532 JOUENAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the Noisette, which in its initial state was a hybrid of the Musk-rose< 

 seems to have diverted the attention of the raisers of those times tcl 

 this new class. These Noisettes gave us perpetual bloomers, but theyj 

 also destroyed to a large extent the habit of the true rambler. ' Trier,'! 

 says Mr. Lambert, is a seedling from * Eeve d'Or. ' * Eeve d'Or ' is 

 probably the most rambling of all the Noisettes, but it is in essence a true 

 Musk, showing that it has harked back to the common ancestor. I havt 

 experimented to a considerable extent with the Musks and have raised j 

 large number of seedlings therefrom, many of them continuous bloomersi 

 but not more than semi-climbers ; and the Musk race has another defect, 

 which is that it does not always endure the winter frosts, and conse 

 quently is not altogether suitable for hybridizing purposes. Thus the 

 stage of perpetual-flowering kinds has been reached, but the lack oi 

 hardiness and vigour has not yet been entirely eliminated. [ 

 By crossing the hybrid Multifloras with the Noisette ' Celine 

 Forestier ' I obtained some seedlings such as ' Goldfinch ' and ' Star- 

 light,' which have the vigour of the Multifloras but which still exhibit 

 some traee of the Musk or Noisette tenderness, so that occasionally 

 one will find upon plants of ' Goldfinch ' and others black, unhealthy 

 patches on the wood, showing the influence of the Musk blood. 



We find, then, that the present state of rambling roses in our 

 garden is roundly this : — j 

 We have secured, undoubtedly, much improvement in them ; wel 

 have good foliage, vigour, considerable hardiness, and we have, lying 

 dormant, in the most modern varieties, a strong tendency towards the 

 perpetual character. If we can combine the Multifloras, or even more 

 so, the Wichuraianas with the Musks and the Noisettes, we may, with 

 some hope of success, look forward to a race of true continual 

 bloomers, and I believe we are on the eve of a great advance with, 

 rambling roses and that we shall shortly bring them into line with those 

 beautiful dwarf decorative roses that furnish our rose-beds with such 

 lovely colours in the autumn. j 

 Yet it is curious to observe how, among the great number of rose] 

 species, the comparatively few there are that have been used by 

 hybridists to gain variety. R. rugosa has been used, but has hardly 

 been carried beyond the first or second stage. There is another species, 

 B. humilis, which flowers in the autumn, and yet I know of only one 

 hybrid from it — a hybrid with rugosa — one of the freest autumn- 

 flowering varieties we have. 'One cannot help thinking that here is an 

 opportunity for amateurs for original work and research, because pro-; 

 fessional rose growers are bound to a large extent to study the demands 

 of their clients and have neither the time nor the opportunity to make 

 these first crosses, which often bring about at last the most distinct 

 changes in rose growing. I suggest that some of our amateurs should 

 make tentative crosses between the species and give us some novel 

 creation that would help to procure a new race of garden hybrids. 



There is a point of some interest to which we may briefl'" 

 allude. It is well known that the many species of wild roses ar- 



