78 CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 



gle ; many will be half double ; and, among a large num- 

 ber of seedlings, we shall be fortunate if we find two 

 or three equal in beauty to La Reine herself. Nor is it 

 at all likely that even these will be her precise counter- 

 parts. They may possibly be hei equals ; but they will 

 not exactly resemble her : and thus we obtain a new and 

 valuable acquisition to the list of roses. Now, if, instead 

 of singly gathering and sowing the seeds of La Reine, we 

 first impregnate its flowers with the pollen of a different 

 variety, such as the Giant of Battles, our chance of a val- 

 uable result is increased, because, if we are fortunate, we 

 combine the desirable qualities of two sorts. It is not 

 impossible that we may thus produce a rose combining the 

 vigorous growth and large globular flowers of La Reine 

 with some portion of the vivid coloring of the Giant of 

 Battles. It is by the raising of seedlings with or without 

 hybridization that the innumerable roses that decorate our 

 gardens and fill the catalogues of nursery-men have been 

 produced. M. Laffay, to whom more than to any other 

 single cultivator we are indebted for bringing into exist- 

 ence the splendid family of the Hybrid Perpetual roses, 

 raised in one year more than three hundred thousand 

 seedlings. Of these, all but a small portion were, no doubt, 

 pulled up, and thrown away as worthless, after their first 



