The Australian and New Zealand gardener is just as discerning as any other. He accepts and rejects almost the same roses as do his oversea confreres, except that he knows and grows, in addition, many Australian-raised varieties. He does so, not because of any sense of patriotism or nationalism, but because these roses earn their place in his garden by sheer merit, and the climate allows him a wide range of choice.

Most Australian roses have been raised by amateurs who have very generously donated them to the National Rose Society of some particular State. As one would expect from an amateur, the descriptions have been given in terms that can never be said to be extravagant. They are certainly not examples of high-pressure salesmanship. The roses have never been forced on a sensation-hungry public with magnificent colour-plates and extravagant catalogue eulogies. The raiser cannot be expected to provide colour-plates or even black-and-white plates to boost the sales of his roses. Possibly the Society to which roses are given should do it, and in not having done so has been responsible for loss of income for itself and failure to popularize the roses.

Oversea varieties are distributed by commercial organizations, who build up much of their reputation and trade by their novelties. In 1930 the legislation covering patents in the United States of America was amended by the addition of regulations covering the patenting of plant varieties. Similar enactments now operate in France and Holland, while other countries are considering the necessary addition to their legislation, but each patent applies only to the country in which it is registered. Nearly all outstanding new roses of the world are now patented by the raiser or the introducer into America, and sales distribution is consequently handled on a protected basis. The monopoly granted by the patent for seventeen years, in America, gives the distributor greatly increased profits, which make elaborate advertising worth while. The holder of a patent may issue licences to others to "make, use or vend" the patented variety, and his charges to them are a matter of private arrangement. In many parts of the world the distributor has no exclusive rights over a rose after he has released it. Of course, in its first year, he offers a plant for sale at as high a price as he considers he can obtain, and in the next year or two, when other retailers are cataloguing the variety, he and they ask more for it than for older roses, but he has no way of deriving indirect profits from royalties and licences, and he gets direct profits for only two or three years. This legislation has given a great stimulus to the raising of new varieties in large numbers by commercial organizations in the United States, and the purchaser does not seem to have to pay more for plants of novelty roses than he would if no such regulations existed. An amateur rose-grower in any country may sell to a nurseryman the budding-wood of a new variety, whether it be a sport or a seedling of his own raising, without losing his amateur status. New Dawn was the first rose patented.

Each variety of rose in commerce is given a name by its raiser or distributor. This is known as its horticultural or varietal name as distinct from its botanical name, which, of course, is the same for all garden varieties of each type. The same applies to all kinds of plants. With no control exercised over the naming of varieties, many plants each came to be known under many titles, often influenced by their colours, perfumes, habit of growth, or association with localities or persons, especially with enterprising, but not necessarily honest salesmen. Some varieties of some plants accumulated several hundred horticultural names. The first step towards controlling plant nomenclature was made in the United States of America in 1847. A code of rules was drawn up, aiming at bringing about the consistent use of only one name for each variety of every plant in commerce. Later a set of international rules for botanical nomenclature was devised. This dealt with both botanical and horticultural titles, and aimed at eliminating confusion by preventing the altering of names without the sanction of an international committee, and by prohibiting duplication of names. This is quite distinct from all consideration of patents.

This set of rules for nomenclature has become more important than ever in recent years, owing to the production of so many new varieties of plants each year. Primarily it was designed to elucidate botanical naming, and it has done a great service. That aspect concerns us less than the naming of horticultural varieties and, in particular, of varieties of roses. The code consists of principles, rules, and recommendations. The principles govern both the rules and recommendations; the rules state those things that must be done, while the recommendations relate to aspects that are less imperative. Under the rules, any variety that is first given a certain name has the prior and sole right to that title for all time, and the name must be retained by that variety for all time. In other words, the name must never be duplicated or altered. The recommendations suggest many things: the avoidance of names bearing marked similarity to those already in use, the omission of the articles "a" and "the" and titles such as "Mr", "Mrs", "Miss", "Madame", "Monsieur" or their equivalents, the use of titles consisting of only one word whenever possible, and a request for a maximum of three words in any name, as well as the choosing of titles that are easy to pronounce.

These rules and recommendations cannot apply to names already given to varieties, but adherence to them is most desirable in all bestowing of horticultural titles in the future. A translation of a name to another language was regarded, until recently, as an alteration, but it is now allowed provided that the original name is given as well, in brackets. Sometimes raisers disregard the recommendation to avoid titles that are ifficult to pronounce. In those cases, with the consent of the registrars of rose names, "commercial synonyms" are now permitted. This, unfortunately, opens the way to all sorts of more or less legitimate name-changing. There are already organizations for the registration of plant names in Great Britain, the United States of America, France, and Australia; others will be co-operating very soon. This should bring an end to the ridiculous situation wherein several roses each bear several names. Three roses of fairly recent raising have been called Canberra; another three have been named Daybreak; there are two called Afterglow, and, to make matters worse, one of them was formerly known by a different name thus two rules have been broken in the renaming. There are two Golden Butterfly roses, of which the second also breaks another rule relating to nomenclature in that it is a translation of Goudvlinder. Many more such examples could be given.

Renaming of roses is usually inspired by mercenary opportunism. Admiral was publicized in America as WAVES, the initial letters of Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services, the American women's auxiliary naval organization, and was offered for sale there during the war years. Helvetia was altered to Mandalay, and sold as a novelty during the South-East Asia campaign. Minna Kordes became World's Fair, and was featured in extensive plantings at the large Exposition after which it was named. President Nomblot was changed to Horace McFarland, probably the best-known American in the rose world. Quebec became Mme Marie Curie, thus breaking a rule by altering a name, and disregarding a recommendation by including the title Madame. Rosenmarchen was renamed Pinocchio at the time the Walt Disney film of that name was being shown in America. Mme A. Meilland was listed and sold in France in 1942 under this, its original and therefore correct, name, but in Germany it has always been called Gloria Dei, and in Italy, Gioia, while it was introduced into America in 1945 and sold under the title of Peace, its fourth name, despite the existence of another rose named Peace. Mrs Verschuren was altered to R.M.S. Queen

Mary soon after Britain's huge luxury liner made her maiden voyage to America. Instances such as these could be quoted in large numbers. America has been the chief offender, but other countries have condoned the practice. Names consisting of as many as six or seven words have been given to some roses; they are not only unnecessary, but they prevent the varieties from ever becoming popular.

In this book, roses are referred to by their original, and therefore correct, names. The most effective way to kill the false name is by ignoring it, but circumstances have been such that the wrong title has been widely advertised. In some instances a rose came to be known by its second name before it was discovered that some other name held priority for the variety. Although it should be done, it is not always easy to persuade the public to cease calling a rose by its accepted name and commence calling it by its rightful title. Had the second World War not interfered with our long-established practice of importing novelties direct from the hybridists, we would have received the varieties under their correct names and would never have known them by any other names. Instead, many roses have come to us through America, where they had already been grown for several years under a "catch-trade" name.

This scheme for international registration of names of horticultural varieties of all plants is devised solely for the protection of the interests of growers of any type of plant. Our immediate concern is with the naming of roses. Under these rules and recommendations the raiser of each new rose is required to seek registration of the proposed name for the variety by submitting it to one of the organizations that deal with the matter. Registration cannot be granted until each of the international organizations has approved of it. Any of these bodies may reject the title for any reason at all. Apart from such an objection as duplication, there may be a cause for refusing registration in one country but not in another. For example, a rose has been called Anzac in America, but it cannot be sold under that name in Australia because the use of the word is prohibited in all matters of trade. Another rose was called Nigger Boy in Australia, but this was regarded as an offensive title in America and the listing of the rose or even the mention of it in the daily press has caused racial troubles in the States. It is hoped to avoid these innocent errors, as well as blatant misnaming. Until a rose is granted registration under its chosen name, it will not be permissible to list it in catalogues or to display it. Obviously it is not possible to punish those who do not comply with these rules, but reputable nurserymen and horticultural organizations are certain to co-operate readily, and that is all that is necessary to ensure successful enforcement. Though new in the horticultural world, similar regulations have been in existence in other spheres for a very long time, and are enforceable by law in many instances. It is to be hoped that eventually gross misnomers may be forbidden and rose-growers may be misled no longer by a name such as Golden Dawn for a variety that, though yellow, is far from golden under any growing conditions, or by the name Improved Ce'cile Brunner, which is a beautiful rose but bears no resemblance whatever to the well-known older variety.

Surely roses such as Lorraine Lee, Sunny South, Miss Marion Manifold, Countess of Stradbroke, Marjorie Palmer, Lubra, Black Boy, Nancy Hayward, Jessie Clark, Zara Hore Ruthven, Salmon Spray, Borderer, Sirius, Nigger Boy, Kitty Kininmonth, Flying Colours, Gwen Nash, Thea Harrison, Rod Stillman, Black Magic, Birthday Present, Princeps, Nancy Elizabeth, Mrs E. Willis, and many others, deserve world-wide popularity. Oversea growers report having tried some of them, but it has nearly always seemed that the trial has been brief. Many, including our favourite Lorraine Lee, do not produce conventional classically formed blooms, but are outstanding in other ways. Plants need to be well developed for their uses and virtues to become apparent.

Golden Dawn was sent out by the raiser for his own profit, and was publicized with a colour-plate. It has achieved world fame as a specimen bloom and a garden rose. Penelope, Mrs R. M. Finch, Golden Dawn, Mary Guthrie, Mrs Harold Brookes, Countess of Stradbroke, and Cherub have all received oversea awards, but they would hardly be our complete selection of Australian roses. We have many better varieties.

Hundreds of oversea varieties come to us with descriptions that should lead us to burn all their predecessors and fill our gardens with the new ones. We try many of them in their first year and quickly find their worthlessness. Very few people buy Australian novelties until someone has grown them for several years and either exhibited them successfully or spoken highly of their value, for example, Nancy Hayward, Marjorie Palmer, Borderer, Thea Harrison, and Zara Hore Ruthven. They become known only by merit, and many very good Australian roses have been passed over simply because the public has never seen or heard of them. Very few are of the specimen-bloom type, but most of them are very strong, disease-resistant and continuously in bloom ideal roses for garden display and home decoration. They are not our classical blooms, but they provide a constant joy.

Reference to the lists of recommended roses will show the extraordinarily large number of Australian varieties we regularly grow, and the wide diversity of uses for which they are adaptable. They are amongst the world's hardiest roses, and include highly prized varieties such as those listed below. Climbing varieties are marked (Cl); those that have produced a climbing sport in addition to their original dwarf type are marked (CS).

A. W. JESSEP (Alister Clark)
AMY JOHNSON (Cl) (Alister Clark)
ARGOSY (Alister Clark)
AUSTRALIA FELIX (Alister Clark)
BABE (A. Miers)
BARBARA MASON (L. Moss)
BIRTHDAY PRESENT (TOO-good)
BLACK BOY (Cl) (Alister Clark)
BLACK MAGIC (Cl) (R.T.Hamilton)
BORDERER (Alister Clark)
BUSYBODY (Alister Clark)
CHERUB (Alister Clark)
COUNTESS OF STRADBROKE
(Cl) (Mister Clark) COURIER
(Cl) (Alister Clark) DIANA ALLEN
(Alister Clark) DIVIDEND
(Alister Clark) DORIS DOWNES
(Cl) (Alister Clark)
DR A. S. THOMAS (Alister Clark)
EDITOR STEWART (Alister Clark)
ELLA GUTHRIE (Alister Clark)
EMILY RHODES (Cl) (Alister Clark)
FAIRLIE REDE (Alister Clark)
FLYING COLOURS (Cl) (Alister Clark)
GAY VISTA (Riethmuller)
GLADSOME (Alister Clark)
GLADYS TWEEDIE (Toogood)
GLATVE (Alister Clark)
GLENARA (Alister Clark)
GOLDEN DAWN (CS) (Patrick Grant)
GOLDEN DROP (Alister Clark)
GWEN NASH (Cl) (Alister Clark)
GWENDOLINE COLLINS (Alister Clark)
HARBINGER (Cl) (Alister Clark)
JESSIE CLARK (Cl) (Alister Clark)
KEITH HARDER (Harder)
KITTY KININMONTH (Cl) (Alister Clark)
LADY DALLAS BROOKS (Doris M. Dowries)
LADY FAIRBAIRN (Alister Clark)
LADY HUNTINGFIELD (Alister Clark)
LADY SOMERS (Alister Clark)
LORNA ANDERSON (Alister Clark)
*LORRAINE LEE (CS) (Alister Clark)
LUBRA (Mrs Fitzhardinge)
MAB GRIMWADE (Alister Clark)
MAORILANDER (P. Mason)
MARGARET TURNBULL (Cl) (Alister Clark)
MARJORIE PALMER (Alister Clark)
MARY BOSTOCK (Alister Clark)
MARY GUTHRIE (Alister Clark)
MASTERPIECE (Bennett)
*MISS AUSTRALIA (George Knight)
MISS MARION MANIFOLD (C1) (Adamson)
MOTHER'S DAY (George Knight)
MRS E. WILLIS (Weightman)
MRS FRANK GUTHRIE (Alister Clark)
MRS FRED DANKS (Alister Clark)
MRS H. J. CUTLER (Cutler)
MRS HAROLD BROOKES (Alister Clark)
MRS L. MOSS (Cl) (Moss)
MRS R. M. FINCH (Finch)
MRS RICHARD TURNBULL (Cl) (Mister Clark)
*MRS RUSSELL GRIMWADE (Grimwade)
NANCY ELIZABETH (Mason)
*NANCY HAYWARD (Cl) (Alister Clark)
NANCY WILSON (Alister Clark)
NARRE FRAGRANCE (S. Briindrett & Son)
NIGGER BOY (George Knight)
NORA CUNINGHAM (Cl) (Alister Clark)
PACIFIC TRIUMPH (Heers)
PRINCEPS (Cl) (Alister Clark)
QUEENSLAND BEAUTY (Alderton and Williams)
ROD STILLMAN (R. T. Hamilton)
ROYAL WELCOME (Homan)
SALMON SPRAY (Patrick Grant)
SCARLET TRIUMPH (Poulter)
SIR ARTHUR STREETON (Alister Clark)
SIRIUS (Cl) (Mrs Fitzhardinge)
SUNLIT (Alister Clark)
*SUNNY SOUTH (Alister Clark)
THEA HARRISON (Harrison)
WARRAWEE (Mrs Fitzhardinge)
*WAVERLEY TRIUMPH (Poulter)
W. R. HAWKINS (ToOgOod)
ZARAHORE RUTHVEN (Alister Clark)

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