4 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



The parti-coloured Rose which Shakespeare had in mind when 

 he wrote in the Sonnets : 



" The Roses fearfully in thorns did stand, 

 One blushing shame, another white despair ; 

 A third nor red nor white, had stol'n of both 

 And to his robbery had annexed thy breath," 



must have been the York and Lancaster Rose, which most 

 authorities consider to be a variety of the Damask Rose, although 

 the Gloria Mundi Rose, which is also commonly grown under the 

 name of York and Lancaster, is a variety of Rosa Gallica. 



Shakespeare's eglantine is the Sweet Brier (Rosa rubiginosd). 

 If he had lived to-day he would have loved the exquisite hybrid 

 Briers raised by the late Lord Penzance. 



So much for the Shakespearean garland of beautiful Roses, and 

 now a word as to the various sections. The largest class is the 

 Hybrid Perpetual. Several species have been used as parents for 

 these, notably the China or Monthly (Rosa indica}, the Bourbon 

 (Rosa indica borbonicd), and the Damask (Rosa Damascend). The 

 term perpetual is used in connection with them because they 

 bloom twice or more in the year. 



The next largest is the Tea, so called because the perfume of 

 the flowers resembles that of the "cup that cheers but not 

 inebriates." They also spring from a form of the China Rose 

 (Rosa indica odoratd). 



The third largest class is the Hybrid Tea, and it has grown 

 rapidly during recent years. The varieties are cross-breds, probably 

 between Hybrid Perpetuals and Teas. 



The Noisettes are not so numerous as the three foregoing 

 classes, but the section is important, because it includes several 

 beautiful climbing Roses which bear their flowers in clusters, 

 notably Mardchal Niel, William Allen Richardson, LTdeal, and 

 Alister Stella Gray. The origin of the class must be sought in 

 hybridisation between the China and the Musk Roses. 



