TEA-SCENTED ROSES AS CONSERVATORY CLIMBERS 75 



amidst the motley throng. No wonder that thou greetest 

 us at every step, from the garden of the humble cotter to 

 the Rosetum and conservatory of the wealthy and the 



great. 



But it is to advocate the claims of a particular class of 

 Roses, for a particular purpose, that I now take up the pen, 

 and these are the Tea-Scented. What we have said of 

 other Roses, may be said of them ; although the eye of the 

 florist may pronounce them less perfect than the descen- 

 dants of other species. The large guard petals at the 

 circumference of the flowers, and the want of regularity in 

 the arrangement of the inner petals, are not, perhaps, 

 exactly in harmony with his taste. And we do think that 

 their condemnation by some florists has in a great measure 

 blinded the flower-loving public to their merits. Without 

 courting controversy, we feel it incumbent on us to state 

 our views in reference to this point, believing that a just 

 estimation of their value would lead to their more general 

 cultivation. And first let it be remarked that we do not 

 yield them up as florists' flowers. Indeed they are not, if 

 successful strivings to bring them to an ideal standard be 

 the criteria of such. They resist this arbitrary process, and 

 in proportion as they approach what it is said they should 

 be, they lose their own peculiar properties, merging all 

 their natural beauties in one single fancied point. Fortun- 

 ately, however, they are not very tractable in this respect 

 The Tea Roses originated in 1848 resemble those of 1810; 

 they have the large guard petals, the irregular disposition 

 of petals, and, for the most part, the same drooping habit 

 and glossy leaves as those of yore. Notwithstanding this, 

 the varieties we possess furnish us with abundant proof 

 that the object has been attempted, and the slight altera- 

 tion apparent consisting in the size of the flowers and 

 variety of colour we believe not due to the breeding for a 

 particular result, but the natural results of cultivation. 

 Strange that they should thus resist change, when the 

 types of other groups of more recent origin are lost in the 



