VIII 



PROPAGATION 



141 



grafting them on manetti or briar stocks, for it is very 

 difficult, especially for a novice, to estimate the value of 

 the first bloom on the seedling plant itself. 



If unwilling to experiment in hybridising, an amateur 

 may still leave a few of his earliest Rose pods on the 

 chance of their ripening, as many did in the hot season 

 of 1893. If these be carefully sown, as described above, 

 a rich prize may possibly be attained (though the number 

 of blanks is astounding), for a large number of our best 

 Roses were raised in past years by French nurserymen 

 in this haphazard fashion. 



