518 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as if they had been planted in the ordinary way. Monsieur Mortinier 

 Scholz described in the illustrated Garten Zeitung a way of increasing 

 Roses on their own roots, which consists in laying the branches on the 

 ground during the winter and covering them over with leaves. In the 

 spring, in April, some of the branches will have rooted ; and it is only 

 necessary to cut them through to get Roses on their own roots. This 

 method has been proved a success by Monsieur L. von Nagy. It comes 

 under the category of layering. 



Cuttings of the Flowering -tips. — Monsieur Henri Menial invented a 

 method which he declares to be excellent, as he has practised it for fifteen 

 years. It is in every way a method which deserves to be mentioned 

 here : — 



The time having arrived for propagating the queen of flowers, I think that Rose- 

 lovers will be glad that I should describe to them the method I have practised for 

 fifteen years. All the books I have read on striking Roses assume the use of bell- 

 glasses, frames, &c. My method is far more simple, and its success is always 

 complete. It is as follows : I make the cuttings from the lower part of the stem of 

 the Rose, leaving them of a length containing three or four eyes ; I cut them hori- 

 zontally about five millimetres under an eye. I remove the leaf from this eye, 

 but leave the petiole. I make two longitudinal incisions, a centimetre long, in the 

 bark on either side of the eye. I cut off half of the other leaves. I cut off the 

 top of the cuttings obliquely, one cenlimetre above the top eye, and then put them 

 in water, where they ought to remain for three or four days. 



The plot in which the cuttings are to be planted should not be clayey, nor too 

 sandy ; it should be well rammed before planting, and situated where it gets most sun. 

 Before planting the cuttings, which should be inserted into the ground about a 

 centimetre, the border should be well watered. When the cuttings are put in place 

 they should be watered again. During the eight or ten days following the planting 

 it is necessary to keep the earth very moist, by watering it as often as necessary, until 

 the callus is formed, from which the roots will soon break forth. It naturally follows 

 that the watering is continued as necessary, and according to the growth of the 

 plants. It is also well to give them a little liquid manure. I was brought to strike 

 Roses in this way by pure chance. A Rose, ' Perle des Jardins,' remaining several 

 days in a vase, formed a slight callus. This circumstance was a guide to me, and 

 from that time I have put all my Rose cuttings into a basin of water in a greenhouse. 

 In order to warn everyone, I think it as well to say that, generally, my cuttings are 

 from plants cultivated under glass. I think it also useful to state that ' Marechal 

 Niel ' strikes very readily, but that it is better to bud it upon a Brier stock. 



Cuttings of Eyes. — I learnt the following method from the Gardeners* 

 Magazine, and have proved that it often gives good results. It is little 

 used ; but it may nevertheless be of service in particular cases : — 



In some shallow earthen pots place on a drainage of broken crocks a mixture of 

 leaf mould and white sand, and on this compost spread a layer of pure sand two centi- 

 metres thick. Select some branches furnished with eyes, as if you were going to bud ; 

 and in the same way cut out well-formed eyes as if for budding, but do not remove 

 the wood, and leave the leaf intact. Then plant your buds so that the eye is above 

 ground, but the bark entirely covered ; when the pan is quite full, with the leaves 

 upwards and touching each other, lightly water them on the top and cover the whole 

 with a bell-glass. Eyes treated in this manner root easily. As soon as the callus 

 begins to send out small white roots, proceed to repot them singly, or if you like you 

 can pot them as soon as the callus is well marked and firm. The young plants should 

 not be disturbed as long as the sides of their small pots are not covered with roots. 

 Winter them in a frame if the season is advanced, or plant them out in a border with 

 a good position, where the little plants may be easily protected during severe cold. 



