JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  12,  1900. 
the  whole  house  was  enlisted  on  his  behalf,  and  many  of  its  inmates 
roused  at  unearthly  hours  because  the  master  was  down  for  some 
exhibition.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  there  are  not  as  grea' 
enthusiasts  now,  but  when  they  want  me  to  believe  that  the  zeal 
on  behalf  of  Hoses  is  greater  than  it  used  to  be  I  say,  No;  the 
stream  is  wider,  I  am  glad  to  admit,  but  it  is  not  deeper. 
There  is  another  fact  that  we  ought  to  bear  in  mind  in  thinking 
over  past  and  present,  and  that  is  the  source  from  whence  our  new 
Roses  are  obtained.  In  those  bygone  days  our  eyes  were  eagerly 
directed  towards  France.  There  were  but  few  Rose  growers  who 
raised  seedlings,  and  the  great  bulk  of  our  novelties  came  from 
France.  Then  the  Fierich  lists  of  new  Roses  were  eagerly  scanned, 
many  high  expectations  were  formed,  and  many  disappointments 
e.xperienced ;  but  still  the  best  of  our  new  flowers  came  from  there 
Now  the  case  is  much  altered  since  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Bennett  set  an 
example  which  has  been  followed  by  others,  especially  by  Messrs. 
Alexander  Dickson  &  Sous  of  Newtownards.  To  them  we  are 
indebted  for  so  many  valuable  flowers ;  in  fact,  many  of  our  best 
flowers  are  of  home  origin. 
Another  point  of  contrast  is  the  taste  which  has  arisen  of  late 
years  for  what  are  called  garden  Roses.  Under  this  term  we  must 
include  the  hybrid  Sweet  Briers  originated  by  Lord  Penzance  and 
the  single  Roses  which  our  forefathers  despised,  but  which  the  present 
fashion  has  brought  into  so  great  prominence.  Lord  Penzance’s 
flowers  are  a  great  charm  in  themselves,  and  combined  with  their 
fragrant  foliage,  make  the  most  desirable  plants  for  the  Rose  garden ; 
but  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  they  are  evanescent  in  their 
character  and  are  not  perpetual  blooming. 
As  far  as  exhibition  Roses  are  concerned,  I  do  not  think  there  has 
been  much  advance.  In  looking  back  fifty  years,  I  find  that  we  had 
then  such  Roses  as  General  Jacqueminot  and  S^nateur  Vaisse,  and 
that  in  the  following  decade  Alfred  Colomb,  Baroness  Rothschild, 
Camille  Bernardin,  Charles  Lefebvre,  Comte  Raimband,  Dr.  Andry, 
Horace  Vernet,  Louis  Van  Houtte,  and  many  others  were  sent  out ; 
while  amongst  the  Teas  and  Noisettes  we  have  that  grandest  of  all 
yellow  Roses  Marechal  Niel  (1864),  Catherine  Mermet  (1869), 
Niphetos  (1844),  Souvenir  d’Elise  Vardon  (1854),  Souvenir  d’un 
Ami  (1846)  ;  and  therefore  I  am  constrained  to  say  that  if  you  could 
possibly  see  some  of  the  boxes  that  were  exhibited  in  those  days,  we 
should  find  that  in  brilliancy  of  colour  and  correctness  of  form  the 
Roses  of  those  days  were  equal  to  those  of  the  present.  In  one  respect 
there  has  been  an  advance,  I  mean  in  size  ;  whether  this  is  an 
unmixed  good  I  think  is  questionable.  Large  size  very  often  means 
coarseness,  a  very  serious  fault  in  a  Rose,  though  also  I  think  it  is  in 
many  cases  a  sign  of  better  cultivation  ;  and  that  although  the  same 
Roses  may  be  shown  now  as  formerly,  many  of  them  have  increased 
in  size  without  losing  quality,  and  of  course  a  full  sized  Rose  is  a  more 
beautiful  object,  provided,  as  I  have  said,  its  quality  is  not  lowered. 
Other  changes  I  notice  are  the  superior  manner  and  greater  care 
with  which  the  flowers  are  put  up.  Various  attempts  have  been  made 
to  alter  what  I  call  the  orthodox  method  of  showing,  but  none  of 
them  have  taken  with  the  public,  and  a  stand  covered  with  green 
moss  would  seem  the  most  effective  way  in  which  they  could  be 
exliibited.  But  we  no  longer  see  those  untidy  boxes  which  used  to 
make  one  wish  we  could  put  them  under  the  stage,  and  how  very 
seldom  now  do  we  see  duplicates.  When  anyone  has  many  boxes  in 
different  classes  it  is  very  easy  for  him  to  make  mistakes.  He 
changes  a  Rose  just  before  the  time  for  the  judges,  and  forgets  to 
change  the  label,  but  there  used  to  be  cases  for  which  no  such  reason 
could  be  assigned.  Do  I  not  remember  at  a  provincial  show  where 
thne  Marie  Baumanns  were  shown  under  different  names,  the  exhi¬ 
bitor  himself  having  no  knowledge  of  it,  and  his  gardener  not  being 
overscrupulous. 
The  introduction  of  Mr.  Foster’s  tubes  and  labels  has  not  only 
materially  improved  the  neatness  of  the  stands,  but  has  enabled  the 
looker-on  to  see  the  names  much  better;  they  used  to  be  written  on 
little  slips  and  placed  on  the  stand  in  front  of  the  Rose,  but  when  the 
eaf  or  something  else  covered  the  labels  it  was  impossible  to  see  the 
names;  now  they  are  raised  above  the  board,  and  are  not  liable  to  be 
detached. 
I  do  not  think  it  is  difficult  to  assign  the  cause  for  the  increased 
popularity  of  the  Rose ;  we  see,  for  instance,  the  vast  amount  of 
literary  work  connected  with  the  subject ;  small  comprehensive' 
treatises  are  from  time  to  time  brought  before  the  public,  while  our 
chief  gardening  papers  vie  with  each  other  in  giving  prominence  to 
the  subject.  I  have  at  present  before  me  notices  of  three  of  our 
leading  gardening  papers  informing  the  Rose  world  that  they  will 
have  a  special  number  this  week  which  will  be  almost  exclusively 
devoted  to  the  Rose.  Surely  one  may  well  ask.  What  more  can  be 
said  on  the  subject  ?  The  chief  incentive,  however,  to  Rose  growing 
and  Rose  exhibiting  bas  been  the  establishment  of  the  National  Rose 
Society.  This  has  had  a  varied  existence  ;  it  has  held  its  exhibitions 
in  different  places,  but  for  many  years  it  has  made  the  home  of  its 
metropolitan  exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  when  we  see 
upwards  of  400  exhibits,  and  upwards  of  a  hundred  exhibitors  that  are 
there  gatherfd  together,  we  may  well  say  that  Rose  showing  has  made 
a  great  advance. 
The  publications  of  the  National  Rose  Society,  touching  as  they  do 
on  almost  every  point  of  Rose  growing,  have  materially  aided  in  this 
development  of  which  I  write.  These  small  treatises  pass  under  the 
eyes  of  the  most  experienced  growers,  both  amateur  and  professional, 
in  the  country,  and  therefore  come  with  a  greater  amount  of  authority, 
and  no  one  need  now  be  at  any  loss  to  know  the  best  method  of 
cultivation  or  the  best  kinds  to  select.  And  what  openness  there  is 
amongst  Rose  growers  nowadays ;  they  do  not  attempt  to  hide 
from  one  another  or  from  the  public  what  their  methods  of  cultivation 
are,  and  are  even  glad  when  those  to  whom  they  have  given  instruction 
outstrip  them. 
Of  course  there  is  a  sad  side  to  all  these  things;  the  reflection,, 
how  many  of  those  associated  with  us  have  passed  away  I  Let  us, 
however,  be  thankful  for  those  who  still  remain.  Moreover,  the 
sons,  and  even  the  grandsons,  of  those  we  knew  in  earlier  days  are 
now  with  us,  many  of  them  as  enthusiastic  as  their  forbears  were; 
and  though  perhaps  they  consider  some  of  us  are  rather  moss- 
grown,  yet  always  rejoice  when  we  pass  on  to  them  the  pleasing 
traditions  bearing  upon  those  who  have  gone  before.  I  see  no  signs 
of  diminution  of  interest,  and  if  the  National  Rose  Society  can  hold 
on  its  way  I  believe  that  the  years  to  come  will  bring  with  them 
a  rich  fruition. — D.,  Deal. 
- - 
The  Staijdard  Brier  as  a  Stock  for  looses, 
Whenever  I  find  a  difficulty  in  growing  any  Rose  I  always  try 
budding  it  on  a  standard  Brier,  and  more  often  than  not  it  succeeds 
with  me  better  than  as  a  dwarf.  I  am  well  aware  that  great 
objections  have  been  raised  to  standards  in  recent  years.  It  is  said, 
for  instance,  that  to  grow  R'  ses  in  this  way  is  unnatural,  and  that  the 
plants  are  consequently  short-lived,  that  they  suffer  considerably 
more  than  dwarf  plants  in  anything  like  a  severe  winter,  and  that 
they  throw  up  a  large  number  of  troublesome  suckers.  These 
indictments  are  no  doubt  in  a  general  sense  only  too  true,  so  much  so 
that  if  I  wanted  to  encourage  any  amateur  to  begin  Rose  growing  I 
should  never  recommend  him  to  start  with  a  collection  of  expensive 
standards,  for  added  to  the  above  objections  they  are  much  dearer  to 
buy  than  dwarf  or  bush  Roses. 
Nevertheless,  properly  used,  the  standard  Brier,  on  soils  which  suit 
it,  is,  in  my  opinion,  an  admirable  stock.  For  instance,  if  any  strong 
growing  variety  of  Hybrid  Perpetual,  such  as  Duke  of  Edinburgh, 
Her  Majesty,  or  Ulrich  Brunner,  is  found  to  run  more  to  weed  than  to 
flower,  it  need  only  be  grown  as  a  standard  to  correct  this  unfortunate 
habit.  In  cases  like  this,  the  flow  of  sap  is  to  a  certain  extent 
checked,  and  flowering  growths  are  enc'  uraged.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
the  Teas  or  Hybrid  Teas  received  similar  treatment,  the  result 
generally  is  increased  vigour  in  the  variety  budded  on  the  standard. 
