116 The Rose Garden. 



Chinese ; and while the French Roses (R. GALLICA) appear true to their kind, the 

 Hybrid Perpetuals have given birth to Hybrid Chinese and Hybrids of other Summer 

 Roses, very few having proved Autumnal bloomers. 



Since observing and penning the above I have met with a remark of M. Desprez, 

 the celebrated Rose amateur at Yebles,* that he has sown thousands of seeds of Du 

 Roi (Crimson Perpetual), and never obtained a Perpetual Rose. In all the characters 

 of Rosa Gallica were visible. But we must remember this variety partakes largely 

 of the nature of the Gallica or French Rose. 



In examining my seedlings I found a seedling ol the Moss du Luxembourg had 

 produced a French Rose (R. GALLICA) ; a seed of William Jesse (Hybrid Perpetual) 

 a blush Hybrid Chinese ; a seed of Mrs Bosanquet (Chinese), a pink Chinese, resemb- 

 ling its parent in every respect save colour ; Ch^nedole (Hybrid Chinese) had pro- 

 duced a brilliant-coloured Hybrid Perpetual, and a numerous progeny of Great 

 Western retained exactly the foliage and habit of that variety. Tea Goubault crossed 

 with Bourbon Souchet produced two Summer Roses, the one having the characters 

 of the Hybrid Chinese, the other those of the Hybrid Bourbon. 



My friend M. Laffay once told me that he raised many of his splendid Hybrid 

 Perpetual Roses from Athelin and Celine (Hybrid Bourbons), crossing them with the 

 free-flowering varieties of Damask Perpetual and Bourbon. A few years since he 

 took up a new idea that of obtaining Hybrid Moss and Perpetual Moss Roses by 

 crossing the Moss with the Hybrid Bourbon and Damask Perpetual. He has since 

 raised several seedlings, some Perpetual Moss and some Hybrid Moss, the latter 

 possessing the foliage and vigour of the Hybrid Bourbon Roses. The Princess 

 Adelaide (Moss) was obtained in this manner. On the success of these and the like 

 unions some of the French raisers are very sanguine, and say, much as they have done 

 with Roses, they anticipate doing far more, and raising up such hybridisations and 

 novelties as shall astonish the floral world. As they have already done so much, their 

 intentions and prophecies deserve our respect. But why should France labour alone 

 in this field ? why should she have all the fame, reap all the profit ? Cannot we assist 

 her ? Time is short. Some of the French growers are already past the meridian of 

 life, and the raising of seedling Roses is a tedious operation. 



If the Hybrid Bourbon crossed with the Moss produce perfect seeds, we may 

 presume that the intermixing of the pollen grains of other species will be productive 

 of like results. This, it will be seen, demolishes the idea of the necessity of restricting 

 ourselves to the crossing of individuals of the same group. Not only may we choose 

 the parents from different groups but from different species. Where, indeed, is the 



* M. Desprez was one of the earliest and most successful Rose amateurs in France. He raised many beauti- 

 ul Bourbon and Perpetual Roses some sixty or more years ago. Noisette Desprez, Madame Desprez, and Baronne 

 Prevost were raised by him. He died in 1848, and in his last moments asked for one of his established seedlings 

 that he might look upon it once again. 



