THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



winner of the coveted trophy awarded by the National Rose Society for 

 the champion rose-grower of the year. 



London is a most convenient center from which to visit Colchester; 

 Canterbury, the home of George Mount & Sons; Farnham in Surrey, 

 where are S. Bide & Son, specialists in sweet peas and other horticultural 

 lines, as well as an extenisve rose Inisiness ; and most interesting and quite 

 as important as any is Waltham Cross, the century-old place of Wm. Paul 

 & Son, now in charge of Arthur William Paul. 



At Cheshunt is another firm, Paul & Son, George Paul, proprietor. 

 Among all these growers one is impressed by the fact that they are hand- 

 ling two or three times as many varieties of roses as are the largest dealers 

 on this side of the water. 



En route to Ireland we will stop at Sumerset, at Kelway & Sons, and see 

 their splendid assortment of hardy perennials with their sample perennial 

 border for the benefit of the patrons who visit them ; and their acres upon 

 acres of peonies. 



If you would see roses abroad at their best do not leave out Belfast. 

 There are three great rose growers near Belfast. Across the street from 

 my hotel was the town store of Alexander Dickson & Sons, of New- 

 townards ; they are probably the best known to American growers. But of 

 similar prominence is the firm of Messrs. Hugh Dickson, the Royal Nur- 

 series of Belfast, and the winner this year (iQii) of the National trophy, 

 and thus declared champion rose grower of the year in the British Isles. 

 As you well know, both firms are doing excellent work in producing, 

 almost annually, new roses of unquestioned merit. In Belfast you will 

 find almost everyone knows Samuel McGredy & Sons also. The present 

 proprietor is a cousin of the Dicksons, who does his own hybridizing; he 

 also has a son at college, so that it looks as if there was good promise of 

 good roses to come from Ireland for many years yet; for certainly the 

 climate is what they like, the soil is great and they do grow magnificent 

 flowers. I noticed on the lawns around their home a real riot of roses ; 

 Mrs. Roosevelt, for example, a whole bed of them, had blossoms twice as 

 big as any I had ever seen growing in the open here. Caroline Testout 

 was quite as fine, if not finer than we have it in Portland, Oregon; so that 

 when one was introduced to a new unnamed seedling, and the price of 

 $500 or $1000 put on it, the question that immediately claimed one's atten- 

 tion was "How will these roses do in America?" But it has to be tried. 

 Go with me to the National Rose Show held in Regent's Park this past 

 year. Automobiles lined up, coming and going, a constant line of not less 

 than fifty or sixty people awaiting entrance throughout the entire after- 

 noon to the tent of new seedling roses, and this tent but a small, though 

 very important, part of hundreds upon hundreds of enterics. Another fea- 

 ture that appealed to me was the tent devoted to roses for use in tal)le 

 decorations, where there were special combinations worked out. On this 

 table would be a study of yellow with a huge bouquet in the center; smaller 

 ones around the table, with boutonnieres or place roses. 



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