POPULAR GARDEN PLANTS. 



505 



therefore be rejected; b is a bud in the best 

 stage. This should be cut out with a sharp 

 knife as shown at the bud marked c. Turn 

 back the bark at bottom, and, seizing the 



Fig. 614. 



tongue of wood between the point of your 

 knife and thumb, detach it with a slight jerk. 

 If the bud is full at the base, it is in the right 

 condition. This is important, as a complete 

 union and full support from the foster- sap 

 cannot otherwise be secured. 



Standards should be budded when the new 

 growths are some 3 feet in length, and the 

 bark close to the stem lifts easily. When force 

 is necessary to raise the bark, the chances of a 

 quick and perfect union are remote. Dwarf 

 stocks are ready at any time while in active 

 growth, and seldom cling in the way standard 

 Roses do (fig. 615 represents a budded shoot 

 on a standard Brier). It is advisable to plant 

 out all stocks for Roses in rows, lifting and re- 

 planting them the second autumn after budding. 

 Standard Briers may be planted 1 foot apart in 

 the rows, which should be 3 J feet apart. Seed- 

 ling Briers intended for dwarfs should not be 

 stouter than a cedar pencil, and will soon 

 swell large enough for budding. Let these 

 be planted the same distance apart as the 

 standard Briers, if intended for strong growers. 

 Short and compact growers, such as Lady 

 Mary Fitzwilliam and Baroness Rothschild, 

 may be worked upon stocks 2 feet from row 

 to row. All dwarf stocks need shallow plant- 

 ing in order to allow of the Rosebud being 

 inserted close upon their roots. Plant shallow, 



and earth up the stems in much the same way 

 as Potatoes. This will ensure more moisture, 

 and when the earth is removed, previous to 

 budding, the bark will lift more easily and 

 with less liability to break. 



It is preferable for the buds to lie dormant 

 until the end of the season after they are 

 inserted. The following spring, at pruning- 

 time (but not before), cut the stock back to 

 within 2 inches of the bud, when the whole 

 strength and nourishment of the foster-roots 

 will be thrown into the bud and future plant. 

 The time to bud must be regulated according 

 to the condition of the growth from which the 

 buds are to be obtained ; but, as a general rule, 

 July, August, and the first half of September 

 are most suitable. 



Grafting. — Although budding is the method 

 usually employed for Roses, grafting also has 

 its advantages. It is generally practised for 

 the increase of pot Roses and tender varieties 

 under glass during winter, plants so treated 

 making good examples by autumn. Healthy 

 and well-matured shoots should be selected, the 

 best wood being that from plants grown and 

 ripened under glass. The stocks may be lifted 

 from the open, and laid into some light soil 

 under cover for a few weeks to slightly excite 

 the sap, then grafted and potted up at once. 

 This is much the easiest way. Fig. 616 illus- 

 trates side- or whip-grafting. A scion of ripened 

 wood, about 2h inches in length, and having 

 two or more eyes if closely together, is selected. 



Fig. 615. 



This is cut as shown in fig. 616, which also 

 represents the prepared stock. The cuts should 

 correspond in every way, so as to admit of a 

 perfect fit when placed together. All that now 



