2 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
writers on general horticulture are never weary of 
recounting the errors and absurdities of Rose- 
growers and, above all, Rose exhibitors. It is not 
so that I know of with other flowers; the foremost 
prize-takers in chrysanthemums or auriculas, for 
instance, are at least supposed to know as much 
about the things necessary for the welfare of those 
plants as other people; and in common life we 
do not find general physicians proclaiming the 
ignorance and absurdity of oculists, aurists, and 
dentists in their several departments; yet the 
specialists of the Rose are frequently told by 
authorities in horticulture that their maxims and 
modes are erroneous and faulty. 
I must confess, though the idea may appear 
heretical to some, that I do not consider the Rose 
pre-eminent as a decorative plant; several simpler 
flowers, much less beautiful in themselves, have, to 
my mind, greater value for general effect in the 
garden; and even the cut blooms are, I imagine, 
more difficult to arrange in water, for artistic 
decoration, than lighter, simpler, and less noble 
flowers. A good Rose should stand in a vase by 
itself as a queen should; then let any other flower 
or combination of flowers rival her if they can. So, 
with all the best Roses I should not wish for or expect 
any general display at a distance, but come close and 
be content if I can find but one perfect bloom. 
In my estimation, the value of the Rose is in the 
clory of its individual flowers; and, in these pages 
at least, the idea is not the Rose for the garden, 
but the garden for the Rose.’ 
1 See Editors note at end of Chapter with reference to this and 
the foregoing paragraph. 
