6 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 5, 1877. 



prize ; for twelve trusses of Hybrid Perpetual Baroness Roth- 

 schild Messrs. Paul & Son were first and Mr. Harrington second ; 

 for twelve trusses of Hybrid Perpetoal La France MeBBrs. G. 

 Paul & Son were again first, and Messrs. Cranston & Co. second ; 

 for twelve trusses of Hybrid Perpetual Marie Baumann Mr. B. 

 R. Cant was first, and Mr. R.N. G Baker second for fine blooms ; 

 for twelve trusses of Noisette Mar6chal Niel Mr. Charles Turner 

 was firBt with very rich blooms, and Mr. Davis second ; for 

 twelve trusses of Hybrid Perpetual Princess Beatrice Mr. B. R. 

 Cant was firBt, and Messrs. Paul & Son second ; for twelve 

 trusses of Hybrid Perpetual Edouard Morren Messrs. G. Paul 

 and Son were first, and Messrs. Mitchell & Sons second for 

 splendid blooms; and for twelve trusseB of Hybrid Perpetual 

 Madame Lacharme Mr. B. R. Cant was first, and Mr. Charles 

 Turner second for excellent stands. For one vase of RoBes, cut 

 blooms, set up with Rose foliage only, the prizes went in the 

 following order: — First to Mr. Charles Turner; second to Mr. 

 J. Gardiner, Southgate ; and.third to Mr. J. W. Chard. In the 

 miscellaneous class an extra prize was awarded to Messrs. 

 William Paul & Son for an extensive and fine collection of 

 RoBes, also to Mr. C. Turner for a splendid collection of Pinks. 

 A certificate of merit was also awarded to Mr. Charles Turner 

 for Dean of Windsor Rose. 



THE NATIONAL EOSE SOCIETY'S EXHIBITION 



AT ST. JAMES'S .HALL.- 



Jdlt 4th. 



What a contrast to the dull dreary day on which in December 



last some thirty or forty lovers of the Rose met together at the 



Horticultural Club to inaugurate the formation of a Society 



which should have for its special object the queen of flowers, 



the national flower of England, the flower that poets have sung 



of and lovers delighted in. Then all was expectancy, now all 



is a reality fulfilled. There has been no discontent, and so we 



must alter one word and say — 



" Now is the winter of our expectation 

 Made glorious gammer." 



We know not what may be the result financially ; but when the 

 Society can muster some 250 members, when we can tell of more 

 than 400 entries, which means 10,000 blooms, when we can say 

 that from all points of the compass the very crime de la crime 

 of English Rose growers both professional and amateur have 

 gathered together to the high festival, we may surely say that 

 the Rose deserves the name of queen not merely from her own 

 intrinsic beauty, but from the wide allegiance and the loyal 

 homage that she claims — aye, and obtains too. But why at St. 

 James's Hall? Is that a fitting casket for such a jewel? Is 

 that a place where the Rose can be seen in perfection? Well, 

 some can remember the first RoBe show held there nineteen 

 years ago and fancy another has not been seen to excel it, and 

 now, as then, the desire was to bring the show into the heart of 

 London. Those public places which are in the hands of com- 

 panies were deemed unsuitable; Kensington and the Regent's 

 Park were both considered too far off for the purpose ; no open 

 space could be secured, and if it could have been then all would 

 have depended on weather ; whereas in a room at any rate there 

 is security from many of the annoyances which a wet day in a 

 tent entails ; and hence the discomfort of crowding and of being 

 obliged to place some Roses where they could not be seen to 

 perfection had to be endured in order to Eecure a central position. 

 St. JameB's Hall appears, therefore, to have been a matter of 

 necessity rather than of choice for holding the Show. 



It will readily be believed that the office of Secretary has been 

 no light one, but we are assured that it has been made much 

 less heavy by hearty, cordial, and kindly co-operation which haB 

 been afforded, akoby the confidence all have expressed, and espe- 

 cially, perhaps, by the hearty assistance of many local secretaries, 

 some of whom have contributed very much to the success of 

 the Society by their strenuous efforts on its behalf, and which 

 have resulted in this great Show, for it may be said without 

 reservation that no such gathering of Roses and Rose-growers 

 has ever met in merrie England before to do honour to our 

 national flower. We have no wars of the Roses now ; a friendly 

 tournament is all we claim to hold, and we only look for it that 

 the best knight may win his spurs and acknowledge the high 

 honour he has obtained. Those honours were such as to be 

 worthy of the best efforts of our best rosarians, and when such 

 are engaged in earnest and kindly rivalry, why, then the Rose 

 reigns triumphant. Rose weather, too, has at length prevailed, 

 but it was not until almost the very eve of the Show. True we 

 had brilliant days in June, but the ground and the air were dry 

 and the blooms did not grow in a free, fresh, natural manner, 

 but were, as was somewhat forcibly remarked by a real Rcse- 

 worker, " pulled out." But with July came a change: on the 

 very first day of the month — the Rose month — a splendid shower 

 fell over a wide district of the southern counties. On the 



second day a partially clouded sky promoted_ a moist genial 

 atmosphere; on the third Bunshice mingled with Bhower, and 

 induced a free unfolding of the blooms ; and on the fourth, the 

 memorable fourth, was the tournament — the feast. 



The Rose was indeed in royal session ye8terday,but they were 

 southern beauties, the date being quite too early for the ncrth, 

 even for the north midland counties, where a few straggling 

 blooms, the advance guard of the RoEe army, are only now just 

 forming. The morning of the Show was dull with the barometer 

 slightly falling, but the day proved fine. 



Unfettered by harsh laws Rose admirers — her lovers, the 

 hard-working cultivators, came and offered freely of their very 

 best at her Bbrine. What a theme this is for a poet to sing of! — 

 a RoEe show held in the very centre of London, in a hall large 

 enough for all ordinary gatherings, tut' inadequate in every way 

 to the needs of roEarians ; and yet all we can say of it to-day is 

 but a few hurried words — the leading incidents of th9 Show. 

 Whether, then, we regard the number of exhibitors, the nature 

 of their exhibits, or the general appearance of the Hall, we must 

 pronounce the Show of the National Rose Society to have been 

 what all lovers of the Rose will rejoice to hear — a great success. 

 Mons. Cochet, the proprietor of the French Journal des Hoses, 

 who attended the Show, was surprised at its excellence, and 

 stated that they have no Roses in France which can at all be 

 compared with the grand English-grown bloomB. 



In describing the Exhibition we cannot do better than follow 

 the order of the schedule, which commences as usual with the 

 nurserymen's classes. 



Class 1, seventy-two distinct, single trusses. The prizes were 

 £11, £9, £5, and £3, and when it is considered that six great 

 nurserymen competed it will be seen that there were plenty of 

 good Roses to look at. In this class Messrs. G. Paul & Son and 

 Mr. Cant ran very cloBe. Mr. Cant's stands were placed in a 

 very bad light close to the entrance door, but the Judges took 

 the trouble to have them brought into a good light when making 

 their awards. Mr. Paul was first with a very even and good 

 Btand. Mr. Cant's collection contained a considerable number 

 of Teas. He had a lovely bloom of La Boule d'Or, the only one 

 in the class ; but the best bloom in his stand was Souvenir d'Elise. 

 This was simply perfection ; very large, with beautiful colour, and 

 of superb form. Mr. Cant also had a fine bloom of Niphetos, which 

 usually comes so fluffy and open ; but here it may be said that 

 Mr. Keynes showed by far the best Niphetos in the Exhibition, 

 Devoniensis, Anna Olivier, and Souvenir d'un Ami were all to 

 be found in grand form in his stands. The Colchester Hybrid 

 Perpetuals were very fine, but the best were Mrs. Veitch, Etienne 

 Levet, and Francois Louvat. This latter is seldom seen at shows, 

 except in Mr. Cant's stands, and rarely grown by amateurs. 

 This only showB how old varieties are often discarded as being 

 useless now that newer and supposed finer novelties take their 

 place in the rosery, and many such Roses as Francois Louvat 

 ought to be grown as largely as Duke of Edinburgh and Charles 

 Lefebvre. Mr. Cant had also fine blooms of Duchesse de Vallom- 

 brosa. The importance of a new good light variety of the colour 

 of Baronne de Rothschild and the form of Madame Vidot in a 

 stand consisting for the most part of crimson and high-coloured 

 varieties cannot be overstated. Another comparative novelty 

 which he showed a magnificent bloom of was Mr. Cranston's 

 Rose Sir Garnet Wolseley. If that hero was present yesterday 

 he muBt have thought that this RoEe was even worthy of his 

 name and renown. Among our old favouriteB Mr. Cant showed 

 magnificent specimens of Mdlle. Marie Rady, Senatenr Vaisse, 

 Olivier Delhomme, Xavier Olibo, Marie Baumann, Charles Le- 

 febvre, and (wonderful to relate) Gloire de Vitry. Once more 

 that gem of the first water, that pure snow white Lily among 

 the Roses, Madame Lacharme, came to the front. Oq the 

 maiden she appears this year to be perfect. Mr. Cant's blooms 

 are mentioned first, not because he was first, for Mr. Paul rightly 

 won the premier prize, but the Colchester Roses were so freehand 

 attractive. To Mr. George Paul, however, belongs the honour of 

 winning the premier prize at the premier Bhow of the year, and 

 no words can do justice to the regularity, the form, and the 

 general excellence of the blooms; wonderfully fresh tbey were 

 and of great substance. His stands, too, were full of novelties. 

 Among these was a very good bloom of John Bright, a variety 

 which will take a foremost place in the catalogues and the gar- 

 den. But without further criticism the whole of the seventy- 

 two varieties may be named which won him this great honour. 

 They were Madame Charles Wood, Mdlle. Marie Finger, Auguste 

 Rigotard, Daehesse de Vallombrosa, Victor V^rdier, Mons.E. Y. 

 TeaB, Peach Blossom, John Bright, Catherine Mermet, Maurice 

 Bernardin, La France, Camille Bernardin, Mad. Vidot, Ferdinand 

 Janin, Annie Laxton, Duke of Edinburgh, Mons. Noman, Felix 

 Genero, Mrs. Baker, Elie Morel, Senatenr VaiBse, Marquise de 

 Gibot, Etienne Levet, DucheBSe de Morny, Henri Ledechaux, 

 Capitaine Christy, Mrs. G. Paul, Lselia, Robert Marnock, Madame 

 Lacharme, Horace Vernet, Baronne de Rothschild, Louis Van 

 Houtte, Mar<5cbal Niel, Comtesse d'Oxfoid, Paul Verdier, Le 

 Havre, Madame Nachury, Marguerite Brassac, Edouard Morren, 

 Ferdinand de Lesseps, Mons. Boncenne, Marquise de Ligneris, 



