thod of propagating. And it is so
widely practised by amateurs and gardeners of all degree, that it is
better to get an object-lesson in the art than to depend on written
instructions. With a little practise any one with neat fingers can bud.
But great care must be taken in the operation, not to bruise the bark of
the bud or "shield" that is to be inserted in the stock.

The best stocks, whether for dwarfs or standards, are those of the wild
Dog Rose from woods and hedgerows. These should be taken up in October
and November, care being taken that each stock has fair roots, that the
roots are not torn or bruised, and that they are not dry and shrivelled
when planted. In fact, they ought to be treated with just the same care
we bestow on our new roses when we plant them out. The stocks may be at
once shortened, to about three feet for half-standards, and very strong
ones for specimen or weeping roses may be kept six and eight feet long.
But in shortening both, they must always be cut just above a bud. In the
following summer these stocks will have thrown out side-shoots; and it
is in these that the buds are to be inserted. We can tell when "the bark
will run," _i.e._ that it is ready for budding, by trying whether the
thorns break off clean when pushed by the thumb. If the thorn bends and
does not leave the bark, the wood is not ripe enough. If the thorn
sticks tight to the wood, and yet is brittle, the wood is too ripe.

Dwarf stocks are treated much in the same way, but must be planted
nearer the surface than standards; for when they are budded the earth
must be removed right down to the roots, in order to set the bud as low
as possible, as it is inserted in the stem itself, and not in the young
wood of the year.

We then choose the "scion"--a twig of the rose we wish to propagate
which has already flowered, with plump but not too large buds behind
each leaf stalk. Inserting the budding-knife about half an inch above
the lowest of these buds or "eyes," we slice down, making a little dip
inwards towards the wood as the knife passes the bud, to nearly an inch
below it, not cutting through the bark, but peeling it off the scion.
The thin slice of wood which adheres to the inside of the strip of bark
containing the bud, is now removed by inserting the knife between it and
the bark, and jerking it out sharply. Nothing should now be left in the
bark save the soft green substance of the "eye." But if this has been
dragged ou