324 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



May 



21, 189 b 



Some Forthcoming Roses. 



Having considered in 



the earlier numbers of the Gardeners' 



during the season. I have taken quite a fancv to th 

 why she is kept in the nursery so long. The colour is hard tt W ° nd * 

 It reminds one of Grace Darling, and yet it is not n , descri1 ^ 



M agazine of this year, some of the new roses of 1894, 1805, 1896, and streaks of darker shade and of silvery reflex. But what^Tu 14 Wlin 

 l897 , fetus complete ,he series by glancing briefly a. some of .be roses ^L^'E** ««* *6 „ 



TJF* lik * it, wiTh 



promised to the rose world this spring and, at others which are still, and 

 perhaps will remain for a year or two longer in the possession of the 

 raisers. The southern exhibition of the National Rose Society held last 

 ye.ir at Portsmouth will long be remembered for its grand display of 

 decorative roses. Amongst the number of varieties staged at this show 

 were two most promising seedlings, viz. Purity and Royal Scarlet. 



Purity, Hybrid Bourbon (George Cooling and Sons).— For the 

 N.R.S* to award a "card of commendation" to Purity, a decorative 

 rose, is both a sign of progress and also an indication of the excellence 

 of this variety. Hitherto only so-called " exhibition roses "have stood 

 any chance in this class, but a bunch of Purity in the "garden rose" 

 division looked so very charming with its masses of flowers in all stages 

 of its beauty, that the judges awarded it this commendation. The 

 schedule requires three blooms only in the seedling or new rose class, 

 which may be all very well for " exhibition roses," but does not meet the 

 case of " garden roses." For these latter require to be shown in bunches, 

 several stalks cut, each bearing clusters of flowers in all stages of 

 development. Three flowers of Purity were staged in the stereotyped 

 manner in the seedling class, but I do not think this rose would have won 

 a card of commendation had it not been that the attention of the judges 

 was called to the delightful bouquet of Purity staged in the decorative 

 section. The flowers are small, but of good form, buds well pointed, 

 colour white, something after the style of Madame Bravy, but more of 

 the bourbon than tea. The growth was strong and bore masses of 

 flowers on every shoot. It will probably become a most popular rose. 

 We shall doubtless see more of it this season. Messrs. Cooling are 

 sending it out in May this year, and give the following description : 

 " In offering this new rose, we are sure we are introducing a distinct and 

 desirable new variety. As a garden rose, or as a rose to grow for market 

 for cutting, it will be equally welcomed. The colour is pure white, with 

 a faintly flushed centre, the petals are stiff and of great substance, it is of 

 medium size and perfect in shape. It was in flower last year in the open 

 before any other double rose in the nursery, a row of it in June being 

 simply one mass of blossom. It is of semi-climbing habit and appears 

 to require only slight pruning. Owing to the earliness of its flowering 

 we were able only to show it at one or two of the early exhibitions, where 

 it was greatly admired by all rose growers who saw it." 



Royal Scarlkt, H.P. (Paul and Son).— This, probably one of the 

 brightest of reel roses, will be sent out in the early summer of this year. 

 A lovely bouquet of it was exhibited last year at Portsmouth, its vivid 

 colour attracting general attention. It is quite single, very free flower- 

 ing, and should prove most serviceable for massing and ordinary 

 decoration. Messrs. Paul, at Portsmouth, had staged it for setting up in 

 their stand of "garden roses," but since, by the N.R.S. regulations, all 

 hybrid perpetuals were excluded from this class, Royal Scarlet had to 

 be left out in the cold. It was, however, staged separately, and very 

 beautiful it looked, notwithstanding its isolation. It is a satisfaction to 

 learn that the N.R.S. have at last partially relaxed this strict regulation, 

 and from henceforth single hybrid perpetuals will be admitted into the 

 garden rose " section at the exhibitions. Royal Scarlet is the result of 

 hybridising the semi-double hybrid perpetual Cheshunt Scarlet with 

 either Alfred K. Williams or Marie Rady. Its dwarf habit will make it 

 useful for bedding purposes, and it will doubtless soon find its way at 

 exhibitions into the decorative rose classes where bright reds are much 

 needed. It was awarded a "card of commendation" by the N.R.S., 

 which is as much as could be expected for a single, or indeed any purely 

 decorative rose under present conditions where three specimen blooms 

 are required. When the time arrives that new seedling decorative roses 

 competing for a gold medal may be staged in bunches or sprays instead 

 of in the prevailing way of three stiff wired up flowers only, decorative 

 roses may have a chance of winning a gold medal, but not till then. 

 ^Messrs I aul's description of Royal Scarlet is as follows : "A single- 

 Howered H.P. of vigorous bushy habit, with reddish-brown foliage, and 

 bunches of vivid scarlet flowers. This is, we think, the purest scarlet yet 

 produced in roses ; it is admirably suited for bedding." 



Among the many seedlings exhibited at last season's rose shows by 

 Messrs. Alexander Dickson and Sons, six are here singled out for 

 special notice. With some of these we are already more or less familiar, 

 Having seen them in stands of new roses during the last two or three 

 years, but they still remain in the hands of the raisers, and we must await 

 tneir spring catalogue of new roses to see if any of them are to be offered 

 to the public this year. 



a nri l ilwK R ' H V ' I)ickson and Sons).— A seedling of great promise, 

 fhpri^M? 1 ! a g0 , ld medal at the Metropolitan show of the N R.S. aJ 

 abot?t7h W a SK!S year ' The J ud S es had little > if an y> hesitation 

 which stamnTit ^ the ? ,S a Certain st y ,e or chai!acter &°ut Ulster 

 sood ^fo™ L S a ? °° d In colour " is bright salmon rose, of 



fcood fori* and large size, with petals of considerable substance. * J ? 



with long pointed blooms. 



of good form 



Dawn (A. Dickson and Sons).— Another sepHimrr 

 a well-built flesh-coloured flower, the result of a S I f ° d charac *r, 

 Testout and Mrs. Paul. 01 * Cross betw <*n CaroW 



Lady Clanmorris, T (A. Dickson and Sons) -Anew c^r 

 of apparently robust growth ; flowers large, with much JT«X , gtca 

 Colour, white, shaded saffron-yellow. The raiser hTJ . of ^ 



variety at the Crystal Palace last year. 



raiser had a fine bloom of £ 



Bessie Brown (A. Dickson and Sons)— A seedling lv j 

 the past two years, but not yet sent out. This varietv stanH. l for 

 that indefinite line that divides teas from hybrid teas thaM f 

 raisers are at present somewhat undecided as to its classificat* ^ 



staged in good form at the Manchester Rose Show inT8^7anLai\h2 

 described as an hybrid tea. In 1897 it was exhibited as a tea MVk 

 Dickson state that it is robust in growth. Flowers, very large, beautS 

 formed. Colour, white, with pink centre. ^uumny 



Mrs Charles J Grahame, T. (A. Dickson and Sons).-This »* 



exhibited last year under the above name, but I believe when sent om 

 will be called Alice Grahame. An attractive flower of it was staged at the 

 Crystal Palace last season. The raisers state that this is a grand tea. 

 very robust in growth, and flowering most continuously. The flowS 



are very large and milk white. Joseph H. Pemberton 



British Ferns for Indoor Culture. 



With regard to the varieties of British ferns best worth growing indoors, 



the space, of course, which is at command comes largely into question, 



but in most window recesses small-growing species and varieties arc to 



be recommended. As the catalogues issued by those in the trade who 



make a specialty of British ferns usually indicate the size, we cannot do 



better than refer to these, merely adding that the cost of many of the very 



best tasselled, curled, plumose, and curious forms is very small indeed, so 



that the actual expeilse need not be great. What I should recommend 



to those who may be unacquainted with this special culture, is to obtain 

 one or two varieties, say, a frilled Hartstongue, a crested Lady Fern or 

 so, and a crested male fern, and follow the rules cited in a previous issue 

 for a season, until they see how beautiful the developments become 

 They will then be encouraged to try a few more, and so on ; whereas 

 for a novice to start with a number is more than likely to end ia 

 disappointment. 



It has often struck me in this connection that the art of raising ferns 

 from spores is peculiarly fitted for ladies. The whole process involves suck 

 a nicety of manipulation up to the point of potting the results, that it if 

 ' " * 1 " 9 \ This, of course, is a 



— — — - — — - - — — — — — — — — »- ■ • m «. » m. » a a. ^ 4 ^ fc Jfc * " • m m — » " — — — — — tfj f " 



may rub this soil through our fingers, and take every precaution to 

 eliminate anything which may interfere with the development of the tmy 

 ferns, that soil is full of potential life, eggs of insects, seeds of plafl* 

 spores of fungi, and even tiny worms, are all ready to avail * hcmsciv ^ 



your cultural care, and act the cuckoo to your unfledged ferns. J uce, 

 therefore, a small piece of paper on the soil, and pour boiling water o^cf 

 it until the pan burns your fingers, the hotter the pan becomes the beno, 

 as it is astonishing what heat some of the fern foes survive. Now lei ■ 



intrusion 



of 



probably 



J ~ w - w« ff C* ^iX^V-W w* Q X 



foreign germs and spores. . ... 



Meanwhile, the fern fronds from which you purpose sowing : w i u m« 

 been IvW alnne between two sheets of glazed paper for a C0 "P ie ™JT' w 



when lifted will have shed their spores thickly 



~ >%u> ul own picture of itself. Scrape a little, the merest 



brown powder, and put it under a microscope. Wonderful • m""™^ 

 millions of little brown semi-translucent oval bodies presen t tnu 

 scattered over the field of view. These are the spores, and . asjw 

 pan is obviously incapable of growing millions of ferns " M " , 

 is fully capable of yielding one fern, and possibly m° re -^ u ' ir ^ 

 lesson from the sight, that a very small pmch will suffice, their ^-j 



blush 



of the soil in the pan, and snon.y '"^J^ j 

 "little scales, all facing the light ^ 

 growing until as large as herring-scales, by wnicn w , ^ 



sowing has been an extraordinarily uuu * — / , . . , t0 uuip 

 so thickly that pricking-out is necessary to enable tw ^ 



proce* 



from the spec .men g round 1 pUn^Ji; r - f Judging P atch « the size of peas and insert them in the 



vigorous in growth The £1? , W, 1 ^ , T t I ,s v f erv apart, iust Dressing ,Lm S^fr*. deoressions so 



rose show last year. exhibited twelve fine blooms at Hereford 



— w x«i3 uonc, they go aneuu i« ~ — Y J '~t\nn scene w 



Lady Myra Beauclfrk T (A tv i« a c ^ -ru- . " earl y to fill the inch spaces. Then the transformation 



becoming quite a familiar feature 1^ ^ a ^J? 1 "!-"*? 13 here ' there > and y° nde ^ we sha11 begin ? S «d ***** 

 I think it was staired a „, ™l^*™. n S the roses s . ta S ed b X th >s nrm. up among the scales whirh have venerated them ; ***** 



ckout«»f 



post at 



ne !*g^ *T 



1 think it was staged and named at 



Ityj.andyet « «s still a seerllin™ . 



i named at rn.^V«~ up , amon g tne scales which have general u nntins > at ttoa* , 



seedliS ' \\- 1 0T \ y ^ ^ as and ho P e for new varieties, we can now start fern hunting ^ 



we watcn year Dy year fonts cUbut, heart's content, for in nans of ferns raised from \?»™~ Wth«^ 



and when we see it fimlrm !! r g We watch b y y ear for »*■ dibut. 

 rose shows, it is surely rl h™l? qutm]y in the chief cIasses at the fading 

 Some excellent treS of ' °w Cre ^ ^t" My Lady ' ' 

 and it was also seen : - Up at the Crystal P 



is coming out ? 

 - ystal Palace last year, 



good condition at several other places 



heart's content, for in pans of ferns raised from ^d tfc 



new forms are very meat The next step is P 011 '"*^ your*"* 

 possibly, the renting 5f?fcw acres of land ^ acco^odat^) 

 your bay-windows facing the north only affording_ ^ Drl E11 y p M-» 



