March 15, 1894. 
.JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
201 
I think it is worth mentioning that the vote for Medea was sent by 
Mr. Frank Cant, of whose selection of this variety, even if he be alone 
in his opinion, it is worth while taking a mental note.— Chables 
J.j^GBAHAME. 
Noeth and South. 
I FIND I misunderstood Mr. Astley about the Madame Berard 
referred to on page 162. I thought the plant was grown on the aide of 
the wall facing south. I was mistaken, it seems, as it faces N.N.B. 
In pointing out the advanced state of vegetation in the west I hope I 
have hinted to those responsible for drawing a county line of demarca¬ 
tion longitudinally across England and Wales, separating the northern 
from the southern zone for National Rose Exhibition purposes, that 
they ought to consider the state of vegetation from east to west as well 
as from north to south, for I presume that the Northern Provincial 
■Show of National Rose Society will be held in the northern counties 
in July and the Southern Provincial in the southern counties in June. 
It seems to me that it will be necessary to strike an average between 
eastern and western states of vegetation at the same date in the Rose 
season before we can fairly decide which ought and which ought not 
to be northern or southern counties ; i.e., provided that the county 
line of demarcation is drawn as straight as possible from east to west, 
and I think it should be.— H. V. Machin. 
Obsebvations on Roses. 
The past open winter has been favourable to Roses, notwithstanding 
its sudden tempestuous eccentricities and frequent deluges of rain; The 
queen of flowers promises to be considerably earlier than usual this year 
if the crucial element of frost—a consummate artist, but also a terrible 
destroyer—does not intervene. Mr. Benjamin R. Cant of Colchester 
wrote to me fully a fortnight ago that there were shoots on his Rose 
trees nearly 4 inches long. About the same time Mr. Cranston of Here¬ 
ford informed me that many of the Roses in his large cool conservatory 
were coming into bloom. It is to be hoped that what remains of the 
spring will prove propitious, and that we will not have too many 
“afflictive visitations” of east and north winds, which when they 
come swooping down like elemental demons upon our beautiful gardens, 
bring desolation in their train. Nature never does betray the heart 
that loves her, save when she brings such messengers as these. The 
pious iEueas, immortalised by Virgil, suffered considerably less from 
their sudden onset than does the modern rosarian when his fairest 
treasures are thus taken by surprise. But not seldom the season of 
bloom is as exacting in its influence, and as tragic in its issues, as the 
period of growth. 
Last summer has been eulogised by several eminent writers on Rose 
cultivation, I have never heard it blessed by any rosarian. So far as I 
know the great Rose cultivators are unanimously of opinion that their 
Roses suffered greatly from the scorching, unmitigated, solar blaze of 
the tropical summer of 1893. It has been asserted by a very few 
horticultural journalists that certain dark Roses during that memorable 
season were at their best; such, however, was by no means my 
experience with such varieties as Victor Hugo, Reynolds Hole, and Sir 
Rowland Hill. With these and many others, systematic watering did no 
good. Their exquisite complexion was, during the terrible heat of the 
summer, entirely destroyed, nor was it recovered till late in the autumn, 
when the benignant coolness, characteristic of that season, providentially 
intervened. 
On the other hand it must be admitted that many of the lighter 
coloured varieties, in my own garden at least, produced magnificent 
blooms. Early in the season, before they had experienced the full heat 
of July, the flowers which appeared on La France, Duchess of Bedford, 
Magna Charta, White Lady, Sir Garnet Wolseley, Margaret Dickson, 
Etoile de Lyon, and Belle Lyonaisse were marvellous to behold. But 
meanwhile these Roses were receiving artificially those essential, 
periodical supplies of moisture which Nature, their unnatural parent, 
most mercilessly denied. But what, contemporaneously, was the 
experience of the southern English rosarians, whose acres of Roses 
were roasting in the sun ? This, their temporary reverses at the Crystal 
Palace, and the universal triumphs of those heroic northern cultivators, 
Messrs. Dickson of Newtownards, Messrs. Harkness, and Messrs. Cocker, 
whose Roses had a cooler atmosphere, and more assistance from the 
clouds, were eloquent to declare. Thus it was that the floral repre¬ 
sentatives of Colchester, Hereford, Cheshunt and Oxford had to take a 
comparatively subordinate place, while those of Bedale, Newtownards 
and Aberdeen reigned supreme. 
I have only been speaking of Hybrid Perpetuals ; in the department 
assigned to Tea Rosea at the Crystal Palace Mr. Benjamin R. Cant 
achieved six premier distinctions. This fact appears very strongly to 
indicate that the season of 1893, while distinctly antagonistic to Hybrid 
Perpetuals, and especially to the darker varieties of these, was not 
altogether unfavourable to the growth and development of those beautiful 
Tea Roses, which are the most perpetual and floriferous we possess. 
What other “ family ” in colour, form, or delicate fragrance can be 
placed, unless at a great disadvantage, in comparison with these ? I 
hope the day is not far distant when Comtesse de Nadaillac will not be 
deemed inferior to Gustave Piganeau, The Bride to A. K. Williams, or 
Catherine Mermet to Alfred Colomb, when the dimensions of a Rose, 
however exceptional or impressive, shall be reckoned of less importance 
than other endowments, too long under-estimated, if not absolutely 
ignored.— David R. Williamson. 
Events of the Week. —The only horticultural event which will 
take place during the ensuing week is the Exhibition of spring flowers 
at the Crystal Palace on Saturday the 17th. Being a favourable season 
a good display should be forthcoming at this Show. 
- The Weather in London. — Chang''able weather has 
prevailed in the metropolis since publishing our last issue. Friday, the 
9th, was showery, but Saturday proved fine and bright. Showers were 
prevalent on Sunday morning, the same also applying to Monday and 
Tuesday. Many fruit trees are fast developing their blossom buds, some 
Pear flowers being almost expanded. At the time of going to press the 
weather is bright and sunny, but the wind cold. 
- Weather in the North.—T here has been no improvement 
in the weather during the past week. With the exception of the 6th 
and the 8th, which were fine for the greater part, the usual wet has 
prevailed. There were 3° frost on the morning of the 7th, but a rather 
good day was followed by a very wet evening. Between Saturday night 
and the morning of Sunday a violent south-westerly gale raged for 
several hours, and trees and buildings have again suffered severely. 
Blinding showers of snow, sleet, and rain fell at intervals during the 
whole of Sunday and Monday. Tuesday morning was calm but cold 
and dull, and the barometer promises no change for the better.—B. D., 
S. Perthshire. 
- Whins and Furze. —It will be news to your Scotch readers, 
and a good few English ones I imagine, to learn from “ M.” (page 184) 
that the Furze is a “ Ulex ” and the Whin a “ Genista,” seeing that 
Ulex, Furze, Gorse, and Whin mean one and the same plant. What 
Genista does he mean? It can’t be the Broom. When Burns wrote in 
“ Tam o’ Shanter ”—“ And through the Whins and by the cairn. Where 
hunters fand the murdered bairn,” he meant the Furze (Ulex), as any 
Scotch reader knows.—J. S. W. 
- Gardening Appointments.—M r. George Gregory, late of 
Fern Lodge, Bracknell, has been appointed head gardener to Lord 
Portarlington, Came House, Dorchester, Dorset. Mr. F, Conn has been 
appointed gardener to Capt. Winthorp, at Barton Court, Kintbury, in 
succession to Mr. W. Young. Mr. Conn has been foreman in the gardens 
for several years. 
- Spring Flowers are now abundant in the conservatory of 
the Royal Botanic Society, Regent’s Park, and produce a remarkably 
beautiful display. Azalea amoena, which was introduced to this 
country from Shanghai by Fortune in 1850, is well represented. It 
may be of interest to mention that the flowers of this distinct small¬ 
growing species differ from those of the indica type in having a calyx 
enlarged into the size and form of the corolla, and as it is also identical 
in colour, the plant appears to have a double flower. 
- Gardening and Forestry Exhibition, Earl’s Court.— 
The short notice which I sent you for publication is not quite what 
I intended, I therefore ask you to kindly substitute the following: 
It may interest some of your readers, particularly those who were 
awarded prizes at the above exhibitions, and who, like myself, have not 
had the pleasure of handling the money, to know that I intend with the 
support of other prizewinners to raise a fund to defray the expenses of a 
test case. I will give my £3 and shall be glad to receive promises of 
subscriptions from those interested.— Frank Cant, Braiswich Nursery, 
Colchester. 
- New Work on Botany,—M essrs. Jarrold & Sons have just 
published an interesting work entitled “ Object Lessons in Botany from 
Forest, Field, and Garden,” by Mr. E. Snelgrove. Botany rightly 
taught is the most pleasurable of sciences ; and the guiding principle 
adopted by the author in the preparation of his book—namely, that of 
using common objects for illustration of unknown characters and 
functions, not only arouses interest, but must impart a large amount of 
sound instruction. The book will be useful to teachers in elementary 
schools, and should be a means of opening pleasant paths to their young 
students. 
