26 A BOOK ACOUT ROSES. 



did I quite regain my equanimity until, reaching' 

 home, I had written and posted an order for an 

 assortment of Roses in pots. 



These Nottingham florists are equally success- 

 ful in the outdoor culture of the Rose. On sev- 

 eral occasions I have attended, as one of the 

 judges, the annual exhibition of " The St. Ann's 

 Amateur Floral and Horticultural Society," at 

 Nottingham. The society consists of artisans, 

 occupying garden allotments in the suburbs of 

 Nottingham, and justly prides itself on having 

 developed a taste for gardening among the work- 

 ing classes. Nearly eighty prizes for Roses alone^ 

 varying in value from two guineas to two shillings, 

 are offered, and closely fought for. The Roses are 

 excellent, the interest and excitement of the ex- 

 hibitors intense. The winners (so I am told by 

 their president, Mr. Knight, well chosen to preside 

 over working men, for he is ever untiring and 

 ubiquitous) are twist-hands, shoemakers, tailors, 

 mechanics, etc. He tells me con ainore, of their 

 devotion to their gardens and their glass. How 

 they carry their bags of coal through the deep 

 snow, and how, early in the morning and late at 

 eventide, they rob themselves of rest for the 

 Rose. 



I rejoice to see and hear. I have always believed 



