December 20. THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 237 
made some trials to get new and superior Roses before I 
left him. Here the amateur is apt to doubt the value of 
such experiments under his own hand, supposing ho is 
tempted to try his skill and patience, seeing that Mr. 
Rivers, with all his knowledge of Roses, has not yet been 
able to excel the French breeders, or that Mr. Beaton, 
with little or no knowledgo of the right breeding Roses, 
had not stumbled on success by mere chance. But the 
fact is, that such amateurs as can command the ne¬ 
cessary time and patience for crossing any kinds of 
plants, are far more likely to succeed than any of us. 
Business compels the nurseryman to “ stick to his last,” 
and duties have more commands for the gardener than 
ono of them in a thousand can properly attend to as he 
would wish. We can only, at best, point out the right 
paths for others, except here and there, when one is 
smitten with the fancy. 
I am almost sure that as flue Roses might be got 
from crossing here in England as in any part of the 
world; that by a careful selection of parents, and by 
genuine cross-breeding them, nine-tenths of the seed¬ 
lings would be good Roses; and that most of our best 
Roses have been got, hitherto, by chance, both here and 
on the continent. When Rose-houses are as common 
as Orchard-houses, or when Roses and Pears are grown 
in pots, in the same house, and when the subject is 
better understood, we shall beat the whole world in 
seedlings, by our superior skill in growing the parents; 
therefore, as long as I live, I shall continue to spread, 
far and wide, every attempt or suggestion, either that 
occurs to myself, or that I may hear of from others. 
Mr. Rivers has now put and pushed the subject, as 
far as he knows, into every section of the Rose. He is 
extravagant in his fancies to a degree. He would have 
every Rose,—Moss, Cabbage, and all, with evergreen 
leaves, and to bloom for six or eight months in the 
year; in every section he would have a dark orimson 
Rose to begin with,—a dark crimson, evergreen, ever- 
flowering, and evergrowing. He believes in the possi¬ 
bility of all this, and shows the way he would go about 
it in the “ Guide.” He is half-inclined to believe in 
super-foetation—that is, two kinds of pollen to act 
simultaneously on the same stigma; and that is always 
a sure sign to me, that he who inclines that way, is not 
a practical hand at the business himself. The idea of 
super-foetation must have originated from the essence, 
or from the fermentation of theoretical “ deductions.” 
You may bag all the Rose-pollen of June into a bladder, 
mix it together till July, and apply it with a brush all 
over the Rose season; do the same for ten years 
’running, and if any one of the cross-seedlings turns up 
half Scotch, and half York and Lancaster Rose, you 
prove the hypothesis of super-foetation; but certainly 
not by a milder proof, seeing how crosswise the different 
sections run into each other already. 
Of these sections, there are twenty-nine treated of in 
the “ Guide,” beginning with the Cabbage Rose and on 
through Moss, Provence, French, and French hybrids, 
together with Hybrids, Chinese and Bourbon; Whites, 
Damasks, Scotch, and all Briars; six sections of Climb¬ 
ing Roses, beginning with Avrshires, and on with 
Multifloras, Evergreens, Boursaults, Banksians, and 
Hybrid Climbing Roses. All these are included in 
summer Roses; but our author “ sees the day,” like a 
prophet, when every one of them will be swept from the 
face of tho earth ; in that day, Cabbage and Moss Roses 
: will be evergreens, and all Climbers will bo Perpetuals. 
But at present, we have only eleven sections of Per¬ 
petuals, and here they are:—Moss, Damask, Hybrid 
Perpetual, Bourbon, China, Tea, Miniature, Noisette, 
Musk, Macartney, and Microphylla. I dislike the word 
miniature very much indeed, and I shall never use it, 
and never did, since I heard a duchess saying, that 
“ Fairy” was the best expressive term they had for Roses. 
Thoso Autumnal and Perpetual Roses form the second 
part of the “Guide;” the third and last part is taken 
up with the treatment of Roses in all their varieties, from 
tho seed to the “show;” or to the drawing-room ; spring, 
summer, and autumn propagation; budding, grafting, 
layering, forcing; growing in pots for yourself, and for 
the shows and prizes ; the different, and the best stocks, 
for such-and-such Roses; “ dressings ” for this and that 
soil and situation; where, how, and the chances of 
getting cross-bred Roses in all the sections, and which 
is which, to make them all evergreens; the climbers, 
pillars, and festoons—how to crimsonify all, or any of 
them, or to have as many crimsons in all the sections as 
one wants; and to know how many and what are the best 
at the present day. Mr. Rivers always starts with crimsons, 
and goes down through all the shades to white; he tells 
all the best of each colour, andwhat they are best for, and 
how to make them better if you should not like them as 
well as he does; he says there is a better than the 
“ Giant of the Battles,” Lord Raglan, perhaps; a still 
better than Baronne Prevost, a certain Colonel cle Rouge 
mont. According to him, the best blush in the world is 
Madame Bivers. Of course it is; who doubts it after lie 
says it is. There is no doubt Mr. Rivers is very happy at 
home, and that is why he writes in that homely chatting 
style which we all like, whether we like him or not. 
He says, Madame Laffay was never beaten; pity she 
should, or any other madame who is always blooming; 
that Victoria does not open well; that may be owing to 
the war, but more probably to our “ allies,” who did not 
understand how to make a queen for us. He thinks her 
Grace the Duchess of Norfolk ought to be set up against 
a pillar, and to be changed into “ a nice pillar Rose.” 
In fact, he makes no ceremony with queens, duchesses, 
ladies, madames, and mademoiselles; but makes his 
dispositions of them just as he thinks they tell best. 
Hear what he says about the best pillar Roses; “ As 
pillar Roses, some of tho vigorous-growing varieties of 
Hybrid Perpetuals are highly eligible ; they should be 
treated in the same manner as recommended for summer 
pillar Roses. They will cover a pole about eight feet 
high well; but unless in very rich soils, they cannot be 
depended upon to form a pillar of greater height. 
Baronne Prevost, Caroline de Sansel, Dr. Marx, Robin 
Hood, Jules Margottin, Madame Laffay, Beranger, Louise 
Peyronny, Baronne Hallez, and Madame Frcmion, are 
all nice varieties for this purpose.” He says, that Jules 
Margottin ought to be called Perpetual Brennus; that its 
very strong habit, its large flowers, its vivid crimson, 
and its fine shape, “ remind us much of that very fine 
old Hybrid China Rose, Brennus he also says of it, 
that it will do equally well (why not better?) on its own 
roots, also as a standard and for pegging down, and that 
it will soon be in every Rose-garden. Sir John Franklin, 
and Gloire de la France, are quite new and quite as fine, 
“ if not of superior brilliancy,” as Geant des Batailles. 
Prince Leon is the next new Hybrid perpetual Rose on 
which ho puts the greatest stress. It is of a cherry 
colour. Louise Peyronny, a daughter of La Reine, is 
another, which answers even better than the mother 
queen, because it is not quite so double, it opens more 
freely; and the Colonel of the Regiment ( Rougemont) 
knocks Baronne Prevost over the coals, and takes Iris 
boots himself; while William Griffiths “ is, indeed, tho 
most perfectly-shaped Rose known,” tho colour being a 
bright lilac-rose. Souvenir de Leveson Gower, a mag¬ 
nificent crimson; Alexandrina Bachmeteff, a brilliant 
carmine; and Prince Chipetonzikoff (who was ho, and 
who next?), with brilliant deep red flowers, arc three 
great favourites with him; but lie thinks the best of 
them will yet be eclipsed by English seedlings. 
Mr. Rivers says, that in two or three generations of 
crosses Laffay got most of the best Roses now in cultiva¬ 
tion, and as we know that one of his earliest seedlings, 
