ROS 
ROS 
the family, have a tendency to render 
the varieties they carry better able to 
bear our climate. For such as may be 
desired to grow constantly in pots, how¬ 
ever, the Boursault offers the best stock, 
because of their greater number of roots. 
The latter is decidedly superior to the 
dog-rose in this respect, and in the free¬ 
dom of its growth, but is not so endur¬ 
ing. The chalk hills of Surrey furnish 
some of the best stocks of R. canina , the 
soil of those parts being conducive to 
the spread of fibres, and of course the 
greater the number of these essential 
organs, the more vigorous and certain 
will be the progress of both stock and 
scion. As regards the choice of stocks, 
a word of caution may be useful: those 
with crooked stems can never subse¬ 
quently be made handsome, and had 
better be cut down below their irregu¬ 
larities, and, above everything, they should 
be quite fresh when planted, for any that 
have been exposed to the wind, and be¬ 
come dried at the roots, seldom grow 
again; so important is this, that not an 
unnecessary hour should intervene be¬ 
tween taking up and replanting, and even 
during the transit from the hedgerow to 
the garden, the roots should be carefully 
covered and kept damp; to buy stocks 
of persons who hawk them through the 
streets is very similar to throwing money 
away, for in all probability they have 
been taken up many days, and during 
the time have become so thoroughly 
wind-dried, as to make their after pro¬ 
gress at least problematical. The bud¬ 
ding knife should have a keen edge, and 
a thin, flat haft of bone or ivory, and 
when the bark rises freely upon the new 
wood of the stocks, the budding may be 
done; cloudy weather, when there is 
little or no wind, should be selected if 
possible, and having at hand some strips 
of bass matting to tie with, pass the 
knife just through the bark of the recent 
Jbranch, close to its union with the main 
stem, and continue the cut about an inch 
and a half, longitudinally, up the branch; 
near the termination of this cut make 
another cross-wise, extending nearly half 
the circumference of the branch, so that 
the two may form a mark like the capital 
letter T; then prepare the bud, by en¬ 
tering the knife half an inch above it, 
and cutting the piece as thin as possible, 
to secure the entire of the bud, bring it 
out about an inch below; the small piece 
of wood attached to the bud is then to be 
taken off, by slipping the edge of the 
knife under the lower end, between it and 
the bark, and taking its point between 
the knife and thumb-nail, by a smart jerk 
it will be entirely detached, leaving the 
eye in the piece of bark or shield. It 
will sometimes happen, when the wood is 
a little too old that the eye is withdrawn 
along with the wood; this must be looked 
to, and if a small round hole is seen in 
the bark, it is evidence the bud is gone, 
and we must then procure the buds from 
younger shoots: those taken from the 
upper end of recent branches do not 
always require the wood to be taken 
away, for if it is very soft and young, 
the union with the stock is not inter¬ 
rupted by its presence. Immediately 
the bud is made ready, which should be 
done as quickly as possible, the edges of 
the cut, previously made in the stock, 
should be raised with the haft of the 
knife, and slipping the lower end of the 
bud under them, it is to be gently thrust 
down into its place, the upper end, if too 
long, being cut to fit, and then neatly 
and tightly bound round with the bass. If 
inserted in the beginning of the summer, 
the successful buds will begin to grow in 
about a fortnight, and the bandage must 
then be loosened, and the. points of the 
branches of the stock may be stopped; 
taking care, however, to preserve through 
the whole of the season a leading shoot 
beyond each bud, to draw forward the 
sap required for its support. Three buds, 
on as many branches triangularly placed, 
may be regarded as sufficient for each 
stock; but the practice of inserting more 
than one kind cannot be too strongly re¬ 
probated, for, except as a mere curiosity, 
such a plant is never desirable; indeed, 
the chances of two or more sorts flourish¬ 
ing in unison are so small as not to be 
worth the risk of spoiling either, which 
is most likely to occur, either from acci¬ 
dental causes, or an excess of vigour in 
one or other; the strongest grower then 
