266 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ December, 
cuttings can be got in quantity from the out-door garden in August, and with, 
them it is therefore unnecessary to follow the treatment recommended for the 
amoena section, unless extra vigour is desired. 
About the middle of August fill the desired number of 4-in. pots with 
cuttings of each kind, and strike them in a gentle heat. About the middle of 
September they should be ready for a shift into 6-in. pots, and in a month or 
six weeks later to 8-in. pots, taking care in each case that the ball of earth is not 
much broken. After this they will push along, gaining strength in growth and 
foliage day by day, if* favoured, during mild weather in winter, with a genial 
stove temperature ranging from 55° to 60° at night. I do not hesitate to 
put in a pot of cuttings whenever they are sufficiently strong for the purpose, 
and thereby the store pots are kept stocky, while at the same time the main 
supply is increased, and from this an unlimited quantity is to be speedily obtained, 
in February and March, when a topping of every strong shoot is put in fort¬ 
nightly, avoiding all weak or ill-matured cuttings. 
When cradles, cold pits, and other hardening-off appliances have been filled 
with Pelargoniums, and other bedding plants, the winter quarters of these are 
filled up as soon as they are vacated, by the different kinds of Alternantheras , 
just potted off into 60-pots, where in three weeks, with a close atmosphere 
and a slight shade, they become well established ; and the cool house or frame,, 
with full exposure to sunshine, brings out their colour, and prepares them for 
immediate effect, when placed in the positions assigned to them in the flower 
garden.—A. Roger, Battersea Park. 
ROSES AND ROSE-CULTURE. 
Chapter XIV.— On Hybridising and Raising Seedlings. 
jYBRIDISINGf, with the view of originating new and improved varieties, is a 
very interesting branch of Rose-culture. A good stock of time and patience 
should, however, be brought to the work, or little success is likely to attend 
on it. June is the month for carrying on the operation, and the earliest 
blossoms should be operated on, so that the greatest possible length of time may 
be secured for the ripening of the seed. It is well known that only a few 
varieties bear seeds naturally, and not all of these ripen them sufficiently in the 
climate of England to retain the power of germination. Hence the necessity of 
choosing the varieties from experience, when about to engage in the process of 
hybridising. From this point of view all roses may be appropriately placed in 
one or the other of the following classes :— 
1. Varieties which naturally bear seeds. 2. Varieties which bear seeds if artificially 
fertilised. 3. Varieties which are barren or unproductive. 
The first and second are the only classes with which we have to deal. The 
first consists for the most part of not very double flowers, in which both stamens, 
and pistils are healthy, vigorous, and active. Left to nature, they generally become 
self-fertilised, and the offspring degenerates rather than improves. But we 
