204 



THE BOOK OF THE ROSE 



CHAP. 



laborious mechanical opening, sprang back to their 

 places, and Rose and owner were " shut up " simultane- 

 ously ! 



Other Roses, of the " thin " type, like Thomas 

 Mills, are pretty sure to open well enough, and due 

 regard will have been paid to this at the time of cutting, 

 as such sorts should be taken to the show in an earlier 

 stage of their development than the very stout and 

 lasting ones like Reynolds Hole or Horace Vernet. 

 Great attention should also be paid to the weather and 

 the place : a hot tent forces on Roses wonderfully, but 

 it is generally fairly cool in the Crystal Palace. 



It seems hardly necessary to say that the setting up 

 and arrangement at the show should be in a cool and 

 shady place, but even this rule may have an exception. 

 On one occasion I cut my blooms for a celebrated 

 southern show in a very undeveloped condition, expecting 

 that my assistant who was to go with them, as I was 

 unable to do so, would have a hot time for his night's 

 journey. The weather unexpectedly changed, the night 

 proving very cool, and when he arrived at the place of 

 exhibition, he found to his dismay that my Roses were 

 not nearly open enough, and that they made no show at 

 all by the side of the developed blooms against which 

 he had to contend. Being a plucky man of resource, he 

 resolved on an unusual experiment ; he uncovered the 

 boxes, and set them to stand for a considerable time in 

 the full glare of the sun. Whether the others took him 

 for a lunatic or an ignorant novice I do not know ; but I 

 do know that he brought me back the first prize. 



In several of the handbooks of instruction on how to 

 show Roses the exhibitor is warned to be careful how he 

 arranges them as to colour for general effect. Of course 

 this is worth doing, if it means arranging all the best 



