Nor let the exhibitor, amateur or professional, suppose that these matters are of no importance. It is true that priority is won by the superior merits of the Roses, carefully examined and compared; but in cases where these merits are equal, then the best arrangement as to form and colour will certainly influence, and probably determine, the verdict. I can recall several instances in which, cceteris paribus, tasteful arrangement has given the victory. The material for operation has been equally good; the modus operandi has been the point of excellence - the artistic effort of the more accomplished horseman has saved him from a dead heat.

Time was when the exhibitor had good excuse for the introduction of flowers faulty in shape and too much alike in colour. Time was (and I recall it happily, for we vexed not ourselves about that which might be, but delighted our hearts in that which we had) when our dark Roses, such as Boula de Nanteuil, D'Aguesseau, Ohl, and Shakespeare - our pink Roses, such as Comtesse Mole and Las Casas - our white Roses, such as Madame Hardy - were painfully wide awake when they reached the show, and our collection had "eyes" like Argus. We are dismayed now if a Cyclops shows himself, even in our "48." A marvellous development and progress has been made both in the form and complexion of the Rose, and every season brings us new treasures. See what we have gained in the last few years - to the darker varieties we have added such Roses as Alfred Colomb, Charles Lefebvre, Duchesse de Caylus, Due de Rohan, Exposition de Brie, Leopold L, Marie Beauman; and to the lighter, Madame Therese Levet, Marguerite de St Armand, La Baronne de Rothschild, La France, Miss Ingram, Reine Blanche, and many others.

Time was when the only yellow Roses exhibited (Cloth-of-Gold was in existence, but lived in strict seclusion) were Solfaterre, with very little yellow and still less shape; Persian Yellow, in hue golden, glorious, but in size a big Buttercup; and sometimes a bud of Smith's Yellow, which no power on earth could induce to open, a pretty button-hole flower. Now we have Celine Forestier, Triomphe de Rennes, and magnificent Marechal Niel! Fancy Smith's Yellow in a modern collection - Tom Thumb on parade with the Guards!

The names which I have just written remind me how much the Tea and Noisette Roses diversify and beautify our show collections. That the former are delicate and difficult to produce when we most require them, is evident from their sparse appearance in public; but it is just one of those superable difficulties which separate the sincere from the spurious Rose-grower, and which only the former overcomes. The conservatory and the orchard-house (there ought to be, wherever there is taste and opulence, a Rose-house) are undoubtedly the best homes for the Tea Rose; but in this more genial temperature it blooms long before the showman's opening day; and I have seen houses containing many hundred plants which have not contributed to the exhibitor a single flower. I have tried with these Roses many experiments, in pots and out, al fresco, under glass, under canvas (moveable), on their own roots, on the Manetti, and on the Brier. The latter has been in this, as in all other cases, my best ally and friend. Timid brethren forewarned me that the winter would kill every bud, and timid brethren tittered merrily when a frost of abnormal vigour destroyed three-fourths of my first adventurers. I persevered, of course.

If a fourth withstood an unusual severity, I might rely in ordinary seasons upon complete success. Defeat, moreover, and the derision of my friends, evoked a noble rage, a more determined energy. In my youth I heard a professor remark at Oxford (he styled himself professor and teacher of the noble art of self-defence, but the condition of his nose was more suggestive to me of one who was taking lessons) that "he never could fight until he'd napped a clinker." Then "His grief was but his grandeur in disguise, And discontent his immortality".

So felt I, and so fought and conquered; and I advise the amateur with a good courage to bud those Tea Roses which are mentioned on the list for exhibition. They survive nine winters out of ten, here in the midland counties, and although they will not bloom early in their first season, they will do so in the autumn, and in the summer following will be in time for the shows. Let some of them remain where they are, some be removed to warm corners and to positions least exposed to rough weather, and let some, where there is accommodation, be placed against a wall. Upon your house, between fruit-trees, wherever you have a vacant mural space, there put in a Tea Rose. The most reliable varieties among the hardier Teas are Adam, Comte de Paris, Devoniensis, Climbing Devoniensis, Gloire de Dijon, Louise de Savoie, Madame Bravy, Madame Rachel, Madame Willermorz, Rubens, and Souvenir d'un Ami. Reine du Portugal, a beautiful yellow Rose, is promising, but "not proven." These Tea Rose-trees should not be pruned before April, and then sparingly.

Set up your Roses boldly, with the tubes well above the Moss, and keep a uniform height. Most of the show varieties will hold themselves erect and upright, but some are of drooping habit, and their spinal weakness requires the support either of a thin slip of wood or twig secured with thread to the stalk, or of moss pressed firmly round them after they have been placed in the tube. Turn your Rose slowly round before you finally fix it, so that you may present it in its most attractive phase to the censor. I have seen Roses looking anywhere but at the judge, as though they had no hopes of mercy.

Do not be induced to admit a Rose only because it is new, or because it has some one point of excellence, being defective in others - e.g., a Rose ill-formed because it is brilliant in colour, or a dull coarse bloom on account of its size. The judge will be down upon that invalid swiftly and surely, as a fox upon a sick partridge.

Nor place two Roses together which are both deficient in foliage.

Give to each of them the rather a neighbour like Madame Boll, whose abundant and flowing curls may partially conceal their baldness. But add no leaves, though the temptation be great, because that same judge is quick as a barber to distinguish between natural and artificial hair, and there may be "wigs on the green" - i.e., you may find your surreptitious foliage lying upon the Moss, and a card, with "Disqualified" written upon it, staring you in the face.

Step back from time to time, as the artist from his easel, to criticise your picture, and try to improve it. And when you have finished it, invite others to give their opinions freely. Try to ascertain which Roses they like the least, rather than to feast your ears with their exclamations of praise. You will obtain help sometimes where you least expect it, and your attention will be called to defects which you had overlooked in a kind of parental fondness. Spectators, unprejudiced and not akin, can readily point out infirmities in the families of other folks. They do not pronounce, as you do, the red hair of your dear little Augustus a soft chestnut or a rich auburn; they have been known, on the contrary, to murmur "Carrots".

Have the sticks which hold the cards which tell the name of your Roses in their places before you put on the lids. If you are showing in the larger classes, it is wise to make this arrangement when you insert the flowers; otherwise, forgetting names, you may run a risk of including duplicates. Moreover, you will find the process of naming your Roses after your arrival at the show a tedious occupation of time which might be much more advantageously occupied.

Have your lids on before the sun is high, and be on the showground as early as you can. You will thus have the advantage of selecting a good place for your boxes, not exposed to draught or to glare; of replacing from your spare blooms those Roses which have suffered from the voyage; of setting each flower and each card in its position; of filling up the tubes with fresh water; and of making the best of your Roses generally, leisurely, and at your ease.

This done, you may put back your lids, just raising them at the front a couple of inches with wooden props; and then you may survey (as I propose to do in my final chapter) the exhibitors, the judges, and the Rose-show itself.

S. Reynolds Hole.