MR. RIVERS ON STANDARD CLIMBING ROSES. 
“Standard Climbing Roses!”—an odd assemblage of terms, and 
yet I know not what else to call them : “ Weeping Roses” is 
scarcely applicable, for they are not all strictly pendulous. How 
diversified are the purposes to which the beautiful Rose is applied ! 
Have we an unsightly wall, it may be hidden by Climbing Roses ; 
an ornamental verandah to embellish, what so beautiful as some of 
the Climbing Noisette R.oses ? a wilderness to ornament, nothing to 
equal some of the varieties of Sempervirens and Ayrshire Roses, suf¬ 
fered to grow as nature dictates ; a highly dressed lawn to finish, 
what can be more beautiful than clumps of Bourbon and other 
Autumnal Roses?—but of this more anon. Your pages will, I 
trust, often derive additional interest from articles on the Rose and 
its culture ; my business is now with those rustic beauties named 
at the head of this article ; at present they are too little known, but 
I hope to make them more so. 
Some six years since, having some rose-stocks five or six feet 
high, and stout as broom-handles, I was induced to try what effect 
some of the beautiful varieties of Rosa Sempervirens would have if 
budded on them, as I had some latent idea that they would form 
very graceful pendulous trees ; I accordingly selected from that 
family a few of its most interesting varieties. These trees are, in 
the blooming season, pictures of beauty; not a shoot has ever been 
touched by the pruning-knife, there is consequently no formality; 
their beauty consists in their gracefulness and rusticity, which is 
quite refreshing in contrast to the closely-pruned heads of the finer 
varieties of Standard Roses. 
The most interesting sorts in the above-named group for stand¬ 
ards are the following :—Banksiseflora, with very double flowers, 
pure white, the centre of each bloom pale yellow or straw-colour. 
Donna Maria, flowers comparatively large, very double, and of the 
purest white. Felicite Perpetuelle, with flowers of a creamy -white, 
tinted with pink on the outside : it really is perfect enjoyment to 
see this Rose, in a balmy morning in June, covered with its flowery 
gems more numerous than its leaves. Myrianthes, with its abun¬ 
dance of flowers of the most delicate pink, is equally worthy of a 
place on the lawn. Princesse Louise is also a charming variety, 
with flowers nearly of the same colour as the preceding, but larger, 
and more cupped. Princesse Marie is nearly the deepest in colour 
of this elegant group, its foliage is also darker, and its habit more 
robust than some others : it soon forms a most beautiful standard. 
In fine contrast is Rampant, with its flowers of pearly w T hite : this 
lovely variety is most slender and graceful in its habit, and continues 
a long time in bloom ; it also often gives a second crop of flowers 
