PAPA GONTIER 
MRS. HERBERT STEVENS 
MME. LAMBARD 
/ 
SNOWBIRD 
SAFRANO 
Scarce Koses of Great Merit 
You don’t find in most nursery catalogs those lovely and dependable old Roses such as the 
Bankstas and the Cherokees; Devoniensis, Mme. Camille and William R. Smith in Teas; General 
Jacqueminot and Paul Neyron in Hybrid Perpetuals; Marechal Niel and Solfaterre in the Noisettes. 
Rather, most nurseries offer you Radiance, Paul’s Scarlet and a few others, with which we have no 
quarrel. And while admittedly certain of the patented Roses are outstanding, many of those shown in 
glowing colors will hardly justify the extravagant descriptions. 
We agree there is a fascination about the NEW. And our gardens should have new varieties 
But, lest failure dampen our enthusiasm, let’s plant more of those that are time-tested and dependable. 
If, today, the old Tea Rose William R. Smith were a NEW variety, it would be featured in catalogs 
and advertisements throughout the land. The flowers are more double, more fragrant and more last- 
ing than Radiance. And the plant will be living when Radiance and other Hybrid Teas have passed on. 
“If a thing ts old,” said Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker in a recent address, “‘it is a sign it was fit to 
survive. The guarantee of continuity is quality. Submerge the good in a flood of the new, and the 
good will come back to join the good which the new brings with it. Old-fashioned hospitality, old- 
fashioned politeness, old-fashioned honor in business had qualities of survival.” 
Tea and related Old Roses have survived because they were fit to survive. 
After fifty-four years, we have come to believe that often there is little merit in the new, and to 
love Old Roses like old friends. And speaking of “‘old,’’ let us quote these Imes from Mrs. Keays’ 
“Conversation at a Garden Club”’: 
“What do you call old?” 
“Old Roses are those of type and class 
Used in good gardens of the past.” 
“But when did the past end?” 
TOO MANY VARIETIES? 
“Are there too many varieties,—have you propagated every Old Rose you could Iay your hand 
on?” Certainly not. We are not growing old varieties simply because they are “‘old.”’. According to 
Richardson Wright in his “The Story of Gardening,” there appeared three hundred China Roses, 
five hundred Bourbons, three hundred and fifty Noisettes, three hundred Hybrid Perpetuals and 
fifteen hundred Teas! 
So, the list in this catalog is relatively very short. Perhaps it does not contain all the best of 
the Old Roses, but we are listing the finest of those we have seen. 
12 THOMASVILLE NURSERIES 
