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R BOOK ABOUT ROSES

What is fairer than a Rose?
What is sweeter?

— George Herbert.

Book About Roses

HOW to grow and show them

BY

S. REYNOLDS HOLE

NEW YORK

WILLIAM S. GOTTSBERGER, PUBLISHER

II MURRAY STREET

1883

t 5^.97

hill

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. CAUSES OF FAILURE, I

II. CAUSES OF SUCCESS, I3

III, OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY 34

IV. POSITION • • • 53

V. SOILS, 66

VI. MANURES, 84

VII. ARRANGEMENT I04

VIII. SELECTION, 122

IX. SELECTION — (continued) .148

X. GARDEN ROSES, 163

XI. GARDEN ROSES — (continued), . . . . . 180

XII. CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS, . * I98

XIII, ROSES FOR EXHIBITION, 221

XIV. HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE 244

XV. AT A ROSE-SHOW, 269

APPENDIX NO. I. — MEMORANDA FOR THE MONTHS, . 29I

" NO. II. — SELECTED ROSES, . . . 305

" NO. III. — NEW ROSES, 308

INDEX 325

PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION.

With all the happiness which success brings
to an author, I respond to the demand of an
intelligent world for a new edition of my book ;
and, in grateful appreciation of their sympathies,
I have the pleasure of introducing to my readers
thirty new and beautiful Roses (see List of Roses
for Exhibition), which have recently won our
admiration as Maids of Honor in Queen Rosa's
Court, together with the latest results of my
experience, and the best information I possess,
as to the culture of the Flower of flowers.

S. REYNOLDS HOLE.

Caunton Manor,
Newark-on-Trent, July, 1880.

I DEDICATE MY BOOK TO

MY WIFE

there's a rose looking in at the window
IN every condition of life —

.IN DAYS of content AND ENJOYMENT,

IN hours with bitterness rife.

where'er there's the smile of A true wife,

AS bright as a beam from above,
'tis the rose looking in at the window,

and. FILLING the DWELLING WITH LOVE.

From Poems bv P. M. "fame,^

K r r^ 1 r r-r T r^ r~ -^ .
'■'j- \J J. \ 1 { i . :

A BOOK ABOUT KTOS-ES.

CHAPTER I.

CAUSES OF FAILURE.

He who would have beautiful Roses in his
garden must have beautiful Roses t7i his heart.
He must love them well and always. To win,
he must woo, as Jacob wooed Laban's daughter,
though drought and frost consume. He must
have not only the glowing admiration, the en-
thusiasm, and the passion, but the tenderness,
the thoughtfulness, the reverence, the watchful-
ness of love. With no ephemeral caprice, like
the fair young knight's, who loves and who rides
away when his sudden fire is gone from the cold
white ashes, the cavalier of the Rose has semper
fidelis upon his crest and shield. He is loyal and
devoted ever, in storm-fraught or in sunny days ;
not only the first upon a summer's morning to
gaze admiringly on glowing charms, but the first,
when leaves fall and winds are chill, to protect
against cruel frost. As with smitten bachelor or

2 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Steadfast mate the lady of his love is lovely ever,
so to the true Rose-grower must the Rose-tree be
always a thing of beauty. To others, when its
flowers have faded, it may be worthless as a
hedge- row thorn : to him, in every phase, it is
precious. I am no more the Rose, it says, but
cherish me, for we have dwelt together ; and the
glory which has been, and the glory which shall
be, never fade from Jiis Jicart.

Is it rare or frequent, this fond and complete
affection ? Go to one of our great exhibitions,
and you must surely bring the conviction home,
that true love, seen seldom in the outer world,
may be always found ''among the Roses." From
all grades and epochs of life, what vows of con-
stancy, what fervid words ! ** Sir Thomas and I
are positively going to ruin ourselves with a new
Rosarium." ''As soon as I get home," says a
country rector, " I shall plant an acre of my glebe
with Roses." There you may see a Royal
Duchess so surprised out of her normal calmness,
that she raises two pale pink gloves in an ecstasy
of surprise, and murmurs, " Oh, how lovely !"
over Marechal Niel. There a Cabinet Minister
stands tiptoe to catch a glimpse of his brother
senator, Vazsse, and wishes he had a neck as long
as Cicero's. Obstructing his view with her ample

CAUSES OF FAILURE. 3

form and bountiful bonnet, our old friend Mrs.
Brown, who has just had ''one drop of the least as
is," informs the public that she ** knows for facts
that Mr. Turner of Slough has a dead horse under
every Rose-tree, and Pauls & Sons has hundreds
of young men with gig-umbrellas standing over
their Roses when it rains heavy." Mrs. Brown is
delighted, like all around, and ''means to tell
Brown, as soon as ever she sets down in her own
parlor, that Marshal Need all over the house, and
Sulphur Terry round the back door, grow she
must and will. But goodness me!" she suddenly
exclaims, "what a mess o' them reporters!" No,
my dear madam, they are not reporters — only
spectators, putting down in their note-books the
names of Roses, Avith an expression of eager
interest which says, I must have that flower or
die.

Every year this enthusiasm increases. It is
not easy to collect reliable statistics; some who
might furnish them, if they would, shut their
mouths closely; some open them so widely as to
justify the amusing sarcasm of a reverend and
roseate brother: "When they count their trees,
they include the aphis;" but I have obtained
trustworthy and interesting information from sev-
eral of our chief Rosarians, who have kindlv

4 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

answered my inquiries in a fraternal and friendly
spirit Without mention of names or minute
details, I may state that these all bear witness to
a most extensive and progressive enlargement of
the demand for Roses. The largest of our whole-
sale growers writes to me that he has more than
twenty acres of Roses, and that his stock of Briers
and Manetti, with Roses on their own roots and
Roses in pots, amounts to half a million. The
young but most successful representative of one
of our older firms informs me, that their first
planting of Rose-stocks, so an old Brier-man tells
him, was a lot of 2000, some forty years ago; and
that from 2000 they advanced in 1861 to 62,000
Briers. In i860, he adds, we commenced the
outdoor culture of the Manetti with 4000 : this
year we have 60,000. Rapid as this increase
appears, the same writer goes on to say that he
anticipates a time when their present stock will
seem Lilliputian in comparison with that which
will be required for the home and export trade.
I propose to revert in some future chapter to the
history of this development* Suffice it to say,
that where Roses were grown twenty years age
by the dozen they are grown by the thousand,
and where by the thousand now by the acre.

* See p. 198.

CAUSES OF FAILURE. 5

But now comes a most important question :
Have we beautiful Roses in proportion to this
great multiplication of Rose-trees ? The printer
will oblige me by selecting a brace of his biggest
and blackest capitals, with which I may reply
emphatically, NO. It is indeed, at first sight, a
marvel and perplexity, that Avhile the love of
Roses is professed so generally — while the de-
mand for Rose-trees has increased so extensively,
and the flower itself has every year disclosed some
new and progressive charm — Roses should be so
rarely seen in their full and perfect beauty. Queen
Rosa, in common with other potentates, has
greatly enlarged her armies, but how few young
officers have as yet distinguished themselves fight-
ing in the wars of the Roses ! Though some of
her great generals, including our Commander-in-
chief, Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, and Keynes of
Salisbury, and Hedge of Colchester, have gone
from us, full of years and honors, most of her
heroes are veterans, and the names of those (I
give them alphabetically, to avoid invidious dis-
tinctions) who fight in the wars of the Roses or
attend to the commissariat have been long familiar
to our ears — Baker, Bulmer, Cant, Cranston, Cur-
tis, Dickson, Ellison, Francis, Fraser, Frettingham,
Hole, Hollingsworth, House, Lane, Lee, Merry-

6 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

weather, Mitchell, Paul, Perkins, Pochin, Smith,
Turner, Veitch, and Wood.

In the trade, Mr. Bennett of Stapleford, as a
raiser of new Roses ; Mr. Prince of Oxford, as the
introducer of the Seedling Brier; the Messrs.
Ewing of Norwich, as large growers for sale —
have become important allies ; and Mr. Jowett of
Hereford, growing Roses by the acre, and bring-
ing them to the shows in trucks, Mr. Burnaby-
Atkins of Halstead, Mr. Soames of Ivnham, Mr.
Hawtrey of Slough, and Mr. Scott of Wimble-
don, have achieved victories for the volunteer
corps. But we ought to have young knights
coming by scores to tilt in our merry jousts, and
new candidates for royal honors should appear at
every levee of our Queen.

We must pass from the public Rose-show to
the private Rose-garden to see in its saddest
phase the difference between what is and what
ought to be — the feeble harvest of good Roses
from the broad acres of good Rose-trees. These
collections remind us of Martial's description of
his works : " Sunt bona, sunt qucedam mediocria,
sunt mala plural We can hardly say of them, as
an Edinburgh Reviewer (was it Sydney Smith ?) of
a volume of sermons, criticised in the first number
of that work : '* Their characteristic is decent

CAUSES OF FAILURE. 7

debility." As a rule, the amateur Rosarian has
made about as much progress as George III. with
his fiddle. After two years' tuition, the King asked
his tutor, Viotti, what he thought of his pupil :
** Sire," replied the professor, " there are three
classes of violinists ; those who cannot play at all,
those who play badly, and those who play well.
Your majest}' is now commencing to enter upon the
second of these classes." There is not a garden
nowadays of any pretension, which has not its
collection of Roses, and vet there is not one p-ar-
den in twenty where the flower is realized in its
beauty. I have scarcely known at times whether
to laugh or weep, when I have been conducted
witli a triumphal air by the proprietor of one of
those dismal slaughter-houses which he calls his
Rosary. The collection is surrounded by a few
miserable climbers, justly gibbeted on poles or
hung in rusty chains, and consists of lanky stand-
ards, all legs and no head, after the manner of
giants, or of stunted ** dwarfs," admirably named
and ugly as Quilp ; the only sign of health and
vigor being the abundant growth of the Manetti
stock, which has smothered years ago the small
baby committed to its care, but is still supposed
to be the child itself, and is carefully pruned year
after year in expectation of a glow of beauty.

8 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

There is no beauty, and there never will be, for
the florist ; but to the entomologist what a happy
peaceful home ! There can be no museum in all
the world so exquisitely complete in caterpillars,
or so rich with all manner of flies. What cosy
chambers they make for themselves, what spacious
nurseries for their delightful offspring, in .the
cracks and the cankers, the broken bark, the moss,
and the lichen, of those ancient standard trees !
For me there is no solace in these charms. I stand
sorrowful and silent, like Marius among the ruins,
until my companion wishes to know whether I
can tell him why that wretched Charles Lefebvre
behaves so disgracefully in his garden ? On re-
flection, perhaps I can. Charles Lefebvre is
placed, like Tityrus, " sui? tegnimc fagi,' under
the drip and shadow of a noble beech-tree, whose
boughs above and roots beneath effectually keep
all nourishment from him. And do I know why
Charles Lawson, Blairii 2, and Persian Yellow
never have a flower upon them ? Simply because
they are pruned always, as no man v/ith seeing
eyes could prune them twice, so closely that they
make nothing but wood. The single standards,
again, are grassed up to the very Brier, except
where a circular space is left for "just a few bed-
ding-out things," — leeches draining the life-blood

CAUSES OF FAILURE. 9

of the Rose. It is Mrs. Hemans, I think, who
sings : —

" Around the red Rose the convolvulus climbing;"

and it sounds sweetly pretty, and would be the
loveliest arrangement possible, only that, unfor-
tunately, it is death to the Rose — death to that
queen who brooks no rival near, much less upon,
her throne. Look, too, at those vagabond suckers
clustering like Jewish money-lenders or Christian
bookmakers round a young nobleman, and steal-
ing the sap away. Well may that miserable speci-
men be called a ''Souvenir de Comte Cavour," for
it is dying from depletion, like its illustrious name-
sake. The earth is set and sodden ; no spade nor
hoe has been there. As for manure, a feeling of
profound melancholy comes over us, as over Mr.
Richard Swiveller, when he discovered that the
Marchioness had passed her youthful days in
ignorance of the taste of beer. We know that
they have never seen it, and yet they are expected
to bloom profusely ; and when they are covered,
not with Roses, but grubs, the nurseryman, or the
gardener, or the soil is blamed. Then there is
dole in Astolat, and a wailing cry over dead
Adonis. '' Is it not sad that we cannot grow

lO A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Roses ? We have spared no trouble, no expense,
and we do so dote on them !"

The last time I heard a howl of this kind I
felt myself insulted as a lover of the Rose and of
truth ; and instead of yelping in concert, as I was
expected to do, I snarled surlily: "You have taken
no trouble which deserves the name ; and as to
expense, permit me to observe that your fifty
Rose-trees cost you £4, and your sealskin jacket
^20. You don't deserve beautiful Roses, and you
won't have any until you love them more." If I
am accused o( discourtesy to the fair sex (she was
not very fair, my reader), I can only plead that I
have been far more explicit with the male speci-
men of pseudo-Rosist. " I say, old fellow," re-
marked to me a friend as We rode together in the
Row, and with a tone which, though it pretended
a cheery indifference, was fraught with rebuke and
anger, " those Rose-trees which you recommended
me to get, turned out a regular do. Cost a hatful
of money — precious near a tenner, if not all out
— and, by Jove, sir! our curate at the county
flower-show came and licked them all into fits !"
"Robert," I responded (I was too indignant to
address him with Bob, as usual), " I never in my
life recommended a person of your profound ig-
norance to have anything to do with Roses. You

CAUSES OF FAILURE. 11

asked me to give you a list of the best, and I did
so reluctantly, knowing that you had neither the
taste nor the energy to do them justice. As to
the outlay, the animal on which you have reck-
lessly placed yourself, and whose hocks are a dis-
grace to this park, cost you, I know, more than
eighty guineas ; and for a tithe of that sum, with-
out further supervision or effort, you expect a
beautiful Rose-garden. I rejoice to hear that the
curate beat you, just as that earnest boy on his
nimble pony is out-trotting at this moment your
expensive but tardy steed."

Not a sotipfon of sympathy can I ever feel for
the discomfiture of those Rose-growers who trust
in riches. They see lovely blooms at the Rose-
shows (yea, the Duchess of Kensington said that
they were lovely) — selected, probably, from fifty
thousand trees, and the results of excellent culture,
untiring vigilance, and care — and they say : '* We
will have these Roses for our own forthwith, and
in abundance." They have only to put down the
names, give an order, and sign a cheque, to buy as
they buy chairs and tables. They go home and
tell their gardener that they have ordered a most
splendid collection of Rose-trees, and that they
quite expect him next summer to have the best
display in the county. From my heart I pity that

12 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

gardener. They might as well have brought him
Bob's hack, and told him that if he could not win
the Derby and the St. Leger with him, they really
must find somebody who could. He is not even
allowed to choose a situation. The tall ones are to
be planted on each side of the broad walk, and
the little ones opposite the boudoir window. The
broad walk may be as bleak as a common, or, un-
der the shade of melancholy boughs, as dank as a
mausoleum ; and the dear little bed opposite the
boudoir never sees the sun until mid-day, when it
is grilled for three mortal hours, and then given
back to gloom. So there the poor Rose-trees
stand — through the winter, hidibrimn ventis, or
without any air at all, and in the spring a rialto,
rendezvous, common-room, and tap for all the
riff-raff of the insect world — an infirmary for all
the diseases which the neglected Rose is heir to.
Some few, perhaps, may brave all and bloom ; but
they no more resemble the glorious flowers which
my lady saw at Kensington or the Crystal Palace,
than my little boy's toy railway-train resembles
the Scotch express.

In my next chapter I Will tell what may be
done in a very small garden, by a very poor man
who really loves the Rose.

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 1 3

CHAPTER II.

CAUSES OF SUCCESS.

From the lukewarm to the earnest, from fail-
ure to success. Some years ago, one cold slate-
colored morning towards the end of March
("hunch-weather," as I have heard it termed In
Lincolnshire, because, I suppose, a sense of starva-
tion has a tendency to set one's back up), I re-
ceived a note from a Nottingham mechanic^
inviting me to assist in a judicial capacity at an
exhibition of Roses, given by working men, which
was to be held on Easter Monday. Not having at
the time a Rose in my possession, although, to my
shame be it spoken, I had ample room and ap-
pliances, and knowing, moreover, that all the con-
servatories of the neighborhood were in a like
destitute and disgraceful condition, it never oc-
curred to me that the tiny glass houses, which I
had seen so often on the hills near Nottingham,
could be more honorably utilized or worthily oc-
cupied, and I threw down the letter on my first
impulse as a hoax, and a very poor one. Hoaxes,
I have observed, are not what they used to be
when I took an active part in them ; and, more-

14 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

over, the proximity of the ist of April made me
more than ordinarily suspicious. Nevertheless,
upon a second inspection, I was so impressed by a
look and tone of genuine reality that I wrote ul-
timately to the address indicated, asking somewhat
sarcastically and incredulously, as being a shrewd
superior person not to be sold at any figure, what
sorts of Roses were so kind as to bloom during
the month of April at Nottingham, and nowhere
else. By return of post I was informed, with
much more courtesy than I had any claim to, that
the Roses in question were grown under glass —
where and how, the growers would be delighted
to show me, if I Avould oblige them by my com-
pany.

On Easter Monday, in due course, upon a raw
and gusty day, when spring and winter, sleet and
sunshine, were fighting round after round, like
Spring and Langan,* for victory — winter now re-
treating, sobbing and pufTing, to his corner, and
now coming on in force, black with rage, resistless,
hitting out hard and straight, until the sun's eye
had a sickly glare, and the cold world trembled in

* I witnessed their great fight for the championship, in a show
of mechanical figures at Newark, at that early period of childhood
when such things seem to us realities ; and I was astounded at the
courage and condition of Langan, who was knocked into fhe aiT
about four feet from the ground at the end of every round, and in-
variably came down on his head !

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 1 5

his cruel hug and grip — I went to Nottingham.
Again, as the hail beat upon the window of the
rail conveyance, and I sat dithering in the eastern
wind, which whistled its contempt of my rug
and foot-warmer, a horrible dread of imposition
vexed my unquiet soul. Nor were my silly sus-
picions expelled until my hansom from the
station stopped before the General Cathcart Inn,
and the landlord met me, with a smile on his face
and with a Senateur Vaisse in his coat, which
glowed amid the gloom like a red light on a mid-
night train, and (in my eyes, at any rate) made
summer of that dark ungenial day. Within his
portals I found a crowd of other exhibitors, some
with Roses in their coats Hke himself, and some with-
out, for the valid reason that they were there in their
shirt-sleeves, with no coats at all, just as you would
see them at their daily work, and some of them only
spared from it to cut and stage their flowers. These
welcomed me with out-stretched hands, and seemed
amused when, on their apologizing for their soiled
appearance, I assured them of my vivid aftec-
tion for all kinds of floricultural dirt, and that I
counted no man worthy of the name of gardener
whose skin was always white and clean. No : a
rich, glowing, gypsy brown is that one touch from
Nature's paint-brush, which makes the whole

l6 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

world of florists kin, which is seen beneath the
battered billycock and the hat of shining silk, and
which, whether the wearer gets his garments from
Poole or pawnbroker, whether he be clad in
double-milled or fustian, whether he own a castle
or rent an attic, unites all of us, heart and hand.

•• Who shall judge a man from manners ?

Who shall know him from his dress ?
Paupers may be fit for princes,

Princes fit for something less.
Crumpled shirt and dirty jacket

May beclothe the golden ore
Of the humblest thoughts and feelings —

What can satin vest do more ?"

"The Roses were ready : would I go upstairs?"
And upstairs, accordingly, with my co-censor, a
nurseryman and skilled Rosarian of the neighbor-
hood, I mounted, and entered one of those long,
narrow rooms in which market-ordinaries are
wont to be held, wherein the Odd- Fellows, the
Foresters, and the Druids meet in mysterious con-'
clave, and where during the race-week and the
pleasure-fair there is a sound of the viol and the
mazy dance. What a contrast now ! The cham-
ber, whose normal purpose was clamor and chorus
from crowded men, we found empty, hushed, and
still ; the air, on other public occasions hot with

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 1/

cooked meats and steaming tumblers, heavy with
the smoke and smell of tobacco, was cool and per-
fumed ; and the table — you could not see its
homely surface of plain deal, stained with spilt
drinks, scorched by the expiring cigar, dinted by
knife-handles and by nut-crackers, when oration
or ballad ceased ; for it was covered from end to
end with beautiful and fragrant Roses ! There
was nothing to remind of coarser pleasures or of
the tavern here, except, by the way, the bottles,
which, once filled with the creamy stout and with
the fizzing beer of ginger, now, like converted
drunkards, were teetotally devoted to pure water,
and in that water stood the Rose.

A prettier sight, a more complete surprise of
beauty, could not have presented itself on that cold
and cloudy morning; and in no royal palace, no mu-
seum of rarities, no mart of gems, was there that day
in all the world a table so fairly dight As if to
heighten our enjoyment of the scene, and just as
we came upon it, the day darkened without, and
the sleet beat against the windows as though en-
raged by this sudden invasion of Flora, and de-
termined to fire a volley on her ranks ; but her
soldiers only smiled more brightly at the idle
harmless cannonade, just as the brave general on
his sign outside cared no more for the rattling

1 8 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

hail than, in the flesh, a few years before, he had
cared for Crimean snow.

Nor was our first enjoyment diminished, when,
from a general survey of this charming contrast,
we proceeded in our judicial office to a minute
and careful scrutiny. I have never seen better
specimens of cut Roses, grown under glass, than
those which were exhibited by these working men.
Their Tea-Roses — Adam, Devoniensis, Madame
Willermorz, and Souvenir d'un Ami especially —
were shown in their most exquisite beauty ; and,
referring to subsequent exhibitions, I do not hesi-
tate to say that the best Marechal Niel and the
best Madame Margottin which I have yet seen,
have appeared at Nottingham in the ginger-beer
bottles ! Many of the Hybrid Perpetual varieties
were shown in their integrity — a difficult achieve-
ment when days are short and dull ; and one of
them, Alphonse Karr, I never met with after-
wards of the same size and excellence. It was
but rarely seen at our great Rose-shows, never in
its perfect phase; and I must frankly own that I
bought it, budded it, potted it, petted it, for many
years in vain. Of course, in an exhibition of this
kind, with difficulties to oppose which few dare to
encounter and very few overcome, these poor florists
must include among their masterpieces many

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 1 9

specimens of medium merit, and some failures.
Among the latter I cannot forget a small and
sickly exposition of Paul Ricaut, who, by some
happy coincidence, which warmed my whole body
with laughter, was appropriately placed in a large
medicine bottle, with a label, requesting that the
wretched invalid might be well rubbed every night
and morning. Poor Paul ! a gentle touch would
have sent him to pot-pourri !

When the prizes were awarded we left the
show-room, grave and important as two exam-
iners coming out of the schools at Oxford ; and
when the undergraduates — I mean the stock-
ingers — had rushed to see who had taken honors
and who w^x^ plucked, I went with some of them
to inspect their gardens. These are tiny allot-
ments on sunny slopes, just out of the town of
Nottingham,* separated by hedges or boards, in
size about three to the rood — such an extent as a
country squire in Lilliput might be expected to
devote to horticulture. And yet it was delightful

* " No town in England displays the gardening spirits more
manifestly than ' old Nottingham.' Independently of galdens attached
to residences, there are, we believe, nearly 10,000 allotments within
a short distance of the town ; and as many of these are divided, and
in some cases subdivided, it is not too much to affirm that from 20,000
tx) 30.000 of the inhabitants, or nearly one-half, take an active interest
in the garden. And where will you see such Roses as are produced
upon the Hunger Hills by these amateurs — such cabbage and lettuce,
rhubarb and celery?" — Nottinghamshire Guardian, March 8, 1867.

20 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

to see how much might be, and was, done in one
of these pleasant plots. There was something for
every season : —

**The daughters of the year,
One after one, through that still garden pass,
Each garlanded with her peculiar flower."

There, to cheer the ungenial days of winter, were
the Christmas Rose, the Aconite, the Laurestinus,
the Golden Holly, the Cheimonanthus fragrans on
its snug bit of southern wall, with the large yellow
Jasmine near, and the winter Violets beneath.
There, to follow in the spring, the Mezereon, the
Erica, the Berberis, the Snowdrop, Hepatica, Poly-
anthus, Crocus, and Tulip ; after these the Lilac,
Syringa, Laburnum, Ribes, and then the Royal
Rose. The straight standards, cleanly and closely
pruned, firmly staked and liberally mulched
(blessed be the boy with donkey and cart, who
goes to a cheap market, and sells accordingly!);
the Manetti Dwarfs, full of vigorous wood — not
the stock, but the scion this time ; the climbers
tastefully trained over *'the bower of Roses by,"
dare I say, "Bendigo's stream," seeing that the
ex-champion is oft an angler in the waters of the
Trent, hard by; — all these acknowledge the royal
supremacy, and the loyal love of our second

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 21

Queen. And think what a refreshment for these
working men on a summer's eve, when their hot
work is done, or on silent sabbaths, when there is
no work to do, "to sit 'mong the Roses and hear
the birds sing" — songs of praise and comfort and
hope.

Meanwhile they have a foretaste of this glad-
ness in the glass houses which I went to see.
Houses ! why, a full-sized giant would have taken
them up like a hand-glass ; and even I, but a
small office-boy in connection with that great
business,* was unable in most of them to stand
upright, and into some to enter at all. That *'bit
o' glass" had been, nevertheless, as much a dream,
and hope, and happiness to its owner as the
Crystal Palace to Paxton. How often the very
thought and expectation of it had soothed and
relieved his weariness as he worked at his stock-
ing-frame ! How the reality had refreshed, refined
him, in his brief, bright holiday hours ! There is
a timber-yard on the left as you leave Notting-

* One of the first of many delicious stories which it was my
privilege to hear Mr. Thackeray tell, was, that once upon a time he
and Mr. Higgins ("Jacob Omnium") went to see a Giant, and that
the man at the door inquired whether they were in the business,
because, if so, no charge would be made for admission. Mr. Thack-
eray was 6 feet 4 inches, and Mr. Higgins not less than 6 feet 6 inches
in height. As the Eton boy, describing a country fair, remarked in
his Latin verse : —

" Gigantesque duo, super honore meo."

22 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

ham, travelling upon the Derby road, and therein
the framework of a neat miniature greenhouse,
thus described upon a board affixed to it : —

B.

^V H E E L E R ' S

F

ivE-GuiNEA Greenhouse,

Glazed

Painted, and Fixed,

Complete.

I grieve, when I pass, to think how many a true
but poor florist has stopped to read, and sigh. I
rejoice, when I pass, to believe that many a poor
but brave florist has stopped to read, and has
gone home to save — has come, and seen, and
conquered.

A few of the structures, which I was invited
to inspect, were of fair dimensions; here a car-
penter, and here a bricklayer, and there a glazier,
had made his handicraft subserve his amusement ;
but the accommodation, as a rule, was meagre,
and I could hardly believe that the grand Roses
which we had just left could have come, like some
village beauty out of her cottage dwelling, from
such mean and lowly homes. But there were the

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 23

plants, and there were the proprietors, showing
me proudly the stems from which such and such
favorites were cut, and pointing to various healthy
and handsome rose-buds, which, though belonging
to junior branches of the family, gave promise of
equal beauty.

How was it done ? De V abondancc du coeiw —
from a true love of the Rose. " It's more nor a
mile from my house to my garden," said one of
these enthusiasts to me, " but I've been here for
weeks, in the winter months, every morning before I
went to my work, and every evening when I came
from it, and not seldom at noon as well, here and
back, and my dinner to get, between twelve and
one o'clock." " How do you afford," I inquired
from another, " to buy these new and expensive
varieties ?" and I would that every employer, that
every one who cares for the laboring poor, would
remember the answer, reflect, and act on it. '' I'll
tell you," he said, "how I managed to buy 'em
— by keepijig aivay from the bcershops !''

From a lady who lives near Nottingham, and
goes much among the poorer classes, I heard a far
more striking instance of this floral devotion than
from the florists themselves. While conversing
with the wife of a mechanic during the coldest
period of a recent winter, she observed that the

24 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

parental bed appeared to be scantily and insuffi-
ciently clothed, and she inquired if there were no
more blankets in the house. *' Yes, ma'am, we've

another," replied the housewife; *' but " and

here she paused.

** But what ?" said the lady.

** It is not at home, ma'am."

*' Surely, surely it's not in pawn ?"

^' Oh dear no, ma'am ; Tom has only just took
it — just took it "

'' Well, Bessie, took it where ?"

" Please, ma'am, he took it — took it — took it
to keep the frost out of the greenhouse ; and
please, ma'am, we don't Avant it, and we're quite
hot in bed."

They ought to be presented with a golden
warming-pan, set with brilliants, and filled with
fifty-pound Bank of England notes.

I took my leave of the brotherhood at last,
delighted with their gardens and delighted with
them, but not much delighted with myself I
seemed to have been presiding as Lord Chief-
Justice in a court, wherein, had merit regulated
the appointments, I should most probably have dis-
charged the duties of usher. I had been enthroned
as Grand Master of a Rosicrucian Lodge, v/hen I
ought to have been standing at the door as tiler ;

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 2$

and as I carried away a glorious bouquet of Roses,
with their " best respects to the Missus," I felt
ashamed to think how little I had done, and how
much more such men would do, with my larger
leisure and more abundant means. But when I
reached the station and entered my carriage, I was
roused from my reverie by a loud and prolonged
*' Oh !" wdiich greeted me from five of my ac-
quaintances, as though I had been an asteroid
rocket, which had just burst, and the Roses were
my coruscant stars : and I was beginning to regain
my self-complacency, and to find solace in the re-
mark of one of my neighbors, who, I knew, had
glass by the acre and gardeners in troops, that
'' they w^ere the first Roses he had seen this
year," when I was again discomfited by the inso-
lent behavior of the company — on this wise. To
an inquiry from what garden the Roses came, I
responded, in all truthfulness : '' Chiefly from a
bricklayer's." Whereupon an expressive sneer of
unbelief disfigured each stolid countenance ; and
a solemn silence ensued, which said, nevertheless,
as plainly as though it were shouted : " We don't
see any wit in lies." I collapsed at once into my
corner, sulking behind my big bouquet, and look-
ing, I fear, very like the Beast when he first
showed himself among the Roses to Beauty ; nor

26 A BOOK ACOUT ROSES.

did I quite regain my equanimity until, reaching'
home, I had written and posted an order for an
assortment of Roses in pots.

These Nottingham florists are equally success-
ful in the outdoor culture of the Rose. On sev-
eral occasions I have attended, as one of the
judges, the annual exhibition of " The St. Ann's
Amateur Floral and Horticultural Society," at
Nottingham. The society consists of artisans,
occupying garden allotments in the suburbs of
Nottingham, and justly prides itself on having
developed a taste for gardening among the work-
ing classes. Nearly eighty prizes for Roses alone^
varying in value from two guineas to two shillings,
are offered, and closely fought for. The Roses are
excellent, the interest and excitement of the ex-
hibitors intense. The winners (so I am told by
their president, Mr. Knight, well chosen to preside
over working men, for he is ever untiring and
ubiquitous) are twist-hands, shoemakers, tailors,
mechanics, etc. He tells me con ainore, of their
devotion to their gardens and their glass. How
they carry their bags of coal through the deep
snow, and how, early in the morning and late at
eventide, they rob themselves of rest for the
Rose.

I rejoice to see and hear. I have always believed

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 2/

that the happiness of mankind may be increased
by encouraging that love of a garden, that love of
the beautiful which is innate in us all. Get a man
out of the dram and beer-shops into the fresh pure
air, interest him in the marvellous works of his
God, instead of in the deformities of vice, give
him an occupation which will add to his health
and the comforts of his family, instead of destroy-
ing both, then build Revealed upon Natural Re-
ligion, and hope to see him a Christian.

In one of the most genial and gratifying
notices with which this book has been favored,
the Saturday Reviezver gladdened my heart, con-
firmed my belief, and stimulated my endeavors,
by endorsing these my views on the subject.
"From this love of flowers," he writes, ''may be
learned the road, difficult to find in these days, to
the inner heart of the lower classes — the key to
tastes, dearer to them than beer-swilling — the
secret, which, if rightly applied by those who
bear spiritual rule over the working man, may do
much directly to civilize, and indirectly to Chris-
tianize him."

There are difficulties, of course, in this as in all
good works. There are difficulties with regard to
cottage- gardening, even in those villages where
priest and squire co-operate heartily, and these

28 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

difficulties are multiplied where men are thick
upon the ground, and where at present little in-
terest is taken in the matter, either by the clergy
or the rich. These difficulties come from the
temptations incidental to the annual show, and the
annual show is, according to my experience, a
necessity. Emulation is the stimulus, with which
we cannot dispense. My Lord won't ride his be^st
hunter over a nasty brook, when nobody is there
to see ; and Bill Smith won't dig and delve after
work-hours, if no one is to admire his big pota-
toes. Large and lovely is the rhubarb of Jones,
but never so large, never so lovely, as when it
rests beside the rhubarb of Robinson, having won
the premier prize. Alas ! to win premier prizes
men are tempted to be dishonest, and they fall.
^' If you please, sir. Bob Filch went a-cadging
miles and miles for them cut flowers as w^on last
show." *' Lor' bless your reverence, I knows for
a fact that Jim A. gave Jack B. one and nine for
that Senateur Vaisse in his six." • And his rever-
ence, moreover, knows for fact, that Roses have
not only been begged and bought, but stolen, just
before a show. His reverence could name some
of his Nottingham friends who have slept in their
greenhouses, fearing a raid, for nights before the
contest came. This very Society of St. Ann has

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 29

a sub-committee to inspect the gardens of exhibi-
tors, and to prevent imposture. Discouraging
facts ! But so it is discouraging to note certain
infirmities of slothfulness, selfishness, and ignor-
ance in our daily life ; and when we have made
ourselves just such Christian gentlemen as we
ought to be, let us be severe with our fellow-men.
In the interim, suppose we try the experiment of
winning them by kindness and love. Suppose we
try to convince them, by establishing Working
Men's Club-rooms, that a public-house is not the
only place for a flower-show, and that it is
possible to spend a happy day without degra-
dation at night, and sickness to follow in the
morning.

It is high time, however, to leave this digres-
sion, and to repeat, that whatever may be the in-
firmities of these poor florists, they are eminently
successful in the culture of flowers ; and indeed it
would be easy to multiply proofs that in Rose-
growing as in everything else, earnestness and in-
dustry, born of love,

" Di tutte le arti maestro e amore,"

must achieve success. At a flower-show which
takes place annually at Oundle, and at which I

30 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

frequently act as one of the judges,* a chief hero
of former days was a Northamptonshire butcher,
Thorneycroft of Floore. He told me that by ris-
ing early, sometimes at 3 A. M., and by working
late, he not only carried on an extensive trade,
but found time to put up three glass houses of his
own handiwork ; and that, in addition to his
plants, fruits, and vegetables, he had in cultivation
several thousand Rose-trees, most of which he
had budded, and all of which he had pruned and
cared for likewise with his own hands. From his
houses he showed beautiful seedling Gloxinias,
which won first prizes and especial commenda-
tions ; obtained prizes for specimen plants of re-
cent introduction, as well as for those of a more
ordinary kind ; while from his Rose-garden he
brought collections which often took first and
second honors, and were always meritorious.

Ascending some rungs of the social scala,
passing from the bluecoat school of Rosists to the
black, we floral ecclesiastics may congratulate
ourselves, thankfully and happily, upon our status
in the world of Roses. And here again, how of-

* On one of these occasions some very pretty collections were
shown, not only of wild flowers, but of wild ferns and grasses. In
three of the latter, exhibited by children of one family, I observed
asparagus; and upon my saying to the exhibitors that this was not
contemplated by the schedule, my ignorance was at once enhghtened ;
— " Please, sir, it says ferns and grasses, and this is sparrow grass !"

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 3 1

ten will the poor curate, with something more
than a good gardener's wages, and something less
than a good gardener's house, show what earnest
love can do ! Whenever I see at an exhibition a
white tie behind a box of Roses, I know (although
I may in days of youthful exuberance have irrev-
erently exclaimed to my clerical friends : *' Hollo,
Butler! are you bringing breakfast?") — I know
that, almost as a rule, bright gems shine within
that case. And ah ! who but he can tell the refresh-
ment, the rest, the peace, which he finds in his little
garden, coming home from the sick and the sor-
rowful, and here reminded that for them and him
there is an Eden, more beautiful than the first, a
garden where summer shall never cease !

And here I would ask permission to digress
briefly, that I may confirm a very interesting state-
ment which was made after our florist dinner at Lei-
cester* by the editor of ''The Gardener," and re-
ceived with hearty acclamations. He had been
told, he said, by a Scotch clergyman, that in his
visitations from house to house he had never met
with an ungenial reception where he had seen a
plant in the window. It was a promise of welcome ;
it was a sign that there dwelt within a love and

* During the Provincial Show of the Royal Horticultural Society
in 1867.

32 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

yearning for the beautiful ; it was an invitation for
the sower to sow. What tender memories, solaces,
and hopes, may be brought into darkened homes
by the brightness and the sweetness of the flowers !

*♦ The weary woman stays her task,

That perfume to inhale ;
The pale-faced children pause to ask

What breath is on the gale.
And none that breathes that sweetened air,

But have a gentle thought ;
A gleam of something good and fair

Across the spirit brought."

Would that these inmates of alley and court,
would that these weary men and women, with
their pale-faced children, might breathe that
sweetened air, and see that gleam more oft ! All
honor to the owners of park and pleasaunce who
admit them therein, and to employers who give
them holidays to go ! Well does our great poet
plead :- —

** Why should not these great Sirs
Give up their parks a dozen times a year.
To let the people breathe ?"

Why should there not be great public gardens,
and great public flower-shows, in or near all our
towns? When the Council of the Manchester

CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 33

Botanical Society, advised by their clever, ener-
getic curator, Mr. Bruce Findlay, offered ;^iooo
in prizes at their June Show, men shook empty
heads, and murmured : *' Madness." What was the
result ? The receipts one Whitsuntide exceeded
Sixteen Hundred pounds ; and of this, Eleven
Hundred was paid by the working classes in shil-
lings !

It is gratifying to notice that this influence is
recognized and encouraged more and more by
laity, and clergy also ; that, under their auspices,
successful shows have been held in London, at
which window-plants, and plants grown in yards
and on roofs, have well deserved the prizes they
have won ; that allotments are more numerous
near our larger towns ; that at some of our bar-
racks, soldiers have the opportunity of turning
their swords into pruning-hooks (metaphorically, I
mean, as an actual transformation might not be
agreeable to the drill-sergeants) ; and that societies
for the improvement of cottage-gardening are
multiplying throughout the land. I may mention
here, that for some years I tried, satisfactorily, to
promote among the children of my parish that
love of flowers which we find in them all, not only
by giving prizes for their collections of wild-flowers
at our annual show, but by taking them walks on

3

34 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Sunday evenings, and helping them to collect and
arrange their posies, teaching them names, habits,
and uses, and showing them the colored likenesses
and the histories which are provided in a cheap
form by the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, and in other illustrated manuals.

But I must cease now to babble of green
fields, and must come away from the wild to the
garden Rose.

CHAPTER III.

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY.

Having proved, as I hope, that there is no
royal road, no golden key, to an excellent Rose-
garden, but that a poor man, on the contrary, who
loves the flower, may walk about in March with a
Rose in his coat — while Dives, who only likes ^
may be Roseless under all his vitreous domes — I
will proceed now to instruct those who, having
this love, desire instruction, In the lessons which a
long and happy experience has taught to me.

And yet, before I commence my lecture, I
would fain enlarge the number of disciples : I would
multiply the competitors by exhibiting the prizes,

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 35

and would so extol the charms of our Queen of
Beauty, that all brave knights gallantly armed,
should leap upon their steeds for the lists. In
more homely and modern metaphor, I would ex-
hibit to him whom I propose to make a fisherman,
his fish. I would take him, as it were, to the
broad rivers, from which silvery salmon leap, or
peep with him stealthily through brookside bushes
at the dark, still, 3 -lb. trout. Then, when his eyes
glisten and his fingers itch for a rod, I would teach
him how to throw and spin ; and would say to
him, as old Izaak said : ** I am like to have a to-
wardly scholar of you. I now see that with advice
and practice you will make an angler in a short
time. Have but a love of it, and I'll warrant
you.''

I will essay, therefore, while I enumerate and
extol the special charms of the Rose, to convince
all florists why, before I proceed to demonstrate
how, they should admire and honor pre-eminently
the Queen of Flowers.

First of all, because she is Queen. There is
no Fenian, no Nihilist, in her realm, but her
monarchy is the most absolute, and her throne
the most ancient and the most secure of all,
because founded in her people's heart. Her su-
premacy has been acknowledged, like Truth itself,
3*

36 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

semper, ubique, ab omnibus — always, everywhere,
by all.

I. Semper. — When, in sacred history, a chief
prophet of the Older Covenant foretold the grace
and glory which were to be revealed by the
New — when Isaiah would select, and was inspired
to select, the most beautiful image by which to
tell mankind of their exodus from the Law to the
Gospel, slavery to freedom, fear to love — these
were the words which came to him from heaven :
*' The wilderness shall blossom as a Rose." In
the Song of Songs the Church compares herself
unto ** the Rose of Sharon;" and in the apocry-
phal scriptures the son of Sirach likens wisdom to
a Rose-plant in Jericho, and holiness to a Rose
growing by the brook of the field. And the Rose
still blooms on that sacred soil, even in that
garden of Gethsemane, where He, who gives joy
and life to all, was sorrowful unto death.* In our
own, as in the older time, it is associated with
religion, with acts and thoughts of holiness which
should be fair and pure and fragrant as itself;
and at the Orphanage of Beyrout, the authoress
of Cradle Lands saw two hundred and fifty maid-

* "The old man,- a Franciscan monk, gave me a Rose as a
memorial of the garden."— Bar tlett's Jerusalem Revisited, p. 129.

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 37

ens receive their first communion with wreaths of
white Roses on their heads.*

Passing from sacred to secular records, shall I
take down my Greek Lexicons, my Scott and
Liddell, Donnegan the fat and Hederic the slim,
my Dictionaries, Indices, and Gradus ad Parnas-
sum ? Shall I look out poSor and rosa, collect a
few quotations, dress up a few incidents, and then
try to convince my readers that I know every
word which classic authors have written anent the
Rose ? Shall I, having just discovered some sen-
tence bearing on my theme, and having hardly
translated it (lame and broken-winded is the Pe-
gasus now, which once cantered in Oxford riding-
schools and jumped with a mighty effort, and a
wily tutor whipping behind, the statutory bars) —
shall I proudly display my electro-plate, and
commence magniloquent passages with — *'the
educated reader will of course remember," and
*' every school-boy knows"? — No; I promised to
write sans ettLcie, and much more sans humbug
also; and it will suffice to say, without dictionaries
or high-falutenation, that the classical writers,
from Homer to Horace, extol above all other
flowers the Rose. To the fairest of their god-

* Syria, according to some writers, took its name from Suri, a
species of Rose indigenous to it.

38 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

desses, to Venus, they dedicated this the fairest
of their flowers ; and the highest praise which
they could offer to beauty, was to assert its resem-
blance to the Rose. Aurora had rosy fingers ; I
always thought of her at school, and envied her
as of one who had been among the strawberries :
and beautiful Helen, with whom the world was in
love (there must generally have been between
forty and fifty distinguished princes, with Ulysses,
who ought to have known better, at their head,
loafing about the mansion of Papa Tyndarus) —
Helen, fair and frail, rosa mundi non rosa munday
had, we are told, cheeks like a Rose, though not
perhaps a blush one. Other belles of the past had
— so Anacreon, Theocritus, and the poets gener-
ally, inform us — rosy arms, rosy necks, rosy feet,
and — delicacy forbids me to translate poSoKoXno?
and poSoTtvyoi. "Burning Sappho" — it would
have been more gentlemanly, I think, if Byron had
called her gushing — crowned the Rose, Queen of
Flowers, being herself, according to Meleager, the
Rose of Poesy ; and her readers crowned them-
selves with the Rose (one can't help wondering
whether the nimble earwig ever ran down their
Grecian noses), and vied with each other, at their
banquets, ixTtXrjrraiv rov? ^povvov^, to astonish
the Browns, with Roses. There was a flower-mar-

OUR ^QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 39

ket at Athens, as in Covent Garden now, where
the young swells bought for the Honorable Miss
Rhodanthe and for the Lady Rhodopis bouquets
of the blushing Rose ; and then, as now, he who
would not or could not speak boldly to the maid
of Athens,

ZwTj jnou, (ra? ayanla,

declared his love by these

"Token flowers that tell
What words can never speak so well."

Rome, succeeding Greece in greatness, copy-
ing its customs, and lighting her Roman candles
from Greek fire, showed an equal fondness for the
Rose. Romans of wealth and Romans of taste
were as anxious as Horace,

" Neu desint epulis rosae;"

and when the Rose-trees of Psestum had finished
their autumnal bloom, they were succeeded by
flowers artificially produced by means of hot
water. Cleopatra, according to Athenseus, had
the floor covered with them a foot and a half in
thickness ; and Nero is said to have expended at
one feast nearly ;^30,ooo in Roses — a nice little

40 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

order for his nurseryman. In their joys and in
their sorrows the Rose was their favorite flower,
and the Corona conviviaHs, the Corona nuptiaHs,
and the Corona funebris, were wreathed aUke from
the Rose. They made wine from Roses, con-
serves from Roses, perfumes,* oil, and medicine
from Roses. The Rosa canina took its name, it
is said, Hke the Kvi^opoSov of the Greeks, from its
supposed power to cure h}'drophobia; and they
used it, finally, in the embalming of their dead,
and in adorning the tombs of their heroes.

Such are m}' slender memories of classical
allusion to the Rose ; but I do not lament this
scantiness, because **I have no opinion," as Mr.
Lillyvick remarked concerning the French lan-
guage, of Greek or Roman floriculture. It was
the only art in which they did not excel. We
know nothing of Greek gardening, and that which
we know of Roman is a disappointment. The
arrangement was formal and monotonous. They
had " come to build stately, but not to garden
finely:" and upon terraces and under colonnades,
around bath-rooms and statue-groups, they placed

* The Historians of perfumer)' tell us that the Rose was the first
flower from which perfume was made, and that Avicenna, an illus-
trious Arabian doctor, who discovered the art of extracting the per-
fume of flowers by distillation, made his first experiment upon Rosa
centifolia, and so invented Rose-water.

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 41

horrible mutilations of evergreen shrubs, hacked
by a diabolical process, which they called the A7's
ToJ>mria, into figures of fishes and beasts and
fowls, such as our own forefathers once rejoiced
in, under the system of gardening surnamed the
Dutch. The Roman gardener was actually called
Topiarins ; and this terrible tree-barber went
proudly round his arboric menagerie with the
trenchant shears, pointing snouts, docking tails,
and gaily disfiguring the face of nature, with the
pleased demeanor of some cheerful savage clev-
erly tattooing his dearest friend. And history,
repeating itself, tells us, through Mr. Pope in The
Guai'dian, how an eminent cook beautified his
country-seat with a coronation dinner done in
evergreens, the Champion flourishing in hornbeam
at one end of the table, and the Queen in per-
petual yew at the other. '* But I, for my part,"
writes Lord Bacon, " do not like to see images
cut out in junipers and other garden-stuff: they
be for children."

It is, however, enough to have shown that al-
though the floral light of these Greeks and
Romans was dim and feeble, it revealed to them
the supreme beauty of the Rose ; and we shall
find, as we pass down the highways of history
from their times to our own, that against this

42 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Royal Supremacy no voice has been ever raised.
It has been reverently acknowledged always ; but
its great champions and laureates have been found,
of course, among the poets — among those who
love beauty most, and in whose hearts a love of
the beautiful rings the " manifold soft chimes " of
song. In all lands and languages they have sung
the Rose, and in none with sweeter service than
our own. From Spenser to Tennyson there is no
great English chorister who has not loved and
lauded her. I have pages of extracts in my com-
monplace-book, but they are, I doubt not, familiar
to most of my readers, and the assertion which I
have made asks no further proof

The excellent beauty of the Rose has not only
been appreciated in all times {semper), but in all
climes.

2. Ubiqiie.*^ — Born in the East, it has been
diffused, like the sunlight, over all the world. A
flower, writes Pliny, known to all nations equally

* I cannot write this word without recording an anecdote, which
has not, I beHeve, been published, but which well deserves to be. It
was told to me by an artillery officer, that a gentleman, dining at the
mess, Woolwich, mistook the Latin trisyllable Ubique on the regi-
mental plate for a French dissyllable, and dehghted the company by
exclaiming : ' ' Ubique ! Where's Ubique ? — never heard of that bat-
tle !" A very similar question was put to myself, showing to a young
friend, among some old curiosities, a medal which had been given to
my grandfather at school, and on which were engraved his initials, the
date, and the word "■ Merenti" — " Merend !" he exclaimed, " how one
forgets history!" (he might have said grammar also), "when was
thatf"

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 43

with wine, myrtle, and oil. It is found in every
quarter of the globe — on glaciers, in deserts, on
mountains, in marshes, in forests, in valleys, and
on plains. The Esquimaux, as Boitard tells us in
his interesting Monographie de la Rose^ adorn
their hair and their raiment of deer and seal skin
with the beautiful blossoms of the Rosa nitida,
which grows abundantly under their stunted
shrubs. The Creoles of Georgia twine the white
flowers of Rosa l^vigata among their sable locks,
plucking them from the lower branches of cHmb-
ing plants, which attach themselves to the garden-
trees of the forest, and bloom profusely on their
boles and boughs. The parched shores of the
Gulf of Bengal are covered during the spring with
a beautiful white Rose, found also in China and
Nepaul ; while in vast thickets of the beautiful
Rosa sempervirens (a native also of China) the
tigers of Bengal and the crocodiles of the Ganges
are known to lie in wait for their prey. The north-
west of Asia, which has been called the fatherland
of the Rose, introduces to our notice the Rosa
centifolia, the most esteemed and renowned of all,
with which the fair Georgians and Circassians en-
hance their fairness. And yet in the coldest re-
gions— for nature is ever bountiful as beautiful,
and that merciful power which makes the wheat

44 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

to grow everywhere for our food, sends also for
our delectation things pleasant to the eye — in Ice-
land (I wish to confess honorably that I am still
filching from Boitard), so fertile in vegetation that
in some parts the natives are compelled to feed
their horses, sheep, and oxen on dried fish, we find
the Rosa rubiginosa, with its pale, solitary, cup-
shaped flowers ; and in Lapland, blooming almost
under the snows of that severe climate, the natives,
seeking mosses and lichens for their reindeer, find
the Rosas majalis and rubella, the former of which,
brilliant in color and of a sweet perfume, enlivens
the dreariness of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
And I come home now, eagerly as a carrier-
pigeon to his native dovecot, to our own Rose-
gardens — eagerly, because here, and here only,
can our Queen be found in the full splendor of her
royal beauty. The Roses of all lands are here,
but so changed, so strengthened by climate, diet,
and care, so refined by intermarriage with other
noble families, that they would no more be recog-
nized by their kinsfolk at home than Cinderella at
the ball by her sisters. The fairy, Cultivation, has
touched them with her wand, and the pale, puny
kitchen-girl steps out of her dingy gingham a
princess, in velvet and precious point, like some
glowing butterfly from his drab cocoon ; or as

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 45

when, at the Circus, ''Paddy from Cork" drops
suddenly his broken hat, his sHt coat, coarse
breeks and brogues, and lo ! it is '' Winged Mer-
cury." They came, as ambassadors to the Queen's
court, savages, ** with nothing on but their nudity,"
their luggage a peacock's plume, and now they
move with a majestic dignity in gorgeous yet
graceful robes.

Will you accompany me, my reader, to one of
Queen Rosa's levees ? They differ in some points
from Queen Victoria's — as, for example, in these :
that the best time to attend them is at sunrise ;
that you may go to them with dressing-gown and
slippers, or with shooting-coat and short pipe ;
that the whole court will smile upon you according
to your loyalty, not according to your looks or
your income ; and that all the beauty which you
see will be real — no false foliage, no somebody-
else's ringlets, no rouge, no pastes, no powders,
no perfumes but their own.

Enter, then, the Rose-garden when the first
sunshine sparkles in the dew, and enjoy with
thankful happiness one of the loveliest scenes of
earth. What a diversity, and yet what a harmony,
of color ! There are White Roses, Striped Roses,
Blush Roses, Pink Roses, Rose Roses, Carmine
Roses, Crimson Roses, Scarlet Roses, Vermilion

46 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Roses, Maroon Roses, Purple Roses, Roses almost
Black, and Roses of a glowing gold. What a
diversity, and yet what harmony, of outline !
Dwarf Roses and Climbing Roses, Roses closely
carpeting the ground, Roses that droop in snowy
foam like fountains, and Roses that stretch out
their branches upwards as though they would kiss
the sun ; Roses ** in shape no bigger than an agate-
stone on the forefinger of an alderman," and
Roses 4 inches across; Roses in clusters, and
Roses blooming singly ; Roses in bud, in their
glory, decline, and fall. And yet all these glow-
ing tints not only combine, but educe and enhance
each the other's beauty. All these variations of
individual form and general outline blend with a
mutual grace. And over all this perfect unity
what a freshness, fragrance, purity, splendor !
They blush, they gleam amid their glossy leaves,
and

" Never sure, since high in Paradise,
By the four rivers, the first Roses blew,"

hath eye seen fairer sight. Linnaeus wept when he
came suddenly upon a wild expanse of golden
furze ; and he is no true florist who has never felt
the springs of his heart troubled, surging, over-
flowing, as he looked on such a scene of beauty as

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 47

that which T so feebly describe. Such visions seem
at first too bright, too dazzhng, for our weakly
sight; we are awed, and we shrink to feel ourselves
in a Divine presence ; the spirit is oppressed by
a happiness which it is unworthy, unable to ap-
prehend, and it finds relief in tears. It is such
a feeUng as one has, hearing for the first time the
Hallelujah Chorus sung by a thousand voices, or
seeing from ''clear placid Leman" the sunlight on
Mont Blanc. " It is too wonderful and excellent
for me," we say; *' it is more like heaven than
earth." Or, with Milton, we ask in reverent
wonder : —

'* What if earth
Be but the shadow of heaven, and things herein
Each to each other like, more than on earth is thought?"

and our prayers go up, as the incense from the
Rose, for purer eyes and hearts.

We have nothing in the whole range of flori-
culture so completely charming as a Rosary in
"the time of Roses." A grower of most flowers,
and a lover of all, I know of none which can com-
pete with the Rose for color, form, and fragrance,
jointly, whether en masse or in single blooms.
" Orchids," do I hear ? Well, I have stood before
Lselia purpurata in an ecstasy of admiration, un-

48 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

til, the flower-show being crowded, the poHce have
requested me to move on. Not long ago I lost
half my dinner because my eyes would wander
from my plate to a Lycaste Skinneri some distance
up the table ; and I appreciate generally with a
fond delight the delicacy, the refinement, the bril-
liancy of this lovely class. It is the aristocracy,
but not the queen of the flowers. Regarding the
two collectively, there is never to be found in the
orchid house the simultaneous splendor of the
Rosary in July — the abundant glistening foliage,
the sweet perfume ; and comparing the individual
flowers, which would a lover take to his beloved
— which would his darling, herself —

" A Rosebud set with little wilful thorns,
And sweet as English air can make her,"

osculate and pet the most ?

And the stove, truly, is a gladness and refresh-
ment— gay, when all without is bleak and dismal,
with the golden Allamandas, the rosy Dipladenia,
so truthfully termed amabilis, the bridal Stephan-
otis, the brilliant Anthurium, the gorgeous Ama-
ryllids, the Bougainvilleas, Eucharis, Francisceas,
Gloxinias, and many more ; but what will you find
there like the Rose ? Place Marechal Niel by the
Allamanda, Francois Michelon by the Dipladenia,

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 49

a truss of Madame Bravy by the Stephanotis,
Charles Lefebvre by the AmarylHs, and, hke fair
maids of honor and beautiful ladies in waiting,
these inmates of the hothouse must bow before
their queen.

It is the same in the conservatory. The
Camellia is of faultless form, but it has not the
grace, the ease, the expression of the Rose. It is
like a face whereof every feature is perfect, but
which lacks the changing charms of feeling and
intellect. Neither has it the colors nor the scent.
So with all other greenhouse favorites ; they are
lovely — Azaleas, Begonias, Pelargoniums, Ericas
— but not so lovely as the Rose.

It is the same out of doors as under glass.
The gardens of Bagshot, where nightingales
sing, and Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Kalmias
bloom — the goodly tents of Waterer in the park
of the Regent and in the gardens of Kensington,
— are sights to make an old man young; but
they show not to our eyes the brightness, the
diversity of the Rose's hues, and for our noses
they have comparatively nothing — though I do
not forget the spicy fragrance of the sweet little
Daphne cneorum.

Glorious, too, are the Dahlias of Slough, of
every hue, and in symmetry almost too severely

4

50 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

perfect; and yet let their owner, than whom a
more earnest and successful florist never tended
flowers — let Charles Turner declare, as I know he
would, that though the Dahha may be ** Queen
of Autumn," the Rose is the Queen of Flowers.

The tall, proud, stately, handsome Hollyhocks,
of Chater, of W. Paul, — yea, even those of the
peer, peerless in this branch of floriculture, Lord
Hawke, — must bow their high heads to the Rose;
and the Lilies, the lovely Lilies, from Japan and
elsewhere, which have come as beautiful strangers
into our gardens, to beautify them henceforth for
ever — for they are hardy, having due attention —
and to see them, amid our evergreens, holding up
their golden and jewelled cups to catch the soft
showers of June, is an ecstasy, — these stand next
to, but may not mount, the throne. No, not even
in combination and alliance can all the flowers of
the garden compete with the Garden of Roses —
not the flowers of spring on the terraces of Clieve-
den or Belvoir's sunny slopes, not the summer
splendors of Archerfield and beautiful Hardwicke.
Let the artistic '* bedder-out" select his colors
from all the tribes and families of plants ; his
blacks and bronzes and dark deep reds from the
Coleus, the Oxalis, Amxaranthus, Iresine, and Beet;
his yellows from the Calceolaria, Marigold, and

OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY. 5 1

Viola ; his scarlets from the Pelargonium ; his
purples, blues, and greys from the Verbena, the
Lobelia, and Ageratum ; his whites from the Ce-
rastium, Centaurea, Santolina, Alyssum ; let him
have all that flower and foliage, arranged by con-
summate taste, can do, he can never produce a
scene so fair, because he can never produce a
scene so natural, as he may have in a garden of
Roses. It may be more brilliant, more imposing,
but there will not be that unity, that perfect
peace, of which the eye wearies never. It is like
a triumphant march of organs, trumpets, and
shawms, but the ear cannot listen to it so long, so
happily, as to some plaintive horn in the* calm
eventide, or some sweet simple song. The gor-
geous dame of fashion, the loud undaunted woman
of the world, prismatic, brilliant, flaunting, glow-
ing with a color which, though decidedly ''fast,"
will no more endure soft water than certain of our
brightest " bedders" will endure a drenching rain
— she, I say, may bewilder the dazzled eye, and
captivate the weaker world; but to the fresh,
pure, gentle girl, whose blushes cannot be bought
in Bond Street — to her be given St. Medard's
wreath,* for she only wins the wise man's heart.

* In the sixth century, St. Medard instituted the custom of giving
a wreath of white Roses as an annual prize to the most modest and
obedient of the maidens at Salency.

52 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

And the Rose, as it Is admired, so may it be
grown by all.

3. A I? omnibus. — Loved by all grades and
ages, from the little village child who wreathes it
from the hedge-row in his sister's hair, to the prin-
cess who holds it in her gemmed bouqiietier, so It
may be alike enjoyed in the laborer's garden or in
the conservatory of the peer. Wherever It is
loved, there will It display Its beauty ; and the
best Cloth-of-Gold I ever saw was on a cottager's
wall. It is adapted for every position, and for
every pocket too. The poorest may get his own
Briers, and beg a few buds from the rich ; and
men of moderate means may make or maintain a
Rosary at a very moderate expense. There Is
nothing in floriculture to be purchased and per-
petuated so cheaply as a garden of Roses. You
may lay the foundation for a £^ note; and then,
by budding and by striking cuttings from your
own trees, and by an annual selection of a few
additional and valuable varieties, may In two or
three seasons possess a beautiful Rosarium.

I will now endeavor to tell, practically and
minutely, how this may be done.

POSITION. 53

CHAPTER IV.

POSITION.

Where, is now our question, shall the Rosary
be ? In what part of our garden shall we find
the best situation, the most worthy site for a royal
throne ? Some, indeed, have treated our Queen
more as a menial than as a monarch ; they have
sent her Majesty by lobbies and back-stairs into
dismal chambers which look down on bottle-racks,
and to attics where, through clattering casement,
the wintry winds blow chill. And this when they
should have uncovered their drawing-room dam-
ask, and thoroughly aired their best bed.

Some, having heard that a free circulation of
air and abundance of sunshine are essential ele-
ments of success, select a spot which would be
excellent for a windmill, observatory, beacon, or,
Martello tower; and there the poor Rose-trees
stand, or, more accurately speaking, wobble, with
their leaves, like King Lear's silver locks, rudely
blown and drenched by the " to-and-fro contend-
ing wind and rain." I have seen a garden of
Roses — I mean a collection of Roseless-trees —
in front of a " noble mansion proudly placed upon

54 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

a commanding eminence," where, if you called
upon a gusty day, the wind blew the powder from
the footman's hair as soon as he had opened the
front door, and other doors within volleyed and
thundered a feu de joie in honor of the coming
guest.

Others, who had been told that the Rose
loves shelter, peace, repose, have found *' such a
dear snug little spot," not only surrounded by
dense evergreen shrubs, but overshadowed by
giant trees. Rest is there, assuredly — rest for
the Rose when its harassed life is passed, when it
has nothing more for disease to prey upon, no
buds for the caterpillar, no foliage for the aphis
— the rest of a mausoleum ! I was taken not long
ago to a cemetery of this description, which had
been recently laid out ; and there was such a con-
fident expectation of praise in the pretty face of
the lady who took me, that I was sorely puzzled
how to express my feelings. I wished to be kind,
I wished to be truthful ; and the result was some
such a dubious compliment as the sultan paid to
the French pianist. The Frenchman, you may
remember, was a muscular artist, more remark-
able for power than pathos ; and he went at the
instrument, and shook and worried it as a terrier
goes in at rats. His exertions were sudorific;

POSITION. 55

and when he finished the struggle, with beads on
his brow, the sultan told him, *' that although he
had heard the most renowned performers of the
age, he had never met one who — perspired so
freely !" Nor could I, with my heart as full of
charity's milk as a Cheshire dairy of the cow's,
think of any higher praise of the plot before me
than that it was an admirable place for ferns ;
and therefore, when my commentary was received
with an expressive smile of genteel disgust, as
though I had suggested that the allotment in
question was tJie site of all others for a jail, or had
said, as Carlyle said of the Royal Garden at Pots-
dam, that ** it was one of the finest Fog-preserves
in Europe," then, without further prevarications,
I told the truth. And the truth is, that this
boundless contiguity of shade is fatal, and every
overhanging tree is fatal as an upas-tree, to the
Rose. As Ireland has been said to be too near a
great country ever to achieve greatness for itself
(I do not myself attribute its humidity or its indo-
lence, its famines or its Fenianism, to the vicinity of
England) ; so the Rose, in close proximity to a
forest-tree, can never hope to thrive. In a two-
fold sense it takes umbrage; robbed above and
robbed below, robbed by branches of its sunshine,
and by roots of its soil, it sickens, droops, and

56 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

dies. A Rose under trees can no more flourish
than a deer can get a good " head " who never
leaves the forest for the moor.

These regicides were none the less correctly
told — both those who kill by suffocation and
those who starve our Queen to death — that the
Rose must have a free circulation of air, and like-
wise repose and rest. The directions may seem to
be incongruous, but they can be, and must be, fol-
lowed. The Rosarium must be both exposed and
sheltered; a place both of sunshine and of shade.
The centre must be clear and open, around it the
protecting screen. It must be a fold wherein the
sun shines warmly on the sheep, and the wind is
tempered to the shorn lamb ; a haven in which
the soft breeze flutters the sails, but over which
the tempest roars, and against whose piers the
billow hurls itself, in vain.

And this may, I think, be taken consequently
as a golden rule in the formation of a Rose-gar-
den : so arrange it that a large proportion of your
trees may have the sunshine on them from its rise
to the meridian, and after that time be in shadow
and in repose. To eftect this, the garden must
extend in longitude from north to south rather
than from east to west — the form being oblong or
semicircular. The western \vail or fence should

POSITION. 57

be high, from 8 to lo feet; the northern tall and
dense, but not necessarily so high as the western;
the eastern such as will keep out cold, cutting
winds, but not one ray of sunshine, say 5 feet.
To the south the Rosary may be open ; but even
here, so hurtful is a rough wind which occasionally
blows from this quarter, I prefer some slight pro-
tective screen, such as a low bank or a bed of
Rhododendrons.

Of what material should we make the higher
'boundary fences ? This is a question of time and
of outlay. Walls are built at once, and are soon
beautifully covered — the warmer ones, looking
east and south, with Marechal Niel, Climbing
Devoniensis, Cheshunt Hybrid, etc., and the others
with Noisette, Ayrshires, and Sempervirens Roses;
but evergreen hedges of Yew, Holly, American
Arborvitae, Berberis, Privet, and Hornbeam, are
an admirable contrast to the glowing colors of
the Rose, and introduce the air, subdued and
softened, like Respirators, into the Rosarium. But
why not hedges of the Rose itself, such as we see
in France ? Might Ave not have hedges of the
common Brier, and bud them with our choicest
varieties ? Might we not make hedges of the
Ayrshire, Sempervirens, Boursaultand Sweet-brier
Rose ? " I have had a hedge of Rosa villosa these

58 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

twenty years," writes Mr. Robertson, a nursery-
man at Kilkenny, in 1834, ''about 8 or 10 feet
high, which is a sheet of bloom every May, and
throughout the rest of the season flowers with
the Boursault, Noisette, Hybrid China, and other
Roses which are budded on it." " At the Isle of
Bourbon," writes Mr. Rivers, quoting Monsieur
Breon, in the 'Rose Amateurs' Guide,' " the inhab-
itants generally enclose their land with hedges
made of two rows of Roses — one row of the
Common China Rose, the other of the Red Four
Seasons " And in the * Gardeners' Chronicle,' of
June 19, 1869, we have the description of a hedge
of Roses, grown at Digswell, Hertfordshire, 280
feet in length.

Catullus, in one beautiful line, describes the
benign and gracious influences which we should
seek to obtain for the Rose. He writes of a
flower,

'* Quern mulcent aurae, firmat sol, educat imber,"

to which the air nimbly and sweetly recommends
itself, bringing the complexion of beauty, but not
visiting the cheek too roughly, which the sun
strengthens but does not scorch, which the shower
refreshes but the tempest spares. Such a genial
home we must find, or make, for our Roses,

POSITION. 59

wherein we may see them in a serene and placid
loveliness, what time their unprotected sisters are
withering beneath burning suns, and may admire
their ample and glossy foliage when, in exposed
and unfenced ground, the furious wind seems
almost to blow out the very sap from the shim-
mering, shivering leaves. Transitory, almost
ephemeral, is '' a Rose's brief life of joy,"

TO poSop aKfxd^ei. /Satov ;^p6i'OV, —

and there comes a broiling day towards the end
of June, when the Rose, unshaded, is burnt to
tinder, and the petals of that magnificent Charles
Lefebvre, which was intended for next day's
show, crumble as we touch, and are as the parsley
which accompanies the hot rissole. Or there
comes a gusty day, and lo ! that lovely bloom of
Francois Michelon, perfect just now in tint and
symmetry, is chafed, discolored, deformed, for
want of a guardian screen. I know that in the
one case something may be done by the use of
those florumbras and metallic hats of which I shall
have more to say when I speak of Roses for
exhibition — and that in the other, strong stakes,
secure tying, and low stature will do much to
save ; but in both instances a natural shelter and
a natural shade are far more reliable aids — far

6o A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

more conducive to the beauty and endurance of
the Rose.

" Cease firing," I hear it said ; " you ar-e shoot-
ing over your target, and wasting powder and
ball. You are talking of walls and hedges and
banks — of crescents and parallelograms, as though
all your readers had the wealth and the acres of
Lord Carabbas. You are sermonizing above your
congregation — at all events, enjoining precepts
which they are unable to perform. You are writ-
ing for the few, and not, as you promised, for the
many." But this, I must plead, is as unjust an
accusation of exclusiveness as was brought against
a clerical neighbor and friend of mine, a good
and gentle pastor, by one of his flock, on this
wise. He had been preaching, he told me, a
simple discourse on the duties and privileges of a
Churchman, and he was leaving the church after
his people, when an old man, not aware of his
proximity, turned to another veteran, as they
hobbled out of the porch together, and said :
"Well, Tommy, my lad, thou sees there's no
salvation for nobbody but him and a few partickler
friends !" He had preached, nevertheless, as I
would fain write, without respecting persons, the
truth for all. If I have any special sympathy, it
is certainly with the poorer portion of our brother-

POSITION. 6 1

hood ; and as I have passed through all the grades
of Rose-growing, commencing with a dozen only
(nay, I well remember the Rose which first won
my allegiance, D'Aguesseau Gallica, as a man
remembers the first love-smile of his heart's
queen), and gradually increased to my present
maximum of 5000 (maximum, do I say ? trop
n'est pas assez ; and if I had Nottinghamshire
full of Roses, I should desire Derbyshire for a
budding-ground), I can indentify myself with
Rose-growers of all denominations, and with Rose-
gardens of every shape and size.

And the directions which I have offered apply
equally to the small as to the larger Rosary — ex-
pose to the morning's sunshine, protect from cut-
ting wind. Give the best place in your garden to
the flower which deserves it most. In the small-
est plot, you may make, if you do not find, such
a site as I have described. You zuill make it, if
you are in earnest. I have seen old boards, old
staves (reminding one of the time when the Bor-
deaux casks made fences commonly in English
gardens), old sacking, torn old tarpaulins — yes,
once an old black serge petticoat — set up by the
poor to protect the Rose ; and there I have ever
seen her smiling upon Love, however mean its of-
fering, and rewarding its untiring service

62 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

For the flirt, for the faint-hearted, for the cox-
comb, who thinks that upon his first sentimental
sigh she will rush into his arms and weep, she has
nothing but sublime disdain.

Of this, and before I speak upon Soil^ let me
submit an illustration. i

Not many summers since, three individuals, of
whom I was one, were conversing in a country
home. One of my companions was about to suc-
ceed the other as tenant of the house in which we
were met, and was making anxious inquiry about
the garden in general, and concerning Roses in
particular. ''Oh!" said our host, ** the place is
much too exposed for Roses. No man in the
world is fonder of them than I am, and I have
tried all means, and spared no expense ; but it is
simply hopeless." '^ Mtist have Roses," was the
quiet commentary of the new-comer ; and two
years afterwards I met him at the local flower-
show, the winner of a first prize for twelve. " My
predecessor," he said, '* was no more the enthusiast
which he professed to be about Roses, than that
Quaker was an enthusiastic alms- giver who had
felt so much for his afflicted friend but had not felt
in his pocket. The pleasure-grounds, it is true,
are too bleak for prize blooms, but in the large,
half-cultivated kitchen-garden, I found the most

POSITION. 6t,

delightful corner, with an eastern aspect ; put in
one hundred Briers ; budded them last summer ;
manured them abundantly this ; and am now,
between ourselves, and stib rosa, in such a bump-
tious condition, that you'd think I'd made the
Roses myself."

There is, alas ! one locality, beneath that dark
canopy of smoke which hangs over and around
our large cities and manufacturing towns, wherein
it is not possible to grow the Rose in its glory ;
and many a time as I have stood in the pure air
and sunshine among my own beautiful flowers, I
have felt a most true and sorrowful sympathy for
those who, loving the Rose as fondly as I do, are
unable to realize its perfect beauty. Well, no man
can have his earthly happiness just in the Avay he
wills ; but every man, as a rule, has his equal
share, and these men, I doubt not, have other
successes as solace and compensation. Nay, are
not their Roses, which we, more favored, should
regard as disappointments, successes to them,
great and gratifying ? If Mr. Shirley Hibberd,
for example, whose ''Rose Book" I commend to
urban and oppidan amateurs, can grow good
Roses within four miles of the General Post-Office
— and I have seen the proofs of his skill and per-
severance at one of the great London Rose-shows,

64 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

to my high surprise and delectation — it is quite
certain that he would be rmlli seauidus with the
full advantage of situation and soil. Nor do I
hesitate to say that the collection to which I refer,
necessarily less perfect than those around it in
color and in size, seemed to me the most honora-
ble of all.

What can I offer besides the hand of friendship
and the praise of an old Rosarian to these brave
brethren of the Rose ? I subjoin for them a list of
those varieties which are, in my opinion, most
likely to repay their anxious care. Let them be
planted in the best place, and in the best soil
available, avoiding drip and roots. Let them be
manured In the winter and mulched In the spring.
In the summer months let them be well watered
below and ivcll syringed above tzvo or three times
a-ivcek. Let grubs and aphides be removed, and
sulphur, or soot, or soap-and-water, applied as
soon as mildew shows itself

List of Roses for Suburban Gardens.

For Walls. — Gloire de Dijon,
Cheshunt Hybrid, La Belle
Lyonnaise, the Ayrshire,
Sempervirens, white and

yellow Banksian, Boursault
Roses — where a large space
is to be covered, the Ayr-
shire and Sempervirens.

POSITION.

65

0/ Summer Roses. — The Com-
mon Moss, the Common
Provence or Cabbage; Boula
de Nanteuil and Kean, Galli-
cas ; Brennus and Blair ii 2,*
Hybrid Chinas ; Charles
Lawson,* Coupe d'Hebe,
and Paul Perras, Hybrid
Bourbons.

Of A tihi7nnal Roses. — Auguste
Mie, Baronne Prevost,
Charles Lefebvre, Comte de
Nanteuil, Edouard Morren,
General Jacqueminot, Jules
Margottin, La Ville de St.
Denis, Leopold L, Madame

Boll, Madame Boutin, Madame
Clemence Joigneaux, Madame
Victor Verdier, Marechal Vail-
lant, Marie Beauman, Madame
Charles Wood, Paul Neron,
Pierre Netting, Senateur
Vaisse, Hybrid Perpettials ;
Armosa, Queen, and Souvenir
de la Malmaison, Bourbons ;
Aimee Vibert and Grandiflora,
Noisettes ; Mrs. Bosanquet,
China ; and Climbing Devo-
niensis, Gloire de Dijon,**
Madame Berrard, and Souvenir
d'un Ami, Teas.

* Blairii 2 and Charles Lawson must not be too shortly pruned.
Cut out the weakly wood, and leave eight or ten "eyes" on the vigor-
ous branches.

** I name this Rose again because it should be planted not only
against a wall, but in the garden.

66 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

CHAPTER V.

SOILS.

"What a constitution must that air and soil
of Herefordshire give the Rose !" So wrote Dr.
Lindley, praising the beautiful blooms which Mr.
Cranston brought from the King's Acre, by Here-
ford city, to the first grand National Rose-show,
And we aliens read with envy. Rivers, and the
Pauls, and Lane, and Francis, gazed sorrowfully a
while on the / in Hertfordshire ; from Sussex, so
it seemed to Messrs. Wood and Mitchell, all suc-
cess had fled: "So much for Buckingham," sighed
Mr. Turner, from the Slough of his deep despair;
in Wiltshire, even Keynes, the stout-hearted,
looked ruefully for a moment on his fair garden
as though it had been Salisbury Plain ; in Essex,
Mr. Cant of Colchester was mute as one of its
oysters ; and as these great leaders of Queen
Rosa's armies were seized with a brief despair, we
privates and non-commissioned officers were not
what we should have been with regard to knees,
and felt a sudden conviction that the time had
come when we ought to retire from the service.

SOILS. (Sj

That gust, which caused the Hght to flicker in our
grand chandeliers and lamps, all but blew out for
€ver our rush-lights and farthing dips.

It was but a gust and a surprise. *' It was a
moment's fantasy, and as such it has passed."
Those generals, whose eyes blinked for a second
as they read of the superior powers of Hereford,
have since won glorious victories, each for his
shire. Cheshunt and Colchester, Salisbury and
Slough, again and again have gained the pride
of place; and not until 1867 did the victor of
1858 resume his championship among the chiefs.
Enough, surely, for one man's ambition, twice in
a decade to achieve such a conquest !*

There are no duties upon sunshine, there are
no monopolies in air ; and there are thousands of
acres, both sides the Border, as genial for the Rose
as the King's by Hereford — nurseries and gardens
in every part of Victoria's realm, from which Mr.
Cranston, or any other man, with his fondness for
the flower and persevering skill in its culture, may
grow it in all its glory.

But idleness and ignorance will not believe it.
Dwelling in a land of Roses, in a land where the

* In 1873, Mr. Cranston won another great victory — the largest
amount as yet offered as a prize for cut Roses — £2.0 for 72 blooms, at
Wisbech; and again, in 1877, he won wherever he showed.

68 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

woods and lanes and hedges are clothed at sum-
mertide with Roses, they prefer the stolid convic-
tion that the stars in their courses fight against
them, that meteorology and geology are their
bitter foes. Look over your garden-wall with a
beautiful Rose in your coat, and your neighbor,
loitering with his hands in his pockets, knee-deep
in groundsel, amid his beds undrained, undug, will
sigh from the depths of his divine despair: ''What
a soil yours is for the Rose !" Some of my own
friends talk to me regularly as the summer comes,
not as though I had any special fondness or took
any special pains, but as if my garden would grow
excellent Roses, whether I liked it or no. At
first, and as a neophyte, I used to feel a little irri-
tation when all the glory was given to the ground;
and I remember upon one occasion that I could
not refrain from informing a gentleman (who
bored me with the old unchanging commentary)
that wild Rose-trees, transplanted from the hedge-
row to my garden in the autumn, grew flowers
large enough for exhibition the next summer but
one. It was the simple fact concerning budded
Briers, but he took away the inference, which I
blush to own was meant for him, that the trans-
formation was effected by the soil solely; and he
was very angry, I heard afterwards, when his

SOILS. 69

views on the subject were not universally accepted
by a large dinner-party in his own house.

How often has it been said to me : " Oh what
a garden is yours for Roses ! We have a few nice
flowers, but of course we can't compete v/ith you.
Old Mr. Drone, our gardener, tells us that he
never saw such a soil as yours, nor so bad a soil
as ours, for Roses." And herein is a fact in hor-
ticulture— Mr. Drone always has a bad soil. An
inferior gardener, whether his inferiority is caused
by want of knowledge or want of industry (the
latter as a rule), is always snarling at his soil.
Whatever fails, flowers, fruits, or vegetables,
shrubs or trees, the fault rests ever with the soil.
Hearing some of these malcontents declaim, you
would almost conclude that a tree, planted over-
night, would be discovered next morning pros-
trate over the wall upon its back, eliminated by
the soil in disgust. Only by superhuman efforts,
they will assure you, combined with extraordinary
talent, can anything be induced to grow but
weeds. The place might be, like Hood's Haunted
House,

" Under some prodigious ban
Of excommunication" —

a place from which Jupiter had warned Phoebus
and Zephyrus and Pomona and Flora, on pain of

JO A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

hot thunder-bolts. They come there, of course^
from a spirit of disobedience, but only on the sly,
and seldom. The old, old story — the muff, com-
ing from his wicket with his second cipher, and
blaming the uneven ground, the ball which "broke
in" with a wild defiance of every natural law, and
baffled all that science knew ; the bad shot, whose
"beast of a gun" is always on half-cock when the
rare woodcock comes, and on whose eyes the sun
sheds ever his extra-dazzling rays ; the bad rider,
who ''never gets a start" (nor wants one), and
whose fractious horse " won't go near the brook"
at the very crisis of the run.

The good gardener, on the contrary, the man
whose heart is in his work, makes the most of his
means, instead of wasting his time in useless lam-
entations. He knows that this world is no longer
Eden, and that only by sweat of brow and brain
can he bring flower or fruit to perfection. " Let
me dig about it and dung it," he says of the
sterile tree ; knowing as it was known when the
words were spoken, more than eighteen hundred
years ago, that to prune and to feed the roots is
to reclaim and to restore, wherever there is hope
of restoration.*

^ The occasional lifting and tap-root pruning of Standard Rose-
trees is beneficial, as a rule ; but exceptions should be made, when the

SOILS. 71

No long time ago, and while the judges at a
flower-show were making their awards, I strolled
with two other exhibitors, gardeners, into a small
nursery-ground not far distant. My companions
were strangers to me, but still more strange to
each other, for they seemed to differ in all points,
as much as two men having the same vocation
could. The one was of a cheerful countenance
and conversation, ruddy with health, lithe and
elastic as a hunter in condition ; the other ponder-
ous, morose, flabby — complexion, gamboge and
green. Not knowing their real appellations, I
named them in my own mind, Doleful and Gaylad,
after two fox-hounds of my acquaintance. Doleful
soon found the fox he wanted, — something to
decry and depreciate ; and he gave tongue with a
deep melancholy howl, which might have been
the last sad wail of poor Gelert. Gaylad simulta-
neously, but in an opposite direction, went away
with his fox, — something to admire and praise;
but his tone was full of mirth and music, and he
seemed thoroughly to enjoy the sport. Doleful
had just growled to me in confidence that he
" wouldn't have the place as a gift," when Gaylad
pronounced it " a jolly little spot," and told the

growth of stock, scion, and flower is vigorous, upon the excellent
principle of letting well alone.

72 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

occupier, who was hard at work, that his nursery
did him credit. I found out, as we returned, that
these two men were competitors in the same class ;
and I found, as I anticipated, on entering the show,
that Gaylad was first and Doleful nowhere. Sub-
sequently, at the dinner, and as I again expected,
Mr. Doleful informed us that his defeat was to be
attributed entirely to the wretched nature of his
soil ; a remark which was received with a grace-
ful silence by the company in general, and by Mr.
Gaylad in particular with a festive wink.

Some soils, we all know, are naturally more
beneficent than others, but gardening is an art;
its primary business

"To study culture, and with artful toil
To meliorate and tame the stubborn soil;"

and its success certain, wherever this cura
cole7tdi is undertaken by working heads and hands.
I know of only one soil in which the attempt to
grow grand Roses would be hopeless — a case of
'' Patience sitting by the pool of Despondency
and angling for impossibihties," with never a
nibble — and that is the light barren sand called
" drift" and *' blowaway," of which the clay farmer
said derisively that " it might be ploughed with a
Dorking cock and a carving-knife !" Mud, we

SOILS. 73

are told, in Mortimer's Husbandry , makes an ex-
traordinary manure for land that is sandy, but this
gritty rubbish demoralizes whatever comes. You
may expel nature with a muck-fork on Monday,
but on Tuesday morning she will be back, and
grinning.

This exception, however, only proves the rule,
that difficulties must yield to cultivation, and to
free-trade in soil. This is, no doubt, a matter of
Radical Reform {Radix, genitive radicis, a root),
but the Conservatories have taken a decided lead
in it. The growers of stove and greenhouse
plants collect their material from all quarters :
from India, the fibres of the cocoa-nut ; their sand
from Relgate; their peat from Seven-Oaks; their
leaf- mould, their Sphagnum, and other mosses,
from forest and bog ; their top-spits from the rich
old pasture ; their manures, natural and artificial,
from Peru to the farm-yard. They stand in their
potting-sheds surrounded by these varied articles
of home and foreign produce, even as the men of
Gunter among the rich ingredients of the matri-
monial cake. Regard, too, the perfect drainage
provided for these plants ; no chronic saturation,
dangerous to life, as all dropsies are ; no perpetual
conflict between air and water, but each exercising
its function in peace. And yet many a man who

74 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. .

knows all this and practises it ivithin doors,
stands helpless and hopeless on the soil without.
I have walked out of houses where Orchids and
stove-plants, and even those hard- wooded inmates
of the greenhouse which so thoroughly test the
plantsman's skill — those Ericas, for example, which
come indeed from the Cape of Good Hope, but
too often bring dark despair — were all in admi-
rable condition, and have been told as I stood
upon soil the facsimile of my own, and better :
** We can't grow Roses." There is only one reply :
'* You won't."

Because I know that Roses may be grown to
perfection in the ordinary garden-soil, if they have
such a position as I have described in the preced-
ing chapter, and if that soil is cultivated — I don't
mean occasionally scratched with a rake and
tickled with a hoe, or sprinkled with manure from
a pepper-box, but thoroughly drained, and dug,
and dunged. I am not theorizing, nor playing the
game of speculation with my readers — not writ-
ing from a fertile soil, regardless of the difficulties
of others, like the Irish absentee, who, dating from
his cosy club in London, thus addressed his agent
in a dangerous, disaffected district: — "Don't let
them think that, by shooting you, they will at all
intimidate me;" but I have proved that which I

SOILS. 75

preach in practice. Upon two soils as different
from each other as soils can be, though only
separated by a narrow stream, I have grown Roses
which have won the premier prizes at our chief
" All England" shows. On one side of the brook
the ground is naturally a strong, red, tenacious
clay ; on the other, a very light, weak, porous
loam, with a marl}' subsoil.

The first thing to do with a cold adhesive clay
is to drain it, and to drain it well. When water
stagnates around the roots of a plant, they cannot
receive the air or the warmth which are alike es-
sential to their health, nay life. Cut your drains,
with a good fall, straight, and 4 feet deep ; and do
not forget, when you have made them, to look
from time to time, in seasons of wet, whether or
no they are doing their duty. Use tiles, not
fagots, which soon, in most cases become non-con-
ductors.

Having provided channels of escape for the
superabundant moisture, make it as eas}^ as may
be, in the next place, for the moisture to reach
them. Trench your ground, and, by exposing it
to atmospheric influence, make it as porous and
friable as you can. Then consider what additions
you may introduce to its improvement. " Any-
thing," writes Morton, in his work upon the Nature

'j6 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

and Property of Soils, '* which will produce per-
manent friabihty in clay soils — such as sand, Hme,
soot, burnt clay, loose light vegetable matter, or
long unfermented manure — will alter its texture
and improve its quality." Of these, having tried
them fairly, I have found that which is happily the
closest to our hand (like a thousand other privi-
leges and blessings, had we but eyes to see them)
to be the most advantageous — I mean burnt clay.
Some of our modern writers and lecturers speak
of it as of a recent discovery ; but the Romans
knew it, and used incinerated soils two thousand
years before Sir Humphry Davy wrote: — ** The
process of burning renders the soil less compact,
less tenacious and retentive of moisture ; and
properly applied, may convert a matter that was
stiff, damp, and in consequence cold, into one
powdery, dry, and warm, and much more proper
as a bed for vegetable life." Let those Rosarians,
therefore, who have heavy tenacious soils, having
lirst tapped their dropsical patients by drain and
trench, promote their convalescence by a combina-
tion of ancient and modern, external and internal,
pharmacy; let them unite the old custom of
cautery, as they burn their clay, and the new pre-
cepts of homcEopathy, siniilia similibus cura7itiir.
And with this object let them save everything, as

SOILS. 'JJ

we were wont to do in oui* school-days when the
festival of Fawkes drew nigh for a bonfire. Keep
the prunings of your Rosary, that new Roses, like
the Phoenix, may spring from the funeral-pyre ;
preserve all other prunings, decayed vegetables,
haulm, roots, refuse, rubbish, weeds: —

" Since nought so vile, that on the earth doth live.
But to the earth some special good doth give,"

and when you have a goodly omnium gatJicrtun^
make ready your furnace. Arrange your thorns
and more inflammable material as a base, then an
admixture of more solid fuel from your stores,
lightening and condensing alternately, and in the
centre disposing some large pieces de resistance,
such as old tree-stumps, useless pieces of rotting
timber, and the like, which, once fairly on fire, will
go smouldering on for a fortnight. On this heap,
well kindled, and around it, place your clay, re-
newing it continually as the fire breaks through.
The pile must be watched so that the flames may
be thus constantly suppressed, the clay burnt
gradually, and not charred to brickdust. " The
ashes of burnt soil are said to be best," writes
Morton, '' when they are blackest ; black ashes
are produced by slow combustion, and red ashes
by a strong fire." Blend these ashes with the

yS A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

parent soil, intermixing* lime, rammel, or sand (if
you can get them), and then there remains, so far
as the soil is concerned, but one addition to be
made, and of this we will treat presently.

First crossing, if you please, the little bridge
which divides my Rose-gardens, and passing over
the narrow streamlet, from a cold clay soil, fertil-
ized by cultivation, to a light, porous, feeble loam,
best described by a laborer digging it when he
said : " It had no more natur in it than work'us
soup." Nor was it ever my intention to try Roses
in this meagre material, until a friend happened
one day to say of it : *' No man in England could
grow Roses t/ierc." Then, fired by a noble am-
bition, or pig-headed perverseness, whichever you
please, I resolved to make the experiment. I took
a spade as soon as he was gone, for a happy
thought had struck me that this soil might resem-
ble that boy-beloved confection, Trifle, which,
thin, frothy, and tasteless, in the upper stratum,
has below a delicious subsoil of tipsy-cake and
jam. So I found out in my garden, not far from
the surface, a dark, fat, greasy marl, rich as the
nuptial almond-paste, and looking as though the
rain had washed into it all the goodness of the up-
per ground. The lean and the fat, the froth and
the preserves, were soon mixed for me by the

SOILS. 79

spade aforesaid ; and in this soil, trenched and ex-
posed to the air for a few weeks afterwards, I
planted my Briers. Then followed the manure, of
which I have yet to speak, and in due course the
Roses. These in their first summer, 1865 (I do
not chronicle my success from egotism, but as
facts for the encouragement of others), won the
two first prizes at Birmingham, and two seconds at
the Crystal Palace, with very little assistance from
their allies over the water ; and in 1 868, from
*' maiden" stocks — /. r., from Briers budded in
1867 — I won fourteen first prizes out of sixteen
collections shown, including that which was then
considered the champion prize of all, the first
awarded to amateurs at the Grand National Show
of the Royal Horticultural Society.

In this case, as with the heavy clay, the remedy
lay close to the disease ; and in very many similar
cases, it will be found that, by intermixing the
stronger and more tenacious subsoil with the sur-
face, fertility may be secured. If not in actual
proximity, the element required for a defective soil
— clay, for example, when sand predominates —
may be procured generally at no great distance, and
may be fetched in a waggon or a wheelbarrow,*

* -In the summer of 1870 a gardener remarked to a friend of mine,
who had won a first prize for Roses at Newark, " I believe, sir, that

8o A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

in accordance with ways and means. Let
Horticulture in this matter learn a lesson from
her younger sister ; and let the gardener who is
whimpering over his rood of unkindly soil remem-
ber what the farmer has done and is doing, the
wide world over, amid the forest and the fen. And
such pusillanimity is specially comic in the case of
a Scotsman or Englishman who is surrounded by
a thousand proofs of triumphant cultural skill ;
who may walk, from dawn to dusk, among golden
corn, where once the antlered monarch spent his
life, unscared by hound or arrow ; among flocks
and herds, knee-deep in herbage, where fifty years
ago the blackcock crowed amid the purple heather,
where

" The coot was swimming in the reedy pond,
Beside the water-hen, so soon affrighted ;
And where, by whispering sedge, the heron, fond
Of solitude, ahghted."

"Richard" — thus I spoke to the indolent and
obese proprietor of a small freehold in my neigh-
borhood, who was complaining to me that his
garden, about as highly cultivated as Mariana's at
the Moated Grange, was viciously and desperately

you have got the only garden in all Lincolnshire which could grow
such blooms." " And I brought it there," my friend responded, " in
a wheelbarrow."

SOILS. 8 1

incapable of producing anything but *' docks," —
" Richard, your forefathers have helped to reclaim
the greater part of Sherwood Forest, while their
neighbors were draining the Lincoln fens ; and I
should almost have hoped, taking into account the
discoveries of modern science, that you might, in
a favorable season, have educed a few potatoes
even from the depraved material before us." But
he didn't seem to "see it.

Wherefore I would ask to narrate, in antith-
esis, and to take away, as it were, a nauseous
flavor — like the fig which followed the castor-oil
of our youth — another small incident. The
"navvy" is not commonly a man of floral proclivi-
ties, but I met with a grand exception a few years
ago in the leader of a gang then working upon
one of our midland lines. When the work was
done, and the band dispersed, he applied for and
obtained a gate-house on the rail, and to that tene-
ment was attached the meanest apology for a
garden which I ever saw in my life. Knowing
his love of flowers, I condoled with him at the
beginning of his tenancy ; but he only responded
with a significant grunt, and a look at the garden,
as though it were a football and he was going to
kick it over the railway. It seemed to me a
gravel-bed, and nothing more. Twelve months

6

82 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

after I came near the place again — was it a
mirage which I saw on the sandy desert ? There
were vegetables, fruit-bushes, and fruit-trees, all
in vigorous health ; there were flowers, and the
flower-queen in her beauty. *' Why, Will," I ex-
claimed, '* what have you done to the gravel-
bed?" '* Lor' bless yer," he replied, grinning, '* I
hadn't been here a fortnight afore I swopped it for
a pond!'' He had, as a further explanation in-
formed me, and after an agreement with a neigh-
boring farmer, removed with pick and barrow his
sandy stratum to the depth of three feet, wheeled
it to the banks of an old pond, or rather to the
margin of a cavity where a pond once was, but
which had been gradually filled up with leaves
and silt ; and this rich productive mould he had
brought home a distance of 200 yards, replacing
it with the gravel, and levelling as per contract.
Some other neighbor had given him a cartload of
clay, and the children had '' scratted together a
nicst bit o' muck, and he meant stirring up them
cottagers at next show with Roses and ' kidneys'
too."

It occurred to me, as I rode home reflecting,
that there was a striking similarity in this case, as
in many others, between the gardener and his
ground; for Will had been at one time a drinking,

SOILS. 83

poaching, quarrelsome "shack," and was now a
good husband, a good father, and, I beheve, a
good Christian; — the gravel had been converted
into loam. And is there not much resemblance
between ourselves and our soils — the soil without,
and that soil within, which the Psalmist calls '* the
ground of the heart"? No two characters, and no
two gardens, exactly alike, but all with the same
natural propensity to send up wild oats and weeds,
and to send their tap-roots downwards ; all re-
quiring continuous culture, training, and watchful
care ; all dependent, when man has done his best,
upon the sunshine and rains of heaven. " Soils,"
writes Loudon, *' not kept friable by cultivation,
soon become hardened;" and so do hearts. But
from ourselves, as from our soils, we may eject the
evil, introducing the good in its place ; we may
grow Roses instead of weeds, if we will. " Upon
the same man," writes Richter, who was a florist
as well as a philosopher, and seldom appeared in
the streets of Baireuth without a flower in his
coat, ''as upon a vine-planted mount, there grow
more kinds of wine than one : on the south side
something little worse than nectar, on the north side
something little better than vinegar." But wc may
level the hill by humbling our pride, and so lay
open the whole vineyard before the summer sun.

6 •■■

84 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

I pass now to the consideration of a subject
which is one of the most important of all to those
who desire to grow Roses in perfection.

CHAPTER VI.

MANURES.

I OPENED noiselessly the other morning, that
I might enjoy a father's gladness, the door of a
room in which my little boy, ''six off," was at his
play. Under the table, walled' round by every
available chair, with a fire-screen for the front
door, and a music-stool, inverted atop to repre-
sent the main stack of chimneys, he was evidently
entertaining a beloved and honored guest. The
banquet had just commenced, and the courteous
host was recommending to his distinguished visitor
(a very large and handsome black retriever, by
name ** Colonel ") the viands before him. These
viands, upon a cursory glance through the chair-
legs, did not strike me as of an appetizing or
digestible character — the two pieces de resistance
consisting of a leg-rest and a small coal-scuttle,
and the side dishes being specimens of the first
Atlantic Telegraph Cable, presented to me by Sir
Charles Bright, with a selection of exploded car-

MANURES. 85

tridges, sea-shells, ninepins, buttons, marbles, and
keys. In the vivid imagination of childhood, not-
withstanding, they represented all the luxuries
dearest to the palate of youth ; and if the Colonel,
who, by the by, was in full uniform, made from
the supplement of the Times newspaper, and was
dccore with the Order of the String and Penwiper,
had partaken of a tithe of the delicacies pressed
on him, and according to the order in which they
were served, there must have been inevitably
speedy promotion in his regiment. The mcfiii,
orally announced by the host, opened with cheese,
and passed on to hasty-pudding, which were fol-
lowed in rapid succession by peaches, beef, roley-
poley, hare, more hasty-pudding, honey, apricots,
and boiled rabbits, the liquids being cowslip-wine
and beer. " And now, Colonel, dear," were the
last words I heard, " you shall have some custard
and pineapple, and then we'll smoke a cigar."*

In like manner does the w^ee golden-haired
lassie delight to do homage to the queen of her

* I cannot resist an impulse to record another small incident
which occurred to " Colonel" soon after the publication of this book.
Late one winter's night, Joe, my footman, heard him growling angrily
outside the stable-yard, and found him standing over the prostrate
form of a man, or rather beast, so drunk that he was muttering
responses to the dog, evidently under the impression that he was
being severely reprimanded by some indignant person in authority.
' ' Well, Sir ' ' '(Joe heard him plead) , " // / did say so, I'm sure I didiit
■mean it !"

86 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

little world, her doll, watching her tenderly, and
singing a lullaby which, regarding the condition
of those two immense blue eyes, appears to be
quite hopeless ; then decking her with every bit
of finery which she can beg from mammy or nurse,
and waiting upon her with a fond untiring service.
And even so did I, in the childhood of that
life, which is always young — do not our hearts
foreknow, my brothers, the happy truth, which old
men certify, that the love of flowers is of those
few earthly pleasures which age cannot wither ?
— even so did I, in

'* My sallet days,
When I was green in judgment,"

essay, with an enthusiastic though ofttimes mis-
taken zeal, to propitiate and to serve the Rose.
And specially, as with my little boy and his large
idol, in the matter of food, I tried to please her
with a great diversity of diet. I made anxious
experiment of a multiplicity of manures — organic
and inorganic, animal and vegetable, cheap and
costly, home and foreign. I labored to discover
her favorite dish as earnestly as the alchemist to
realize the Philosopher's Stone ; but I differed
from the alchemist, the Rosarian from the Rosi-
crucian, in one essential point — I found it !

MANURES. 87

Where ? Not down among the bones. I tried
bones of all denominations — bones in their integ-
rity, bones crushed, bones powdered, bones dis-
solved with sulphuric and muriatic acid, as Liebig
bade ; and I have a very high admiration of the
bone as a most sure and fertilizing manure. For
agricultural purposes, for turnips, for grass, re-
cently laid down, or for a starved exhausted
pasture, whereupon you may write your name
with it; and in horticulture, for the lighter soils,
for the vine-border, for plants (the Pelargonium
especially), it is excellent; but in the Rosary,
although a magnwut (I feel in writing the pun
like the little boy who chalked " No Popery " on
Dr. Wiseman's door, half ashamed of the deed,
and desirous to run), it is not the summtim bonum
of manures.

Nor up the chimney — though, for Roses on
the Manetti stock, and for Tea- Roses, soot is good
manure, and useful as a surface-dressing for hot,
dry soils. Nor among the autumn leaves, although
these also, decayed to mould, are very advanta-
geous to the Teas, Noisettes, and Bourbons, and
to all Roses grown on their own roots. Sure and
great is their reviving power, which gives back to
the ground, according to the gracious law of Prov-
idence, the strength which was borrowed from it ;

88 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

but not so great as that old lady hoped, who,
bringing home a mistaken impression, after listen-
ing to a conversation between two gardeners on
the beneficial influence of leaf-mould on Tea-
Roses, collected for weeks the morning and even-
ing remains of the tea-pot, and applied them to
her Rose-trees "to transform them," as she told
her acquaintance (and I am assured of the fact by
one of them), " into tea-scented Chinas next
summer."

Nor, crossing the seas, among those bird-
islands of Peru, Bolivia, Patagonia, in which —
barren, rainless, and, as they seem to man, use-
less— the fish-fed fowls of the ocean were accumu-
lating for centuries a treasure-heap more precious
than gold — millions upon millions of tons of rich
manure, which has multiplied the food of nations
throughout the civilized world, and still remains
in immense abundance for us and generations
after us. Guano, nevertheless, is not tJie manure
for Roses. Its influence is quickly and promi-
nently acknowledged, by additional size and
brightness of foliage,* but the efflorescence, so
far as my experiments have shown, derives no ad-

* The Rev. W. F. Radclyffe strongly recommends saltpetre and
nitrophosphate (blood) manure, as imparting a deeper, richer green
to folia8:e.

MANURES. 89

vantage as to vigor or beauty ; and even on the
leaf the effect is transitory.

Nor in the guano of animal iniphime — not
in the soil called night. The Romans reverenced
Cloacina, the goddess of the sewers, and the
statue which they found of her in the great
drains of Tarquinius was beautiful as Venus's
self; but they honored her, doubtless, only as a
wise sanatory commissioner who removed their
impurities, and, so doing, brought health to their
heroes and loveliness to their maidens. They
only knew half her merits ; but in Olympus, v/e
may readily believe, there was fuller justice done.
Although weaker goddesses may have been un-
kind— may have averted their divine noses when
Cloacina passed, and made ostentatious use of
scent-bottle and pocket-handkerchief — Flora, and
Pomona, and Ceres would ever admire her virtues,
and beseech her benign influence upon the garden,
the orchard, and the farm. But the terrestrials never
thought that f(2x tcrbis might be lux orbis, and
they polluted their rivers, as we ours, with that
which should have fertilized their lands. And we
blame the Romans very much indeed ; and we
blame everybody else very much indeed ; and we
do hope the time will soon be here when such a
sinful waste will no longer disgrace an enlightened

90 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

age ; but beyond the contribution of this occa-
sional homily, it is, of course, no affair of ours.
Each man assures his neighbor that the process
of desiccation is quite easy, and the art of deodor-
izing almost nice; but nobody " goes in." The
reader, I have no doubt, has with me had large
experience of this perversity in neighbors, and
ofttimes has been perplexed and pained by
their dogged strange reluctance to follow the very
best advice. There was at Cambridge, some thirty
years ago, an insolent, foul-mouthed, pugnacious
sweep, who escaped for two terms the sublime
licking which he ** annexed" finally, because no
one liked to tackle the soot. There were scores
of undergraduates, to whom pugilism was a thing
of beauty and a joy for ever, who had the power
and the desire to punish his impudence, but they
thought of the close wrestle, — they reflected on
the "hug," and left him. To drop metaphor,
there is no more valuable manure ; but it is, from
circumstances which require no explanation,
more suitable for the farm than the garden,
especially as we have a substitute, quite as effi-
cacious, and far more convenient and agreeable
in use.

No, not "burnt earth." I spoke as earnestly
as I could of the value of that application in my

MANURES. 91

last chapter (p. 'jS), because it is impossible in
many cases to exaggerate its worth; but I alluded
at the same time to another indispensable addi-
tion which must be made to the soil of a Rose-
garden, and now I will tell you what it is : I will
tell you where I found the Philosopher's Stone in
the words of that fable by ^sop, which is, I be-
lieve, the first of the series, and which was first
taught to me in the French language: — ''Un coq,
grattant sur ti^i fiiniier, trouvait par hazard une
pierre precieuse ;'' or, as it is written in our English
version : " A brisk young cock, in company with
two or three pullets, his mistresses, raking upon a
dunghill for something to entertain them with,
happened to scratch up a jewel." The little alle-
gory is complete : I was the brisk young cock,
my favorite pullet was the Rose, and in a heap of
farm-yard manure I found the treasure.

Yes, here is the mine of gold and silver, gold
medals and silver cups for the grower of prize
Roses; and to all who love them, the best diet for
their health and beauty, the most strengthening
tonic for their weakness, and the surest medicine
for disease. " Dear me !" exclaims some fastidi-
ous reader, ** what a nasty brute the man is ! He
seems quite to revel in refuse, and to dance on his
dunghill with delight!" The man owns to the

92 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

soft impeachment. If the man had been a Roman
emperor he would have erected the most magnifi-
cent temple in honor of Sterculus, the son of
Faunus, that Rome ever saw. Because Sterculus,
the son of Faunus — so Pliny tells — discovered
the art and advantage of spreading dung upon
the land ; and he should have appeared in the
edifice dedicated to him, graven larger than life
in pure gold, riding proudly in his family chariot,
the currus Stercorostis i^Anglice, muck-cart), with
the agricultural trident in his hand. As it is, I
always think of him with honor when I meet the
vehicle in which he loved to drive — have ever a
smile of extra sweetness for the wide- mouthed
waddling charioteer, and am pained at heart to
find the precious commodity fallen, or, as they say
in Lancashire, *' slattered," on the road. Ah!
but once that fastidious reader will be pleased to
hear, the man brought himself to sore shame and
confusion by this wild passionate affection. Re-
turning on a summer's afternoon from a parochial
walk, I inferred from wheel-tracks on my carriage-
drive that callers had been and gone. I expected
to find cards in the hall, and I saw that the horses
had kindly left theirs on the gravel. At that
moment one of those

MANURES. 93

** Grim spirits in the air,
Who grin to see us mortals grieve,
And dance at our despair,"

fiendishly suggested to my mind an economical
desire to utilize the souvenir before me. I looked
around and listened ; no sight, no sound, of hu-
manity. I fetched the largest fire-shovel I could
find, and was carrying it bountifully laden through
an archway cut in a high hedge of yews, and
towards a favorite tree of " Charles Lefebvre,"^
when I suddenly confronted three ladies, " who
had sent round the carriage, hearing that I should
soon be at home, and were admiring my beautiful
Roses." It may be said with the strictest regard
to veracity, that they saw nothing that day which
they admired, in the primary meaning of the
word, so much as myself and fire-shovel ; and I
am equally sure that no Rose in niy garden had a
redder complexion than my own.

And now, to be practical, what do I mean by
farm-yard manure — when and how should it be
used ?

By farm-yard manure I mean all the manures
of the straw- yard, solid and fluid, horse, cow, pig,
poultry, in conjunction. Let a heap be made
near the Rosarium, not suppressing the fumes of a
natural fermentation by an external covering, but

94 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

forming underneath a central drain, having lateral
feeders, and at the lower end an external tank, af-
ter the fashion of those huge dinner-dishes whose
channels carry to the ''well" the rich gravies of
the baron and the haunch (here that fastidious
reader collapses, and is removed in a state of syn-
cope), so that the rich extract, full of carbonate of
ammonia, and precious as attar, may not be wasted,
but may be used either as liquid manure in the
Rosary,* or pumped back again to baste the
beef.

How long should it remain in the heap before
it is fit for application to the soil ? The degree of
decomposition to which farm-yard dung should ar-
rive before it can be deemed a profitable manure,
must depend on the texture of the soil, the nature
of the plants, and the time of its application.**
In general, clayey soils, more tenacious of mois-
ture, and more benefited by being rendered in-
cohesive and porous, may receive manure less

* The happy Rosarian who has a farm-yard of his own, will, of
course, have a large covered tank therein, for the reception and pres-
ervation of liquid manure. At all times, of drought especially, diis
will be more precious as a restorative and tonic to his Roses than the
waters of Kissingen, Vichy, or Harrogate, to his invalid fellow-men.
Only let him remember this rule of applicadon — weak and oft, rather
than strong and seldom. I bought my own experience by destroying
with too potent potations, forgetting that infants don't drink brandy
neat, the delicate, fibrous rootlets of some beautiful Rose-trees on the
Manetti stock.

** See the article on Agriculture, Encyclopcedia Britannica, ii. 300.

MANURES. 95

decomposed than more pulverized soils required.
Again, the season when manure is applied is also
a material circumstance.

I have made many experiments, but I have
come back to the plan which I adopted first of all,
and I believe it to be the best — namely, to give
the Rose-trees a liberal stratum of farm-yard
manure in November, leaving it as a protection as
well as a fertilizer through the winter months, and
digging it in in March. For some years I manured
the plants heavily in the spring, after hoeing or
digging, and let the manure remain through the
summer. This system succeeds in a very hot, dry
season, but makes the ground sodden when the
weather is wet, and at all times is an obstruction
to the sunlight and the air. I therefore prefer the
course which I have named, to be supplemented
by liquid manure, or some slight surface-dressing
of guano (that which comes from the dove-cot is
still almost as precious as it was in the siege of
Samaria) or bone-dust, when the buds are swell-
ing into bloom ; so that, as the lanky school-boy
is placed upon a regimen of boiled eggs and roast-
beef, Allsopp, Guinness, and Bass — so the Rose-
trees (those nursing-mothers of such beautiful
babes) may have ** good support" when they want
it most. " It is believed," writes Morton, '' by

96 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

observers of nature, that plants do no injury to
the soil while they are producing their stems and
leaves, and that it is only when the blossom and
the seed require nourishment that the plants
exhaust the soil."

A very effective surface-dressing was commu-
nicated to me some years ago by Mr. Rivers, who
afterwards published it, as follows : ** The most
forcing stimulant that can be given to Roses is a
compost formed of horse-droppings from the
roads or stable" (he says nothing about a fire-
shovel), " and malt or kiln-dust, to be obtained
from any malt-kiln, equal quantities. This, well
mixed, should then be spread out in a bed one
foot thick, and thoroughly saturated with strong
liquid manure, pouring it over the compost gently
for, say, two days — so that it is gradually absorbed.
The compost is then fit for a summer surface-
dressing, either for Roses in pots, in beds, or
standard Roses. It should be applied, say, in
April, and again in May and June, about an inch
thick, in a circle round the tree, from 12 to i8
inches in diameter. This compost is not adapted
for mixing with the soil that is placed among the
roots, but is for a summer surface-dressing only ;
and care must be taken that it is not placed in a
heap or ridge after it lias been mixed, for then

MANURES. 97

fermentation is so violent that the smell becomes
intolerable y

So powerful is this confection, that I have
found one application quite sufficient; and this I
apply, when the Rose-buds are formed and swell-
ing, towards the end of May, or, in a late season,
the beginning of June. I wait for the indications
of rain, that the fertilizing matter may be at once
washed down to the roots ; and it never fails to
act as quinine to the weakly, and as generous wine
to the strong. During the extraordinary drought
of the summer in 1868, I watched day after day
— nay, week after week — with a patience worthy
of that deaf old gentleman who listened for three
months to catch the ticking of a sun-dial, or of
him who undertook the tedious task of teaching a
weather-cock to crow; and at last, feeling sure of
my shower, wheeled barrow after barrow with my
own hands, not seeming to have time to call for
help, over the little bridge, and distributed it as a
Lord Mayor turtle to recipients more greedy than
aldermen. Soon the big rain came dancing to the
earth, and when it had passed, and I smoked my
evening weed among the Rose-trees, I fancied that
already the tonic had told. At all events, it is
written in the chronicles of the Rose-shows how
those Roses sped.

7

98 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Again, Mr. Riv^ers, whom I have just quoted,
and to whom we must still give precedence, re-
membering what he has done in the Rosarium,
writes : "I have found night-soil, mixed with the
drainings of the dunghill, or even with common
ditch or pond water, so as to make a thick liquid,
the best possible manure for Roses, poured on the
surface of the soil twice in winter, from i to 2 gal-
lons to each tree ; December and January are the
best months : the soil need not be stirred till
spring, and then merely loosened 2 or 3 inches
deep with the prongs of a fork. For poor soils,
and on lawns, previously removing the turf, this
will be found most efficacious. Brewers' grains
also form an excellent surface-dressing: they
should be laid in a heap for two or three weeks to
ferment, and one or two large shovelfuls placed
round each plant, with some peat-charcoal to de-
odorize them, as the smell is not agreeable."

I will quote in alphabetical sequence the other
distinguished public Rosarians who have expressed
their opinions, or proved their skill at all events,
in the matter. These are Mr. Cant of Colchester ;
Mr. Cranston of Hereford ; Mr. Francis of Hert-
ford ; Mr. Keynes of Salisbury ; Mr. Lane of
Berkhampstead ; Mr. Mitchell of Piltsdown ; Mr.
George Paul, the representative of Messrs. Paul

MANURES. 99

& Son, Cheshunt; Mr. William Paul, Waltham
Cross ; Mr. Prince of Oxford ; Mr. Turner of
Slough, and Messrs. Wood of Maresfield. There
is, of course, a very large number of other nursery-
men, who grow Roses most extensively and in
their fullest perfection — such as Smith of Worces-
ter, the two firms of Dickson at Chester, Harrison
of Darlington, May of Bedale, Perkins of Coven-
try, Frettingham of Nottingham, Merryweather
of Southwell, Bennett of Salisbury, &c. — one or
more near all our cities and towns ; but I have
selected those who are our principal prize-men,
and whose treatises and catalogues are before me.

Mr. Cant says : *' In planting Roses, a hole
should be made about 1 8 -inches deep, and large
enough to contain half a wheelbarrowful of com-
post; two-thirds of this should be strong turfy
loam, and one-third well-decomposed animal
manure. These should be thoroughly mixed to-
gether."

Mr. Cranston writes in his Ctdtural directions
for the Rose, which may be followed by amateurs
with a sure confidence : *' I have found, after re-
peated trials for some years, that pig-dung is the
best of all manures for Roses ; next night-soil,
cow-dung, and horse-dung. These should stand
in a heap from one to three months, but not suffi-

lOO A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

•ciently long to become exhausted of their am-
monia and salts. Pig-dung should be put on the
ground during winter or early spring, and forked
in at once. In using night-soil, mix with burnt
earth, sand, charcoal-dust, or other dry substance.
Apply a small portion of the mixture to each
plant or bed during winter, and let it be forked in
at once. Soot is a good manure, especially for
the Tea-scented and other Roses on their own
roots ; so are wood-ashes and charcoal. Bone-
dust or half-inch bones forms an excellent and
most lasting manure. Guano and superphosphate
of lime are both good manure for Roses, but re-
quire to be used cautiously."

Mr. Keynes of Salisbury recommended : " A
good wheelbarrowful of compost — two-thirds good
turfy loam, and one-third well-decomposed animal
manure." He adds — and the words of one whose
Roses, in a favorable season, could not be sur-
passed in size or color, should be remembered
practically: — *' It is difficult to give the Rose too
good a soil."

Mr. Lane of Berkhampstead writes thus:
** The best method of manuring beds is to dig in
a good dressing of stable or other similar manure,
this being the most safe from injuring vegetation
in any soil, and it never does more good to Roses

MANURES. lOI

than when it is used as a surface-dressing. When
placed, about two inches deep, over the surface in
March, the ground seldom suffers from drought,
but this is, perhaps, by some considered un-
sightly."

Mr. George Paul, " the hero of a hundred
fights," advises that ''in planting the ground
should be deeply trenched, and well-rotted manure
be plentifully added. If the soil be old garden-
soil, add good loam, rich and yellow; choose a
dry day for the operation, and leave the surface
loose. Stake all standards, and mulch with litter,
to protect the roots from frost."

Mr. William Paul, in his interesting work, T/ie
Rose- Garden, gives, in the introduction, the results
of his experiments with manure. '' In the sum-
mer of 1842," he writes, ''six beds of Tea-scented
Roses were manured with the following substances:
I, bone-dust; 2, burnt earth; 3, nitrate of soda;
4, guano; 5, pigeon-dung; 6, stable manure,
thoroughly decomposed. The soil in which they^
grew was an alluvial loam. The guano produced
the earliest visible effects, causing a vigorous
growth, which continued till late in the season ;
the foliage was large and of the darkest green, but
the flowers on this bed were not very abundant.
The shoots did not ripen well, and were conse-

I02 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

quently much injured by frost during the succeed-
ing winter. The bed manured with burnt earth
next forced itself into notice ; the plants kept up
a steadier rate of growth, producing an abundance
of clear, well-formed blossoms ; the wood ripened
well, and sustained little or no injury from the
winter's frost. The results attendant on the use
of the other manures were not remarkable : they
had acted as gentle stimulants, the nitrate of soda
and bones least visibly so, although they were ap-
plied in the quantities usually recommended by
the vendors. ... I think burned and charred
earth the best manure that can be applied to wet
or adhesive soils."

Mr. Prince says: "My plants on the Cultivated
Seedling Brier do not require so much manuring
as other forms of stocks. I do not recommend
any manure at time of planting, unless the ground
has been greatly impoverished by trees and shrubs
or Roses, in which case a portion of the soil
should be removed, and a fresh supply given,
which should consist of the top-spit from a meadow
of heavy loam, well decayed ; but it should
not be forgotten that after the Roses have been
planted for two years, and are well established,
they will require a liberal supply of manure. I
have found that the worst attack of mildew first

MANURES. 103

made its appearance on young plants in land
which had been manured at the time of planting."

Mr. Turner of Slough does not show his cards,
but when he comes to play them on the green
cloth or baize of the exhibition-table, no man
deals more fairly, knows the game more thor-
oughly, holds more trumps, or scores the honors
more frequently.

Messrs. Wood of Maresfield, perhaps the
largest growers of the Rose in the world, com-
mend a mixture of well-seasoned animal manure,
with the top- spit of an old pasture, deep trench-
ing, thorough draining, and a free use of the prun-
ing-knife the first year after planting.

Concluding this long chapter, I would earn-
estly assure the novice in Rose-growing that there
is only one exception (and that in Egypt) to the
rule, ''Ex niliilo niJiil fity If he really means to
make the Rose his hobby, and to enjoy the ride,
he must feed him liberally and regularly with old
oats and beans. The Rose cannot be grown in its
glory without frequent and rich manure; and
again I recommend that the best farm-yard dung
be applied towards the end of November, when
the ground is dry, and dug in in March, and that
the surface-dressing prescribed by Mr. Rivers, or
some other stimulant, be administered at the be-

104 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

ginning of June. And if neighbors, who are not
true lovers of the Rose, expostulate, and condemn
the waste, quote for their edification those true
words of Victor Hugo, in Les Miserables : " The
beautifid is as useful as the useful, perhaps more
soy

We have found our situation, we have pre-
pared our soils : we will speak next of the ar-
rangement of the Rosary, and then of the Rose
itself

CHAPTER Vn.

ARRANGEMENT.

Every gardener must be an infidel — I am,
and I glory in the fact — on the subject of infidelity.
The proofs and the precepts of natural and re-
vealed religion are brought so frequently and im-
pressively before him, that he cannot believe in
unbelief He takes a seed, a bulb, a cutting (who
made them ?) ; he places them in the soil which is
most congenial (who made it ?) ; the seed germi-
nates, the bulb spindles, the cutting strikes ; he
tends and waters (but who sends the former and
the latter rain ?) ; and the flower comes forth in
glory. Does he say, with the proud Assyrian :

ARRANGEMENT. IO5

*' By the strength of my hand I have done it, and
by my wisdom " ? Does he not stand the rather,
with a reverent wonder, to consider the LiHes (the
Auratum, it may be, the glowing AmarylHd, the
Pancratium, the Arum, or the lovely Eucharis, in
robes pure and white as a martyr's) until the very
soul within him rises heavenward, and Manus
TticE fecerunt is his psalm of praise ?

And the truths of Revelation, the histories and
the prophecies of the Older Testament, the
miracles and parables of the New, are taught as
constantly and as clearly to the gardener in his
daily life. In our gardens always

There is aliook, who runs may read,
Which heavenly truth imparts;"

ever reminding us of that Eden wherein were all
things pleasant to the eye and good for food ; of
Gethsemane, and of that garden where our crucified
Lord was laid. What is our love of flowers, our calm •
happiness in our gardens, but a dim recollection
of our first home in Paradise, and a yearning for
the Land of Promise ! Here in the wilderness we
love to reclaim these green spots from the brier
and thorn ; to fence and to cleanse ; to plant and
sow ; to sit at eventide, when work is done, every

I06 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

man under his vine and under his fig-tree, with
thankfulness and hope.

With hope, because these our gardens — scenes
though they be of brightest beauty to our eyes,
and sources of our purest joys — do not satisfy,
are not meant to satisfy, our heart's desire. Per-
ishable as we ourselves, for the grass withereth,
the flower fadeth, they are moreover, like all our
handiwork, deformed by fault and flaw. Did you
ever meet a gardener, who, however fair his
ground, was absolutely content and pleased ? Did
you never hear *' O si angiUus ille P' from the
lord of many fields ? Is there not always a tree
to be felled or a bed to be turfed ? Does not
somebody's chimney, or somebody's ploughed
field, persist in obtruding its ugHness ? Is there
not ever some grand mistake to be remedied next
summer ? Alas ! the florist never is, but always
to be, blessed with a perfect garden : and to him,
as to all mankind, perfect happiness is that " gay
to-morrow of the mind, which never comes."

These imperfections and mistakes, of course^
arise in our gardens mainly from our own ignor-
ance or indolence ; and as sterility, feebleness, and
premature decay, are caused not by tree, plant,
weather, soil, but by wrong treatment, position,
neglect ; so all unsightly combinations, poverty or

ARRANGEMENT. IO7

excess of objects brought together, rigidity, mo-
notony, ungracefuhiess, originate not from the
materials at our disposal, but from the manner in
which we dispose them. And in this matter of
arrangement we are at the present day conspicu-
ously weak. Never was the gardener so rich in
resources. Our collectors, hazarding their lives,
and losing them, in their work of love, have gained
us treasures from every clime. Sadly, like some
cemetery tree, does the beautiful Douglas Pine
remind us of him Avhose name it bears, who sent
it to adorn our homes, and who, searching for
fresh prizes, perished miserably, falling into a pit
dug by the Sandwich Islanders for the capture of
wild bulls, and gored to death by one of them.
The lovely Lycaste speaks to us sorrowfully of
George Ure Skinner ; and the most striking of
the Marantas (Veitchii), the velvety Begonia
Pearcei, with its golden flowers, the exquisite Gym-
nostachium, and splendid Sanchezia, of Richard
Pearce ; both of whom died in their harness.
These and others have amplified our shining
stores ; while our florists at home, by selection, cul-
ture, cross-breeding, and hybridizing, have made
admirable improvements and large additions in
every department of their art. The gardener,
nevertheless, with all this wealth and skill, fails

Io8 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

signally, in my eyes, as to the laying out of his
garden. He fails, because he has to a great ex-
tent abandoned the English or natural system for
the Italian and Geometrical, because he must have
a sensational garden in spring, summer, and win-
ter. His ancestors — poor floral fogies! — looked
upon their gardens as quiet resting-places, fair
scenes of refreshment and of health ; and wan-
dering amid these ** haunts of ancient peace," they
loved the cool grot for contemplation made, or the
sunny walk through the glossy evergreens in
which the throstle sang. They welcomed their
flowers as He sent them who " hath made every-
thing beautiful in his time:" they did not upbraid
Nature, nor essay to wake her when she slept her
winter sleep ; they forgave her deciduous trees.
They followed her in all things as their teacher.
They copied her lines, which were rarely straight,
rarely angular ; and her surfaces, which were
rarely flat. Said to me a house-painter, whom I
watched and praised as he was cleverly graining
one of my doors in imitation of oak : " Well, sir,
I must say I do think myself, that I'm following
up Natur close," and he ran his thumb-nail up a
panel swiftly, as though he would catch her by the
heel. So did tliey reproduce her graceful features.
** It is the peculiar happiness of the age" (this was

ARRANGEMENT. IO9

written in 1755) "to see just and noble ideas
brought into practice, peculiarities banished, pros-
pects opened, the country called in, nature rescued
and improved, and art decently concealing itself
under her own productions." '' I am now," wrote
the Czarina to Voltaire in the year 1772, *' wildly
in love with the English system of gardening, its
waving lines and gentle declivities ;" and so was
all the gardening world. Sixty years later, in my
own childhood, there v/ere in the garden, before
me as I write, — and now little more than one sub-
divided flower-bed, — those bowers and meandering
walks, many a pleasant nook, where the aged
might rest, young men and maidens sigh their
love, and happy children play. Ah, what delicious
facihties for *' I spy" and for "hide-and-seek,"
where now there is but scant concealment for the
furtive hungry cat ! What lookings into eyes,
what approximations of lips, where now it would
be "bragian" boldness to squeeze a body's hand !
I look through the window, and I see the place
where, under drooping branches, we were kings
and queens ; where we entertained ambassadors
with surreptitious food ; where I was crowned
with laurel (the only bit of reality) as the great
poet of my day ; and where, for brilliant service,
I was knighted scores of times, on my return from

no A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

India, with the handle of our garden-rake ! I see
the place — it was hidden behind the yew-trees
then — where we were so often shipwrecked upon
" Desert Island," and where my youngest sister
would never be induced to have her face ade-
quately grimed for the performance of man Friday !
I look — but I can see no more! "A flood of
thoughts comes o'er me, and fills mine eyes with
tears." The playmates of my youth — where are
they ? O doleful memories ! O blissful hopes ! O
dreadful earthly darkness ! O dazzling heavenly
light ! The morning cometh, as also the night.

But what do I see, as the mist clears ? A gar-
den which, like a thousand others, has obeyed the
command of imperious Fashion: — Away with
your borders, your mounds, and your clumps !
Away with walks and with grottos, nooks, cor-
ners, and light and shade ! Down with your
timber ! To the rubbish-heap with your lilacs,
laburnums, and blossoming trees ! Stub, lay bare,
level and turf; then cover the whole by line and
measure with a geometrical design.* Do you
require examples ? Copy your carpet, or the

* With wise instructions trom the best (in my opinion) of our
landscape gardeners, Mr. Marnock, and with very kindly help from
my friends, Mr. William Robinson, and Mr. Ingram of Belvoir, I have
recently restored and reclothed the plot of ground about my home,
which was, and is once more again — a garden.

ARRANGEMENT. 1 1 1

. ',i .. icy ' '

ornaments on your pork-pie. Then purchase or
provide — for the spring, Bulbs by the'Back ; for
the summer, Pelargoniums by the million; for the^
winter, baby Evergreens and infant Conifers —
brought prematurely from the nursery into public
life, Hke too many of our precocious children —
by the waggon-load ; introducing among the latter,
narrow little walks of pounded cockle-shells, bro-
ken glass, gypsum, brick-dust, sheep's trotters,
etc., etc.

I am well aware that the geometrical system,
especially when it is combined with terraces, stair-
cases, balustrades, and edgings of stones, is very
effective and appropriate around our palaces, cas-
tles, and other stately homes. For these it forms
a beautiful floor and fringe. It prevents too sud-
den a transition from architecture to horticulture.*
With the pleasure-grounds around opening upon
the park, and with the general landscape in the
distance beyond, the amalgamation of art and
nature is excellent. Nor do I deny for a moment
that in all gardens, if introduced in modest and

* "His" (Sir C. Barry's) " idea was, that the definite artificial
lines of a building should not be contrasted, but harmonized, with the
free and careless grace of natural beauty. This could only be effected
by a scheme of architectural gardens, graduated, as it were, from
regular formality in the immediate neighborhood of the building
itself, through shrubberies and plantations, less and less artificial, till
they seemed to melt away in the unstudied simplicity of the park or
wood without." — Memoir of Sir C. Barry, by his Son, p. 113.

112 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

due proportion, it is the most becoming frame-
work for our summer flowers ; but my complaint
is, that this giant Geometry has taken possession
of our small gardens not as an ally, but as an
autocrat — ejecting old tenants and dismissing old
servants, like some heartless conceited heir, ex-
truding them disdainfully, as the usurping cuckoo
thrusts the eggs from a sparrow's nest. Just as
that sensational system of gardening, which goes
by the name of ** Bedding-Out," has expelled in
so many instances our beautiful herbaceous plants
and our lovely flowering shrubs, so the geometri-
cal style has destroyed too frequently a more
natural grace, wearying the eye instead of refresh-
ing it. Some may like to see the hair pulled back
from a winsome face, or twisted in fantastic forms:
give me ripples of light in the wavelike braid,
and reliefs of shade in the glossy clustering curls.
True art hides itself, and every man in laying
out a garden should remember the precept, Ars
est celare artem. He should, moreover, cause to
be painted on his case of mathematical instru-
ments, and printed largely on the cover of his
sketch-book, those two lines, written by a true
gardener and poet (must not every true gardener
be a poet, though it may be of songs without
words ?) — -

ARRANGEMENT. II3

He wins all points, who pleasingly confounds,
Surprises, varies, and conceals the bounds."

But what, it may be asked, has all this to do
with the Rosary ? And I answer, Everything ;
because nowhere is the formal, monotonous, artifi-
cial system of arrangement more conspicuously
rampant. It almost seems, in some cases, as
though the owners had copied the methodical
Frenchman, who, having received an assortment
of Rose-trees of various heights from the nursery,
planted them all at the same distance above the
ground, that he might preserve the unities of an
even surface. Does not a dead level, bearing the
old pattern of stars and garters, generally encircle
the Rose-temple, over which the disgusted right-
minded Rose-trees always object to grow ? It
looks like a dismal aviary from which the birds
have flown ; but with a little bright paint and gild-
ing externally, and a loud barrel-organ within, it
might form a brilliant lucrative centrepiece for a
merry-go-round at a fair.

When the Rose is grown for exhibition exclu-
sively, the geometrical system in its simplest form,
and minus the temple, is desirable, as being most
convenient to him who purposely sacrifices beauty
of arrangement as regards the general appearance,

8

114 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

the tout ensemble, of his Rose-garden, that he may
attain perfection as to size and color in the indi-
vidual flowers. He cannot afford space for numerous
varieties, which, lovely, distinct, and indispensable
in the general collection, are not suitable for the
exhibition stage. He admires the Gallicas and
Mosses, Chinas and Bourbons, earnestly, but has
only room for these in his heart. He must have
all his trees so disposed that they may be readily
surveyed, approached, and handled. Specimens
of the same variety must be planted together, that
he may quickly compare and select. Time is most
precious on the morning of a show ; and returning
to the boxes vvith a bloom in each hand and a
couple between one's teeth. It is a sore hindrance
to remember another tree at the furthest point of
the Rosary, which possibly carries the best bloom
of all. Taste in arrangement consists with the ex-
hibitor in the harmonious grouping of his Roses,
not in the gracefulness of his ground or of his
trees. He appeals not to the general public, but
to the connoisseur ; not to the court,* but to the
judge.

* A Lancashire witness hearing words ascribed to him by a con-
ceited young barrister (with a new wig and a tumed-up nose) which
he had not spoken, jumped up and wrathfully protested : " Why, yer
powder-yedded monkey, I never said note o' th' sort — I appeal to th'
company !"

ARRANGEMENT. I I 5

In a Rose-garden not subject to any such re-
straint— not the drill-ground of our Queen's Body-
guard, but the holiday assemblage of her people
— no formahsm, no flatness, no monotonous repe-
tition should prevail. There should the Rose be
seen in all her multiform phases of beauty. There
should be beds of Roses, banks of Roses, bowers
of Roses, hedges of Roses, edgings of Roses, pil-
lars of Roses, arches of Roses, fountains of Roses,
baskets of Roses, vistas and alleys of the Rose.
Now overhead and now at our feet, there they
should creep and climb. New tints, new forms,
new perfumes, should meet us at every turn.
Here we come upon a bed of seedlings so full of
interest and of hope. Here is the sunny spot
where we gather, like Virgil's shepherd, the first
Rose of spring, or

" Rosa quo locorum
Sera moretur,"

the last of autumn. Art is here as the meek ad-
miring handmaid of Nature, gently smoothing
her beautiful hair, checking only such growth as
would weaken her flowing ringlets, but never
daring to disfigure with shams and chignons —
with pagodas, I mean, and suchlike tea-garden
trumpery. Art is here to obey, but not to

Il6 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

dictate — to work as one who counts such service
its own reward and honor. If before the Fall,
before the earth brought forth brier or thorn, man
was put into a garden to dress it and to keep it,
with his will and with his might must he labor
now in that plot of ground where he fain would
realize his fond idea of Eden. He must work
hard, but only as one who copies some great mas-
terpiece— not as one who designs, but restores.
He must keep order, but only as replacing an
arrangement which he has himself disturbed.
Thus and thus only he may hope to make himself
a garden

"Where order in variety we see,
And where, though all things differ, all agree."

Were it my privilege to lay out an extensive
Rose-garden, I should desire a piece of broken
natural ground, surrounded on all sides but the
south with sloping banks, " green and of mild
declivity," on which evergreen shrubs should
screen and beautify by contrast the Roses bloom-
ing beneath ; and in the centre I should have, at
irregular intervals, Rose-clad mounds high enough
to obstruct the view even of Arba, great among
the Anakims, which would enable me to surprise,
to vary, and to conceal, according to the golden

ARRANGEMENT. 11/

rule which I have before quoted. On the level
from which these mounds arose would be the beds
and single specimens ; at the corners my bowers
and nooks. All the interior space not occupied
by Roses should be turf — ''nothing," writes Lord
Bacon, " is more pleasant to the eye than green
grass kept finely shorn" — and this always broad
enough for the easy operations of the mowing-
machine, and for the trailing garments (they don't
trail now, but who can tell what La Mode may
ordain next summer?) of those bright visitors, the
only beings upon earth more beautiful than the
Rose itself

And who can be jealous ? Who can grudge
them the universal homage which even in the
queenly presence they always claim and win ?
More than once, I must confess, has a remon-
strance risen to my lips which I have not dared to
utter. I remember sitting on a summer's eve
contemplating my Roses in the soft light of the
setting sun, and in the society of a sentimental
friend, more than ever sentimental because a
daughter of the gods, divinely fair, had just left us
for the house. We sat still and pensive, until at
last I broke a long silence with the involuntary
exclamation: "Aren't they lovely ?" "Lovely!"
he replied ; " I Jiatc 'em. She called that Due de

Il8 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Rohan a duck, and that Senna Tea Vaisse, or
whatever his name is" (he knew it as well as I
did), " a darling. I tell you what, old fellow, if
either of these worthies could appear in the flesh,
there is nothing in the world I should like so
much as a tetc-a-tetc with him in a 24-foot ring,
I flatter myself that I could favor him with a facer
which he couldn't obtain in France. As for that
General Jacqueminot, shouldn't I like to meet
him in action," here he pulled his mustache
fiercely, "and to roll him over on Rupert?" — his
charger. I bade him light a weed and hope ; but
he didn't seem to relish hoping. Towards the
end of the next summer he came to see me again,
with the daughter of the gods in his brougham,
and on the opposite side, in the lap of its nurse, a
new *' duck," far dearer to his bride than any
rosebud on earth.

The inner walks should be grass, but there
must be an outer promenade of gravel, smooth
and dry for the thinnest boots, when the turf is
damp with rain or dew, and our Queen wears her
diamonds of purest water, as when, in the days of
Mary and Anna,

" The plentiful moisture encumbered the flower, ,
And weighed down its beautiful head."

ARRANGEMENT II9

I would have the approaches to a Rosary made
purposely obscure and narrow, that the visitor
may come with a sudden gladness and wonder
upon the glowing scene, as the traveller by rail
emerges from the dark tunnel into the brightness
of day and a fair landscape ; or as some dejected
whist-player finds, at the extremity of wretched
cards, the ace, king, and queen of trumps ! I
should like to conduct the visitors to my Rosarium
between walls of rock- work, thickly set with those
unassuming but exquisite Alpine plants, of which
Mr. Robinson has given us such a complete and
charming history, or through high fern-covered
banks ; and, by a sudden turn at the end of our
avenue, to dazzle him into an ecstasy. He sliould
feel as Kane the explorer did, when after an Arctic
winter he saw the sun shine once more, and " felt
as though he were bathing in perfumed waters."

Although water offered itself in a fair running
stream for introduction into the Rose-garden, I
should hesitate timidly as to its admission. Charm-
ing as it would be to see the Roses reflected, like
Narcissus, in such a mirror — to muse upon
beauty, like Plato beneath the planes which grew
by the waters of Ilissus — we should simultaneously
strengthen the cruel power of our fiercest enemy,
frost. Let us content ourselves with cisterns for

I20 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

soft water, with pumps, syringes, and gutta-percha
tubes.

I must not finish my harangue on arrange-
ment until I have answered a question, often
asked : ** Where the space devoted to Roses is
too Hmited for the diversity of forms in which the
Rose may be grown, wJiat form do yon consider
the best?'' There can be no debate, nor doubt, in
replying : *' The most attractive, abundant, and
abiding system upon which you can grow Roses,
is to plant them in beds (remembering all I have
said about soil and situation), upon their own
roots, or budded upon dwarf stocks (I will tell you
which is best by-and-by), and then to treat them
thus : Plant in November, and, in the following
summer, promote all possible growth. In the en-
suing spring, the long, strong shoots, only
shortened 4 or 5 inches (all weakly produce being
excised), must be very gently and gradually bent
down to the earth, and secured with thick wooden
hooks, cut from the trees and hedge- rows, two or
three to each lateral branch. These branches will
not only flower early and late, but, if well treated,
will make robust zvood in the summer and autumn,
which (the older branches being removed) will be
pegged down in the following spring ; and so we
shall have annually a continuous renovation. It

ARRANGEMENT. 121

is difficult to deflect some of sturdy growth, such
as the Baroness Rothschild ; but he will touch
tenderly who loves truly, and his unhappy fract-
ures will be few. In two years these beds will be
densely covered with flowers and foliage ; and the
contrasted beauty of La France and Lefebvre,
Marie Finger, and Marie Beauman, the Duchess of
Valambrosa and Louis Van Houtte, Madame La-
charme and Xavier Olibo, will dazzle the eye and
bewilder the brain of the fondest of all lovers — of
him who loves the Rose.

This method of growing Roses might be am-
plified to any extent by those who had the desire
and the means, beds being planted not only with
mixed varieties for contrast, but with a dozen or
score plants of the same Rose. Were these taste-
fully arranged and carefully tended, we should
have a Rose-garden as attractive to the general
visitor as it would be interesting to the student,
and convenient to the exhibitor, of Roses. The
latter has often, when time is precious, to cut
specimens of the same Rose from different and
distant parts of his collection ; and were these
growing together, much needless locomotion
w^ould be saved.

Let us now consider, collectively and individu-
ally, the various families of this our royal flower,

122 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

that we may invite those members whom we may
esteem most wortliy to be guests at our feast of
Roses.

CHAPTER VIII.

SELECTION.

Take a hot school-boy into a fruiterer's shop,
where the cheeks of the peach and the Quarren-
den pippin are glowing like his own, where the
bloom still lingers upon grape and plum, and
where the *' Good Christian" pear of Williams
(would that all who assure us of their sanctity were
as free from sourness, as fruitful, melting, and
juicy !) yields to his inquiring thumb. Bid him
survey the scene, a pomological Selkirk, and then
proceed to fruition. Or take young Philippos, a
few years older, to some great mart of horses.
Introduce him to the proprietor, with his pleasant
smiling face, ruddy (from early rising, doubtless),
his cheek and chin close-shaven (few men nowa-
days shave so closely), hair clipped like his horses',
fox galloping over bird's-eye neckerchief, cut-away
coat with gilt buttons, and drab adhesive pants.
Let him hear how this generous, guileless man has
collected, without regard to toil or money, the best

SELECTION. 123

horses in all Europe, solely for the pleasure of dis-
tributing them at nominal prices among his
favorites and friends. Oh, ecstasy ! '' the young
gentleman" is permitted to know that he is him-
self a member of that blissful band — a Knight of
Arthur's Table. The good dealer has *'just such
another young un of his own," and will forthwith
exhibit to his counterpart a splendid series of
steeds, on which his lad has won the principal
steeplechases, and led the clippingest runs of the
season. How their coats shine as the neat cloth-
ing glides smoothly from their glossy quarters !
How they snort as they leave their stalls ! How
proudly they elevate (I disdain that puny mono-
syllable, cock) their trim-cut, well-combed tails ;
and how genially the good dealer whispers to the
young gentleman, with a kindly nudge and wink :
*' That's about all you'll let the field see of him, if
you buys him, and gets a start !" And suppose
at this juncture you also whisper in the other ear:
"Try them, and take your choice."

Or go with his pretty sister to some jeweller's
glittering store. Let him display to eyes far
brighter than his diamonds, and with a tender
grace of manipulation which tells how costly is his
ware, casket after casket of lustrous gems. Then
invite her to select her suite. Or take her to some

124 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

gay emporium — woe to the man who shall cry
''shop" therein, for fifty pairs of angry scissors
would find swift way to his heart ! — where, behind
acres of plate-glass, and upon miles of counter,
the rich thick silk stands up in pyramids, and the
delicate aristocratic satin gleams like an opal. Ask
the shopman (I beg pardon, the employes or the
aides-de-camp, or whatever might be their modern
title*) to educe their newest, most ree he j'c he vohQSy
and beseech of Venus to choose.

Will there not be in these cases a delicious
perplexity, an ecstasy of amazement, an embar-
rassment of riches ? Imagine to yourself this
happy hesitation, and you will know something of
my present sweet uncertainty. How am I to
begin my selection of Roses ? It seems as though,
gazing upon an illuminated city, I was asked to
point out the brightest candles ; as though, where
fire-flies gleamed by the million, and humming-
birds glowed by the thousand, I was ordered to
transfix with the entomological pin the brightest
specimens of the one, and to adjust upon the orni-
thological wires the most exquisite examples of
the other.

* A lady, calling to rectify a mistake at. one of our great magasins
des modes, was asked : ' ' Was it a tall gentleman with a dark moustache
who was with you?" and repHed : "No; it was a stout nobleman,
about five feet high, with a squint."

SELECTION. 125

As to any scientific arrangement, ethnological,
genealogical, or physiological classification, I am
helplessly, hopelessly incapable. I have as " poor
brains" for these studies as Cassio for strong
drinks. The very words make my head ache,
and I long to break them up, as one breaks up, in
wintry days, some big black coal with a poker.
" I am no botanist," as the young Oxonian pleaded
to the farmer who reproved him for riding over
wheat. I confess that I failed miserably in an
attempt to understand the rudiments of his
science, as set forth in Dr. Lindley's School
Botany. I honor him, but I do not envy, because,
strange as it may seem, he is very rarely an en-
thusiastic gardener ; because I never remember to
have seen a scientific botanist and a successful
practical florist under the same hat. Wherefore I
am content, when I put on my own " Christy,"
made for me by one who loves Roses, and grows
them well, to confess meekly that it covers a skull
void and .empty of scientific treasures, but the
property, I trust, of a true gardener.

But how am I to begin with the Roses ? I
fancy that I hear a hiss or two, a shuffling of
impatient shoes, as when too much preliminary
fiddling goes on before the play. And here, posi-
tively, in the very crisis and nick of time, my

126 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

doubt is dissolved ; the knot is cut ini ^vpcp rvxv^,
upon the razor-edge of good hick, and by an inci-
dent which sounds hke a miracle. The Rose
makes answer for itself. Yes, biting my quill,
and beginning to think that the more I bite the
nearer I draw to the stupidity of the bird which
grew it, I hear an intermittent tapping on the
panes of a window near. I am not startled, be-
cause this identical tapping has been going on for
a good many years, whenever winds are high :
but as I look up and see the cause, it seems to
bring new sounds to my ears — a spirit raps dis-
tinctly on the glass : *' Begin with ns, the

Climbing Roses."

I obey at once the legate of my Queen. I lose
no time in stating that the best Climbing Rose
with which I am acquainted is Gloire de Dijon,
commonly classed with the Tea-scented China
Roses, but more closely resembling the Noisette
family in its robust growth and hardy constitu-
tion. Planted against a wall having a southern
or eastern aspect, it grows, when once fairly
established, with a wonderful luxuriance. I have
just measured a lateral on one of my trees, and of
the last year's growth, and found it to be 19 feet

SELECTION.

127

in length, and the bole of another tree at the base
to be nearly 10 inches in circumference. The
latter grows on the chancel-wall of my church,
and has had two hundred flowers upon it in full
and simultaneous bloom ; nor will the reader
desire to arraign me for superstitious practices
before a judicial committee when he hears that to
this Rose I make daily obeisance, because in pass-
ing into my church I must duck to preserve my
eyesight.* The two trees alluded to are on their
own roots, but the Rose thrives stoutly on the
Brier and the Manetti, budded and grafted, wher-
ever Roses grow. Its flowers are the earliest and
latest; it has symmetry, size, endurance, color
(five tints are given to it in the Rose-catalogues —
buff, yellow, orange, fawn, salmon, and it has them
all), and perfume. It is what cricketers call an
*' all-rounder," good in every point for wall, ar-
cade, pillar, standard, dwarf, en masse, or as a
single tree. It is easy to cultivate out of doors
and in. It forces admirably, and you may have
it, almost in its summer beauty, when Christmas

* This tree has since passed through a severe ordeal, during the
restoration of my church. As it was necessary to rebuild the greater
part of the wall on which it grew, I dared not hope its preservation ;
but the architect, Mr. Christian, was an admirer of Roses, and the
clerk of the works, Mr. Dick, was an admirer of Roses, and under
their auspices the dear old favorite was carefully removed from the
stonework, protected by a temporary wooden case, and finally re-
placed in safety.

128 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

snows are on the ground. With half-a-dozen pots
of it carefully treated, and half-a-dozen trees in
your garden, you may enjoy it all the year round;
and if ever, for some heinous crime, I were miser-
ably sentenced, for the rest of my life, to possess
but a single Rose-tree, I should desire to be sup-
plied, on leaving the dock, with a strong plant of
Gloire de Dijon.

As to treatment, although this Rose, like some
thoroughbred horse, will do its work Avith little
grooming and scanty fare, it well repays that gen-
erous diet which I have previously prescribed. In
pruning, take away all weakly wood, and you
may then deal with the strong as you please. If
you want to increase the height of your tree,
** cut boldly," as said the Augur, and low. If
you desire short flov/ering laterals, you may have
them, a dozen on a shoot, or from as many ''eyes'*
as you like to leave on it.

There are three Roses, I am well aware —
three sisters of this same "most divinely tall'*
family — more beautiful, if you compare the indi-
vidual flowers, than that which I have preferred
before them. When we held our third National
Rose-show in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham —
the first of those exhibitions which have since
been so popular in that grand creation of a gar-

SELECTION. 129

dener's genius — I remember that some of us were
made almost angry by the excessive share of
admiration received by one of these Roses. An
anxious eager crowd jumped and jostled to get a
view of it, reckless of each other's corns. I heard
a remark from one visitor to another, a short man
behind him, who seemed, I must say, about to
clamber up the speaker's back: — "Pardon me,
sir, but may I remind you that we are not playing
at leap-frog ?" What were they all struggling to
see ? There were long lines of lovely Roses —
why this pressure always at this special spot ? It
was just as when, in our Royal Academy, and on
the first days of exhibition, the visitors all make
for one particular corner, because there hangs, so
the Times has told them, tJie picture of the year.
And what was //^^ Rose ? It was Cloth-of-Gold
Noisette — a box of it, sent by Mr. W. Cant, from
the neighborhood of Colchester. Well, the m.oftt
jealous could not dispute its supreme beauty. It
was certainly the belle of the ball. In its integrity,
it is, I believe, the most glorious of all Roses. No
true Rosarian ever forgets the first perfect bloom
he sees of it. " Even at this distance of time,"
writes Mr. Rivers in 1867, "I have not forgotten
the delight I felt on seeing this Rose in full bloom
at Angers in 1843. ^ts flowers were like large

9

I30 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

g-olden bells." So I saw it but a few weeks ago
— that is, in May, 1880 — growing in all its abun-
dant beauty in the gardens of the Riviera; one
plant, for example, which, having climbed to the
top of a high chestnut-tree, was flowering here,
there, and everywhere, amid the branches, in
the grounds of the Villa Cessoles, near Nice.
Why, then, have I not given it precedence ?
Simply because, were such a compliment offered,
the Rose would scarcely ever be there to receive
it. Because in this climate it is so rarely realized,
that I do not remember to have seen it, full-
groivn, more than three or four times in my life.
Puny personifications, and dreadful imbecilities
arrogating the name, I have met with frequently ;
but the grand gold goblet, to hold nectar for the
gods, is seen but on state occasions — a chalice
for the coronation of kings. It is a ** shy bloomer,"
**wants a warm wall," '* good for the conserva-
tory," they tell us who know it best. And yet
(so capricious is beauty) I have seen noble speci-
mens of this flower upon the walls of a cottage
five miles from my home ; and the gentleman to
whom the cottage belonged was never, I believe,
more happy than when he came to dine with me,
wearing in his coat a huge bud which he had
begged from his tenant, and which resembled in

SELECTION. 131

size the egg of a turkey, or rather, in my eyes, of
a roc.

Alas ! this tree perislied years ago. Its fate
was the common lot of its race — to be cut down
by cruel frost. And yet I would advise amateurs
to do as I do, persevere in growing it. One year's
harvest will be recompense enough for the plough-
ing and sowing of a decade. If other Roses
boast of their fecundity, this may answer, as the
queen of beasts to the fox : " My children are few,
but they are /ions." Try it on a south wall; try
it on veranda and arcade (I have seen it flower-
ing freely on the latter) ; try it budded on the
Celine Hybrid Bourbon, which is also most con-
genial for Climbing Devoniensis ; try it on the
Banksian and Manetti stocks ; try it on its own
roots, protecting it during the winter months with
some good thick surface-dressing. I do not recom-
mend matting, or other material, which keeps
Hght and air from the plant. A sickly unnatural
growth is often caused thereby, which renders the
plant more powerless than ever to resist its ene-
mies— insects and vernal frost.

Rose No. 2 (No. i in merit) of the trio referred

to is Marechal Niel. Since the time when, a baby

in floriculture, I first began to " take notice" of

, Roses, more than thirty years ago, three new

9*

132 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Stars of special brightness have gHttered in our
firmamenf — Gloire de Dijon, Charles Lefebvre,
and Marechal Niel. The latter is, I think, the
greatest acquisition, because we had, previous to
its introduction, no hardy Yellow Rose, realizing,
as this does — in the wonderful beauty of its
flowers, their size, shape, color, fragrance, longev-
ity, abundance, in the amplitude of its glossy
leaves and the general habit of the plant — our
every desire and hope. We possessed some ap-
proximation to Gloire de Dijon in our Tea and
Bourbon Roses. Charles Lefebvre was a develop-
ment of General Jacqueminot ; but of a hardy
Golden Rose, more precious and more welcome a
thousand times than those Golden Roses which
popes have sent to favored kings, we saw no har-
binger. The beautiful old Yellow Provence was
all but extinct. I have never seen it, except in
the gardens of Burleigh — "Burleigh House by
Stamford town." The few splendid petals of the
Persian Yellow only increased our sacra fames
aiiri — the egg-cup made us long for the tankard
of gold. Solfaterre had not depth of color, and
its flowers were faulty in shape; Cloth-of-Gold
was not meant to be worn out of doors, and was
quickly tarnished by rough v^^eather; and even the
Marechal's own mother, Isabella Gray, had dis-,

SELECTION. 133

played such feeble charms that no one mourned
her sterility. Suddenly, unexpectedly, she pro-
duced a paragon.

Thus I wrote in the former editions of my
book, and then gave as my reason for not award-
ing to the Marechal precedence over all other
Climbing Roses the fact, that he had not as yet
passed the ordeal of one of our severest winters.
In common with many other Rosarians, I thought
that he was perfectly hardy, but I resolved to
abide by the invariable rule, which I have ever
observed in writing about Roses, to make no
statements on hearsay or at hazard, but those only
which I had proved to be true. A sorrowful ex-
perience has since confirmed the prudence of that
resolution. In the spring-tide of the year 1871,
I gazed, a sadder and a wiser man, upon the black
branches of my best specimen, and Marechal Niel
was as lifeless as Mare'chal Ney. And in the
summer of 1877 I found, upon some thirty trees,
but few perfect specimens, all being more or less
injured by the frosts of early spring.

What Rose, do you think, shall I plant in his
place ? The nearest resemblance to his living self
on which I can lay my hands. " And the
grounds" (you ask sarcastically), " of this love for
corpses ?" The grounds, stern censor, are these.

134 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

The trees which were injured had not sufficient
protection ; and though my hope is gone of pro-
nouncing this glorious Rose to be perfectly hardy,
I feel sure that if the roots are well covered by
manure during the winter, and if the weather be
very severe, the upper growth be screened by a
few branches of fir or fronds of the common
bracken, we may preserve it always from fatal
injury, and almost always from any injury whatever.
If it dies, even then I should say: *"Tis better to
have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."
As to the best method of growing this variety,
there seemed to be at first some hesitation among
our Rose-merchants as to the propriety of a union
between such delicate beauty and that rough, wild
vagabond, the Jolly- Dog Rose ; and it was ** sent
out" generally budded or grafted upon the Man-
etti, or recently struck on its own roots, about the
size of a toothpick. We have since discovered
that, as fair damsels love stalwart knights, this
Rose grows and blooms most vigorously when
budded or grafted (in either case so low that the
Rose itself may ultimately be covered by the
soil and root in it) upon the Brier.* This is the

* It is a curious fact that when Marechal Niel is budded on the
standard Brier, and thrives upon it, the Rose will ultimately outgrow
the stock, a large excrescence will be formed at the point of juncture,
and here a fatal decay will begin.

SELECTION. 135

best Stock for it, so far as my experience goes ;
but there is another with which it mates most hap-
pily, and of this I had last season a somewhat
curious proof Be it known, then, and apropos of
mates, that the lady whom, on an interesting oc-
casion, I endowed with all my worldly goods, does
not avail herself of my matrimonial munificence
with regard to my show Roses, but contents her-
self during the exhibition season with the produce
of certain trees exclusively appropriated to her.
One morning toward the end of May, I listened
with amused incredulity to her announcement that
she " had just cut a beautiful bloom of the Mare-
chal;" and being perfectly sure that there was no
tree of that variety in her collection, and no ex-
panded flower on my own, I ventured to ask, with
affectionate sarcasm, which of her plants had dis-
tinguished itself for life by this grand supernatural
victory? The prompt answer was — " Gloire de
Dijon : go to my room and look !" I went, ex-
pecting to see some abnormal specimen of the
flower, and I found in all its loveliness Marechal
Niel ! Thence to the branch from which it came,
and then the mystery was explained. I had men-
tioned to my gardener in the preceding summer,
some remarks which I had read from Mr. Rivers,
the younger, recommending the Gloire as a stock

136 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

for the Marechal. He had tried the recipe, as I
now advise my readers to try it, and had first per-
plexed and then pleased me with the prompt suc-
cess of his enterprise.

The Banksian Rose is also a most genial stock
for the Marechal ; and if any of my readers are
the happy proprietors of the former, under glass,
I advise them by all means to bud the latter upon
it. A gentleman residing near Darlington has
kindly sent me some interesting particulars as to
the success of this combination. In July, 1867,
Mr. Spence, a nurseryman, budded M. Niel upon
the Banksian Rose in his greenhouse. In 1868 he
cut 120 fine blooms from the tree and sold them
at Newcastle-on-Tyne for 5s. per dozen, and also
sold 500 buds to nurserymen, reserving a large
supply for himself The present length of the
stock is 9 feet; the circumference 2^^ inches; the
length of the scion is 40 feet, and the circumfer-
ence 3 inches. But in my own county, Notting-
hamshire, I am proud to say, has been produced
the specimen, par excellence, of this magnificent
Rose. Mr. Henry Gadd, gardener to Lord Mid-
dlcton, at WoUaton Hall, near Nottingham, is the
artist of this masterpiece, and he has favored me
with the following account of it. Marechal Niel,
a dormant bud on the Brier, was planted in a cool

SELECTION. 137

conservatory in February, 1866, and in its first
season made a growth of 15 feet. In 1867 it again
grew with fresh vigor, and two shoots were selected
and trained, right and left, upon iron rods, 12
inches from the glass. These soon reached the
ends of the house, 35 feet in length, and were stop-
ped. In 1868-69 the Rose bloomed beautifully;
but the year 1870 beheld the climax of its glory in
more than 1000 blooms, 700 of which were open
and opening simultaneously. This Rose-tree was
planted in a rich loam, of which a considerable
portion was charred to destroy wire-worm, inter-
mixed with rotten manure, road-sand, and oyster-
shells. Liquid manure was given, liberally and
frequently, to the roots.

The third Rose of the trio is Climbing Devon-
iensis. To this offspring of, or, as we technically
term it, '' sport" from, the lovely tea-scented Rose
Devoniensis, we may truly say :

O Matre pulchra
Filia pulchrior !

for it has all the beauty of the mother — form,
complexion, and sweetness — with a much more
ample and continuous display of it. One of the
first trees of this lovely variety was kindly sent to
me by Mr. Curtis, of the Devon Nursery, Torquay,

138 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

and made shoots 10 feet in leilgth in the
summer after planting, subsequently covering
a large space on a wall 18 feet high, blooming
even earlier than Gloire de Dijon, and giving me
some perfect flowers as late as the end of Novem-
ber. But the winter of 1870-71 all but destroyed
it; indeed, it seemed as though the sap were
frozen down to the parent stock (Hybrid Bourbon
Celine, the best foster-nurse for this variety), and
it was only in midsummer that a new growth up-
rose, just where the Rose had been budded, and
saved the tree from transportation to the bonfire.
Nor can I say in this case, as in that of Marechal
Niel, that careful protection will preserve, because
the growth is so exuberant, and the young wood
so tender, that it is much more quickly and ser-
iously injured by frost. But I am speaking, it
must be remembered, of a garden in Nottingham-
shire, lying low, near water, and therefore specially
exposed to peril ; and I do not see why, in the
south and west, this charming Rose should not suc-
ceed out of doors.* Even here, as I have not a

* I find the following evidence, in corroboration of my belief, in
that prettiest catalogue of pretty things, ' Wheeler's Little Book for
1872:' —

" Climbing Devonie^isis Rose. — It may be interesting to know that
this most beautiful of all light-colored Climbing Roses, so successfully
and universally cultivated in the neighborhood of Bath, is one of the
most vigorous and robust growth, making shoots from established

SELECTION. 139

Rose-house (a precious possession, without which
no range of glass is complete), I shall continue
to grow it al fjrsco, and forget occasional disap-
pointments in that liberal loveliness which must
ensue after a merciful winter and a genial spring.
La Belle Lyonnaise and Madame Berard, two
daughters of Gloire de Dijon, but with distinctive
charms, are both attractive Climbing Roses.

Lamarque, the parent of Cloth-of-Gold, well
deserves a place on some sunny wall, growing very
rapidly, and being one of the earliest Roses to charm
us with its refined and graceful flowers. These
are large and full, the outer petals of a soft pure
white, the inner of a pale straw-color. Among
the new Roses of the year 1870 we have a La-
marque with yellow flowers, which, so far as I can
judge from a small plant, is likely to be a valuable
addition.*

plants measuring from 18 to 20 feet in length in one season. It is a
most abundant early and late bloomer ; in favorable situations it com-
mences to flower in May and continues to produce its most beautiful
blossoms all through the season, until late in November; and it re-
tains its foliage nearly all the year. It is very hardy, having withstood
the severe winter of 1860-61. It grows and thrives in almost any soil
or situation even in thickly-built parts of the city, amidst the smoke
and dust of which it thrives and blooms in great perfection. So highly
esteemed is this variety, that there is scarcely a villa residence in this
neighborhood [Bath] where one does not find this Rose, and no ama-
teur considers his collection perfect without it. Its blooms are of large
size, some of them measuring six inches in diameter, and their shape
is most perfect. This is, in fact, one of the best light-colored exhibi-
tion Roses in cultivation. — A RosR Amateur, Bath."

* Hope told a flattering tale — my yellow Lamarque turned black
and died.

140 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

None of the Roses which I have just described
are classified in the catalogues or by writers on the
Rose among the Climbers ; but I have ventured so
to consider and commend them, for the obvious
reason that they are as capable of climbing as
Jack's Bean-stalk, and that they produce far more
beautiful Roses than those which have been
hitherto selected, and almost exclusively desig-
nated, as Climbing Roses. The fact is, that Roses
generally may be induced to climb, if planted in
rich soil against a wall, facing south or east. In
such a sunny site, the development of the tree, once
thoroughly established and settled down to its
work, is marvellous. Not so rapid, of course, nor
so extensive in longitude or latitude, as with the
more nomad and wandering tribes, but such as to
astonish those Rosarians who have only seen a
less favored growth, and to satisfy in time almost
any requirements as to the space which has to be
covered. In half-a-dozen summers many of the
Hybrid Bourbon, Hybrid China, and GaUican
Roses, will reach the eaves of an ordinary dwel-
ling, as I have proved with Charles Lawson and with
Coupe d'Hebe ; and in a decade the side of a good-
sized house might be decorated with such a
grower as Blairii 2. The bloom is early, ample,
and magnificent; but as it is brief, and there is no

SELECTION. 141

aftermath, I would only advise these Roses to be
introduced where mural space is superabundant.

CHmbing Victor Verdier, introduced by Mr.
Paul of Cheshunt, has mounted the wall of my
gardener's house to the height of 12 feet, and
blooms beautifully. Many others of the Hybrid
Perpetuals would also, I am assured, by the experi-
ments which I have made, attain grand propor-
tions if grown upon walls ; but the best of all red
Climbing Roses is Cheshunt Hybrid, with its large,
glossy foliage, and its glowing, well-formed flowers.
Souvenir de la Malmaison, Bourbon, also spreads
itself high and wide upon a southern wall. In all
these cases I should prefer to plant Rose-trees upon
their own roots, if I could have them strong and
clean : in the last case. Souvenir de la Malmaison,
this condition is inseparable from a successful
issue.

Even the varieties of those Tea-scented Roses
which have been thought too delicate for outdoor
culture, will in some cases make robust growth
when placed against a warm wall and mulched in
winter. I have a plant of Souvenir d'un Ami,
seven feet in height, in which a thrush last spring
built her nest and safely reared her young.

It must, however, be borne in mind, that in
the majority of cases there is neither the place nor

142 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

the patience for these specimens. Chmbing Roses
are required, as a rule, to do their work quickly ;
and we will therefore proceed to consider those
varieties which have been selected by the Rose-
merchants, and proposed to us in their catalogues,
for this purpose — the Ayrshire, the Evergreen,
the Banksian, the Boursault, the Multiflora, and
the Hybrid Climbing.

The Ayrshire and Evergreen Roses — it should
be, Evergreen^ if the weather permit — have many
claims upon our grateful admiration. If we have
an ugly, red-faced, staring wall, which seems to
glory in its ugliness, they will hide its deformities
more quickly than any other Rose or any other
creeper with which I have acquaintance. Only
give them a good start, as you give an Irishman
" jist a hint" of whisky before you send him on an
errand ; and, however adverse the position or the
aspect, off they go like lamp-lighters. With their
shining leaves, and their pretty clusters of white
pink-tinted flowers, they will flourish where no
others can grow — in the waste places of the earth,
in damp dismal corners, under trees, and up them,
if you wish. Upon the blank wall of two new
rooms, having a western aspect, I planted Ram-
pant sempervirens. Owing to the proximity of
another wall and of intermediate shrubs, he was

SELECTION. 143

not even gladdened occasionally with a few kindly-
smiles from the setting sun ; and though I gave
him plentifully good soil and good manure, I left
him hoping against hope. The first year he did
little. I thought he was dying in his dreary dun-
geon, but he was only planning his escape ; and
out he bolted the next summer, making shoots
like salmon- rods, some more than 20 feet long.
** Rampant" must have had adult baptism, and
was well named by his sponsors, alway reminding
one of a Lancashire anecdote, how a poor client
waited upon one Lawyer Cheek of Manchester,
with a long bill in his hand, and sighed, as he put
down the brass on the table : ** They dunna call
thee Cheek for nought"

Other members of these two families are alike
successful in surmounting hardships — e.g., among
the Ayrshires, Dundee Rambler, Queen of Bel-
gians, Ruga (with its faint odor of the ancestral
Tea, which intermarried, it is said, with the Roses
of Ayr), and Thoresbyana — raised, a few miles
from my home, at Thoresby ; and among the
Evergreens, Adelaide d'Orleans, Felicite Perpe-
tuelle (who would not desire to have a Rose so
named upon his house?) — Myrianthes, and the
two Princesses, Marie and Louise.

These Roses are also most appropriate for

144 ^ BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

covering bowers in the Rosarium, or arched en-
trances leading to it. They are very eftective
upon the banks and slopes which I have recom-
mended at page ii 6, flooding them, as it were,
with a white cascade of Roses ; and budded upon
tall standards of the Brier, they may be soon
trained into Weeping Roses — into fountains of
leaves and flowers.

Would that Burns had gazed and written up-
on the lovely little Banksian Rose ! He would not
have esteemed the wee modest daisy one iota the
less — he was too true a florist for that; but he
would have painted for us in musical words a
charming portrait of this pocket, or rather button-
hole, Venus — \M\'=y petite mignomie, which, singly,
would make a glorious bouquet for Queen Mab's
coachman, or, oi grojipe, a charming wreath for a
doll's wedding, such as I remember to have at-
tended once in my childhood, when, Jwrribile
dictu I the bride upon her way to the altar fell
prone from our rocking-horse (a nuptial grey), and
broke her bridal nose. The Banksian Rose is in-
deed

" A miniature of loveliness, all grace
Summed up and closed in little;"

and both the yellow and white varieties — the lat-

SELECTION. 145

ter having a sweet perfume, as though it had just
returned from a visit to the violet — should be in
every collection of mural Roses. The plants
should be on their own roots, and those roots
should be well protected during the winter months.
It cannot be warranted perfectly hardy, but witJi
careful iniilchiiig there is scarcely one frost in a
lifetime which will kill it. It may be injured even
to the ground, but it will come up again with
wondrous rapidity.

Under favorable circumstances, the growth of
this Rose is most luxuriant. A French v/riter on
Roses tells us of a tree at Toulon which covered a
wall 75 feet in breadth and 15 to 18 in height,
and which had fifty thousand flowers in simul-
taneous bloom ; and specimens may be seen in our
own gardens and conservatories which repress any
unbelief in those who have not seen the lovely luxu-
riance with which it grows in sunnier climes.
There is neither height nor width of masonry
which it cannot surmount and cover ; and when
you see it, as I have seen it, intermixed with
Bougainvillea spectabilis, and with the branches of
the Judas-tree, and blending its golden glories
with their crimson and roseate sheen, you get
some idea what the writer means who talks about
being " drunk with beauty." The trees should be

146 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

pruned when they have flowered in summer, so
that a fresh growth of laterals may be well ripened
before winter, and bloom in the ensuing spring.*

Rather more than twenty years ago, Mr. For-
tune sent over a batch of Climbing Roses from
China, and from' one of them, named Fortune's
Yellow, great expectations rose. It was described
by a Rosarian at Seven Oaks as being ** nearly as
rampant as the old Ayrshire, quite hardy, covered
from the middle of May with large loose flowers
of every shade — between a rich reddish buff and
a full coppery pink — and rambling over a low
wall, covering it on both sides, about 20 feet wide,
and 5 feet high." Mr. Fortune himself described
it as most striking in its own country, with flowers
"yellowish salmon, and bronze-like;" but it has
not as yet received in England the attention which
it deserves, as one of the most attractive and
abundant of Roses. They who have seen it as it
is grown at Blenheim and elsewhere, will not be
happy until they have planted it on a southern
wall.

Although the Boursault Rose is called, from its
habitat, Rosa Alpina, it certainly has not the
agility in climbing which entitles the Roses pre-

* Upon the Banksian Rose, once established, other Roses, of the
Tea and Noisette famihes, may be successfully budded.

SELECTION. 147

viously discussed to membership in the Alpine
Club. The old crimson Amadis is very beautiful
when the evening sun is low, and the soft light
rests upon its glowing flowers, and the blush
variety is large and lovely (albeit the floral cot-
tager was right who told me that he *' considered
them 'R.osQS Jlothe7y")) but Ichabod is soon written
on flower and leaf, and the habit of growth is
anything but graceful, "GraciHs" itself forming no
exception. They may be trained both to climb
and droop, but they have long ceased to perform
in my Rosarium either of these evolutions. There
are better Roses.

Nor am I acquainted, so numerous are the
candidates having stronger claims, with any gar-
den which has space to spare for the Multiflora, or
for the Hybrid CHmbing Roses.

They are disappearing from the lists (as fair
ladies do when no combatant wears their glove in
his helmet); and I sigh to count the happy, happy
years which are gone since I laid "the Garland,"
as an Immortelle, upon the tomb of " Madame
D'Arblay."

148 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

CHAPTER IX.

SELECTION — (contimied).

Descending now from roseate heights, and
ere we reach the perfumed plains below, we must
halt to gaze upon our

Pillar Roses,

some rising singly here and there, like the proud
standards of victorious troops ; some meeting in
graceful conjunction, saluting each other like our
forefathers and foremothers in the stately min-
uet— bowing themselves like tall and supple cava-
liers, into arches of courtesy, w4th keystones of
cocked hats. In both phases these Pillar Roses are
beautiful additions to the Rosarium, enabling us,
like the Rose-mounds previously commended, to
enliven, with a pleasing diversity, that level which
is described as dead. But with reference to the
first, I must offer to amateurs a respectful
caution — that to grow single specimens in isolated
positions, where they will invite, and ought to
satisfy, special criticism — knowledge of habit,
and experience in pruning, will be indispensable.

SELECTION. 149

Melancholy results must inevitably ensue from
ignorance or inattention ; and I have shud-
dered to see examples of both in long lanky
trees, without any lateral shoots, flowerless and
leafless for three-fourths of their height, remind-
ing one of those shorn disgusting poodles,
profanely termed by their proprietors " lions," as
they stand upon their execrable hind legs to beg.
But not upon them — not upon the helpless ob-
ject— but on the barbarous owner, we must expend
our noble rage ; upon those who have brought in-
nocent loveliness to the whipping-post, or rather
the pillory, and compelled her to look the words
which St. Simeon Stylites moaned :

** Patient on this tall pillar I have borne

Rain, wind, frost, heat, hail, damp, and sleet, and snow."

The best plan of growing these Roses, which
a long experience has taught me, is this : To pre-
pare and enrich your soil as I have advised in
Chapters VI. and VII., and then to fix firmly
therein the pillar which is to support the trees. Of
what material is this pillar to be? — wood or
iron ? The former commends itself to the eye
(and the pocket) at once ; and I well remember
the satisfaction with which I surveyed an early ex-
periment with larch poles, the lower part well

ISO A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

charred and tarred, and driven deep into the
ground, and looking from the first so very rustic
and natural. The Rose-trees grew luxuriantly,
and for three or four summers I esteemed myself
invincible in the game of pyramids. Then one
night there came heavy rain, attended by a hurri-
cane, and when I went out next morning, two of
my best trees were lying flat upon the ground,
with their roots exposed (the poles, having de-
cayed near the surface, had snapped suddenly) ;
and several others were leaning like the tower at
Pisa or the spire of Chesterfield Church, some
hopelessly displaced, and others deformed and
broken. Fallen, and about to fall, they looked as
though their liquid manure had been mixed too
strong for them, and had made them superla-
tively drunk. Shortly afterwards I had another
disaster, caused by a similar decay — the top of a
pole, in which two iron arches met each other,
giving way to a boisterous wind, and so causing a
divorcement between Brennus and Adelaide
d'Orleans, long and lovingly united. I would
therefore advise, not dwelling upon other disad-
vantages resulting from the use of wood — such as
the production of fungi, and the open house
which it provides for insects — that the supports
for Pillar Roses be of iron. Neatly made and

SELECTION. I 5 I

painted, tastefully and sparingly posed, they are
never unsightly; and, enduring as long as the
trees themselves, they will in the end repay that
first outlay which makes them, for some time*, an
expensive luxury.

The height and thickness of these single rods
will be determined by the position to be occupied,
from 5 to 8 feet above the ground being the most
common altitudes, and the circumference varying
from I ^ to 3 inches. Below the surface, their
tripod prongs must be deeply and securely fixed
from I foot to i8 inches in the soil, so as to bear
any weight of flowers and foliage, and defy all the
royal artillery of ^olus. For arches, the rods
may be 7 or 8 feet from the ground, and 8 or 9
feet apart.

The ground and supports being prepared, a
selection may be made from the list subjoined of
varieties, vigorous and beautiful (as the recruiting-
sergeant picks out for the Guards the more robust
examples of humanity) ; and these, whether on
their own roots, or worked upon Brier or Manetti
stocks, according to their habit and the character
of the soil, should be planted in November, and
safely tied to their rods. Tarred twine is the best
material for the latter purpose, being cheap, dura-
ble, and to be had in different thicknesses, accord-

152 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

ing to the strength required. Prune closely in the
following March, removing three-fourths of your
wood, so as to insure a grand growth in the sum-
mer, which, moderately shortened in the succeed-
ing spring, should furnish your pillar, from soil to
summit, with flowering lateral shoots. By the
time your tree has attained the dimensions re-
quired, your observation will have taught you
how, for the future, to prune it so that you may
be sure of an annual bloom, cutting away all
weakly wood, and regulating the general growth
with an eye both to form and florescence. As
with a vine, if you only put a strong cane into a
rich border, and use the knife courageously, you
may be sure of grapes.

As single specimens of Pillar Roses, the fol-
lowing may be tried with confidence : —

Anna Alexieff* free in growth, in foliage, and flowers — the

latter of a fresh pure rose-color, which makes the tree very

distinct and charming.
Auguste Mie, an old favorite, having well-shaped globular flowers,

of a delicate pearly-pink complexion, and blooming freely both

in summer and autumn.
Baronne Prevost, another of the few old favorites still claiming a

place in the Rosary. The flowers are very large, fragrant, and

of a true rose-color.

* All the Roses in this list, except Gloire de Bourdeaux, Gloire
de Dijon, and Jaune Desprez, are of the Hybrid Perpetual family.

SELECTION. 153

Belle Lyonnaise, a daughter of Gloire de Dijon, smaller, paler,
and less bountiful than her mother, but a very pretty Rose —
referred to, p, 139.

Caroline de Sansales, with outer petals of a pale flesh-color, deep-
ening towards the centre, is a very lovely Rose, and still among
the best of our light-colored varieties.

Cheshunt Hybrid, Climbing Victor Verdier, and Madame Berard,
also included among the Climbing Roses.

Edojiard Morreji is very effective for the purpose under considera-
tion, being of robust growth, and liberally producing its large,
symmetrical, rose-carmines flowers.

General Jacque77iinot, for so many summers the Rose of our gar-
dens, is still a glory and grace, its petals, soft and smooth as
velvet, glowing with vi\dd crimson, and its growth being free
and healthful. I well remember the time when we welcomed
this conquering hero, in his brilliant uniform, as being invinci-
ble; but development in Roses is no theory, as in certain
schools of theology, but a sure reality, and the General must
now pale his ineffectual fire in the presence of such Roses as
Alfred Colomb, Charles Lefebvre, and Marie Beauman. As a
Pillar Rose, notwithstanding, he is not surpassed.

Gloire de Bourdcatix is a Tea-Noisette, or rather it is classified
among the Teas, and is a Noisette. It has been known latterly
in the catalogues as Belle de Bourdeaux — Bacchus, as I sup-
pose, having expostulated with Flora, and convinced her that
the real glory of Bourdeaux is its wine — its Lafitte, Latour, and
La Rose, of another description. Its numerous flowers are
interesting — individually, from the striking contrast between
the colors on either side of the petals, these being of a bright
rosy lilac without, and within of a pale silvery flesh-color; and
en masse, effective and showy." It "grows like a willow," to
use a gardener's phrase, much resembling in habit
Gloire de Dijon, described among the Climbers, but excellent in
every phase. Like Phyllis, "it never fails to please;" unlike
Phyllis, it is never "coy."

154 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Jaune Desprez, Noisette. — Phoebus, what a name! Little thought
poor Monsieur Desprez, when he sent out his seedling in the
pride of his heart, that it would associate his name throughout
the Rose-loving world with jaundice and bilious fever. Yellow
Desprez, moreover, is not yellow, but buff or fawn color, deli-
ciously fragrant, of beautiful foliage, blooms freely in autumn,
and makes, with careful culture, a pretty Pillar Rose.

Jules Maj'gott'm bears the honored name of one who has enriched
our Rose-gardens with many a precious treasure — Mons. Mar-
gottin of Bourg-la-Reine, near Paris; and no column could de-
clare his praises so suitably, or perpetuate his fame so surely,
as a pillar of this lovely Rose. I would rather that a pyramid
of its sweet bright flowers bloomed above my grave, than have
the fairest monument which art could raise. But " there's time
enough for that," as the young lady observed to her poetical
lover, when he promised her a first-class epitaph.

La Reine, once Queen of the Hybrid Perpetuals, is still a most
royal Rose ; and, with the attention which royalty has a right
to expect, will give magnificent blooms in a genial — that is, in
a hot, sunny — season. In wet or cold summers the immense
buds do not open kindly. It is not, in fact, to be relied upon,
like

La Ville de St. Denis, which, faithful as she is fair, and bounteous
as she is beautiful, always gladdens us with flowers of exquisite
symmetry, and of a deep fresh rosy pink.

Madame Boll, a Rose whose foliage alone, with the dew on it, is
worth a getting up at sunrise to see, but having flowers to cor-
respond of an immense size, exquisite form, and of a clear bright
rose-color.

Madame Clemence Joigneaux. — Were I asked to point out a
Rose-tree which I considered a specimen of healthful habit and
good constitution, I know of none which I should prefer before
M. C. J., with its long, strong, sapful shoots, its broad, clear,
shining leaves, and its grand cupped carmine flowers.

Marechal Vaillant well merits his baton for distinguished con-

SELECTION. 155

duct in the garden ; and, in his bright crimson uniform, is never
absent from his post, nor ever fails to distinguish himself when,
the wars of the Roses are fought in the tented field.

Paul Neron is admirably suited for this method of cultivation,
with his ample foliage, and huge yet handsome flowers.

Sotivenir de la Reine d''Angleterre, one of the largest Roses in
cultivation, and, though seldom supplying the symmetrical blooms
which are required for the keen eye of a censor, a beautiful and
effective Pillar Rose. The color of its flower is a soft rosy
pink.

Triotnphe de P Exposition is another Rose to be admired in our
gardens as a tree rather than scrutinized at our shows as a
flower. It bears an abundance of bright crimson and charming
Roses, of good shape, but of medium size.

There are doubtless several other Hybrid Per-
petual Roses which may be grown as successful
specimens of the Pillar Rose, but I have only
enumerated those which I have proved. Again,
I have not included among the single specimens
certain varieties, as beautiful perhaps as any which
are there, but more appropriate to form centre-
pieces of beds ; to be placed at the back of beds,
or on either side of walks with other Roses;
because, only blooming once, they are wont to
look conspicuously dreary, in solitude and separa-
tion, when their summer flowers have fallen. No
Rose-trees can be more admirably adapted for
the pyramidal form, owing to their luxuriant
growth and bloom, than :

156 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Blairii 2, a perplexing title (transposed to "Bleary Eye" by a
cottager of my acquaintance), until we receive the explanation
that the Rose was one of two seedlings raised by Mr. Blair
of Stamford Hill, near London. No. i, though once eulogized
(see Syfeei's British FIower-Garden, \o\. iv. p. 405) as "this
splendid Rose," is worthless; but No. 2, with its large globular
flowers, the petals deepening from a most delicate flesh-color
without to a deep rosy blush within, is a gem of purest ray serene.
A bloom of it, cut from the tree before it was fully expanded, in
the intermediate state between a bud and a Rose, and tastefully
placed with a frond of Adiantum (Cuneatum, Sanctce Catherinse,
Farleyense, or Tenerum) in her back hair — I beg pardon, her
back snakes — would make even a Fury good-looking. It be-
longs to the Hybrid China family, as does

Bre7injis, far more happy as a Climbing Rose than when, scaling
with his Gauls the Tarpeian rock, he woke up the geese who
woke up the Romans to repel him headlong, and to save their
capital. It is a most free-growing, free-blooming variety, with
large deep carmine flowers.

Charles Lawson, a hybrid from the Isle de Bourbon Rose, makes
a noble specimen, producing magnificent blooms of a bright
glowing pink abundantly in all seasons. This glorious Rose
well deserves all those adjectives expressive of beauty which, I
begin to fear, my readers will regard as wearisome and vain
repetitions. I can only plead that the epithets are true, and cry
"Excuse tautology!" as I once heard a parrot scream for the
best part of a summer's day.

Chenedole, Hybrid China, is a very attractive garden Rose. Not
"an article which will bear the closest inspection" of anatomi-
cal eyes, but adding greatly to the general effect of the Rosarium
with its vivid crimson flowers.

Coupe d'' Hebe, Hybrid Bourbon, is perhaps a size smaller than we
should have expected Hebe's cup to be, considering the require-
ments of such inflammatory personages as Jupiter, Mars, and
Bacchus. Probably, when the gods set up a butler, as they did

SELECTION. 157

on the dismissal of Hebe, and in the person of Ganymede, they
may have enlarged their goblets ; but it was a fashion of the
ancients, including our own grandfathers, to take their wine
from egg-cups and extinguishers of glass. Be this as it may.
Coupe d'Hebe is undoubtedly one of our most graceful and re-
fined Roses, exquisite in form and in color, the latter a silvery
blush. Referring to a list of the Roses which I grew in 185 1,
I find that, of 434 varieties, 410 have been disannulled to make
way for their betters ! Of the two dozen which are in office
still, three-fourths are climbing or decorative Roses, and six
only of sufficient merit to pass the ordeal of exhibition — namely,
Blairii 2, Cloth-of-Gold, Devoniensis, La Reine, Souvenir de
Malmaison, and Coupe d'Hebe.

There was another.

General yacqueminot, a Hybrid China Rose, in high favor at that
time ; and though he cannot compete with his modern namesake,
his regimentals being neither so well made nor so brilliant, he
is still a very handsome hero, and forms, with his vigorous
branches and large purple-crimson flowers, a fine Pillar Rose.
So does

Juno, H. C, a Rose which, like the goddess, may justly complain
of neglect, appearing in few gardens, and well deserving a place
in all. I must allow that Juno is sometimes " inconstant ;" nor
does the sorrowful fact surprise us, foreknowing the provoca-
tions of her husband Jupiter ; but she is, generally, all that a
good Rose ought to be, and then most divinely fair. We have
so few Roses of her pale delicate complexion, that, until we are
favored with more perpetuals of the Caroline de Sansales style,
Juno is a most valuable Rose, large and full, and, in her best
phase, an effective «flower for exhibition.

Paul Perrasy H. B., is another valuable Rose in this section, of
robust growth, and producing plentifully its well-shaped blooms,
of a light rose-color.

Paul Ricatit, H. B., was once the swell of the period the
D'Orsay in our beau nionde of Roses ; and though no longer a

158 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

leader of fashion, he is still a very attractive member of society.
Upon the tree, its large, closely-petalled, rich crimson flowers are
most beautiful ; but it is not reliable as a show Rose, expanding
rapidly, and too often displaying a large ** eye," on his arrival
at the exhibition, as though astonished by the splendor of the
scene.

Mr. W. Paul, in the Rose- Garden, commends
the Moss as a Pillar Rose. In rich soil it has the
vigorous growth required, but it would be difficult,
I think, to induce the flowering laterals, which
should beautify at regular intervals the pillar or
pyramidal Rose-tree. The only satisfactory speci-
men which I have seen or heard of was one of
that very beautiful variety called Lanei.

Arches and arcades are graceful, because na-
tural, forms, quas Natiira stid spontc snggcrit, as
Ave read in our Oxford Logic, in which to grow
varieties of the Rose having long, lissom, droop-
ing branches. All the Climbing Roses selected
in the preceding chapter, except the Banksian,
which must have a wall, are admirable for the
purpose — the Ayrshire and Sempervirens being
the first to fulfil their mission, covering the frame-
work in two or three summers with their white
clustering Roses and deep-green glossy leaves.
Of the Noisettes, Gloire de Dijon, Marechal Niel,
and Solfaterre, are sure successes; Cloth-of-Gold

SELECTION. 159

and Lamarque doubtful. M. Niel is specially
adapted for this form of Rose-growing, from the
pendulous habit of its glorious golden blooms.
Walking beneath, you are privileged to see them
with all their charms displayed ; and never yet
was arch of triumph reared to compare with this
in beauty. All the summer Roses which I have
selected for pillars, omitting Paul Ricaut, are
equally to be commended for arches also, and
soon meet each other upon them when gener-
ously and judiciously treated. To the latter I
would add Triomphe de Bayeux, Hybrid China,
a variety of remarkable vigor, with delicate
flowers, resembling those of a Tea-scented Rose,
and invaluable in the bud for bouquets and but-
ton-holes.

These arches and arcades might be introduced
with a pleasing effect in other places away from
the Rosarium — in those plantation walks, for
example, which are attached to many of our
country residences ; and these Climbing Roses
might be planted by landlords of generosity and
taste, so as to make unsightly buildings orna-
mental, and to render many a plain cottage more
cheerful and homelike. I should like to see them
more frequently at our railway stations — and why
not upon our railway bridges and embankments ?

l6o A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

How Striking and beautiful thereon would be such
a torrent of white Roses as I have seen at Saw-
bridgeworth, covering the bank between the road
and the home of my dear friend Thomas Rivers.
Comincr down from the CHmbers to the

'£>

Tall Standards,

I take leave to say that, although, where windows
and walls are otherwise inaccessible, a long spider-
broom in the hands of an efficient housemaid
deserves the admiration with which we watched
it in our youth, few persons would think of cut-
ting it in twain, and of setting the upper half in
a garden of Roses. Yet have I seen objects sug-
gestive of such an operation in some of those
remarkably tall standards which are still extant,
but which, were I Czar and Autocrat of all the
Roses, would soon find themselves, like other
wretched Poles, in exile. Their appearance is
dismal ; there is no congruity between stock and
scion, no union between horse and rider — an
exposition, on the contrary, of mutual discomfort,
as though the monkey were to mount the giraffe.
The proprietors, it would seem, have been misled
by an impression that the vigor of the Brier would
be imparted to the Rose, whereas the superabun-

SELECTION. l6l

dance of sap has been fatal. Food, continuous
and compulsory, which it could not assimilate or
digest, has induced a sickly surfeit; and the
wretched Rose is stupefied, and looks so, with a
determination of blood to the head. Granting a
success, which I have never seen but once (in a
glorious tree of the old Hybrid China Fiilgcns),
the process of fruition would be laborious. Only
from a balloon, a balcony, a bedroom window,
could we supervise and fully appreciate such sub-
limities ! Are we then to discard entirely those
standard trees described to us in the catalogue
as "extra tall"? Is Briareus the giant to be
again buried beneath Mount T^tna — /. e. the rub-
bish heap ? Certainly not. He may do us good
service, kindly treated, and be made to look most
imposing in our gardens holding a fair bouquet of
Roses in each of his hundred hands. I mean
that the vigorous Briers, from 6 to 8 feet in height,
may be converted into

Weeping Rose Trees,

which, properly trained, are very beautiful. Buds
of the Ayrshire and Evergreen Roses, of Amadis
and Gracilis, Boursaults, or of Blairii 2, Hybrid
China, should be inserted, in three or four laterals,

1 62 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

at the top of such standards as have been selected
for their health as well as their height. Closely
pruned the following spring, they may be trans-
planted from the nursery, or from the private
budding-ground, in the autumn, and the removal
must be effected with every possible care and at-
tention. I would advise that these tall specimens
be moved somewhat earlier than the ustial time
for transplanting, so that, when firmly secured in
their place, and freely watered, they may be in-
duced to make roots, and gain some hold of the
ground before the winter begins. A strong iron
stake, set side by side with the stem, and sur-
rounding it just below the junction of the buds
with a semi-globular frame-work, the whole appa-
ratus resembling a parasol with a quadruple allow-
ance of stick, will be the best support for the tree
(fixed deeply in the ground, of course, as directed
for the Pillar Roses), and will enable the amateur
to dispose the branches at regular intervals, so
that they will finally form a fair dome of Roses
— such a floral fountain as may have played in the
fancy of our Laureate, when he wrote

"The white Rose weeps, she is late."

And now we have passed through the Rose-
clad walls — through the Rose-wreathed colon-

GARDEN ROSES. 1 63

nades and courts of the outer palace — into the
anteroom of that presence-chamber where we
shall see, in brilliant assemblage, the beauty and
the chivalry of the Queen of Flowers. We will
pause a while that we may arrange simultaneously
our nerves and our court costume, the former
troubled by a horrible suspicion that every eye is
gazing derisively upon our black-silk legs ; and
then let us enter, to mak^, if that abominable
sword permit, our loyal and devout obeisance.

CHAPTER X.

GARDEN ROSES.

Soon after the publication of my last chapter,*
I received from a furio-comic amateur the follow-
ing epistle : —

Sir: — I wish to be informed what the Two in Whist you mean
by leaving me on the 1st of April, «//., in a ridiculous costume
and a crowded anteroom, quietly proposing to keep me there for
a month. My legs, sir, cannot be included among "varieties suit-
able for exhibition." They have, on the contrary, been described
too truly by a sarcastic street-boy as "bad uns to stop a pig in
a gate," and you might at least have clothed them in the black
velvet trousers recently and reasonably introduced. Moreover, I

* This book was originally published by monthly instalments in
The Gardener.

l64 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

hate anterooms. They remind me of disagreeable epochs — of
waiting in custom-houses for luggage, which was not, perhaps,
quite what moral luggage should be ; of dreary dining-rooms be-
longing to dentists, where, surveying with nervous rapidity the
photographic album, and wondering over the portrait of Mrs.
Dentist, how that pretty face could have wed with forceps, lancet,
and file, I have heard kicks and groans from the '■'drawing-room
above," "oh-ohs!" from the chair which I was about to fill.
They recall to memory rooms scholastic, in which I listened for
the approach of lictor and fasces, and from which, though mounted
and with my back turned to, the enemy, I had no power to flee.
They bring to recollection rooms collegiate, sombre, walled with
books, where with other rebels I have waited to see that proctor,
who hardly knew in the meek, respectful, gown-clad undergrad-
uate of the morn, the hilarious Jehu he met yester-eve in a tandem
and a scarlet coat. Again, sir, I repeat that I hate anterooms, I
hate waiting, I hate crowds, I hate black-silk stockings, and I am
yours irascibly. Rose Rampant.

I hasten at once, with many apologies, to the
pacification and relief of my disciple ; and seeing
that he is much too hot and ruffled — I don't mean
about the wrists, but inwardly — for immediate
presentation, I propose to cool him a little in the
fresh pure air, taking him with me to the summit
of a breezy slope, which he, being of a rampant
nature, will rejoice to ascend, and then showing
him, when pleasantly and kindly '* we've climbed
the hill together," all the Roses I

Just out of Interlachen, the tourist on his wa}-
to Lauterbrunnen Vv^as invited, when I was there.

GARDEN ROSES. 16$

by his courier or his coachman to leave the main
road, and, walking up the higher ground on the
right, to surve}- from the garden of a small resi-
dence, used as a pensioti or boarding-house, one
of the most lovely views in Switzerland — the two
lakes of Thun and Brienz. So v/ould I now in-
vite the amateur to survey and to consider the
Roses in two divisions. I would describe those,
in the first place, which are desirable additions to
the Rosarium, either as enhancing the general ef-
fect from the abundance or color of their flowers,
or as having some distinctive merit of their own,
and which, not being suitable for exhibition, I
would designate as Garden Roses; and I would
then make a selection of the varieties which pro-
duce the most symmetrical and perfect blooms —
that is to say, of show Roses.

And I advise the amateur, beginning to form
a collection, to appropriate unto himself a good
proportion of those Roses from the first division,
which, being of a more robust growth than many
of the show varieties, are more likely to satisfy
and to enlarge his ambition. I hardly think that
I should have been a Rosarian had not the wise
nurseryman who supplied the first Roses which I
remember, sent strong and free-blooming sorts ;
and I have known many a young florist discour-

1 66 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

aged who attempted, without experience, the cul-
tivation of plants which required an expert, or
who had received from some inferior or short-
sighted purveyor weakly and moribund trees.
Wherefore, writing with the hope that I may in
some degree promote and instruct that love of the
Rose from which I have derived so much happi-
ness, I exhort novice and nurseryman alike, as
ever they hope to build a goodly edifice, to lay a
deep and sure foundation. Let the one order ro-
bust varieties, and the other send vigorous plants.
Then, should the educated taste of the amateur
lead him to prefer the perfection of individual
Roses to the general effect of his Rosary — should
he find more pleasure in a single bloom, teres
atque rotunda, than in a tree luxuriantly laden
with flowers, whose petals are less gracefully dis-
posed— if, like young Norval, he has heard of
battles and longs to win his spurs — then must
these latter lusty, trusty, valiant pioneers make
way for the vanguard of his fighting troops. Let
him not disband them hastily. If, surveying the
Roses of these two divisions, and having grown
them all, I were asked whether I should prefer a
Rose-garden laid out and planted for its general
beauty — for its inclusiveness of all varieties of
special interest — or a collection brought together

GARDEN ROSES. 1 67

and disposed solely for the production of prize
flowers — whether I would live by Brienz or by
Thun, — I hardly know what would be my an-
swer. Let the amateur begin with a selection
from both, and then let him make his choice. A
choice, if he is worthy of that name, he will have
to make, as increase of appetite grows with that
it feeds on, and demands new ground to be
broken up for its sustenance. To have both a
beautiful Rose-garden and a garden of beautiful
Roses, requires the Kr}nia nXovToVy the

Magnos Senecse prsedivitis hortos,

the ground and the gold, which few can spare.
They who can — who have both the desire and
the means, the enthusiasm and the exchequer —
should have some such a Rosary as I have sug-
gested in the chapter on Arrangement, together
with a large budding-ground annually devoted,
fresh Briers or Manetti on fresh soil, to the pro-
duction of show Roses. As a rule, the amateur
who becomes a keen exhibitor will eliminate the
varieties which he cannot show ; and the amateur
who studies tout ensemble — the completeness of
the scene, diversity, abundance — will rest satisfied
with his exhibition at home. He will grow, of
course, the more perfect Roses, enumerated here-

1 68 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

after as Roses suitable for exhibition ; but not re-
quiring them in quantity, he will have ample
room to combine with them those varieties which,
though their individual flowers are not sufficiently
symmetrical for the show, have their own special
grace and beauty — the garden Roses, which I
now propose to discuss

He must not omit the blushing, fresh, fragrant
Provence. It was to many of us tJie Rose of our
childhood, and its delicious perfume passes through
the outer sense into our hearts, gladdening them
with bright and happy dreams, saddening them
with lone and chill awakings. It brings more to
us than the fairness and sweet smell of a Rose.
We paused in our play to gaze on it, with the
touch of a vanished hand in ours, with a father's
blessing on our heads, and a mother's prayer that
we might never lose our love of the pure and
beautiful. H-appy they who retain or regain that
love : and thankful am I that, with regard to
Roses, the child was father to the man. Yes, I
was a Rosarian CBt. med IV., never to be so happy
again in this world as when the fingers, which are
writing now, plucked from the brookside, from the
sunny bank, from the meadow and the hedge- row
and the wood, the violet, the primrose, the cow-
slip, the orchis, and t/ie rose. Nay, about my

GARDEN ROSES. 1 69

seventh summer I oft presided at a '' flower-show"
— for thus we designated a few petals of this
Provence Rose, or of some other flower placed
behind a piece of broken glass, furtively appro-
priated when the glazier was at dinner, and cut-
ting, not seldom, our small fingers (retribution
swift upon the track of crime), which we backed
with newspaper turned over the front as a frame
or edging, and fastened from the resources of our
natural gums.

And now, can any of my readers appease in-
dignation and satisfy curiosity by informing me
who first called the Provence Rose *' Old Cab-
bage," and why ?* For myself, '' I should as soon
have thought of calling an earthquake genteel," as
Dr. Maitland remarked, when an old lady near to
him during an oratorio declared the Hallelujah
Chorus to be "very pretty." It must have been
a tailor who substituted the name of his beloved
esculent for a word so full-fraught with sweetness,
so suggestive of the brave and the beautiful, of
romance and poesy, sweet minstrelsy and trumpet-
tones. The origin of the title Provence is, I am
aware, somewhat obscure. Mr. Rivers thinks that

* I am, sxib rosd, well aware that (as Miller writes in liis Diction-
ary), the Cabbage Rose is so called " because its petals are closely
folded over each other like cabbasjes. "

170 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

it cannot have been given because the Rose was
indigenous to Provence in France, or our French
brethren would have proudly claimed it, instead of
knowing it only by its specific name, Rose a cent
feuilles ; but we may have received it, neverthe-
less, from Provence, just as Provence, when
Provincia, received it — Rosa centifolia — from her
Roman masters, and may have named it accord-
ingly ; or we may have had it direct from Italy,
as stated in Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. Be this
as it may, we have all the rhyme, and enough of
the reason, to justify our preference for the more
euphonious term, and I vote " Old Cabbage" to
the pigs.

The Rosarian should devote a small bed of
rich soil, well manured, to the cultivation of this
charming flower, growing it on its own roots, and
pruning closely.

The Double Yellow Provence Rose, of a rich,
glowing^ buttercup yellow as to complexion, and
prettily cupped as to form, full of petal, but of
medium size, has almost disappeared from our
gardens, and I have only seen it at the Stamford
shows, sent there from beautiful Burleigh. Al-
though common at one time in this country, it
seems never to have been happy or acclimatized.
" How am I to burst the yellow Rose ?" was a

GARDEN ROSES. I/I

question often sent to the horticultural editor. All
sorts of manoeuvres, and all sorts of manures,
were tried. Mrs. Lawrence writes that a tree of
this Rose was planted against an east wall at
Broughton Hall in Buckinghamshire, with a dead
fox placed at its roots, by her father. She adds,
fortunately, that he " was a great sportsman," or
posterity would certainly have suspected papa of
being what posterity calls a vulpicide. " In many
seasons," writes the Rev. Mr. Hanbury, in his
elaborate work upon Gardening, published just a
century ago, " these Roses do not blow fair. Some-
times they appear as if the sides had been eaten
by a worm when in bud ; at other times the petals
are all withered before they expand themselves,
and form the flower. For this purpose, many have
recommended to plant them against north walls,
and in the coldest and moistest part of the gar-
den, because, as the contexture of their petals is
so delicate, they will be then in less danger of suf-
fering by the heats of the sun, which seem to
wither and burn them as often as they expand
themselves. But I could not observe without
wonder what I never saw before — /. e., in the
parching and dry summer of 1762, all my Double
Yellow Roses, both in the nursery-lines and else-
where, in the hottest of the most southern expos-

1/2 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

ures and dry banks, everywhere all over my whole
plantation, flowered clear and fair." Here, in my
opinion, the latter paragraph contradicts and dis-
proves the former, showing us that so far from the
Yellow Provence Rose being burned and withered
by the sun, we have only now and then in an ex-
ceptional season sunshine sufficient to bring it to
perfection. Mr. Gilbert has kindly sent me both
plants and buds from Burleigh ; but, with all my
anxious supervision, I have never succeeded in
rearing these tender emigrants. And for this
reason we will leave it:

If she be not fair for me,
What care I how fair she be ?'

More kindly and gracious is the Miniature or
Pompon Provence, always bringing us an early but
too transient supply of those lovely little flowers
which were the ''baby Roses" and the "pony
Roses" of our childhood. They may be grown
on their own roots in clumps among other Roses,
or as edgings to beds, De Meaux and Spong being
the best varieties. The amateur is supposed to
be already in possession of another Lilliputian
treasure, the Banksian Rose, commended to him
when we discussed the Climbers ; and I must here

GARDEN ROSES. 1/3

appropriately introduce him to one more tiny
belle, Miss Ernestine de Barente, Hybrid Per-
petual Rose, a darling little maid, with bright
pink cheek and quite "the mould of form." The
Miniature China (Rosa Lawrenceana or Fairy
Rose) is more adapted for pot cultivation.*

A few varieties from the Hybrid Provence sec-
tion are valuable in the general collection, having
those lighter tints, which are still infrequent, being
of a healthful habit, and growing well either as
dwarfs or standards. Blanchefleur is a very pretty
Rose, of the color commonly termed French
white — /. e., English white with a slight suffusion
of pink ; Comte Plater and Comtesse de Segur
are of a soft buff or cream color, the latter a well-
shaped Rose ; Princesse Clementine is a rara avis
in terris, but not a bit like unto a black swan,
being one of our best white Roses ; and Rose
Devigne is large and beautiful and blushing.
These Roses, having long and vigorous shoots,
should not be severely cut, or they will resent the
insult by "running to wood" — excessive lignifi-
cation, as I once heard it termed by a magnilo-

* Twenty years ago these fascinating little fairies were numerous.
We had, among Hybrid Perpetuals, Clementine Duval, pale rose ;
Coquette de Montmorency, cherry and violet ; Pauline Buonaparte,
white; Pompone de St. Radegonde, carmine; and many other?.

1/4 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

quent pedant, and burst out laughing, to the in-
tense disgust of the speaker.

And now I am not entirely exempt from the
fear, that with some such similar derision the
reader may receive a fact which I propose to sub-
mit to him. It is, nevertheless, as true an incident
in my history as it may be a strange statement in
his ears, that, once upon a time, some ten or
twelve summers since, I was driven out of London
by a Rose ! And thus it came to pass : Early in
June, that period of the year which tries, I think,
more than any other, the patience of the Rosarian,
waiting in his garden like some lover for his Maud,
and vexing his fond heart with idle fears, I was
glad to have a valid excuse for spending a few
days in town. To town I went, transacted my
business, saw the pictures, heard an opera, wept
my annual tear at a tragedy (whereupon a swell in
the contiguous stall looked at me as though I were
going to drown him), visited the Nurseries, rode
in the Park, met old friends, and was beginning to
think that life in the country was not so very
much " more sweet than that of painted pomp,"
when, engaged to a dinner-party, on the third
day of my visit, and to enliven my scenery, I
bought a Rose. Only a common Rose, one from
a hundred which a ragged girl was hawking in the

GARDEN ROSES. I 75

Streets,* and which the swell I spoke of would
have considered offal — a Moss- Rosebud, with a
bit of fern attached. Only a twopenny Rose ; but
as I carried it in my coat, and gazed on it, and
specially when, waking next morning, I saw it in
my water-jug — saw it as I lay in my dingy bed-
room, and heard the distant roar of Piccadilly in-
stead of the thrush's song — saw it, and thought
of my own Roses — it seemed as though they had
sent to me a messenger, whom they knew I loved,
to bid me** come home, come home." Then I
thought of our dinner-party overnight, and how
my neighbor thereat, a young gentleman who had
nearly finished a fine fortune and a strong consti-
tution, had spoken to me of a mutual friend, one
of the best and cheeriest fellows alive, as '' an aw-
ful duffer," "moped to death," "buried alive in
some dreadful hole" (dreadful hole being a charm-
ing place in the country), because he has no taste
for robbing or being robbed at races, can't see the
wit of swearing, and has an insuperable partiality
for his own wife. And I arose, reflecting; and
though I had taken my lodgings and arranged my

Poor Peggy hawks nosegays from street to street,
Till — think of that, who find life so sweet —
She hates the smell of Roses !"

— Hood.

176 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

plans for three more days in London, I went home
that morning with, the Rosebud in my coat.

Ah, my brothers ! of the many blessings
which our gardens bring, there is none more
precious than the contentment with our lot, the
deeper love of home, which makes us ever so
loath to leave them, so glad to return once more.
And I would that some kindly author who knew
history and loved gardens too, would collect for
us in one book (a large one) the testimony of great
and good men to the power of this sweet and
peaceful influence — of such witnesses as Bacon
and Newton, Evelyn and Cowley, Temple, Pope,
Addison, and Scott. Writing two of these names,
I am reminded of words particularly pertinent to
the incident which led me to quote them, and
which will be welcome, I do not doubt, even to
those gardeners who know them best.

" If great delights," writes Cowley, *' be joined
with so much innocence, I think it is ill done of
men not to take them here, where they are so
tame and ready at hand, rather than to hunt for
them in courts and cities, where they are so wild,
and the chase so troublesome and dangerous. We
are here among the vast and noble scenes of
nature, we are there among the pitiful shifts of
policy ; we work here in the light and open ways

GARDEN ROSES. V]J

of the divine bounty, we grope there in the dark
and confused labyrinths of human mahce ; our
senses here are feasted with the clear and genuine
taste of their objects, which are all sophisticated
there, and for the most part overwhelmed with
their contraries. Here is harmless and cheap
plenty; there guilty and expensive luxury."

And Sir William Temple, after a long expe-
rience of all the gratifications which honor and
wealth could bring, writes thus fi-om his fair home
and beautiful garden at Moor park : ** The sweet-
ness of air, the pleasantness of smells, the verdure
of plants, the cleanness and lightness of food, the
exercises of working or walking, but above all the
exemption from cares and solicitude, seem equally
to favor and improve both contemplation and
health, the enjoyment of sense and imagination,
and thereby the quiet and ease both of the body
and mind." And again he speaks of " the sweet-
ness and satisfaction of this retreat, where, since
my resolution taken of never entering again into
any public employments, I have passed five years
without ever going once to town, though I am
almost in sight of it, and have a house there ready
to receive me."

Even so to his garden may every true gar-
dener say, as Martial to his wife Marcella : —

12

1/8 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

'* Roniam tu mihi sola facis,"

**You make me callous to all meaner charms."

" Let others seek tlie giddy throng
Of mirth and revelry ;
The simpler joys which nature yields
Are dearer lar to me."

And let there be, by all means, among those joys
included a bed of the Common Moss- Rose — a
" well-aired" bed of dry subsoil, for damp is
fatal — in which, planted on its own roots, well
manured, closely pruned, and pegged down, it
will yield its flowers in abundanT:e, most lovely,
like American girls, in the bud, but long retaining
the charms of \\\€\x premiere jciinesse before they
arrive at rosehood. When the soil is heavy, the
Moss-Rose will grow upon the Brier; and I have
had beautiful standards of Baronne de Wassenaer, a
pretty cupped Rose, but wanting in substance ; of
Comtesse de Murinais, a very robust Rose as to
wood, but by no means so generous of its white
petals ;, of the charming Cristata or Crested, a
most distinct and attractive Rose, first found, it is
said, on the walls of a convent near Fribourg or
Berne, which all Rosarians should grow, having
buds thickly fringed with moss, and these chang-

GARDEN ROSES. 1 79

ing in due season to large and well-shaped flowers
of a clear pink color ; of Gloire des Mousseuses,
the largest member of the family, and one of the
most beautiful pale Roses; of Laneii, for which,
on its introduction, I gave half-a-guinea, and
which repaid me well with some of the best Moss-
Roses I have grown, of a brilliant color (bright
rose), of a symmetrical shape, and of fine foliage,
free from blight and mildew, those cruel foes of
the Rose in general and the Moss-Rose in partic-
ular; of Luxembourg, one of the darker varieties,
more remarkable for vigor than virtue ; of Marie
de Blois, a Rose of luxuriant growth, large in
flower, and ridi in Moss ; of Moussue Presque
Partout, a singular variety, curiously mossed upon
its leaves and shoots; and of Princess Alice, nearly
white, free-flowering, and much like Comtesse de
Murinais. But, as a rule, they soon deteriorate
on the Standard, and will grow more permanently
budded low on the seedling Brier.* Celina and
White Bath I have not included in the preceding
list, never having grown them as standards; but
they deserve attention — the first for its exquisite
crimson buds, the second as being our only really
white Moss-Rose, but of very delicate habit.

* Mr. Prince of Oxford exhibited some vigorous examples of
Baronne de Wassenaer and Eugdne Guinnoisseau at the Rose-Show
of the National Society held in the Crystal Palace, 3d July, 1880.

l8o A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Of the Moss-Roses called Perpetual, and de-
serving the name as autumnal bloomers, Madame
Edouard Ory and Salet are the only specimens
which I have grown successfully in my own gar-
den, or admired elsewhere. The former is of a
carmine, the latter of a light rose, tint.

All the Roses which I have selected in this
chapter are desirable in an extensive Rose-garden.
To amateurs of less ample range or resources I
would commend, as the most interesting, the
Common and Miniature Provence, with tlie Com-
mon and the Crested Moss.

CHAPTER XI.

GARDEN ROSES — ( C07itinued).

I COMMENCED my selection of garden Roses
— that is, of Roses which are beautiful upon the
tree, but not the most suitable for exhibition —
with the Provence and the Moss, because these
were the Roses which I loved the first. They had
but few contemporaries alike precious to our eyes
and noses in the garden of my childhood; — the
York and Lancaster, the Alba, the Damask, the
Sweet-Brier, the old Monthly; and these also

GARDEN ROSES. l8l

shall suggest, if you please, our onward route
through the land of Roses.

First, then, with reference to the York and
Lancaster — thus called because it bears in impar-
tial stripes the colors, red and white, of those
royal rivals who fought the Wars of the Roses —
although I cannot commend its flimsy flowers as
gaudily and as scantily draped as the queen of a
baUet or burlesque, I must claim a place in the
Rosary for a few variegated Roses very superior
to their prototype. CEillet Parfait is so truly
named, that a skilful florist, seeing a cut bloom of
it for the first time, would only be convinced by a
close inspection that it was not a Carnation but a
Rose. With a clear and constant variegation of
white and crimson stripes, it is marvellously like
some beautiful Bizarre ; and Perle des Panachees,
another gay deceiver, white and rose color, is al-
most as efiective. CEillet Flammande and Tricolor
de Flandres, though not so striking and distinct
— their triple colors, white, lilac, and red, being
somewhat dingy and confused — are always
curious, and sometimes pleasing. These variegated
Roses are easily cultivated, growing freely on the
Brier with liberal treatment and moderate pruning.
They are affiliated in the catalogues to the family
of Gallicas. But what are Gallicas ?

1 82 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

" Gallica," responds the intelligent school-boy,
" is a Latin adjective, feminine gender, and signi-
fying French." But can the intelligent school-boy,
or the still more intelligent adult, inform us why
the Latin for French should be applied to this
particular section only of the multitudinous Roses
sent to us from France? "They who send," it
may be answered, " make a special claim, for they
call them * Rosiers de Provins,' and Provins surely
is in France, department Seine-et-Marne." Yes !
but with every grateful recognition of the debt
which we owe to "our lively neighbor the Gaul"
(as Mr. Micawber calls him), it is well known that
in this instance the claim cannot be proved. The
birthplace of the Rose called Gallica is unknown,
disputed like the birthplace of Homer. " It is
from Asia," says one ; " it is the Rose of Miletus,
mentioned by Pliny." " It was first found," writes
a second, " upon Italian soil." ** It came from
Holland," cries Tertius, " beyond a doubt, and Van
Eden was the man who introduced it."

The French Roses, so-called, we read in the
Horticultural Magazine, i. 282, have all been de-
rived from the original Tuscany. Van Eden and
others of Haarlem raised all the early varieties in
Holland ; and the first man in France who suc-
ceeded in raising new varieties from them was

GARDEN ROSES. 1 83

Descemet, who resided at St. Denis. Vibert
bought his stock, and continued the raising of
seedhng Rose-trees.*

But I have asked this question with an ulterior
view. It is time, I think, for some alterations in
the nomenclature and classification of the Rose.
When summer Roses — Roses, that is, which
bloom but once — were almost the only varieties
grown, and when hybridizers found a splendid
market for novelties in any quantities, new always
and distinct /;/ name, the subdivisions yet remain-
ing in some of our catalogues were interesting, no
doubt, to our forefathers, and more intelligible, let
us hope, than they are to us. Let us believe that
it was patent to their shrewder sense why pink
Ruses were called Albas, and Roses whose hues
were white and lemon were described as Damask.
Let us suppose that they could distinguish at any
distance the Gallica from the Provence Rose, and
that when they heard the words Hybrid China,
instead of being reminded, as I am, of a cross
between a Cochin and a Dorking fowl, they recog-
nized an infinity of distinctive attributes which es-
trange that variety from the Plybrid Bourbon in

* I hnve been recently informed by Mons. Vilmorin of Paris, that
an indigenous semi-double Rose is found in the Forest of Orleans,
which looks very like the parent of Rosa Gallica, and he lias kindly
promised to procure me specimens.

1 84 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

the most palpable and objective form. Though it
may be difficult for us to understand why the
Pei'sian Yellow, brought to England from Persia
by Sir H. Willock, should have been promptly
described as an Aiistrian Brier* — and we are a
trifle perplexed to comprehend whence the latter,
discovered first in Italy, derived its appellation —
let us be sure that it was all plain, and clear as the
light, to them.

But now that these summer Roses are no
longer paramount — rapidly disappearing, on the
contrary, before the superior and more enduring-
beauty of those varieties which bloom in summer
and autumn too ; now that several divisions for-
merly recognized are gone from the catalogues,
and others include but two or three able-bodied
Roses on their muster-roll — it would be advisable,
I think, to ignore altogether these minor distinc-
tions, and to classif;\' as summer Roses all those
which bloom but once. Not without a painful
sigh can we older Rosarians vvitness the removal of
our old landmarks — not without a io}'al sorrow do
we say farewell to friends who have brightened
our lives with so much gladness; but we cannot
lone: remember our losses, surrounded as we arc

*- The two Rose-trees, it is true, are very similar in habit, but tlic
nomenclature is "just a muddle a'toogether."

GARDEN ROSES. 1 83

by such abundant gains, and the tears of memory
must pass away as quickly as the dew in summer.
We ring out the old with funeral bells ; we ring in
the new with a merry peal. Pensive upon our
former favorites, and poring over ancient lists, wc
are as wanderers in some fair burial-ground, half
garden and half graves (would that ''God's acre"
were always so !), reading mournfully the names
of the departed. Let us rejoice the rather to leave
the shade of melancholy boughs for the sunlit
ground, which is garden all of it, and let us return
to the summer Roses, demanding and deserving
admission.

The white and red Roses of my childhood
liave long left the garden in which they grew. I
see the former sometimes by old farmhouses and
in cottage plots, wildly vigorous as a gypsy's hair,
and covering huge bushes with its snowy flowers
profusely, like a Guelder Rose, recalling the sug-
gestion of the elder Pliny, that once upon a time
the land we live in was named, after its white
Roses, Albion — ob albas rosas. * But the latter,
the Damask, with its few rich velvety-crimson
petals, is a memory, and that is all. Nor do I ask
a restoration in either case ; only that they may be

* " Albion insula sic dicta ab albis rupibus quas mare alluit, vel
ob rosas albas, quibus abuudat." — Hist. Nat., iv. 16.

1 86 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

replaced by better Roses — the white by Blanche-
fleur, \cry pretty, although the blancJic is decidedly
a French white ; by Madame Hardy, a true white,
and a well-formed Rose, but alas ! " t^recn-eyed,"
like "jealousy" — envious, it may be, of Madame
Zoutman, who, though not of such a clear com-
plexion, is free from ocular infirmities , or with
more reason of Princesse Clementine, before de-
scribed (see p. 173) as one of our best wliite Roses ;
by Princesse de Lamballe, which most resembles
the Alba of my boyhood, producing an abundance
of Roses, distinct and pretty, but undersized ; and
by Triomphe de Bayeux, whose praise has been
sung at p. 159, supra.

These white Roses are no candidates (though
caiididatce) at our severe competitive examinations;
but they are delightful members of our Rose com-
munity, beautiful in themselves and enhancing
greatly the beauty of others. We must not be
fastidious because they are of medium size in some
cases and not purely white in others, remembering
that their colors are still the most rare of all, and
that their flowers are plenteous always. They are
easily cultivated on the Brier, the Manetti, or their
ov/n roots.

In place of the dark crimson, which we called
the Damask, Rose, the amateur is advised to sub-

GARDEN ROSES. 1 8/

stitute Boiile de Nanteuil, D'Aguesseau, Frederic
11., General Jacqueminot (Hybrid China), Gran-
dissima, Ohl, Paul Ricaut, Shakespeare, and
Triomphe de Jaussens. These are noble Roses, of
healthful growth, fine foliage, and ample bloonj.
They make grand heads on standards of medium
height, moderately pruned, and immoderately
manured. It seems to me but a few summers since
these were our finest show varieties, the belles of
our Court balls : and now, seen in the zenith of
their glory upon the trees, they are not to be sur-
passed in size or richness of color, but they have
not the perfect symmetry of our more recent
Roses, and they are but poor travellers, becoming
restless in hot summer nights, and throwing off
their petals, as feverish dreamers their counterpane
and blanket and sheet.

Intermediate between these light and dark
varieties — neither blondes nor brunettes, Minnas
nor Brendas — and in place of the blush and pink
Roses which bloomed in our gardens together
with those I have described, such as " the Celes-
tial," the blush Boursault, and others, — I com-
mend for the general ornamentation of the Rose-
garden all the pillar Roses described at pp. 156
-158, especially Blairii 2, Charles Lawson, Coupe
d'Hebe, Juno, and Paul Perras. Low on bushes,

1 88 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

high on poles, or midway on the Brier, these
Roses are aHke effective, charming. To these T
would add La Ville de Bruxelles, having bright
pink flowers of a compact form, and so complete
my selection of Summer Roses for the general
collection.

''Wait a moment," it may be said; "do you
mean to tell us that such Roses as Blairii 2 and
Charles Lawson are onl)^ garden Roses, and not
good enough for exhibition ?" Yes, I do mean to
tell you that it is with these Roses as with those
which we discussed before them. If you could
bring the British public to them, they would be
rewarded with the highest distinctions, but the
process of conveying them to the British public
takes the exquisite freshness from Charles Law-
son's beauty, and too often produces in the junior
Miss Blair a transition from the blushing graceful-
ness of girlhood into the rubicund stoutness of
middle age. Again and again, charmed by their
loveliness overnight, I have given them a place in
my boxes : as often I have been obliged to con-
fess that the impulse of the evening did not satisfy
the morning's reflection. On this subject I shall
have more to say ; meanwhile let us snift" —

The Sweet- Brier ; and let no Rosarian lightly
esteem this simple but gracious gift. " You are

GARDEN ROSES. 1 89

a magnificent swell," said a dingy little brown
bird, by name Philomela, to a cock-pheasant
strutting and crowing in the woods, "but your
music is an awful failure." So may the Sweet-
Brier, with no flowers to speak of, remind many a
gaudy neighbor that fine feathers do not consti-
tute a perfect bird, and that men have other
senses as well as that of sight to please. Not even
among the Roses shall we find a more delicious
perfume. The Thurifer wears a sombre cassock,
but no sweeter incense rises heavenward.

In one of our midland gardens there is a cir-
cular space hedged in, and filled exclusively with
sweet-scented leaves and flowers. There grovv^
the Eglantine and the Honeysuckle, the Gilli-
flower, the Clove and Stock, Sweet- Peas and Musk,
Jasmine and Geranium, Verbena and Heliotrope —
but the Eglantine to me when I passed through
"The Sweet Garden," as it is called, just after a
soft May shower, had the sweetest scent of them
all. It is an idea very gracefully imagined and
happily realized, but suggested by, and still sug-
gesting, sorrowful sympathies, for the owner of
that garden is blind.*

* The blind Squire of Osberton is (l^ad, but I retain this de-
scription of his Sweet Garden, iioping that the idea may be realized
elsewhere, for the comfort and refreshment of others similarly
afflicted.

I90 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

The Austrian Brier is a Sweet-Brier also ; and
though not so fragrant in its foHage as our own
old favorite, it brings us, in the variety called Per-
sian Yellow, a satisfactory recompense — namely,
flowers of deepest, brightest yellow, prettily
shaped, but small. This Rose is almost the ear-
liest to tell us that summer is at hand, first by
unfolding its sweet leaves, of a most vivid refresh-
ing green, and then by its golden blooms. It
grows well on the Brier, but is preferable, when
size is an object, on its own roots, from which it
soon sends vigorous suckers, and so forms a large
bush. In pruning, the amateur will do well to
remember the warning :

•* Ah me ! what perils do environ
The man who meddles with cold iron !"

seeing that if he is too vivacious with his knife, he
will inevitably destroy all hopes of bloom. Let
him remove weakly wood altogether, and then
only shorten by a few inches the more vigorous
shoots. The red or copper-colored Austrian is a
most striking and beautiful Rose, and should be
in every garden.

We will pass now from Garden Roses, which
bloom but once, to those which are called Per-
petual, which •

GARDEN ROSES. I9I

** Ere one flowery season fades and dies,
Design the blooming wonders of the next."

What a change in my garden since, forty years
ago, the "old Monthly" and another member of
the same family, but of a deep crimson complex-
ion (Fabvier, most probably), were the only Roses
of contintious bloom ! and now among 5000 trees
not more than 20 are "summer" Roses. All the
rest Perpetuals, or rather, for I must repeat it,
called Perpetuals by courtesy, seeing that many
of them score o in their second innings, and but
few resume their former glory in autumn. They
are, nevertheless, as superior for the most part in
endurance as in quality to the summer Roses, and
they supply an abundance of the most beautiful
varieties both for the purpose now under consider-
ation, the general ornamentation of the Rosary,
and for public exhibition.

Before we skim their cream as garden Roses,
let us remember with admiration the ancestral
cow. For who shall despise those old China
Roses, which have brightened more than any
other flower our English homes, smiling through
our cold and sunless days like the brother born
for adversity, and winning from the foreigner, as
much perhaps as any of our graces, this frequent

192 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

praise : " Your land is the garden of the world ! "
The Frenchman, for example, as I can remember
him in my boyhood, who had been travelling on
the straight, flat, hedgeless, turfless roads of
France, in a torpid, torrid, dusty diligence, was in
an ecstasy as he sat upon the Dover Mail, and
went smoothly and cheerily, ten miles per hour,
through the meadows and the orchards, the hop-
yards and the gardens of Kent. But nothing-
pleased him more than the prettiness of the way-
side cottage, clothed with the Honeysuckle, the
Jasmine, and the China Rose, and fragrant with
Sweet- Brier, Wallflower, Clove, and Stock.

I may not urge the restoration of this village
beauty to the modern Rose-garden, but in the
mixed garden and in the shrubbery the constant
brave "old Monthly," the last to yield in winter,
the first to bloom in spring, is still deserving of a
place. He, at all events, is no more a Rosarian
who sees no beauty in this Rose, than he is a
florist who does not love the meanest flower which
grows. Nor must he neglect some other old
favorites in this family — such as Cramoisie
Superieure, honestly named, glowing and brilliant
as any of our crimson Roses, and forming a charm-
ing bed, or edging of a bed, especially in the
autumn ; and Mrs. Bosanquet, always fair, and

GARDEN ROSES. 1 93

good as beautiful — the same, like a true lady,
in an exalted or a low estate, on a standard or
on the ground, alone or in group, composed,
graceful, not having one of its pale pink delicate
petals out of place. Both of these Roses thrive
well in pots, but they are most attractive, I think,
on their own roots out of doors, in a bed of rich
light mellow loam, pruned according to vigor of
growth, and pegged down when their shoots are
supple, so as to present a uniform surface.

When speaking of the Moss-Rose generally, I
anticipated the little which I had to say of the
Moss Perpetual (p. i8o), and, passing on to the
Damask Perpetual, have but two Roses to com-
mend, and these only where space is unlimited
and the love of Roses voracious. A tender sad-
ness comes to me thus speaking of them, a melan-
choly regret, as when one meets in mid- life some
goddess of our early youth, and, out upon Time !
she has no more figure than a lighthouse, and al-
most as much crimson in her glowing countenance
as there is in its revolving light ; and we are as
surprised and disappointed as was Charles Kirk-
patrick Sharpe when he met Mrs. Siddons at Ab-
botsford, and " she ate boiled beef, and swilled
porter, and took snuff, and laughed till she made
the whole room shake again." I do not mean that

13

194 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

these Perpetual Damasks are too robust and ruddy,
but that they charm us no more as when Mr. Lee
of Hammersmith introduced Rose du Roi to a de-
hghted pubHc, and the Comte, who presided over
the gardens in which the Rose was raised at St.
Cloud, resigned his office in disgust because the
flower was not named after himself, Lelieur — a
most ungracious act, seeing that it was by the
King's (Louis XVIII.) desire that the Rose had
its royal title, and that the honor of originating
the variety was due (no uncommon case) to
Suchet, the foreman, and not to Lelieur, the chef.
Mogador, which was subsequently raised from
Rose du Roi, was a decided improvement, and is
still very effective in a bed, from its vivid crimson
tints ; but very few of those amateurs who may
pay me the compliment of furnishing their Rosa-
ries with the varieties which I commend the most,
will, I think, have room, when I have completed
my catalogue, for the Damask Perpetual Rose.

It can vie no more with that section, the most
perfect and extensive of all, which we will next
consider, so far as its garden Roses are con-
cerned— viz., the Hybrid Perpetual, a family so
numerous and so beautiful withal, that two of our
most fastidious Rosarians, ejecting from a select
list every flower which has not some special excel-

GARDEN ROSES. 1 95

lence, give us the names of 120 varieties as being
sails reproche. " I have inserted in this Hst," says
Mr. Rivers, " Roses only, whether new or old,
that are distinct, good, and, above all, free and
healthy in their growth ; the flowers are all of full
size, fine shape, and perfection in color ; in short,
any variety selected from it even at random will
prove good, and well worthy of cultivation,"
'' Roses suitable for Exhibition" is the heading of
Mr. George Paul's list; and as an exhibitor he has
proved oft and convincingly a knowledge of what
to show, and how to show it. But I am antici-
pating this part of my subject, and, returning to
our garden Roses, recommend as the most robust
in growth and prolific in flower, the following
selection : Abel Grand, Anna Alexieff, Anna de
Diesbach, Annie Wood, Baronne de Bonstetten,
Baronne Prevost, Caroline de Sansales, Comte de
Nanteuil, Dupuy Jamain, Edouard Morren, Gen-
eral Jacqueminot, Jules Margottin, Lyonnaise, La
France, Madame Boll, Madame Clemence Joig-
neaux, Marechal Vaillant, Marquise de Castellane,
Paul Neron, and Senateur Vaisse.

Of the Bourbons, although two only now

attain public honors, there are several which are

valuable additions to a general collection of Roses.

Acidalie is extremely pretty, nearly white, and

13 *

196 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

blooming bountifully in a genial season, when
other Roses are scarce, that is, in the later autumn.
Although it grows vigorously both upon stocks
and per se, when the soil and the summer are
propitious, it is but a fine-weather sailor, and,
" like that love which has nothing but beauty to
keep it in good health, is short-lived, and apt to
have ague-fits." I advise the amateur, conse-
quently, to remember Acidalie in the budding
season, so that he may always have a duplicate in
reserve. Armosa is a charming little Rose, neat
in form, and bright pink in complexion. Bouquet
de Flore, an old favorite, still claims a place for
its carmine flowers; and Catherine Guillot, with
Louise Odier, having both the beauty and the
family likeness of Lawrence's "lovely sisters," are
as two winsome maids of honor in waiting upon
the Bourbon Queen — dethroned, it is true, by
more potent rivals, but still asking our loyal love
for its sweet, abundant, fawn-colored flowers. The
Rev. H. D'Ombrain, in the flesh, is a true Rosa-
rian, a trusty, genial writer, an accomplished
florist, as all florists know; and in the flower he is
one of our best Bourbon Roses. Not so beautiful,
of course, as his daughter Marguerite D'Ombrain,
H.P. (of whom more anon), but an early, reliable,
vigorous, bright carmine Rose. Were the Roses

GARDEN ROSES. 19/

sentient, as I sometimes think they are, this one
would have their special regard and honor. Mr.
D'Ombrain has not only been, as it were, the
consul for French Roses in England, making
known the merits of the new-comers, and so insur-
ing for them a kindly welcome — and the faithful
friend of French Rosarians also, in soliciting help
for those who, residing near Paris, suffered severely
during the siege ; but more recently at home he
has established a fresh claim upon the gratitude
of all Rosarians, by suggesting and organizing a
National Rose Society, and by reviving the Na-
tional Rose Show.

None of the Tea-Roses (although most of
them may with care be grown out of doors in a
congenial site and with protection from frost) can
be strictly included as hardy Roses for the general
garden, except Belle Lyonnaise, Cheshunt Hybrid,
Gloire de Bordeaux, Gloire de Dijon, and Madame
Berard; and of the Noisettes, Celine Forestier,
Jaune Desprez, Lamarque, Marechel Niel (wall),
Reve d'Or, Solfaterre, and Triomphe de Rennes.

And now, my reader, as when eating our
strawberries in early youth, boys by their moth-
ers', girls by their fathers' sides, we reserved the
largest to the last ; or as when, in later years, we
loved something more dearly even than straw-

190 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

berries — making with the Yorkshire rustic our
tender confession : "I loikes poi, Mary; but, oh
Mary, I loikes you better nor poi !" — we, meeting
in mixed company, reserved for our beloved the
final fond farewell — or meeting, not in mixed
company, found tJiat the sweetest which was, alas !
the parting kiss ; even so have I reserved for my
conclusive chapters the Roses which I love the
best — those Roses which are chosen for their
more perfect beauty, like the fairest maidens at
some public y?/^, to represent the sisterhood before
a wondering world.

CHAPTER XII.

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS.

When that delightful young officer of her
Majesty's Guards, having paid a guinea, no long
time ago in London, to the great spiritualist,
medium, or whatever the arch-humbug called him-
self, of the season, inquired, with a solemn coun-
tenance, whether he could receive communications
from his mother, and, being assured that this could
be arranged, commenced a long conversation with
his parent, who preferred, after the manner of
spirits, to express her sentiments by tapping — and

CONCERNING ROSE- SHOWS. 1 99

when, finally, he declared himself perfectly satis-
fied, because " the lady in question was waiting
for him at that moment (in robust health and in
Belgrave Square), that they might refresh them-
selves with luncheon," — he completely demolished
the baseless fabric of my little dream, how charm-
ing it would be to have an hour's table-talk with
some of our old Rosarians.

I am with them, nevertheless, and without
humbug, in spirit many a time, honoring their
memories, and always regarding them with a
thankful, filial love. I like to think of them
among their Roses, as I wander among my own,
mindful how much of my happiness I owe,
humanly speaking, to their skill and enterprise ;
remembering them as we Rosarians of to-day
would fain be remembered hereafter, when our
children's children shall pluck their snow-white
Marie Beauman :

" Pure
As sunshine glancing on a white dove's ^vings,"

and shall wish we were there to see. I like to
think ot Lee of Hammersmith complacently sur-
veying those standard Rose-trees which he intro-
duced from France in the year 18 18, which were
the first ever seen in England, and which he sold

200 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

readily (it was reported at the time that the Duke
of Clarence gave him a right royal order for lOOO
trees) at one guinea apiece. I like to imagine the
elder Rivers looking on a few years later, half
pleased and half perplexed, as Rivers the younger
budded his first batch of Briers, and the old fore-
man who had served three generations boldly pro-
tested:— "Master Tom, you'll ruin the place if
you keep on planting t^em rubbishy brambles in.
stead of standard apples !" I fancy the pleasant
smile on Master Tom's handsome face, knowing as
he did that instead of the Brier would come up
the Rose, that his ugly duckling would grow into
a noble swan, and that there were other trees be-
sides Golden Pippins which were productive of
golden fruit. Then I wonder what those other
heroes of the past, Wood of Maresfield, Paul of
Cheshunt, and Lane of Berkhampstead, would say
to their sons and grandsons, could they see the
development of the work which they began — the
Roses, not only grown by the acre instead of by
the hundred, but in shape, and in size, and in
color, beautiful beyond their hope and dream. I
picture to myself Adam Paul's delight at the " 72
cut Roses, distinct," which George, his grandson,
has just arranged for " the National ;" and the ad-
miration which would reproduce '* Brown's Suporb

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 20I

Blusli " on his countenance, after whom that Rose
was named, could he behold those matchless speci-
mens in pots, with which Charles Turner, his suc-
cessor, still maintains against all comers the
ancient glories of Slough.

Of the old Rosarians, Mr. Lee of Hammer-
smith was the first who obtained the medals of the
Royal Horticultura.1 Society for Roses exhibited
at Chiswick, and at the monthly meetings in
Regent Street. These Roses were shown singly
upon the bright surface of japanned tin cases, in
which bottles filled with water were inserted, the
dimensions of the case being 30 inches by 18. In
1834, Mr. Rivers won the two gold medals for
Roses shown at Chiswick, introducing a new and
more effective arrangement, by placing the flowers
in fresh green moss — a simple, graceful, natural
combination, unanimously accepted by the exhibi-
tors of Roses from that day to this. These prize
blooms from Sawbridgeworth, the advanced-guard
of a victorious army, were shown in clusters or
bouquets of five, six, and seven Roses, and were
the best specimens which skill and care could
grow of the varieties which then reigned su-
preme— Brennus, George IV., Triomphe d' An-
gers, Triomphe de Guerin, etc. What a royal
progress, what a revelation of beauty, has Queen

202 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Rosa made since then ! In that same year Mr.
Rivers pubHshed his first, and the first, Descriptive
Catalogue of Roses. It enumerates by name 478
varieties. How many of them, think you, are to
be found in his hst for 1876 ? Eleven ! — eight of
them Chmbing Roses, two Moss, one China — but
none of them available for exhibition. Will it be
so with our Roses, when thirty-five years have
passed ? I believe, I hope so. I believe that our
sons will see the Rose developing its perfections
more and more to reverential skill, and I hope that
the sight may bring to their hearts our love and
happiness, for it cannot bring them more. The
Roses of to-day exhaust all our powers of admi-
ration, our finite appreciation of the beautiful. The
Roses of to-morrow can do no more. The Rosa-
rian may "raise" hereafter flowers large enough
to cradle Cupid :

" Within the petals of a Rose,
A sleeping love I spied ;"

but he cannot have a higher delight surveying
them than Rivers enjoyed over his George IV.,
one fine June morning, more than thirty years
ago.

Mr. Wood of Maresfield, who had learned the
art of Rose- growing in sunny France, was the

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 203

next valiant knight who made his bow to the
Queen of Beauty, and won high honor in her Hsts.
Then followed Mr. Adam Paul of Cheshunt, and
then Mr. Lane of Berkhampstead. These were
the heroes of my youth ; and when I joined the
service, a raw recruit, in 1 846, the four last named
— Rivers, Wood, Paul, Lane — were its most dis-
tinguished chiefs. But our warfare in those days
was mere skirmishing. We were only a contin-
gent of Flora's army — the Rose was but an item
of the general flower-shoAv. We were never called
to the front : we were placed in no van, save that
which took us to the show. And yet, then as
now, whatever might be its position, the Rose was
the favorite flower ; then as now, the visitor, op-
pressed by the size and by the splendor of gigan-
tic specimen plants, would turn to it and sigh :
*' There is nothing, after all, like the Rose."

Year by year my enthusiasm increased. I was
like Andrew Marvel's fawn, when

" All its chief delight was still
On Roses thus itself to fill ;"

and my Roses multiplied from a dozen to a score,,
from a score to a hundred, from a hundred to a
thousand, from one to five thousand trees. They
came into my garden a very small band of set-

204 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

tiers, and speedily, after the example of other
colonists, they civilized all the former inhabitants
from off the face of the earth. Nor were they
content with the absolute occupation of that por-
tion of my grounds in which they were first
planted. The Climbing Roses peeped over the
wall on one side, and the tall Standards looked
over the yew hedge on the other, and strongly
urged upon their crowded brethren beneath (as
high and prosperous ones had urged before upon
their poorer kinsfolk, pressing them too closely)
an exodus to other diggings, to ** fields fresh and
pastures new." So there was a congress of the
great military chiefs, Brennus (Hybrid China),
Scipio (Gallica), Marechal Bugeaud (Tea), Duke
of Cambridge (Damask), Tippoo Saib (Gallica),
Generals Allard, Jacqueminot, Kleber, and Wash-
ington (all Hybrid Chinas), Colonel Coombes,
Captain Sisolet, etc.; and their counsel, like
Moloch's, was for open war. They said it was ex-
pedient to readjust their boundaries ; and we know
pretty well by this time that this means an im-
mediate raid upon the property which adjoins
their own. They discovered that they had been
for years grossly insulted by their neighbors
(Aimee Vibert was almost sure that a young
potato had winked his eye at her), and the time

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 205

for revenge was come. No, not revenge, but for
enlightenment and amelioration ; seeing that these
blessings must inevitably attend their intercourse
Avith any other nation, and that, consequently, an
invasion, with a touch of fire and sword, was be-
yond a doubt the most delightful thing that could
happen to the barbarians over the way. Geant
des Batailles (Hybrid Perpetual) waved the stand-
ard of Marengo (ditto), and they sallied forth at
once. They routed the rhubarb, they carried the
asparagus with resistless force, they cut down the
raspberries to a cane. They annexed that vege-
table kingdom, and they retain it still.

Yes, everything was made to subserve the
Rose. My good old father, whose delight was in
agriculture, calmly watched not only the trans-
formation of his garden, but the robbery of his
farm, merely remarking, with a quaint gravity and
kindly satire, that, *' not doubting for a moment
the lucrative wisdom of applying the best manure
in unlimited quantities to the common hedge-
row brier, he ventured, nevertheless, to express
his hope that I would leave a little for the
wheat."

Simultaneously with this love of the Rose,
there deepened in my heart an indignant convic-
tion that the flower of flowers did not receive its

206 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

due share of public honors. I noticed that the
lovers of the Carnation had exhibitions of Carna-
tions only, and that the worshippers of the Tulip
and the Auricula ignored all other idols. I saw
that the Queen of Autumn, the Dahlia, refused
the alliance of each foreign potentate, when she
led out her fighting troops in crimson and gold,
gorgeous. The Chrysanthemum, alone in her
glory, made the halls of Stoke Newington gay.
Even the vulgar hairy Gooseberry maintained an
exhibition of its own ; and I knew a cottager
whose kitchen was hung round with copper ket-
tles, the prizes which he had won with his Roaring
Lions, his Londons, Thumpers, and Crown-Bobs.
Was the Queen of Summer, forsooth, to be de-
graded into a lady-in-waiting ? Was the royal
supremacy to be lost ? No — like

*' Lars Porsenna of Clusium,
When by his gods he swore,
That the great house of Tarquin,
Should suffer wrong no more" —

I vowed that her Majesty should have her own
again, and in a court of unparalleled and unas-
sisted splendor should declare herself monarch of
the floral world.

Carrying out this loyal resolution, I forthwith

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 20/

suggested in the pages of TJie Florist (^K'^x A 1857),
to all Rose-growers, amateur and professional,
*' that we should hold near some central station a
Grand National Rose-Show — a feast of
Roses, at which the whole brotherhood might
meet in love and unity, to drink, out of cups of
silver, success to the Queen of Flowers." And I
must confess that, when I had made this proposal
to the world, I rather purred internally with self-
approbation. I felt confident that the world
would be pleased. Would the world send me a
deputation ? Should I be chaired at the London
flower-shows ? Perhaps I should be made a
baronet. For some days after the publication of
the magazine I waited anxiously at home. I
opened my letters nervously, but the public made
no sign. Had it gone wild with joy ? or were its
emotions too deep for words? Weeks passed, and
it still was mute. I was disappointed. I had
thought better of mankind ; but I was disap-
pointed, even as that dog of Thomson's, whose
sad story is told in these parts as a warning to the
over-sanguine. He heard one morning the sound
of familiar footsteps approaching at the hour of
food. He said to himself: ''What jolly dogs are
we !" He rushed towards the door, jumping and
frisking, for he t/iought they were bringing him

•I

208 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

his breakfast; and . . . they took him out and
hanged J dm.

The suspense in both cases was extremely dis-
agreeable ; but I had this advantage, that mine
was too brief to be fatal. I had power to cut the
knot, and I exercised it by writing to our chief
Rosarians the simple question : "Will you help me
in establishing a National Rose-Show ?" Then
were all my doubts and disappointments dispelled,
and the winter of my discontent made glorious
summer ; for the answers which I received, as
soon as mails could bring them, might be summed
up in one word: "Heartily." The three men,
the triumviri, whose sympathy and aid I most
desired — Mr. Rivers, king of Rosists, Mr. Charles
Turner, prince of florists, and Mr. William Paul,
who was not only a successful writer upon the
Rose, but at that time presided, practically, over
the glorious Rose-fields of Cheshunt — promised to
work with me ; and the rest to whom I wrote (not
many at first, because too many captains spoil the
field-day, and too many huntsmen lose the fox)
assented readily to all I asked from them. I was
quite happy, quite certain of success, when I had
read these letters ; and I remember that in the
exuberance of my joy I attempted foolishly a
perilous experiment, which quickly ended in

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 209

bloodshed — I began to whistle in the act of
shaving.

Shortly afterwards we met in London as
members of her Majesty Queen Rose's Council.
The council-chamber (Webb's Hotel, Piccadilly)
was hardly so spacious, or so perfectly exempt
from noise, as became such an august assembly,
but our eyes and our ears were with the Rose.
We commenced with a proceeding most deeply
interesting to every British heart — we unani-
mously ordered dinner. Then we went to work.
We resolved that there should be a Grand Na-
tional Rose-Show, and that we would raise the
necessary funds by subscribing £^ each as a com-
mencement, and by soliciting subscriptions. That
the first show should be held in London about the
1st day of July, 1858. That the prizes, silver
cups, should be awarded to three classes of ex-
hibitors— namely, to growers for sale, to amateurs
regularly employing a gardener, and to amateurs
not regularly, etc. We then discussed minor
details, and having agreed to reassemble, when
our financial prospects were more clearly devel-
oped, we parted.

And I thought, as I went rushing down the
Northern Line, what a joyous, genial day it had
been. Personally unknown to my coadjutors, we

14

2IO A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

had been from the moment our hands met as the
friends of many years. So it is ever with men
who love flowers at heart. Assimilated by the
same pursuits and interests, hopes and fears, suc-
cesses and disappointments — above all, by the
same thankful, trustful recognition of His majesty
and mercy Who placed man in a garden to dress
it — these men need no formal introductions, no
study of character to make them friends. They
have a thousand subjects in common, on which
they rejoice to compare their mutual experiences
and to conjoin their praise. Were it my deplora-
ble destiny to keep a toll-bar on some bleak,
melancholy waste, and were I permitted to choose
in alleviation a companion of whom I was to know
only that he had one special enthusiasm, I should
certainly select a florist. Authors would be too
clever for me. Artists would have nothing to
paint. Sportsmen I have always loved ; but that
brook, which they will jump so often at dessert or
in the smoke-room, does get such an amazing
breadth — that stone wall such a fearful height —
that rocketing pheasant so invisible — that salmon
(in Norway) such a raging, gigantic beast — that,
being fond of facts, my interest would flag. No ;
give me a thorough florist, fond of all flowers, in
gardens, under glass, by the brook, in the field.

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 211

We should never be weary of talking about our
favorites; and, you may depend upon it, we
should grow something.

In all sobriety, I often wish that we, who, in
these locomotive days, frequently find ourselves in
our great cities, especially when our exhibitions
are open, might have better opportunities from
time to time of gratifying our gregarious inclina-
tions. Why, for example, should not the Horti-
cultural Club in London have a permanent building
like other clubs, of course on a scale proportioned
to its income, where we might write our letters,
read our newspapers, and (dare I mention it ?)
smoke our cigars, with every probability that we
should meet some genial friend ? Not only in
London, but in Edinburgh, in Dublin, in Paris, I
would have a horticultural club, where gardeners
(a title which every man is proud of, if he
feels that he has a right to claim it) might assem-
ble in a fraternal spirit, as brethren of that Grand
Lodge whose first master wore an apron of leaves,
and whose best members were never yet ashamed
if their own were of purple baize.* As time went

* Since this was written, the " Horticultural Club" has been suc-
cessfully established — 3 and 4 Adelphi Terrace, London, May the
brethren, a6eA</)oi, long enjoy its commodious and comfortable ar-
rangements !

14 *

212 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

on we might have a library of horticultural,
botanical, geological, and chemical books. We
might have pictures, after the manner of our dear
old "Garrick" in King Street, of some famous
chiefs who had conferred real benefits upon the
gardening world. How glad we should be, for
instance, to see a good likeness of " the Doctor,"
and of quaint old Donald Beaton, with repliqiias
from the pictures, in the Council-room of the
Royal Horticultural Society at Kensington and
elsewhere, of Rivers, Veitch, Marnock, and many
more.

*' My dear fellow," said to me a young person,
whom, after going through his admirable gardens
and houses, and hearing his professions of interest,
I had mistaken for a florist, and to whom I had
incautiously revealed my club aspirations, ** you
surely don't suppose I should meet my gardener!"
And he wore an expression of horror, as though
I had asked him to join a select party of lepers
and ticket-of-leavers. " Calm yourself," I made
answer; "there is no fear of collision. You would
not be elected, I assure you." Fancy a fellow
pretending to be fond of art, and wincing at the
idea of meeting an artist ! More than this, he who
knows and reverences the gardener's art (and I
would admit no other to our club) must be a gen-

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 21$

tleman. He may not, in some few instances, be
aware that to leave out the k in horse-radish, or
to sound the same in honor, is an offence less par-
donable than profane swearing ; there may even
be an isolated case of ignorance, that to eat
peas with a knife is one of the deadly sins ; — but,
nevertheless, if he loves his flowers, he must be in
heart a gentleman. But we have lost our way to
the Rose- show.

We went back to our homes. We appealed for
subscriptions to the lovers of the Rose, and they
responded, as I knew they would. They responded
until our sum total nearly reached i^200. We
published our schedule of prizes, amounting to
£iS6. We engaged St. James's Hall, an expen-
sive luxury, at 30 guineas for the day, but just
then in the first freshness of its beauty, and there-
fore an attraction in itself We secured the ser-
vices of the Coldstream band — a mistake, because
their admirable music was too loud for indoor
enjoyment. We advertised freely. We placarded
the walls of London with gorgeous and gigantic
posters. - And then the great day came.

The late Mr. John Edwards, who gave us from
the first most important help, and who was the
best man I ever saw in the practical arrangements
of a flower-show, appeared, soon after daybreak,

214 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

on the scene. He found the Hall crowded with
chairs and benches, just as it was left after a con-
cert the night before. Early as it was, he had his
staff with him — carpenters and others; and when
I arrived with my Roses, after a journey of 120
miles, at 5.30 A.M., the long tables were almost
ready for the baize. Then came the covered vans
which had travelled through the summer night
from the grand gardens of Hertfordshire, and the
"four-wheelers," with green boxes piled upon
their roofs, from all the railway stations. And then
the usual confusion which attends the operation
of "staging" — exhibitors preferring their "own
selection" to the places duly assigned to them,
running against each other, or pressing round Mr.
Edwards with their boxes, as though they had
something to sell — vociferating like the porters at
Boulogne, who, having seized your portmanteau,
insist on taking your body to their hotel. He,
however, was quite master of the situation, and
upon his directions, clearly and firmly given, there
followed order and peace.

And there followed a scene, beautiful exceed-
ingly. I feel no shame in confessing that when
the Hall was cleared, and I looked from the
gallery upon the three long tables, and the plat-
form beneath the great organ, glowing with the

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 21 5

choicest Roses of the world, the cisterns of my
heart o'erflowed:

"The pretty and sweet manner of it forced
The waters from me, which I would have stopped.
But I had not so much of man in me,
And all my mother came into mine eyes,
And gave me up to tears."

" Half the nurseries of England," as Dr. Lindley
wrote, *' poured their treasures into St. James's
Hall." There were twenty boxes from Sawbridge-
worth alone. There were glorious collections,
large and lovely, from Cheshunt and Colchester,
Hertfordshire and Hereford, Exeter and Slough.
But I had brief time, as secretary and supervisor,
that day for " idle tears," or other private emo-
tions. Had I been editor of Notes and Queries,
the Field, and the Queen conjointly, I could not
have had more questions put to me. Had I pos-
sessed the hundred hands of Briareus, not one
would have been unemployed. Then the censors
reported their verdicts ; the prize-cards were
placed by the prize- Roses ; and then came

The momentous question : Would the public
endorse our experiment ? Would the public ap-
preciate our Show ? There was a deficiency of
;^iOO in our funds, for the expenses of the exhi-

2l6 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

bition were ;^300 ; and as a matter both of feeling
and finance I stood by the entrance as the clock
struck two, anxiously to watch the issue.

No long solicitude. More than fifty shillings —
I humbly apologize — more than fifty intelligent
and good-looking individuals were waiting for ad-
mission ; and these were followed by continuous
comers, until the Hall was full. A gentleman,
who earnestly asked my pardon for having placed
his foot on mine, seemed perplexed to hear how
much I liked it, and evidently thought that my
friends were culpable in allowing me to be at
large. Great indeed was my gladness in seeing
those visitors — more than 2000 in number — but
far greater in heai^ing their hearty words of sur-
prise and admiration.

** No words can describe," again to quote Pro-
fessor Lindley, writing in the Gardenei's' Chronicle
a few days after the Show, " the infinite variety of
form, color, and odor which belonged to the field
of Roses spread before the visitor. At the sides
were crowds of bunches, daintily set off by beds of
moss ; in the middle rose pyramids, baskets, and
bouquets. In one place, solitary blossoms boldly
confronted their clustering rivals ; in another,
glass screens guarded some precious gems ; and
in another, great groups of unprotected beauties

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 21/

set at defiance the heated atmosphere of the
Hall."

Yes, they defied this adversary, they defied
and defeated with their delicious perfume the foul
smell which at that time invaded London from
the Thames ; but there was one opponent, one
only, whom they could not subdue. They had to
fight that day, not only the wars of the Roses, the
civil war for supremacy among themselves, but
they had to meet a rival, against whom they con-
centrated all their powers in vain.

A few months before the Rose-show, I made
the acquaintance, afterwards the dearest friendship
of my life, of John Leech, the artist ; and in the
first of two hundred precious letters which I now
possess from his pen, he etched the prevision of a
combat between Flora and Venus, which subse-
quently appeared, more correctly but less prettily
delineated, in Punch, with the explanation infra*
v/hich I v/rote, on his request.

* In the days of the Great Stench of London, the Naiades ran
from the banks of Thamesis, with their pocket-handkerchiefs to their
noses, and made a complaint to the goddess Flora, how exceedingly
unpleasant the dead dogs were, and that they couldn't abide "em — in-
deed they couldn't. And Flora forthwith, out of her sweet charity,
engaged apartments at the Hall of St. James, and came up with
10,000 Roses to deodorize the river, and to revive the town. Rut Venus
no sooner heard of her advent than (as if to illustrate the dictum of
ihe satirist: " Women do so hate each other") she put on her best
bonnet, and went forth in all her loveliness to suppress "that con-
ceited flower-girl," who had dared to flirt at Chiswick, the Regent's

2l8 A BOOK wVBOUT ROSES.

Returning to realities — at the close of the ex-
hibition it was my happy privilege to distribute
the thirty-six silver cups which had been specially
designed for the occasion, and were, as I need
hardly say, prettily and profusely engraved with
Roses. The winners were — (of nurserymen)
Messrs. Paul of Cheshunt, Mr. Cranston of Here-
ford, Mr. Cant of Colchester, Mr. Francis of Hert-
ford, Mr. Turner of Slough, and Mr. Hollamby of
Tunbridge Wells ; and (of amateurs) Mr. Giles
Puller of Youngsbury, Captain Maunsell and Rev.
G. Maunsell, Thorpe Malsor ; Mr. R. Fellowes
and Rev. R. Fellowes, Shottesham ; Mr. Worth-
ington. Cavendish Priory ; Rev. H. Helyar, Yeo-
vil ; Mr. Mallett, Nottingham ; Mr. Sladden, Ash ;
Mr. Fryer, Chatteris ; Mr. Walker, Oxford ; Mr.
Hewitt, and Mr. Blake of Ware. Two cups were
awarded to my own Roses, the process of presen-
tation being " gratifying, but embarrassing," as
Mrs. Nickleby remarked when her eccentric lover
would carve her name on his pew.

So ended the first National Rose-Show. It
was, as one of its best supporters, and one of our

Park, and the Crystal Palace, with her own favored admirer. Mars.
So, awful in her beauty, she canne in a revengeful glow, and Flora's
Roses grew pale before the Roses on the cheeks of Aphrodite, and the
poor goddess went back to her gardens, and the pocket-handkerchiefs
went back also to the noses of the unhappy Naiades.

CONCERNING ROSE-SHOWS. 219

best Rosarians, the Rev. Mr. Radclyfife, wrote of
it : '* successful beyond all anticipation ;" and I
went to bed that night as tired, as happy, and I
hope as thankful, as I had so much good cause to
be.

The Second National Rose-Show was held in
the following year, June 23, 1859, at the Hanover
Square Rooms, the former site not being availa-
ble ; and again we had the best Roses of England,
a goodly company, and prosperous issues. The
general effect, although the introduction of pot-
Roses broke gracefully the monotonous surface of
the cut flowers, was inferior to that produced in
the more genial summer of 1858, and in the more
ample and ornate accommodations of St. James's
Hall. But it was now more evident than ever,
that although we had toned down our music by
substituting strings and reeds for brass, no room
in London was large enough for the levees of the
Queen of Flowers. Next year, accordingly, after
a correspondence and arrangement with the direc-
tors,

The Third National Rose- Show was held
(July 12, i860) in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham.
Here was a throne-room meet for her Majesty,
and 16,000 of her lieges came to do her homage.
Naturally and wisely, the Crystal Palace Company

220 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

resolved, upon this, to have a Rose- Show of their

own. Long may it prosper !

The Fourth National Rose- Show was held un-
der the auspices of the Royal Horticultural
Society in their gardens at South Kensington,
July lo, 1861. I was very grateful to find such a
genial soil and excellent supervision for a plant
which was growing rather too large for me — that
is, to transfer to abler hands a work which, with
all its gratifications, interfered at times unduly
with my other engagements. Moreover, to tell
you all the truth, in the happy spring- tide of 1861
I had a correspondence which occupied all my
time, upon a subject which occupied all my
thought — a subject more precious, more lovely
even than Roses, — I was going to be married in
May.

From that date to the year 1877, the National
Rose-show was held at Kensington, but since the
establishment of the National Rose Society, it has
become an independent exhibition ; and in this
present summer (1880) this Society has held its
annual festivals, first at the Crystal Palace, on July
3d, and then at Manchester, July 17th, — thus giv-
ing to all Rosarians, north and south, an oppor-
tunity of winning its prizes.

Have I created in thy breast, O amateur, a de-

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 221

sire to win honor at Queen Rosa's tournaments ?
Have you an ambition to see upon your sideboard
cups of silver encircled by the Rose ? Listen, and
I will now tell you what Roses to show, and how
to show them.

CHAPTER XHL

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION.

As he who can ride exchanges his pony for
a cob, and his cob for a hunter, and, having
achieved pads and brushes, where hounds are
slow, fences are easy, and rivals few, longs for a
gallop at racing speed over the pastures and the
" Oxers" of High Leicestershire, for a run with
Tailby or the Quorn — as every man with a
hobby (I never met a man without one) is desir-
ous to ride abroad, and witch the world with
noble horsemanship, — so the Rosarian, enlarging
his possessions and improving his skill, has yearn-
ings, which no mother, nor sisters, nor people
coming to call, can satisfy, for sympathy, for
knowledge, for renown. He is tired of charging
at the quintain, which he never fails to hit, in the
silent court-yard of his home: he will break a lance
for his ladve in the crowded lists. And who loves

222 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

maiden so fair as his ? What mean these braggart
knights, his neighbors, by praising their Rosas,
so pale, so puny, in comparison? Their voices to
his ear are harsh, irritating; they are as disagree-
able as the Growings of contiguous cocks to the
ears of the game bantam ; and he feels it to be
his solemn duty to roll those knights in the
dust.

I offer my services as his esquire, and my ad-
vice as a veteran how to invert and pulverize his
foes. By foes I mean those miserable knights
who presume to grow and to show Roses without
a careful study of these chapters. Not thinking
exactly as we do, they are of course heretical and
contumacious. They must be unhorsed. Then,
perhaps, lying peacefully on their backs in the
sawdust, they may see the error of their ways,
and come to a better mind. They may rise up,
sorer and wiser men, and, meekly seeking the
nearest reformatory, may gradually amend and
improve, until at last they become diligent readers
of this book, and respectable subjects of the Queen
of Flowers. Be it mine, meanwhile, to teach the
virtuous amateur how to buy a charger, and how
to ride him — what Roses to show, and how to
show them ; first reminding him that he must
have a good stable, good corn, and good equip-

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 223

ments in readiness for his steed — must be armed
before he competes with those weapons which I
have named before as essential to success, and
which I must once more ask leave to commend.
He must have an enthusiastic love of the Rose —
not the tepid attachment which drawls its faint
encomium: ''She's a nicish girl, and a fellow might
do worse," but the true devotion, which sighs
from its very soul : '' I must, I will win thee, my
queen, my queen !" He must have a good posi-
tion, a home meet for his bride. He must have
for his Roses a free circulation of air, a healthful,
breezy situation, with a surrounding fence, not too
high, not too near, which shall break the force of
boisterous winds, temper their bitterness ere they
enter the fold, and give shelter, but not shade, to
his Roses. He must have a good garden-soil,
well drained, well dug, well dunged. And having
these indispensable adjuncts, he may order his
Show-Roses.

"Thanks, dear professor," here exclaims the
enraptured pupil (I am mocking now with a
savage satisfaction those dreadful scientific dia-
logues which vexed our little hearts in childhood);
''your instructions are indeed precious — far more
so than the richest jam, than ponies, than cricket,
or than hide-and-seek; but may we interrupt you

224 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

for a moment to ask : What is your definition of
a Show-Rose ?"

** Most gladly, my dear young friends," replies
the kind professor (anxiously wishing his dear
young friends in bed, that he might work at his
new book on beetles), " will I inform a curiosity
so honorable, so rare in youth. I propose, there-
fore — avoiding all prolixity, repetition, tautology,
periphrasis, circumlocution, and superfluous ver-
bosity— to divide the subject into forty-seven
sections," etc. etc. etc.

Leaving him at it, let us be content to know
that a Show- Rose should possess:

1. Beauty of form — petals, abundant and of
good substance, regularly and gracefully disposed
within a circular symmetrical outline.

2. Beauty of color — brilliancy, purity, endu-
rance. And,

3. That the Rose, having both these qualities,
must be exhibited in the most perfect phase of its
beauty, and in the fullest development to which
skill and care can bring it.

Of course I do not presume, reverting to the
shape of a Show- Rose, to propose stereotyped
definitions or uniform models. On the contrary,
I am well aware that whether the surface of a Rose
be globular, cupped, or expanded, and whether

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 225

its petals be convex or concave, a perfect grace-
fulness of form is attainable. My own ideal is the
globular — the outer petals regularly overlapping
each other, and surrounding an abundance of
central leaflets of a deeper, ruddier tint, as seen,
for instance, in Blairii 2, before it expands to its
full Rosehood. But I should never desire to show
all my Roses of this form, however varied by
color, size, or foliage, knowing how much I should
lose for lack of contrast and diversity.

With reference to color, I would explain that
I mean by endurance a color which will best bear
the journey to the exhibition, and the heat of the
exhibition hall. I have kept this important con-
sideration in mind in the selection which follows
of Show- Roses.

After reading rule 3, the novice may ask : How
am I to know the most perfect phase and the
fullest development of a Rose ? My answer to
this is : Go to one of our principal Rose-Shows,
or to one of our most extensive Rose-nurseries at
the end of June, or early in July, so that you may
see the flower in its glory. The sooner that the
young Rosarian knows what a Rose may be, and
therefore what it ought to be, the better. Many
a man's handwriting has been cramped and spoiled
by copying bad copies and using bad pens ; and

226 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

many a man, who might have been a successful
florist, has failed, because he has not seen flowers
in perfection, nor the cultural art in its perfection,
until it was too late. I have known several in-
stances in which men, brought up, as it were,
among small Roses, have maintained their superi-
ority to large ones — I mean, to larger specimens
of the same varieties.

The names of the Roses which are more
specially adapted for exhibition, from their exqui-
site proportions and lovely tints, from contour and
complexion too, are given in the following list. It
has been compiled with much observant care, and
it is no conceit or exaggeration to say that the
compiler, a judge and successful exhibitor at the
great' Rose-shows from their commencement, has
special claims upon confidence. Every Rose on
the list, if grown and shown in its integrity, has
symmetry, color, and size. The amateur ought to
have every Rose enumerated ; he iiuist have those
printed in italics. The names with no letter at-
tached are of the Hybrid Perpetual class. B.
signifies Bourbon, N. Noisette, and T. Tea-scented
China.

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION.
ROSES FOR EXHIBITION.

227

Abel Carri^re.
Abel Grand.
Adam, T.
Alfred Colotnb.
Alfred K. Williams.
Anna Olltvier, T.
Annie Wood.
Antoine Ducher.
Baronne de Bonstetten.
Baron Gonella, B.
Baroness Rothschild.
Beauty of Waltham.
C ami lie Bernard in.
Captain Christy.
Catherine Mermet, T.
Centifolia Rosea.
Charles Darwin.
Charles Lefebvre.
Cheshunt Hybrid, T.
Climbing Devoniensis, T.
Comte de Rambaud.
Comtesse C. de Chabrillant.
Comtesse d'' Oxford.
Co7ntesse de Paris.
Countess of Rosebery.
Comtesse de Serenye.
Comtesse Panigse, T.
Constantine Tretiakoft.
Devienjie Lamy.
Devoniensis, T.
Dr. Andry.
Dr. de Chains.
Due de Magenta, T.

Due de Montpensier.
Dtic de Rohan.
Duchesse de Cay his.
Duchesse de Morny.
Duchesse de Vallambrosa.
Duchess of Bedford.
Duke of Connaught.
Duke of Edinburgh.
Duke of Wellington.
Duptiy J amain.
Edward Dufour.
Edward Morren.
Egeria.
Elie Morel.
Emilie Hausburg.
Etienne Level.
Felix Genero.
Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Fisher Holmes.
Franfois Louvat.
Franfois Michelon.
General Evelyn Wood.
General Jacqueminot
Harrison Weir.
Hippolyte Jafuain.
Henri Ledechaux.
Horace Vernet.
Jean Liaubaud.
John Bright.
John Hopper.
Jules Margottin.
La Belle Lyonnaise, T.
La Boule d'Or, T.

15

228

A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

La Ffancc.

La Rosiere.

Laurent Descourt.

Le Havre.

Lord Beaconsfield.

Lord Macaulay.

Louis Dore.

Louis Van Hon tie,

Louis Peyronney.

Madame Bravy^ T.

Madame Camille, T.

Madame C. Crapelet.

Madame C. Wood.

Madame Clemence Joigueaiix.

Madame Fillion.

Madame C^eorge Schwartz.

Madame Llippolyte Jamain.

Madame Lombard, T.

Madame Lacharvie.

Madame Nabonnand, T.

Madame Noman.

Madame Nachary.

Madame Therese Levet,

Madame Verlot.

Madame Victor Verdier.

Madavie Vidot.

Madame Willermorz, T.

Mademoiselle Eugenie Ver-
dier.

Mademoiselle Marguerite
Dom brain.

Mademoiselle Marie Rady.

Marechal Niel, T.

Marechal Vaillant.

Marguerite de St. Amand.

Marie Beauman.
Marie Finger.
Marie Louise Fernet.
Marie Van LLoutte, T.
Marquis de Gibot.
Marquise de Castellane.
Marquis of Salisbury.
May Quennell.
Miss LI as sard.
Mrs. Baker.
Monsieur J^oncennes.
Monsieur E. V. Teas.
Monsieur Noman.
Mofisieur Woolfield.
Monseigneur Fournier.
Mrs. Laxton.
Narcisse, N.
Nardy P^reres.
Niphetos, T.
Oliver DeUwtmne.
Oxonian.
Paul Jamain.
Paul Neron.
Pauline Talabot.
Penelope Mayo.
Perle des Jardins, T.
Pierre Notting.
Prince Arthur.
Prince Camille de Rohan.
Prince de Porcia.
Princess Beatrice.
Queen Victoria.
R. N. G. Baker.
Reynolds Hole.
Royal Standard.

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 229

Rubens, T.
Senatet^r Vaisse.
Sir Garnet Wolseley.
Souvenir d'' Elise, T.
Souvenir de la Malmaison, B.
Souvenir d^un Ami, T.
Souvenir de Spa.

Star of Waltham.
Sultan of Zanzibar.
Thomas Mills.
Vicomte Vigier.
Victor Verdicr,
Villaret de Joyeuse.
Xavier Olibo.*

In ordering these Rose-trees, which will cost,
many of them being new, about £%,** I advise the
amateur to ask for dwarfs or for low standards.
The height which I prefer for the latter is about
2 feet from the ground to the budded Rose, be-
cause these lesser trees escape the fury of the wind,
requiring no stakes to support them after their first
year ; because they are more conveniently manipu-
lated than either dwarfs or giants ; and because
their complete beauty presents itself pleasantly to
our eyes, without bringing us down on our knees,
or requiring us to stand a-tiptoe : but on the
whole I like dwarfs the best. They should be
planted in November, just deep enough to have a
firm hold upon the soil ; and the surface round
them should be covered with a stratum of manure,
both to protect and enrich the roots. Should they

* For the best 12, 24, 36, and 48 Show Roses, see Appendix
No II.

** I allow £$ for 100 older varieties, the price usually charged by
nurserymen being, for dwarf Standards, is. each ; and ^3 for the
newer varieties and Teas — 30 at 2s. each.

230 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

be sent from the nurseries with any shoots of
great length, or with taproots, shorten the former,
or secure them to a stake, and remove the latter
altogether. Affix your permanent tallies (I use
smooth slips of deal, smeared with white paint,
written upon with a black-lead pencil, and secured
with thin wire to the trees), because the labels of
the nurseryman, even when on parchment, become
illegible from rain and snow.

** And next summer," exclaims the ardent
disciple, '* we shall have Roses as large as finger-
glasses ; we shall win the Cup ; we shall make the
Marquis's gardener, that bumptious Mr. Peacock
at the Castle, for ever to fold his tail." It troubles
me to repress this charming enthusiasm, to de-
molish a superstructure as gay, but, alas ! as base-
less, as those card-houses which the child builds,
with the kings, queens, and knaves of the pack,
upon the polished mahogany of his sire. No, my
dear amateur, not next summer, nor in any sum-
mer, with those Roses only which will grow upon
the trees just commended to you, are you to whip
creation, and make the family plate-chest groan.
If you tend them carefully, you may achieve
small victories, as encouragements to higher emu-
lations ; but if you would win cups and prizes
*' open to all England" (Anglid in certanie7i pro-

ROSES FOR EXHIBITIOI\. 23 1

vocatii)j you must regard the selection which I
have made for you only as the foundation on
which you are to rear your Temple of Fame.
You must be as anxious as Norval's father to in-
crease your stock — or rather stocks — on which
you may bjid next summer, and thus multiply
your Rose-trees on the most economical, and, at
the same time, most successful system. Therefore
I would advise you, if you have the ambition to
distinguish yourself publicly as a Rosarian, to
plant in November, simultaneously with your
Rose-trees, not less than 500 stocks. But now
comes a most interesting and important consider-
ation— which stocks shall we prefer for the Rose ?
yEsop told the gardener of his master, Xan-
thus, that *' the earth was a stepmother to those
plants which were incorporated into her soil, but
a mother to those which are her own free produc-
tion ;" and wherever the Dog- Rose flourishes in
our hedge-rows — now delighting our eyes with its
flowers, and now scratching them out with its
thorns, should we follow the partridge or the fox
too wildly — there the Brier is the stock for the
Rose. I know that, despite the dictum of ^sop,
our soil has been no injnsta noverca to that foreign
Rose, which took the name of Manetti from him
who raised it from seed, and which was sent to

232 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES,

Mr. Rivers, more than 30 years since, by Signor
Crivelli, from Como. I know that the Itahan
refugee is accHmatized, and that in hundreds of
our gardens he is a welcome and honored guest.
I know that the Manetti will grow luxuriantly
where the Brier will not grow at all ; that in a
toward season it will produce some varieties of the
Rose in their most perfect form, those especially
which have the smoother wood ; that in many
cases the Rose-trees budded upon it have a more
abundant growth than those which are budded on
the Brier ; and that Rose-trees upon the Manetti
are more enduring, and therefore more economi-
cal, than Standards, because the Brier, divested of
its laterals, and exposed to all weathers, is in a less
natural position, and because the Rose, if budded
as it ought to be on the Manetti, that is, below the
soil, will establish itself on roots of its own. I
know, in fine, that the importation of this stock
has been a very gracious boon to those who love
the Rose ; I know that Mr. Cranston of Hereford
has more than once surpassed all competitors with
Roses grown on this stock ; but I am, neverthe-
less, convinced that by far the greater number of
the most perfect Roses may be, arc, and ivill be,
grown and show7t from our indigenous BritisJi
Brier. I have proved this not only from my own

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 233

30 years' experience, having grown the two stocks
side by side, in a variety of seasons and soils, but
also from inspection and inquiry. Latterly I have
made a point of asking at our exhibitions the
parentage of Roses which have been admired the
most ; and the answers have been, with few ex-
ceptions, as I foreknew they would be, from " the
Brier." In Dorsetshire, in the summer of 1868,
two of our best Rosarians (if they read these
Hnes, a brother's love to them) *' discoursed as
they sat on the green," and when they had dis-
coursed, it was written by one of them (see the
Joiirnal of Horticulticre for August 13, 1868):
" For general use tJie Brier is doomed / . . .
it is time to think seriously of discarding it." But
then he adds, and I pray you to mark the reserva-
tion : " Exhibitors will not do so, I believe, for the
maiden blooms from a Bmer are superior to those
from the Manetti.'' But no earnest lover of the
Rose will be satisfied with inferior blooms, having
the hope of better ; and it should have been
stated accordingly, not that the Brier is doomed,
nor to be discarded, but that as it has been
hitherto used — namely, as a Standard — it is
short-lived, specially illustrating the sorrowful
fact:

234 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

" Contra vim mortis,
Non est medicamen in hortis,"

that in some soils it grows feebly, and in some
grows not at all.

Nevertheless, the superiority of this stock for
Roses in ordinary soil — that is, in most of our
English gardens — is now, I believe, decisively
proved by the introduction of" the seedling Brier."
It occurred to Mr. Prince of Oxford (whether the
idea be new or not is of no consequence), that by
growing Briers from seed, and budding them just
within the soil, he should not only obtain a large
mass of roots intact and uninjured, instead of the
few lacerated fibres which pertain to the unhappy
hockey-sticks, " yarked" anyhow from the hedges,
but also should give to the Rose itself (as in the
case of the Manetti) tlfc opportunity of making
roots of its own.

For four years I have carefully, impartially,
and extensively practised this system of growing
Roses, and the results have expelled all doubt from
my mind. It is the best. Not the quickest, not
the easiest, not (so far as the first outlay is con-
cerned, though in the end) the cheapest, but the
most effectual and enduring method of producing
beautiful Roses. Here is one of my proofs : In

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 235

November, 1873, and in excellent soil — old pas-
ture-land, recently added to my garden — I planted
2000 Manetti stocks, 2000 Standard, and 500
seedling Briers. They were intermixed, so that
there might be no difference in situation, and they
were all budded by the same hand iji 1874. In
the summer of 1875, the Standards made a mag-
nificent growth, such as I have never seen excelled
(I may mention that one shoot of my namesake,
Reynolds Hole, was more than 8 feet in length) ;
but the Roses were late and not large. The pro-
duce of the Manetti was also luxuriant — the
foliage very fine, and the flowers generally supe-
rior to those on the Standards. The buds on the
seedling Brier made a slower, shorter, but stronger
growth ; and their first bloom was inferior to the
others. Their Roses in the autumn were the larg-
est and brightest of all. In 1876 we had in this
ground, and elsewhere, a glorious harvest, and
were triumphant whenever we exhibited, even
when nurserymen of roseate reputation in our
midland shires competed against us. In the ex-
perimental ground, we cut our best Roses from
the Standard and seedling Brier. Although many
of the Manetti were as good as their neighbors,
some scores of them made such a feeble growth,
that we removed them in autumn, and found their

236 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

delicate fibrous roots were decayed — most proba-
bly by the heavy rains and continuous cold and
damp. There were no failures among the Briers.
And there was another noticeable fact, in corrobo-
ration of their powers of endurance — we cut
several of our show-Roses from trees upon the
seedling Brier which had been transplanted from
the Oxford nursery in the preceding autumn.

What is now (1880) the result of my experi-
ment ? With the exception of a few Roses of ex-
traordinary constitution, such as Madame C.
Joigneaux, Paul Neron, and Edward Morren, all
on the Manetti dwindled and died. The Standards
perished in the cruel winter of 1879-80, and the
Roses on the seedling Brier are blooming in my
garde 71 as I write.

Wherefore, I would exhort that amateur of
the Queen of Flowers in whose locality the Dog-
Rose thrives, to grow his Roses on the seedling
Brier; and I would entreat my friends the
growers of Roses for sale to prepare for a demand,
which, I feel sure, will be made upon them. They
must raise the price of Rose-trees on this stock,
because the process of production is slower; but
the purchaser should pay it gladly, seeing that he
will receive for his money a better and more last-
ing article.

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 237

Nor will the wise nurseryman think me less his
friend, financially, when I advise amateurs to grow
their own stocks, by gathering hips from the hedge-
row Rose in the later autumn, keeping them dry
through the winter, breaking them up, and sowing
the seed in spring. He knows, as well as I do,
that the more a man grows Rose-trees for himself,
the more he buys from others, and that the demand
increases just in proportion as the facility and
economy of Rose-growing are made known to all.

Meanwhile, where there is a difficulty in ob-
taining Rose-trees upon the seedling Brier, or
seedling Briers for budding, the amateur, until his
supply is sufficient, may betake himself to the
hedge-rows.

Give your order — and any laborer will soon
learn to bring you what you want — towards the end
of October. I have myself a peculiar but unfail-
ing intimation when it is time to get in my
Briers — wj Brier-man conies to churcJi. He
comes to a morning service on the Sunday. If I
make no sign during the week, he appears next
Sunday at the evening also. If I remain mute, he
comes on week-days. I know then that the case
is urgent, and that we must come to terms. Were
I to fancy the Manetti instead of the Brier, my
impression is that he would go over to Rome.

238 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Having made timely arrangements to secure
your supply of stocks before the severities of
winter are likely to prevent you from planting
(should sharp frost surprise you during the process
of removal, you must *' lay in" your Briers securely,
digging a hole for them, placing them in a bundle
therein, covering the roots well with earth, and
throwing an old mat over all), you must be most
vigilant in your selection of the stocks themselves.
Some gardeners display in this matter a lamenta-
ble indifference. Their motto seems to be Stem-
viata quid facmnt ? — why should not one Brier
be as good as another ? Their budding-ground
might be an asylum for the deformed, the weak,
the aged, instead of the school for healthful youth
and the training-ground for heroes. Let the ama-
teur, avoiding this fatal error, and remembering as
his rule : Ex quovis ligno non fit Mcrciiriiis, select
young, straight, sapful, well-rooted stocks, that
the scion may be vigorous as the sire. Let these
be planted as soon as he receives them — his col-
lector bringing them in daily, and not keeping them
at home, as the manner of some is, until he gets
a quantity — in rows, the Briers i foot, the rows 3
feet apart. *

*" Since the publication of the Sixth Edition, a new method of
raising Brier stocks from cuttings has been most successfully tried by

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 239

The situation and the soil for your Briers must
be just as carefully studied as though the Roses
were already upon them. These stocks are not
to be set in bare and barren places, exposed to
ridicule and to contempt, as though they were
the stocks of the parish ; nor are they to be
thrust into corners, as I have seen them many a
time. They should occupy such a position as one
sees in the snug "quarters" of a nursery — spaces
enclosed by evergreen fences, which, somewhat
higher than the trees within, protect them from
stormy winds.

Watching their growth in spring, the amateur
should remove the more feeble lateral shoots,
leaving two or three of the upper and stronger.
Suckers from below must also be removed. The
latter operation is most easily and effectually per-
formed when rain has just softened the soil around ;
and weeds, which evince in times of drought such
a rooted antipathy to eviction, may then be readily
extracted without leaving fibre or fang.

The stocks may be budded in July, and I
advise the amateur who wishes to bud them to
learn the art, by no means difficult, not from

Mr. Cant of Colchester and other nurserymen. I have not as yet
sufficient experience to justify any positive edicts, but my presentiment
is that this process will prove to be one of the most economical and
efficacious of all.

240 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

books, but from some neighbor Budhist, who will
quickly teach him as much of transmigration as
he desires to know. If he learns to make one slit
only, so much the better, the transverse cut being
quite unnecessary, and liable to cause breakage if
too deeply made.

Select strong buds from your Rose-trees. It
requires some little resolution to cut away the
cleanest, most healthful wood, but the recompense
is sure and ample. Do not expose your cuttings
to the sun — a watering-can, with a little damp
moss in it, is a good conveyance — and get them
comfortably settled in their new homes as soon as
it can be done. In a month or so you may
remove the cotton; in November you may shorten
the budded shoot to 5 or 6 inches from the bud ;
and early in April you may cut it close to the
bud itself You must now keep a constant super-
vision over your budded stock, removing all su-
perfluous growth, and having your stakes in
position, so that you may secure the growing bud
against those sudden gusts which will force it, if
not safely fastened, ''clean out" of the stock.
These stakes must be firmly fixed close by the
Briers, and should rise some 2 feet above them.
To this upper portion the young shoot of the
Rose, which grows in genial seasons with marvel-

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 241

lous rapidity, must be secured with bast. Look
out now for the Rose-caterpillar, that murderous
** worm i' the bud." I generally employ a little
maid from my village-school, whose fingers are
more nimble and whose eyes are nearer to their
work than mine, who prefers entomology in the
fresh air to all other " ologies" in a hot school,
and who takes home to mother her diurnal nine-
pence with a supreme and righteous pride.

Towards the end of May apply a surface-dress-
ing, one of those recommended in Chapter VI. —
or if the ground is dry, a liberal outpour of Hquid
manure ; and at the same time take off freely the
lesser and numerous Rosebuds which surround
the centre calyx. A painful process this slaughter
of the innocents, this drowning of the puppies of
the poor Dog- Rose, but justified in their eyes who
desire to see the Rose in its brightest glory, and
who prefer one magnificent Ribston Pippin to a
waggon-load of Crabs.

The same enrichment and excision must of
course be applied to the parental trees from which
the buds were taken in July. In a genial season,
after a frostless May, the budded Brier (in some
places the budded Manetti),

** A simple maiden in her flower,"
16

242 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

will show US the most perfect of all its Roses ; but
this vernal propensity so seldom comes, the bud-
ded Rose-shoots are so generally injured and re-
tarded, that you must rely principally upon your
older trees — commonly, but not pleasingly,
termed ** cut-backs."

Moreover, you should have in your Rose-
garden the advantage of a wall on which to grow
the more tender Roses, those grand Marechal
Niels, Devonienses, Souvenirs d'un Ami, and
other Teas, so distinct from the Hybrid Perpetual
varieties, and such exquisite contrasts among
them. Plant these between your fruit-trees, or
w^herever you can find a vacant space. Let them
be grown upon their own roots, or ** worked " so
low upon the Brier that the junction may be un-
der the soil, and protect them with a thick cover-
ing of farm-yard manure laid on the surface during
the winter months.

And here I must note one more advantage
which is found in the seedling Brier. It is by far
the best stock for Tea-Roses;* and he who has
been taught to regard these exquisite flowers as
too delicate for outdoor cultivation, will be sur-
prised and charmed if he can devote a border,
backed by a wall, and aspecting southward, to

* This applies equally to the Brier cutting.

ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. 243

Rosa indica odorata on the seedling Brier. They
must be thoroughly protected by dense farm-yard
manure, laid around them in November, from
frost — just peeping out of it, as a Russian from
the eyelets of his furs ; and then such Roses as
Adam, Anna Ollivier, Catherine Mermet, Com-
tesse de Nadaillac, Devoniensis, La Boule d'Or,
Mesdames Bravy, Falcot, Margottin, and Willer-
morz, Marie Van Houtte, Niphetos, President,
Rubens, and Les Souvenirs d'un Ami, d'Elise, et
de Paul Neron, will astonish their admiring lover.
Let us now suppose that in all these depart-
ments your loving and patient care has brought
you the prospect and proximity of such a splendid
harvest that you have entered your name as an
exhibitor at one of our great Rose-shows. Ah !
what a crisis of excitement, to be remembered al-
ways in the glad Rosarian's life ! It is when the
boy, who has distinguished himself in the playing-
fields, goes forth from the pavilion at Lord's in the
Eton and Harrow match. It is as when the un-
dergraduate, who has been working manfully, en-
ters his name on the list of candidates for honors.
What sweet solicitudes ! what hopeful fears !
Look — Mr. Mitchell is whispering to that Eton
boy, just going to the wicket with his bat, wise
words anent the Harrow bowling. Listen ; that

16

244 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

tutor, with the clever, kindly countenance, is
speaking cheerfully to his pupil, white as the ker-
chief round his throat, as he enters those ancient,
awful schools. So would I aid and abet my ama-
teur— so would I bring a stirrup-cup to my young
brave Dunois. Partant pour la Syrie — that is,
for the National Rose- Show — he wants informa-
tion as to boxes and tubes and moss, as to the
time of cutting, the method of arrangement ; and
he shall receive, in the succeeding chapter, the
best which I have to give.

CHAPTER XIV.

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE.

When I first exhibited Roses, the boxes se-
lected for the Queen of Flowers were not what
royal boxes ought to be. They were ordinary
and heterogeneous ; they were high and low, wide
and narrow, painted and plain. Disorder prevailed,
as at the Floralia of old ; and Bacchus again ap-
peared upon the scene in the cases which had
contained his wines, and which, reduced in altitude,
and filled with dingy moss, now held the glowing
Roses. These were kept alive, auspice ^sctdapiOy
in old physic-bottles filled with water, and plunged

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 245

to the neck in the moss aforesaid ; but sometimes
the succulent potato was used to preserve vitaHty ;
and I remember well a large hamper, with its lid
gracefully recumbent, in which six small Roses
uprose from huge specimens of "Farmers' Profit" —
the pommes de terre being inserted, but not
concealed, in a stratum of ancient hay. Sometimes
the flowers were crowded together, sometimes
they were lonely, neighborless, like the snipes,
now in "wisps," now solitary; sometimes they,
appeared without foliage (at one of our provincial
shows it was strictly prohibited, and I asked the
committee what they meant by coming on the
ground with whiskers) ; and sometimes they peeped
out of leafy bowers — "plenty of covert, but very
little game," as a witty Lincolnshire lord remarked
to the clergyman, who asked him, one Christmas
morning, what he thought of the decorations of a
church in which the evergreens were many and
the worshippers few\

At our first National Rose-Show we com-
menced a reform of these incongruities, and soon
afterwards disannulled them by an act of uniform-
ity as to size and shape. The amateur must
therefore order his boxes, which any carpenter can
make for him from three-quarter-inch deal, to be
of the following dimensions : —

246 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

Length. Breadth. Height.

For 24 Roses, 3 feet 9 in. i foot 6 in. Back of box 7 in., front 5.
" 18 " 2 " 9 in.

" 12 " 2 " " " "

" 6 " I foot 3 in. " " "

The covers, being eight inches in depth at the
back, and six inches in front, being one and a half
inch longer and wider than the boxes, and having
a narrow beading within the four sides, half an
inch from the bottom of the lid, overlap the boxes,
leaving ample room for the Roses, and are secured
for travelling by stout leather straps. Within the

LID

■"Esa — -uTs— —

^VNNXNNV^C<^\vx^f?^^VNXXXV^^^^^?^\\\\\XVCvN\\X^XS>X^^^^

boxes some exhibitors have holes pierced at equal
distances on a uniform surface of wood ; but as
Roses differ in size, it is more convenient to have
the facility of placing them where we please, and

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 247

for this purpose it is desirable to have strong laths
(3^ of an inch in depth, and ij^ inches in width)
extending the length of the box. These laths
should be six in number, and should be nailed on
two strong pieces of wood, crossing the box one
at each end, 2 inches below the surface. The
upper and lower laths should be fixed y^ of an
inch within the box, and the four remaining so
arranged that there Avill be six interstices i ^
inches in width — three for the Roses, and three
merely to reduce the weight. There will be a
space of 1 1^ inches between the laths and the
upper edge of the box, to be filled as follows :

Cover the laths with sheets of brown paper, two
deep, and cut to fit the box, and upon these place
the best moss you can obtain. I get mine" from

248 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

trunks of trees in a neighboring wood ; have it
carefully picked over and well watered the day
before a show; and then, using the coarser
portion for a substratum, make my upper surface
as clean and green and level as I can. Fronds of
ferns, especially of Adiantum, are sometimes pret-
tily introduced.

It would, I think, repay the Rosarian to grow
moss specially for this purpose, such as would
thrive — Selaginella denticulata, for example — in
rough boxes and waste places under stages or in
vineries. Some years ago I placed a lining of
zinc, 3 inches deep, at the top of one of my Rose-
boxes, filled it with earth, and soon obtained from
it a charming surface of S. apoda. The effect of
twelve beautiful Roses resting upon this bright-
green moss was lovely ; but oh ! the weight when
we bore them to the show ; no mother in all the
Avorld would care to carry such a bulky babe.

A wee story about moss, and we leave it. I
remember an exhibitor, of whom it was said thkt
he was never known to pay a compliment, or to
praise anything which did not belong to himself,
except upon one occasion. Having won the first
prize for Roses he went in the joy of his heart to
his chief rival, and surveying his collection, de-
liberately and frankly said : " Well, John, I must

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE.

249

acknowledge you certainly beat us — in moss."
As well might some victorious jockey compliment
the rider of a distanced horse upon the plaiting of
that horse's mane. It was a panegyric as glorious
as that which Artemus Ward paid to his company,
composed exclusively of commanders-in-chief:
''What we particly excel in is resting muskits —
we can rest muskits with anybody."

The Roses are placed in tubes of zinc 4.^2
inches in length, 2 inches wide at the top, gradu-
ally tapering until they become i inch in width at
the centre, the tops being movable, as shown
herewith. This top is
taken off, and the stalk
of the flower being
brought through until
the Rose is held se-
curely, it is replaced
upon the tubes, pre-
viously filled with pure
rain-water. These tub-
es not only facilitate
the arrangement of the
flower, but they retain
railway porters forget their gradients. They may
be had from the brazier and tinman everywhere,
and the cost is 4s. per dozen.

the water when rou^h

250 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

The carelessness of porters reminds me to add,
that exhibitors who cannot accompany their Roses
— a terrible separation to the true lover, and one
which I have never known — will do well to have
painted in white letters upon the dark-green lids
of their boxes : '* Flowers in water — keep
level."

The amateur must now have the cards in
readiness, on which he has written with his best
pen the names of his show-Roses. These are cut
from ordinary cardboard, and must be of the
regulation size — 3 inches in length by i in width.
They should be kept in a box, divided into com-
partments and lettered, so that they may be
quickly found when wanted. They are placed
sometimes on the moss in front of the Rose, but
they have a more neat and uniform appearance if
inserted on sticks about 5 inches long (I use osier-
twigs painted green), cleft at the top to receive
them, and pointed at the bottom to penetrate the
moss more easily.

The young knight will not be armed cap-a-pie
until he has supplied himself with a couple of
helmets. If the weather is showery, or the sun
scorches, just before a show, many Roses may be
advantageously shaded by having a zinc cap
placed over them 8 inches in diameter, 5 inches

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE.

251

in depth, ventilated, and having a socket attached,
which may be moved up and down a stake fixed
by the Rose-
tree, until the
cap is secured in
its position by a
wooden wedge
inserted between
the socket and
the stake. Roses
of a more deli-
cate complexion
than others —
such as Madame
Lacharme and

Monsieur Noman — and some whose vivid color-
ing is quickly tarnished by fiery suns — such as
the brilliant Baronne Bonstetten, Louis Van
Houtte, Reynolds Hole, and Xavier Olibo — may
be thus preserved for exhibition. Fresh cab-
bage-leaves, renewed from time to time, may be
advantageously placed on the caps, which, I may
add, have a more pleasing appearance in the
Rosarium when painted a dark-green color.

These caps should be in readiness, fixed upon
their stakes, in the Rose-beds or near them, so
that they may be quickly placed in position when

252 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

there is peril from fire or water — when fierce
suns come suddenly forth, or when those first
large drops, which have been poetically termed
'' tears of the tempest weeping for the havoc to
follow," give warning of the storm. Many a
grand Rose have I saved by promptly acting upon
this admonition, and have come indoors with my
heart rejoicing under its moist merino waistcoat.

Helmet No. 2 resembles No. i, except that
the top is made of glass and is flat. This is used
to accelerate the opening of Roses, and sometimes
with success ; but generally I have found that
nature will not be hurried, and the Rose has been
more refractory than the heat.

In using these caps — and their use, be it
remembered, is exceptional — the amateur must
be on his guard against placing them too near the
Rose, lest, when moved by the wind, the petals
should be injured by trituration. And not only
in this instance, but in all, he must so watch his
trees as to prevent all risk of that contact and
chafing which quickly ruins the Rose. Watching
the flower as it sways to and fro in the summer
breeze, he must remove all leaves and shoots
which, touching it, would mar its beauty.

Watchful ever, our young knight must keep
his stricter vigil upon the battle's eve. He must

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE.

253

know that all is in readiness, the extent of his
resources, and how he is to apply them. The day
before a show, I have not only the names of my
best Roses noted in my pocket-book, but, ruHng-
upon a sheet of paper 48, 36, 24, 12, or 6 spaces,.
I place each Rose in the position which it will
probably occupy on the morrow, and set my
forces in battle array. Here is an example, copied
literatim : —

Twelve Roses.

Lefebvre

Niel

D. of Edinburgh

La France

F. Michelon

Beauman

Niphetos

E. Levet

L. Van Houtte

Marie Finger

Xav. Olibo

C. Mermet

Take any Rose in this collection, and you will find
it in close proximity to others which, from their
diversity of color, will give and gain beauty by
contrast. Thus Lefebvre has the pink Michelon
below and the golden Niel at its side ; the yellow
Niel has crimson Roses on either side and
beneath ; the scarlet Duke of EdinbiLrgk has a

254 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

yellow Rose on his left, a blush Rose on his right,
and a snow-white Rose below him ; and so
throughout.

Your beautiful thoroughbreds may not all
come to the post, they may not run in the order
in which you have placed them — that is, some of
your Roses may be too much expanded when you
come to cut them, or may not be in size or in
color exactly suitable for the position assigned to
them ; but you will find, notwithstanding, very
great assistance from such a plan as that proposed
to you ; and when you have gained by observa-
tion a knowledge of the development and dura-
tion of your Roses, you will meet with few disap-
pointments in its realization.

On the eve of the show you must have all
your boxes, surfaced with moss and sprinkled, set
out upon trestles, 3 feet from the ground, in some
sheltered corner or garden-shed ; your zinc tubes,
in rows upon their miniature, bottle-rack, cheaply
made, and having a strong resemblance to the
stands on which Boots deposits our fat portman-
teau, heaving a thankful sigh ; and upon a small
table your box, containing plans of arrangement,
cards with names of Roses written upon them,
sticks to hold them, a pair of sharp pruning-scis-
sors with which to cut your flowers, a pair of

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 255

c

small finely-pointed ditto, with which you may
sometimes remove the decayed edge from a petal,
and a piece of narrow ivory rounded at the end,
such as ladies use for a knitting-mesh, and which,
very carefully and delicately handled, may help
you now and then to assist the opening Rose, or
to reduce irregularities of growth to a more
natural, and therefore graceful, combination ; add
a small hamper of additional moss, and the dress-
ing-room is ready for the royal toilet.

WJien should we cut our Roses ? The nur-
seryman who exhibits 144 Roses in one collec-
tion— that is, 3 specimens of 48 varieties — and
sometimes simultaneously a collection of 72 dis-
tinct blooms, conveying them great distances, is
obliged to cut on the day preceding the shows,
and having acres of young trees to select from,
can generally find Roses of such calibre as will in-
sure to him a continuance of perfect beauty for
the next four-and-twenty hours ; but I strongly
advise the amateur, who has no such wealth of
material, and must make the most of his limited
means, to cut his Roses, whenever he has the op-
tion— that is, the time — upon the morning of the
show. If the weather is broken, and clouds with-
out and barometer within warn you of impending
rain, then gather ye Roses while ye may, in the

256 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

afternoon and the evening before the show ; but
if it is

" In the prime of summer-time,
An evening calm and cool,"

let your Roses rest after the heat of the day, and
cut them on the morrow, when they awake with
the sun, refreshed with gracious dews.

Wherefore, early to your bed, my amateur, your
bed of Roses and of Thorns ; for as surely as the
school-boy who, having received a cake from home,
takes with him a last slice to his cubicle, awakes
in feverish repletion, turning painfully upon the
crusty crumbs, so shall this night of yours be
fraught with pleasure and with pain. Now shall
you taste daintily the candied peels, and now toss
fretfully on piercing. grits. Now you shall sleep,
and all shall be serene, blissful. You are dream-
ing, so sweetly dreaming, the happy hours away.
The great day has come.

" A happier smile illumes each hrow,

With quicker spread each heart uncloses ;

And all is happiness, for now

The valley holds its feast of Roses."

Your own are magnificent, larger than those which
bloom in Manchester chintz above your slumber-

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 257

Ing brow, 9 inches in diameter. '\You reach the
show ; you win every prize, laurels^c^enough to
make triumphal arches along afl your homeward
way. Suddenly a change, a horrible change,
comes o'er the spirit of your dream. How the
van, in which you are travelling with your Roses,
jumps and jolts ! how dark the night, and how the
thunder rolls ! Ah, tout est perdu I Crash fall
the horses, or rather the nightmares, down a steep
incline, and you find yourself standing, aghast and
hopeless, knee-deep in pot-pourri !

Awaking, for the sixteenth time, with a terri-
ble impression that you have overslept yourself,
and that the time for cutting Roses is past, you
are comforted in hearing the clock strike two.
Another restless hour, and you are up in the grey
dawn. At 3.30 you should be among the Roses,
never so lovely as now, lifting their heads for the
first kisses of the sun, and, alas ! for decapitation.
See, your gardener is there, keen as yourself! He
fills a score of the tubes with pure, sweet rain-
water ; he places them in one of your spare boxes,
and is ready to follow, when, having glanced at
your programmes, and armed yourself with the
trenchant blades, you lead the way to glory and
the Roses.

Cut first of all your grandest blooms, because
17

258 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

no Mede nor Persian ever made law more unal-
terable than this : The largest Roses must be placed
at the backy the smallest in the fj'ont, and the in-
termediate in the middle of your boxes. They be-
come by this arrangement so gradually, beautifully
less, that the disparity of size is imperceptible.
Transgress this rule, and the result will be disas-
trous, ludicrous, as when some huge London car-
riage-horse is put in harness with the paternal
cob, or as when some small but ambitious dancer
runs round and round the tallest girl at the ball in
the gyrations of the mazy waltz. So Triomphe
de Rennes in "your front row is a beautiful yellow
Rose. Placed in juxtaposition to Marechal Niel,
its name becomes a cruel joke ; your little gem is
lost beside the Koh-i-noor, and your bright star
pales before the rising sun its ineffectual fire.

You will have another advantage in commenc-
ing with your finest flowers, because of these you
will have (or ought to have) the larger stock, and
will thus be able to lay at the same time and in
the same order the foundation of your different
collections, using the same corner-stone in each
(begin always with some glorious Rose, which must
attract the judicial eye, and make an impression
upon the judicial heart), and assimilating the ar-
rangement, as long as you possess the material.

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 259

Much labor, head-work and leg- work, is saved by
this plan of simultaneous structure.

The amateur must not exhibit these larger
Roses when they have lost their freshness of color,
or when the petals, opening at the centre, reveal
the yellow *'eye." He must not place a Rose in
his box because it Jias been superlatively beautiful.
In the eyes of her husband, the wife a matron
should be lovely as the wife a bride; but the
world never saw her in her Honiton veil, and re-
spectfully votes her a trifle passee. At the same
time, let not the exhibitor be over-timid, nor dis-
card a Rose which has reached the summit of
perfection, and may descend, he knows not when,
but let him bravely and hopefully set it among its
peers. If it suffers from the journey, it must be re-
placed, of course, from the box of spai^e blooms
which the exhibitor must always take with him /*
but if it holds its own, if it is really a Rose, of
superior merit, nothing can now happen which
will prevent a righteous Rosarian, such as every
judge ought to be, from recognizing its claims. I
once saw, and the recollection makes me shudder
still, a senseless censor thrust the end of a huge

^ The Roses taken to replace others should be in a less advanced
stage when cut. In many cases they will develop during the journey,
and so prove most acceptable substitutes for those which, on opening
our bo.xes, we may find to be hors de combat.

17*.

260 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

finger into the heart of a magnificent Due de
Rohan, in his anxiety to assure us, his coadjutors,
that the Rose was too fully blown. Oh, how I
wished that the Due, to whom we voted by a
majority the highest marks, had been armed for
the moment with a ferret's teeth!

The arrangement of Roses with regard to their
color has not been studied as it deserves to be.
With some few exceptions, the nurserymen arc
not successful in this matter ; but it is very dif-
ficult for them to find the time, granting the taste
to be there, for a minute assortment of the large
collections which they are called upon to show ;
and knowing that the awards will be made upon
the merits and demerits of the individual flowers,
they are not solicitous about minor details The
amateur, with more leisure than the man of busi-
ness for the study of the beautiful, and for the
most effective display of his fewer flowers, ought
to excel, but, as a rule, does not. His Roses are
very rarely made the most of in this respect, but
are frequently marred and spoiled, the colors
clashing and contending with each other, instead of
combining against their common adversary. It is
told of a highly- sensitive dame, whose silly pride
was in dress, that she went into hysterics before a
large party when her great rival in millinery came

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 261

and sat upon the ottoman beside her in a grand
garment of the same color as her own, but of a
much more brilHant and effective dye ; and I have
seen many a Rose which would weep, if it could,
aromatic rose-water, subdued by a like despair.
Whereas every flower should be so placed as to
enhance its neighbor's charms — the fair blonde
with her golden locks smiling upon the brunette
with her raven hair, each made by the contrast
loveher. Once upon a time six pretty sisters
lived at home together always. In looks, in
figure, in voice, gait, and apparel, they exactly
resembled each other. Young gentlemen, seeing
them apart, fell madly in love, as young gentle-
men ought to do; but on going to the house, and
being introduced to the family, they were bewil-
dered by the exact similitude, didn't know which
they had come to see, couldn't think of proposing
at random, made blunders, apologies, retreats.
It seemed as though all these charming flowers
would be left to " wither on the virgin Thorn,"
when one of them was permitted to leave her
home upon a visit to a distant friend. She
returned in six weeks ^zV;/ fiancee, and six months
after was a bride. The rest followed her example.
So it is that six scarlet Roses or six pink Roses
in close proximity perplex the spectator, and de-

262 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

preciate each other by their monotonous identity;
isolated or contrasted, we admire them heartily.

The Rosarian will learn much as to the effect-
ive arrangement of Roses for exhibition by keep-
ing one of his boxes, surfaced with moss and filled
with tubes, in his hall or in some cool place near
his Rose-garden, and by making experiments
therein, with a view to discovering the most
pleasing combinations as to color, and the most
graceful gradations as to size.

Nor let the exhibitor, amateur or professional,
suppose that these matters are of no importance.
It is true that priority is won by the superior
merits of the Roses, carefully examined and com-
pared ; but in cases where these merits are equal,
then the best arrangement as to form and color
will certainly influence, and probably determine,
the verdict. I can recall several instances in which.
ccBteris paribus, tasteful arrangement has given
the victory. The material for operation has been
equally good ; the modus operandi has been the
point of excellence — the artistic effort of the
more accomplished horseman has saved him from
a dead heat.

Time was when the exhibitor had good excuse
for the introduction of flowers faulty in shape and
too much alike in color. Time was (and I recall

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 263

it happily, for we vexed not ourselves about that
which might be, but delighted our hearts in that
which we had) when our dark Roses, such as
Boula de Nanteuil, D'Aguesseau, Ohl, and Shake-
speare— our pink Roses, such as Comtesse Mole
and Las Casas — our white Roses, such as Ma-
dame Hardy, — were painfully wide awake when
they reached the show, and our collection had
"eyes" like Argus, We are dismayed now if a
Cyclops shows himself, even in our "48." A
marvellous development and progress has been
made both in the form and complexion of the
Rose, and every season brings us new treasures.
See what we have gained in the last few years —
to the darker varieties we have added such Roses
as Alfred Colomb, Alfred Williams, Charles Le-
febvre, Duchesse de Caylus, Due de Rohan, Duke
of Edinburgh, Exposition de Brie, Louis Van
Houtte, Marie Beaumann, Paul Jamain, Reynolds
Hole, and Xavier Olibo ; and to the lighter Baron-
ess Rothschild, Captain Christy, Duchesse de
Vallombrosa, Emilie Hausburg, Francois Miche-
lon. La France, Marguerite de St. Amand, Marie
Finger, Madame Hippolyte Jamain, and many
others. Time was when the only yellow Roses
exhibited (Cloth-of-Gold was in existence, but
lived in strict seclusion) were Solfaterre, with

264 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

very little yellow and still less shape ; Persian
Yellow, in hue golden, glorious, but in size a big
buttercup : and sometimes a bud of Smith's Yel-
low, which no power on earth could induce to
open, a pretty button-hole flower. Now we have
■Celine Forestier, La Boule d'Or, Perle des Jardins,
Perle de Lyons, Triomphe de Rennes, Reine de
Portugal, and magnificent Marechal Niel ! Fancy
Smith's Yellow in a modern collection — Tom
Thumb on parade with the Guards !

The names which I have just written again
remind me* how much the Tea and Noisette
Roses diversify and beautify our show collections.
That the former are delicate and difficult to pro-
duce when we most require them, is evident from
their sparse appearance in public ; but it is just
one of those superable difficulties which separate
the sincere from the spurious Rose-grower, and
which only the former overcomes. The conserva-
tory and the orchard-house (there ought to be,
wherever there is taste and opulence, a Rose-
house) are undoubtedly the best homes for the
Tea Rose ; but in this more genial temperature it
blooms long before the showman's opening day ;
and I have seen houses containing many hundred
plants which have not contributed to the exhibitor

^ See page 2^2.

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 265

a single flower. I have tried with these Roses
many experiments, in pots and out, al fresco^
under glass, under canvas (movable), on their own
roots, on the Manetti, and on the Brier. Wher-
ever you have a vacant mural space, or a warm
border, I again recommend that Tea Roses be
planted on the Brier from seed or cutting, as being
their best ally and friend. Timid brethren fore-
v/arned me, when I first planted them al fresco,
that the winter would kill every bud, and timid
brethren tittered merrily when a frost of abnor-
mal vigor destroyed nearly half of my first ad-
venturers. I persevered, of course. If one half
withstood an unusual severity, I might rely in ordi-
nary seasons upon complete success. Defeat,
moreover, and the derision of my friends, evoked
a noble rage, a more determined energy. In my
youth I heard a professor remark at Oxford (he
styled himself professor and teacher of the noble
art of self-defence, but the condition of his nose
was more suggestive to me of one who was taking
lessons) that " he never could fight until he'd
napped a clinker." Then

" His grief was but his grandeur in disguise,
And discontent his immortahty."

So felt I, and so fought and conquered ; and I

266 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

advise the amateur with a good courage to plant
and bud those Tea Roses which are mentioned on
the list for exhibition. They survive nine winters
out of ten, here in the midland counties;* and
although the standards will not bloom early in
their first season, they will do so in the autumn^
and in the summer following will be in time for
the shows. These Tea Rose-trees should not be
pruned before April, and then sparingly.

Set up your Roses boldly, with the tubes well
above the moss, and keep a uniform height. Most
of the show varieties will hold themselves erect
and upright, but some are of drooping habit, and
their spinal weakness requires the support either of
a thin slip of wood or twig secured with wire or
thread to the stalk, or of moss pressed firmly
round them after they have been placed in the
tube. Turn your Rose slowly round before you
finally fix it, so that you may present it in its most
attractive phase to the censor. I have seen Roses
looking anywhere but at the judge, as though
they had no hopes of mercy.

Do not be induced to admit a Rose only because
it is new, or because.it has some one point of excel-

* Budded close to the ground on the Brier they are safe always.
The cruel winter of 1879-80, which killed nearly all my standard Rose-
trees, has only bereft me of half-a-dozen Teas. The rest, well protected
with long manure from November to March, are now (July, 1880)
blooming abundantly.

HOW TO SHOW THE ROSE. 26/

lence, being defective in others — e.g., a Rose ill
formed because it is brilliant in color, or a dull
coarse bloom on account of its size. The judge
will be down upon that invalid swiftly and surely,
as a fox upon a sick partridge.

Nor place two Roses together which are both
deficient in foliage. Give to each of them the
rather a neighbor whose abundant and flowing
curls may partially conceal their baldness. But
add no leaves, though the temptation be great,
because that same judge is quick as a barber to
distinguish between natural and artificial hair, and
there may be "wigs on the green" — i.e., you
may find your surreptitious foliage lying upon the
moss, and a card, with "Disqualified" written
upon it, staring you in the face.

Step back from time to time, as the artist from
his easel, to criticise your picture, and try to im-
prove it. And when you have finished it, invite
others to give their opinions freely. Try to ascer-
tain which Roses they like the least, rather than
to feast your ears with their exclamations of
praise. You will obtain help sometimes where
you least expected, and your attention will be
called to defects which you have overlooked in
a kind of parental fondness. Spectators, unpreju-
diced and not akin, can readily point out iufirmi-

26S A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

ties in the families of other folks. They do not
pronounce, as you do, the red hair of your dear
little Augustus a soft chestnut, or a rich auburn;
they have been known, on the contrary, to mur-
mur '' Carrots." They do not declare a squint, as
Charles Mathews in the play, to be "a. pleasing
obliquity of the left eye."

Have the sticks holding the cards which tell
the names of your Roses in their places before
you put on the lids. If you are showing in the
larger classes, it is wise to make this arrangement
when you insert the flowers ; otherwise, forgetting
names, you may run a risk of including duplicates.
Moreover, you will find the process of naming
your Roses after your arrival at the show a tedious
occupation of time, which might be much more
advantageously employed.

Have your lids on before the sun is high, and
be on the show-ground as early as you can. You
w^ill thus have the advantage of selecting a good
place for your boxes, not exposed to draught or
to glare ; of replacing from your spare blooms
those Roses which have suffered from the voyage ;
of setting each flower and each card in its posi-
tion ; of filling up the tubes with fresh water ; and
of making the best of your Roses generally,
leisurely, and at your ease.

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 269

This done, you may put back your lids, just rais-
ing them at the front a couple of inches with wooden
props ; and then you may survey (as I propose to
do in my final chapter) the exhibitors, the judges,
and the Rose-show itself

CHAPTER XV.

AT A ROSE-SHOW.

As the young knight in the olden time, having
reached *^ y^ place ordayned and appointed to
trye y^ bittermoste by stroke of battle," became
naturally curious concerning his adversaries, and,
after caring for his horse, and looking to his ar-
mor, went forth to inspect the Flower of Chivalry,
and the lists, in which that flower would shortly
form a bed of " Love-Hes-bleeding" — so the ex-
hibitor, having finally arranged his Roses, strolls
through the glowing aisles of the show. Soon ex-
perience will teach him to survey calmly, and to
guage accurately, the forces of his foe ; but now
he but glances nervously, furtively, at the scene
around him, like a new boy at some public
school. The sight brings him hopes and fears*
Now a hurried sidelong look shows him flowers
inferior to his own, and he is elate, happy. Now

270 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

an objectionably large Pierre Notting obtrudes it-
self upon his vision, and his heart fails him. He
steps, as it were, from the warm stove, gay with
orchids, into the ice-house of chill despair. He
is much too anxious and excited to form any
just conclusions ; and therefore, to engage his
thoughts more pleasantly, I will introduce him to
his co-exhibitors.

Viewed abstractedly, these co-exhibitors are
genial, generous, intelligent — men of refined taste
and reverent feelings, with the freshness of a gar-
den and the freedom of the country about their
looks and ways. Viewed early in the morning, as
the novice sees them now, they are a little dingy,
without the freshness of the garden upon them,
but with something very like its soil. Some have
not been in bed since yester-night ; not one has
slept his usual sleep. Many have come from
afar : —

" They have travelled to our Rose-show
From north, south, east, and west.
By rail, by roads, with precious loads
Of the flower they love the best :

From dusk to dawn, through night to morn,

They've dozed 'mid clank and din,
And woke with cramp in both their legs

And bristles on their chin."

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 2/1

*' PtUvis ct umbra sut/iiisf" they sigh — we are all
over dust and shady. They are like Melrose Ab-
bey— sunhght does not suit them. *'The gg.y
beams of lightsome day " are not becoming to
countenances long estranged from pillow, razor,
and tub. They have come to meet the Queen of
Flowers, as Mephibosheth to meet King David,
not having dressed his feet, or trimmed his beard,
or washed his clothes from the day the king de-
parted. And this reminds me that we, the cleri-
cal contingent, appear upon these occasions es-
pecially dishevelled and dim. Sydney Smith
would undoubtedly say that we ''seemed to have
a good deal of glebe upon our own hands." In the
thick dust upon our black coats you might write
or draw distinctly; — (I once saw traced upon the
back of a thirsty florist, of course a layman — to
be kept d7y : this side up) ; and our white ties —

" Qui color albus erat, nunc est contrarius albo" —

are dismally limp and crumpled. The bearded
brethren remind one of St. Angus, of whom we
read that, perspiring and unwashed, he worked in
his barn until the scattered grain took root and
grew on him.

By-and-by, when the exhibition is open to the
public, we shall be as spruce as our neighbors,

2/2 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

and as bright as soap and water — he is no true
gardener who loves not both — can make us.
Meanwhile let me assure the new-comer among-
us that there are strong brains and gentle hearts
within those swart and grimy exteriors, and that
he will find in the brotherhood hereafter — so I
prophesy from my own experience — many dear
and steadfast friends. For me floriculture has
done so much — quickening good desires and
rebuking evil — that I have ever faith in those
with whom its power prevails. But let us never
forget, while we congratulate and commend each
other as florists, that humility on the score of our
multitudinous weeds is more becoming than pride
in our little dish of sour wizened fruit; that, ''we
are the sons of women. Master Page ;" and that
the old serpent hides still among our flowers.
And now, to confirm such wholesome memories,
I will present to the young Rosarian one or two
specimens of our weaker brethren, that he may
learn to check betimes in himself those infirmities
which are common to us all, and which, when they
gain the mastery, make men objects of contempt
and ridicule. I must add that, although I paint
from the life, my pictures are never portraits of the
individual, but always studies from the group — a
group brought together by memory from diverse

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 2/3

parts and periods, but displaying in its members
such a strong family resemblance that I must
guard myself against a natural suspicion.

The Irascible Exhibitor loses no time in veri-
fying his presence to our eyes and ears. Talk-
ing so rapidly that '* a man ought to be all ear to
follow," as Schiller said of Madame de Stael, and
so loudly that he may be heard in all parts of the
show, he is declaiming to a policeman, a car-
penter, and two under-gardeners, who are nudg-
ing each other in the ribs, against the iniquitous
villany of ''three thundering muffs" who recently
awarded him a fourth prize for the finest lot of
Roses he ever cut. He communicates to the
policeman, who evidently regards him as being
singularly advanced in liquor, considering the
time of day, his firm beHef that the censors in
question were brought up from a coal-mine on the
morning of the exhibition, and had never seen a
Rose before. He does hope that, on the present
occasion, somebody will be in office who knows
the difference between that flower and a pumpkin.
Here he is informed that Mr. Trueman, a most
reliable Rosarian, is to be one of the judges. He
is delighted to hear it. Mr. Trueman is a prac-
tical, honorable man ; and, having arranged his
Roses with a running accompaniment of grunts

2/4 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

and snorts, he goes in quest of that individual,
expresses entire confidence in his unerring judg-
ment, and the happiness which he feels in submit-
ting his Roses to a man who can appreciate them,
instead of to such a set of old women as were

recently judging at , when they ought to

have been in bed.

Alas for our poor feeble humanity! — two hours
later Mr. Irascible, finding no prize-card on his
boxes, denounces Mr. T. as an ignorant humbug,
or knows for a fact that he is in vile collusion with
the principal winners of the day — reminding me,
in his swift transition from praise to condemna-
tion, from love to hate, of a ludicrous Oxford
scene.

Tom Perrin kept livery-stables, and in those
stables the stoutest of wheelers, and the liveliest
of leaders for our tandems and fours-in-hand.
Unhappily for Tom, all driving in extenso was
strictly forbidden, and he came, in consequence,
to frequent collisions with our potent, grave, and
reverend Dons. Upon the occasion to which I
refer, he had been summoned to appear before the
Vice-Chancellor, Doctor MacBride, then Principal
of Magdalen Hall, now known as Hertford Col-
lege; and as the offence was flagrant, and his
previous convictions were numerous, he was spe-

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 275

cially anxious to obtain an acquittal. He pre-
sented himself in deep mourning, and wore the
expression of a simple, modest citizen, who really
didn't know what a tandem was. He placed a
pile of ancient tomes by his side (Greek lexicons
for the most part, and Latin dictionaries lent to
him by the undergraduates), and with his brow
knit as in anxious thought, and his finger upon
the page (generally upside down), he consulted
them from time to time, during his trial, upon
difficult points of law. He bowed to the court at
intervals with a most profound respect, and he
addressed the Doctor as ''My Lord Judge," ''Your
Grace," and "Venerable Sir." But when the
verdict was given, and the defendant heavily fined,
I never saw anything in dissolving views so mar-
vellous as Tom Perrin. He set his hat jauntily on
the side of his head ; he shut his lexicons with a
bang, and, confronting his judge Avith a look of
scorn and disgust, he said — " MacBride, if this

be law, hequity, or justice, I'm ," well, let us

say, something which happens to a brook, when
its waters are arrested by a temi>orary barrier con-
structed across the stream.

So does our Irascible Exhibitor now glare
around him with " the dragon eyes of angered
Eleanor." He would like a revival of those days
18*

2/6 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

when " a judge was not sacred from violence. Any
one might interrupt him, might accuse him of ini-
quity and corruption in the most reproachful terms,
and, throwing down his gauntlet, might challenge
him to defend his integrity in the field ; nor could
he without infamy refuse to accept his defiance, or
decline to enter the lists against such an adver-
sary."* That is to say, he would like to interrupt,
to accuse, to reproach, and perhaps to challenge,
but certainly not to fight, for these passionate folk
are invariably cowards. They dare not attack
with anything but words ; unless they possess an
overwhelming power, like that suburban, pot-
house, betting Eleven, who once upon a time per-
suaded Jimmy Dean to act as umpire at one of
their boosy matches, and ran him home six miles
across country w^ith furious execrations and threats
to London, because he gave a decision adverse to
their interest at a critical period of the game.

At one time you will see the Irascible Exhibi-
tor standing by his Roses, and revealing his
wrongs to any who will hear ; occasionally making
a deep impression upon elderly ladies, and almost
persuading very young reporters to chronicle his
woes in print ; but oftener failing to evoke sympa-
thy, you will find him with a countenance, like

* KdbQrison's History of Charles V., vol i.

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 277

Displeasure in the Fairy Quee^i, ** lompish and full
sullein," aloof, solitary — like some morose old
pike swimming slowly about in a back-water, while
all the other fishes are leaping in the sunlit stream.
Finally, he discovers some malcontent like him-
self— 7 in sot tronve tojtjoiirs tin plus sot qui Vad-
viire — and they go off together to the darkest
corner of the most dismal room of their inn, to
enjoy their woes, and to defy their fellow-creatures,
over a succession of "two brandies and cold."

I know only of one other species of exhibitor
discreditable to the genus, The Covetous ExJiibi-
tor, whose avarice has slain his honor. His motto
is Money.

" Si possis recte, si non quocunque modo, Money."

He cares nothing for the Rose itself, sees no
beauty, and smells no perfume, only for the prizes
it may win. Trnie aime phis bran que Rose, and
will go through any amount of dirtiness to get his
nose to the swill. On the eve of a show he will
beg or will buy the Roses of his neighbors. He
will show several flowers of the same Rose, at-
taching the different names of those varieties
which have some resemblance to each other. He
knows how to conceal an eye, and to fix a petal in
its place by gum. He will add foliage, wherever

2/8 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

he dare. He, too, likes a few words with the
judges before they make their awards. He never
saw them in such wonderful health : in fact, their
youthful appearance is almost comic. They will
find the Roses rough and coarse (which means
that his own are too small) ; or there is a sad
want of size in the blooms this morning (which
means that his are overblown).

In accordance with the old and true proverb,
his dishonesty does not thrive. He steals several
paces in front of his brother archers, but for one
arrow hitting the gold, he misses breaks, or loses
fifty. I remember some years ago, just as we had
commenced our survey as judges at one of the
provincial shows, an exhibitor reappeared, hot and
out of breath, and " begged pardon, but he had
left a knife among his Roses." He had a magnif-
icent Rose in his coat, and, ** from information
which I had received," I thought it my duty to
watch his movements without appearing to do so.
He left the tent with a much smaller flower in his
button-hole, and I went immediately to his box.
There was the illustrious stranger, resplendent,
but with a fatal beauty. The cunning one had
hoist himself with his own petard, for he had for-
gotten another bloom of the same Rose, already
in his 24, and I at once wrote " Disqualified for

AT A RObE-SirlOW. 279

duplicates" upon his exhibition-card. Keen must
have been the shaft which he had himself feathered
from that borrowed plume, but keener far to feel
(for it was a fact patent to all), that if he had not
made the addition, he must have won the premier
prize.

Another failure of empirical knavery, another
slip between the cup of silver and the lip of
stratagem, occurs to my recollection. It was my
good fortune to win a prize goblet, annually given
for Roses at one of our midland shows, so fre-
quently, that my success became monotonously
irksome to the competitors generally, but specially
to one of these covetous exhibitors who grow
Roses only for gain. He induced, as it afterwards
transpired, two other growers of the Rose to com.-
bine with him in an attempt '*to beat the parson;"
and so sure was this clique of success, that they
brought a couple of bottles of wine to the show,
to be quaffed from the cup, which I won easily.
In the afternoon I happened to come upon the
conspirators drinking their port in a quiet corner
of the grounds, and one of them not only invited
me to partake, but, as from a sudden impulse, and as
though the truth must come out with the wine, to
my intense amusement, and to the still more in-
tense amazement of his friends, revealed all the

28o A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

history of their Httle game. He declared that he
was thoroughly ashamed of ''the job," and was
heartily glad they were beat. Truly it was a
strange confession, but I believe the penitence was
sincere. >

TJie Despondent Exhibitor is also an excep-
tional, but by no means discreditable, variety. He
is physically incapable of festive emotions — "a
sad, gloom-pampered man," but a good Rosarian,
and a righteous. If a cloud crosses the sun he
shuts up like a Gazania or a Crocus ; if a few drops
of rain fall, he hangs his head like Virgil's pop-
pies :

*' Lassove papavera collo,
Demisere caput, pluvia quum forte gravantur."

He never has the slightest expectation of a prize.
He has had more caterpillars, aphides, blights,
beetles, and mildews in his garden than ever were
seen by man. So he tells you with a slow and
solemn tone, looking the while as though, like
Mozart composing his own requiem, he listened to
some plaintive music. I used to regard him with
a tender pity, as being unhappy. I used to sigh:

" Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his cypress-trees !"

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 28 1

But our further acquaintance has convinced me
that he has a reHsh for melancholy. I watched
him once, when I knew, but he did not, that he
had won a first prize, to see what effect success
would have upon him. He came slowly to his
Roses, and read the announcement with an ex-
pression of profound despair, just as though it had
been a telegram informing him that the bank, in
which he had placed his all, proposed a dividend
of fourpence in the pound.

Warned by these rare examples against anger,
avarice, and despond, assured that the horses
which rear, bite, kick, and sulk, are seldom win-
ners of the race, let the young exhibitor now ac-
quaint himself with his colleagues generally, and
let him learn from them, as from men who have
not lived in vain amid the beauties and the boun-
ties of a garden, contentment, generosity, perse-
verance, hope. They will tell him that the lessons
of defeat will most certainly teach him to conquer,
if he will only learn them patiently, noting his
failures and making every effort to overcome them.
Fighting for the prize, he resembles in one point,
and one only I trust, the prize-fighter — when
judgment, temper, self-mastery are lost, the battle
is lost also. They will tell him not only how to
win his laurels, but how to wear them gracefully;

282 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

in prosperity, as well as in adversity, to preserve
the equal mind.

But which will be his lot to-day ? The crisis
approaches, and the stern mandate of the peremp-
tory police is already sounding in his ears : " This
tent must be cleared for the Judges''

It used to be said at our flower-shows : " Oh,
any one can judge the Roses;" and when, few in
quantity and feeble in quality, they formed but a
small item of the exhibition, they had, of course,
no special claims ; but this indifference unhappily
prevailed long after the Rose had become a chief
attraction in our summer shows, and even where
it was the only flower exhibited. At our great
Rose-shows we have succeeded to some extent in
eliminating from the halls of justice incompetent
judges ; but elsewhere the Rosarian takes with his
Roses a very anxious heart. In the summer of
1868, one of our most successful competitors, a
Leicestershire clergyman, who had just won two
first-prizes at the Crystal Palace, took some Roses
equally good to a small provincial show. Facile
princeps, he was not even commended ; and on
remonstrating, was informed by one of the judges
that his Roses, to which precedence had been given
at a national contest, '* were not the right sorts for
exhibition^ The fact is, that three varieties of

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 283

censors are still appointed at some of our country
shows. There is the man who loves them, knows
and grows them well — his judgments will be
right. There is the man who is a clever florist
and grows Roses partially — his judgments will be
generally right, but if the collections are large or
numerous, or nearly equal in merit, he will be
perplexed to incapacity. Thirdly, there is the man
appointed to be judge of the Roses because he
once won a prize for cucumbers, or because the
mayor knows his uncle. The latter is either, in
his wise silence, quite useless, or, in his fool's lo-
quacity, a dreadful bore — dangerous wherever he
has power. To the second I would say :

" Cassio, I love thee, but never more be officer of mine,"

until you know more about Roses. To the first I
take off my hat, as to " a chief-justice among
chief-justices,"* and wish that he may ever pre-
side in court when I have a cause to plead.

The arbiter at a Rose-show should be a
man who not only lives among Roses, but among
Roses in their most perfect phase. He should
know the capabilities of each separate variety, as

* So Fuller designates our great Nottinghamshire judge, Mark-
ham.

284 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

to symmetry, color, and size, that he may estimate
and compare accurately the merits of the flowers
before him. He should know thoroughly their
habit of growth, their peculiarities of leaf and
wood, ihat he may correct misnomers, and detect
additions or duplicates. He should regard his
office as a sacred duty, not only because justice
and honor are sacred things, but because there
seems to be a special sanctity in such beautiful
handiwork of God : and to be untruthful and dis-
honest in such a presence and purity should be
profane in his sight, as though he lied to an angel.
But his duty 'will be his delight also, and thus,
having his inclination at unity with his conscience,
and his love instructed by his reason, he cannot
fail to fulfil it. Knowing the law thoroughly, and
sifting the evidence minutely, he must give the
sentence of a righteous judge. Never tiring, when
the competition is close, in his keen and patient
scrutiny, estimating every Rose by a fixed stand-
ard, setting down in his note-book, counting,
comparing their respective marks of merit and
defect, bringing the boxes, if distant, into close
proximity, anxiously attentive to the comments of
his colleagues, bestowing the same care upon the
^' cottager's 6 " as upon the ''nurseryman's 72," he
is never satisfied until all doubts are dispelled, and

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 285

the award of his hps is the sure conviction of his
heart.

As the judge enters, the exhibitor leaves the
show, first turning to gaze once again upon the
exquisite beauty of the scene, the long avenues of
Roses, the fairest examples which the world can
bring of its most lovely flower. The flat surface
of the boxes is pleasingly diversified (or should
be) by the stately palm, the graceful fern,,
the elegant Humea, by Croton, Caladium,.
Dracaena, Coleus, and the like, which not only
prevent the uniformity from becoming monoto-
nous, and the repetition wearisome, but soften
agreeably that blaze of color which would be^
without such contrast and interruption, too bright
for mortal ken. These are placed at regular in-
tervals in the centre of the tables, singly, or in
groups. Pretty specimens of the silver-leafed
maple (Acer Negundo variegatiun), about 4 feet
in height, were thus freely introduced, and with
admirable effect, at one of the Birmingham Rose-
shows.

And now there comes for the young lover
who has just made, as it were, his proposals to the
Rose, a tedious interval, a long suspense, a ner-
vous restless agitation. The lady has always smiled
on him, but what will papa say — /. e., the judge?

286 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

When next the suitor sees his sweetheart, will she
bring with her the written approbation of his suit,
even as Miss Wilson returned from the one Pro-
fessor, her father, to the other Professor, Aytoun,
her lover, having a slip of paper pinned upon her
dress, and upon that paper the happy words,
"With the author's compliments"? When next
the exhibitor sees his Roses, will there be a prize-
card on his box ?

He wonders fretfully. He retires to his hotel.
He refreshes the outer and the inner man. What
can be the matter with the coffee-room clock ?
how slowly it ticks ! how the long hand lags and
limps ! every minute marked upon the dial might
be a pebble upon the grass-plat of the future,
blunting the scythe of Time. Will that selfish
snob in the corner never put down the news-
paper ? He will, he does ; the exhibitor seizes it
eagerly, and reads it, or rather gazes vacantly
upon it for nearly a minute and a half What
are money-markets or murders to him ? Sixteen
closely-printed pages, and not one word about the
Roses ! He throws down the Times and looks
out of the window. Ah, there is a shop opposite
with pictures and photographs ; strolls across ; has
seen them all before ; is getting rather sick of
photographs ; strolls back again ; must have been

AT A ROSE-SHOW. 28/

away ten minutes, but coffee-room clock says
three. Selfish snob in corner writing letters with
a coolness and equanimity quite disgusting; he
looks up and is recognized as rival amateur, pro-
prietor of Pierre Notting ; something about him,
exhibitor thinks, not altogether pleasing; not a
nice expression ; shouldn't say he was quite a
gentleman.

At last the malignant timepiece, having tardily
announced the meridian, with a minim-rest be-
tween the notes, as though it were a passing bell
tolled in Lilliput, and having disputed every inch
of the succeeding hour, is compelled to give up
its match against time, and the exhibitor hears
the thrilling sound which proclaims the Rose-
show open. He gives his best hat a final brush ;
he adjusts for the last time the pretty Rose in his
coat (be still, throbbing heart beneath !) ; and back
he goes to his fate. He presents at the door his
exhibitor's pass ; and then '' affecting to be un-
affected," but nervous as a girl at her first ball, he
wends his anxious way to his Roses.

What shall he find there — defeat or victory ?
Shall the music of the band express to his ears
the gladness of his spirit, the triumph of his hope,
or shall

288 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES.

" Sharp violins proclaim
Their jealous pangs and desperation,"

in unison with his own ? Let him be prepared for
either issue. Let him anticipate defeat, as being
but a recruit and pupil ; but let him remember,
when defeated, that more than one great states-
man has been plucked for ''Smalls'' — more than
one great general has lost his first battle — more
than one Royal Academician has had his first
picture declined by the hanging-committee. Some
faint-hearted candidates for fame never overcome
a first discouragement. Entering an exhibition of
flowers and fruit at Lincoln some years ago, I met
a clerical friend, who informed me confidentially
that, if I desired to know what a melon ought to
be, he would forthwith gratify the wish. Beaming
with complacent smiles, he led me to the place of
melons ; but when we reached it, his countenance
fell. The weather was intensely hot, and the
thirsty judges had obeyed implicitly the directions
of the schedule, that the merits of the fruit were
to be decided by flavor. Half of my friend's
melon had gone the way of all flesh (fruit), and a
card, resting upon the remainder, thus announced
the verdict of the censors :

Fourth Prize,

IS.

AT A ROSE- SHOW. 289

In vain I essayed to mitigate his woe by cheerful,
I may say humorous, remarks as to the melon-
cholic retribution which would surely overtake
those unrighteous men. It was the sort of thing,
he informed me, with which pleasantness had no
connection whatever, belonging, as it did, to
that sphere of incidents which he described as
being "a long way above a joke." Then, with
a stern but sorrowful expression, which sig-
nified, I thought, that he was going to punish the
universe severely, in the discharge of a very pain-
ful duty, he turned to me and said : " / shall not
exhibit melons again.''

Let not the young Rosarian be thus daunted.
On the other hand, if victory comes, let him
remember always that she only stays with the
meek. Where success brings pride, then, as Lamb
writes in a Latin letter to Gary, commutandum est
he I he I he I cum hcti! hen! hen! and all men
shall laugh at the braggart's fall.

Again I say, in prosperity or adversity, let
him keep the equal mind :

" Who misses or who wins the prize,
Go, lose or conquer as you can ;
But if you fail, or if you rise,

Be each, pray God, a gentleman."

29]

APPENDIX No. L

Memoranda for the Months.

Octobei'.

I BEGIN with this month, because both he who
desires to form, and he who desires to maintain, or
extend, a Rose-garden, must now make his arrange-
ments for planting in November. Each must decide
what Rose-trees and what stocks he will require, and
must give his instructions accordingly. The sooner his
nurseryman receives the order, the more satisfactorily
will it be fulfilled ; a timely communication with his
collector of Briers, if he prefers Standards, will enable
that Thessalian hero, who

"Jumps into the quickset hedge
To scratch out both his eyes,"

to take a survey of the surrounding fences, and to place
him first upon his list ; or if, more wisely, he desiderates
the seedling Brier, or the Brier grown from cuttings, and
does not grow his own, let him apply at once where his
wants may be satisfied. The ground intended for Rose-
19 *

292 APPENDIX.

trees or stocks must be thoroughly drained and trenched
to receive them.

Commence towards the end of this month the first
pruning of your Rose-trees, shortening by one-fourth
the longest shoots, and thus preventing the noxious
influence of those stormy winds, which would otherwise
loosen the hold which the tree has upon the soil, and
which sometimes decapitate the tree itself. These cut-
tings \vi\\ strike, many of them (just as cuttings from the
Brier will strike), if put in, about 6 inches in length and
closely in some sheltered place — by a wall, for exam-
ple— looking north or west, and protected by a hand-
glass; or they will strike, some of them, without protec-
tion overhead, if planted in a like situation, but deeper
in the ground, 7 or 8 inches, with two or three "eyes'*
avove the soil. Such of them as have made roots
should be taken up and potted in the ensuing spring —
i.e., in April — should be kept warm under glass for a
month or six weeks, hardened by the gradual admission
of air, and planted out towards the end of May.

November

is the best month for transplanting. Ah, how it cheers
the Rosarian's heart amid those dreary days, to welcome
that package from the nurseries, long and heavy, so
cleanly swathed in the new Russian mat, so closely
sewn with the thick white cord ! His eyes glisten, like
the school-boy's when the hamper comes from home,
and hardlv, though he has read the story of Waste not.

APPENDIX. 293

Want not, can he keep his knife from the string. Let
him plant his Rose-trees as soon as may be after their
arrival; but if they reach him, unhappily, during frost
or heavy rains, let him " lay them in," as it is termed,
covering their roots well with soil and their heads with
matting, and so wait the good time coming. When
planted they must not be set too deeply in the soil —
about 4 or 5 inches will suffice — but must be secured (I
am presuming that the trees are chiefly low standards,
according to advice given) to stakes, firmly fixed in the
ground beside them. Some gardeners plant deeply, to
save, I suppose, the trouble of staking; and indolence
has its usual result — debihty. Let the Briers also be
planted as soon as received. Weakly trees may now be
carefully taken up, and, planted in fresh soil, will often
make a complete recovery.

The established Rose-trees should, if the ground be
dry and the weather fine, have a good dressing of farm-
yard manure. And in

December

you should take advantage of the first hard frost to
wheel in a similar supply for the new-comers, the
freshly-planted Rose-trees and stocks. In both cases
the manure must remain upon the ground to protect
and to strengthen too, and need not be dug in until
March. At the beginning of this month, it will be wise
to give a munificent mulching to Roses of a delicate
constitution, planted out of doors — the little Banksian,

294 APPENDIX.

for example, the Noisettes and Tea-scented Chinas, on
their own roots, against our walls. Thus defended, we
shall feel less anxiety for them, when

January

shall bring storm and cruel frost. Though we see our
fair fleet scudding with bare poles in the tempest, we
shall know that below deck there is life and safety. We
must make up our minds to some losses among the old
and young, of the worn-out in our Rose-gardens, and
of the weakly bud, perhaps the best we could obtain of
some new variety, or of some dehcate Tea, among our
Briers; but, with our ground well drained, and our
Rose-trees well secured and mulched, we need not fear
for the hale and strong. Seldom come such pitiless
winters as those of 1860-61, 1878-79: and though to
a few feeble invalids the white snow may be a winding-
sheet, for the rest it is His shield and covering, who
giveth His snow like wool. Wherefore sweet memories
and happy hopes come to us musing at the fireside
upon our Roses. Nor need those hours be all hours of
idleness. We may prepare "tallies" for our trees and
cards for our cut flowers. We may repair and repaint
our boxes, sharpen our stakes for the budded Briers in
spring, and sharpen our wits, too, by studying the
chronicles of past Rose-shows, the manuals, and the
catalogues of our chief Rosarians. In

APPENDIX. 295

February

the cry is '' All in to begin," as it used to be the show-
man's when we went to the fair, for no more Rose-trees
can be planted when tliis month has passed. The
grafting of Rose-cuttings on the Brier or Manetti stocks,
grown in pots for the purpose, is now a very interesting
process, where there is a propagating-house, or other
means, as in the tan-bed of a stove, of supplying a
regular bottom-heat to the roots. The art may be
learned in a lesson, and I know of few things more
pleasing in the pleasant life of a Rosarian than to watch
the conjunction of stock and scion, which commences
almost imm.ediately, the repotting, and the gradual
growth of the Rose-tree. Darwin, in a free translation
of Virgil, has happily described this development: —

" On each lopped shoot a foster scion bind, —
Pith pressed to pith, and rind applied to rind,—
So shall the trunk with loftier crest ascend,
Nurse the new bud, admire the leaves unknown,
And blushing glow with beauty not its own."

March

is the month for our final pruning of all save Noisettes
and Teas. I say final, because all the longer shoots will
have been previously shortened in October. Different
varieties will, of course, require different treatment ; and
the intentions of the operator, as well as the habit of the

296 APPENDIX.

tree, will direct the manipulation of the knife. Some
Roses of very vigorous growth, such as Blairii 2 and
Charles Lawson, Triomphe de Bayeux and Persian Yel-
low, will not flower at all if they are closely pruned.
They will need little more excision than that which
they have already received — only the removal of any
weak or injured wood. Ten or twelve eyes may be left
upon the healthy shoots. With the Rose-trees gener-
ally the question is : Does the owner wish for number
or size, quantity or quality ? If the former, let him
leave five, if the latter, three eyes, on the strong laterals,
of course cutting out the infirm. Rose-trees grown on
the Manetti stock should not be so closely pruned as
those grown upon the Brier.

Look over the budded Briers. Rub off incipient
laterals from stems of Standards, and pull up suckers.
Breaks on the budded shoot should be all removed, save
one farthest from the bud, which should be left av/hile
to make the running — i.e., draw up the sap.

See to your stakes when the stormy winds do blow,
and towards the end of the month dig in the manure
left about the newly-planted Rose-trees and Briers.

April.

Prune Tea-scented, Noisette, and Bourbon Roses,
observing the previous rule — that is, cutting very ab-
stemiously, when the growth is vigorous, as with Mare-
chal Niel, Belle Lyonnaise, Gloire de Dijon, Climbing
Devoniensis, and Souvenir d'un Ami.

APPENDIX.

297

Cut in the budded laterals on the Briers close to the
bud, and take away all suckers and fresh growth upon
the Brier itself. Have your stakes firmly driven into the
ground by the side of each stock, and rising about two
feet above it. Watch the growth of the bud, securing
the young tender shoot with bast to the stake, so that it
may be safe against sudden gusts, and look out at the
same time for the srrub. For now

Read, ye who run, the awful truth,
With which I charge my page, —
A worm is in the bud "

of the Roses, and towards the end of this month the
Rose-grub (what an amalgamation of the lovely and the
loathsome !) must be sought for constantly and closely.
The search must be continued during the early part of

May,

and the pest will be found hidden in the curled leaf,
from which he would presently attack the Rose, as a
burglar conceals himself in the shrubbery before he breaks
into the drawing-room. Of all the months this to the
Rosarian brings most anxiety. Nothing so adverse to
his Roses as late vernal frosts, cold starving nights in
May. The sap is checked, the circulation of Rose-blood
is impeded, and weakness and disease follow inevitably.
The trees, which were growing luxuriantly, suddenly
cease to make further progress. Tiiey look well to the

290 APPENDIX.

eye ; the inexperienced apprehends no injury ; but the
disease is there, and the symptoms will soon show them-
selves. Wisely did our forefathers fix their Rogation
Days at this most perilous time. Wisely did priest and
people go together round the boundary fields, with
earnest prayer that they might in due time enjoy the
kindly fruits of the earth. Even the heathen kept his
days of Rogation, and besought his gods " ut om?iia
bene efflorcscei'ent ;'' and shall the Christian call it super-
stition to invoke the blessings of Heaven upon corn-
field and pasture, orchard and garden, fruit and flower?

Examine the new growth of your established Rose-
trees, and when you think that it is too abundant, rub
off here and there those breaking buds, which might
weaken the plant, and prevent a wholesome circulation
of air through the crow^ded " head " of the Rose-
tree.

A surface application of manure, as previously
recommended, should now be laid on the surface of the
soil, and this liberality may be extended to the Briers
also.

Order your selection of new Roses in pots from the
nursery, repotting those, of which you have the best
hope, and keep them under glass for a time, so that in

June

you may bud them on some of your most forward
stocks ; and then, by turning them out of their pots into
the open ground, and by encouraging them in every

APPENDIX. 299

way to make a fresh growth, you may obtain a second
supply of buds in the autumn, when you will know more
as to their merits.

If May has been genial, June will be glorious. If
not, we shall have the aphis, honey-dew, mildew, rust^
larva of saw-fly, swarming like voracious ravens to peck
at the wounded stag, until the poor Rosarian is nearly
driven out of his wits, as Mons. Vibert was driven from
his nursery near Paris to St. Denis, by the ver blanc
(grub of the cockchafer), which destroyed all before it.
Reaumur made a calculation that, in five generations,
an aphis might be the progenitor of 5,904,900,000 de-
scendants ; and a writer in the Entomological Magazine
(No. iii. p. 217) communicates the result of much care-
ful observation as follows : " Insects in general come
from an egg; then turn to a caterpillar, which does
nothing but eat ; then to a chrysalis, which does nothing
but sleep ; then to a perfect butterfly, which does nothing
but increase its kind. But the aphis proceeds altogether
on another system. The young ones are born exactly
like the old ones, but less. They stick their beak
through the rind, and begin drawing up sap when only
a day old, and go on quiedy sucking away for seven or
eight days ; and then, without love, courtship, or matri-
mony, each individual begins bringing forth young ones,
and continues to do so for months, at the rate of from
twelve to eighteen daily."

What is the cure ? There is none. You may brush ;
you may powder ; you may syringe ; you may dip ; you
may mix your tobacco-water — your decoction of

300 APPENDIX.

quassia; — but where the aphis has once taken posses-
sion, you shall not see the Rose in its integrity. The
injury was done before the aphis came.

But there is something better than cure — there is
prevention. The aphis finds no food when the Rose-
tree is in perfect health ; it will not taste the sap which
is pure and untainted ; it is a leech which sucks bad
blood only. If situation, soil, and supervision be such
as I have suggested, nothing but weather of unusual
severity will bring aphis or harm to the Rose. Once
upon a time a Rosarian asked me "what I did with the
green-fly ?" I told him truthfully they never troubled
me; and I suppose I spoke too conceitedly; for soon af-
terwards they attacked me in force for the first time since
I understood the art of Rose-growing. But in that year
(1873) the bitterness of May was extraordinary, as the
farmer, the fruitist, and the florist know to their cost ;
and it was evident, in the dull look of the leaf, that the
trees were frost-bitten, and that the usual consequences
must come.

Early in June, the Roses intended for exhibition
should be disbudded; that is, aU buds should be re-
moved except one or two of the largest and most cen-
tral. I believe that the late Mr, Keynes, of Salisbury,
was the first, at the suggestion of Mr. Gill, his foreman,
to try this experiment, and the superior size of his Roses
soon made the practice general.

Towards the end of the month, and at the beginning
of

APPENDIX. 301

July,

we have the Rose-shows, of which I have said ray say ;
and after these we must bud our Briers with those varie-
ties which a keen and constant observation at home and
elsewhere, in our gardens and at the shows, has taught
us to admire the most. Ample instructions, with cleverly-
drawn illustrations, are given by writers upon the Rose
as to the art of budding; but an experienced gardener,
with a sharp knife and a hank of thick cotton, somewhat
resembling that used for lamps, of bast, China, or Raffla
grass, will teach the amateur far more quickly and ef-
fectively than he can possibly be taught by books.

Should mildew make its appearance, remove the
leaves most affected, and cover the rest with flower of
sulphur when the tree is wet from shower or syringe,
giving them another good washing next day. Mr. Rivers
recommends soot as a remedy, and kindly sent me in a
letter, some years ago, the result of a successful experi-
ment. ''Have you mildew?" he asks — '^ try soot.
Some time towards the end of July a batch of Hybrid
Perjoetuals, fine plants in pots, were white with mildew.
Perry" (his foreman) "tried sulphur without end, and
at last in desperation smothered them with soot, in the
dew of the morning. This rested on them for four or
five days, and was then washed off. The effect was
marvellous : the mildew disappeared ; the leaves turned
to a dark green ; the buds opened freely ; and the flowers
were brilliant "

302 APPENDIX.

That yellow-bellied abomination, the grub which
produces the saw-fly, in this month attacks the Rose,
sucking the sap from underneath the leaf, and changing
the color of the part on which he has fed from bright
green to dirty brown. The process of " scrunching" is
disagreeable, but it must be done.

During the continuous droughts which frequently
occur in July, it is desirable, of course, to water every
evening, where water and waterers can be had in abun-
dance. Elsewhere, I would advise that the surface of
the beds be loosened from time to time with the hoe. It
will thus retain for a much longer period the moisture of
nocturnal dews. But there is nothing like a mulching
of farm-yard manure.

Fading Roses should be removed from the tree, and
preserved for i\\Q pot-pourri jar. The other flowers of
the garden perish, but :

" Sweet Roses do not so : —
Of their sweet deaths are sweeter odors made."

August

is also a propitious month for budding; but if the
weather is hot and the ground parched, it will be de-
sirable to give the beds a good drenching with water
^' when the evening sun is low."

The cotton may be removed from the Briers budded
in July ; it should remain about a month or six weeks
upon the stock.

APPENDIX. 303

Cuttings may be taken at the beginning of the
month from the ripened shoots. These must be re-
moved at the point from v/hich they grow from the
old wood, and a shp of this wood must be removed
with them, forming " a heel " in gardeners' phraseology.
The cuttings, about 3 inches long, should be inserted to
the depth of i inch, round the edge of a pot filled with
a light rich soil of leaf-mould and loam, with an abun-
dance of silver sand ; and being well pressed round the
roots, and well watered through the rose, should be put
in a frame under a north wall until they have " cal-
lused." They should then be placed in bottom-heat
under glass, and when rooted should be dignified with
pots of their own, restored for a little while to heat, and
then gradually inured to the air, grown on, and re-
potted.

September

brings us little to do, except to remove suckers and
weeds, and to enjoy our second harvest of Roses. It
is but the gleaning of the grapes, the echo of the
chorus, the after-glow of the sun ; but our happiness
among the autumnal Roses is, I think, more intense
than ever. ^Ve can appreciate them more calmly than
when our eyes were dazzled by their overpowering
splendor, our attention distracted by their infinite num-
ber, and our nervous system excited by tlie shows. And
we cling to them more fondly — so soon to leave us !

304

APPENDIX.

To leave our gardens, but not our hearts. When, at
the end of this month, the chill evenings come, and cur-
tains are drawn and bright fires glow, who is so happy
as the Rose-grower, with the new catalogues before him ?
The likeness so faithfully painted from the life brings
before him the original in all her grace and beauty ; and
over his glass of Larose, if he has one by him, he utters
the loyal desire of liis heart,

" Floreat Regina Florum!"

305

APPENDIX No. II.

Selected Lists of Roses suitable for various
Purposes — namely, for Exhibition, for Beds,
FOR Walls, and for Cultivation in Pots.

I. Roses for Exhibitimt.

A complete list of all the best Show- Roses will be found at
p. 227-229; but as some amateurs may not be disposed to pur-
chase all the varieties there enumerated, I offer the following
selections for their guidance in ordering a lesser quantity: —

For Twelve, take —

Alfred Colomb, Baroness Rothschild, Charles Lefebvre, Emi-
lie Hausburg, Etienne Levet, Fran9ois Michelon, La France,
Louis Van Houtte, Mar^chal Niel, Marquise de Castellane, Marie
Beaumann, Xavier Olibo.

For Twenty-Four, add to the preceding —

Alfred Williams, Captain Christy, Comtesse d'Oxford, De-
voniensis, Duchesse de Vallombrosa, Duke of Edinburgh, Dupuy
Jamain, Edward Morren, Marie Finger, Pierre Notting, Reynolds
Hole, Souvenir d'un Ami.

For Thirty-Six, add to the preceding —

Camille Bernardin, Comtesse de Serenye, Dr. Andry, Duch-
esse de Caylus, Exposition de Brie, Hippolyte Jamain, Madame

3o6

APPENDIX.

Clemence Joigneaux, Madame Victor Verdier, Marguerite de St.
Amand, Madame Hippolyte Jamain, Souvenir d'Elise, Souvenir
de Spa.

For Forty-Eight, add to the preceding —

Annie Wood, Catherine Mermet, Due de Rohan, Horace
Vernet, Leopold Hausburg, Madame Th^rese Levet, Mademoi-
selle Eugenie Verdier, Marechal Vaillant, Marie Rady, Rubens,
Senateur Vaisse, Victor Verdier.

2. Roses for Walls.

Not quite hardy — The white and yellow Banksian ; Noisettes,
Cloth-of-Gold and Lamarque, Marechal Niel, and Solfaterre; Tea,
Climbing Devoniensis.

Quite hardy — All the Ayrshire and Sempervirens class,
Blairii No. 2, Charles Lawson, Cheshunt Hybrid, Coupe d'Hebe,
General Jacqueminot, Gloire de Bourdeaux, Gloire de Dijon, Belle
Lyonnaise, Madame Berard, Paul Perras, Triomphe de Bayeux,
Climbing Victor Verdier.

3. Roses for Pots.

Abel Grand.
Adam, T.
Alba Rosea, T.
Alfred Colomb.
Alpaide de Rotalier.
Andre Dunand.
Anna Alexieff,
Anna de Diesbach.

Baroness Rothschild.
Baronne Prevost.
Beauty of Waltham.
Belle Lyonnaise, T.

Captain Christy.
Caroline de Sansales.
Celine Forestier, N.
Centifolia Rosea.
Charles Lawson.
Charles Lefebvre.
Comtesse d'Oxford.
Comte de Paris, T.
Coupe d'Hebe, H.B.

Devoniensis, T.
Dr. Andry.
Duchesse d'Orleans.

APPENDIX.

307

Duke of Edinburgh.

Edward Morren.
Emilie Hausburg.

Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Francois Louvat.

General Jacqueminot.
Gloire de Dijon.

Homere, T.
Horace Vernet.

John Hopper.
John S. Mill.
Jules Margottin.

La Boule d'Or, T.

La France.

La Reine.

Louise de Savoie, T.

Madame Boutin.
Madame Bravy, T.
Madame Caillat.
Madame Clemence Joigneaux.
Madame de St. Joseph, T.
Madame Domage.
Madame Falcot, T,
Madame Julie Daran.
Madame Victor Verdier.
Madame Willermorz, T.
Mademoiselle Eugenie Ver-
dier.
Marechal Niel, N.
Marechal Vaillant.

Marguerite de St. Amand.
Marie Beaumann.
Marquise de Castellane.
Marquise de Montemart.
Miss Hassard.
Miss Ingram, H.C.
Monsieur Noman.
Monsieur Woolfield.
Mrs. Bosanquet, C.
Mrs. C. Wood.

Niphetos, T.

Oxonian.

Paul Neron.

Paul Perras.

Paul Ricaut.

Pierre Notting.

President, T.

Princess Mary of Cambridge.

Royal Standard.

Safrano, T.
Senateur Vaisse.
Souvenir d'un Ami, T.
Souvenir de la Malmaison, B.
Souvenir de la Reine d'An-
gleterre.

Thyra Hammerich.
Triomphe de Rennes, N.

Vicomtesse des Cazes,T.
Victor Verdier.

3o8

APPENDIX No. III.

NEW ROSES

The plan which I have advised the amateur to pur-
sue in the formation of a Rose-garden — that is, to buy
his Rose-trees from the nursery and then to multiply
them upon stocks of his own — will be the best for its
future continuance also. The best and the cheapest,
because, although the foundation will be costly (that is
to say, the site, the preparation of the ground, and the
material), the superstructure and the maintenance of
the fabric will not be expensive items. Once possessed
of the most beautiful varieties of the Rose, and planting
every November such a quantity of Briers from the
hedge-row, from cuttings, or from seed, (or of Manetti,
if that should prove the stock most suitable to his soil),
as he may deem desirable, the independent Rosarian
will grow his favorite flower to perfection, year after
year, from his own resources, only requiring in addition
those new looses which promise to be of superior merit,
which are regularly advertised by our English nursery-
men in the spring, and may be had from them in the
month of May.

But how am I to know, the amateur will ask, what
selection to make from the numerous varieties which
are annually announced as ^^superbes, ravissantes, mag-

APPENDIX. 309

nifiques" ? You do not expect me to purchase some
forty Rose-trees at three-and-sixpence apiece, in total
ignorance of their merits — if any? The gentle ama-
teur, perhaps, in his guileless youth, has risen at some
of these gaudy flies, and been painfully pricked by the
hook. He flaps his tail in distrust, whenever he sees
bright wings on the water, and swims off in search of
safer food.

It is quite true that a very large proportion of the glit-
tering gems which are sent to us by the French jewellers
turn out to be paste, and that some of the diamonds are
"Rose" diamonds indeed — that is, not of \\\^ first water;
but we must remember, at the same time, that there
are always some real brilliants among them, and these
the Rosarian who wishes for a perfect collection, and
the exhibitor who would not be left behind in the race,
must obtain at some risk, and at some apparent sacrifice.
He cannot aflbrd to wait a season, until a Rose is proved
to be of superior excellence, but should have the happi-
ness of knowing, when some novelty is applauded by
all, that he purchased it in the preceding May, and that
he will have half-a-dozen trees of it next year in his bud-
ding-ground. These trees, and others of like excel-
lence, will amply compensate for the disappointments
around them, and, if we take only a pecuniary view,
will repay him with interest for his outlay.

I have therefore compiled, from reliable statistics,
two tables for the information and direction of amateurs;
the one designed to prove to him that Roses of supe-
rior merit have been sent out every spring during the last

31 0 APPENDIX.

seventeen years, and the other giving the names of those
who sent them. The first statement should encourage
him to purchase, and the second should be some guide
in his selection. He may reasonably expect that those
Rosarians who have sent us excellent Roses will con-
tinue to do so, and seeing their names attached to the
novelties in the spring lists of our nurserymen (these
names are given in some catalogues, and should be
given in all), he will order with a good courage and
with happy hopes.

I.

A List of the best Roses raised in France and

ELSEWHERE FROM THE YeAR 1 859 TO 1 879, A.D.

1859.

Hybrid Perpetuals
Eugene Appert.
Gloire de Santhenay.
Louis XIV.
Madame Boll.
Madame Charles Crapelet.
Senateur Vaisse.
Victor Verdier.

Bourbon,
Baron Gonella.

Tea.
Due de Magenta.

Noisette,
America.

i860.

Hybrid Perpetuals,.

Due de Cazes.
Madame Furtado.

Bourbon.

Catherine Guillot.
ModMe de Perfection.

1861.

Hybrid Perpetuals.

Alphonse Damaizin.
Charles Lefebvre.
Due de Rohan.
Fran9ois Lacharme.
Madame Boutin.

APPENDIX.

311

Madame Caillat.
Madame Charles Wood.
Madame Clemence Joigneaux.
Madame Julie Daran.
Marechal Vaillant.
Maurice Bernardin.
Olivier Uelhomme,.
Prince Camille de Rohan.
Souvenir de Comte Cavour.
Turenne.
Vicomte Vigier.

1862.

Alfred de Rougemont.
Baronne Adolphe de Roth-
schild.
Beauty of Waltham.
Jean Goujon.
John Hopper.
Laurent Descourt.
Le Rhone.

Prince Henri de Pays Bas.
Vainqueur de Goliath.

Bourbon,

Emotion.
Louis Magottin.

1863.

Hybrid Perpetttals.

Alpaide de Rotalier.
Centifolia Rosea.
Joseph Fiala.

La Duchesse de Morny.
Leopold Premier.
Lord Macaulay.
Madame Victor Verdier.
Marie Beaumann.
Pierre Notting.

1864.

Achille Gonod.
Belle Normande.
Dr. Andry.
Duchesse de Caylus.
Duke of Wellington.
Lord Herbert.
Madame Moreau.
Marguerite de St. Amand.
Xavier Olibo.

Tea,

Marechal Niel.

1865.

Hybrid Perpetiials,

Abel Grand.
Alba Mutabilis.
Alfred Colomb.
Camille Bernardin.
Charles Rouillard.
Exposition de Brie.
Fisher Holmes.
Hippolyte Flandrin.
Jean Lambert.
Josephine Beauharnais.
Madame Fillion.

312

APPENDIX.

Mademoiselle Marguerite

Dombrain.
Mademoiselle Marie Rady.
Marcella.
Prince de Porcia.
William Rollisson.

1866.

Hybrid Perpetuals.

Antoine Ducher.
Black Prince.
Charles Verdier.
Comtesse de Jaucourt.
Felix Genero.
Horace Vernet.
Madame Hausmann.
Madame George Paul.
Madame Ther^se Levet.
Mademoiselle Annie Wood.
Monsieur Noman.
Princess Mary of Cambridge.
Souvenir de Monsieur Boll.
Ville de Lyon.

Tea.

Madame Margottin.

1867.

Hybrid Perpetuals.

Baronne Hausmann.
Boule de Neige.
Christine Nilsson.
Clotnde Rolland.
Coquette des Alpes.

Duchesse d'Aoste.
Elie Morel.
Frangois Fontaine.
La France.
Madame Cirodde.
Madame Noman.
Madame la Baronne de Roth-
schild.
Pitord.

Prince Humbert.
Reine du Midi.
Souvenir de Caillat.

Tea.

Clotilde.

Reine de Portugal.

1 868.

Adolphe Brogniart.
Adrien de Montebello.
Berthe Baron.
Charles Lee.
Clemence Raoux.
Duke of Edinburgh.
Devienne Lamy.
Dupuy Jamain.
Edward Morren.
Emilie Hausburg.
Henri Ledechaux.
Julie Touvais.
Madame Clert.
Madame Creyton.
Madame Jacquier.
Marquis de Montemart.
Miss Ingram.

APPENDIX.

3^3

Nardy Freres.
Perfection de Lyon.
Reine Blanche.
Souvenir de Poiteau.
Thyra Hammerich.
Victor de Bihan.

7><z.

Marie Ducher.
Montplaisir.

1869.

Abbe Girandier.
Auguste Neumann.
Countess of Oxford.
Ferdinand de Lesseps.

General de Milaradovitsch.

Jules Chretien.

Jules Seurre.

La Motte Sanguine.

Louis van Houtte.

Madame Liabaud.

Mademoiselle Eugenie Ver-

dier.
Marquise de Castellane.
Paul Neron.

Tea.

Belle Lyonnaise.
Catherine Mermet.
Madame Berard.
Madame Levet.

1870.

In consequence of the war with Prussia, no New Roses were
exported from Paris, and only some half-dozen from Francv;.
The best of these were:

Captain Lamuret, H. P.

Henri Pages, . H. P.

The following were introduced by the English raisers : —

Lax f on.

Annie Laxton, ......,, H. P.

Princess Louise, H. P.

Prince of Wales, H. P.

Pau/ &^ Son.
Climbing Victor Verdier, . . . .- . • H. P.

3H

APPENDIX.

1871.

Abb^ Bramerel.

Andre Dunand.

Auguste Rigotard.

Baron de Bonstetten.

Baronne Louise Uxkull.

Etienne Levet.

Frangois Michelon.

Le Havre.

Lyonnais,

Madame George Schwartz.

Madame Lefebvre Bernard.

President Thiers.

Richard Wallace.

Teas.

Madame Jules Margottin.
Madame Marie van Houtte.

1872.

Bessie Johnson.
Cheshunt Hybrid.
Madame Lacharme.
Monsieur Claude Levet.
Monsieur Pierre Seletsky.
Reynolds Hole.

Tea.

Perle de Lyon.

1873.

Captain Christy.
Etienne Dupuy.

Madame Nachary.
Marie Finger.
Pauline Talabot.
Souvenir de Spa.
Thomas Mills.

1874.

Comtesse de Serenye.
Hippolyte Jamain.
J. Stuart Mill.
Miss Hassard.
Monsieur E. Y. Teas.
Rev. J. B. Camm.
Royal Standard.
Star of Waltham.
Villaret de Joyeuse.
Wilson Saunders.

1875.

Duchesse de Vallombrosa.

Duke of Connaught.

Empress of India.

Mrs. Baker.

Oxonian.

Sultan of Zanzibar.

1876.

Comtesse Riza du Pare.

Emily Laxton.

Madame Mesnil de Montchau-

veau.
Madame Sophie Fropot.
Madame Verlot.
Mademoiselle Emma All.

APPENDIX.

315

Marie Louise Pernet.
Monsieur Fillion.
Monsieur Gabriel Tournier.
Souvenir de George Sands, T.
Triomphe de Milan, T.

1877.

Cannes la Coquette.
Charles Baltet.
Dean of Windsor.
Egeria.
John Bright.
Lord Beaconsfield.
Madame Marie Verdier.
Madame Welch, T.
Madame Lombard, T.
May Quennell.
Mrs. Laxton.

Paul Nabonnand, T.
Penelope Mayo.
Richard Laxton.

1878.

Alfred K. Williams.
Charles Darwin.
Countess of Rosebery.
Duchess of Bedford.
Emily Plantier.
Harrison Weir.
Innocent Perola.
Louise Dore.
Marquis of Salisbury.
Paul Jamain.
Reine Marie Henriette.
Souvenir de Victor Verdier.
William Koell.

1879.

Among the new Roses sent to us from France in the autumn^
of 1879, we have the announcement of "the most brilliant color
known among Roses" in Gloire de Bourg la Reine, from Margot-
tin; of a perfect Captain Christy in Julhis Finger, from La-
charme ; of an approximation to a yellow H.P. in Madame Oswald
de Kerchove, from Schwartz ; of vigorous Teas from Levet ; and
other charming novelties : but of these, and of Mr. Bennett's most
promising seedlings, I must speak from eyesight, not from hear-
say, hereafter.

3i6

APPENDIX No. III.

PART II.

An Alphabetical List of French and English

rosarians, who have sent out roses of supe-
RIOR Merit from the Year 1859 '^^ ^^75? with
THE Names of the Roses and the Year of
their Introduction.

Beaumann.

Marie Beaumann, . . . . H. P. 1863

Bennett.

Egeria, H. P. 1876

Lord Beaconsfield, H. P. 1876

Madame Welch, . . . . . . T. 1876

Boyan.

Madame Boll, H. P. 1859

Souvenir de Monsieur Boll, . . . . H. P. 1866

Campy.

Alpaide de Rotalier, H. P. 1863

Damaizin.

Abel Grand, H. P. 1865

Hippolyte Flandrin, • . . . . H. P. 1865

Felix Genero, H. P. 1866

Reine Blanche, H. P. 1868

APPENDIX. 317

Jules Chretien, H. P. 1869

Villaret de Joyeuse, H. P. 1874

Ducher.

Gloire de Santhenay, H. P. 1859

Antoine Ducher, H. P. 1866

Ville de Lyon, H. P. 1866

Nardy Freres, H. P. 1868

Perfection de Lyon, H. P. 1868

Marie Ducher, T. 1868

Montplaisir, T. 1868

Perle de Lyon, T. 1872

Maria Theresa, H. P. 1873

Souvenir de George Sands, . . . . H. P. 1876

Triomphe de Milan, H. P. 1876

Innocent Perola, . ■ T. 1878

Fontaine, pere.

Madame Charles Crapelet, . . . . H. P. 1859

Mademoiselle Marie Rady, . . . . H. P. 1865

Fontaine, Charles.

Frangois Fontaine, H. P. 1867

Louise Dore, H. P. 1878

Gantreau.

Camille Bernardin, H. P. 1865

Charles Lee, H. P. 1868

Souvenir de Spa, H. P. 1873

Gonad.

Achille Gonod, H, P. 1864

Madame Moreau, H. P. 1864

Madame Fillion, H. P. 1865

Madame Clert, H. P. 1868

Madame Creyton, . . • . . . H. P. 1868

Madame Liabaud, , . , . . . H. P. 1869

Monsieur Fillion, ...... H. P. 1876

3i8

APPENDIX.

Granger.

Duke of Wellington, ....

H. P.

1864

Exposition de Brie,

. H. P.

1865

Clemence Raoux, ....

H. P.

1868

Edward Morren, .....

. H. P.

1868

Guillot, pere.

S6nateur Vaisse,

H. P.

1859

Baron Gonella,

B.

1859

•Charles Verdier,

H. P.

1866

Monsieur Noman,

. H. P.

1866

Madame Noman,

H. P.

1867

Victor de Bihan,

. H. P.

1868

Countess of Oxford, ....

H. P.

1869

Guillot, fits.

Le Rhone,

H. P.

1862

Josephine Beauharnais, ....

. H. P.

1865

Horace Vernet,

H. P.

1866

Madame Margottin,

T.

1866

La France,

H. P.

1867

Reine de Portugal,

T.

1867

Madame Jacquier, ....

H. P.

1868

Catherine Mermit,

T.

1869

Mademoiselle Eugenie Verdier,

H. P.

1869

Abbe Bramerel, .....

. H. P.

1871

Baronne Louise Uxkull,

H. P.

1871

yaniain.

Madame Boutin,

H. P.

1861

Dupuy Jamain, .....

. H. P.

1868

Madame Mesnil de Montchauveau,

H. P.

1876

Paul Jamain, ......

. H. P.

1878

Lacharme.

Virginal, ......

H. P.

1858

Victor Verdier,

. H. P.

1859

APPENDIX.

319

Charles Lefebvre, H. P.. 1861

Baronne Adolphe de Rothschild, . . . H. P. 1862

Xavier Olibo, H. P. 1864

Alfred Colomb, H. P. 1865

Pitord, H. P. 1867

Louise van Houtte, H. P. 1869

Lyonnais, H. P. 1871

President Thiers, H. P. 1871

Madame Lacharme, H. P. 1872

Captain Christy, H. P. 1873

Marie Finger H. P. 1873

Comtesse de Serenye, . . . . . H. P. 1874

Hippolyte Jamain, . . . . H. P. 1874

Madame Lombard, T. 1877

Lax ton.

Annie Laxton, H. P. 1869

Princess Louise, H. P. 1869

Prince of Wales, H. P. 1869

Empress of India, . , . . . . H. P. 1874

Emily Laxton, H. P. 1876

Mrs. Laxton, H. P. 1877

Charles Darwin, H. P. 1878

Lecomte.

Marechal VaiUant, H. P. 1861

Leroy, Andre.

Celine Forestier, ...... N. 1858

Levet.

Madame Therese Levet, . . . H. P. 1866

Abbe Girandier, H. P. 1869

Belle Lyonnaise, ..... T. 1869

Madame Levet, ..... T. 1869

Paul Neron, H. P. 1869

320

APPENDIX.

Fran9ois Michelon, ....

Mons. Etienne Levet,

Madame Lefehvre Bernard.

Mons. Claude Levet,

Mons. Pierre Seletski,

Mons. Etienne Dupuy,

Madame Sophie Fropot,

Mons. Gabriel Tournier,

Reine Marie Henriette,

Leveque et fih.

Due de Rohan, ....

Baronne Hausmann,

Emilie Hausburg,

Devienne Lamy, ....

General de Milaradovitsch,

Richard Wallace, ....

Madame Louis Leveque,

Liabaud.

Madame Clemence Joigneaux,

Laurent Descourt,

Marcella, . . . .

Elie Morel,

Marquise de Montemart,

Jules Seurre,

Baron de Bonstetten,

Mademoiselle Emma All,

Afargottin.

Jean Goujon,
Louis Margottin,
Bernard Palissy,
Prince Humbert,
Adolphe Brogniart,
Adrien de Montebello,

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
B.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

1871
1871
1871
1872.
1872

1873
1876
1876
1878

1861
1867
186&
1868
1869
1871
1872

i86r
1862
1865
1867
1868
1869
1871
1876

1862
1862
1863
1867
1868
1868

APPENDIX.

321

Leopold IL, .
Souvenir de Poiteau,

yabonnand.

Cannes la Coquette.
Madame Nabonnand,
Paul Nabonnand,

Paul <^ Son.

Lord Clyde,

Princess Mary of Cambridge,

Duke of Edinburgh,

Cheshunt Hybrid,

Reynolds Hole,

Wilson Saunders,

Duke of Connaught,

Sultan of Zanzibar,

John Bright,

Marquis of Salisbury,

R. G. Baker,

Beauty of Waltham,
Lord Macaulay,
Lord Herbert,
Black Prince,
Star of Waltham, .
May Quennell,
Countess of Rosebery,
Duchess of Bedford,

Paul

William

H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
T.
T.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
T.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
PL P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

1868
1868

1877
1877
1877

1863
1866
1868
1872
1872
1874
1875
1875
I877
1878
1879

1862
1863
1864
1866

1875
1877
1878
1878

* Beauty of Waltham, Lord Clyde, and Duke of Edinburgh,
were, I believe, raised from seed by Messrs. George and William
Paul when in partnership. Lord Macauly, Lord Herbert, and Black
Prince were imported from France by Mr. William Paul, and Princess
Mar}' of Cambridge by Messrs. Paul & Son.

32 2 APPENDIX.

Pernet.

Vainqueur do Goliath, H. P. 1862

Madame la Baroiine de Rothschild, . . . H. P. 1867

Marquise de Castellane, . . . . II. P. 1869

Souvenir de General Douai, . . . . H. P. 1871

Marie Louise Pernet H. P. 1876

William Koell, H. P. 1878

Portemer.

Pierre Notting H. P. 1863

Rigotard, Angus te.

Duchesse de Vallombrosa, .... II. P. 1875

Robert et Moreau.

Souvenir de Charles Montault. . . . H. P. 1862

Rolland.

Clotilde Rolland, . • . . . . H. P. 1867

Reine du Midi, H. P. 1867

Clotilde, T. 1867

Sansal.

Marguerite de St. Amand, . . . . H. P. 1864

Schwartz.

Madame George Schwartz, . . . . H. P. 1871

Comtesse Riza du Pare, . , . . H. P. 1876

Alfred K. Williams, H. P. 1878

Emily Plantier, HP. 1878

Soupert et N'otting.

Prince Plenri de Pays Bas, . . . . H. P. 1862

Touvais.

Centifolia Rosea, H. P. 1863

Julie Touvais, H. P. 1868

APPENDIX. 323

Turner.

Miss Ingram,* H. P. 1868

Lord Napier H. P. 1869

J. Stuart Mill, H. P. 1874

Rev. J. B. Camm, H. P. 1874

Miss Hassard, H. P. 1874

Royal Standard, H. P. 1874

Oxonian, ....... H. P. 1875

Mrs. Baker, H. P. 1875

Dean of Windsor, H. P. 1877

Penelope Mayo, . . . " . . . H. P. 1877

Richard Laxton, H. P. 1877

Harrison Weir, H. P. 1878

Vanasche.

Leopold Premier, H. P. 1863

Verdier, Charles.

Madame Cirodde, H. P. 1867

Verdier, Eugene.

Madame Caillat, H. P. 1861

Madame Charles Wood, H. P. 1861

Prince Camille de Rohan, . . . . H. P. 1861

Joseph Fiala, H. P. 1863

La Duchesse de Morny, . . . . H. P. 1863

Madame Victor Verdier, H. P. 1863

Dr. Andry, ....... H. P. 1864

Marechal Niel,** T. 1864

* This beautiful but delicate Rose was raised from seed by Mr.
Ingram of the Royal Gardens, Frogmore, and sent out by Mr. C.
Turner, of the Royal Nursery, Slough.

** Sent out by E. V., but not raised by him. This happiness,
which would, I fear, have turned my brain, immortalizes Pradel, a
gardener (as I am told) in the neighborhood of Montauban.

324

APPENDIX.

Alba Mutabilis, ....

Charles Rouillard,

Fisher Holmes, ....

Jean Lambert,

Mademoiselle Marguerite Dombrain,

Prince de Porcia,

William Rollisson,

Madame George Paul,

Madame Hausmann,

Mademoiselle Annie Wood,

Souvenir de Caillat, . . .

Auguste Neumann, .

Ferdinand de Lesseps,

Thomas Mills, ....

Pauline Talabot, ....

Monsieur E. Y. Teas,

Madame Verlot, ....

Charles Baltet,

Madame Marie Verdier,

Souvenir de Victor Verdier,

Verdier, Victor.

Madame Furtado,
Fran9ois Lacharme,
Olivier Delhomme,
Vicomte Vigier,
Henry Ledechaux,
Thyra Hammerich,

Berthe Baron,
John Hopper,

Viellard. Baron

Ward.

H. P.

H. P.
H. P.

H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.
H. P.
H. P.

H. P.
H. P.

H. P.

H. P.

1865
1865
1865
1865
1865
1865
1865
1866
1866
1866
1867
1869
1869
1873
1873
1874
1876
1877
1877
1878

i860
1 861
1 861
1861
1868
1868

1868

1862

325

INDEX.

Aphis, the, 299, 300.
Arrangement of Rose-gar-
den, 104.
Artisans, Roses of, 13.
Austrian Brier, the, 190.
Ayrshire Roses, 142.
Banksian Roses, 144.
Bones as manure, 87.
Bourbon Roses, 195.
Boursault Roses, 146.
Boxes for exhibition, 245.
Brier, the, as a stock, 232.
Briers, management of, 238.
Budding Roses, 239,
Caps for Roses, 250.
China Roses, 191.
Classification of Roses, 183.
Clay soil, management of 76.
Climbing Roses, 126.
Colors, arrangement of, 260.
Cost of Roses, 52, 229.
Damask Roses, 193.
Exhibitor, the Irascible, 273.

*' the Covetous, 277.

'' the Despondent, 280.
Failure, causes of, 8, 54 et seq
French Rosarians, 309.

Gallica Roses, 182.
Garden Roses, 163.
Gardens, past and present,

109.
Greece, Rose^ of, 37.
Guano, 88.

Hedges of the Rose, 57.
Horticultural Clubs, 211.
Hybrid Perpetual Roses,

194.
Judging Roses, 282.
Larva of saw-fly, 302.
Light soil, management of, 78.
Manetti Rose, the, as a

stock, 231.
Manures, 84.

" when to apply, 94.
Marechal Niel, culture of,

133-
Memoranda for the months,

291.
Mildew, 301.

Moss for Show-Roses, 247.
Moss-Roses, 178.
National Rose-Show, 207.
" " revival of,

199.

326

INDEX.

New Roses, 308 et seq.
Nightsoil, 89.
Noisette Roses, 197.
Old Monthly Rose, 191.
Pillar or Pyramidal Roses,

148.
Planting Briers, 238, 293.
" Roses, 229, 292.
Preparation for Rose-Show,

253-
Provence Roses, 169.
Pruning, 292, 296.
Roman Roses, 39.
Rosarians, the old, 199.
Rose-grub, the, 297.
Roses, best form of tram

ing, 120.
Roses for exhibition, 221, 305.

" for walls, 306.

" for pots, 306.
Rose-Shows, history of, 206.

Seedling Briers, 234.
Show- Rose, definition of,

224.
Show-Roses, when to cut,

255-
Site for Rose-garden, 53.
Soils, 66.
Soot, 87, 301.
Stocks for Roses, 235.
Supremacy of the Rose, 47.
Sweet-Brier, the, 188.
Tall Standards, 160.
Tea Roses, 264.

" pruning, 295.
Town gardens, Roses for,

64.
Tubes for exhibition, 249.
Ubiquity of the Rose, 42.
Variegated Roses. 180.
Walks, 118.
Weeping Rose-trees, 161.

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" We owe to Eckstein the brilliant romance of ' Quintus Claudius,*
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Therefore, in 'Aspasia,' we are given a book, which could only pro-
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book that does not depict fiery passions in dramatic conflict, but with
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ANTINOUS

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" Antinous, a Romance of Ancient Rome, from the
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of those faithful reproductions of ancient manners, cus-
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The story deals with the old age of the Emperor Hadrian
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MARIA^ELA.— By B. Perez Gald^s, from the Spanish
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"Galdos is not a novelist, in the sense that now attaches to
that much-abused word, but a romancer, pure and simple, as
much so as Hawthorne was, though his intentions are less spir-
itual, and his methods more material. Marianela is the story
of a poor, neglected outcast of a girl, an orphan who is tolerated
by a family of miners, as if she were a dog or a cat ; who is
fed when the humor takes them and there is any food that can
be spared, and who is looked down upon by everybody; and a
boy Pablo, who is older than she, the son of a well-to-do landed
proprietor, whose misfortune it is (the boy's, we mean) that
he was born blind. His deprivation of sight is almost supplied
by the eyes of Marianela, who waits upon him, and goes with
him in his daily wanderings about the mining country of Socartes,
until he knows the whole country by heart and can when need
is find his way everywhere alone. As beautiful as she is homely,
he forms an ideal of her looks, based upon her devotion to
him, colored by his sensitive, spiritual nature, and he loves her,
or what he imagines she is, and she returns his love — with fear
and trembling, for ignorant as she is she knows that she is not
what he believes her to be. They love as two children might,
naturally, fervently, entirely. The world contains no woman so
beautiful as she, and he will marry her. The idyl of this young
love is prettily told, with simplicity, freshness, and something
which, if not poetry, is yet poetic. While the course of true love
is running smooth with them (for it does sometimes in spite of
Shakespeare) there appears upon the scene a brother of the chief
engineer of the Socartes mines who is an oculist, and he, after a
careful examination of the blind eyes of Pablo, undertakes to per-
form an operation upon them which he thinks may enable the lad
to see. About this time there also comes upon the scene a brother
of Pablo's father, accompanied by his daughter, who is very beau-
tiful. The operation is successful, and Pablo is made to see. He
is enchanted with the loveliness of his cousin, and disenchanted of
his ideal of Marianela, who dies heart-broken at the fate which
she knew would be hers if he was permitted to see her as she was.
This is the story of Marianela, which would have grown into a
poetic romance under the creative mind and shaping hand of
Hawthorne, and which, as conceived and managed by Galdos, is
a realistic one of considerable grace and pathos. It possesses the
charm of directness and simplicity of narrative, is written with
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GLORIA.— A NOVEL, by B. Perez Gald6s, from the
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*'B. Perez Galdos is like a whirlwind, resistless as he sweeps
everything before him, while beneath, the waters of passion foam
and heave and are stirred to their depths. Some chapters of this
novel are absolutely agonizing in their intensity of passion, and
the surge and rush of words bears the reader along breathless and
terrified, till he finds himself almost ready to cry out. In others,
the storm is lulled and the plash of waves is as musical as the
author's native tongue. In others still, he drones through the
lazy summer day, and the reader goes to sleep. However, the
story as a whole is stormy, and the end tragic ; yet we are lost in
wonder at the man who can so charm us.

*' It is throughout a terrible impeachment of religious intoler-
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of Englishmen or of Americans we should say that it must mark
an epoch in the political and religious history of the country. Even
written as it is by a Spaniard, and for Spaniards, allowing as we
must for Spanish impulsiveness and grandiloquence, which says a
great deal to express a very little, we cannot but beheve that the
work is deeply significant. It is written by a young man and one
who is rapidly rising in power and influence ; and when he speaks
it is with a vehement earnestness which thrills one with the con-
viction that Spain is awaking. 'Fresh air,' cries he, of Spain,
'open air, free exercise under every wind that blows above or be-
low ; freedom to be dragged and buffeted, helped or hindered, by
all the forces that are abroad. Let her tear off her mendicant's
hood, her grave-clothes and winding-sheet, and stand forth in the
bracing storms of the century. Spain is like a man who is ill from
sheer apprehension, and cannot stir for blisters, plasters, bandages
and wraps. Away with all this paraphernalia, and the body will
recover its tone and vigor.' Again : * Rebel, rebel, your intelli-
gence is your strength. Rise, assert yourself; purge your eyes of
the dust which darkens them, and look at truth face to face.'
Strange language this for Spain of the Inquisition, for bigoted,
unprogressive, Catholic Spain. The author goes to the root of
Spanish decadence ; he fearlessly exposes her degradation and de-
clares its cause. All students of Spanish history will find here
much that is interesting besides the story." — The Yale Literary
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A Whimsical Wooing

BY

ANTON GIULIO BARRILI

Author of "The Eleventh Commandment."

From the Italian by CLARA BELL

"Some months ago we had occasion to praise a pleas-
ant novel of modem Italian life by the author of the
above story. The present is not less deserving of praise.
It is just the very thing to play as an afterpiece. Cast
into purely dramatic form — indeed, without any change
at all — it would form a sparkUng little comedietta for a
private theatrical party. The little volume is most
charming ; it is very brief, but every line sparkles ; and
we find it all too short." — Toronto Mail.

" ' A Whimsical Wooing ' is the richly-expressive
title under which ' Clara Bell ' introduces a cleverly-
narrated episode by Anton Guilio Barrili to American
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strong, but nevertheless discreet in sentiment and grace-
ful in diction. It is the old story of the fallacy of
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The Elerentl GoHandineit

A ROMANCE

BY

ANTON GIULIO BARRILI

From the Italian by Clara Bell

" It is an attractive little novel, spirited in plot, and
marked by a charming grace in the telling. It is at
once bright, witty and delicate, is simple in design, but
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logical meditation. The characters are all well drawn,
especially those of the serious-minded prior, the obese
and tractable uncle, and the grandiloquent sub-prefect.
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A PRACTICAL METHOD

FOR

Learning Spanish

BY

A. RAMOS DIAZ DE VILLEGAS

" Spanish is not under any circumstances a difficult language
to learn. It has in its construction and pronunciation an encour-
agint; directness very unlike the grammatical involutions of German
and the delicate sound -shadings of French. Working in accord-
ance with the rules of almost any 'system,' a diligent student can
in a very little while acquire a fair mastery of the language; though
it is true that some of the * systems ' are much more difficult than
others. One of the simplest and best of them all is * A Practical
Method for Learning Spanish,' by Seiior A. Ramos Diaz de
Villegas, just now published by William S. Gottsberger, New York.
The ' method ' of Sefior de Villegas comprehends a collection of
anecdotes arranged in short lines with an English translation,
similarly arranged, on the corresponding opposite page ; familiar
phrases, with idiomatic renderings in English in parallel columns ;
a vocabulary of words in common use, and a complete list of the
Spanish irregular verbs. It will be observed that this method
hardly can be called original ; that it is more or less that of Morales,
of Velazquez, of Prendergast, and that some of its features are
found in Ollendorff and in Ahn ; but in simplicity of arrangement
and directness of purpose it is superior to all of these — Prendergast
possibly excepted. It certainly is what it is called — a practical
method for learning Spanish. With a relatively small outlay of
mental exertion it produces exceptionally good results." — Philadel-
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