io, INTRODUCTION. 



thor's death, has also been included, through 

 tf-e courtesy of the editor? of that periodical. 

 This essay, dealing as ic does with numerous 

 vital points connected with the development 

 of the Rose, will be found most comprehen- 

 sive and instructive, not only by the general 

 reader, but by the skilled rosarian as well. 

 Apart from these additions, the original text 

 of the volume has been left as it first appeared. 

 With the increasing love for flowers, year 

 by year rose-culture has steadily advanced 

 in this country where, in its extended and 

 varied area, the climatic requirements of 

 this flower are scarcely excelled, while its 

 intelligent cultivation under glass is else- 

 where unsurpassed. Indeed, cut-flowers of 

 most kinds are nowhere grown to greater 

 perfection, and nowhere are more expense 

 and pains bestowed in their development 

 than by the florists in the metropolis and the 

 larger cities of America. For flowers are no 

 longer considered a mere luxury to be en- 

 joyed by the wealthy, but have come to be 

 regarded as a necessity to the well-being of 

 even the modest home. The sentiment ex- 

 pressed by Jesse, " the passion for flowers is 

 one of the most enduring and permanent of 

 all enjoyments," has not changed, but has 

 rather been heightened a hundred-fold in 



