so soon as the flowers have decayed; for in addition to the neat appearance it gives to the Rose Garden, it prevents the formation of seeds, which, when suffered to ripen, draw to themselves that matter which should be stored in the branches.

After worked Roses have been planted some years-say from six to ten-the health of the plants often becomes impaired; the wood annually produced grows. weaker and weaker, and does not attain that maturity and size necessary for the production of fine flowers. The stems, unless washed occasionally, become covered with moss and lichens, and, if the soil be at all inferior, they probably cease to swell. Too little pruning will produce this state of things; but there are other causes. If we carefully remove a tree in this condition, we shall find it abounds in large sucker-like roots, about the thickness of one's little finger, almost destitute of fibre, and which have been burying themselves deeper and deeper in the earth every succeeding year. Thus they become placed farther and farther from the reach of nourishment, while the tree, increasing in size, requires a greater supply. The consequence is, the tree dwindles and becomes debilitated. This is especially the case when deep planting has been practised. When this state of things is visible, the plants should either be root pruned, or, which is better, taken up altogether and replanted. Let this be done early in the autumn; and when the plants are out of the ground cut off all the suckers, and shorten the roots moderately close, which will induce an abundant emission of fibres. Prune the heads closely in spring: never mind sacrificing the flowers. The removal of trees of this age, and the shortening of the roots, would alone prevent a perfect flowering the first season look only to the formation of the tree. It is, perhaps, not advisable to remove the whole at once: let a few be thus treated every year; for the second year after replanting, having regained their vigour, they may be expected to flower as beautifully as ever.

The best labels I can find for durability and neatness are wooden ones, threequarters of an inch wide, three inches long, and about the eighth of an inch in thickness. In one end of these a hole may be pierced with an awl, and copper wire passed through, by which they are fastened on the branches. Wooden labels are also preferred for naming plants in the ground. If well painted, and the names written with a dark pencil when the paint is wet, the writing will remain plain for four or five years, and often much longer. When stuck in the ground, the lower end of the stick should be covered with pitch for an inch or so above the line of the level of the ground.

To have Roses in bloom during the chilly months of autumn is the greatest triumph of modern cultivators; and perhaps this property of the Rose has recommended it to popular notice more than any other. Now, although we do not, in a general way, recommend summer-pruning, yet it is desirable to practise it to obtain late Roses. At the end of August 1846 I cut back the main shoots of about thirty sorts of Autumnals, when the flower-buds were about as large as a French bean; and on the 17th of November I gathered flowers as fine as I had seen them (Dir. I.) y 3

at any time during summer. Some buds, which were gathered at the same time and placed in a vase in a warm room, continued to unfold for several days. It is especially necessary to remove decaying flowers during autumn, as, from the moisture they retain at that time, they cause the rapid decay of those which surround them a pair of scissors is very useful for this purpose.

It is an excellent plan to wash the stems of Rose-trees in the winter, which is a time of leisure in the garden. A mixture of cow-dung, soot, and lime, two parts of the latter to one of each of the former, serves for this purpose. This will destroy insects which may have sought shelter in the crevices of the bark, and also the moss and lichens which often grow there. It will further soften the bark and favour the swelling of the stem.

It is not an infrequent occurrence that the pith of a shoot decays from an old wound in pruning, leaving the living wood hollow like a flute. It is well to place. on the end of such shoots a little of the composition used in grafting (see "Grafting"), which will exclude the wet, and preserve the branch from decay.

As winter approaches, it is necessary to devise some means of protection against frost for those kinds which are susceptible of its influences: such are, the Teascented and some of the Chinese and Noisette. It is surprising what a little shelter suffices: branches of the common fern, which grows plentifully on most wilds, answer for the purpose, as do laurel or fir-boughs: the latter, having a more lively appearance, are preferable. They should be stuck loosely among the plants, if dwarfs, that the air may circulate freely; if standards, a branch or two may be placed in and round the heads, securing them in the most favourable position by a tie with bast. All the Tea Roses form beautiful objects as Standards: the only objection to the culture of many, as such, is their extreme tenderness. I have often thought this difficulty might be overcome by the use of bee-hives. Drive three stakes into the ground triangularly; on these nail a board with a hole cut in one side extending to the centre, that the stem of the tree may be drawn in so that the head rests immediately upon the board; fasten it there, and then place a hive over the head. This will undoubtedly form sufficient protection for the tenderest: it is not very troublesome or expensive; and if the hives are painted they are not unsightly, and their durability is increased. The framework may remain during winter; the hives are required in frosty weather only. In March this protection may be withdrawn, at which time the tender Roses may be pruned. Intense cold doubtless kills many tender kinds when left wholly unprotected; and the alternations of frost and thaw are equally destructive, raising the plants out of the ground, and exposing their roots to the drying winds of spring. In the winter of 1846-47 I witnessed many die from the latter cause, which had been uninjured by the severe frost. To prevent these consequences, a little fresh soil should be thrown over the roots immediately after a thaw, and, when the ground is tolerably dry, press it firmly around the stems.

CHAPTER XI.

ON PROPAGATION.

THE Rose is capable of being progagated, 1. by seed; 2. by cuttings; 3. by budding; 4. by grafting; 5. by layers; and 6. by suckers.

The first method, which is adopted only as a means of obtaining new varieties, has been already fully entered into, and needs no further notice here.

2. By Cuttings.-Cuttings may be made, with varied success, at any time. The seasons which offer the greatest advantages are summer and autumn; but where there is a house of forced Roses cuttings may also be taken from March to May. Let us first offer a few remarks on summer propagation. Immediately after the plants have flowered, select well-ripened shoots, of moderate strength, taking care not to remove any whose loss would destroy the symmetry of the plants. In taking off the cuttings they should be cut close to the old wood, with a heel, as it is technically termed, which increases their chance of rooting. The cutting, of which No. 37. is a No. 37.

representation, should be made from two to three inches long, consisting of from three to five joints. An inch of the lower end should be inserted in the soil, and the part left above should have two good leaves. From four to six of these cuttings may be placed round the inside of a large 60 pot, in a compost consisting of equal parts of leaf mould, turfy loam chopped fine, and silver sand. After insertion, they should be well watered through a fine rose-pot, to settle the mould closely around them. When the soil is drained and the leaves dry they may be removed to a cold frame, or placed under hand-glasses, keeping them closed from the air and shaded from the sun, sprinkling them twice daily for the first fortnight. The sprinkling usually keeps the soil sufficiently moist, though it is sometimes necessary to give water in addition. We need scarcely say that the leaves should be retained on the cuttings as long as possible; but if they decay they should be removed immediately, or the contagion spreads, and numbers may be sacrificed. Where damping or fogging-off occurs, the admission of air or more sunlight proves the best remedy.

In about a fortnight after the cuttings are made they will have formed callus, when they should be removed to a pit with bottom-heat. Here they root quickly, and may be potted off singly into small or large 60 pots, according to their strength. Place them in bottom heat again for a few days, and they become established, when they may be removed to a cold frame, and air gradually admitted to harden them. "But," says the Amateur, "is bottom heat indispensable? I have no bottom heat; or, at least, I have but little, and to that a variety of plants lays claim. There are my Azaleas, my Geraniums, my Fuchsias, my Cinerarias; they require all the room of this kind that I have. Surely Roses, hardy plants as they are, will strike without bottom heat." We answer, "They will." We do not say this condition is indispensable, but advantageous. They may be kept in the cold till rooted, or indeed throughout the year; but if raised in bottom heat they will be ready to plant out in August, which will allow them sufficient time to take good hold of the soil before winter. If raised in a cold frame, the rooting process is slow, and they cannot be planted out with advantage before the following spring.

But there is another season at which propagation may be carried on with success, namely, autumn, just before the fall of the leaf. In June the Autumnals only need be cared for; now, both the Summer and Autumn kinds demand attention. Among the latter, the Bourbon, Tea-Noisette, Chinese, and Tea-scented should be placed in rows under a hand-glass, or round pots in a closed frame, for few of these do well planted as cuttings in the open ground. The hand-glass should be lifted off occasionally on a bright day during winter, to dry the dampness of the soil, when any decayed leaves or cuttings may be removed. Water, under these circumstances, is rarely required till spring, though if worms be troublesome in raising the earth, a little lime-water may be given, supposing the soil to be well drained, which is a point of primary importance. These cuttings will

not be rooted till April, when they may be taken up and potted, and placed in a frame for a few days, kept close, shaded, and syringed. Now for what purpose are the plants required? Are they wanted for pot-culture? or is planting out the end in view? If the former, treat them as recommended in the chapter On the Cultivation of Roses in Pots: if the latter, plant them out in May. But the hardy kinds, such as the Hybrids of the Chinese and Bourbon, the Boursault, the Ayrshire, the Evergreen, the Multiflora, and the Hybrid Perpetual, may be planted in beds in the open ground. By October there will be plenty of wellmatured wood on the old plants, and judicious thinning will benefit rather than injure them. The cuttings in this instance should all be made with heels, by which rule only one cutting can be made from a shoot. The tops may be used, but they are not so likely to take root. The cuttings here must be longer than those placed in pots, to allow of their being firmly fixed in the ground. Nine inches to a foot is a fair length, and two or three eyes should remain above ground. When prepared, the best method of planting them is to dig the soil, cutting down a trench every nine inches, in which a row is inserted at about an inch apart from cutting to cutting. A few boughs should afterwards be stuck rather thickly between every two rows, to accomplish the double purpose of shielding them from the sun and to prevent the ground from becoming frozen very hard. Branches of some evergreen should be used, and as the leaves fall they should be cleared away, or a dampness will be engendered, resulting in loss. The branches may remain till spring, and after their removal it will be well to hoe the soil to loosen the surface. After this, it will be seen which are on a fair way to make plants: the others should be removed, to give the prosperous ones a full chance of success, and plenty of room to grow. Here they must remain till autumn, when they may be conveyed to any position they are destined to fill.

But we have alluded to another season at which propagating by cuttings may take place, and which requires a few passing remarks: this is from March to May, and the cuttings are taken from plants that have been forced. They are treated in the same manner as related of June cuttings, excepting that the latter are first placed in a cold frame, and the former are placed in bottom heat at once. Cuttings so made strike very readily; yet we apprehend this plan is least of all suited for the Amateur. First, it involves the necessity of keeping the cuttings. and plants in bottom heat for six weeks or two months in the spring; a time when, to the generality of cultivators, heat can ill be spared. And then it is questionable whether, by such culture, we obtain the robust, hardy-constitutioned plants that we do by raising in the open air, or with merely bottom heat at rooting time. 3. By Budding.-Before we enter upon the detail of this practice, let us note a few thoughts respecting stocks.

The kinds most commonly used are, the Dog-rose, the Boursault, and the Manettii. The former abounds in the hedges throughout Europe, where it delights us with its delicately-tinted blossoms in June and July. It is, however, a bad