July  -27,  lf93. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
77 
Crimson  R  imblcr  will  l:c  a  magnificent  sight,  ns  evt  rv  shoot  is 
smothered  with  fine  trusses  of  finds.  The  group  of  rugosa  hybrids  is 
well  worth  anyone’s  attention,  man v  of  them  being  very  pretty.  Two 
of  the  newer  ores  are  rugosa  x  General  Jacqueminot,  a  very  bright 
crimson  single:  and  Wichnrisna  x  rttgosn,  a  dwarf  pink  flowered 
variety,  with  foliage  intermediate  between  the  two  species,  and  flowers 
3  inches  across. 
The  last  section,  consisting  of  groups  planted  abaut  the  grounds, 
■C  'n.ains  many  good  R^sos.  Near  the  herbaceous  ground  a  walk 
as  lined  with  climbing  varieties  on  poles  and  chains,  making  a 
f10,  erjf  garland  of  flowers.  .Some  of  the  varieties  used  are  Flora,  Ruga, 
and  Blairi  No.  2.  Along  one  side  of  a  continuation  of  the  same  wdk 
pillars  of  Roses  and  Ivy  are  alternated  ;  some  of  the  most  c  >n-picuous 
Roses  are  setigem,  The  Garland,  Crimson  Rambler,  Feficite  Perpetue, 
Reine  Olga  de  Wurtemburg,  and  others.  Near  the  Orchid  houses  a 
jaige  mass  of  the  double  white  hybrid  of  rugosa  Blanc  Double  de 
Coubert  makes  a  charming  picture.  In  other  places  Penzance  Briars 
ate  lovely,  a  thick  hedge  18  inches  high  being  smothered  with  flowers, 
while  beds  ot  Rady  Penzance  and  Anne  of  Gierstein  are  masses  of 
•colour.  Near  the  ferneries  a  large  plant  of  the  fragrant  R.  inoschata 
rises  to  a  height  of  nearly  20  feet  and  is  smothered  with  large  trusses 
of  whitish  flowers. 
. .^ear  lempera'e  house  two  beds  of  Grace  Darling  and  Gloire  de 
Dijon  are  masses  of  bloom,  and  are  a  good  recommendation  for  this 
G'nd  of  trealm°nf,  at  any  rate  for  these  two  varieties.  These,  with 
eds  of  Fellenberg,  Carmine  Pillar,  a  pink  mnltiflora  hybrid,  multi- 
fiora,  arvensis,  and  rugosa  in  many  places,  with  tender  varieties  on  the 
vails,  make  all  parts  of  the  gardens  look  gay,  and  anyone  visidng  Kew 
at  the  present  time  cannot  fail  to  be  pleased  with  the  beauty  and  great 
variety  of  Roses  to  ba  seen.— W.  D. 
'Comments  on  the  National  Society’s  Metropolitan  Rose  Show. 
I  ^questionably  “ the  shadow  of  a  dark  cloud”  rested  upon  the 
National  Rose  Society’s  Exhibition,  for  I  believe  the  thought  that  was 
uppermost  in  people’s  minds  was  the  loss  that  we  had  all  sustained  by 
the  death  of  that  accomplished  rosarian  Mr.  T.  W.  Girdlestone,  for  he 
was  one  who  stood  alone;  his  keenness  of  perception  and  strong 
independence  had  ever  made  itself  felt  at  our  National  Show,  and  I 
•do  not  think  that  two  rosarians  met  together  at  the  Palace  whose  first 
•words  were  Dot  about  him. 
I  think  probably  that  we  have  never  had  a  Rose  season — at  least, 
in  my  recollection — that  was  so  trying  and  perplexing  to  the  exhibitor 
ns  the  present  one,  and  this  was  evidenced  by  both  the  extent  and 
•character  of  the  flowers  exhibited.  Their  whole  character  was 
•moderate  ;  there  were  no  boxes  that  especially  dwelt  on  one’s  memory  ; 
there  were  few  flowers  over  which  we  could  go  into  raptures,  and 
•draw  the  attention  of  others  to  them;  and  all  this  was  the  result  of 
the  extraordinary  season  through  which  we  are  passing.  The  lateness 
of  the  spason  decidedly  handicapped  the  northern  growers,  few  though 
they  nr^  in  numbtr ;  while  other  districts,  even  in  the  south,  seem  to 
have  suffered  from  this  cause  also.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the 
fact,  that  Roses  in  the  Leatherhead  and  Dorking  districts  were  so  late, 
and  it  was  much  <o  be  regretted  that  such  an  enthusiastic  grower  and 
generous  supporter  of  the  Rose  as  Mr.  Charles  J.  Grahame  was  by  this 
means  deprived  of  the  opportunity  of  showing  us  what  he  could  do. 
There  were,  as  I  have  slid,  few  stands  which  seemed  especially 
*to  attract  one,  and  there  were  few  Roses  which  stood  out  above 
■thnir  fellows.  I  think  it  was  a  matter  at  which  all  rosarians 
Tejuiced,  even  those  who  entered  into  competition  with  him,  that 
the  veteran  exhibitor  Mr.  B.  R.  Cant  again  carried  off  the  challenge 
trophv,  a  feat  which  was  seconded  by  Ids  doing  the  same  with  the 
Jubilee  *rophv  at  Colchester,  thus  being  the  proud  possessor  of  them 
'both.  The  veteran  himself,  unfortunately,  is  now  prevented  by  illness 
from  taking  any  active  part  in  exhibiting.  I  have  ever  maintained 
that  he  stands  facile  princeps  when  in  good  form  ;  there  is  a  refine¬ 
ment  about  his  flowers,  a  correctness  of  taste  in  their  nrranuemenf, 
and  an  absence  of  all  torturing  of  bis  Roses  which  have  kept  him  in 
♦  he  proud  position  he  has  so  loDg  occupied,  and  one  is  glad  to  find  that 
■now  that  the  old  soldier  can  no  more  enter  into  the  fray,  his  two 
■sons  keep  up  the  honour  of  the  house,  and  bid  lair  to  maintain  it 
again«t  all  comers.  There  is  another  Colchester  firm — Messrs.  Prior 
and  Son — which  is  evidently  intending  to  contest  his  honours  with 
him  ;  in  fact,  this  year  in  the  class  for  forty  trebles  it  carried  off  the 
■first  prize,  beating  Mr.  Cant  and  Messrs.  Frank  Cant  &  Co.,  who 
occupied  second  and  third  places. 
A  pleasant  feature  one  must  notice  while  writing  of  East  Anglia 
was  the  prominent  position  occupied  bv  the  Rev.  A.  Foster  Melliar  and 
"Rev.  F.  Page  Roberts,  though  they  had  been  so  roughly  used  by  the 
climate,  that  they  talked  of  giving  up  exhibiting,  and  therefore  one 
was  glad  to  find  the  old  ardour  still  survives,  and  that  they  were 
successful  in  carrying  off  prizes.  Mr.  E.  B.  Lindsell  again  showed 
himself  to  be  .the  champion  amateur  Rose  grower:  his  trophy  stand 
was  a  very  beautiful  one  considering  the  season,  but  I  need  hardly 
say  that  I  have  seen  many  belter  exhibited  by  him,  a  fact  which  he 
himself  was  foremost  in  expressing. 
An vher  noticeable  feature  in  the  Exhibition  was  the  number  of 
new  exhibitors  in  the  smaller  classes,  many  ot  whom  it  is  to  be  hoped 
in  future  years  may  be  found  competing  in  the  higher  classes ; 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  alteration  effected  by  Mr.  Charles  J. 
Grahame’ s  plan  of  classing  exhibitors  by  the  number  of  plants  they 
grow  has  led  to  this  result. 
There  is  always  an  interest  attached  to  the  competitions  for  medal 
Roses,  and  while  oftentimes  there  has  been  a  question  as  to  whether 
the  medals  have  been  rightly  awarded,  I  do  not  think  there  is  any 
doubt  this  year.  In  ilie  amateur.-.’  division  the  medal  for  the  best 
H.P.  was  awarded  to  Mr.  E.  B.  Lindsell  for  a  fine  bloom  of  Francois 
Miclielon  ;  that  for  the  Hybrid  Teas  to  Miss  Langton  fora  grand  bloom 
ot  Marquise  Litta,  and  there  was  an  evident  expression  of  pleasure  by 
those  who  knew  him  that  she  was  so  worthily  carrying  on  the  culture 
of  the  Rose  which  made  her  brother  so  prominent  amongst  the  smaller 
growers.  The  medal  for  the  be-t  Tea  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Tate  of 
Leatherhead  for  the  finest  bloom  of  Piincess  Beatrice  that  1  ever 
remember  to  have  seen. 
In  the  nurserymen’s  division  the  medal  for  the  best  H.P.  was 
awarded  ro  Mr.  A.  G.  Green  for  a  magnificent  bloom  of  Mrs.  John 
Laing.  Mr.  B.  R.  Gant  carried  off  the  medal  for  the  best  Tea  with 
a  fine  bloom  of  Muriel  Grahame,  this  proving  itself  to  bs  a  valuable 
and  distinct  variety.  The  best  H.T.  was  Bessie  Brown,  won  by 
Mess-s.  A.  Dickson  &  Sons  of  Newtownards,  a  flower  of  their  own 
raising,  which  g  lined  the  gold  medal  of  the  Society  last  year,  when  a 
very  excellent  rosarian  said  to  me,  “  I  think  that  is  the  best  flower 
the  Dicksons  have  ever  raised.” 
The  lateness  of  the  season  was  somewhat  favourable  to  the  garden 
Roses,  and  some  of  the  beautiful  single  varieties  whiih  are  generally 
over  at  the  time  of  this  exhiblti  >n,  greatly  enhanced  the  beauty  of 
the  stands.  This  portion  of  the  exhibition  is  evidently  most  attractive 
to  visitors,  and,  as  usual,  in  the  nurserymen’s  class  Messrs.  Paul  and 
Son  of  Chesbunt,  and  Messrs.  Cooling  &  S  >n  of  Bath,  lan  one  another 
very  closely,  though  the  lormer  rightly  had  the  foremost  place. 
Amongst  the  flowers  of  the  foremost  selection,  their  beautiful  single 
Roses  Carmine  Pillar  and  Royal  Scarlet  were  pre-eminent  y  beautiful, 
while  Fawn  is  a  charming  addition.  Then  there  were  bunches  of 
some  high-coloured  flowers,  such  as  Gustave  Regis,  L’ldeal,  and  Ma 
Capucine,  the  latter  still  unrivalled.  There  were  also  other  interest¬ 
ing  flowers  in  the  collection,  but  their  full  list  has  already  been  given 
in  the  Journal.  In  Me-srs.  Cooling  &  Sons,  which  was  very  taste  uliy 
arranged,  there  wer<-  fine  axamples  of  Marquise  de  Salisbury,  very 
brilliant  in  colour;  Dr.  Grill,  also  very  peculiar  and  bright,  in  colour¬ 
ing;  Mdlle.  Laurette  Messimy,  their  gold  medal  garden  R.»se  Purity, 
aud  fine  examples  of  macrantha  (a  single  white). 
In  thisdivision  the  amateurs  also  showed  well.  Mr.  Tate  of  Leather¬ 
head  was  well  first  witlrgood  followers  up  in  Mr.  Orpen  of  Colchester 
and  Mr.  Campion  of  Reigate.  The  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton  also  showed 
a  bright  display  tastefully  arranged. 
I  have  not  for  yea  s  known  an  exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace  at 
which  there  was  such  a  dearth  of  absolutely  new  Roses  ;  Roses  ot  the 
exhibition  type  were  entirely  wanting,  and  while  last  year  three  gold 
medals  were  awarded,  two  of  them  for  exhibition  Roses,  only  one  has 
been  given  this  year,  and  that  for  a  garden  Rose,  which  is  not,  literally 
new,  as  it  has  already  been  before  the  public  for  some  months,  and  had 
received  an  award  of  merit  from  the  R.H.S. ;  this  was  Messrs.  Piper’s 
very  beautiful  sport  from  Sunset,  called  by  them  Sunrise.  Neither  of 
the  famous  firms  of  Waltham  Cross  and  Chesbunt  exhibited  any  new 
exhibition  Roses,  while  the  Irish  firm  of  Messrs.  Alexander  Dickson 
and  Sons,  who  have  been  awarded  so  many  medals  for  new  seedling 
Roses,  had  not  anything  to  exhibit.  I  have  heard  a  very  glowing 
account  of  the  fine  amount  of  seedling  Roses  they  had  in  their  nurseries, 
and  was  consequently  the  more  disappointed  at  not  seeing  them. 
They,  however,  came  well  to  the  front  with  some  of  their  former 
productions,  securing  the  prizi  for  any  nine  blooms  of  the  best  new 
Rose  with  fine  examples  of  Bessie  Brown,  and  in  their  stand  for  twelve 
distinct  varieties  of  new  Roses  there  were  Ulster,  Mrs.  Ed.  Mawley, 
Countess  of  Caledon,  Daisy,  and  Tom  Wood. 
It  is  always  a  pleasant  thing  to  attend  a  metropolitan  show,  for 
one  is  sure  to  muet  with  rosarians  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  that 
one  sees  at  no  other  time,  although  the  pleasure  is  always  mixed  with 
a  certain  amount  of  sadness  as  we  miss  those  who  have  been  with  us 
in  former  years.  Both  these  feelings  one  had  at  the  Palace  this  year 
The  probab  lity  that  I  shall  attend  another  is  doubtful,  and  so  the 
meeting  with  so  many  kina  iriends  was  the  more  pleasing  to  me,  and 
I  have  to  thank  those  whom  1  meet  for  the  many  kind  expressions  of 
friendship  and  goodwill  made  to  me.  Notwithstanding  my  infirmity  I 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  show,  and  should  it  be  the  last  it  will  leave  a 
very  pleasant  memory  behind  it.  I  have  seen  the  infant  which  1  presented 
to  the  Rose  world  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  attain  to  the  full 
stature  of  perfect  manhood,  and  I  can  leave  its  future  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  have  so  ably  attended  to  its  wants. — D.,  Deal. 
