I 



Sixty Years Among 

 the Roses 



Which Relates a Partial History of the Leading Rose-Growing 

 Establishment of America; also Gives Plain, Practical, In- 

 structions for Growing and Caring for the Famous Dingee 

 Roses, including a List of Desirable Varieties of All Classes 



IVITH WHICH IS COMBINED 



The Dingee Guide to Rose Culture 



And Descriptions of Over Six Hundred Varieties of Roses ; also 

 Garden and House Plants, Vines, Dahlias, Hardy Perennials, 

 Flowering Shrubs, and Choice Flower and Vegetable Seeds. 



My Roses 



"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet " 



Tis not thy name, O rose ! 



Which puts thee first 



Among the blossoms of the fragrant field. 



But thy sweet loveliness. 



Thy beauty, like the scintillating star 



Which, as a glorious jewel hangs in western sky 



When other stars are dumb, 



Outranks them all. 



Man has proclaimed thee queen. 



And in thy grace has throned the sovereignty 



Of his sentiment. 



Thy blushing petals softly speak of love ; 



Of sweetest innocence thy snowy bosom tells ; 



And all thy charms with touching eloquence 



Proclaim thee gracious queen. 



In all the world there is not art enough 



To match thy grace. 



Thy soft appeal, to every heart addressed. 



Enkindles there a tender sentiment; 



Enriches life and makes the world seem sweet. 



The crowing babe, with dimpled arms out- 

 stretched. 



Snatches thy fragrance to his face and smiles. 



The senile man, whose tottering steps are 

 pressing close 



The sands of life's remotest shore, 



Pauses to gaze upon thy loveliness 



And smiling passes on. 



From infancy to age thy beauty speaks; 



In youth of hope, in age of larger hope. 



At mom, when dewy jewels gleam 



Like priceless pearls upon thy fragrant breast. 



Thy presence moves the heart to kind resolve, 



And noble themes o'erflow ignoble thoughts. 



At noontide hour, when summer's sun 



Would seek to drain the fountain of thy life. 



Thy sturdy strength bids calm defiance 



To the torrid gleam. 



Thy beauty, like honor in a man. 



Serene and undisturbed, glows with bright 



constancy 

 Upon the world ; 



And upon the arid air which threatens thee 

 Thou pourest out 

 A freshening fragrance rare. 

 Which tells the world 

 That love is infinite. 



And in the evening hush, when honey-laden bees 

 Drone slowly by toward the sheltering hive. 

 To seek the well-earned rest which only toil 



begets, 

 And birds have ceased their singing for the day ; 

 When butterflies have fled, and lengthening 



shadows creep. 

 Like giant spectres, far toward the east ; 

 When all is calm and all of strife forgot ; 

 Yet still thy shadowed bloom glows dimly bright, 

 And still thy fragrance steals out upon the air 

 Like incense burned in holy benediction. 

 Of love and tenderness, of innocence and grace, 

 Does that sweet incense speak. 

 And hearts grow lighter for its mild enchantment. 

 So dost thou charm until the falling night 

 In her soft mantle wraps thy beauty up, 

 And bids thee sleep. 

 Sleep on, O rose ! 



And when the morrow's golden sunbeam steals 

 The first, fresh, fragrant kiss from thy soft cheek. 

 Awake refreshed. 



Awake and smile again upon a weary world. 

 Awake and sing again thy glorious song of love 



and harmony. 

 Awake and spill thy incense on the expectant air 

 And soothe the heart of man. 



The Dingee & Conard Co. 



The Leading Rose Growers of America 



WEST GROVE, PA. 



COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY THE DINGEE & CONARD CO. 



^^^ 



'^: 



i 



