THE FLORIST. 
263 
Paul differ from him in not placing Sidonie in this group : they 
admit only eight varieties, M. Vibert has twenty-two in his Cata¬ 
logue. I have seen these Roses under the most favourable circum¬ 
stances both in France and England, and am compelled to say, that 
there is not one, except Sidonie, really worthy of cultivation, while 
we have such Roses as La Reine, Baronne Prevost, Duchess of 
Sutherland, &c. 
It is probably only a certain rage for novelty which the French 
florists have that has induced them to cultivate the Roses of this 
group, and to place them in their Catalogues. I write this merely 
to point out to our young Rose-growers the inconvenience of imi¬ 
tating French follies. Nothing, in my opinion, shews more forcibly 
the inutility of thus dividing Hybrid Perpetual Roses than the fact, 
that two French and three English florists, extracts from whose 
Catalogues I have given, all differ in their classification. How, 
then, is it to be expected that the mere lover of Roses can follow 
this absurd system } They are beautiful and popular flowers; let 
them not, therefore, create a distaste to them by too subtle distinc¬ 
tions, which fatigue, and are apt to disgust, the real admirer of 
Roses. Common Sense. 
HINTS TO AMATEUR TULIP GROWERS. 
BY MR. R. J. LAWRENCE, OF HAMPTON. 
Look over and arrange your bulbs for planting; take off all the 
offsets and the loose skins—if they are tight, they are better left on. 
If you intend to get in new varieties, order them, and have them 
forwarded before they begin to grow, as they are not then so sus¬ 
ceptible of injury in transit. 
In planting, rake your bed level with the top of* the boards which 
enclose the mould, and plant on the surface ; cover the outside rows 
about three inches, and the middle, five ; which will round the bed 
sufficiently to throw off an immense quantity of water in winter, 
and so do away with the necessity of covering from heavy rains 
until the plants are two or three inches out of the ground, and the 
foliage begins to hold water. I consider this practice to be as es¬ 
sential to good cultivation as thorough under - draining, and good 
sound loam free from wire worm, &c. The mould should never be 
allowed to sink below the side-boards, as then the whole of the 
water runs into the bed, instead of on to the path, which should 
have a trifling inclination from the bed. I have no doubt that the 
principal cause of failure with amateurs arises either from a super¬ 
abundance of water retained in the bed by the side-boards, or from 
continually covering them against heavy rains in winter, which draws 
the plants up weakly, and renders them incapable of encountering 
severe frost. 
The best time for planting is October, before the bulbs begin 
