THE HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSE. 103 



petual and Tea-scented. So magnificent are 

 many of the new roses in these families, that to 

 see them is an education, and the memory of their 

 beauties an ever-present delight. The true ro- 

 sarian is never blase ; he has no regrets for his 

 faded friends. They remain with him during the 

 dreary months of winter, and his fancy is stimu- 

 lated by the knowledge that, by his care during 

 their repose, they will reappear in the same 

 beauty to gladden his eyes and reward him for 

 his pains. 



The esteem these roses are now held in has 

 led, as usual, to abuse. We are overbm-dened 

 with varieties. Some cultivators enumerate nearly 

 300, divided into groups, having 'affinities and 

 characteristics.' These groups only tend to con- 

 fuse the amateur, and are really of no use and no 

 guide, they cannot be planted in the same group 

 with propriety. The French cultivators have 

 carried this division into ' groups ' to excess ; but 

 it appears to me, and this has always been my 

 opinion, that we cannot simplify enough the 

 classification of roses. One division, headed 

 Hybrid Perpetual Roses, ought to include all 

 from their origin deserving that name ; and those 

 that diverge from the general characters of the 

 family, in being very dwarf or otherwise ve'iy 

 different, may have their characters attached to 

 their names. 



I can only give here the names of a few of the 



