12 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
chance cross-fertilisation, as had hitherto been done, 
is now being pursued by several raisers in the British 
Isles. More new varieties from our own country, 
and less from France, now pass their examinations 
and enter the ranks every year, but a considerable 
proportion of our best Roses still bear, and will for 
many years, French names. 
The worst of it is that some of these names must 
be said in full if there is to be no confusion. For 
instance, there are two Madame Eugene Verdiers, 
H.P. and Tea, and Souvenir de Madame EKugéne 
Verdier, H.T., as well as Mademoiselle Eugénie 
Verdier, and Madame Victor Verdier and Victor 
Verdier, H.P.s. There are also two Madame 
Hippolyte Jamains, H.P. and Tea, besides Hippo- 
lyte Jamain, H.P. In addition to the well-known 
La France, there is also a Rose called La France 
de ’89, a name which really shows some poverty of 
invention on the part of the raiser. 
A remonstrance might not be well received; for 
the late Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain used to tell 
an amusing story of the French raiser of Duke of 
Wellington H.P. complaining that English growers 
would not call his Rose correctly, for it should 
be Duc de Wellington, and some think he was 
right ! 
Still, as I have said, though so many of our best 
Roses owe their parentage to France, they are no- 
where better cultivated than in the British Isles, there 
being a considerable export trade to America, the 
Colonies, Spain, and in fact all parts of the world; 
and nowhere are there such famous growers, both 
professional and amateur, who have made the Rose 
their special, and in some cases their sole, study. In 
