STOCKS 17 



our buds not below the surface level, but near enough to the roots 

 for all practical purposes. 



Dwarf stocks, of whichever kind, are planted about 9 or 10 inches 

 apart in the rows, with i foot from row to row. Standards should 

 be about the same distance apart in the rows, but for the purpose 

 of securing sufficient space to get among them for budding, they 

 may be in double rows at i foot apart, but with 2 feet separating 

 them from the next double row. It is only the man who does 

 the budding and the boys who tie them in that can appreciate this 

 extra space on either side ; yet we have many times dealt with 

 stocks which even at that distance have been so dense in growth 

 that a way has had to be hacked into them ! 



The planting of rose stocks should be finished in February 

 if weather permits to allow the roots to become active before top 

 growth begins. Autumn planting would be still better, for the 

 longer the period during which they can do their work the better 

 condition will they be in at budding time ; which is only equivalent 

 to saying that they can be budded with greater success. 



In the case of standards, all the young shoots, excepting two or 

 three, must be rubbed off as fast as they appear. A good, healthy 

 brier will sometimes send out a dozen growths, but as it is not a 

 paying proposition to put more than two or three buds in to one 

 stock, the whole strength of the brier should be concentrated in 

 the selected shoots. This and the suckering of the dwarfs must 

 be attended to throughout the early summer, and even after the 

 budding. 



