n 



THE BEST VARIETIES WITH THEIR 

 CHARACTERISTICS 



THE rose has been the Queen of Beauty among 

 flowers as far back as records go. Down the ages 

 she has held her position unchallenged. India, 

 Persia, China, Japan, Greece, Italy and the rest of 

 Europe all pay her homage in verse and story. 

 The rose is a native of all these countries, and those 

 of the twentieth century are the gradual evolution 

 from the original types to our almost perfect flower. 

 At first this evolution was slow and greatly due to 

 chance. Hybridization was neither understood nor 

 practised. New roses came from seed, or from 

 some new variety thrown out by an old stock and 

 noticed and propagated. Nature's friend, the bee, 

 did most of the crossing of varieties, but such progress 

 did not suit rose growers, and from the gambling 

 methods of chance seeds systematic hybridization 

 became the order of the day. At once the rose list 

 increased by leaps and bounds, for the field was of 

 extreme fascination and boundless possibilities. 



Without going into the history of all the various 

 steps, it is sufficient to say that about 1825 the 



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