THE ROSE GARDEN. 



91 



now called upon to act. Keeping in mind the points recently advanced, let us 

 next inquire, What is there desirable among Roses that we do not already possess ? 

 The answer to this question will be, the things we should endeavour to obtain. But 

 shall we be satisfied with merely crossing the varieties, and gathering and sowing 

 the seeds indiscriminately ; or do we wish to know the results of the turn we are 

 seeking to give to the workings of nature ? I think this knowledge is desirable, 

 and it certainly heightens the interest of the work. To carry it out with little 

 trouble, it is a good plan to obtain some thin sheet lead, and cut it into strips an 

 inch long and a quarter of an inch wide. On these may be stamped figures, from 

 1 ttf an indefinite number, and, as each flower is crossed, one of these numbered 

 leads is wound round the flower-stalk. The number is then set down in a book, and 

 the name of each parent, with the object in view, are entered opposite the number. 

 Here is an extract from my note-book of 1846. 



Number. ' Female Parent, or Seed- 

 bearer. 



17 



•21 



42 



Harrisonii. 

 {Austrian.) 



General Allard. 

 (Hybrid Chinese.) 



La Reine. 



{Hybrid Perpetual.) 



Male Parent, or Fer- 

 tilizer. 



Copper Austrian. 



Madame Laffay. 

 {Hybrid Perpetual.) 



Du Luxembourg. 

 (Moss.) 



Object in view. 



A double copper Austrian 

 Rose. 



To invigorate the habit, 

 and perfect the tendency 

 of General Allard to flower 

 in the Autumn. 



To obtain a large and glo- 

 bular-shaped Moss Rose. 



In No. 17 fulness and colour are the points to engage our attention. The 

 colour of the Copper Austrian Rose is distinct and beautiful, but the flower 

 is single. I want a double one. The Harrisonii is double, and nearly allied to 

 the other. I choose it for the female parent, because it is the best seed-bearer. 

 This seems to me the most reasonable means to pursue in order to accomplish 

 this end. 



In No. 21 the female parent, General Allard, is a model in form. I am satis- 

 fied with the colour, but it is a delicate grower, except when young, and not a free 

 autumnal bloomer. I am seeking to remedy these defects, and cross with Madame 

 Laffay, which is nearly of the same tint, and has the desired properties, deficient 

 in the other, abundantly developed. 



The subject of No. 42, La Reine, is an extraordinary Rose. I hybridize it with 

 Du Luxembourg, with the view of obtaining a large, red, globular-shaped Moss 

 Rose. As one parent here is an autumnal bloomer, there is also a chance of some 

 of the offspring becoming such. 



But we may proceed from individuals to classes. Two very desirable classes of 

 Roses in prospect are Hybrid Moss and Perpetual Moss ; and I look more to the 

 hybridizing of the species for future improvements of the Rose, than to mere 

 cross-breeding. The latter has already been pushed so far that fresh sources must 



