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ROSES AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 

 By ALEX. DICKSON. 



IN this paper I propose to deal with roses and their cultivation, and 

 as the space at my disposal is limited I can only deal briefly with 

 the classification of the more important sections. 



Within recent years the greatest gain of the rose has been the 

 improvements effected through the creation of a new class, viz. Hybrid 

 Tea, which has given us very many lovely roses, of such a free and 

 continuous flowering character that we now have our gardens gay 

 from May till November, and in the milder districts of Great Britain 

 and Ireland it is not unusual to gather blooms of these more modern 

 roses at Christmas. 



BRIEF NOTE ON ORIGIN OF PRESENT-DAY SPECIES OR CLASSES. 



Rosa damascena (Damask Rose) . This is a species of great 

 antiquity. It is generally believed to have been introduced into 

 England in 1573. For upwards of 200 years the rose underwent 

 little or no change, but in subsequent years it was improved and varied 

 to a great degree, the first step being the Damask Perpetual. 



The origin of the " Hybrid Perpetual," or, as the French growers 

 term it, "Hybrid Remontant," is various. The first recognized varieties 

 were raised from crosses between those of the " Hybrid Bourbon " 

 or '' Hybrid China " and the " Damask Perpetual " in 1837, while later 

 others were raised from crosses of varieties of Rosa gallica with the 

 "Damask Perpetual." There is also to be found Noisette blood in 

 some of the varieties described in this class. 



The Origin of the Hybrid Bourbon. This species has in greater 

 part descended from crosses effected between varieties of the French 

 or Provence with the Bourbon. 



The China or Bengal Rose is closely related to the Rosa indica, 

 and there can be little doubt but that several of the varieties of recent 

 introduction are the product of crosses between varieties of the China 

 and Tea, notably such beautiful and justly esteemed ones as ' Comtesse 

 de Cayla,' 'Madame Eugene Resal/ ' Mrs. Edward Clayton/ and ' Queen 

 Mab.' 



The Hybrids of the Austrian Briars. These resulted from a cross 

 between the Austrian Briar (Rosa luted] and the Hybrid Perpetual 

 ' Antoine Ducher.' In this class we now have several very 

 beautiful varieties possessing charming colours, shades or tints 

 hitherto unknown. The most noteworthy are ' Lyon Rose,' a 

 variety that varies in colour most considerably, especially on heavy 

 soils, and ' Rayon d'Or/ a self-yellow of absolute distinctness, and 

 ' Juliet/ which is a mingling of old gold, coppery red, and deep 

 rose shades, a truly lovely combination. 



