28 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. 
constant freedom of bloom, early, late, and through- 
out the season. 
Many varieties were issued in past years, but, 
besides the two types, Mrs. Bosanquet, of a waxy 
ivory tint, was generally considered the only one 
worth growing. Laurette Messimy (Guillot, 1887), 
however, showed an improvement, a pretty button- 
hole Rose, pink shaded with yellow, very free- 
blooming; and several other varieties have since 
been added, of .which Madame Eugene Résal 
(Guillot, 1895) is perhaps the best. Very little 
pruning is required for the true Chinas. 
The Lawrenceana, or Fairy Rose, also introduced 
from China about 1810, is simply a China Rose in 
miniature. These little toys are often sold in pots in 
the markets, and should not be confounded with the 
miniature Provence, which bloom only once: for the 
Fairy Roses are true Chinas, and if kept in health 
are ever in bloom. They are best perhaps in pots, 
but are sometimes successfully grown in rich warm 
soils as edgings. 
The Tea Rose (R. indica odorata).—This most cele- 
brated group, the true aristocracy of the Rose world, 
was also introduced from China about the year 1810. 
The first one was pink, and in 1824 the Yellow Tea 
Rose was imported. 
There can be no doubt that both of these origin- 
ated from the China Rose, and for many years the 
group was known as the Tea Scented China. They 
- are like the China group in habit, but differ from it 
in being more susceptible to frost, and having the ~ 
peculiar fragrance said to be like that of a newly 
opened tea-chest. It seems strange and suggestive 
that Roses with this scent should have originated in 
