Tender rose seedlings ; seedlings blooming 
when two inches high ; stocks ; selecting par¬ 
ents for crossing ', how to preserve the seed; 
when to plant; destroy all inferior plants', 
contributions from John Thorpe , John N. 
May , Henry Rennet , 0. .4. Peters and T. 
Bock. Notes from (he Rural Grounds. 
from JOIIN THORPE. 
There is no mystery attached to the rais¬ 
ing and management of seedling roses. The 
heps must be thoroughly ripe, and to become 
ripe takes from three to four months accord¬ 
ing to the species from which it is intended to 
raise them. Wheu the heps are ripe—which 
can be told by the outside getting deeply col¬ 
ored either red or yellow—gather them anu 
place them 4n a hox or pot of soil, keeping 
them where they will not get too wet or too 
dry, and where they will not be attacked by 
rats or mice. Where seed is saved from auy 
tender kinds, such as Teas, Bourbons and 
Noisettes and their hybrids, they must have 
more heat and protection thau those raised 
from Hybrid Perpetuals, Damask or other 
hardy kinds. A greenhouse or other struc¬ 
ture is actually necessary for tender kinds. 
Supposing the seed is ripe in September, bury 
it as advised until the first of January: then 
unearth and rub out the seeds from the pulp 
being careful to separate each seed. Pick out 
all seeds that are plump and full-grown, dis¬ 
carding the rest. Prepare a sandy soil with¬ 
out using any manure or decayed vegetable 
matter. The former is likely to be poisonous, 
aud the latter to breed fungi. In shallow 
boxes or pots provide ample drainage, using 
broken pots, charcoal or other material of a 
porous nature. 
On this place a layer of moss, then fill up 
with soil to within a quarter of an inch of the 
top. On this place the seeds about an inch 
apart. Then fill up the pot or hox with soil; 
press down the whole quite firmly, give a soak¬ 
ing of water and place in a temperature 
of 65° to 80°, shading from the direct rays of 
the sun. In about three weeks the first seedlings 
are likely to appear: the last to come up may 
be in eight or ten months or even longer, so 
that any seed which is particularly choice 
should be watched until it has grown or is 
dead. As soon as the seedlings have fully de¬ 
veloped the two cotyledons or seed-leaves and 
the first leaf proper is discernible, then care¬ 
fully transplant each into very small thumb- 
pots, using the same kind of soil as recom¬ 
mended above, being very careful not to allow 
the soil to touch the seed-leaves in so doing. 
All seedlings should baveaspaee of one-eighth 
of an inch between the lower part of the coty¬ 
ledons and the top of the soil. Wuter care¬ 
fully and place in a position where the sun 
cannot strike them for a few days. After 
they begin to grow they should be placed in 
the light, and where a circulation can be had 
without draughts. As the seedlings grow they 
will require repotting from time to time; 
many of them will show flowers before 
they are two inches high. The buds 
should be allowed to grow so as to 
show color and then be pinched off so as to 
encourage strength. The strongest may be 
allowed to flower wheu three or four months 
old, and where any uew character or desir¬ 
able coloring is shown, the plant should be 
marked to keep. If double flowers are de¬ 
sired, do not throw away any soedling that 
shows three or four rows of petals until after 
the first season, or uutil the plant has suffi¬ 
cient strength to show its full character. 
Those engaged in the raising of seedlings for 
profit always have on hand suitable stocks to 
bud or graft the seedlings on, so as to gain 
strength and save time, which is of very great 
importance. Without the aid of stocks the 
lovely Puritan rose could not have been dis¬ 
tributed for at least five years yet; as a mat¬ 
ter of course, the same treatment as that to 
which other roses are subjected will be ap¬ 
plicable to seedlings al ter they liave got over 
their babyhood. Seed saved ju large quanti¬ 
ties from hardy kinds to be sown out-of-doors, 
can be stored in pots and buried in the ground 
until spring. Then it should he cleaned and 
sowed in beds in a shady place out-of-doors, 
and the same treatment should be accorded to 
them as to any other hardy plant from seed. 
This applies, of course, to seed where saved 
without artificial impregnation or where the 
chances are small of any improvements; 
otherwise the same treatment is advisable as 
given in the first part of this paper. 
Queens Co., N. Y. 
FROM JOHN N. MAY. 
The subject of raising seedling roses is one 
of vast extent aud of very greut interest, and 
for those having the time to devote to it I 
know of no more enjoyable occupation. But 
to attain any success, the operator must pos¬ 
sess a genuine love of flowers, for there are 
many disappointments to encounter before 
meeting with genuine success. Another point 
necessary to the operation is a fair knowledge 
of the families of roses, so that in choosing 
parents for crossing those having distinctive 
features, should, in all eases be preferred, as 
what is wanted to-day is something distinct 
from our present varieties. We have an al¬ 
most infinite number of Hybrid Remontauts 
aud Teas—in almost every shade of color pos¬ 
sible to attain: but in other families of the 
rose a wide field is open for improvement, and 
I would advise those who wish to try the ex¬ 
periment to choose suitable plants and sorts 
with distinctive features. Having done this, 
and presuming that everything is ready, if the 
operation is to be carried on in the open ground 
without the aid of a green house, the plauts 
should be planted in the fall end generally a 
slight protection during winter pays. This, of 
course, is for hardy varieties; then in spring as 
soon as the buds are about half grown, disbud 
the plants to be operated on, leaving only one 
bud to each strong shoot, and choose buds of 
male and female parents in as nearly the same 
stage of development as possible so that they 
will open as nearly as possible at the same 
time. As soon as the flowers begin to show 
color, examine them carefully, aud as soon as 
fairly developed, the stamens ot the female 
parent should all be carefully removed before 
the pollen is ripe. This is best done the day 
previous or iu the very early morning. Then 
as soon as the pollen is ripe enough on the 
male plant to adhere to a fine camel’s-hair brush, 
take the male flower and cover the pistil of the 
female with the fine golden pollen thoroughly, 
l'o avoid insects disturbing it, I prefer to cut 
away the pistils of the flowers as soon as they 
are fertilized, but experience will soon teach 
the operator the best way of performing this 
operation. One thing should be borne in 
mind—that it is necessary to do this on a fine 
day; morning is the best time. If successfully 
done, in due time the hep will begin to swell; 
all that can be dono till it is rip3 is to keep the 
plant healthy and not allow it to flowpr too 
freely. Let the hep or seed-pod get thorough¬ 
ly ripe before gathering. This will generally 
he by the first or second week iu October. 
As soon os gathered they should be buried 
in a pot of moist sand with a piece of glass 
over it to keep out mice, etc. The best place 
I have found to keep them is in the earth 
from 18 to 34 inches deep, on the south side of 
some building. 
As soon as they can be got at in March or 
the first of April (sure) prepare a place iu a 
cold-frame iu about the same way as for early 
seeds, such as lettuce, radishes, etc. Break 
the pods up and sow the seeds thinly in drills, 
covering them with about half an inch 
of fine soil, making the whole firm by treading 
with the feet after sowing. Then rake the 
whole surface very lightly to prevent the soil 
from baking. Keep the weeds carefully 
cleaned out as soon as they appear, aud water 
as required. Keep the sash on the frame at 
night and duriug all cold storms; but give air 
freely during fair weather, and if warm 
showers come, pull the sasli off altogether. 
The seedlings will generally begin to appear 
m six to eight weeks, but often some will not 
germinate for two to four weeks longer. As 
soon as they are well out of the ground more air 
should be given, till, by the middle of June, 
the sash can be kept off altogether. 
If the seed has been sown very thin—say 
five to six apart, aud the rows 9 to 10 inches— 
it is better to leave them in the seed-bed all 
summer; but by fall—early October—a piece 
of rich ground should bo prepared and the 
plants be very carefully lifted aiul trans¬ 
planted into it, allowing each sufficient, room 
to develop. Many of the worthless plants 
will bloom the first summer when they are 
of no distinctive merit. Pull these out and 
destroy them at ouce. But any having some 
particular attraction might be planted for fur¬ 
ther trial, even if it is not of sterling merit. 
The second season mauy others will bloom, aud 
with the increased vigor of the plants it will 
be easy to decide if the bloom has auy merit 
over existing kinds. If not, root them up at 
once and destroy them. Do not let the idea 
carry you away that because they are your 
seedlings they must be kept even if not really 
an iruprovinent on existing kinds. One thing 
you can be sure of—that by patience aud per¬ 
severance you will get something good in the 
long run, and then the pleasure you will feel 
in your prize will more thau repay you for 
your trouble aud waiting. 
The above remarks are only applicable to 
hardy kinds, 
The Tea varieties really require a green¬ 
house to protect them, and the fertilization of 
this class is much better and more easily doue 
under gloss than in the open air. Where a 
greenhouse is at command the whole subject 
can be simplified because the seed can be sown 
three or four months earlier and many of the 
plants will bloom the first season. Some years 
ago I raised a large batch of seedliDgs from 
Tea varieties and every plant bloomed th 6 
first summer. They were sown iu December 
in ordinary greenhouse temperature—but 
many of the Hybrid Remontant class will gen¬ 
erally take longer to bloom; so also do the 
Bourbon aud Noisette classes. 
Summit, N. J. 
FROM HENRY RENNET. 
I should like to have seen the Rural’s hy¬ 
brids of Rosa rugosa. I have tried a lot of 
crosses with these varieties, but have not as 
yet succeeded in procuring anything satisfac¬ 
tory. There are several varieties of Rugosa, 
hut none so beautiful to my mind as Rugosa 
rubra and alba, single. My experience on the 
subject of cultivating roses would require a 
large volume. My success bus been obtained 
by being very careful iu the selection of tbe 
parents of each variety, just the same as a suc¬ 
cessful breeder of animals chooses nothing but 
good, robust aud healthy stock to cross with. 
Shepperton, Walton on Thames, England. 
FROM THEODORE ROCK. 
The experience I have is rather limited as I 
have not grown roses from seed in this coun¬ 
try except in a very small way, but in France 
(Paris) we used to take the seed pods from the 
plants after a good frost. This was done to 
give them a long season to ripen and mainly 
to soften or freeze the outside part or flesh of 
the seeds; for then the seeds will separate much 
better. Then mix the seeds in a box or 
barrel with sand. Keep it iu a cellar free 
from frost aud let the sand he kept moderately 
moist so that the seeds are able to swell. Let 
them be kept in this way till early in spring. 
When the ground is in a state to be worked 
prepare a bed for the seed. Sow them with 
the sand broadcast, aud cover them with 
about one inch of soil of not too compact a ua- 
ture so that it keeps open and does not make 
a hard crust. The seedlings will then take 
their own way if tbe bed is kept clean from 
weeds, and the first summer they will make 
nice plauts from one to two feet high. After 
the first summer we transplanted them into 
nursery rows, two feet apart, and about 1}., 
foot apart in the row, and there let them stand 
till they come in bloom. Then one should cut 
out everything not good enough to hold, till 
he has reduced the number to tbe few variet¬ 
ies which he can claim to he novelties, and 
these are then used for cuttings, like other va¬ 
rieties to secure a larger stock. 
This is the way WO used to work it in France, 
where roses stand without protection and are 
not winter-killed; but in our climate I would 
advise to take the seedlings up in November 
and keep them in a cold-frame for the 
winter, and then transplant them as above, 
and 1 think the result would he the same. The 
foregoing is the mode of raising chance seed¬ 
lings. Where artificial fecundation is used to 
get crosses between certain varieties, and the 
seedliugs of such seed are raised under glass, 
that is entirely a different method,and I never 
have been in a position to practice it. 
Hamilton, O. _ 
FROM O. A. PETERS. 
The seeds of roses, after they have ripened 
iu October, should he mixed with sand or rich 
sandy soil—to oue pint of seed add about two 
or three pints of sand. But this mixture in a 
flat box or floWor-pot with good drainage, and 
sink it in the open field a little below the sur¬ 
face of the ground. Spread a flue wire screen 
over it to keep field mice nway. Another 
good plan is to siuk the pot or hox in one's 
cold violet or pansy frame. The first or mid¬ 
dle of March the seeds will germinate. Take 
them out of their winter-quarters and sow 
them in a cold-frame. Treat them hereafter 
the same as pansy or v iolet seed. This meth¬ 
od will never fail. 
(Rose seeds never should be sown in a warm 
greenhouse, for they will surely be a failure.) 
Cincinnati, Ohio. 
THE RURAL’S HYBRID ROSES. 
The Rural New-Yorker’s Hybrid Roses. 
Hybrids Between Rosa Rugosa and 
Harrison’s Yellow. Sixteen Distinct 
Roses from One Cross. The Story. 
Several references have been made to 
these hybrids during the past six months. 
We may now tell the whole story in so far as 
it is likely to interest our readers. The Rir ual 
is not, by any practice of its own, capable of 
talking about those roses which florists most 
prize for house culture. Our experience has 
been confined chiefly to those roses which are 
hardy enough to live out in the open ground 
from year to year. Thus it has happened 
that Rosa rugosa has always been a favorite 
at the Rural Grounds. It is one of the very 
few roses that is a perpetual bloomer. It is 
one of the very few whose foliage, if not cared 
for, will not suffer materially from the many 
insects which infest roses in general. The 
leaves are thick, almost leathery, and the sur¬ 
face, instead of being smooth, is covered with 
tiny wrinkles. The bushes are covered with 
flowers of medium size, of a pink color and of 
fine petals. These are followed by heps or 
fruits of a large size and of a bright-red color, 
which compensate, to some extent, for the 
perishable nature of the flowers themselves. 
The bush is of sturdy habit and perfectly hardy. 
There are two varieties of this rose—a white 
and tbe pink of which wo are writing. Either 
variety, according to our best information, 
cornea true, Or nearly true, from seed. They 
are varieties of a distinct Japan species. 
With such distinct and valuable character¬ 
istics, Rosa rugosa was selected as one patent 
of our proposed hybrids. There was yet an¬ 
other reason. We could not learn and have 
not since learned that auy hybrids with this 
rose are in existence or even that it has ever 
been used for the purpose of hybridization. 
Why Rosa rugosa was selected as tbe mother 
parent was, first, because the flowers are sin 
gle; and. second, because they fruit readily. 
Harrison’s Yellow is either an Austrian or a 
Scotch rose, or possibly itself a hybrid. The 
leaflets arc small aud thiu, the bush branchy 
and the branches full of thorns It is, how 
ever, very hardy here, producing a great num¬ 
ber of bright yellow flowers, which are semi- 
double. 
It so happened that this rose alone,during 
the early summer of 188(5—or at the time we de¬ 
sired co work upon them—bore the only flowers 
that matured pollen in any appreciable 
quantity. Instead, therefore, of collecting 
pollen from several different kinds,as was pre¬ 
ferred, this Harrison’s Yellow was alone used 
as the father, or pollen plant. It therefore 
occurred that Rosa rugosa was the female, aud 
Harrison's the male parent of all the seeds 
which resulted from the crosses made. 
Iu making crosses, whether with wheats, 
rye and wheat, blackberries and raspberries, 
grapes, pears, etc., we have always wanted to 
know one thing, viz., that the seeds produced 
were unquestionably the result of the cross, 
aud vve have always thrown aside all others. 
In the case of the roses wo are now writing 
about,the petals were unfolded and tbe anthers 
cut out several days before the ripening of the 
pollen. They were then folded in strong tis¬ 
sue paper which was removed while the pollen 
was being applied aud then at ouce replaced. 
It was a matter of surprise to the writer, as 
it differed from any other experience of the 
kind, that nearly every bud treated, formed 
fruit (heps) which, though in most instances 
smaller than those not manipulated, contained 
seeds. 
Assuming that these seeds would sprout 
soouer if planted while fresh, they were at 
once sown in boxes ol’ carefully prepared soil. 
This was iu August as nearly as we can recall. 
But they did not sprout, so that on the ap 
proach of winter the boxes were sunk iu the 
soil aud covered with a mulch thereto remain, 
subject to freezing aud thawing, uutil Febru¬ 
ary, when they were carried into the bouse— 
a little conservatory heated only by a cellar 
furnace. Here they sprouted iu a few days, 
and no less than 50 little plauts grew and 
thrived for a time. Wheu from two to four 
inches high, they were transplanted to 3-inch 
pots and here they continued to grow until n 
lot of hardy perennial asters were received 
from a florist and placed near them. The 
asters were covered with mildew. Whether 
this mildew attacked the seedlings or whether 
they would have been attacked iu auy case, 
the writer cannot say. It needs only to be 
said that the roses began at once to suffer from 
mildew in consequence of which all but 10 
perished tn spite of our best efforts to save 
them by the use of sulphur. The lti survivors 
were set out in the garden in late May and 
there they are to-day. 
These hybrid roses ure remarkable for more 
thau oue reason, ami it is this part of our 
record which will most interest those who 
have given cross-bred seedling rose culture at¬ 
tention. In the lirst place, ns has been stated, 
self seedlings of Rosa rugosa aro known to 
come true from seeds. Whatever variations 
there may be will be shown in slight differ¬ 
ences in the size or color of the flower or foli¬ 
age. But they are all unmistakably bosa 
rugosa. All have the same leathery, wrinkly 
leaves. A species so peculiarly like unto itself 
might be supposed to possess a strung prepot¬ 
ency which, as a mother plant, would assert 
itself m the progeny, regardless of the male 
parentage. To what extent this came to pass 
is well shown in our engravings which are 
true to nature. 
one of the lti seedlings seems to he a full 
Rosa rugosa. This is shown at No. I Fig. 
480 (see first page)—the central leaf with nine 
leaflets. Everyone of the others differs in a 
marked degree from the mother. Nos. 3 aud 
8 have leathery leaves, it is true, but they are 
very different iu shape aud color. No. 5 is 
quite different from either parent, while the 
others, (i, 7, 8, and 0, resemble the foliage of 
