332 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  9,  1896, 
Hereford  and  West  of  England  Hose  Society. 
Tt  bas  been  decided  to  bold  the  annual  Bhow  in  connection  with  the 
above  Society  at  Hereford,  on  June  25th. 
Garden  Roses. 
I  KNOW  not  why  it  is  so,  but  I  do  not  usually  entertain  a  very  exalted 
opinion  of  anyone  who  invariably  agrees  with  me.  It  may  spring  from 
a  natural  tendency  toward  self-depreciation  or  from  an  inborn  love  of 
opposition.  Nevertheless,  like  the  Rev.  David  R.  Williamson  (page  305), 
I  rejoice  that  we  can  air  our  little  differences  of  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  relative  value  of  various  Roses  without  the  introduction  of  bitterness 
to  warp  our  judgment  and  turn  to  gall  the  pleasures  of  writing  or 
thinking  of  the  charms  of  our  floral  queen. 
Tastes  and  fancies  no  doubt  differ  greatly  in  these  matters,  but  for¬ 
tunately  the  time  has  come  when  Roses  of  all  descriptions  are  cherished. 
We  have  moved  out  Of  the  old  groove  of  admir.ng  only  those  which 
approach  a  certain  standard  in  regard  to  form,  though  of  course  some  will 
ever  lean  more  than  others  in  the  latter  direction.  But  in  estimating 
the  value  of  various  varieties  there  is,  I  think,  one  point  not  sufficiently 
taken  into  consideration — viz.,  the  influence  different  soils,  situations, 
and  methods  of  culture  have  upon  the  character  of  Roses.  Many 
varieties  which  under  ordinary  culture  seem  somewhat  commonplace 
will,  when  given  a  little  extra  attention,  or  when  planted  in  soil  especially 
suitable,  develop  a  stateliness  not  usually  attributed  to  them.  This,  I 
think,  is  exactly  the  case  with  “  the  Red  Gloire.” 
In  regard  to  Perle  des  Jardins  and  Mardchal  Niel,  I  notice  Mr. 
Williamson,  with  the  natural  shrewdness  of  an  “  old  hand,”  continues  to 
judge  them  principally  from  an  exhibitor’s  point  of  view,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  bring  to  his  support  the  weight  of  the  opinion  of  “all  the  great 
rosarians.”  Now  this  I  maintain  to  be  somewhat  foreign  to  the  matter 
at  issue.  The  question  is  whether  or  not  climbing  Perle  des  Jardins 
will  not  supersede  Mardchal  Niel  as  a  garden  Rose.  In  these  utilitarian 
days  I  think  it  will.  Certainly  I  prefer  to  grow  varieties  "which  shine 
in  full  glory  annually,”  rather  than  those  which  rise  to  “  imperial 
majesty  ”  once  in  several  years. 
Fortunately  the  time  is  close  at  hand  when  we  shall  be  able  to  admire 
our  pets  and  compare  their  charms  by  the  aid  of  living  specimens, 
instead  of  having  to  depend  on  memories  of  their  departed  glories.  In 
the  meantime  let  each  work,  watch,  and  use  his  utmost  skill  to  secure 
as  far  as  human  endeavours  can,  a  rich  harvest  of  RoseB. — H.  D. 
R08ARIAN  RECORDS. 
Suon  is  the  appropriate  title  of  the  Rev.  Alan  Cheales’  published 
lecture  on  Roses  (incidentally  mentioned  last  week),  which  delighted 
the  modern  “  Reddingas.”  It  abounds  in  poetry,  as  might  be  expected, 
taken  from  the  records  of  many  centuries  ;  but  in  making  a  few 
citations  from  this  entertaining  brochure,  as  indicating  its  nature, 
we  will  follow  the  author  and  pass  to — 
The  Rose  of  Progress. 
I  paRR  from  the  Rose  of  Poetry  to  the  Rose  of  Progress.  In  order  to 
proceed  in  a  perfectly  scientific  manner,  I  suppose  I  must  now  state 
that,  the  subject  of  my  paper  is  of  “  Order  Rosaceae  ;  stem  generally 
prickly  ;  leaves  alternate,  stipulate  ;  flowers  terminate,  often  corym bate  ; 
stamens  numerous  ;  styles  exserted  ;  calyx  five  lobes,  the  lobes  more  or 
less  pinnated.”  A  litile  of  which  information,  I  think  you  will  agree 
with  me,  goes  a  long  way.  Perhaps  the  historical  may  be  preferable  to 
the  botanical  in  a  treatment  of  this  subject  ? 
To  begin  then,  don’t  be  alarmed  !  with  England  after  the  Deluge. 
Our  predecessors  here,  whoever  they  were,  and  wherever  they  came  from, 
would  have,  I  suppose,  their  three  kinds  of  wild  Roses  just  as  we  have  ; 
only  they  would  not  call  one  Eglantine,  as  Sir  Walter  doeB  in  bis 
pleasing  plea  for  simplicity — 
“  Cherish  the  Tulip,  prune  the  Vine ; 
But  freely  let  the  Woodbine  climb  ; 
And  leave  untrimmed  the  Eglantine!” — Marmion. 
There  would  bo  then  in  the  hedgerows,  if  they  had  any  hedgerows, 
our  two  sorts  of  Dog  Briar  ;  and  also  the  Sweet  Briar  on  the  chalk  hills  ; 
further  north  there  would  be  also  the  respected  progenitor  of  our  present 
Sco'ch  Roses;  just  three  or  four  kinds  altogether. 
What  a  contrast  to  the  present  day  1  Now  a  Rose  grower  near 
Vienna  is  said  to  have  in  his  garden  no  less  than  4200  different  kinds. 
According  to  his  estimate  the  number  of  Tea  Roses  alone  is  nearly  1400, 
whilst  he  puts  the  whole  population  of  the  Rose  world  at  no  less  than 
0400!  A  vast  deal  of  this  must  be  utter  rubbish;  but  there  are  now 
many  good  forgotten  Roses  crowded  out  in  the  keen  competition  for 
place,  and  the  cream  of  the  whole  very  certainly  is  in  England  1  But 
this  is  to  anticipate.  Roses  would  not  bo  much  grown  then  in  Reading. 
Indeed  Reading  bad  not  grown  itself.  The  tribe  hereabouts,  which 
preceded  our  predecessors,  the  Reddingas,  was  probably  too  deeply 
engaged  in  the  struggle  for  existence  to  be  able  to  give  much  attention 
to  its  adornments. 
The  Romans. 
When  the  Romans  came,  however — in  Romano  British  Calleva, 
at  Silchester  over  there,  with  all  their  extensive  hypocausts — it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  Rose  culture,  of  such  as  they  had,  was  con¬ 
siderable.  We  know  that  forced  Roses  were  then  abundant  at  Rome. 
Indeed,  it  was  the  Roman  flower  before  we  annexed  it,  as  the  English. 
From  birth  to  death  they  were  always  employing  it.  Nay,  one  of  their 
writers  goes  beyond  this — 
“  Manibus  cst  imis  rosa  grata,  et  grata  sepulchris  ; 
Et  rosa  flos  florum.” 
“  The  flower  of  flowers  the  Rose,  I  ween, 
And  not  alone  at  banquets  seen  ; 
The  Rose  attends  beyond  the  grave, 
The  shades  their  shadowy  Roses  have.” 
Old-fashioned  Roses. 
But  coming  back  to  earth  again,  the  earliest  cultivated  Rose  which 
we  hear  of  is  the  single  or  Bemi-double  red,  said  to  have  been  brought 
from  Syria  into  Europe  by  the  Phoenicians.  They  are  reported  to  have 
taken  it  to  the  South  of  France.  There  it  became  the  Provence  Rose. 
About  1277  it  came  over  to  England.  A  son  of  Edward  I.,  not  very 
civilly  called  Edmund  Crouchback,  who  had  been  stationed  with  troops 
at  Provins,  which  he  then  held  in  right  of  his  wife,  is  said  on  his  return 
to  have  brought  this  Rose  back  with  him,  and  to  have  adopted  it  as  his 
badge.  Thus  it  became  the  Rose  of  Lancaster,  and  later  on  again  the 
red  Rose  of  England.  Another  very  old  Rose — the  dear  old  Cabbage  of 
our  elderly  youth — the  French  Centifolia — is  also  an  introduction  from 
Syria  ;  indeed,  Syria  seems  one  very  especial  ancestral  home  of  the 
Rose.  I  remember  once,  when  encamped  on  Mt.  Lebanon,  having  a 
grand  bunch  of  Roses  of  this  character  presented  to  me  by  the  parish 
priest  there.  The  Crested  Moss  is  a  variety,  or  "sport”  from  this. 
It  was  found  one  day  growing  in  a  crevice  of  a  wall  at  Friburg. 
The  white  Cabbage,  on  the  other  hand,  is  altogether  an  English  Rose, 
ft  dates  from  1777,  when  Mr.  Grimwood  of  the  Kensington  Nurseries, 
found  it  growing  in  the  garden  of  a  baker  in  a  village  in  Suffolk.  He 
asked  for  a  branch  and  obtained  the  whole  tree.  In  return  he  gave  a 
silver  cup  ;  I  suppose  the  first  a  Rose  ever  gained,  and,  no  doubt,  by  its 
i- ale  made  enough  to  buy  a  cupboard  full.  It  was  a  Rote  very  long  and 
very  highly  esteemed. 
Tbe  “  Old  Mops  ”  is  also  a  sport  from  the  Cabbage.  This  came  over 
from  Holland.  It  dates  back  to  1596.  Tbe  Austrian  Copper  Briars  are 
stated  in  the  N.R.S.  catalogue  to  have  been  introduced  here  by  Mr. 
John  Gerarde  also  about  this  time.  Besides  these  our  ancestors  had  also 
tbe  York  and  the  Lancaster,  already  spoken  of  (this  would  be  introduced 
about  1486)  ;  also  various  Gallicas  and  Damask  Ropes,  which  cannot  be 
exactly  dated.  The  Macartney  Ro«e  was  brought  from  China  by  our 
Ambassador,  Lord  Macartney,  in  1795.  Then  came  also  the  two  Chinas, 
those  invaluable  Roses,  to  whose  happy  habit  of  continuous  flowering 
we  owe  our  whole  race  of  wbat  is  called,  perhaps  rather  confidingly, 
“  Perpetuals.” 
Importations. 
There  are  two  special  varieties  of  China  Roses,  the  Old  Blush,  dating 
from  1795,  probably  also  introduced  by  Lord  Macartney  ;  and  the  Old 
Crimson,  which  just  oversteps  the  century,  arriving  here  in  1812.  The 
Maiden’s  Blush,  still  the  delight  of  cottage  gardens,  dates  from  1797  ; 
whilst  in  1802,  R.  rugosa  arrived  from  Japan.  It  is  a  very  distinct 
species,  having  either  white  or  purple  single  blossoms,  handsome  foliage, 
and  heps  very  large  and  highly  coloured.  Mr.  George  Paul  enumerates 
ten  varieties  of  this  in  his  last  catalogue, 
A  fiDe  hedge  of  this,  Rome  40  yards  long,  may  be  seen  at  the  Messrs. 
Suttons’  Portland  Road  Nurseries.  This  Rose  is  beiDg  experimentalised 
on  by  that  prince  of  bybridisers,  Mr.  Martin,  and  we  may  expect  to  hear 
before  long  of  some  interesting  new  vaiiety. 
The  BankBian  Roses,  which  take  their  name  from  Sir  Joseph  Banks 
who  introduced  them,  are  again  very  distinct.  They  are  natives  of  Tar- 
tarv,  brought  here  in  1807.  They  are  our  earliest,  Roses,  coming  into 
flower  often  in  May,  when  grown  on  a  warm  wall  in  Southern  England., 
They  are  great  climbers  and  profuse  bearers,  although  rather  delicate. 
There  are  three  kinds,  the  white  cluster,  which  is  very  fragrant ;  the 
yellow  cluster,  which  is  very  beautiful  ;  and  the  large  white,  which  is 
neither  one  nor  the  other. 
In  1822  came  the  Bourbons,  imported  into  Europe  from  the  French 
island  of  that  name.  A  Mons.  Noisette  introduced  them,  giving  his 
name  subsequently  to  a  large  and  important  section.  Souvenir  de 
Malmaison,  a  reminder  of  the  Empress  Josephine’s  famous  Rose  garden, 
is  perhaps  tbe  best  of  the  Bourbon  class  ;  Mrs.  Paul  is  a  very  good 
modern  introduction. 
Noisettes. 
Noisettes  are  cluster  Roses,  some  very  hardy,  as  that  best  of  climbers, 
Airoee  Vibert,  some  as  delicate  as  Teas.  Mardchal  Niel  ir  tbe  king  and 
prince  of  these,  as  indeed  of  all  tbe  yellow  Rose3  ;  glorious  and  profuse 
beyond  telling  under  glass,  in  tbe  open  air  less  prolific,  but  of  a  deeper 
colour ;  well  worth  growing  under  any  circumstances  and  in  any 
quantity  ;  under  high  cultivation  he  will  show  his  Noisette  blood,  pro¬ 
ducing  side  budlets,  which  he  is  mostly  without.  Such  a  truBB  recalls 
1  Lord  Byron’s  description — 
"  A  lady,  with  her  daughters  or  her  nieces, 
|  Is  like  a  guinea  with  seven  shilling  pieces." 
