aSies' S'laral feafiinet an3 Pictorial BHEame fiompanion. 
51 
ties, or which attract the commendations of adepts at 
exhibitions, ultimately turn out lamentably shy in 
autumn — mere summer roses in fact, yielding, it may 
be, under peculiar circumstances, a flower or two in 
the latter part of the year. It unfortunately happens 
that not a few even of the established favorites are 
capricious and unreliable in the essential feature 
which gives a name to the class to which they are 
held to belong. Let any one walk through a large j 
collection of Boses from the end of August till the j 
time for lifting arrives, and he will be struck at be¬ 
holding row upon row of healthy-looking trees utter¬ 
ly destitute of the vestige of a flower. In other cases 
a bloom here or there maybe seen, but nothing in 
quantity to justify the title of perpetual, while others 
will be found yielding flowers till the frost cuts them 
off. These last are the kinds most valuable for the 
purposes of the general Eose public, in contradis- ! 
tinction to the limited class concerned with exliibi- i 
tion; hence the necessity of ascertaining the trust¬ 
worthy autumnal blooms every year.” 
There is no doubt we have altogether too many 
kinds of so-called Hybrid Perpetuals, which, though 
excelling in many other qualities, are lamentably de¬ 
ficient in this; they are perpetual in name only, and 
do not yield a sufficient number of flowers; they, 
therefore, should give place to true perpetual varie¬ 
ties. 
Vigor and healthfulness of growth. —Last, and 
scarcely least, we look for a strong constitution. 
Varieties subject to mildew, like Caroline de San- 
sal, Prince Camille de Bohan, etc., have our com¬ 
miseration as well as our regard; while weak or slow- 
growing varieties, like General Washington, Giant 
of Battles, La France, etc., we unfavorably contrast 
with the exuberant, healthful growths of such sorts 
as John Hopper, General Jacqueminot, Baronne 
Prevost, etc. 
With these preliminary remarks, we submit a 
table placing in order of merit the best hardy Eoses 
for general cultivation. With the single exception 
of Climbing Jules Margottin, we have not contem¬ 
plated the admission of new varieties of the past four 
years. Some of them, no doubt, will be worthy a 
place in the list, but it takes time to thoroughly test 
a Eose, and we wish to make this list as thoroughly j 
reliable and as nearly perfect as it is possible for | 
such a list to be. 
We have selected the following means of deter- 
mining the comparative, merits of different varieties. 
Taking the five qualities named in the order of their 
importance, we assigned the following number of 
points to each : Color, twenty-four; form, twenty- 
two ; fragrance, twenty; freedom of bloom, eighteen ; 
vigor and healthfulness of growth, sixteen; making 
a total of one hundred points for each Eose. 
Where two or more varieties resemble one an¬ 
other, we have only retained the superior sort as a 
contestant; thus Ferdinand de Lesseps and Maurice 
Bernardin are thrown out as being somewhat similar, 
but inferior to Charles Lefebvre. 
This gives a list, therefore, of quite distinct sorts, 
those which are nearest alike being Alfred Colomb 
and Mme. Victor Verdier at the head, and they are 
sufficiently dissimilar to make both essential, even in 
a very limited collection. 
We have given the shade of color in case any one 
should desire to select from this list with reference to 
having but a few sorts quite distinct from each other 
in tint, but, as already mentioned, Eoses vary almost 
in form as in color, and we may have two kinds, of 
precisely the same shade, yet strongly differing in 
every other respect, and therefore entirely distinct. 
The list runs as follows: 
p 
ev «s - 
sis' 
Sj 
§ o 3 
^5 
§ is 
£ 
a 
1 
1 
§ 
24 
22 
20 
18 
16 
100 
24 
22 
19 
15 
13 
92 
24 
22 
19 
14 
11 
90 
24 
20 
14 
16 
16 
90 
24 
16 
17 
17 
16 
90 
23 
22 
17 
13 
14 
89 
23 
20 
15 
16 
15 
89 
24 
22 
18 
14 
10 
88 
24 
21 
16 
14 
13 
88 
24 
11 
15 
15 
13 
88 
24 
22 
20 
18 
3 
87 
24 
20 
12 
16 
15 
87 
24 
19 ' 
14 
14 
16 
87 
24 
17 
15 
15 
15 
86 
23 
14 
17 
16 
16 
86 
24 
21 
20 
14 
6 
85 
22 
19 
13 
15 
16 
85 
24 
16 
12 
14 
15 
81 
24 
21 
12 
8 
15 
80 
24 
18 
14 
12 
10 
78 
24 
22 
4 
14 
13 
77 
23 
15 
12 
14 
13 
77 
20 
16 
14 
18 
9 
77 
22 
16 
10 
12 
13 
73 
23 
10 
8 
18 
12 
71 
20 
18 
4 
17 
8 
67 
24 
19 
2 
9 
10 
64 
24 
21 
2 
12 
4 
63 
15 
12 
10 
12 
14 
63 
24 
20 
2 
10 
6 
62 
24 
20 
2 
8 
7 
61 
not be 
com 
plete 
without 
Alfred Colomb, crimson. 
Mme Victor Verdier, crimson . 
John Hopper, carmine-rose _ 
General Jacqueminot, velvety 
crimson. 
Countess C6cile de Chabrillant, 
pink. 
Abel Grand, glossy rose. 
Marie Baumann, c'miiie-crimson 
Charles Lefebvre, deep crimson. 
Francois Michelon, carmine-rose 
La France, silvery rose. 
J1 arguerite de St. Amande, bright 
rose.. . 
Climbing Jules Margottin, car- 
mine-pink. 
Duke of Edinburgh, bright crim¬ 
son . 
Baronne Prevost, rose. 
Louis Van Iloutte, maroon. 
Paul Neyron, rose . 
Anne de Diesbach, carmine. 
Mme. Boll, carmine-rose. 
Prince Camille de Rohan, dark 
crimson. 
Countess of Oxford, carmine-red 
Caroline de Sansal, rosy-flesli... 
Mme. Alfred de Rougemont, 
white. 
Peach-Blossom, pink . 
Coquette des Blanches, white .. 
General Washington, reddish 
crimson. 
Marquise de Castellane, carmine- 
red . 
Baroness Rothschild, silvery 
pink. 
La Reine, rose. 
Etienne Levet, carmine red. 
Mile. Eugfinie Verdier, silvery 
rose. 
mention of some summer Eoses. Though blossom¬ 
ing only once a year, some of them, notably the 
Mosses, are so beautiful as to be essential to a Eose 
garden of any size or pretensions. We name the 
following as the best: For climbers, Bennett’s Seed¬ 
ling, Baltimore Belle, and Queen of the Prairies. 
We have also a new race of climbing Hy. Perpetuals, 
which promise to be valuable but are not fully 
proved. Among non-climbers, the most desirable 
are Persian Yellow, Mme. Hardy, Mme. Plantier, 
and the following: Moss Eoses, Crested, Common 
Moss, Countess of Murinais, and Salet; the latter, 
though less beautiful than the others, blooms freely 
in autumn and would be quite valuable for that 
quality alone. 
The selection or mode of electing varieties to a posi¬ 
tion in the above list is, of course, arbitrarily done, 
but it has been carefully, and we may say laboriously, 
compiled; and though judges would differ more or 
less in the relative estimation of the different qualities 
which go to make up a perfect Eose, and the number 
of points which should be variously assigned, we 
nevertheless think it will be a serviceable guide. As 
will be seen from the table, we have no Eose which 
may be called perfect; our choicest sorts, excelling 
in some qualities, fall short in others ; thus Alfred 
Colomb, which heads the list with ninety-two points 
out of a possible one hundred, is less fragrant than 
La France, more coy of its blooms than Coquette des 
Blanches, and does not have the lusty vigor of growth 
possessed by Baronne Prevost, but, for the five 
qualities combined, no sort altogether equals it, 
though Mme. Victor Verdier is a sister variety of 
nigh equal worth. Honest John Hopper, always 
steadfast and true, comes third. Victor Verdier 
bears him much resemblance in color and general 
appearance, but has neither the fragrance nor vigor 
of constitution to be counted a rival. 
General Jacqueminot, notwithstanding a lack of 
fulness and rotund form, is now one of our oldest, 
most generally known, and also best Eoses for gene¬ 
ral cultivation. Clad in his rich crimson livery, he 
is still prepared to lead the van. 
Countess Cecile de Chabrillant, possibly from the 
length of name, is a variety too much neglected and 
lost sight of. The flowers are not large but most 
beautiful, and are models of symmetry and grace. 
Let no one overlook her claims. 
Abel Grand is another neglected, or at least not 
well-known, variety of the highest excellence, especi¬ 
ally valuable in the fall of the year, when compeers 
otherwise equally meritorious are devoid of even a 
semblance of bloom. 
Marie Baumann! How difficult to depict her 
charms. Original and exquisite in all her features, 
she claims a choice position in every garden. There 
is no more beautiful variety than this in the entire 
list. 
Charles Lefebvre is an improved Jacqueminot in 
form, and possibly color, though somewhat inferior in 
other qualities. Only within a year or two have we 
in this country learned to appreciate this noble Eose. 
Francois Michelon, a comparatively new sort, is 
rapidly gaining favor. It is a seedling from La Eeine, 
bearing some resemblance to that well-known sort, but 
decidedly superior in color and form. Following this 
is La France, the sweetest of all Eoses; compelled to 
choose one variety, this should be ours. It is not 
only the most fragrant, but, with the exception of 
those Hybrid Noisettes, Madame Alfred de Bouge- 
mont and Coquette des Blanches, will yield more 
flowers during the year than any other sort named. 
It flowers so profusely that its growth is checked, 
every eye sending forth a flower-shoot; it is, alas ! not 
very hardy, being the most tender on the list, but 
though the tops are killed it will start out again in 
the spring from the roots, the same as the Hybrid 
Noisettes. 
Marguerite de St. Amande is a worthy companion 
of Abel Grand, furnishing a generous supply of 
autumn flowers. 
Climbing Jules Margottin, besides being of more 
vigorous growth, seems, if anything, more beautiful 
| than the old sort, from which it is a sport. It is well 
! worth growing for its buds alone. 
Duke of Edinburgh, is a bright-colored Jacquemi¬ 
not, which is saying all that is necessary. 
Baronne Prevost, one of the best of the flat type, is 
a worthy companion of General Jacqueminot, and a 
model of vigor and health. It is the oldest variety 
known, having been sent out in 1842. 
Louis Van Houtte, like La France, is but half 
hardy, and is also worthy of extra care. No other 
sort so nearly approaches La France in fragrance, 
and when planted in a bed together the deep, vel- 
