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Showing the Styles and Pistils-The Female Organs

It will be found by the person who wishes to have some interesting work for the winter, and who can give up part of his greenhouse, that a great deal may be accomplished even in a limited space. A conservatory would also give one an opportunity to make interesting experiments.

The Hybrid Tea list, with the addition of Pernet- Ducher's Pernetiana, makes this section of outdoor roses very complete, but there is still a large field to work upon, particularly in the climbing section.

Any one who can breed a hardy seedling climber which will bloom reliably from frost to frost will be giving the rose world a most important addition.

By securing a few potted plants in the early autumn, quite a number of crosses could be made, although the chances of securing what is desired would not be as great as if one had more plants with which to experiment.

As most of the books state, a rose will become fertilized with its own pollen more quickly than by the pollen of any other rose. The main point for success is to watch most carefully the rose which is to be bred so that before the pollen becomes ripe the anthers and stamens may be removed. It is very easy to tell when the pollen is ripe because it will then drop in small yellow particles upon the petals of the rose, and if one's finger is rubbed across the anthers the yellow dust will at once be noticed. Pluck off the petals of the selected rose before the pollen reaches this stage. After the petals have been removed a small pair of scissors should be used to cut off the anthers. As this is done turn the rose and only take off the stamens from the under side, thus precluding any possibility of the immature pollen reaching the pistils. Some few of them will be bent over and not yet fully developed, and these should be carefully removed from the plant because later on they will be dangerous to the experiment.

The pollen contained on such anthers if kept in the sun will be developed and can be used on any other flower. Having prepared the seed parent or female flower, now secure the pollen from the other parent selected. If the plant from which the pollen is taken is not needed for a seed parent, it will be unnecessary to secure the pollen as above suggested, but the whole flower may be cut.

All authorities agree that a bright, warm day is the best on which to breed roses, as in damp, cloudy weather the pollen is not active. When the pollen is falling from the anthers in small, yellow dust, your rose will be properly fertilized, it being only necessary to shake the pollen on to the pistils of the rose selected as a seed parent for the hybridizing to be complete.

FIG. 43 SEED POD ON A HYBRID TEA ROSE WHICH HAS BEEN HYBRIDIZED After roses have been hybridized, allow the seed pods to develop, and when the weather becomes warm in late spring or early summer take the plants from the greenhouse or conservatory and plant the pots in soil out-of-doors to enable the heps to mature properly. In order to protect seed pods from birds or other interference it is advisable to cover the hybridized plants with wire netting. Towards early autumn the seeds should be taken carefully from the heps and planted, each lot being kept separate.

In mature seeds a little rose plant will sprout in a month or thereabouts with greenhouse care, bottom heat, and carefully-selected soil for germination. In the course of another six weeks very small blooms will appear on many of them, with the exception of the climbers.