The Rose Manual. 183 



duity can accomplish wonders in this department of rose culture ; the 

 persevering efforts of the French cultivators have been so very successful 

 witliin the last ten years that we do not at all despair of seeing a yellow 

 Moss, a yellow Provins Hose, or even striped roses, combining every 

 shade from white to black, and there is no reason why there should not 

 be produced a perpetual blooming climbing Moss Rose of any color at 

 present know in the family of the rose. Ten years ago we had no idea 

 of a Noisette Rose of as fine a yellow as Harrisonii, and as large as 

 Noisette Lamarque ; such Chromatella, or the Cloth of Gold, is said to 

 be ; perhaps ere this work is through the press the plants in my posses- 

 sion will be in bloom, to prove or disprove the assertion. 



The seeds will be ripe about the first of November, and can be retained 

 in the capsule or fruit till the time of sowing, taking the precaution to 

 bury them in sand, where they Avill be safe from the depredations of 

 mice, who are very fond of them. Early in the spring choose a sheltered 

 spot in the garden, free from the shade or drip of trees ; enrich and break 

 up the soil very tine, make tlie surface quite smooth, take the hips from 

 tlieir winter quarters, break up the fruit, and sow the seeds thinly and 

 evenly on the soil ; take tlie back of the spade, or a board, and press tlie 

 seed level with the ground, then cover them with about one-fourth to one- 

 half of an inch of sand ; if sand cannot be obtained take leaf mould, or 

 soil from the woods, finely sifted, for tlie purpose ; in dry weather give 

 occasional waterings. Many of the seeds will come up the first year, 

 and the balance will make their appearance in the second ; the tiiird year 

 they can be transplanted to beds or rows to remain till they bloom, winch 

 will generally be the fourtli or fifth year. It is truly astonishing to see 

 the variety produced — red and white, rose and pink, may all be seen 

 springing from seeds of the same plant, and from single to the most 

 double ; none but such as are of the finest form, very prolific, and pos- 

 sessing a good habit, should be reserved for culture. Our climate is so 

 favorable to the maturing of seed that there is no reason why Ave should 

 not only equal, but surpass, any European country in the cultivation of 

 this "Queen of Flowers." 



The blooming of seedlings can be readily hastened Avhere time and 

 convenience will admit. As soon as the young plants have made three 

 or four leaves, lift them very carefully from the seed-bed with a trans- 

 planting trowel, and put them in pots of rich light earth; then place them 

 in the shade and give a gentle Avatering and sprinkling over the leaves 

 for a few Aveeks, when they may be planted into the ground to remain. I 

 have in this Avay groAvn plants eisliteen inches high the first season. 

 They Avill, by this method, generally bloom the third year. The seeds 

 are covered with a thick tough shell, which, if alloAved to get perfectly 

 dry, and kept in that state for a considerable period, Avill take tAvo years 

 to germinate, and perliaps not groAv at all ; regular moisture appears to 

 be indispensable for keeping the shell soft and exciting the embryo plant 

 into groAvth. The seeds are on this account providentially furnished with 

 a fleshy pericarp (hip) to prevent their becoming too dry for germination, 

 Avhile nearly all other seeds do not germinate well unless dried before 

 sowing. 



Cultivation of Roses in pots, for the gi-eenhouse or rooms. A selection, 

 for this purpose, should be made from the Tea, Bengal, and Bourbon 

 families, all on their own roots, or budded very low. Presuming that 



