28 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ July 12, 1877. 



given them the least care. The tank is frozen over nearly 

 every winter, sometimes for a fortnight at a time, but the 

 Eichardias have inoreased till they have nearly filled the tank, 

 and at this present time I can count nearly forty blooms open, 

 very large and fine in colour and shape. Last year and for 

 many years I have had nearly the same nnmber, and the seeds 

 ripen and seedling plants are plentiful. — C. Beaumont, Tenby. 



THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE ROSE. 



One of the most marvellous features in the history of the 

 Eose is its commanding influence — the power it has of attract- 

 ing to itself the notice of almost all classes in this country. 

 As a result of this magnet-like influence which the RoBe pos- 

 sesses and exerts, an industry of considerable, even surprising, 

 magnitude has become established. It will not be exceeding 

 the bounds of truth to say that no other flower commands the 

 attention and exercises the powerfully attractive force that 

 the Eose does, simply because no other flower possesses in 

 combination the same qualities of variety, beauty, fragrance, 

 and hardiness. 



The Eose is the floral emblem of this country. When and 

 by whom it was installed in that prominent position I know 

 not ; but this I know, that it is worthy of the country, and I 

 think also the country is worthy of the Eose. Its right as 

 England's emblem is unquestioned, its position undisputed, 

 and its qualities are admitted — in a word, it is the national 

 flower and receives the nation's homage. 



That this is so is evident by the extensive commerce in Roses, 

 so extensive as to reach into almost every village and hamlet 

 in the land, and which is spreading not only to other nations 

 of Europe, but which has bridged the mighty Atlantic and 

 gained a footing where it has a right to be, among England's 

 sons on American Boil. The export trade in Eoses has long 

 been great in France, and now a similar trade is great and 

 growing greatly in England. 



What is the inquiry that arises in the minds of visitors to 

 the Eose-growing nurseries of England during the autumn 

 months? Is it not, Whence do all the Briars come? whither 

 do all the Eoses go ? This twin question is a very natural one, 

 for no one can note the thousands, even hundreds of thousands, 

 of Eoses which are annually provided without some feeling of 

 curiosity being evoked and inquiry expressed as to their pro- 

 bable destination. The trade in Roses in England is indeed 

 a mighty trade; how great is not known. Examples of its 

 magnitude might be quoted ; approximate numbers of the 

 Roses annually raised by the great Rose-growers — the special- 

 ists — might be given. This, however, would be obviously 

 undesirable, especially as it is not necessary to do so. A suffi- 

 cient instance of the extent to which Eoses are grown is 

 gathered from the practice of a firm who are not Eose special- 

 ists, and who yet annually bud sixty thousand Briars and as 

 many Manetti stocks, and in addition purchase many more 

 Eoses to meet the demand of their customers. There are 

 trade roBarians who prepare thrice that number of Eoses, and 

 not only prepare them but Bell them. So great waB the demand 

 for Eoses last autumn and winter that it was only by giving 

 early orders that purchasers could secure what they wanted — 

 good plants of particular varieties. One well-known nursery- 

 man, conceiving himself overstocked last autumn, sold five 

 thousand standards to a brother in the trade, and before the 

 planting season was over the vendor had to purchase seven 

 thousand at an enhanced price to execute the orders which 

 steadily poured in. Another nurseryman, on being asked the 

 question why he did not advertise his stock, gave as a reply 

 that he dare not do so, as he had orders for one hundred 

 thousand Eoses on his books while the leaves were yet green 

 on the trees. Those are instances which suggest something of 

 the extent of the commercial value of Eoses. The annual sale 

 of Eoses in England is to be counted not merely by thousands 

 but by hundreds of thousands. There is little or no danger of 

 exaggerating in stating that the aggregate number of Eoses 

 yearly propagated in England exceeds a million — that is, Eoses 

 propagated for sale. It is more likely that three millions are 

 nearer the mark, since more than one grower has to be credited 

 with five hundred thousand. There are also many thousands 

 of plants imported annually from France. Thus the Eose trade 

 is a great industry, wherein thousands of pounds are invested, 

 in which hundreds of persons are employed, and to which a 

 great extent of land is devoted. 



The amount of capital invested in land alone for the culti- 

 vation of Eoses would be startling by its magnitude were it 



possible to ascertain the sum total. Land selected is of the 

 best — the moBt valuable — land that is capable of growing food 

 in the greatest quantity and of the best quality, but it pays 

 better to grow Roses. Is there any stern utilitarian who thinks 

 it is a mistake and a pity that land capable of producing 

 wholesome indispensable food should be devoted to the produc- 

 tion of a flower ? Well, it is not a mistake. The land that 

 grows the greatest amount of money is the most profitable to 

 the nation, for money is condensed food — condensed every- 

 thing that ia requisite for a country's population. A consider- 

 able amount of money derived from the culture of Roses is 

 expended in labour — in the employment of skilled workers 

 and ordinary labourers. Whole families are thus directly sup- 

 ported by the Eose — families which are certainly numbered by 

 hundreds and almost as certainly by thousands. It is the 

 land occupied by Roses that grows the food for theBe thousands 

 as surely as if the food were gathered by the consumers of it 

 from the ground producing the Roses. We sometimes hear 

 it said by those who have little or no perception of beauty, 

 who possess no sentiment, but who live in a little matter-of- 

 fact world of their own, circumscribed by the cold bare walls 

 of prejudice, that there is " no good " in growing flowers and 

 in establishing and promoting flower Bhows. Let the great 

 and respectable portion of the community who derive their 

 livelihood from the industry of flower-growing and its corre- 

 lative flower-showing answer that question. The answer is 

 convincing, and in itself unanswerable, that as there is " beauty 

 in utility," so also there is utility in beauty. Thus flowers 

 have a use, a matter-of-fact substantial use, and no one flower 

 is more " useful " — the word is used advisedly — than the Robo. 



The cultivation of the Rose is commendable apart from the 

 utilitarian aspect of the question. Eose-growing affords con- 

 genial exercise for the educated and refined, and thoBe who 

 are in a lesser degree educated and refined enter a school from 

 which they will learn much that is good when they enter the 

 school of the Eose. It has been said that the songs of a 

 nation exercise an influence equal to the nation's laws, and 

 that the pleasures of a nation — the mode of recreation of a 

 people — is only a degree less important than its industry. In 

 that there is truth. The real character of a nation is better 

 and more truthfully ascertained from the manner in which it 

 plays than from the way in which it works. Work as such 

 is in its nature arbitrary, compulsory; recreation is voluntary, 

 natural. It is a hopeful sign, therefore, when the pleasures of 

 a great portion of the community consist largely in the cul- 

 tivation of flowers. An engagement — a voluntary and ardent 

 engagement, in such a pursuit shows those who indulge in it 

 in their true colours, and tells in a manner which cannot be 

 mistaken of their peace-loving industrial character. The 

 work of those whose recreation is pure and salutary becomes 

 additionally cheerful, and cheerful work is profitable work. 

 England on a memorable occasion was once referred to re- 

 proachfully aB a " nation of shopkeepers," but it was the 

 peaceful industrial shopkeepers who broke a tyrant's power 

 and laid a war king low. A band of soldiers was once regarded 

 as being feminine, their reoreation was not of that coarser 

 kind where the intellect plays but a minor part ; but it was 

 the " milk-and-water " contingent, the noble band of a noble 

 leader — Havelock, who in the hour of England's need pre- 

 served the brightest jewel in our monarch's crown. 



Let, then, the recreation of flower culture pursue its onward 

 course, and let the industry of flowers — of the Eose as the 

 national flower — increase and its shows flourish. Let all who 

 can do so aid in this work, for the nature of it is good, and the 

 results will be beneficial. Let Eose-growing as a trade — an 

 industry — expand, for on its prosperity depends in a great 

 measure the well-being and the domestic comfort of hundreds 

 of humble workers who are engaged in it, and who are indebted 

 to it for their daily bread. Let amateur growers of Eoses 

 increase, and Eose shows prosper. Why do those growers cul- 

 tivate Eoses ? Because the occupation affords them pleasure 

 — wholesome healthy pleasure — and the blooms add happiness 

 to many happy homes, and gladden distant friends — it may 

 be sufferers in some hospital ward. Why do such growers 

 exhibit their Eoses ? Is it for gain ? No. There oan be no 

 gain, no money gain, in travelling hundreds of miles by night 

 and by day conveying their treasures to the exhibition tent or 

 hall to win a chance honour. But there is a gain — a coveted, 

 a cherished reward — of having afforded others the means of 

 sharing the gratification of the growers in enjoying the mag- 

 nifioent blooms. Is not a pursuit so unselfish, so commend- 

 able, worthy of support? Are not Eose shows deserving of 



