170 CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 



tings ; and a material point is gained, both in time and certainty, 

 if the base of the cutting can be kept at a higher temperature 

 than the part above ground, but not so high as to injure the cut- 

 ting by too rapid stimulation of its vegetative powers. Where roses 

 are forced into bloom the latter part of winter, cuttings can be 

 taken from them immediately after the bloom is past ; and they 

 will also succeed well, if taken from plants in the open ground 

 immediately after their first bloom. Cuttings of the Everbloom- 

 ing Roses will all strike at any time during the summer, but they 

 succeed much better either in the autumn Or after their first 

 bloom. The heat of our midsummer sun is so great, that cut- 

 tings often fail at that time. The wood of a cutting should be 

 always perfectly mature, and, as a general rule, such maturity is 

 never perfect until after the bloom is past. When a cutting is 

 made near the old stem, it is better to take with it a portion of the 

 old wood, which forms the enlarged part of the young branch. 

 Where the cuttings are scarce, two buds will answer very well 

 one below the surface ; and, in some cases, propagation has been 

 successful with only one eye. In this case they are planted up 

 to the base of the leaf, in pots of sand similar to that used in the 

 manufacture of glass, and the eye is partially covered. They 

 are then subject to the same treatment as the others, and care- 

 fully shaded ; they will thus root easily, but require a long time 

 to make strong plants. 



Some years since, Lecoq, a French cultivator, conceived the 

 idea of endeavoring to propagate roses by the leaf. He gathered 

 some very young leaves of the Bengal rose, about one quarter 

 developed, cutting them off at their insertion, or at the surface 

 of the bark. He planted these in peat soil, in one inch pots, and 

 then plunged the pots into a moderate heat. A double cover of 

 bell glasses was then placed over them, to exclude the air entirely, 

 which course of treatment was pursued until they had taken root. 

 The shortest time in which this could be accomplished was eight 

 weeks, and the roots were formed in the following manner. First 

 a callus was formed at the base of the leaf, from which small 

 fibres put forth ; a small bud then appeared on the upper side ; 



