94 AMERICAN 
and with a stout pair of scissors 
make a clean cut through the 
stalk a fraction of an inch above 
the sealed end. As soon as this 
has been carried out the stalk 
should be immediately immersed 
‘n the basin of hot water, each 
specimen being allowed to remain 
in the liquid for five minutes. 
Now prepare a large bowl full 
of clean fresh water into which 
has been cast a small handful ot 
common salt. Into this all the 
roses may be placed as soon as 
they have been treated with the 
hot water, care being taken to see 
that only the stalks are in the 
fluid. Now convey the whole 
thing to a perfectly dark and 
rather warm cupboard, where 
the awakening flower should be 
allowed to stay for several hours. 
At the end of this time, if the 
experiment has been carried 
through on the proper lines, it 
will be observed that the roses 
are beginning to take on much 
of their former loveliness, 
and in a short while they 
will develop into much of 
their original beauty. 
Of course, a proportion 
are bound to be failures, no 
matter how carefully the 
roses may have been se- 
lected in the first instance. 
Still with moderate success 
the worker will feel amply 
repaid for any trouble taken 
on account of the value 
which roses assume in the 
depths of winter. The 
treatment might be em- 
ployed at any time of the 
year, when roses were avail- 
able for the purpose. 
Like many household 
arts this simple experiment 
should not be undertaken without a very ample preparedness 
for failure. I have already pointed this out more than once, 
and while I do not wish to discourage those who may be 
HOMES AND GARDENS March, 1909 
Taking the buds out in winter 
interested enough in this process 
to undertake it, it is but fair that 
a further word of caution should 
be added. 
One should not, however, be 
altogether deterred from _ the 
possibility of failure from mak- 
ing the attempt. The process is 
simple enough, and calls for no 
complexity of apparatus. Nor, 
indeed, need one go beyond the 
resources of the ordinary house- 
hold for the necessary materials. 
This in itself is one of the 
charms of the experiment. It is 
something every one may do 
and do easily and quite without 
expense. Moreover, if but a 
few of the roses survive the 
period of repose and experimen- 
tation, a few only will yield sufh- 
cient compensation, not only 
through the novelty of their 
unusual blooming, but through 
the sense of satisfaction that one 
will feel that so simple and so 
beautiful an experiment should 
have yielded some result. 
Perhaps it is a difficult 
thing to have too many 
roses in summer; one fairly 
longs and yearns for the 
blooming time to hasten, 
once it seems about to 
arrive. But one cannot 
have this royal flower in 
the winter season without 
great expense, and then not 
always in a_ satisfactory 
way. The plan here out- 
lined offers delightful 
opportunities of rose-enjoy- 
ment at a time of year 
when roses are not only 
scarce, but are positively 
unknown in the ordinary 
house. And they will be 
real roses too, but strangely 
artificial ones that are sometimes offered to the enjoyment of 
the rose lover, who, however, knows but the real flower, and 
can have no patience with the most skilful imitation. 
