May 27, 1905. 
The Gardening World 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“And greener from the ashen plain the sweet spring grasses rise again.”— Whittier. 
WEEKLY PRIZES 
FOR 
SHORT ARTICLES. 
The Proprietors of The Gardening World 
will give a cash prize of Seven Shillings and 
Sixpence for the best paragraph, or short 
article, sent by readers during the week, and 
Two Shillings and Sixpence as a second 
prize. The Editor’s judgment must be con- 
! sidered final, and he will be at liberty to use 
any of the contributions sent in. The para- i 
graph, or article, must not exceed one 
column in length, but the value, rather than 
the length, of the article will be considered in 
making the award. Competitors may send in 
items of news or comments on news ; hints of 
practical interest to gardeners or growers of 
plants, fruits, or flowers; successful methods of 
propagating plants usually considered difficult; 
or contributions on any subject coming 
within the sphere of gardening proper. 
Letters should be addressed to Thb Editor, 
marked “ Competition,” and posted not later 
than Friday night to ensure insertion in the 
issue of next week. 
Views and Reviews. 
The following Coloured Plates 
have appeared in recent num¬ 
bers :— 
September 12.— SIX NEW DAFFODILS. 
October 3 — LILIUM AURATUM PLA- 
TYPHYLLUM SHIRLEY VAR. 
Novembei 14.—ROSE MME. N. LEVA 
VASSEUR. 
January 2.— HYBRID TEA-SCENTED l 
ROSE IRENE. 
January 30. — TUBEROUS BEGONIA 
COUNTESS OF WARWICK. 
February 27.— A FINE STRAIN OF 
GLOXINIAS. 
April 2. — WISTARIA MULTIJUGA 
RUSSELLIANA. 
May 7 -CACTUS DAHLIA DAINTY. 
June 4.— CACTUS DAHLIA SPITFIRE. 
July 16 —ROSE LADY BATTERSEA, 
prober l. — GEUM HELDREICHI 
SUPERBUM. 
October 15 — ROSE HUGH DICKSON. 
Rack numbers may be obtained from the 
^publishers, price 2Jd. post free. 
This week we present a Half-tone 
Plate of 
IRIS JAPONICA. 
Next week we shall give a Half-tone 
Plate of 
A ROSE GARDEN. 
The first prize last week in the ; 
•Readers Competition was awarded to 
“B. E. G. Bowyer,” for his article on \ 
p otting Orchids,” p. 421; and the ' 
second to “ Oides,” for his article on $ 
“Kalmias.” p. 418. 5> 
The Glamour of a Rose. 
Most people, we presume, who have been 
converted to a love of flowers, horticulture, 
or Hardening in one form or other, have been 
converted by the beauty of some particular 
fruit, flower, or vegetable. No doubt there 
are many warm adherents who could not 
assign their conversion to any one particular 
flower, but had been taken by the beauty of a 
numbei or the general attractions of a 
garden. At the National Rose Conference, 
held in the R.H.S. Gardens, Chiswick, on 
July 2nd, 1S89, the late Very Rev. the Dean 
of Rochester, D.D., presided, and told how 
he was converted to a love of the Rose. 
He had just returned from classical Oxford, 
after having finished his career there, and 
was walking round his father’s garden one 
summer’s evening, without thinking of any¬ 
thing particular, when he was suddenly at¬ 
tracted by the splendour of a crimson Rose, 
the old Rosa gallica, and said, or seemed 
to say, to himself, “Oh! how beautiful.” 
After a contemplation of the beauties of 
this deliciously scented and highly-coloured, 
old-fashioned Rose, he proceeded to explore 
the floral wealth of his father’s garden to see 
what other Roses were like. 
The garden evidently was old-fashioned, 
and contained many old-fashioned things, 
but he had already singled out the Rose as 
the centre of liis admiration. The different 
kinds of Roses there on that day were by 
no means numerous. He found the old 
Cabbage Rose, the Moss Rose, and Rosa 
Mundi, frequently, though incorrectly, named 
the York and Lancaster. The Faiiy Rose 
was also there, notable for the dwarf habit 
of the bush and its numerous tiny flowers. 
At the present day good collections of the 
Fairy Rose are rarely met with in gardens. 
He also found the crimson Damask, a type 
also celebrated for its delicious scent, a 
quality which is all too seldom present in 
modern varieties that take first place in the 
estimation of the florist. The old gardener, 
in making an attempt to be up to date, had 
persuaded the Dean’s father to procure Bren- 
nus, Charles Duval, Blairii No. 2, Fulgens, 
Charles Lawson, and a few others. The day 
of the Dean’s conversion was sixty-two years 
ago, reckoning to the present day. 
This story is retold in a circular sent out 
by the National Rose Society in company 
with their annual report for last year and 
schedule of prizes for this year. In 
order to give some idea of the result of this 
conversion of the Dean to the love of the 
Rose, we may recount what he then said 
were the first results, and what it led to. 
On the morning after seeing this beautiful 
Rose, he wrote for the book “ Rivers on the 
Rose. ’ The little book was thoroughly read 
from end to end, and a large number of 
Roses marked, with the intention of pro¬ 
curing them. In the month of November fol¬ 
lowing, these Roses came packed in baskets, 
and lie was delighted to uncut the cords and 
unfold his newly-arrived treasures. His own 
words concerning those Roses were that 
" never since the days of paradise had such 
Roses been seen in Nottinghamshire.” 
Friends came from all directions to see 
and admire his Roses, of which he continued 
to procure and plant more and more, until 
the whole garden was couleur de Rose. We 
presume that many things must have been 
ousted to make room for the growing fa¬ 
vourites. He also commenced to compete 
at exhibitions where prizes happened to be 
given for Roses, He was thoroughly dis¬ 
satisfied, however, with the little prominence 
that was given to Roses in general at flower 
shows, and it occurred to him, or rather it 
grew upon him, that the Rose should have a 
show entirely to itself. 
In those days he said that the Rose was 
put. in some corner of the show, and often 
judged by men who scarcely knew a Rose 
fiom an Artichoke. We presume by this 
that the judges were merely gardeners im¬ 
bued with a sense of flowers in general, and 
that the Rose was nothing in particular, as 
in the case of Peter Bell, of whom the poet 
said, A Primrose by the river's brim, a 
yellow Primrose was to him, and it was 
nothing more. Various flowers enjoyed a 
much greater popularity than the Rose in 
those olden times, and the Dean mentions 
the Carnation, Chrysanthemum, and Dahlia 
as enjoying a much larger share of popular 
favour than the Rose, and even had exhibi¬ 
tions all to themselves. 
This feeling grew upon the Dean from 
year to year until he took upon himself the 
responsibility of making a public protest and 
an appeal in magazines and by private letter. 
The idea that was growing upon him was 
that they should have a national Rose show, 
with, of course, a Rose society to support 
and carry it on. The result of this appeal 
was that a few ardent rosarians of those davs 
met in Webb’s Hotel, in Piccadilly. When 
the Dean made these remarks in 1889. only 
two of the little company who assembled in 
Piccadilly were alive, but alas! to-day the 
