Deckmbkii 15, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



45 



HILL HARKS BACK 



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E. G. HILL TALKS ON ROSES 



Work of Hybridizer. 



I do not like to speak about inysult' 

 particularly; I am afraid you will think 

 I am esotistic. I worked along year 

 after year without any very great sue- 

 cess. i went to Europe and talked with 

 Pernet and Eussell and with Lambert 

 and Soupert, of Luxemburg, and with the 

 Dieksons. I tried to gather information, 

 but I found that a great many of these 

 men were stumbling along; they were 

 not doing things on scientific lines. I do 

 not think it is speaking in any way dis- 

 respectfully of them, ijut I think they 

 were grojjing their way, to a certain 

 extent. I'erhaps Frank Dickson and 

 Alex. Dickson were the most pronounced 

 in their work in regard to scientific 

 knowledge concerning the crossing of 

 roses, and they certainly did get results. 

 Pernet has accomplished much. He took 

 the I'russian yellow and the Austrian 

 copper, and worked for fifteen to twenty 

 years trying to introduce a pure yellow 

 trend in the everl)looming roses. What 

 is the result? His effort has been 

 crowned with the finest rose, the great- 

 est advance that has been made in the 

 rose f:imily in the last twenty-five 

 years, in the variety that he has named 

 for his son, Claudius Pernet. It is one 

 of the most wonderful roses that I have 

 ever beheld. It is not only of good size, 

 but the coloring is simply sui)erb — a 

 t-lear, shining, golden yellow. I think 

 it is going to be a great gardfii rose. 



American Hybridizers. 



I do not want to appropriati^ anything 

 to myself. I think we all owe a (lebt of 

 gratitude to Alexander Montgomery; he 

 lias done great things for the rose. And 

 then John Cook, just see what he has 

 done! He has given us a number of 

 excellent roses, roses that have been ap- 

 propriated by the nurserymen and by 

 those who like beautiful roses for the 

 adornment of the garden and home. 



^ M. H. Walsh lias given us fine types. Dr. 



* Van Heet is doing wonderful work, 

 more particularly for roses that will 

 prove splendid outdoor-blooming a.nd 

 climbing varieties. Dr. ^ ;in Fleet has 

 certainly done a lot of painstaking, care- 

 ful work, ajid he has given us varieties 

 tliat we as Americans should be proud of. 

 I shall not forget going down the 

 Thames river. In looking over tiie back- 

 y.ard fences along the railway, I saw, I 

 think, in five out of every "ten back- 

 yards, roses hanging over' the garden 

 fences— Dorothv Perkins, Kil!;irnev ;ind 

 American Pillar. Those thro.' "roses 

 were being planted in Knuland everv- 

 where and on every hand. T thou-iit tliiit 

 was a tribute to the Annrican res.ni.ni. 

 Labors to Get a New Variety. 



A good many peojile think, when we 

 send out a new rose and ask the price we 

 do, that i-t is exorbitant and we are kind 

 of profiteering. Hut let me .just put the 

 thing to you: From the time I intro- 

 duced Richmond until T got Coluinliia, I 

 spent thousands and tlioiis.ands of dol- 

 lars in wasted space and in wasted time, 

 and I am sure it was a trial to mv 



Whfn E. G. Hill talked before the 

 Florists' Club of Philadelphia, Deer ru- 

 ber 6, President A. M. Campbell knew 

 Itis remarks would be worth the attenlion 

 of more th-aii the few seore who heard 

 them at the meeting. So he entnujed a 

 shorthand reporter to take down Mr. 

 Hill's talk, and here it is — at hasi, most 

 of it. Some had to be omitted Ixeause 

 of limitations of spaee, but thoui/h some 

 humorous aneedotes and some f/eneral re- 

 marks are not here, muc-h hij/ldji interest- 

 infi rose lore is [liven to Kevivir rea(l<r> 



])atience before I got Colunil)ia. Of 

 course, 1 had a nice return from Kicli- 

 mond, liut, do you knowf the nurserymen 

 do not plunge on a new rose that is 

 valual)le for garden purj)Oses. I think 

 the Dreer j)eople are coming to put a 

 better estimate on ])urely garden roses 

 than the general run of the nurserymen 

 have done in the past. We have had 

 some good garden roses, but as soon as 

 they fall they are offered for a song. 

 I think that cheapens a thing, and I 

 should rather burn them up, for there is 

 nothing commensurate for the work 

 done in regard to that type of rose. I 

 think a better day is dawning and that 



there will bo a better appreciation of a 

 good garden rose, and when that day 

 comes we shall see a revolution in our 

 garden variety of roses. There is lots 

 of blood that needs breeding out, 

 and new blood that should i>e bred in, 

 before we shall get satisfactory varieties 

 that will grow and bloom for us out- 

 doors just as they do over the water and 

 out on the I'acific; slope. 



Some Reminiscences. 



If I may reminisce a little, I can 

 remember b.Mck, <|iiite sixty years, when 

 \we had an old te.'i rose called Smith's 

 low. It was delightfully fragrant 

 and it had eight or nine jK'tals. There 

 was another variety, called Xarcross, 

 and another, called Cheney, and I just 

 thought those tea roses at that time 

 were beautiful and the odor was de- 

 lightful. Then .nlong came Sofrano and 

 Isabella 8|)riint. And then we got 

 Catherine Merniet and you know the 

 Hride and bridesmaid; they made 

 thousiinds and tiiousands of dollars for 

 the rose growi'rs of America. Then, of 

 course, we come on down to the present 

 time, when we have got to the point 

 where we may expect improvement 

 right along. I tliink I can tell you where 



E. Gurncy Hill. 



