MEMOIRS OF THE AUTHOR. xxi 



and offered the services of my pen. An article on 

 roses ! A series of articles on roses ! A report on new 

 roses ! Answers to correspondents on roses ! What 

 could I do but write a book and put in order all my 

 large accumulation of notes? What could I do but 

 once more take up the cause of the Queen of Flowers, 

 and in a great endeavour advance her interests? 



This work, although arduous, is a labour of love, 

 and it is compiled with a threefold object — first, to 

 advance the culture of the Rose ; secondly, to help 

 amateur gardeners ; thirdly, to further the interests of 

 the Horticultural trade of this country. 



I have tried, as far as possible, to make this book 

 a complete treatise on rose-growing, and I have mtro- 

 duced or enlarged upon features old and new. Every 

 grower has something to learn, and if we all lived to 

 the age of Methuselah, yet something unknown would 

 still await us all. What would we not give to possess 

 a descriptive trade catalogue of the days of Rome, or 

 discover an order for selected varieties scratched by 

 the stilus of some Roman enthusiast upon a leaden 

 tablet ! My Encyclopaedia would have to be revised 

 at once, and my garden plans would be out of date. 

 Not that the Encyclopaedia is complete or the garden 

 plans are the best, for no list of Roses in commerce 

 remains the same, and the style in garden design 

 varies according to surroundings and taste. The 

 book, however incomplete, will remain a milestone in 

 the history of the rose, and if I have been unable to 

 please all, yet there is pleasure in the thought that 

 some must profit by my experience, and in their turn 

 hand on a knowledge that shall operate to the benefit 

 of the Queen of Flowers. 



