September  10,  1903.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
243 
!  I 
General  Jacqueminot  Variety. 
At  the  recent  Abbey  Park  Flower  Show,  Leicester,  tlie  age 
of  General  Jacqueminot  Rose  was  discussed.  It  was  sent  out  in 
1853,  and  at  the  present  time,  a  half  century  later,  it  is  still  a 
very  fine  exhibition  Rose,  as  well  as  being  much  grown  for 
cutting  and  market  purposes.  In  a  review  of  the  “  Roses  of 
1854, ”  which  appears  in  the  October  number  of  the  ”  Florist  ” 
for  that  year,  the  late  Mr.  Thoma^-  Rivers  remarked,  in  reference 
to  this  Rose:  “  General  Jacqueminot  is  one  of  our  new  Roses  and 
most  striking  from  the  size  of  its  flowers,  which  are  of  a  rich 
shaded  crimson.  It  has,  however,  two  faults:  its  flowers  are  not 
sufficiently  double,  and  its  habit  of  growth  is  slender  and  deli¬ 
cate.”  And  Mr.  Rivers  went  on  to  deliver  himself  of  a  truism, 
that  “We  now  require  Roses  perfect  at  all  points;  larger  and 
True  Perfumeiy  Roser. 
I  When  Mr.  Fred  M.  Re(xl  was  travelling  in  Lurope  two  or  threo 
j  yeans  ago,  he  visited  Grassse  in  the  south  of  France,  the  centre  of 
i  the  manufacture  of  perfumes  and  essences  from  Rose  and  Orange 
,  blossoms-.  He  was  especially  interested  in  the  true  perfumery 
j  plant  growing  in  the  adjacent  country,  but  wa-  not  allowed  to 
,  take  either  cuttings  or  roots,  as  that  variety  of  plant  ns  well 
as  the  secrets  of  manufacture,  is  guarded  with  jealous  care.  He 
I  secured  some  blossoms  which  he  preserved. 
j  After  returning  he  made  inquiry  of  botanists  as  to  the  French 
perfumery  Rose  in  this  country,  but  could  learn  of  no  plants. 
I  He  then  wrote  to  the  botanical  department  at  Washington.  Mr. 
Galloway,  then  chief  of  the  bureau  of  plant  industry,  replied  that 
there  was  no  sample  of  that  variety  in  their  collection,  and  as  far 
as  he  knew,  it  had  never  been  introduced  into  this  country,  as  it 
was  very  hard  to  secure,  but  said  he  would  make  an  effort  to  get 
a  sample  for  him.  Some  weeks  ago  Mr.  Reed  received  a  letter — 
announcing  that  he  had  secured  and  was  forwarding  to  Mr.  Reed 
some  of  the  perfumery  Roses — from  Mr.  Peters,  who  has  in  charge 
the  matter  of  introducing  new  plants  into  this  country  for  the 
Agricultural  Department. 
The  plants  were  received  in  good  condition  from  their  long 
journey.  Mr.  Reed  gave  samples  to  Prof.  Zumbro  and  E.  iT 
Bulbous  Plants  in  the  Greenhouse  (Hee  page  242.} 
double  flowers,  opening  freely ;  fine,  healthy  foliagOj  and  a 
vigorous,  hardy  habit.” 
Probably  in  such  standard  varieties  as  Alfred  Colomb,  Beauty 
of  Waltham,  Charles  Lefebvre,  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  Dupuy 
Jamain,  Marie  Baumann,  Mrs.  J.  Laing,  Pride  of  Waltham,  and 
Ulrich  Brunner  (not  to  mention  some  of  the  new  Irish  Roses), 
the  ideal  Rose  of  Mr.  Rivers  is  nearly  produced.  But  our  ideal 
assumes  proportions  as  we  get  near  to  it,  and  it  is  always  possible 
to  picture  an  ideal  flower  in  advance  of  our  choice.st  possessions. 
How  nearly  has  General  Jacqueminot  approached  Mr.  Rivers’ 
ideal?  I  turn  to  the  description  given  of  it  in  Messrs.  Frank 
Cant  and  Co.’s  Rose  Catalogue,  and  I  read  of  the  dear  old  General 
that  it  is  “  bright-scarlet  crimson,  globular,  with  pointed  centre, 
perfect  shape,  a  fine,  free  flowering  Rose,  still  one  of  the  best, 
and  especially  for  forcing;  vigorous  habit.”  The  General  im¬ 
proved  on  acquaintance,  and  largely  remedied  the  two  faults 
found  with  it  by  the  veteran  Rivers. 
The  moral  to  be  drawn  is  that  with  the  Roses,  as  with  some 
other  flowers,  the  experience  of  two  or  three  years  at  least  is 
necessary  to  form  an  authoritative  opinion  upon  the  positive 
merits  of  any  particular  plant  or  novelty.  I  think  it  is  likely 
“  General  Jack”  will  yet  be  grown  for  some  years  to  come.— R.D. 
Koethen,  and  planted  fifteen  plants  himself,  all  of  which  are  grow¬ 
ing  nicely.  But  the  variety  has  but  one  brief  season  of  blooming 
— in  May — so  the  interesting  part  will  have  to  be  waited  for. 
The  foliage  is  a  dull  pale  green.  Mr.  Reed  says  the  blossom 
is  quite  like  that  of  the  old-fashioned  Cabbage  Rose.  Mr.  Peters, 
now  in  California  on  business  for  his  department,  called  on  Mr. 
Reed  on  Saturday,  and  was  pleased  to  find  the  Rose  plants  he  had 
secured  all  living  and  in  vigorous  condition.  He  said  they  l;ad 
made  much  better  progress  than  those  planted  in  the  department 
garden  at  Washington. 
Mr.  Peters  is  a  very  pleasant  gentleman,  enthusiastic  in  his 
special  work,  and  doubtless  is  accomplishing  what  may  prove  of 
far-reaching  benefit  to  California  as  well  as  to  other  parts  of  the 
country  in  introducing  new  varieties  of  plants.  From  here  he  goes 
to  Imperial  to  study  the  conditions  with  reference  to  introducing 
the  Date  Palm  for  commercial  purposes. 
However  succe^isful  these  first  perfumery  Rose  plants  may 
prove,  for  various  reasons  it  will  probably  be  many  years  before 
the  Ro.se  perfumery  industry  Avill  become  commercially  valuabh', 
in  thie  country,  but  when  it  does  some  day.  Riverside  will  have 
the  sati, ■'faction  of  having  introduced  the  first  plants. — (River.ddo 
Press.”) 
