310 ANNUAL REPORT 



time is money, and who do not have to read to kill time. So, 

 instead of writing upon the beauties of and the pleasures obtain- 

 able from roses, it will be wiser to attempt to make these beau- 

 ties and pleasures attainable by flower lovers. 



Among my friends I can not name over a half dozen that have 

 so much as one rose bush in their yard. And this condition of 

 affairs is no worse in our town than it is in all others of the 

 state. And how is it with the farmer, with plenty of ground, 

 with all the necessary implements for work, fertilizers in abund- 

 ance, plenty of sunshine, etc.! Does he revel in roses! Does he 

 occasionally bring in to his good wife a nice boquet of fresh- 

 opened, brilliant Jacqueminot roses, or a large handful of the 

 dainty buds and blossoms of the lovely white Mad. Plantier, with 

 the fresh drops of dew upon them ? By contact with them feeling 

 the presence of God, and by the act of giving them, brought 

 into closer harmony with his home ! Such a gift convinces any 

 one that the love and affection of the donor goes with it. 



The chief reason for this great dearth of the Eoyal Beauties is 

 that it is generally believed that they can not be grown success- 

 fully in this climate. It has been fully demonstrated, however, 

 that with a little care and right management, our eyes may be 

 gladdened and our homes beautified with the presence of this 

 queen of flowers. Let each one of us make it a point of duty 

 to our Society, to urge his neighbors (of course each one here is 

 sui)posed to have them in his yard), to plant roses and ijlant 

 them in profusion. 



A theory of mine is that detailed experiences, failui-es and 

 successes alike, are more helpful than simple rules laid down for 

 following; as any one can make rules but we do not all have ex- 

 periences; and knowing wherein a failure has been made, we 

 can strive to avoid it if forewarned. 



And now a leaf from my book of experiences relating to rose 

 culture: About four 3'ears ago I had an attack of "roses on the 

 brain." I already had some eigh€ or ten kinds in my garden, 

 but there was not variety enough, either in color or name. So 

 I consulted catalogue after catalogue, and the result was a most 

 glorious list of between sixty to seventy varieties, and really some 

 of the names were quite new and beautiful ! The plants were 

 sent for; they arrived in good condition and were put in the 

 ground, and the names on the stakes, to say the least, were very 

 imposing. If I could I would pronounce some of them, but my 

 early education in the foreign languages was neglected. After 



