Plate 193. 



HYBRID TEA ROSE— << CAPTAIN CHRISTY." 



This is one of the series of grand Roses recently exhibited by Mr. Henry Bennett, of the 

 Manor Farm Nursery, Stapleford, Salisbury. The subject of our plate received a first-class 

 certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society on April 21st last. "Captain Christy" 

 commences quite a new type of Rose, and its whole habit clearly indicates its being, without 

 doubt, a Hybrid Tea. It is an evergreen, and it blooms much more beautifully and in 

 better form under glass than out of doors in this country. It becomes delicate late in 

 autumn out of doors, and will not live on the Manetti stock. " Captain Christy '' was 

 almost the first Rose in bloom out of doors at Stapleford in the spring ; it continued to 

 flower all through the summer, and was particularly fine in the middle of November last. 

 The fact of this Rose being a Hybrid Tea quite upsets the theory entertained by many Rose- 

 growers that the Tea Rose will not blend with the Hybrid Perpetual. " Captain Christy 

 was originally raised by M. Lacharme, a grower who has perhaps produced more really good 

 Roses than all the rest of the raisers put together ; and we have his authority for stating it 

 to be a true hybrid between Victor Verdier fertilised by the Tea Rose Safrano. " Here is a 

 sketch,'' says M. Lacharme, in a letter to Mr. Bennett, " of my seed-bearing Roses, planted 

 against a wall and facing the south. The first flowering is from the 15th of April to the 13th 

 of May, and is no good for seed, for the flowers are very full, little disposed to bear 

 reproductive organs, and still less adapted for fecundation. It is necessary to restrain this 

 first blooming, so as to arrive as soon as possible at the second flowering, which commences 

 at the end of June. This latter blooming is the best for fertilisation, for now the flowers are 

 less full, the reproductive organs are more fully developed, and the fine dew of summer 

 is a great aid to fecundation. Some growers practise artificial fertilisation, but I have little 

 faith in it. It is necessary that the specimens to be hybridised should be from ten to twenty 

 years old to produce really good new kinds." 



Plate 194. 



BEGONIA "EMPERORS 



The grand new hybrid Begonia here figured is a cross between B. Clarkii and B. Chelsoni, 

 and was raised at the famous establishment of Messrs. Yeitch and Sons, of Chelsea. 

 Begonia " Emperor " was exhibited before the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society in June last, and was unanimously awarded a first-class certificate. It is one of the 

 finest of the tuberous-rooted forms now so well known, and is likely not only to prove a 

 gorgeous ornament to the greenhouse, but, as they can stand considerable exposure without 

 harm, to be suitable for the summer flower-bed. It is related to the famous Begonias known 

 under B. Veitchii and B. bolivensis, and B. intermedia, all three of which have been 

 figured and described in our former volumes ; the first of these, at least, is now known 

 to be able to stand our winters without injury. The crosses obtained by these plants and 

 others from Bolivia and Peru have all been excellent, the flowers being large in size, of good 

 form, and ranging in colour from cadmium yellow through scarlet and vermilion to the 

 most vivid crimson. When the flowers have done blooming and the deciduous foliage 

 has dropped away, the earth should be shaken off the plants, and the tuberous roots 

 preserved in a dry place for the next season. 



