II 



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 propa- 

 gated. 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 

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