364 



REMARKS ON ROSES. 



and soon make very large heads, which, if 

 properly trained, are splendid when in 

 bloom. 



Still following Mr, Rivers, we come to 

 six Roses of the finest forms, viz. Boule 

 d'j^uteuil, Coupe d'Hcbe, Kean, La rolupte, 

 Rose Devigne, and Triomphe de Jaxissens. 



The six " earliest large Roses,"all taken 

 from the hybrid Chinas, are Blairii No. 2, 

 FalgCTis, George 4.th, Mugna rosea, Neplus 

 ultra, and Triomphe d' Angers. 



For six of the earliest small Roses, we 

 take JBurgutidi/, Chinese, Su^eet-briar, Per- 

 sian Yellow, the finest of all yellows ; Rose 

 de Meaux, Moss Pompone, and Sponge's 

 Rose. 



The six latest Roses, are Baron Prevost, 

 Doctor Marx, Duchess of Sutherland, Lady 

 Alice Peel, Madame Laffay, and Mrs. Elliott, 

 all hybrid perpetuals but one. 



Now when it is considered that few per- 

 sons, if any, have grown Roses so exten- 

 sively as Mr. Rivers, it is certainly an ad- 

 mission of no small value on his part, that 

 these selections of forty-seven flowers, are 

 the most distinguished for peculiar and de- 

 sirable qualities. Making due allowance 

 for difference of taste and opinion, they 

 may be regarded as worthy of the amateur's 

 best attention. To the growers of small 

 collections, a better choice could scarcely 

 be made ; we therefore endorse Mr. Rivees' 

 recommendation as tested by our own expe- 

 rience. 



The first step towards growing Roses, is 

 unquestionably to procure them. But there 

 is some difficulty even in this procedure, 

 for all who cultivate them for sale, are by 

 no means so careful or so honest as they 

 profess to be. In private gardens, none but 

 the best should be tolerated ; these we have 

 enumerated in our first article, and refer to 

 it for the specific lists ; yet we are bound to 

 say, that dL.s first ra^e flowers are rather scarce, 



sovie of those mentioned may be deficient 

 in the essential properties which go to make 

 up a. perfect Rose. If the amateur wishes 

 to know what these essential properties are, 

 we take pleasure in giving him the infor- 

 mation, from a firsi-rate authority,* and 

 add our full conviction of their great value 

 to the science of horticulture. 



There is no flower more difficult to define 

 than the Rose, and the difficulty arises out 

 of several curious facts. First, the Rose is 

 the only flower that is beautiful in all its 

 stages — from the instant the calyx bursts, 

 and shows a bit of, the tinted corolla, till it 

 is in full bloom. Secondly, it is the only 

 flower that is rich in its confusion, or, that 

 is not the less elegant for the total absence 

 of all ovder and uniformity. The very fact 

 of its being beautiful from the moment the 

 calyx opens, makes the single and semi- 

 double kinds, up to a certain stage, as good 

 as the perfectly double ones, and there is 

 yet another point in the construction of some 

 varieties, which make them lose their beau- 

 ty when they become full blown. For in- 

 stance, the Moss Rose is a splendid object 

 so long as the calyx is all seen, but so soon 

 as the flower fully opens, all distinction be- 

 tween it and a common one is concealed. 

 From this one fact, we insist that Roses 

 when exhibited, must be divided in distinct 

 classes, for the purpose of displaying their 

 most distinguished properties to the best 

 advantage. The grand feature oi a Moss 

 Rose then, is its calyx, and this can never be 

 fairly estimated by full blown flowers; 

 therefore, all varieties of Moss must be 

 shown before the flower has expanded. In 

 the present state of Horticulture, we can 

 hardly admit that any other than perfectly 

 double Roses should be grown. A new color 

 should alone justify the saving of any Rose 

 if it were only semi-dou ble or single. Now, 



• Glennt's Properties of Flowers. 



