EXPERT OPINIONS 85 



For Chicago and the North 



By W. C. EGAN 



EDITOR'S NOTE. People who live in the cold Northwest may 

 think it useless to attempt growing roses, but, as Dr. Bailey says, 

 "the success of the rose in this country is very largely a question of 

 the selection of adaptable varieties." The Lake Forest section, on the 

 west shore of Lake Michigan and north of Chicago, is typical of a 

 large area to the north and west. In this section there is no one 

 better able to speak from broad experience than W. C. Egan, the 

 eminent horticulturist of Highland Park. In response to our request 

 for a list of roses best suited to his cold country, he very generously 

 sent us a contribution which, without further comment, we are 

 most happy to present to our readers. 



While the section bordering Lake Michigan from Chicago 

 northward, called the North Shore district, is not a rosarian's 

 paradise, we can have roses from early June until frost. 

 This we can accomplish with but little care, except in the 

 case of the Hybrid Teas, which require proper attention. 

 Given this, they flood us with a shower of bloom that makes 

 them worthy of cultivation, even if we treat them as annuals, 

 and plant fresh stock each year. "Expensive!" you say. 

 Well, yes, to a certain extent; but so are bedding-plants, and 

 babies, and automobiles; but the results in all cases are 

 worth the money. Some spend money lavishly for winter 

 decorations that fade in the night. The same amount, spent 

 for Hybrid Teas planted out early in the spring, gives one 

 pleasure all summer. They are easily cared for, if the instruc- 

 tions given in this work are carried out. For those who pos- 

 sess small grounds and have but little time to attend to them 

 we have that poor man's blessing, the Rosa rugosa, and its 

 hybrids. This Japanese rose does not know how to "catch 

 cold," and will stay longer with you and give far more pleas- 

 ure than any poor relation. It blooms profusely in June and 

 scatteringly all through summer, ripening its bright red, 

 cherry-like berries during the late summer months. Its 

 foliage is unusually fine and insect-proof. This feature alone 

 should be highly appreciated, for the beauty of foliage is 

 more than half the beauty of any plant. This rose was known 

 to rosarians as early as 1845, but its beauty and hardiness 



