July  11,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
31 
The  Best  Roses  at  -Richmond. 
The  early  Rose  competitions  at  Richmond  on  June  26th  brought 
together  an  important  display.  Generally  the  blooms  were  not  of 
superlative  excellence,  being  wanting  in  both  size  and  substance, 
owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  absence  of  rain.  We  shall  therefore  expect  to 
see  finer  examples  of  this  popular  flower  at  later  meetings.  In  regard 
to  individual  blossoms,  the  finest  were  to  be  found  in  the  stands  of 
the  nurserymen.  We  noticed  few  Hybrid  Perpetuals  that  struck  us 
as  being  anything  out  of  the  ordinary  way.  Mrs.  John  Laing  (a 
flower  of  which  obtained  the  premier  award)  was  everywhere  good. 
One  or  two  notable  specimens  of  Horace  Vernet  were  seen.  This 
striking  Rose  does  best  on  maiden  plants,  hence  is  more  general  in  the 
trade  exhibits.  So,  too,  is  Victor  Hugo,  a  handsome  vivid  crimson 
flower.  Comtesse  de  Ludre,  bright  cherry  crimson,  seems  to  be  a 
Rose  not  taken  up  by  amateurs.  It  is  of  faultless  form  and  colour, 
also  of  good  size.  One  looked  in  vain  for  Marie  Baumann  or  Alfred 
A  Rose  well  represented  was  Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria,  which  in 
a  half-open  stage  is  most  attractive.  A  bright,  high  coloured,  tea- 
scented  R«ee  is  FranQois  Dubreuil.  This  brightens  a  box  capitally, 
and,  if  not  of  extra  large  size,  is  of  pretty  form.  That  charming 
family  of  Teas  which  have  sprung  from  Catherine  Mermet — Bridesmaid. 
Muriel  Grahame,  and  The  Bride — were  sparingly  represented.  These 
will  probably  be  more  notable  in  later  shows. 
Garden  Roses  now  have  such  an  important  part  of  an  exhibition 
devoted  to  them  that  great  attention  is  given  to  the  class.  Of  course 
all  Roses  are  garden  Roses,  but  it  is  only  the  vigorous-growing  and 
free-blooming  kinds  which  become  popular  and  can  be  cut  in  big 
bunches  for  decoration.  One  sort  at  Richmond  that  was  new  to  us 
and  of  special  attractiveness  was  Souvenir  de  Catherine  Guillot.  It  is 
described  in  a  well-known  catalogue  “coppery  carmine  centre  shaded 
with  orange.”  Certainly  the  flowers  have  tints  of  remarkable  com¬ 
bination.  Ma  Capucine,  bronzy  yellow,  is  a  most  taking  kind  ; 
Bardou  Job,  an  almost  single  crimson,  is  a  very  showy  Rose  in 
Colomb  in  the  form  they  are  sometimes  seen,  and  A.  K.  Williams 
was  not  well  represented.  Probably  it  is  a  little  early  for  Hybrid 
Perpetuals. 
The  Tea  Roses  were  most  beautiful.  Comtesse  de  Nadaillac, 
exhibited  by  Mr.  Geo.  Prince  of  Oxford,  had  those  charming  tints  of 
apricot  that  make  the  sort  so  attractive.  The  size,  too,  this  grower 
gets  this  Rose  is  remarkable.  Whilst  thinking  of  Nadaillac,  the 
same  exhibitor  had  a  Rose  not  unlike  it  in  his  stand,  named  E.  V. 
Hermanos.  It  is  comparatively  new,  and  worth  noting  on  account  of 
a  vigorous  growth,  which  the  favourite  Rose  above  mentioned  has  not. 
White  Maman  Cochet,  everywhere  fine,  is  a  Rose  of  rare  merit, 
although  the  tints  of  pink  in  the  flower  prevent  its  name  from  being 
strictly  truthful.  Maman  Cochet  (itself)  was  seen  in  excellent  form, 
and  the  premier  flower  in  the  amateurs’  division  was  one  of  this. 
With  us  it  too  often  comes  quartered  in  shape,  otherwise  it  is  quite 
one  of  the  best  Tea  Roses  grown.  La  France  was  represented  by  a 
bloom  that  won  premier  honours,  thus  showing  that  the  old  favourites, 
when  in  good  form,  are  by  no  means  inferior  to  newer  kinds.  The 
blooms  of  amateur  growers  appeared  less  fresh  than  those  of  the  trade 
growers,  and  bore  traces  of  heavy  shading,  tying,  and  such  manipulating 
as  is  necessary  to  husband  comparatively  small  resources. 
bunches.  The  lovely  Sweet  Brier  Lady  Penzance,  with  its^tintsjot 
toppery  yellow,  was  not  the  least  striking  among  the  garden  Roses. 
Janet’s  Pride,  again  a  white,  crimson  tipped,  single,  is]  especially 
showy. 
Among  new  Roses  noted  was  one  that  obtained  the  highest  award 
possible — namely,  the  gold  medal  of  the  National  Rose  Society.  In 
this  instance  a  really  fine  variety  gained  this  distinction  ;  fine  because 
it  is  of  crimson  colour  and  having  the  necessary  virtues  of  a  good  Rose. 
Ben  Cant  is  the  name  of  this  new  flower,  and  worthy  it  is  to  bear  the 
name  of  that  rare  departed  Rose-grower.  Vivid  in  colour  and  excellent 
in  shape  and  size,  it  has  substauce  in  its  thick,  leathery  petals  and 
growth  of  a  sturdy  nature,  judging  from  the  plant  exhibited.  Truly 
an  exhibition  Rose,  and  one  likely  to  prove  a  most  valuable  acquisition. 
Not  quite  new  (having  already  won  the  gold  medal),  is  Mildred  Grant 
— a  most  magnificent  flower.  The  dozen  blooms  put  up  by  its  raisers, 
A.  Dickson  &  Sons,  Newtownards,  was  probably  the  finest  stand  seen 
at  the  Richmond  Show.  To  describe  it  is  not  an  easy  matter,  and  to 
do  so  in  a  few  words,  so  that  those  who  have  not  seen  the  flower  can 
form  some  idea  of  it,  we  would  term  it  a  light-coloured  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Grant.  It  is  white,  flushed  with  lilac,  and  in  superlative  form 
resembles  the  variety  named.  Mrs.  Edward  Mawley  is  a  superb  new 
