22 
THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
NEW ROSES. 
When the “ Cercle Horticole’^ was established at Lyons, 
one thing was anxiously expected by lovers of the Rose — 
viz., that it would be the means of cheeking the vast 
multitude of new Roses annually brought into com- 
merce, and our hopes were increased by the knowledge of 
the fact that a jury (amongst whom our friend, Mr. 
George Paul, was one) was formed for the purpose of 
deciding on the merits of the new varieties ; but from 
what we learned during a recent visit to Paris, our hopes 
are doomed to disappointment, for the number of new 
Roses this year is as great, if not greater, than ever ; 
and of the three that did obtain certificates, two are 
kept back to be propagated another season before being 
sent out. This is rather too bad ; the only way in 
which it could be put a stop to, would be for buyers in 
this country to combine, and determine not to purchase 
any but those which have been recognised by some com- 
petent tribunal ; for what can be more trying than for 
a nurseryman to receive a number of Roses, to propagate 
them at considerable expense, and then to find that they 
are utterly worthless ; and yet this must inevitably be 
the case while the present system holds good. Con- 
siderable dissatisfaction was expressed, and no wonder. 
Thus, one Paris grower, who one year sent out sixteen, 
not one of which, we believe, is now retained in our 
Catalogues, advertises no less than ten new seedlings ; 
what percentage of these will prove valuable we have no 
means of judging, but we should, from past experience, 
very much fear that it will be very small. Amongst the 
Lyons raisers of seedlings Mons. Levet, the raiser of 
Etienne Levet, Claude Levet, &c., and Mr. George 
Schwartz, the raiser of Madame George Schwartz, 
deservedly hold a high place. 
AUTUMN-BLOOMING AURICULAS. 
As we figure a new Auricula in this Number, the 
following from the pen of the Rev. F. D. Horner, wdiich 
has lately appeared in the Journal of Horticulture, will be 
found of interest. 
“The question whether the autumn-blooming of the 
Auricula is preventible would probably be answered by 
all growei’s in one way. Roughly I eould reply in four 
words, It cannot he helped. Yet I conclude from prac- 
tice with my own plants, and from observation of other 
collections, that the extent of autumn blooming may be 
affected and reduced by adhering with all patience to 
proper treatment in the summer, so that autumn trusses 
shall arise alone from causes over which we can never 
have control. First among such I would account the 
fact that a tendency to autumn blooming ‘ runs in the 
family.^ Instances of this are afforded us by those 
Auriculas and Polyanthuses of low extraction in the 
garden borders, and by the untutored pretty Primrose of 
the woods and hedgerows. The florist may, therefore, 
expect an interference with his plans by this charac- 
teristic, just as another family feature, the dimorphous 
arrangement of the stamens, now above and now below 
the pistil, leaves it freely open to his seedlings to choose 
the alternative of a ‘ pin-eye’ — one of the grossest insults 
they can offer him. 
“ Again, there is a propensity, amounting almost to a 
property in some varieties of Auricula, to bloom in 
autumn, and I rarely escape being thus favoured by 
Lady Wilbraham, True Briton, Beeston’s Apollo, General 
Niell, and a few seifs and others. 
“ I have next to say that I have reasons to think that 
an unclean and unhealthy state of the plant during 
summer is calculated to excite this property of the 
Auricula. I have noticed that plants suffered to fall out 
of condition by being heated and baked in the sun, or 
kept too dry, or allowed to be ravaged by pests, have in 
a marked’ manner struggled into bloom in autumn ; 
for one thing which a plant in danger of its life will do 
is to try and preserve its species by hurriedly forming 
seed, to which flowering is of course the prelude. I am 
quite sure that what has no right whatever to be blamed 
for autumn blooming is spring potting. I repot all my 
Auriculas as they pass out of bloom, except such as are 
to stand for seed, and every autumn I have only a very 
healthy quiet set of plants — beautiful rosettes of mealy 
leaves and green — busy with forming stout hearts down 
among crisp short foliage, and getting such doubly- 
established roothold now as I like to see. 
“ I will not here say more for spring potting than 
that I know what has been said against it, and by prac- 
tice what I could say for it. I have at times been 
obliged to pot late, yet would always choose early. But 
I would wish it known that indeed early potting seems 
no exciting cause of autumn blooming, but a check may 
be. Have your Auriculas established early, set them in 
a north aspect the summer through, keep them cool and 
airy, take care to have them clean from every insect, 
love to see them in full unbroken health, and then, 
though a few precocious sorts and some young plants 
will bloom in autumn, and seedlings, if you have them, 
will drop in upon you at all possible times to amuse, 
perplex, disappoint, reward, yet shall you hav^e as little 
as may be of untimely blooming from your established 
plants. But here let me confess that I never in my 
heart affect to call a flower out of season whenever it 
may bloom. I am in truth not sorry to see a few 
Auriculas just now, though colours and properties have 
largely to be excused, and though the beauties are as 
little like their loveliness in spring as that ghost of a 
thing a moonlight rainbow is to the bright living 
reality created by the sun.” 
