November 24, 1863. ] JOTJENAL OP HOETICTJLTURE AI^D COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



407 



leaves and stems from the perennial plants, in his garden 

 in the autumn in like manner, and let his newly-introduced 

 kitchen-garden implement at once supply the place, wherever 

 practicable, of the knife ? 



Your contributor is at perfect liberty to follow his own 

 course, and he will say the same to me, as regards that with 

 which I am perfectly satisfied. However, for the benefit of 

 your general readers I wiU endeavour to explain my reason for 

 allowing a great portion of the old leaves to remain during 

 the cold winter months. If, in the early autumn, or when 

 the fruit is all gathered, I were to demide my plants, wisely 

 provided with their coming winter clothing, one of these 

 consequences would arise — either the plants would be in- 

 securely protected against cutting winds and frosts, or 

 Nature must make an unusual effort to reproduce leaves at 

 a period when the plant should be partially at rest, at the 

 manifest expenditure of energy and to the impoverishment 

 of the soil. 



It appears similar to me to the shearing-off the wool from 

 a sheep in autumn to compel Natm-e to supply it with fresh 

 covering from the wintery blast. 



Unquestionably fresh leaves would make their appearance 

 and attain some little growth ; but does your correspondent 

 believe that these newly-formed ones would be so likely to 

 contend against the storms and frosts of our ordinary 

 winters as the old and well-ripened ones ? With regard to 

 his gathering nearly half a bushel at a time from a quarter 

 of an acre of land, for nearly three weeks, planted with 

 Keens' Seedling, I do not consider that so very extraordinai-y 

 a produce, being by no means equal to what I gathered pro- 

 portionably from beds of the same variety, and the fruit 

 equally fine. The plants to-day (November 19th), are many 

 of them 2| feet in diameter. — Qtjintin Eead, Biddulph. 





EXHiBITlM EOSES. 



HAvtNQ lately been thrown much amongst Bose-growers 

 a,nd Eose-exhibitors, and had a good deal of conversation on 

 the subject of Roses and Eose- showing, I think it may sei-ve 

 the caxise we ' have ' so much desire to advance if an opening 

 is made for the ventilation of some matters which have in 

 bne way or' another been brought under the notice of the 

 Eose-loving public during the past few weeks. I do not 

 expect that we shall ever arrive at agreement, either as to 

 the character of ' Roses or the method of exhibiting ; but 

 ■ there are some common-sense points of view, at least so 

 they seem to me, that ought not to be overlooked, and,, if 

 possible, agreement come to as to the course to be adopted. 

 Having had some experience also in Eose-judging for some 

 yeai's, I may, perhaps, be considered as having some little 

 claim to obtain a hearing, while the fact of my not being an 

 exhibitor may clear me "from the notion of any partiality or 

 one-sidedness in the matter ; my sole desire, as far as I 

 know mysell, being to advance the culture of a flower which 

 all aKke have crowned a queen. 



1. What is a Tboss ? — It may seem somewhat strange 

 that so simple a question should, even now, after so many 

 years of Rose exhibitions stOl remain a disputed point ; but 

 so it is. A Rose throws up, according to its character and 

 habit, shoots that bear sometimes one, at others two, three, 

 four, or five buds as the case may be. Now the question J 

 take to be this — Is the shoot to be shown as it grows, with 

 its full-blown flowers and buds ? or is it lawful to disbud-^ 

 that is, to remove some of these buds for the purpose of 

 throvring vigour into the remaining one or not ? and is a 

 shoot so disbudded to be considered as a truss ? Now the 

 object for which this is done is, 'I suppose, to obtain greater 

 size, and this mania for size is likely to spoil our Eose taste. 

 A Eose which is naturally of a medium size can never be 

 exhibited as large, unless by the loss of refinement ; and 

 coarseness, I think, is fatal to a Rose. What is the use of 

 a flower as large as a breakfast-saucer if there be no quality 

 about it ? A truss, then, I should consider the natural pro- 

 duction of the shoot, and that disbudding ought not to 

 be allowed. If, however, this do not meet the views and. 

 wishes of the Eose-growing fraternity, I would then say, 

 " Make niles as to what a truss is, and adhere to them," for 

 the present system is manifestly unfair — viz., that some 

 should exhibit them au naturel, while others have by copious 



disbudding obtained size, which I know with some judges 

 supersedes quality. It is said that if you do this you must 

 examine each Rose, and pull it out of its tube, &c., in order 

 to see whether it is fairly exhibited. Not so. It might be 

 and would be desirable to examine one or two in each stand ; 

 but of this I am persuaded, if a man wishes to be dishonest 

 as au exhibitor no rules wUl stop him. Even during the 

 past season I saw flowers, not Roses, exhibited, of which I 

 am morally certain not one was grown by the person in 

 whose name they were put up. There was no proof to the 

 contrary, and so the matter was passed by. 



II. How MANT Trusses SHonLD be Shown ? — This opens 

 out the question of trebles, and number of blooms also. If 

 the rule with regai'd to disbudding were maintained I would 

 discard trebles in toto ; it entails so much labour on the 

 Judges that, unless they adopt the French plan of allowing 

 one whole day for the adjudication, I do not see how it is to 

 be done. The place of exhibition is rarely cleared before 

 half-past ten o'clock, and at twelve, both at the Crystal 

 Palace and Kensington, the public are to be admitted. — yet 

 in that hour and a half some Judges have to decide ou.the 

 merits of perhaps eighteen hundred Eoses ! Moreover, too 

 frequently one good flower is obliged to carry two indiffereiit 

 ones on its back, or to hide them, rather, in its ample folds ; 

 to obtain nearly three hundred good Roses taxing even the 

 ingenuity of our largest growers. Then I would do away 

 with the 96 Class altogether, and make fifty the higher, 

 giving more prizes for smaller numbers. Eose-growing is 

 now so extensive that there need be no fear of not having 

 the stages filled — nay, I think they would be better fiU'ed if 

 so many flowers were not requii'cd. Who would not rather 

 see forty-eight really good flowers tlian twice the number 

 of indifferent ones ? ' • . .....i 



ill. In what Manner ought Thet to be Ssowh ?-^"Ofi ! 

 with moss, of course," exclaims every looker-on. SoftlV, 

 gentlemen, if you please. Why so? What reason, eSC'ept 

 some sentimental , one, can be given for it ? If moss be fit 

 for Eoses, why. not for Dahlias ? What is the bbjeot.tft be 

 gained by a Rose show? Surely the seeing of the best Efi^fe's. 

 Now,. I verily believe this moss hides a multitude of sins ; 

 and a bed of f];esh,,bright-looking, green moss is quite a foil 

 to many a piece, of blackened and spotted foliage, while it is 

 a manifest iujustioe to many a Eose-grower. Often, I aiin 

 convinced, the.excellenee and smoothness of the moss* Catches 

 the eye of a jvjdge, and first imjlressiohs very Ofteil" d"6' a 

 great deal, so ihat a person who lives in the neighboiirhBod 

 of Windsor or •Epping, or in any wooded county, liad a ihost 

 appreciable, advantage over those who do not. Why, if I 

 were to run the risk of breaking my neck for a week in' tljis 

 neighbourhood^ I could never find a bit of moss that'wiis 

 worth looking at, and, consequently, could never hope to 

 put up a stand satisfactorily ; and then there is ajiother 

 most serious drawback — viz., the expense of transit ' that it 

 entails. Boxes must be carried already prepared for' e?iii- 

 bition ; and with the moss in a damp state, which it must 

 be, the weight is considerably increased ; so that all idea^ of 

 gaining anything by the prizes is taken away. Mr. Hedg'e's 

 gardener told me the other day, that when he toot his Eoses 

 to the Birmingham Show it cost ^£12, and, although he took 

 all the first prizes, he only obtained £14 ; whereas,' if thfey 

 were exhibited as Dahlias are, the boxes coiild be easily car- 

 ried, and the tender mercies of the guards and porters 

 could be dispensed with. There would then be no need 'for 

 the gardener .to sit in the break-van to mount guard over 

 his treasures, as I know to have been done, and the break- 

 neck work of setting them up at the Palace would he avoided. 

 Moreover, we should be much more likely to see that all 

 was fair in the exhibiting, and the quality and character of 

 the foliage would be more conspicuous. If " good wine 

 needs no bush," I am quite sure the Eose needs no mere- 

 tricious ornament to set her off. The addition of foliagd is 

 fatal, and so would I make the addition of moss. Nothing 

 but the Eose pur et simple. 



IV. Ought the Classes to be Separated ? — A 'good 

 deal has been said lately about the necessity of doing this. 

 With both hands I protest against it. Have the advocates 

 of it ever really seen a box of Moss Roses worth looking at ? 

 I never have, and a box of Teas is almost as poor ; and 

 although we have great brilliancy of colour in the Hybrid 

 Perpetuals, yet I am sure it would be ruin to them to show 



