? ; ? 9 
JanUARY 1, 1903. 
ee 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
i3 
Be 
A Chapter on Roses. 
> seecee 
At the request of several of our subscri- 
bers, and being persuaded that such a re- 
turn would be interesting to a large num- 
ber of our readers, we communicated with 
the pest growers and the most successful 
exhibitors of the rose throughout the 
colony, requesting the names of the best 
twenty-four hybrid perpetuals and hybrid 
“teag,’ and also of eighteen ‘teas’ which 
they considered the most suitable for exhi- 
bition purposes. 
Not only have our chief growers in the 
metropolitan district taken the trouble to 
furnish the lists as asked for, but the more 
distant growers, residing in Ballarat, Ben- 
digo, Harcourt, Hamilton, Riddell’s Creek, 
Rosedale, and other places, have kindly 
given their experience. 
For the best twenty-four H-P.’s and 
H.T.’s 105 names of different varieties were 
received from thirteen growers, but from 
this number eighty-one kinds received only 
one, two, and three votes each. For the 
first twelve great unanimity exists, but for 
the second twelve there is a great falling 
off in the number of votes recorded. The 
following is the voting: Mrs. John Lang 
and Earl of Dufferin, 11 votes each; 
Captain Christy and La France, 10 each; 
A. K. Williams, Charles Lefebvre, and 
Prince Camille de Rohan, 9 each; Alfred 
Colomb, Her Majesty, and Ulrich 
Brunner Fils, 8 each; Marie Baumann, 
Madame le Baronne de Rothschild, Mad- 
ame Gabriel Luizet, Caroline Testout, and 
Duke of Edinburgh, 7 each ; Fisher Holmes 
and E. Y. Teas, 6 each; Gustave Piganeau, 
5 votes; Merveille de Lyon, Queen of 
Queens, Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, General 
Jacqueminot, Rev. J. B. M. Camm, and 
Margaret Dickson, 4 votes each. 
For the best eighteen “Teas” seventy-five 
names were submitted. We give the names 
of twenty, being those which received 4 
votes and upwards: Catherine Mermet, 13 
votes ; The Bride, 12; Souvenird’Hlise Var- 
den and Marie Van Houtte, 11 each; Perle 
des Jardins, Contesse Nadallas and Niphe- 
tos, 10 each; Madame Lambard, Marechal 
Niel, and Grace Darling, 9 each; Ernest 
Metz and Sunset, 8 each;  Devoniensis, 
Francisca Kruger, Hon. Edith Gifford, and 
Madame de Watteville, 6 each; Jean Per- 
net, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Rev. T. 
C. Cole, and Lord Tarquin, 4 votes each. 
These selections compare well with the 
census made at the last show held by the 
National Rose Society at the Crystal 
Palace. 
Although such lists must be excellent 
guides to rosegrowers, they must not be 
taken as containing absolutely the very 
best varieties in cultivation, but they may 
be considered to comprise the best of the 
older and more generally cultivated sorts. 
Even in England, where there is always 
a good demand for novelties in roses, the 
older and better known kinds far outweigh 
in value the more new kinds, yet there 
are some new ones which, when better 
known, will take rank with the finest of 
the older ones. 
For instance, in the tea section Maman 
Cochet, Madame Hoste, and Innocente 
Pirola only. received 3 votes each, yet they 
are of equal merit in the opinion of many 
with the best of those named in the 
twenty. Then, again, Kaiserin Augusta 
Victoria, a rose of most beautiful shape, 
carrying its creamy white flowers well up 
on strong shoots, only received 4 votes. 
Ernest Metz, when better known, will pro- 
bably be as great a favorite as any. It is 
reliable, and scarcely any rose can surpass 
it for form and substance, is of robust 
habit, and its rosy pink flowers of tender 
shades are produced on strong, erect stalks. 
This variety is most distinct. 
In the section embracing hybrid perpe- 
tuals and hybrid teas, Mrs. John Lang and 
Earl of Dufferin are given of equal value. 
The former was far and away ahead of all 
others in the English census, its perfect 
shape, its size and fragrance, almost per- 
petual blooming, freedom of growth, and 
possessing almost an immunity from mil- 
dew, stamp it as one. of the finest roses ex- 
tant. 
One of the darkest roses known is Xavier 
Olibo, but this is not placed in our twenty- 
four, and yet in England it is much appre- 
ciated, and received the silver medal at the 
Derby show last summer. Old General 
Jacqueminot cannot be beaten for general 
usefulness; when in good form it is excel- 
lent for show purposes, although, through 
its fewness of petals, it is apt to open 
quickly; it is a grand rose for hot dry 
weather. 
Mr. G. §. Titheradge, who is known to 
be as good an authority upon roses as he is 
upon daffodils, in his letter accompanying 
his list of roses, says that the finest indi- 
vidual rose blooms he ever saw were Earl 
of Dufferin and Margaret Dickson (hybrid 
perpetuals) and Mrs. Paul (a Bourbon), a 
- beautiful camellia-like flower, blush white, 
shaded with peach, and thick bold petals. 
This gentleman’s experience of rose- 
growing is similar to that of most of our 
professional growers, and it is that some 
of our best exhibition varieties are very 
variable, depending on a.number of condi- 
“tions, soil, position, season, and so on, and 
that they are not so satisfactory on the 
~whole as many other kinds; yet a few are 
equally well adapted for both show and 
ordinary decorative purposes. In classify- 
ing the roses here given, we have followed 
the English system of including the hybrid 
teas among the hybrid perpetuals, but-it is 
found in England difficult to say which 
section a few varieties belong to. Both 
there and here the hybrid teas are very 
popular; they are nearly all good, many 
have the brilliancy of hybrid perpetuals, 
are thoroughly hardy, and possess the de- 
licious fragrance of the true~‘Teas.” 
As arule the hybrid perpetuals are more 
decided and generally more brilliaat in 
color than any other class; they are also 
larger and more attractive; but the name 
perpetual would be better adapted to the 
“Teas,” which remain much longer in 
flower than the others, and by judicious 
management, pruning the plants at diffe- 
rent times, they may be had in flower a 
good portion of the year. Our frosts are 
not sufficiently severe to hurt them, but 
in England and mamy parts of America 
very many of the “Teas” are tender and 
hava to be protected in the winter; yet des- 
pite the little extra attention they require, 
their delightful and refreshing fragrance, 
combined with their lovely tints and ex- 
quisite delicacy of coloring, make them 
extremely popular. 
As a class the “Teas” are the earliest to 
begin flowering and the last to leave off; 
they are also the freest bloomers of all. 
They are the best for bouquets, for vases, 
and for buttonholes, and when cut last 
much longer than the hybrid perpetuals. 
Another advantage they jpossess is that the 
plants remove well, even quite old speci- 
mens may be transplanted with good re- 
sults. It is also stated that ‘“Tea’’ roses 
succeed better in poor soils than hybrid 
perpetuals do.—‘‘Australasian.” 
“BOSE SESOSE ES = 
Rose for the Rock Garden. 
esse 
Rosr Gustave Recis UnpER Gass, 
What a glorious Rose this is at all times 
and in all forms and positions. This year I 
have it growing in a pot in a cold house 
trained on a pillar. The elegant buds under 
these conditions become beautifully elon- 
gated. I lately measured one which was a 
trifle over 2 inches in length, although not 
more than 1% inches in diameter at the 
base, so that one may readily judge of its - 
beauty. The canary yellow seems much 
heightened when grown cool. Gustave Regis 
would be a grand variety to plant out under 
glass. For this purpose I would prefer one 
In standard form, for it makes a grand head 
tn a year or two. Such a tree could either 
be planted in the centre of a bed—if SO, 
plenty of space would be needful—or the 
growths might be trained upon the roof. It 
would also be a very suitable kind to run up 
the pillars of the house. When the ex- 
panded flowers of this Rose can be partially 
shaded they remain on the plant quite a long 
time although almost single. It would be 
difficult to say which to admire most, the 
charming long buds or the immense shell-like 
petals of the developed flowers, which are 
often as much as 6 inches in diameter,— 
“The Garden,” 
