262 



THE BOOK OF THE ROSE 



CHAP. 



tion its remarkable immunity from mildew. its evident 

 use is as a seed-parent to instil vigour and size into 

 refined but weakly sort-. Mons. Levet has already 

 made use of it in this way. a- we know, and Paul Neyron 

 lives again, with vastly increased reputation, in Ulrich 

 Brunner. 



Pierre Netting (Portemer 3 1863). — Of vigorous strong 

 growth, good on all stock?, with extra large fine foliage 

 rather liable to mildew. A line-weather Eose that will 

 rot without opening in a wet season. It comes badly 

 as a rule, slow in opening, and often showing a great 

 hollow in the centre down to the eye before it expands. 

 The plant- are passed by as hopeless again and again : 

 then, with some mysterious climatic change, for fine 

 weather alone will not do it, toward the end of the 

 season the blooms sometimes begin to open properly 

 when all the strongest are over, and we see what a grand 

 flower it can be when it chooses. Though still inclined 

 to be weak in centre and endurance.it is then excellent 

 in shape, colour, size, fragrance, and substance, and " bad 

 manners alone keep Pierre Netting from a high 

 position. It is aggravating to see such line shoots pro- 

 duce nothing but ill-formed hollow things which can 

 hardly be called Roses, while the plant has such good 

 possibilities within its reach. It is free-flowering but 

 late, and not a good autumnal, as the second 

 crop is rarely of any value. The violet shade on 

 the outer petals is one of the nearest approaches to 

 blue that we have : and appearances seem to show 

 that the first blue Rose (when will it come h will be 

 a dark one. 



Prick of Reigate (Paul and Son, 1885). — A sport 

 from Countess of Oxford, with all the manners and 

 customs of the Victor Yerdier race. This Rose has at 



