1900.] ESSAYS. 30 



the most modern of all our flowers. At the close of the last 

 century, a daughter of the Earl of Tankerville, went out into 

 the woods, where she picked the roots of several varieties of 

 violets and brought them into her father's garden ; he gave her 

 a piece of ground and she planted them. She saved the seed of 

 three or four plants and in the spring she sowed them, carefully 

 tending them, and when they blossomed, she showed the flowers 

 to her father and the people around. Soon there was a marked 

 improvement upon the ordinary or any of the ordinary types of 

 the viola tricolor. And so they began. Her father began 

 growing these violet seeds and plants that had shown so much 

 promise, and the result is the beautiful pansy we have today. 



It is precisely the same with the rose. I believe in every 

 land in this world, the rose grows wild ; at any rate, I have 

 never been in any part of the world that has not seen some 

 member of that family ; but you know in the wild state there 

 are always many imperfections in the rose, although some types 

 of the wild rose are very beautiful. But the petals are very 

 thin and fragile ; frequently the flowers are single and the foliage 

 is weak. I think you will remember that through centuries of 

 culture, the good qualities that were in the heart of the flower 

 have been finding their way to perfection. Sometimes a 

 stem has grown stronger: sometimes the root has developed 

 more activity ; sometimes the foliage has become richer, and so, 

 much better able to minister to the needs of the plant : some- 

 times the petals have had richer colors given them, or sweeter 

 fragrance, or have multiplied in number until, at this present 

 time, the rose, through the culture of man, stands queen — 

 crowned queen of all floral loveliness of earth. 



I will ask you one question. Which do you think is the 

 natural flower — the wild rose or any of the American Beauties, 

 — which do you think is the natural rose? The rose which fulfills 

 the purpose of its being, that is what a rose was intended to be ; 

 or, is it the wild rose in its natural, uncultivated state? Is the 

 wild violet flushing your hillsides the natural flower, or is the 

 pansy the perfect flower? My answer is this : that the flower 

 which reveals to the eyes of man its utmost capabilities and 



