PROPAGATION or THE ROSE. 47 



sua ; but tliey were allowed to be quite open on mUd cloudy days, 

 and had warm sbowers of rain at all opportunities. Here it was 

 found necessary to fumigate mem several times to get rid of the 

 aphides, which partially appeared five or six times during the season, 

 but were speedily cleared away. The' lights were taken off towards 

 autumn, and the young plants looked as well as could be wished. 

 At the period when frosts were expected, they were removed care- 

 fully with all their roots, into a bed made of the same compost, and a 

 foot deep ; planted a foot apart every way, and the bed being four feet 

 wide, took four across it, the outer ones being six inches from the 

 edge of the bed. The same precaution was taken with mats and 

 hoops to keep off heavy falls of snow or hard frosts, and they were 

 allowed to push as much as they would, without pruning, ah the next 

 season, no other pains being taken than to throw the mat over when 

 the sun was distressingly hot, and to water them freely on dry parch- 

 ing weather, every night. At the autumn, they were replanted, all 

 the weak shoots being cut out, but the strong ones not shortened till 

 spring. Though there was a manifest improvement in the flowers 

 each season, it was four or five before anything hke the quality of 

 some present roses was approached. 



This practice differs, in some respects, from that of some other 

 nurserymen; we have seen healthy seedlings, since all these pains 

 were taken, where the seeds were sown out of doors in a common 

 bed, raked in like so many onions ; came up hke so many weeds ; 

 grew well and stood the weather without even a shelter from hard 

 frosts. Some may have been killed and not missed, but they did as 

 well, to all appearance, a!3 those more tenderly nursed. 



Hastening the Flowering of Seedlings. 



When the seedlings come up in May or June, keep them well moist- 

 ened, but not too wet, until you can get hold of them well to pot off. 

 Put one each into small pots, and let them, as soon as they are estab- 

 hshed, be placed in the shade out of doors ; but the greatest care must 

 be taken to prevent the attack of the fly, or vermin of any kind. 

 They must be looked at almost daily, and upon the least appearance 

 of any insects, you must remove the plants under cover, where you 

 can fumigate and syringe them regularly. It is still better, if you have 



