Parsons on the Rose

TIN

er, as much as possible, to exclude the air. If the weather is dry, they should be carefully watered in the evening. Where it is inconvenient to make the cuttings in the fall or early in the winter, they can be made in the spring; but in consequence of having to form the callus, they will require a much lighter soil than will afterward be desirable for their growth, and they will also be much[Pg 114] later in coming on. This mode of open propagation answers very well for some of the smooth-wooded roses of the more robust growing varieties, like the Boursault and Rubifolia; but for the delicate Bengals, the best mode is pot propagation. For this purpose, small pots can be used, filled with equal parts of mould and sand, or peat and sand. About the middle of autumn, cuttings of the same season's growth are taken off with two to four buds, cutting off one or two of the lower leaves, and cutting off the wood smooth and square close to the eye, as in figure 8. These cuttings can be inserted in the pot, leaving one eye above the surface. It should then be slightly watered to settle the soil firmly around the cuttings, and then placed in a cold frame, or on the floor of a v

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-A ROSE

their first bloom. The heat of our midsummer sun is so great upon plants forced in the house, that cuttings often fail at that time. When a cutting is made near the old stem, it is better to take with it a portion of the old wood, which forms the enlarged part of the young branch. Where the cuttings are scarce, two buds will answer very well-one below the surface; and, in

in one-inch pots, and then plunged the pots[Pg 116] into a moderate heat. A double cover of bell glasses was then placed over them, to exclude the air entirely, which course of treatment was pursued until they had taken root. The shortest time in which this could be accomplished was eight wee

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-LEAF C

will often take root more freely than even cuttings, and in a mu

for the maintenance of existence, and is one of those singular results which should lead us to make farther experimen

in this for want of knowledge of the right condition in which the wood should be before cutting, a condition which cannot

or benches, in a house of[Pg 117] the same temperature as that in which the parent plant has grown. These pots or benches would be better covered with glass, but it is not essential. After the c

LAY

a chip or some of the soil can be placed in the slit, to prevent it from closing, and the shoot can then be carefully laid in the hole, and pegged down at a point some two[Pg 118] inches below the cut, keeping, at the same time, the top of the shoot some three or four inches out of the ground, and making it fast to a small stake, to keep it upright. Care should be taken not to make the angle where the branch is pegged at the cut, as the branch would be injured and perhaps broken off; the best place is about two inches below the incision. The soil can then be replaced in the hole, and where it is convenient covered with some moss or litter of any kind. This will protect the soil from the sun and keep it moist, and will materially aid the formation of new roots. These are formed in the same manner as in cuttings; first a callus is produced on those parts of the incision where the bark joins the wood, and from this callus spring the roots, which, in some cases, will have grown sufficiently for the layers to be taken from the parent plant the latter part of the following autumn; in some cases, however, the roots will not have sufficiently formed to allow them to be taken up before another year. The summer is the best period for layering the young shoots. Early in the s

laid down, and that roots may be thus obtained from all th

ing them up with similar care, after twelve or eighteen months, I found only the first eyes expanded into buds or roots, while the rest had perished. I have seldom seen the fifth eye developed, while I have frequently known the w

ueen of the Prairies, would very probably throw out roots readily, when treated in this manner. It is worth repeated experiment; for, if rapid growing roses, like some of the evergreen varieties, the Greville, and the Queen of the Pra

CK

thing to see half-a-dozen suckers growing about a single rose-tree. When the health and prosperity of the plant are desired, these should be carefully kept down, as they deprive the plant of a material portion of its nourishment. When, however, they are wanted for stocks, they should be taken off every spring with a small portion of root, which can generall

DD

is generally the case, that the stock or plant on which the Rose is budded is of some variety that will throw up suckers very freely, which growing with great luxuriance, will sometimes overpower the variety budded upon it, and present a mass of its own flowers. The purchaser will thus find a comparatively worthless bloom, instead of the rare and beautiful varieties whose appearance he has been eagerly awaiting, and upon the head of the nurseryman will frequently descend the weight of his indignation. This difficulty can, however, be avoided by a very little attention. The shoot of the stock ca

Budded or grafted roses are thus very unpopular in this country, and tho

eater part of which is unsheltered by any foliage, is exposed to the full glare of our summer sun, and unless protected in some way, will often die out[Pg 122] in two or three years. Its life can be prolonged by covering the stem with moss, or with a sort of tin tube, provided with small holes, to al

eye or bud. The operation can be performed at any season when these requisites can be obtained. In the op

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-BUDDING

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UDDING IN T

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BUDDING A

r a piece of yarn, and firmly bind it around the bud, leaving only the petiole and bud exposed, as in c, fig. 10. The string should be allowed to remain for about two weeks, or until the bud is united to the stock. If allowed to remain longer, it will sometimes cut into the bark of the rapidly growing stock, but is productive of no other injury. It is the practice with many cultivators to cut off the top of the stock above the bud immediately after inoculation. A limited acquaintance with vegetable physiology would convince the cultivator of the injurious[Pg 124] results of this practice, and that the total excision of the branches of the stock while in full vegetation must be destructive to a large portion of the roots, and highly detrimental to the prosperity of the plant. A much better mode is to bend down the top, and tie its extremity to the lower part of the stock. Several days after this is done, the bud can be inserted just below the sharpest bend of the arch. When the buds are to be placed in the branches of a stock, as in fig. 11, the top of the main stem can be cut off, and the branches arched over and tied to the main stem, as at f; the bud is then inserted in each branch, as at c. The circulation of the sap being thus impeded by the bending of the branch

FTI

by cultivators, as budding cannot be relied upon in the spring, and as there is much wood from the winter pruning which

nches long, with two or more buds upon it. An inch of the lower part of the cion can be cut in the shape of a wedge, making one side very thin, and on the thick or outer side, leaving a bud opposite to the top of the wedge. This cion can then be inserted in the cleft as far as the wedge is cut, being very careful to make the bark of the cion fit exactly to that of[Pg 126] the stock. In order to exclude the air, the top and s

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14. This cion can then be accurately fitted on to the place from which[Pg 127] the slice of bark and wood is taken. The whole can then be bound around with cotton cloth, covered with the composition described before. In

and the bark cut through from the top about an inch downward. The point of the knife can then be inserted at the top, and the bark peeled back, as in a, fig. 15. It is desirable, as before, that a bud should be left on the other side of the stock, opposite this opening; and the French

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.-RIND G

n, as in fig. 16. The cion[Pg 128] is then placed in the lower part of this cavity, in the same manner as with cleft grafting. This mode is called Aspirant, from the bud above the incision, which continues to draw up the sap, until the development of the

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g.

h rather more wood attached to the bud, than in summer budding. It is very successfully practiced by various cultivators in the vicinity of Paris. There is still another mode sometimes practiced in France, which owes its origin to a cultivator named Lecoq. A small branch is chosen, which is provided with two buds, one of them being on the upper part, and the other near its larger end. A sidelong sloping

tom heat and bell glasses. We have given thus concisely, and, we hope, clearly, the various modes of budding and grafting with which we are acquainted. They may be sufficient to enable the amateur to amuse his leisure hours, though his succ