By Suckers

Roses send up many suckers annually, which may be taken up in autumn, winter, or early spring, With some rootlets attached; and the strongest may be planted out finally, and the weakest in the nursery for a year or two or longer. They will readily grow, and will, most of them, produce flowers the following summer.

When rose-trees have grown into large bunches, with many suckers, the whole may be taken up and slipped, or divided into separate plants. The moss, and some others, furnish suckers but sparingly.

By Layers

To obtain shoots for layering, a quantity of rose-trees should be planted for stools, which, being headed down low, will throw out shoots abundantly near the ground, in summer, for layering in autumn or winter following. They will be rooted by next autumn, and fit for transplantation in nursery rows; though sometimes the moss-rose and some others require two years before they are tolerably well rooted. Hut of these sorts you may also try layers of the shoots of the year. layered in summer, any time in June. They will probably root a little the same season. The layers of all the sorts, after being properly rooted, should be taken up in autumn and planted in the nursery, to have one or two years' growth. - Abercrombie.

Soil

All the cultivated roses, and especially the double-flowering kinds, require a rich loamy soil inclining to clay rather than sand; and they require also, like most double flowers, plenty of moisture when in a growing state.

Manures

The best is a mixture of one part guano, three parts charred turf and earth, and six parts cow-dung. A thin dressing pointed in every spring.

Prunig

Mr. Glenny gives these very good and full directions: -

"Suppose we have a standard, with only one branch from the bud, which is always stronger and better than if there are two or three - the first season we should cut that to within two eyes of the ground, if a rose on its own root, or within two eyes of the stock, if it be a budded one. These two eyes would, the very first year, send out two blooming branches, which would grow a considerable length. The next season we should cut both of those into within two eyes of the short branch they started from ; and this would make each of those branches start out two more ; and unless to get the tree, or the dwarf bush, into any particular form, we should never omit cutting down shoots, and often cut out old lumps of wood and branches to thin the tree, which must never get crowded. By the same rule we should always cut away all the spindly shoots. China roses, and all constant bloomers, which require continued attention, should have only the old wood and the weak shoots cut away, because any violent pruning would throw the plant out of flower for a considerable time ; while carefully removing the seed-vessels, and taking away weak wood to make room for the stronger, will keep them constantly flowering.

This is especially requisite with climbing roses, where the favourable aspect, and other circumstances, may set the seed of almost every bloom. The swelling of their seed-vessels will take all the nourishment from the shoots that would otherwise continue to grow and bear flowers; and the seed will often complete its growth and ripen before there is anything like a general bloom again."-Gard. and Prac. Flor.

"A very good time for performing the operation is immediately after the bloom is over ; cutting out old exhausted wood, shortening shoots which have flowered to a good bud accompanied with a healthy leaf, but leaving such shoots as are still in a growing state untouched till October.

"Where very large roses are wanted, all the buds but that on the extreme point of each shoot should be pinched off as soon as they make their appearance, and the plant liberally supplied with water.

"To lessen evaporation, and keep up a constant moisture at the root of their roses, the Paris gardeners generally mulch them with half-rotten stable dung or partially rotten leaves."-Eur. Gard.

The Banksian Rose must be pruned at no other time, but immediately after it has done blooming in June, or early in July.