THE CLASSIFICATION OF ROSES. 
277 
be appreciated, and a great many new ones to 
be discarded ; for although it is not the gayest 
mode of exhibiting Roses, it is by far the 
best mode of testing, and it is curious to see" 
the number of varieties with very glaring 
faults. For instance, some are close balls of 
petals, with the outer ones rolling back a little, 
as if they were shrivelling; but never opening 
fairly. Others no sooner open than they show 
their yellow seeds and their paucity of petals; 
some are on stems too weak to hold them in 
their position; others again, burst into a 
broken mass of ill-formed petals, that do not 
compensate for their sweetness. Some fall to 
pieces the instant they are open, and others 
almost before they open ; many are shapeless 
masses of coloured flimsy texture, that 
neither hold themselves in form nor impart 
fragrance. It is worth while to direct the 
attention of the amateur to the large collections 
of Roses to be seen at exhibitions,, and to the 
very few which are to be found among them 
of a fine form. They will observe bunches of 
half-bloomed things, that dare not be shown 
any forwarder ; they will find plenty of hard 
lumps, on stems not strong enough to bear 
them without lolloping about ; they will find 
some without a round smooth petal among 
them, but very few so good as the Tuscan, 
the Cabbage, the Moss, the Provence, and the 
oldest of the known good varieties. This 
shows the necessity of attention to the hints 
we have thrown out ; for we must again con- 
fess, that although we have selected the best 
among eleven or twelve hundred Roses, there 
are many that we shall see rejected like the 
remainder of the entire collection, to make 
way for better flowers and better taste. 
As a concluding observation respecting the 
management of the Rose, Ave are bound to 
say, that a good deal that is done now is er- 
roneous, although taught by Rose cultivators; 
and especially with regard to Roses in pots, 
which, however pretty they may look, are very 
much drawn, and very unnaturally supported. 
That the system, if pursued, will lead, to the 
introduction and toleration of varieties which 
cannot support themselves, in the same man- 
ner as it did to the introduction of worthless 
Geraniums, there is no room to doubt ; for in 
the specimens exhibited in. pots at various 
shows, the total inability of the flowers and 
stems to support themselves is manifested, as 
well as the disposition to encourage this strange 
mode of distorting things. Some allowance 
should be made for any forced subject ; but 
that gardener who can produce his plants 
without supports, is the one who deserves a 
prize for his skill: not the man who draws 
a plant till it cannot support itself, and then 
keeps it up with frame- work. There is much to 
be done in the choice of Roses, for particular 
objects: — Those inclined to droop should be 
on very tall stalks, for their pendulous habit 
is very handsome, and renders the tree a beau- 
tiful drooping object ; those for bushes ought 
to be short jointed and close habited, as best 
suited to dwarfs, and so also will they be found 
for dwarf standards, or half standards. Again, 
in budding several sorts on one stock, they 
should be chosen of precisely similar habit 
and growth, and of totally different colours. 
In this the reader will be easily suited, be- 
cause whoever he purchases of will advise him 
well, if he has not seen enough to judge for 
himself. The Rose does not flourish well near 
great towns, as London, Manchester, and 
Liverpool ; nevertheless, it can be grown and 
bloomed after some fashion, so that people 
should not be deterred from trying them; they 
must, however, plant them out in the most 
open situation they have, for they want much 
air to keep them in health. The general 
routine for Rose culture is given both as re- 
spects the general collection, and also for seed- 
lings ; and with attention to what has been 
here written, we think a mere novice may, with 
a little enterprise,^beat one who grows upon 
any other system. — Richelieu,. Bruxelles, 
1845. 
By attending, first to the purchasing, next, by 
turns, to the planting, pruning, and blooming, 
according to the plans here laid down, (a 
system of management for the Rose garden, 
much plainer and more simple, much better 
understood and easier to practise, than any 
we have seen before, and yet comprising 
every hint worth having from those who have 
written upon the subject,) we have no doubt 
that every reader will be amply repaid for his 
trouble, and care and attention, and be grati- 
fied by the success which cannot fail to crown 
his efforts. — Ed. 
REMARKS ON THE PRESENT CLASSIFI- 
CATION OF ROSES. 
THE PROVENCE ROSE. 
The Provence-rose, or, as it has been called, 
the Hundred-leaved-rose, is a distinguishing 
title for every Rose that has a remarkably 
double flower, unless there is something in the 
habit or character, that causes for it another 
title. If this were understood, we should 
know what we were about. The Moss-rose 
would clearly come under this, were it not for 
the moss ; for the old Cabbage-rose, and the 
Moss-rose strongly grown, would not be known 
from each other, except for the moss : but the 
moss is a distinction, and a Moss-rose would be 
a Moss-rose, if ever so single, though its ori- 
ginal were double and fine. Now, the Pro- 
vences, of which the old Cabbage-rose is a sort of 
