THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID CONTRIBUTIONS TO HORTICULTURAL LITERATURE; BEING A SELECTION OF ARTICLES WRITTEN FOR GARDENING PERIODICALS, AND PAPERS READ BEFORE VARIOUS SOCIETIES, FROM 1843 T0 1892. BY WILLIAM PAUL, F.L.S., &c. IN THREE PARTS. PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM PAUL & SON, WALTHAM CROSS, HERTS. MDCCCXCII. To the Distinguished Horticulturist ROBERT HOGG, LL.D., F.L.S., &c., this Volume is Dedicated a mark of respect and esteem arising from a life-long friendship. as JM363651 PREFACE. T N publishing these CONTRIBUTIONS TO HORTICUL- A TURAL LITERATURE it seems hardly desirable that everything I have written over the last fifty years should be included. I began writing at a very early age in response to an invitation from the late Mr J. C. Loudon, during his brief Directorship of " The Gardeners' Gazette." Copies of the articles written in early life were rarely kept, and it would be too much to expect that the memory should recall trifles often written on the spur of the moment and as quickly forgotten. Moreover, some contributions were of a merely transitory interest. Of the articles selected, some contain lists of varieties of cultivated plants and flowers which were the best of that date, but which are now superseded by fashion or by the improvement of races by cultivation and selection. It was not, however, thought advisable in all cases to omit these lists, although the individuals have vi PREFACE. to a large extent been superseded, as they are assumed to be of historical and scientific value, and in some cases, especially with roses, many of the discarded varieties are being restored to favour. To show which were the most generally cultivated varieties of any flower or plant at a given date, is to show by comparison (as some of the old kinds are sure to remain accessible, either as plants or plates) the degree of progress attained in this branch of scientific gardening. The small number of articles, considering the lengthened period over which they extend, may by some be considered remarkable. To account for it the author would remind his readers that some of his writings have been published as separate volumes, and that writing with him was never a profession, but merely a hobby, pursued at intervals as time could be snatched from the duties of active business life. With regard to the controversies, happily few, in which he has been engaged, he has not thought it desirable to introduce here the opinions of those who awakened them. It is however obvious that the names and dates of the periodicals in which they appeared may be gathered from the replies, so that those who may be sufficiently interested in the con- troversies to wish to follow them throughout may do so with but little research or inconvenience. PREFACE. vii He now submits this book to his friends and the public. The search for and arrangement of the materials have been a matter of considerable labour. But the task has been one that has called up a host of pleasant associations, darkened only by the occasional reminder of the departure of valued friends and diligent fellow-labourers in the same field, who, while here, administered so much to the happiness of all who enjoyed their friendship. WILLIAM PAUL. WALTHAM HOUSE, WALTHAM CROSS, 2Oth September 1892. CONTENTS. ix CONTENTS. PART I. ROSES. PAGE Roses in Pots .......... i Rose Catalogues 13 Trip to Paris in Search of Autumnal Roses . . . .15 Rosa Berberifolia Hardii 19 The History and Cultivation of the Rose . . . . .21 A Plea for Summer Roses 43 Morning Rambles in the Rose Gardens of Hertfordshire . . 45 Remarks on the Cultivation of Tea Roses as Conservatory Climbers 74 On New Roses 78 A Day in the Elysian Fields ....... 91 On Roses 100 Two Rose Shows 136 Garden Roses . . . 141 Bedding Roses .......... 145 Thoughts on Roses . . . . . . . . .149 Fast Life among the Roses 152 Roses and Rose Showing 154 Roses in Pots, how to produce them in London, c. . . . 157 Roses at the Royal Botanic Society 161 Roses and Rose Shows 169 The Rose Controversy 175 Standard Roses 179 On the Grouping of the Garden Varieties of Roses . . . 181 On the Development of Hybrid Perpetual Roses . . . 193 Seedling Roses , 196 Town Roses 199 CONTENTS. PART II. TREES AND PLANTS. PAGE Notes on the Varieties of Common Yew ..... 203 Notes on the Varieties of English Holly . . . . 207 Landscape Gardening ... ... 219 Ornamental Planting . . . . . . > . .221 Hardy Pictorial Trees ... .... 243 The Ivy . . . ... . . . .279 On Trees and Shrubs in Large Towns . . 286 An Hour with the Hollyhock . . - . . . 295 The Hollyhock ... .322 The Hyacinth ... 326 Zonal Pelargoniums in Winter . ... 332 Lecture on Spring Flowers ... '. . j_ . 334 Lecture on Spring Flowering Plants . . . . '. 346 Spring Gardening ; . . 361 Lecture on the Camellia and its Culture . . . . 364 The Camellia . . . . . . , ' 377 PART III. FRUIT CULTURE AND MISCELLANEA. I'AC Fruit Growing , . 411 Fruit Culture for Profit in the Open Air in England . . .413 The Fruit Question Considered . . . . . . . 429 On the Flowering and Flowers of Apples . . . . 432 On the Improvement of Plants . . . .... . 436 On Colour in the Tree Scenery of our Gardens, Parks, and Pleasure Grounds . . ..... . . . 4.56 On Form in Tree Scenery ... . 465 A Peep at the Paris Flower Market . . . . . . 480 The Shower . ... .483 Old Humphrey . ...'... 486 Native Singing Birds .... ..... 490 CONTENTS. xi PAGE "My Father's Garden ;j : Review . . . . . . 493 Horticultural Nomenclature 498 A Walk through the Via Gellia 501 Floricultural Millinery . . . . ... . . . 505 Insect Intoxication . . . . * . ,. .... 508 On the Relative Value of Clarified and Unclarified Sewage as Manure . . ... . . . . . . 509 Who is Right? . ." . . . . . . . .513 Cottage Gardens Association . . . . . .517 On the Literature of Ancient and Modern Gardening . . 532 The Dawn of Landscape Gardening in England : Review . -554 NOTE A, page 265. The following RHODODENDRONS may be safely added to those named on pages 264-5 : Amilcar, Caractacus, Charles Dickens, Congestum roseum, Countess of Wilton, Evelyn, Everesti- anum, Floretta, Frederick Waterer, General Cabrera, H. H. Hunne- well, James Marshall Brooks, Kate Waterer, Lady Claremont, Lord Clyde, Lord Palmerston, Michael Waterer, Mrs Fitzgerald, Mrs Frederick Hankey, Mrs J. Shuttleworth, Mrs John Glutton, Mrs Milner, Mrs R. S. Holford, Mrs Russell Sturgis, Old Port, Sappho, Sir Thomas Sebright, Stella, The Queen. NOTE B, page 274. The following CLEMATIS may be safely added to those named on pages 273-4 : Alba magna, Countess of Lovelace, Duchess of Edinburgh, Fairy Queen, Gipsy Queen, Henryii, Jackmanii alba, La France, Lady Caroline Neville, Lanuginosa Candida, Lord Derby, Lord Neville, Lucie Lemoine, Madame Grange, Madame van Houtte, Mrs G. Jackman, Reine Blanche, Star of India, Velutina purpurea, Viticella rubra grandiflora. NOTE C, page 285. The following IVIES can be recommended in addition to those named on pages 282, 283, 284, 285 : Amurensis, Atro-purpurea, Aurea spectabilis, Emerald Gem, Maderensis variegata. ERR A TUM. Page 236, bottom line, for Cistus capitatus read Cytisus capitatus. PART I. -ROSES. EOSES IN POTS. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle" Aug. %th, Sept. tyh, and Nov. i8///, 1843.*] THE ROSE, which has justly been designated the " Queen of Flowers," has, perhaps, never attained to- a higher degree of popularity in England than at the present time. The improvement in this beautiful genus by the introduction of new varieties has been greater within the last few years than the most sanguine rose cultivators could have anticipated ; and the improvement in the cultivation in this country has been quite equal to- the success in originating fine varieties abroad. The adoption of a Class for the exhibition of " Roses in Pots " by the Horticultural Society of London appears to have awakened attention to this mode of culture. Exhibitors during the past season may have been few, because there were many misgivings on the point, which want of ex- perience and knowledge of the varieties best suited for the purpose tended to confirm. Those, however, who have grown roses in pots during this season appear convinced that the difficulties advanced are imaginary, and are look- ing forward to another year to produce handsome plants with more perfect flowers. Roses in pots form highly interesting objects among the French, and why should they not do the same here, since it is allowed that our * This article was written by the request of the late Dr Lindley, editor of "The Gardeners' Chronicle." A ROSES IN POTS. general cultivation of Roses in the open ground is quite equal to theirs ? One great advantage of exhibiting Roses in pots is that their true character becomes apparent ; we see the Rose as it would appear growing in our gardens, and can refer it to its proper class. On the other hand, the greatest difficulty exhibitors have to contend with is to obtain a sufficient number of plants clothed with flowers and in perfection at a stated period. This, however, may in a great measure be remedied by growing the freest bloomers and shifting the plants to a sunny or cool situation as their state may require. Where twelve plants are wanted for exhibition at different seasons, not less than one hundred plants should be grown, and the greater portion of these should be Autumnal Roses. But before adverting to their culture, the question may arise, what varieties are best suited for the purpose ? It is probable that most varieties would succeed, but the following, many of which are established favourites, may be selected without fear, a great portion having been proved suitable in the nurseries here during the present season.* The varieties from the groups Moss, Provence, Gallica, Damask, Perpetual, and a portion of the Hybrids, I would advise to be grown as worked plants on stems from six inches to two feet in height, the others may be grown on their own roots, or at the option of the cultivator. In very many cases, however, worked plants produce a greater quantity of flowers and of larger size than such as are grown on their own roots. PROVENCE : Adeline. Blush. Cabbage. Crested or Cristata. Angers. La Fiancee. Queen of Roses. Emerance. Sylvain. Wilberforce. * Although many of these kinds are now superseded by more modern varieties, it is thought advisable to retain the names to show the best kinds of the period (1843). ROSES IN POTS. MOSS : Blush. Celina. Eclatante. Gracilis. Pompon feu. Unique. White Bath. De Metz. DAMASK PERPETUAL : Rose du Roi or Crimson. La Mienne. Josephine Antoinette. Emilie Duval. Isaure Lablee. Bernard. Antinous. D'Angers. Belle Faber. Royale. HYBRID PERPETUAL: Aubernon. Clementine Duval. Comte de Paris. Coquette de Montmorency. Dr Marx. Due d'Aumale. Duchess of Sutherland. Edward Jesse. Fulgorie. General Merlin. Lady Alice Peel. Louis Bonaparte. Madame Laffay. Mrs Elliot. Prince of Wales. Prudence Rceser. Princesse Helene. Queen Victoria. Rivers. HYBRIDS OF CHINESE AND BOURBON : Aurora. Camu- zet carnee. Charles Duval. Col. Coombes. Comtesse Lacepede. Coup d'Amour. Coupe d'Hebe. General Allard. General Kleber. Great Western. Henri Barbet. Hortense Leroy. Lady Stuart. Legouve. Lord John Russell. Madame Plantier. Madame Rameau. Madeleine. Marie de Nerrcea. Micalea. New Globe Hip. Princess Augusta. Pompone Bicolor. Richelieu. Velours episcopal. Volney. William Jesse. GALLICA : Adele Prevost. Blanchefleur. Boula de Nanteuil. Cicero. D'Aguessau. Daubenton. Due de Nemours. Duchesse d'Abranthes. Docteur Diel- thim. Fleur d'Amour. Grandpapa. Grandissima. Jeanne d'Urfe. Julie d'Etanges. La Calaisienne. Louis Philippe. Nero. Pharericus. NOISETTE : Aime'e Vibert. Clara Wendel. Comtesse de Tolosante. Du Luxembourg. Euphrosyne. Fel- lenberg. La Victorieuse. Madame de Chalonge. Miss Glegg. Yellow or Smithii. BOURBON : Armosa. Augustine Lelieur. Bouquet de Flore. Celimene. Ceres. Cornice de Seine et ROSES IN POTS. Marne. Emilie Courtier. Enfant d'Ajaccio. Julie Deloynes. Le Grand Capitaine. Madame Aude. Madame Nerard. Paul Joseph. Proserpine. Queen, CHINESE : Augustine Hersent. Belle Isidore. Lady Warrender. Louis Philippe. Madame Breon. Madame Bureau. Madame Desprez. Marjolin. Mrs Bosanquet. Napoleon. Prince Eugene. TEA-SCENTED : Adam. Archiduchesse Therese. Barbot. Belle Archinto. Bougere. Bride of Abydos. Caro- line. Comte de Paris. Devoniensis. Don Carlos. Elise Sauvage. Eugene Desgaches. Fragoletta. Goubault. Hamon. Julie Mansais. Madame Rous- sell. Josephine Malton. Moiret. Niphetos. Nina. Pactolus. Prince d'Esterhazy. Safranot. Taglioni. Roses trained as climbers would form very beautiful objects in pots. If allowed to grow to the height of three or four feet and then stopped, I imagine they would throw out lateral shoots and become covered with foliage and flowers from the top to the edge of the pot. For this purpose I should select, in preference to the Ayrshire, Boursault, and Sempervirens, some of the Hybrid China, Hybrid Perpetual, Noisette, and Bourbon, that are most vigorous in growth, the flowers of the former being mostly small or semi-double. Notwithstanding this, they are perhaps unequalled when grown as pillar Roses in the open ground. Their growth is rapid and graceful, and their large corymbs of flowers render them a mass of beauty. When purchasing Roses such plants as are not kept in pots should be removed from the ground early in Autumn as soon as the shoots are sufficiently ripened, which they generally are by the end of September. In potting, the sized pots best adapted are Nos. 12, 16,24, an d 32, accord- ing to the size and habit of the plant, and these $hould be well drained. The soil used should consist of equal parts of turfy loam that has laid by and become mellow, and ROSES IN POTS. manure (the remains of a hot-bed), so far decomposed as to have the appearance of black mould. If the loam be of a hard or binding nature, a mixture of sand will be necessary. Having selected the plant, cut off close to the stock any wild suckers, and shorten in the root tolerably freely. In potting, the soil used should be pressed down firm, and afterwards watered through a fine rose. The plants may then be removed to a sheltered situation, and plunged up to the rims of the pots in old tan or cinder- ashes ; under this treatment, if turned out of the pots in November, young fibrous roots will be seen forming in abundance, they will appear to have quite recovered from their removal, and will bloom well the following summer. With regard to such plants as are always kept in pots, they may be shifted at different seasons of the year, as their growth may require. Supposing them to be in small 60 pots in the Spring they may then be shifted into 48's, keeping all flower buds nipped off, and afterwards into 24*3, which will generally be found sufficient for their growth during the first season. It is an excellent plan to remove all the Tea-scented, Chinese, and tender varieties of the Noisette Roses, to a cold pit in October, or before the autumnal rains set in. This is not only to afford them protection from frost, but many tender varieties, especially those grown on their own roots, are liable to suffer materially from the rains in Autumn. Through the winter the lights or covering should be removed in fine weather, that the plants may have as much air as possible ; and being in a state of com- parative rest they will require but little water. Where a cold pit is unattainable such varieties may be removed to the north side of a wall or fence and a temporary frame be erected ; upon this a light covering of Fern or Beech- boughs may be laid in the manner of a thatch, which will throw off the heavy rains, and form no small protection against frost at comparatively little trouble. The front of this erection may be left open, that air may circulate ROSES IN POTS. freely amongst the plants to prevent damp, and the pots should be covered over with fern or stable-litter. In selecting plants from the ground to grow in pots, I prefer such as have grown moderately through the summer ; they will be more compact, and the wood more solid and better ripened than that of those which have grown very vigorously. It is of great importance to have them potted early in the season. As before mentioned, most of the sorts will bear removing by the end of September certainly the varieties of Tea-Scented, Chinese, and Bourbon. The operation of pruning may be performed at two seasons ; in November for early flowering, and in March or even April to procure a later bloom. The first season after removal the plants will require to be pruned closer than at subsequent periods, and it is worthy of remembrance that the flowers should be produced as near home as possible, or in other words, that the plants may become close and bushy. The Moss, Provence, Gallica, and most of the Autumnal Roses, may be pruned in close to within three or four eyes of the base. With the exception of a few very robust growers, there is little fear of pruning these varieties out of shape or flower. But with the hybrids of Chinese it is far otherwise ; they are more disposed to form wood, and should be well thinned out, and the re- maining shoots left longer. In pruning, all Roses where the shoots are crowded, or cross each other, it is beneficial to cut some entirely out, that those left for flowering may stand a good distance apart, for if too many be allowed to remain they will become drawn and produce weak flowers. It is in fact much in favour of a good bloom to have the shoots thinned during the previous summer, which assists in ripening the wood. And as a general rule in pruning, weak growers should be cut in close, strong growers left long, and those of intermediate growth pruned in propor- tion. Soft unripened wood should be invariably removed. The hardy varieties (pruned and not pruned) may now (November) be removed to an airy situation in the ROSES IN POTS. garden, and plunged in the ground up to the rims of the pots from one to two feet apart, according to the size or habit of the plant. It is well with regard to Roses grown in pots that they be always kept plunged. To obviate the disadvantages following the plunging of plants in pots, namely, their liability to root through into the ground, and the facility afforded for worms to work into the pots, I have the soil taken out of a sufficient depth, and a seed- pan with the hole enlarged placed at the bottom in an inverted position, upon which the pot is placed. It answers perfectly, and further secures an effectual drainage. After the plants are plunged the pots should be covered over with stable dung, to protect the roots at the top from frost in winter, and to keep the surface of the soil moist through the summer. About March the tender varieties may be brought from their winter quarters and treated in like manner, and such as were left for late pruning be pruned. Where the buds push out very numerously, the strongest and those which have a tendency to grow outwards should be selected to remain for flower, and the weak ones rubbed off. The plants should be frequently looked over for the purpose of destroying the grub, which will other- wise eat into the buds and spoil the bloom. From worked plants all suckers or wild shoots should be cut out as soon as they appear, and in some instances the backward or side flower-buds be nipped off. As soon as the warm weather appears it will be well to look after that tiresome pest, the Aphis or Green-fly. In looking round, you will see one or two tiny ones walk- ing about your plants ; you may think they are of no consequence, but rest assured, then is the time to attack your enemy, for they are then meditating where to provide for millions of their race. Wash the ends of the shoots or syringe them with tobacco water. I have also found equal parts of Scotch snuff and sulphur vivum very effec- tual in destroying them, put on with a barber's puff, or put into a shallow pan and the ends of the shoots dipped in. 8 ROSES IN POTS. One thing is important never allow them to collect their forces. Great attention should be paid to watering ; and though plunged, the plants will require through the sum- mer months a liberal supply. When they are coming into bloom, such varieties as are of a drooping habit will require the adjustment of a neat stick ; we should not, however, be too lavish with these supports, or they render the plants stiff and unsightly. A light shading should now be formed to protect them from the sun's rays during the middle of the day ; this should be constructed to draw up, that the plants may have the advantage of the dews so beneficial to Roses at this season of the year. Here they may remain till the middle of September, when they should be taken up, turned out of the pots, a good portion of the soil taken away, and fresh soil supplied, and such as require it shifted into larger pots. Roses required for forcing, in as far as regards soil, time of removal, and potting, may be treated in the same manner as those intended to be grown in pots in the open air. They should be pruned early in November, and it is well if they can be allowed to make their growth, and bloom out of doors the first season after removal. That plants taken out of the ground and potted early in Autumn will bear forcing and bloom tolerably well the succeeding spring, we know from experience, but it is also evident that, having been a year in pots, they become better established, produce a greater quantity of flowers, and form more compact plants. The first week in Janu- ary is a very good time for conveying the plants into the forcing house, commencing with a gentle heat, say 40 to 50. Very soon the buds will become excited, when the temperature may be gradually raised to about 50 at night, and 60 to 75 during the day, and the plants lightly syringed mornings and evenings. Great care is required in the admission of air. During January and February, and in most seasons March, very little air should be admitted, ROSES IN POTS. and this only from the top in still mild weather. I have found the plants more liable to suffer from the admission of cold air, even on sunny days, than from a temperature of 100. Whilst they do not appear to suffer from the latter high temperature, the too free admission of air early in the season will cause the young leaves to curl up and eventually drop off in numbers. The plants should be kept as near the glass as possible, and if leaves or tan can be procured readily to plunge them in to secure a gentle bottom heat, less fire-heat will be necessary, and they will repay the extra trouble. It is difficult to lay down any precise rules for water- ing ; this the judgment must direct ; the plants require to be kept tolerably moist, and the water should be carried into the house some time before required for use, both in watering and syringing, that it may become of a milder temperature. The description of plants I prefer, are for the most part, those worked on the Dog-rose, from which it is necessary to keep all suckers removed ; and as most of these spring from under the soil, I have found that by clasp- ing the tops firmly between the thumb and finger when in a young state, and pulling them steadily, they may be drawn out from the base, thus effectually removing them as they appear without disturbing the roots, The Grub which attacks Roses so generally out of doors, frequently finds its way into the forcing house, and should be carefully sought after and removed by hand. The Green Fly, though more under our command here, is not less troublesome ; as soon as any are seen, the house should be fumigated with tobacco to destroy them, and this continually re- peated through the season as they re-appear. The Red Spider and Mildew will sometimes infest the plants, for which sulphur is the generally acknowledged remedy. Dusting it on the leaves after syringing is an easy method of applying it. From the Red Spider, however, in a house with a moist atmosphere, there is not much to fear ; and it is perhaps as well to remove plants inclined to Mildew io ROSES IN POTS. which some varieties are more than others as soon as the first spots are seen. About the middle of March the flower buds will show colour, syringing should then cease, and a liberal supply of water be given. Should worms work into the pots they may be occasionally watered with lime-water, and if large flowers be sought after in preference to number, the small backward flower buds should be removed. A few plants may now be carried to a colder house, which will give the remaining ones more room, and by selecting them of different degrees of forwardness a continual supply of flowers may be obtained ; and further, the temperature being diminished, the flower buds will have more time to expand, and produce larger flowers approaching nearer to their natural colours. It is the custom with some, as soon as the buds show colour, gradually to lower the tempera- ture of the house; by this method a greater display may be obtained at one time, but the succession of flowers is lost, and the whole retarded. When the flowers begin to expand it will be found necessary to form a light shading to screen them from the mid-day sun, and at this season a thin canvas will be found sufficient. But to see Roses in perfection in the forcing house, we should visit them at the same time as we would Roses in the open air with the rising sun. just as the buds are unfolding, and while they are wet with the dews of morn. Thus have we arrived at the season when the flowers appear, which by their beauty and fragrance redouble the pleasure we have enjoyed during their progress. Among forcing Roses of the classes Hybrid Perpetual and Tea- scented, I know not which may claim the precedence. The former beautiful class has the claim of novelty, and has recently improved and increased at such a rapid rate as to threaten the exclusion of many of the Damask Perpetuals. The flowers are for the most part large and double, but there is a similarity in appearance, the flowers being chiefly purple or crimson. They possess the frag- ROSES IN POTS. n ranee of the Damask Perpetuals, and are free growers with fine foliage. Tea-scented Roses are of opposite colours, being chiefly white, yellow, and rose. They may be considered as a selection from the Chinese, on account of their delicious fragrance, and whether for forcing or out- door pot plants, form very handsome Roses. Many of the Bourbons are also admirable forcing Roses, of erect growth, forming pretty compact heads when worked ; the flowers are finely shaped, colours clear, and foliage broad and hand- some. The Chinese Roses are very abundant bloomers, and there is something striking and handsome in their habit of flowering peculiar to themselves ; among them are also some of the most brilliant crimson Roses. The Damask Perpetuals are very sweet, and are probably best worked on the Dog-rose when grown in pots. They appear to derive an additional vigour from this " exalter " of the Rose tribe, and being compact growers form very neat objects. Some of the Hybrids of Chinese also force well. In addition to the varieties recommended on pages 2, 3, and 4, the following are excellent forcing Roses : BLUSH TO PlNK : N. Castalie. T. Bardon. Mossy de Meaux. T. Grandiflora. H.C. Blairii No. 2. Ch. Antheros. Ch. Miranda: H.P. Marquisa Boccella. T. Originale. T. Clara. Ch. Virginal. SULPHUR AND BRONZE YELLOW: Ch. Miellez. T. Princesse Helene du Luxembourg. T. Pauline Plantier. T. Aurore. T. Mansais. ROSE : T. Hardy. B. Madame Desprez. B. De Neuilly. B. Psyche. B. Henri Plantier. B. Augustine Margat. H.C. Charles Louis. H.C. Daphne. H.P. Lane. Perp. Madame Feburier. Red Moss, T. Bon Silene. CRIMSON : Perp. Triomphe de Montmorency. Prov. Due d'Angouleme. Lawrenciana Rubra. Ch. Nemesis. B. Josephine Gamier. Ch. Cramoisie Superieure. 12 ROSES IN POTS. PURPLISH CRIMSON AND PURPLE : B. Due d'Aumale. Ch. Triomphante. Ch. Comble de Gloire. B. Crimson Globe. H.C. Plantier. H.P. Julie Dupont. Perp. Louis Philippe. Perp. Warratah. H.P. Prince Albert. The colours of forced Roses are not quite equal to what they are when produced in the open air, and in this respect I believe there is a greater difference in the light-coloured than in the dark varieties. Many of the sorts above enu- merated, though of first merit as forcing Roses, do not at all times expand their flowers when grown out of doors ; of which we may instance, Ch. Virginal, H.P. Prince Albert, and T. Princesse Helene du Luxembourg. The colours which may appear wanting in the above list will be found given in the preceding one. As soon as the plants are out of bloom the surface of the soil should be removed to the depth of half-an-inch, or an inch if practicable without injuring the roots, and the space supplied with well pulverised manure. The plants which bloom but once in the season may be gradually hardened off, when the house will admit more plants which should be kept in reserve for that purpose. But with regard to what are usually termed Autumnal Roses, these may be treated so as to produce a good supply of flowers a second time by the middle of May. The weak shoots should be entirely cut out, and the stronger ones shortened back to within two or at most three eyes, taking care however not to deprive the plant of more leaves than is absolutely necessary in the operation. If, as is sometimes the case, the shoots in autumn pruning were left long, and the eyes at the top only have shot forth, these may be cut quite off, when the buds near the base will be excited and fine flowers be produced there- from. As the season advances less fire-heat will be neces- sary. Towards April a fire lighted of an evening and kept in for a few hours will (unless the weather be unusually ROSES IN POTS. 13 cold) be found to impart sufficient warmth, and after the buds show colour even this will not be requisite. The plants having bloomed a second time, air may be gradually admitted for a few days, when they may be taken out and plunged in the open air, there to remain till required for forcing the following year. Roses will force well for years in succession, but every Autumn they should be turned out of the pots, a good portion of the old soil shaken away and fresh supplied. Some few will probably require larger pots, of which we must judge by the condition of the plant and roots. T EOSE CATALOGUES. [From " The Gardeners* Chronicle? Oct. 19^, 1844,^. 701.] HE criticisms in the Chronicle lately, in reference to the dissimilar representations of the colours of Roses, are not wholly without cause, but perhaps upon considera- tion they may not seem so well merited as would appear at first sight. Rather than confine myself to the exculpation of the apparent error alluded to in my pamphlet on the culture of " Roses in Pots," I would take a general view of the subject, and in relation to the differential descriptions given by various growers, would hazard an opinion that the colours and appearance of Roses vary beyond degree. We believe that colours are deepened by the action of light, and numerous other circumstances also contribute in causing variation ; for instance, the seasons the different times of the seasons the stage in which the flower is sub- mitted for examination, the soil in which it has been grown, the health of the plant, and, above all, the different ideas of colours maintained by different individuals. Now, with regard to the variation in the colour of Roses, see Indica " Le Cameleon " when just expanding it is almost white. View the same flower a day or two afterwards it 14 ROSE CATALOGUES. is changed and become crimson ! In fact we may apply to Roses what the poet has written about a very different part of the creation : " How slow its pace ! And then its hue Whoever saw so fine a blue ? Hold there ! The other quick replies, Tis green, I saw it with these eyes. Sirs ! Cries the umpire, cease your pother, The creature's neither one nor t'other. I caught the animal last night, And viewed it o'er by candle light, I marked it well, 'twas black as jet, You stare but, sirs, I've got it yet, And can produce it. Replies the man, 111 turn him out ; And, when before your eyes I've set him, If you don't find him black I'll eat him ; He said, and full before their sight Produced the beast, and lo ! 'Twas white " Prince Albert (Hybrid Perpetual) occasionally blooms of a vivid crimson, and often of a cloudy purple. T. Safranot opens almost saffron-coloured, but dies off a poor buff. The first flowers I saw of Lady Alice Peel (Hybrid Perpetual), now two years ago, were pink, and as such I retain a vivid recollection of them although I have never seen them of that colour since. I have just gathered a flower of Bourbon Augustine Lelieur, which measures fully four inches across ; but the colour is so different that, had I not gathered it myself, I should have had some difficulty in naming it. Without multiplying solitary in- stances, if we view the whole body of Roses that bloom twice in the year, and compare the colours noted down in the Summer with their real appearance at this season, we shall find a difference. But supposing Roses to bloom alike at all times and in all situations, some indulgence may be claimed from the public where 800 or 1000 varieties are catalogued and described. Perhaps the first step toward ROSE CATALOGUES. attaining accuracy in description is to take down the colours on the spot during the season of bloom. This, doubtless, is done although requiring a sacrifice of time and labour from the principals, which an extensive Nursery business will scarcely admit of. But, again, the whole varieties cannot be found in bloom at any one time, and the collection would require a second, third, or even fourth looking through, which might be incompatible with other duties. The probable consequence is, some few are de- scribed from memory. Now, although such descriptions may not be perfectly correct, may they not be considered sufficiently so to guide purchasers in selecting, which is the only purpose for which Nurserymen's Catalogues are published ? TRIP TO PARIS IN SEARCH OF AUTUMNAL ROSES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle" Oct. \<}th, 1844, p. 700.] OF the various floral improvements of modern times, nothing has probably produced such a beautiful change in the appearance of our gardens in autumn, or has been introduced with more striking effect, than the per- petual flowering Roses. What can be more cheering at this season of the year than to behold the vivid colours of many of the Bourbon and Hybrid Perpetual Roses, con- trasted with the more delicate tints of the Tea-Scented, set off by their dark green foliage, now that autumn has set its seal on many of nature's earlier productions ? I am an ardent admirer of the Rose, and my enthusiasm has ere now carried me to the continent in the sultry month of June in search of new varieties. Having this year caught the autumnal mania, I resolved to delay my visit till September in expectation of finding the perpetual 16 TRIP TO PARIS IN SEARCH OF AUTUMNAL ROSES. flowering Roses blooming in greater perfection. In this I was not disappointed, and would here advise connoiseurs of Roses, who are accustomed to visit the grounds of the large growers in England, to do so twice in the year, in June for summer varieties and in September for the autumnal sorts. I feel assured they would be well recom- pensed by, and highly delighted with a September visit. The Rose gardens then assume altogether a new aspect ; the Summer Roses are gone, and the Autumnal kinds appear in all their richness and beauty. True, the Autumnal Roses bloom in June, but they seem to require the long dewy nights to bring out their flowers in trueness of character, and the difference is oftentimes so great that the well-known Rose of June would scarcely be recognised when blooming in- September. Thinking, however, that many lovers of Roses might not have leisure or inclination to travel very far in search of one object, which, among a multiplicity of affairs, becomes of small importance, I will endeavour to give an account of what struck me as most remarkable during my late trip. After having visited the grounds of the Hertfordshire growers, and collected the choicest of Flora's train there, I departed well pleased with what I had seen, and resolving to make further additions from foreign cultivators. Having reached the French capital, the first cultivator to whom I paid a visit was M. Laffay, the raiser of Madame LafTay, William Jesse, La Reine, and many other of our most beautiful Roses. I there saw Hybrid Per- petual La Reine in great beauty, and should pronounce it one of the gems of the season ; the colour is pink with a lilac hue, very glossy ; the flowers are globular in shape, large, and very sweet. Another of his seedlings, Comtesse Duchatel, is a Hybrid Perpetual of a superior kind, the flowers are of a rose colour, with thick petals closely set ; Perpetuelle Indigo is a distinct variety of a peculiar colour to which its name alludes ; Hybrid Perpetual Mrs Cripps, a pale rose, appears likely to become a profuse Autumn TRIP TO PARIS IN SEARCH OF AUTUMNAL ROSES. 17 bloomer; Perpetuelle Ponctuee, a bright rose with white spots, is a very pretty variety. Of the four last mentioned M. Laffay has, I believe, the entire stock at present, but intends selling plants of them this autumn. He has also a Moss Rose, Princesse Adelaide, of a pale rose colour, blooming in corymbs, and said to be very handsome. The habits of the plants were certainly remarkable, having a degree of vigour quite foreign to the Moss tribe. Their season of flowering was past, but he said the flowers were like those of Ornement de Parade, a well-known Gallica Rose, and other growers spoke well of it. Among others noted here were Lady Alice Peel, Duchess of Sutherland, Dr Marx, Coquette de Bellevue, and Coquette de Mont- morency, all Hybrid Perpetuals of recent introduction, the last mentioned in every respect a beautiful flower. M. Laffay is an enthusiastic cultivator of. Roses, and a lover of fruits also. To enumerate the various grounds visited would, I fear, become tedious and occupy too much space, having often looked through several in the course of a day. I must, therefore, arrange the varieties noted down as most remarkable in their respective families. Among the Perpetuals and Hybrid Perpetuals were Laurence de Montmorency, a free flowering variety of a purplish rose colour ; Lady Elphinstone, rosy crimson, also a good autumn bloomer ; Baronne Prevost, pale rose, sweet, and of an immense size ; Comte d'Eu, a most beautiful carmine, but scarcely double enough, though apparently superior to Gloire de Rosomanes ; La Bedoyere, a variety of the character of Comte d'Eu, more double, and quite equal in colour ; Marquisa Boccella, delicate flesh, a decided acquisition among a class of Roses the prevailing colours of which are purple and crimson; Prince de Galles, purplish-crimson, a free grower, and seemingly well adapted for a Pillar Rose. Among the Bourbons were Charles Souchet, purplish-crimson, of a very pretty shape; Comte de Rambuteau, of the same cast ; Delille, a dark rose, B 1 8 TRIP TO PARIS IN SEARCH OF AUTUMNAL ROSES. finely cupped ; Due de Chartres, pale red, a superb Rose ; Dumont du Courset, bright carmine, sometimes curiously marbled ; Edward Defosse, a bright pink, shaped like Madame Nerard, first-rate ; Georges Cuvier, pale rose ; Glory of Paris, another crimson variety, marbled with violet and a fine rose ; Imperatrice Josephine, pale pink, of a very elegant shape, blooming in corymbs ; La Gracieuse, reddish crimson, a seedling from Emile Courtier, and an estimable variety ; Le Grenadier, vivid crimson, frequently tinged with violet ; Madame Souchet, rose and blush, marbled, a delicate and beautiful variety ; Princesse Clementine, violet-crimson, good ; Princesse de Modena, flesh ; Souchet, bright purplish crimson, very fine ; Souvenir d'Anselmne, a lively cherry colour ; Souvenir de Durnont d'Urville, crimson, changing to violet after ex- panding ; and Souvenir de Malmaison, a magnificent flesh- coloured Rose. Among the Noisettes were Mrs Siddons, in the way of Le Pactole, but in its then state not superior ; Similor, a yellowish buff, but in appearance a weak grower ; and Chromatella, or Cloth of Gold, a Rose of Yellow Noisette cast, of a paler yellow than I expected, and which does not appear to flower too freely. It has, however, been an unfavourable season there for its flowering, and not being very plentiful it may yet prove better than is antici- pated. Among the Tea-Scented I noticed Adam, rose, the flowers were bold and large, but not very abundantly produced ; Barbot, yellow, tinted with rose, a very pleasing kind ; Boutrand, rose ; Comte de Paris, flesh, one of the finest Tea-Scented Roses ; Delices de Plantier, coppery rose, very rich-looking ; Josephine Malton, bunish-yellow, of a beautiful form ; Julie Mansais, sulphury- white, the buds large and handsome ; La Renommee, a whitish yellow, not new, but apparently little known ; Madame Roussel, white ; Marie de Medicis, rose, with fawn centre, good and distinct ; Moiret, large, full, pale yellow, a superb rose ; and Safranot, a distinct and striking variety of a beautiful saffron colour when first expanding, gradually TRIP TO PARIS IN SEARCH OF AUTUMNAL ROSES. 19 melting into buff. Some of these varieties I had previ- ously seen in England, and in equal beauty of bloom, but others I there claimed acquaintanceship with for the first time. Roses in pots were numerous, but there were none remarkable as specimens of superior cultivation ; certainly none that I saw were equal to those exhibited at the Horticultural Exhibitions about London, by Messrs Beck, Lane, Paul, and others ; nor is it, perhaps, right to judge them by such a standard, as they were not grown to show what could be done with Roses in pots under good management, but merely as market plants. As such, the only objection to them by Englishmen would be the tall stems on which they were worked, and the little attention paid to their beauty. The head of the plant seemed to be considered the only part worthy of notice. EOSA BERBERIFOLIA HAEDII. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? Sept. \^th 1845,^. 626 -] '"T^HIS pretty rose, mentioned in a recent number as deli- JL cate and unmanageable, has grown and bloomed here in great perfection, and the following account of it may per- haps not be altogether devoid of interest. The Rosa Berberi- folia Hardii was raised from foreign seeds by Mr Hardy of the Jardin du Luxembourg at Paris, and was first imported to England about nine years ago. It was generally known to be a delicate plant, and various methods were taken to increase it. It was a practice with some to root-graft it on Berberis Aquifolium. but in this way it was not likely to thrive for any length of time on account of the opposite nature of the stock and scion. The former was robust and liable to sucker, the latter of delicate growth ; it was also budded on the Dog-rose in which way it grows vigorously, 20 ROSA BERBERIFOLIA HARDII. but it is a difficult matter to get soundly ripened buds, and from their diminutiveness the operation is a very delicate one, requiring to be executed with great nicety to succeed. There are now in bloom here two or three plants that were budded on the Dog-rose last September which have shoots from 12 to 1 8 inches in length ; the tips of some I enclose that it may be seen they are in perfect health. These will be removed to a north wall and sheltered on the approach of Winter. During the severe Winters of 1841-1842 some scores of budded plants unprotected were killed here, and the variety was, I believe, generally killed throughout the kingdom ; since that time no stock seems to have been established anywhere. With regard to its cultivation an, airy and dry situation is the chief thing to be looked to. It cannot endure much or continued wet ; under such cir- cumstances mildew invariably attacks it, and I have seen plants dead in November while others in a drier situation have out-lived the winter and bloomed throughout the following season. It cannot, however, be considered per- fectly hardy, and should be placed in a cold pit or airy situation in the greenhouse during winter, and kept close to the glass, watering it sparingly. In the case of mildew occurring, to which most Roses are liable, the plants should be sprinkled with sulphur, and if attacked by green-fly fumigated or washed with tobacco-water. About the be- ginning of May they may be turned into the open ground, sheltering for a few days in case of frosty or biting weather that they may become gradually inured to their new situa- tion. They thrive very well planted on raised rock-work in a roughish soil of sandy peat, or, in fact, in almost any dry open situation where not too much exposed to cutting winds. Thus treated they will continually give forth their flowers from July to the commencement of the autumn frosts, when they may be taken up, potted in sandy peat in pots well drained, and again placed in a pit or green- house for the winter. If under any circumstances the removal of the plants is not desired, a handglass may be ROSA BERBERIFOLIA HARDII. 21 placed over them, lifting it off in mild favourable weather. This plant being known as delicate has probably deterred many from attempting to cultivate it ; but the same may be said of many of the choicest and most interesting pro- ductions of Flora they are delicate, yet by a right system of treatment are they not often made to repay a hundred- fold the additional care of the painstaking cultivator? That this plant is not unmanageable may be gathered from the fact advertised a month ago that there were nearly 400 plants here in perfect health. THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. [Lecture before the Stamford Hill, Clapton, and Stoke- Neivington Gardeners' Association, Dec. 8M, 1845.] THE subject on which I am invited to speak this evening is, The History and Cultivation of the Rose. I need scarcely say that it would occupy a great length of time to enter into all the details of the subject ; and, indeed, when we consider the form in which it is brought forward this evening it would hardly seem necessary to do so. It has appeared to me the preferable plan to compress in as small a compass as possible that which is most interesting and practically useful. In pursuing this course I trust the most important facts both historical and horticultural will be found recorded, though some must necessarily be spoken of rather briefly. For convenience sake I shall divide the subject into four heads : Bringing first before your notice the History of the Rose ; I shall then proceed to make a few remarks on the formation of the Rosetum, and the arrangement of Roses generally ; in the third place I shall treat of the 22 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. cultivation of the Rose ; and conclude by offering a list of a select few varieties which experience gives me confidence in recommending for particular purposes or localities.* The History of the Rose then will first engage our attention. The Rose is indisputably a flower of antiquity, and it has been admired and cultivated by almost every civilised people. As if too beautiful to be excluded from the natural Flora of any country, we find it very generally diffused over the earth's surface, gracing alike the temperate regions of Asia, Africa, and America, and the whole of Europe, where, blooming in its native wildness and simplicity, it is almost universally prized and admired. But while Roses are to be found in almost every country, the different species are by no means equally distributed. While some are confined to particular localities, others as the R. canina, the species commonly' seen in our hedge-rows luxuriate not only in one country, but throughout Europe generally ; and R. canina is found even in Africa and America. Who were the first people to bring this flower from its natural habitats to be a dweller in cultivated grounds must ever be a matter of conjecture. It probably attracted the notice of the virtuoso in plants at a very early period ; perhaps when they were valued only for their medicinal properties, or as objects of pleasant associations. We may follow in imagination the busy doings of the plant- collector in the earliest times, and fancy him gathering and fixing in one spot the beautiful productions scattered around him. We may further suppose that the most beautiful and the most useful would be the first collected, and this would give to the flower under consideration a very early period of recognition by the human race. The famous gardens of Babylon, which existed 2000 years * It is thought unnecessary to bring again under notice the varieties of this distant period. THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 23 before the Christian era, would in all probability contain the Rose. We have, however, no proof of this, though the probability is still increased when we consider that the adjoining country Persia has ever been celebrated for the Roses it naturally produces. Quitting, however, the precincts of conjecture, we come to facts. In the time of Solomon, about 500 years later, the Rose was evidently in favour with the Jews. In the Book of Wisdom the following passage occurs : " Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments, and let no flower of the spring pass by us. Let us crown ourselves with Rose-buds before they be withered." From this passage we may infer that Roses were used by the Jews, most probably in times of festivals or public rejoicings, and hence this custom among the Greeks some centuries later. Again, in the Book of Ecclesiastes we find mention made of the Rose : " Hearken unto me ye holy children, and bud forth as a Rose growing by the brook of the field." If we may judge from the writings of the Greek authors we should pronounce the Rose to have been the Queen of Flowers among the Greeks. With them it was consecrated to the Graces, and to Harpocrates, the God of Silence. Theocritus, on account of its transitoriness, compares it to the course of human life. Homer uses it metaphorically both in the Iliad and Odyssey. Sappho and Anacreon make it the subject of their verses, the former styling it the Queen of Flowers, and the latter the delight of the Gods, the favourite plant of the Muses, and further speaks of it as useful in diseases. Continuing its praises he says : "What shall I say of its origin? When the sea had formed from its foam the beautiful Venus, and bore her on its wave rejoicing ; when from the brain of Jupiter Pallas sprung forth a Goddess armed ; the earth in its turn brought forth this admirable plant. The Gods in jealousy, to hasten the period of its flowering, watered it with nectar, and soon this immortal flower raised itself majestically upon its thorny stem." 24 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. The Egyptians cultivated Roses largely, and we read that they sent quantities annually to Rome, before those of the latter country were in bloom. At a feast given by Cleopatra to Mark Antony, she caused the room of enter- tainment to be strewed with Rose leaves to a considerable depth, and spent a talent in procuring the requisite number. Several of the Latin authors make mention of the Rose, and at the time that the Roman Empire was at its highest pitch of splendour, the love of this flower was carried to excess. It is related by Suetonius that the Emperor Nero spent 20,000 upon Roses at one feast. This certainly seems monstrous, and can hardly be accredited even when we consider the authority of Suetonius and the extra- ordinary character of the Emperor. It was customary for the wealthy inhabitants of Rome to take their meals resting upon rose leaves. On the occasion of public rejoicings the streets were strewed with flowers, and the statues of their deities were adorned with crowns and garlands of Roses. The practice of crowning themselves with this flower also became so prevalent that a law was passed forbidding it except on special occasions. Although both the Greek and Latin authors wrote very agreeable things about the Rose, and could doubtless fully appreciate its varied beauties, they appear to have known very little of the art of culture. Thus Theophrastus tells us it was customary to set fire to the Rose trees in Greece, without which precaution they would bear no flowers. And Pliny relates that the art of forcing consisted in watering the plants with warm water on the appearance of the bud. From these statements it would seem that the gardeners of those days did not let even the philosophers into the secrets of their art. Nevertheless we read that the Romans obtained Roses and Lilies in December by introducing to their plant-houses tubes filled with hot water, and Martial makes mention of Roses out of season as a great luxury. THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 25 From the fall of the Roman Empire little can be gathered for a great length of time; the Rose shared in the general oblivion to which flowers were consigned during the dark ages. In the fourteenth century the Italian writers mention it among other flowers, and the Italian horticulturists have of late years obtained an unenviable notoriety for their dexterity in making Roses assume the appearance of being grafted on the orange, oleander, and other plants. The taste for flowers which attained to such an extra- ordinary height in Holland during the seventeenth century, has little bearing on our subject. Although the Moss Rose was originally received in England from Holland, I believe the Rose had little or no part in the extravagant transactions which took place there during the Florimania. Roses were cultivated largely in France during the four- teenth century for uses in public feasts, &c. In several villages in France there exists at the present day Rose Fetes, at which among other ceremonies it is customary for the villagers to place a crown of Roses upon the head of the young girl who may be deemed the most virtuous. Writers of various countries have delighted to dwell on the Rose, and numerous are the ingenious and interesting tales they have conjured up concerning it. We have not, however, time to relate them here. Among our own poets who have written on this flower, we number Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Beaumont, Milton, Byron, Moore, Cowper, Mrs Hemans, and almost every name of high reputation. With regard to the cultivation of the Rose in our own country in the olden times, I have not been able to gather much information. It might not have been cultivated to a great extent, but the favourable mention made of it by some of the early writers warrants us at least in supposing it to have been an admired flower. In the fifteenth century it must have been brought prominently before our forefathers in the wars of the houses of York and 26 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. Lancaster, when the adherents of the one party assumed the red, and those of the other the white Rose, significant of the cause which each espoused. Hence the old striped Rose of our gardens, in which the colours of red and white are blended, is very aptly named " York and Lancaster." The late Mr Loudon, a name that must be ever dear to all who take an interest in horticultural pursuits, mentions in his Encyclopaedia of Gardening, published in 1822, that the lists of the London and Paris nurserymen contained upwards of 350 names, most of which were Gallica and Chinese Roses. So great has been the improvement among Roses of late years, that although there are collections in this country consisting of 2000 varieties, very few of those of 1822 would be found among them. In the lists published at that time the varieties were merely arranged alphabetically, but in the Rose growers' catalogues of the present day we have the varieties cast in various groups, and a Rose-grower's catalogue presents a distinct system of classification. This method, which is approved by the most eminent cultivators of the day, is more floricultural than botanical. In the first place we have two grand divisions Summer and Autumn Roses. Each of these is again divided into sections or groups, the varieties of each group are then arranged alpha- betically, and described. With respect to the botanical arrangement of the Rose, full information may be obtained by consulting a work published on the Rose some years since by Dr Lindley, or by referring to Loudon's Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum. I shall now very briefly remark on each section into which the Rose stands divided, according to the Rose growers' catalogues of the present day ; instead, however, of taking them in order as they are placed there, I shall take them according to their date of introduction, and here I should say that I very much regret that there are no flowers at this season of the year by which I might point out the distinctive features of each group. I have brought THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 27 four plates of four different groups which may afford some illustration, though they will not serve for the purpose before mentioned. The first foreign Rose brought to our country was the Damask (R. damascena), which was introduced from Syria in 1573, where it grows naturally in the form of a bushy shrub, varying in height from 2 to 8 feet. It is the varie- ties of this species, together with those of the Provence, that are cultivated largely in some districts for the purpose of making Rose-water from the flowers. But independent of their yielding an article of commerce to the perfumer, Damask Roses are not without interest to the Rose fancier. To them belong some very pretty pink Roses, with a delicate shade of salmon pervading the flowers, rendering them alike distinct and beautiful. Madame Hardy, too, a well-known and beautiful white Rose is of this class. They are only Summer Roses, but of very free growth, thriving in unfavourable situations. From the Damask Roses have sprung the Damask Perpetual, a class of Roses very sweet and once much valued, but now almost super- seded by the introduction of the Hybrid Perpetual, of which we shall come to speak presently. According to the authority of botanists, the year 1596 saw several new species of Roses introduced to England. The Provence (R. centifolia), a dweller in the groves of the Eastern Caucasus ; the Moss (R. centifolia muscosa), which was received from Holland ; the French (R. gallica), of which the striped Rose before you is a specimen ; the Musk (R. moschata), indigenous to Madeira and the north of Africa; the Austrian (R. lutea), an inhabitant of the south of Europe all these are. said to have been introduced in 1596. The year following was added the R. Alba, a species growing naturally in Piedmont and Denmark. Here were the progenitors of several of the most popular Roses of the present day, brought to our shores at about the same period. Beautiful as they no doubt were then considered, highly as they would be prized by the scientific in those 28 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. matters, who could have dived so far into the ocean of futurity as to foresee that from these species would spring forth the admirable varieties we at present possess ? But we know it has been so, and in contemplating still further improvements by the process of hybridisation, what exten- sive prospects open upon our view ; the field for experi- ment is boundless, and I believe yet brighter gems lie hidden undeveloped in the forms of these species and their varieties. About the year 1629 the double yellow Rose (R. sulphurea) was introduced from the Levant. This is the Rose that seldom flowers to perfection in this country. Much discussion has arisen as to the cause of this, and methods of treatment directly opposite have been recom- mended. It is impossible to reconcile such adverse statements, but I believe a pure atmosphere to be of great importance, and thus it will seldom flower in the immediate neighbourhood of large towns. The aspect should be south or east, and the soil stiff and moderately rich. It has long been a matter of regret that this beautiful Rose does not unfold its blossoms freely, but it is less so now than formerly, because we have the Persian Yellow, which is a near approach to it in colour, and which, so far as we can judge of a newly introduced variety, will flower abundantly. The Evergreen Rose (R. sempervirens) was introduced in 1629, but the varieties of this species are not very numerous. It grows wild in Italy, France, and Greece, and the group consists of very rapid growing Roses. For pil- lars, or for covering old fences, or trees, they are without equal ; a growth of 10 ft. in the year is nothing extra- ordinary with them, and they possess the valuable property of holding their foliage through a great part of Winter. The Boursault Rose (R. alpina), a native of the Alps, was introduced in 1683, but the varieties now held in such esteem are comparative!}' of recent introduction. They are valuable as climbing Roses ; some are almost spineless. THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 29 In 1789 the Chinese Rose (R. indica), was brought from China, where it grows naturally, often to the height of 20 ft. This group is not so popular in the present day as some others ; the varieties are, however, very valuable on account of the profusion and constant succession of flowers which they produce. The flowers are usually fine late in the Autumn, the cold and wet at that season affecting them less than the generality of Roses. From the Chinese crossed with the Gallica or French Roses have sprung the Hybrid Chinese, one of the finest groups of the whole. From these, again crossed with the Bourbons and Damask Perpetuals, have arisen another admirable group, the Hybrid Perpetual. These are, in reality, Hybrid Chinese continuing to flower during Autumn, and are very hardy Roses. The Rose La Reine, of which there is a painting before you, is one of the newest and best. Their growth is vigorous, the flowers are large and handsome, and many of them are well suited for cultivating in confined situations where the more delicate kinds do not succeed well. The Macartney Rose (R. bracteata) is also a native of China, from whence it was brought in 1795. There are only two of this group worthy the attention of the amateur the single and Maria Leonida and these when planted against a wall in a dry warm situation are surpassingly beautiful. The Rosa Multiflora is indigenous to China and Japan. It was introduced here in 1804. The hybrids of this group, Russelliana and Laure Davoust, are beauti- ful climbing Roses ; the latter is rather tender, and requires a wall or good aspect. The Rosa Banksiae was brought from China in 1807, and three years later the same country furnished us with the Tea-Scented, of which the Yellow Rose before you is one of the newest, and the tiny Lawrenceana is from the same country. Beautiful little Roses are these latter, exquisitely adapted for edgings to Rose clumps. In 1817 the Noisette Rose was sent to Paris from America, where it was supposed to have been raised from a cross between R. Indica and R. Moschata. 30 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. The Noisette Roses used to be recognised by the large clusters of buds they produced, but many of the Noisettes recently introduced have wandered far from the original in this respect ; some, indeed, more closely resemble in habit, constitution, and flowers, the Tea Rose. In 1822 the Bourbon Rose was sent to France from the Mauritius, and is generally supposed to have originated by the accidental hybridisation of the Rosa Indica with some other species. The first Bourbon Rose was of a rose colour, and only semi-double. For a long time the varie- ties raised from seed and referred to this group were all of a similar shade ; but within the last three or four years there have arisen many dark rich coloured varieties, and some pink and blush ones, which have made a pleasing variety, and the Bourbons now form a group of the first order. The R. Microphylla, much valued on account of its curious and distinct appearance, was brought from China in 1828. The calyx is completely covered with sharp prickles ; the buds presenting a most curious appear- ance, not unlike that of a hedgehog when rolled up in defence against its enemies. These Roses require a good aspect, as they are not only susceptible of frost, but from great fulness of petals the flowers do not always expand well. The R. Rubifolia is of recent introduction, having been brought from America in 1830. There are now several varieties, apparently vigorous growers, well suited for climbing or pillar Roses. I believe Beauty of the Prairies to be the best. Besides the groups I have touched upon, we have species natives of Britain, and the varieties which have proceeded from these are of some interest to the amateur. Among these are the Sweet Briar (R. rubiginosa) ; the Ayrshire (R. arvensis) ; and the Scotch (R. spinosissima). The other native species are of no interest in a floricultural point of view. We have now arrived at the second part of our subject, and shall proceed to make a few remarks on the formation THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 31 of a Rosetum and the arrangement of Roses generally. The Rosetum usually consists of a series of clumps, or groups of clumps, in which the varieties of each group are arranged together. As Standard Roses form the main feature in the Rosetum, we think the simpler the forms of the clumps the better ; Standard Roses are decidedly artificial objects, and squares, parallelograms, and other geometrical figures admit of the best arrangement, and are in perfect harmony with the character of the plants. Circles, ovals, half circles, and the like filled with Roses on stems of varying heights also look well. I have often been struck with the effect produced by the Roses in the Jardin du Luxembourg at Paris, where, perhaps, is the largest collection of full-grown specimens in Europe. When in full bloom the display is indeed gorgeous, the arrangement perfect, and the effect beautiful. Yet the method of arrangement is as simple as possible. In one garden the plants are chiefly ranged in single rows running across a square. In another there are many long narrow beds only of sufficient width to admit two standards, and between every two standards is planted a dwarf. This is an excellent plan, as it does away with the unsightly appear- ance of a surface of bare ground which must unavoidably lie exposed to view when standards only are planted. Hertfordshire, famous for its Rose Gardens, can boast of none to excel in beauty and variety that of G. J. Bosan- quet, Esquire, at Broxborne-bury. The principle feature in this garden is three long beds running parallel. The centre one is of considerable width, containing perhaps seven rows stretching the whole length of the bed. The centre row is the tallest, and the other rows planted on each side of it gradually diminish in height as they recede from this centre. Thus the bed shows two fronts. The other beds, one on each side, are much narrower, and show but one front. At one end of these beds is a raised temple covered with Roses and other plants, from the interior of which the sight during the blooming season is most im- 32 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. posing. There are various other groups here, and some fine specimens covering the walls. There are other Rose Gardens in the county well worthy of notice did our time permit. In planting a Rosetum, if it be of any extent, we think the Autumnals should be kept distinct from the Summer Roses. This may be accomplished by introducing a row of Pillar Roses. Let them be planted 3 feet apart to form the division, and when they have grown to some consider- able height remove every alternate plant, and form festoons by running chains the entire length of the line. In the event of walks intervening, arches and bowers may be formed by means of rustic poles, and thus a distinct and interesting feature is introduced. For forming edgings to the beds in the Rosetum, the Lawrenceana and Miniature Provence Roses are well suited. But it is not everyone that wishes to form a Rosetum, though but few gardens are without Rose clumps. For Standard Roses we think, as before said, that whether in single clumps or in groups of clumps the simpler they are formed the better. For Dwarf Roses, however, full scope may be allowed for the exercise of taste and ingenuity. If single clumps are planted, a mixture of colours is desirable ; but where there is a group of clumps, and each clump is filled with one colour only, and the colours well contrasted, the effect is admirable. For instance, let us suppose a series of clumps formed on a lawn, and let us further suppose one bed to be occupied with the Bourbon Queen, whose flowers are of a salmon buff; let Cramoisie Superieure, of a rich crimson hue, fill another ; Madame Bureau, white, a third ; and so on. Or if we choose to introduce a Summer Rose, let us take Harrisonii, whose golden blossoms are so abundantly given forth early in summer. Now what, we ask, can produce a more beautiful feature on a lawn than such a group ? flowers springing forth in the earliest of summer and continuing to bloom till November, bidding defiance to the frosts of autumn which disfigure so many of the THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 33 richest beauties of the garden. Standard Roses planted in single lines or avenues look well, or planted round the borders of a lawn in small gardens. It is scarcely neces- sary to say they are shown to greater advantage on a lawn or from grass walks than from gravel. Standard Roses are sometimes planted at intervals in herbaceous borders and thus have a very pretty effect. Weeping Roses planted singly on lawns form specimens of great beauty. The Ayrshire and Sempervirens are best for the purpose, and should be worked on stems of 5 feet and upwards. Weeping Roses are formed by special pruning and training. By cutting the plant in closely when young a sufficient number of pendulous shoots will be produced to form an umbrella-shaped head ; the following season these left unpruned will form laterals. Henceforth, there is little trouble to bring the tree to perfection ; the main shoots should not be shortened, when the branches will extend to the ground, producing flowers the greater part of their length. There was one practice formerly very prevalent in planting Standard Roses on lawns, viz., that of placing the turf close up to the stem of the plant immediately after planting. It certainly gives to the whole a neat and finished appearance, but the sacrifice is too great for the sake of neatness alone. Were the plant to be allowed thoroughly to establish itself, and the turf to be then laid on, it would not be so injurious, but it is desirable to avoid even this. Turfing over prevents in some degree the air from permeating the soil, and this proves anything but beneficial to the growth of plants. Again, of what benefit to a plant can the genial showers of spring be which have first to pass through the thirsty turf and give sustenance to the blades composing it? But we have dwelt long enough here, and proceed in the third place to make some remarks on the cultivation of the Rose. In forming a Collection of Roses the first points that should be considered are, whether the soil and situation C 34 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. are favourable or not. It is well known that a free airy situation and a fresh loamy soil are most advantageous for the cultivation of this flower ; and in proportion as the soil and situation depart from this, so are they the less favour- able. And here allow me to intimate to those whose soil and situation are not favourable that a hardy race of Roses, the varieties of which flourish under such circumstances, is infinitely preferable to the more beautiful but delicate ones which, if they exist, will never flourish. I have no doubt there are some persons present who have experienced dis- appointment in the cultivation of the Tea-Scented and other kinds in this neighbourhood, and although I shall presently make mention of means by which I believe they may be successfully grown, still under ordinary treatment they do not thrive. Now in what degree are they superior to the Hybrid Perpetual and Bourbon Roses, which do thrive abundantly ? True the colours of the latter are not so delicate, their scent is not so grateful, but in some points, one of which we may name " beauty of habit," they are by many thought superior. The influences of a confined situation or impure air it is difficult to remedy, syring- ing the plants occasionally would doubtless prove of in- calculable benefit. The soil, however, is a different matter, and defects here are more easily removed. If the soil be decidedly bad, the better plan is to remove it altogether to the depth of 18 inches, replacing it with three-fourths turfy loam in a rough state well mixed with one-fourth decom- posed stable manure. Good soil, however, is of .little use unless the drainage be perfect, and in wet soils this must be attended to. But let us not suppose there are many soils so bad as to require wholly removing. Some there are that are too light and porous, for these a good dressing of marl or strong loam will be found beneficial. Others are too strong and tenacious, here turf and sand will be great improvers. It must, however, be borne in mind that worked Roses thrive best in a strong-holding soil. Transplanting is an operation of importance in the THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 35 cultivation of the Rose. For this some recommend autumn and others spring, but perhaps the season at which it is performed is of less importance than the treat- ment the plants receive after transplanted. It should certainly be done wJien the ground is in a good state so that they plant well. The next point is to secure them from the action of the wind, which is usually done by means of stakes or iron rods. The whole surface of the beds or a yard square where single plants are placed should then be covered with stable manure, over which a slight covering of mould may be placed for the sake of neatness. In the event of a few dry days happening con- secutively, either in spring or summer, a supply of water should be given. By a little additional care at this era in a plant's history whether it be a young plant from the nursery or an old one removed from one part of the garden to another it is probable that a perfect flowering will be procured the first season after removal ; this is certain, the plant will become more fully established, forming shoots capable of producing abundance of vigorous blossoms in after years. Manuring is an important point in cultivation ; Roses delight in a rich soil. Manuring once a year, and this during winter if the manure is applied in a solid state, is not too often. Liquid manure, in not too concentrated a form, is excellent for Roses, but I almost hesitate to re- commend the use of it on account of the additional labour it imposes. If, however, a few favourites are treated with it, it should be applied early in spring, so soon as the first leaves appear, and for the Autumnals it should be repeated immediately after the first flowering is over. For Pot- Roses it is indispensable, and should be given at intervals as the soil becomes dry. Though I am not over fond of the use of artificial manures, still I think guano excellent for making liquid manure, as it can be made with more certainty as to strength than when made from the ordinary manure heap. For Roses in pots one ounce of guano to one gallon 36 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. of pond water is sufficient, unless the beauty of the foliage be considered more important than that of the flowers. Pruning is one of the most delicate operations in the whole practice of cultivation. On judicious pruning depends not only the handsome formation of the tree but the quality and quantity of flowers that will be produced. Besides being a delicate operation, it is one of which a correct knowledge can only be obtained by practice and close observation. To offer a system of pruning that might be applied generally, would be as fallacious as for a physician to offer one rule of exercise, diet, &c., to individuals of different temperaments and constitutions. A method that is good in one stage of growth, or for some particular variety, could not be recommended in or for others. However, a few passing remarks seem called for. In general, the more vigorous the habit of a plant is the less should the shoots be shortened in pruning. Thus the Hybrids of the Chinese and some of the Noisettes, which are vigorous growers, should be well thinned out and shortened back to 8 or 10 eyes. On the contrary, small-growing kinds require close pruning, such as the Chinese Tea-Scented and Damask Perpetual, some of which require cutting back to 2 or 3 eyes. But the system of pruning must be regulated in a measure by the object sought. If large handsome flowers are wanted in preference to number, a more rigorous system of pruning must be followed than when the object is merely to enrich and adorn the garden with a great display. Loose pruning produces quantity of flowers ; close pruning quality. It must, however, be borne in mind that too close pruning applied to the vigorous Summer blooming kinds will cause them to grow all to wood without producing any flowers. With regard to the season best suited for this operation, something depends on the time they are wanted to bloom. Pruning in November doubtless causes an earlier bloom than pruning in March. Nevertheless, we are not disposed to recommend autumn pruning, and for this reason a THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 37 few mild days at Christmas time or in January will excite the buds of November-pruned Roses, they push forth, and the severe weather that almost invariably follows injures them most seriously when in this state. Now, in March- pruning we are secure from all this, and though by its adoption the flowers may be developed a few days later, yet it places us on the safe side of the question. As each system doubtless has its advantages, let us see if we cannot partially reconcile them. Let the heads be thinned out in November, and the shoots left for flowering be shortened in the Spring. In pruning the Rose there are two points that should be kept in view the forming of a handsome tree, and the obtaining of an abundance of good flowers. To secure the first point it is necessary to begin our operations when the plant is young ; a certain number of shoots varying from 3 to 7, according to the strength of the plant, should be marked out as standing at equal and greatest distances from each other, and the remaining shoots should be cut clean away. Close pruning is necessary the first season after transplanting. We have now reached a most interesting branch of Rose-culture, namely, the raising of Seedlings. This has hitherto engaged the attention of our English horticulturists to a very slight degree. To France and Italy are we indebted for our new varieties. But we hope for better things. It is universally admitted that we surpass the French in every other branch of Rose cultivation, and why should we not in originating new varieties ? The only plausible reply that can be furnished is their climate is superior to ours. We admit it, and propose a little extra care to remedy this natural difficulty. We need not waste time in arguing that Roses can be raised from seed in England we have palpable proof of it. Here in this immediate neighbourhood that admirable Climbing Rose Blairii was originated. George the Fourth is of English origin ; and Prince Albert not H.P. Prince Albert but Hooker's Prince Albert, which is one of the 38 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. finest formed Roses of the day, was raised in Kent. We could adduce further proof if thought necessary, but this establishes our position. Why then, the question naturally arises, are so few good varieties originated in England ? Because our Rose amateurs have not turned their attention to this branch of cultivation. Now, to follow out this subject. Such varieties as ripen their seed naturally here should be planted in the best aspect of the garden, and their flowers fertilised with the pollen of any others, the combining of which may appear likely to produce good and distinct varieties. Finely formed flowers and varieties of good habit should be worked upon as much as possible. To what extent hybridising may be carried I am not prepared to say, but from existing hybrids it is evident that the field for experiment is anything but circumscribed. The following are good varieties for planting as seed- bearers : Rosa mundi, Moss du Luxembourg, Madame Laffay, Harrisonii, Gloire des Rosomanes, Athelin, General Allard, Aurora, Captain Sisolet, Chenedole, Great Western, Marechal Soult. These all perfect their seeds in our climate. Now, I. almost question whether we could have better varieties than these to work upon. From Athelin have been originated some of our finest modern Hybrid Perpetual Roses ; from General Allard was raised that admirable variety Madame Laffay, and doubtless many others sprang from the same source. Here then is encouragement. It surely is only necessary to draw the attention of the British gardening world to these facts, to ensure the application of that same skill and industry which in other branches have worked out such marvellous results. Rose seed is usually ripe in November, at which season it should be gathered and laid by in damp mould or sand till February, when the external covering will have decayed, and the seeds may be rubbed out and sown. They may be sown in beds or pans, taking care to protect from mice and birds when sown, and from slugs when coming up. THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 39 Some few will vegetate the first year, but many will lie dormant until the year following. The novel idea of introducing Roses in pots as exhibi- tion plants was first given forth by the Horticultural Society of London ; other societies have since adopted it, and they now form a distinct and brilliant feature in our floral fetes. The beautiful specimens of Roses that have been produced growing in pots having fully proved them to be suitable for the purpose, we may anticipate they will become a very popular class of pot plants. If, indeed, we consider the length of time they continue in bloom, the richness, beauty, and variety of colour, their delicious fragrance, and the handsome appearance of a well-grown Rose-bush when in full bloom, it cannot be otherwise. I have been occasionally asked, what are the advantages gained by growing Roses in pots? The same question may be asked in reference to many other plants. But let us consider what are the advantages. By growing Roses in pots we may, with the aid of a greenhouse, have Roses in bloom nearly the whole year round, Again, when grown in pots, they are moveable and can be brought to ornament any particular spot in the garden that may be deficient in flowers, or be wanted to look gay at one particular time. Then in some soils, as in low wet places, and in some neighbourhoods, as in the vicinity of large towns, many kinds cannot be grown well under any other mode of culture. If further reasons for pot-culture are required, we would say some of the most beautiful varieties are incapable of enduring the rigours of our climate : for them pot -culture admits of certain and perfect development. Roses intended for growing in pots, if not on their own roots, should be on stems not exceeding one foot in height The generality of Roses flourish in a soil composed of two-thirds yellow loam in a turfy state, and one-third decomposed manure. For the Tea-Scented and Chinese Roses, however, and especially when on their own roots, the soil should be made lighter by the addition of 40 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. leaf-mould, or sand if the soil be not already sandy. This compost should be thrown together in a heap at least three months before required for use, and occasionally turned that the component parts may become well incor- porated, and ripened by exposure to the sun and air. Plants that are removed from the ground, whether in autumn or in spring, should be grown through the first year with the view to establish handsome plants. Thus they should be pruned closely, that the shoots may be formed close at home ; these should be trained during summer into the most favourable position, and kept some distance apart, that the air may circulate freely among, and ripen them. Pot-Roses, except where grown under glass, should be kept plunged. In pruning they require to be pruned rather closer than such as are growing in the free earth, but the same rules are in a general sense applicable to both. The greatest pest with which the cultivator has to contend here is the Grub, with which all Rose-growers are familiar. It is annoying and vexatious enough to have a truss of flowers destroyed in the bud under any circumstances, but here, where the plant is so nicely balanced that the removal of one shoot destroys the uniformity of the whole, it is doubly vexatious. It however often occurs, and the only way to prevent it is to keep a watchful eye over the depredators. This must be done from the time the buds first push, for then, indeed, the ravages oftenest take place. It is not, however, difficult to detect these rapacious pests ; a fine web drawn over the leaf; the leaf rolled up, or the young leaves stick- ing closely together all these point out where they are located, and it is only necessary to press the leaves firmly between the thumb and finger to destroy them. If, how- ever, this is neglected, sad are the results. We have said the Tea-Scented Roses may be grown to perfection in pots in the neighbourhood of large towns ; a cold pit only is neces- sary. Let them be placed here early in November, pruning them at that season, and an abundant flowering will be THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. 41 obtained commencing early in May. No artificial heat is necessary, unless they be required to flower earlier than this. Roses, when grown in pits or a cold greenhouse, should have abundance of air, and fumigating with tobacco must be frequently resorted to for the destruction of the green- fly. Plants pitted or housed in November will have made shoots an inch long by February, when, if there is likely to be a deficiency of shoots, some may be stopped, which will cause two or three to be produced in place of one, but the time of flowering will of course be retarded. The practice of forcing the Rose has of late years become very general, and perhaps there is none other of Nature's productions led from its natural course and brought to flower amid the chills of winter that excites so much interest and delight as a Rose. Formerly the Moss and Provence were the only kinds forced, but now we have a charming variety by the introduction of the Tea-Scented, Hybrid Perpetual, and other groups. Roses intended for forcing may be housed in November and brought to flower soon after Christmas, but if a perfect bloom be sought for the first week in January is early enough to commence. It is scarcely necessary to dwell on the desirability of having the wood well ripened of the plants about to be forced. To accomplish this, when the plants are removed from the forcing-house in Summer, and have made their growth, they should be exposed to the full sun and air, and not be too freely supplied with water. They should be at rest at latest by the end of October. Roses are not lovers of a powerful heat, and if I may so express myself, we should lead rather than force them. We should bear in mind that the nature of a 'plant is not changed by forcing, but only the season at which its various functions are performed ; it is introduced to artificial seasons; and we should endeavour to make each artificial season approach as nearly as possible to the natural season it represents. Thus on the introduction of the plants to the forcing- house, though it be the depth of winter, their spring in 42 THE HISTORY AND CULTIVATION OF THE ROSE. reality commences, and although from the little influence of the sun at this period of the year all the advantages of a real spring cannot be secured, yet we should approach it as nearly as circumstances will permit. A gentle heat should be commenced with, the fire should be lighted at sunrise for the first fortnight, and extinguished at sunset, unless the weather be frosty. A cool night temperatiire in commencing is most essential. The plants should be lightly syringed every morning, except two or three wet days happen consecutively, when syringing may be omitted. If the weather be mild, air may be admitted to strengthen the swelling buds, and a day temperature of 50, and a night temperature of 35 to 40, is sufficient at this early period of forcing. Soon the leaves will unfold themselves when the temperature may be gradually raised, ranging from 60 to 70 by day and from 40 to 50 by night. From this time no air must be admitted. The tempera- ture may be raised by sudden bursts of sunshine to 80 or 90 without any decided injury resulting ; if indeed it be attempted to remedy this by the admission of air, it is pro- bable that the leaves will curl up and drop, producing the most disastrous effects. It will be found necessary to fumi- gate the forcing-house with tobacco occasionally to destroy the green-fly. An occasional watering with manure water will also prove beneficial. Plants introduced early in Janu- ary will flower by the middle of March, when a light shading should be provided as the means of preserving the flowers in perfection as long as possible. As soon as the buds show colour syringing may be dispensed with, .and at this time it is customary with some to remove a few plants from the forcing house to a colder house, where the flowers are more gradu- ally developed, and their size and colour much improved. By removing a few plants at different periods, and intro- ducing fresh ones, a succession of flowers is also obtained. Thus have I brought my subject to a close, and in taking leave of you beg to thank you for the kind attention you have so courteously given me. A PLEA FOR SUMMER ROSES. 43 A PLEA FOE SUMMER ROSES. [From the " United Gardeners' and Land Stewards' Journal" June 6th, 1846, p. 357.*] THE Rose has its thousands of admirers, and with that generous ardour which particularly distinguishes those who engage in floricultural pursuits, many have laboured to point out the method of culture they have successfully practised, and by so doing have led others to seek amusement from the same source, and to realise the same pleasure experienced by themselves. Perhaps no flower of modern times has been more universally patron- ised than the Rose, and the results of this extended patronage have been indeed remarkable. What vast improvements may even our modern florists and amateurs record in this flower. We have not only new features and improved forms in almost every group of Summer Roses, which it is more particularly my purpose now to speak of, but we have a new tribe, a numerous Autumnal race, sprung chiefly from the monthly and four seasons Roses, which a few years since the most sanguine or far-sighted cultivator could not have anticipated beholding. These are indeed valuable, and it is not in the least my wish to depreciate them. I am quite ready to acknowledge that we find a rich treasure in the Autumnal gems, often gladdening the garden with their lively and varied tints, when even the Dahlia, Autumn's own flower, has shrunk blighted from the chilling frosts. In pleading for the Rose of Summer, I only seek for it a fair share of honour, and in so doing I cannot help protesting against the unpardon- able neglect with which some Rose cultivators seem * This paper was written by the request of the late Robert Marnock, when editor of the above-named Journal. 44 A PLEA FOR SUMMER ROSES. inclined to treat it. I am my own gardener, so far as relates to Roses, attending personally to their wants, whether real or fancied, and, like many lovers of flowers, find pleasure in anticipating the period of flowering. To speak more plainly, I sometimes build castles in the air. A sultry sun has driven me into a cool shady bower, where I have for some time been revelling amidst the glories of a June Rose garden, calling up to view one individual specimen after another, until I have raised a host of half- forgotten favourites each in full dress, a gorgeous spectacle, and to which, notwithstanding every effort of the imagina- tion, I could find no parallel among the Autumnal kinds. Where, indeed, among the latter shall we find such a huge mass of beauty as is presented to our view in a finely bloomed specimen of Madame Plantier, in a Brennus, a Fulgens, or a Beauty of Billiard ? Where among the latter, shall we find the brilliancy of Feu Brillant, or Eblouissante de Laqueue, or the sweetness and beauty of many of those old globular - shaped Provence Roses? Where in autumn can we find anything approaching in delicacy of beauty to La Seduisante, Felicite, and in dry warm weather to Sophie de Marsilly ? Those compact - growing, full-petalled, regular-shaped garden Roses, too, are indispensable to all collections where exhibiting is an object in view, or where perfection in a Rose is desiderated. Among these, Boula de Nanteuil as a dark Rose reigns supreme ; Kean as a scarlet is almost unequalled ; and Grandissima, D'Aguesseau, and Columella, of various shades of crimson, are perfect; and these are Summer Roses. The Moss tribe is replete with beauty, and the varieties which compose it must from their distinctness ever form an interesting feature in the Rose garden. But have we any Autumnal Moss ? Certainly none worthy of the name. With June these lovely Roses fade, and the glory of the Rose garden is departed. If we turn again to the Hybrid Chinese, and view the A PLEA FOR SUMMER ROSES. 45 perfect symmetry of form so strikingly displayed in Coupe d'Hebe, we shall find that although this Rose "has but a summer's reign," it will live in our remembrance when numbers of the longer blooming ones are faded and forgotten. We cannot surely dispense with the Persian Yellow, the double Yellow Briar, or Harrisonii. Yet these are Summer Roses. The only objection urged against them is the transitoriness of their flowers. But they are perfect of their kind, and till we have the like or superior, blooming for a more extended period, they must find place in every Rose garden. It is then, I think, but just and fair for Rose cultivators to consider whether the disregard with which they treat this one great compartment Summer Roses is merited, whether by excluding or neglecting such they will not materially lessen the beauty of their gardens. If it be so, then their presence and beauty will be secured. MORNING RAMBLES IN THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. [This was a pamphlet published in November 1849. As it is nearly out of print and will not be republished I have ventured to intro- duce it herel\ T3ROXBOURNEBURY. Proprietor, G. J. BOSAN- 1J QUET, Esq. Gardener, Mr FULLER. Broxbourne- bury is about a mile from the Broxbourne station of the Great Eastern Railway. Approaching it from the south- east side of Hertfordshire we quit the high road to Ware and Cambridge at the little village of Wormley. Crossing the New River we pass through an avenue of oak trees, the branches so intertwined as to completely over-arch the road, forming a beautiful arcade about 500 yards in length. 46 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. This was the first object of striking beauty that we en- countered, and although somewhat foreign to our subject we cannot pass it unnoticed. Gratitude indeed demands it, for although the day had but newly dawned, the shade afforded by this archway proved most agreeable. It was a true summer's morning in this respect all that could be wished for and as we continued our journey we felt its exhilarating influences. Nor did we venture to restrain the mind from indulging in anticipated pleasures till it revelled amidst the beauties it was soon to behold. It was no secret that while Roses in many places were shrivelled by the Fire King's scathing breath, or despoiled by repeated attacks of insects, the summer of 1849 had proved suitable to plants growing in the cool soil and pure air of Hertfordshire, and it was agreed on all hands that a finer bloom had rarely been witnessed. Passing Wormleybury, the seat of the late Sir A. Hume, Bart., a great patron of gardening, we wound along a shady lane, whose banks gleamed with the Foxglove (Digitalis), Campion (Lychnis), and Catchfly (Silene), and whose hedgerows were crowned with Nightshade (Solanum), Roses, and Honeysuckles, the latter yielding up their odours to the " incense-breathing morn." Such an agreeable road led to the park lodge, and a few minutes more brought us to the pleasure grounds. We entered with a light step and a buoyant heart (the usual accompaniments of pursuits like these), and proceeding along the terrace leading from the mansion to the Rosetum we were much struck with the beauty of the Climbing Roses trained on a south-west wall, tastefully intermingled with various climbing plants. The most remarkable of the Roses were Hybrid Chinese : Fulgens and Blairii No. 2 ; Hybrid Bourbon : Victor Hugo ; Multiflora : Russelliana ; Noisettes : Lamarque and La Biche. Of other climbing plants we observed several of the sweet-scented Clematis and Magnolias, a Wistaria, a Gum Cistus, and a Lonicera. A few feet from the wall, and running parallel with it, is a terrace-walk, gravelled THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 47 and about three yards wide, with flower beds on either side ; on the right is the wall just described, and on the left the lawn studded with ornamental trees and groups of flowering plants. A Verbena garden occupies the end of the lawn near the house ; in the centre is a basin orna- mented with rock-work, and enlivened with a pretty fountain surrounded by a circle of light Norman arches connected with chains over which the Tropaeolum penta- phyllum trails with a careless grace. The simplicity and beauty of this arrangement is irresistible, and the effect is heightened by the dazzling glow of the Verbenas planted in the beds around. Turning to the left we pass a thatched arbour completely fenced in from the the sun with yew and laurel ; behind it is a collection of ferns which luxuriate beneath the shade of two fine hickory trees. A few steps onward and another turn brings us into a winding walk about forty yards long overarched with laburnums, whose golden racemes of flowers drooping from the top of the arcade have a very pretty effect. Passing two fine Rose-Acacia trees, whose fragile branches are fastened to horizontal framework to protect them from the wind, we enter a garden with six sides and six entrances called the " Fountain Garden." There is a basin and fountain in the centre, and the surrounding beds are filled with the usual summer-blooming plants, as Heliotropes, Petunias, &c. A few moments only could be spent here, for adjoining it was the Rosetum, and the perfumes wafted therefrom invited us to pass onward. As we did so we caught occasional glimpses of the first object of our visit, and on entering a brilliant spectacle was before us above, around, below, Roses glittered everywhere. Although from long experience our eyes had become well accustomed to Flora's gay and brilliant scenes, we must confess them somewhat dazzled on the present occasion ; there was indeed a galaxy of beauty. This was not our first visit by many, and while we recognised several old flowers looking, if possible, fresher and fairer than ever, we also met with 48 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. others less familiar. To speak of the plan of the Rosetum should perhaps be our first effort, and then we will note the names of a few varieties which most forcibly arrested our attention. First, then, of the soil. This is an alluvial loam, stiff, and of considerable depth, and has been enriched by repeated applications of decayed stable manure. The Rosetum covers about an acre of ground, and is fenced in on the one side by a wall, and on the other by a belt of evergreens formed of Laurels, Portugal Laurels, and Laurustinus very tastefully disposed. It is laid out in plain beds, chiefly parallelograms, the tallest plants being arranged in rows along the centre, the dwarfer ones fronting them on either side sloping towards the walks, which, except the outer one, are straight. The latter winds gracefully, with Roses planted on either side, standards and dwarfs alternately. The edgings of the beds are formed of flints and pebbles, among which the Golden Moss (Sedum acre), the Alpine Speedwell (Veronica alpina), and various plants of lowly growth are made to creep. Among the Summer Roses hardy kinds of Fuchsias are freely inter- spersed with the view of enlivening the garden when the Roses are out of flower. The Autumnals are separated from the Summer kinds by a wire trellis covered with Climbing Roses, the most conspicuous of whfch were Rose de Rosomane : Gloire des Rosomanes. Noisettes: Lamarque, Fellenberg, Du Luxembourg, Solfaterre, Cloth of Gold. Tea-Scented: Nina and Madame Roussel. Occa- sional Pillar Roses are introduced with good taste, and the intersections of the walks are nearly all arched. For the pillars and arches Bourbon: Madame Desprez. Hybrid CJdnese : Celine ; and Ayrshire : Splendens are most freely used. At the back of the beds which bound the Rosetum a row of Standard Climbing Roses is planted, the plants being alternately three feet and five feet in the stem. The heads rise, then droop, the spare branches being trained along small chains hanging in graceful festoons. Of THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 49 these the most striking are Ayrshire : Ruga, Splendens. Boursault: Gracilis. Hybrid Musk : Garland. Bourbon: Bouquet de Flore and Pierre de St Cyr. At one end of the Rosetum is a raised temple or rustic arbour covered with Sweet-scented Clematis (C. flammula), Virginian Creeper (Ampelopsis hederacea), and honeysuckles. From the foreground of this temple a splendid coup d'ceil of the whole is obtained. The ascent is made by a short flight of steps built in true rustic style. On either hand is a row of Fuchsias, whose coral-like blossoms hang in magnificent profusion, and are admirably relieved by masses of the silver-edged Vinca trailing over the ground beneath. These are again supported by rhododendrons, which form a bank in the foreground. The enticing cool- ness of this retreat proved too much t for our powers of self-denial, and on entering we were not surprised to find the inmost recesses filled with the perfumes which the flowers exhaled. While meditating here we were led from one class of plants to another, from the vegetable to the animal kingdom, and as the various objects passed in rapid succession before the mind, creation pointing to the Creator, we silently wondered and adored. And what a time for meditation ? The morning was delightful ; calm, soft, and sunny, though a little hazy ; it was one of those mornings in which one delights in Nature as a companion. " On earth 'twas yet all calm around ; A pulseless silence, dread profound," reigned everywhere. The brooks ran clear, the flowers were fresh, the groves were silent, the feathered choristers having at once put off their natural shyness and dropt their song. But this is a digression ; our subject is flowers. One thing struck us in reference thereto the nice adaptation of the varieties of Roses for particular purposes. Every plant seemed to have been rightly chosen. The kinds of pendulous habit had been selected on tall stems, and thus D 50 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. their drooping branches displayed the flowers to great advantage. The small-headed and erect kinds were grown on dwarf stocks, and those of moderate vigour on stems of intermediate height. This, although apparently a trifling point, is as far as concerns the effect produced of vast importance, and then it offers the additional advantage of growing the kinds in the way in which they flourish best. At the time of our visit (July) each of the plants had recently received a small portion of guano, and afterwards a supply of water, the effect of which remained to be seen, although it must beyond doubt prove beneficial. Thus far of the Rosetum ; let us now record a few of the gems of this collection.* Of showy effective Roses, kinds producing a striking effect en masse, we notice as standards French: Surpasse tout, William Tell, Cerise superbe, and Souvenir d'une Mere. Hybrid Chinese, &c. : Leopold de Bauffremont, Blairii No. 2, Fulgens, Adolphe, Triomphe d' Angers, Madeline, Beauty of Billiard, Elizabeth Plantier, Magna rosea, Globe White Hip, Henri Barbet, Madame Plantier. Damask Perpetual: Crimson or Du Roi. Chinese: Fabvier. Tea- Scented: Taglioni, Devoniensis, Le Pactole, Lyonnais, Belle Allemande, Niphetos (the Mag- nolia Rose of some). Noisette : La Biche, a very tall plant with an immense head. Bourbon : Dupetit Thouars, Comte d'Eu, Imperatrice Josephine, Madame Angelina. These were, for the most part, immense standards, splendidly covered with bloom. Of Show Roses, kinds remarkable for the beauty and symmetry of the individual flowers, we noticed Damask : La Ville de Bruxelles, Madame Soetmans. Hybrid Bour- bon : Charles Duval, Paul Perras, and Coupe d'Hebe. French : Adele Prevost, Kean, and Latour d'Auvergne. Hybrid Perpetual: Geant des Batailles. Tea-Scented: * To retain these names in this and similar instances may be thought by some a work of supererogation, as so many of these varieties are antiquated and have passed away. But it has appeared to me that it may be interesting and useful in the future. THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 51 Moiret, and Elise Sauvage. Bourbon : Souvenir de la Malmaison (two plants with 100 flowers each), Acidalia. Austrian: Persian Yellow. Alba: Sophie de Marsilly. THEOBALD'S SQUARE. Proprietor,}. M. BRITTEN, Esq. Gardener, Mr MELADY. This place is about a mile from the Waltham Cross Station of the Great Eastern Railway. The spot is rendered interesting from historic associations. Theobalds was formerly the residence of royalty ; and from here Charles I. departed to place him- self at the head of his army to oppose the troops of the Parliamentarians. Earlier in history the famous Lord Burleigh had a seat at Theobalds. The garden now under consideration is not very extensive, but it is well and neatly kept, and doubtless affords the proprietor more real pleasure, and proves far more interesting to the stranger, than some places of many acres. There is no Rosetum here ; the plants are disposed in clumps and rows through- out the garden. On the west front of the house is a trellis, over which are trained Leopoldine d'Orleans (Semper- virens), Ayrshire Queen, Fellenberg (Noisette), and Gloire des Rosomanes. The pillars supporting the entrance are covered with Ruga and Splendens, both light coloured Ayrshire Roses. A walk, about 100 yards in length, leads from this front of the house to a lake, on whose surface floated a profusion of Water Lilies (Nymphaea alba), which, gleaming from afar, presented a most lovely spectacle. On either side the walk is lawn-ground planted with beds of hardy evergreens and single specimens of ornamental trees, interspersed with clumps of Roses, Geraniums, and other summer-flowering plants. In the beds by the sides of the walk we notice the following Roses Hybrid Chinese, &c. : Chenedole, Charles Duval, and Coupe d'He'be'. Noisette: Lamarque, Euphrosyne. Tea-Scented: Niphetos, Jaune, Devoniensis, Goubault, and Cels multiflora. Bourbon : Paul Joseph, Queen. Hybrid Perpetual : La Reine, Comte d'Eu. Alba: Madame Legras, Princesse Lamballe. Hybrid 52 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Chinese: General Allard, William Jesse, Lady Stuart, Ful- gens. Bourbon: Armosa, Bouquet de Flore. French: Boula de Nanteuil, Kean, Surpasse tout, Cerise superbe. The Perpetual White Moss was also blooming here very prettily ; and although the expanded flowers are neither regular in form nor very double, the large clusters of well- mossed buds it produces are unique and truly efegant. Not only are these noted as superior kinds, but the trees (for all were on stems) are large and handsome. There was also less crowding and confusion of branches discover- able than is usually seen in standard Roses owing to un- skilful pruning. The standard Tea-Scented Roses were particularly fine, which we believe due, in some part, to the sheltered position they grow in, as the lawn on which they were planted is open to the south only. Passing to the east front of the house, we found the pillars there covered with the White Banksiae, Maria Leonida (Macartney), and Coupe d'Hebe (Hybrid Bour- bon), the two former white roses, the latter pink ; there were also Clematis florida and C. azurea grandiflora, the loveliest of the tribe. On the lawn opposite are two beds of short standard Roses, the most striking of which were Hybrid Chinese, &c. : Magna rosea, Great Western, and Parigot. Hybrid Perpetual: Mrs Eliot, Clementine Seringe, and Jacques Lafitte. French: Village Maid. Tea- Scented: Le Pactole, Niphetos, very fine, and Adam. Bourbon : Dupetit Thouars. Noisette: Euphrosyne. Alba: La Seduisante. There was a plant of the Maiden's Blush with several old stems ; four of these had been budded about breast high, and formed four separate heads : Lamarque (Noisette), sulphur, and Ne Plus Ultra (Hybrid Chinese), crimson, were the varieties. A splendid standard of La Biche (Noisette), the head about twenty feet in circum- ference, a perfect specimen, laden with blossoms, stood singly on the lawn, and was a very striking object. There was also a standard and a dwarf standard Ruga trained as weepers, both very pretty. The natural soil of this garden THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 53 is a stiff loam of considerable depth, friable rather than clayey. In the kitchen-garden is an arched rose-walk, three yards wide, and of considerable length. The arches, which are formed of wire, are about eight feet high and about seventeen yards apart. Although from either end there is the appearance of an unbroken arcade, yet when traversing the walk the arches seem too far apart, and we can imagine the effect more perfect were they placed at about half this distance. There were no new kinds used for covering them. Most of our old favourites were there, and they answered the end perfectly. THEOBALD'S SQUARE. Proprietor, R. W. KENNARD, Esq. Gardener, Mr COOPER. The principal feature in this garden is an arched rose-walk or arcade of Roses. The walk, which is about eight feet wide and one hundred yards long, runs under a wall with a west aspect. The arches are about ten feet high. They were originally covered with some of the fastest growing kinds, without reference to merit, on which the finer kinds have been budded from time to time. By this system time is saved, the arches are quickly covered ; but we think the plan ad- visable under peculiar circumstances only, as, for instance, where the situation is unfavourable for growth. It is be- yond question that the work never becomes so perfect as when the best kinds are planted in the first instance. Not- withstanding this remark, the effect of the arcade, when viewed from the outside, is admirable. The varieties which most particularly engaged our attention were Semper- virens : Leopoldine d'Orleans. Ayrshire : Ruga and Splendens. Noisette : Lamarque, La Biche, Jaune Desprez ; these six are light coloured flowers. Hybrid Chinese, &c.: Blairii No. 2, Fulgens, Beauty of Billiard, Magna rosea, Brennus, Duke of Devonshire, Belle Marie, Celine. Bour- bon : Madame Desprez, Jacques, Bouquet de Flore. Rose de Rosomane: Gloire des Rosomanes. Hybrid Perpetual: Baronne Prevost, La Reine, Duchess of Sutherland. 54 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Multiflora : Russelliana. These are from rose to crimson, embracing the intermediate tints. Turning towards the house we see on the south front projecting arches, against which are planted Brennus and Amadis, dark flowers ; and Lamarque, Ruga, Leopoldine d'Orleans, light ones. These kinds are well suited for the purpose. We cannot help singling out from among the lawn trees two splendid Cedars, a handsome deciduous Cypress forty feet high, and an evergreen Cypress not less than fifty feet, a perfect specimen. Approaching the borders of a small lake, we see brick arches rising from grottoes covered with ivy, which, viewed in conjunction with the old trees, are strikingly picturesque. Passing beneath the arches we reach another collection of Roses, principally standards, planted in straight rows on either side of a walk about ten feet wide. The highest stems are at the back, and the declination is gradual as the plants approach the edges of the walk. Among the Roses, herbaceous and various summer-flower- ing plants are introduced, and thus the whole is made gay and interesting. The soil here is a good loam, similar to the last POLES NEAR WARE. Proprietor, R. HANBURY, Esq. Gardener, Mr BARNES. This place is about a mile from the town of Ware. Roses are not at present the most interesting feature of the gardens. The collections of orchidaceous plants, greenhouse plants, heaths, &c., are more perfect, and well worth the attention of connoiseurs of these flowers. The gardens have been lately re-formed, and consequently the Roses, which are pretty numerous, comprise the best modern varieties. The natural soil being an unkind clay, a soil of turf and manure was pre- pared in which they are planted, and they have done well. Tea and Chinese Roses are placed against the walls of the terraces in every aspect, where they grow and flower as well as could be wished. Beds of mixed Autumnal Roses are planted in conjunction with the usual summer bedding THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 55 plants, with which they group admirably, and produce a very splendid effect. Mr Barnes recommends the adoption of this plan very strongly as a great saving of time to the gardener at a season when time is invaluable, and as a saving of expense to the proprietor. As there can be no longer any doubt of their suitableness for this purpose, we predict that they will ere long become generally planted. Indeed, when we remember how constantly they flower, and that their season is prolonged beyond that of ordinary bedding plants, it is a matter of surprise that they have not been more freely used. Want of variety, beauty, or fragrance, cannot be offered as an excuse for this neglect. In the Rose is to be found the softest and the hardest tints, the purest white, the deepest crimson, and the intermediate shades are innumerable. As to beauty and fragrance they are too evident to need comment. These remarks are made in reference to the present mode of growing them,' but we think much may be done to improve the cultivation of Roses in flower-beds. The plan of pegging down the branches we hold to be more than questionable ; when adopted the flowers are brought so close to the ground that the first shower of rain that falls covers them with soil, after which the delicate tints will not bear looking on. This plan further causes a few vigor- ous shoots to arise from the base of the branches pegged down, and an uneven growth and a scanty supply of flowers are the results. The easiest remedy for this is to grow the plants on short stems, but as such are by some held objectionable, when on their own roots, a few wires of sufficient strength to support the branches should be stretched over the beds at a given height, according to the habit of the variety or the position it may occupy. In pruning cut off the branches just below these wires, and the young shoots will rise and flower above. A little tying may be necessary in some instances to keep the beds neat and compact. Prune sparingly, manure freely, and the desired end a mass of flowers will be obtained. $6 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. YOUNGSBURY. Proprietor, LADY PULLER. Gar- dener, Mr TERRY. About two miles from the place last described is Youngsbury, close to the little villiage of Wadesmill. Entering by the lodge adjoining the high road we pass through a fine park with a prettily undulated surface, containing some handsome elm, ash, beech, and chestnut trees, disposed in very elegant groups. The principal of the Roses here are planted round the borders of the kitchen garden, which, indeed, they may be said to have converted into a Rose garden, which derives addi- tional interest from the free interspersion of herbaceous plants. One thing struck us as remarkably pretty, it was the twining of honeysuckles around the stems of the free- growing Roses. The honeysuckles are not allowed to luxuriate in their natural wildness, but are well pruned at the same time as the Roses, and are thus kept neat and close. They were all one mass of bloom from the ground to the heads of the Roses. An arched Rose walk (Tudor arches), covered with the usual climbing Roses is also worthy of notice. Next we encountered an arbour, the roof of which was skilfully and tastefully decorated with fir cones. This is near to the principal Rose beds, which are in a small garden entirely surrounded by a wall. The Roses are planted in the borders in straight rows, three feet from plant to plant, and 2 feet from row to row. The plants are large and well formed, principally dwarf standards, and there are three or four of each of the finest sorts, an excellent plan when cultivating for exhibition is one end in view. Amongst others we noticed as first rate Moss: Bath white, Reine de Provence. Hybrid Chinese, &c.: Brennus, Belle de Rosny, Charles Duval, Triomphe de Laqueue, Marie de Champlouis, Coupe d'Hebe", Che"nedole, and Comtesse de Lacepede. French : Boula de Nanteuil, D'Aguesseau, Oracle du Siecle, La Volupte". Hybrid Per- petual: Earl Talbot. Alba: Sophie de Marsilly. There is also a border of Bourbon Roses which has been recently planted in continuation of a group of the gay semi-double THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 57 old French kinds, which it is now intended to remove. We noticed on the wall a plant of the Jaune Desprez, blooming most profusely, and somewhat deeper in colour than is usual. We were told of a curious circumstance in connec- tion with this plant. It was on a three feet stem, and was originally planted at some little distance from the wall. The stem was bent downward till the head reached the wall, the former was then covered over with some depth of soil, in which state it remains flourishing as above de- scribed. At each end of one of the greenhouses there is a bank of Roses planted in pure clay under a wall with a west aspect. It was obvious to remark how well the plants throve, and how large the flowers were. All were worked on the Dog Rose. The Hybrid Chinese were especially luxuriant, but Bourbons, Noisettes, Chinese, and even Tea- Scented, seemed alike to flourish. The following were noted as large plants bearing fine flowers French: Village Maid. Hybrid Chinese, &c.: Brennus, Beauty of Billiard, and Velours episcopal. Damask: Madame Hardy. Brier: Harrisonii. Hybrid Perpetual: Comtesse Duchatel. Noisette : Aimee Vibert and Miss Glegg. Bourbon : Queen. Tea-Scented: Camellia blanc. Crossing the lawn we caught a glimpse of a handsome Abies Douglassii, thirty feet high, and then passed between high laurel hedges overtopped with cedars, beeches, and elms. We again entered the park, passed through an avenue of limes, and crossed the river Rib whose sedgy banks were in full beauty. In the nursery, which we had now reached, we found ourselves in company with more Roses, and observed as standards Hybrid Perpetual: Madame Damene, Dr Marx. French: La Ville de Londres, Kean. Damask : Deeseflore. Hybrid Chinese : Grilony, Paul Perras, Lord John Russell, Belle Marie, and Brown's Superb. We here met with a new enemy of the Rose in the shape of a green caterpillar with a black head ; it was tolerably abundant, rolling up the leaflets for a dwelling. It may not prove a pest of great magnitude, 58 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. but there is nothing like sounding the alarm on the first appearance of the enemy, and Rose cultivators will do well to look to it. There was, indeed, a beautiful lot of Roses in this secluded spot, and as we cast a parting glance upon them we uttered the sentiment of the poet " small is the worth Of beauty from the light retired ;" and could not pass on without wishing them a speedy transfer to a more eligible situation. The natural soil at Youngsbury is a blue clay, lying close to the surface, extending to the depth of twenty feet, where it rests upon chalk. The surface where long cultivated has the appearance of a light vegetable soil. But we must say a few words of the Pot-Roses here, of which Mr Terry's skill as a cultivator is fully attested by his success as an exhibitor at the metropolitan flower shows. His plants are mostly on their own roots and grown in large pots. He is not an advocate for plunging. The plants were standing on solid ground, under a wall, with a north-east aspect; and, judging from their healthful appearance, they were perfectly happy there. The follow- ing plants were very fine Tea- Scented: Caroline, Bougere, Comte de Paris, Goubault, Pactolus, and Princess Marie. Bourbon : Queen, Souvenir de Malmaison. Hybrid Per- petual: Robin Hood. Hybrid Chinese, &c.: Las Casas, Comtesse Lacepede, and Charles Duval. Chinese : Merlet de Laboullaye, Mrs Bosanquet, and Madame Breon. French: Boula de Nanteuil. Noisettes: Aimee Vibert, and Lamarque. Austrian: Persian Yellow and Harri- sonii. The soil Mr Terry uses is the same as is generally recommended for Pot-Roses. DANE END. Proprietor, CHARLES S. CHAUNCEY, Esq. Gardener, Mr MYLNE. Leaving Youngsbury, we proceeded about a mile along the high road to Cambridge, and then entered a winding lane, running for two miles THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 59 and a half, to the seat of Charles S. Chauncey, Esq., called Dane End, near Munden. The Dog-Rose and Rosa arvensis abounded in the hedges, and if we were not de- ceived by the pace at which we were travelling, the sweet briar also showed itself occasionally. Many fair flowerets studded the wayside, and more than once did we regret the want of leisure to cull a bouquet of these lovely gems. But it was impossible. The sun was already high above our head, and the time to which we wished to limit our morning rambles almost expired. We reached the desired spot, and immediately on entering were dazzled with the sight of a bed of mixed Roses, dwarf standards, beneath which glittered " the lovely Eschscholtzia covering the ground as with a sheet of burnished gold. Whichever way we turned masses of flowers met our view. Standing in the heart of an agricultural district, which we had just quitted, and where every idle plant (excepting those by the wayside) was doomed to quick and sure destruction, the change was the more striking. We had for some time been passing farm lands, which we could not but admire for their freedom from wild flowers ; now we were suddenly in the midst of a beautiful garden, appearing like an oasis in a desert. The mansion stands some little dis- tance from the road on gently rising lawn ground. In front and near to the road is a walk describing a semi- circle. On the lawn side of the walk beds of Roses of graceful forms follow the margin, a mere strip of the lawn intervening. There is in most cases a bed of a sort, and they are principally Autumnals. We noticed especially as suited for this purpose Hybrid Perpetual: La Reine, William Jesse, Madame Lafifay, and Mrs Elliot. Chinese: White, Cramoisie superieure, Gloire des Rosomanes. Bour- bon : Bouquet de Flore. All these are evidently excellent kinds for bedding. On the opposite side of the walk is a herbaceous border about three yards wide ; it contains a very good collection of herbaceous plants, and the most showy kinds, such as Sweet Williams, Antirrhinums, 60 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Rockets, &c., being freely interspersed, the effect is grand in the extreme. At the back of this border is a wire fence covered with free-growing creeping Roses and honeysuckles. Behind this is a walk and a belt of trees for shelter, among which the Scotch Laburnum and Yellow Broom are plentifully introduced. At one end of this border is a fine spreading Sycamore, whose agreeable shade we gladly availed ourselves of for a few moments, and then pursued a shady path to examine a row of the Crimson Perpetual Roses nearly fifty yards long. The plants were large and in full bloom, and are said to yield a constant supply of flowers for bouquets from June to Christmas. Thence we returned to inspect a large bed of Roses, which contains the principal collection. They were for the most part standards. The most striking for size and beauty were French: Latour d'Auvergne, William Tell, and Madame Damoureau. Hybrid Chinese, &c. : Magna rosea, Stadtholder, Madame Plantier, Devigne, Coupe d'Hebe, and Beauty of Billiard. Hybrid Perpetual: Dr Marx and Clementine Seringe. Bourbon : Bouquet de Flore. Damask Perpetual: La Volumineuse. Turning thence, we passed through an arcade of Roses, formed of the Boursault and various kinds of Hybrid Chinese. Ascending a gentle slope by the side of the house, we met with a bed of the Gloire des Rosomanes, " Warm rival of the flame that dyes The heavens," and another of the White China, which we were informed had withstood the frosts of ten winters without any protection. Next in order was a bed of Bourbon, Madame Desprez ; three beds of Noisette, Fellenberg ; and one of the Beauty of Hertfordshire, a seedling raised here by Mr Mylne, possessing very fine foliage and rose-coloured flowers, resembling the Bourbon latifolia. These beds were all upon the lawn, where the natural soil (chalk) rises to within two inches of the surface ; the soil has conse- THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 61 quently been made for them. On the right-hand side of the walk we are now traversing is a bed of mixed Roses five plants deep, at the back of which a wire fence separates the garden from the park. Over the walk are arches of Bourbon Roses, principally Gloire des Rosomanes and Madame Desprez. Higher up is a bank of the original Bourbon Rose, and another of the Copper and Yellow Austrian, intertwined with honeysuckles. On the top of the banks a row of Scotch Laburnums is planted on either side of the walk, the effect of which in the flowering season must be very good. Having reached the summit of the hill, we meet with another border of Roses five rows deep, containing the best modern kinds. Behind them is a belt of Spruce Firs planted for shelter, and a row of Abies deodara. From this spot is a pretty view of the valley below, and a rising hill beyond, the village church pre- senting a most interesting object. Descending over the lawn, which is planted with single specimens of Coniferae, we pass a handsome Pinus patula eight feet high, which has stood eight winters unprotected, a handsome Crypto- meria japonica five feet high, and a nice clump of Yews. Various flower-beds, filled with the usual bedding-plants, surround the house. Returning to the entrance we crossed the road to the kitchen-garden, where we found Leopoldine d'Orleans and Madame d'Arblay, both light Roses, in magnificent bloom, covering an immense apple tree twelve feet high, which they had almost destroyed. The Bishop's Provence, Tricolor, Triomphe de Rennes, and the Globe Hip, were also flowering prettily here. It was said the Cloth of Gold bloomed well as a standard, planted on the west border of a greenhouse. On a south border of the kitchen-garden some Autumnal Roses are planted, over which frames are placed in winter and spring, by which means flowers are obtained some weeks before those wholly exposed are in bloom. Against a south wall a collection of dwarf-standard Tea-Scented Roses are placed between the fruit-trees, and they were doing well. But 62 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. this notice is already far extended, and we must conclude with a glance at the conservatory. On the outside of this structure Tea-Scented Roses are grown, and trained against the walls. In the interior is a specimen of Noisette Lamarque budded close to the ground, which had risen with a single stem twelve feet high and about an inch in diameter ; it had formed an immense spreading umbrella- shaped head, the branches drooping most gracefully. There was also a plant of the lovely Tea-Scented Bougere, nearly its equal in height and size, and both are said to yield flowers all through the winter months. There were two plants of the Fuchsia corymbiflora, and one Fuchsia Thomsonii, trained on a similar plan, and they were exceedingly handsome. Beyond these the conservatory was filled with various flowering plants, of which however it 'is not our particular purpose to speak. The whole of the Roses here are freely exposed to wind and sun, yet they grow and bloom magnificently, and seldom have we seen plants freer from insects of every kind. The Autumnals receive a top-dressing of manure in June in addition to the annual supply, an excellent plan which ought to be more generally put in practice. This is one of the oldest Rose gardens in the county, and is still one of the best, and to this more than to any other do we attribute the spread of that taste which has rendered Hertfordshire so renowned for its Roses. The soil here is naturally most unfavourable, the chalk lying close to the surface, and in every instance where Roses have been planted the chalk has been removed to some depth and its place occupied with a mixture of loam and manure. HAILEYBURY COLLEGE, HERTFORD HEATH. The Rev. RICHARD JONES. -Gardener, Mr COWELL. The principal collection of Roses here consists of standards and dwarf-standards, planted four plants deep to form a Rose-bank. At the back are arches on which we noticed Gloire des Rosomanes, which had made shoots THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 63 seven feet long this year, Ruga (Ayrshire), Conspicua, Henri Barbet (Hybrid Chinese), Lamarque, Jaime Desprez (Noisettes). Among the kinds forming the bank, La Volupte, Kean (French), Prince Albert (Hybrid Perpetual), Queen of Denmark, Sophie de Marsilly (Alba), Paul Perras (Hybrid Bourbon), were the most conspicuous. There were also several very fine specimens of the Crested Provence. On a border with a western aspect in the kitchen-garden we noticed Persian Yellow (Austrian), Requien, Minerva, Grande et Belle, Bernard, La Reine, Madame Laffay, Stanwell (Perpetuals), Aspasie, Boula de Nanteuil (French), Riego, Camuzet carnee, Coupe d'He"be, Great Western, Fimbriata (Hybrid Chinese, &c.), Madame Angelina, Dupetit Thouars (Bourbons), Emerance (Hybrid Provence), Comte de Paris (Tea-Scented). Maria Leonida was planted as an edging to one of the beds, and under the treatment here subjected to has a very pretty effect. The shoots are pegged down in spring and clipped in June, this keeps the plant dwarf, and it produces a mass of its beautiful white flowers in the autumn months. Being evergreen, and possessed of fine, large, glossy foliage, it must become a great favourite if cultivated in this manner. It is doubtless well known that under ordinary circumstances the flowers do not expand freely, but the pegging down and clipping which it undergoes entirely cures it of this bad habit. On the east border of the kitchen-garden the various families are planted separately in beds, the divisions being marked out with the Maria Leonida. The most striking plants here were Hybrid Chinese, &c.; Velours episcopal, Chnedole", Jenny, and Charles Foucquier. Hybrid Provence: Princesse Clementine, and La Calaisienne. Moss: Perpetual Mauget, Presque partout, Catherine de Wurtemberg. Damask : Ferox. The Crimson Perpetual invariably fails here. On the front of the house a plant of the old Red Moss had climbed about twelve feet high, and was covered with its beautiful blossoms. There were beds of 64 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Roses on the lawn facing the house, containing the leading kinds of Hybrid Perpetuals. The Comte d'Eu, which was among them, was said to be killed to the surface every winter, but to break from beneath the ground in spring and flower well. The cultivation of Pot-Roses is just taken in hand here, and the young plants look healthy and promising. The natural soil at a foot below the surface is a yellow clay ; the surface soil is heavy, and in many places full of cracks. It is the practice of Mr Cowell to manure the Roses three times every year in spring, summer, and autumn. Burnt earth is used freely, and found to produce marvellous effects.* The hoe is kept constantly in use during spring and summer, and it is doubtless owing to this painstaking that such fine flowers are obtained : Baronne Prevost was measured seven inches and a half in diameter, and other flowers were fine in proportion. We could not but remark the absence of the little green caterpillars, the larvae of a saw-fly, which has proved so great a pest in most Rose gardens for the last two years. We were informed that it had abounded here also in the previous year, but that a timely application of a remedy which destroyed it then had proved equally efficacious this spring. The following is the receipt : To twelve gallons of water put half a bushel of soot, stir it thoroughly, and add a quarter of a peck of hot lime. Allow it to settle for three or four days, when it becomes clear as claret. To this quantity add, just before using, one pound of soft soap dissolved in warm water. This proved an efficient remedy after tobacco-water and other insect-destroying applications had failed. PONSBOURNE PARK. Proprietor, WYNN ELLIS, Esq. Gardener, Mr SCOTT. This seat is about five miles north-west of the Waltham Cross Station of the Great * For an account of the application of burnt earth, and the means of preparing it, see "The Rose Garden," Ninth Edition, pp. 51 and 52. THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 65 Eastern Railway. The drive to it is prettily varied by hill and dale ; and the park, which contains some magnificent specimens of English oak, has a surface prettily and greatly diversified. The subsoil at a foot below the surface is clay, the surface soil is loam. The first group of Roses visited was at the back of the kitchen-garden adjoining the park ; they formed two long beds of three rows each, a straight walk passing between, the edgings to which were composed of the Red Fairy Rose arranged six inches apart. This pretty miniature, which is richly deserving of more general culture, makes very neat edgings, flowers during the whole of the summer and autumn, and is never injured by frost. In this instance it was adorned with thousands of its beautiful ruby blossoms, whose brightness was rendered more striking by the multitude of dark green leaves with which they were surrounded. Among the kinds most conspicuous here we noticed French: Colonel Coombs. Hybrid Chinese, &c : Blairii No. 2, Brennus, Triomphe de Laqueue, Charles Duval. Noisette: Bouton Nankin, Jaune Desprez. Tea- Scented : Moiret. Microphylla: Double Red. Chinese: Lady Warrender, Eugene Beauharnais. Bourbon: Madame Desprez, Julie Deloynes. These and other popular kinds are planted indiscriminately. Passing thence we entered a small garden of a semicircular form, one side of which is supported by a handsome belt of spruce firs, and the other lies open to the sun. The first object observed here was a bed of mixed kinds, standards and half-standards, the former being planted in the centre, and the ground beneath covered with dwarf plants of the old Cabbage Rose. In this bed we parti- cularly admired Bourbon : Georges Cuvier. Noisette : Solfaterre. Hybrid Perpetual: Lady Alice Peel. Chinese: Tancredi, foliage and flowers very fine. Tea- Scented: Narcisse. Following a walk running by the side of the spruce firs, we found many beauties to admire in a border planted with standards. Noisettes: Euphrosyne and Ophirie. Tea-Scented: Buret, Caroline, Pactolus, E 66 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Barbot, and Elise Sauvage claimed attention, no less for their bewitching beauty than for their delicious fragrance. There were also fine standards of Bourbons: Paul Joseph (growing very vigorously), Bouquet de Flore, Madame Tripet, and Cornice de Seine et Marne. Hybrid Perpetuals: De Neuilly, Dr Marx, Due d'Aumale, Rivers, and Prudence Raeser. From here we proceed to the American garden, which is a circle surrounded with trees. There are five beds of American plants, and standard Roses are planted round the outside, some of which were suffering from their proximity to the large trees. There were fine specimens of Hybrid Perpetual: La Reine. Chinese: Eugene Beauharnais. Tea-Scented: Clara, Niphetos, and Madame de St Joseph. A few steps more brought us to the shrubbery, and thence we passed to the lawn facing the house. The lawn slopes gently to the park, where the ground rises again, shewing a wood of beech trees on the right hand, and elegant groups of oak trees in the distance. On the lawn are various clumps of evergreens, their outline prettily broken and surrounded with flowering plants arranged with discrimination and taste. Interspersed are single specimens of ornamental trees, rustic baskets filled with flowers, and, what is of chief interest to us, four circular clumps of Roses. One is composed of dwarf-standard Autumnals exclusively, and the ground beneath is planted with mignonette and cloves. There is also a clump of dwarfs on their own roots. These clumps are planted with the best and most popular sorts, which it is needless to specify. The situation is much exposed, but nothing could be in better health or bloom. Among such a crowd of interesting objects there is a danger of overlooking some ; but a standard of Leopoldine d'Orleans, standing alone on the lawn, must not escape notice. It was trained as a Weeping Rose, and formed a beautiful single tree. We now entered the French garden in search of the last group of Roses, and a gay and varied scene it presented. THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 67 On the upper bank was a group of mixed Roses, principally standards, supported at the back with laurels, the outline beautifully irregular. In the front grew scarlet pentstemons, antirrhinums, and the Double White Fever- few, forming a most agreeable mixture. A small hexagon bed, planted with that lovely Moss Rose Celina, the ground beneath covered with the Lobelia erinus, was a perfect picture. How beautiful were the crimson flowers of the Rose ! and how admirably were they set off by the azure tint of the lobelia glistening through the openings of the foliage ! As we gazed on the Rose-buds just opening to the sun, the " flowers yet fresh with childhood," while the songs of innumerable birds arose from the copses and trees which surrounded us, the words of the Eastern poet crossed our mind " The nightingales warbled their enchanting notes, and rent the thin veils of the Rose-bud and the Rose." But the beauties of this spot were not wholly of Roses. There were also clumps of verbenas, scarlet geraniums, and other gay plants in full bloom, relieved by the occasional introduction of raised rustic baskets. At the bottom of this garden is a second bank of Roses facing a walk, tall standards at the back, with a gradual descent towards the walk, until the front row are dwarfs. These are also the popular kinds, planted pro- miscuously, and very thick, so as to present a mass of colour. This point is thoroughly gained, and a row of seedling calceolarias, planted just within the box-edging, gives a charming finish to the whole. HODDESDON. Proprietor, JOHN WARNER, Esq. Gardener, Mr WILLIAMS. This beautiful garden is about a mile from the Broxbourne station on the Great Eastern Railway, and is remarkable for the diversified surface it presents. On the lawn fronting the house is a row of tree paeonies, and fine specimens of the weeping elm, the Abies deodara, Daphne pontica, Fern-leaved Beech, and other ornamental trees. On the upper end of the lawn is a 68 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. raised terrace of considerable length from which a fine view of this part of the garden is obtained; the Essex hills, embracing part of Nazing Common, affording an agreeable prospect in the opposite direction. A shaded walk descends " slowly winding " to a canal, over which a rustic bridge is thrown ; the scene enlivened by an excellent imitation of rocks formed of brick and cement thrown with careless hand in the bed of the stream. Near this spot is a rustic building which perfectly realises the idea of " The calm retreat, the silent shade ;" and an agreeable encounter on a summer's day is a retreat so pleasantly shaded, suggesting, in addition to the ordi- nary enjoyments of gardening, ideas of coolness and repose. But our path lay onward, and we pursued it till we entered the Dahlia garden, where we were confronted by a Gothic arch in ruins, covered with ivy, and in judicious connection therewith were antique windows apparently dilapidated by the hand of time. On the side of this garden, adjoining the lawn, was a border of Roses, five plants deep, formed of standards and dwarf-standards. It contained the usual popular sorts. Among the new ones were Moss Laneii and Geant des Batailles, whose brilliant tints recalled the description of Lovelace : " Vermilion ball that's given From lip to lip in heaven ; Love's couch's coverlid." In the centre of this garden is a column of Roses ; several plants, principally Sempervirens, being planted at a little distance from each other and then united into one mass. The effect of this column was decidedly good, and it is worthy of imitation. There was also a plant of Leopoldine d'Orleans standing alone, trained as a weeper, the finest specimen of such we had ever seen, and a splendid Felicite" Perpetue but little inferior. We also THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 69 noticed the Single Ayrshire trailing over and around a large oak, whose trunk it completely encircled and enlivened with its foliage and blossoms, and this was no mean feature in the scene. Here we paused for a moment to admire fine specimens of the Paulovnia imperialis and Bignonia catalpa, when our ears were greeted by the murmuring of a distant waterfall. And agreeable indeed it was. Nay, more ; sweeter far just then than the sounds of the sweetest music, calling up in imagination all that seemed required to amplify and complete the harmony of the scene associating the fresh- ness of the streamlet with the fragrance of the flowers. We turned our steps thitherward, for it was not far, and found it to proceed from a neighbouring brook, by the side of which was a rustic seat covered with ivy, honeysuckles, and Evergreen Roses. It was neither costly nor grand, but it was natural, and fancy applied to it Spenser's description of " an arbour green dispread, Framed of wanton ivy flowering fair, Through which the fragrant eglantine did spread His prickling arms entrailed with Roses red, Which dainty odours round about them threw." This was indeed a delightful spot ; but we dared not linger. A few steps more and we found ourselves in the Rose garden. The soil, although naturally loamy, was thought not sufficiently good, and the beds were originally filled with prepared soil. In the centre of the garden is a Rose temple. The ground on which it stands consists of four beds of equal size, segments of a circle, the soil being raised to form a mound about four feet high. Twelve Gothic arches, the standards of which are of iron, seven feet three inches high and six feet three inches apart, describe the outside of the circle. From these rise several rods which meet at the top, and are united to a rod rising from the centre to form a dome. Two walks pass trans- /o THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. versely through the centre of this temple, thus leaving four arches for ingress or egress. A seat surrounds the central support. Among the climbing Roses which covered the frame-work we observed Macartney: Maria Leonida. Hybrid Chinese: Fulgens, Brennus. Sempermrens: Leopol- dine d'Orleans, Princesse Louise, Noisette: La Biche. Multiflora : Laure Davoust. Ayrshire: Ruga. In the same beds with the Climbing Roses were interspersed various dwarf hardy kinds on their own roots, to fill up the ground. Various beds surrounded the temple, which were planted with standard Autumnal Roses, of which the following were the most striking Bourbons: Cardinal Fesch, Gloire des Rosomanes, Le Grenadier, Phoenix, and Bouquet de Flore. Chinese : Gouvion St Cyr, and Eugene Beauharnais. Tea-Scented: Belle Allemande, Niphetos, Elise Sauvage, and Bougere. There are three rustic figures mounted on pedestals introduced round the ex- terior with good effect. Beyond these is planted a hedge of dwarf Scotch Roses, over which we caught a glimpse of the lawn studded with various ornamental trees and plants. We wished to take a look at the Pinetum, where the specimens, though young, are interesting ; but time, alas ! forbade. The Bath garden, too, was before us, and though not remarkable for the rarity of its plants, through this we must necessarily pass. In front of the bath is a prettily- designed fountain, playing cheerfully enough, and from which a straight walk with a border on either side leads to a magnificent cut-leaved alder, whose branches are upheld with arches covered with Climbing Roses. Following the bank of the canal, we pass before a figure of Neptune reclining on a rock rising from the waves, with a fountain playing over andj*around it The island is planted with weeping ash, weeping willows, and laburnums at its edge, while scarlet thorns and tulip trees occupy the centre. On this side of the canal is a lawn sloping to the water, with a row of free-flowering showy standard Roses in front. The next object of attraction is a span-roofed THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 71 house, built expressly for the cultivation of orchidaceous plants, several fine specimens of which were in bloom. The skill with which these plants are cultivated needs no comment at our hands ; the prizes obtained at the principal flower shows sufficiently attest the fact. The lawn is decor- ated with flower-beds, among which single specimens of standard Roses are interspersed. We noted the following as the best Boursault : Elegans. Hybrid Bourbon: Coupe d'H^be, Las Casas. Bourbon : Queen, Madame Desprez, and Cardinal Fesch. The natural soil of this garden is gravel ; consequently the flower-beds are filled with prepared soil, A plant of the Cloth of Gold, which had occupied a south wall for three years, had never flowered. By the side of it grew the Single Macartney, which flowered freely and elicited general praise. A line of arches covered with Roses and honeysuckles crosses the lawn, and produces a very pleasing effect. Maria Leonida (Macartney) and Leopoldine d'Orleans (Semper- virens) were trained over a seat, the branches drooping naturally from above with a careless grace, which art might in vain try to imitate. A small bed of the crimson Chinese Rose " Fabvier," its brilliant flowers glowing in the sun, was the last object to rivet the attention. At the end of this garden, adjoining the dwelling-house, is a conservatory, well stocked with flowering plants ; there is also an orange house, containing some fine speci- mens of oranges and camellias. BROOKM AN'S PARK. Proprietor, R. W. GAUSSEN, Esq. Gardener, Mr ELLIOT. This seat is situate on the high road from London to Hatfield. It is three miles from the latter place, and nine miles from the Broxbourne Station of the Great Eastern Railway. The drive from Waltham Cross to Brookman's is a delightful one. An object on the road worthy of notice is GofFs Oak, a vener- able ruin, which tradition tells us was planted in the time of William the Conqueror. Its huge trunk is but a shell, 72 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. although the summit is still crowned with verdure. After passing this relic of antiquity, the road leads down a precipitous steep, and over a gentle ascent to the ridgeway, a road about two miles long, cut through woods of oak and fir, which re-echoed with the voices of their feathered inhabitants. On reaching the desired place, the collection of Pot-Roses was first met with. They were not plunged, but standing under a wall. Among the new kinds were observed Hybrid Perpetual* : Soleil d'Austerlitz, Madame Trudeaux, and Cymedor. The Summer Rosery is com- prised within a walled square, laid out in square beds. The borders under the walls are filled with American and herbaceous plants, and the walls are covered with standard Roses, principally summer bloomers, trained in the manner of fruit-trees. Ayrshire: Ruga. Sempervirens: Felicite Perpetue. Hybrid Chinese, &c.: Celine and La Majesteuse. Bourbon: Madame Desprez. Noisette: Lamarque (splen- did), and La Biche were among the most striking. In the centre of this garden is a Rose temple, the outside of which consists of eleven pointed arches ; from these chains rise to a high standard in the centre, forming graceful curved lines, which it is intended to cover with Climbing Roses. The following are some of the kinds planted to accomplish this object Ayrshire: Ruga. Multiflora: Russelliana. Hybrid Chinese: Blairii No. 2 and Flora M'lvor. On a south wall was a standard Cloth of Gold, which does not flower in summer, but blooms well in autumn from the second growth. The beds in this Rose garden are planted with standards and dwarfs intermixed ; the plants having been added at different times without strict regard to the proper heights, the arrangement is somewhat incongruous. We were informed, however that a fresh arrangement is contemplated. The following were noted as fine specimens Hybrid Bourbon : Coupe d'Hebe, Henri Barbet, and Las Casas. Hybrid Chinese: Belle Marie. French : Grandissima, Duchess of Buccleuch, Boula de Nanteuil, and Latifolia. Hybrid Provence: THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 73 Aspasie. Damask : QEillet Parfait. A bed of dwarf Red Moss and a bed of mixed Autumnals complete this garden. The American garden, through which we have to pass on our way to the new Rosery, consists of a large circular space of lawn ground inclosed with a laurel bank, and studded with round groups of American plants, dahlias, and various bedding | plants. Adjoining this is the new Rosery, which comprises a series of fifteen circular clumps thrown together on a lawn, and planted principally with Autumnals. The plants are dwarf-standards and dwarfs. The groups are not kept separate ; the varieties are planted indiscriminately. These clumps having been recently formed contain many new varieties. The follow- ing were thought good Hybrid Perpetual: Due d'Alengon, Comtesse Duchatel, Olivier de Serres, La Reine, Robin Hood, Baronne Prevost, very large, Le Commandant Fournier, Comte de Montalivet, Sydonia, Leonie Vergier, Cornet, Coquette de Bellevue, La Bouquetiere. Bourbons : Amenaide, Lady Canning, Cezanne Souchet, Comte d'Eu, Marianne, Theresa Margat, Souvenir de Malmaison, Speciosa, Madame Tripet, Angelina Bucelle, Glory of Paris, Vicomte de Cussy, Julie de Fontenelle, and Le Florifere. Chinese: Duchess of Kent and Joseph Deschiens. Noisette: Pourpre de Tyre. Tea- Scented: Devoniensis. On the lawn, among and surrounding the Roses, we observed fine single specimens of Cedar of Lebanon, Cut- leaved Alder, Silver Fir, and American Oak. The soil here is a loose loam, which absorbs water readily ; it is about eighteen inches deep, resting on a bed of gravel. Returning to the American garden, we traversed a walk about seventy yards long, completely over-arched with hornbeam, and which leads to the lawn running up to the front of the house. On the lawn were groups of clumps, in which the usual bedding plants were introduced. From the west front of the house there opens a most extensive prospect. Looking down a gentle slope, a lake is seen in the low ground; around it, and on the rising ground, are 74 THE ROSE GARDENS OF HERTFORDSHIRE. clumps of oak trees ; while an extensive range of hills, bounded only by the horizon, appears beyond. Quitting this spot, we approached the Fountain-garden, which is in the form of a horse-shoe, with a wall at the back, and laurel banks on either side. There is a fountain in the centre, and the beds are filled entirely with verbenas. KEMAKKS ON THE CULTIVATION OF TEA- SCENTED EOSES AS CONSEKVATORY CLIMBERS, [From " Paxtoris Magazine of Gardening and Botany? 1849, P- 43-*] WHO can contemplate with indifference the beauty, variety, and perfume of the Queen of Flowers, or who can fix a limit to the circle over whose affections she holds sway ? Cherished alike by peer and peasant, her circle of admirers is wide as are the dominions of our beloved Sovereign the Rose of England. Growing spontaneously in almost every latitude of the northern hemisphere, admired alike by the highly civilised inhabi- tants of Southern Asia, and the less-favoured natives of the icy north, wheresoever it dwelleth its presence is hailed with joy and gladness. Sweet emblem of innocence, of virtue, of humility, whence derivest thou that power which gives thee such an influence over the mind of man ? Truly, the Rose of the desert in its loneliness is suggestive of modesty and retiring worth, and the gorgeous masses of our flower gardens are realisations of grandeur, beauty, elegance, and grace. No wonder, then, that thy declared admirers are so numerous, that thy presence should be sought so eagerly * This article was written by the request of Mr (afterwards Sir Joseph) Paxton. TEA-SCENTED ROSES AS CONSERVATORY CLIMBERS 75 amidst the motley throng. No wonder that thou greetest us at every step, from the garden of the humble cotter to the Rosetum and conservatory of the wealthy and the great. But it is to advocate the claims of a particular class of Roses, for a particular purpose, that I now take up the pen, and these are the Tea-Scented. What we have said of other Roses, may be said of them ; although the eye of the florist may pronounce them less perfect than the descen- dants of other species. The large guard petals at the circumference of the flowers, and the want of regularity in the arrangement of the inner petals, are not, perhaps, exactly in harmony with his taste. And we do think that their condemnation by some florists has in a great measure blinded the flower-loving public to their merits. Without courting controversy, we feel it incumbent on us to state our views in reference to this point, believing that a just estimation of their value would lead to their more general cultivation. And first let it be remarked that we do not yield them up as florists' flowers. Indeed they are not, if successful strivings to bring them to an ideal standard be the criteria of such. They resist this arbitrary process, and in proportion as they approach what it is said they should be, they lose their own peculiar properties, merging all their natural beauties in one single fancied point. Fortun- ately, however, they are not very tractable in this respect The Tea Roses originated in 1848 resemble those of 1810; they have the large guard petals, the irregular disposition of petals, and, for the most part, the same drooping habit and glossy leaves as those of yore. Notwithstanding this, the varieties we possess furnish us with abundant proof that the object has been attempted, and the slight altera- tion apparent consisting in the size of the flowers and variety of colour we believe not due to the breeding for a particular result, but the natural results of cultivation. Strange that they should thus resist change, when the types of other groups of more recent origin are lost in the 76 TEA-SCENTED ROSES AS CONSERVATORY CLIMBERS. varying characters of the floral races. Beautiful in their irregularity, distinct in their properties, unique in appear- ance, we confess that we admire them above all others, and that their charms for us would depart were they aught else than what they are. As well might we complain of the diversified surface of the landscape, as of the graceful irregularities in this charming group of Roses. It has been said that the objections of minds flori- culturally schooled has done something to render them unpopular, but there is another cause existing in their delicacy and susceptibility of frost. It is not intended here to dwell upon their culture in the open air, though I have proved by experiment that they may be grown successfully, and with little trouble, in this manner. We will, for the present, dismiss this point. I intend here to confine my remarks to their cultivation as climbers for the conservatory. But am I at the outset met with the response " We have abundance of such plants." Then I rejoin " Is not the variety these will afford, combined with a delightful fragrance, a sufficient plea for their introduction ? " Then of their cultivation. We will suppose plants intended for this purpose to be purchased in the spring. They are perhaps in small pots, therefore unless the situa- tion be freely exposed to air and light they should be shifted into larger pots, using a compost of leaf mould and loam, and cultivated with care during the first summer. In the spring following they will be strong and well rooted, and may be planted out in prepared soil loam and leaf mould as before. They may be pruned rather closely, and watered with weak liquid manure as they become dry, and the growing shoots trained with care according as they are wanted to clothe round pillars or trellis-work. They will probably rise from two to three feet the first year ; and as they become evergreen under this treatment they will grow and flower almost incessantly, even in the depth of winter, if suffered to do so. But as a TEA-SCENTED ROSES AS CONSERVATORY CLIMBERS. 77 period of rest is necessary in order to ensure rapid progress, this may be granted about midsummer, when Roses abound out of doors or immediately after a general flowering by keeping the soil about the roots almost dry. When it is thought desirable to excite a new growth, it is only necessary to prune and water the plants, and the end is attained. If they are fortunate enough to escape pruning by the cutting of the flowers for bouquets, a second pruning on the completion of flowering will be needed, and at this time any misplaced or unhealthy branches should be removed. The same course of culture may be gone through from year to year, training up the topmost branches till the height desired be attained. For the satisfaction of any who may doubt the suitability of Tea-Scented Roses for this purpose, I would state that there are several plants in the conservatory at Orleans House, Twickenham, from ten to twelve feet high, and at the time I saw them, about a year and a half ago, they were most beautiful specimens, clothed with large handsome foliage, the flowers regaling us with their delicious sweets. The plants in the border of the conser- vatory of the Horticultural Society of London may also be referred to in support of my position ; these, I should think (speaking from impressions only), are eight or ten feet high, and there are specimens nearly equal the size and beauty in many other places. [NEW ROSES. ON NEW ROSES. ON NEW EOSES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? Nov. 29^, 1856,^. 788.] IT seems to have become a fashion to depreciate " New Roses," for what reason it is difficult to divine. Per- haps the fable of the " Fox and the Grapes " is not altogether inapplicable in the case. But that it is a fashion, and a mere fashion founded on a little truth and much error is my conviction, and for that reason I am induced to offer an investigation of the matter. Let me admit at the outset that numbers of worthless New Roses are annually palmed on the public at high prices, but this does not establish the position of your correspondent " A. R." that " the old Roses are the best yet." Surely he has just awakened from a long long sleep to recommend among 12 "not beaten yet" such second-rate kinds as La Reine, Madame Laffay, General Jacqueminot (Hybrid China), Louis Buonaparte, and William Jesse. The first is sometimes fine but very uncertain ; the second small and transitory ; the third loose, flimsy, and often washy in colour ; the fourth of indifferent shape ; and the last little more than semi-double. Where would " A. R." find him- self if he relied on such kinds in competition ? Surely at the bottom of his class ; and their position is about the same viewed from the mere decorative point of view. No one can regret more than I do the dishonest practice of sending out with falsely flaming descriptions so-called New Roses, which are neither novelties nor improvements. The practice is too general with flowers and fruits too, and deserves to be strongly reprobated. I have known a raiser of seedlings to offer from 10 to 25 new kinds in one year at from 10 to 25 francs each, and not one of them prove worth as many sous. The remedy is, I apprehend, to be found not in repudiating novelties in toto, but by keeping a watchful eye on the sources whence real ON NEW ROSES. 79 acquisitions proceed, and whether a dealer errs from ignorance, carelessness, or selfishness, ignoring him in future transactions. Not that this rule should be too strictly enforced ; no point in the entire range of horti- culture is more difficult to arrive at correctly, there must be some risk on the part of purchasers, all will err occasionally but there are those who err continuously, Now for the examination of facts. For twelve proved New Roses, I would invite the attention of your readers to the following Hybrid Perpetnals : General Castellane, Gene- ral Jacqueminot, Gloire de Vitry, Lord Raglan, Madame Desiree Giraud, Madame de Cambaceres, Madame Masson, Madame Martel, Madame Vidot, Souvenir de Leveson Gower. Bourbon: Prince Albert; and Tea -Scented: Gloire de Dijon. Although these have issued from the hands of the raisers within a space of two or at most three years, I would place them in the scale against the twelve of " A. R," (which are a sort of omnium gatherum of all time), notwithstanding the presence of the ideal Rose Coupe d'Hebe in the opposite balance. Thus far I write boldly, because supported by ascer- tained facts, but I am now about to enter an imperfectly explored territory to grapple with a more difficult question the improved New Roses. The difficulty in judging of the quality of New Roses arises from the roots becoming dried in their transmission to this country, so that they seldom fairly establish themselves the first season. What we are about to offer now must therefore be taken on trust, but we believe we shall be found correct in the main. Of the 70 or 80 new varieties imported and flowered here last season the following bloomed to our satisfaction Hybrid Perpet2ial: Arthur de Sansal, Bacchus, Dr Henon, General Simpson, Imperatrice des Francais, Mathurin Regnier, Madame Knorr, Ornement des Jardins, Pceonia, Prince Noir, Souvenir de la Reine d'Angleterre, Triomphe de TExposi- tion, and Triomphe d'Avranches. One word in conclusion. Permit me to ask those Rose amateurs and dealers who 8o ON NEW ROSES. repudiated the New Roses two or three years since (and there were many), whether their collections have not suffered in consequence ? And I believe there are as good New Roses now as then. The object is to reach them ; to draw out by the exercise of the judgment the few real diamonds from amidst the multiplicity of paste imitations glittering on every hand. To wait till these are known- demonstrated to be invaluable is to lose all the hope of expectation, the surprise of novelty, and one or two years of the enjoyment of possession. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle" Dec. vjth 1856, p. 855.] WHATEVER I may think of your correspondent " A. R.'s" knowledge of Roses, I must give him credit for skill in argument. I humbly submit, however, that his skill is that of the dexterous pleader rather than of the sound logician. Now " A. R." says, " The old Roses are the best yet," and among "12 not beaten yet" he includes La Reine, Madame Laffay, General Jacqueminot (Hybrid China), Louis Buonaparte, and William Jesse. I, in good faith, differ from him, and am content to leave the public to judge between us ; to decide whether these Roses are or are "not beaten yet/' and whether after reducing the numerous varieties of Roses to "the 12 best" (mark this) they are more than second rate. This is the real question at issue between us, and as " A. R." writes anonymously, I might be allowed to leave the matter here without noticing the insinuations contained in his article of last week. But as the triumph of truth is alone my object, I will endeavour to clear away the dust-clouds in which his dashing charge has enveloped the matter. In the first place, he ought in fairness to have seen that in my original article I spoke of these Roses in comparison with his 12 "not beaten yet;" whereas in the catalogues they are spoken of in comparison with about 700 varieties. This alone explains the apparent discrepancies so triumphantly paraded. ON NEW ROSES. 81 Things are small or large only by comparison ; thus, Madame Laffay is small in comparison with 12 "of the best" if of full size in comparison with Roses in general, and so on with the rest. Does he not also see that La Reine may be at once " magnificent " and " uncertain," Louis Buonaparte "glowing," large, and full, but "of indifferent shape ? :> His inference that "either the dealers' catalogues are intended to take in the uninitiated by their splendid descriptions, or else the Roses are what he says they are," is puerile in the extreme. I apprehend the uninitiated do not generally make sweeping statements in matters with which they are imperfectly acquainted, and then read the different catalogues for fragments in support of their assertions. If they read without prejudice they will not select the 12 recommended by "A. R." as the best at least the catalogues I have seen (I have not seen Rivers') do not make them appear so. To show how little practical knowledge " A. R." possesses of the case he has in hand, he insinuates that the dealers make the New Roses appear better than they are from interested motives. This is quite the reverse of my experience. For years past we have found the New Roses sell faster than we could propagate them, if backed by our own recommenda- tion, whereas the stock of old favourites is all but illimit- able. I do not wish to become the apologist for the Rose- growers' catalogues ; they need nothing of the sort at my hands. The catalogues may not be correct in every minute particular, but to argue thence that they are " intended to take in the uninitiated " is ungenerous and unjust. To show, however, that the many attach more value to them than " A. R." does, I may mention one or two facts in connection with our own : more than 20 editions have been published, amounting to nearly 50,000 copies, and the circulation is increasing every year. It would have been more generous if " A. R." had ceased to write anonymously before casting aspersions on a numerous and respectable body of men who labour hard for the F 82 ON NEW ROSES. gratification of others with very moderate profit to them- selves. Unless he think proper to pursue this course, to stand forth in substantial shape a real man, he must excuse me from continuing this controversy. I confess that I am not sufficiently Quixotic -in spirit to find satis- faction in wrestling with a shadow. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle" February jih 1857, p. 85.] IN an article on New Roses in last week's Chronicle, extracted from the Florist, Mr Rivers expresses a hope that some of the correspondents will "quietly give their opinions on the subject." In a previous article in the Florist by Mr R., he says "The new Roses sent out in 1855 haVe not cut a brilliant figure." In an article published in the succeeding numbers, and penned before I saw this statement, I gave it as my deliberate opinion that " the present year had been more fruitful than many in the introduction of really valuable novelties." These antagonistic views may, I think, be fairly taken as the points at issue. Subsequently, however, Mr R. qualifies his remarks by the words " I ought to have added ' few of/ which gives the exact state of the case," naming five varieties of 1855 and two of 1856. It unfortunately happens that few can pass an accurate judgment on these differences of opinion ; the many may, however, shortly be in a position to do so if they will only watch and wait, and in the meantime it may prove interesting to hear the question quietly discussed. I shall commence my remarks from the first article in the Florist (November 1856). The statistics there given merely show what was known to every cultivator of Roses, that numbers of worthless new kinds are annually sent out at high prices, and it is only just to say that Mr Rivers is neither the first nor the only one who has used his influence to check this dishonest practice. I cannot, however, agree with Mr Rivers " to excuse our floral friends over the water " for ON NEW ROSES. 83 sending out new Roses under false descriptions that cannot be honestly recommended ; it is only due to them, however, as a body to say that there are those among them who have as high a sense of honour as any English cultivator. Whatever the New Roses of 1855 may have done at Sawbridgeworth, I adhere to my opinion formed from the blooming here, that the present season has been more prolific than many in the introduction of valuable novelties. I cannot agree with Mr R. in the high value he sets on the " Perpetual Moss Roses." Certainly they are new, and there is something in the name, but I regard our present varieties merely as the germ of a group which will require years of close and successful cultivation before its presence becomes indispensable in the Rose garden. At the close of this article Mr R, remarks "One, after thirty years of admiration, is apt to become fastidious, and to require great perfection in shape, in colour, and in habit." This is no doubt true, and perhaps may be taken to account for the severe treatment the New Roses of the last year have met with at his hands. Although in the Florist of October 1855 Mr Rivers writes "One almost fears the point of perfection has been attained, and that no better Roses than those we now possess can or will be originated " it would, perhaps, be hardly fair to infer that Mr R. doubts the progression of races. This indeed cannot be, for while depreciating New Roses he recommends a list of no less than twenty-eight new varieties of Pears (see Gardeners' Chronicle of the 2/th of December last). It seems rather that he has forgotten the old proverb " Nature does not advance by leaps," and expects too much from his "old friend of thirty years standing, the Rose." This proverb applies with peculiar force to the various families of flowers. Every raiser of seedlings knows that Nature does not advance by leaps. 84 ON NEW ROSES. To look on New Roses as they appear from year to year improvement is perhaps not great. If we are seeking for striking results we must look backward into the storehouse of time. I remember many years ago the late Sir Abraham Hume, who was a great patron of gardening, presenting my father with half-a- dozen roots of Single Dahlias. How they were prized ! Every seed was saved and sown, and when the single row of flat petals surrounding a yellow disc was converted into a double flower, how great was the acquisition ? Those were halcyon days for lovers of dahlias. The ground was new and uncultivated, and numbers of valuable kinds, real acquisitions, were readily obtained. As the improvement went on, " Excelsior," the improver's motto, his standard ever receding as he advanced, the ascent became more difficult and gradual. But it still went on. If we compare the best modern dahlias with the original single ones, or even with the early double ones, we cannot fail to be impressed with the results. I remember also my young eyes being delighted with the beautiful portraits of pelar- goniums in Sweet's work, but what are they in point of beauty compared with the pelargoniums of this day ? Here again Nature did not advance by leaps, the improve- ment was gradual, and if we had neglected those very gradual advances we must have foregone the present grand results. But let me come to my Roses, and I will in this instance look back eight years only, in order to show more vividly the effects of gradual improvement. In 1848 the " Rose Garden " was published, wherein all Roses then under cultivation, good and bad, new and old, are described. In 1853 (a period of five years) the varieties since introduced were described in a supplement, and among them I find Moss : Duchesse d'Abrantes, Gloire des Mousseuses, Madame Alboni, Princess Alice (Paul's), the last-named not one of the " others " mentioned by Mr Rivers as purchased in France the purchaser retaining the right of naming them but raised by my own hands from ON NEW ROSES. 85 seeds gathered and sown here. Hybrid French : Comtesse de Segur. Hybrid Chinese, &c.: General Lamoriciere, Paul Ricaut, Vivid (also raised here). Hybrid Perpetual: Alexandrine Bachmeteff, Angelina Granger, Auguste Mie, Baronne Hallez, Baronne de Heckeren, Caroline de Sansal, Comte de Nanteuil, Duchesse d'Orleans, Enfant du Mont Carmel, General Bedeau, General Brea, General Castellane, Graziella, Joan of Arc, Lady Stuart, Laura Ramand, Lion des Combats, Louise Peyronny, Madame Duchere, Madame Phelip, Madame Rivers, Noemi, Paul Dupuy, Prince Leon, Rosine Margottin, Souvenir de Leveson Gower, Standard of Marengo, Triomphe de Paris, William Griffiths, Louise Odier. Tea- Scented: Canary, Madame Villermoz, Narcisse. Bourbon: Dr Leprestre, Prince Albert (Paul's), Reveil, Sir J. Paxton, Souvenir d'un Frere, Vorace. Here are forty-eight really valuable varieties introduced in five years, and I would ask what would our Rose gardens of the present day be without them ? So good are they that they have become " familiar in our mouths as house- hold words." And I believe there are as good New Roses being gradually introduced now as then, although accom- panied as then with shoals of rubbish. It is very pretty to talk of fine crimson Tea Roses, yellow Hybrid Perpetuals, and yellow Moss, but how are we to obtain them? It sounds like the echo of some nursery rhyme. Nature does not advance by leaps. I do not, however, say they will never be obtained, but they have been a desideratum long thought of and asked for, and their long absence proves satisfactorily to my mind that the most skilled in these mysteries yet lack the knowledge or means of obtaining them. Is it then wise to reject the good things provided because we cannot at once realise some visionary desires ? The question of large and small collections I will, if you think proper, discuss next week. 86 ON NEW ROSES. [From "The Gardeners' Chronicle? Feb. 14*%, 1857,^. 100.] IN this my second article I will briefly consider the question of large and small collections of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, but more especially of Roses. I agree with Mr Rivers that it is desirable to cut down the varieties of vegetables, fruit trees, and flowers to a " sensible stan- dard," and this would tend as much or more to the advan- tage of the grower than to that of the purchaser. But I apprehend this theory may be pushed too far, and is easier to accomplish with vegetables and fruits than with trees and flowers, because the palate is less variable than the eye of taste, I would say to all who have not already done so, cut down your lists so far as to render it impossible for a purchaser to select anything 1 bad or indifferent, but beyond this, as a large grower, I am not prepared to go. To confine my remarks to Roses, Mr Rivers must from long experience be well aware that persons possessed of an equally correct taste will not always select the same varieties of flowers. What one will reject another will highly approve, and in this dilemma, who is to fix the standard ? Does he think the amateur will waive his claim to select such varieties as may please his own taste in favour of any grower's standard, however " sensible ?" I opine not, and in support of this opinion I make the following extract from the January number of the " Scot- tish Gardener" where the Rose question is cleverly reviewed by a writer apparently seeking truth without prejudice. " Some nurserymen cultivate only the Roses which have a secondary period of flowering in autumn, and even Mr Rivers is swaying towards that result. " Prefixed to his catalogue of Summer Roses he has the following paragraph 'The numerous varieties of this class, once nominally more than 2000, have now become of secondary interest, except for showing as single blooms for prizes, owing to the introduction of so many beautiful Autumnal Roses, more particularly the varieties of Hybrid ON NEW ROSES. 87 Perpetuals, which now comprise all that is most perfect and beautiful in form and colour. A Summer Rose tree, whether bush or standard, when its flowers have passed away is a most uninteresting object ; in a few years it is most probable that with the exception of Moss Roses, Summer Roses will be spoken of as things that were.' "With all deference to Mr Rivers' acknowledged authority and taste, we must protest against this doctrine, in behalf of Scotland at least. " We will not give up our Summer Roses. They are on the whole hardier and better adapted for our climate than the Hybrid Perpetuals, many of them raised at Lyons, or in some of the warmer districts of France, and with a large infusion of China blood in them. Many of the former, such as Coupe d'Hebe, Chenedole, Kean, Madame Soetmans, and some hundred others in the same families, " make glorious summer" in July, when our weather is at the finest, and at that season, so far as we have seen, they are as yet not quite equalled by the Hybrid Perpetuals. In Scotland, at least, the flowering of the latter in Septem- ber and October greatly* to be prized in itself is only a faint Indian Summer compared with the full orbed glory of the former season." Now we can fancy another class of growers, whose soil is light and warm, saying " We will not give up our very full Roses, although in the best Rose soils they may be indifferent or uncertain;" another class, "We will not give up our sweet-scented or brilliantly coloured flowers, although the florist may pronounce them deficient in shape or fulness;" and so on throughout the whole range of varieties. In support of growing a moderately large collection of Roses I would say a cultivator with a large connection has not only to consult a variety of tastes, but a variety of soils, climates, purposes, &c., and it is well known to the least experienced that the same varieties are not equally good in different climates, situations, and soils. Thus the 88 ON NEW ROSES. south and west of England receive annually thousands of Roses which would not flourish in the north, and thousands travel to the north which would not meet with general approval if transmitted to the south or west. Again, the United States and some of our colonies absorb a different stock, while the West Indies and similar climates take varieties which would be rejected by all others. Now, I apprehend it should be the object of a large grower to meet the requirements of all ; if he culti- vate only for one class of customers he must rest satisfied with a very limited trade. But I will go back to the ques- tion of taste, and seek an illustration from an analogous point of view the article of dress. What is it that draws the crowds from various parts of the country to the large drapers' shops in London and elsewhere ? Evidently not quality and cheapness alone or combined, though these may have much weight in the matter ; the grand secret is novelty and variety, the power of choice. Where, then, is the advantage of the small list over the large one the difference being only as 450 to 700. The large collection includes the various items of the small, and many equally select besides. Never was a greater fallacy promulgated than to say the small list offers the purchaser advantages, provided that, which is a fair assumption, nothing bad is inserted in the other, and the descriptions are equally accurate. Those who know Roses can easily pick out the best for their individual purposes ; those who do not, will not find perplexity in the smallness of the difference. The question of a large or small collection of a flower seems to me more a grower's than a buyer's question. If a grower does not mind the trouble of cultivating a moderately large collection of Roses of different degrees of merit, do the interests of the buyer suffer ? Nay, rather the reverse. Many buyers are not willing to pay first-class prices, and there are many purposes for which first-class Roses are not absolutely required. The grower of a moderately large collection acts on the principle of the publisher who ON NEW ROSES. 89 publishes at the same time two editions of a book ; the one in the first style large and handsome, the other small less elegant but still good and useful. Now, by this plan it is found the sale of the best edition is not sensibly diminished, while the cheapness of the other creates a demand among those who while admirers would not otherwise become purchasers. Thus an extended sale is secured, and producers and purchasers are mutually bene- fited. In conclusion, I would ask the uninitiated to pause and consider whether in the recent efforts to depreciate New Roses there may not be an interest of old Roses the old shopkeepers of commerce as well as of new? And in the complex movements on this wondrous ball I would say take heed lest in steering to avoid Charybdis you strike against Scylla. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? February 2ist 1857,^. 119.] I ENTIRELY agree with Mr Rivers in his general views as regards trade, which, if I rightly comprehend his article of last week, amounts to this : We should con- sider it our privilege as well as interest to protect from fraud those who trust in us. Further let me assure him that I entertain the same friendly feeling which he displays. If, being comparatively a young man, I may be allowed to go so far, I would also say with him, " I have no fear, or envy, or jealousy," and if I cannot add, " I have lived long enough to forget them," I believe I may sincerely say, " I have ever been too busy and too happy in my calling to find room for their existence or conditions for their growth." The question of Old and New Roses is now fairly before the public, and k had better be ended than suffered to degenerate into "idle talk." The most sceptical will doubtless have been satisfied by the abundance of well-attested evidence that the most questioned and maligned of my new favourites The Gloire de Dijon is not only first-rate but suited to a 90 ON NEW ROSES. climate very far " north of the Trent." My application of one phrase, " Nature does not advance by leaps," I must pause momentarily to defend. Mr Rivers says, " True as regards unassisted nature, but decidedly false when applied to gardening nature." Now I contend it is true in both cases, and that the question is one of degree rather than of fact. Mr Rivers fairly enough quotes certain instances in support of his views, which he styles " remark- able." Now why, I would ask, are these instances considered "remarkable?" Is it not because they are of rare occurence and if so are they not exceptions and as such do they not go to prove my rule? I am perfectly conversant with the cases quoted by Mr Rivers, and could adduce others within my own experience witness Springfield Rival Dahlia where these remarkable leaps have disappeared before the steady power of progressive culture. Would any vegetable physiologist, would any gardener (scientific or practical), seriously repudiate pro- gressive culture, and be content to wait for these remark- able leaps ? Few indeed are they, and far between. The question of attaching the purchaser's name to a seedling is usually made a condition of the purchase. And for this reason : the raiser is often unknown to fame, and the purchaser fairly enough uses his own name as a guarantee of good faith to the public. There is no fraud or deception effected or intended, and no secrecy that I am aware of is ever practised. The curious in these matters may readily ascertain the most minute known points of a variety's history. A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 91 A DAT IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. [From "The Scottish Gardener" (1860), vol. ix.,/. 109.]* HIGH on an emerald throne, inlaid with gold and glittering with brilliants, sat Flora (the Goddess of Flowers), surrounded by a grove of orange trees. On her right hand were Veritas (the Goddess of Truth), Astraea (Justice), Bacchus (Wine) ; and on her left Vertumnus and his wife Pomona (Orchards) ; while at the foot of the throne reclined Priapus (the God of Gardens), Robigus (Mildew), Picumnus (Manuring of Lands), Bonus Eventus (Good Success), and other of the rural deities. Around were magnificent bowls overflowing with nectar, and golden goblets filled with purple wine. It was autumn, the fruits of the earth were garnering or garnered. Here lay a massive pile of luscious pine apples ; there was heaped a gorgeous offering torn from the clustering vine ; in one spot arose a goodly store of pears and apples ; in another mountains of nuts and walnuts, while the abundance of downy peaches, figs, and pomegranates could only be accounted for by the balmy air and genial sunshine of the Elysian Fields. Tranquillity and happiness seemed indeed concentrated there the branches of the orange trees were slightly stirred by the breath of zephyrs as they bent beneath the weight of their golden fruit, while the circum- ambient air was filled with the rich perfume which the various flowers exhaled. It was indeed a scene of unearthly beauty, a world of spectral illusion but of seeming substance, a sight such as mortals sometimes behold in Dreamland when the imaginative soul shuffles off for the time her mortal coil, * This article was written in reply to an attack on myself, and which at the same time unduly lauded the Manetti Stock ; it was signed "Rosa Spinosa,' and appeared in the " Florist," for January 1860. 92 A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. and goes in quest of what she is yet to see in "realms untravelled by the sun." It was "a pensive though a happy place," full " Of all that is most beauteous, imaged there In happier beauty more pellucid streams, An ampler ether, a diviner air, And fields invested with purpureal gleams ; Climes which the sun, who sheds the brightest ray Earth knows, is all unworthy to survey." Wordsworth. But whence is it, that a slight susurrus is heard occa- sionally through the depths of the Elysian stillness ? Is it the hum from the groves of Platanus "musical with bees," and grander far in their massive shades than those which waved over Plato and his scholars on the banks of the Cephisus ? Or is it the chirp of the Tettix or Cicada, sitting on the bushes of Amaranth and Asphodel, "sing- ing like a king," as Anacreon, the Greek wine poet, says, "and sipping the dew of immortality"? It seems to proceed from the earthward side of the Styx, and in fact is a faint echo of the stir of the great Babel where strife and noise incessantly prevail. What ! do the brawls of earth reach even the Elysian fields ? No : but they are not quite forgotten or unknown till the shades have drunk of the waters of Lethe. Flora is for the present in Elysium ; and she must maintain her authority and do justice among her subjects even there. Hence the assembling of the rural deities ; hence the air of expectation and the portentous silence, broken only by fitful and approaching murmurs which reigned over those shady groves and flowery plains. It was evident that the time of some grave deliberation was at hand. A calm thoughtfulness sat on every brow, while on the foot of that emerald throne was inscribed, in letters formed with diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, Justice to all and favour to none. On a sudden the mystery was explained. Pan was seen rising from the banks of the Styx, playing on his rural pipe, attended by sundry satyrs, fawns, and A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 93 segipans, who ushered into the presence of the assembled deities the spirits of Roses recently departed from the planet Earth. The mystery was this : Flora, in answer to the petition of the Queen of Flowers, seconded by the half-stifled moans of sundry of her ill-used subjects ex- isting on a little island called Britain, had summoned a council of the deities, and Charon had been charged to land the deputation in the Elysian Fields. "La Reine" having introduced the deputation, " Brennus," a fine old Hybrid China, with a good deal of the blood of the Gaul (R. gallica) running in his veins, rose to address the assembled deities. He had been chosen to state the case of his brother Roses, because, as he had suffered least, it was assumed that he would be able to speak without prejudice. He had not been starved or worried from the planet Earth in the same way as many of his brethren, but had been stubbed up by his master, who was rather fanciful, because he was only a Summer Rose ! (Expressions of surprise.) The complaint of his brethren was this : An attempt was being made, and had in some sort succeeded, to ignore the claims of their natural foster-mother, the Dog Rose, in favour of a stranger known as the Manetti, drawn from the sunny plains of Italy. There the latter grew and kept her leaves nearly the whole year round, and unfortunately could not rid herself of this habit in England ; the consequence was, they were kept awake late and aroused early in the year when the climate demanded that they should be sleeping, and weaned, and debilitated, they became an easy prey to the greatest enemy of Roses in England Messrs Autumn and Spring Frost. (Hear, hear, from Robigus.) But this was not all. Having liberally nurtured her foster-children during the first year of their existence, the Manetti seemed to become jealous of their growth, and ever afterwards to struggle for their abasement and destruction. Too often she succeeded, as some of the spirits now before them 94 A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. would attest, and the object of the deputation was to implore the gods to disperse the mists which overspread the subject, and enable mankind to draw their inferences from facts exhibited in the clear broad light of day. The Moss Rose (Mdlle. Rosa Bonheur) would not detain the assembled deities many moments. She had merely risen to say that she had been budded on the Manetti, and the first year grew like a willow, but what with the gross feeding of her fostermother, her constant self-assertion, restless temperament, and addiction to mildew, she (Mdlle. R. B.) never prospered after, and ultimately fell a prey to starvation and frost. The Florist, a journal which modestly assumed to be the organ of the rural deities (Expressions of dissent from all, the hair of Astraea starting up on end, while Priapus was so astonished that he turned a complete somersault) well, she thought such was the case the Florist advocated the cause of their common enemy, and she entreated the assembled deities to condescend to grant their prayer and remove the film that had recently bedimmed her aged eyes. The Rosa Spinosa (the Scotch Rose) begged to say that the last speaker, Mdlle. Rosa Bonheur, had painted the case too forcibly. It .was well known that she viewed everything couleur de rose, and what she said must not be taken literally. An ignoramus (cries of Oh ! Oh ! and Order) well wasn't he an ignoramus to spell Manetti with two i's (uproar, amidst which Bacchus took a long draught of nectar) well he would say a rose-grower (hear, hear) had tried to write down the Manetti, but he was a prejudiced humbug (order) and couldn't grow Roses on the Manetti or anything else. He had once spoken of Mr Rivers' book of Roses as amusing rather than instructive, and called the Manetti a "bubble." A bubble forsooth ! He (Rosa Spinosa) knew it was not a bubble, and if asked why, he answered emphatically, " because it wasn't." (Derisive cheers.) The gods might A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 95 laugh but he knew he was right, and if they wanted further proof, he could tell them that his American brother the R. rubifolia said it was not a bubble, and his veracity was unimpeachable. (Cries of " Brother Jonathan.") It was true the Manetti threw up numbers of underground shoots, but what of that ; the Moss Rose often wouldn't grow at all. If the Manetti was the first at work and the last at work, was not that a recommendation in a commercial country like England ? Every Rose for herself, said he, and the gods for them all. Every Rose was at liberty to enrich herself, and he had no sympathy with the lethargic band who slept away so many precious hours on the plea that they couldn't stand the cold. He thought (pause) he thought (another pause) he did not know what he thought, his memory seemed to fail him in the august presence of the gods, but he knew what the King of Roses thought. (Cries of Down, down.) The Rosa Canina (Dog Rose) would like to know what the opinion of Rosa Spinosa was worth, as he had never been budded or grafted on the Manetti, and was never likely to be. The writer who condemned the Manetti had grown Roses on some stock or no stock in a manner that distanced all competitors. (Hear, hear.) He did not wish to appear dcg-matic, but he differed in toto from Rosa Spinosa who reminded him of the adage, that " little people always thought a good deal of them- selves." The Damask Rose thought it but natural that Rosa Spinosa should try to make light of the propensity of throwing up underground shoots, as he was strongly addicted to this habit, and might regard it in himself as a virtue. With regard to two I's in Manetti ; he overhead the printer's devil say (no doubt under the impression that the character of the establishment was concerned in it) that his master had met Signor Manetti in Italy some years ago, and that he had two eyes then, and if he had but one now he strongly suspected that some 96 A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. jealous cultivator had knocked the other out in order that he might the more easily get the blind side of him. (Laughter from all the gods). He, the Damask Rose, knew Rosa Spinosa very well, having lived for two years in the same row ; he was the most ungentlemanly cynic he ever knew, not liking to see anybody prosper but himself. He was not grafted on the Manetti, but stood on his own stumps, and a stumpy little fellow he was. It was often a matter of surprise to him that a Rose with so strong an understanding should be found constantly coquetting with an Old Lady called the Florist, who was pretty and nothing more. He used to cram this Old Lady with the most awful fibs (cries of Shame, shame) which the poor old soul received in perfect good faith, to the amusement of the bystanders. He had observed during the two years that she had been visited by R. Spinosa, that she had broken up very much, and as her under- standing grew weaker she became more florid in her talk and tawdry in her dress. (Cries of " Paint and brandy.") She became more tenacious of her own interests and fonder of scandal. He saw one letter that R. Spinosa wrote to her, in which, among other things, were the following : He said that one of the first periodical writers on horti- culture, Mr Beaton, recommended the Manetti stock for Roses. (Oh fie ! from Veritas.) That Mr Rivers had written the only good book on Roses ever published in England. (Cries of " Bosh," and " Oily gammon.") That Mr William Paul had denounced the Manetti because he could not grow it. (Laughter from Bonus Eventus, and signs of general disapprobation.) That Roses budded on the Manetti would grow well in sand or gravel if the ,big stones were picked out and manure added. (Shake of the head from Picumnus, one of the minor deities, asking if they would not grow bottom upwards.) He told the " Old Lady " would she believe him ? A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 97 that she was the biggest beauty in the universe. (Laughter, and signs of impatience.) The Hybrid Perpetual would simply relate his own experience. In the month of January he was grafted with two eyes on the Manetti, according to the most improved method of the King of Roses. (Flora : " Who was he ?") Although apparently not acknowledged by the gods, he was a person of considerable importance in England. He was known also under the name of Saudeur o Panache.* (A voice, " None of your ' sawder ' here," and laughter.) To continue he was kept in heat for a consider- able time, and afterwards coaxed and petted till he made a " decent " and comely plant. He did very well that year while in a pot. The next spring he was sent to live in a bleak row, and while those of his confreres who were on their own stumps or budded on the Dog-Rose had their roots placed near the surface, that they might be fed by the air and warmed by the sun, he was " buried deep," so that he suffered considerably from cold and hunger, conse- quently he did not thrive. His master was at first angry with him, tried a variety of dodges to induce him to form roots on his own account, but this he could not do, and was thenceforth utterly neglected till relieved by death. Next to him on one side in the same row was one Manetti with his roots close to the surface, and he grew and flourished surprisingly. On him was budded a choice kind which grew prodigiously, and to him was every friend of his master's referred as a proof of the value of Manetti. But it was only fair to say that he had been placed there as a cutting, and never removed. Loud were the praises constantly lavished on this prodigy. His neighbour on the other side was Rosa Spinosa, always a little cynical and jealous of receiving no notice ; he compared their friend on the Manetti to an alderman glutted with turtle * There was a Rose in my master's garden some years ago, known as Saudeur Panache, or King of Roses Rose du Roi. G 98 A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. and venison, and there was some truth in the comparison, for the Manetti grew so vigorously that the stranger be- came stuffed like a cobbed turkey. He was at length sold and removed to a neighbouring garden, where he became debilitated and subject to dropsy, of which, after sundry tappings, he died. One day his master, after bringing a party of friends to see him when in the height of his prosperity, adjourned to a vinery hard by and sent for champagne, with which he regaled them till the whole party grew jovial. (Hear, hear, from Bacchus.) Presently they burst into song, the words of the song he couldn't catch, but the chorus, often repeated and loudly sung, impressed itself on his mind " We will talk you to fame with a plausible tale, And be ready with pen if that happen to fail ; But what if both fail? (Minim rest and Bass sold}. I'll still pocket the browns ;* Oh ! this is the way to turn coppers to crowns." He would only further say that while under this treatment on the Manetti he was languishing, his brothers and sisters on their own stumps and on the Dog-Rose attained to vigorous manhood, and he dying, left them enjoying the prospect of a green old age. The Sempervirens rose to say that he had been budded on the Manetti and grew well enough so, but must confess he much preferred being on his own roots. The Tea-Scented, in a small pot, approved of the Manetti. The Bourbon in a bad soil did best on the Manetti, but his confreres did better in a neighbour's garden on the Dog-Rose when they had taken pains to improve the soil. (A voice, " What did he know about his neighbours ?") If asked what he knew about his neighbour's garden, he would remind the gods that flowers were different to other sublunary things. What men called their odours, floating * Browns Coppers. Rose dn Roi. A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 99 in the air, were their spirits, which could under certain cir- cumstances flit at will through the air from their earthly homes. The Goddess of Flowers was observed to frown at times during the discussion, and at length she remarked, more in sorrow than in anger, that she had listened to the state- ments of the deputation with equal pain and attention. She was grieved to find her Rose children squabbling. There had been mischief-making somewhere. She knew Rosa Spinosa had been a wild lad in his youth, and she feared he was a bad boy still. Spines, she said, were given to Roses not for offence, but for defence. She thought that he had been silly enough to lend his name and tongue to some ill-conditioned mortal who had some selfish, if not malignant, purpose to serve. The race of men, or at least some of them, were rather worshippers of pounds, shillings, and pence than loyal subjects of the Queen of Flowers. She reprobated such conduct, and hated those guilty of it more than couch grass or the worst weed that grows. As presently advised she was strongly in favour of her tried and faithful servant the Dog-Rose ; she did not think she would change her opinion. But as she did not wish her fair fame to be sullied by the slightest imputation of partiality, she would take the whole case into consideration, would try experi- ments and hear further argument if necessary, and pronounce judgment on a future day. The deputation now prepared to depart, " La Reine " remarking that as neither the originator or advocate of the cause of their misfortunes was "owned of the gods" they might solace themselves with the hope of a speedy justice. Pan once more awoke his rural pipe, and the deputation followed him to the banks of the Styx, where Charon was in waiting to receive them. When half-way over it was discovered that Rosa Spinosa had been left behind. Smarting under the lash of the Damask Rose he had stolen off for a carouse with Bacchus, and when last seen ioo A DAY IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. was intermeddling with a group of ^gipans, one of which had seized him by the middle with his whisking tail, and seemed resolved to detain him as a plaything for their company. " La Reine " confessed that fearing the irrita- bility and jealousy of his disposition she had sprinkled his roots with the waters of Lethe, which accounted for so sharp a Rose having lost his memory when before the gods. ROSE DU Roi. ON EOSES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle" (Leading Article], 1863, p. \72,etseq.'\ AT OTWITHSTANDING the signal revolutions which .1 \l modern times have witnessed in the Kingdom ot Flora, the Rose still reigns supreme. Queen, not only by hereditary and prescriptive right, but also by universal assent, she occupies the same throne and sways the same sceptre now as when Nero feasted and when Sappho sang. Times have changed, and in the onward march of events the Rose has gathered and is still gathering richer and more glowing vestments from the loom of her bountiful foster-mother Nature, and now, as then, in gorgeousness of apparel, in grace, in sweetness, she stands forth un- rivalled and alone. Never was there a more opportune moment than the present for bringing the Rose under notice as a hardy decorative plant, for such it must be considered, notwithstanding that the winter of 1 860-61 in great measure cleared our garden of Roses as they were, good, bad, and indifferent. If we have to mourn over the loss of some cherished gems, we have at least the satisfaction of being rid of the rubbish which had been accumulating on our hands for the last quarter of a ON ROSES. 101 century. And now that we are recovered from the consternation produced by the slaughter of that period, and Roses are again cheap, good, and plentiful, it may be well to consider how we can best reproduce those pictures of the past, which, though becoming dimmed by distance of time, are still fresh in memory. [In future numbers this question, with other branches of Rosology, will be discussed by a correspondent who is able to speak on all matters connected with Rose culture with the authority which experience alone can impart.*] No one with a knowledge of the Rose as it is would, we presume, think of refilling his garden with the varie- ties of the olden times. And if, owing to the scarcity of buds or from other causes, any grower should have re- newed his stock with such materials, he will probably find it easier to grow than to dispose of them. We have entered on a new era in Rose culture. Summer Roses are less valuable than formerly. We cannot, indeed, altogether set them aside, but we shall do well first to reduce the groups, and then the number of the varieties. The Moss, the Austrian Brier, the Hybrid China, &c., are the only groups of this division that are likely henceforth to be extensively cultivated. The French and kindred groups, sweet, bright, and beautiful as they are, must yield to the equal beauty and greater durability of the Hybrid Perpetuals. The Bourbon and Tea-scented races, if inferior to the last-mentioned in hardiness and exacti- tude of form, so far surpass them in redundancy of bloom that they are altogether indispensable. But another question arises "In what way shall these Roses be cultivated?" Certain kinds are best as Climbing, Pillar, or Weeping Roses, but in general it is a matter of indifference whether they are grown as standards or dwarfs budded or on their own roots. The purposes for which they are required, and the positions they are * This sentence was inserted by the Editor. W. T. 102 ON ROSES. intended to occupy, will in most cases settle this question. But apart from these considerations, we think that tall standard Roses have been too plentifully used in orna- mental gardening. A Rose tree, except when viewed from a distance, is more beautiful growing under the eye than on a level with or above it. And for these reasons ; the face of a flower is more captivating than the base or sides, and the upper surface of the leaves is more highly finished than the lower. One lesson taught us by the winter of 1 860-61 should not be forgotten, viz., that budded and grafted Roses are sometimes killed when those on their own roots pass safely through the severest frosts. AIL lovers of Roses should plant at least one of each of the most valued sorts on its own roots ; the winter may indeed kill the shoots of these plants above ground, but the dormant buds beneath the earth will remain safe, and will quickly restore the plant to its original state. The practice of planting budded and grafted Roses in autumn has been unwisely extended to those on their own roots. Against this we enter a caution. A greater mistake, we believe, could not be committed. Doubtless many examples of non-success might be traced to this cause. Leaving out of the question the cases of Roses on their own roots which have been nursed up in heat to get them quickly into the market, the custom of transferring a plant from a pot into the ground in early autumn, exposed before it is established to all the vicissitudes of an English winter, is contrary alike to sound theory and practice. Plant such in April or May, when the growing season has commenced, and the result will be a well- established plant before the winter arrives,, and one that will live and flourish in spite of its trials and difficulties. SUMMER ROSES. 103 No. L SUMMER ROSES. \From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? 1863,^. 196.] CAN we dispense with Summer Roses? This is a question which we think admits of an emphatic "No." The Autumnals are undoubtedly invaluable ; among them the Hybrid Perpetuals furnish us with flowers of perfect form and exquisite colours, and yield a succession of bloom that prolongs the gay season of the garden to the very verge of winter ; the Bourbon, Chinese, and Tea-scented flower still more abundantly in the later months of the year, and are consequently even more valuable in those gardens which are visited by their proprietors in the autumnal months only ; but for gor- geousness of effect none of these equal the Summer Roses. The flowers, which with the Autumnals are spread over a lengthened period, are with the former concentrated on a point of time ; and if they were counted, flower for flower, throughout the season, we doubt whether the balance would not remain in favour of Summer Roses. It would appear then to be a matter of choice whether we receive the boon at once or by instalments ; and certain it is that the garden is stripped of its gayest scenes and some of its brightest ornaments if we alto- gether exclude the Roses of June. Such is my conviction, and following it I shall venture to enumerate the principal Summer groups, describing a few of the most desirable varieties from each. THE BOURSAULT contains one variety, Amadis, which must not be lost sight of. It is one of the hardiest, thriving alike in shade and sunshine, and growing in the least favourable soils and situations. It is most valuable as a Pillar and Climbing Rose, producing myriads of crimson purple flowers on shoots utterly devoid of thorns. It requires very little pruning. 104 SUMMER ROSES. THE SCOTCH ROSE is valuable because it blooms so abundantly, and often a month earlier than other Summer Roses. Planted singly it forms the prettiest dwarf bush imaginable ; it also makes an excellent low hedge. The flowers are small and globular principally white, red, blush, and purple, but there are intermediate shades and very sweet. They resemble each other too closely to need describing. The plant will flourish on the shallowest of soils, and may be pruned closely every winter. THE DAMASK, formerly an important group, may now be brought down to three or four varieties. La Ville de Bruxelles is a full-sized Rose of free growth, with beautiful light green foliage ; the flowers are salmon-rose margined with blush. Leda, or Painted Damask, is in its best form worthy of a place in every garden ; the flowers are blush edged with lake, exceedingly pretty and distinct. Where care is not taken to preserve the marked form it is apt to degenerate and lose the lake margin, when as a wholly white flower it is comparatively worthless. Madame Hardy is still the best of white Summer Roses, and cannot be too highly praised. For form, purity of colour, hardi- ness, and freedom of growth and flowering, it is still unrivalled. It makes a beautiful bed on a lawn, and as such, where quantity of flowers is required, should not be too closely pruned. Madame Soetmans is a creamy white, sometimes shaded with buff; a large full flower of excellent properties, and in its best state quite a show Rose. All these require moderately close pruning, and will grow in any common garden soil. THE PROVENCE ROSE includes the Cabbage, the Crested, and the White, none of which can yet be spared. The first and last are too well known to require descrip- tion ; the Crested is similar to the Cabbage, except that the sepals are beautifully fringed with moss. The globular form is in perfection here, and the fragrance of these Roses is proverbial. A sub-section of this group, known as the the MINIATURE PROVENCE or POMPON, is also highly SUMMER ROSES. 105 interesting on account of its dwarf growth and tiny flowers. These delight most in a rich soil, and should be subjected to close pruning. THE MOSS ROSE will always rank high where grace and beauty are fairly appreciated. Baronne de Wassenaer is a vigorous growing sort, producing clusters of bright red flowers, of .good size and globular form; it must not be pruned much. Captain Ingram is distinct and handsome, the flowers are dark velvety purple, almost black. Celina, now an old favourite, is not yet surpassed in its way ; the growth is compact, and the flowers are of the richest crimson shaded with purple, well mossed, and produced in gorgeous abundance. This makes an excellent bed, and should be pruned closely. The Old or Common Red Moss remains a model of beauty ; the hybridiser has varied this group exceedingly, but never yet produced any sort to surpass the original ; indeed the best varieties of true Moss Roses have been derived from sports rather than from seed. Clemence Beaugrand is a beautiful bright pink Rose with large double flowers ; the growth is vig- orous. Comtesse Murinais is a large double almost white Rose, not equal to the White Bath in form or purity, but it grows freely everywhere, which the latter does not. Gloire des Mousseuses is of first-rate excellence ; the flowers are blush, very large, full, less globular than the original sort, but well mossed. Gracilis or Prolific re- sembles the old variety very closely, but is of dwarfer growth, and flowers more profusely ; it forms a beautiful bed of about the same rate of growth as Celina. Marie de Blois produces rosy lilac flowers of good shape and size, and is above the average in merit. Nuits de Young bears velvety purple flowers, very dark and very double. Princess Alice, a variety raised from seed by me some ten or twelve years since, is, I find, still quoted and com- mended in four out of five Rose catalogues that I have looked into ; the flowers are blush with pink centres, something in the way of Maiden's Blush ; the buds are io6 SUMMER ROSES. well mossed. Princess Royal for form and colour is one of the gems of this group ; the flowers are salmon-flesh, not over large ; the growth is hardly vigorous, but both growth and flowers are improved by close pruning. Pur- purea rubra is a good free hardy sort with large full purple flowers. Reine Blanche is a large full pure white Rose, of perfect outline, but rather flat ; it grows as freely as Madame Hardy, and has some points of resemblance to that variety. White Bath, the best of the white Moss Roses where it thrives well, is unfortunately capricious, which detracts much from its value. Every garden should have a bed or beds of Moss Roses, either on their own roots or budded close to the ground. Manure highly, prune closely, and they will yield a rich harvest of the sweetest and most beautiful flowers. No. II. SUMMER ROSES. \From "The Gardeners' Chronicle" 1863, p. 221.] THE FRENCH AND ITS HYBRIDS, once the leading group of the genus, has been depreciated more than any other by the improvements of modern times. It must not, however, be yet laid aside. The varieties grow freely in any common garden soil, and produce fine masses of highly fragrant flowers in the summer time. The colours are varied and beautiful, the growth compact, and the plants require close pruning. Adele Prevost is a pretty silvery- blush Rose of good form, and flowers very freely. Boula de Nanteuil is a superior crimson-purple variety with fiery centre, still one of the best of very dark Summer Roses. Cynthie produces pale rose-coloured flowers delicately margined with blush, and is also a free flowering sort. The Duchess of Buccleuch is a large bold dark rose- coloured flower with blush margin, a little coarse, but still a show Rose. Grandissima, or Louis Philippe as it is also called, is a good purplish rose-coloured variety. Kean SUMMER ROSES. 107 is by no means a bad show Rose, the flowers are rich velvety purple dashed with scarlet, large and full. QEillet Parfait produces pure white flowers broadly striped with rosy-crimson ; the flowers are not large, but they are neatly formed, the growth is not vigorous, but is improved by close pruning ; taken altogether, this is one of the best striped Roses. Blanchefleur deserves a word of special commendation, it is hardly a show Rose, but its white flesh-tinted flowers are produced in such gay profusion that scarcely any Rose of its colour is so effective. La Volupte, or Letitia, is still a show Rose of a bright rose colour, the petals exquisitely arranged. Some of the French Roses are beautiful in colour and outline, and the petals are admirably disposed. Their fault as show Roses is that they have a papery appearance owing to the delicate texture of the petals, and they fall out of shape too soon after gathered. THE HYBRIDS OF THE CHINESE, BOURBON, AND NOISETTE are the glory of the Rose Garden in summer, and many of them are excellent show Roses also. Hardy and free, they are alike suited for pots, pillars, or standards. Some should be pruned very little, others moderately, few close. If those of strong growth be cut much they grow too vigorously, and are scant of flowers. Blairii No. 2 cannot be too highly commended as a wall Rose where a great height or breadth is required to be covered quickly. The growth is extraordinarily rapid, and the foliage and flowers fine ; the latter are of a blush pink, very large and double ; prune sparingly. Charles Duval, although an old Rose is still a good one, the flowers are deep pink, large and full, the foliage is handsome. Charles Lawson is a first-rate pot Rose, and good either as a standard or pillar, the flowers are of a vivid rose colour, large and full, quite a show Rose. Chenedole is a beautiful Rose with flowers of a light vivid crimson, the growth is very vigorous, and it is equally good as a pot, pillar, or standard Rose. It should be pruned very little. Coupe d'Hebe is one of the io8 SUMMER ROSES. gems of this group, and hardly surpassed by any other Rose, the flowers are of a rich deep pink, exquisitely cupped, large and very double. Like the preceding it is good as a pot, pillar, or standard Rose, but should be pruned tolerably close. General Jacqueminot produces flowers of a rich purplish crimson, which are glowing and effective on the tree or pillar, but hardly suited to figure at the exhibitions. Juno as a pot Rose is of matchless beauty, and is good out-of-doors in fair weather, but unfortunately the flowers, which are rose edged with blush, are quickly soiled by rain or wind. This variety, which partakes somewhat of the group Alba, should be pruned closely. Madame Plantier is one of those profuse blooming Roses admirably adapted for bedding, the flowers are white, produced in clusters, individually below the average in size. Madeline is desirable for its distinctness, the flowers are flesh colour edged with crimson, not over large, but quite full and very beautiful. Paul Perras is a very superior pot Rose, growing to the largest size as such, the flowers are of a pale rose colour, large, full, and fine. Paul Ricaut is a bright crimson flower, large, full, of glowing colour and exquisite form ; most valuable as a pot Rose, but good also as a dwarf or standard. It should be pruned rather closely. Perfection is a peach-coloured flower, not large but distinct and perfect in form. Vivid, one of my earliest seedlings now ranking among the old varieties, is still unequalled as a brilliant coloured standard, wall, or pillar Rose ; the flowers are of the richest crimson, and so abundant that no Rose in the garden can compare with it for effect. It requires very little pruning. The Roses of the ALBA group, of which the Maiden's Blush and the Celestial may be taken as the types, are still valuable for their delicate colours and distinctness. Felicite and La Seduisante, both flesh-coloured Roses with blush-coloured margins, are the best. Then there are Madame Audot, flesh colour ; Madame Legras, white ; and Queen of Denmark, pink, which are not surpassed in their SUMMER ROSES. 109 way. Sophie de Marsilly is a fair weather Rose, ex- quisitely beautiful when first opening if lucky enough to escape the rain and wind, the flowers are blush with rosy centres, large and full. Common soil and moderate pruning suit these Roses, which are valuable in the garden, but not large enough for show Roses. THE AUSTRIAN section contains the only hardy yellow Roses that are worthy of general cultivation, and these flourish best in country air. Harrisonii, a yellow variety of American origin, produces almost double flowers in magnificent profusion. It is best grown as a Weeping Rose, and pruned once in two years only. The Persian Yellow has flowers of a deeper hue and more double than the preceding, the young leaves have the fragrance of the sweet briar. The Copper Austrian, although single, is so rich and distinct in colour that everyone should possess it. All these are valuable. THE AYRSHIRE are most appropriate for covering banks, running up trees, poles, and high buildings. The growth is slender but very rapid, they form the best of Weeping Roses. Dundee Rambler, Ruga, Splendens, and Thoresbyana, all white or nearly white varieties, are the best. THE EVERGREEN ROSES are not unlike the last, except that they hold their leaves through a great part of the winter, they are suited to the same purpose and require but little pruning. Felicite Perpetue, Leopoldine d'Orleans, and Rampante, which are the best, produce white flowers ; Banksiaeflora, whose flowers are white with creamy centres, is pretty and distinct ; Myrianthes renoncule, flowers blush shaded with rose, is also interest- ing and useful. THE BANKSIAN ROSES form a most distinct and beautiful group wholly unlike any others, and are well worthy of more extended cultivation. The flowers are very small, double, and exquisitely formed, they are produced in clusters, and those of the white variety are no AUTUMNAL ROSES. very sweet. To grow them in perfection they should be planted as conservatory climbers, or if grown out-of-doors are best trained against a south wall in a soil that is dry and warm. If left unpruned for two to three years, merely nailing the shoots to the wall, they will bloom in perfection. No. III. AUTUMNAL ROSES. [From " The Gardeners' 1 Chronicle," 1863,^. 270.] I SHALL here, as with Summer Roses (p. 103), de- scribe the leading groups only. The PERPETUAL Moss are desirable because they prolong the season of Moss Roses ; beyond this not very much can be said in their favour. They are for the most part of shy growth, and not overburdened with moss. They require a rich soil, and should be pruned closely. Empress Eugenie is the prettiest of the group, but also one of the most diffi- cult to preserve in health, being naturally a short-lived Rose. The flowers are bright red, of medium size, full and perfect in form ; the growth is dwarf. General Drouot grows freely enough, but the flowers, which are crimson and purple shaded, are only semi-double. Hortense Vernet produces white flowers, shaded with rose. Madame Edouard Ory is one of the best ; the growth is free, the flowers bright rosy carmine, large, full, and fine. Per- petual White Moss is also an excellent variety ; the flowers are white, produced in clusters, well mossed; perhaps the most interesting of the group. Salet is a good Rose, very free and hardy ; the flowers are bright rose, margined with blush, large and full. The HYBRID PERPETUAL, now the leading group of the genus, is of comparatively modern date, being a new branch of an old stock. In 1837, mv friend, M. Laffay, of Bellevue, sent me a beautiful purplish Rose, which he called Princesse Helene, describing it with all the enthu- AUTUMNAL ROSES. in siasm of his warm and kindly nature. This was the first strongly-marked divergence from the now old-fashioned Damask Perpetual Roses, which were then so much in vogue, and from which this sprang. Fortunately this hybrid produced seeds freely, and in three years we had no less than twenty varieties. Now the number is legion, and they take much the same position in the garden now that the French Roses did a quarter of a century ago. Well, they are the finest of Roses, and improving at a more rapid rate than any other group ; form, colour, and fragrance are here in perfection, and they are the hardiest and finest of Autumnals. In looking through the list of candidates for election it is a task of no ordinary nature to bring down the number within reasonable limits. One has a claim for form, another for colour, a third for fragrance, and in some cases in which one or the other of these requisites may be absent, the general habit of the variety is so good or so elegant that it outweighs or negatives these important considerations. I shall confine my remarks at present to the cream of the old varieties, reserving what I have to say of New Roses for a special paper. Anna Alexieff is one of those hard) 7 free-flowering Roses that is invaluable for masses and conspicuous situations in the garden ; the foliage is good and the plant is almost always in bloom ; the flowers are rosy pink, of good size and form, usually arranged in clusters. Anna de Diesbach is quite the opposite to the last in every character but colour; the flowers are composed of fine thick petals, of immense size, but few and far between. Auguste Mie is a truly beautiful silvery pink Rose of exquisite form ; the shape is almost equal to Coupe d'Hebe, which it resembles in some respects; it is good for standard, pot, or pillar. Baronne Hallez is a dark- red Rose of average size and superior form, sweet and free, but hardly vigorous. Cardinal Patrizzi is one of the finest Roses grown under glass, but it is uncertain out of ii2 AUTUMNAL ROSES. doors, and seldom more than second-rate there ; the colours are brilliant red, shaded with blackish purple. Caroline de Sansal, clear flesh colour with blush edges, is a first-class show Rose when it can be found clean ; it is, however, a fair-weather Rose only, and while it cannot be dispensed with, it cannot be confidently relied on. Colonel de Rougemont is a very large expanded Rose of a pale rose colour, shaded with carmine ; it is of rather delicate habit, and requires a rich soil and close pruning, which extra attention it is quite worthy of. Comte de Nanteuil is a perfect Rose according to rule ; the flowers are rosy carmine, large, full, and quite circular in outline ; quite a show Rose. The same may be said of Comtesse de Chabrillant, whose flowers are pink and very sweet ; this is not so constantly good as the last named, but when in its best state, it is of matchless beauty. Due de Cazes is a very distinct flower ; the colours are purple, crimson, and maroon, very velvety, and variously shaded ; it is a most effective Rose in the garden if pruned sparingly ; the growth is vigorous. Duchesse d'Orleans is a good show Rose ; the flowers are lavender blush, large and full, the growth vigorous. Empereur de Maroc, though not a show Rose, can hardly be left out of a limited collection ; the rich velvety maroon flowers, the summits of the petals folding back with so much regularity and grace, are unique and lovely. Francois Arago, with dark velvety purple flowers, is also a valuable addition to our dark Roses ; it is hardy, free, and the best of its colour. Fran9ois ier. i s quite first-class, whether for exhibition or garden decoration ; the flowers are brilliant cherry, of good size and form. General Jacqueminot is almost too well known to need description ; the flowers are brilliant red, very velvety, large, and very double. The introduction of this Rose was quite an era in Rose culture ; it produces seed so freely, and the seedlings have proved so good, that we have already a numerous race derived from it. General AUTUMNAL ROSES. 113 Washington has bright rosy red flowers of large size and full ; it is sometimes splendid, but uncertain. Gloire de Vitry is a first-rate show Rose, of a bright rose colour, large and full ; the foliage is rather thin. Gloire de Santenay produces scarlety-crimson flowers, large, full, and fine ; it is a little uncertain, but nevertheless a superb Rose. Imperatrice Eugenie is a white Rose with rosy centre ; the flowers are not large, but full and exquisitely formed ; the habit is rather delicate. Jules Margottin is an everyday Rose, the flowers of a bright cherry colour ; one of the best for a standard or a bed. La Reine, one of M. Laffay's original Hybrid Perpetuals, is not yet surpassed in its way ; the flowers are rosy pink, tinged with lilac, very large and globular it is a magnificent flower, although a little uncertain. La Ville de St Denis is still a good flower, rosy carmine, large and full. Lcelia is a silvery rose shaded, very large, globular, and in every respect of first-rate quality. Lord Raglan is one of those high coloured varieties, scarlet crimson edged with violet crimson, that pleases every- body ; the flowers are large, full, and of good shape ; the growth is vigorous. Madame Boll is very different to any other, appearing to have some of the old French blood in it ; the flowers are rose colour with blush edges, very large, full, and excellent. Madame C. Crapelet is a flower of great finish ; the blossoms are rosy red, veined and shaded with lilac, the form very beautiful. Madame de Cambaceres is rosy carmine, often purplish, cupped, large and full ; a good free hardy Rose with beautiful foliage. Madame Furtado is a full rosy crimson flower, very sweet, and one of the best for exhibition. Madame Knorr is bright rose with pale edges, large, full, and flowers freely. Madame Masson is a grand Rose, of a reddish crimson hue shaded with violet, very large and full. Madame Rivers has clear flesh-coloured flowers of fine form, large and full ; growth vigorous. I remember seeing this Rose at Lyons in the seedling state, but it is H 1 14 AUTUMNAL ROSES. better here than there. Madame Vigneron is one of those silvery flowers tinged with rose or purple, large and of good outline, although a little flat. Madame Vidot is a model in form, and beautiful in colour also ; transparent flesh, shaded with rose, large and full. Mdlle. Bonnaire is perhaps the best of the white kinds with rosy centre ; it is of good average size, full, and of exquisite form. Prince Leon is a fine bright crimson variety, the form and colour all that one could wish for, and in its best state is quite a show Rose. Queen of Denmark is some- times very fine, though a little uncertain ; the flowers are lilac flesh, large, full, distinct, and beautifully transparent. Queen Victoria, introduced by me, is still the best in its way ; the flowers are white shaded with peach, the colour of the old Celestial Rose, large and full ; the growth is vigorous. Senateur Vaisse is one of those full bright red Roses with large smooth thick petals much in advance of the general run of these ; the flowers are large and full, the growth vigorous. Souvenir de Leveson Gower is a fine ruby-coloured flower, very large, full, and well shaped ; growth vigorous. Souvenir de la Reine d'Angle- terre has bright rosy pink flowers, very large, full, and fine ; the growth is vigorous, and it forms one of the best of Pillar Roses. Triomphe d'Alengon, with its fresh bright red flowers, is sure to please ; Baronne Prevost r which it somewhat resembles in growth and form^ looks faded by the side of it. Triomphe de Lyon is the best of the very dark large well shaped Roses, although not always clean and good. Triomphe de TExposition pro- duces vivid reddish-crimson flowers ; it usually loses its shape too soon to be first-class for exhibition, but it is one of the most effective for garden decoration. Triomphe de Paris is a good dark Rose of size, form, and fulness above the average. Triomphe des Beaux Arts is a plum- coloured edition of General Jacqueminot, excellent for garden decoration, but scarcely full enough 'for a show Rose. Victor. Verdier is a decided step in advance; ihe AUTUMNAL ROSES. flowers are rosy carmine with purplish edges ; a large showy free growing Rose with beautiful foliage, good for exhibition, and one of the very best for effect in the garden. Victor Trouillard, although irregular in shape,. is valuable for its brilliant velvety crimson flowers and beautiful foliage. Virginal comes in strong contrast to- the preceding ; the flowers are pure white, the habit rather delicate, but the variety still indispensable. William. Griffith, a well known old Rose, is one" of those glossy- looking flowers of a pink or pale rosy hue, in its best state very beautiful. The Hybrid Perpetual Roses require high cultivation to bring out their valuable qualities in full perfection ;. manure freely, and prune closely, watering occasionally during the season of most rapid growth if the weather should be dry. Those kinds which bloom very freely should be relieved of a portion of the flowers when in the bud state, by which practice the flowers that are left will bloom finer, and the vigour of the plant be more efficiently preserved. No. IV. AUTUMNAL ROSES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? 1863, p. 365.] THE BOURBON PERPETUALS form a small but beauti- ful group of Roses, embracing those Hybrid Perpetuals of some catalogues in which the features of the Bourbon Rose predominate. In other words, they approach nearer to the Bourbon than to the Hybrid Perpetual, but are distinct from both. The flowers are remarkable for their circular outline ; they are not very large but are more than usually abundant. The growth is moderate and the foliage fine and handsome, noticeable for the breadth of the leaflets. The varieties are best suited to form low standards, dwarf standards, and bush Roses, and if planted . in. a rich soil and pruned closely, they bloom constantly and well throughout the summer and ii6 AUTUMNAL ROSES. autumn. Baron Gonella is one of the best of this group ; the flowers are pink and lilac shaded, large, full, and beautifully cupped ; the petals are large well rounded at their circumference, and of unusual substance. Baronne de Noirmont is also a good Rose, deeper and brighter in colour than the preceding, and very sweet, but not so prolific. Catherine Guillot is a gem, fine everywhere, but especially so under glass ; the flowers are pink of good average size, and quite full, the form perfect. Comtesse Barbantanne is a flesh coloured flower, large, full, and distinct, of hardy habit and vigorous growth. L'Avenir has glossy pink flowers, large, full, and beauti- fully cupped ; the growth is vigorous, the foliage fine. Lord Palmerston is an exceedingly pretty Rose with flowers of an empyrean brightness, which the pen of the writer and the pencil of the artist have hitherto alike failed to reach ; bright rosy cherry colour is an approximation of the description ; the flowers are neither large nor full, but they are nicely formed, produced abundantly, and very sweet ; the effect of the tree in the garden when in full bloom is brilliant in the ex- treme. Louise Odier is a good hardy sort, with bright rosy-coloured flowers, a first-rate pot Rose, and excellent either as a standard or a bush. Madame Bruni is not so well known as it deserves to be ; the flowers are peach colour, Provence-scented, large, full, and of good form ; a good show Rose when well grown. Mdlle. Therese Appert is a peach-coloured flower, large, full, and nicely cupped ; a free and constant blooming Rose of moderate growth. Marguerite Appert is a pretty and distinct Rose ; flowers blush, tinted with lavender, large and full. Modele de Perfection is, in its best state, one of the loveliest Roses I have yet seen ; it must, however, be grown well to realise this character, for it is apparently not the freest of this group ; the flowers are lively pink, large, full, and globular, Reynolds Hole is a distinct and desirable sort ; the flowers are pink, increasing in AUTUMNAL ROSES. 117 brilliancy as they advance in age ; the petals are large, well formed, and of great substance, but not very numerous ; the foliage is fine. THE ROSE DE ROSOMANE is a new group formed by the withdrawal from the Hybrid Perpetual of certain varieties which differ therefrom in general aspect. In the previous group are some of the most perfectly formed Roses grown ; in the present are some of the most brilliantly coloured. They are mostly of free growth, and such are the very best of high coloured wall Roses ; a few, however, are of dwarf growth, and these are equally desirable for the garden generally, or for beds on lawns. As the colours of the different varieties so nearly resemble each other, it seems unnecessary to describe them indivi- dually ; for walls or palings, Desgaches, Eclair de Jupiter, Gloire des Rosomanes, Mdlle. Haiman, Oriflamme de St Louis, Princesse Mathilde, Souvenir de Montceau are the best ; for beds and borders, Comte d'Eu, Comte de Falloux, Leonice Moise, and Louis XIV. may be safely recommended. THE BOURBON ROSES are, in my judgment, not at all depreciated by the newly arisen splendour of their kins- folk, the Hybrid Perpetuals. It is a quieter but not lower order of beauty which greets us here. They are not so well suited for show Roses, because they lack size, but they are many times more valuable for those gardens where Roses must abound in autumn, because they flower much more abundantly at that season. Few of the Hybrid Perpetual Roses bloom freely, some not at all, late in autumn, whereas the Bourbons flower best and freest at that season. If the plants are pruned closely in spring, and the soil kept rich and moist, so that they be kept growing, flowers, bright, sweet, and plentiful will be sure to follow. Acidalie, the first on my list, is not so pure in blood as some, being hybridised possibly with the Provence Rose ; it is, nevertheless, very desirable, being a good globular-shaped white Rose of vigorous growth, n8 AUTUMNAL ROSES. very sweet, and blooming tolerably freely in the autumn. Armosa, which has a little of the Chinese blood in it, is one of the most prolific of Autumn Roses, yielding its pink flowers almost without end. Aurore du Guide pro- duces handsome flowers, sometimes purplish violet, some- times crimson-scarlet ; one of the finest of the group, but rather shy and uncertain. Bouquet de Flore is a good hardy free kind, old enough, it is true, but still most desirable ; the flowers are light glossy carmine, large and double. Comte de Montijo is a pretty free-flowering variety, rich reddish crimson sometimes shaded with purple. Dr Leprestre has brilliant purplish flowers, some- times shaded with red, large and full. Duchesse de Thuringe has white flowers, delicately tinged with lilac, and usually arranged in elegant clusters. Dupetit Thouars is one of those brilliant crimson flowers which one cannot pass by in any garden ; it, withal, flowers freely to the very confines of winter. Empress Eugenie has rosy blush flowers with purplish edges, large and full, and is one of the freest, hardiest, and best. Ferdinand Deppe is a good Rose, with reddish violet flowers. George Peabody came originally from America, and is one of the very few from that country that is worthy of general cultivation ; the flowers are rich crimson, shaded with purple ; hardy, free, and good. Julie de Fontenelle is a beautiful Rose, similar in colour to the last, inferior to it in size, but superior in form. Justine is a free blooming sort, with clear rose or rosy-pink flowers. La Quintinie is one of the finest of this group, but uncertain ; the flowers are bright crimson, changing to blackish violet ; large, full, and of good form. Madame Angelina is a rich cream-coloured flower, with fawn or salmon centre, and is a beautiful and distinct Rose, of rather dwarf growth. Marquise Balbiano is a good, free, hardy sort ; flowers rose colour, tinged with lilac ; large and full. Marquise de Moyria and Menoux are both good sorts of the same colour carmine. Mrs Bosanquet is still a first-rate free-blooming Autumn Rose, AUTUMNAL ROSES. 119 not a true Bourbon, however, but slightly partaking of the Chinese ; the flowers are white, tinged with flesh colour. Omar Pacha is a fine brilliant red Rose, free and hardy. Pierre de St Cyr has pale glossy pink flowers, of good size and form, and usually abundant. Queen is one of the freest and best ; flowers salmon flesh, often tinged with buff; excellent for masses. Reveil is a fine hardy dark variety ; its flowers crimson shaded with violet. Sir Joseph Paxton is of a growth more than usually vigorous ; the flowers are of a bright rose shaded with crimson ; large and full. Souvenir de Malmaison is one of the best Roses yet raised, and in place everywhere ; the flowers are delicate flesh colour, their margins almost white ; very large and full ; excellent for massing. Souvenir d'un frere is a very showy free-flowering Rose, with brilliant crimson flowers. Vicomte de Cussy is a good Rose, flowers cherry colour, tinged with purple; large and almost full. Victor Emmanuel is a good dark purplish flower, shaded with maroon ; large and double. Vorace is sometimes fine, but rather uncertain ; the flowers are dark crimson purple ; large and full. No. V. AUTUMNAL ROSES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? 1863,^. 389.] IT was originally my intention to have completed my remarks on old Roses before dealing with the new, but I am reminded that any information on the latter is of more value in April than in May. Therefore this digres- sion. To-day I will review the New Roses of 1861-62, next week those of 1862-63, and subsequently resume my remarks on the older varieties of Roses. Nearly all the good Roses of 1861-62 and there are many belong to the group Hybrid Perpetual. Alpha- betical arrangement compels me to open this series with a flower of my own raising, Beauty of Waltham ; some thousands of plants having been sold within the year, 120 AUTUMNAL ROSES. this Rose will doubtless soon be well known, and in my judgment it is not yet equalled for the combined qualities of brilliancy, substance, form, vigour, sweetness, and hardihood. Charles Lefebvre is certainly one of the finest of that set, the flowers are crimson shaded with maroon, intensely rich and glowing, of large size, good substance, and perfect form. Due de Rohan is also a first-class Rose of vigorous growth, with handsome foliage; the flowers are large, full, and globular, in colour bright vermilion. Francois Lacharme is a rich rosy-crimson flower, large, full, and of good form, quite first-rate. La Brillante is of the most exquisite colour when newly expanded, but soon pales even without a sun ; it is of good average size, perfectly cupped, and nearly full. Louise Darzens is quite a gem, producing its pure white exquisitely formed flowers in great abundance; it might almost be called a perpetual Madame Hardy. Madame Charles Wood is a robust-growing sort with large showy crimson flowers and beautiful foliage, in size, form of petal, and substance quite a show Rose, although the flower expands rather quickly and is soon overblown. My ideal of a Rose has always been, and still is, a half- blown deeply cupped or globular flower ; the old Baronne Prevost is beautiful of its kind, and so is La Fontaine, but neither of these forms, call them compact, expanded, or what you may, is at all comparable with the globular or deeply cupped flower. Madame Ernest Dreol is a good Rose of the Baronne Prevost style, but brighter in colour, and with petals of greater substance. Madame Julie Daran has with me been a little uncertain, but this may be accidental rather than constitutional ; it appears a good hardy Rose with large globular glossy vermilion-coloured flowers. Maurice Bernardin is -quite first-rate, large, and full, in colour bright vermilion. Monte Christo is a beau- tiful Rose, indeed one of the most beautiful, but rather difficult to manage; the flowers are blackish-purple painted or flushed with scarlet not the natural flush of health, but AUTUMNAL ROSES. 121 rather a hectic glow, too clear and beautiful to be associated with hardihood and longevity ; one flower is however a suffi- cient recompense for a year's care. Olivier Delhomme is a bold showy crimson Rose of good form and hardy constitu- tion, the foliage particularly handsome. Prince Camille de Rohan is quite distinct from any Rose I have yet seen ; the flowers are dark velvety maroon, the circumference in- clining to blood red, the colours very rich and splendid. Professor Koch may be called a crimson Coupe d'Hebe flowering in the autumn, a Rose of first-rate quality. Robert Fortune belongs to the useful rather than the brilliant ; it does not flower so freely as some, but the flowers, which are rosy crimson, are large, full, sweet, well- formed, and always good. Souvenir de Lady Eardley yields an abundance of large almost full reddish-scarlet flowers, the growth is exceedingly vigorous, the foliage fine. Souvenir de Comte Cavour (Margottin) is a good enough Rose, though not over large, the flowers are crimson and black shaded, very rich looking and effective on the tree. Vulcain was good last year, and has been better in the forcing houses this spring ; the flowers are bright purplish-violet shaded with black, very dark and distinct. The foregoing were the best of the last year's Hybrid Perpetuals with me. The experience of other growers may have been different, and I should be glad to hear their views. There were also two Tea-Scented sorts which pleased me much Gloire de Bordeaux and Triomphe de Guillot Fils. Belle de Bordeaux, which is a year older than the first-mentioned, was exhibited several times last year under the name of Gloire* de Bordeaux. The latter was with me lighter in colour and finer in form, but they resemble each other almost too closely. Triomphe de Guillot Fils is white shaded with rose and salmon, very large, full, and sweet. If an addition to the foregoing be required, the following stand next in rank in rny note-book for that year : Alexander Dumas, Gloire de Chatillon, Madame Caillat (very good), Marechal Vaillant, Souvenir 122 AUTUMNAL ROSES. de M. Rousseau, Paul Feval, Wilhelm Pfitzer, Madame Clemence Joigneaux (good, but common in colour), Turenne, Madlle. Claudine d'Offoy, and Francois Louvat. The number of good new Roses brought out in 1861-62 was certainly above the average, and there was a large accession of what are termed velvety Roses. Velvety Roses ! It may fairly be asked, what are they ? There is a something on the face of the petals of certain Roses, that which we have hitherto endeavoured to express by the word " velvety," but this word is wholly in- adequate to convey the real appearance. The richest velvet, however soft and pleasing, is dull and heavy- looking beside our flower ; the latter has all the softness and richness of velvet, and a something superadded which I have never met with except in the petals of flowers, the coats of insects, or the plumage of birds. The pen cannot describe it, the pencil cannot paint it. What we should call it I do not know. May we look on it as analogous to the youthful tint on the human cheek the " glow of life" which forms so broad a line of demarcation between the animate and inanimate, which constitutes alone an immeasurable distance between the simplest works of nature and the highest efforts of art. No. VI. AUTUMNAL ROSES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? 1863,^. 413.] LAST year's brood, the proved new Roses, have been already dealt with, and they were, as a whole, the best lot ever issued in a single year. Let us now endeavour to obtain some glimpses of this year's novelties, the forth- coming brood, some of which only have yet bloomed in England, and these under glass. The opinions expressed concerning them must not be taken as fixed and unalter- able ; although the majority were seen and described in the raisers' grounds last summer, and are now blooming AUTUMNAL ROSES, 123 in the forcing-houses here. But Roses as 'grown and shown by the raisers in the dry warm climate, of France, afford no precise information as to their suitability for British gardens, nor can we gather this with certainty from flowers produced here under glass. I never make up my mind as to the quality of a new Rose till I have seen it in flower in my own hands out of doors. But a little light is better than darkness or obscurity, and we need not refuse to look on them in the twilight, because they have not yet shown themselves in the full broad light of day. Taken as a whole, the forthcoming brood appears more varied than that of last year ; there is more novelty, but hardly so many bold and striking Roses. The best of the two years put together make a splendid and richly varied group. Alfred de Rougemont, H.P., a Rose from the " Sunny South," is crimson purple, shaded with fiery red, very bright and large ; double only with me, not " full " as the raiser describes it. Full is a term too freely used by our confreres on the other side of the Channel, and must be taken with due caution, because applied to new Roses which we should not describe as more than double. Alba Rosea (Tea- Scented), "a seedling from Devoniensis," may be pro- nounced promising ; the flowers are white with a slightly rosy centre, large, double, of fine form, and very sweet. Baron Adolphe de Rothschild, H.P., is a grand Rose, highly decorative, but not floriculturally perfect ; the growth is vigorous, the foliage splendid; the flowers are red, .produced in large clusters as in Che"nedole, beautiful when first expanding, but corrugating and losing colour quickly, and hardly full enough. Baron de Rothschild, H.P., is a more perfect, though a less showy Rose than the last; the flowers are dark reddish carmine, sometimes shaded with violet, petals smooth and of good substance ; form, size, and habit above the average. Beaute Franchise, H.P., will please generally as a garden Rose ; the flowers are violet red, velvety, the 124 AUTUMNAL ROSES. reverse of the petals fiery red, large, and full ; somewhat in the style of Lion des Combats. Due d'Anjou, H.P., is a purplish crimson flower, shaded with dark red, in the way of Baronne Prevost, but much darker and very sweet ; the flowers are very large and full, the growth vigorous. Emotion is a good Bourbon Rose in the way of Souvenir de Malmaison, not so large, but with higher and most exquisite colouring and perfect form. The flowers of Gustave Rousseau, H.P., are bishop's purple, shaded with violet-red, of good form and size, the summits of the petals reflexing. Imperatrice Marie Alexandrina, H.P., is a blush or almost white Rose, not large, but of good form and full, very promising. Jean Goujon, H.P., is one of the boldest and showiest of this year's brood ; the flowers are usually clear red, though sometimes shaded with purple, large and full. John Hopper. H.P., is a good rose-coloured flower, with darker centre, large and full, with fine foliage. I saw this Rose growing by the thousand with the raiser last summer, and admired it much, but am not sure that it will prove constant in autumn. La Esmeralda, H.P., is one of the Jules Margottin race, but darker and brighter ; large, full, and very promising. La Tour de Crouy, H.P., introduced by the same raiser as the last, is a rose-coloured sort, shaded with white, very large and full. Lady Emily Peel, H.P., is described by the raiser as " white, bordered (lisere) with carmine ;" I have never seen it otherwise than most delicately tinted with carmine ; it is, however, a prettily shaped Rose of delicate beauty. L'Eclatante, H.P., is a fine bright red Rose, changing to violet-red as the flower advances in age ; of good form and almost full ; colours and habit fine. Le Rhone, H.P., is vermilion, a large, brilliant, well-shaped flower, but not " full " as described by the raiser ; it is notwithstanding a very promising Rose. Lord Clyde, H.P., is a fine showy Rose, crimson and purple, deeply shaded ; the petals are not very numerous, and some might pronounce it a little AUTUMNAL ROSES. 125 coarse. This is one of a batch of seedlings I raised, but we parted company some three years ago, up to which time it had bloomed in summer only. Lord Herbert, H.P., is one of the Beauty of Waltham race, at present in my nurseries only ; it is of quite a new colour, and stands described as rosy-carmine, but blue pink would perhaps more nearly express the colour ; it is a large, full, and finely shaped flower. Lord Macaulay, H.P. (Wm. Paul), is a velvety scarlet-crimson flower of great substance and brilliancy, of good size and form, with splendid foliage. Louise Margottin, B.P., is a pretty delicate peach-coloured flower, not over large, but nicely formed in the way of Louise Odier. Madame Alfred de Rougemont, H.P., is pure white delicately tinged with rose or carmine ; a fair sized, full, and beautifully formed flower, as free as Louise Darzens, and something of the same habit. Madame Brianson, H.P., is a very large, quite full flower, reddish carmine shaded with light red ; form perfect, foliage fine ; it is quite possible that in some soils this Rose will not always open freely. Madame Emain, H.P., is a fine purplish-red Rose, globular, large, and almost full. Madame Freeman, H.P., is white, slightly tinted with lemon, of average size, globular in form, and full ; a nicely formed white Rose of free growth and thoroughly perpetual. Mrs Wm. Paul, H.P. (so named by Verdier of Paris), is one of the best of the season ; the flowers are bright violet shaded with fiery red, large and full, usually produced in clusters and thoroughly perpetual. Mdlle. Adele Jougant, T., produces pale but clear yellow flowers ; not large nor very double, but pleasing and very sweet ; the growth is free and it forces well. Murillo, H.P., is a large, full, and well-formed Rose of vigorous growth, flowers rich purplish-red shaded with carmine and violet. Princess Alice, H.P., has flowers of a bright salmon-pink, the reverse of the petals whitish, large, full, and very sweet; the flowers, which are abundant, are usually produced singly ; the growth is erect and free, the shoots almost thornless. Red Rover, H.P., is a fiery 126 AUTUMNAL ROSES. red Rose, large and very showy, not very double, but the finest of all late blooming brilliant pillar or climbing Roses. Sceur des Anges, H.P., is a delicate rosy-white flower, very large and full, distinct and beautiful. Souvenir de Charles Montault is a free flowering variety of the Rose de Roso- mane group, producing large double cupped flowers of a brilliant red ; the habit is good, the growth free. Triomphe d'Angers, H.P., pleased me much both abroad and at home; the flowers are red shaded with blackish violet, brilliant and velvety, full, of good size and form ; it grows and flowers freely. Triomphe de Nancy, H.P., is a blackish velvety-crimson cupped flower, with large round petals ; one of the darkest. William Paul, H.P. (so named by Guillot of Lyons, the raiser of Geant des Battailes and Senateur Vaisse), is a descendant of the " Senateur," and will be a favourite with lovers of colour ; it reminds one of the most brilliant of the old " French ". Roses now discarded because so transitory; black, edged with. scarlet, though not liter- ally true, conveys the appearance of the colour ; it is of average size ; in the early stage of the flower nicely cupped, sufficiently full, and very durable ; the plant appears hardy, the growth free. The above named sorts are described from my own notes taken from plants in bloom. In addition to these I am growing the following : Baronne de Lassus de St Genies, Caravane de Nismes, Comtesse de Courcy, Com- tesse de Polignac, Deuil de Prince Albert, Dr Spitzer, Due de Bassano, Grandiflora, Hortense , Blachette, Le Juif Errant, Madame Charles Roy, Madame Crespin, Madame Helye, Madame Valembourg, Peter Lawson, Prince Henri des Pays Bas, Senateur Favre, Vainqueur de Goliath, Veloutee d'Orleans, all Hybrid Perpetuals ; and Comtesse de Brossard, Tea-Scented. This second undescribed list I have either not yet seen, or seen only in such condition that I cannot speak favourably; of them. To condemn them on present evidence would, however, be unfair. No- thing is more uncertain than the first year's blooming of a AUTUMNAL ROSES. 127 Rose that has spent a week or more on a French railway, and afterwards been tossed by sea and land. For these, then, I must beg a remand. Time, which proves all things, will shortly enable us to form a correct estimate of their value. No. VII. AUTUMNAL ROSES. (From " The Gardeners' Chronicle? 1863,^. 461.) I GLADLY return to the review of Old Roses, highly interesting and important as are the new. There is less restraint; one breathes a freer air in company with old friends whose faces, habits, and sentiments are familiar to us. I always feel when talking or writing of New Roses much as I do when in company of strangers that to be at once truthful and polite, one must be guarded. If others- experience the same feelings, I can understand the why and wherefore of Mr Radclyffe's very just observation, that " Rosarians keep all their knowledge to themselves," But strangers should be talked to, and New Roses talked of notwithstanding, and in order that the greatest amount of good may be derived from it, we should exercise to the utmost cur ; own good nature, and draw in return on our neighbour's charity. Now to our Old Roses. < THE NOISETTE, as we remember it originally, is not: worthy of comparison in point of size with the modern kinds that have descended from it, enriched as they, have been with a plentiful infusion of the blood of the Tea- Scented. There are only Airnee Vibert and Miss Glegg, white, and Fellenberg, crimson, of the old style of Noisettes (small flowers in large clusters) that we should consider worth recommending in the present state of Rose culture. Amongst those mixed with .the Tea-Scented, America is a first-class Rose under glass, although it seldom opens; clean and perfect out of doors ; it is most beautiful -.ait? this moment planted out in one of my Rose-houses, quite i 128 AUTUMNAL ROSES. equal though somewhat different to the finest Gloire de Dijon. Celine Forestier or Liesis is a hardy yellow Rose, and one that blooms freely enough out of doors; the growth is so vigorous that it forms an admirable variety for a weeper, wall, or house. Cloth of Gold is the finest of all yellow Roses, but difficult to manage ; it is best planted against a south wall, and pruned but little; if budded on the Dog-Rose, the growth will usually be vigor- ous, and the flowers as plentiful as one can reasonably expect from so large a Rose. Cornelia Koch reached me from America some two or three years ago, and has been most beautiful in my forcing-houses ; it is straw colour, large, full, and globular. Desprez a Fleurs Jaunes is still valuable as a wall or house Rose on account of the dis- tinctness and sweetness of its flowers, which are red, buff and sulphur, the rapidity of its growth and the magni- ficence of its foliage. Miss Gray, or Isabella Gray, was introduced by me from North America, although I never recommended it ; it is a good Rose occasionally, but un- certain, even under glass, and of no use out of doors except against a south wall ; it is, perhaps, the deepest yellow in this group. Lamarque is a charming sulphur- coloured Rose, large, full, and globular ; this also is a good wall or conservatory Rose. Miss Glegg is a beautiful, pure white Rose, of dwarf growth, flowering abundantly and in clusters, and therefore well suited for planting in masses. Ophirie is quite unique in aspect, copper colour, and a vigorous Rose with handsome foliage ; it is in character as a weeping standard, on a pillar, or- against a wall. Solfaterre is a nice sulphur-coloured Rose, large and very double, of vigorous growth, but apt to cast its leaves, from which habit it is hardly to be recommended for general purposes. Triomphe de Rennes seems a good hardy canary-coloured sort, of vigorous growth, with fine foliage ; the flowers are large, full, and fine. The best places for these Roses are in the conservatory to clothe pillars, or in the Rose-house ; next in order, on walls or AUTUMNAL ROSES. 129 pillars in sheltered situations. Aimee Vibert, Fellenberg, and Miss Glegg are an exception to these remarks, as they are best suited for borders or beds out of doors. THE CHINESE or BENGAL ROSES are invaluable for flowering in small pots or for planting in beds on lawns, as no Roses flower so abundantly and so late in the year. Archduke Charles is quite an oddity ; the flowers expand shaded rose, changing to crimson on exposure to the sun, which is contrary to the general rule, as the sun usually lessens rather than heightens the colour of flowers after expansion. Cels Multiflora is a pretty flesh-coloured Rose, large, full, free-flowering, and very hardy. Cramoisie Superieure is an admirable sort for bedding ; the flowers are rich velvety crimson, not large, but full and abundant. Duchess of Kent forms a pretty enough variety, being white edged with rose ; the habit is very dwarf. Eugene Beauharnais is something like Cramoisie Superieure, but the colour is more purplish ; it is a good hardy Rose of free growth. Fabvier is almost scarlet, and one of the best bedding Roses we have for placing on lawns ; it flowers so profusely and is so dazzling that a bed of it will make a garden radiant with splendour. Madame Breon is a large full flower of a rich rose colour, good and free. Madame Bureau produces pure white flowers, large and very double, is good for pot-culture, but scarcely hardy enough for planting in beds out of doors. President d'Olbecque is one of the hardiest and freest of Chinese Roses ; the flowers are cherry red, very pretty and dis- tinct ; the plant is of hardy constitution, thriving equally well as a dwarf or as a standard. No. VIIL TEA-SCENTED ROSES. [From "The Gardeners' Chronicle," 1863, /. 533.] THE TEA-SCENTED is the only first-class group that re- mains unnoticed, and this is quite worthy of a separate I 130 TEA-SCENTED ROSES. paper. It is unfortunate that the most beautiful varieties are, as a rule, the tenderest. Those who have grown them out of doors only, can form no idea of their increased beauty when cultivated under glass. Plant them out in a house with or without heat ; if heat be employed they will grow stronger, bloom earlier, and surfer less from mildew. The strong-growing sorts may be trained to pillars, or up the rafters of the house in the way of vines, and will pro- duce flowers from every joint. The intermediate and dwarfer kinds may be grown as pyramids and bushes. Tea- Scented Roses succeed admirably grown in pots under glass, especially if worked on the Manetti, and require little pot-room and little pruning when in a young state. If grown out of doors, the best plan is to plant them in a border in front of, but a little distance from, a south wall, for if fastened to the wall they are liable to suffer from the attacks of red spider. Budded on the Dog-Rose in August and allowed to remain dormant through the winter, they form beautiful objects in the flower garden during the suc- ceeding summer and autumn. No lover of Roses should object to Tea-Roses because they are tender, or on the assumption that they are difficult of culture ; they are better worthy of a house or frame than half the greenhouse plants that are cultivated, and far easier to manage than one-fourth of the Hybrid Perpetual Roses. But then they must not be treated as ordinary Roses. If grown out of doors a warm and light rather than a moist and heavy soil is required, and they should not be pruned till late in spring (April). Distinct in colour, exquisite in form, rich in foliage, and surpassing all in delicacy and power of frag- rance, they deservedly hold a very high position among the subjects of the " Queen of Flowers." Abricote" is a good hardy free-growing sort, though scarcely vigorous ; the flowers are fawn colour with apricot centre, large and double, very beautiful in bud. Adam has rosy-blush flowers, very large and full, and is one of the sweetest and best. Amabilis is a good hardy vigorous- TEA-SCENTED ROSES. 131 growing sort, with large full flesh-coloured flowers. Auguste Oger has large rosy flowers with deep coloured centres, and is of moderate growth. Auguste Vacher is distinct and good, the flowers are yellow shaded with copper colour, of good average size^ and quite full, the growth is moderate. Belle de Bordeaux is of rampant growth, and the branches are well clothed with beautiful deep green leaves ; the flowers are pink, large and full. Bougere, although one of our oldest Roses, cannot yet be dispensed with ; the flowers are rosy-bronze, very large, full, and globular ; the growth is vigorous. Clara Sylvain is a good pure white Rose with creamy centre, large and full, of moderate growth. Comte de Paris is a beautiful flesh-coloured flower, shaded with rose ; large, full, hardy in habit, and of great excellence. Comtesse Ouvaroff is beautiful in bud, but does not always expand symmetri- cally ; the flowers are rose-shaded, large and full. Devoni- ensis, which is an English seedling raised at Plymouth, is still one of the best ; the flowers are pale yellow, very large, full, and beautiful. Due de Magenta has immense salmon- coloured flowers, which, if few in number, are of unequalled breadth and substance. Elise Sauvage, Madame William, and L'Enfant Trouve for I regard these as one and the same is one of the sweetest and loveliest of the group ; the flowers are yellow with a rich orange-coloured centre, and very sweet ; the habit is sometimes robust, but more usually delicate. Enfant de Lyon deserves a special word of commendation on account of the freedom with which it flowers, and the exactitude of its form ; although it re- sembles Narcisse a little too closely it is of a paler yellow. Eugene Desgaches is quite first-class ; its large, full, and globular clear rose-coloured flowers are very beautiful ; the growth is vigorous. Gloire de Dijon stands unrivalled and alone; it is as hardy as a summer Rose, having lived through the winter of 1 860-61 in places where all the Hybrid Per- petual Roses were killed. Flowers of this Rose were sent to me from Dijon, and exhibited at one of the Horticultural 132 TEA-SCENTED ROSES. Society's Shows at Chiswick before it was sold to the public. I have seen it grow 20 feet in a season trained against a house, producing leaves of a size and substance truly remarkable ; the flowers are yellow, fawn and salmon, variously shaded, large, full, and globular. Josephine Mai- ton is a beautiful but delicate Rose, with cream coloured flowers, large and double. Julie Mansais, I may add, is not one of the freest of Roses, but when well grown it is certainly one of the loveliest; the flowers are usually white, though sometimes tinged with lemon ; large and full. La Boule d'Or is the deepest yellow of this group, and some- times beautiful under glass ; out of doors the buds are often as hard as a cricket-ball, and as little disposed to open ; it is nevertheless desirable for its colour, and is hardy, vigorous, and free. Loose petals of this Rose were sent to me from Paris the year before it was introduced. I was struck with the colour, but adjudged it too hard in the bud. Resists can make out a flower from a petal as physiologists an animal from a bone. Louise de Savoie is a fine large pale yellow Rose, good for under glass. Madame Bravy is a prettily-shaped cream-coloured flower good out of doors as well as within. Madame Damaizin is very free both in growth and flowering, and hardy also ; the flowers are salmon colour, large, full, and sweet. Madame Falcot is quite first-class ; it is much in the style of Safrano, but deeper in colour and more double ; it re- mains to add that it does not grow so freely as that old favourite. Madame de St Joseph has very large sal- mon-pink flowers, powerfully fragrant, and of great beauty; it is best under glass. Madame Halphin differs from all others ; the flowers, which are large and tolerably full, vary from salmon-pink to yellowish white. Madame Pauline Labonte is a large flat salmon-coloured Rose, showy and very hardy. Madame Villermoz is one of the gems of this group ; the large full wax-like flowers white shaded with salmon and splendid foliage unite to form an object of rare beauty ; the habit is also hardy, TEA-SCENTED ROSES. 133 the growth free. Marquise de Foucault produces variable flowers, white, fawn, and yellow; large, very sweet, of perfect outline, but not full. Moiret is a grand old Rose, but one that is only occasionally to be caught in per- fection ; the flowers are pale yellow, shaded with fawn and rose ; very large, full, and of great substance. Narcisse deserves universal cultivation ; the flowers are yellow with creamy edges, perfectly circular and full, reminding one of a transverse section of a hard-boiled egg ; the plant is hardy, the habit good and free. Niphetos is a match for Due de Magenta in size, though more globular in form, and of a different colour pale lemon to snowy white. President ranks also amongst the largest and most beauti- ful of this group, surpassing both the preceding in fragrance and form ; the flowers are rose shaded with salmon. Safrano in the bud state is one of the most beautiful, but the expanded flower is thin and poor ; the buds are apricot, the flowers fawn colour ; the plant grows so freely, flowers so abundantly, and is withal so un- common in colour, that it forms a most attractive object in the garden. Sombreuil is a good hardy free-flowering white Rose, of large size and vigorous growth, well suited for out of doors. Souvenir d' Elise Vardon is an in-door Rose, varying in colour from white to creamy yellow, very large and of great substance ; the flowers are usually few but fine. Souvenir d' un Ami, or Victoria as it is some- times called, is not surpassed by any other in the group ; the flowers are salmon and rose shaded, large, full, and globular ; the constitution is hardy, the foliage fine. Vicomtesse de Gazes, if of loose and irregular shape, produces flowers of exquisite colour coppery yellow and cannot be set aside as a decorative Rose for house or garden ; it is very sweet, free, and tolerably hardy. 134 BRIEF RULES. No. IX. BRIEF RULES. [From " The Gardeners' Chronicle," 1863, p. 581.] PERHAPS I cannot do better than end this series of papers on Roses by a few brief rules, which may assist those who delight in managing their own plants, but have not the leisure or inclination to study their habits and requirements. 1. The best soil for Roses is a strong loam well enriched with decayed stable manure ; if the soil is not of this nature, it should be improved by the addition of such as far as possible. 2. For light soils use cow-dung and poudrette instead of stable manure, merely mulching with the latter early in May. 3. Prune at two seasons ; thin out the supernumerary shoots in November, and shorten those that are left in March. 4. Remember that the Summer Roses should be thinned more freely, and shortened less than the Autum- nals. . 5. Always cut back to a bud which has a tendency to grow outwards, rubbing out those buds which are directed inwards. 6. Destroy Aphides so soon as seen ; by brushing them off or washing the shoots with tobacco-water out of doors, and by fumigating with tobacco under glass. 7. Check mildew by dusting sulphur on the leaves while moist with rain or dew. 8. Water freely during the growing season if very dry. 9. Never buy old Roses on the Manetti stock until you have proved that they will not flourish in your soil either on the Dog Rose or on their own roots. The new Roses you must buy on the Manetti, or wait till they are raised by the slower process of budding or by cuttings. BRIEF RULES. 135 10. Avoid plants that have been "coddled," by raising and growing in heat during their early stages of exist- ence. Thousands of Roses are annually sold which have the seeds of disease and early death previously sown by the forcing process. Such, if they live, do not grow vigorously, and often remain stationary or feeble for a length of time. 1 1. At whatever season Roses on their own roots in pots are purchased, they should be planted in the open ground in spring and summer only (May, June, or July) ; once established they may remain permanently there. 12. Roses in pots should be re-potted, removing a portion of the old soil early every autumn ; they require closer pruning than the same sorts growing in the ground ; they should be watered with weak liquid manure so soon as the young leaves expand, and until the flowering is over. 1 3. Roses intended for forcing should be brought into a state of rest in August or September, and be pruned shortly afterwards, 14. Roses under glass should be shaded when coming into bloom, but with a light shading only, such as Tiffany No. i or Scrim. 15. Most of the Tea-scented Roses thrive best under glass, and are worthy of this especial care. They may be grown in pots, in a cold pit or house, or be planted out in a house, standards or dwarfs, with or without heat. 1 6. Buy only such new Roses as are recommended from trustworthy sources. A new Rose that is not at the least equal to or different from all its predecessors is not worth growing, and to grow such is almost as dis- appointing as to read a new book that is not worth reading. 17. When growing for exhibition look to form and colour as well as to size ; the day has gone by for mere bulk to triumph over symmetry of form and variety and brilliancy of colour, whether in pot Roses or others. These rules might be extended almost indefinitely; 136 Two ROSE SHOWS. I have aimed at bringing out the cardinal points only. I believe that I have read and interpreted differently to some certain pages in Nature's Book of Roses during the quarter of a century that I have been actively engaged in the cultivation of this popular flower. But I certainly shall not quarrel with those earnest, industrious, and true fellow-workers by whom I am surrounded because they differ from me. On the contrary, I am not without hope that these papers, often hastily written in the limited leisure of active business life, may induce such to state their experience. He is no true student of Nature who prefers his own views to the advancement of the art or science to which he has devoted himself. Light from any and every source should not only be freely admitted, but frankly acknowledged, and honourably prized. Vive F Horticulture ! Vive la Rose ! TWO EOSE SHOWS. [From " The Florist? i86;,/. 180.] I THINK it was Thackeray who remarked that actors when not playing always went to the play; and, whether exhibiting or not, I never miss seeing the two Rose Shows. The 2pth day of June found me at the Crystal Palace, and a more auspicious day for exhibitors and visitors could hardly have been desired, although it was perhaps rather hot for the Roses, which in many cases showed signs of fatigue long before the close of the Exhibition. The Show was undoubtedly a success ; yet I fancy that I have seen more competitors in some of the classes, and a greater number of fine Roses, the diminution in the number of the latter being attributable probably to the severe winter and spring we have just Two ROSE SHOWS. 137 passed through. It may be said that this influence was local, and local I believe it was in the intensity of its effects, but it was, if I mistake not, general in so far as the effect produced on the quality of the flowers. I have said, and say again, that the Crystal Palace is not a place in which to show plants and flowers to advantage, nor one in which to keep them in the highest state of fresh- ness throughout a long summer's day. There is too much light, too much heat, and the magnificent surround- ings lessen rather than add to the importance and effect of the Exhibition. Why does not the Company erect in its beautiful gardens canvas tents, the best of all contrivances for displaying plants and flowers to advan- tage? Let us hope to see this done at no distant future ; and if the tents could be connected with their own Rose garden the interior of the temple filled with Pot Roses and pyramidal bouquets of cut Roses in vases the Crystal Palace Company might safely count on making this not only the best Rose show, but one of the most interesting floral fetes of the year. As the clock struck twelve I took up my position at the entrance, note-book in hand, and, sore trial of patience though it was, stuck to the ropes for four long hours, by which time I had brought the last flowers under view. Willingly would I have moved faster, but to go with the stream and see, or diverge and not see, were the only alternatives. I preferred the former course, and having fairly carried it out, will now give my readers the benefit, if benefit it be, of the following extracts from my note- book, relating of course to new or little known roses only. Madame Josephine Guyet, crimson, much in the way of Senateur Vaisse, large, full, and of tolerable form ; apparently good, but not indispensable. Xavier Olibo, blackish crimson, shaded with amaranth ; pleasing in colour when it does not burn, but irregular in shape ; pretty, but much over-praised. Marie Baumann, bright carmine, the flowers large, 138 Two ROSE SHOWS. smooth, and nicely formed, something in the way of Beauty of Waltham. Madame Fillion, beautiful fresh pink, colour very lovely, outline good ; the flower not of any great depth. Abel Grand, rosy blush, colour fresh and pleasing ; a very nice Rose, something in the way of Duchess of Sutherland. Marguerite de St Amand, rosy flesh-colour, large and full, having the free habit of Jules Margottin. Leopold Hausburg, carmine shaded with purple, large, good outline, slightly coarse, and scarcely double enough. Charles Rouillard, rosy lilac, with red centre, large, full, and of perfect form, the colour at the circumference of the flowers sometimes a little dull. Alpai'de de Rotalier, transparent rose, large, full, and of good form; fine. Madame Eugene Appert, salmon rose, large, full, and finely formed ; colour fresh, pleasing, and distinct. Mdlle. Therese Levet, rose pink, large, full, distinct, and of globular form ; very desirable for the combination of form and colour. Alfred Colomb, bright red, large, full, globular, smooth ; quite first-rate. Monsieur Woolfield, rosy pink ; a very large but some- what coarse globular flower. Frangois Treyve, crimson scarlet ; good, but scarcely first-rate as shown. Duke of Edinburgh, a dark flower, something in the way of Prince Camille de Rohan. Comtesse de Palikao, pretty rose colour, apparently growing paler soon after expansion. Madame Bellender Ker, white, something in the way of Mdlle. Bonnaire ; desirable as a white Rose. Ville de Lyon a large, finely shaped Rose of a melancholy colour. Chevalier Nigra, pretty pink, not over double. Two ROSE SHOWS. 139 Triomphe de Soissons, flesh colour, distinct and pretty, but scarcely first-rate. Mdlle. Annie Wood, clear red ; large, full, and of good form. Mdlle. Jeannie Marix, dark slate ; very large. Souvenir d'Abraham Lincoln, dark crimson and purple ; not over large. Felix Genero, a nice globular flower, of a dull lilac colour. Miss Ingram, flesh-coloured white; somewhat globular in form. The Show at Kensington on the 2nd of July was in some sort a repetition of that held at the Crystal Palace three days before. The flowers, if less numerous, were fresher at the outset, and remained so till the close of the Exhibition, the sky being cloudy, and the day compara- tively cool. We say of the Rose Show at Kensington as of that at Sydenham the Roses should be shown under canvas to secure the twofold advantage of -a more favourable light and a cooler atmosphere. In addition to the kinds already commented on we saw in fine condition here : Madame James Odier, clear pink, something in the way of Coupe d'Hebe ; colour and shape good. Madame Hoste, delicate pink, distinct in colour, perfect in outline, not always very double, and apparently not of strong constitution. Semiramis, clear pink, edges blush ; large, full, and of fine globular form. Fisher Holmes, reddish scarlet shaded with crimson ; very brilliant, large, and moderately full. Prince de Portia, vermilion, colour striking and beauti- ful ; large, full, and finely formed. Exposition de Brie, brilliant red, large and full ; a very fine but somewhat coarse flower. Charlotte Corday, red shaded with purple ; large, but hardly first-rate. 140 Two ROSE SHOWS. Comtesse de Paris, rose colour, large and full, fine smooth petals, good outline, not very double. Josephine Beauharnais, pink edged with silver; very large, full, and of fine form. In addition to the above I noted the following simply as good : Achille Gonod, George Prince, Duchesse de Morny, Princess of Wales, Madame Emain, and La Esmeralda. The Pot Roses were, as is usual at this season of the year, of indifferent quality at both Shows, and not worthy of comparison with the plants shown at an earlier date. Some of them were, in fact, calculated to throw discredit on the names they bore. Yet Pot Roses must not be omitted from our future Rose shows ; they form a dis- tinctive feature, and it is interesting to see the whole plant before one, as so much more may be learned from it than from mere cut flowers. The growers must, however, bestir themselves and bring them in better condition. On comparing these exhibitions with those of former years, it is both important and interesting to note how many of the old Roses are falling aside before the increased size, improved form, and other desirable quali- ties of recent introduction. Although some of the old kinds, as Caroline de Sansal, Charles Lefebvre, Countesse de Chabrillant, Beauty of Waltham, La Ville de St Dennis, Madame Knorr, Lord Macaulay, Madame Vidot, Mdlle. Bonnaire, Pierre Notting, &c , still hold their own against all new comers, and probably will do so for at least a generation, how many of our old favourites present were eclipsed by later acquisitions, and how many had totally disappeared ! And while it cannot be gainsaid that there are second and third-rate new Roses as well as second and third-rate old Roses, it is still undeniable that the pick of the novelties evince a progress which is real, solid, and satisfactory. In Abb Berleze we have an improved Geant des Two ROSE SHOWS. 141 Batailles ; in Madame Victor Verdier an improved General Jacqueminot ; in Lady Suffield an improved Duchess of Norfolk ; and there are other improvements too numerous to mention. We have also in Alfred Colomb, Antoine Ducher, Charles Verdier, Comtesse de Jaucourt, Horace Vernet, Jules Calot, Black Prince, Madame Pulliat, Madeleine Nonin, Monsieur Noman, Paul Verdier, Thorin, and others, new colours and styles which only require to be seen to be coveted. It is true that some of the last-named did not appear at the exhibi- bitions, or appeared only in doubtful condition, but I have seen them both at home and in the grounds of the raisers in a state of beauty that justifies unquali- fied commendation. GARDEN EOSES. [From " The Florist? 1867, p. 213.] " T~) OSES at the exhibitions and Roses in one's own iV garden are different things," said an old Rose amateur to me the other day, and so much is there in this remark, that having already given a paper on Roses at the Exhibitions, I turn now to treat of " Garden Roses." It is perhaps scarcely necessary to remark that those who admire Roses in all their native loveliness on bush or tree should hardly choose their varieties from the cut specimens met with at the flower shows. Lovely they are, it is true for when and where is the Rose not lovely ? but there is a " getting up," a weary look about them, which reminds one of the late hours of the ballroom rather than of the charming freshness and native simplicity of home life. And how can it be otherwise ? When we consider that these Roses have been gathered from fifty 142 GARDEN ROSES. to sixty hours before the public is admitted to see them, a part of which time they are packed in boxes almost immured from air and light, the wonder is that they look as fresh as they do. Then, again, the mere exhibitor of Roses runs too much after one idea form to be a safe guide when choosing for garden decoration. He does not heed sufficiently habit and constitution, and hence the sym- metrical flower of the exhibition table is often the offspring of a weakly or shabby tree. We want good Roses ; but we want also, for the purpose of general gardening, varieties of hardy constitution that will grow and flower well, and live to a good old age, without the petting and coaxing which so many of the modern varieties require. To choose Roses, unless exhibiting is the main object in view, one should see them in their rural homes, where the act of "getting up" is seldom practised, and pretty faces count only at their proper worth should see them when newly opened by the breath of morn, and while still wet with the dews of heaven. Freshness is the crowning beauty, the inde- scribable and irresistible charm of the Queen of Flowers, and this freshness is wanting in nine-tenths of the flowers met with on the exhibition tables. But there is more in the matter than this. The practised Rosarian may gather from a solitary bloom, or a trio of blooms, whether the plant is of hardy or delicate constitution, whether the bearing is handsome or awkward, whether the flowers are generally or only occasionally fine, and the many other little points important though often overlooked in the hasty generalisations of this busy age, and which go to make up a good Rose the practised Rosarian, I say, may arrive pretty accurately at these facts from cut specimens, but woe be to the unpractised who decides and acts on such evidence. Daily experience confirms the opinion long entertained by the writer, that they who want Roses to decorate their gardens should choose from growing GARDEN ROSES. 143 plants rather than from cut flowers. Acting on these views, I lately, when visiting the Rose gardens in France, made notes of the best garden Roses, and these I have corrected by comparison with the collection growing here under my own eye. First, I would observe that the Amateur who wishes for a fine display of Roses in June and July will lose much if he excludes from his list certain varieties of Summer Roses. Among the Moss Roses there are : Comtesse de Murinais (white), Gloire des Mousseuses (blush), Marie de Blois (lilac), the old-fashioned Moss and the Crested Moss (pink), Baron de Wassenaer (red), and Captain Ingram and Purpurea rubra (purple), all free, hardy, profuse, and beautiful. Of Damask Roses, Madame Hardy and Madame Soetmans are still un- surpassed as white flowers, although rarely met with at the exhibitions. The varieties Felicite and La Se"duisante compel us to retain the group Alba ; these are improved varieties of the Maiden's Blush, and although there are now Hybrid Perpetuals of similar character, they are so delicate as to be short-lived and scarcely manageable. Neither are the old French Roses to be hastily ignored, for in CEillet Parfait and Perle des Panaches we have the two best striped Roses (white, striped with crimson and rose) that have yet appeared. Again, where effect is valued, where masses of bloom are desired, there are none comparable to the old Hybrid Chinas Charles Lawson, Chen^dole, Coupe d'Heb^, Juno, Madame Plan- tier, Paul Perras, and Paul Ricaut. Nor must we forget to include Harrisonii (Austrian), a plant of matchless beauty when covered with its golden globes in May and June. Yet how few of these ever put in an appearance at the Rose shows ! If our new Hybrid Perpetuals pro- duced the masses of bloom in summer which the above- mentioned kinds do, and continued to bloom constantly throughout the autumn, it would be well to take them in preference. But this is not the fact. Cultivators know 144 GARDEN ROSES. well that the majority of these Hybrid Perpetuals produce fewer flowers in summer, and scarcely an equivalent in the later flowers. The difference is, perhaps, hardly appre- ciable in the sum total of flowers. It is this The Summer Roses pay you a good round sum down at once; the Autumnals the same, or a nearly similar sum by instalments. The latter are valuable because they give us flowers when " The last Rose of Summer is faded and gone ;" but it cannot be said that they produce the splendid effect of the Summer Roses in the months of June and July. Let me not be misunderstood. I have no wish to depreciate the Autumnals ; all I contend for is, that each has its peculiar value, and the Rose garden is in- complete without a goodly portion of these summer- blooming kinds. Having stated my views in reference to Summer Roses, I now turn to the Autumnals, among which the Hybrid Perpetuals and Tea-Scented hold the highest rank alike as garden and show Roses, although the same kinds are not always equally suitable for both purposes. Among the Hybrid Perpetuals the following will be found to give very general satisfaction : Alfred Colomb, Alphonse Damaizin, Anna Alexieff, Baron Adolphe de Rothschild, Beauty of Waltham, Charles Lefebvre, Comtesse de Chabrillant, Dr Andry, Duke of Wellington, Elizabeth Vigneron, Exposition de Brie, Fisher Holmes, Francois Louvat, General d'Hautpoult, General Jacqueminot, Glory of Waltham, Jean Rosenkrantz, John Hopper, Jules Mar- gottin, Lady Suffield, La Brillante, La Duchesse de Morny, Leopold Hausburg, Lord Macaulay, Madame Alfred de Rougemont, Madame Charles Wood, Madame Rivers, Madame Victor Verdier, Marechal Vaillant, Mar- guerite de St Amand, Pierre Netting, Prince Camille de Rohan, Princess of Wales, Senateur Vaisse, Souvenir de la Reine d'Angleterre, Triomphe des Fran^ais, and Victor GARDEN ROSES. 145 Verdier, Of Bourbon Perpetuals, Baron Gonella, Baronne de Noirmont, Comtesse de Barbantanne, Madame Charles Baltet, and Madame de Stella are excellent. Louis XIV., of the Rose de Rosomane group, is also invaluable on account of the rich deep red globular flowers which it produces. Among the charming Tea-Scented varieties the best are : Alba Rosea, Bougere, Devoniensis, Eugene Desgaches, Gloire de Dijon, Homer, Madame Damaizin, Madame Falcot, Madame Margottin, Madame Villermoz, Marechal Niel, Narcisse, Niphetos, Rubens, Safrano, Sombreuil, and Souvenir d'un Ami. Of Bourbons I recommend Empress Eugenie, Souvenir de Malmaison, and Mrs Bosanquet ; while of Noisettes, Aime"e Vibert, Celine Forestier, and Fellenberg are the most effective in their way. The colours and general character of the above varieties may be readily ascertained by reference to any of the great Rose growers' catalogues. BEDDING ROSES. [From " The Florist? i868,/. 74.] BRILLIANT and beautiful as the ordinary " bedding plants" are, there are few gardens that can be at once economically and effectively arranged without a certain pre- paration of permanent plants, which once planted exonerate us from the labour, expense, and risk of removal in autumn and replanting in spring. Of such, Roses stand in the very first rank. To establish this point we would ask those of our readers who may have taken an interest in gardening, either from the amateur or the professional point of view, over a lengthened period of time, whether they have not occasionally met with groups or masses of Roses the rich- ness and effect of which they would gladly see reproduced J 146 BEDDING ROSES. in their own gardens ? The answer will we know be " yes," with a stress laid on the word " occasionally? conveying the impression that the task is not easy to accomplish. But this, in our judgment, is not the case. The task is easy if only the right means are pursued towards its accomplish- ment. The Rose as a bedding plant is seldom fairly and properly treated. It is known to be a hardy plant, and is treated as such ; that is to say, the ordinary nursery plants are taken at planting time, put out at once, and expected to do for themselves what in the case of ordinary "bedding plants " is done in advance by the cultivator. These latter are grown under glass with the utmost care till they be- come strong, planted out in the most suitable soil that can be made, and afterwards tended with assiduous watchful- ness. Now, if lovers of Roses would attain a like measure of immediate success, they must not shrink from the same forethought and care. It would pay them a handsome rate of interest could they be induced to buy their bed- ding Roses a year in advance, grow them the first year in pots, and plant them out in May after the spring frosts are gone, for then the same brilliant effect would be obtained the first season as with other bedding plants. It is, further, more important with permanent plants than with those which are replaced every spring that the soil should in the first instance be made all that is requisite, because there is not the same opportunity of after modification or renewal. Lovers of Roses, treat your favourites with the same con- sideration and care that your friends give to their " bedding plants," remembering that from the slower growth of the Rose a longer period of time is required to obtain the strong-established plants they work with, and your gardens will be varied and improved by the addition of one of the richest and most effective of bedding plants. Taken from a practical point of view, bedding Roses may be arranged in three groups according to their habit of growth the dwarf, the moderate, the free. In a good soil and climate we should prefer the dwarf and moderate, BEDDING ROSES. 147 and under less favourable circumstances the free. The following will form a pretty group of four beds of dwarf Roses of neat and equal growth, producing masses of flowers throughout the summer and autumn : Bourbon, Queen (buff), China, Fabvier (crimson), Tea-Scented, Nar- cisse (yellow), and Bourbon, Victor Emmanuel (purple). Of moderate growth and nearly equal in freedom of flower- ing are: The Common China (pink), Cramoisie Superieure (crimson), Mrs Bosanquet (white), and Madame Falcot (yellow). Of free or vigorous growth : Noisettes Fellen- berg (crimson), Celine Forestier (yellow), Aimee Vibert (white), and H.P., General Jacqueminot (crimson),are among the best. These twelve varieties, grouped in fours of equal growth, are the first we should claim for our own garden on the ground of their freedom and constancy of bloom. But this by no means exhausts the treasury. A goodly store remains which, if less effective in massing, produce flowers of larger size, and approaching more nearly to the florists' standard of beauty. Of these, the descriptions of which will be found in any of the Rose catalogues, we may instance: HYBRID PERPETUALS Anna Alexieff, Baronne Prevost, Beauty of Waltham, Dr Andry, Duchesse de Morny, Elizabeth Vigneron, General d'Hautpoult, Globosa, Jules Margottin, La Brillante, Lady Suffield, Lord Mac- aulay, Madame Victor Verdier, Prince Camille de Rohan, Prince de Joinville, Princess of Wales, Senateur Vaisse, Triomphe des Fransais, Triomphe de 1'Exposition, and Victor Verdier. BoURBON Souvenir de Malmaison; and TEA-SCENTED Gloire de Dijon, Safrano, and Sombreuil. Let us now trace briefly the best method of obtaining as quickly as possible the desired masses of flowers. Re- member at the outset a rich, deep, moderately strong loam is the soil in which the Rose delights. It should be neither wet nor dry, but moderately moist, and if this is not the natural state of things in the garden, the nearer that it can be approached artificially the better. If budded plants are chosen they may be planted at any time between November 148 BEDDING ROSES. and March. If plants on their own roots be preferred, buy them in spring, and grow them in pots the first year plunged in an open situation in the garden, attending to watering, and keeping them free from insects; protect them slightly in winter, and plant them out in May. Water carefully when the soil is dry until the roots have taken firm hold of the ground, and for five months in the year the beds will be flushed with blossoms. On the approach of winter a slight protection will again be necessary, especially for the Chinese and Tea-Scented kinds. Branches of any evergreen tree or the haulm of asparagus stuck pretty freely among the plants, but not so thickly as to prevent the circulation of air and en- courage an excess of moisture, are the readiest means, and sufficient to accomplish this. Late in February one- half, and in April the remaining half of these branches may be removed preparatory to pruning. The varieties of dwarf growth may be pruned very closely ; if on their own roots they may be cut down nearly level with the ground, when they will push up from beneath with a surprising strength, and produce immense trusses of flowers. The moderate growers should be pruned less closely, and the free or vigorous growers least of all. With the latter, when the growth is very free, it is some- times desirable to bring a given number of the strong branches into a horizontal position to cover the beds and increase the quantity of flowers. On this point, as on many others, practice is the best and safest instructor. Bedding Roses are yearly in greater demand, and we often experience the difficulty of the limited number of suit- able varieties. " I want a series of beds of Roses on my lawn," says Mr A, " but the sorts must be of hardy constitu- tion and of compact growth ; they must flower freely and continuously, and have at least some fragrance." Desirable qualities, no doubt, but qualities still hard to find com- bined in all shades of colour. Notwithstanding, we have some kinds of this character, and there is no reason why BEDDING ROSES. 149 we should not make use of these in the present, and hope for a greater variety in the future. If raisers of seedling Roses had selected for freedom and perpetuity of flowering, as well as for size and symmetry in the individual blooms, we feel assured that we might ere now have been in pos- session of Roses of every hue, masses of which would vie in brilliancy and effect with the most gorgeous denizens of the garden. Fortunately in the olden times, before the florists' canons had obliterated all other considerations, these qualities were estimated at their true worth, and we have them in great perfection in the first twelve varieties quoted. What we want further is the same qualities of freedom and constancy of flowering, in every shade of colour, that those who plant their gardens chiefly for effect may have their Rosarium as well as those who plant for the beauty of the individual flowers. We should rejoice to find that some of our raisers of seedlings had taken the matter up from this point of view, for we should anticipate important results from powers judiciously em- ployed. T THOUGHTS ON EOSES. {From " The Florist," i868,/. 193.] HE spring and summer of 1868 will doubtless be long remembered by English horticulturists, and be often referred to in the future. Little or no rain fell from February to August. Cloudless days and cloudy nights were the usual order of things, so that even the refreshing dews, so customary and so beneficial to vege- tation in our climate, were almost denied us. Newly transplanted Roses have in some places suffered much, especially where the plants had been removed from a 150 THOUGHTS ON ROSES. rich to a less genial soil, and this notwithstanding mulching and watering them. Laborious as is the work of a nursery or garden on a moist clayey soil, our sympathies this year must be reserved for those who have a lighter and more "work- able" staple. On such the Roses have been simply miserable. Even on strong soils, fine as have been the growth and flowers, the latter have been unusually evanescent, opening in the morning and fading before night. One might water again and again, but watering at the root does not produce much moisture in the air, one necessary condition of a favourable Rose season. I have often ventured to point out the superior fresh- ness and beauty of the early Pot Roses as exhibited in April and May, and never was this more apparent than in the present year. In my judgment the Rose will not be fairly and fully represented at our flower shows till we have a grand show of Pot Roses in April or May, at which Roses in pots shall figure not by dozens but by hundreds or thousands. Time was when stove and greenhouse plants were partly if not chiefly represented by cut flowers, but when the plants came to be shown in increased beauty and greater quantities, the cut flowers excited but little interest. So will it be with Roses. Can any of our readers recal the cut Roses at our Rose shows this year? In many instances they lay flagging and shrivelling in the heat, even before the public were admitted, and long before the fashionable hours of four and five o'clock arrived a great number were things of the past. Could anyone have gathered from them a correct idea of the varied beauty of the Queen of Flowers, or have noted varieties for their gardens with any cer- tainty that they were choosing the best ? If not, where is the practical value of our Rose shows as at present arranged and conducted ? For a sultry day at the end of June or beginning of July by no means an un- common occurrence would invariably produce similar THOUGHTS ON ROSES. 151 results. True, there is much in a name, and the name of a Rose show falls sweetly enough on the ear ; but if the thing is to continue popular, or to be anything more than a pretty sound, the Rose must be brought before the public in all its native freshness on bush and tree. " I never buy a Rose now from the cut flowers shown at the exhibitions," said a Rose amateur to me the other day, " for there you see nothing but the flower. I want to know something of the foliage, the constitution, and the habit of the tree, especially whether it produces few or many flowers, and whether eleven out of every dozen are good or bad." Turning to our gardens, it is yet too early to speak of the year 1868 as a whole, because if a "dripping time" should set in, we may reasonably expect a grand display of Roses in the autumn. The summer growth on Rose soils is un- usually firm and mature, and the wood doubtless well stored with organised matter, which only requires the stimulus of moisture in earth and air to produce the grandest results. I of course must only speak of my own Rose ground, situate at Waltham Cross in the Valley of the Lea. The soil is a strong loam, 4 feet deep, resting on gravel. Water usually stands in this gravel within 4 feet of the surface. The ground has been thoroughly drained, the mains being 4 feet, the contributaries 3 feet 6 inches deep. Being surrounded with water, water has been freely used, but I have little faith in water alone on this soil ; it requires to be supplemented either by mulching or keep- ing the surface loose by means of the hoe or fork. The latter is the grand panacea on this- soil for all the ills which trees and plants are heir to ; gravel and water, however, are not very far from the surface, and the water is doubtless constantly setting upwards by the law of capillary attraction. Such a season as that just passed teaches us some- thing. We learn a little by it, and have to unlearn a 152 THOUGHTS ON ROSES. good deal. One's faith in many varieties would be sadly shaken were he to judge them by this season alone. Some of the favourite show Roses, whose reputation has been built up by cut blooms alone, have scarcely appeared in box or on tree in anything like showable condition, whereas some almost-forgotten favourites, both new and old, have acquired or regained a high reputation. The best twenty-five varieties of the year with me have been : Alfred Colomb, Antoine Ducher, Beauty of Waltham, Black Prince, Dr Lindley, Elizabeth Vigneron, Felix Genero, Fisher Holmes, Francois Louvat, Jean Lambert, La Duchesse de Morny, La Ville de St Denis, Lord Macaulay, Louise Peyronny, Madame Victor Verdier, Mdlle. Annie Wood, Mar