58 



TLOWEES A^'D THE FLOWEE GAEDEK. 



dung and clay, or left with only tlie ligature. A laurel 

 leaf fastened at each end by a ligature round the stock, 

 so as to arch over the bud, will defend it from the sun's 

 rays, air, and ^Yet, any of which might interfere with its 

 growth. The tie which keeps the bud in place must be 

 watched and loosened when necessary, which will gene- 

 rally be in about three weeks, and removed a few weeks 

 later. A few inches should be taken off the briar which 

 has been budded, to make the sap flow more to the bud. 

 The Manetti stock may be budded later in the season 

 than the dog-rose. After the budding, about the month 

 of l!s'ovember, not sooner, all the branches not budded 

 must be cut from the stock ; they may then remain 

 until May, when they must be watched, and have all the 

 wild buds rubbed off as they appear, leaving, however, 

 two or three shoots above the bud to draw up the sap, 

 only nipping off" their ends from time to time until June, 

 when they, too, may be cut off. 



Grafting roses is much less frequently resorted to than 

 propagating them by other means. Spring is the time 

 for it. The stock to be grafted should be forwarder than 

 the scion, and operated on when the sap is in activity. 

 "Whip, cleft, and saddle grafting may any of them be 

 used. Grafting is, however, more fitted for in-door than 

 for out- do or cultivation. 



It is not difficult to raise roses from seed, as some 

 kinds seed abundantly ; but careful hybridizing or cross- 

 ing is too troublesome for the general amateur. The 

 sorts for crossing should be judiciously chosen. Upon a 

 fine dry day, when the flower is fully expanded, the 

 anthers must be cut away with a pair of scissors, to 

 prevent the seed following that parent only ; then the 

 pollen from the other plant must be placed on the pistil 

 with great care, at a time of day when the farina is 

 abundant, and the flower so impregnated tied in a gauze 

 bag to prevent interference from insects, and the two 

 kinds marked and noted down. An easier plan is to plant 

 dissimilar varieties side by side, and leave the bees to 

 hybridize the seed, and this might prove interesting even 

 to amateur rose-growers. 



