78 Reviews. 



the great obstacle to their health and beauty was removed by 

 the timely and valuable discovery of Mr. Haggerston. Since 

 that period, a great change has taken place, and, at the pres- 

 ent moment, the collections around Boston are undoubtedly 

 superior, in variety, if not in extent, to any of the collections 

 which have obtained so much celebrity in England. Amer- 

 ican cultivators are now in immediate correspondence with 

 the French florists, and the new kinds are obtained as soon 

 as they can be supplied. 



To keep up with this increasing taste, two American treat- 

 ises have already appeared ; they have been confined, however, 

 wholly to the culture and management of the plants, and the 

 descriptions of flowers. Mr. Parsons has, therefore, entered a 

 new field, and has not trod its paths without success. His 

 object, which was to throw around the rose "a halo of pleas- 

 ant thoughts and associations," has been accomplished. One 

 of the pleasant features of the volume is the " multifarious 

 garland" of poetical gems upon this favorite flower, which the 

 author has gathered from various sources, wreathing among 

 them some efl"usions of his own. This poetical chapter closes 

 the miscellaneous portion of the volume, and the remainder 

 is devoted to its culture, classification, &c. 



And here it is, that we have some little fault to find with 

 the volume. First, on the culture of the rose, and the im- 

 provements which have been made by hybridization, we do not 

 learn that Mr. Parsons has even hinted at the great achievement 

 in the culture of the rose in this country, — one, certainly, which 

 is not surpassed even by the greatest success of Vibert or Lafi'ay ; 

 — we refer to the production of the prairie roses by Messrs. Feast 

 of Baltimore, and Pierce of Washington. We venture to say that 

 no foreign rose yet raised has, in the same period, been so exten- 

 sively disseminated as the Queen of the Prairies, and we freely 

 confess that, to our mind, no efforts of English cultivators can 

 compare with, and, certainly, none of the French excel, those 

 of the gentlemen above named. Mr. Rivers is mentioned as 

 having " originated some varieties," but, with the exception 

 of George IV., none scarcely worth naming. This is an over- 

 sight which is almost unpardonable. 



