ginning at the base, with a very sharp knife; the shoot must then be brought to the ground, so as to be able to judge in what place the hole must be made to receive it; this may be made large enough to hold a quarter of a peck of compost: in heavy and retentive soils this should be rotten dung and pit sand in equal quantities, well mixed; the shoot must then be "tongued," i. e. the knife introduced just below a bud, and brought upwards, so as to cut about half way through; this must be done at the side or back of the shoot (not by any means at the front or in the bend), so that the tongue does not close; to make this certain a small piece of glass or thin earthenware may be introduced to keep it open. Much nicety is required to have the tongue at the upper part of the shoot, so as not to be in the part which forms the bow, as it is of consequence that it should be within two inches of the surface, so as to feel the effects of the atmospheric heat; unless this is attended to the roots will not be emitted quickly; the tongued part must be placed in the centre of the compost, and a moderate-sized stone put on the surface of the ground to keep the layer in its place. The first week in November the layers may be taken from the parent plant, and either potted as required, or planted out where they are to remain. Those shoots not long enough in July and August may be layered in October, when the layers are taken from the shoots, and, if any are

forgotten, February and March will be the most favourable months for the operation; as a general rule, July is the most proper season.

PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS.

To procure early cuttings, so as to have plants ready for planting out in June, strong plants must be placed in the forcing-house in December; these will make vigorous shoots, which, when thoroughly ripe in March, should be made into cuttings about six inches in length; the leaves must be left on that part of the cutting above the surface. Supposing the cutting to contain six buds, from three of these the leaves may be removed, or, if they are very large, even four, leaving two buds with the leaves attached. The cuttings may be planted singly in small pots filled one third with small pieces of broken pots (on these must the end of the cutting rest), and the remainder with light mould, or peat and sand equal quantites; the cuttings must then be placed in a gentle hot-bed and kept perfectly close, no air should be admitted, by raising the lights in the slightest degree, except for the operation of watering; they must be sprinkled with tepid water every morning and again in the afternoon, but the latter only in bright sunny weather: these operations should be performed as quickly as possible, to prevent their being exposed to the exhausting

effects of the open air. They will have made roots in a fortnight or three weeks. When this is ascertained, which can be done by gently turning out the plant, they should be placed in a cold frame and still kept close. After being a week in this situation they may be potted into larger pots. This is a very interesting method of propagation, and the plants made in this manner form very pretty bushes of compact growth; it is applicable to all roses: even Moss Roses will strike root if treated as above: they require more patience, as they are longer in forming their roots than many, as are also the Provence. Care must be taken that the shoots before being formed into cuttings, are perfectly ripe: an invariable sign of their maturity is when the terminal bud is formed at the end of the shoot; this shows that they have made their first growth; to hasten this, the plants should be placed in the most sunny situation, so as to mature their shoots as early as possible.

Cuttings of Hybrid China Roses, Hybrid Bourbons, and of all the climbing roses, may be raised with facility by planting them in a shady border in September. They may be made about ten inches in length, two thirds of which should be planted in the soil: in fact, they can scarcely be planted too deep: one, or at most two, buds above the surface will be enough; on these buds the leaves must be left untouched. These will be fit for planting out the following autumn.

PROPAGATION BY BUDDING.

This seems at present, owing to the strong wish manifested by the present generation to do every thing quickly, to be the favourite mode of propagation. A summer rose from a cutting requires at least two seasons to form a blooming plant. A layer is occasionally very capricious, and very loth to make roots; indeed, of some varieties, particularly of Rosa alba, they will not by any means be induced to form roots when layered, and are very difficult even to be propagated by cuttings from the forcing-house; but these become perfectly docile and manageable when budded, in one season only forming large and handsome plants. The operation of budding is difficult to describe. A longitudinal cut, not so deep as to cut into the wood but merely through the bark should be made in the clear part of the shoot; thus making the diagonal cut at the top of the incision. I differ from most of those who have given directions for budding, as they make the incision thus, T: my practice has arisen from the frequent inconvenience sustained by shoots from standard stocks being broken off by the wind, when the cut is made at right angles: with the diagonal incision an accident rarely happens: the bark on both sides this incision must be opened with the flat handle peculiar to the budding-knife, and the bud in

serted the slice of bark taken off the shoot with the bud in the centre should not be more than an inch in length; but half an inch is enough, the incision being made of the same length: this is the length used by experienced budders, who pride themselves upon performing the operation in the neatest manner possible. When the bud is inserted, cut off with your knife (which should be very sharp) a piece from the upper part of the plate, i. e. the piece of bark with the bud attached, so that it fits closely to the diagonal cut at top; then bind it up firmly with cotton twist, such as the tallow-chandlers use for the wicks of candles; the finest quality is best: this is the most eligible binding known and far preferable to matting or worsted. Many writers recommend the wood to be left in the plate: in cases where the bud is unripe this may be very well; but, as a general rule, always remove it. Take buds that are mature, and, by placing the thumb-nail at the top of the plate, peel cleanly the wood from the bark: if a remnant of wood is left on or near the eye of the bud, let it remain; it will do no harm; but if attempted to be removed, the eye is liable to be bruised and injured. Budding may be commenced in June, and performed as late as the second week in September; if done in June, the only shoots fit to take buds from are those that have shed their bloom: on these alone the buds are mature. I have occasionally known them to suc