CHAPTER XII 



EXTENDING THE DOMINION OF THE ROSE 



" Go Rose, flower of flowers.'' 



— From the An'cient Latin. 



IN HIS book, 'The Cultivated Man," Charles W. Ellot 

 says: "A brook, a hedge-row, or a garden is an inexhaustible 

 teacher of wonder, reverence, and love." 



Another one of 'America's noblemen," G. A. Parker*, with 

 exquisite feeling, thus portrays the possible influence of the 

 rose on the lives of men, when, in telling of the rose-garden at 

 Elizabeth Park, he says: 



"I have come to think of beauty as the love-letter of the 

 Creator, through which He is wooing us unto Himself; for 

 beauty is spiritual, and not physical. 



"A love-letter is a message into which the sender puts a part 

 of his very self, and the one who receives it, in some mysterious 

 way, weaves it into a part of his very life. It matters little 

 what words are used or how the message is sent, providing it 

 becomes a part of the sender and of the receiver. Surely the 

 Creator uses a most beautiful form when He avails Himself of 

 the roses to convey His message." 



Among the real rose-lovers now scattered widely over our 

 great country, it is difficult to conceive of a finer loyalty than 

 already exists toward the flower of their choice. Such devotion 

 as theirs is bearing fruit. Better roses in their gardens are 

 arousing more abundant admiration on the part of neighbors. 

 This results in more "recruits." They organize. The members 

 help each other, and more and more each one comes to know 

 the joy of growing one's own roses. This is just what has been 

 going on in many sections of our great country. The delights 

 of rose-growing have been revealed to vastly increasing numbers 

 of amateurs within the past few years. The garden magazines 

 have helped. The garden clubs have been a prominent factor. 



There are, perhaps, half a dozen rose men lecturing! on this 

 fascinating subject and forwarding the good work. All have 



^"American Rose Annual," 1916, pages 71, 72. 

 tA list of such will be furnished on request. — Ed. 



(147) 



