vi PREFACE. 



cally available, scientific terms have been as 

 far as possible laid aside, and the simplest 

 form of language adopted. 



The superiority attained by the French in 

 the cultivation of roses, is usually attributed to 

 their advantages of climate, which can regard 

 only the atmosphere of the suburbs of London ; 

 for it is well known that the rose suffers from 

 much intensity of sun. It is asserted by emi- 

 nent French horticulturists, that though roses 

 are easier of propagation in France, they attain 

 their highest perfection in England ; the nur- 

 sery gardens of Tooting, Ingatestone, and above 

 all those of Rivers of Sawbridgworth, the first 

 rose-grower in England, are cited in Paris as 

 producing the finest roses in the world. The 

 superiority of soil, and the attention given by 

 our gardeners to the formation of artificial soils, 

 appear to counterbalance the disadvantage of 

 the humidity of the English atmosphere. 



The real source of the eminence of the 

 French in the culture of roses, is the fact that 

 it absorbs the almost exclusive attention of 

 their horticulturists. The high price of fuel 

 places the cultivation of the tender exotics (by 



