EG! t Ur; ax s C 3 s >, : » i= “ Load : i ts = : 4 A « « is B ! A » 4 > < s s 4@ € at) ‘ we . ‘ « s LU ‘ jq (0a. 6 2) @'.214°58°8.8 22a. ° ad a -. Risa ww % , . > sed Ee '* Sf. ~ me se ’ : ie! a ? Me Sie ri ? J of Es a > Pe 0? x ie =? 7 P ‘ abet ‘ “<¥ 2 3 = MTC One. 4 es <<“ £0472 i SOG i : SS —— THE BOOK OF THE ROSE WT eae 1 ett alte Me F ihe f ; é - ’ . ‘ - ~ 1 o 42 ae ae SHOWER BOUQUET, EXHIBITED BY Mrs. ORPEN. Frontispiece. swale BOOK OF THE ROSE BY REV. A. FOSTER-MELLIAR, M.A. RECTOR OF SPROUGHTON, SUFFOLK WITH TWENTY-NINE ILLUSTRATIONS LIseARy ~ YORE ‘ANIGAL i \2MRBL Pondon MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1894 The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved RicHARD CLAY AND Sons, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY. LBP] ARY MEW YORE E> ey ANICAL A BD BE, PREFACE Ir seems right to make some sort of apology, as most of my predecessors have done, for putting forth another Rose-book when there are already so many; but per- haps it is not really required, as the columns devoted to the subject every week in horticultural literature show that there is ever something fresh to be said on the different matters connected with the Rose. My idea was, in the first place, to give, from an amateur, full details of practical culture for amateurs from the beginning to the end: and I ought to be able to do this satisfactorily even if I have not succeeded, as, under unfavourable conditions of soil and situation, I have done with my own hands every portion of the work, from raising and establishing the stocks to carry- ing off a champion challenge cup at the Crystal Palace. Secondly, to give such descriptions of the best known = Roses as should tell of their faults and bad _ habits “—, D MAY . as well as of their good qualities and_perfections, since I have good reason to believe a record of this sort will be welcomed. And thirdly, if possible, to make a readable as well as useful book: under no vl PREFACE circumstances did I aspire to tread worthily in the footsteps of Dean Hole : yet (for to me too the world— even the Rose world—“ teems with quiet fun”) I did hope to make it fairly light and amusing; but details and practical matter have proved so overwhelming as to get a mastery of the whole. I have much kind assistance to acknowledge from various sources. From my old friend, Mr. Benjamin R. Cant, Rose-grower, Colchester, and his two sons, I have had very much cordial help in many ways. Mr. Frank Cant, of Braiswick Nursery, Colchester, has freely given me useful information on the subject of Roses under Glass (Chapter X). Mr. W. D. Prior, of Myland Nurseries, in the same metropolis of Roses, has aided me in the preparation of photographs: and in the same neighbourhood, Mr. and Mrs. Orpen, of West Bergholt, have been good enough to give me opportunities of representing their skill in Rose decora- tion. I have also received help from Mr. A. Dickson, jun., of the Royal Nurseries, Newtownards, Ireland, in information kindly furnished as to the raising of Roses from seed. Mr. Charles Turner, of Slough, has kindly lent me a photograph of one of his giant Pot Roses. I am indebted to Dr. Hogg, the proprietor of Zhe Journal of Horticulture, for leave to republish certain matters which I have written in that paper under the nom de plume of “W. R. Raillem,” especially Chapter XIL., which has been thoroughly revised; and to Mr. J. Wright of that office, I am very much beholden for kind counsel and advice. For revised reproductions of PREFACE vil papers of mine, which have appeared in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society and in The Rosarian’s Year-Book, I have to thank the Rev. W. Wilks, Sec. B.H.S., and the Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain, Hon. Sec. of the National Rose Society. My best thanks are due to my neighbour the Rev. J. H. Hocking, Rector of Copdock, for considerable trouble in the identification of Insects, and to Mr. E. B. Lindsell, of Bearton, Hitchin, for advice and encouragement. Messrs. A. Hill Gray, J. Bateman, Ismay Fisher, and the Rev. F. R. Burnside have also kindly helped me with photographs, or in other ways. Mr. William Paul’s large work The Rose Garden has naturally been consulted, and proved of much value, especially in Chapter II, and a further comparison of ideas and methods has been made with the contents of most other Rose-books ; but my own experience, which 1s considerable, has been throughout my principal reliance, and where my practice is at variance with the general use, reasons have been given for the procedure recom- mended. SPROUGHTON RECTORY, September, 1894. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION SITUATION AND SOIL. PLANTING : MANURES PRUNING , STOCKS WITH LAYING CHAPTER I PAGE 1 CHAPTER II 6 CHAPTER III 28 CHAPTER IV OUT OF THE BEDS AND PROTECTION 43 CHAPTER V 64 CHAPTER VI 84 CHAPTER VII 101 x CONTENTS CHAPTER VIII PROPAGATION . CHAPTER IX PESTS . CHAPTER X ROSES UNDER GLASS . CHAPTER XI EXHIBITING CHAPTER XII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS CHAPTER XIII SELECTIONS . CHAPTER XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS PAGE 119 211 309 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO FACE PAGE A SHOWER BOUQUET. .... . . . Mrontispece MR. B. CANT’S ROSE FIELD 12 RGeSHERHS-AS A ROSH HEDGE. 2...» «(88 2060 = Sie 20 ROSE SPRAY—POLYANTHAS ... . ee sl 25 MR. A. H. GRAY’S ROSE GARDEN. .. . a deat Nanet pt Bd 45 AP WREPING ROSE—AYRSHIRE . . . . «= .) «6 «.: ay te 93 MABUGHAL, NIEL IN GREENHOUSE . . - 65 4 «© «1. ss ss 96 PP SEOCKS ss. a tees, eee AM) ere ry es CATERPILLAR HIDDEN ON SHOOT... . ss =. 5 «>: Ye ES MERSTOAPPRARANCH, OF MILDEW . . «2 4 » ws 8) 2 2 = « 160 SPAMDARD ROSE (U.BRUNNER)INPOT ........ .. Li6 DWAEF BOSE (P. PERRAS) IN POT .-.. . mit ne eae : 181 A WINNING TWENTY-FOUR—CUP STAND. ........ .. 208 ME GERVEN CREED) Maki. cls bh Ok ee AO ee ee Xil LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS DUKE OF WELLINGTON . ECLAIR . GUSTAVE PIGANEAU . JEAN SOUPERT MARGUERITE BOUDET MARIE VERDIER MRS. JOHN LAING PRINCE ARTHUR ULRICH BRUNNER , CLEOPATRA MADAME CUSIN MADAME DE WATTEVILLE MARECHAL NIEL THE BRIDE THREE BUTTONHOLES TO FACE PAGE 229 231 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION IT is a common saying that the love of flowers is universal; and it is not surprising, seeing that the tendency of the age is to subdivide occupations and interests and make men specialists in smaller branches of subjects, that certain flowers have been selected for cultivation by persons who have given all their leisure, or even the whole of their time, to the study of them. As the Rose has been entitled the queen of flowers without serious dispute for nearly twenty-five centuries, special subjects of such a queen may naturally be looked for; and they may be found among such as style themselves Rosarians, who endeavour to cultivate the Rose in such a manner as to get the finest and most beautiful blooms. One would naturally suppose that those who study and pursue this subject might be credited with a special knowledge of it at least, if not with some authority; but, oddly enough, a certain number of writers on general horticulture are never weary of recounting the errors and absurdities of Rose-growers B 2 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. and, above all, Rose exhibitors. It is not so that I know of with other flowers; the foremost prize-takers in chrysanthemums or auriculas, for instance, are at least supposed to know as much about the things necessary for the welfare of those plants as other people; and in common life we do not find general physicians proclaiming the ignorance and absurdity of oculists, aurists and dentists in their several depart- ments; yet the specialists of the Rose are frequently told by authorities in horticulture that their maxims | and modes are erroneous and faulty. In Mr. Robinson’s most beautiful book, The English Flower Garden, a fine example of this may be seen, the vials of his wrath being fully poured out upon the stupidities of Rose-books, and the general mistakes of Rosarians. We are a most harmless folk with no desire for recrimination, and I would only venture to point out that our aims and points of view are different. He looks upon the Rose asa decorative plant for the garden : I look upon the plant, in most cases, only as a means whereby I may obtain glorious Roses. Moreover, though some enthusiasts may think it heretical, I do not consider the Rose preeminent as a decorative plant; several simpler flowers, much less beautiful in themselves, have, to my mind, greater value for general effect in the garden; and even the cut blooms are, I imagine, more difficult to arrange in water, for artistic decoration, than lighter, simpler and less noble flowers. A good Rose should stand in a vase by itself as a queen should; then let any other flower or combination of flowers rival her if they can. So, with all the best Roses I should not wish for or expect any general display at a distance, but come close and be content if I can find but one perfect bloom. I INTRODUCTION 3 For elegance in trailing blossoming beauty some of the best and most vigorous of the climbing Roses would indeed hold a high place among decorative plants; but for masses of grand colour as viewed from a distance, no Rose effect can equal that of the rhododendrons ; and for unwearied continuance many ordinary bedding plants make a richer and more permanent display. No; the value of the Rose isin the glory of its individual flowers ; and in these pages, at least, the idea is not the Rose for the garden, but the garden for the Rose. I write for enthusiasts, for those who make a regular hobby of their Roses, and think of them as fondly and almost as fully in January as in June. There are not a few such, even among amateurs, in all ranks, and some of them, much handicapped perhaps by soil, situation or circumstances, still retain their ardour though not meeting with much success. The man of business, who rises at daybreak to attend to his Roses before his day’s work in the town; who is quite prepared if necessary to go out with a good lantern on a November night to seize a favourable condition of soil for planting at once some newly- arrived standards or dwarfs; and who later in the winter will turn out in the snow after dark to give some little extra protection that may be required for his beds: this is the sort of man for me, and for the Rose as well. I remember a certain occasion when a small shooting party met for partridge-driving on a rather dismal bleak day in January. Two of the “guns,” who lived some distance apart and did not meet very often, were continually drawing together and chattering away with the greatest enthusiasm ; cutting little bits out of the hedge and comparing notes with so much interest that B2 4 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. though both very fond of the sport, on more than one occasion the partridges flew by unheeded whilst they had strayed from their places. Said the host later on to one of his friends, “What on earth do you think A and B, who are generally so keen, had got of such importance to talk about together? It was all about Roses !” It has been my pleasure, for some months, to receive very nearly every day by post as much and sometimes more than a penny stamp would frank, of letters from a gentleman whom I have seldom seen and with whom I have hardly exchanged half-a-dozen sentences by word of mouth. This too during the spring and winter time, and all about Roses ! It is pretty well known that another gentleman, with a passionate love for Tea Roses, left his home in Scot- land because he could not grow them there, and went searching for a place in Great Britain which should be suitable for their culture; and, having found such a spot, at very great expense laid out and prepared his grounds to form, as they undoubtedly do, the finest amateur Tea Rose garden in the country. I may perhaps be excused for thinking that Rose- growing as a special pursuit and a hobby is particularly adapted for country parsons. No one can deny that 1t is as harmless a pursuit as any that can be found, and, without the least neglecting his sacred calling if his cure be a small one, he can find many half-hours of daylight leisure among his Roses, where his parishioners will soon learn to come and look him up at once if he should be wanted. It will afford him varied interest, exercise, and work in the open air all the year round. In tilling the soil, the special work which God gave to man, he will find many a valuable lesson, which he will I INTRODUCTION 5 be able to tell, with authority and with much interest, to that majority of his unlearned parishioners who are themselves tillers of the soil. If there is no room in the parsonage garden, it is seldom indeed that some little piece of glebe cannot be taken in to be the pride of his heart and the focus of his midsummer hopes: And now that we are all so poor, and likely to be poorer still, there will be the more encouragement for him to do the Rose work with his own hands, and to summon the aid of his single useful man only at actual show time, for the carting of. manure, or for pressure in planting. He will thus become a real amateur, a true son of Adam, and genuine brother of the back-ache, with many thorns in his fingers and rough and hardened hands ; but his Roses will be truly his own, he will have won them, and under the Creator will actually have made them himself. And not only will they seem to him brighter and purer and sweeter than any other Roses, but he will probably find, in comparison and competition, that they are better than those of his brother amateurs who do not personally attend to their plants; and it will be a great thought for him that other far richer men may have grand and _ glorious gardens, but that he in his humble little plot with his own hands raises some of the finest Roses in England. CHAPTER! HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION THE Rose is well known as the emblem of England, and when we consider how often it has unhappily been in conflict with the Lilies of France, it may seem strange to find a large though decreasing proportion of our Roses endowed with French names. Still, though so many of our favourites were raised the other side of the Channel, England is the true home of the Hybrid Perpetual Rose; and that, not only because it is more cultivated here with the minute attention which is paid to a “florist’s flower,” but also because the English climate is better suited to its perfect development. Continuous sunshine is not the best weather for the blooming of H.P.s; they like two or three hot days, and then a dull, dry, cooler one. Some will not open in rainy weather, others do not mind it ; but almost all this large class, so many of which were raised in sunny France, will display far more beautiful blooms on a dull and cooler day following after heat; and it may be, I think, safely said that the finest H.P. Roses in the world are grown in England. The Rose is native to all countries in the world with CHAP. II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 7 the exception, perhaps, of Australia, a large portion of South America, and the actual tropics. It is very extensively cultivated in Persia and Bulgaria for the manufacture of attar or otto of Roses and Rose-water, which are distilled from the petals. In Persia a variety of the Musk Rose (Rosa moschata) is used for this purpose, but it has not the real odour of musk, which is said to be found only in Salet, a Per- petual Moss Rose. In Bulgaria, the country which is the largest producer of the otto, a variety of the Damask Rose (R. damascena) is used: and experts allege that the Damask and Provence (R. centifolia) Roses are the best representatives of the true mimit- able odour of Rose. The modes of distillation in these Eastern countries are very primitive and imperfect, and moreover in Bulgaria there has been considerable adulteration of the valuable otto with geraniol or oil of pelargonium. Much the best otto of Roses now in the market is manufactured by modern skilled appliances in Germany, near Leipzig, where the Bul- garian variety of Damask Rose is used, and in France, near Grasse, where a strain of the Provence Rose is cultivated for the purpose. Rose-water and otto of Roses are also made in India, Turkey, and other places. Few readers of a Rose-book will care for much research into the history of the Rose. Mr. William Paul has with much care gone deeply into that subject in his large volume Zhe Rose Garden, and I will only touch a few points, and refer inquirers on this subject to his fuller work. Homer’s allusions to the Rose in the Ilad and the Odyssey are, I suppose, the earliest mentions we have. Every one will be aware of Bible references, though it 8 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. should be mentioned that the Rose of Jericho is generally understood to be a cruciferous plant, and all seem agreed that whatever the Rose of Sharon was it was certainly not a Rose; nevertheless Dr. Hooker enumerates seven species of Roses which he observed in Syria. A passage in the Apocrypha (Wisdom II., 8) is interesting as mentioning the custom of crowning with Rosebuds at feasts and banquets, which we know to have prevailed in classic times. By far the most important ancient quotation is from Sappho the Greek poetess, who was born about 600 B.c. A translation of a fragment of one of her poems is given in Mr. William Paul’s book :— ““ Would Jove appoint some flower to reign In matchless beauty on the plain, The Rose (mankind will all agree), The Rose the Queen of Flowers should be.” That the title of “The Queen of Flowers” 1s no modern assumption for the Rose, but has hardly been seriously questioned for nearly twenty-five centuries, 1s a little item of knowledge which every Rosarian should store by him as a weapon _ defence in time of need. The immense sums spent by Cleopatra, Nero, and other luxurious persons in the time of the Romans, not only on Roses but on “ Rose leaves” (petals) for strewing on the floor and the seats, is well known. And there are actually some points of culture that we may learn from the Romans. Horace speaks of growing Roses in beds, and Pliny of digging deeply for their cultivation, both of which items—growing them by themselves apart from other plants, and moving the soil to the depth of two feet—have still to be insisted on in this year of grace 1894. During the long strange sleep of civilisation which II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 9 in the Middle Ages followed the Fall of Rome, the culture of the Rose was probably somewhat neglected ; but gradually, no doubt, as the pursuits of peace began to prevail, gardening, and with it the love of the queen of flowers, revived. The National Rose Society gives 1596 as the date at which it is known that the Centifolia (Provence or Cabbage) Rose, the common Moss, and the Austrian Yellow and Austrian Copper were grown. But Rose progress was very slow till about 1815, when in spite of the troublous times, Mons. Vibert, the earliest of the great French raisers, founded his nursery. The way had been prepared for him by the patronage of the Empress Josephine, who made Roses fashionable, and caused search to be made for all existing varieties for her garden at Malmaison. Mons. Laffay soon followed Mons. Vibert, and after them we have a grand array of famous French Rosarians, Jacques, Hardy, the Guillots, Lacharme, Gonod, Pernet, Ducher, Margottin, the Verdiers, Levet, Liabaud, Nabonnand and others, to whom we are still indebted for the majority of our best Roses. Mons. Desportes in 1829 issued a catalogue con- taining the names of 2000 varieties, but the majority of these were no doubt worthless or not distinct, and by 1860 there were still but few Roses which we should now consider good, though we had Général Jacqueminot and Senateur Vaisse among H.P.s, and among Teas, Devoniensis, Madame Bravy, Rubens, and Souvenir d’Elise, the last still unequalled as the finest of all show Roses. But taste, experience, and discrimination on the one hand, and demand on the other, were now beginning to tell, and in the next five years (1860-65) the following 10 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. wonderful additions from France were made of Roses which are still indispensable :—Alfred Colomb, Camille Bernardin, Charles Lefebvre, Dr. Andry, Duchesse de Morny, Duke of Wellington, Fisher Holmes, Marguerite de St. Amand, Marie Baumann, Marie Rady, Maurice Bernardin, Pierre Notting, Prince Camille de Rohan, and Xavier Olibo; and in Teas, La Boule d’Or and that wonder among roses Maréchal Niel. About this time English raisers first began to come to the front with Roses still recognised as good, and Mr. W. Paul’s Beauty of Waltham may be considered as one of the first of these, the origin of Devoniensis being a little doubtful. Messrs. Paul and Son of Ches-. hunt, with Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, Mr. Cranston of Hereford, Mr. Turner of Slough, and Messrs. Keynes, Williams and Co. of Salisbury followed, till Mr. Bennett of Shepperton commenced by hybridising to raise what he called “ pedigree Roses,” and delighted the Rose world with Her Majesty and Mrs. John Laing. Messrs. A. Dickson and Son of Newtownards, Ireland, also took to hybridising with great and marked success, and this mode of obtaining new varieties from seed, by careful interchange of pollen, instead of trusting to chance cross-fertilisation, as had hitherto been done, 1s now probably being pursued by several raisers in the British Isles. More new varieties from our own country, and less from France, now pass their examinations and enter the ranks every year, but a very large proportion of our best Roses still bear, and will for many years, their French names. The worst of it is that some of these names must be said in full if there is to be no confusion. For instance, there are two Madame Eugene Verdiers, H.P. and Tea, as well as Mademoiselle Eugenie Verdier, H.P., besides 11 HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 11 Madame Victor Verdier and Victor Verdier, H.P.s. There are also two Madame Hippolyte Jamains, H.P. and Tea, besides Hippolyte Jamain, H.P. In addition to the well-known La France, there is also a Rose called La France de ’89, a name which really shows some poverty of invention on the part of the raiser. - A-yremonstrance might not be well received; for the Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain, Hon. Sec. of the National Rose Society, tells an amusing story of the French raiser of Duke of Wellington H.P. complaining that English growers would: not call his Rose aright, for it should be Duc de Wellington. This seems to me really comic, if meant seriously. Still,as I have said, though so many of our best Roses owe their parentage to France, they are nowhere better cultivated than in the British Isles, there being a con- siderable export trade to America, the Colonies, Spain, and elsewhere; and nowhere are there such famous growers, both professional and amateur, who have made the Rose their special, and in some cases their sole, study. In mentioning the names of famous British growers, it is interesting to compare the list, given by Dean Hole in his charming book, of winners at the first National Rose Show in 1858 with those who are well known now in 1894. Of nurserymen, “ Messrs Paul of Cheshunt, Cranston of Hereford, Cant of Colchester, and Turner of Slough” are still well-known names; but in the dozen or so of amateurs mentioned, “ Fellowes ” is the only name with which I am familiar as still growing and exhibiting well. Norfolk has not wanted a good florist or two of the name of Fellowes for many years. In the very first rank at the present day among professional exhibitors are :—at Colchester the separate 12 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. establishments of Messrs. B. R. Cant and Frank Cant; who devote themselves solely to Roses ; in Hertfordshire, Messrs. Paul and Son of Cheshunt (Messrs. Wm. Paul and Son of Waltham not now exhibiting cut blooms in competition); and in Yorkshire, Messrs. Harkness and Sons of Bedale. No other nurserymen in the last twelve years have won either of the N.R.S. champion ‘trophies, but a foremost place must be admitted to Mr. Prince in Oxfordshire, whose specialty of Teas on the seedling briar has often won him the premier prize in that section, and to Messrs. A. Dickson and Son of Newtownards in Ireland, who show very strongly con- sidering their distance and the difficulty of transit, and who have won the gold medal for new Roses of their own raising much oftener than any other British firm. There are many others of high standing, a large proportion of whom probably sell as good plants as those I have mentioned. And if they have not come to the actual front yet as exhibitors, it may be that distance or climate, or a disinclination to incur the whole expense and trouble of competing in the first rank, have prevented their names being chronicled hitherto as the winners of the premier prizes. Among amateurs, notable exhibitors have dropped out of the ranks in the last decade in Messrs. W. J. Grant, T. B. Hall, and E. R. Whitwell, while the senior knight of all, Mr. R. N. G. Baker, only exhibits occasion- ally; but we have still a large and increasing army of Rose-lovers, who like to tilt in honour of the queen at the Rose tournaments, and of these the best known are Mr. E. B. Lindsell of Hitchin, and Rev. J. H. Pember- ton of Essex, for H.P.s, and Mr. A. H. Gray of Bath, and Rev. F. R. Burnside of Herefordshire, for Teas, ‘IOJSOYITOD 9B SpTeyesory sty Jo ouo UT ‘TIda,) UOS SIy YIM “QuRDO “YW UTURfUOg APY ‘ZL d aovf Of, ‘NUGUVD ASOY S/IVNOISSAIONG V II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 15 though in each division there are others treading closely on their heels, and occasionally victorious. CLASSIFICATION.—In botany, the number of actual species of Roses is very great, even the wild Dog-Rose of our hedges being divided into many sub-species, as may be seen from the great variety in foliage and habit in the early growths of briar stocks in nurserymen’s quarters. Of the cultivated classes, probably nine out of ten Rose-lovers will only care to know about the two great divisions as they are commonly understood : viz. Hybrid Perpetuals, including Hybrid Teas and Per- petual Bourbons, and Teas and Noisettes, with perhaps a few climbers. Comparatively few will be interested in the Austrian, Bourbon, Polyantha, Moss, and Provence races ; and a still smaller number will care to investigate thoroughly the forty-one groups carefully enumerated by Mr. W. Paul in his systematic work. Now that hybridising and crossing of groups is so largely undertaken, it seems plain that many new divisions and classes are likely to arise, and old lines of demarcation to be lost. Apart from the true climbers, and all summer or botanical varieties, Roses to the novice or spectator at Rose shows are generally divided into H.P.s and Teas, and the more these two great divisions are consolidated and made inclusive instead of being subdivided, the less confusion, to my mind, is likely to arise from crossing and hybridising. Cultivated Roses are naturally divided into two divisions at the outset: Summer (ze., those which only bloom once in the year), and Perpetual (a¢., those which have at least something of a second crop). It is obvious that the latter is the more valuable ; the H.P.s if taken to include the Hybrid Teas and all Bourbons which are perpetual, and the Teas, with the Noisettes which are 14 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. mostly crossed with them, form the bulk of the per- petual Roses, and have therefore increased immensely in culture, popularity and number of varieties, while the sorts which bloom only in the summer have naturally been neglected, though perpetual forms have now been raised among the Ayrshire, Polyantha, Scotch, and Moss classes. The H.P.s and Teas, using the terms in their widest and most inclusive sense, would thus embrace all the best Roses, that is, those which give the finest and most perfect blooms; and a large number of Rose-growers will be content with them. The live-stock-keeper’s adage, that it costs no more to keep a good animal than a bad one, may, with some reservations, be applied to Roses; and the H.P.s and Teas, in the wide sense that I have mentioned, certainly furnish the finest flowers. Still, for old associations some may cultivate the Provence (Cabbage) or York and Lancaster ; for beauty of yellow and copper shades, the Austrian ; for exhibition of a pot Rose in a mass of bloom, the Hybrid Bourbon or Hybrid China; for fancy in the bud stage only, the Moss; for beauty of foliage and fruit, the Rugosa; for toys, the Pompons ‘or Fairies; for certain forms of bouquet decoration, the Polyanthas; for sweet foliage, the Sweet-briars ; and for rapid climbing, the Boursault, Evergreen, Ayrshire, or Banksians. SUMMER ROSES The Provence Rose (Rosa centifolia)—The type here is the old “Cabbage” Rose, so called merely because it is full, with its petals folded like a cabbage. It 1s II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 15 best grown as a bush, and requires close pruning. The original is pink, but there are other varieties of this class, white and striped. A sub-variety of the Provence is the Pompon Rose. These are simply Roses in miniature, which should not be confounded with the Polyanthas, many of which are quite as small, or with the Lawrenciane or Fairy Roses, which being Chinas are perpetual. The Moss Kose is a more important sub-variety of the Provence, the Crested Rose forming a sort of link between them. This group, so well known for the moss-like covering of the calyx, has been so popular that great efforts have been made to increase the number of varieties and improve the quality of the flowers. Mr. Cranston, writing in 1855, says that even then several hundred varieties of the Moss Rose had been raised, but though different colours, from white to crimson, have been gained, and one or two perpetual sorts have been issued, very little success in the way of actual improvement has been achieved, the common or old Moss Rose, to which the N.R.S. catalogue gives the date of 1596, being still the best in the popular bud state. There are now so many beautiful buttonhole Teas very much superior in beauty of colour, that it seems likely that Moss Roses, which are only valuable in the bud, not of long and pointed form, and apparently incapable of improvement, will suffer somewhat from their rivalry ; but many, no doubt, will still be found to cherish them from sentiment or old associations. The Moss Roses do not do well as standards, and some of them are not very strong growers. They will grow on manetti, but are generally considered to do best on their own roots, and should be pruned hard, and highly cultivated. Some miniature Moss Roses 16 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. have been issued, with prettily shaped rosette-lke flowers, one of the best of which is Little Gem (W. Paul and Son, 1880). The Double Yellow Rose (R. sulphurea) is considered by some to be a form of the Provence. Fifty or sixty years ago, this was the best yellow Rose, if it could be got to bloom ; but its “ manners and customs” were so very bad, and the blooms so generally malformed or refusing to open at all, that it was pretty nearly given up as hopeless, even before Cloth of Gold appeared on the scene. The Damask Rose (R. damascena) and The French Rose (R. gallica) are placed under one heading in the N.R.S. Catalogue, and indeed it seems rather doubtful to which of these two sections some of the old Roses belonged. These are the old pink, red, and striped Roses of our gardens, both groups having been introduced into this country at least three hundred years. The three old-fashioned striped Roses, each of which has been called York and Lancaster, are Rosa Mundi (French), which is red striped with white, and occasionally self red; Village Maid (French), which is white striped with red; and the true York and Lan- caster, which is either (sometimes all on one bush) red, white, red striped with white, or white striped with red, a truly handy bush for a Vicar of Bray in the Wars of the Roses. The Damask and French Roses are not very strong growers, producing short-jomted wood and large, showy, open flowers. They succeed as standards, but were generally grown in the bush form. Fairly close pruning is required, with care as to the shape, that the blooms be regularly placed upon the plant. The flowers of the French Rose are but slightly II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION Ly scented when freshly gathered, but the perfume develops in the dried petals. The reverse is the case with the Damask Rose, which is principally used in the manufacture of the otto, for the scent in this case is nearly destroyed by drying Lhe White Rose (R. alba)—An old-fashioned class of Roses, generally grown as bushes, and still to be found by side-walks and in corners in old gardens. The majority of them are not pure white, but have a pale pink flush, very pretty in the bud, and open flat. They will grow as standards, and require rather close pruning. Félicité Parmentier (1828) and Maiden’s Blush (1797) are the best known varieties. The Hybrid China Roses are hybrids between the French or Provence, crossed slightly with the China race, and showing very little of the cross; as the Chinese are true perpetuals, and these remain as sum- mer Roses. They are very strong growers, almost all being vigorous enough for pillars or climbing, and some sufficiently pendulous to form tall half-weeping standards. The vigorous growers should not be too closely pruned. Blairii No. 2 a fine climber, Chénédolé and Fulgens of brilliant colour, and Miss Ingram a well-shaped old Rose of more moderate growth, are now the best known. Madame Plantier, a very profuse bloomer, often placed in this group, seems to have in it some cross of the Noisette race. Lhe Hybrid Bourbons, placed under the same heading in the N.RS. Catalogue, form a somewhat similar group, being hybrids from the French or Provence with the Bourbon race, but not having the autumnal qualities of the Bourbons. Most of them are strong enough in growth for climbing purposes, and should not be pruned too closely when thus used. But in no C 18 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. case is the whole art of pruning more called for than in fine old standards or pot Roses of this group, where the production of a well-shaped head, thickly and regularly covered with large blooms all out at once, is sometimes a triumph of skill and training. Charles Lawson is especially noticeable for its capabilities in this way, when carefully trained as a pot Rose. Coupe d’Hébé, of a fresh pink with a cupped shape, is a name I can never forget, as 1t was the first rose—a standard—I ever had of my own, about forty years ago. Paul Ricaut is the best known crimson in this class. The Austrian Briar (R. lutea)—These are simply wild Roses native in some parts of Europe, nearly single, and lovely in colour. The Copper,as it is called, is the form best known; it is quite single, the petals being a most beautiful shade of coppery red, with orange yellow inclined to buff on the under sides. The others, Single Yellow, Persian Yellow, and Harri- son are also noted for thew colour, being hardly surpassed in this point by any known Roses. The two last named are double though by no means full, and Harrisonii is the best grower, with a somewhat pendu- lous habit. They like a dry soil, will not succeed in suburban or smoky atmosphere, and all do best on their own roots, the suckers being encouraged, and taken off when rooted if required to form fresh plants. It is best not to prune them at all, beyond cutting out dead wood; the shoots might be thinned, but there is no advantage in this with single Roses, where quantity of bloom is the thing desired; and they should not be shortened, as flower-bearing shoots often issue from the buds near the tips. The Scotch Rose (R. spinosissima)—The “very thorny” Rose is a briar native in the north of Great II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 19 Britain, which has become semi-double and has at- tained almost every shade from white to deep crimson by long cultivation and selection of the easily raised seedlings. The plant is unmistakable, for no other Rose is so thickly covered with small very sharp thorns. They are not strong in growth, and are best on their own roots, propagated by suckers, lke the Austrians. Scotch Roses are generally used to form a dwarf hedge, which has a pretty effect when the little round fragrant flowers are out, but these are very soon over. One perpetual form, however, has been raised— the Stanwell, a fair grower, very sweet, flowering freely from May to November. ‘These Roses, as becomes natives of North Britain, are thoroughly hardy, and will flourish in the poorest soil where no other Rose will grow. No pruning, beyond cutting out dead wood, is required. The Sweet Briar (R. rubiginosa).—This is a native briar, growing freely wild in some parts of England, and generally where the soil is light and rather poor. The Eglantine, as it is otherwise called, is noted for the sweet scent of the foliage, which pervades the air for a considerable distance after a shower, in spring or early summer. There have been some cultivated varieties more or less double and deeper or paler in colour than the type, and Lord Penzance has been hybridising them with the laudable view of raising a group of good Roses with sweet foliage; but though he has been most successful in colour improvement, I believe that nothing more than semi-double varieties have yet been attained. The Ayrshire Rose (R. arvensis). This too, as its name implies, is a native species, found also throughout Europe. They have been well called running Roses, for c 2 20 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. the growth is extremely long, rapid, and slender. Being very hardy and ready to grow anywhere, they are better adapted for trailing over unsightly places and ugly fences than for actual walls, which are best reserved for more valuable and tender sorts. This and the next group also form the best weeping Roses, bud- ded on a tall standard, as the shoots are very phable, and trail gracefully downwards in a natural manner. Several of the Ayrshires have probably been slightly hybridised, a mark of the true sorts being that the flowers are not borne in clusters. Dundee Rambler, Ruga, and Splendens or Myrrh-scented are among the best known. The flowers are small, semi-double, and mostly white or pink. The plants are quite hardy, very rampant in growth, and most effective when allowed to ramble at will, unpruned and untrained. Madame Viviand Morel is a perpetual form. The Evergreen Rose (KR. sempervirens).—This group is very much like the last, but is not a native of Great Britain; nor is it, strictly speaking, evergreen, but some foliage is generally retained through most of the winter. The flowers are produced in very large clusters, mostly of white or light-pink colours. The plants are thoroughly hardy, as strong in growth as the Ayrshire, and useful for pillars, arches, weeping Roses, or cover- ing waste places, the long shoots being left unpruned. Banksizeflora, Feélicité Perpetue, and Rampant are perhaps the best known among them. The Boursaulé Rose (R. alpina)—This is another group of strong-climbing summer Roses, with very characteristic smooth wood, not quite so pendulous in habit as the two last named. This species is a native of the Alps, thoroughly hardy, growing and blooming anywhere in large clusters of reddish flowers. The ‘Sulpey worIyT ur uo ‘searysidy Alpedwoung 02 “d aovf oF ‘apaay{ asoy Vv 11 HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 21 best-known varieties are Amadis or Crimson, and Gracilis. The Banksian Lose (R. Banksize)—This is a very distinct species, said to have been introduced from China early in the century, and named after Lady Banks. The plants grow very strongly, but are not hardy, and are lable to be killed outright in severe frost, even on a south wall. There are only two varieties worth growing—the Yellow, with very small, but full, scentless flowers, produced in great abundance in clusters, and the White, with rather larger flowers, most deliciously and characteristically scented, the odour being compared to that of violets, but fewer of them. The plants, which are nearly evergreen in mild winters, should be very little pruned (see page 88); perhaps the best way is to shorten a little in the summer those shoots that have bloomed, cutting out all gross and sappy wood that is not wanted. The Polyantha Rose (R. multiflora)—The varieties of this class, which bloom only once, are single. These are—Polyantha simplex, a great grower, now being tested as a stock for Tea Roses, and apparently with good result both as a seedling and a cutting; and P. grandiflora, similar but with much larger single flowers. To the multiflora class belongs also another Rose used as a stock for strong-growing Teas, De la Grifferaie, only noted for its growth and consequent root-power. There are several other species of Roses which bloom only once, a list of the most interesting being given in the N.B.S. Catalogue. They are single in flower, and really only of value to the botanist or collector. 22 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. AUTUMNAL FLOWERING OR PERPETUAL ROSES. The Hybrid Perpetual Rose—This wonderful group seems to have originated from several sources; indeed, it may no doubt be said with truth that certain strains of almost all other cultivated Roses have now been incorporated, by accident or design, into some of the members of this wide and varied class. It seems to me vain to try and trace the parentage of the most celebrated varieties. The pedigrees of most of them were absolutely unknown even to the raisers, since systematic hybridismg and careful choice of seed- parents was not practised by the French Rosarians who issued our most noted sorts. Seeds were sown in immense quantities, and the cross fertilisation effected by insects or other agencies was relied on to produce the variations which ensued. As always happens, however, according to the doctrine of evolutionists, certain marked types resulted which were not only distinct, but had also the power of im- pressing their characteristics upon their descendants, forming thus new groups. Victor Verdier, La France, and Baroness Rothschild are instances of these new departures, accounts of which may be found in Chapter XII. Hybrid Teas are at present an unsatisfactory class. It is very difficult even now to draw a decided line as to where there is sufficient strain from the Teas to warrant the division ; and it seems more than probable that the task will become almost impossible when the Hybrid Teas are crossed back again into the H.P.s or Teas, as they have been already in two or three instances, For this reason I have throughout II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 23 included the so-called H.T.s among the large group of Hybrid Perpetuals, for they are both Perpetual and Hybrid. The Bourbon Rose was introduced from the Isle of Bourbon about the year 1825. This group is noted for its sweet scent, and also for its very good autumnal qualities, the true Bourbons generally giving better blooms in the second crop. It has been quite a large elass. Mr. William Paul enumerates forty-six varieties in The Rose Garden, but none of them is likely to remain or be much cultivated now, except the one celebrated sort Souvenir de la Malmaison. It seems to me highly probably that a much larger proportion of our H.P.s have some of the influence of this grand autumnal strain in their constitutions than is generally imagined ; and as the two modern Bourbons, Madame Isaac Pereire and Mrs. Paul, are evidently hybrids, it appears advisable that all perpetual forms of this group also should be merged in the large class of H.P.s. The China Rose (R. indica).—This group, truest of Perpetuals, was introduced into this country from China about the year 1789. The Common Pink, otherwise known as the Monthly Rose, always in flower, and the Crimson were imported separately about the same time ; and all other varieties have resulted from these types. They are not very strong growers, do best on their own roots in a warm soil, and the flowers, weak and feeble with little or no scent, have little to recom- mend them beyond the one good quality in which they are unsurpassed—constant freedom of bloom, earliest, latest, and throughout the season. Many varieties were issued in past years, but, besides the two types, Mrs. Bosanquet, of a waxy ivory tint, was generally considered the only one worth growing 24 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CILAP. Laurette Messimy (Guillot, 1887), however, showed an improvement, a pretty buttonhole Rose, pink shaded with yellow, very free-blooming, but not a_ strong grower. The Lawrenceana, or Fairy Rose, also introduced from China about 1810, is simply a China Rose in miniature. These little toys are often sold in pots in the markets, and should not be confounded with the miniature pompons, which bloom only once ; for the Fairy Roses are true Chinas, and if kept in health are ever in bloom. They are best perhaps in pots, but are sometimes successfully grown in rich warm soils as edgings. The Tea Rose (R. indica odorata)—This most cele- brated group, the true aristocracy of the Rose world, was also introduced from China about the year 1810. The first one was pink, and in 1824 the Yellow Tea Rose was imported. There can be no doubt that both of these originated from the Chinese Rose, and for many years the group was known as the Tea Scented China. They are like the China group in habit, but differ from it in being tender to frost, and having the peculiar fragrance said to be like that of a newly opened tea-chest. It seems strange and suggestive that Roses with this scent should have originated in China, but scent experts deny that the odour of Tea is to be found in Tea Roses. The “manners and customs” of this lovely class will be found in Chap. XII. The Noisette Rose origimated in America, and was named after Mons. P. Noisette, who brought it to France, from which it reached this country about 1820. It is supposed to have been an accidental cross between the Musk and the China groups: there is no doubt it had something in common with Tea Roses originally, RosE Spray, EXHIBITED BY Mrs. ORPEN. To face p. 25. II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 25 and the likeness was soon considerably increased by further hybridisation with the Tea Scented China. | Et | Tra-RosE, THE BRIDE. To face p. 307. XII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 307 by frost. The blooms require a good deal of heat and to be protected from rain; they are very fine when you get them good, of perfect pointed shape, with very sweet scent, and are capable of reaching a full average size. It is quite good enough to show in any company when grown at its best, but we never see it, and this, the finest shaped of all the Noisettes with the exception of Maréchal Niel, does not appear in the N.RS. catalogue at all. It is certainly difficult to grow well, and has probably been more often spoken of than seen during its existence of more than half a century. Lhe Bride (May, 1885).—A pure white sport from Catherine Mermet, of great value. It speedily took a high rank, and gained a great reputation, quite equal to that of the type, and is generally acknowledged as being one of the best half-dozen. It is similar in every respect except colour to C. Mermet, especially in the incomparable form which is common to both. A shight greenish-lemon tinge sometimes pervades the inner petals, and gives an additional charm. The light colour renders it a little more liable to injury from thrips or rain. Waban (Wood and Co., 1891)—Another sport from Catherine Mermet, also from America. Not yet suffi- ciently tested, but at present it does not often come good. The Bride being so successful, we expect much from the two other American sports from the same Rose, Waban and Bridesmaid, but the one under notice has not hitherto been often seen to advantage. William Allen Richardson (Ducher, 1878)—A Noisette of good strong growth, but not quite so vigorous » a climber as some others of the section. This is a Rose that very soon gained a great reputation purely by its colour, which is a real orange, a shade till then xX 2 308 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. XII unknown in Roses, and even now only to be found in the centre of two or three others. It is quite small, and only suitable for button-holes and decorative use being more valued and generally grown for the former purpose perhaps than any other Rose. In shape it generally comes well, but it has a disappointing habit, which must often have caused annoyance. The blooms often come practically white, with no trace of orange, except perhaps at the very base of the petals ; but about the time that the nurseryman who supplied it has received an indignant letter of complaint, the buyer on passing by the plant sees a bud coming of the true colour. For a while they will all come of deep orange, or orange tipped with white, and then some come perhaps nearly white again. Often the weakest shoots produce the highest coloured flowers, but this does not seem to be a general rule. This lovely and favourite Rose should be grown in quanitity, in the open, against walls, and under glass. It is free-blooming, pretty good as an autumnal, and does well as a dwarf, but should be well treated in rich soil, and requires protection from frost. CHAPTER XIII SELECTIONS THIS must always be the most unsatisfactory part of a Rose-book, both to the author and the reader. In the first place, the compiler of a selection feels, or ought to, that he has at least one or two favourites which he places in a higher position than most of his brother Rosarians do, and that there are perhaps as many popular sorts that he does not succeed with. His own situation, soil, or climate has probably more to do with this, in most cases, than actual personal pre- dilections. Next, a certain number of new Roses, issued within the last three years, have to be dealt with; and, their quality and characters being not yet established, it is difficult to know what to do with them. Great mis- takes, either way, may be made in attempting to rank them too soon, but on the other hand it seems im- possible to ignore notable issues. I have therefore only included varieties sent out later than 1891 where there seems to be a character already established. And also no one who makes a selection of Roses can shut his eyes to the fact that such a list, especially if given in order of merit, must be of very ephemeral value. New Roses, working their way to the front, not 310 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. only take the places of established favourites, but sometimes entirely supersede them and cause them to drop out altogether. Thus, Madame Lacharme, at one time the best white H.P., was made absolutely useless by the coming of Merveille de Lyon, and will probably soon drop out of the catalogues altogether. Roses Suitable for Exhibition —In these lists it should be noticed that weakness of growth or constitution, or in fact any bad manners, are not taken into account. Chapter XII. should be consulted on such matters, for in the two following selections the merits of the per- fect bloom when once attained are alone taken into consideration. Forty-cight H.P.s—I have endeavoured to range these according to order of merit as show Roses, in lots of twelve, thus showing also at the same time the best twelve, twenty-four, and thirty-six. I have included La France, Captain Christy, and Lady Mary Fitz william, which the N.R.S. at present reckon as H.Ts., and Mrs. Paul, Hybrid Bourbon. The list is not entirely according to my own fancy, but considerably influenced by the opinions of others. . Horace Vernet 13. Etienne Levet 1 — 2. Mrs. John Laing 14. Duchess of Bedford 3. A. K. Williams 15. Pride of Waltham 4. Her Majesty 16. Francois Michelon 5. Charles Lefebvre 17. Eugénie Verdier - 6. Alfred Colomb : (Marie Finger) ~ 7. MadameGabriel Luizet - 18. Duke of Wellington 8. Marie Baumann 19. Dupuy Jamain 9. Gustave Piganeau 20. Merveille de Lyon - 10. Susanne M. Rodocan- 21. Prince Arthur achi .22. Duke of Edinburgh ~11. La France 23. Louis van Houtte 12, Ulrich Brunner 24, Earl of Dufferin XIII SELECTIONS oLt 25. Duchesse de Morny —37. Jeannie Dickson 26. Marie Verdier 38. Marie Rady . 27. Le Havre 39. Fisher Holmes 28. Reynolds Hole 40. Madame Victor Ver- 29. Xavier Olibo dier 30. Countess of Oxford 41. Beauty of Waltham ~31. Baroness Rothschild 42, Senateur Vaisse 32. Victor Hugo 43. Mrs, Paul 33. Camille Bernardin 44, Captain Christy 34. Général Jacqueminot 45. Marquise de Castel- 35. Lady Mary Fitzwil- lane liam. 46. Maurice Bernardin 36. Comte de Raimbaud 47. Madame Eugene Ver- dier 48, Heinrich Schultheis Twenty-four Teas and Norsettes, by sixes, in order of merit. 1. Souvenir d’Elise Var- 13. Ernest Metz don 14. Madame Hoste 2. Catherine Mermet 15. Madame Cusin 3. Comtesse de Nadaillac 16. Souvenir dun Ami 4. The Bride 17. Niphetos 5. Maréchal Niel 18. Francisca Kruger 6. Marie van Houtte 19. Souvenir de §. A. 7. Innocente Pirola Prince 8. Madame de Watte- 20. Princess of Wales ville 91. La Boule d’Or 9. Cleopatra 22. Madame Hippolyte 10. Anna Olivier Jamain 11. Hon. Edith Gifford 23. Jean Ducher 12. Ethel Brownlow 24. Caroline Kuster Twelve Hybrid Teas—The subjoined seem to me to be the best of this class at present for exhibition, but I 312 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. must repeat that I think the classification of the N.R.S. on this point is a mistake, l. La France 2. Lady Mary = Fitz- william Viscountess stone Caroline Testout La Fraicheur Captain Christy ws) oo OU Folke- 7. Grace Darling 8. Kaiserin Augusta Vic- toria 9. Augustine Guinoisseau 10. Lady Henry Gros- venor 11. Gloire Lyonnaise 12. Duchess of Albany Germaine Caillot, a fine show Rose, worthy of a place among the above, seems to me like a Hybrid Tea, but it is not classified as such yet by the N.RS. For Middle Rows.—Where the H.P.s and Teas are grown, as recommended, in long beds with three rows in each, it is advisable, whether standards or dwarfs be used, to know which will be tall enough in growth to be suitable for the middle row. For such a purpose I recommend of exhibition H.P.s the following thirty of those in the N.R.S. catalogue :-— Thirty H.P.s tall enough in growth for a middle row. Abel Carriére Alfred Colomb Annie Wood Camille Bernardin Charles Darwin Charles Lefebvre Countess of Rosebery Dr. Andry Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Teck Dupuy Jamain Ella Gordon Francois Michelon General Jacqueminot Heinrich Schultheis Her Majesty John Stuart Mill La France Madame Gabriel Luizet Madame Isaac Periere Madame Victor Verdier Margaret Dickson Marie Rady Mrs. John Laing XIII . SELECTIONS 313 Mrs. Paul Thomas Mills Prince Arthur Ulrich Brunner Reynolds Hole Violette Bowyer And of exhibition Teas and Noisettes, omitting those of Dijon growth, the following twelve :— Anna Olivier Madame Lambard Caroline Kuster Madame Margottin Jean Ducher Marie van Houtte Jules Finger Perle des Jardins Madame HippolyteJamain Souvenir de 8. A. Prince Madame Hoste Souvenir dun Ami Climbing Roses—These may be required for walls, pillars, arches, rough fences, or even an untidy old tree- trunk which it may be desired to hide. There is some difficulty in making a selection for a wall not facing north, because of course all Roses of sufficiently strong growth will do in such a position, while the few that really require a wall are by no means always the best. Thus the Macartneys and Musk Roses will only do on a warm wall, but who, if he had room but for one would have either of them, or even a Banksian, where he could grow a Maréchal Niel? I have tried therefore in the following selection to place climbers for walls in order of merit, that the small grower may have some guide, as well as he who requires a “large order.” Twelve Roses for a wall. - 1. Maréchal Niel 7. Lamarque io, dveve @ Or 8. Kaiserin Friedrich 3. Turner’s Crimson 9, Madame Berard Rambler 10. William Allen Rich- 4. Gloire de Dijon ardson. —5. Reine Marie Henri- 11. Waltham Climber (1 ette. or 3) 6. Bouquet d’Or 12. Cheshunt Hybrid o14 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. All the above are very vigorous growers, autumn blooming, with large full flowers. All other climbers, with the exception perhaps of the climbing sports of Niphetos and Perle des Jardins which I have not seen on outside walls, and climbing Devoniensis whose manners are not satisfactory, are deficient either in growth, autumnal qualities, size, or fulness of flowers. - In the above list there is much diversity of merit, and Turner’s Crimson Rambler, which alone has small flowers though the truss is very large, is not proved, but seems likely to take such a high place. It seems impossible to omit Willam Allen Richardson from such a list, but it has less vigour than the others mentioned. Pillar Roses are seldom satisfactory ; they are generally half-starved, being often passed over as capable of look- ing after themselves when the food supplies are being carried round. Any of the hardy stiff sorts of climbers will do for this purpose, the Gloire de Dijon race, Réve d'Or, Reine Marie Henriette, Bouquet d’Or, Waltham Climbers, Cheshunt Hybrid, Gloire de Margottin, and such of the climbing sports of H.P.s as are really extra vigorous in growth. The Hybrid Bourbons, Charles Lawson, Coupe d’Hébé, and others of that class will also serve the purpose of pillar Roses, but I recommend no summer Rose where a perpetual will succeed. Half- chmbers, like William Allen Richardson, L’Idéal, Céline Forestier, and others of a like strength of growth, have not sufficient vigour for pillar Roses, save under exceptionally good treatment. For arches also one often sees varieties used which are not of sufficiently vigorous growth. The Gloire de Dijon race are rather too stiff for this purpose. Turner’s Crimson Rambler may probably be found very effective or this and many other uses; Réve d’Or and Reine XIII SELECTIONS o15 Marie Henriette may perhaps succeed, if care and trouble in training and feeding can be given to them; but if the arch is high and wide, recourse must be had to some of the many running summer Roses, the best of which will be found noted under their respective classes in Chapter II. The same sorts, Ayrshire and Evergreen, Boursault and Multiflora, with the climbing single forms of Poly- antha, are the best for hiding rough places. Bennett's Seedling, Dundee Rambler, Félicité Perpetue, Queen of the Belgians, Ruga, and Splendens are among the best known. After giving the leading shoots the night direction for two or three years, no more care will be required ; the whole space will become a mass of fohage, most thickly covered with bloom for a while at mid- summer. Atmy old home the whole of the roof of a large and lofty summer-house was completely hidden outside a foot or so deep with the growth of some of these Ayrshires, which were planted against and trained up the front pillars. These sorts, with naturally trailing shoots, are also the most suitable for weeping Roses. For cottage gardens, or any places where some show of Roses is required without much attention being paid to them, choice should be made from the hardiest and most free-flowering of those mentioned in Chapter XII. I subjoin, however, a list of Twelve H.P.s for cottage gardens. Abel Grand La France Alfred Colomb Madame Isaac Pereire Dupuy Jamain Mrs. John Laing Edouard Morren Paul Neyron John Hopper Thomas Mills Jules Margottin Ulrich Brunner 316 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. When once established, Roses on the seedling briar stock are best where they are likely to be neglected, but most of those in the above list will do fairly on their own roots. Only strong growing and thoroughly hardy Teas and Noisettes can be recommended for this purpose, such as Gloire de Dijon, Homére, Réve d’Or, and Safrano or Madame Charles. Of these, Gloire de Dijon and Réve d’Or would also do as cottage climbers, but the trailing habit of the Ayrshires makes them more suitable than stiff-wooded Roses for situations where they are likely to be left unpruned and untrained. For the pegging-down system of training, Roses should be free-flowering and strong, yet fairly pliable in growth ; but some of the stiffer ones can be bent down if it be done gradually as they grow. Twelve H.P.s for pegging down. Camille Bernardin La France Duke of Edinburgh Mrs. John Laing Duke of Teck Prince Arthur Général Jacqueminot Prince Camille de Rohan Gloire de Margottin Thomas Mills John Stuart Mill Violette Bowyer Moss Roses are sometimes trained in this way. Among Teas, the hardiest and most pliable of the Dijon race are suitable, some of the most vigorous among the button-hole varieties such as William Allen Richardson and L'Idéal, and perhaps Marie van Houtte, Caroline Kuster, and Madame Lambard. In choosing sorts with phable shoots for this mode of culture, it should be remembered that a stiff flower stem is desirable, for ] j va 6 FT ee SG TY0 G,'h ee 7 . Ps it i Le ee . & "I1g aovf os ‘NadUO “UW Aq pozqryxe ‘staadaog m@MIOF-NoLLAg XIIt SELECTIONS 317 pendent blooms do not display their beauty and are sadly liable to be splashed by heavy showers. For button-hole Roses, as for exhibition kinds, beauty of form should not be neglected, as it sometimes 1s, for mere colour, though a combination of both is most desirable. A round fat bud is much less elegant than a long, slender and pointed one. In this respect the Teas have a decided advantage, but if a bright red or really dark bud is desired, the H.P.s must be called upon. The following would be useful as Six bright or dark H.P.s for button-holes Duke of Edinburgh Gloire de Margottin Fisher Holmes Prince Camille de Rohan Général Jacqueminot Victor Hugo Twenty-four Teas and Norsettes for button-holes. Amazone Madame Chédane Gui- Anna Olivier noisseau Catherine Mermet Madame de Watteville Cleopatra Madame Falcot De Grill Madame Hoste Francisca Kruger Maréchal Niel Homere Marie van Houtte Innocente Pirola Niphetos Isabella Sprunt Rubens L’Idéal Safrano Luciole The Bride Ma Capucine William Allen Richardson Madame Charles All the above are lovely in the bud, for wearing either singly or together. A choicer selection can be made by referring to their characteristics in Chapter XII. 318 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP, Of Moss Roses, the best for wear are the common Moss, which is pink, and Blanche Moreau, which is white. These are summer blooming only, the per- petual forms of the Moss Rose being shghtly inferior. For very delicate, miniature, and artistic button- holes the Polyanthas are unrivalled. Suz Polyanthas. Anne Marie de Mon- Ma Pacquerette travel Mignonette Cécile Brunner Perle dOr Gloire des Polyantha In giving a selection of Roses suitable for pot culture and forcing (see Chap. X.), it should be noticed that “good under glass,” or “a good pot Rose,” as a cata- logue description may sometimes mean simply that the variety will not do out of doors, and it must not necessarily be inferred that it is better for that purpose than others which also do well in the open alr. Twenty-four H.Ps and H.T.s for pots and foreing. Alfred Colomb Baroness Rothschild Beauty of Waltham Caroline Testout Charles Lefebvre Dr. Andry Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Teck Dupuy Jamain Fisher Holmes Général Jacqueminot Gustave Piganeau Kaiserin Augusta Victoria La France Lady Mary Fitzwilliam Madame Gabriel Luizet Merveille de Lyon Mrs. John Laing Pride of Waltham Prince Camille de Rohan S. M. Rodocanachi Ulrich Brunner Viscountess Folkestone Victor Hugo The Teas and Noisettes are so specially suited for XIII SELECTIONS 319 pot culture and forcing, that I have named an equal number of them. Twenty-four Teas and Noisettes for the same purpose. Anna Olivier Maréchal Niel Caroline Kuster Marie van Houtte Catherine Mermet Medea Cleopatra Niphetos Comtesse de Nadaillac Perle des Jardins Ernest Metz Rubens Ethel Brownlow Souvenir @un Ami Edith Gifford Souvenir d’Elise Vardon Tnnocente Pirola Souvenir de Gabrielle Madame Falcot Drevet Madame Hoste Souvenir de 8. A. Prince Madame Lambard The Bride Madame de Watteville In making a selection of varieties suitable for culture in a suburban or town garden, there is considerable difficulty without knowing the actual circumstances of the situation. It may vary from that of a small country town, or distant and pure suburb of London, in which case if other matters be favourable the best Roses may be grown, to that of areal town garden in a thoroughly smoky atmosphere, where none can be cultivated to perfection. I have consulted some good suburban growers, buf their lists do not at all agree, the probability being that where good Roses can be cultivated at all, most of the best sorts will answer. It seems, however, to be generally admitted that the Austrian briars are as impatient of impure air as any Roses. 320 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP, XII Lwenty-four H.P.s switable for a suburban garden. Alfred Colomb A. K. Williams Baroness Rothschild Charles Lefebvre Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Wellington Dupuy Jamain Dr. Andry Etienne Levet Eugénie Verdier Général Jacqueminot Gustave Piganeau Her Majesty La France Madame Gabriel Luizet Marie Baumann Marie Verdier Mrs. John Laing Mrs. Paul Pride of Waltham Prince Arthur S. M. Rodocanachi Ulrich Brunner Victor Hugo If any of the delicate Teas can be grown, the list in order of merit should be consulted; and if not, the hardier sorts, as recommended for cottage gardens should be tried as a commencement. CHAPTER XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. In the following list of Rosarian work for each month I have not repeated the details of each operation, but merely noted the times when they are to be performed. This is often important, as delay and loss of opportunity will frequently leave a mark on the work throughout the year. A novice should study some such calendar as this, see how much work he has to get through in a given time, and make his arrangements accordingly. It will be seen that a large collection will supply sufficient work to keep a man “ out of mischief” pretty nearly all the year round. October.—By general consent this is considered the first month of the Rosarian’s year. Nurserymen’s catalogues for the coming season are now to be had, and they are eagerly scanned by ardent amateurs. Orders should be given as soon as possible, and it is better still to visit the nurseries in the early autumn and choose and order the finest specimens. It is rather hard on those who go by the catalogues, but first come first served is a good old rule of trade, and it is night that those who take trouble about a thing should reap some benefit from it. If new beds are to be made, or planting on an extensive scale is to be undertaken, » 322 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. preparations should have commenced even in September, in procuring fresh soil and digging the beds out to the depth of two feet. It should be pushed on at any rate early in October. Pot Roses for growing under glass should now be repotted, and fresh ones purchased if necessary. Many of the free-blooming Teas, now covered with buds, will open them indoors at a time when they will be much appreciated. But beware of too much heat when the amount of daylight is small. This is the month for taking cuttings out of doors: those of the Roses themselves do better if the leaves have not fallen, and these, if used at all, had better be taken first. Manetti and briar cuttings will do as well without the leaves. All extra long shoots of Roses should now be shortened sufficiently to diminish the wind leverage on the roots; these pieces may be used as cuttings. Towards the end of the month a commencement in planting may be made with those Roses which have simply to be moved from one part of the garden to the other. Such may be planted before their leaves have fallen, much care being taken that their roots are exposed as little as possible; they should be watered and syringed immediately after planting, and will probably do better thus than if moved later. About the middle of the month fresh cuttings may be taken of briar and manetti, and later the rooted cutting and seedling stocks may be planted out, but standard stocks will not be ready yet. About the middle of the month the wild growth may be removed from those budded stocks where the buds look weak. November—This is a busy and important month, as it is the time for planting, and the work should be pushed on whenever the soil is fairly dry, for November days are short, and no planting should be done when the XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 323 ground is sticky. Unpack the purchased Roses carefully, and lay them tenderly in the ground when they cannot be planted at once. Be careful in each detail of planting, for much depends upon it. Stocks of all sorts should now be planted also if possible, but there will not be much time yet for getting standards from the hedges. Where seed is saved it should now be gathered. All wild growth is now to be cut away from budded stocks, leaving one or two buds on those laterals of the standards which have been successfully operated on. Roses in pots should be brought into cool shelter before severe weather. In northern districts 1t may be well to place the winter protection round the Teas before the month is out. December—In most English counties it will suffice to apply the winter protection during the first fortnight of this month, but dead leaves should have been col- lected by the end of the first week in November, and bracken should have been cut and set ready, in sheaves not in heaps, as soon as 1t began to change colour. It is perhaps best to commence the protection as soon as the Rose planting is finished, even though the setting out of stocks has to be postponed. They will do nearly as well if planted at any dry time during the winter, but a severe early frost coming before the bed-clothes are on the tender Teas may cause much lamentation. Now is the time, on dull damp days, to sally forth with the little stock axe and the Grecian saw in quest of standard stocks. If no winter mulch is applied to the Rose beds, the surface should still be kept stirred and loose. Roses for the earlhest forcing may be pruned and started at the end of the month, and grafting under glass may be commenced about Christmas time. January.—This is the best month for grafting in heat, Yo2 324 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. though it may be continued in February. In light frosts, strong liquid manure may be put on the Rose beds, when it will sink in rapidly and in quantity. After or during high winds, the Teas may be inspected to see that the protective materials are secure, and standards should be looked to,as they may have broken away from their stakes. Standard stocks may still be got at any time when the weather is open. Even in severe frost work may be found in digging trenches to discover and cut off the invading roots of trees and shrubs Roses being forced under glass will now be starting and requiring much care, and winter grafting will be in full swing. February.—lf farmyard manure is used in the soil, now is the time to dig or fork it in, but be sure it is thoroughly decomposed, or in my opinion it will do more harm than good. Still, it supplies the vegetable matter of humus, and if the soil in the beds be raw and light-coloured, such an addition is desirable if not necessary, but the upper portion of the beds should originally have been supplied with humus, in old garden mould or the like. If no digging is practised, the soil should be well loosened by the hoe, as some weeds will probably have grown since October. The artificial manure should then be applied, choosing a still day when it can be distributed evenly. If the weather be favourable at the end of the month any arrears of planting may be finished, and stocks of all sorts may still be set out; but Roses planted now may require watering in March and April, if the weather be dry, till they have got a hold. Cuttings should be examined, and those that have been lifted by the frost should be set firm again, either by pushing them down or consolidating the soil around them. Roses on sunny walls may be pruned after the middle XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 325 of the month, and towards the close we may proceed with the summer and hardy garden sorts. Maréchal Niel and other climbing Roses indoors will be starting, and they and all forced Roses should be watched for mildew and insects, and will require: much care in the regulation of air and moisture. March—This 1s the month for pruning all outdoor Roses except Teas, but the second week will generally be early enough for H.P.s in northern and midland dis- tricts. The Teas should not be pruned yet, but the winter protections should be most carefully removed towards the end of the month. Do not be persuaded to take away the shelter earlier, as the weather is by no means safe yet. It is an error to suppose that the winter protection forces them into precocious growth, for it has just the opposite effect. The same blanket that keeps a man warm will also keep a block of ice cold. It is true, however, that such shoots as are made under the protection grow longer than they would outside simply because they are not stopped by frost, but these premature growths would have to come off in any case. Planting may still be done, with care, but watering will probably be required to follow it. The roots of all plants moved at this time, whether stocks or Roses, should be kept in water as long as they are out of the ground. All budded stocks should now be staked, and the buds carefully examined, for the grub is some- times at work before March is out. If it be desired to retard the blooming of Teas, a thick heavy mulch of long wet manure laid on now while the ground is still very cold will keep the roots cool and to a certain extent have the required effect. Be most careful of the ventilation of Maréchal Niel under glass, and attack mildew and aphides when they first appear. With the 326 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP, increased light, Roses in pots will bear more heat, but remember that all of them, indoors or out, open their finest and best coloured flowers in a slightly decreased temperature. April—tIn most seasons, in midland districts, the second week will be soon enough for the pruning of Teas. There will be no difficulty in finding Rose grubs now, if the signs mdicating their presence in the shoots and young leaves are known. Maiden shoots and buds should be examined the oftenest, as in these cases the life of a whole plant is at stake. Suckers will begin to be troublesome on all plants, especially on maiden standards. Tie up the maiden shoots as soon as possible ; if left too long, even though not blown out, they will grow away from the stake, and be troublesome to secure. A regular system of hoeing should now commence on the Rose beds, on which no hard crust must be permitted to form: one of the simpler and smaller forms of push- hoes will generally be found most convenient. If liquid manure is available 1t may be apphed, but cautiously, and not among dwarf maidens. The pushing buds and shoots of pruned H.P.s may now be well thinned ; the sooner it is done the better, as rubbing, or even cutting, out a great fat shoot leaves an ugly wound which bleeds a good deal for a time. See that the shoots left are free from pests. Indoors, cut back Maréchal Niel, climbing Niphetos and the lke, gradually as the blooms are gathered. The first bloom of the forced Roses will now be over, and liquid manure—not too strong or too cold—may be administered to those intended to flower a second time, by immersing the pots. May.—This is the month for insect pests of all sorts. The only plan is to go over the whole collection as often as possible: I have several times found a large cater- XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 327 pillar or two in the afternoon on a small plant which I had carefully examined in the morning. If a rolled leaf be simply pinched you will probably carefully squeeze the same leaf again half a dozen times; it must therefore either be picked off or unrolled, and the latter plan is best. If several leaf sprays are curled on one shoot the enemy will be found in the topmost one, which probably shows the disfigurement least: he is working upwards towards the bud, and with inherited cunning leaves hispast abodes most manifest, and artfully conceals his present one. Be not satisfied with a pinch unless you feel him “ gosquash.” Never go up and down with- out a supply of raffia about you; something is sure to want tying: the maiden plants should be looked over for this purpose very frequently. Do not be satisfied with any shoot till it is firmly and closely tied to a support. Raffia does not keep well in my pockets somehow: there should be supplies of it ready in places close at hand. Tea shoots should be thinned; harden your heart if you want good blooms: early trusses will require disbudding before the end of the month. Suckers should be pulled out or rubbed off as soon as they appear; in fact, there will now be hardly a plant which will not want a little attention pretty frequently. Liquid manure may be applied, particularly to those plants which are already showing flower buds; and hoeing, especially after rain or liquid applications, must on no account be neglected. A further light dressing of artificial manure may be desir- able if there has been much heavy rain since February. Towards the end of the month Teas on sunny walls will be in bloom: let them all be cut as wanted, and not remain to seed on the plants. Indoors the Maréchal Niel will have been cut completely back, by slow grada- tions as the blooms are gathered, to the original 328 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. horizontal old wood. Pot-plants which have bloomed should be hardened off by slow degrees that they may be put out in June. June.—Disbudding will be in progress for a time, of the later sorts. The plague of caterpillars will be wan- ing, but those that remain will be far more dangerous, as they will now be found attacking the buds themselves. The shoots of all flexible varieties should be staked, the ties being made pretty close to the buds. Watering may be necessary if the weather is very dry, but it is probably better to give none at all if a thorough soaking cannot be managed. Hoe the next day after rain, watering, or hquid manure. Green fly or mildew must be met and combated at once. Where thrips have been prevalent in former years, or at all events in very dry weather, Teas and light-coloured Roses should be syringed in the evening until the petals begin to show. In dry weather Tea buds may be wrapped in paper where intended for exhibition, and the protectors— waterproof cones attached to stakes—should be got out, overhauled, and placed in readiness. Exhibition boxes, tubes, labels, and wires should also be prepared, and moss procured, picked over, and laid on the trays in a shady place in readiness. Constant watchfulness will be required by an exhibitor, as his best bloom may be spoilt by a caterpillar, a gust of wind, or even a shower of rain,in a few hours. Raffia and stakes for tying, and sulphur for mildew, should always be ready where they can be got at once. The new shoots of Maréchal Niel under glass should be thinned and trained up under the wires. Forward stocks may be budded this month with buds from Roses on walls or grafted plants. Roses in pots should have been so hardened off that they can be planted out if desired by the middle of the month It XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 329 is sometimes advisable, to prevent a check, to gently break the pot in the hole made and pick out the pieces rather than turn the plant out. Those plants which are intended for repotting should now be fit and ready for plunging out of doors in their autumnal quarters Many Roses will be in bloom by the end of the month especially the Teas and summer Roses, and the first- fruits, often the best and finest, will gladden our eyes July—In many districts this 1s, in average seasons, the month of Roses, H.P.s being a little later than the old-fashioned Roses of the poets. The last week in June and the first fortnight in July are roughly the general bounds of “the season” for the metropolitan latitude. Rose shows will be in full swing, and ex- hibitors for a time will have enough to do in cutting their blooms, and rushing about the country night and day to the various shows. Mildew often gets a chance now of establishing itself, and hoeing and aphides are too frequently neglected. It is harvest time, and the details of culture are naturally neglected for a while. Still, even before the show-boxes are put away, budding will have commenced with Tea buds on standard stocks, as these stocks often suffer from a stagnation of sap in August, and Tea buds, which cannot always be got in sufficient quantity, will stand the winter better if they be budded early. While the Roses are still at their best, it 1s advisable that notes be made of the colours and good or bad qualities of unfamiliar varieties, as even a good memory may hold a somewhat unreliable picture of certain flowers if they be not accurately judged in comparison with others, and the results of observation committed to writing at once. Now is the time to condemn certain 330 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. sorts for weeding out, and to determine to grow more of others. Ifit be found that some sort does better in a certain situation or on a particular stock, especial notice should be taken of the fact. The foundations of a good deal of work for the rest of the year may depend upon a few days’ observation. All ffowers should be cut as soon as they are faded, if not before, as only the very earliest would be available for seed. Mildew is now likely to be very troublesome, and vigorous efforts should be made to keep it under. Hoeing should not be neglected, or watering if the weather is very dry, but no more liquid manure should be used. Pot Roses should not be neglected, and though they will require but little water, they must be watched for aphides and mildew. August.—This is the month for budding on all stocks. When buds are plentiful and the sap of the stocks runs freely, the work should be pushed on as fast as possible, for the sooner it is done the better will be the chance for rebudding in three or four weeks’ time the stocks that have failed. Layering may be done in this month, and summer cuttings of Roses struck in bottom heat. Watering and hoeing seem the only remedies for rust, the autumn stage of the orange fungus. There is plenty of time for this, and for seeing that aphides do not get a footing anywhere for the man who does not bud his own Roses; but he who does this in any quantity will generally find his hands full, for the mere settling how many, of what varieties, on which stocks, in what situation, he shall bud will require plenty of consideration and arrangement. September —Budding on briars should be finished during the first week, but manettis may still be budded a little later. Roses for forcing should be kept at rest. XIV CALENDER OF OPERATIONS dol Maréchal Niel under glass will now probably be growing very fast, and should be kept tied up, and watched for mildew. Wall Roses may require nailing or otherwise fastening up, as they grow rapidly during this month There will be beautiful Roses in abundance out of doors, among which, if the weather be dry, Teas will be pre- eminent; but in spite of this I should strongly advise the hard-worked Rosarian now to take a holiday, for if he does not I do not know when he will get one, unless it be during the snows and frosts of Christmas and January. INDEX PAGE ANALYSIS, of soil and Rose TE pt Re CSE ae pele meme’ | Pe Ee a cc ee Lol Aphides. . Eee Ya Poti Zo. April, work for 326 Arches, Roses for 314 Arrangement, of Rose beds. 46 of blooms for show . Rash ict 205 Artineial manure. .. .. 7i August, work for. . . . . 330 Apstman Briars ..... 18 PeyeemmeEvose . 9. . ./. . ID BAmsoo stakes. ..... 182 Banksian Rose. ..... 2! Beaesnape of. . ... . 4 preparation of ... 48 Paper oe ya DE Blooms, shapesof ... . 188 faults of . 214 Boring insects 147, 148 Bourbon Rose ...... 28 Boursault Rose ..... 20 Boxes for exhibition . . . 195 Bracken, for protection . . 58 fenae, Austrian ..2.. . «- 18 BWCEOL gs one 2H? as a stock . 102 seedling ; , 105 118 standard . . . 103 cutting. . . . 105 PAGE Budding . 106, 119 Bumbielaye 205.29 cee Button-hole Roses , 290 selection e aly CALENDAR of operations. . 321 Caterpillars. __ - =) 23=—#49 Ghalk soul a 2a) tee eee Chinese: Rosé’ . 20545204) 22s Christmas, Roses at. . . . 180 Classification 2 4, .uuwear es ke (Clay: sotle (2 20.2 pa areee ee ee burt 5027 ease ee ee Climbing Roses .... . 313 Colours of Roses . . . 212 Cuckoo-spit. 4 Gi eee Cultivation. JAG Oi eeG Cutting for exhibition 5) ote emeo Cuttings of Roses ... . 136 briat: 0 a0 We eee ne manetti. ~ 2) 2 Py DamasK Rose .... ..- I6 December, work for . 323 Depth for planting . 52, 54 Dijon Teas, pruning of . . 95 Disbudding of shoots . . . 92 for exhibition 93 of buds . 98, 191 Dog-Rose . 13, Drainage . 37, 48 334 PAGE Dressing of blooms for show 203 Dwarf plants, qualifications St ma eas ot 9c ae EartTH, burning of .... 37 as protection . . . 59 Earwigs. . ae v= Elevation, adv antage of. = 80 Maclash Teses, <2. 2 20 growers 10, 12 Evergreen Rose ..... 20 Waeimbipns 25). 46.2 . .. “8d boxestor’ 3... “195 Faminies of Roses... . 22 Bpiry nOses Vs). as ae, Faults of Roses yee eee Fly, green. . . Pie Stes, SEO February, work for... . 324 Forcing Roses . .-. . . . IU6 Horm an Roses. ....-. /.. P88 Wragranece-< 4... |. 1)" £89 renew tease. 3. 2 ss | AO STOWErS) 4.6 2 2; 9 AMIE Ay PAP a> os ad Wriends, insect. ..-: . . 166 Frog hoppers. . by iaZ Frost, injury from in 1 May MS. remedial measures for 168 protection against, 58, 167 Fungus, orange ..... 163 GARDEN Roses. ..... 27 Glass, culture under... 171 rate ho Stet de See Gravel sow |) 4.40, fa Sere Poss BUOOLS) 5-920. wt 7 > OT Srecian saw. Vo. 2 09 Hapits of Roses... .. 213 Hoe, use of . . 5.) Seki Hybrid Bourbon Roses eae China Roses’. 2 2 -- 47 INDEX PAGE Hybrid Perpetual Roses . . 22 selection of 310 Tea, Roses .° . °, sees selection of 312 Hybridisation : . ... . 139 IcHNEUMON flies . 1438, 156 Increased culture of Roses . 187 Insects SA 142 ivon‘in ‘soil, 3h 6... 4a ee JANUARY, work for . 323 Japanese Roses ..... 26 Josephine, Empress. . . . 9 Judging’ —)-"-5 AS oe July, work for . 329 June, work for . 328 LABEIS’. >. ter ce Larve of moths | Od aa Layering . . 3s ee Lawrenciana Roses : 24 Leaves, dead, as protection . 59 Laquid manure’). . 2 = ~ 7a Lime. . Lp Lists of Roses : . @ . old Team |. 3. 2 ee ee Locality” < ps ss 752. 2 eee Macartngy Rose .... 26 Manetti stock . . a) es Manures, natural solid . #, oe quid... 2°" 23 ae artificial ~ . .-. U8 March, work for . | ee Marl»... SR gna a Maréchal Niel 61, 95 May, work for . 326 Middle rows, selections for. 312 Mildegy 2" 54% t. <2 iat Se ee Miniature Roses Moisture, under glass. . . 177 rismg in soil . . 56 INDEX 300 PAGE PAGE Monthly Rose; ...... 23 Qummn of flowers. ... - 8 Moss, for exhibition . . . 195 eee eo. ae RO Moths ya) 143 \Ratsers, French. ... .- 9 Mens |. 2...) OF Hngiisn 72.4.) 18 Multiflora Rose ..... 21 Red rust Eaten. Ce: ieee. | wlCi«‘“t «| 8 ed spider... . Pp Remedies for mildew 163 orange fungus 165 mows Prench . .... hl late frosts . . 168 Neglected Roses . _ . . 815 Roots of different stocks . 105 Night-soil. ...... . 69 Rosarium, pattern or shape Beemares 5 ww ww, 80 GES Re vd ed eye gehen Mietseete Bose . . ... °. 24; 271 “ose progress, oy. 2 4.27 E82 Wovember, work for... . 322 Rose-water’ . ...¥. . - a Sironme, work for . .. .° 321 © Sanpy soil . >. 2. 2. (2 4! Odours of Roses . ... . -185 Saw,Grecian ...... 2109 Oitmshioned Roses’. . . 183 Sawiilies,. . 2 20. . 272246 Operations, calendar of . . 321 Scentof Roses. .... . 185 manual, by ex- Scissors s-.2 205 We Gegdeeteeencene ample : is 35 38,1028) “Scateh: (Rise. -3..i0 = eee Orange fungus... ... 163 Seed, Rosesfrom..... 139 Mito of Roses 3... ks 7 Seedlings . 140 Selections . 309 September, work for 330 Packine Rose blooms. . . 97 — Setting up for exhibition . 202 Pegged down Roses. . . . 92 Shading blooms .... . 194 selection'ef SIG, “epatiar | 2\) / 5 oo) ae eae bVis eer renee ee inky AOR Pillars, Rose . = a ee cee Single Roses . pt One JE RO Planting . . sje ig a pee, Carles dneoren Ged] ot ae ease Polyantha Rove... 21,25 \ Sogh 0. eee ary selection of . 318 Specimen pot. plants. tig oe Pompon Roses. ...:. 1d Sports, climbing... . . 271 Iecash; 2s 2 3 «i. » 81 cStakes for standards: .° . 3ly 132 On ORES 2.0. 176 Standards . 103 _selection of . . . 318 getting the stocks 108 Preparation of beds... . 48 Stocks... aa Procuring standard stocks . 108 Suckers, to dkadteate _ 166 Propagation .. gat) SED propagation ye _ 138 Protection against frost. . 58 Canimicrucear een - Te rain. . 193 SGweetbriar ......=. «219 mrovence Rose. . . .. « V4 perme SP od ogy “ah helen a for exhibition . . 84,93 Taub Standards . 43, 112 TODS 3) xe dep tala » OL, Lap roots . 105, 118 336 PAGE Tea Roses. . . fie SS ee pruning ‘of oe 9 selections of . Sah 313, 317 Thinning shoots’... . 2") 192 buds . . 98, 191 Thorns’. 109 Thrips 154 Town gardens 319 Top-dressings. , ...- 2), 66 Trailing Roses. . awa we Training Maréchal Niel a OOS specimen pot plants 181 Tying maiden blooms . 132 INDEX Tying material for Types of Roses VARIETIES, habits of selections of . Ventilation Watts for Roses . Watering . . Weeping Roses Weevils AD Wind, danger from . THE END RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY. y@6- Carefully observe Christian Name. FRANK CANT. WINNER OF THE CHAMPION TROPHY of the NATIONAL ROSE SOCIETY FOUR times, viz.: 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, CAN SUPPLY STANDARD & HALF-ST. ROSES, DWARF OR BUSH ROSES, Roses in pots of all varieties of Pr CEPTIONAL OV ALLIES ae Moderate Prices. ASK FOR MY ROSE CATALOGUE, THE BEST EVER PUBLISHED. CAREFULLY ADDRESS— BRAISWICK NURSERY, COLCHESTER. KENT. THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND. Waite! = NAlostowe , KENT: Who CuLtivATE 800 KINDS T NA KINDLY ORDER DIRECT. NO AGENTS. ROSES. ROSES. ROSES. Prior’s Colchester Roses Have won this Season, 1894, The Woodbridge Challenge Cup, The St. Osyth Challenge Cup, { National Rose Society’s Gold Medal, 1 National Rose Society’s Silver Medal, And 43 First and Second Prizes at all the Leading Shows, D. PRIOR & SON, Rose Growers and Nurserymen, COLCHESTER, have pleasure in announcing that their Plants are the best and strongest procurable of all the leading and best varieties of Teas, Hybrid Teas, and Perpetuals, Standards, Half Standards, and Dwarfs, which cannot fail to give satisfaction. Catalogues post free on application. Rose and Fruit Tree Nurseries, BUSH HILL PARK, ENFIELD. Where the Rose may truly be said to be ‘‘at home,” either in open ground or in pots. HUGH LOW & CO. Cordially wvite an vnspection. Heap Orrice: CLAPTON NURSERY, UPPER CLAPTON, N.E. CELEBRATED IRISH ROSES, ALEX. DICKSON & SONS, ROYAL NURSERIES, NEWTOWNARDS, CO. DOWN. ESTABLISHED 1836. Raisers of the famous Pedigree Roses, which have beea awarded Six Gold Medals, by the National Rose Society, offer strong plants of MARCHIONESS OF DOWNSHIRE AND Mrs. R. G. SHARMAN CRAWFORD. The two best Roses of recent years. ALSO A full collection of all the leading roses in cultivation. Strony Plants at Moderate Prices. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE ON APPLICATION. BENJAMIN R. CANT, ROSE GROWER, COLCHESTER, WINNER OF THE CHAMPION CUP OF THE NATIONAL ROSE SOCIETY SIX TIMES, THE JUBILEE CHAMPION CUP TWICE, THE CHISWICK CHALLENGE CUP THREE TIMES, And this now becomes my absolute Property. The most successful Grower and Exhibitor for the last 46 Years. B. hk. CANT’S CATALOGUE IS THE BEST PUBLISHED—SENT POST FREE. The Very Rev. 8. REYNOLDS HOLE, Dean of Rochester, President of the National Rose Society, SayS:— “No Roses in the World can come up to those of Benjamin R> Cang : The Rev. H. HONYWOOD DOMBRAIN, Hon. Sec. National Rose Society, writes :— “‘Benjamin R. Cant is still the Champion.” of. *, 4 X ory BY | 2 oae ' mh Na fae ree he Hate * + +eeiy ef oy 2 ee ~~ 3? 4 4 ey > 2 ae ee t2 se as > wt “a ie ven: ii sth Ped seaeea Leo iu bb boat . . oy mee raat oy " eights ts ys 54 nt 9 4 + ebetor at arr sd ap heres’ eye os Hey * re roth een aden & +¥ . tags hobedy oa 5 eb wa » ny . We on obey what