144 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  17,  1898. 
Quite  a  different  thing  is  D.  n.  Cooksonianum,  which  in  addition 
to  the  purple  blotch  on  the  lip  has  this  repeated  on  the  petals.  It  first 
appear* d  at  lleatbficld  House,  Gateshead,  and  thus  obtained  the  name 
of  Ileathfieldianum,  blit  is  now  almost  universally  known  as  Cooksoni- 
anum.  The  deeply  tintcl  1>.  n.  nobilius  is  a  rare  and  beautiful  form, 
quite  distinct  from  all  others,  and  one  of  the  rarest.  Its  nearest  affinity 
is  D.  n.  Sanderiannm,  another  very^deeply  coloured  and  good  variety. 
D.  n.  pendulum  is  not  common.  It  has  pendulous  stems,  consequently 
it  makes  a  good  basket  plant ;  the  flowers  are  of  various  tints. 
D.  n.  Wallichiannm  is  a  tall  growing  fine  form,  not  so  good  as  the 
rare  kinds  mentioned,  but  (juite  superior  to  the  ordinary  type. 
—II.  R.  If. 
The  Rosaetai^’s  Yeae  Book. 
This  welcome  annual  has  been  in  the  hands  of  many  rosarians  for 
some  few  weeks,  but  lovers  of  Roses  generally  may  well  possess  it.  All 
who  know  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton  will  heartily  endorse  what  the 
Editor  says  about  him.  A  more  competent  judge  cannot  be  found,  nor 
one  more  closely  acquainted  with  our  old-fashioned  and  garden  Roses. 
We  have  few — very  few — such  bona-fide  and  energetic  amateurs  as  the 
Revs.  J.  H.  Pemberton  and  A.  Eoster-Melliar,  who  it  is  believed 
personally  do  all  but  the  digging  and  hoeing  to  their  Roses.  Nor  have 
we  more  reliable  contributors  to  Rose  literature. 
When  we  quote  from  the  Editor’s  opening  chapter  that  the  Rev.  .T.  II. 
Pemlierton  “has  gained  the  challenge  trophy  three  times,  been  placed 
second  six  times,  and  third  three  times,  but  never  out  of  it  altogether  ; 
that  he  also  staged  for  the  Jubilee  trophy  nine  times,  gaining  it  four  times, 
placed  second  three  times,  and  third  once,”  and  that  he  was  the  first  to 
re-introduce  our  single  and  semi-doubles  of  long  ago,  it  is  self-evident 
we  have  here  one  of  our  very  foremost  authorities,  amateur  or  otherwise, 
and  his  portrait  forms  an  appropriate  frontispiece  to  the  “Year  Book.” 
Miss  Grahame’s  short  paper  is  so  true  to  life  that  one  almost  fancies 
oneself  once  more  busily  engaged  in  the  trials  and  hurry  of  staging. 
What  a  great  difference  there  is  in  some  in  this  respect  !  The  cool  and 
methodical  man  gets  on  and  does  treble  the  work  accomplished  by  one 
who  fumes  and  flurries  because  every  official  or  assistant  is  not  at  his 
immediate  beck  and  call.  He  cannot  for  the  life  of  him  call  to  mind  the 
name  of  a  certain  Rose,  and  yet  is  perfectly  conversant  with  it.  Inces¬ 
santly  changing  and  re-arranging  his  flowers,  even  in  a  twelve  or  eighteen, 
and,  after  all,  goes  round  when  judging  is  completed  only  to  find,  not  a 
first  or  second  prize,  but  “  disqualified  for  duplicates.” 
Several  of  such  cases  were  seen  during  the  season  of  1897,  and  not  the 
least  guilty  of  these  are  some  of  our  old  exhibitors.  Many,  too,  will 
re-arrange  a  bloom  and  not  shift  the  name  label  at  the  same  time  ;  the 
consequence  is  that  two  blooms  are  incorrectly  named.  A  box  of  twenty- 
four  has  been  observed  with  no  less  than  eight  Roses  wrongly  named, 
simply  through  this  hasty  re-arranging  of  four  blooms.  Several  old 
hands  will  take  their  Roses  unnamed  (except  in  the  case  of  a  few  new 
varieties),  select  the 'best  twenty-four — or  whatever  the  desired  number — 
when  they  arrive,  and  quietly  write  the  names  upon  the  spot. 
This  is  no  doubt  an  immense  advantage,  for  however  nearly  they  may 
be  staged  at  home  there  are  certain  to  be  many  alterations.  Besides,  to 
write  so  many  names  at  home  makes  it  very  confusing  to  find  the  right 
one  when  finishing  the  staging.  The  necessary  number  being  written 
just  at  the  last  is  a  great  safeguard  against  duplicates.  The  remarks  on 
the  provoking  watering-can,  and  the  greetings  from  friend  to  friend,  are 
delightfully  pithy.  _ 
There  is  an  exhaustive  'paper  upon  “  Yellow  Roses  ”  from  the  Rev.  A. 
Eoster-Melliar.  It  is  very  evident  that  Marechal  Niel  behaves  better  in 
the  open  with  this  amateur  champion  of  Tea  Rose  growers  than  with  the 
majority  of  us.  Many  persons  wiU  agree  with  him  respecting  the  so- 
called  White  Mar4chal  Niel  being  a  misnomer,  as  has  more  than  once 
been  indicated  in  your  pages,  _ 
The  great  necessity  of  more  careful  selection  of  buds  when  propagating 
Roses  cannot  be  passed  over,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  so  high  an 
authority  alluding  to  it  so  strongly.  Unless  we  continue  to  work  from 
the  strong  shoots  of  manv  of  our  climbing  sports  from  those  of  only 
normal  growth,  much  of  the  progeny  is  apt  to  revert  to  the  normal  type. 
More  than  one  case  has  been  observed  where  a  Rose  has  greatly  deterio¬ 
rated  from  this  promiscuous  selection  of  buds  ;  so  much  so  that  the  same 
variety,  one  taken  from  the  nursery  and  the  other  from  an  enthusiastic 
amateur’s  home-raised  stock,  could  scarcely  be  recognised  as  the  same. 
In  the  first  case  every  available  bud  was  used,  whereas,  a  very  few  only 
being  wanted  in  the  second,  the  best  were  selected. 
Quite  a  heated  argument  took  place  last  year  at  one  of  our  large  Rose 
shows  in  which  the  writer  joined.  Some  declared  a  certain  Rose  was  of 
no  use,  and  certainly  would  not  find  a  place  in  their  collection  ;  wffiile 
another  extolled  it  as  being  among  the  very  best  we  had.  All  were 
speaking  from  experience  ;  but  the  first  had  purchased  from  trade 
growers,  who  wished  to  make  every  piece  into  a  plant  as  soon  as  possible  ; 
the  other  had  been  privileged  to  receive  a  plant  from  the  raiser,  conse¬ 
quently  his  was  of  the  best  strain — if  such  a  word  may  be  used  in  this 
connection  —while  the  others  had,  unfortunately,  got  hold  of  weaklings 
propagated  from  weaklings.  This  is  an  interesting  subject,  deserving  of 
more  attention  than  it  has  generally  received.  The  allusion  to  the  great 
desirability  of  more  prominent  and  numerous  stamens  in  the  case  of 
single  Roses  is  very  apt.  _ 
The  Editor's  exhaustive  paper  upon  “  The  Rose  and  the  N.R.  Society 
for  1897  ”  brings  the  whole  of  the  past  season  and  its  pleasurable,  as  well 
as  its  few  unpleasant  incidents  closely  before  one  again.  All  who  enjoy 
the  acquaintance  of  the  genial  veteran,  exhibitor  or  not,  would  sadly  miss 
his  presence  at  our  shows,  while  his  happy  as  well  as  instructive  writings 
for  so  many  years  have  been  welcomed  by  thousands.  The  expressive  hope 
for  future  pleasant  meetings  at  the  end  of  his  paper  will  he  echoed  by  all. 
There  is  an  interesting  “Chat  about  Rose  Sports,”  from  Mr.  A.  Piper, 
in  which  we  once  more  find  that  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  The 
grand  new  Tea,  Muriel  Grahame,  it  appears,  originated  with  him  upon  a 
Catherine  Mermet,  and  a  considerable  number  of  plants  had  been  pro¬ 
pagated,  when  Mr.  R.  Harkness  recognised  it  in  the  autumn  of  1895, 
before  the  Rose  was  distributed  by  the  celebrated  Irish  firm.  Mr.  Piper 
also  notes  a  further  instance  of  Souvenir  d’un  Ami  sporting  that  beautiful 
white  form  of  Souvenir  de  S.  A.  Prince,  thus  making  three  authenticated 
cases  of  practically,  if  not  actually,  simultaneous  sporting  of  this  one 
variety.  It  is  pleasing  to  note  that  in  neither  instance  would  Mr.  Piper 
distribute  when  he  discovered  that  similar  Roses  had  already  been  named,  if 
not  sent  out.  We  have  far  too  many  duplicates.  Other  instances  are  given. 
It  is  pleasant  to  read  the  Rev.  D.  R.  Williamson’s  very  favourable 
opinion  of  our  British-raised  Roses  as  being  so  suitable  for  the  south¬ 
west  of  Scotland.  Por  that  matter,  will  not  the  majority  of  our  home- 
raised  Roses  grow  anywhere  almost  ?  and  are  they  not  among  the  very 
best  we  have  ?  Newtownards,  Waltham  Cross,  Cheshunt,  Shepperton, 
and  other  places  have  given  us  some  grand  acquisitions  of  a  hardy  nature. 
Mr.  G.  Paul’s  opening  remarks  upon  ninety-six  trebles  at  Birmingham 
called  to  mind  that  for  seventy-two  trebles  at  Brighton,  about  twenty  years 
ago,acla8s  that  exhibitors  will  noteasily  forget,  especially  those  who  had  the 
task  of  settingup  the  blooms,  and  one  who  failedtoget  the“Ashbury  cup  ’ 
by  six  points  was  not  the  happiest  man  in  the  world  that  day.  It  is  a 
pretty  idea,  that  mentioned  by  Mr.  G.  Paul — viz,,  “A  bud,  a  flower  half 
open,  and  a  fully  expanded  bloom,  so  as  to  afford  the  public  an  object 
lesson  of  the  variety  in  its  several  stages.”  It  would  be  interesting  to  see 
this  carried  out,  in  spite  of  the  evident  irregularity  that  would  inevitably 
result.  Mr.  G.  Paul  has  had  very  great  experience  in  exhibiting  Roses, 
but  everybody  will  not  agree  that  an  “equilateral  triangle”  lacks  grace, 
when  we  see  such  uniform  stands  ;  always  provided  the  flowers  are  even 
throughout,  stands  of  triplets  are  decidedly  imposing.  There  is  surely 
opportunity  for  taste  in  arrangement  here  as  well  as  where  more  or  less 
flowers  of  any  one  variety  are  associated.  Mr.  G.  Paul’s  novel  sugges¬ 
tions  might  well  be  carried  out,  as  we  ought  to  have  something  fresh  in 
the  way  of  attraction  each  year  if  possible. 
“  A  really  good  Rose  year  ”  is  Mr.  E.  Mawley’s  opinion  of  1897,  and  no 
one  takes  closernote  of  theseasonsyearbyyearthandoes  the  hard-working 
Honorary  Secretary’  of  the  National  Rose  Society,  whose  opinions  are 
made  doubly  valuable  from  the  fact  that  he  was  last  year  President  of 
the  Royal  Meteorological  Society.  To  follow  through  his  most  interesting 
record  of  the  past  year,  month  by  month,  is  instructive,  while  the 
meteorological  observations  at  the  end  are  by  no  means  the  least 
interesting  portion  of  this  annual,  which  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all 
rosarians. — Exhibitoe. 
SEASONABLE  HINTS  ON  FLORIST  FLOWERS. 
In  the  beginning  of  February  we  generally  say  the  worst  of  the  winter  is 
over,  and  we  may  b^egin  to  think  about  our  spring  work  ;  but  this  year  we 
have  as  yet  had  no  winter,  and,  in  fact,  the  season  has  been  the  most  remark¬ 
able  on  record.  I  am  writing  now  of  East  Kent,  where  we  have  not  had 
a  flake  of  snow  or  any  frost  worth  speaking  of.  This  has  been  accompanied 
by  generally  high  temperature  and  absence  of  rain.  Our  springs  have  not 
yet  risen,  tbe  wells  on  the  more  elevated  portions  of  our  neighbourhood 
being  quite  dry,  and  the  cottagers  have  to  go  some  distance  to  get  water; 
and  yet  one  reads  that  in  Glamorganshire  and  Devonshire  there  were 
14  or  15  inches  of  rainfall  in  the  month  of  December,  while  we  had  but 
3'19,  and  in  .lanuary  only  0'47,  not  quite  half  an  inch.  As  yet  February 
gives  no  indication  of  earning  its  title  of  “  fill  dyke,”  and  I  think  we 
cannot  but  look  forward  with  some  degree  of  apprehension.  We  see  signs 
of  growth  in  all  directions,  and  wonder  whether  the  poor  things  which  are 
now  showing  themselves  and  pushing  through  the  ground  will  receive  a  rude 
shock.  It  has,  of  course,  affected  our  florist  flowers  in  frames  as  well  as 
things  out  of  doors. 
Aueictjlas. 
I  am  afraid  grievous  disappointment  will  await  the  growers  of  these 
flowers, '"for^there  has  been  a  very  large  percentage  of  winter  blooming. 
