New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-06-13
ROSES AND ROSE CULTURE
ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CHIEF VARIETIES.
HOW THEY GROW AND HOW THEY ARE FORCED
THE BEST ROSES FOR AMATEURS

TO CULTIVATE
June 10 the month of roses but beautiful as is 'he
,ueen ~ flowers II Is difficult to conceive OF any!
thing more nextricably and hopelessiy 'ahe'eo ''"
the lines Of descent through which the ''ie Is.
to-day have come. In broad, general wa! ~ me-
be said that the teas originally came rfoi" nm"
and the "damask" from Syria; that o! eo,io
t,ons OF other distinct families with the ior"ie'
tho hybrid teas have been obtained anu y! 80
ings OF the Syrian rose with Bengal bou'po n, d.
anese Persian. Provence and others .ie -! I.s,
montants have been produced. But ois''"''
Acation by descent is Impossible
HYBRIDS.
>,, ~ ,,. ,oses valued to-day are "hybrias
~ "snor,s, from hybrids. The rose h!oriuIA'
needs 10 be patient. phosophc opun's' Inv
young plants are Of slow growth ana 'equ". on
finite deal OF care. which involves much 'aov' o."
outlay thousands will be destroyed oeiore
ono e. found worthy Of further culture ana oose'-
,o,,on One two or even three years more may
be necessary 10 determine II IT is sutlcieh.! eoou
10 supplant some other previously considefeo "io7
; the best and II its habits OF growth ana oea''"s
ore favorable TO profitable cultivation II approved
n prize at least one two years VIII DE heeucu
20 mu,t,pIv IL by cuttings and budding peiore
enough plan,s can be obtained 10 warrant putting
II on the market. After all. II may ran 10 COM
Inand popularity Rose growers, knowing 'H"' co.
variety has distinct Individuality anu Is h"'
10 prove failure II its peculiar requirements are
not fully understood and supplied. are shy OF &C.
cepting novelties and 90 so only when compeHei
by the unusual desrability Of new kinds
Roses often show extraordinary merit IN one place
and prove failures in another Behhe'ts see"
ling Her Majesty the greatest rose ever grown
IN England proved worthless in this country ana
the fine American Beauty has not yet been sue
cessfuy grown In Europe. THE climate is asaln"l
It" is the explanation given In each case. Du'
often success is dependent upon special condl'iohs
beyond climate When Henry Bennett. of Shep-
rig Cd Meteor.
SO little OF Il that he threw Il in when seiihg
another new rose-a red one named Willam iran
els Bennett-to c. F. Evans OF Frankfort. Penn
Meteor was as he knew splendid hover "heh
produced in perfection but he deemed it too within
steal and obstinate. liable TO mi.dew and apt 10
make bullheads" Imperfect buds that blacken ana
90 not OPEN 10 be grown profitaby. Numbers OF
cultivators in this country tried 1t and rendered
the verdict Finally it attracted the at'ehuoh
Of one skilful cuturist Paul NJ. Pierson. Of Scar
borough y. Y, who discovered how 10 grow IL
perfectly with much certainty as any other me
variety and now of the one hundred and fifty thou
sand roses his firm sends 10 New-lork each month
Of tho forcing season two-thlrds are MeteoIs'
Others have followed his methods more or less
successfully; the big. brilliant flowers rival Amerl-
can Beauty roses in popular favor, and are 10 be
found everywhere while the w F. Bennett. for
which $4,000 was paid is merely a memory.
THE EVOLUTION OF TASTE
Modern taste preferring loose and natural ar
Yangements OF flowers instead OF the conspicuously
artificial massed bouquets formerly in vogue. has
educated the public in critical appreciation OF the
beauty in individual flowers, and so has banshed
altogether not a few that were once In high
esteem AS long floral compositions were made
to look like Of gayly tinted oilcoth. short
stemmed flowers only were required, and very
large ones undesirable. as liable 10 unbalance
the formal plan Of arrangement Then the pretty
little pink buds Of Bon Sene, the slender, pointed.
~ velvet .JdcQOe-
nlnot and the golden Marechal Mel were the most
popular But improved taste demanded roses
OF imposing size and globular form, that when half
open would show richly rolling refexed petals and
that should have long, stif stems and handsome
foliage La France. Catherine Mermet. Perle des
Jardns and other hybrid teas became the queens
Of floral fashion. Even that had fully opened.
II Of large size. full and Of brilliant color. were
found worthy OF admiration. Perhaps that evolu-
ton IN TASTE in some respects. may have gone a
little too far. Many persons accord too much I'm
portance TO size. and delight in the American
Beauty. Mrs. Perpont Morgan. Clrich Drummer
and Paul Neyron simply because they are enor-
mousy big Really. TO a correct taste. large
flowers are admirable only when their absolute
perfection of color and form minimizes the con-
seriousness of their bigness. And excessive
value has been put upon lengths OF stems. Vivid,
glossy. graceful and abundant foliage altogether
free from blemish. undoubtedly enhances the
beauty Of a rose; but for that effect whole bush
IS necessary Displayed in big vases for the
decoration Of large interiors. those g-stemmed
roses graded fancy" and extra" by the New
York Cut Flower Company show to good adj
vantage When laid loosely upon a coffin they GER
tainly look much better than the od-fashoned
"Rest In Peace pillows of flowers stemmed on
.oothpicks.
But for the ordinary uses Of life-adorning the
family table lighting the toiler's desk cheering
the invalid dispensing their sweetness from the
corsage of a pretty GIRL and the many other ways
IN vhic he Of w
love them-such long stems are simply In the way.
OF the fifty million cut roses annually sold In New
York only about per cent fancy" and Eek
ira" and the comparative smallness Of supply en-
ables the maintenance of fictitious value. encour-
aged by class Of buyers who appreciate things
by their cost. About co per cent are in the first
grade. for which the flowers must be fine a any.
but may have somewhat shorter stems and 81 per
nearly equally divided between the Sec
ond' and third grades" which include inferior
blooms short-stemmed and badly foliaged
FORCING ROSES
Excepting in the South, where certain tender
roses flourish that Go not succeed in the North.
the taste Of New-York in the matter Of choice
forced roses IS that Of the whole country, and the
following varieties most highly esteemed In the
metropolis, may therefore be accepted az those of
universal popularity and the best in this category
at the present time:
American Beauty, hybrid remOntant and tea;
Meteor, hybrid tea; large, yelvety. deeper red
than General Jacqueminot. perpetual" bloom
err when properly treated under glass, and yielding
well through summer and autumn in the garden.
Bridesmaid sport from Catherine Mermet; large.
globular. bright pink.
Bride. another Mcrmet sport; the best white
forcing yet found.
Kaiserin Augusta Victoria. hybrid tea. the best
white rose for summer forcing and without a
perior in its class garden plant
Mrs. Pierpont Morgan. sport from Nine Cusn;
large. deep violet rose. with a barely perceptible
trace OF yellow.
Nine. Cusin tea rose family violet tinged.
Catherine Mermet. lighter than Bridesmaid
Pere des Jardins. best yellow tea either under
glass or in the garden.
Nine Caroline Testout hybrid :ea; fragrant
clear pink tint hard to grow well.
La France typical hgh-class hybrid tea: large
full globular flowers. with elegantly exed petals
OF eilvery rose-pink
Augustine Guinoiseau. satny white with only a
faint suffusion OF pink