140 THE ROSE GARDEN. 



a bad plan to place the moss on the boxes a few days before they are wanted, 

 keeping them in a light but shady place, sprinkling the moss with water once or 

 twice daily. 



With regard to the choice of flowers, we may presume that he only who had 

 formed a tolerable collection, and must consequently have acquired some taste in 

 Roses, would enter the lists as a competitor. We would therefore say, cut such 

 flowers as appear best at the time wanted : a good variety may be in bad condi- 

 tion at a fixed period, and a second-rate one unusually fine. But the exhibitor 

 must, in a certain degree, conform to the tastes of others ; and there are points 

 of beauty almost universally agreed on. The outline of Show Roses should be 

 circular, free from all raggedness ; the flowers should be full, and the petals 

 arranged as regularly as possible ; the larger the flowers the better, provided they 

 are not coarse ; and the colours should be varied with due care. In gathering 

 the flowers, we would say, choose the morning for the purpose, ere the sun has 

 risen upon them, or before he has had time to dim their beauty. When the place 

 of exhibition is at a distance, it is often necessary to cut them the morning before. 

 There is full occupation for two persons, besides the advantage of having a 

 second opinion in cases where the merit of two or more flowers is doubtful. It is 

 not always easy to determine this point satisfactorily, for we have not only to 

 consider what a flower is, but what it is likely to become. The business of one 

 should be to cull the flowers ; that of the other to name and arrange them in the 

 boxes. It is desirable that every stage of the flower should be presented to view ; 

 but if cut the morning before the day of show, the forwardest should not be 

 more than three-quarters blown. Some of the stiff-petalled Roses, which remain 

 a long time in perfection, may be made exceptions to this rule ; but their number 

 is few. When the flowers are gathered on the morning of show, some may be 

 full-blown, when less judgment and foresight are necessary. 



Some little of success perhaps depends on the taste with which the flowers are 

 arranged. This requires a little study, and we would take nature for our model. 

 Let the exhibitor walk among his plants occasionally with an eye to this point, 

 and he will not fail to single out certain flowers remarkable for elegance of posi- 

 tion : this is the true source from which to copy. A nice shoot or two, with good 

 foliage, should be gathered with each kind, for the grace and beauty of the flowers 

 are materially heightened by the judicious arrangement of foliage ; and this is a 

 point by which one may judge of the habits of a variety. As to the arrangement 

 of colours, little need be said on that point. Much will depend on the materials 

 in hand. Contrast should, I think, be aimed at; but with regard to the exact 

 tints fitted for each position, the eye of him who arranges is usually best qualified 

 to determine. 



A neat and commodious method of naming is, to procure some deal sticks, about 

 four inches long and half an inch wide, gradually tapering to a point. Let them be 

 painted white, the names written in a round legible hand with a good dark pencil. 



