274 



THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



roses. For instance, there is a short 

 introductory article on the cultiva- 

 tion of the phlox ; a select list of 

 orchard-house trees ; and, indeed, 

 eighty-four paj2;e3 of descriptive letter- 

 press of shrub?, fruits, and flowers, 

 etc., from the most ordinary to the 

 most recherche. Here, again, that 

 most desirable feature of specifying 

 town roses by the letter T, has been 

 adopted this season. The collection 

 consists only of the choicest sorts, 

 space being too valuable so near the 

 metropolis to render it worth while 

 to cultivate by-gone or inferior va- 

 rieties, but the favourites are culti- 

 vated in large numbers. There is one 

 point to be gleaned from all these 

 catalogues of particxilar encourage- 

 ment to the lovers of the rose, 

 whether they intend to become culti- 

 vators, or to replenish their stock, 

 viz., that a considerable reduction has 

 taken place this year in the price of 

 plants. * 



"With the numerous features of 

 excellence remarked upon above, it 

 would appear, perhaps, that little 

 more could be desired on behalf of 

 amateurs, which, indeed, is the fact, 

 so long as the system of alphabetic 

 arrangement is employed. That has, 

 however, always appeared to me a 

 somewhat loose and unsatisfactory 

 basis. "Would it not be preferable 

 if a more accurate method of classi- 

 fication could be brought abovit? 

 Suppose, for example, certain leading 

 kinds, distinct in habit of growth, 

 were selected as types, and their 

 seedlings, and those of similar cha- 

 racteristics referred to them. We 

 might then have, among others, the 



robust, upright growers, the long, 

 vigorous growers, the dwarf growers, 

 the slender, free growers, the short- 

 jointed growers, the twiggy growers, 

 etc., and the smooth-wooded kinds, 

 and the kinds with spines like a 

 hedgehog's back, divided from each 

 other, and forming distinct sections, 

 so that if the habit of one of a class 

 were known the rest could be deter- 

 mined, and so adapted for special 

 purposes. There are some styles of 

 growth that never succeed in certain 

 localities. I do not know one, per- 

 haps, of the growth and habit of the 

 " Geant," that thrives satisfactorily 

 close to London. Wm. Griffiths, 

 again, is by no means a successful 

 type to venture upon in unfavourable 

 localities. At present, " free," " vig." 

 and "robust," convey very little 

 reliable idea to those unacquainted 

 with given varieties. Ophirie, Jac- 

 queminot, Jules, Victor Verdier, 

 Louise Darzin8,Gloire de Santhenay, 

 and others, are all described as 

 " vigorous," yet how different the 

 characteristic growth of each. A 

 similar looseness of desci-iption, I have 

 remarked before, pertains to the shape 

 of flowers. It would, however, re- 

 quire greater experience, a longer 

 acquaintance with the flower, and a 

 wider field of observation than falls 

 to the lot of amateurs to execute the 

 task thoroughly. Mr. Wm, Paul 

 or Mr. E-ivers might accomplish it, 

 nay, I do not despair even of one 

 day seeing the able and apcomplished 

 pen of Mr. Hibberd himself engaged 

 in the undertaking. 



W. D. Peiob. 

 Somerton, Nov. 11. 



ON SPEIN& BULBS.— AEUM DEACITNCULUS. 



In the dark of the November days, 

 in murky fogs, and still unceasing 

 rain, we bury our bulbs in the dank 

 earth. Above them shall howl the 

 savage blast, " from thrilling regions 

 of the thick-ribbed ice;" while far 

 beneath them shall the frost-king 

 delve and clutch them in his stony 

 hands. Little semblance bear the 

 rough, hard bulbs to the light 



tracery of leaf and stem — to the tints, 

 delicate as the blush of maidenhood, 

 rosy as childhood's cheek, gorgeous 

 as the hues of heaven's prismatic bow 

 — which shall burst from them at 

 the call of spring. Speak they not 

 lovingly to us of our own change — 

 of the time when "the fulness of 

 glory that is to be revealed " shall be 

 unfolded to us by the Great Spirit 



