NoTcmber 27, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



411 



AUTUMN BOSES. 



^^V^ NDEK this heading Mr. Beacbey, in No. 65,5, 

 ^> ..JJ ' ijV .lllj sings a " sweet melancholy " requiem over 

 the fading glories of his flower-children the 

 Eoses, after their battles with the " nide 

 winds of the equinox," and very fittingly 

 closes his orafio funehris over the falling 

 leaves and other signs of decay, with the 

 promise of a bright to-morrow — another 

 spring. The father of English poetry, in 

 "The Flower and the Leaf,'Yhas struck this 

 last chord, too, most cheerily thus : — 



"When shourea Bweet of raine descended soft, 

 Causing the grounde telle times and oft 

 Up for to give many an wholesome aire ; 

 And every plaine was clothed fairs." 

 " With new grene, and maketh small flonres 

 To springen here and there in field and mede, 

 So very good and wholesome be the shoures. 

 That it renueth what was old and dede 

 In winter time ; and out of every sede 

 Springeth the herbe, so that every wight 

 Of this season waxeth glad and light." 



In addition to the poetic vein, Mr. Beacbey gives us, 

 •what is of practical value, a list of autumn Roses. I miss 

 from that list a great favourite of my own, an autumn 

 Bose par excellence — Sombreuil. Possibly Mr. Beacbey 

 does not grow it ; if he does, he has surely overlooked it. 

 In spite of further storms since his observations were 

 written, here, some hundred miles south-west of Newton, 

 its beautifully-formed foliage is still unimpaired, its vigor- 

 ous shoots are still rich in their hues of unchecked luxu- 

 riance, and its blooms more plentiful than at any other 

 season. If I recollect rightly, about twelve months ago 

 a lady wrote to the .Journal calling attention to the charm 

 of the Myrtle-like form and the deep green tint of its 

 leaves ; and if it never bloomed I should be tempted to 

 grow it that sprays of it might servo as a setting for the 

 dazzling glories of some of its more pretending kindred. 



In addition to Sombreuil, and not included in the thirty- 

 six named in the list, the following are still blooming finely 

 here, and well deser\-e to rank with the best autumn Boses. 

 They are not producing flowers merely, but from them 

 " we are still cutting Roses that would not disgrace the 

 benches of any flower show" — viz., Exposition de Brie, 

 Prince Camille de Rohan quite as good as in the summer, 

 Duke of Edinburgh, .lules Margottin, Madame Falcot, 

 Safrano, Louisa Wood. As (i~ general-purpose Rose I 

 should certainly select Mdlle. Marie Rady in preference 

 to Madame Victor Verdier, Duke of Edinburgh in place 

 of Si'nateur Vaisse, and Marie Baumann before Emilio 

 Hausbnrg. This year, out of upwards of ono hundred 

 sorts, I have found no Rose so good in every particular 

 as La France. I unhesitatingly give it the first place. It 

 lacks no good quality. Its form is perfect ; it blooms 

 freely and is most fragrant, and the delicate loveliness 

 of the satiny silver tint of the recurved petal, reposing 

 on the rich rosy huo of the bo'ly of the Rose, is " beautiful 

 exceedingly.'' It certainly does best on the Briar. Mr. 



No. ««.— Vol. XXV., New Series. 



Beacbey points out what is worth remarking — viz., that 

 nut of thirty-six Roses he has given, no less than eight 

 were sent out in the year 1870. It would be difficult, I 

 think, to name a quartette issued in any one year that 

 should beat Catherine Mermet, Louis Van Houtte, Mar- 

 quise do Castellaue, and Mdlle. Eugi'^nie Verdier ; any 

 selected twelve ought to contain them. 



I agree with Mr. Beacbey in his estimate of Perle do 

 Lyon (Teal, it is good in colour, substance, and form ; 

 and Cecile Berthod (Tea), very little noticed yet, will prove 

 also, I think, a serviceable addition. Its chaste lemon 

 colour is pretty and somewhat distinctive. 



But, after all, did not Mr. Robson hit the right vein in 

 hia giTimble about the new Roses running in a groove ? 

 Such varieties as the Persian Yellow and the old York- 

 and-Lancaster might with advantage, as he says, be the 

 types for the new varieties. Raisers of the new sorts ai'O 

 certainly running sameness very close. What would a Roso 

 of Catherine Mermet's texture and form be worth if it 

 had the Persian Yellow colour '? Possibly, however, such 

 a consummation had better remain an ideal one, lest tlio 

 enthusiastic homage to our flower queen, which is now 

 so widespread, should develope into a mania as absurd 

 as that which attacked tlie Dutchmen in their rage for 



Tuhps. — CORNUBIA. 



ADI.iNTUM FAELEYENSE. 



The distinct evidence of this superlatively beautiful 

 Fern renders a special note on its successful culture de- 

 sirable. It is a gem amongst Ferns, and is finding its 

 way into every collection, and when procured for the 

 first timo it is justly regarded as a treasure to be cherished 

 for its attractive features, and as demanding special caro 

 to bring out its charms to the fullest degree of perfection. 

 In the hands of many cultivators not the slightest diffi- 

 culty is experienced in producing a free healthy growth ; 

 but, on the contrary, with many others its satisfactory 

 progress is coveted but not invariably secured. This ia 

 manifest by frequent inquiries and by the interest which 

 is centred on a plant in the full bloom of health. Really 

 the plant is of easy growth, but still it is a fact that many 

 otherwise-good Fern-growers "cannot," as they say, "get 

 on with it," and in tliis case the disappointment of tho 

 owner is not greater than that of the grower. It may 

 bo reasonably urged in explanation that propagation has 

 been conducted under high pressure, and that plants aro 

 circulated extremely tender and of delicate constitution, 

 and to which, in transit or on arrival — by varying tempera- 

 ture, or atmosphere, or degree of light — a check has been 

 given at the outset which is not soon recovered. Having 

 seen several failures, and at tho same time being fairly 

 successful, a little history of a plant may bo useful, and 

 at the request of more than one or two visitors I venture 

 to submit it in the columns where so many look for in- 

 formation, and seldom look in vain. 



This little matter-of-fact narration will show nothing 

 cxtraordinai-y, and tho solo object in view is tho interest 

 of others seeking a line of guidance which has proved 



No. I31S.— Vol. L,. Old Skrieb. 



