INTRODUCTION. xi 



These little facts are well known to the expe- 

 rienced cultivator. 



Some new roses inserted in the catalogue have 

 only bloomed here one season, and perhaps not 

 quite in perfection, so that an accurate descrip- 

 tion could not be given of them : many of these 

 are most undoubtedly fine varieties. In classing 

 the roses in the following pages, and in the cata- 

 logue, I have retained those that are but slightly 

 hybridised in that division to which they have 

 the nearest affinity; for instance, if a rose between 

 the French and Provence roses has more of the 

 characters of the former than of the latter, it is 

 retained with the French roses, as it will group 

 well with them, though not a pure French rose : 

 this helps to avoid those numerous subdivisions 

 with which most of the French catalogues are 

 burdened, as they only tend to confuse the young 

 amateur. In the descriptions, the colour of the 

 flower is not always given, as the catalogue, of 

 which this guide is only a companion, generally 

 gives that correctly. 



In forming a collection of roses from the 

 French gardeners, great difficulty is often expe- 

 rienced by their incorrectness in the names of 

 their plants: this inattention, to call it by no 

 worse name, has long been the bane of com- 



