70 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



During summer expose them to the full influence of 

 the sun without any shade, and give them an abun- 

 dant supply of water ; during winter, however, very 

 little win he required, but they should not he 

 allowed to dry sufficiently to shrivel their leaves. 

 If Agaves have to he accommodated in a mixed col- 

 lection of green-house plants, they should during 

 winter he placed at the driest end of the house, and 

 any damp or mildew kept from them. 



Selections. — The following are amongst the most 

 attractive species, divided into two sections, large 

 and small-growing, so that our readers may select 

 for themselves according to the space at their com- 

 mand : — 



I. — Laebe-gkowing Kinds. 



THE EOSB AND ITS CULTURE. 



By D. T. Tish. 



BRIAB AND OTHUR STOCKS, FOB BOSES. 



TO prevent the possibility of mistake, the term 

 "briar" throughout this chapter is used in a 

 technical sense, and may be said briefly to include all 

 wild Bases fit for stocks, with the single and most 

 important exception of the Sweet-briar, which is not 

 fit for the purpose, or rather makes such a bad stock 

 as not to be recommended for use. More particu- 

 larly, however, the term " briar " here is employed 

 to denote one species of Hose, the Dog-rose, or Sosa 

 eanina, with its five or six varieties. This is un- 

 doubtedly the best of all British or European wild 

 Hoses for stocks, though on the Continent several 

 others are used, notably Sosa villosa, or any other 

 free-growing wilding of the woods. 



The Continental demand for very tall stocks 

 renders a wider selection necessary, and it is no 

 uncommon thing in France to find standard or 



weeping Roses worked on stems from ten to fifteen 

 feet high. The French seem to have been the, first 

 to introduce the fashion of standards, and they prob- 

 ably excel all others in the matter of height. Then 

 tall standards have been and still are popular, and 

 have created a considerable trade as well as a rage 

 for imitation in other countries. They also treat 

 them difBerently, and manage to convert them into 

 Rose-trees sooner than most others. Instead of 

 waiting for the development of lateral shoots to 

 receive buds at midsummer (see Budding, in the 

 next chapter upon Propagating Roses) they place 

 from one to a dozen buds on the upper portion of 

 the main stem in the spring. These generally take, 

 and the stock becomes a Rose before the English 

 ones are fit to hud. 



Briar Stocks. — The only Rose stocks known 

 or thought of a few years since were those tall 

 wildings of our woods and hedge-rows. They 

 were valued more for giving elevation to Roses, than 

 as modes of rapidly increasing their numbers. A 

 few were collected in the early winter, planted any 

 time from November to February, budded the sue 

 ceeding June — thus simply finishing the matter of 

 Rose stocks for the year. 



Now, briar-hunting, carriage, planting, and culture 

 have risen to the dignity of a trade. Those not 

 conversant with the magnitude of the Rose industrj- 

 can have no idea of the thousands and tens of 

 thousands collected and planted every year. Nursery 

 gardens have been crowded, and the surplus stock of 

 briars have overflown into fields, and furnished not a 

 few farms. And still the briar trade grows. Woods 

 as well as hedge-rows are scoured every year all over 

 the country, and few briars of any height or merit 

 escape the keen eyes and sharp mattocks of the briar- 

 men. On some lines of rail, truck-loads of briars are 

 almost as plentiful in November and December as 

 coals. And yet the more collected the faster they 

 seem to grow, and next year, and again the next, 

 the briar appears in larger quantity than ever. 



What may be called the natural supply of wild- 

 ing stocks has hitherto satisfied the apparently 

 insatiable demand for standard Roses, that is, such 

 as are mounted on foreign stilts or stocks of heights 

 varying from eighteen inches to seven feet. The 

 majority of these standards, however, are between 

 three and four feet high. 



Many attempts have been made of late years to 

 laugh these tall Roses down. But it seems they only 

 increase the faster. They appear to thrive on ridi- 

 cule, and only to "take in" additional fields or 

 farms, the more keen and sharp the ridicule becomes. 



Doubtless standard briars fill a useful place in the 

 garden. Being also first in the field, they hold their 



