December 28, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
677 
States, I shall be a dishonoured prophet if we do not secure during the 
next decade not only a yellow but a violet and a white A. K. Williams.” 
This was in 1882. Our progress has not been what Mr. Laxton expected. 
We have had some admirable, I dare not say English, but United 
Kingdom Roses, not, however, what were predicted. A yellow H.P. did 
appear with a flourish of trumpets, but it is at present white. A violet 
A. K. Williams may come at any time, but we are no nearer to a sky 
blue Rose. 
I have lately had the advantage of a conversation with the prime 
mover in the home of those wonderful Cinerarias, Cyclamens, and 
Primulas, which originate at Reading. He has described to me the birth 
of a blue Primula. A similar close attention to Nature, watching and 
adapting it, if it could be obtained, would surely bring about a blue 
Rose. What I gather is that white flowers, and to a certain extent 
pale blue, are a sign of weakness of constitution, and may come from 
adverse circumstances. The colouring matter in flowers is affected 
by temperature,dry ness, 
soil, and other recondite 
causes. 
The Bride has a green 
tinge, I think, peculiar 
to its white, which if 
cultivated might lead 
on to something; but 
Mr. Martin considers a 
tinge of light blue more 
likely to be found in 
some of the other white 
Teas, the less robust 
ones rather than any¬ 
where else, and that, if 
this could be obtained 
and followed, the colour 
required might gradually 
be procured. At the 
same time it must be 
admitted that possibly, 
in the eyes of some 
people, this flower if 
produced would be like 
that horse of notoriety, 
which was very difficult 
to catch, and when 
caught worth only little, 
I may remark, speak¬ 
ing of comparatively 
new Roses, that with 
me Margaret Dickson 
hag proved a remark¬ 
able climber, giving 
shoots 10 feet long even 
during the drought of 
the past summer.—A. C. 
Hybeid Teas. 
I COULD not help 
thinking of the quota¬ 
tion, “ That in the 
captain’s but a choleric 
word, which in the 
soldier is flat blas¬ 
phemy,” when I read 
the very true and pun¬ 
gent remarks of “ W. R. 
Raillem ” on the sub¬ 
ject of Hybrid Teas in 
the Journal of last week 
(page 559), and it cer¬ 
tainly caused a grim 
smile to flit across my 
face. I note that “ W. 
R. Raillem,” with due 
discretion, got the assent of the Secretaries of the National Rose 
Society to bis stating his views, and that he thinks, as I do, that 
“ the catalogue always has been open to criticism.” Some time ago 
I had the temerity to tell one of the Secretaries that I intended to 
criticise the new catalogue, as I considered it teemed with errors in 
wrong descriptions, and also that there were notable omissions. The 
reply I received from him was that, having been a member of the cata¬ 
logue Committee, it would be “ presumption ” to criticise my colleagues’ 
work ! 
Having explained my quotation, I add a few comments. The Hybrid 
Tea class, as I said in the discussion on this classiflcation at the annual 
meeting, is one of the worst blunders the Society has ever committed. 
Even the Rev. W. Wilks, the Chairman of the annual meeting, who looks, 
with good reason, on La France as “ the Saul ” amongst Roses, was unaware 
till I drew his attention to the fact that La France was now termed a 
Hybrid Tea. This year it was debarred from exhibition at the Earl’s Court 
show as a Hybrid Perpetual, and, as a matter of course, it could not be 
shown as a Tea Rose. Could the height of absurdity further go ? The 
Hybrid Tea classification hag simply been, and is, a mistake, and as “ W. R. 
Raillem ” tersely puts it, is inconsistent. As to the general opinion on 
FIG. 84.— BOSE MBS. W. C. WHITNEY. 
its value, except by the few who introduced the division to the 
Society’s arrangements, I have never heard anyone outside the Com¬ 
mittee say a word in its favour, and one of our Secretaries has been 
throughout a consistent opponent of it; yet in this year’s report it is 
referred to as if the arrangement had met with general and favourable 
acceptation. 
A novice in Rose-growing who had heard of La France, Viscountess 
Folkestone, and Grace Darling as being amongst desirable Roses to 
grow, and being told they were not Tea Roses, would be puzzled on 
searching in some catalogues which follow the N.R.S. arrangement, not 
to find them mentioned in the great H.P. division. I notice that one 
of our greatest growers and exhibitors has in his catalogue this year, 
probably in despair, mixed up all his Roses, merely giving those he 
grows in alphabetical order, and denoted them by the initials H.P., 
T., or H.T. The plan he adopts seems a good and useful one, as 
experienced rosarians ki.ow all about the divisions, and those who are 
inexperienced do not 
want conundrums when 
they are looking for 
names of Roses. 
I hope “ W. R. Rail¬ 
lem ” will further follow 
up his criticism, as I am 
quite of his opinion that 
the new classification is 
“ unsatisfactory and un¬ 
likely to be permanent.” 
Unless Mr. Frank Cant’s 
wording of the rule 
about H.T.’s had been 
accepted at the annual 
meeting there would 
have been grave dis¬ 
satisfaction, as the other 
alteration suggested 
would have caused the 
practical disfranchise¬ 
ment of several of our 
most beautiful Roses in 
the “ open classes,” a 
result which would be 
deplorable in view of 
the beautiful exhibits— 
of La France, for in¬ 
stance—which are usu¬ 
ally sent by some of the 
great rosarians to our 
exhibitions.— Chables 
J. Geahame, Croydon. 
P.S. — To show the 
estimation in which the 
new Hybrid Tea class is 
held, I may mention 
there was not a single 
entry made in the class 
specially reserved for 
them at the Crystal 
Palace Show this year. 
—C. J. G. 
Manueing and Tbans- 
PLANTING Roses. 
Any remarks in con¬ 
nection with the subject 
of Rose culture from the 
fluent pen of '• W. R. 
Raillem ” are always 
interesting and original, 
and beneath the spirited 
style of a free lance 
lurks much information 
which is sound, though perhaps not always practicable. I can fully 
appreciate the force of his remarks on page 540, even though I torm the 
target for his well-aimed shafts, which though they hit do not penetrate, 
because I can bring forward sounder reasons in support of the practice 
I advocate than your correspondent has yet advanced against them. 
My experience is altogether at variance with the idea that “ it is a 
mistake to try and make a top-dressing of manure in winter act as both 
food and protection—as a manure and as a mulch” From a theoretic 
point of view I admit the most economical way of employing manure is 
to cover it with soil as soon as it is spread upon the land, so that as 
decay takes place the whole of its nutritious properties are absorbed by 
the soil; but our object in manuring Roses in the autumn is to give 
them protection and food in one operation. Of the soundness of this 
practice I am thoroughly convinced after trying various plans, especially 
during the last few years, during which time our winters have surely 
been severe enough to prove a fair test. 
Although we are situated in a cold district of the Midland counties, 
the only extra protection any of our Roses receive during the winter is 
a mu ching of manuie as previously advised. The tender varieties of 
Teas are planted only in sheltered positions or against walls, and our 
