206 On the Culture of Roses. 



point, it will be found easier to manage. Some bastrrT^ 



must then be pulled into ribbons or strands, and laid in ? 



to be ready. A stock must then be selected, and this ma \! 

 either an old tree-rose, or a wild brier transplanted from i* 

 hedges the preceding year, or a wild rose raised in the m t a 6 

 from seed, and two or three years old, or a sucker sn " 

 from the roots of some garden rose. When the stock is * 

 lected, a small part of the stem must be chosen, and all rfc 

 side shoots, above and beneath it, except those forming the he A 

 of the stock, must be cleared away. An incision should th 

 be made in the bark, about half an inch long, horizontal! • 

 and from the centre of this a perpendicular cut one or tw 

 inches long must be made, downwards. The great art ' 

 doing this is to cut entirely through the bark, without woundino 

 the wood ; and it is for this reason that a blunt pointed knife i 

 better than one with a sharp point, as with the latter it is verv 

 difficult to avoid wounding the wood. The bud must then be 

 prepared, by cutting it out of a shoot of the current year'* 

 growth. This is done by inserting the knife about half an inch 

 above the bud, and then cutting downwards, so as to take oot 

 the bud with the wood of about half the thickness of the shoot. 

 This piece of wood must then be separated from the bark 

 without injuring the bud ; and this is the most difficult part of 

 the whole operation, as if it be done carelessly, the eye of the 

 bud will be probably pulled away with the wood, and the bud 

 will be rendered useless. The separated bark must therefore 

 be carefully examined on the inner side, and if no hole is found 

 where the bud is, it is in a proper state. The bark of the 

 stock must then be carefully raised with the haft of the knife, 

 on each side of the perpendicular incision, and the bud, being 

 first reduced to the proper size, must be slipped carefully in. 

 The bark of the horizontal incision is then raised to admit the 

 upper part of the bud, and the operation is finished, except 

 tying the stem several times round with the strands of bast 

 matting, in order to keep the bud in its proper place. 



, In about a month, if the bud be found to look full and fresh. 

 it has become united to the stock, and the bandage may be 

 loosened to allow it room to swell ; and when the operation has 

 been performed in July, the head of the stock is general!? 



