VIII 



PROPAGATION 



139 



It is possible also to raise Roses from mere buds or 

 eyes as vines, but letting the leaf remain. There are 

 other methods of inducing the wood and buds of Rose 

 shoots to put forth roots, but for the propagation of 

 established sorts there is nothing to equal budding, 

 with winter grafting for the rapid multiplication of 

 rare varieties. 



Hoses from Seed. — A chapter on propagation would 

 be very incomplete without at least some reference 

 to the raising of Roses from seed, the principal means 

 by which new varieties are gained, and to the 

 hybridising or crossing of sj3ecial sorts which has 

 been so successful of late years with some raisers. 

 Unfortunately I can give no minute practical details, 

 not having attempted it myself, and successful hybri- 

 disers being naturally unwilling to part with the 

 secrets of their craft. But something may be said 

 on the matter, which may give an outline of the 

 proceedings, and lead perhaps some amateurs to 

 •make experiments in such a fascinating pursuit. 



It is hardly worth while to undertake it except 

 on a somewhat large scale : only a very small pro- 

 portion of the seedlings raised will be found worth any- 

 thing at all, a good many coming single, and of those 

 that are pretty good, few will be found to be any 

 advance upon existing kinds. A great deal of patience 

 will be required : it is sometimes as much as six years 

 before a representative bloom can be got, and two or 

 three years more at least, perhaps twice the time, may 

 elapse before a good stock of the sort can be worked up. 



Hybridising consists in preventing the pistil of a 

 Rose being fertilised by its own stamens, and conveying 

 to it the pollen from the stamens of another Rose. This 



