CHAPTER VU 
HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 
THE Rose is well known as the emblem of England, 
and when we consider how often it has unhappily 
been in conflict with the Lilies of France, it may 
seem strange to find a large though decreasing pro- 
portion of our Roses endowed with French names. 
Still, though so many of our favourites were 
raised the other side of the Channel, Great Britain 
is the true home of the Hybrid Perpetual Rose ; 
and that, not only because it is more cultivated 
here with the minute attention which is paid to a 
‘florists’ flower,” but also because the English 
climate is better suited to its perfect development. 
Continuous sunshine is not the best weather for 
the blooming of H.P.s; they like two or three hot 
days, and then a dull, dry, cooler one. Some will 
not open in rainy weather, others do not mind it; 
but almost all this large class, so many of which 
were raised in sunny France, will display far more 
beautiful blooms on a dull and cooler day following 
after heat; and it may be, I think, safely said that 
the finest H.P. Roses in the world are grown in 
Great Britain and Ireland. 
The Rose is native to all countries in the world 
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