ON ROSES. 101 



century. And now that we are recovered from the 

 consternation produced by the slaughter of that period, 

 and Roses are again cheap, good, and plentiful, it may be 

 well to consider how we can best reproduce those pictures 

 of the past, which, though becoming dimmed by distance 

 of time, are still fresh in memory. [In future numbers 

 this question, with other branches of Rosology, will be 

 discussed by a correspondent who is able to speak on all 

 matters connected with Rose culture with the authority 

 which experience alone can impart.*] 



No one with a knowledge of the Rose as it is would, 

 we presume, think of refilling his garden with the varie- 

 ties of the olden times. And if, owing to the scarcity of 

 buds or from other causes, any grower should have re- 

 newed his stock with such materials, he will probably find 

 it easier to grow than to dispose of them. We have 

 entered on a new era in Rose culture. Summer Roses 

 are less valuable than formerly. We cannot, indeed, 

 altogether set them aside, but we shall do well first to 

 reduce the groups, and then the number of the varieties. 

 The Moss, the Austrian Brier, the Hybrid China, &c., are 

 the only groups of this division that are likely henceforth 

 to be extensively cultivated. The French and kindred 

 groups, sweet, bright, and beautiful as they are, must 

 yield to the equal beauty and greater durability of the 

 Hybrid Perpetuals. The Bourbon and Tea-scented races, 

 if inferior to the last-mentioned in hardiness and exacti- 

 tude of form, so far surpass them in redundancy of bloom 

 that they are altogether indispensable. 



But another question arises "In what way shall 

 these Roses be cultivated?" Certain kinds are best as 

 Climbing, Pillar, or Weeping Roses, but in general it is a 

 matter of indifference whether they are grown as standards 

 or dwarfs budded or on their own roots. The purposes 

 for which they are required, and the positions they are 



* This sentence was inserted by the Editor. W. T. 



