118 



PRACTICE OF GARDEXIXG. 



room, that no gai'den should be destitute of them, at lea^t 

 where ornament is studied and desired. It is almost un- 

 necessary to state, that they require supporting to stakes 

 to preserve them from being beaten down by wind and 

 rain, and that if any shoots are produced from the stem, or 

 suckers from the roots, these should be timely destroyed. 

 It must not be forgotten that these remarks^ with regard 

 to priming both standard and dwarf roses, apply solely to 

 the cabbage, and other sorts, before named. When climb- 

 ing and China roses are budded on standards, they will of 

 course require more liberal treatment as to pruning. 



The Chma roses {R. indica et semperilorens') are so totally 

 different in habit from those last treated of, that they 

 reqmre a brief notice. The sole difference, however, is 

 with regard to pruning and propagation; the former of 

 which they will not submit to. at least to any extent, and 

 the latter may be performed from cuttings, which strike 

 most readily if planted under a hand-glass. The cuttings 

 may be taken off at almost any season, but the best time is 

 early in the spring, before the shoots have commenced grow- 

 ing. This season is the most suitable, for two important 

 reasons,— first, because, as these sorts of roses produce soft 

 and pithy shoots, and as such shoots will seldom succeed 

 well if treated as cuttings, they will always be of a firmer 

 and more woody nature afrer having endured the severity 

 of the winter ; and secondly, because, by being taken ofl'"in 

 the spring, they will acquire sufficient strength during the 

 summer to enable them to stand out in the ensuing winter 

 without any protection. In selecting shoots for this pur- 

 pose, the smallest and most woody ones should be chosen, 

 provided they are of the previous year's growth, and they 

 should be taken ofi" as near the extremities as possible ; if 

 they can conveniently be slipped off, they will succeed much 

 better. They should be planted in a warm border with a 

 light soil, and covered with a hand-glass, which must be 

 shaded during the heat of the day ; water should be given 

 them occasionally, but cautiously, as they will be much 

 injured by any redundance of it. In this situation they 

 will soon form roots, and when the weather is favourable, 

 they may be removed to the open border, where, if they 

 are watered in dry weather, they will require no farther 



