On Propagation. 169 



CHAPTER XIII. 



On Propagation. 



THE Rose is capable of being propagated I , by Seed; 2, by Cuttings; 3, by 

 Budding ; 4, by Grafting ; 5, by Layers ; and 6, by Suckers. 



1. BY SEED. This method, which is adopted only as a means of obtaining new 

 varieties, has been already fully entered into (see Chapter IX.), and needs no further 

 notice here. 



2. BY CUTTINGS. Cuttings may be made with varied success at any time. The 

 seasons which offer the greatest advantages are Summer and Autumn, but where there 

 is a house of forced Roses, cuttings may also be taken from March to May. Let us 

 first offer a few remarks on Summer propagation. Immediately after the plants have 

 flowered (June), select well-ripened shoots of moderate strength, taking care not to 

 remove any whose loss would destroy the symmetry of the plants. In taking off the 

 cuttings they should be cut close to the old wood, if with a heel, as it is technically 

 termed, it increases their chance of rooting. The cutting, of which Fig. 54 is a 

 representation, should be made about three inches long, consisting of three or four 

 joints. Two inches of the lower end should be inserted in the soil, and the part left 

 above should have two good leaves. From four to six of these cuttings may be placed 

 round the inside of a 48-pot, in a compost consisting of equal parts of leaf-mould, turfy 

 loam chopped fine, and silver-sand. After insertion they should be well watered 

 through a fine rose pot, to settle the mould closely around them. When the soil is 

 drained and the leaves dry, the pots may be removed to a cold frame, or placed under 

 hand-glasses, keeping them closed from the air and shaded from the sun, sprinkling 

 them twice daily for the first fortnight. The sprinkling usually keeps the soil 

 sufficiently moist, though it is sometimes necessary to give water in addition. We 

 need scarcely say that the leaves should be retained on the cuttings as long as 

 possible, but if they decay, they should be removed immediately, or the contagion 

 spreads, and numbers may be sacrificed. Where damping or fogging-off occurs, the 

 admission of air or more sunlight proves the best remedy. 



In about a fortnight after the cuttings are made they will have formed callus, when 

 they should be removed to a pit with bottom-heat. Here they root quickly, and may 



