CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 53 



of English rose-growers ; and were the results of patience, 

 care, and experience. We hold the production of speci- 

 mens like these a work of art worthy of zealous emulation. 



?. 

 Our climate is quite as favorable to their production as 



that of England ; and, when the floricultural art has reached 

 among us the same development, our horticultural shows 

 will, no doubt, boast decorations equally splendid. The 

 plants just mentioned were the productions of a nursery- 

 man ; but specimens of roses grown to the highest perfec- 

 tion are every year exhibited in England by amateur 

 cultivators. The competition for prizes, far from being a 

 mere strife for a small sum of money, is an honorable 

 emulation, in which the credit of success is the winner's 

 best reward. 



One point cannot be too often urged in respect to horti- 

 cultural pursuits. Never attempt to do any thing which 

 you are not prepared to do thoroughly. A little done well 

 is far more satisfactory than a great deal done carelessly 

 and superficially. He who raises one perfect and fully 

 developed specimen of a plant is a better horticulturist 

 than he who raises an acre of indifferent specimens. The 

 amateur who has made himself a thorough master of the 

 cultivation of a single species or variety, has, of necessity, 

 acquired a knowledge and skill, which, with very little 



