What Americans Are Doing to Better American Roses 



By W. R. Pierson. 



The subject of roses is near and dear to me, and 

 my regret is that I am not able to fully express to 

 you the mingled sentiments which come to me with 

 the beauties of a well-ordered rose garden, and with 

 the perfectly formed flower. 



There are senciments above the purely commercial 

 instincts which every rosarian must possess to be suc- 

 cessful, and these are the full appreciation of the 

 wonders and beauties of these creations of nature. It 

 is not alone form, color and fragrance which impress 

 one, for the clement in color that we call "life" seems 

 to dominate all else. It does not necessarily glisten 

 with any particular shade of color, for the element of 

 "life" is very strong in varieties that represent the 

 widest range of color. That element of life in color 

 is what appeals to you, making the flower not a dead 

 color study, but a living work of art, and is entirely 

 distinct from artificial coloring. It is one of the real 

 things which can be copied, but which cannot be 

 equaled. 



The rose of today is the result of years of patient 

 breeding, and the development has been very slow. 

 It has been successful for the same reason that it has 

 been slow. It has taken patience to produce rose 

 seedlings, and those who have raised them have suf- 

 fered man}' keen disappointments. I do not happen 

 to be personall}' acquainted with all the rose breeders 

 of this country and Europe, and you will note that I 

 place our own country first in this connection, but 

 some of these men have told me of their work, and 

 how results were achieved. The introduction of the 

 Polyantha blood brought out Crimson Rambler, which 

 has made a host of rose lovers, not because of any 

 special beauty in the variety itself, but for the fact that 

 it would withstand our rigorous winters, and be a 

 source of |)leasure for a few short weeks each succeed- 

 ing year. 



To the great rose loving public the next breeding 

 which brought a new race and a nation wide interest 

 in roses was the introduction of the Wichuriana blood, 

 giving us that class of roses known as the Hybrid 

 Wichurianas. In these we have a great variation in 

 type and color of bloom, a mildew-proof foliage, and a 

 hardiness unsurpassed by any. The crossing of Perle 

 des Jardins with Wichuriana produced Gardenia and 

 Manda's Triumph, which showed the way to great 

 possibilities, and today we have that wonderful race 

 of roses bred by Walsh and others, which have given 

 us Hiawatha, Dorothj^ Perkins, Lady Gay, American 

 Pillar and Excelsa. These, with the scarlet Hybrid 

 Wichuriana Sodenia, which comes to us from ^\'ie- 

 gand in Germany, will eventually replace the Crimson 

 Rambler, the foliage of which is subject to mildew. 



The Hybrid Perpetual or Remontant, as it should 

 be called, for the name "perpetual" is a misnomer, this 

 class not being perpetual bloomers, has made less ad- 

 vance in recent years, and today we find Paul Neyron, 

 Clio, Mrs. Sharman Crawford, Mme. Gabriel Luizet, 

 Prince Camille de Rohan and Frau Karl Druschki 

 holding their own against all comers. In the Rugosas 

 and the Swcetbricrs we find the same conditions, the 

 attention being fixed on other types, but we find the 

 Polyantha class coming to the front with wonderful 

 strides, the majority of these new varieties coming ' 

 from France. 



It is not many years since Mme. Norbet Levavasseur 



came into prominence for the reason that it will flower 

 for Easter with the plantsman, and it was grown in 

 large quantities. From the house to the garden was 

 the next step and its place was assured, blooming from 

 spring until frost, and adding to the rose garden a 

 new charm. Mrs. Cutbush, Jessie, Orleans, and the 

 white variety, Katherina Zeimet, followed, and now 

 we have the new roses superseding them in all good 

 qualities, Bordure, Triomphe Orleanais, and the new 

 Baby Tausendschon, making the older \-arieties look 

 tO' their laurels. 



Tea roses have made progress, but lacking the 

 h3'brid blood their advance has been less rapid. Wm. 

 R. Smith, the Cdchets and Lady Hillingdon are our 

 best Tea roses for the garden, and they all need ample 

 winter protection. 



I have left the consideration of the Hybrid Tea 

 roses until the last. You who know greenhouse roses 

 will remember how Killarney fought for life ; how it 

 was tried and discarded, and came back to claim its 

 right to be considered the greatest rose of the century. 

 This was not a triumph for Killarney alone, but for 

 the Hybrid Tea rose. Sparse of foliage and subject to 

 black spot, nevertheless it produced the bloom and 

 built more greenhouses than any one variety of plant 

 that ever existed. Killarney has become a family, not 

 a variety. The sports of Killarney today are the com- 

 ing roses of commerce. Killarney Queen and the new 

 Killarney Brilliant are the best examples of these. 

 Killarney Queen excelling in color and Killarney Bril- 

 liant in petalage and habit of growth. 



In yellow roses we must acknowledge the greatness 

 of Pernet. His seedlings, carrying the yellow color in 

 predominance, or at least ^-ellow at the base of the 

 petals, have put the yellow roses on a par with the 

 other colors. Mrs. Aaron Ward and Sunburst are of 

 his breeding, and these must be ranked as our finest 

 in that color. 



The work of John Cook has been characterized by 

 the production of strong growing varieties. The best 

 known of these are My Maryland and Radiance ; to 

 this variety we must accord the honor of being tlie 

 finest -American pink rose for the garden. It is hardy 

 under all conditions, and a profuse bloomer until the 

 frost has finally checked its growth. His new rose, 

 Francis Scott Key, shows the same A'igor of plant so 

 characteristic of the Cook seedlings. 



The production of Robin Hood and General Mac- 

 .\rthur would rank E. G. Hill very high among the 

 rose breeders of America, as they are both very fine in 

 the garden, but to him belongs the distinction of 

 breeding Richmond, and the rose men rif .America ha\e 

 much for which to thank him. 



There is another breeder of roses. .Alex. Mont- 

 gomer}-, Jr., whose work has beeii making a name for 

 him, and whose new rose Hadley is being disseminated 

 this season. Back of Hadley is ten j-ears or more of 

 breeding from seedlings of Liberty. General Mac- 

 Arthur and Richmond. In retaining the fragrance in 

 Hadley he has given back to us wdiat we have so long 

 deplored the lack of. Fragrance is greatly to be de- 

 sired, and Hadley is wonderfully fragrant, and its 

 parentage speaks well for it as a garden rose, al- 

 though it has not as yet been tested. 



How to give such roses a fair test has been a prob- 

 lem to the American Rose Society, and to solve this 



