182 The Rose Manual 



produced astonishing changes ; but they are few only, com- 

 pared to many which four or five years more will bring 

 about. We are but in the infancy of the cultivation of 

 roses, and, as with the camellia, a short period only will 

 elapse before the American varieties will be as numerous 

 as those of the latter flower. 



Nineteen classes of roses are enumerated, and the princi- 

 pal varieties belonging to each described. There are also 

 ten or twelve sections devoted to the planting, propaga- 

 tion, budding and general management of roses, including 

 their propagation from seed. It would be almost impossi- 

 ble for us to offer anything but a synopsis of the volume ; 

 amateurs of roses should possess it. To give some idea of 

 the manner in which Mr. Buist treats the subject, we ex- 

 tract two chapters, one on growing roses from seed^ and the 

 other on their cultivation in pots lor the greenhouse or par- 

 lor. 



Grotving Roses from Seed. To the amateur this opens a field of very 

 interesting amusement; it gives an object with which to fill up profitably 

 every leisure moment, in impregnating, saving the seed, sowing and 

 watching every movement of the plant till it develops its beauties of in- 

 florescence, which, if it prove of new character, is an ample compensa- 

 tion for the time spent upon the process ; if not worthy, it is at least a 

 good stock to be used in budding or grafting upon, and even then causes 

 no loss. In the centre of many roses there is a number of thready fila- 

 ments surmounted by what botanists term anthers ; these are small oval 

 forms which, when ripe, contain a quantity of pollen or yellow dust, 

 which can easily be perceived between the finger and the thumb after 

 giving them a gentle pressure. This pollen, though to the naked eye a 

 fine powder, and light enough to be wafted along by the air, is very curi- 

 ously formed, and varies very much in different plants. Under the mi- 

 croscope each grain of it in the rose is a membranous round bag, which 

 remains entire, and can be kept dry and perfect for days and weeks. On 

 its application to the moist tip of the pistil (which in the rose is a stiff 

 protuberance in the very centre of the flower) it bursts with great force. 

 When flowers are designed to be operated upon, the one intended to pro- 

 duce the seed should be deprived of its anthers early in the morning, 

 which can readily be done with a pair of fine scissors ; then during the 

 day, or within two days, take a fine camel hair pencil, and obtain, about 

 noon, the pollen or dust from the plant or plants with which you intend to 

 make the cross, and apply this dust to the pistil of tlie roses from which 

 you have previously extracted the anthers. It will require some practice 

 before proficiency can be attained in the operation, but a little attention 

 will insure some success. The organs are fit for the operation when the 

 pistil has a glutinous appearance on its summit, and the pollen is dry and 

 powdery. The flowers may be one or two days old ; rain is fatal to tlie 

 operation — dry weather, therefore, must be chosen. Patience and assi- 



