306 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAf. 



Muriel Grahavie (A. Dickson & Sons, 1898). — A 

 pale cream sport of Catherine Mermet, which at 

 first seemed hardly sufficiently distinct from The 

 Bride. It is thoroughly distinct, not only in colour, 

 but in shape, when grown strongly, preferably as a 

 maiden standard, but weak flowers of it and The 

 Bride would still look much alike. Not a hardy 

 grower, it resembles Catherine Mermet in manners 

 and customs, and differs from The Bride, when both 

 are at their best, in being more pointed and less 

 globular in shape, and of a cream white colour 

 instead of the pure white with lemon tinge of the 

 other. A very fine exhibition Kose, but not of 

 sufficiently strong constitution or free-flowering 

 habit for general cultivation. 



Niphetos (Bougere, 1844). — This rose is a good 

 instance of what is termed "free" growth, i.e. 

 neither long nor stout, but branching and generally 

 growing somewhere. The foliage is good and not 

 much liable to mildew, but the blooms will not 

 stand rain. This old Rose has attained a very 

 great reputation for its free-flowering qualities and 

 its purity of colour. I do not know how many 

 thousand feet run of glasshouses have been main- 

 tained for the purpose of growing the Eose which 

 Mons. Bougere, the raiser, appropriately named 

 Niphetos ("snowy"), but I apprehend the figures 

 would very much have astonished him could he 

 have known them when he issued it, and he would 

 perhaps have wished to attach his own name to it 

 instead of to the much less valuable production 

 (Bougere, known in Australia and elsewhere as 

 Lord Tarquin) of twelve years before. White 

 flowers are always in special demand, not only 



