AUGUST. 227 



ON TOWN ROSES. 



" Can Roses be cultivated successfully near London, and in the imme- 

 diate neighbourhood of our large manufacturing touTis?" This is a 

 question frequently asked of the writer, and among the many articles 

 met with in periodical literature on the culture of the Rose, he does not 

 remember to have seen town Roses made a matter of special considera- 

 tion. It is proposed, then, in the present paper, to inquire — 1st, How 

 far Roses are cultivable in a smoky atmosphere ; 2d, What are the 

 kinds best suited for such conditions ; and 3d, What the best method of 

 cultivation. 



First, then, "With what success may Roses be cultivated in the 

 vicinity of large towns, such as London, Manchester, Glasgow, &c. ? " 

 In reply to this, I may state that my conviction is that they may be 

 gro\\m as near the heart of any of these cities as ground is hkely to be 

 obtained for gardening purposes : — Holloway, Kennington, Clapton, and 

 Bayswater, round London ; Stretford and Broughton, round ^lan- 

 chester ; Partick by Glasgow ; Edgbaston and Gib Heath, round Bir- 

 mingham. At all these places have I seen Roses flourishing and 

 blossoming as if they had never known or wished for a purer air or 

 sunnier clime. And even disappointment, where it occurs, is generally 

 upheld by some shadow of hope ; " while numbers fail," says the 

 puzzled tyro, " a few live on and flourish, though all were subjected to 

 similar treatment, and all growing in similar soil." 



Often the inquiries are quahfied by statements of partial failures, 

 and the quality of the plants is questioned, when, if the reasoner were 

 accustomed to deduce inferences from facts, the selection of sorts or after 

 treatment would have been the real and apparent cause of the difficulty 

 and disappointment. The practical man finds here at once a clue to 

 the mystery ; failures too often lie in the non- suitability of the sorts 

 chosen. Let us, however, deal with a case which brings this first 

 question to a closer issue ; it is that of the Roses planted by the Royal 

 Botanic Society in the Regent's Park, London. This plantation was 

 made in the winter of 1851 -2, when the ground was in an unfavour- 

 able state, and blooming the first year was hardly looked for. We 

 must confess the experiment so far conducted quite realised our expecta- 

 tions. In the spring following (every pains having been taken during 

 the interim) they appeared in a condition to flower magnificently, and 

 continued so till within a few weeks of the flowering season, when an 

 unusually long prevalence of easterly winds marred their beauty. Yet 

 they did not all fail. Some there were — the few not the many — which 

 escaped the scathings of the storms, and blossomed, breathing beauty, 

 sweetness, and brilliancy upon the too desolate scene. 



Here, in London, some sorts were found to thrive, and many more, 

 no doubt, would have done so, but for a season so untoward as to affect 

 Roses in the most favoured localities. So satisfied, indeed, are the 

 authorities of these gardens of the suitability of certain kinds for a 

 London climate, that they intend reintroducing such in other parts of 

 the garden. Let it not be said, then, that Roses will not grow round 



Q 2 



