to prevent the bud 

 or graft from being broken off, and if the suckers, which 

 always throw up from the stock, are regularly kept down, 

 such roses may be endured ; but, as a general rule, those on 

 their own roots are nmch to be preferred. 



Perhaps the greatest practical hindrance to successful rose 

 culture is the ravages of the bug. When one has only a few 

 plants, the best exterminator is the thumb and fore finger. 

 Don't fear to soil your hands, gentle lady ; a little soap and 

 water will at once make them fair as the lily again. Large 

 beds of roses may be freed from the bug by a few doses of 

 diluted whale oil soap, or tobacco water, or the fumes of 

 burning tobacco. The liquid should be applied with a gar- 

 den syringe, having an upturned nose, which will reach the 

 insects on the under side of the leaves. The formula for 

 preparing the soap water is this : Dissolve the soap in boiling 

 water, at the rate jf one quart of water to a pound of soap; 

 strain through a sieve to cleanse it from the dirt which would 

 otherwise clog up the syringe ; then add cold water at the 

 rate of fifteen gallons to two pounds of soap. A few thorough 

 applications of this mixture, morning and evening, will kill 

 any decent insect. 



In venturing to suggest a list of the most desirable roses 

 for general cultivation, the writer does not claim infallibility 



