82 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GLIDE. 
self or somebody else is, “ By what magical means are such glorious 
flowers produced ? ” 
The magical means comprise careful selection, honest cultivation, 
and tasteful disposal of the flowers. To succeed as an exhibitor the 
amateur must put his heart into his work, must master all the details 
of planting, pruning, and budding, and train his eye by constant 
observation and comparison to the appreciation of the distinctive 
qualities of the flowers, as well as the modes of procedure followed 
by different cultivators. How far a good soil aids the exhibitor may 
be estimated by the relative success of a certain few of the most 
eminent trade growers. It would not be prudent to mention names, 
but we may properly suggest that those who most frequently and 
continuously take the highest awards — the gold cups and medals 
for 96 or 72, three trusses of each, say from 200 to 300 specimen 
flowers in one lot at one time — the folks who have longest and 
loudest held a lead in this way, always hail from a strong soil, and 
are generally found to be great in growing roses on the English 
brier. Others who follow them closely, or, while showing well in 
certain extra classes, carefully abstain from competing in the 
sections where both quantity and quality are required, will be found 
to be located on gravelly or sandy soil, and to be assiduous culti- 
vators of the Italian brier. The amateur must always bear in mind 
that a genial climate, a rich mellow soil, and a considerable amount 
of moisture both in the earth and the air, are the needful aids to 
skilful manipulation ; and although he may not be able to command 
any of them as the accidents of locality, he must do all that art 
suggests as possible to remedy the defects of nature — that is, if he 
hopes to succeed with roses. 
In presenting the queen of flowers in a competitive exhi- 
bition, considerable finesse is required. You may have superb 
roses, but unless you show them properly they will be lost, and 
flowers of inferior shape and substance may win the prize over the 
head of yours. If exhibiting is in your mind, you must occasionally 
visit rose shows, and make note of the manner in which the flowers 
are arranged, and especially of the differences in appearance between 
those that win and those that lose. You will very soon learn that 
skilful handling of the flower has nearly as much to do with succe.-s 
under canvas as skilful cultivation has in the open air. How, what- 
ever your ideas as to how roses should be shown, be you content in 
the first instance to walk the way of the world, and conform to all 
established rules, taking comfort by this consideration, that there 
have been original thinkers in the field — aye, and men of rare sound 
taste, too, and yet after all they have attained to nothing better than 
wooden boxes covered with moss in which to stage their competitive 
flowers. 
The regulation boxes are made of inch deal, all of the same 
breadth, namely, eighteen inches ; all of the same height, namely, six 
inches at back and four in front, and of various lengths, according to 
the number of roses. For twenty-four roses tbe length is four feet ; 
for eighteen roses, three feet ; for twelve roses, two feet two inches. 
The twenty-four box is the largest, and for convenience of carriage 
