THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
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prizes. The hon. sec. of the National Rose Society in 1894 stated that Mr.
Benjamin R. Cant was still the champion.1
At the gardens Mr. Cant met the members, and conducted them through his
beautiful beds. There, in spite of the late season, a profusion of the queen of
flowers in all varieties of colouring and form, afforded an hour's delightful
inspection. The surprising modifications which the science of horticulture
has developed from the original forms of the wild roses seemed almost limitless.
Scarcely a shade of colour can be imagined which will not be found represented
in the flowers of some of the modern varieties, which latter are, of course, always
multiplying as the result of fresh experiments in cross-fertilisation. One form,
which though scarcely notable from an aesthetic point of view, was of special
interest botanically, was a rose named in catalogue Rosa viridifolia, in which the
growth of the green sepals or leaves of the calyx had been doubled and
developed to such a degree as to actually supplant the petals altogether, giving
the effect of a green blossom.
Truly the gardens were a sight worth the viewing. The air was seemingly
weighted with the fragrance of the blooms, and the eye was delighted with the
range of colour. The technical names of the roses were lightly passed over, the
object being rather to gratify the senses than to compile a gardener's dictionary ;
but some favourite blooms, of course, came in for particular notice. An old friend
was the "Baroness de Rothschild," a very beautiful light pink, of large and fine
form. Speaking of the hue, Mr. Cant mentioned that a large proportion of the
orders from London this season were for pink roses. A contrast in its snow-
white purity was the "Merveille de Lyon," only the centre being coloured, and
that with an exquisite rosy peach tint. "General Jacqueminot" was pointed out
as one of the oldest and still one of the best, the scarlet crimson being surpassingly
brilliant. A newer variety was the "Gustave Piganeau," an exquisitely-shaded
carmine. The fields of tea and noisette roses appealed especially to the organ of
which the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table has written so much in praise. The
bright rose and pink bordering of the salmon-white petals of the "Madame de
Watteville" variety gave that, perhaps, a first place in the opinion of visitors,
but many others shared the honour in a passing judgment. Several rich, deep
yellows were particularly admired. That Mr. Cant has chosen an airy situation
for his stock was made evident by the view from the lawn in front of his house.
The town of Colchester lay, so to speak, at his feet ; in fact, the summit of the
church towers seemed to be on a level with the ground.
After luncheon at the "George Hotel," where Prof. Meldola, V.P., took the
chair, the carriages were re-entered, and the course taken lay through the pretty
village of Lexden, and on by the London Road to Stanway, where a halt was
made outside the house of the late John Brown, whose geological researches have
won him a niche in the temple of "Essex Worthies,'' and a portrait and life of
whom appeared in The Essex Naturalist for 1890 (vol. iv., p. 158). John
Brown was in his early life a stonemason at Colchester. He retired when he was
1 The "Gardeners Chronicle" thus refers to the excellence of the Colchester roses : "Essex,
the writer says, "is a real rose county, especially around Colchester. Why East Anglia has
obtained such an enviable reputation for the culture of the 'Queen' has been answered
in various ways. Some have said the nature of the soil has been the chief help, others that
the secret is to be found in the air or climate. Either or both of these very important cir-
cumstances may have much to do with it, but these natural conditions have been greatly assisted
by the skill, enterprise, and energy that have been brought to bear in the matter of their
culture, such as is only practised in so large a degree by growers who love the plants under their
charge."