860 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
C May 12, 1892. 
Judging Eoses. 
“ Mortals rush in, &c.,” hence this effusion in a comparative out¬ 
sider as regards judging Roses. Personally, I have always felt that the 
“have beens ” deserve prizes far more than the “never wases ” or 
“ never will bes.” The glories of the past have still the aroma of former 
beauty upon them, an aroma that the others will never attain. In my 
very early days of Rose love I took six fair sized blooms eleven miles by 
road, and although one of the faded blooms was larger than the 
opposing six heaped together I was behind in the Judge’s eye. I felt 
then, as I still do, that the judgment was incorrect. The question is, 
Can the method of judging be altered? Shall I say improved? At 
present [ understand it as three points for a bloom good in form, size, 
and colour, with an additional point for extra exeellence in one or more 
of these qualities. Mr. Biron wants to know how judges are to estimate 
fadedness, and how to punish it when seen. It seems to me, in my 
ignorance, that we have first to decide whether these three qualities — 
form, s'ze. and colour—are of equal value. Personally, I should answer 
this question very decidedly in t' e negative. It seems to me that form 
is very decidedly the most essential—indeed, a great failure in this 
would make the grandest Rose in size very unsightly, the mure so 
possibly on account of its size. 
Tne Perle des Jardins side slit of which Mr. Biron writes is a great 
blemish, but there are degrees in it, and some Roses with slight fingering 
are not destitute of beauty, even with this unsightly blot. The ordinary 
regular form of a Rose bl om is that the petals should curve round a 
central point, which point should remain invisible. Still, I cannot help 
thinking that there are some deviations from orthodox form which 
cannot be called unsightly. Many of us have seen Xavier Olibo, for 
instance, having a double centre as it were, and aPboutth it certainly 
detracted from the special beauty of form, it had still some of this very 
valuable quali'y left that should count. If, then, we are agreed that 
form is the chief essential, size is the next quality in value. It means, 
as a rule, success in cultivation, always bearing in mind that size, plus 
coarseness, is in some degree a blot. Lastly, we have colour. This is a 
qualify that very often depends on the particular weather at the time 
the bloom is cut, and so is often outside the cultivator's efforts, unless 
his pocket be equal to extra demands for protection. 1 am quite pre- 
pare<l to agree with the lack of colour in many Teas, but in spire of this 
they are not faded blooms, whereas an H P. deficient in colour has a 
disdpited, used-up aspect, sadly dimin’shing the glory of any bloom, 
however large. The Tea petal bears up against the fading of colour, 
while the H P. seems to give way to it. 
Well, then, would it be a help in judging to give form three points, 
size two, and colour one ? This point calculation only comes in when 
two or more stands appear to be very even. Often the prsition is seen 
at a glance, and no question of points is necessary. This notation would 
make a much greater difference in two stands apparently about equal 
than the other plan.—Y. B. A. Z. 
In his former letter I understood Mr. Biron to limit his remarks 
about judging to the question of colour. He now opens the whole 
subject, and especially the most important hea i of form, and on this he 
would find me, I think, as severe as he could wish. The example taken 
is “ a Perle des Jardins with a folded split at the side of the flower.” 
This is the fault commonly known as being “divided.” and the variety 
named is so well known as liable to this defect, as practically to remain 
outside the list of show Roses. The same deformity is also, however, 
too well known to all our best sorts, and is most often found in the very 
stroneest specimen blooms we have. 
Show Roses are unnaturally grown. By high feeding, and especially 
by severe thinning, which comes to the same thing, an abnormal amount 
of food in the form of sap is conveyed to one bud. And just in the 
same way as, at this very moment, Nature, in my own case, is showing 
(in my great toe) her resentment at well meant but too liberal efforts 
to increase my convalescence, so our very strongest, most vigorous, and 
best fed Roses are apt—not exactly to have the gout—but to be inter¬ 
fered with in their regular development, producing what Mr. Biron 
quite rightly calls “monstrous” forms. The difficulty, therefore, in 
growing show Roses is to regulate the flow of sap to the buds, so that 
each has as much as it can bear, but not too much. And this is best 
managed by prudence in gradual thinning. Let the stronger sorts and 
stronger individuals have more main shoots than the others ; and 
afterwards, if the laterals break very freely, do not in forcing weather 
necessarily rub them all off at once. But this is a very difficult matter 
to estimate properly. I confess that I generally have a good many 
“ divided ” blooms ; and often it is the most cherished specimen, of 
which I have had the highest hopes, that shows this terrible fault just as 
it IS ready to be cut. 
In judging a “divided” Rose I would again remind Mr. Biron that 
there must be degrees and gradations of “ good ” and “ bad ” Roses. A 
Rose may be twice divided, that is “quartered,” so as to form four 
point^s, which would be the most aggravated phase of this deformity. 
Again, it may be completely divided from the centre to the very outer 
petals on one side, and except in the direst extremity I should never 
stage such a bloom ; or, as the most venial form, it may be that only 
one or two of the innermost petals are doubled back or incorrectly 
folded. This, if seen, is still a serious fault ; but as “ division ’ is most 
fatal in the most perfect shapes—the “ p Anted ” or “ high centred ”— 
so it may well happen that an apparently faultless bloom may be 
exhibited sufficiemly blown to be considered in the most perfect phase 
of beauty, and yet afterwards when further expanded sh >w a slight 
fault of division in the centre. I can remember at least one, Catherine 
Mermet, of my own with which no fault could be found when it gained 
the medal, though it showed division in the centre the next day. But 
I think, as Mr. Biron knows, that more severity should always be shown 
to faults of form than to those of colour. 
In speaking of faded Teas I did not mean “overcooked” blooms, 
whatever they may be, but what I said was that all pink or yellow 
Teas are more or less faded even in the bud when grown out of doors, 
and not most carefully shaded by some me ms. I think Mr. Biron’s 
definition of a faded Rose would hardly answer, and that such definitions 
would tend to hamper judges. Some of the red H P.’s would very 
easily lose “ their distinctive character,” and some other Roses would 
retain theirs, however faded, to the last. I still fancy we have enough 
of definitions and limitations, and that more would tend to hindrance 
and argument, which, in the very short time available for judging, are 
to be avoided as much as possible ; but I believe discussions like the 
present one are of real service in aiding accuracy and uniformity in 
judging. 
Maggots. 
“ Rosier ” will find that nothing but constant examination and hand¬ 
picking will be of avail during the magiot season, and I imagine he will 
be much readier for the National this vear than I shall be, for 1 have 
very h'ttle besides the bare wood as yet for the maegots to feed on. A 
late season is gene ally prolific of grubs ; in a ready early one we cut 
them, or the eggs from which they are hatched, away at the pruning. 
What is Maeeohal Niel? 
In answer to Mr. Divers, Marechal Niel is not a true Tea but a Tea- 
scented Noisette. Teas and Noisettes are now almost universally classed 
together, and Niels would be most welcome in a box of twelve; but 
alas I are comparatively seldom seen. Owing to the cross-breeding now 
going on the N.R S. has been obliged to put all true Teas, all Noisettes, 
and all hybrids between Teas ant Noisettes in one clas", and all other 
hybrids of Teas, Bourbons, &c., in toe gieat Hybrid Perpetual class. 
This is the more necessary now that we have sucn a Rose as Margaret 
Dickson, which is a cross between a Hybriii Perpetuil and Hybrid Tea ; 
but the respective positions of Grace Darling in the H.P. class, and 
Gloire de Dijon in the Teas, are still anomalous to my thinking.— 
W, R. Raillem. 
DAFFODILS AT HAM. 
There is not probably in all the kingdom such a display of the 
Daffodil family as Mr, J. Walker has had at Ham, near Kingston, during 
the present season. He planted last autumn, on the whole, about 
25 acres of the deep sandy soil of his bulb farm with these flowers, and 
in looking over this breadth it was not at all difficult to imagine 
a s'ice of Holland laid before us. Especially was this the case in 
the huge breadths of the beautiful R. Poeticus ornatus, of which there 
were alone, and perfect sheets of snowy wnite, fully 10 acres. This is, 
indeed, bulb culture in extenso, and presents very different effects from 
those outaineJ where only a few scoies or hundreds of bulbs are grown. 
Every bulb that can be found is lifted after the foliage has ripened off 
fully, hardened in the sun, then sorting and replanting is done later in 
fresh soil, following usually upon vegetable crops. Early Putatoesor Peas 
form admirable ground cleaners for bulbs. Generally, these are planted 
in rows 12 inches apart in beds of seven rows, and with an interval of 
2 feet between the beds. A circumstanee to be noted in reference 
to the ornatus masses was that the outer row of the beds, in all cases 
on the side next the sun, invariably showed the earliest flowers, showing 
that fuller air and sunlight tended to nromote preeocity. 
It is difficult, in relation to the 90 to 100 acres of land which Mr. 
Walker has here converted into a flower and fruit garden, to compare 
the cost of labour employed on the laud as comp ired with what was 
spent in the same direct ion not so mat y rears ag i when the soil was only 
an ordinary farm. Whilst the labour bill is probably ten times as great 
now as it was then, it is also probable that the pecuniary value of the 
produce from the area is fully twenty times as great. Certainly the 
millions of bulbs grown must represent an immense sum, whilst their 
flower produce alone would be immense also. Ho v it is found possible to 
keep pace with the abundance of the bloom it is d’tficulc to understand. 
Probably not more than one-half of it, after all, finds its way to the 
market. It may be that perhaps Daffodil culture for market flower 
production has nearly reached its maximum. Flowers are now so 
wonderfully cheap and abundant, that to the ordinary observer it would 
seem as if it were not possible to find room fop more in the market. 
Happily there is in the Daff dil not only great wealth of variety, but 
the flowers run over a long season. The old d luble yellow, literally 
everybody’s flower, is one of the ear iest, and the double white Poeticus, 
blooming late in May, is the latest, so that the season ordinarily runs 
over three months. Tnen so many are easily forced in a moderate 
