GENERAL HINTS. 
69 
establishment of the showing in stands, like dahlias, will cause many 
old and fine roses to be appreciated, and a great many new ones tc be 
discarded; for although itjg not the gayest mode of exhibiting roses, 
it is by far the best mode of testing, and it is curious to see the num¬ 
ber of varieties with very glaring faults. For instance, some are close 
balls of petals, with the outer ones rolling back a little, as if they were 
shrivelling; but never opening fairly. Others no sooner open than 
they show their yellow seeds and their paucity of petals : some are on 
stems too weak to hold them in their position; others, again, burst 
into a broken mass of ill-formed petals, that do not compensate for 
their sweetness. Some fall to pieces the instant they are open, and 
others almost before they open ; many are shapeless masses of colored 
flimsy texture, that neither hold themselves in form nor impart fra¬ 
grance. It is worth while to direct the attention of the amateur to 
the large collections of roses sometimes to be seen at exhibitions, and 
to the very few which are to be found among them of a fine. form. 
They will observe bunches of half-bloomed flowers, that dare not be 
shown; they will find plenty of hard lumps, on stems not strong 
enough to bear them without lolloping about; they will find some 
without a round smooth petal among them, but very few so good as 
the Tuscan, the Cabbage, the Moss, the Provence, and the oldest of 
the known good varieties. This shows the necessity of attention to 
the hints we have thrown out; for we must again confess, that 
although we have selected the best among eleven or twelve hundred 
roses, there are many that we shall see rejected like the remainder of 
the entire collection, to make way for better flowers and better taste. 
As a concluding observation respecting the management of the 
Rose, we are bound to say, that a good deal that is done now is 
erroneous, although taught by rose cultivators; and especially with 
regard to roses in pots, which, however pretty they may look, are 
very much drawn, and very unnaturally supported. That the system, 
if pursued, will lead to the introduction and toleration of varieties 
which cannot support themselves, in the same manner as it did to the 
introduction of worthless geraniums, there is no room to doubt; for 
in the specimens exhibited in pots at various shows, the total inability 
of the flowers and stems to support themselves is manifested, as well 
as the dispositions to encourage this strange mode of distorting things. 
Borne allowance should be made for any forced subject; but that 
