158 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



to part with the secrets of their craft. But some- 

 thing may be said on the matter, which may give an 

 outline of the proceedings, and perhaps lead some 

 amateurs to make experiments in such a fascinating 

 pursuit. 



It is hardly worth while to undertake it except 

 on a somewhat large scale : only a very small pro- 

 portion of the seedlings raised will be found worth 

 anything at all, a good many coming single, and of 

 those that are pretty good, few will be found to be 

 any advance upon existing kinds. A great deal of 

 patience will be required : it is sometimes as much 

 as six years before a representative bloom can be got, 

 and two or three years more at least, perhaps twice 

 the time, may elapse before a good stock of the sort 

 can be worked up. 



Hybridising consists in preventing the pistil of a 

 Rose being fertilised by its own stamens, and con- 

 veying to it the pollen from the stamens of another 

 Rose. This is sometimes, perhaps often, done in 

 the open by bees and other insects, and some means 

 must be taken, by muslin bags or by working only 

 under glass, to prevent their access to the blooms. 

 "When the stamens of the Rose to be crossed have 

 been taken away, and the pistil is ready, the pollen 

 is conveyed to it repeatedly for a day or two from 

 the stamens of the other Rose by a small camel's- 

 hair pencil, and this pollen may be stored if necessary 

 in a box in a dry place before the operation, which 

 should be performed with great care on a dry and 

 sunny day. 



Both plants should, of course, always be kept in a 

 thoroughly healthy condition, and as the ripening of 

 the hep or seed pod will take about three months 



