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THE CHRISTMAS 
| ROSE. 
. Helleborus niger. 
MONGST the “ old-fashioned 
flowers” that one might look 
: 
for in the little out-door para- 
dise of Lady Corisande, there 
would be none more worthy 
of care and honour than the 
Christmas rose. It is quite 
a proper thing for a Londoner 
fond of flowers to visit Covent 
Garden Market at an early 
hour on a morning of De- 
cember to see the Christmas 
rescs that are offered for sale. 
They appear in surprising 
quantities, and the visitor un- 
used to the ways and doings 
of the market will ask, “ Where 
do they come from?’ But their size, their perfection, 
their perfect purity of colour are more surprising than 
their number, and he will perhaps ask a second question, 
“ How is it done?” And thereby hangs a tale. 
The Christmas rose is one of the easiest plants to grow, 
but when left entirely to itself it flowers late, and the 
flowers are much torn and discoloured by the unkind 
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