152 THOUGHTS ON ROSES. 



good deal. One's faith in many varieties would be sadly 

 shaken were he to judge them by this season alone. Some 

 of the favourite show Roses, whose reputation has been 

 built up by cut blooms alone, have scarcely appeared in 

 box or on tree in anything like showable condition, 

 whereas some almost-forgotten favourites, both new and 

 old, have acquired or regained a high reputation. The 

 best twenty-five varieties of the year with me have been : 

 Alfred Colomb, Antoine Ducher, Beauty of Waltham, 

 Black Prince, Dr Lindley, Elizabeth Vigneron, Felix 

 Genero, Fisher Holmes, Francois Louvat, Jean Lambert, 

 La Duchesse de Morny, La Ville de St Denis, Lord 

 Macaulay, Louise Peyronny, Madame Victor Verdier, 

 Mdlle. Annie Wood, Mar<chal Vaillant, Marie Baumann, 

 Monsieur Boncenne, Monsieur Noman, Pierre Netting, 

 Praire de Terre noire, Prince de Portia, Queen Victoria 

 (Wm. Paul), and Souvenir de Monsieur Boll. Do we seek 

 the why and wherefore of this ? The reply is, constitution 

 and substance. A Rose with good constitution and sub- 

 stance stands best the vicissitudes of climate, be it rain, 

 frost, or sun heat. Thousands of Roses of perfect beauty, 

 but of delicate constitution, will be found to have suc- 

 cumbed to this tropical summer, and this year's experi- 

 ence should teach us not to pay too much respect to the 

 one idea of form, but to look after substance and consti- 

 tution also. Another year may teach us some other fact, 

 and so, little by little, with Roses as with other things, 

 is a wide and correct knowledge built up by experience. 



FAST LIFE AMONG THE EOSES. 



[From " The Florist" 1869,^. 56.] 



T^ECENTLY I proposed the following query when 



1\. writing on new Roses: "Do many kinds, really 



vigorous when beginning life anew from the seed, fail and 



