356 



Such already is my experience, and it has made 

 it a very difficult task for me to know where to begin 

 and where to leave off. If only we had a national 

 Rose garden, where every Rose that had been in com- 

 merce could be grown and listed, what an easy task 

 mine would be ! Instead, I have had to contend with 

 the apathy of many of our less enthusiastic growers, 

 and lack of information from some of our most im- 

 portant nurseries has prevented me from making my 

 dictionary of varieties as perfect as it should be. This 

 is the fault of the trade as a whole, who have not yet 

 attained to the finer sense of discernment of its own 

 interests as have its Continental brethren. We have 

 a lot to learn in this country in respect to trade de- 

 velopment, but the greatest lesson is to pull together. 

 It is a very easy matter for me, apart from my know- 

 ledge to put my fingers on the live business horticul- 

 tural firms of this country, and the simple evidence, 

 such as courtesy, quick replies to all correspondence, 

 whether interested or not, soon reveals to any business 

 man the prospects of a firm. 



When searching the dictionary for particulars of 

 any variety, I trust that each will remember the diffi- 

 culties with which I have to contend, and should the 

 Roses sought for not be listed in my book, may I be 

 forgiven the omission made either unintentionally or 

 intentionally. Unintentionally if a grower had not 

 notified me of its being grown in his nursery, and 

 intentionally if, as far as I have been able to ascertain, 

 it has passed out of commerce. It would be most 

 confusing to the trade if I listed numberless varieties 

 that were not obtainable, and my book would lose at 

 once its practical value. In any case I would strongly 

 recommend amateur growers to be advised by any of 

 the nurserymen represented in this book, for each one 

 is a past-master of his profession, and will gladly 

 attend to orders and assist any disciple of the Queen 

 of Flowers. Although trade catalogues may omit 

 certain varieties from their lists, yet as is often the 

 case a few trees are still grown for old customers or 

 kept for various reasons outside commerce. Amongst 



