256 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



hard, or have too " liberal treatment." I would not 

 advise the application of liquid manure after the 

 buds are formed. If grown well, a large proportion 

 of the blooms come good, and they can stand a 

 little rain. They have fine stout petals, and are 

 wonderfully full in the centre, so much so that the 

 Rose has quite two shapes, and the best one was not 

 known for the first year or two : for it has in the 

 first stage a grand regular semi-globular shape, and 

 when expanded and overblown it is yet so perfectly 

 full, even when as flat as a pancake, as to show no 

 eye, and to be still presentable and wonderful, 

 though not so beautiful as a Bose. The colour is 

 best and purest in the first of these stages ; in the 

 second it is more mixed. When presented for the 

 Gold Medal, which was granted by acclamation, it 

 was shown by Mr. Bennett in great quantity, 

 several large boxes of it being staged. Every bloom 

 was fully expanded, and its true beauty remained 

 unknown. It was then sold to America and we had 

 to wait a year for it. When it was at last obtainable, 

 there was a large demand for the half-guinea plants, 

 with the result, I believe, that there was hardly a 

 bloom seen in the country that year, the plants 

 having no doubt been budded from non-flowering 

 shoots. The following year the true form was seen, 

 and it is not now quite so shy a bloomer as it was. 

 In size and lasting qualities it is quite at the top 

 of the tree : as a free bloomer and autumnal, 

 absolutely at the bottom. A secondary or true 

 autumnal bloom is rare : it does bloom as a maiden, 

 otherwise its title to the term Perpetual might yet 

 be in abeyance. It is decidedly a hot-season Rose 

 with us. A remarkable point about this Hose is its 



