250 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Morrill: Columbus is not as good in quality as Smith or Down- 

 ing. I have tried them two years, but I think they are far superior to 

 any large gooseberry of that type that I have ever seen. 



Mr. Ellis: Whitesmith, is that the one you are speaking of, the 

 English? 



Mr. Willard: There has been a confusion. The Whitesmith is an 

 English gooseberry. They are shaped somewhat alike, though the 

 Whitesmith is the larger. 



Mr. Ellis: Our local society, over forty years ago, raised Whitesmith 

 and Grand Bordeaux, and for two or three years they were tested, with 

 thirty or forty other kinds of fruit, and they were finally discarded on 

 account of mildew. In this locality, I think Mr. Kirk is the only man who 

 has succeeded in raising it and ascertaining the method of raising the 

 English gooseberry to perfection and getting a crop nearly every year. It is 

 done, practically as he says, by pruning in June and at other times, with- 

 out the use of Bordeaux mixture, which will have practically the same 

 effect. In reference to the red raspberry, the crops which Mrs. Trine 

 had were due largely to her methods of keeping the plants in the hill and 

 trimming them back. 



Mr. Helme: I believe our society is forty years old, and in early time* 

 we took up all of these English gooseberries — Whitesmith, etc. We 

 bought a quantity and distributed them among ourselves, and we pro- 

 nounced them a failure because we couldn't keep mildew off. 



THE ROSE. 



BY MISS HELEN NICKERSON OP ADRIAN. 



If you had attended the June meeting of the Lenawee County Horti- 

 cultural Society and seen the display of flowers, table after table loaded 

 with wealth of beautiful roses, you would have exclaimed, as did one of 

 our ladies, 



Roses, roses, everywhere; 

 What with roses can compare? 



And I ask you, what can compare with our beautiful Queen of Flowers '^ 

 In history the rose dates back to the garden of Eden. It figures largely 

 in poetry, song, and legend. The ancient Romans made great use of roses 

 on their festal occasions. There is a valley in the vicinity of Jerusalem 

 that is called "Solomon's Rose Garden." A notable period in history is 

 known as the "War of Roses," when the rival Dukes of York and Lan- 

 caster had the rose emblazoned on their shields — the Duke of York choos- 

 ing the white, that of Lancaster the red. 



Tradition states that all roses were originally white, and how the red 

 rose originated is not fully known. One legend is that at Bethlehem a 

 fair maiden was falsely accused of crime and sentenced to be burned at 

 the stake. She cried unto God for deliverance, the fire was quenched, 

 and from the brand sprung the red rose. Another legend is that Cupid, 



