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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Mabch 10, 1905. 



cial occasions, and for -the dead. In ad- 

 dition to the decorations for the table 

 the couch(!s upon which the guests re- 

 clined were elaborately decked with 

 roses, as were also the floors of the 

 rooms. 



Cleopatra covered the floors of her 

 diuing-rooms with rose leaves to a con- 

 siderable depth, and over them placed a 

 fine net, to that her guests might tread 

 the floral carpet without inconvenience. 

 It was the custom to cover the beds of 

 the guests with roses, and some who 

 slept under layers of rose petals were 

 annoyed beyond measure if any of them 

 should srtart to curl, indicating they were 

 not fresh. I fear that some of their 

 descendants are among our patrons of 

 today. 



The i-ot^e has many rivals as a dec- 

 orative flower. The chrysanthemum, the 

 carnation, tin; lily, and even that butter- 

 fly of fashion, the orchid, are all in the 

 race for popularity. But the rose, en- 

 dowed with so many points of excellence, 

 is still the one great favorite. 



One thing more may be said of the 

 rose that can hardly apply to any other 

 flower, and that is its changing beauty. 

 As a bud we admire it, and as it slowly 

 develops until half blown, it grows more 

 and more beautiful, until finally when 

 fully expanded, it takes another form 

 and gradually fades away. 



Oh. there Is nought In nature bright 

 Where roses do not shed their light! 

 And when, at length, with pale decline. 

 Its florid beauties fade and pine, 

 Sweet as in youth. Its balmy breath 

 Diffuses odors e'en rn death. 



NEW AND PROMISING SORTS. 



[A paper by P. J. Lynch, of West Grove. Pa., 

 read before the Florists' Club of Philadelphia, 

 March 7.] 



Philadelphia as Rose Center. 



In responding to the invitation of 

 the chairn.an of the committee having 

 charge of the evening's program, to 

 give a "short" talk upon the new and 

 promising roses, I think the polished 

 diplomacy of the gentleman overcame 

 my better judgment, for I know of no 

 I)articular act of my life that justifies 

 the honor thus paid me. Your club has 

 ever been in the front rank in further- 

 ing the popularity of the rose, while 

 the fame of your growers is world-wide. 

 For a slow town like Philadelphia, send- 

 ing safely to England's queen, as one 

 of your growers did, a bunch of that 

 beautiful rose of Philadelphia origin, 

 Queen of Edgely, savored of a pace 

 rather diflicult to overtake. 



Then, too, while the origin of the 

 ever-popular American Beauty (or as 

 has been claimed, Mile. Ferdinand 

 Jamain) is somewhat obscure, yet it 

 first attained prominence as a commer- 

 cial variety through the foresight of a 

 Philadelphia grower. Liberty, now so 

 thoroughly established as a forcing 

 variety, came into prominence through 

 the efforts of a Philadelphia grower. 

 Even that much-discussed variet.y that 

 today for amateur cultivation is per- 

 haps the leading rose of its color, 

 achieved notoriety through one of your 

 local growers. Though gallantry was 

 at stake as to whether it should be 

 named for the bishop or the lady, the 

 bishop won. I refer to Balduin — Helen 

 Gould. 



I might mention a host of now famous 

 varieties, such as William Frances Ben- 



nett, Souvenir de Wootton, Golden Gate, 

 Princess Bonnie, Pink Soupert, Marion 

 Dingee and many others whose rise to 

 fame and popularity came through the 

 intelligent efforts of growers of Phila- 

 delphia and its environs. With these 

 facts in mind I approach this subject 

 with considerable apprehension. 



Some Old Roses Still "New." 



I am conscious of the fact that in the 

 brief limitations of this paper it wiU 

 be impossible to cover the subject com- 

 pletely and accurately. I shall there- 

 fore give you my observations as they 

 have occurred to me in the daily con- 

 tact with over a thousand different va- 

 rieties of roses, coming as they have, 

 from all parts of the world. I shall 

 gpeak only of roses now in commerce, 

 and while varieties may be mentioned 

 that are not entirely new so far as re- 

 cent origin is concerned, yet it is to be 

 borne in mind that there are a great 

 many roses "born to blush unseen and 

 waste their sweetness on the desert 

 air"; many for years remained unno- 

 ticed, with their latent beauty unde- 

 veloped, until through sheer force of 

 worth they rose to fame and glory. We 

 have notable instances of this fact in 

 Golden Gate and more lately that Irish 

 beauty, Killarney. 



The Amatetjr's Interest 



I shall also give equal prominence to 

 varieties that are jindoubtedly valu- 

 able, not only for forcing purposes, but 

 those varieties appealing to amateur 

 growers, whose ranks are constantly in- 

 creasing. Of this class, for whom I 

 feel better fitted to speak than from a 

 strictly professional standpoint, I can 

 say that it is a gratifying indication of 

 the rapidly increasing love for the 

 queen of flowers, that the average ama- 

 teur enthusiast — and there are thou- 

 sands of them in all sections of the 

 land — is keenly alert to the improve 

 pienta o f thfl rme, an4 



Bo#-4Bfrecrneirti7~rTFie~Eea(r~of 



has a knowledge of varieties as accu- 

 rate as that of the professional grower. 

 This growing interest of the masses 

 bodes well for the future of the rose, 

 and should prove a stimulus to Ameri- 

 can hybridizers, who may feel assured, 

 if their creations have merit, that the 

 rose-loving public will be quick to give 

 them deserving recognition. 



The Newer Ramblers. 



It seems fitting that I recommend at 

 the outset that sensational new rose, 

 Mme. Norbert Levavasseur, or Baby 

 Rambler. This vivacious French debu- 

 tante is the rose that blooms every day 

 in the year. Growing in its full vigor 

 twenty inches high, with finely pol- 

 ished, dark green foliage, with which it 

 is abundantly supplied, it forms a com- 

 pact bush, which with ordinary care is 

 a mass of shining crimson beauty. For 

 every purpose from the florists' stand- 

 point it possesses the highest value, 

 and for the amateur it ^s equally valu- 

 able. It is indeed a perpetual bloom- 

 ing, dwarf Crimson Rambler. 



In the Rambler class may be also 

 mentioned a variety that does not seem 

 to gain the recognition it deserves as a 

 rose of splendid worth, Dorothy Per- 

 kins. It is a true Rambler, particular- 

 ly valuable for Christmas work, and 

 equally as valuable in the open ground; 

 thoroughly hardy, bearing in large clus- 

 ters beautiful clear, shell-pink flowers 

 of excellent substance. Philadelphia 

 Rambler, a recent introduction, bears 

 out all that is claimed for it, and in 

 some respects is an improvement over 

 the old, reliable Crimson Rambler. 



The Splendid Hardy Hybrids. 



One of the most unique and valuable 

 of the newer roses is Soleil d'Or, the 

 first of a new race, a cross between Per- 

 sian Yellow and Antoine Ducher. It 

 forms a strong, sturdy bush, very robust 

 in liabit, with foliage that emits the 

 true sweetbriar fragrance. The flowers . 

 are sunset yellow or reddish gold, and 

 are highly fragrant; hardy everywhere; 

 splendid for single specimens or for 

 hedges. 



In this same class of hardy roses of 

 the rugosa and sweetbriar type may 

 be mentioned Sir Thomas Lipton, a 

 rugosa rose. The flowers are large, very 

 double, pure white and fragrant. It is 

 freer blooming than any other rugosa, 

 and will prove a splendid variety for 

 hedging purposes. 



From Germany comes another great 

 new hardy rose, Frau Karl Druschki. 

 The flowers are almost as large as 

 American Beauty, deliciously fragrant, 

 full, deep and double. This variety 

 may be called a free blooming hybrid 

 perpetual, being a cross between Mer- 

 veille de Lyon and Mme. Caroline Tes- 

 tout. The color is snow-white. Apart 

 from Margaret Dickson we do not have 

 a really great white rose in this class, 

 and this variety may be considered one 

 of the best, if not the very best, hardy 

 hybrid perpetual rose of its color. 



Newer Hybrid Teas. 



Among the newer hybrid teas of 

 prominence and merit we have Bessy 

 Brown, a really wonderful rose, with 

 large, double, deep flowers, borne on 

 strong, erect stems, after the style of 

 President Carnot, which it resembles in 

 growth and somewhat in flower, but is 

 distinct enou gh to des erve^a pl a c ft^ — 

 " ic heaiT^of the list. 



