vi PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION 



cannot shut one's eyes to the fact that the progress 

 in the Eose world — great as it has been in the 

 exhibition flower, -per se — lies rather in the other 

 direction, namely, in use of the plant for garden 

 decoration. 



It is not for us to criticise the author's obiter 

 dicta or his methods. "We are not rewriting the book, 

 but only endeavouring to bring it more up-to-date ; 

 therefore have not thought it incumbent on us to 

 alter the matter of many of the chapters, preferring 

 to make any comments or alterations considered 

 necessary by way of foot-notes, except in the 

 Chapter on "Manners and Customs" and in the 

 lists of Eoses, where we have been obliged to 

 eliminate many of his old favourites and to replace 

 them by Eoses that are now generally recognised as 

 essential from the point of view of the Exhibitor. 

 We feel that in doing this we have his own warrant, 

 as he strongly advises a vigorous weeding out every 

 autumn of all those Eoses which having been 

 thoroughly tried have been found wanting. 



It is remarkable how few good and reliable Eoses 

 of the class he loved, the Hybrid Perpetuals, have 

 been introduced since he wrote and how many 

 Hybrid Teas have been added— but the demand 

 creates the supply and the Eose-loving public has 

 demanded not only " free flowering " Eoses but 

 "continuous flowering" Eoses as well, in a word, 

 true perpetuals. These true perpetuals are to be 



