IV PLANTING 69 



be ripe, firm, and hard, a fat red fleshy shoot being 

 of no use, as it will certainly have to come off when 

 the plant is pruned. There should be a good union 

 between stock and scion, no failure visible in the 

 joining, and no round knob formed by the Eose at 

 the point of union ; but it should be evident that 

 the stock has swelled and grown in proportion to 

 the growth of the Rose. 



The roots should be pruned as soon as the Eoses 

 are unpacked, in the first place removing with a 

 sharp knife any bruised or injured portions, and 

 seeing that the ends of all the roots are clean cut ; 

 secondly, shortening all of extra length, especially 

 those which are fibreless, or stiff ones which go 

 straight down ; and thirdly, looking for suckers, 

 which should be cut clean out — an easy way of 

 distinguishing a sucker from a root being that the 

 former gets thicker and the latter smaller the 

 further it gets from the stem. The underground 

 stem or main root should also be strictly examined 

 for buds even in the most embryo stage. These 

 should be carefully cut out, or they will certainly 

 sooner or later form suckers. 



The art of packing Eoses is well understood by 

 the best nurserymen, and some damp material is 

 generally placed in the package around the roots. It 

 may occasionally happen, however, owing to the 

 parcel being delayed on the railway, that the roots 

 have got dry or even the bark of the Eoses become 

 shrivelled. In such a case, if matters have not gone 

 too far, the following method of recovery may be 

 recommended. Lay the Eoses flat in the ground 

 and bury them completely, roots and tops, six 

 inches deep ; give the spot where they are buried 



