August 31, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



183 



habit ; it is one of the most beautiful pink Bosea in cultiva- 

 tion, very large and full, and the shape perfect. Auguste 

 Neumann, a full-sized, perfectly-formed, dark crimson Bose, 

 the flowers being very erect. Princess Mary of Cambridge, fine 

 silvery pink; a desirable garden Bose, but not quite large 

 enough for exhibition purposes. Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier; in 

 this we have a distinct shade of salmon pink of the Victor 

 Verdier type; a good Bose. Charles Lefebvre; dear old 

 Charles ! what a true friend, always alike good. This is the 

 poor man's Bose, the rich man's Bose, and everybody's Bose, 

 so good that it needs no praise ; and almost equally good is 

 Senateur Vaisse. 



Of the newer Boses Etienne Levet was a marvel of beauty, 

 the beBt Bose sent out in 1871 ; for substance of petal, colour, 

 foliage, and shape without an equal. Miss Hassard, beautiful 

 soft pink, recurved petals, very full, of perfect shape, erect in 

 habit, with fine foliage ; unquestionably one of the best 

 English Boses in commerce. Mrs. Baker, a darker shade of 

 Victor Verdier, and a promising flower. Bev. J. B. M. Camm, 

 bright rose, globular, very full, very much in the style of the 

 Marquis of Castellane ; a fine exhibition Bose, supposed to be 

 the sweetest Bose in cultivation. Boyal Standard, globular, 

 rosy pink, after the style of Emilie Hausburg ; a promising 

 Bose. Miller Hayes, scarlet crimson, deepening towards the 

 centre ; a very fine Bose. W. Wilson Saunders, intense 

 scarlet, a superb Bobo, but scarcely large enough for the 

 exhibition stand. Comtesse do Serenyi, fine recurved petals, 

 delicate blush, deepening towards the centre ; a Bose of perfect 

 form, and a fine addition to the light colours. Villaret de 

 Joyeuse, bright rose deepening towards the centre ; a promis- 

 ing variety. Reynolds Hole, a very dark rich crimson maroon 

 flushed with scarlet; this Bose is improving, and will become 

 like its namesake a universal favourite. Madame la Baronne 

 de Bothschild, a splendid Bose, too well known to need com- 

 ment. Madame Marie Finger, a glorious Bose for cut blooms ; 

 salmon pink, somewhat deeper than Eugenie Verdier. Alice 

 Dureau, a fine Bose of the Comte de Nanteuil type. Anna 

 Laxton, an improving variety, beautiful bright rose, fine 

 foliage, and well-arranged flowers. Antoine Mouton, a brighter 

 shade of Paui Neron ; young blooms are very pretty, but yon 

 must not see it open. Auguste Rigotard, glowing roBy crim- 

 son with a beautiful violet suffusion; a grand flower. .Black 

 Prince, dark crimson Bhaded black ; occasional blooms are 

 marvels of beauty, but I am told they are " like angels' visits, 

 few and far between." Cheshunt Hybrid, bright carmine ; the 

 young buds are all that can be withed for ; a valuable Rose to 

 mix with cut flowers, and a fine companion for Gloire de 

 Dijon as a pillar Bose. Countess of Oxford, this is a noble 

 flower with splendid foliage. Camille Bernardin, bright red; 

 a flower of first-class quality, very free. Duke of Wellington, 

 fiery red with dark shadings ; extra fine. Ferdinand de Les- 

 Beps, purple shaded violet, splendid foliage, very fine. Francois 

 Michelon, beautiful bright Bose of high quality. Frederick 

 Wood, a promising dark crimson Bose. Lord Maoaulay, bright 

 crimson ; a Bose of a most striking colour, and not sufficiently 

 planted. Madame CSemence Joigneanx, bright rose, rough at 

 times, but here I found it in excellent condition. Madame 

 Fillion, particularly distinct in colour, salmon pink ; a very 

 deBirable Bose. Madame Louis Leveque, beautiful clear rose, 

 very full and globular. Madame Lacharme ; in this beautiful 

 Bose we have the queen of whites ; nothing can equal it in 

 bud, and what can equal its pearly whiteness when in bloom ? 

 Monsieur Noman ; the fresh blooms of this Bose are charming, 

 but are quickly damaged by rain. 



The above ends my notes on the Hybrid Perpetual Boses, 

 and I only noted two of the Bourbons — Baron Gonella and 

 Souvenir de la Malmaison. The former is a bright cerise with 

 bronzy shadings, very distinct ; and the latter is one of the 

 oldest favourites in the garden ; no collection is complete with- 

 out it, especially for autumn blooms. 



Of the Tea-scented Roses the following were the best : — 

 Anna Olivier, a full good Bose. Aline Sisley, deep purple 

 rose, very distinct and useful, good for forcing. Belle Lyon- 

 naise, a very attractive variety of Gloire de Dijon ; a most 

 desirable Bose. Catherine Mermet; this beautiful Bose 

 almost surpasses in beauty anything I have met with in the 

 Tea Boses ; shape perfect, colour beautiful soft salmon rose. 

 La Boule d'Or, golden yellow ; it is useless attempting to 

 describe this " beauty," it is a perfect gem. Louise de Savoie, 

 not a new yellow Bose, but very fine. Madame Jules Mar- 

 gottin, very much like a small Devoniensis with a pink centre ; 

 fine for cut buds. Madame Marie VanHoutle ; here is another 



charming Bose, very light yellow with soft rosy r shading. 

 Madame Willermoz, waxy petals ; a most beautiful Bose. 

 Madame Caroline Kuster, than which no Bose is more perfect 

 for cut flowers. Marie Guillot, very full, a good addition to 

 the Tea Boses. Niphetos, strikingly beautiful when the buds 

 are half open. Perle des Jardins, one of the finest yellow 

 Boses in commerce. Souvenir d'un Ami, a superb Bose of the 

 very highest order. Souvenir d'Elise, creamy white, large 

 waxy petals of great substance ; very fine. 

 * The Moss BoBes were all over with the exception 'of one, 

 Soupert et Notting. There were rows of this eovered'with a 

 profusion of bloom as sweet as any Mosa Bose, and very good. 



Marechal Niel I met with in all stages and forma — in pots, 

 on seedling Briars, low standards, and full standards. In one 

 house there is one of the largest trees in the kingdom, from 

 whioh was cut one morning 1500 blooms ; but although it has 

 a stem as thick as an ordinary man's leg.it is now swelling out 

 of the stock and will soon have to be destroyed. Tea Boses are 

 here extensively grown in pots ; one house was filled with a 

 fine selection of healthy plants in vigorous health, and many 

 were plunged in coal ashes out of doors. 



Speaking of the new Boses of 1875, after a very careful 

 selection I think the following will be among the best French 

 varieties : — Antoine Mouton, ComteBse de Serenyi, Frederick 

 Wood, Hippolyte Jamain, Mons. E. Y. Teas, and Villaret de 

 Joyeuse. The following half dozen are among the best English 

 introductions : — John S. Mill, Mifs Hassard, Bev. J. B. M. 

 Camm, Boyal Standard, Sir Garnet WolBeley, and Star of Wal- 

 tham. I am glad to find we are likely to have further additions 

 from our English raisers, which is much to be desired. The 

 following are very promising: — Dr. Hogg, Mrs. Baker, Oxonian, 

 Saltan of Zanzibar, Duke of Connaught, Letty Coles. French 

 sorts, which are also good, are Duchesaede Vallombrosa, Henry 

 Bennett, Jean Liabaud, Madame F. Jamain, Mdlle. Emilie 

 Verdier, President, Leon de St. Jean, and Triomphe de France. 



But these nurseries are not entirely confined to the rearing 

 and growing of Boses. There is a general stock of shrubby 

 and ornamental trees carefully cultivated. I noticed fine 

 quarters of Wellingtonia gigantea, and groups of Cryptomeria 

 elegans were growing as freely as the common Larch. Bhus 

 glabra laciniata was so beautifully cut in its foliage that it 

 might be taken for a Tree Fern. Acer Negundo variegata ap- 

 peared to be growing in great luxuriance, and I may say that 

 we have no hardy variegated plant equal to it. Of variegated 

 and plain-leaved Ivies there was a large stock in fine condition. 

 Clematises I found growing in various forms, but those pegged- 

 down in the flower garden were specially beautiful. To name 

 the best of them would only be telling an oft-repeated tale. 



Herbaceous and alpine plants also find here a congenial 

 home. There were Phloxes and Pentstemons in great pro- 

 fusion. Aubrietia purpurea variegata was largely represented ;, 

 it is a gem for the spring garden. Plumbago Larpentaa had 

 stood out all tho winter, and was in full bloom ; but the most 

 attractive of perennial plants was Anemone japonica alba, a 

 plant with luxuriant dark green foliage, and a profusion of 

 flowers aa white aa snow. 



In concluding these notes it is only just to say that every 

 part of the nursery was in perfect order, the fruit trees healthy, 

 and the plants in the houses were in good condition and free 

 from insects. Thia is one of our moBt promising midland 

 nurseries, and in the Bose season affords an admirable oppor- 

 tunity for forming an estimate of the varieties, for all the new 

 and most of the old Roses are well and largely cultivated, 

 Mr. Merryweather, jun., being an ardent rosarian. — Q. B. 



Feen Life in Devonshibe. — " The railway — to the lover of 

 nature — mars the free wild aspect of the woods and fields. 

 But Nature conquers everywhere in Devonshire. Even its 

 iron-lined roads are subdued by the softening influence of 

 plants and shrubs. The Ferns, especially, resent the intrusion 

 of the railway engineers. Dry, hard, bare cuttings may be 

 made through the hills ; the turf, Heather, and wild Bracken 

 maybe stripped off along the valleys; the lines maybe laid 

 down, and everything done to make the scene look as com- 

 mercial and uninteresting as possible. But the spontaneous 

 influences which produce vegetable life will overcome all this. 

 The rain comes down, and on to the softened earth the grass 

 seeds blow. Thistle and Dandelion will send their germs in 

 light and airy chariots ; and Fern spores in countless numbers 

 will find their way where the navvy has ruthlessly stripped off 

 the verdant carpeting to make room for the iron roads. Nature, 



