186 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



ary of our national S. A. F. So far it 

 has been a rose society only in name, 

 but at Detroit it took a new lease of 

 life and now bids fair to start off with 

 the enthusiasm that belongs to the 

 carnation society. It is sincerely wish- 

 ed that it may and if so what magni- 

 ficent displays may we expect at its 

 annual conventions and exhibitions? 



Space forbids me to more than men- 

 tion the literature of the rose. Among 

 the books devoted to the rose may be 

 mentioned Shirley Hittbard's "Rose 

 Book for Amateurs," and "A Book 

 About Roses," by Rev. Dean S. R. 

 Hole. Both of these gentlemen are 

 charming writers and ardent students 

 of the rose. There you will find the 

 history of the rose, almost from the 

 dawn of our own history, as well as 

 its present day beauties and associa- 

 tions. A far (more edifying literature 

 than campaign speeches, murders, 

 shipwrecks, or the latest movements 

 of the popular vaudeville actresses. 



Of American authors, besides Mr. 

 Ellwanger's book, we have "Parsons 

 on the Rose," by S. B. Parsons, a noted 

 horticulturist; and "The Secrets of 

 Rose Culture," by W. J. Hatton, a 

 practical florist. One more foreign 

 book is that by Win. Paul, "The Rose 



could have improved on that myster- 

 ious and ambiguous story of the Gar- 

 den of Eden had I been the learned 

 Israelite or syndicate of Israelites who 

 by tradition handed down or scratched 

 on tablets of stone or burnt clay the 

 stories of their forefathers whose 

 dreams included serpents, fig leaves, 

 forbidden fruit and murder. Strange 

 that these evil agencies surround us 

 yet, and encompass a man most fatally 

 if he steps far off the virtuous path. 

 I hope I won't be considered presump- 

 tuous but I would have made Miss 

 Innocent Eve tempt Mr. Frank Adam 

 to present her with a moss rose bud. 

 The roses were growing in Asia Minor, 

 but no one knows what kind of fruit 

 the forbidden species was. If Eve was 

 a dark-skinned damsel we would say 

 it was a watermelon. The moss rose 

 bud would be far more poetical and 

 hag \a meaning, for at 15 years of age 

 we learned that a moss rose bud was 

 an expression of true love, or at 

 least the first true, but in poor Eve's 

 case it would have been a case of force. 

 It was first, last and only love. No 

 flirting, no jealousies nor need of 

 western divorce courts, where the sign 

 hangs out: "Divorces granted while 

 you wait." 



Basket of Roses. 



Garden." It is an expensive but mag- 

 nificently illustrated volume, and Mr. 

 Paul, as a raiser and cultivator is per- 

 haps the foremost rosarian of the 

 world. 



The rose has been emblematic of no 

 end of things and I will conclude my 

 preliminary remarks by saying that 

 I have thought many times that I 



If you were to ask an American 

 which was the most important class of 

 roses he would probably say the Teas. 

 If you asked an Englishman he would 

 say undoubtedly that the so-called 

 Hybrid Perpetual class was much the 

 most important. The more temperate 

 climate of Western Europe is very 

 favorable to the rose, and In Great 



Britain the Tea and Noisette roses are 

 hardy out of doors. In our Northern 

 States the Hybrid Perpetuals, while 

 being quite entitled to be called hardy, 

 are often injured toy the severe winters, 

 and the Tea and Noisette sections, un- 

 less most thoroughly protected, are en- 

 tirely unfitted for our winters. 



There is nothing that our people 

 crave to have in their garden, let it be 

 in the few acres of the millionaire or 

 the small garden plot of the mechanic, 

 so much as a rose, and in nothing is 

 there so much disappointment. With 

 our detached residences, both big and 

 little, there is always some garden, and 

 too frequently the attempt to grow 

 roses in them is a failure The soil 

 is often worn out and there is not fresh 

 air enough. The budded stock is pur- 

 chased from the tree peddler, and in a 

 few years there is a strong growth of 

 the Manetti stock. "But the roses don't 

 flower." The rose is long since dead 

 and only the suckers of the Manetti 

 exist. 



I believe that where there is a good 

 expanse of lawni and' the soil is fresh 

 and good the best results can be ob- 

 tained by planting annually young 

 plants of the Tea and Hybrid Tea vari- 

 eties. Years ago where now stand 

 buildings we used to plant out every 

 May 3 or 4-inch pot plants of the old 

 Bon Silene, Safrano, Isabella Sprunt 

 and Duchess de Brabant, and from 

 June on till 'middle of November we 

 cut thousands of handsome buds, 

 which I know would more than gratify 

 any of our customers. For such is 

 the love for and pride to produce roses 

 that occasionally we have the busy 

 business man call in during fall just 

 to say that he "cut one fine rose this 

 morning," and he is as proud of it 

 as if it was a baby arrived during the 

 wee sma' hours, the unearthly time at 

 which Providence has ordained these 

 interesting domestic events to usually 

 occur. 



This summer in an open field far re- 

 moved from the refreshing influence 

 of the hose and also the "madding 

 crowd," on a piece of good light loam, 

 we have had a row of Perle des Jar- 

 dins, President Carnot and La France. 

 They have flowered continually and 

 will till 10 degrees of frost destroys 

 their tender growth. 



Before I enter on the two classes of 

 roses that are the main objects of this 

 article, as well as the plants of great- 

 est importance to the florist, I want to 

 say a word about the uses of some 

 other classes that we occasionally 

 have to supply. 



The rose is spread over the entire 

 northern temperate regions of the 

 world, not so numerous in species in 

 North America as in Asia and Europe. 

 In this country they are found as far 

 south as Mexico. Over 200 species of 

 roses have been described, but there 

 are probably 50 species well defined, 

 and of varieties and hybrids of these 

 many species there are thousands. The 

 cultivator has done marvelous things 

 with/ the rose, and some of our culti- 

 vated varieties are as far removed 



