IV 



PLANTING 



51 



manetti : a perfect dwarf plant should have no " leg " at 

 all. The wood should be ripe, firm, and hard, a fat red 

 fleshy shoot being of no use, as it will certainly have to 

 come off when the plant is pruned. There should be a 

 good union between stock and scion, no failure visible in 

 the joining, and no round knob formed by the Rose at 

 the point of union ; but it should be evident that the 

 stock has swelled and grown in proportion to the 

 growth of the Rose. 



The roots should be pruned as soon as the Roses are 

 unpacked, in the first place removing with a sharp 

 knife any bruised or injured portions, and seeing that 

 the ends of all the roots are clean cut ; secondly, 

 shortening all of extra length, especially those which 

 are fibreless or stiff ones which go straight down ; and 

 thirdly, looking for suckers, which should be cut clean 

 out, an easy way of distinguishing a sucker from a root 

 being that the former gets thicker and the latter 

 smaller the further it gets from the stem. The under- 

 ground stem or main root should also be strictly 

 examined for buds even in the most embryo stage. 

 These should be carefully cut out, or they will certainly 

 sooner or later form suckers. 



The art of packing Roses is well understood by the 

 best nurserymen, and some damp material is generally 

 placed in the package around the roots. It may 

 occasionally happen, however, owing to the parcel being 

 delayed on the railway, that the roots have got dry or 

 even the bark of the Roses become shrivelled. In such 

 a case, if matters have not gone too far, it may be well 

 to try a method of recovery recommended by Mr. Frank 

 Cant. Lay the Roses flat in the ground and bury them 

 completely, roots and tops, six inches deep ; give the 

 spot where they are buried a good soaking with water, 



E 2 



