PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 



115 



by the hand, the cutting being passed between two of the 

 fingers a little separated. If well rooted, the fibres will 

 be seen on the outside of the ball of earth. They can 

 then be placed in a cold frame, or anywhere under glass, 

 to be planted out the latter paj-t of spring, or retained 

 for pot culture. Where hot-bed frames are not conven- 

 ient, or the amateur Welshes only to experiment wdth one 

 or two cuttings, he can use a tumbler, or any kind of 

 close glass covering. 



Where roses are forced into bloom the latter j^art of 

 winter, cuttings can be taken from them immediately after 

 the bloom is past ; and they will also succeed if taken 

 from plants in the open ground immediately after their 

 first bloom. Cuttings of the Everblooming Roses will 

 all strike at any time during the summer, but they suc- 

 ceed much better either in the autumn, or after their first 

 bloom. The heat of our midsummer sun is so great upon 

 plants forced in the house, that xjuttings often fail at that 

 time. When a cutting is made near the old stem, it is 

 better to take with it a portion of the old wood, which 

 forms the enlarged part of the young branch. Where the 

 cuttings are scarce, two buds will answer very well — one 

 below the surface ; and, in some cases, propagation has 

 been successful with only one eye. In this case they are 

 planted up to the base of the leaf in pots of sand, similar 

 to that used in the manufacture of glass, and the eye is 

 partially covered. They are then subject to the same 

 treatment as the others, and carefully shaded ; they wall 

 thus root easily, but require a long time to make strong 

 plants. 



Some years since, Lecoq, a French cultivator, conceived 

 the idea of endeavoring to propagate roses by the leaf. 

 He gathered some very young leaves of the Bengal rose, 

 about one quarter developed, cutting them ofi" at their 

 insertion, or at the surface of the bark. He planted these 

 in peat soil, in one-inch pots, and then plunged the pots 



