64 
■JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTACE  GABDENER, 
January  16,  1902. 
The  Rosarian’s  Year  Book,  1902. 
One  of  the  annual  publications  of  the  National  Rose  Society, 
the  “Year  Book,”  bearing  its  messages  of  experienced  counsel, 
its  tale  of  good  work  accomplished,  and  hope  for  the  years 
advancing,  froiii  a  synaxis  of  the  society’s  ardent  workers,  is  ever 
awaited  with  interest  by  each  of  the  members.  The  Rev.  A. 
Foster  Melliar,  in  his  straightforu  ard  and  interesting  mianner, 
has  a  considerable  amount  of  news  to  tell  about  the  famous 
grower  of  Tea  Roses,  Mr.  O.  G.  Oi'pen.  Being  a  strong  grower 
of  these  himself,  and  having  frequently  opposed  Mr.  Orpen  in 
the  open  competitions  at  country  and  metropolitan  shows,  the 
writer  draws  attention  to  the  very  points  that  rosarian 
exhibitors  prefer  to  hear  of.  “  Mr.  Orpen’s  methods  are 
strictly  business-like,”  .says  Mr.  Foster-Melliar.  “If  any  Rose 
plant  is  not  thoroughly  vigorous,  strong,  and  healthy,  and  likely 
to  yield  him  the  best  returns,  up  it  comes,  and  in  goes  another 
fresh,  strong  one  in  its  place.  This  is  the  way  to  do  it,  and  win 
first  prizes ;  the-  way  not  to  do  it  and  come  in  a  bad  second  is  to 
do  as  I  do^ — keep  on  a  thousand  or  two  of  nearly  worn-out  or 
unhealthy  plants,  or  superseded  varieties,  because  they  are 
alive,  and  one  sentimentally  wants  to  give  them  another  chance.” 
Here  we  have  advice  clothed  in  humorous  expression. 
Referring  to  the  precarious  and  fitful  existence  for  some  years 
of  the  Colchester  Rose  Show,  Mr.  Melliar  affords  sound  reasons 
how  this  came  to  be.  He  says,  “  A  Rose  show  in  a  country  town 
is  dependent  for  its  attractions  on  the  Roses  and  the  band.  It 
could  never  be  difficult  for  residents  in  Colchester  and  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  to  gain  permission  to  see  the  finest  Roses  in  the  world 
growing  in  the  gardens  of  leading  nurserymen,  and,  being  a 
garrison  town,  military  bands  were  naturally  fairly  familiar  to 
the  inhabitants.”  And  now  Mr.  Orpen,  by  his  energy,  patience, 
and  business  methods  during  his  capacity  as  secretary  since  1895, 
has  overcome  the  foregoing  difficulties,  and  the  Colchester  Rose 
Show  now  holds  its  own  as  one  of  the  best  managed  in  the  king¬ 
dom.  Mrs.  Orpen,  too,  receives  encomium  for  Jier  cleverness  in 
arranging  vases,  bouquets,  and  sprays  of  Roses.  “  Not  only  are 
her  exhibits  a  source  of  admiration,  but  of  actual  education.” 
The  Poet  Laureate  breaks  into  song  in  Roses,  and  fills  three 
pages  with  his  Muse  ;  after  which  Miss  Jekyll’s  pen  has  urged 
the  greater  use  of  “Some  Garden  Roses.”  “We  want  the 
Damask,  and  Provence,  and  Moss,  and  old  Pink  China  in  beds 
and  pretty  grouping ;  the  neat  habited  American  lucida  and  its 
charming  double  variety  :  and  the  Scotch  Briars,  so  good  on  banks 
of  poor  soil,  and  the  rest  of  the  old  favourites  for  some  use  or 
other.”  “No  kind  of  Rose  is  better  for  massing  in  exposed 
places  or  on  rough  banks  than  the  Japanese  rugosa.  It  is  free 
and  hardy  in  its  vigorous,  bushy  growth,  and  will  do  well  even 
in  London.”  “  The  most  remarkable  development  of  all,”  con¬ 
tinues  Miss  Jekyll,  “and  the  one  that  gives  the  strongest 
evidence  of  the  lately  enlarged  influence  in  practical  gardening, 
is  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  rambling  Roses  and  the 
single  kinds  of  free  growth.  These  comprise  the  good  old  Roses 
that  come  within  the  classes  known  as  Ayrshires,  and  semper- 
virens,  with  the  addition  of  those  derived  from  the  Musk  Roses 
and  the  Himalayan  Rosa  polyantha,  and  R.  brunoniana. 
“  Every  new  garden  that  is  being  laid  out  is  providing  for  a 
pergola  or  arbour  or  flowering  screen,  where  these  beautiful 
growths  can  be  displayed,  while  older  gardens  are  being  carefully 
looked  over  to  find  the  right  places  for  the  planting  of  some  of 
the  wealth  of  material  that  only  awaits  careful  choice  and 
judicious  use.”  Miss  Jekyll  advocates  the  employment  of 
Scotch  Briars  and  Wichuriana  Roses ;  also  Roses  for  hedges,  for 
banks,  and  for  various  uses  in  naturalisation. 
The  doings  of  the  National  Rose  Society  during  the  past  suc¬ 
cessful  year  are  reviewed  by  Mr.  D’Ombrain,  while  following  him 
comes  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton,  who  briefly  discu.sses  the  new  Roses 
of  1900-1901.  Mr.  Mawley  concludes  with  a  highly  valuable  and 
interesting  paper  on  the  “  Weather  of  the  Past  Rose  Year  ”  ;  btit 
Mr.  B.  E.  Cant  has  a  prior  article  on  “  Stocks  and  their 
Influence.”  We  should  like  to  comment  more  extendedly  on 
what  is  undoubtedly  a  mo.st  valuable  contribution  to  the  “  Year 
Book,”  but  we  have  already  gone  much  beyond  our  Tisual  limits. 
In  his  weather  notes  Mr.  Mawley  mentions  a  fact  that  must 
seem  to  many  as  being  remarkable,  that  for  over  twenty  years 
he  has  kept  an  account  of  the  rain  which  fell  during  the  day¬ 
time,  separated  from  that  deposited  at  night,  thus  furnishing  a 
splendid  record  of  care  and  persistent  adherence.  W^e  must  not 
omit  to  note  Mr.  George  Paul’s  letter  on  the  “  Development  of 
New  Types  of  Roses.”  The  “Year  Book  ”  must,  indeed,  be  very 
useful  as  an  index  to  the  immediate  past  in  rosarian  annals,  and 
as  a  guide  for  future  accomplishments.  Much,  very  much,  has  yet 
to  become  known  to  us,  before  we  can  claim  to  have  got  right 
away  from  the  merely  empirical  culture  of  Roses. 
Roses  in  Par  Tasmania. 
The  interest  in  Roses  is  eternal.  They  pervade  nearly  the 
whole  world — and  we  in  England  think  we  love  them  best  of  all. 
But  even  in  far  Tasmania — the  old  Van  Dienian’s  Land — our 
finest  Roses  have  found  a  home,  and  there  they  flourish.  This 
week  a  couple  of  photographs  from'  tlie'  “Weekly  Courier”’ 
(Launceston,  Tasmania),  together  with  a  letter  and  the  news¬ 
paper  itself,  came  to  us  from  one  who  signs  himself  “  An  Ama¬ 
teur.”  •  Unfortunately  he  debars  us  from  publishing  the  interest¬ 
ing  comments  he  has  made,  but  promises  to  contribute  notes  of 
the  Rose  show  next  season,  and  of  the  Cactus  Dahlias,  which  will 
flower  there  in  the  month-  of  February. 
The  photographs  of  the  Rose  collections  represent  excellent 
flowers.  Some  are  not  up  to  the  highest  exhibition  type,  but 
others  again,  and  these  are  in  the  majority,  are  almost  perfect. 
Marquis  Litta  is  here,  and  very  fine ;  Josephine  Malton  (T)  is 
beside  it.  Another  photograph  reproduces  the  twenty-four 
leading  blooms  staged  by  a  Mri  W’..  F.  Petterd.  The  following 
are  their  names: — “First  row  :  Robert  Duncan,  La  Boule  d’Or, 
Helen  Keller,  A.  K.  Williams,  Victor  Verdier,  Prince  Camille  de 
Rohan.  Second  row:  Her  Majesty,  Tom  Wood,  K.  A.  Victoria, 
Mrs.  Sharman  Crawford,  Gloire  Lyonnaise,  Mademoiselle  Marie 
Finger.  Third  row :  Ulrich  Brunner,  Maman  Cochet,  General 
Jacqueminot,  Rev.  Alan  Cheales,  Frangois  Michelon,  Paul’s  Early 
Blush.  Fourth  row:  Captain  Christy,  Gloire  de  Ducher,  ,La 
France,  Caroline  Testout,  Margaret  Dickson,  Triomphe  de  Pernet 
Pere.  This  success,  according  to  the  newspaper  report,  is  only 
Mr.  Petterd’s  latest  triumph  in  this  direction.  As  an  exhibitor 
of  flowers  he  has  been  singularly  successful  for  some  years  past, 
and  in  1899  secured  the  much-coveted  Gold  Medal  of  the  National 
Rose  Society  of  Great  Britain.  In  his  garden  he  has  about  600 
Rose  bushes  and  300  distinct  varieties,  comprising  dwarf  and  half 
standards,  self-rooted  bushes,  and  climbers  ;  whilst  the  so-called 
Hybrid  Perpetuals  are  cultivated  to  a  degree  of  perfection  rarely 
seen  in  an  amateur’s  garden.  Hybrid  Teas  are  the  special 
feature,  the  specimen  blooms  of  which  are  a  source  of  constant 
admiration  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  privileged  to  see  them.”' 
It  was  only  last  week  (January  4,  1902)  that  our  contemporary, 
the  “  Gardeners’  Chronicle,”  in  a  leader  on  “  The  Rose  of  Merry 
England,”  said :  “  When  the  Rose  was  adopted  as  a  national 
emblem,  Canada,  Australia,  Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand  had  not 
been  discovered ;  and,  except  in  Canada,  there  is  not  a  native 
Rose  in  either  Colony;  nor  is  there  is  any  part  of  South  Africa, 
the  West  Indies,  Mauritius,  or  Ceylon.  .  .  .  When  we  get 
a  federated  Greater  Britain,  it  is  clear  we  shall  have  some  diflfi- 
culty  in  fixing  upon  some  flower  that  is  common  to  all  the  com¬ 
ponent  parts.”  This  was  expressed  in  relation  to  the  choice  of  a 
suitable  Coronation  Flower,  and  also  in  reference  to  America’s 
difficulty  in  settling  on  whether  the  Carnation  or  other  flower 
will  be  selected  as  their  national  emblem.  But  if  our  Colonies 
can  succeed  in  establishing  some,  if  not  all  Roses  (and  except  for 
the  West  Indies,  the  lower  parts  of  Ceylon,  and  parts  of  South 
Africa  the  other  countries  are  mostly  suitable  for  their  culture), 
“  the  Rose  of  Merry  England  ”  might  still  serve  for  each  and  all. 
Otherwise  we  must  fall  back  on  the  Scottish  Thistle!  For,  like 
the  men  of  that  rugged  land.  Thistles  seem  to  gain  a  footing 
everywhere. 
We  may  be  allowed  to  conclude  our  remarks  by  a  further 
extract  from  the  Tasmanian  paper,  which  describes  Mr.  Petterd’s 
additional  achievements :  “  About  ten  years  ago  he  commenced 
the  work  of  cross-fertilisation  amongst  the  statmy  Gladioli,  work¬ 
ing  with  the  celebrated  strains  of  Lemoine,  Childsi,  Gandavensis, 
and  Nancianus.  The  result  has  been  the  appearance  of  large  and 
distinct  types  remarkable  for  size  and  brilliant  colour.  It  is 
estimated  that  there  are  now  growing,  soon  to  burst  forth  into 
rich  masses  of  bloom  in  bewildering  variety,  no  fewer  than  700 
sorts,  the  total  number  of  conns  in  the  ground  being  at  least 
3,000.  To  speak  of  spring  flowers  in  the  height  of  the  summer 
season  appears  almost  out  of  place,  but  those  who  have  viewed 
the  rich  masses  of  chaste  and  graceful  Daffodils  growing  in  Mr. 
Petterd’s  garden,  or  have  seen  collections  of  his  cut  blooms,  have 
good  reason  to  know  what  avery  importantpart  these  increasingly 
popular  flowers  play  in  the  annual  history  of  this  gentleman’s 
grounds.  When  it  is  seen  that  there  are  300  varieties  and  about 
15,000  bulbs,  it  goes  without  saying  that  all  classes  and  types  are 
represented,  from  the  older  varieties  right  up  to  the  recent  pro¬ 
ductions  of  the  now  famous  Engleheart.  Mr.  Petterd  himself 
has  for  some  time  been  engaged  in  the  work  of  developing  new 
strains  of  the  Daffodil,  and  doubtless  will  be  able  before  long  to 
point  to  some  entirely  new  forms  as  the  result  of  his  patience 
and  skill.  While  the  Daffodil,  Rose,  and  Gladiolus  are  the  special 
objects  of  attention,  others  of  minor  importance  have  a  place  in 
this  city  garden,  which,  at  the  present  time,  displays  a  perfect 
wealth  of  bloom  of  these.  Hellebores,  Pseonies,  and  Cactus 
Dahlias  have  been  assigned  places  of  honour  only  second  to  those 
already  described.  The  flowers  they  in  their  turn  yield  are  an 
eloquent  testimony  to  the  care  and  attention  they  receive,  while 
the  service  they  render  is  no  less  essential  than  that  on  the  part 
of  those  to  which  attention  was  first  drawn,  namely,  in  providing 
so  far  as  possible  an  unbroken  succession  of  blooms — perpetual 
links  in  an  endless  floral  chain.” 
