1 Nov., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 347 
Horticulture 
TEA ROSES. 
By GEORGE WATKINS. 
Papers read before the Horticultural Society of Queensland at the August and September 
Meetings.) 
EY 
'F asked to recommend any family of roses for sole cultiva- 
| tion in Southern Queensland, I should, and I think we all 
| would, unhesitatingly say—tea roses. 
i. With us the H.P. represents the aristocracy of the 
‘|. race. For depth and beauty of colour, massiveness of 
bloom, and richness of fragrance, they-stand pre-eminent, 
| but did we depend upon them for a constant supply of 
ay flowers we should find them to the front for only a short 
4% | time in the year—viz., in the early summer. 
| The Hyzrip Tra is exceedingly valuable, and is the 
| family of which we have the highest expectations. It is 
Roe =... probably the coming race. We have a few excellent 
varieties of this class, but most are poor growers, weakly in constitution, and 
given to a short life, if a merry one. 
The Bourszon family is a small one, with only one or two representatives 
to be recommended. d 
The Norsrerres, though many are decidedly distinct, merge gradually into 
the Tea family, and the National Rose Society catalogues both groups in one, 
and they are almost universally united in exhibition catalogues. 
It is becoming increasingly difficult to say, with roses, where one class 
begins and another ends, or to define distinctive peculiarities for any single 
class. 
The American system of making two classes only—viz., summer blooming 
and ever blooming—has some advantages; but, after all, it is as incomplete as 
any other classification, and fails to give any idea of the habit or origin of the 
individual plant. 
For a combination of good qualities, constancy of bloom, perfection of 
form, variety and charm of tints, with delicacy of fragrance, we go to the 
Tea family. 
The Curna family (Rosa indica), sometimes called the Bengal, was intro- 
duced from China about 1789, but the first of the distinctive teas, a pink, or 
rather blush variety, reached us in 1810. This was followed by a yellow 
variety about fourteen years later. ‘There is no doubt both originated from the 
Chinese rose. 
These two later varieties, for distinction, became known as the tea-scented 
Chinese (Rosa indica odorata), and were the primary parents of what we now 
generally speak of as tea roses. 
The habit of both China and tea roses is somewhat similar. The flowers 
of the first are small and somewhat irregular in shape, and are seldom seen on 
the show table. The teas are supposed to have the fragrance of a newl 
opened tea-chest. T'o me this seems a matter of imagination, and I think the 
responsibility of the name is due more to the association of the words “ tea” 
and ‘“‘ China” than to anything else. 
I don’t think there is need to go into the matter of cultivation in this 
paper. 
Anyone wishing to succeed in rose-growing must cultivate the ground 
deeply and thoroughly. To ensure success with any crop, real work must be 
put in, and certainly is requisite with roses. Surface scratching of the soil, and 
