infer that practical men in those days held tenets such as these, or that they were merely the effusions of the brain of some would-be savant in horticultural matters? As gardening was then a practical art, we cannot suppose the former to have been the case, since the very first experiment would throw a doubt on such a proposition, which the failure of every subsequent attempt would confirm; and thus the most credulous would soon be undeceived. The latter would certainly seem the juster inference. Without wishing to say any thing derogatory to the capabilities of our forefathers in the art, we certainly were not aware that the sun of Horticultural science had reached the meridian so long since as 1654, and feel some concern, as well as humiliation, that nearly two centuries should elapse without our profiting by so wonderful a discovery! We cannot forbear quoting certain lines of Virgil, met with in our school days, and to which, perhaps, the above writer was indebted for his idea :

Inseritur vero et foetu nucis arbutus horrida ;

Et steriles platani malos gessere valentes :
Castaneæ fagus ornusque incanuit albo

Flore piri, glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis.

[Georg. lib. ii. ver. 69-72.*

Such are the workings of the imagination, that the black Roses produced by grafting on black-currant bushes, the blue Roses of the Moors, and the oft-talkedof yellow Moss, are already before our eyes! Could we but retain them there! But, alas! this were impossible. Creatures of the imagination, a moment's sober reflection dissipates you in thin air!

But to be serious. As late as 1762, Linnæus appears to have acknowledged only fourteen species. In an edition of Miller's Gardeners' Dictionary, published in 1768, thirty-one species are described. It was only at the close of the last century, and the dawning of the present, that the garden varieties of Roses were really recognised and esteemed. In 1789 the Chinese Rose was introduced; and in 1810 China furnished us with the Tea-scented also. At this period nearly all the varieties known bloomed in summer only: there were few autumnal Roses. In 1812 came forth that exquisite variety, still unsurpassed, the "Rose du Roi," or Crimson Perpetual, which was raised in the Royal Gardens of St. Cloud, then under the care of Le Comte Lelieur.

In 1799 Miss Lawrence published "A Collection of Roses from Nature," which contained ninety coloured plates, including many of the most beautiful species and varieties then known. In 1820 the "Rosarum Monographia," by J. Lindley, appeared; in which seventy-eight species, besides sub-species, are described, and thirteen of them figured. This work is of a scientific character,

The thin-leaved arbute hazel-graffs receives,
And planes huge apples bear, that bore but leaves.
Thus mastful beech the bristly chestnut bears,
And the wild ash is white with blooming pears.
And greedy swine from grafted elms are fed
With falling acorns that on oaks are bred.

[Dryden's Virgil.

and the system there adopted has been followed, more or less, by many subsequent writers on the botany of the Rose. About this time the types of the Bourbon and Noisette Roses appeared, and in a very short period the varieties were increased and improved beyond what the most sanguine could have anticipated. Loudon, in the Encyclopædia of Gardening, published in 1822, says, "The lists of the London and Paris Nurserymen contain upwards of 350 names." "New varieties are raised in France and Italy annually. L. Villaresii, Royal Gardener at Monza, has raised upwards of fifty varieties of Rosa INDICA, not one of which has, as far as we know, reached this country. Some of them are quite black! others shaped like a Ranunculus; and many of them are highly odoriferous." With regard to those quite black, as none of them have yet reached this country, it may be presumed the writer made this statement on the authority of the continental growers, whose vivid imaginations often lead them to portray in too glowing colours any new production.

It may be thought necessary that I should allude to the firm with which I stand connected. The Nursery at Cheshunt has long been famous for its Roses : it was so in the time of Mason. It gained considerable renown from the continual flowering of a plant of the old double yellow Rose (R. SULPHUREA), which had become established on a west wall about the close of the last century. Flowers from which to draw were sought from various parts of the country. The plant produced them with such regularity, and in such gay profusion, that an amateur eventually purchased it to transplant to his seat in Yorkshire; and he did this with considerable success; for although of great size, it flourished, and continued to flower well.

In Sweet's Hortus Britannicus, published in 1827, there are 107 species given, and 1059 varieties; the greater portion of the latter being French or Gallica Roses.

In 1829, M. Desportes and M. Prevost each published in France a Catalogue of Roses. In the Catalogue of the former cultivator above 2000 varieties are described. These Catalogues, with others which appeared in England and France, both before and after this time, were calculated to infuse fresh ardour into the minds of the improvers of this charming race of plants, and at the same time to spread a taste for its cultivation.

The Rose amateurs of England are so numerous in the present day, that it were almost impossible to enumerate even those who possess collections of great merit. A few, however, occur to me, which have especial claims to notice as being the earliest of any extent.

At Dane-end, near Munden, in Hertfordshire, the seat of Charles S. Chauncey, Esq., was formed one of the earliest and best collections; and to which this county is no doubt indebted, in some degree, for the celebrity she enjoys for Roses. Mr. Milne, who is gardener at the above place, has originated a Seedling Bourbon, which he calls Beauty of Munden.

Mr. Sabine formed a collection of the species, some years back, at North

Mims, Herts; and a vast number of them were once growing in the Horticultural Gardens at Chiswick.

About twenty-five years ago, Mrs. Gaussen had formed a Rosarium at Brookmans, in Hertfordshire, which contained many varieties. The form of the ground it occupied was an oblong square, walled in, the walls covered with climbing Roses and other plants. There was a variety of beds formed and planted with much taste: in the centre stood a temple covered with climbing Roses. The whole was blinded from distant view by a wide laurel bank; and the surprise created on suddenly entering was most agreeable, and the effect magical. "Here," says an eminent cultivator with whom I was in conversation the other day, "I first saw the Rose Ruga, which was then recently introduced; and I remarked to Mr. Murdoch, who was gardener there, that it was a hybrid of the Tea-scented. It was beautifully in bloom, and struck me at the time as a gem of the first water. I had not at this time met with any of the Sempervirens Roses; the first of which, the ALBA PLENA, I saw in flower soon afterwards, on a wall at Dropmore, the seat of Lady Grenville."

The next collection which demands our notice is that at Broxbournebury, the seat of George J. Bosanquet, Esq., where there are at the present time a great number of very fine specimens. In addition to all the old and esteemed varieties, there are in cultivation here most of the modern ones; such having been added as they were offered for sale by the raisers or their friends. I believe this to

be the best private collection of Roses in England; at least, I know of none to surpass or equal it. But of this Rose-garden we shall have occasion to speak more at large hereafter.

It might have been foretold, that the rare beauties the gardens above mentioned contained—whether viewed on the plants, arrayed in the simple loveliness of nature, or when dressed for the tables of the Floral fêtes-would captivate all lovers of flowers, and spread a taste for their cultivation. And such was really the case. They became known and their worth appreciated. Florists and amateurs vied with each other in the cultivation of their favourite, each desirous of producing it in the most perfect state. Its characters were thus fairly developed; improvement followed on improvement; and it soon became universally popular. And why? Shall Anacreon answer? 'Pódov & péplotov avowv, "The Rose is the most beautiful of flowers."

CHAPTER II.

ON LOCALITY AND SOILS; AND THE IMPROVEMENT OR ADAPTATION OF SOILS FOR ROSE-CULTURE.

If we were called upon to select a spot as best suited for the cultivation of Roses, we should seek one at a distance from large towns, that we might secure the advantages of a pure air. It should lie open to the south, and be so far removed from trees of every description, that their roots could not reach the soil of our Rose-beds, or their tops overpower us with shade, and prevent a free circulation of air. If, in addition to this, we could choose our soil, that preferred would be a strong loam; if rich, so much the better; if poor, we would enrich it by the addition of manures. It is generally known, that the Dog-rose delights in a stiff, holding soil; and it is on the Dog-Rose the choice garden varieties are usually budded. We do not intend by this to recommend soils commonly termed clayey, for in such there is often too great a deficiency of vegetable substances; lighter soils, too, are found better suited for such kinds as thrive best grown on their own roots; but this may be managed by the addition of a little light turfy loam, peat, or leaf-mould, at the time of planting. An open, airy situation, and a stiff loamy soil, are, we say, what we should prefer, were our choice of locality and soil unlimited. With these at our command, we should expect to carry Rose-culture to perfection. "But," says the amateur, “all gardens must have Roses, and how few are there thus favourably circumstanced. Many are close to large towns, where the air is rendered impure by the clouds of smoke constantly streaming into it. Others are of small size, and are often hemmed in by trees on all sides; on this with a neighbour's favourite chestnuts; on that with a group of sombre-looking firs; and on another with a row of towering elms. And although we may think it not right that our less majestic denizens should suffer at their hands, we have no help for it. They have their pets as we have ours. They find as much pleasure in the blossoms of their chestnuts, in the agreeable shade of their elms during the sultry months of summer, or by the privacy afforded them by the impenetrable darkness of their fir-trees, as we do in the perfect form and varied tints of our Roses. We cannot rid ourselves of their shade. We have no right, indeed, to wish to do so. But we might not hesitate to dock their roots, should they, in their peregrinations,

enter our domain, to gormandize on the provision made for our favourites. This, we think, would be justifiable. We are acting in self-defence. They are robbers, and deserve punishment, although it must not be such as to do them permanent injury. Then, again, as to soils: some are sandy; others are clayey, wet, cold, and altogether uncongenial to vegetation. In a word, we cannot always suit our gardens to your Roses: your Roses must therefore be brought to suit our gardens.”

Those who are free from all these annoyances may think themselves fortunate. The number of complaints of this kind received from amateurs possessing small gardens, which they make their chief source of relaxation and amusement, satisfy us they are great. It must be admitted, that localities are often unfavourable, and hardly capable of improvement. With this, then, we must endure, and seek the remedy in the choice of varieties; selecting such as our own experience, or that of our friends, point out as succeeding best under such circumstances. It is well known that some kinds will grow and flourish where others will scarcely exist. Were this fact taken advantage of by those who plant in unfavourable situations, or unkindly soils, doubtless less failures in Rose-culture would ensue. But it may be said, Some of the most delicate in habit are the most beautiful of Roses, and how can we dispense with such? That the varieties possessed of the most bewitching forms and tints are most difficult of culture, is, to a certain extent, true; but we opine, that a Rose, which will flourish and blossom in a doubtful situation, or in an unfriendly soil, is greatly to be preferred for such, to one which would only exist there as an unhealthy plant, though the latter were greatly its superior in point of beauty. I have known instances in which varieties of the most delicate growth have been selected, time after time, to occupy the most unfavourable situations; and this against all remonstrance, and the knowledge of the cultivator, bought by experience, that they will not succeed. Varieties "are often chosen and planted, without paying sufficient attention to their aptitude for the purpose or position they are wanted for. They are chosen because admired most because they are the most beautiful. Now what are the consequences? That which should yield pleasure, produces, by constant failure, indifference or disgust; and their culture is abandoned. This is to be lamented; for if circumstances are unfavourable for the cultivation of particular varieties, others, that are likely to succeed, should be chosen. And the amateur need not be altogether without his favourite kinds. If unsuited for out-of-door culture in some places, they may be grown to perfection in pots, under glass. In this manner, with due care, they always succeed well; and, by the increased beauty of their foliage and flowers, fully compensate for the additional attention paid to them. I here allude only to such as are very susceptible of frost, or of weak and delicate growth, confining the suggestion to no one group in particular, nor excluding varieties of such character from any group. If an illustration be needed, we may instance Le Grand Capitaine and Coquette de Montmorency (Bourbon Perpetuals), Eliza Sauvage, and several others of the Tea-scented. These, and the like, will not thrive in unfavourable situations or unkindly soils.