88 PICTORIAL PRACTICAL ROSE GROWING. 
Sufficient is it that they are securely rooted in the national 
character, and are therefore unchangeable. 
A man grows Roses thoroughly well for twenty years of his 
life, but does not exhibit; he remains a grower. In the 
twenty-first year, with the bulk of his Roses worse than they 
have been during any year in his two decades of experience, 
he wins a fourth prize in a class for six at the National Show ; 
straightway he becomes a rosarian. 
As a mere grower this person may lift voice or pen as he 
will ; it is all in vain; in Rose circles he is a nonentity. That 
magical prize card gives him eloquence and wisdom and 
power ; he is a rosarian ! 
Let us recognise the futility of protest or jibe, accept things 
as they are, and pass on. There comes a time in the life of 
every man when ambition rears its head. He yearns to soar 
to the heights of fame; how can it be done? 
In the first place, let him become a member of the National 
Rose Society. The mere fact of membership acts as a spur. 
People learn that he is a member, and look upon him as a 
superior being. In a word, he has something to live up to. 
In the second place, let him devote a few hours to visiting 
the leading exhibitions. This will give him a still further 
stimulus. He will see what other people do, and the fire of 
emulation will burn fiercely. He will learn points about the 
standard of quality in flowers, about setting them up, about - 
show boards, about cups and tubes, and other practical matters. 
In the third place, strengthen the collection. In gathering 
hints one summer to be put into force the next, realise the 
great fact that although little matters in arrangement and set- 
ting up have weight, the real factor is the quality of the 
blooms. Strengthen the collection. Strengthen it in numbers, 
in variety, in novelties, in culture. 
In, the fourth place, procure the various mechanical 
(References to Fig. 41, page 89.) 
PICTORIAL PRACTICE.—PLAIN HINTS IN FEW WORDS, 
FIG. 41—EXHIBITING ROSES.—II. CUPS AND TUBES. 
G, common zinc cups and tubes: w, cup (usual form, 2 inches wide); #, cup 
(ordinary funnel shaped); y, tube; z, cupand tube fitted; «a, cup; 4, 
tube ; ¢, clip for zinc tube (the clip affixed to the show board); d, the 
clip holding the tube. 
H, Beckett’s zinc cups and tubes: e, cup; f, tube; g, cup and tube fitted; h, 
a Rose set up in Beckett’s extending cup and tube. 
I, support (galvanised wire) for fixing into the tube and holding the bloom. 
J, Springthorpe’s cup and tube: ¢, cup (this has a brass side spring for en- 
abling the exhibitor to adjust the flower quickly and securely in the 
tube); j, end of tube showing the method of fixing the flower stem (the 
tube having also one brass side spring, which passes through a flange 
fixed to the show board from the under side, thus enabling the exhibitor 
