A TEA ROSE. 41 



all I have. The bed of Golden Prince Tulips is, 

 however, doing better ; this always seems to me a 

 very handsome Tulip, and I sometimes fancy has 

 a sweetness of scent beyond all other kinds a 

 something, which at times half reminds one of the 

 odour of some Tea Rose. 



By the bye, I have had a Tea Rose in blossom 

 in the vinery of a sort I rarely see, and of which 

 I really do not know the proper name. It used 

 to grow over a cottage in Herefordshire, which I 

 knew many years ago, and the Herefordshire 

 nurseryman, from whom I got my standard, calls 

 it "the old yellow China." Is this the right name, 

 and is the Rose more common than I imagine ? 

 Its. petals are loose and thin, and of a pale prim- 

 rose colour, and before it is fully out it is at its 

 best. Its leaves are large and handsome, and of 

 glossy green. Its blossom has a certain half-bitter 

 scent of Tea about it, to which the scent of no 

 other Tea Rose can at all compare it is so strong 

 and aromatic. 



We gathered our first forced Strawberries on 

 the 1 6th ; our first forced French Beans on the 

 i/th, and our first Asparagus on April 18. This 

 is early for us, but we are having the finest 

 weather. 



