78 RIVERSIDE LETTERS X 



but many of the huge hybrids at our shows 

 cannot plead this excuse. I hope the time is 

 not far distant when prizes will be given for 

 the best exhibits of open roses of all sorts ; 

 and that by the judicious crossing of such old 

 favourites as the damask, the Macartney, 

 the Persian, and the Austrian briar, &c., we 

 may arrive at some pretty varieties to which, 

 let us hope, good old English names may be 

 given. 



No roses in a garden pay better, for the 

 little trouble that they give, than the common 

 China rose. A very dear friend of mine, for 

 whose taste in flowers and gardens I have 

 the greatest veneration, advised me, when I 

 first took up this place, above all things to 

 have plenty of these delightful roses. I 

 have ever since felt grateful to her for having 

 given me that advice, and thankful that I 

 followed it. 



On either side of the brick-paved path that 

 leads from the drawing-room door to the boat- 

 house, I planted rows of China roses, sup- 



