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PARSONS ON THE ROSBam 2
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A TREATISE ON THE

PROPAGATION, CULTURE, AND HISTORY OF THE ROSE

BY
SAMUEL B. PARSONS.

NEW AND REVISED EDITION.

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PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.

Swme forty years ago the commencement and partial
preparation of this work assisted to beguile the tedium
of a winter's residouce from home, where even Orange
and Magnolia groves. with the novel vegetation of a semi-
tropical region, could scarcely dispel che ennui attending
a life of idleness.

We were then fresh from contact with some earnest
rose lovers abroad. Rivers in England had impressed
us with his enthusiastic energy, and, in Paris, the force
of Hardy, the industry of Vibert and the charming
manners of Laffay left enjoyable memories. For many
interesting facts we were much indebted to Deslong-
champs and several anonymous writers. To the former
our obligations were due, both for the plan of this work
and for many researches to which his name could not be
‘conveniently attached on its pages.

Upon the classification we bestowed much thought,
and now, after many years, we think it is still the best
we could have made. Rose growers will, we think, find
the labor of selection much diminished by its simplicity.

In directions for culture, we give the results of our
own experience, and have not hesitated to avail ourselves
of any satisfactory results in the experience of others
which might enhance the utility of the work.

In the list of sorts published with the first edition
there were nearly two thousand names. So great has

(3)

4 PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.

been the increase of varieties in forty years that it would
be a work of labor to enumerate them. Some of the
best varieties in the first edition are still the best, and
in revising the list of sorts we have not thrown out all
of these. Of the newer hardy sorts we have adopted
some which are recommended by Mr. Paul, and many
others of which our judgment is confirmed by that
of Mr. John Henderson, whose opinion cannot be ques-
tioned. ‘The large scale on which Mr. Henderson has
for many years forced roses for cut flowers makes his
opinion of tender classes especially valuable, and we have
placed in our list, without hesitation, his favorite sorts.

We have stricken out much of the poetry, which to
the cultivator may have seemed irrelevant if not worth-
less, and for the interest of the classical scholar, have
retained much of the early history of the Rose, and its
connection with the manners and customs of the two
great nations of a former age.

For our labor we shall feel abundantly compensated,
if this work, in its revised form, shall in any way tend
to produce a more general admiration and increased
culture of the most beautiful flower known.

FLUSHING, N, Y,, December, 1887,

CONTENTS.

—
CHAPTER I.
Botanical Classification. ......0.6 o<00sescesccees siciitiesieclecee cves eames
CHAPTER II.
Garden Classification................-. sle’ereyaie a's joosbacaoeecouononeno Cu
CHAPTER III.
General Culture of the Rose............... sncbadodadasoccooccapnooc WE
CHAPTER IV.
Soil, Situation, and Planting................... soscoccconanosodadaco i
CHAPTER V.
Pruning, Training, and Bedding...............+2- soncoococdoasesosa 48°
CHAPTER VI.
Rophn pyar d sHOLCING = .eicle es ncieleicee elsiclesierele ~coanisooscanocenonecaoo NZ:
CHAPTER VIL
Propagation..... 550006 soceadeonacodccooc S000 sonDdodsonocconacsocn LS:
CHAPTER VIII.
Multiplication by Seed and Hybridizing....... Ao GodacceccecneccocosD! BV
CHAPTER IX.
Diseases and Insects Attacking the Rose...... sogdoooddcocoacoonann ELL

CHAPTER X.

Early History of the Rose, and Fables Respecting its Origin...... ...15d
5

VI PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

CHAPTER, Sx
Luxurlous Use ofsthe Roses a4.- cece ee eeeaeedicicericceece Seieccee ell

CHAPTER XII.

The Rose in Ceremonies and Festivals, and in the Adornment of

Burial=places! veaeicisyeleteleieieleotelaler oletolatclelore) aetelole etatotelciclaterotstateietsteeatatete 167
CHAPTER XIII.
ThesRoseainithe MiddlevAcesr acc -eeecemecreceeisee AppGcuboaosococ cls
CHAPTER XIV.
Perfumes OfsthewROse nescwericeteriecemierieeicisetectste o/0\e\e|eloln\s\elelsiolelsioiolelsiete 185
CHAPTER XV.
Medical Properties of the Rose..............+ 2 “DdddaAoadODSSCs0O0¢ 198

CHAPTER XVI.

General PRemarksict-:acccrcicle cic eostectclerrenicic’s é.elsle’ Sojoreleieleieielelereiarcteceier 202

PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

CHAPTER I.
BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.

The Rose is a shrub or dwarf tree, with mostly decidu-
ous foliage, and large, beautiful, and fragrant flowers. Its
branches are slender, almost always armed with thorns,
thinly furnished with leaves, which are alternate upon the
stem. Its leaves are pinnate, and vary in color and char-
acter, from the rich, dark green, and somewhat rough leaf
of La Reine, to the glossy smoothness and rich purple
edge of Chromatella. The blossoms are variously ar-
ranged at the extremity of the newly formed branches.
The calyx is single and tubular, swelling at its lower part,
contracted at its opening, and divided at the edge into
five lance-pointed divisions, which are whole or pinnati-
fid. The corolla is inserted at the mouth of the tube of
the calyx, and is composed of five heart-shaped petals,
which constitute the Rose in its single or natural state.
The double blossoms are formed by the change of the
stamens and pistils into petals or flower leaves, shorter
than those of the corolla proper. The fruit or seed ves-
sel, or hip, is formed by the tube of the calyx, which be-
comes plump and juicy, globular or oviform, having but
‘one cell, and containing numerous small, one-seeded, dry

7

8 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

fruits, which usually pass for seeds; these are oval or
globular, and surrounded with a soft down. The wood
is very hard and compact, and of fine grain; and if it
could be procured of sufficient size, would serve as a sub-
stitute for box in many kinds of manufacture. The lon-
gevity of the Rose is, perhaps, greater than that of any
other shrub. We recollect seeing a rose-tree near an old
castle in Stoke Newington, England, the stem of which
was of immense size, and indicated great age. “There is
a rose-bush flourishing at the residence of A. Murray
Mellvaine, near Bristol, (Penn.,) known to be more than
a hundred years old, In the year 1742, there was a
kitchen built, which encroached on the corner of the gar-
den, and the masons laid the corner-stone with great care,
saying ‘it was a pity to destroy so pretty a bush.’ Since
then, it has never failed to produce a profusion of roses,
shedding around the most delicious of all perfumes,
Sometimes it has climbed for years over the second-story
windows, and then declined by degrees to the ordinary
height. The fifth generation is now regaled with its
sweets.”

The number of species known to the ancients was small,
compared with the number now recognized by botanists.
Pliny, with whom we find the most detail on this point,
says that the most esteemed were those of Preeneste and
Peestum, which were, perhaps, identical; those of Cam-
pania and Malta, of a bright red color, and having but
twelve petals; the white roses of Heraclea, in Greece,
and those of Alabande, which seem to be identical with
. centifolia. According to the Roman naturalist and to
Theophrastus, they grew naturally on Mount Panga, and
produced there very small flowers; yet the inhabitants of
Philippi went there to obtain them, and the bushes on be-
ing transplanted, produced much improved and beautiful
roses. Pliny speaks also of some other species, one whose
flowers were single, another which he terms Spinola, and

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. 8)

also that of Carthage, which bloomed in winter. Unfor-
tunately, all that we find in his works on this subject. is,
generally, very obscure, and it is difficult to compare many
he has described with those known at the present day.

Although there are no double wild roses known at the
present day, either in Europe or in this country, yet, as
other flowers have been found double in a wild state, it is
not impossible that some of the ancient varieties bore
double flowers in their native condition in the fields. Such
may have been the Centifolias, mentioned by Pliny and
Theophrastus, as growing upon Mount Panga, and those
which, at a still earlier period, according to Herodotus,
grew wild in Macedonia, near the ancient gardens of
Midas.

The poverty in description which we have observed in
ancient writings, and their comparatively small number
of species, extends also to a much later day. In a little
treatise published in France in 1536, and entitled De re
Hortensis Libellus, there are but four species mentioned,
and scarcely anything concerning their culture. An
Italian work published in 1563 mentions only eight spe-
cies. In the Wlorilegium of Sweet, a folio volume printed
at Frankfort in 1612, are ten very coarse representations
of roses, but with no indication of their names.

In the Paradisus Terrestris of Parkinson, a folio volume
printed at London in 1629, some twenty-four kinds are
mentioned. Some of them are represented by figures in
wood, which are very coarse, and scarcely allow recogni-
tion of their species. In the Jardinier Hollandois, print-
ed at Amsterdam in 1669, are found but fourteen species
of roses, very vaguely described, with scarcely anything
on culture,

The first work which treated of roses with any degree
of method is that of La Quintyne, published at Paris in
1690, and yet its details of the different species and varie-
ties do not occupy more than a page and a half, while

1*

10 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

twenty-one pages are given to the culture of tulips, and
fifty to pinks. Though he describes two hundred and
twenty-five varieties of pinks, and four hundred and thir-
teen tulips, he mentions only fourteen species and varieties
of roses. For a century subsequent to the publication of
La Quintyne’s work, the Rose is very little mentioned,
either in English or French works, and there is nothing
to indicate the existence at that time of many species,
two or three only being required for medicine and _ per-
fumery. Some of the English collections, however, num-
bered during that century some twenty-two distinct spe-
cies, and a number of varieties. In 1762, Linnzus was
acquainted with only fourteen species. In 1799, Wilde-
now, in his Species Plantarum, mentioned thirty-nine ;
and Persoon, a little later, reached forty-five species; De
Candolle, in his Prodromus, published in 1825, in-
creased the number to one hundred and forty-six; and
Don, in 1832, makes two hundred and five species. If to
these are added those which have been within fifteen years
discovered in the Himalaya Mountains, and in other parts
of the globe, the number will be greatly increased.

Many of those enumerated by Don should not, in truth,
be considered distinct species, and quite a number are
nothing more than varieties. In fact, roses are so liable
to pass into each other, that botanists are now of the
opinion that limits between many of those called species
do not exist; a fact which was strongly suspected by
Linneus, when he said, “ Species limitibus difficillime eir-
cumscribuntur, et forte natura non eos posuit.”

There is much confusion in the genus Rosa, and in the
best arrangement there may be many, which, on close
examination, would scarcely deserve the name of species.
The best scientific work on the Rose is the “ Monographia
Rosarum,” by Dr. Lindley. This author, and Loudon, we
shall follow entirely in our botanical classification. The

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. Va

latter enumerates several other works on the Rose, which
are not within our reach,

The Rose is found in almost every part of the northern
hemisphere, between the 19th and 70th degrees of lati-
tude, .

Captain Fremont, (now General Fremont) in his de-
scription of the prairies some five hundred miles west of
St. Louis, says, “ Everywhere the Rose is met with, and
reminds us of cultivated gardens and civilization. It is
scattered over the prairies in small bouquets, and, when
glittering in the dews and waving in the pleasant breeze
of the early morning, is the most beautiful of the prairie
flowers.”

It is found from the mountains of Mexico to Hudson’s
Bay, from the coast of Barbary to Sweden, in Lapland
and Siberia, from Spain to the Indies, China, and Kam-
schatka. ‘In Asia, half the species have been found ; of
the thirty-nine which it produces, eighteen are natives of
the Russian dominions and the countries adjacent. Most
of these are very similar to the European portion of the
genus, and five are common to both Europe and Asia.
Of the remainder, one, which is, perhaps, a distinct genus,
has been discovered in Persia, fifteen in China, and two
of the latter, with four others, in the north of India.

We shall not here describe all the species mentioned by
Lindley and Loudon; but only those which are the par-
ents of our garden sorts. A large part of the species
deseribed by these authors cannot be found in any collec-
tion in this country ; and, in fact, very few possess any
interest except to the botanist. The descriptions here
given are mainly abbreviated from those of Loudon,

BRACTEATZ.—Bractep Rosss.

This section is readily distinguished by the woolliness
of branches and fruit. Leaves dense, usually shining;

16. PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

prickles placed under the stipules in pairs. Sepals simple,
or nearly so,

R. bracteata, Wend/.—Tur LarGce-BracrED RosrE.—
Macartney Rose. Evergreen. Branches upright. Prick-
les stout, recurved, in many instances in pairs. Leaflets
5—9, obovate, subserrate, coriaceous, glossy, glabrous.
Stipules scarcely attached to the petiole, bristle-shaped,
but fringed. Peduncles and calyxes tomentose. Flowers
showy, pure white, solitary, nearly sessile. Fruit spheri-
cal, orange red. Native of China; growing to the height
of five feet or six feet, and flowering from June to Octo-

ber.

A very ornamental shrub, evergreen, with large white
flowers, and numerous bright yellow stamens and styles.
It flowers abundantly, but is rather tender in England. It
succeeds best when trained against a wall.

R. microphylla, Rox).—TuHe SMAtt-LEAFLETED Rose,
—Hoi-tong-hong, Chinese. Stem almost without prickles.
Leaflets glossy, sharply serrated, veiny beneath, with
densely netted, anastomosing veins. Stipules very nar-
row, unequal. Calyx densely invested with prickles.
Sepals short, broadly ovate, bristly, ending in a point.
Prickles having at the base two longitudinal furrows.
Flowers very large, double, and of a delicate blush color.
Native of China; growing to the height of two feet or
three feet, and flowering from August to October.

PIMPINELLIFOLIZ, Linvt.

Plants bearing crowded, nearly equal, prickles, or un-
armed. Bractless, rarely bracteate. Leaflets ovate or
oblong. Sepals connivent, permanent. Disk almost
wanting.

This section is essentially different from the last in
habit, but in artificial characters they approach very near-
ly. It, however, may be distinguished by the great num-
ber of leaflets, which vary from seven to thirteen, and
even to fifteen, instead of from five to seven. The flow-

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. 13

-ers are also without bracts, except in some species not
mentioned here. These, having connivent permanent se-
pals, cannot be confounded with the preceding division ;
nor, on account of their disk, with the following. There
is no instance of stipular prickles in the present tribe.
The sepals are entire, or nearly so.

R. sulphurea, 4/‘¢.—Tur Suteuur-coLtorep Rosr.—
The Double Yellow Rose. Synonyms. R. hemispherica,
Herm. R. glaucophylla, Zhrh. Rosa lutea flore pleno, Rai.
Hist. R. lutea, Brot. Stipules linear, divaricate, dilated
at the apex. Leaflets glaucous, flattish. Tube hemispheri-
eal, Stem prickles unequal, scattered. Flowers large, of
a fine transparent yellow, always double. Native of the
Levant; growing to the height of from four feet to ten
feet, and flowering in July.

This sort does not flower freely, except in open, airy
situations and trained against a wall, exposed to the
north or east, rather than to the south. Its flower buds
are apt to burst on one side before they expand, and, con-
sequently, to become deformed; to prevent this, the
blossom buds should be thinned, and care taken that they
have abundance of light and air. Watering it freely in
the flowering season is also found advantageous, and the
shoots in general ought not to be shortened. This beau-
tiful species is said to flower freely, if grafted on the musk
cluster at eight feet or ten feet from the ground; or it
will do well on the China rose. It is grown in great
abundance in Italy, where its flowers produce a magnifi-
cent effect, from their large size, doubleness, and_ brilliant
yellow color. It is one of the oldest inhabitants of our
gardens, though the exact year of its introduction is un-
known. ‘“ Ludovico Berthema tells us, in 1503, that he
saw great quantities of yellow roses at Calicut, whence it
appears probable that both the single and double-flow-
ered varieties were brought into Europe by the Turks; as
Parkinson tells us, in a work which he dedicated to Hen-
rietta, the queen of our unfortunate Charles I., that the

14 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

double yellow rose ‘ was first procured to be brought to:
England by Master Nicholas Lete, a worthy merchant of
London, and a great lover of flowers, from Constantino-
ple, which (as we hear) was first brought thither from
Syria, but perished quickly, both with him, and with all
others to whom he imparted it; yet afterward it was
sent to Master John de Frangueville, a merchant of Lon-
don, and a great lover of all rose plants, as well as flow-

s, from which is sprung the greatest store that is now
flourishing in this kingdom.’ ”

R. spinosissima, 2,—Tue Most Sprny, or Scorcu Rose.
—Prickles unequal. Leaflets flat, glabrous, simply ser-
rated. A dwarf, compact bush, with creeping suckers.
Flowers small, solitar y, White or blush-colored. Fruit
ovate, or nearly round, black or dark purple. Native of
Kurope ; plentiful in Britain. Shrub, one foot to two feet
high ; flowering in May and June.

Varieties. A great many varieties of this rose have been
raised, with flowers double, semi-double, white, purple,
red, and even yellow. The first double variety was found
in a wild state, in the neighborhood of Perth.

CENTIFOLLZA.—HunpreED-LEAVED RoszEs.

Shrubs, all bearing bristles and prickles. Peduncles
bracteate. Leaflets oblong or ovate, wrinkled. Disk
thickened, closing the throat. Sepals compound. This
division comprises the portion of the genus Fosa which
has most particularly interested the lover of flowers. It
is probable that the earliest roses of which there are any
records of being cultivated, belonged to this section; but
to which particular species those of Cyrene or Mount
Panga are to be referred, it is now too late to inquire.
The attar of Roses, which is an important article of com-
merce, is either obtained from roses belonging to this di-
vision indiscriminately, as in the manufactory at Florence,
conducted by a convent of friars; or from some particu-

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. 15

lar kind, as in India. It appears, from specimens brought
from Chizapore by Colonel Hardwicke, that R. Dumascena
is there exclusively used for obtaining the essential oil.
The Persians also make use of a sort which Kempfer
calls R. Shirazensis, (from its growing about Shiraz), in
preference to others; this may be either &. Daumascena
R. Gallica, or R. centifolia, or, perhaps, R. moschatu.
The species contained in the present section are all setig-
erous, by which they are distinguished from the follow-
ing divisions; their thickened disk and divided sepals
separate them from the preceding. To the section of
Rubiginose the glanduliferous sorts approach; but the
difference of their glands, the size of their flowers, and
their dissimilar habit, prevent their being confounded.

R. Damascena.—Tue Damascus, or Damask Rose.—
Rose 4 quatre Saisons. Synonyms. R. Belgica, Mill.
R. calendarum, Munch. R. bifera, Poir. Prickles une-
qual, the large ones falcate. Sepals reflexed. Fruit elon-
gated. Native of Syria. Flowers large, white or red,
single or double. The present species may be distinguish
ed from R. centifolia by the greater size of the prickles,
the greenness of the bark, the elongated fruit, and the
long, reflexed sepals. The petals of this species, and all
the. varieties of R, centifolia, as well as those of other
species, are employed indiscriminately for the purpose of
making rose-water. A shrub, growing from two feet to
eight feet high, and flowering in June and J uly

This species is extremely beautiful, from the size and
brilliant color of its flowers. It is asserted by some
writers to have been brought from Damascus in Syria at
the time of the Crusades, but there is every probability
that it came from Italy, since it is the same as the Bifera,
or the twice-bearing rose of the ancient Roman gardeners,
and is the original type of our Remontant Roses. The
Roman gardeners could have produced a certain autumnal
bloom only by a sort of retarding process; for, although
the Damask Rose will, under peculiar circumstances, bloom

16 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

in autumn of its own accord, yet it cannot always be re
lied upon todoso. During the early period of the French
monarchy, when none of the Remontant Roses were
known, and this species was common, it was considered
quite a phenomenon to see them appear naturally in win-
ter. Gregory, of Tours, speaking of the year 584, says,
“This year many prodigies appeared, and many calami-
ties afflicted the people, for roses were seen blooming in
January, and a circle was formed around the sun.” And
of the year 589 he says, “‘ This year trees blossomed in
autumn, and bore fruit the second time, and roses ap-
peared in the ninth month.”

R. centifolia, Z’n.—TuEe HUNDRED-PETALED, PROVENCE,
or CappacE Rose.—Synonyms. KR. provincialis, Al.
R. polyanthos, Rossig. R. caryophyllea, Poir. R. ungui-
culata, Desf. R. varians, Pohl. Prickles unequal, the larger
ones falcate. Leaflets ciliated with glands. Flowers
drooping. Calyxes clammy. Fruit oblong. Native of
Eastern Caucasus, in groves. Flowers white or red; sin-
gle, but most commonly double.

This species is distinguished from R. Damascena by the
sepals not being reflexed, and the flowers having their
petals curved inwards, so as, in the double state, to give
the flower the appearance of the heart of a cabbage,
whence the name of the Cabbage Rose. Its fruit is either
oblong or roundish, but never elongated. From &. Gal-
lic, it is distinguished by the flowers being drooping, and
by the larger size of the prickles, with a more robust
habit. A shrub, growing from three feet to six feet high,
and flowering in June and July. When this rose becomes
unthrifty from age, it is renewed by cutting off the stems
close to the ground as soon as the flowers have fallen;
shoots wilt then be produced, sufficiently vigorous to fur-
nish a beautiful and abundant bloom the following spring.

Varieties. Above one hundred varieties have been as-
signed to this species, and classed in three divisions;

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION, 17

Var. provincialis includes the Provence, or Cabbage
Roses.

Var. mUSCOSa comprises the Moss Roses.

Var. pomponia, the Pompone Roses. According to
Loudon, we- have made this a variety of R. centifolia,
although some authors assert it to have been found
growing wild in 1735, by a gardener of Dijon, in France,
who discovered it while cutting wood on a mount-
ain near that city. Many varieties of it have been ob-
tained, among which, the most singular is the little dwarf
given in the New Du Hamel as a distinct species. It
does not grow more than twelve or fifteen inches high,
and frequently perishes before blossoming.

Var. bipinnata, Red, has bipinnate leaves.

R. Gallica, “.—Tue Frencu, or Provence Ross.
Rep Rosr.—Synonyms. RK. centifolia, Mill. R. sylva-
tica, Gater. R. rubra, Lam. RK. holosericea, Rossig. R.
Belgica, Brot. R.blanda, Brot. Prickles unequal. Stip-
ules narrow, divaricate at the tip. Leaflets, 5—7, coria-
ceous, rigid, ovate or lanceolate, deflexed. Flower bud
ovate-globose; Sepals spreading during the time of the

S

flowering. Fruit, subglobose, very coriaceous. Calyx
and peduncle more or less hispid with glanded_ hairs,
somewhat viscose.

A species allied to R. centifolia, L., but with round
fruit, and very coriaceous leaflets, with more numerous
nerves, that are a little prominent, and are anastomosing.
Native of middle Europe and Caucasus, in hedges. The
flowers vary from red to crimson, and from single to
double; and there is one variety with the flowers double
white. The petals of some of the varieties of this rose
are used in medicine, which, though not so fragrant as
those of the Dutch hundred-leaved rose, also one of the
varieties of this species, are preferred for their beautiful
color and their pleasant astringency. The petals of &.
Gallica are those which are principally used for making
conserve of roses, and, when dried, for gargles: their odor

18 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

is increased by drying. They are also used in common
with those of R. centifolia, for making rose-water and
attar of roses. This rose was called by old: writers the
Red Rose, and is supposed to have been the one assumed
as the badge of the House of Lancaster. This, also, is
one of the roses mentioned by Pliny; from which, he
says, all the others have been derived. It is often con-
founded with the Damask rose.

Varieties. The varieties of this species are very numer-
ous. One of the most distinct is Var. parvifolia, (R.
parvifolia, Har. KR. Burgundiaca, Rossig. R. remensis,
Desf.) Tur Burcunpy Rosr.—A dwarf, compact shrub,
with stiff, ovate acute, and sharply serrated small leaflets,
and very double purple flowers, which are solitary, and
have some resemblance, in form and general appearance,
to the flower of a double-flowered Asiatic Ranunculus.

VILLOSZ.—Harry Rosgg

Suckers erect. Prickles straightish. Leaflets ovate or
oblong, with diverging serratures. Sepals connivent, per-
manent. Disk thickened, closing the throat. This divi-
sion borders equally close upon those of Canin and Rubi-
ginose. From both it is distinguished by its root-suckers
being erect and stout. The most absolute marks of dif-
ference, however, between this and Canine, exist in the
prickles of the present section being straight, and the ser-
ratures of the leaves diverging. If, as is sometimes the
case, the prickles of this tribe are falcate, the serratures
become more diverging. The permanent sepals are an-
other character by which this tribe may be known from
Canine. Rubiginose cannot be confounded with the
present section, on account of the unequal hooked prick«
les and glandular leaves of the species. Roughness of
fruit and permanence of sepals are common to both,

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION, 19

R. alba, Zin.—Tur Common Wurttt Rost.—Leaflets
oblong, glaucous, rather naked above, simply serrated,
ipiekice straightish or faleate, slender or strong, without
bristles. Sepals pinnate, reflexed. Fruit unarmed. Na-
tive of Piedmont, Cochin China, Denmark, France, and
Saxony. Flowers large, either white, or “of the most
delicate blush color, w ak a grateful evomanice! Fruit ob-
long, scarlet, or blood: colored. A shrub, growing from
four "feet to +e feet in height, and flowering in June and
July.

RUBIGINOSZ.—Brier Roses.

Prickles unequal, sometimes bristle-formed, rarely want-
ing. Leaflets ovate or oblong, glandular, with diverging
serratures. Sepals permanent. Disk thickened. Root-
shoots arched. The numerous glands on the lower surface
of the leaves will be sufficient to prevent anything else
being referred to this section ; and although A. tomentosa
has sometimes glandular leaves, the inequality of the
prickles of the species of Rubiginose, and their red fruit,
will clearly distinguish them, This division includes all
the Eglantine, or Sweet-brier Roses.

R. ruviginosa Zin.—Rusty-LeavepD Rost, Sweet-
Brier, oR Eqnantine.—R. suavifolia, Lightfi R. Eglan-
teria, Mill. R. agrestis, Savi. KR. rubiginosa parviflora,
Rau. Prickles hooked , compressed, with “smaller straight-
er ones interspersed. ‘Leaflets elliptical, doubly serrated,
hairy, clothed beneath with rust-colored glands. Sepals
pinnate, and bristly, as well as the peduncles. Fruit obo-
vate, bristly toward the base. Native throughout Europe,
and of Caucasus, In Britain, in bushy places, on a dry
heey or chalky soil. Leaves swect-scented when
bruised, and resembling the fragrance of the Pippin Apple.
When dried in the shade, and prepared as a tea, they
make a healthful and pleasant beverage.

This species is extensively used in Europe for the for-
mation of Tea Roses, and it is estimated that two hund-
red thousand are budded annually in the vicinity of

20 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Paris alone. The species is very vigorous, but does not
seem to answer well in our hot sun. The change from
its native shaded thickets and hedges is too much for
its tall, exposed stem, and, although the stock may not
itsclf dic, yet the variety budded upon it will fre-
quently perish in two or three years. This is doubt-
less partly owing to a want cf analogy between the
stock and the variety given it for nourishment, but that
the former is the prominent evil is evident by the fact
that dwarfs of the same stock, where the stem is shaded
by the foliage, flourish much better. The Eglantine, in
favored situations, is very long-lived. A French writer
speaks of one in which he had counted one hundred
and twenty concentric layers, thus making its age the
same number of years. Another writer speaks of an
Eelantine in Lower Saxony, whose trunk separated into
two very strong branches, twenty-four feet high, and ex-
tending over a space of twenty feet. At the height of
seven feet, one of the branches is nearly six inches, and
the other four inches, in circumference. There is a tra-
dition that it existed in the time of Louis the Pious,
King of Germany in the ninth century. This, however,
must evidently be received with some allowance. Flow-
ers, pink. Fruit, scarlet, obovate or elliptic. A shrub,
growing from four feet to six feet in height, and flowering
in June and July.

CANIN Z.—Doce Roses.

Prickles equal, hooked. Leaflets ovate, glandless or
glandular, with the serratures conniving. Sepals decidu-
ous. Disk thickened, closing the throat. Larger suck-
ers arched.

R. canina, Zin.—Doc Rosr.—Synonyms. RR. elanea,

Lois. R. arvensis, Schrank. KR. glaucescens, Mer. R.,
nitens, Mer. R. teneriffensis, Donn. R.senticosa, Achar.

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. 91

Prickles strong, hooked. Leaflets simply serrated, point-
ed, quite smooth. Sepals pinnate. Fruit ovate, smooth,
or rather bristly, like the aggregate flower stalks, Na-
tive throughout Europe, and the north of Africa; plenti-
ful in Britain, in hedges, woods, and thickets. I‘lowers
rather large, pale red, seldom white. Fruit, ovate, bright
scarlet, of a peculiar and very grateful flavor, especially
if made into a conserve with sugar. The pulp of the
fruit, besides saccharine matter, contains citric acid, which
gives it an acid taste. The pulp, before it is used, should
be carefully cleared from the nuts or seeds. <A shrub,
growing to the height of six feet or ten feet, and flower-
ing in June and July.

R. Indica, Z.—Tue Ivxpra or Curva Rose.—Stem up-
right, whitish, or green, or purple. Prickles stout, falcate,
distant. Leaflets 3 to 5, ovate-acuminate, coriaceous,
shining, glabrous, serrulate, the surfices of different col-
ors. Stipules very narrow, connate with the petiole, al-
most entire, or serrate. Flowers solitary, or in panicles.
Stamens bent inward. Peduncle sub-articulate, mostly
thickened upward, and with the calyx smooth, or wrinkled
and bristly. Native of China, near Canton. Flowers
red, usually semi-double. Petioles setigerous and prickly.
Petals obcordate. A shrub, growing to the height of
from 4 feet to 20 feet, and flowering throughout the year.

Varieties —There are numerous varieties of this beauti-
ful rose in cultivation, some of which were regarded as
distinct species by the earlier authors. The following are
quite distinct, and may each be considered the type of a
long list of subvarieties.

Var. Noisettiana.—Tue Notserre Rose.—Stem firm,
and, as well as the branches, prickly. Stipules nearly en-
tire. Flowers panicled, very numerous, semi-double, pale
red. Styles exserted.

This well-known and very beautiful rose is almost in-
valuable in a shrubbery, from its free and vigorous growth,
and the profusion of its flowers, which are continually
being produced during the whole summer.

Var, odoratissima.—Tue Tra-sceENTED Cutna Rose.

323) PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

—R. odoratissima, Swt.; R. Indica fragrans, Red.—Has
semi-double flowers, of a most delicious fragrance, strongly
resembling the scent of the finest green tea, There are
numerous subvarieties.

R. Laurenciana is placed as a species by some authors,
but it is probably only a variety of A. Indica.

SYSTYLZ.

(From sun, together, and stulos, a style; in reference to the styles be-
ing connected. )

Sect. Char.—Styles cohering together into an elongated
column. Stipules adnate. The habit of this section is
nearly the same as that of the last. The leaves are fre-
quently persistent.

R. sempervirens, Zin. — Everacrreen Rose. — Syn.
R. scan gens Mill. ; KR. Balearica, Desf. ; R. atrovirens,
Viv.; R. sempervirens ¢ globosa, Red. —Evergreen. Shoots
climbing. Prickles pretty equal, faleate. Leaves of 5 to
uh leaflets, that are green on both sides, coriaceous. Flow-
ers almost solitary, or in corymbs, Sepals nearly entire,
longish. Styles cohering into an elonzate pilose column.
Fruit ovate or ovate- globose, orange-colored. Peduncles
mostly hispid with glanded ‘hairs, Closely allied to A.
arvensis, but differing in its being evergreen, in its leaves
being coriaceous, and in its stipules being subfale ate, and
more acute at the tip. Native of Franee, Portugal, Italy,
Greece, and the Balearic Islands. A climbing ‘shrub,
flowering from June to August.

Used for the same purposes as the Ayrshire Rose, from
which it differs in retaining its leaves the greater part of
the winter, and in its less vigorous shoots. This species is
well adapted for rose carpets made by pegging down its
long, flexile shoots. Its glossy, rich foliage forms, in this
way, a beautiful carpet of verdure enameled with flowers.

R. multiflora, Thinb.—MAny-FLOWERED Rosr.— Syn.
R. flava, Donn. ; R. florida, Poir.; R. diflusa, Roxb.—
Branches, peduncles, and calyxes tomentose. Shoots very
long. Prickles slender, scattered. Leaflets 5 to 7, ovate-

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. 233

lanceolate, soft, finely wrinkled. Stipules pectinate. Flow-
ers In corymbs, and, in many instances, very numerous.
Buds ovate globose. Sepals short. Styles protruded, in-
completely grown together into a long, hairy column, A
climbing shrub, a native of Japan and China; and pro-
ducing a profusion of clustered heads of single, semi-
double, or double, white, pale red, or red flowers in June
and July.

This is one of the most ornamental of climbing
roses; but, to succeed, even in the climate of London, it
requires a wall. The flowers continue to expand one after
another during nearly two months.

Var. Grevilleii—R. Roxburghii, Hort.; R. platyphylla,
Red. —TueE SEVEN Sisters Rose.—A beautiful variety,
with much larger and more double flowers than the
species, of a purplish color. It is easily known from &.
multiflora by the frmged edge of the stipules; while
those of the common A. multiflora have much less fringe,
and the leaves are smaller, with the leaflets much less
rugose. The form of the blossoms and corymbs is pretty
nearly the same in both.

A plant of this variety on the gable end of R. Don-
ald’s house, in the Goldworth Nursery, in England,
in 1826, covered above 100 square feet, and had more
than 100 corymbs of bloom. Some of the corymbs had
more than 50 buds in a cluster, and the whole aver-
aged about 30 in each corymb, so that the amount of
flower buds was about 3,000. The variety of color pro-
duced by the buds at first opening was not less astonish-
ing than their number. White, light blush, deeper blush,
light red, darker red, scarlet, and purple flowers, all ap-
peared in the same corymb; and the production of these
seven colors at once is said to be the reason why this
plant is called the Seven Sisters Rose. This tree produc-
ed a shoot the same year which grew 18 feet in length in
two or three weeks. This variety, when in a deep, free
soil, and an airy situation, is of very vigorous growth, and
a tree flowerer; but the shoots are of a bramble-like tex-

24 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

ture, and the plant, in consequence, is of but temporary
duration, R. Donald’s R. Grevillec died in three or four
years.

Var. Russelliana is a variety differing considerably, in

flowers and foliage, from the species, but retaining the

fringed footstalk ; and is, hence, quite distinct from &,
sempervirens Russelliana.

Var. Boursaulti, Boursautr Ross, is placed, in Don’s
Miller, under this species; though it differs more from the
preceding variety than many species do from each other.
It is comparatively a hard-wooded, durable rose, and valu-
able for flowering early and freely. This is a very re-
markable rose, from its petals having a reticulated appear-
ance.

R. moschata, WiliZ.—Muvsxk Rosr.—Syn. R. glandulifera,
Roxb.—Shoots ascending. Prickles upon the stem slen-
der, recurved. Leaflets 5 to 7, lanceolate, acuminate,
nearly glabrous, the two surfaces of different colors. Stip-
ules very narrow, acute. Flowers, in many instances,
very numerous, white, with the claws of the petals yel-
low, very fragrant. Lateral peduncles jointed, and, as
well as the calyx, pilose, and almost hispid. Sepals almost
pinnately cut, ‘long. Fruit red, ? ovate.

The branches of the Musk Rose are generally too weak
to support, without props, its large bunches of flowers,
which are produced in an umbel-lixe manner at their ex-
tremities. The musky odor is very perceptible, even at
some distance from the plant, particularly in the evening,—

‘““When each inconstant breeze that blows
Steals essence from the musky rose.”’

It is said to be a native of Barbary ; but this has been
doubted. It is, however, found wild in Tunis, and is cul-
tivated there for the cake of an essential oil, which is ob-
tained from the petals by distillation. It has also been
found wild in Spain.- The first record of the musk rose
having been cultivated in England is in Hakluyt, in 1582,
who states that the musk rose was brought to England
from Italy. It was in common cultivation in the time of

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION. 25
Gerard, and was formerly much valued for its musky
fragrance, when that scent was the fashionable perfume.
The Persian attar of roses is said to be obtained from this
species. The musk rose does best trained against a wall,
on account of the length and weakness of its branches;
and Miller adds that it should always be pruned in spring,
as in winter it will not bear the knife. It requires very
little pruning, as the flowers are produced at the extremi-
ties of the shoots, which are often 10 feet or 12 feet in
leneth. It flowers freely, and is well worthy of cultiva-
tion. This rose is thought by some to be the same as that
of Cyrene, which Athenzeus has mentioned as affording a
delicious perfume, but of this there is no certain evidence.
It seems to have been rare in Europe in the time of Gess-
ner, the botanist, who, in a letter to Dr. Occon, dated
Zurich, 1565, says that it was growing in a garden at
Augsburg, and he was extremely anxious that the doctor
should procure some of its shoots for him. Rivers men-
tions that Olivier, a French traveler, speaks of a rose tree
at Ispahan, called the ‘“‘Chinese Rose Tree,” fifteen feet
high, formed by the union of several stems, each four or
five inches in diameter. Sceds of this tree were sent to
Paris and produced the common Musk Rose.

BANKSIAN ZH —Banxsta_ Roszgs.

(So called because all the species contained in this section agree in
character with &. Banksie, a rose named in honor of Lady Banks.)

Stipules nearly free, subulate, or very narrow, usually
deciduous. Leaflets usually tern ate, shining. Stems
climbing The species of this section are remarkable for
their long, graceful, and often climbing, shoots , drooping
flowers, and trifoliate, shining leaves. They are particue
larly distinguished by their deciduous, subulate, or very
narrow stipules. Their fruit is very variable.

R. Banksie, R. Br.—Lapvy Banks’ or Banxsta Rose.
—Without prickles, glabrous, smooth. Leaflets 3 to 5,

2

26 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

lanceolate, sparingly serrated, approximate. Stipules
bristle-like, scarcely attached to the petiole, rather glossy,
deciduous. Flowers in umbei-like corymbs, numerous,
very double, sweet-scented, nodding. Tube of the calyx
a lictle dilated at the tip. Fruit globose, black. A native
of China. A climbing shrub, flowering in June and July.

Description, etc.—This is an exceedingly beautiful and
very remarkable kind of rose; the flowers being small,
round, and very double, on long peduncles, and resembling
in form the flowers of the double French cherry, or that of
a small ranunculus, more than those of the generality of
roses. The flowers of R. Baunksie alba are remarkably
fragrant, the scent strongly resembling that of violets.

Thunberg speaks of the Rosa rugosa as growing in
China and Japan, being extensively cultivated in the gar-
dens of those countries, and producing flowers of a pale
red or pure white. The original plant is of a deep pur-
ple color. Siebold, in his treatise on the flowers of Japan,
says that this rose had been already cultivated in China
about eleven hundred years, and that the ladies of the
Court, under the dynasty of Long, prepared a very choice
pot-pourri by mixing its petals with musk and camphor.

More than one hundred distinct species are mentioned
by botanists, in addition to those we have enumerated,
but none of very marked characters or much known

GARDEN CLaSSIFICATION. 27

CHAPTER II.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION.

The varieties of a plant are, by Botanists, designated
by names intended to convey an idea of certain charac-
teristics,—the form and consistency of the leaves, the ar-
rangement, number, size, and color of the flowers, seed-
vessels, etc. The varieties of roses, however, have so few
distinct characteristics, that florists find it difficult to
give any name expressive of the very slight shades of dif
ference in the color or form of the flower. Fanciful names
have therefore been chosen, indiscriminately, according to
the taste of the grower; and we thus find classed, in
brotherly nearness, Napoleon and Wellington, Queen
Victoria and Louis Philippe, Othello and Wilberforce,
with many others. Any half-dozen English or French
rose growers may give the name of their favorite Welling-
ton or Napoleon to a rose raised by each of them, and en-
tirely different in form and color from the other five
bearing the same name. Thus has arisen the great confu-
sion in rose nomenclature.

A still greater difficulty and confusion, however, exists
in the classification adopted by the various English and
French rose growers. By these, classes are multiplied
and roses placed in them without sufficient attention to
their distinctive characters; these are subsequently
changed to other classes, to the utter confusion of those
who are really desirous of obtaining some knowledge of
the respective varieties. Even Rivers, the most correct
of them all, has in several catalogues the same rose in as
many different classes, and his book may perhaps place
it in another, He thus comments upon this constant
change :

28 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

“Within the last ten years, how many plants have been
named and unnamed, classed and re-classed !—Professor
A, placing it here, and Dr. B. placing it there! I can
almost imagine Dame Nature laughing in her sleeve, when
our philosophers are thus puzzled. Well, so it is, in a
measure, with roses; a variety has often equal claims to
two classes. First impressions have perhaps placed it in
one, and there rival amateurs should let it remain.”

If there exists, then, th's doubt of the proper class to
which many roses belong, we think it would be better to
drop entirely this sub-classification, and adopt some more
general heads, under one of which every rose can be
classed. It may often be difficult to ascertain whether a
rose is a Damask, a Provence, or a Hybrid China; but
there can be no difficulty in ascertaining whether it is
dwarf or climbing, whether it blooms once or more in the
year, and whether the leaves are rough as in the Remont-
ants, or smooth as in the Bengals. We have therefore
endeavored to simplify the old classification, and have
placed all roses under three principal heads, viz:

I. Those that make distinct and separate periods of
bloom throughout the season, as the Remontant Roses.

II. Those that bloom continually, without any tempo-
rary cessation, as the Bourbon, China, ete.

II. Those that bloom only once in the season, as the
French and others.

Remontants.—The first of these divisions includes only
the present Damask and Hybrid Perpetuals, and for these
we know no term so expressive as the French Remontant.
“* Perpetual” does not express their true character.

Everblooming Roses is the name we give to those in
cluded under the second general head. This is divided
into five classes:

1. The Bourbon, the varieties of which are easily known
by their luxuriant growth, and thick, large, leathery
leaves. These are, moreover, reasonably hardy.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION, 29

2. The China.—This includes the present China, Tea,
and Noisette Roses, which are now much confused, as
there are many among the Teas which are not tea-scented,
and among the Noisettes are those which do not bloom in
clusters; they are, moreover, so much alike in their
growth and habit, that it is better each should stand upon
its own merits, and not on the characteristics of an im-
aginary class.

3. Musk.—Roses of this class are known by their rather
rougher foliage.

4. Macartney.—The varieties of this are distinguished
by their very rich, glossy, almost evergreen foliage.

5. Microphylla.—A class easily distinguished by their
peculiar foliage and straggling habit.

The third general head we divide again into five classes :

1. Garden Roses.—This includes all the present French,
Provence, Hybrid Provence, Hybrid China, Hybrid
Bourbon, White, and Damask Roses, many of which, un-
der the old arrangement, differ more from others in their
own class than from many in another class.

2. Moss Roses, all of which are easily distinguished.

3. Brier Roses, which will include the Sweet-Brier,
Hybrid Sweet-Brier, and Austrian Brier.

4. Scotch Roses.

5. Climbing Roses ; which are again divided into all the
distinctive subdivisions.

In describing colors, we have given those which pre-
vail. It is well known that many roses are very variable
in this respect, and that the same flower will frequently
be white or yellow, crimson or blush, at different periods
of its bloom. We have seen a plant produce several
flowers totally unlike each other ; one being dark crimson,
and the other pale blush. We therefore describe the pre-
vailing color, and the cultivator should not be disap-
pointed if his rose, the first season, should not correspond

30 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

with the description; neither should he be disappointed
if a rose which we describe as very double should with
him prove very single. Transplanting will often tempo-
rarily change the character of roses, and they often refuse
to develop themselves perfectly under our hot sun, or in a
poor soil, A second season is thus often required to test
them fairly. We have seen the fine rose, La Reine,
semi-double, and worthless at midsummer, while at other
seasons, and perhaps in a different location, it is fully
equal to its reputation. It is frequently the case, that
roses imported from Europe, under glowing descriptions,
prove worthless the first season, but fully sustain their
character the second. We mention these things here, in
order that the amateur may be prepared for any tempo-
rary disappointment that may occur. In describing over
two hundred choice varieties, we have endeavored to se-
lect those whose character is well established for superior
and distinct qualities, and above all, for vigorous growth.
Any variety whose growth is uniformly weak has been
at once rejected, notwithstanding its great beauty of
flower. Thus many fine roses, like Gloire de Santenay, are
thrown aside. There are many equally good that have
been necessarily omitted, and there are also new varieties
we have recently received from Europe, which may prove
superior to many we have named.

From this list, the rose amateur may feel safe in select-
ing, without incurring the risk of obtaining inferior va-
rieties.

ROSES THAT BLOOM DURING THE WHOLE SEASON.
REMONTANT ROSES,

The term Remontant—signifying, literally, te grow
again—we have chosen to designate this class ef roses,
there being no word in our own language equally ex-
pressive. They were formerly called Damask and Hybrid

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION, 3l

Fig. 1.—REMONTANT ROSE,

32 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Perpetuals, but are distinguished from the true Perpetual
or Everblooming Roses by their peculiarity of distinct
and separate periods of bloom. They bloom with the
other roses in early summer, then cease for a while, then
make a fresh season of bloom, and thus through the sum-
mer and autumn, differing entirely from the Bourbon and
Bengal Roses, which grow and bloom continually through
the summer. In order, therefore, to avoid confusion, we
have deemed it best toadopt the French term, Remontant.

These roses have generally been obtained by hybridiza-
tion between the Hybrid China and Damask, and the
Bourbon and China Roses, uniting the luxuriant growth
and hardy character of the former two with the ever-
blooming qualities of. the latter. They are generally
large, double, very fragrant, and bloom, some of them,
freely throughout the season. They are also perfectly
hardy, and grow well in any climate without protection.
These qualities render them very desirable, and they are
fast driving out of cultivation the Garden Roses, which
bloom but once, and during the rest of the season cumber
the ground. There are, it is true, among the latter, some
varieties, like Madame Plantier, Chénédole, Persian Yellow,
and others, that are not equaled by any varieties existing
among the Remontants. Such, however, is the skill now
exerted by rose growers, that this will not long be the
case, and we may hope soon to have among the Remont-
ants, roses of every shade of color, with the snow-like
whiteness of Madame Plantier, the golden richness of
Persian Yellow, or the peculiar brilliancy of Chénédole.

Abel Grand.—Rosy blush, fragrant, large and full,
fresh and glossy.

American Beauty.—Rose pink; very large and fra-
grant ; very free in blooming, and exceedingly valuable
for forcing ; free bloomer in autumn.

Alfred Colomb.—Not new, but little known at the
time of the former list. Large; brilliant crimson; fine

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 33

form, and very fragrant. A seedling of the popular Gren.
Jacqueminot, and one of the best.

Anne de Diesbach.—Has been several years in cultiva-
tion and found to be desirable. Large, full, fine shape ;
clear, bright carmine ; fragrant, and very hardy.

Annie Wood.—Clear red; large and full, excellent
form ; a good bloomer in autumn.

Antoine Mouton.—Medium size, full; lively rose,
tinged with lilac; very fragrant ; plant vigorous.

Auguste Mie.—A seedling of the well-known La Reine.
A vigorous grower. Its color is a light pink, not so dark
as La Reine, which it resembles in form.

Baron de Bonstettin,—Red and dark crimson ; large,
full and of vigorous growth.

Baroness Rothschild (also Madame de Rothschild).—
One of the largest roses; fine form; pink, shaded with
rose ; exceedingly hardy, and a free bloomer.

Baronne Prevost.—One of the very best of its class,
blooming freely in autumn, and producing fragrant flow-
ers of a bright rose color. It is also of luxuriant growth,
and large, rich foliage.

Beauty of Waltham.—Large, full, of fine form ; light
rosy crimson ; free bloomer.

Boieldieu.—Very large and full; fine cherry red, of
the style of Baronne Prevost; plant vigorous.

Boule de Neige.—Pure white; moderate size, fine
form, and free bloomer.

Captain Christy.—Delicate flesh color, deeper in the
center ; large, full, and with fine foliage.

Caroline de Sansal.—A vigorous plant, with a large
and full flower, the color of which is clear flesh, with
blush edges. It is one of the best of its color.

Charles Lefebvre.—A strong grower, and one of the
finest of its class. Its color is a bright, changeable crim-
son, inclining to a purple shade in the center. Its form
is cupped and regular.

34 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Comtesse de Serenye.—Flowers flesh color, inclining
to salmon in the bud; large, full, and globular; of
greatest beauty when grown under glass.

Coquette des Alpes.—White, tinged with rose; free
bloomer ; size, medium to large ; a valuable sort.

Elise Boelle.— White, slightly tinged with rose,
changing to pure white; medium size, fine form, and full.

Eugene Verdier.—Large ; silvery-pink, tinged with
fawn color; bud very fine; dwarfish habit ; seedling of
Victor Verdier.

E. Y. Teas.—Large, fine globular form ; carmine-crim-
son; highly fragrant ; excellent.

Fisher Holmes.—Large and full ; magnificent scarlet
shaded with crimson ; free growerand bloomer. It has
been described as an improved (ren. Jacqueminot.

Francois Michelon.—Deep rose, the reverse of the
petals silvery ; large, full, and of globular form ; one of
the best.

General Jacqueminot,—A strong grower, and when
in bud, one of the most beautiful of roses. Its open
flower, not being perfectly double, is surpassed by others.
Its color is a scarlet crimson, with a soft velvety sheen,
and a few thousand of them in full bloom is a sight to be
remembered. A basket of buds freshly cut in the morn-
ing is sure to be appreciated.

General Washington.—One of the finest of its class.
It is a good grower, very full bloomer, and a general
favorite. Its color is a bright red.

John Hopper.—Large, and finely shaped. Its color is
rosy crimson.

Jules Margottin.—One of the finest Remontant Roses.
Its growth is vigorous, its bloom is abundant, and its color
is a clear pink crimson. It is particularly fine when in bud.

La France.—An invaluable rose for its hardiness, and
its constant blooming qualities. Its color is pale peach,
with rosy center; its form is globular, full, and very large.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. a? 35

La Reine.—When our first edition was issued, this
variety was unequaled. Others have now surpassed it.
It is, however, still valuable for its glossy rose color, and
its large, full, semi-globular form.

Louis Van Moutte.—Has a large and double globular
flower. Its color is bright shaded rosy carmine.

Louise Carique,—One of the most valuable Remon-
tants. Its color is a fine rosy carmine, its form is full,
and it grows well and blooms abundantly through the
summer. For general purposes, it has scarcely a superior.

Magna Charta.—Bright pink, suffused with carmine ;
very large, full, of good form ; habit erect ; flowers pro-
duced in abundance.

Mabel Morrison.—A sport of Baroness Rothschild,
and like it in nearly all respects, save color, which is a
pure dead white, but in autumn flushed with delicate pink.

Madame Gabriel Luizet,—Pale pink, a very delicate
and beautiful tint of color ; large and full, cupped ; very
sweet.

Madame Victor Verdier.—Large, full, globular ; car-
mine-rose ; fragrant ; free bloomer, and though not new,
excellent.

Marguerite de St. Amande.—Medium growth ; beau-
tiful in the bud ; bright rose ; free, especially in autumn.
Much used by those who force roses.

Marie Baumann.—Large and full, excellent form;
deep carmine; very fragrant; remarkably free, and
classed by all among the best.

Marquise de Castellano.—Beautiful bright rose ; very
large and full, form perfect ; blooms freely; one of the
best.

Marquise de Mortemarte.—A seedling of Jules Mar-
gottin ; blush color, and well formed.

Marshall P. Wilder.—Cherry carmine; large, semi-
globular, full, and well formed. An American variety,
with vigor, hardiness, and freedom in blooming.

36 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Maurice Bernardin.—A good grower, with full, fine
form, and bright cherry crimson color. One of the best.

Merveille de Lyon.—Pure white, sometimes washed
with satin-rose; very large, full, ahd cupped. <A yery
fine new white Rose.

Paul Neyron.—Very large, and perhaps the largest yet
produced; deep rose; somewhat fragrant ; very free
bloomer.

Pierre Notting.—Very large, fine globular form ; very
deep crimson, with a violet shade; highly fragrant ; free
and one of the most valued among the dark roses.

Pxonia.—Large to very large, full; red; fragrant ;
old, but valued for its fine foliage, and free flowering.

Pride of Waltham,—A delicate flesh color, richly
shaded with bright rose, very clear and distinct.

' Prince Camille de Rohan,—Large and full. Its color
is a velvety deep crimson maroon, clouded with red. One
of the finest.

Queen of Queens.—Pink, with blush edges; large and
full, of perfect form ; and a true perpetual flowering rose,
every shoot being crowned with a flower bud.

Rey. J. B. M. Camm.—Carmine rose; large, semi-
globular; fragrant, and free blooming ; superb.

Paul’s Single Crimson and Single White.—Most
charming roses, and worthy of attention.

Thomas Mills.—Very bright rosy carmine ; lirge and
full.

Victor Verdier.—Rosy carmine; a large, showy, free
growing rose; good quality, and very effective.

White Baroness.—A white sport from Baroness Roths-
child ; flowers large and full.

REMONTANT SCOTCH.

Stanwell.—Of Scotch parentage, and has the peculiar
foliage and habit of the Scotch roses. Its flowers are
large, blush colored, and rather flat. It is an abundant

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. an

and constant bloomer throughout the season, and its pe-
culiar, delightful fragrance renders it very desirable.

REMONTANT MOSS.

Blanche Moreau.—Large, full, perfect form; pure
white; buds and flowers produced in cluste1s and freely
furnished with deep green moss.

Eugene de Savoie.—Of vigorous growth, with a large
and full flower. It is an abundant bloomer, and very
fragrant. Its color is a bright red.

Madame Edouard Ory.—A good autumn bloomer. It
is globular, finely formed, and of a rich rose color.

Madame William Paul.—Very bright rose; large, full,
and of finely cupped form; flowers freely. One of the
best perpetual moss roses yet introduced.

Mousseline.—White, lightly tinted with rose at open-
ing, but changing to pure white; large and full; very
free and a continuous bloomer.

Perpetual White.—A vigorous grower, double, and
blooms in clusters.

Salet.—A good autumnal bloomer, and a good grower.
Its color is bright pink, changing to rose.

Soupert and Notting.—Very large, full, and globular ;
bright rose color ; while not so ‘‘ mossy” as some others,
its ever-blooming character and most exquisite fragrance
give it a place in the first rank of its class.

BOURBON ROSES.

This class does not possess the hardiness of the Re-
montants, nor the free blooming properties of the Ben-
gals, Teas, and Noisettes, and therefore can never compete
with the former for the North, nor with the latter for the
South. In it, however, are varieties like Hermosa, Sou-
venir de Malmaison, and others, which are scarcely sur-
passed in anyclass. The Bourbon Rose has also qualities
which make many varieties favorites. These qualities are
its greater hardiness than the T'ea Rose, its very thick,

88 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

leathery foliage, its luxuriant growth, its more constant
bloom than the Remontants, and its thick, velvety petals,
of a consistency to endure the summer’s sun.

It was introduced into France by Jacques, head garden-

|

Fig. 2.—BOURBON ROSE.

er of the Duke of Orleans, at Neuilly, who received it in
1319 from Bréon, director of the Royal gardens in the Isle
of Bourbon, The following account of its origin is given
by Bréon, and is also mentioned by Rivers:

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 39

‘At the Isle of Bourbon, the inhabitants generally in-
close their land with hedges made of two rows of roses;
one row of the common China Rose, the other of the Red
Four Seasons. M. Perichon, a planter in the island, found
in one of these hedges a young plant, differing very much
from the others in its shoots and foliage, This he trans-
planted into his garden. It flowered the following year,
and proved to be of a new race, and very different from
the above two roses, which at that time were the only
varieties known in the island.”

Its resemblance to the Bengal Rose was, however, so
strong, that it was soon considered a variety of that spe-
cies. Its characteristics are, however, so entirely different
from the Bengal, that we give it a separate place in our
garden classification. To the French we owe nearly all
the varieties of this class which have been produced from
the original semi-double rose, or Bourbon Jacques, as it
was called. Of these varieties, the following are distinct,
and possess many charming qualities that cannot fail to
gratify the amateur.

Acidalie.—One of the best light roses, being sometimes
light blush, and at others white. Its autumnal bloom is
its best.

Appoline.—A vigorous grower ; its color is rose and
pink.

Dr. Berthet,—Brilliant cherry red; large, full, and
good.

George Peabody.—Medium, full, well formed ; pur-
plish crimson ; fragrant ; a moderate grower, but one of
the best of its class.

Hermosa.—An old variety, but still one of the very
best of this group. Its form is cupped, very double and
perfect, and no rose blooms more abundantly, either
forced or in the open ground. Its color is delicate rose.

40 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

The plant is of medium growth, and well adapted for
grouping or for planting in beds with Mrs. Bosanquet
and Agrippina.

Marquise Balbiano,—Rose, tinged with silver ; full,
fine form.

Perle d’Angers.—Very pale rose, almost white ; large
and full, imbricated.

Queen of the Bourbons,—A very beautiful and deli-
cate rose-colored variety, slightly tinged with buff. It is
cupped, very fragrant, large, and double, and its petals
are arranged with a beautiful regularity.

Queen of Bedders.— Medium, very full; rich crimson.
Few recent roses haye been so highly praised as this ; evi-
dently a useful free-blooming sort.

Souvenir de la Malmaison.—Altogether the most
_ perfect and superb rose of this or any other class. It was
originated by Béluze, a Frenchman. Its flowers are cup-
ped, and of very perfect form, very double, with thick,
velvety petals; they are of the largest size, often four to
five inches in diameter, and their color delicate blush,
with a rich tint of cream. Its large and very luxuriant
foliage, compact habit, and flowers of exceeding beauty,
render this one of the very finest roses known.

CHINA.

Agrippina.—Though an old rose, this is still one of
the best and most popular of its class. As a forcing rose,
and for an abundance of bloom, it is largely cultivated by
bouquet venders. It is cupped, beautifully formed, and
- of a rich, brilliant crimson, with a delicate white stripe
in the center of each petal. It is one of the most hardy
and desirable of the old China Roses.

Cels multifiora.—An abundant bloomer ; its color is
white, shaded with pink.

Daily Blush.—One of the oldest China Roses, but one

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 41

of the very best. There can be nothing more perfect than
its half-expanded bud, of a light crimson, inclining to
blush. It commences blooming among the earliest, and,
if the old seed-vessels are picked off, will continue to bloom
abundantly through the summer and autumn, even after
severe frosts. It is one of the hardiest of the class.

Daily White.—Very similar to the preceding, in every-
thing but the color of its flowers, which are pure white.

Douglass.—Crimson ; medium size; double, fine in
bud, and one of the best forcing sorts.

Ducher.— White ; médium size, fine form, full; free
flowering ; promising as a free and continuous white bed-
ding rose.

Little Pet.—White ; small and double ; a pretty min-
lature rose, and exceedingly free in blooming.

Madame Bréon.—One of the very best. Its flowers
are very large and double, beautifully cupped, and of a
brilliant rose color. Few of the old China Roses can sur-
pass it.

Mrs. Bosanquet.—One of the most desirable of the old
China Roses, and there are few in any other class that are
superior to it. Its growth is luxuriant, and its superb
cupped, wax-like flowers are of a delicate flesh-color, and
are produced in the greatest abundance.

Viridiflora.—Green ; curious.

NOISETTE.

Aimée Vibert.—One of the most beautiful of the Noi-
sette or cluster-flowering roses. It blooms freely through
the season, is tolerably hardy, and produces an abundance
of small, snow-white flowers, in fine clusters.

Beauté de Europe.—Deep yellow, reverse of petals
coppery ; large, full, and of perfect shape.

Caroline de Marniesse.—One of the hardiest. Its
color is white, with a tinge of pink in the center.

42 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Celine Forestier.—A yigorous growing rose. One of
the hardiest, and with a large, full flower. Its color is
rich yellow.

Elise Boelle.—A delicate pink shading; moderate
grower ; much esteemed.

Lamarque,—A well-known and superb variety, whose
very vigorous growth adapts it well for a pillar, or even
for a climber, as in rich soils and favorable locations it
will make shoots of fifteen feet in a season. When bud-
ded on a strong stock, few roses can surpass its large
cupped and nearly white flowers, weighing down the
branches.

Maréchal Niel.—A vigorous growing rose, more free
blooming than Chromatella. Its color is yellow, deepen-
ing at the center toarich, golden yellow. It is, perhaps,
the largest and most beautiful yellow rose known, and
very fragrant.

Ophire.—A medium-sized rose, of a very singular color,
entirely different from any other rose known, being a bright
salmon, almost saffron. It blooms in clusters, and its lux-
uriant habit would make it a good pillar rose.

Solfaterre.—Another superb rose, of very much the
same character. Its flowers are large and globular, in-
clining to flat, and their color bright lemon. When half
opened, the buds are superb. Like Chromatella (and
Lamarque, the parent of both), its growth is very luxu-
riant. Rivers mentions a plant which threw out a shoot
from a single bud eighteen feet in one season, and the
next season was covered with flower buds.

Triomphe de Rennes,—A fine rose, of large, full form,
and canary color.

TEA ROSES.

Adam.—One of the finest tea-scented roses. Its flow-
ers are cupped, very double and large, and of perfect
form.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 43

Andre Schwartz.—Crimson-scarlet, with an occasional
white streak on the inner petal; of tea fragrance, and
very free flowering.

Antoine Mermet.—Deep rosy-carmine ; large, full, and
cupped.

Bon Silene.—A very beautiful tea-scented rose, cup-
ped, very double, and fragrant. Its color is rose, shaded
with crimson, and the plant is hardy and of luxuriant
growth.

Bougere.—A very large, superb rose, one of the very
best of the tea-scented varieties. Its form is cupped, and
its color a rich, glossy, bronzed rose.

Caroline,—A fine variety, with very double and perfect
flowers, of a bright rose color.

Capucine.—A very distinct sort, with beautiful saffron
yellow buds. Of delicate habit.

Catharine Mermet.—Large, pointed buds, full, and of
good form; rosy flesh color; fine fragrance ; moderate
grower. Esteemed by those who force roses for the mar-
ket, as one of the most valuable.

Clara Sylvain.—One of the best white roses. It grows
very freely, and gives its globular, pure white, and fra-
grant flowers in the greatest abundance.

Comtesse de Frigueuse.—Canary yellow; fine and
striking, large and full; free.

Cornélie Koch.—White, sometimes faintly tinged with
pale straw color. A grand rose, and a great favorite for
forcing.

Devoniensis.—A very beautiful rose, of immense size.
Like Chromatella, it is sometimes a shy bloomer when
young, but is well adapted for forcing. Its form is cup-
ped, and its color a fine creamy white, tinted with rose.

Duc de Magenta.—Has a large and fine form. Its
color is rosy salmon, shading to pink.

Etendard de Jeanne d’Arc.—Creamy white, changing

44 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

to pure white ; very large and full, opening well ; a seed-
ling from Gloire de Dijon; very free.

General Tartas.—This is of a dark rose color, and has
a large and full form.

Gloire de Dijon,—One of the finest and hardiest of the
whole group. It isa strong grower, and makes a good
climber. Its foliage is luxurignt, and its flowers are large
and double ; their color is pale salmon, buff, and yellow.
This variety will always give satisfaction.

Her Majesty.—Clear and bright satiny rose color ;
flowers very large and full.

Homer.—A peculiar and beautiful rose when in bud.
Its color is rose, tipped with red, and with a salmon
center.

Isabella Sprunt.—A new, yellow rose, of creat merit.
Its remarkably free blooming qualities make it a vaiuable
acquisition for forcing and for cut flowers.

Jaune d’Or.—A golden yellow rose, of good form.

Julie Mansais.—A large and superb tea-scented rose,
globular, and very fragrant. Its color is white, with
lemon.

Madame Bravy.—Finely formed, and of a creamy white
color.

Madame Chedayne Guénoisseau.—Canary yellow; very
beautiful in bud; large, full, of fine form, and very free.

Madame Cusin.—Purplish rose, center slightly tinted
with yellowish white ; medium size; full and distinct.

Madame de Tartas.—Large, and free blooming ; of a
bright rose color.

Madame Falcot.—Buff yellow, something deeper than
Safrano, and more double in form. One of the best.

Mademoiselle Cécile Berthod,—Large, full, fine form ;
bright sulphur yellow ; moderate.

Marie Berton.—(Climbing). Very large ; straw color,

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 45

rather fragrant ; vigorous, with fine foliage ; regarded as
the most free bloomer of all the seedlings of Gloire de
Dijon.

Marie Guillot.—Large, beautiful in bud, nearly perfect
in form; white, with a faint tinge of yellow; free, and
one of the best of the newer light-colored varieties.

Marie Van Houtte.—Excellent form ; the pale-yellow
petals, often suffused with rose ; free, and highly esteem-
ed, especially for cultivation in the open air.

May Paul.—Red, shaded and veined with lilac ; large
and full.

Niphetos.—Color almost white. When grown under
glass, it is one of the most popular and beautiful roses.

Papa Gontier.—A new red rose, of great value ; fra-
grant ; free blooming, and of vigorous growth.

Perle de Lyon.—Large, very double, and fragrant ;
deep yellow, with a tinge of saffron at center; excellent
fragrance ; very vigorous grower, and is much used to
train up the pillars of greenhouses, where it flowers free-
ly ; mildews in the open air.

Perle des Jardins.—Large to very large, excellent
form, with stiff stem ; deep canary yellow ; exquisite tea-
fragrance ; a free grower and bloomer ; the foliage is very
dark and glaucous, and the five to seven leaflets are
strongly serrated. This variety, both in this country and
in Europe, proves to be a formidable rival to Maréchal
Neil. It is largely forced for the New York market, and
it is also excellent in the open ground.

Pierre Guillot.—(Hybrid. )—Large, erect, well formed;
bright red; fragrant; moderate to vigorous; free bloomer.

Puritan.—A new white rose of great beauty; very
large flower; blooming freely; good grower, and free
bloomer ; fragrant.

Reine Marie Wenriette,—(Climber.)—Large, good

46 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

form, double; cerise red; rather fragrant ; very vigore
ous ; this is also a cross from Gen. Jacqueminot.

Rubens.—Color rose and white, with yellow center ;
form large and double.

Safrano.—This is scarcely excelled by any rose. Its
half-opened bud is very beautiful, and of a rich, deep
fawn color. When open, its form is poor, and its color a
much lighter fawn. These fawn-colored roses have pecu-
liar charms for us ; and of them all, there are none more
beautiful or richer than Safrano.

Sombreuil.—A strong grower, with flowers of a pale
straw color.

Souvenir d’un Ami.—The queen of the tea-scented
roses, and will rank the very first among them. Its habit
is good, it blooms freely, and its large and beautifully
imbricated flowers, when open, much resemble in form
those of Souvenir de Malmaison. Its color is a delicate
salmon, shaded with rose, and its general character highly
recommends it as first-rate in every respect. Hibberd
claims to have produced flowers from this variety eleven
to twelve inches in circumference when fully expanded.

Sunset.—A sport from Perle des Jardins, bearing flow-
ers similar to that variety in form and substance but of a
deep apricot color; beautiful in bud, anda fine forcing
variety.

The Bride.—A very fine white tea rose ; a sport from
Catherine Mermet. The flowers are large, full, and of
great substance, produced in extraordinary profusion and
carried on long stalks well above the foliage.

Triomphe de Guillot fils.\—A white rose, clouded with
flesh color, and shaded with yellowish salmon.

Vallée de Chamouny.—Coppery rose color ; medium
size.

Vicomtesse de Cazes,—A fine yellow, and free bloom-
ing rose.

==
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kas

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GARDEN CLASSIFICATION,

Fig. 3.—MARECHAL NIEL,

47

48 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

W. F. Bennett.—Crimson ; large and double; very
fragrant. A most valuable variety for forcing for win-
ter blooming.

Waltham Climbers, Nos. 1, 2 and 3,—Very fine new
summer and autumn-flowering climbing roses of differ-
ent shades of crimson. No. 1 being the brightest, and
No. 3 the darkest. No. 2 is one of the sweetest roses
in existence, and No. 3 is a fine show rose.

In the preceding list, we have given some of the best
varieties of the.Tea Rose, and trust the amateur will find
no difficulty in making a selection. Many are pillar roses;
and these, so trained, would be beautiful objects on a lawn,
either singly, or in groups from three toa dozen. Where
the height of the pillars can be gently graduated to the
highest in the center, the effect will be very fine. Many
of the luxuriant growing varieties can be trained upon a
common pale fence, and will cover it with flowers and
foliage the whole season. Straw can be easily thatched
over to protect them from the severity of winter, or bass
mats would be still better.

THE POLYANTHA ROSES.

A distinct species of Rose (Rosa polyantha) was intro-
duced from Japan several years ago. This is distin-
guished by having numerous very small flowers, borne in
panicled clusters. In the hands of the French cultiva-
tors, it has produced what promises to be a distinct and
popular class, of which the following are regarded as the
best. They are probably hybrids, as they remontant,
while the original species blooms but once. The English
often call them ‘‘ Daisy Roses.”

Anne Marie de Montravel.—Small, an inch and a
half in diameter, very double; pure white; lasts a long
while in perfection ; moderately fragrant. Jean Sisley
writes: ‘* Each truss will make in itself a splendid bou-
quet.” Dwarf, but vigorous.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 49

Mlle. Cécile Brunner.—Very small, full; fine salmon-
pink; highly fragrant; moderate or dwarf; flowers freely.
Obtained by crossing with a Tea.

Mignonette.—Very small, double; in clusters of thirty
or forty; rose-color, changing to blush.

Paquerette.—Fine form, full, only an inch in diame-
ter; pure white; growth moderate.

Perle @’0r.—Nankeen yellow, with orange centres;
small and full, very beautiful; flowers very numerous
and of good shape.

Princesse Wilhelmine des Pays Bas,—Pure white, im-
bricated, very sweet.

THE RAMANAS ROSE (fosa rugosa).

Since the last edition was published this Rose has been
introduced into cultivation and has become deservedly pop-
ular. The plant is very vigorous, growing large clumps five
or six feet in height with exceedingly thorny stems. The
foliage is remarkably robust, very dark-green, strongly-
veined, and of great substance; 34 is rarely attacked by
insects. The rose-colored, or white single flowers, about
three inches across, are borne in large clusters, and have
a most delightful fragrance. They continue in bloom
for a long time, and are succeeded by large fruits (heps)
of a bright-red color, which make the bush very showy
in autumn. There are in cultivation a white and a
rose-colored variety. A double variety has been intro-
duced, but it is only partially double, and not preferable
to the single. These are most valuable roses for the
shrubbery, suckering somewhat, but not to an annoying
extent.

This species was sent to this country from Japan by
Mr. Thomas Hogg, about fifteen years ago; it was also
introduced into Europe by others. It has been described
in French and other journals as Rosa Regeliana and R,

50 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Fortunet, but the much older name &. rugosa must
supersede these. The adoption of the Japanese ‘‘ Rama-
nas’’ will avoid any confusion as to botanical names.
Whether a species so very distinct as this will yield itself
to the efforts of the hybridizer remains to be seen, but it
offers a most tempting subject. Could the vigorous, al-
most leathery foliage, thorough hardiness and powerful
fragrance of this be combined with the handsome form
and varied tints of roses of the popular classes, it would
be a great horticultural achievement. The European
journals mention that a new variety of this species was
exhibited at Lyons this year, but no description is given.
It is however interesting to know that the skilled rose
growers of the south of France have taken it in hand.

The Japanese have long held the Ramanas Rose in high
favor. It is recorded that as early as the year 1100, of
our era, the court-ladies prepared a favorite perfume
from its petals; but it is also stated that they had the
bad taste to add to it both camphor and musk.

MACARTNEY ROSES.

The Macartney rose was brought from China to Eng-
land by Lord Macartney, in 1793. Its habit is luxuriant,
and its foliage is more beautiful than that of any other
rose, its leaves being thick, and of a rich, glossy green.
It commences blooming about midsummer, and its flow-
ers, with a fragrance like the perfume of an apricot, suc-
ceed each other without interruption till the first frosts,
while the leaves remain till the very latest. Although as
hardy as the hardiest of the China Roses, it would be bet-
ter in this latitude to give it the same protection as recom-
mended for the China. It is one of the most desirable
roses for beds or borders. When covering the whole
ground, and kept well pegged down, its rich, glossy foli-
age, gemmed with fragrant flowers, produces a beautiful

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION, 5]

effect. The varieties of this rose are very few, but the
best two are the following :

Alba odorata,—A vigorous growing rose, with very
rich and beautiful foliage. Its fragrant flowers are cream-
colored, and, when in bud, are very beautiful. It has
stood the last three winters uninjured in our grounds,
without protection, and is a very beautiful and desirable
variety. It is classed by Rivers as a Microphylla, but it
so little resembles that rose, and is so decidedly Macart-
ney in its character, that we place it with the latter.

Maria Leonida,—A very beautiful, but not entirely
double variety, as its stamens can sometimes be seen,
which, however, give a graceful appearance. Its flowers
are finely cupped, and pure white, with a tinge of blush
at the base of the petals.

MICROPHYLLA ROSES.

This species, originally from the Himalayan Mountains,
was first brought to Europe in 1823. Its foliage is small
and singular, and its growth is very robust. Its flowers
bloom from midsummer till frost, and have a striking ap-
pearance ; they are very double, with a calyx of which
the small, bristling sepals give the opening bud the ap-
pearance of a small chestnut. The plant is hardy, and
has endured the winter in our grounds for the past twenty
years without protection, losing only a portion of the tops
of its shoots. Of the several varieties, one of the best is

Rubra, which has very double and cupped flowers, of
a blush and often rose color, with a deep red centre.

MUSK ROSES.

The Musk Rose grows naturally in Persia and other
Eastern countries, where it attains the height of a small
tree, and is doubtless the rose which has been celebrated

or

2 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

by Eastern poets. It is also found in India, where it is
probably the species used for making attar. In this lati-
tude it is quite hardy, and we have a plant of the old
White Musk in our grounds, that has braved the severity
of more than twenty winters. It has made in one season
shoots more than six feet long, and in our Southern
States, more than double the growth would probably be
obtained. The blossoms appear in clusters, and commenc-
ing later than any other rose, continue abundant through:
out the season. The Old White Cluster has been widely
distributed throughout the country, and is deservedly a
favorite. The best two varieties, however, are the fol-
lowing:

Eponine,—A cupped and very double variety, with the
peculiar musk fragrance. It is pure white, and a very
pretty rose.

Princess of Nassau.—A luxuriant growing and very
fragrant variety, and would make a good pillar rose. It
blooms in large clusters of cupped flowers, changing from
yellow to cream color as they open.

ROSES THAT BLOOM ONLY ONCE IN THE SEASON.
GARDEN ROSES.

For want of a better, we use this term to designate all
those roses that bloom only once in the season, and that
strongly resemble each other in habit and flower. It in-
cludes those classes called, by rose-growers, French, Proy-
ence, Hybrid Provence, Hybrid China, Hybrid Bourbon,
White and Damask Roses.

On a preceding page, we have given our opinion re-
specting classification, but we wish it to be fully under-
stood, that we do not deny the existence of clearly dis-
tinctive characters in the true French, Provence, Damask,
etc., but simply assert that the lines of difference between

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 53

these so run into each other, and are so blended together,

Fig. 4.—GARDEN ROSE.

that it is almost impossible to know where to place a new
rose, which may partake of the qualities of all. We have

54 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

mentioned Rivers as the most skillful and correct of rose-
growers ; and yet, in classing Lady Fitzgerald and Mad-
ame Hardy among the Damasks, he says that neither of
them are pure Damask; and the Duke of Cambridge,
which at first he thought a Hybrid China, he now places
as a Damask ; other similar instances are frequent. Many
roses, moreover, are classed as hybrids which are not truly
such. We are quite inclined to think that a large number
of the varieties supposed to have been produced by hy-
bridizing are nothing more than the natural produce, and
that the pollen, in many cases, has not impregnated the
pistil to which it was applied. With this uncertainty,
therefore, as evinced by Rivers in his work, and with
doubts of the hybridity of supposed hybrids, we deem it
better to class them all together; and, for the benefit of
those who may prefer the old classification, to attach to
each name the class by which it has been hitherto known.

We write principally for the amateur, and we think he
will find it less embarrassing to make a selection from this
classification than from the old one.

A great number of Garden Roses exist, but we describe
here only a few distinct varieties, with cclors which are
seldom found among the Remontants.

All the others have either their equals or their superiors
among the Remontants, and being certain to bloom only
once in the season, are scarcely worthy of cultivation,
compared with the Remontants.

Chénédole, H. €.—One of the most splendid varieties,
and is truly beautiful. Its foliage and habit are very
good, and its very luxuriant growth makes it a good pil-
lar rose. Its flower is cupped, large, double, and fragrant,
and its color is a rich, glowing crimson, of almost dazzling
brilliancy. It is altogether the most desirable rose of this
class.

Charles Lawson, H. B.—This has handsome foliage,

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 55

and vigorous habit of growth, with large, symmetrical,
and bright rose-colored flowers.

Coupe d’Hébé, H. B.K—A gem of the family. It is large,
double, symmetrical, and finely cupped. Its cotor a deli-
cate, wax-like, rosy pink. Its growth is luxuriant, and
adapted for pillars.

Emerance, H, P,—A beautiful cupped rose, of a color
unusual in this class, being of a pale lemon or straw
color. Its form is very regular, and the habit of the plant
good,

George the Fourth, H, €@.—An old rose, produced by
T. Rivers, but is still one of the most desirable of this
class. Its flowers are of a dark crimson, and its young
shoots have a purple tinge. Its very luxuriant habit
makes it suitable for a pillar.

Julie d’Etranges, F,—This has a large cupped flower,
of a delicate rose color,

Madame Hardy, F.—A vigorous habit, and finely shaped
flower. Its color is pure white, sometimes with a green
centre.

Madame Plantier, H. €,—A cupped and double pure
white rose. It is a luxuriant grower, a most abundant
bloomer, and one of the very best of the white summer
roses. Its foliage is so marked in its richness and beauty
that any one can readily distinguish it by that alone,
Were it Remontant, it would possess all the requisites of
a perfect white rose.

Obscurité, F.—One of the darkest roses known.

Gillet Parfait, F,—A beautiful striped rose, resembling
a carnation. Its form is compact, and its color a very
light blush, nearly white, beautifully and distinctly striped
with rose and bright crimson,

Tricolor de Flandre, F.,—A very double, distinct, and
compact flower. Its color is lilac, striped with red and
crimson,

56 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.
MOSS ROSES.

The Moss Rose was introduced into England from Hol-
land in the sixteenth century, and is first mentioned by
Miller, in 1727, by whom it was supposed to be a sport of
the Provence Rose, which opinion has been confirmed by
modern botanists. Its peculiarities are the delicate prick
les which crowd its stem, and the beautiful mossy cover-
ing of its calyx. This mossy appearance has been deemed
by some a mere lusus nate, and by others the work of
an insect similar to that which produces the Bédéguar, or
Rose-gall. The former opinion, however, prevails; and
this freak of nature cultivators have succeeded in fixing
and perpetuating in a great number of varieties. The
first Moss Rose known in France was said to have been
introduced there by Madame de Genlis, who brought it
with her on her return from England. In 1810, scarcely
more than one variety was known, and now there exist
more than a hundred. Of these, the best and most dis-
tinct are the following :

Alice Leroy.—Light rosy-pink, free blooming, and of
good habit.

Baronne de Wassenaer,—This has a good form, bright
red color, and flowers in clusters.

Captain Ingram,—F lowers of a dark, velvety purple.

Comtesse de Murinais,—A vigorous habit. Its color is
pile flesh, changing to pure white, and it is one of the
best of the white Mosses.

Common,—This is the old Rose-colored Moss, which
has been generally cultivated in gardens. It grows well,
blooms freely, is well covered with moss, and is one of
the best of the old varieties.

Cristata.—A very singular and beautiful variety, said
to have been discovered in the crevice of a wall at Fri-
burg, in Switzerland, Rivers classes it with the Provence

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 57

Roses, and when open, it is merely a variety of that rose ;
but when in bud, it is more properly a Moss, although its
calyx is not covered with a fine moss, but has more of a
crested appearance. In a rich soil this fringe-like crest
most beautifully clasps and surmounts the bud, and gives
the rich clusters a truly elegant appearance. Its form is
globular, and its color rose. It is one of the few that do
not grow well on their own roots, but require to be bud-
ded on some strong-growing stock,

Etna.—Brilliant crimson, tinted with purple.

Eugene Verdier.—Light red, deeper in the center,
large, full, and of fine form.

Gloire des Mousseuses.—A large and handsome flower,
with a clear, pale rose color.

John Cranston,—Crimson and purple shaded, of me-
dium size, full.

Louis Gimard.—Bright red, large and full, vigorous.

Little Gem.—A miniature Moss Rose, forming com-
pact bushes densely covered with small double crimson
flowers, beautifully mossed. It is of charming effect in
the garden and most valuable for bouquets or vases.

Laneii.—A vigorous grower, and has large and thrifty
foliage. The buds are large and well mossed, and it is
beautiful both in bud and expanded. Its color is bright
rose.

Luxembourg.—Like the last, of vigorous growth. Its
flowers are a purplish crimson,

Madame de Rochelambert.—This has large and full
flowers, of an amaranth color.

Madame Edouard O6ry.—This was described among
the Remontant Mosses.

Nuits de Young,—Plant of a dwarf habit. Its flowers
are small, with a deep, velvety purple color.

Princesse Adelaide.—A remarkably vigorous-growing
3%

58 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

variety, with large and handsome foliage, and would
make a good pillar rose. Its regularly formed flowers,
of a bright pink or rose, are produced in clusters, and
open well. It does not bear close pruning. This is one
of the most desirable of its class, and owes its origin to
Laffay.

Princess Royal.—A very robust rose, almost equal to
the preceding in vigor, Its young leaves and branches
have a red tinge, and its cupped flowers are of a deep
crimson purple, marbled and spotted with red. Although
not quite double when fully open, they are very beautiful
when in bud. A moss rose, however double, is peculiar
only in bud, for, when fully expanded, the mossy calyx
must inevitably be hidden,

Perpetual White.—This was described among the Re-
montant Mosses, as also were

Reine Blanche.—Pure white, large and full.
Salet.

White Bath.—Paper-white, beautiful, large and full,
one of the best.

Like all other roses, and even in a greater degree, the
Moss Rose requires a light and very rich soil, with a dry
bottom. Many of them make very beautiful beds and
patches, when planted in rich soil, and kept well pegged
down. A good supply of stable manure should be given
them in the autumn, to be washed down about their roots
by the winter rains. They do not generally require or
bear so much pruning as other roses, but their bloom
may sometimes be prolonged by shortening part of the
shoots close, and only the tips of the remainder. When
properly cultivated, few objects can be more beautiful
than these roses, either singly or in masses. Without
making so brilliant a show as some other classes, the moss
which envelops them imparts a touch of graceful beauty
belonging to no other flower.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION, 5$

SCOTCH ROSES.

These roses are all derived from a dwarf rose found
growing wild in Scotland and in the north of England.
They are distinguished by their small leaves, abundant
bloom, and delicate habit. Being perfectly hardy, they
are desirable for beds or borders, in which, with proper
arrangement of colors, they show beautifully, sometimes
two weeks before other roses open, producing flowers
all along the stem. Rose growers describe, in their cata-
logues, two or three hundred varieties, but !of them all,
scarcely forty or fifty are distinct; of these the best three
are the following:

Countess of Glasgow,—A very pretty and brilliant dark
rose, blooming abundantly.

Queen of May.—A fine and distinct variety, of a bright
pink color.

William the Fourth,—An excellent variety, of luxuri-
ant growth. Its flowers are pure white, and among the
largest of the class,

BRIER ROSES.

These roses are distinguished by their small, rough fo-
liage and brier habit. They include the Sweet-Brier, the
Hybrid Sweet-Brier, and the Austrian Brier, The Sweet-
Brier is found in various parts of this country and in Eu-
rope, and is distinguished by the peculiar delightful fra-
grance of its leaves. Its simple little flower, found among
the hedges, has been long a favorite, and, under the name
of Eglantine, has been often the theme of poets.

The Hybrid Sweet-Brier is allied to the preceding, but
has larger foliage, and is of more robust growth. Many
roses have been placed in this class and among the Sweet-
Briers that have none of the peculiar scent of the Sweet-
Briers; and hence, again, the necessity of classing togeth-

60 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

er these and the Austrian Briers, respecting which there
is much confusion. The true Austrian Rose is a native
of the South of Europe, and is a clearly distinct rose; but
some have been called Austrian which have scarcely any
of the characters of the original rose. All three, how-
ever, are Briers, that is, they produce their flowers on
short joints all along the stem, and have the peculiar rough,
briery leaves. We therefore place them all together, at-
taching as before the name of the old class. The best are
the following:

Celestial, S. BX—A small cupped rose, very double and
fragrant, of a pale flesh-color and very pretty.

Copper Austrian, A. B.—A very singular looking rose,
blooming well in this climate. The inside of the flower
is of a coppery-red, and the outside inclining to pale yel-
low or sulphur. It is desirable for its peculiar color.

Double Margined Hip, H. 8S, B.—Of luxuriant growth,
almost adapted for a pillar. Its form is cupped, and its
color creamy-white, shaded with pink,

Double Yellow Provence is the best of the two vari-
eties which compose the species called Sulphurea. We
have never seen its flowers, and English writers all speak
of the great difficulty of making it bloom. Rivers ree-
ommends to bud it on strong stocks, and says that it
blooms most profusely in the warm, dry climate of Flor-
ence and Genoa. The plant grows with luxuriance and
produces plenty of flower-buds, which, with proper culture,
would probably open in our warm climate, which is very
similar to that of Florence and Genoa. Its small foliage
and slender, thorny wood, place it fairly among the Bri-
ers. Its flower is so fine that it is well worth the trouble
of repeated experiment to obtain a good bloom. It has
long been admired and exercised the skill of rose grow-
ers, as is proved by the following passages from some old
works, which give instructions for proper culture :

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 61

“Whereas all other roses are best natural, this is best
inoculated upon another stock. Others thrive and bear
best in the sun; this, in the shade: therefore the best way
that I know to cause this rose to bring forth fair and
kindly flowers, is performed after this manner. First in
the stock of a Francfort Rose, near the ground, put in the
bud of the single yellow rose, which will quickly shoot to
a good length; then, half a yard higher than the place
where the same was budded, put into it a bud of the
double yellow rose, which growing, the suckers must be
kept from the root, and all the buds rubbed off, except
those of the kind desired, which, being grown big enough
to bear (which will be in two years), it must in winter be
pruned very near, cutting off all the small shoots, and
only leaving the biggest, cutting off the tops of them
also, as far as they are small. Then in the spring, when
the buds for leaves come forth, rub off the smallest of
them, leaving only some few of the biggest, which, by
reason of the strength of the stock, affordeth more nour:
ishment than any other, and the agreeable nature of the
single yellow rose, from whence it is immediately nourish-
ed, the shoots will be strong and able to bear out the
flowers, if they be not too many, which may be prevented
by nipping off the smallest buds for flowers. The tree
should stand something shadowed, and not too much in
the heat of the sun, and in a standard by itself, rather
than under a wall.” That which follows is from a book
called Systema Horticulture, dated 1688 :—‘ There is no
flower-bearing tree that yields blossom so beautiful as t!:c
rose, wherecf the yellow Provence Rose is the most beau-
tiful where it brings forth fair and kindly flowers, which
hath been obtained by budding a single yellow rose on the
stock of a flour'shing Trancfort Rose near the ground:
when that single yellow is well grown, in that branch inoe-
ulate your double yellow rose; then cut off all suckers and
shoots from the first and second, leaving only your last,

62 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

which must be pruned very near, leaving but few buds,
which will have the more nourishment, and yield the
fairer and more entire blossoms. This tree, or a layer
from a rose of the same kind, delights most, and blows
fairest, in a cold, moist, and shady place, and not against
a hot wall.”

Harrisonii.—A fine yellow Brier of American origin,
and is perhaps the best hardy yellow rose for general cul-
tivation.

Persian Yellow, A. B.—This is the deepest yellow rose
known, and is a highly improved edition of the Harris-
on. Its flowers are more double, and of a deeper yellow
than that rose. It grows freely, blooms abundantly, and
its small double flowers possess a richness of color un-
equaled by any other rose. No garden should be without
it. It should be added, however, that it is exceedingly
difficult to strike from cuttings, and is one of those few
varieties for which budding upon another stock is prefer-
able.

Rose Angle, S. B. — An excellent variety, with very
fragrant foliage, and large double flowers of a bright rose
color. It is one of the best of the true Eglantines, -

Like the Moss Roses, the Briers will not bear much
pruning, and require merely the tips of the shoots to be
cut off.

AYRSHIRE ROSES.

This class is very valuable for covering unsightly places,
old buildings, and decayed trees. They bloom some two
weeks earlier than other roses, and will grow in soil where
others would scarcely vegetate. Hence they are valuable
for covering naked sand-banks, or bare spots of earth, and
their roots would be of material assistance in keeping up
the soil of loose banks. Rivers gives an extract from the
Dundee Courier, showing the effect produced by some of
these roses.

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 5

““Some years ago, a sand pit at Ellangowan was filled
up with rubbish found in digging a well. Over this a
piece of rock was formed for the growth of plants which
prefer such situations, and among them were planted some
half dozen plants of the Double Ayrshire Rose, raised in this
neighborhood about ten years ago. These roses now most
completely cover the whole ground, a space of thirty feet
by twenty. At present they are in full bloom, showing
probably not less than ten thousand roses in this small
space.”

The Ayrshire Roses are also valuable for weeping trees ;
when budded on a stock some ten or twelve feet high, the
branches quickly reach the ground, and protecting the
stem from the sun by their close foliage, present a weep-
ing tree of great beauty, loaded with flowers.

Dundee Rambler.—One of the best and most double
of the Ayrshire Roses. Its color is white, often edged
with pink, and blooming in large clusters. It is a very
desirable variety.

Double Blush Ayrshire.—A most vigorous climber,
with a pretty flower, and will grow in the poorest soil.

BANKSIAN ROSES,

Roses of this class have a very small flower closely re-
sembling that of the double Spirea prunifolia, and
blooming in clusters of about the same size. In this
climate they require the protection of a green-house, and
are very striking for the great profusion of their coryml:s
of pure white or deep yellow flowers. We recollect see-
ing, at the Botanic Garden at Naples, a very large plant
of the Banksian Rose, the main stem being six inches in
diameter, and branching off into a dozen others, fifty feet
or more long. In the Southern States they would grow
well in the open air, and being most vigorous climbers,
would soon cover a house or trellis, and, with their smal]

64 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

Pi most abundant flowers interspersed among the smooth
éy-g -green foliage, would form an object of great beauty

vs < eo “Douple White,—Introduced into England from China
eas “in, 1807, and named in honor of Lady Banks. It is a
ONG AVenutifil little rose about half an inch in diameter, bloom-
ay ing. abundantly in small and pure white clusters with a

* slight perfume like that of the violet.

Double Yellow.—Introduced in 1827. It has bright
buffyellow flowers; these are produced in great abund-
ance, and give a pleasant perfume before the dew is off
early in the morning, or just at ¢vening.

?
fos

Fortuniana,—Introduced by Fortune in 1850. It has
white fragrant flowers of much larger size than the pre-
ceding varieties. Its want of the petite character of the
others makes it less beavtifal and striking.

Jaune Serin,—A l.xrriant growing variety, with yel-
low flowers of larger size than those of the old Yellow
Banksia.

The Banksian Roses do not bear much pruning. It
should be done immediately after the bloom is over, and
then only the heavier branches cut out, leaving those
which are full ¢€ flower-bearing twigs, w men should not
be shortened. If the branches are all shortened, the
plants will produce an abundance of strong, new wood,
but xo Jowers.

BOUBSAULT ROSES.

This class is rxarked by its long, flexible, reddish shoots,
which grow rapidly, and are perfectly hardy. Their
smooth bark rendu: them desirable for stocks to bud up-
on, and a fine reve of this class, covering a trellis and bud-
ded with roses */ various colors, would present a beauti-
ful appearance, These, also, are impatient of much
pruning.

\ ~
GARDEN CLASSIFICATION. 65

Amadis.—One of the best, with its pendulous clusters

of large purplish-crimson flowers. yasive 7;

Blush.—This has large, double, blush flowers. ,%)

%*; at
EVERGREEN ROSES. $
f
‘ di) Wits bY

The original of this class is the Rosa sempervirens, a
wild rose of Italy. They are very beautiful and desirable,
and although not entirely evergreen in this climate, retain
their foliage very late in the season, They are very easy
of cultivation, and most luxuriant climbers over naked
trees, old houses, fences, and walls, or along the surface of
the ground, which they will soon cover to the exclusion
of all weeds, and present a large mass of rich, glossy foli-
age, and abundant bloom. When thus planted, the large
weeds should be pulled up until the plant fairly covers
the ground, when no more attention will be needed. They
are well adapted for training up columns, and we know
of few things more beautiful than a temple formed of
numerous columns, with Evergreen Roses growing lux-
uriantly upon them and festooned gracefully between.
Nothing, indeed, can be more gracefully beautiful than
festoons, wherever they can be made. They constitute
the chief beauty of the vine-clad fields of Italy, and there
would be no less beauty in occasional festooning of roses
trained between pillars or the trees of alawn. They are
also very beautiful when budded on high standards, their
dark-green glossy foliage weeping to the ground, and
forming a fine dome or pyramid of leaf and bloom. When
pruned in the winter, the branches may be thinned out,
but not shortened; for if pruned close, they will make a
luxuriant growth the next season, but will produce no
flowers.

Félicité Perpetuelle.—A most beautiful rose, and one
of the very best of the class; when properly cultivated,

66 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

it produces an abundance of very double creamy-white
flowers, shaped like a double ranunculus.

Melanie de Montjoie.—A variety of much beauty. Its
abundant and glossy dark-green foliage contrasts beauti-
fully with its large, pure white flowers.

Myrianthes.—One of the best of this class. Its flow.
ers are perfectly shaped, and of a very delicate rose colo-.

Triomphe de Bollwiller,—A very fine hybrid between
the Evergreen and Tea Roses. It is rather tender in this
climate, but valuable for its tendency to bloom in the au-
tumn. Its flowers are very large, double, fragrant, and
globular, and their color is a blush or creamy white. At
the South, where it would not be killed by the cold weath-
er, this would be one of the most desirable climbing roses.

HYBRID CLIMBING ROSES.

We include here some which do not belong to any of the
distinct classes.

Indica Major.—A_ hybrid climbing rose, of most lux-
uriant growth and nearly evergreen foliage. Its flowers
are yery large, double, and of a delicate rose color. The
very rapid growth of this rose makes it excellent for coy-
ering old buildings. We recollect bemg shown, at the
Bartram garden of Philadelp:ia, a fine old plant which
had covered the whole side of the house, and presented a
beautiful appearance. Buist states it to be this variety.

Madame d’Arblay is a truly gigantic hybrid climber,

perfectly hardy, and with strong, Bourbon-like foliage. It
blooms in large clusters of pure white flowers, and is a
truly execllent variety.

Menoux.
which is not common among climbing roses.

Sir Johu Sebright,— A hybrid Musk rose, grown by

This variety has crimson flowers, a color

GARDEN CLASSIFICATION, 67

Rivers. Its flowers are produced in large clusters, are
very fragrant, and their color is a bright crimson-scarlet.

The Garland.—A most vigorous hybrid climber, bloom-
ing in immense clusters of fragrant, creamy-white flowers,
changing to blush after expansion. When in full bloom,
the contrast of the large white clusters with the bright
green foliage is very beautiful.

MULTIFLORA ROSES,

The parent of this class is a native of China and Japan.
They are unfortunately somewhat tender in this climate.
We have known them to endure safely several winters
when unprotected, but they are unreliable in this respect.
One of the best is

Grevillei or Seven Sisters.—It has a remarkably vig-
orous growth, and blooms with unusual profusion. A
large plant will not unfrequently show more than a thou-
sand flowers, all blooming in clusters and of several shades
of color, This variety is impatient of much pruning.

De la Grifferaie.—This bears the knife better than the
preceding, and may be grown as a bush with proper

pruning. It is hardier than others of the class, and bears
a profusion of blush and rose-colored flowers.

Laure Davoust.—One of the most beautiful of the
Multiflora Roses, and of most luxuriant growth. It has
larger flowers and handsomer foliage than any of the other
Multiflora Roses, and blooms in immense clusters of per-
fect flowers, changing from white to pink. For covering
houses or trellises it is very desirable.

Russelliana.—This is very vigorous, and yet bears
pruning so well that it may be grown as a bush. Its
clusters are large, and the flowers change as they open
from dark to light red lilac, giving it a singular appearance.

68 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

THE PRAIRIE ROSE.

The double varieties of the original Michigan Rose, or
Rosa rubifolia, have nearly all been produced by Samuel
Feast, of Baltimore, while a few new varieties owe their
origin to Joshua Pierce, of Washington. They are re-
markable for their perfectly hardy nature, braving equally
well the frosts of Canada or the heat of Louisiana. The
leaves are large, rather rough, and of a rich dark-green,
They grow with unexampled rapidity, exceeding in this
respect any of the climbing roses, and would cover old
buildings or naked ground in a very short space of time,
They bloom after the other summer roses are mostly gone,
and produce their flowers abundantly in large clusters of
different shades, from the shaded white of Baltimore
Belle to the rich deep rose of

Queen of the Prairies,—This is the best, and of the
most luxuriant growth. Its large flowers are of a peculiar
cupped form, almost globular, when in bud, and altogether
of very perfect shape. They are of a deep rose color, with
a white stripe in the centre of each petal. This rose is
truly superb, and, for our cold winters and hot sun, an
unequaled climber. It would be a fine rose to cover a
trellis or building, and then bud into its branches a dozen
different Remontant or Bourbon Roses of various colors,
The tout ensemble would be superb.

Baltimore Belle.—This variety is thought by some to
have a strain of Noisette sap in it from the delicacy and
beauty of its flower and its tendency to bloom in the au-
tumn. It produces abundant clusters of white flowers
shaded with a slight cloud of pink. It is one of the finest
climbing roses known.

Gem of the Prairie, (Burgess’.)—A hybrid between
the Queen of the Prairies and the Remontant, Madame
Laffay. It is said to combine the vigorous growth of the
one with the rich color and delicate fragrance of the

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 69

other. We do not, however, think that it equals its
early promise.

Jane,.—Very double, of a deep rosy lilac.

Mrs. Hovey.—This has large white flowers, and all the
vigor of its class.

Pride of Washington.—A rosy liiac, and double.

There are several other varieties in this class, but the
preceding are the best.

CHAPTER III.
GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE.

As before stated, the Rose was the theme of the earli-
est poets of antiquity; and it was doubtless one of the
first plants selected to adorn the gardens which were laid
out around the new habitations constructed upon the ex-
change of the wandering for a civilized mode of life.

The most ancient authors upon husbandry, whose works
are extant, have all treated of the culture of Roses: Theo-
phrastus among the Greeks; and among the Romans,
Varro, Columella, Palladius, and Pliny. To Pliny are we
specially indebted for information on this subject, as the
entire fourth chapter of the twentieth book of his Natu-
ral History is devoted to Roses; and they are also occa-
sionally mentioned in other parts of the work. But after
all the information thus obtained, much yet remains to be
desired; and although we find in other ancient authors
some curious facts bearing upon other points in the his-
tory of the Rose, they are mostly so general in their
character as to give us very little insight into the actual
culture of the Rose at those periods.

70 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

The profuseness with which they were used among the
Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, and other ancient
nations in their religious solemnities, their public cere-
monies, and even in the ordinary customs of private life,
would lead us to suppose, and with some degree of cor-
rectness, that roses were very abundantly cultivated by
them all; and we are inclined to think that their cultiva-
tion was then fir more general than at the present time,
although the art of producing them was in its infancy.
However surprising in other respects may have been the
progress of the culture of roses within forty years, par-
ticularly in France, Holland, and Belgium, there can be
little doubt that, although the Romans were acquainted
with a much smaller number of varieties than the mod-
erns, yet flowers of those varieties were far more abund-
ant than the aggregate quantity of flowers of all the
varieties of roses cultivated at the present day. It can-
not be positively asserted that the Remontant Roses of
the present time were unknown at Rome, since the gar-
deners of that city practiced sowing the seeds of the Rose,
by which mode many of the most remarkable varieties of
that class have been obtained by modern cultivators. The
Romans, however, preferred to propagate by cuttings,
which produced flowering plants much sooner than those
from the seed.

But, though the Romans may have had roses of the
same species with some of those which we now cultivate,
it is scarcely probable that these species could have con-
tinued until this period, and escaped the devastation at-
tendant on the revolutions of empire, or the more deso-
lating invasions of the Huns and Goths. Thus it is, that
those roses of Pzestum, to which allusion is so frequently
made by ancient writers, and which, according to Virgil
and Pliny, bloomed semi-annually, and were common in
the gardens of that city, are not now to be found. Jussieu
and Loudresse, two French gentlemen, successively visit-

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 71

ed Italy with the express object of finding this twice-
bearing Rose in Pestum or its environs, yet, notwith-
standing their carefully prosecuted researches, they could
find no traces of it whatever.

Although the number of varieties known to the Ro-
mans was very limited, they had discovered a method of
making the blooming season continue many months, <Ac-
cording to Pliny, the roses of Carthage, in Spain, came
forward early and bloomed in winter; those of Campania
bloomed next in order; then those of Malta; and lastly
those of Pzstum, which flowered in the spring and au-
tumn. It was probably the blooming of this last species
which the gardeners of Rome discovered (in Seneca’s
time) the secret of retarding by a certain process, or of
hastening by means of their warm green-houses.

In the last part of this work, we have cited many pas-
sages from ancient authors, which show to what an enor-
mous extent the use of roses was carried by the Romans
on certain occasions. It is difficult to credit, at this day,
the relation of Nero’s extravagance (which is, however,
attested by Suetonius), when it is told that in one fete
alone he expended in roses only, more than four millions
of sesterces, or one hundred thousand dollars. It would
be no easy matter, even at the present period of abund-
ant cultivation of Roses, to obtain from all the nurseries
of England, France, and America together, roses sufficient
to amount to so large a sum.

The Romans derived the use of this flower from the
Greeks. In Greece, and throughout the East, roses were
cultivated, not only for the various purposes we have
mentioned, but also for the extraction of their perfumes.
Among the many plans which they adopted for presery-
ing the flower was that of cutting off the top of a reed,
splitting it down a short distance, and enclosing in it a
number of rose-buds, which, being bound around with
papyrus, prevented their fragrance from escaping. The

Wh PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Greeks also deemed it a great addition to the fragrance
of the Rose to plant garlic near its roots. The island of
Rhodes, which has successively borne many names, was
particularly indebted to the culture of roses for that which
it bears at this day. It was the Isle of Roses, the Greek
for Rose being Podov,—Rodon.

Medals of Rhodes, whose reverse impressions present a
rose in bloom on one side, and the sunflower on the other,
are to be found even now in cabinets of curiosities.

Extravagance in roses, among the Romans, kept pace
with the increase of their power, until they at length de-
sired them at all seasons. At first they procured their
winter’s supply from Egypt, but subsequently attained
themselves such skill in their culture as to produce them
in aLundance, even at the coldest season of the year;
and, according to Seneca, by means of grecn-houses,
heated by pipes filled with hot water. During the reign
of Domitian, the forcing of roses was carried to such per-
fection, and flowers produced in winter in so great abund-
ance, that those brought from Egypt, as before mention-
ed, excited only the contempt of the citizens of the
world’s metropolis.

This fact, as also handed down to us by the epigram
of Martial, is of great assistance in estimating the import-
ance of rose-culture at that period, and in showing how
the art of cultivating this plant had spread, and how it
was already far advanced among the ancient Romans and
their contemporaries.

If the Egyptians cultivated roses for transportation to

tome during the winter, they must have had very exten-
sive plantations for the purpose. The exportation could
not have been of loose flowers, for they would have been
withered long before the termination of the voyage; nei-
ther could it have been of rooted plants in a dormant
State, as nurserymen now send them to every part of the
world, because the Romans had at that time no means of

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. “iG:

causing them to vegetate and bloom in the winter. On
the contrary, the cultivators at Alexandria and Memphis
must, of necessity, have sent them away in the vases and
boxes in which they had planted them with that object,
and when they were just beginning to break from the
bud, in order that they might arrive at Rome at the mo-
ment they commenced expanding.

At that remote period, when navigation was far behind
its present state of perfection, the voyage from the mouth
of the Nile to the coast of Italy occupied more than
twenty days. When this long voyage is considered, and
also the quantity of roses required by the Romans to en-
wreath their crowns and garlands, to cover their tables
and couches, and the pavements of their festive halls, and
to surround the urns which contained the ashes of their
dead, it is evident that the Egyptians, who traded in
roses, in order to satisfy the prodigality of the Romans,
would be compelled to keep in readiness a certain number
of vessels to be Jaden with boxes or vases of rose-plants,
so prepared as not to bloom before their delivery at
Rome. The cost of roses thus delivered in Rome must
have been immense, but we do not find a single passage
in any of the ancient authors which can give any light on
this point ; they only tell us that nothing for the gratifi-
cation of luxury was considered too costly by the wealthy
Roman citizens. Nor do they afford more positive inform-
ation as to the species of Rose cultivated on the borders
of the Nile, to gratify this taste of the Romans. <Ac-
cording to Delile, there were found in Egypt, at the time
of the French expedition into that country, only the
White Rose and the Centifolia, or hundred-leayved—two
species not very susceptible of either a forcing or retard-
ing culture. The only Rose known at that time, which
bloomed in the winter, was the Rose of Pzestum, referred
to by Virgil, as “biferique rosaria Pesti,” and which
was probably the same as our monthly Damask Rose,

4

74 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

and which produced in Egypt and Rome flowers at all
seasons, as the Damask does now with us, under a proper
mode of culture.

The extent to which the culture and commerce of roses
was carried among the Romans is shown by the fact
that, although they had confounded the tree and its flow-
ers under one name—that of Rosa,—they nevertheless
gave particular appellations to the gardens or ground
planted with rose-bushes. They were termed a Rosariwn,
or a Rosetwm. Ovid says, “ Quot ameena Rosaria flores.”
The dealer in roses was also designated by the distinctive
appellation of Rosarius.

In the latter part of the decline of the Roman Empire,
when paganism still existed to a great degree, there arose
a people who formed, as it were, the connecting link be-
tween the ancient and modern world—a people who ac-
knowledged but one Supreme Ruler, and his sole vicege-
rent, Mahomet; a people whose origin was among the
wildest tribes of Ishmael’s descendants, who possessed in
a great degree the luxuries of civilized life, and among
whom the arts, sciences, and agriculture, were very flour-
ishing for many ages. Among the Moors of Spain, the
culture of the Rose was pursued with as much scientific
and practical method as at the present day, but with
somewhat less happy results. When in Paris, some years
since, we became acquainted with M. Hardy, the chief di-
rector of the Luxembourg gardens, and who is well
known to rose growers, by the many beautiful varieties
which he has originated. His interest in this subject was
very great, and in 1828, he published in the Journal des
Jardins some interesting observations which he had ex-
tracted from a manuscript of M. de la Neuville. The
latter having been employed as military superintendent
in Spain during the war of 1823, translated from a
Spanish version some parts of an Arabian work upon cul-

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 165)

ture in general, in which that of the Rose was mentioned,
with some important particulars. It stated that the
Moors, who formerly conquered Spain, attached the high-
est value to this most beautiful of their flowers, and culti-
vated it with as much care as we do ourselves. ‘‘ Accord-
ing to Abu-el-Jair,” says the translation, “ there are roses
of many colors — carnation white, fallow or yellow,
lapis-lazuli, or sky-blue.. Some are of this last color on
the outside, and yellow within. In the East they are ac-
quainted with roses which are variegated with yellow and
sky-blue, the inside of the corolla being of the one color,
and the outside the other. The yellow-heart is very com-
mon in Tripoli and Syria, and the blue-heart is found on
the coast of Alexandria.” To us, at the present day, this
relation may with reason seem incredible, since amid the
numerous varieties now existing, and the skill of their
cultivators, we have in no instance been able to obtain a
blue Rose. Abu-el-Jair may have ventured to state it as
a fact without proper authority, for, according to M. de
la Neuville, Abu-Abdallah-ebu-el-Fazel, another nearly
contemporaneous author, enumerated a variety of roses
without mentioning the blue. ‘* There are,” says this last
author, “four varieties of roses: the first is named the
Double White; it has an exquisite odor, and its cup
unites more than a hundred petals: the second is the Yel-
low, which is of a golden color, and bright as the jonquil ;
then the Purple; and lastly the flesh-colored, which is the
most common of them all.” Farther on the same author
adds: “The number of species is supposed to be large:
the Mountain or Wild ; the Double, which is variegated
with red and white shades; and the Chinese. The Double,
however, is the most beautiful, and is composed of forty
to fifty petals.”

The Moors multiplied roses by all the various methods
which are employed at this day: by suckers from the
root, by cuttings, by budding, and by grafting. The

76 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

pruning-knife was also freely used, in order to form regu-
lar heads.
There is a farther translation of De la Neuville from a
Spanish version of the “ Book of Agriculture,” written by
Ebu-Alwan, who lived in the twelfth century, and who, in
addition to his own experience, quoted largely from some
Chaldaic and Arabie writers. He states that the Moors
practiced two methods of sowing the seeds of the Rose.
The first was in earthen pans—a mode adapted to delicate
plants ; they were watered immediately after being sown,
and afterward twice a week until autumn, when such care
became unnecessary. The other method was sowing
broadcast as grain is sown, then covering the seed-beds
an inch deep with carefully sifted manure or fine mould,
and giving them the requisite watering. The plants from
these seed-beds did not produce flowers until the third
year after their being thus prepared, and until they had
been transplanted into squares or borders ; such is still the
ease with nearly all our summer roses, the only kind the
Mocrs appear to have possessed. They also understood
the art of forcing roses. “If you wish,” says Haj, an-
other author, “the Rose tree to bloom in autumn, you
must choose one that has been accustomed to periodical
waterings; you must deprive it of water entirely during
the heat of summer until August, and then give it an
abundance of moisture; this will hasten its growth, and
cause the expansion of its flowers in great profusion,
without impairing its ability to bloom the ensuing spring,
as usual.” “Or else,” adds the same author, “in the
month of October, burn the old branches to the level of
the earth, moisten the soil for eight consecutive days, and
then suspend the wateriny; alternate these periods of
moisture and drought as many as five times, and probably
in about sixty days, or before the end of autumn, the roots
will have thrown out vigorous branches, which will in due
time be loaded with flowers, without destroying the

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. Oth

ability of the plant to bloom again the following spring.”
The climate in which the Moors lived—that of Cordova,
Grenada, and Seville, where the winter is very much like
our Weather in mid-autumn—was very favorable to the
cultivation of the Rose. In this country the same re-
sults could doubtless be obtained in the Carolinas, and the
experiment would be well worth trying, even in the lati-
tude of New York. It would be no small triumph to
obtain an autumnal bloom of the many beautiful varieties
of French, Moss, or Provence Roses. Haj has also given
the method of keeping the Rose in bud, in order to pro-
long its period of blooming. THis process, however, is of
so uncertain a character, as scarcely to merit an insertion
here. The manuscript of De la Neuville also contains
particular directions for propagating roses, and for plant-
ing hedges of the Eglantine, to protect the vineyards and
gardens, and at the same time to serve as stocks for graft-
ing. Nothing is omitted in the Arabian treatise which
pertains to the management of this shrub; the manner of
weeding, transplanting, watering, etc., are

c

cultivating,
all particularly explained. Among a variety of curious
matters, it contains the process by which, for the purpose
of embellishing their gardens, they produced the appear-
ance of trees whose tops are loaded with roses. A hollow
pipe, four feet long, or more, if the top was to be large,
was obtained, of a well-proportioned diameter, set up-
right, to resemble the trunk of a tree, and filled with earth
or sand in a suitable state of moisture. In the top of
this pipe were planted several varieties of roses, of differ-
ent colors, which, rooting freely in the earth around them,
soon formed a bushy head, and represented a third-class
tree, clothed with rich foliage and beautiful flowers.

This plan could now be practiced with success; and
we can scarcely imagine more beautiful objects in a lawn
than a number of these pipes, of various heights, single,
and in groups, some low, with the small heads of the

78 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

China or Tea Roses, others high, and with the large, ro-
bust branches of the La Reine, and other Perpetuals, and
others, again, planted with some delicate climbing roses,
whose branches, fallmg down, would form a weeping tree
of a most unique, graceful, and showy character. The
pipes could be made of earthenware, tin, or wood, and be
painted in imitation of the bark of a tree. Still better
would be the trunk of a small tree, hollowed out for the
purpose, which, with the bark on, would puzzle many a
close observer, and which could show a luxuriant head of
leaves and flowers on the most sterile soil that ever formed
a lawn.

From what has been said on the culture of roses among
the .\:cors in Spain, there can be no doubt that they had
male reat progress therein; and with the exception of a
few statements, evidently unfounded in fact, as the graft-
ing of the Rose on the almond, the apple, the jujube, and
other trees, the little treatise translated by De la Neuville
certainly contains most excellent remarks upon the culture
of roses, whether we compare them with what the an-
cients have left us, or even with those of the various
writers on Rose culture in Europe and America within
the last half century.

As roses were so frequently propagated from the seed
by the Moors, they must have known quite a number of
varieties, exclusive of all those they had brought or ob-
tained from the East. The Yeliow Rose, unknown to us
until recently, was apparently familiar to them; and the

dlue Rose, of which their manuscripts speak, is now ex-

tinct, if it mdeed ever existed; for amid the infinite
variety of roses, of every color and shade, produced from
seed in modern times, no one has yet obtained a purely
Blue Rose, and its former existence may well seem to us
incredible.

Besides the Moorish cultivation in Spain, the Rose has
been an object of culture to a great extent in other coun:

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 79

tries. It has been cultivated principally for the beauty of
its flowers, but in many parts of Europe and Asia, and in
the north of Africa, its culture has been pursued for com-
mercial purposes. Of its abundance in Palestine, some
conception may be formed from the statement of travel-
ers, that they have not only seen them wild and in grent
profusion in the vicinity of Jerusalem, but have found
them in hedges, intermingled with pomegranate trees.
Doubday states that, when the Eastern Christians made
one of their processions in the Church of the Holy Sepul-
chre at Jerusalem, which continued some two hours, many
persons were present with sacks full of rose petals, which
they threw by handfuls on the people, and in such im-
mense quantities, that many were covered with them, and
they were scattered all over the pavement. In Syria and
Persia it has been cultivated from a very early period, and
the ancient name of the former, Suristan, is said to signify
the land of roses. Damascus, Cashmere, Barbary, and
Fayoum in Egypt, all cultivated the Rose extensively for
its distilled oil or essence. Very little is extant respecting
the culture of the Rose in the middle ages, but that it was
cultivated and valued is known by its having been worn
by knights at the tournament, as an emblem of their de-
votion to grace and beauty. According to Loudon,
“Tudovico Verthema, who traveled in the East in 1503,
observed that Tessa was particularly celebrated for roses,
and that he saw a great quantity of these flowers at Cali-
cut.” The Rose is to this day also extensively cultivated
in India, and for commercial purposes perhaps in greater
abundance than is now known in any other country.
Bishop Heber states that “Ghazepoor is celebrated
throughout India for the wholesomeness of its air and the
beauty and extent of its rose gardens. The Rose-tields,
which occupy many hundred acres in the neighborhood,
are described as, at the proper season, extremely beautt-
ful, They are cultivated for distillation and for making

80 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

‘Attar of Roses.’” He states also, that “many roses
were growing in the garden of tle palace of Delhi, and
the fountain pipes were carved with images of roses.”
Another writer describes in glowing colors the beauty of
Ghazepoor, the Gul-istan (the rose beds,) of Bengal.“ In
the spring of the year, an extent of miles around the
town presents to the eye a continual garden of roses, than
which nothing can be more beautiful and fragrant. The
sight is perfectly dazzling ; the plain, as far as the eye can
reach, extending in the same bespangled carpet of red and
green. The breezes, too, are loaded with the sweet odor
which is wafted far across the river Ganges.”

These statements sufficiently evince that the Rose was
not only valued by the Hindoos as an article of commerce,
but was intimately associated with their ideas of pleasure
and enjoyment.

Persia, however, was, above all other countries, preémi-
nent for roses. “Sir John Chardin, in 1686, found the
gardens of the Persians without parterres, labyrinths, and
other ornaments of European gardens, but filled with
lilies, peach trees, and roses; and all modern travelers
bear testimony to the esteem in which this flower is held
in the East.” Sir Wm. Ousley tells us, in his travels in
Persia, in 1819, that when he entered the flower garden
belonging to the Governor of the Castle, near Farso, he
was overwhelmed with roses; and Jackson, in his Jowrney,
etc., says that the roses of the Sinan Nile, or Garden of
the Nile, are unequaled ; and mattresses are made of their
leaves, for men of rank to recline upon. Buckinghian
speaks of the rose plantations of Damascus as occupying
an area of many acres, 2bout three miles from that city.
Sir Robert Ker Porter, speaking of the garden of one of
the royal palaces of Persia, says: “I was struck with the
appearance of two rose trecs, full fourteen feet high, laden
with thousands of flowers, in every degree of expansion,
and of a bloom and delicacy of scent that imbued the

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 81

whole atmosphere with exquisite perfume. Indeed, I be-
lieve that in no country in the world does the rose grow
in such perfection as in Persia; in no country is it so cul-
tivated and prized by the natives. Their gardens and
courts are crowded by its plants, their rooms ornamented
with roses, filled with its gathered branches, and every
bath strewed with the full-blown flowers, plucked with
the ever-replenished stems. * * * But in this deli-
cious garden of Negaaristan, the eye and the smell are not
the only senses regaled by the presence of the Rose: the
ear is enchanted by the wild and beautiful notes of multi
tudes of nightingales, whose warblings seem to increase
in melody and softness, with the unfolding of their favor-
ite flowers. Here, indeed, the stranger is more power-
fully reminded, that he is in the genuine country of the
nightingale and the Rose.” Rivers mentions that Sir
John Malcolm told him, that when in Persia he had once
breakfasted on an immense heap, or rather mount, of roses,
which the Persians had raised in honor of him. The rose
of Cashmere has been long celebrated in the East, for its
brilliancy and delicacy of odor—

“Who has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere,
With its Roses, the brightest that earth ever gave?”

Throughout the whole season during which the roses
remained in bloom in this beautiful valley, the Feast of
Roses was kept with great rejoicing, and an entire aban-
donment to pleasure. At this time, a great number of
tents were pitched, and multitudes of men, women, boys,
and girls, were dancing and singing to the music of their
various instruments.

All that has been handed down to us, and all we know
at the present time of the climate and productions of
Persia, and the customs of its inhabitants, prove that it
was emphatically the land of rosex; and all that we can
gather from its history or tradition evinces, that to the

4*

82 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

inhabitants of the East, including the Hindoos and the
Moors of Spain, is this beautiful flower indebted for the
most careful and abundant cultivation, and for a due ap-
preciation of its merits.

At the present time the Rose is cultivated throughout
the civilized world. Loudon speaks of hedges of mixed
Provence Roses, in the garden of Rosenstein, in Germany,
and also of their profusion in the public garden of Frank-
fort. They are found in the gardens of Valencia, in
Spain, and Sir John Carr, speaking of the seat of a Span-
ish gentleman near Tarragona, says, “The doors of the
dining room open into a small garden, the walls of which
are covered with myrtles, jasmines, and roses.’’ In the
Botanic garden of Madrid, rose trees are used for divid-
ing hedges, and the flower is a favorite throughout Spain,

Among the Spanish ladies, the Rose is highly valued,
and, with the Orange flower, is a favorite ornament for the
hair. We have frequently been struck, while traveling in
the Spanish West Indies, and in some parts of South
America, with the careful nurture and attention bestowed
on a single rose bush, and the delight exhibited at its bloom,
while all around in natural luxuriance were the most beau-
tiful and gorgeous plants and flowers which the tropics
can produce. The brilliant cactus, the beautiful oleander,
the singular orchids, and the delicate and fragrant flowers
of the coffee and orange, seemed cast into the shade by
the ancient and well-known Rose.

I well recollect, that on returning one day from a ride into
the country, where I had been luxuriating in the gorgeous
splendor of a tropical forest, the fair daughter of my host-
ess wished to introduce me to a flower, which, in her
opinion, far surpassed all that I had seen; she accompanied
me to the top of the flat-roofed house, used at the South
as a place of evening resort, and there, in one corner, I
found a thrifty plant of the Tea Rose, which to her infin-
ite delight, was just sowing above iis glossy and deiicate

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 3

young leaves, a little ruby-tipped bud. This little plant
had been the object of long and careful nursing, and her
attention was now about to be rewarded by a fine and
perfect bloom.

In France, however, is the Rose a preéminent object of
horticulture, both in commercial establishments and in
private gardens. The skill of the French has originated
many new and beautiful varieties, which are to be found
in several of the nurseries in the United States. The
French are constantly searching for improvements in hor-
ticultural science and practice, with an enthusiasm rarely
found in the more cold Englishman, whose skill seems to
consist less in the creation of new varieties, than in grow-
ing perfectly those already known. None, indeed, can
surpass the English in the art of growing fine plants, but
we are chiefly indebted to the French for the finest new
varieties of the Rose.

In Great Britain, although comparatively little attention
has been paid to the obtaining of new varieties, the culture
is more careful and the nomenclature more correct. The
competition excited by their numerous horticultural ex-
hibitions causes great attention to be given to correct
nomenclature and to symmetric:l habit of growth. We
can imagine nothing more beautiful than some of the
plants that we saw at the exhibitions of the London Hor-
ticultural Society at Chiswick; every plant was pruned,
trained and grown, after an ideal, but perfect model, with
its. close and luxuriant foliage, its thiifty, symmetrical
habit, and the thick, leathery petals of its well-cupped
flower. This high standard should be introduced into
every Society, and if such were the case in this country
and the rule were carefully obeyed, the character of our ex-
hibitions would ina short time be very materially changed.

T. Rivers is one of the most extensive rose cultivators
in England, and is also known as the author of a very ex-
cellent descriptive work on the Rose, He has also been

84 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

successful in hybridizing, and has originated some very fine
varieties. His attention was at one time directed almost
exclusively to the Rose, but it now includes many other
nursery articles, and on our visit to him, we found him
much interested with experiments in fruit culture. Lane,
Wood, and Paul, are esteemed very good cultivators, and
generally correct in their nomenclature. From these sey-
eral establishments in England and France have been im-
ported most of the varicties now existing in this country.
Their trade with the United States is, however, compara-
tively limited, from the great risk of loss by a sea voyage.
We have frequently lost in this way two-thirds or three-
quarters of an importation, to our great annoyance and
expense, and it is only by repeated and persevering im-
portations that we have been able to obtain all the desira-
ble varieties,

In the United States the culture of the Rose has been
very much neglected, until within a few years. Tulips
and dahlias have successively been the rage, and although
there has long existed a great variety of roses, compara-
tively few of them have been cultivated, even in the best
gardens of the United States. Now the tide is turning.
Dahlias are going out of repute, and the Rose is resuming
its ancient empire in the queendom of Ilora. The advent
of the Bourbon and the Remontant, or Perpetual classes,
has no doubt materially aided this change, but it is ina
great part owing to the easy culture of the plant, and the
intrinsic merits and beauty of the flower. The taste of
the horticultural public being thus decidedly for the Rose,
a demand will exist for all the information respecting soil,
planting, cultivating, ete., and this information we shall
endeavor to supply in a simple and concise manner, avoid-
ing, as far as possible, all technicalities, and adapting it to
the use of the cultivator of a single plant in the crowded
border of a city garden, or to the more extended culture
of a commercial establishment.

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 85

Each cultivator has his peculiar mode of doing things,
and there may be those who deem the mode laid down
here inferior to their own. From these we should be glad
to hear, and to make any corrections they may suggest,
where such corrections appear to be founded upon true
principles. Jn order to make our work as perfect as pos-
sible, we have not hesitated to add to our own experience
all the information derived from a personal inspection of
Trench and English nurseries, and to cull from foreign
works and periodicals all that may interest our readers,
Such information, as far as it coincides with our own ex-
perience, we shall glad!y incorporate, with the hope that
we may be successful in presenting every fact of interest
which may exist respecting the cultivation of our favorite
flower.

&6 PARSONS ON Tila LOSE.

CHAPTER IV.

SOIL, SITUATION, AND PLANTING.

The most suitable soil is a strong, rich loam, or vegeta-
ble mould mixed with about one-quarter its bulk of well-
decomposed stable manure. If the soil of the garden
where the roses are to be planted differs materially from
this, it should be made to approach it as nearly as possible
by the addition of the requisite soil and manure. Ina
good vegetable garden, the soil, with the addition of a
little manure, will grow the Rose well. When the soil,
however, is of an inferior character, holes should be dug
three or four times the size of the roots of a well-grown
rose bush and filled with compost of the above character,

Rivers recommends, as the best compost for roses, rot-
ten dung and pit-sand for cold, clayey soils; and for warm,
dry soils, rotten dung and cool loams. He also states
that he has found night soil, mixed with the drainings of
the dunghill, or even with common ditch or pond water,
so as to make a thick liquid, the best possible manure for
roses, poured on the surface of the soil twice in winter—
one to two gallons to each tree. The soil need not be
stirred until spring, and then merely loosened two or three
inches deep, with the prongs of a fork; for poor soil, and
on lawns, previously removing the turf, this will be found
most efficacious. He directs this compost to be applied
in the first two winter months, but as our ground is fre-
quently frozen so hard then that it cannot absorb the
liquid, it would probably be best to apply it in this coun-
try a month earlier. Where a bed or border of roses is
to be planted, it is well to dig out the soil to the depth
of two or two and a half feet; fill the bottom to the depth

SOIL, SITUATION, AND PLANTING. 87

of six inches with small stones, and then replace the earth,
well fertilized, as directed above. Nothing is more in-
jurious to the Rose than a wet, retentive subsoil; and
where expense and trouble are no object, this perfect
draining is much the best calculated to ensure a thrifty
growth and perfect bloom. <A rich and dry soil is, in fact,
all-important; for otherwise the most double flower will
frequently become single or semi-double. We have seen
a plant of La Reine produce a perfect flower in the green-
house, and when removed to an inferior soil, produce
flowers almost single. It may therefore be safely laid
down as a rule, that it is impossible to make the soil too
rich for the Rose, and that in proportion to the fertilizing
matter contained therein, provided it is properly decom-
posed, will be the approximation of the plant and the
flower to perfection. The fertility of the soil may be very
much assisted by frequent applications of liquid manure,
made either of cow dung or guano; the former is always
safe; the latter, valuable if properly used, may, in the
hands of a careless person, ruin the plant.

In these remarks on fertility of soil, we have no desire
to discourage those who may not have a fertile soil, or the
means of obtaining the elements of fertility. The Rose
will grow and bloom in any soil; the wood will be
healthy, but short and small; the flower will be produced,
but, as we have said before, will be smaller and often semi-
double; yet even under these disadvantages, it is still the
most desirable flower for the poor man; none other can
so cheaply and so well ornament his small yard, or hang-
ing in graceful festoons about his windows, shed forth its
bloom and sweetness to enliven his hours of relief from
labor, and give his children happiness, from the associa-
tion of pleasant thought with natural beauty. But the
poor man has within his reach more than he supposes of
the elements of fertility. The ashes of his hearth, the
decomposed turf of the road-side, and the domestic ma-

88 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

nure, too generally thrown away, all contain some of the
best fertilizing matter, and with proper care could be
made amply sufficient for the production of his flowers
and vegetables. The decomposed turf alone would grow
roses admirably, although a little manure would be a use-
ful addition.

SITUATION.

The best situation for the Rose is an eastern or northern
exposure, rather than a southern; the intensity of the heat
of our midsummer often affects injuriously the expansion
of the flowers, their color, and fragrance. A useful de-
gree of shade can be obtained by planting amidst groups
of dwarf roses, pillars, trellises, obelisks, etc., on which
climbing roses can be trained, and whose shadow, chang-
ing with the sun, would protect the opening bloom and
answer the same end asa cool situation. While, however,
the Rose requires a cool, airy locality, it should by no
means be placed entirely in the shade; a portion of the
sun’s rays is always necessary to ensure a good bloom, It
is from this cause that the bloom of roses is much more
certain and perfect in France and this country than in
England. In the latter country, the sun is scarcely ever
sufficiently powerful to develop all the resources of a
plant. The summer of 1846 was unprecedentedly hot
throughout England, and all the horticultural journals
united in pronouncing the bloom of roses that season un-
surpassed by the bloom of any previous year. For climb-
ing roses the situation should not be too exposed, or where
they would be liable to encounter heavy winds, which
might break off the young shoots and in other ways injure
the plant. Most of our American cities possess in the
culture of roses a great advantage over the large towns
of England, in the use of anthracite instead of bituminous
coal; for, according to Loudon, the Rose will not thrive

SOIL, SITUATION, AND PLANTING. 89

in towns where the prevailing fuel is of this character, and
the bloom will not compare with those produced some ten
miles distant. “The first effect of the smoke is to pre-
vent the flower buds from opening freely, next to dimin‘sh
their number; the leaves then gradually become smaller,
and the length of the shoots less, after which the plant
weakens by degrees, and in a few years, if a standard, it
dies altogether, or, if a dwarf, barely exists, and seldom
if ever flowers.”

Such a result, from such a cause, is rarely known here,
and the resident of the city may have his little yard filled
with roses whose bloom will be in no way inferior to that
of the plants in an extensive lawn or garden,

PLANTING,

All those roses that bloom only once in the year, and
also the Perpetuals, or Remontant Roses, can be planted
in autumn, after the first severe frost. The ends of the
roots, which have been broken in taking up, will then form
a callus, and the soil will be so thoroughly settled about
the roots by the winter rains, that the plant will com-
mence forming new roots early in the spring, and will rap-
idly make strong and luxuriant shoots. As far north as
New York and its vicinity, the Bourbons and the Bengal,
with their sub-classes, being more delicate, should not be
planted until spring.

If the subsoil is wet and retentive of moisture, the
planting of any roses should be deferred until spring, but
from our preceding remarks it will be borne in mind that
such soil should be well drained before planting, in which
case the autumn will still answer.

The plant should be taken up carefully, with all the root
possible, bearing in mind that the elements of life are in
the root, and every fibre that is lost is so much taken from
the future health and prosperity of the plant. The root

90 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

should then be carefully examined, and every portion that
has been bruised should be cut off; all the broken ends
should also be cut away as far as they are split or injured.
Any root of the character of a tap-root, or growing di-
rectly down into the earth, should be cut off; for it is best
to encourage only lateral roots, which can more readily
partake of the benefits of the rain and sun, and can more
effectually absorb the nutriment in the soil.

In the spring the hole for each plant should be dug
somewhat larger than the root, and the bottom fork-
ed, or dug up, and if necessary enriched with the surface
soil, which, it is presumed, has been prepared according
to preceding directions. Let one hold the plant, while
another throws in the soil; or if one alone is planting, let him
hold the stem just above the root with one hand, and throw
in the soil with the other, moving the stem from side to side,
and occasionally pulling it upward a little and shaking the
root until the soil has worked well among the fibres; on
which much of the subsequent prosperity of the plant de-
pends. If the weather is dry, a little water may be
placed in the hole, which should then be filled up and the
soil well trodden down about the stem. When planted,
it should be very little, if at all, lower in the ground than
before; very little of the stem should be buried; and
when trodden down, the root should be made firm and
solid.

In planting climbing or pillar roses, care should be
taken to set the trellis, or pillar, or whatever may be used
for their support, before the plant is put in the ground;
for if such should be set after the plant has commenced
growing vigorously, it will in all probability damage the
roots, and give the plant a check from which it will not
recover during the whole season.

The Rose, even in the best soils, should be taken up ey-
ery three or four years, and have its roots shortened and
pruned; a portion of the soil in which it grew should

SOIL, SITUATION, AND PLANTING. 91

also be removed and replaced by soil of the character be-
tore described. Where the soil is poor, they should be
taken up every other year, and replanted, after renewing
the soil as above, or digging it with plenty of manure.

Van Mons states that in Belgium the plants are uni-
formly taken up at the end of eight years and placed in
fresh soil, or they are thrown away and young plaints sub-
stituted in their place. This substitution of young plants
is perhaps the most certain mode of ensuring a continual
supply of strong, healthy wood and well-formed flowers.

The Rose may be transplanted at any season, provided
the shoots are pruned closely and deprived of all their
leaves, and the soil in which they are planted kept well
watered. The flowering also may be retarded in this
way, and those roses that bloom only once in the season,
if they are transplanted just before they are coming into
flower, and properly pruned, will bloom in autumn. The
autumn and spring, or the dorm:int season, however, is
the proper period for all transplanting.

Whether planted in autumn or spring, if purchased of
a nurseryman, they should be ordered in the autumn, In
the spring, as soon as the frost is out of the ground, the
first few warm days, operating upon their excitable nature,
will start them into growth. If then the nurseryman has
a large number of orders on hand, some of them will in-
evitably be delayed until the plants have grown too much,
if ordered in the autumn, the purchaser should not expect
o receive them before the 10th or 15th of November.
No nurseryman who values his reputation will allow roses
to leave his grounds before the vegetation is checked by
several heavy frosts, and the wood and roots allowed time
thereafter to thoroughly ripen. Dealers who desire roses
early, in order to deliver with other plants, sometimes
rebel at this; but purchasers should understand that roses
will not flourish unless the wood and roots are thoroughly
ripe. This applies more particularly to the Remontant,

92 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Moss, and June roses. The Tea, China, and Noisette,
will bear taking up at any time, but their roots will rarely
be in a condition to endure the cold as far north as New
York without some protection. When received from the
nurseryman in the autumn, they should be carefully and
separately heeled-in in a dry piece of land, and covered
with sand. <A covering of litter should be avoided, be-
cause it affords a harbor for mice, who would soon destroy
the plants.

Plants from the open ground are always to be preferred
by the purchaser. Those sold in pots in the spring have
frequently been forced, and will require a long period of
rest before growing again, while those from the open
ground, having had their rest, will grow luxuriantly at
once.

It should also be remembered by the purchaser that the
delicate roots of the Rose will not bear exposure to the
air, All reputable nurserymen understand this, and pack
in moss. Dealers, however, who purchase of these nurs-
erymen, and who have many lots to deliver after they are
unpacked, are often not sufficiently careful to guard the
roots against exposure. The plants then failing to grow
well, the fault is attributed to some deficiency in the plant,
rather than to its true cause. To ensure safety while be-
ing delivered, dealers should dip them, as soon as un-
packed, in a puddle of mud of the consistency of thick
paint. ‘This precaution is useful in every case after un-
packing and before planting, for there must always be
some delay and exposure even when the purchaser obtains
plants directly from the grower.

PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING. 93

CHAPTER V.
PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING.

In pruning roses at the time of transplanting, the prin-
cipal object to be attained is relief to the plant by taking
away all the wood and branches which the diminished
root may not be able to support. The mode of pruning
depends very much upon the condition of the plant. If
it is very bushy, all the weaker branches should be cut
away, leaving not more than three or four of the strong-
est shoots, and shortening even those down to a few eyes.
If it is desired that the plant should continue dwarf and
bushy, the new wood should be cut down to the lower
two eyes, and every half-grown or slender shoot cut out.
These two eyes will each throw out a branch; then cut
these branches down to the two eyes, and again cut back
the shoots they produce until a symmetrical habit is
formed, with close, thick foliage. There should not be
sufficient wood allowed to remain to. make the bush
crowded ; and if there should be danger of this, some of
the branches, instead of being cut down to two eyes,
should be removed altogether.

Climbing roses, when planted, should be cut down al-
most to the ground, and also carefully thinned out. Only
a few of the strongest branches ‘should be preserved, and
the new wood of these cut down to two eyes each.

The preceding remarks are applicable to roses at the
time of planting ; they should also be pruned every year,
—the hardy varieties in the autumn or winter, and the
more tender in the spring. For all roses that are not lia-
ble to have part of their wood killed by the cold, the
autumn is decidedly the best time for pruning; the root,
having then but little top to support, is left at liberty to
store up nutriment for a strong growth the tollowing
season, The principal objects in pruning are the removal

94 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

of the old wood, because it is generally only the young

wood that produces large and fine flowers ; the shortening
and thinning out of the young wood, that the root, having
much less wood to support, may devote a!l its nutriment
to the size and beauty of the flower; and the formation
of a symmetrical shape. If an abundant bloom is d--
sired, without regard to the size of the flower, only the
eagweak shoots should be cut out, and the strong wood
“e? hyd be shortened very little; each bud will then pro-
ducca flower. By this mode, ihe flowers will be small,
and’ the growth of new Toe very short, but there ail
ae “« be an abundant and v ery showy bloom. If, however, the
flowers are desired as large and as perfect as possible, all
‘the weak wood should be cut out entirely, and all the
strong wood formed the last season should be cut down
to two eyes. The knife should always be applied di-
rectly above a bud, and sloping upward from it. The
preceding observations apply principally to rose bushes,
or dwarf roses; with pillar, climbing, and tree roses, the
practice should be somewhat different. The former two
need comparatively little pruning; they require careful
thinning out, but should seldom be shortened. The very
young side shoots can sometimes be shortened in, to pre-
vent the foliage from becoming too thick and crowded.
Pillars for roses can be made of trellis work, of iron
rods in different forms, or of wood, but they should en-
close a space of at least a foot in diameter. The cheapest
plan, and one that will last many years, is to make posts
of about 14 or 2 inches square, out of locust or pitch-
pine plank, and connect them with common hoop-iron.
They should be the length of a plank—between twelve
and thirteen feet—and should be set three feet in the
ground, that they may effectually resist the action of the
wind, Tie Rose having been cut down to the ground, is
planted inside of the pillar, and will make strong growths
the first season. As the leading shoots appear, they

PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING, 95

should be trained spirally around the outside of the pillar,
and sufficiently near each other to enable them to fill up
the intermediate space with their foliage. These leading
shoots will then form the permanent wood, and the young
side shoots, pruned in from year to year, will produce tlie
flowers, and at the flowering season cover the whole pil-

Fig. 5.—PILLAR ROSE. Fig. 6.—ROSE PYRAMID.

lar with a mass of rich and showy bloom. Figure 5 gives
the appearance of a pillar of this kind. If the tops of
the leading shoots die down at all, they should be shortened
down to the first strong eye, because, if a weak bud is
left at the top, its growth will be slender for a long time.
The growth of different varieties of roses is very varied ;
some make delicate shoots, and require little room, while
others, like the Queen of the Prairies, are exceedingly ro-
bust, and may require a larger pillar than the size we have
mentioned. Figure 6 shows the method of constructing
a pyramid by the use of a central post and iron rods,

96 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Climbing roses require very much the same treatment
as pillar roses, and are frequently trained over arches, or
in festoons from one pillar to another. In these the weak
branches should also be thinned out, and the strong ones
be allowed to remain, without being shortened, as in these
an abundant bloom is wanted, rather than large flowers.
An arbor, made by training roses from one pillar to
another, is represented in figure 7. In training climbing

Fig. 7.—A ROSE ARBOR.

roses over any flat surface, as a trellis, wall, or side of a
house, the principal point is so to place the leading
shoots that all the intermediate space may be filled up
with foliage. They can either be trained in fan-shape,
with side shoots growing out from a main stem, or
one leading shoot can be encouraged and trained in
parallel horizontal lines to the top, care being taken to
preserve sufficient intermediate space for the foliage.
Where no shoots are wanted, the buds can be rubbed off
before they push out. No weak shoots should be al-
lowed to grow from the bottom, buat all the strong ones
should be allowed to grow as much as they may. When

the intermediate space is filled with young wood and fo-

PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING. 97

liage, all the thin, small shoots should be cut out every
year, and the strongest buds only allowed to remain,
which, forming strong branches, will set closely to the
wall and preserve a neat appearance.

The production of roses out of season, by forcing, was,
as we have shown, well known to the ancient Romans,
and from them has been handed down to the present time.
But the retarding of roses by means of a regular process
of pruning owes its origin to a comparatively modern
date. This process is mentioned both by Lord Bacon and
Sir Robert Boyle. The latter says: “It is delivered by
the “ord Verulam, and other naturalists, that if a rose
bush be carefully cut as soon as it is done bearing in the
summer, it will again bear roses in the autumn. Of this,
many have made unsuccessful trials, and thereupon report
the affirmation to be false; yet I am very apt to think
that my lord was encouraged by experience to write as
he did. Fe", having been particularly solicitous about
the experiment, I find by the relation, both of my own
and other experienced gardeners, that this way of procur-
ing autumnal roses will, in most rose bushes, commonly
fail, but succeed in some that are good bearers ; and, ac-
cordingly, having this summer made trial of it, I find that
of a row of bushes cut in June, by far the greater num-
ber promise no autumnal roses; but one that hath mani-
fested itself to be of a vigorous and prolific nature is, at
this present, indifferently well stored with those of the
damask kind. There may, also, be a mistake in the species
of roses; for experienced gardeners inform me that the
Musk Rose will, if it be a lusty plant, bear flowers in au-
tumn without cutting; and, therefore, that may unjustly
be ascribed to art, which is the bare production of na-
ture.” Thus, in quaint and ancient style, discourses the
wise and pious philosopher on our favorite flower, and
also mentions the fact, that a ved rose becomes white on
being exposed to the fumes of sulphur. This, however,

5

98 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

had been observed before Sir Robert’s time. Notwith-
standing his doubts, it is now a well-established fact, that
the blooming of roses may be retarded by cutting them
back to two eyes after they have fairly commenced grow-
ing, and the flower buds are discoverable. A constant
succession can be obtained where there is a number of
plants, by cutting each one back a shorter or longer dis-
tance, or at various periods of its growth. In these cases,
however, it very often will not bloom until autumn, be-
cause the second effort to produce flowers is much great-
er than the first, and is not attended with success until
Jate in the season.

However desirable may be this retarding process, it
cannot be relied on as a general practice, because the very
unusual exertion made to produce the flowers a second
time, weakens the plant, and materially affects its pros-
perity the subsequent year.

There is, indeed, but one kind of summer pruning that
is advantageous, which is the thinning out of the flower-
buds as soon as they appear, in order that the plant may
be burdened with no more than it can fully perfect, and
the cutting off all the seed vessels after the flower has
expanded and the petals have fallen. Until this last is
done, a second bloom cannot readily be obtained from the
Bengal Rose and its sub-classes, the Tea and Noisette,
which otherwise grow and bloom constantly throughout
the season.

We would impress upon our readers the absolute, the
essential, importance of cultivation—of constantly stir-
ring the soil in which the Rose is planted; and we scarce-
ly know of more comprehensive directions in a few words
than the reply of an experienced horticulturist to one who
asked the best mode of growing fine fruits and flowers.
The old gentleman replied that the mode could be de-
scribed in three words, “cultivate, cultivate, cultivate.”
After the same manner, we would impress the importance

PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING. 99

of these three words upon all those who love well-grown
and beautiful roses. They are, indeed, multum in parva |
—the very essence of successful culture. The soil cannot
be plowed, dug, or stirred too much; it should be dug
and hoed, not merely to keep down the weeds, but to en-
sure the health and prosperity of the plant. Cultivation
is to all plants and trees manure, sun, and rain. It opens
the soil to the nutrition it may receive from the atmosphere,
to the beneficial influence of light, and to the morning and
evening dew. It makes the heavy soil light, and the light
soil heavy; if the earth is saturated with rain, it dries it;
if burned up with drought, it moistens it. Watering is
often beneficial, and is particularly so to roses just before
and during the period of bloom; but in an extremely dry
season, if we were obliged to choose between the water-
ing-pot and the spade, we should most unhesitatingly give
the preference to the latter.

We do not wish, however, to undervalue the benefits
of water. If the plants are well mulched with straw,
salt hay, or any other litter, frequent watering is very
beneficial. When not mulched, the watering should al-
ways be followed by the hoe, in order to destroy the bak-
ing of the surface. While the plants are in a growing
state, liquid manure will give a larger and a finer bloom.
This liquid manure may be made with soapsuds, or the
refuse from the house. When these are not easily ob-
tained, half a bushel of cow or horse dung can be placed
in a barrel, which can then be filled with water, well
stirred up, and allowed to settle a day or two before being
used,

For those who are willing to incur the expense, a very
nice way of applying pure water is to sink ordinary tile,
two inches in diameter, with collars, about a foot below
the surface, around and through the rose bed. An elbow
from this, coming to the surface, can convey the water
into the pipes, through the joints of which it will escape,

100 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

and thus irrigate the whole ground, without baking the
surface.

BEDDING ROSES.

While Remontant, Moss, and Garden Roses are adapted
to the wants of much the larger number of growers, be-
cause they require no protection in winter, and are strong
and robust in their growth and habit, yet the everbloom-
ing varieties are becoming daily more popular. While
but few of the Remontants have more than two seasons
of distinct and abundant bloom, the Teas, Chinas, and
Noisettes, bloom constantly and continuously. In grace,
and color, and beauty, these last have more varied charms
than the more hardy and abundant Remontants, and the
difficulty of caring for them in the winter, even by those
who have no glass, is compensated by the additional pleas-
ure they give in the summer. Those who have glass can
enjoy them winter and summer alike. Their superiority
in constant blooming, especially, adapts them for planting
in masses or beds scattered about the lawn. These beds
can be each of one color, or they can be assorted, or can
be planted in the ribbon style, rows of white, or red, or
yellow alternating. No bedding flowers, Verbenas, Sal-
vias, or any other plant, will give so constant pleasure as

Roses. They can be purchased, also, nearly as cheaply as
ordinary bedding plants, and are found in several places
as low as $15 per 100, or $100 per 1,000. On being taken
out of the pots they will grow rapidly, and bloom after
they are thoroughly established, and afterward, year after
year, they will commence blooming early, and continue
until frost. A bed made in any part of the lawn, and in
any soil, will grow them well, provided it has a dry bot-
tom, and has some well-decomposed manure dug in it. A
light, sandy soil will grow them in the greatest perfection,
They can be planted eighteen inches to two feet apart,

PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING. 101

and the new shoots, as soon as they have attained suffi-
cient length, should be pegged down, so as to cover the
whole ground. The branches thus laid down will give
abundant flowers throughout their whole length, and from
each bud a strong-rooted shoot will be thrown up, and
being pruned down close in the autumn, will be ready to
produce a strong and bearing shoot another year. If
they become too close and crowded, the new shoots can
be partially cut away. North of Baltimore, these Roses
will need protection in the winter. This can be done by
covering the bed with sand, several inches deep, or by
taking up the plants, cutting them down, heeling them in
in a dry cellar, or potting them for a green-house.

102 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

CHAPTER VI.
POTTING AND FORCING.

** Seek Roses in December, ice in June.””—Brron.

Every variety of Rose, in the hands of a skillful man,
will grow and bloom well in pots, although the Bengal
and its sub-classes, and the more dwarf Hardy Roses, are
the most easily managed. The great point in potting is
to imitate planting in the open ground as nearly as possi-
ble. The soil used should possess all the nutritious ele-
ments required in the open ground, and, if possible, in
somewhat greater abundance. More manure should be
used, because the frequent watering required by plants in
pots must inevitably wash away a portion of the fertiliz-
ing matter. There is nothing better than one portion of
stable manure, and three of turf, or leaf-mould, all well
decomposed, and mixed with a little pure peat earth. A
portion of night-soil, well incorporated with charcoal, is
also very excellent. Charcoal is the most powerful ab-
sorbent known; it retains the nutritious elements in the
night-soil, prevents their being washed away by watering,
and gives them out as the plant needs them, English
gardeners should bear in mind that roses require in this
climate a stronger soil than in England. Half-gallon pots
are the best size at first, from which, by repeated pottings,
corresponding with the growth of the plant, they can be
shifted to one or two-gallon pots. The size of the pots
should, however, be regulated by the extent of the roots ;
it should be just sufficiently large to allow the roots to go
in without crowding. A few broken pieces of pots or
small lumps should be put in the bottom for drainage.
When the plant is to be taken from the open ground, se-

POTTING AND FORCING. 103

lect one, the roots of which are not too large, and with a
sharp spade cut around it a ball of earth about the size
of the pot, depriving it at the same time of a portion of
its top, as directed in remarks on pruning. It should
stand in this state about a fortnight, until the roots have
become callused, and the plant is somewhat accustomed
to the loss of its roots and branches. It can then be
safely taken up at any season, and transferred to the pot,
which should then be filled in with earth, firm and solid.
If potted in the autumn, after the leaves have fallen and
the wood become mature, the above previous preparation
is not required, but the plant can be taken up without a
ball of earth, and after being pruned of its bruised or
broken roots, placed in the pot. It should then be pro-
tected from the frost and light until it has entirely recoy-
ered from its change of habitation, when it can be placed
in any cool spot free from frost, until it is wanted for
forcing.

Roses may, without difficulty, by the above previous
management, be forced to bloom in the latter part of win-
ter, but where their bloom is desired at Christmas or
New-Year, they should be gradually prepared for the
space of a year previous. To produce roses the latter
part of winter, our own management has been simple and
effective, giving us as many flowers as a green-house and
vinery full of pots could afford. After putting the plants
in pots, as directed above, pruning them down to eight
or ten buds, and hardening them in a shady place, they
are removed to the vinery before the frost out of doors can
have injured them, and cut down to two buds. The
house is then kept as cool as possible, while the frost is
carefully excluded by a light fire at night, and on fine
days the sashes are opened, and plenty of air admitted.
They are thus kept in a dormant state until the first of
the year, when the heat is gradually increased to about
70° by day, sinking as low as 35° at night. Care is

104 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

taken to give them sufficient watering, and in their whole
management to subject them as nearly as possible to the
conditions of open culture. When the green-fly appears,
it is immediately destroyed by fumigation with tobacco,
and the plants are subsequently syringed with clean wa-
ter. With this management, they soon begin to show
signs of life, the bud commences pushing forth its deli-
cate, light green shoot, the leaves then appear, the plant,
soon growing with luxuriance, is clothed with rich foli-
age, and about the middle of the third month, the house
presents a mass of thrifty growth and perfect bloom.

By the means above described, roses may be forced
into bloom the latter part of winter; and by observing
some care to bring them into the house at different peri-
ods, in regular succession, a bloom can be enjoyed through
all the spring months, until roses bloom in the open
ground. This process cannot, however, be continued two
years in succession without weakening the plant; and al-
though, if placed in a shady spot, and allowed to rest
during the summer, it may sufticiently recover to perform
the same work another year, it is desirable, if possible,
to have fresh plants, whose strength has not been exhaust-
ed by the unusual effort attending the production of flow-
ers out of season.

The preceding directions apply more particularly to
late forcing; and although the same means, with an earli-
er application of heat, will produce flowers early in winter,
yet the true art of early forcing consists in gradually
bringing the Rose out of its season; and it is only by this
mode that thrifty plants and perfect flowers can be pro-
duced before Christmas.

Two years, and sometimes three, should be employed in
preparing a Rose for early forcing. Having been prepared
by digging around it with a sharp spade some two weeks
previously, the plant should be taken up immediately
after the first frost, placed in a cold frame a few days, to

POTTING AND FORCING. 105

harden, and then taken to the green-house or vinery. A
moderate heat should then be given it, with plenty of
light and air to prevent its being drawn. The flower-
buds should be plucked off as soon as they appear, and no
bloom should be allowed. It will thus make fine growths,
and can be plunged in the open ground as soon as danger
of frost has passed in the spring. Here it can remain
during the summer, to ripen its wood, and will require no
care except a little watering in dry weather, and an occa.
sional taking up and examination, that the roots may not
push through the hole of the pot, and become fixed in the
ground, in which case the plants would make too strong
a growth, and suffer on being removed from the new-
made root. In October it can be placed in a pot one size
larger, pruned by thinning out all the weak branches, and
shortening the strong ones down to two eyes. It should
then go through the same process as before, carefully
picking off all the flower-buds, promoting its growth
until completed, when let it be put in a cold frame until
all danger of frost is over, and then plunge it in the
ground to ripen its wood. As its vegetation was started
a month earlier the last year, it can now be taken up in
September, repotted and pruned as before, and then taken
into the green-house. The temperature should then be
gradually raised to about 55° until the plant has commenced
growing, and then gradually increased to 65° or 70°, giv-
ing as much air as can be obtained without lowering the
temperature.

All useless shoots should be kept down, and all the
flower-buds taken off that threaten to be abortive. In
fumigating for the green-fly, care should be taken not to
do it too strongly, but repeated and gentle doses at night
are better. We have known many fine plants ruined by
fumigation in the hands of an inexperienced person. A
good bloom can be obtained the second year by this mode;
but if the amateur has the patience to wait until a third,

5*

106 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

he will be rewarded by a thrifty and compact habit, rich
foliage, and beautiful bloom for two months before Christ-
mas; and if there are a number of plants to be brought
into the green-house a week after each other, he can have
them in bloom until the late forced roses appear. At all
periods subsequent to their commencement, care should
be taken to give them sufficient moisture, and as much air
as is consistent with the state of growth and the external
temperature. Without water, they will neither grow nor
bloom well. Under glass, every other day, and in some
cases, twice a week is sufficient.

The great principle to be borne in mind in forcing roses
is, that sudden excitement is fatal, and that a plant should
never be taken from the open ground into a heated house
without being gradually prepared for it. This principle
is particularly applicable to deciduous roses. The Re-
montant and Bourbon, the Bengal and its sub-classes,
which grow and bloom through the whole year, are not
so liable to be injured by exciting treatment.

Cuttings of these that are struck in the spring and
planted out in the open ground may have their tops
slightly pruned, and their buds all pinched off during the
summer, to encourage the formation of wood and of a
close head.

About the last days of summer, or the first of autumn,
they can be taken up and placed in quart pots, with a soil
composed of one half loam, one quarter cow-dung, and
one quarter peat. After being slightly pruned, and left
in the shade for a week, they can be placed in frames,
protected at night from frost, and exposed to the air in
mild weather for some two months, when they can be re-
moved, a few at a time, into the green-house, and subject-
ed to a moderately increased temperature. They will
soon bloom well, and will succeed each other throughout
the winter and spring, until roses bloom in the open air.
Like the deciduous roses, they require to be protected

POTTING AND FORCING. 107

against the green-fly by syringing, and if that does not
answer, by fumigation with tobacco.

The Bengal, however, like the deciduous roses, will
bloom better the second winter than the first, by shifting
them into larger pots, pruning them, cutting off all the
flower-buds, and giving them very little water the latter
part of summer. They can then be put into the frames,
and treated as before. The Bengal Rose is very easily
forced in this way; and if the temperature is at first kept
during the day at 45°, and gradually increased to 60°,
there can be little difficulty in obtaining beautiful and
healthy plants. This temperature can be obtained in any
green-house or vinery. The latter is becoming more
common, and when it is provided with heating appa-
ratus, there can be nothing better for roses. We have
forced them very successfully in one of our own vineries,
one hundred and twenty fect long, twelve feet wide, ten
feet high in the rear, three and a half in front, and heat-
ed by hot water. But as there may be many who desire
a cheaper structure, we will give the description of one
used by Rivers, (the best rose-grower known), with his
mode of managing roses in a structure of that character.
* A pit, ten or twelve feet long, and eight feet wide, just
high enough to stand upright in, with a door at one end,
and a sunken path in the centre, a raised bed on each side
of the path, and an 18-inch Arnott’s stove at tbe farther
end, opposite to the door, with a pipe leading into a small
brick chimney outside, (a chimney is indispensable), will
give a great abundance of forced roses from February to
the end of May. To ensure this, a supply must be kept
ready, so that, say twenty may be placed in the forcing
pit about the middle of December, a like number in the
middle of January, and the same about the middle of
February; they must not be pruned till taken into the
house, when each shoot should be cut back to two or three
buds for the formation of strong shoots. The fire should

108 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

be lighted at sevea in the morning, and suffered to burn
out about the same hour in the evening, unless in frosty
weather, when it must be kept burning till late at night,
so as to exclude the frost ; and for this purpose, double
mats should be placed on the lights. The thermometer
should not, by fire heat, be higher in the day than 70°
during December, January, and February ; at night it may
sink to 35° without injury. The temporary rise in a sun-
ny day is of no consequence, but no air must be admitted
at such times, or the plants will exhaust themselves, and
immediately shed their leaves. When the sun begins to
have power, and in sunny weather, toward the end of
February, the plants may be syringed every morning
about 10 o’clock with tepid water, and smoked with to-
bacco at night on the least appearance of the Aphis, or
green-fly. To ensure a fine and full crop of flowers, the
plants should be established one year in pots, and plunged
in tan or sawdust, in an open, exposed place, that their
shoots may be well ripened; the pots must be often re-
moved, or, what is better, place the pots on slates, to pre-
vent their roots striking into the ground. With the Re-
montant or Perpetuals, even if only potted in November
previous, a very good crop of flowers may often be ob-
tained, and a second crop better than the first; for the
great advantage of forcing Remontant roses is, that after
blooming in the green-house or drawing-room, their young
shoots may be cut down to within two or three buds of
their base, and the plants placed again in the forcing-
house, and a second crop of flowers obtained. The same
mode may be followed also with the Bourbon, China, and
Tea-scented roses; with the latter, indeed, a third crop
may be often obtained. Toward the end of March, when
the second crop of flowers is coming on, the plants may
be gradually inured to the air, by opening the sashes in
mild weather. This will make them hardy and robust.
Syringing should be practiced every morning and even

POTTING AND FORCING. 109

ing; but when the flower-buds are ready to open, this
must be confined to the stems of the plants and the pots;
otherwise the flowers will be injured by the moisture.
Air must at first only be given about noon; care must be
taken to remove the plants from the forcing-house to the
green-house or drawing-room before their blossoms ex-
pand ; they may then be kept in beauty many days. We
have not found the check which the plants receive by this
sudden change of temperature at all detrimental. During
their second growth, the plants should be watered once a
week with manure-water, and the surface of the pot occa-
sionally stirred. Two pounds of guano to ten gallons of
water forms the very best species of liquid manure; this
should be stirred before it is used.

“The treatment recommended for roses in a pit with
Arnott’s stove may be pursued with roses in a house with
smoke-flues or hot-water pipes. Arnott’s stove is recom-
mended as an economical and eligible mode of heating,
practiced here to some extent with success for several
years. On these stoves an iron pan, fitted to the top,
should always be kept full of water. Roses may be
forced slowly, but with perhaps greater certainty by the
uninitiated, by giving air freely and constantly in mild
weather during the day, keeping the fire censtantly burn-
ing during the same period, as recommended when keep-
ing them closely shut up.”

We have copied the whole of this article, although in
a measure a repetition of previous remarks, since it may
be interesting to some to know the opinion of so eminent
a cultivator on this least understood branch of rose cul-
ture. <A few of his directions are somewhat different from
those we have given before, and may be far better than
our own plan, in the climate of Ineland. Here, an
Arnott’s stove would scarcely heat a pit to 70° with the
thermometer at zero; and if it should, we would think it
rather dangerous to give so high a temperature at once,

110 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

The strength of guano is also so varied, that we should
feel very cautious in using it according to the above re-
ceipt. While, however, we would not venture to ques-
tion the general utility of his directions, we may perhaps
say, that we have found our own plan effective in its re-
sults, and productive of thrifty plants and beautiful flow-
ers. We would advise cultivators to test them both, and
adopt that which succeeds best in their hands. <A pit of
the above description can be constructed at a very low
price, and should be found on the premises of every gen-
tleman of even very moderate income, for the supply of
his parlors during winter. If, in addition to this, there
were constructed on the east side of the house, and facing
south, a little room with a glass front and roof, opening
into the parlor, and heated either by a valve from the
house furnace, or by a water-back connected with the
parlor grate, more enjoyment would be afforded the lover
of flowers than could be obtained by any other outlay of
two hundred dollars. This room could then be kept con-
stantly filled with roses from the pit, and through the
most dreary winter, amid rain, snow, and storm, would
present a bright array of the living reminders of spring
and summer. It is a matter of much surprise, that,
among all the beautiful country residences in the vicinity
of our large cities, surrounded by all the appliances of
luxury and comfort that taste and wealth can afford, so
few instances are found in which the drawing-room or
parlor opens into a green-house or conservatory. These
buildings are frequently placed at a distance from the
house, and although they may be filled with the most
beautiful and rare exotics, are, during the greater part of
the winter, inaccessible to the ladies of the family.

Let gentlemen of wealth, then, place their vineries any-
where, but use them as forcing-houses when the vines are
in a dormant state. Let them also have a green-house
or conservatory opening from the drawing-room, into

POTTING AND FORCING. ete:

which all the plants can be brought from the vinery
whenever they show signs of bloom. This conserva-
tory can be heated by hot water, flowing through iron
pipes from a boiler placed over the furnace that warms
the drawing-room—taking from this very little heat, and
yet abundantly warming the conservatory. An improve-
ment could still farther be made, by having the east end
of the conservatory arch over a carriage drive, and thus
allow visitors to enter the drawing-room through the con-
servatory. Exclusive of the delight afforded visitors by
this very pleasant addition to a dwelling, it affords a de-
lightful promenade for the ladies of the family, where,
while all is wintry without, and walking is unpleasant,
even when the ice-bound trees are glittering in the clear
sunlight, they may luxuriate amid roses and jasmines,
breathing air fragrant with the perfume of daphne and
orange flowers, and surrounded with everything that can
remind them of the beauty and bland climate of the sunny
south.

We have occupied so much space with the peculiarities
of culture for the forcing-house, that we had almost for-
gotten that more humble, but no less pleasure-giving
mode of Window culture. As this culture is practiced
chiefly by those who cannot spare the time nor incur the
expense of previous preparation, the best mode is that
given for late forcing of roses, taken up the autumn pre-
vious, placing the plants in pots seven inches in diameter,
and using a soil composed of equal parts of sand, loam,
and manure, or peat, loam, and manure. They can be
watered with manure-water every fortnight, made from
the drippings of the barn-yard, or, what is more pleasant,
asately weak solution of guano, about one pound to fif-
teen gallons.

The plants should be brought into the heat gradually ;
first into a cold room where there is no frost, and then
into the sitting-room, where they can be placed in the

112 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

window, and turned around every week, in order to give
each side of the plant its share of light. They will soon
begin to put forth their thrifty shoots, in some six weeks
will present a fine show of beautiful flowers, and, if prop-
erly managed, will continue blooming through the winter.
If attacked by the green-fly, the plant can be inverted in
a strong decoction of tobacco, or it can be fumigated by
being placed under an inverted barrel, or other re-
ceptacle, with some burning tobacco. For window cul-
ture, the Everblooming Roses are the best, and they
should be ordered of the nurseryman in suitable pots.
This mode commends itself to all; it is within the reach
of the daily laborer; the seamstress can have it in her
window, and in the midst of her toilsome duties, be re-
minded by its bright flowers of many a green spot in
past days. It is especially suited to the means and leisure
of the operatives in our factories, many of whom have
left the country and all its green fields and pleasant flow-
ers for the crowded city, where they can have no garden,
but simply this little pot to remind them of past pleasures,
and throw a gleam of sunshine over their hours of relief
from labor. The plant can be placed in their chamber
window, or in the windows of the factory, where the high
temperature, if it has been brought from the chamber,
will soon bring out its foliage in great luxuriance, and its
flowers in beauty, and be a pleasant object of care in the
moments snatched from the operations of the loom, To
this class we would especially commend the Rose; as
thriving under simple treatment, as possessing, more than
any other flower, the elements of beauty, and tending,
like other flowers, to keep alive in a crowded city that
freshness and purity of fecling that distinguished their
country life, and which, unless there exists an unusual
perversion of the moral faculties, must always result
from an intimate acquaintance with natural objects,

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 113

CHAPTER VII.
PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE.

CUTTINGS.

This mode of propagation, although possible with all
roses, is more difficult with those that bloom only once in
the season. It is most applicable to the smooth-wooded
kinds, as the Bengal and its sub-classes, and the Bour-
sault, Microphylla, rubifolia, etc. Many of the Perpetuals
and Bourbons are propagated with facility by the same
mode, For propagation in the open ground, cuttings
should be made in the autumn, or early part of winter.
They should be made of wood of the growth of the sea-
son, and about six inches long. The lower end should be
cut square, close to a bud, and they can then be plinted
thickly, two-thirds of their length in sand, in a light and
dry cellar, Here a callus wil be formed on the bottom
of each cutting during the winter, and on being planted
out in the spring, they will immediately throw out roots,
They should be planted as early as possible in the spring,
ina light sandy loam, with one-third of their length and
at least one bud above the surface of the ground. Thev
should be planted very early im the spring, because, if left
until late, the power of the sun is too much for them.
The earth should be trodden down very tight about them,
in order, as much as possible, to exclude the air. If the
weather is dry, they should be carefully watered in the
evening. Where it is inconvenient to make the cuttings
in tlie fall or early in the winter, they can be made in the
spring; but in consequence of | aving to form the callus,
they will require a much lighter soil than will afterward
be desirable for their growth, and they will also be much

114 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

later in coming on. This mode of open propagation an-
swers very well for some of the smooth-wooded roses of
the more robust growing varieties, like the Boursault and
Rubifolia ; but for the delicate Bengals, the best mode is
pot propagation. For this purpose, small pots can be
used, filled with equal parts of mould and sand, or peat
and sand. About the middle of autumn, cuttings of the

same season’s growth
are taken off with two
to four buds, cutting
off one or two of the
lower leaves, and cutting
off the wood smooth
and square close to
the eye, as in figure 8.
These cuttings can be
Inserted in the pot, leav-
ing one eye above the
surface. It should then
be slightly watered to y

settle the soil firmly “~~~
around the cuttings, and
then placed in a cold
frame, or on the floor of a vinery, in which no fire is
kept during winter. Early in the spring the pot should
be placed in a house with a moderate temperature, kept
perfectly close, and sprinkled every morning with water
a little tepid. Now, as well as during the autumn, they
should be shaded from the too bright glare of the sun.
In about a fortnight, and after they have formed a third
set of leaves and good roots, a little air can be given
them ; and after being thus hardened for a week, they can
be repotted into larger pots. In order to ascertain when
they are sufficiently rooted, the ball of earth can be taken
out of the pot, by striking its inverted edge lightly against
some body, at the same time sustaining the ball of earth

Fig. 8.—A ROSE CUTTING.

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 115

by the hand, the cutting being passed between two of the
fingers a little separated. If well rooted, the fibres will
be seen on the outside of the ball of earth. They can
then be placed in a cold frame, or anywhere under glass,
to be planted out the latter part of spring, or retained
for pot culture. Where hot-bed frames are not conven-
ient, or the amateur wishes only to experiment with one
or two cuttings, he can use a tumbler, or any kind of
close glass covering.

Where roses are forced into bloom the latter part of
winter, cuttings can be taken from them immediately after
the bloom is past; and they will also succeed if taken
from plants in the open ground immediately after their
first bloom, Cuttings of the Everblooming Roses will
all strike at any time during the summer, but they suc-
ceed much better either in the autumn, or after their first
bloom. The heat of our midsummer sun is so great upon
plants forced in the house, that cuttings often fail at that
time. When a cutting is made near the old stem, it is
better to take with it a portion of the old wood, which
forms the enlarged part of the young branch. Where the
cuttings are scarce, two buds will answer very well—one
below the surface; and, in some cases, propagation has
been successful with only one eye. In this case they are
planted up to the base of the leaf in pots of sand, similar
to that used in the manufacture of glass, and the eye is
partially covered. They are then subject to the same
treatment as the others, and carefully shaded ; they will
thus root easily, but require a long time to make strong
plants.

Some years since, Lecoq, a French cultivator, conceived
the idea of endeavoring to propagate roses by the leaf.
He gathered some very young leaves of the Bengal rose,
about one quarter developed, cutting them off at their
insertion, or at the surface of the bark. He planted these
in peat soil, in one-inch pots, and then plunged the pots

116 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

into a moderate heat. A double cover of bell glasses
was then placed over them, to exclude the air entirely,
which course of treatment was pursued until they had
taken root. The shortest time in which
this could be accomplished was eight
weeks, and the roots were formed in the
following manner, First, a callus was
formed at the base of the leaf, from which
small fibres put forth; a small bud then
appeared on the upper side (figure 9); a
stalk then arose from this bud, which
finally expanded into leaves and formed
a perfect plant.

An English writer remarks, that ‘“ the
leaves or leaflets of a rose will often take
root more freely than even cuttings, and
in a much shorter time, but these uni-
‘ formly refuse to make buds or grow.”

Fiz. 9.—LEAF This experiment is certainly very curi-

Soe ae ous, and evinces how great, in the vege-
table kingdom, are the powers of nature for the main-
tenance of existence, and is one of those singular results
which should lead us to make farther experiments with
various parts of plants, and teach us that in Horticulture
there is yet a wide field for scientific research.

A favorite mode of propagation with some nurserymen
is from soft wood of plants forced in the winter. Many
fail entirely in this for want of knowledge of the right
condition in which the wood should be before cutting, a
condition which cannot be described on paper. Some va-
rieties, like Persian Yellow, will not strike at all, or with
great difficulty in this way.

The plants from which these cuttings are to be taken
should be prepared and treated as in the preceding chap-
ter. In February and March the cuttings are made and
inserted in sand, either in pots or benches, in a house of

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE, 117

the same temperature as that in which the parent plant
has grown. These pots or benches would be better coy-
ered with glass, but it is not essential. After the cuttings
have rooted, they can be potted into small pots, and
placed in a house of moderate temperature. About the
middle of May they can be taken out of these pots and
planted in the open ground,

BY LAYERS.

This mode is more particularly applicable to those roses
that bloom only once in the year, and which do not strike
freely from cuttings, although it can be equally well ap-
plied to all the smooth-wooded kinds. It can be perform-
ed at midsummer and for several weeks afterward, and
should be employed only in those cases where young
shoots have been formed at least a foot long and are well
matured. The soil should be well dug around the plant,
forming a little raised bed of some three feet in diameter,
with the soil well pulverized and mixed with some manure
thoroughly decomposed, and, if heavy, a little sand. A
hole should then be made in this bed about four inches
deep, and the young matured shoot bent down into it,
keeping the top of the shoot some three or four inches
above the surface of the ground; the angle thus being
found, which should always be made at a bud and about
five or six inches from the top of the shoot, the operator
should cut off all the leaves below the ground. A sharp
knife should then be placed just below a bud, about three
inches below the surface of the ground, and a slanting cut
made upward and lengthwise, about half through the
branch, forming a sort of tongue from one to two inches
long, on the back part of the shoot right opposite the bud ;
a chip or some of the soil can be placed in the slit, to pre-
vent it from closing, and the shoot can then be carefully
laid in the hole, and pegged down at a point some two

118 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

inches below the cut, keeping, at the same time, the top
of the shoot some three or four inches out of the ground,
and making it fast to a small stake, to keep it upright.
Care should be taken not to make the angle where the
branch is pegged at the cut, as the branch would be in-
jured and perhaps broken off; the best place is about two
inches below the incision. The soil can then be replaced
in the hole, and where it is convenient covered with some
moss or litter of any kind. This will protect the soil
from the sun and keep it moist, and will materially aid
the formation of new roots. These are formed in the same
manner as in cuttings; first a callus is produced on those
parts of the incision where the bark joins the wood, and
from this callus spring the roots, which, in some cases,
will have grown sufficiently for the layers to be taken
from the parent plant the latter part of the following au-
tumn; in some cases, however, the roots will not have
sufficiently formed to allow them to be taken up before
another year. The summer is the best period for layermg
the young shoots. Early in the spring, layers can be
made with the wood formed the previous year. Where
it is more convenient, a shoot can be rooted by making
the incision as above, and introducing it into a quart pot
with the bottom partly broken out. This pot can be
plunged in the ground, or if the branch is from a stand-
ard, it can be raised on a rough platform. In either case,
it should be covered with moss, to protect it from the sun,
and should be watered every évening. We recollect see-
ing in the glass manufactories of Paris, a very neat little
glass tumbler, used by the French gardeners for this pur-
pose. It held, perhaps, half a pint, and a space about
half an inch wide was cut out through the whole length
of the side, through which space the branch of any plant
was inserted, and the tumbler then filled with soil. When
the roots were formed and began to penetrate the soil,
they could be easily perceived through the glass. Al

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE, 119

though an incision is always the most certain, and it is
uniformly practiced, roots will in many varieties strike
easily from the buds; and a common operation in France
is simply to peg down the branches in the soil, without
any incision; in some cases, they give the branch a sudden
twist, which will break or bruise the bark. and facilitate
the formation of roots.

Some Chinese authors state that very long branches
may be laid down, and that roots may be thus obtained
from all the eyes upon them, which will eventually form
as many plants.

Vibert, a well-known rose cultivator in France, remarks
upon this point: “Upon laying down with the requisite
care some branches fifteen to twenty-four inches long, of
the new growth, or of that of the previous year, and up-
on taking them up with similar care, after twelve or
eighteen months, I found only the first eyes expanded into
buds or roots, while the rest had perished. I have seldom
seen the fifth eye developed, while I have frequently
known the whole branch entirely perish. I speak in gen-
eral terms, for there are some rare exceptions, and the
different varieties of the Four-seasons Rose may be cited
as proof that a great number of eyes of the same branch
have taken root.”

This is the opinion of an eminent rose grower; but if,
as he states, the Monthly Damask Rose will root freely in
this way, many of the smooth-wooded roses would un-
doubtedly root still more readily, and our rapid growing
native rose, Queen of the Prairies, would very probably
throw out roots readily, when treated in this manner. It
is worth repeated experiment; for, if rapid growing roses,
like some of the evergreen varieties, the Greville, and the
Queen of the Prairies, could with facility be made to grow
in this way, rose hedges coul: be easily formed by laying
down whole branches, and a very beautiful and effective

120 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

protection would be thus produced, to ornament our fields
and gardens.

SUCKERS.

Many roses throw up suckers readily from the root, and
often form one of the principal causes of annoyance to the
cultivator. For this reason, budding and grafting should
always be done on stocks that do uot incline to sucker.
The Dog Rose—on which almost all the imported varicties
are now worked—is particularly liable to this objection,
and it is no unusual thing to see hal‘a-dozen suckers
growing about a single rose-tree. When the hea'th and
prosperity of the plant are desired, these should be care-
fully kept down, as they deprive the plant of a material
portion of its nourishment. When, however, they are
wanted for stocks, they should be taken off every spring
with a small portion of root, which can generally be ob-
tained by cutting some distance below the surface of the
ground. They should be planted immediately where they
are wanted for budding, and will soon be fit for use.
Many fine varieties of the summer roses will sucker in this
way, and an old plant when taken up will sometimes fur-
nish a large number of thrifty stems, each with a portion
of root attached.

BUDDING,

Fifty years ago, budding and grafting were very little
practic.d, excepting with new varieties, that could with
great difficulty be propagated in any other way. Within
that time, however, the practice has been constantly in-
creasing until now, when it is extensively employed in
Europe, and roses imported from France and England can
very rarely be obtained on their own roots. To this mode
of propagation, there is one great objection, while the ad-

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 121

vantages in some varieties are sufiiciently great to coun-
terbalance any inconveniences attending the cultivation of
a budded or grafted rose. It is generally the case, that
the stock or plant on which the Rose is budded is of
some variety that will throw up suckers very freely, which
growing with great luxuriance, will sometimes overpower
the variety budded upon it, and present a mass of its own
flowers. The purchaser will thus find a comparatively
worthless bloom, instead of the rare and beautiful varieties
whose appearance he has been eagerly awaiting, and upon
the head of the nurseryman will frequently descend the
weight of his indignation, This difficulty can, however, be
avoided by a very little attention. The shoot of the stock
can very realily be distinvuished from that of the budded or
grafted variety by its growth and foliage, even if the age
cf the plant will not allow the point of inoculation to be
recocn:zed. In passing the plant in his walks, let the
owner simply cut away any shoot of this character that
may spring from the stock or root. ‘The budded variety
thus receiving all the nourishment from the root, will soon
grow with luxuriance, and present to the eager expectant
as fine a bloom as he may desire—at the expense only of
a little observation, and the trouble of occasionally taking
his knife from his pocket.

This trouble, however, is such that the plant is in most
cases neglected. Budded or grafted roses are thus very
unpopular in this country, and those on their own roots
are deemed the only ones which it is safe to plant.

The practice of budding has brought into cultivation a
form of the plant which is highly ornamental, but which
can never become very general in this country. The Tree
Rose is an inoculation upon a standard some four or five
feet in height, generally a Dor Rose or Eglantine. The
tall, naked stem, a greater part of which is unsheltered
by any foliage, is exposed to the full glare of our summer
sun, and unless protected i: some way, will often die out

6

122 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

in two or three years. Its life can be prolonged by cov:
ering the stem with moss, or with a sort of tin tube, pros
vided with small holes, to allow the air to enter and cir-
culate around the stem. This is, however, some trouble;
and as many will not provide this protection, a large part
of the standard roses imported to this country will grad-
ually die out, and rose bushes be generally employed for
single planting, or for grouping upon the lawn.

In budding, there are two requisites: a well-established
and thriftily growing plant, and a well-matured eye or
bud. The operation can be performed at any season when
these requisites can be obtained. In the open ground, the
wood from which the buds are cut is generally not mature
until after the first summer bloom.

Having ascertained by running a knife under the bark,
that the stock will
peel easily, and having
some perfectly ripe
young shoots with
buds upon them, the
operation can be per-
formed with a sharp
knife that is round and
very thin at the point.
Make in the bark of
the stock a longitudi-
nal incision of three-
quarters of an inch,
and another short one
across the top, as in a,
fig. 10; run the knife
under the bark and
loosen it from the
wood; then cut from
one of the young shoots of the desired variety, a bud, as
in 6; placing the knife a quarter to three-eighths of an

Fig. 10.—BUDDING THE ROSE.

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 123

inch above the eye or bud, and cutting out about the same
distance below it, cutting sufficiently near the bud to take
with it a very thin scale of the wood. English gardeners
will always peel off this thin scale; but in our hot cli-
mate, it should always be left on, as it assists to keep the
bud moist, and does not at all prevent the access of the
sap from the stock to the bud. The bud being thus pre-
pared, take it, by the portion of leaf-stalk attached, between
the thumb and finger in the left hand, and, with the knife
in the right, open
the incision in the
bark sufficiently to
allow the bud to be
slipped in as far as
it will go, when the
bark will close over
and retain it. Then
take a mat-string, or
a piece of yarn, and
firmly bind it around
the bud, leaving only
the petiole and bud
exposed, as in @,
fig. 10. The string
should be allowed
to remain for about
two weeks, or until
the bud is united to
the stock. If allow-
ed to remain longer,
it will sometimes cut
into the bark of the rapidly growing stock, but is productive
of no otherinjury. It is the practice with many cultivators
to cut off the top of the stock above the bud immediately
after moculation. A limited acquaintance with vegetable
physiology would convince the cultivator of the injurious

Fig. 11.—BUDDING IN THE BRANCHES.

124 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

results of this practicc, and that the total excision of the
branches of the stock while in full vegetation must be de-
structive to a large portion of the roots, and highly detri-
mental to the prosperity of the plant. Amuch better mode
is to bend down the top, and tie its extremity to the lower
part of the stock. Several days after this is done, the bud
‘an be inserted just below the sharpest bend of the arch,
When the buds are to be placed in the branches of a
stock, as in fig. 11, the top of the main stem can be cut
off, and the branches
arched over and ticd
to the main stem, as at
J; the bud is then in-
serted in cach branch,
as ate. The circula-
J tion of the sap being
thus impeded by the
bending of the branch-
es, it is thrown into the
inoculation, and forms
then a more immediate
union than it would if
the branches were not
arched. After the
buds have become
fairly united to the
stock and have com-
menced growing, the
top can be safely cut

Fig. 12.—BUDDING A POTTED ROSE. off to the bud, although
it would be still better to make the pruning of the top
proportionate to the growth of the bud; by this means, a
slower, but more healthy vegetation is obtained. When
_the buds are inserted very late in the season, it is better
not to cut off the top of the stock or branches until the
following spring, and to preserve the bud dormant. If

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 125

allowed to make a rapid growth so late in the season,
there would be great danger of its being killed by frost.
European cultivators are very fond of budding several va-
rieties on one stock, in order to obtain the pretty effect
produced by a contrast of color. This will only answer
where great care is taken to select varieties of the same
vegetating force; otherwise one will soon outstrip the
others, and appropriate all the nourishment. It is also de-
arable that they should belong to the same species. When
a bud is inserted in a plant in pot, as in fig. 12, the main
branches are left, and a portion of the top only cut off, in
order to give the bud some additional nourishment,

GRAFTING.

From the pithy nature of the wood of the Rose, graft-
ing is always less certain than budding; but it is frequently
adopted by cultivators, as budding cannot be relied upe fiLy
in the spring, and as heres is much wood from the winter”
pruning which would be otherwise wasted. It ‘is also
useful for working over those plants in which buds have
missed the previous summer.

‘Vhere are several modes of grafting, of which the most
generally practiced is cleft-yrafting. For this mode, the
stock is cut off st the desired height with a sharp knife,
either horizontally, or slightly sloping. The cut should
be made just above a bud, which may serve to draw up the
sap to the graft. The stock can then be split with a heavy
knife, making the slit or cleft about an inch long. The
cion should be about four inches long, with two or more
buds upon it. An inch of the lower part of the cion can
be cut in the shape of a wedge, making one side very
thin, and on the thick or outer side, leaving a bud oppo-
site to the top of the wedge. This clon can then be in-
serted in the cleft as far as the wedge is cut, being very
careful to make the bark of the cion fit exactly to that of

126 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

the stock. In order to exclude the air, the top and side
of the stock should then be bound with a strip of cloth
covered with a composition of beeswax and resin in equal
parts, with sufficient tallow to make it soft at a reasonably
low temperature. In the course of two or three weeks,

Fig. 13.—cLEFT GRAFTING. Fig. 14.—WwHIP GRAFTING.

if every thing is favorable, the cion will begin to unite,
and will be ready to go forward with advancing vegeta-
tion. When the stock is sufficiently large, two cions can
be inserted, as in fig. 13.

Whip-grafting is performed by cutting a slice of bark
with a little wood from the side of a stock about an inch
and a half long, and then paring a cion of the usual length
down to a very thin lower extremity, as in fig. 14. This
cion can then be accurately fitted on to the place from which

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 127

the slice of bark and wood is taken. The whole can then
be bound around with cotton cloth, covered with the
composition described before. In all grafting it should
be borne in mind, that it is essential for the bark of the
cion and that of the stock to touch each other in some
point, and the more the points of contact, the greater
will be the chance of success.

Rind-grafting is also sometimes practiced, but is more
uncertain than the former, as the swelling of the stock is
very apt to force the cion
out. This mode must be
practiced when the bark
peels easily, or separates
with ease from the wood.
The top of the stock must
be cut off square, and the
bark cut through from the
top about an inch down-
ward. The point of the
knife can then be inserted
at the top, and the bark
peeled back, as in a, fig. 15.
It is desirable, as before,
that a bud should be left on
the other side of the stock,
opposite this opening; and Fig. 15,—RIND GRAFTING.
the French prefer, also, to have a bud left on the outside
of the part of the cion which is inserted. The cion should
be cut out and sloped flat on one side, as in 4, fig. 15; then
inserted in the stock between the bark and wood, as in c,
and bound with mat-strings, or strips of grafting cloth.

The French have another mode of grafting stocks about
the size of a quill or the little finger. It is done by plac-
ing the knife about two inches below a bud which is just
on the point of starting, and cutting half way through
the stock, and two inches down, as in fig. 16, The cion

128 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

is then placed in the lower part of this cavity, in the same
manner as with cleft grafting. This mode is called
Aspirant, from the bud above the incision, which continues
to draw up the sap, until the development of
the cion. When the cion has grown about two
inches, the top cf the stock is cut off and covered
with grafting wax. This mode is not always
successful, as the sap sometimes leaves the side
of the stock which has been partly cut away
and passes up the other side.

The French have also a mode of grafting,
which they call par incrustation, and which is
performed in the spring, as soon as the leaf-buds
appear. A cion witha bud adhering to the wood
is cut ina sort of oval shape, and inserted in a
cavity made of the same shape, and just below
an eye which has commenced growing. It is then
bound around with matting, asin budding. This
is a sort of spring budding, with rather more wood
attached to the bud, than in summer budding, It
is very successfully practiced by various cultivators in the
vicinity of Paris. There is still another mode sometimes
practiced in France, which owes its origin to a cultivator
named Lecog. A small branch is chosen, which is provided
with two buds, one of them being on the upper part, and
the other near its larger end. A sidclong sloping cut is
made all along its lower half, the upper being left entire.
When the cion is thus prepared, its cut side is fitted to
the side of the stock under the bark, which has been cut
and peeled back. It is then bound around with mat~
strings or grafting cloth in the usual way. This mode
has a peculiar merit ; should the upper bud not grow, the
lower one rarely fails, and develops itself as in common

budding.
Cleft and whip-gratting is also practiced occasionally
upon the roots of the Rose, and succeeds very well with

PROPAGATION OF THE ROSE. 129

some varieties. These modes of grafting can all be more
successfully practiced on stocks in pots in green-houses
with bottom heat and bell glasses. We have given
thus concisely, and, we hope, clearly, the various modes of
budding and grafting with which we are acquainted.
They may be sufficient to enable the amateur to amuse
his leisure hours, though his success may not entirely meet
his expectations. Simple as these operations are, they
require a kind of skill, and, if we may so call it, sleight-of-
hand, which is only attained by constant practice upon
a great number of plants,

130 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

CHAPTER VIIL.
MULTIPLICATION BY SEED AND HYBRIDIZING.

We have described, in former pages, the various modes
of cultivating the Rose, and of propagating the many
beautiful varieties which exist, and would now briefly ad-
vert to a mode of developing still farther the beauty
which lies hid within the horny covering that protects the
dormant germ of vitality—in other words, of obtaining
new varieties by seed. With the making of the seed-bed
commenced a new cra in the culture of the Rose, and ad-
vancing with rapid strides, it made more progress in forty
years than in centuries before. The Dutch seem to have
been the first to raise roses from seed, by the same mode
which they applied successfully to their tulips, hyacinths,
etc., and from the time that this mode became generally
employed, the varietics of roses began to increase. In
this species of cultivation the French soon outstripped
their Dutch neighbors, and gained the reputation which
they still retain, of preéminent skill in the production of
new varieties of roses from the seed.

From 1805 to 1810, the Empress Josephine, whose love
for flowers is well known, collected at her favorite resi-
dence, Malmaison, the choicest varieties of the Rose that
could be obtained from Holland, Germany, and Belgium,
and thus gave an increased impulse to the culture of roses
in the vicinity of Paris.

According to De Pronville, a French writer, there were,
in 1814, only 182 varieties of roses, and the advantage of
multiplication by sced is sufficiently evinced by the fact
that there are now more than 6,000 varieties, the poor-
est of which are much better than any which existed af

MULTIPLICATION BY SEED AND HYDRIDIZING. 131

that day. Among the earliest cultivators of roses from
the seed, were three Frenchmen: Dupont, Vilmorin, and
Descemet. The former was the gardener of the Empress
Josephine. When the allied armies entered Paris, in
1815, the garden of Descemet contained 10,000 seedling
roses, which Vibert, in his anxiety to secure from destruc-
tion, succeeded in carrying to his garden in the interior.

In England, very little attention seems, at that time, to
have been paid to the production of new varieties from seed,
and the English relied very much upon the continent for
their choice roses. Now, however, they are abundantly
redeeming their reputation, and many fine varieties have
been produced by English rose-growers, at the head of
whom stands Rivers, whose efforts are seconded by
Wood, Paul, Lane, and others. They are still, however,
compelled to yield to the French cultivators; for to these
we are indebted for our very finest roses—for Lamarque,
Solfaterre, La Reine, Chromatella, the new white Perpetu-
als, Souvenir de Malmaison, and others.

The varieties of roses becime increasingly great after
the introduction of the Bengals, Noisettes, Teas, and
Bourbons—all these classes producing readily from seed,
and in endless variety. There still remains a willingness
to cast aside the old for the new, and however much we
may regret this disposition, for the sake of some old and
truly deserving favorites, we cannot feel willing to de-
nounce it, for it exhibits a gratifying evidence of a desire
for improvement, and the existence of a spirit of progress,
which, dissatisfied with things as they are, is continually
striving after nearer approaches to perfection. If, in this
strife, some of our old favorites have been cast aside, we
are more than abundantly compensated. for their loss by
the new claimants to our regard.

Those who intend to raise new roses from seed should
select varieties differing as much as possible in color and
habit, and possessing broad, thick, and well-formed pet-

132 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

als; their stamens should also be visible, and their pistils
perfect; for perfectly double flowers, in which all the or-
gans of propagation—the stamens and pistils—are changed
into petals, never yield seed. These should be planted
together ina rich soil, and as far as possible from any
other roses. If there are among them any two varieties
whose peculiarities it is desired to unite in a single plant,
place these next to each other, and there may possibly be
such an admixture of the pollen as will produce the de-
sired result.

Care should be taken not to affect the proper maturity
of the seed by taking off the petals, but allow them to
fall by their own decay. The seed should be perfectly
mature before it is gathered, which will be immediately
after the first hard frost. After the hips have been gath-
ered, the seeds can be taken out with the point of a knife,
or, if there is a large quantity, they can be put on a table
and bruised with a wooden roller; the covering of the
seeds is so tough that they cannot easily be injured.
When the hip is sufficiently bruised, it can be plunged in-
to a vessel of water; and by continued friction, the seeds
can be easily separated from the pulp which surrounds
them, and will generally fall to the bottom. After
being dried a few days in the shade, they should be
placed just beneath the surface, in pots filled with fine
sand, or peat earth, where they can be kept until wanted
for planting in the spring. The seeds which are not thus
placed in sand soon after they are gathered will not grow
until the second, and if delayed very long, until the third
year. In this case, however, their germination can be
hastened by sowing them in earthen pans, which are
placed upon a hot-bed or under a glass frame. The seeds
being thus planted immediately after being gathered, the
sand should be kept moistened through the winter, and the
pots put out of the reach of frost. Mice are very fond
of these seeds, and will destroy them unless they are pro-

MULTIPLICATION BY SEED AND HYBRIDIZING. 133

tected. The pots should be kept out of all heat, except-
ing what may be required to keep the frost from them,
until the first of April, in this latitude, and at the South,
earlier; this is requisite, in order to prevent their germ-
inating before all danger of frost is past in the open air.
At the time the pots or pans are brought from their shel-
tered place into a warm temperature, beds for the plants
should be made in the open air, that they may be ready
the moment they are required. For these an eastern as-
pect is the best, and in our hot climate, on the north side
of a fence would answer very well; if they are in an open
piece of ground, they should be sheltered by an awning
from the hot sun. The soil should be a rich, light sandy
mould, with a little peat, if convenient, and should be
finely pulverized. The seeds should now be closely watch-
ed, and the moment they are seen pushing up the sand, in
order to obtain light, they should be taken out singly with
the point of a knife, taking a small portion of the sand
with them. The bed having been previously watered, and
raked fine, drills can be made, half an inch deep and
about a foot apart, in which the germinating seeds can be
placed, at a distance of six inches from each other, and
then carefully covered with finely pulverized soil. Having
commenced germinating in the pots, the seeds, now in the
genial warmth of a spring sun, but protected from its
fiercest rays, will soon show their heads above the ground,
and striking deep root in the rich soil, grow rapidly.
While the plants are small, care should be taken to keep
the ground constantly moist.

We are aware that this process is somewhat new with
rose seeds, although it has been long practiced with
Rhododendrons and other plants, but we are convinced
of its superiority to the old mode. The delicate roots of
young plants are very susceptible of injury by change,
and many are frequently lost by the first potting; this
risk is avoided by transplanting the seed before the first

134 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

root fibre is formed, and when, being in the act of germ-
ination, there can be no possible danger of its rotting,
which is frequently a serious objection to sowing seeds at
once in the open ground. The trouble and risk of loss
occasioned by subsequent re-pottings are also avoided,
and the plants have, by this mode, full liberty to grow as
luxuriantly as they choose, with only the slight attention
required by watering and shading. As the plan of Rivers
is materially different, we will give his directions in de-
tail, admitting, at the same time, that, under some cireum-
stances, it may be preferable to that we have presented
above.

“The hips of all the varieties of roses, will, in general,
be fully ripe by the beginning of November; they should
then be gathered and kept entire, in a flower pot filled
with dry sand, carefully guarded from mice. In Febru-
ary, or by the first week in March, they must be broken
to pieces with the fingers, and sown in flower pots, such
as are generally used for sowing seeds in, called ‘seed
pans’; but for rose seeds they should not be too shallow;
nine inches in depth will be enough. These should be
nearly, but not quite, filled with a rich compost of rotten
manure and sandy loam, or peat; the seeds may be coy-
ered, to the depth of about half an inch, with the same
compost; a piece of kiln wire must then be placed over
the pot, fitting closely at the rim, so as to prevent the in-
gress of mice, which are passionately fond of rose seeds;
there must be space enough between the wire and the
mould for the young plants to come up—half an inch will
probably be found enough; the pots of seed must never
be placed under glass, but kept constantly in the open air,
in a full sunny exposure, as the wire will shade the mould
and prevent its drying. Water should be given occasion-
ally, in dry weather. The young plants will perhaps
make their appearance in April or May, but very often the
seed does not vegetate until the second spring. When

MULTIPLICATION BY SEED AND HYBRIDIZING, 135

they have made their ‘rough leaves,’ that is, when they
have three or four leaves, they must be carefully raised
with the point of a narrow pruning-knife, potted into small
pots, and placed in the shade; if the weather is very hot
and dry, they may be covered with a handglass for a few
days. They may remain in those pots a month, and then
be planted out into a rich border; by the end of August
those that are robust growers will have made shoots long
enough for budding.” Until the plants have become
firmly rooted, and, in fact, through the most of the first
summer, they should be protected from the heat of the
sun; a cheap mode of doing this is to put up rough posts,
connect them by pieces of wood, lay rough slats across
these, and cover the whole with straw or cornstalks; but
a much neater covering is a good canvas awning, sup-
ported by posts, which can be taken down when not need-
ed, and will last many years. The Bourbons and Bengals,
with the Teas and Noisettes, will sometimes bloom the
first season; but as the plant will be weak, a correct
opinion cannot be formed of its character until the second
summer. ‘The summer roses, or those which bloom only
once in the season, never show bloorn until their third, and
sometimes not until their fourth and fifth year. It is well
to let all the plants remain in the seed-bed until the fifth
year, as some which prove unpromising at first may result
in something really good. All that prove bad the fifth
year can be marked for destruction, or cut down to receive
the buds of the good varieties. In order to obtain a good
bloom as soon as possible, it is well to have ready some
strong stocks of the Greville, Mannetti, or any other free-
growing rose, into which buds can be inserted of any of the
seedlings whose habit and general appearance promise good
flowers, and whose growth has been sufficient to furnish
good buds. The next spring the stock should be cut down
to the bud, which will then make luxuriant shoots, and
produce flowers the same season, if an Everblooming va-

136 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

riety; but if one of the Summer roses, not until the next
season. The third spring let every branch be cut down
to three or four eyes, when it will more fully develop its
character, and will often continue improving until its fifth
or sixth year.

The first winter, the young plants will require protec-
tion from the cold by some kind of litter, and the Bengal,
Tea, and Noisette varieties will always need it during the
winter. Where there are any plants of these latter, whose
habit and appearance promise something excellent, they
can be potted on the approach of winter, kept in a cool
temperature, free from frost, and replanted in the spring.

When it is desired that the young plant should possess
the properties of two well-known flowers, resort is had to
artificial impregnation.

Although the existence of sexuality in plants appears
to have been known to the ancients, and is mentioned not
only by Pliny, Claudian, and Theophrastus, but also by
Ebu-Alwan, in a work on agriculture written originally in
Chaldaic; yet it does not seem to have been generally ad-
mitted by botanists, until announced by Linnzeus in 1731.
From this time the possibility of the existence of hybrid
plants was admitted, and Linnzus, with many subsequent
authors, published observations tending to show that, even
in the natural state, new species were formed by two dif-
ferent plants, the pistil of one having been fecundated by
the stamens of the other. This impregnation has been
artificially applied, by modern cultivators, to the produc-
tion of new varieties of fruits and flowers. With the
Geranium, Fuchsia, Pzeony, Pansy, and other flowers, it
has produced remarkable results. The mode of impreg-
nating the Rose artificially has been so little practiced
with us, and has been so well described by Rivers, that
we prefer detailing the process in his own words:

“When it is desirable the qualities of a favorite rose
should preponderate, the petals of the flower to be fertil-

MULTIPLICATION BY SEED AND llyBripizinc. 137
ized must be opened gently with the fingers. A flower
that will expand in the morning should be opened the
afternoon or evening previous, and the anthers all remoy-
ed with a pair of pointed scissors. The following morn-
i1g, when this flower is fully expanded, it must be fertil-
ized with a flower of some variety of whose qualities it is
desired to have seedlings largely partake. It requires
some watchfulness to open the petals at the proper time;
if too soon, the petals will be injured in forcing them
open, and in hot weather, in July, if delayed only an hour
or two, the anthers will be found to have shed their pollen
To ascertain precisely when the pollen is in a fit state for
transmission, a few of the anthers should be gently press-
ed with the finger and thumb; if the yellow dust adheres
to them, the operation may be performed ; it requires close
examination and some practice to know when the flower
to be operated upon is in a fit state to receive the pollen;
asa general rule, the flowers ought to be in the same
state of expansion, or, in other words, about the same age.

“To exemplify the process, we will suppose that a
climbing Moss Rose, with red or crimson flowers, is wish-
ed for: the flowers of the Blush Ayrshire, which bear
seed abundantly, may be selected, and before expansion,
the anthers removed; the following morning, or as soon
after the operation as these flowers open, they should be
fertilized with those of the Luxembourg Moss; if the
operation succeed, seed will be procured, from which, the
probability is, that a climbing rose will be produced with
the habit and flowers of the Moss Rose, or at least an ap-
proximation to them. I mention the union of the Moss
and Ayrshire Roses by way of illustration, and merely
to point out to the amateur how extensive and how inter-
esting a field of operations is open in this way. I ought
to give a fact that has occurred in my own experience,
which will tell better with the sceptical than a thousand
anticipations, About four years since, in a pan of seed-

138 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

ling Moss Roses, was one with a most peculiar habit, even
when very young; this has since proved a hybrid rose,
partaking much more of the Scotch Rose than of any
other, and until the plant arrived at full growth, I thought
it a Scotch Rose, the seed of which had by accident been
mixed with that of the Moss Rose, although I had taken
extreme care. To my surprise it has since proved a per-
fect hybrid, having the sepals and the fruit of the Provence
Rose, with the spiny and dwarf habit of the Scotch Rose ;
it bears abundance of hips, which are all abortive. The
difference in the fruit of the Moss and Provence Rose, and
that of the Scotch, is very remarkable; and this it was
which drew my particular attention to the plant in ques-
tion. It was raised from the same seed, and in the same
seed-pan, as the single crimson Moss Rose. As this strange
hybrid came from a Moss Rose accidentally fertilized, we
may expect that art will do much more for us.

“Tt is only in cases where it is wished for the qualities
of a particular rose to predominate, that the removal of
the anthers of the rose to be fertilized is necessary: thus,
if a yellow climbing rose is desired by the union of the
Yellow Brier with the Ayrshire, every anther should be
removed from the latter, so that it is fertilized solely with
the pollen of the former. In some cases, where it is de-
sirable to have the qualities of both parents in an equal
degree, the removal of the anthers must not take place:
thus I have found, by removing them from the Luxem-
bourg Moss, and fertilizing that rose with a dark variety
of Rosa Gallica, that the features of the Moss Rose are
totally lost in its offspring, and they become nearly pure
varieties of the former; but if the anthers of the Moss
tose are left untouched, and it is fertilized with Rosa
Gallica, interesting hybrids are the result, more or less
mossy.”

There is no branch of rose culture possessing more in-
terest for the amateur, with whose leisure its prosecution is

MULTIPLICATION BY SEED AND HYDRIDIZING. 139

compatible. The constant care and attention required, in
order to ensure success, place it in a great measure beyond
the limits of a large commercial establishment. The
great desideratum at this time is a double, yellow, climb-
ing rose. If the Harrison Rose were fertilized with the
Queen of the Prairies, or the latter with the Solfaterre or
Chromatella, a rose might possibly be obtained with the
rich yellow of the Harrison Rose, and the robust habit
and beautifully formed flower of the Queen of the Prairies.
While, however, we recommend this mode of artificial
impregnation, we would by no means discourage the sow-
ing of seeds whose flowers have not thus been fecundated.
The seed of the Harrison Rose, or of any of the yellow
roses, may, if perseveringly saved from generation to
generation, produce a yellow climbing rose. In fact, we
are inclined to think that among all the reputed hybrids,
a much less number than is supposed owe their origin to
a crossed fecundation. It is a fact generally admitted by
botanists, that all varieties of plants will generally pro-
duce from their seed plants very dissimilar, preserving,
perhaps, some peculiarities of their parents, but differing
in many essential particulars.

It will thus be perceived that, in the simple sowing of
seeds, where there is a dislike to the trouble of artificial
impregnation, there is a wide field for experiment and for
successful result. But to those who have the leisure and
the patience to transfer from one plant to another its fer-
tilizing matter, it forms a pleasant amusement, with rather
a greater probability of satisfactory results. In either
case, every amateur of roses should have his seed-plat ;
and if, out of a thousand, or even five thousand roses, he
should obtain one good variety, and differing from any other
known, he will be conferring an important service upon
rose-culture, and will encourage others to pursue the same
course, until we shall be in no wise behind either France
or England in this interesting branch of horticulture,

140 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

CHAPTER IX.

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE.

Brave Rose, alas, whose art thou? In thy chair
Where thou didst lately so triumph and shine
A worm doth sit. whose many feet and hair

Are the more foul the more thou art divine.
This, this hath done it; this did bite the root

And bottom of the leaves, which, when the wind
Did once perceive, it blew them under foot,

Where rude, unhallow’d steps do crush and grind
Their beauteous glories. Only shreds of thee,
And those all bitten, in thy chair I see.

HERBERT.

The diseases to which the Rose is liable are generally
owing either to the presence of various Cryptogamic
plants, or to the attacks of certain insects whose larve
are supported at the expense of the plant. Among Cryp-
togamic parasites which have been observed upon rose-
bushes, and which infest chiefly the Provence and other
rough-leaved roses, the following are the most trouble-
some :

Rust.—The rust, when examined by a magnifier, is
found to consist of minute yellow spots, each of which is
a fungus, Lecythea Rose. It is common and injurious to
roses, as it frequently covers all the leaves. The most ef-
fectual mode of preventing its spreading is to cut off with
care and burn all the infected branches, which will some-
times render necessary the destruction of the whole plant.

Mildew,—The minute fungus which produces mildew is
called by botanists Spherotheca ponnosa. It appears like
a gray mould on the smaller stems and blistered leaves.
It is a very troublesome enemy to the Rose, and will
sometimes put at defiance every application for its destruc-

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE. 141

tion. The most effectual is smoking with sulphur, dusting
with dry flowers of sulphur, or syringing with sulphur wa-
ter. The former should only be practiced by a skillful
hand, as too much sulphur-smoke will sometimes entirely
kill the plant.

Mould is due to a minute gray fungus, Peronospora
sparsa, and manifests its presence by the appearance of
irregular pale brownish spots upon the upper surface of
the leaf. Upon the under surface of these spots the
mould will be found.

Other species of fungi attack the Rose, but they are
not sufficiently troublesome to the cultivator to need
enumeration here.

The insects which infest the Rose are quite numerous,
and their attacks are more or less injurious. The majority
of those which are found on the plant in the state of per-
fect insects are comparatively harmless. The most in-
jurious are those whose larvee feed on the leaves and pith
of the trunk and limbs, and thus destroy the plant; while
the perfect insect, like the Green-fly, will simply stop the
growth and impair the health of the tree, by fastening up-
on the green and tender bark of the young shoots, and
devouring the sap. It is highly desirable that amateur
cultivators should devote more time to the study of Ento-
mology, for upon an intimate acquaintance with the hab-
its of these minute depredators depends, in a greater de-
gree than is generally supposed, the success of cultivation.
Our own leisure is so limited, that we have been able to
devote very little time to this subject; and we can find
no work that treats in detail the insects that attack the
Rose. We simply give some account of the most trouble-
some ones drawn mainly from Harris’ Insects Injurious to
Vegetation.

Green-Fly, or Plant-Louse.— Aphis Rosw.—This very
common insect is a scourge to roses, from the facility of its

142 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

reproduction, and its numerous progeny sometimes en-
tirely cover the leaves, the young sprouts, and the flower
buds. Devouring the sap, they are very injurious, and,
when numerous, sometimes destroy the plant, while they
soil every part on which they collect. The most common
species is of a pale green, but there is a variety of a dingy
yellow. Many are destroyed by small birds, but they
have other enemies, as the larvee of the Coccinellas, or
Lady-birds, and other insects destroy large numbers.
The first eggs of the Green-fly are deposited in the au-
tumn, at the base of the buds, and are hatched in the early
part of the following spring. Generation after generation
is then rapidly produced, numbering sometimes eight or
ten before autumn. These are produced alive, and with-
out the intervention of the male. Reaumur estimated
that a single Aphis might produce six thousand millions im
one summer. The first hatching can be prevented by
washing the plant with soft soap and water, or with whale-
oil soap, before the buds commence swelling. When the
plant is infested with them, it can be washed with tobac-
co-water and then rinsed in clean water. If in a house,
fumigation with tobacco is better. An English writer
recommends washing in a decoction of an ounce of quassia
to a quart of water, as a very effective and safe remedy.
Fumigation is, however, the most thoroughly searching
remedy, and can be easily applied to plants in the open
air, by means of an empty barrel inverted over the plant,
and a pan of burning tobacco,

Gall-Flies.—Several species of Cynips, or Gall-flies, at-
tack the rose, their punctures, made for the purpose of
depositing their eggs, being followed by variously formed
excrescences containing the larvee. The Bedequars, formed
by the puncture of the Cyips Rosw, were formerly em-
ployed in medicine as astringents. Harris enumerates the
American species as follows:

Cynips bicolor.—* Round, prickly galls, of a reddish

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE. 143

color, and rather larger than a pea, may often be seen on
rose-bushes. Each of them contains a single grub, and
this in due time turns to a gall-fly. Its head and thorax
are black, and rough with numerous little pits; its hind-
body is polished, and, with the legs, of a brownish-red
color. It isa large insect compared with the size of its
gall, measuring nearly one-fifth of an inch in length, while
the diameter of its gall, not including the prickles, rarely
exceeds three-tenths of an inch.”

Cynips dichlocerus, “or the gall-fly with two-colored
antenne, is of a brownish-red or cinnamon color, with four
little longitudinal grooves on the top of the thorax, the
Jower part of the antenne red, and the remainder black.
It varies in being darker sometimes, and measures from
one-eighth to three-sixteenths of an inch in length. Great
numbers of these gall-flies are bred in the irregular woody
galls, or long excrescences, of the stems of rose-bushes.”

Cynips semipiceus—* The small roots of rose-bushes,
and of other plants of the same family, sometimes pro-
duce rounded, warty, and woody knobs, inhabited by
numerous gall-insects, which, in coming out, pierce them
with small holes on all sides. The winged insects closely
resemble the dark varieties of the preceding species in
color, and in the little furrows on the thorax; but their
legs are rather paler, and they do not measure more than
one-tenth of an inch in length.”

Rose-Slug, Selandria Rose, of Harris, who gives the
following account: “The saw-fly of the rose, which, as it
does not seem to have been described before, may be call-
ed Selandria Rose, from its favorite plant, so nearly re-
sembles the slug-worm saw-fly as not to be distinguished
therefrom except by a practiced observer. It is also very
much like Selandria barda, Vitis, and pygmca, but has
not the red thorax of these three closely allied species.
It is of a deep and shining black color, The first two

144 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

pairs of legs are brownish-gray or dirty white, except the
thighs, which are almost entirely black. The hind legs are
black, with whitish knees. The wings are smoky, and
transparent, with dark brown veins, and a brown spot near
the middle of the edge of the first pair. The body of the
male is a little more than three-twentieths of an inch long,
that of the female one-fifth of an inch or more, and the
Wings expand nearly or quite two-fifths of an inch, These
saw-flies come out of the ground at various times between
the twentieth of May and the middle of June, during
which period they pair and lay their eggs. The females
do not fly much, and may be seen, during most of the day,
resting on the leaves; and, when touched, they draw up
their legs, and fall to the ground. The males are more
active, fly from one rose-bush to another, and hover around
their sluggish partners. The latter, when about to lay
their eggs, turn a little on one side, unsheathe their saws,
and thrust them obliquely into the skin of the leaf, de-
positing in each incision thus made, a single egg. The
young begin to hatch in ten days or a fortnight after the
egos are laid. They may sometimes be found on the
leaves as early as the first of June, but do not usually ap-
pear in considerable numbers until the twentieth of the
same month, How long they are in coming to maturity,
I have not particularly observed; but the period of their
existence in the caterpillar state probably does not exceed
three weeks. They somewhat resemble the young of the
saw-fly in form, but are not quite so convex. They have
a small, round, yellowish head, with a black dot on each
side of it, and are provided with twenty-two short legs.
The body is green above, paler at the sides, and yellowish
beneath ; and it is soft, and almost transparent like jelly.
The skin of the back is transversely wrinkled, and covered
with minute elevated points; and there are two small,
triple-pointed warts on the edge of the first ring, immedi-
ately behind the head, These gelatinous and sluggish

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE. 145

creatures eat the upper surface of the leaf in large irreg-
ular patches, leaving the veins and the skin beneath un-
touched; and they are sometimes so thick that not a leaf
on the bushes is spared by them, and the whole foliage
looks as if it had been scorched by fire, and drops off soon
afterward. They cast their skins several times, leaving
them extended and fastened on the leaves; after the last
moulting they lose their semi-transparent and greenish
color, and acquire an opaque yellowish hue. They then
leave the rose-bushes, some of them slowly creeping down
the stem, and others rolling up and dropping off, espe-
cially when the bushes are shaken by the wind. Having
reached the ground, they burrow to the depth of an inch
or more in the earth, where each one makes for itself a
small oval cell, of grains of earth, cemented with a little
gummy silk. Having finished their transformations, and
turned to flies, within their cells, they come out of the
ground early in August, and lay their eggs for a second
brood of young. These, in turn, perform their appointed
work of destruction in the autumn; they then go into the
ground, make their earthy cells, remain therein through-
out the winter, and appear in the winged form, in the fol-
lowing spring and summer.

“During several years past, these pernicious vermin
have infested the rose-bushes in the vicinity of Boston,
and have proved so injurious to them, as to have excited
the attention of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society,
by whom a premium of one hundred dollars for the most
successful mode of destroying these insects was offered in
the summer of 1840. About ten years ago, I observed
them in gardens in Cambridge, and then made myself ac-
qainted with their transformations. At that time they
had not reached Milton, my former place of residence,
and have appeared in that place only within two or three
years. They now seem to be gradually extending in all
directions, and an effectual method for preserving our

a

146 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

roses from their attacks has become very desirable to all
persons who set any value on this beautiful ornament of
our gardens and shrubberies. Showering or syringing
the bushes with a liquor, made by mixing with water the
juice expressed from tobacco by tobacconists, has been
recommended ; but some caution is necessary in making
this mixture of a proper strength, for if too strong, it is
injurious to plants; and the experiment does not seem, as
yet, to have been conducted with sufficient care to insure
safety and success. Dusting lime over the plants when
wet with dew has been tried, and found of some use; but
this and all other remedies will probably yield in efficacy
to Mr. Haggerston’s mixture of whale-oil soap and water,
in the proportion of two pounds of the soap to fifteen
gallons of water. Particular directions, drawn up by
Mr. Haggerston himself, for the preparation and use of
this simple and cheap application, may be found in the
“ Boston Courier” for the 25th of June, 1841, and also
in most of our agricultural and horticultural journals of
the same time. The utility of this mixture has already
been repeatedly mentioned in this treatise, and it may be
applied in other cases with advantage. Mr. Haggerston
finds that it effectually destroys many kinds of insects;
and he particularly mentions p!ant-lice of various kinds,
red spiders, canker-worms, and a little jumping insect
which has lately been found quite as hurtful to rose-bush-
es as the slugs or young of the saw-fly.”

Rose-Bug.— Wacrodactylus subspinosa.—* Common as
this insect is in the vicinity of Boston, it is, or was a few
years ago, unknown in the northern and western parts of
Massachusetts, in New Hampshire, and in Maine. It
may, therefore, be well to give a brief description of it.
This beetle measures seven-twentieths of an inch in length.
Its body is slender, tapers befvre and behind, and is en-
tirely covered with very short and close ashen-yellow
down ; the thorax is long and narrow, angularly widened

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE, 147

in the middle of each side, which suggested the name
subspinosa, or somewhat spined; the legs are slender,
and of a pale red color; the joints of the feet are tipped
with black, and are very long, which caused Latreille to
eall the genus Muacrodactylus, that is, long toe, or long
foot. The natural history of the rose-chafer, one of the
greatest scourges with which our gardens and nurseries
have been afflicted, was for a long time involved in mys-
tery, but is at last fully cleared up. The prevalence of
this insect on the rose, and its annual appearance, coincid-
ine with the blossoming of that flower, have gained for it
the popular name by which it is here known. For some
time a‘ter they were first noticed, rose-bugs appeared to
be confined to their favorite, the blossoms of the rose;
but within thirty years, they have prodigiously increased
in number, have attacked at random various kinds of
plants in swarms, and have become notorious for their ex-
tensive and deplorable ravages. The grape-vine in par-
ticular, the cherry, plum, and apple-trees, have annually
suffered by their depredations ; many other fruit-trees and
shrubs, garden vegetables and corn, and even the trees of
the forest, and the grass of the fields, have been laid un-
der contribution by these indiscriminate feeders, by whom
leaves, flowers, and fruits are alike consumed. The unex,
pected arrival of these insects in swarms, at their first
coming, and their sudden disappearance at the close of
their career, are remarkable facts in their history. They
come forth from the ground during the second week in
June, or about the time of the blossoming cf the Damask
Rose, and remain from thirty to forty days. At the end
of this period the males become exhausted, fall to the
ground, and perish, while the females enter the earth, lay
their eggs, return to the surface, and, after lingering a few
days, die also. The eggs laid by each female are about
thirty in number, and are deposited from one to four
inches beneath the surface of the soil; they are nearly

148 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

globular, whitish, and about one-thirtieth of an inch in
diameter, and are hatched twenty days after they are
laid. The young larve begin to feed on such tender
roots as are within their reach. Like other grubs of the
Searabeeians, when not eating, they le upon the side,
with the body curved,so that the head and tail are nearly
in contact; they move with difficulty on a level surface,
and are contiuually falling over on one side or the other,

“They attain their full size in autumn, being then nearly
three-quarters of an inch long, and about an eighth of an
inch in diameter. They are of a yellowish white color,
with a tinge of blue towards the hinder extremity, which
is thick and obtuse, or rounded; a few short hairs are
scattered on the surface of the body ; there are six short
legs, namely, a pair to cach of the first three rings behind
the head, and the latter is covered with a horny shell of
a pale rust color. In October they descend below the
reach of frost, and pass the winter in a torpid state. In
the spring they approach toward the surface, and each
one forms for itself a little cell, of an oval shape, by turn-
ing round a great many times, so as to compress the
earth, and render the inside of the cavity hard and
smooth, Within this cell the grub is transformed to a
pupa, during the month of May, by casting off its skin,
which is pushed downward in folds from the head to the
tail. The pupa has somewhat the form of the perfected
beetle, but it is of a yellowish white color, and its short,
stump-like wings, its antenna, and its legs, are folded upon
the breast, and its whole body is inclosed in a thin film
that wraps each part separately. During the month of
June this filmy skin is rent, the included beetle with-
draws from its body and its limbs, bursts open its earthen
cell, and civs its way to the surface of the ground. Thus
the various changes from the czg to the full development
of the perfected beetle are completed within the space of
one year.

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE, 149

“Such being the metamorphoses and habits of these
insects, it is evident that we cannot attack them in the
egg, the grub, or the pupa state; the enemy, in these
stages, is beyond our reach, and is subject to the control
only of the natural but unknown means appointed by the
Author of Nature to keep the insect tribes in check.
When they have issued from their subterranean retreats,
and have congregated upon our vines, trees, and other
vegetable productions in the complete enjoyment of their
propensities, we must unite our efforts to seize and crush
the invaders. They must indeed be crushed, scalded, or
burned, to deprive them of life, for they are not affected
by any of the applications usually found destructive to
other insects. Experience has proved the utility of gath-
ering them by hand, or of shaking them, or brushing
them from the plants into tin vessels containing a little
water. They should be collected daily during the period
of their visitation, and should be committed to the flames,
or killed by scalding water. The late John Lowell, Esq.,
states, that in 1823, he discovered on a solitary apple-
tree the rose-bugs ‘in vast numbers, such as could not be
described, and would not be believed if they were de-
scribed, or at least none but an ocular witness could con-
ceive of their numbers. Destruction by hand was out of
the question’ in this case. He put sheets under the tree,
and shook them down and burned them. Dr. Green, of
Mansfield, whose investigations have thrown much light
on the history of this insect, proposes protecting plants
with millinet, and says that in this way only did he suc-
ceed in securing his grape-vines from depredation. His
remarks also show the utility of gathering them. ‘ Kighty-
six of these spoilers,’ says he, ‘were known to infest a
single rose-bud, and were crushed with one grasp of the
hand.’ Suppose, as was probably the case, that one-half
of them were females ; by this destruction, eight hundred

eges, at least, were prevented from becoming matured,

150 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

During the time of their prevalence, rose-bugs are some-
times found in immense numbers on the flowers of the
common white-weed, or ox-eye daisy, ( Chrysanthemum
leucunthemum,) a worthless plant, which has come to us
from Europe, and has been suffered to overrun our pas-
tures, and encroach on our mowing lands. In certain
cases it may become expedient rapidly to mow down the
infested white-weed in dry pastures, and consume it with
the sluggish rose-bugs on the spot.

“Our insect-eating birds undoubtedly devour many of
these insects, and deserve to be cherished and protected
for their services. Rose-bugs are also eaten greedily by
domesticated fowls; and when they become exhausted
and fall to the ground, or when they are about to lay
their eggs, they are destroyed by moles, insects, and other
animals, which lie in wait to seize them. Dr. Green in-
forms us that a species of dragon-fly, or devil’s needle,
devours them. He also says that an insect, which he calls
the enemy of the cut-worm, probably the larva of a
Carabus, or predaceous ground-beetle, preys on the grubs
of the common dor-bug. In France, the golden ground-
beetle (Carabus auratus) devours the female dor or chafer
at the moment when she is about to deposit her eggs. I
have taken one specimen of this fine ground-beetle in
Massachusetts, and we have several other kinds equally
predaceous, which probably contribute to check the in-
crease of our native Melolonthians.”— Harris.

A. J. Downing recommends the use of open-mouthed
bottles, half filled (and occasionally renewed) with a mix-
ture of sweetened water and vinegar, and placed about
the plant. He also recommends pouring boiling water on
the ground, under the bushes, at the first appearance of
the insects, and before their wings are formed. They
nearly all rise to the surface of the ground, and emerge
about the same time that the Damask Rose first begins

DISEASES AND INSECTS ATTACKING THE ROSE, 151

to open. A little observation will enable the cultivator
to seize the right time for the scalding operation.

Rose Leaf-Hopper.— Zettigonia Rosw of Harris, who
states that it has been mistaken for the Vine-fretter,
or Thrips. It is yellowish white, and about three-twenti-
eths of an inch long; the male has two recurved append-
ages at the tip of its hind body. Dr. Harris says, “Swarms
of these insects may be found in various stages of growth
on the leaves of the rose-bush through the greater part of
summer, and even in winter upon housed plants. Their
numerous cast skins may be seen adhering to the lower
side of the leaves. They pair and lay their eggs about
the middle of June, and they probably live through the
winter in the perfect state, concealed under fallen leaves
and rubbish on the surface of the ground. Fumigation
with tobacco, and the application of a solution of whale-
oil soap in water with a syringe, is the best means for
destroying these leaf-hoppers.”

We have enumerated but a very small part of the nu-
merous insects which infest the rose, and in the absence
of correct information on this important branch of flori-
culture, it is much to be hoped that farther investigations
will be made by men of leisure. Asan instance of the great
variety of these insects, a French writer remarks that he
“found in less than an hour, on the leaves of two species only
of the Rose, six kinds of small caterpillars, all differing from
each other in the number of their feet, the color of their
head and body, and the lines and points with which they
were marked, ‘Their habits were all apparently the same.
They lived between two or three folds which they had se-
cured in shape by the films of their silk. Thus enveloped
and protected, they eat the leaf until it is wholly or at
least partly consumed. They then endeavor to establish
themselves on another lea in which also they enwrap
themselves, and consume it in the same manner, The

152 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

plants attacked by these caterpillars are known by their
ruffled leaves, partly eaten, and more or less covered with
silk.” The writer does not give their name, nor the re-
sult of any experiments for their destruction ; he merely
mentions it as an instance of the great abundance of in-
sects on almost every plant. Such being the case, there
is abundant room for farther observation and research.

; HISTORY OF THE ROSE.

“Round every flower there gleams a glory,
Bequeathed by antique song or story;
To each old legends give a name,

And its peculiar charm proclaim.

O’er smiling lawn, through shady grove,
Our dreaming poets pensive rove,

And strive to read their language rare,
And learn the lesson latent there.”

CHAPTER X.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE ROSE, AND FABLES
RESPECTING ITS ORIGIN.

Very little is known of the early history of the Rose,
or who were its first cultivators; and on this point all is
conjecture. Mention of it is made in the ancient Coptic
manuscripts, while nothing concerning it can be distin-
guished, with any degree of certainty, on the Egyptian
monuments which are left us. Bocastre, the French trav-
eler, observes that he carefully searched all the monuments
in Egypt, and could find neither sculpture nor painting,
figure nor hieroglyphic, that would lead us to suppose that
the Rose was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians. We
are, however, induced to believe that this beautiful flower
was known to them, from the fact that several varieties
are now found in Egypt. Dr. Delile, Director of the Bo-
tanic Garden at Montpelier, and with whom we enjoyed
some pleasant intercourse during a visit to that place,
was with Napoleon in his expedition to Egypt. In his

153 i

154 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

valuable published account of that expedition, he men-
tions that he found there two Roses—Rosa alba, and
Rosa centifolia ; and there is also reason to believe, that
under Domitian the Egyptians cultivated another—Rosa
bifera. It is quite probable that the Rose was planted in
the celebrated gardens of Babylon, the formation of which
is attributed to Semiramis, about 1200 years before the
Christian era; and it also appears probable, from the test-
imony of modern travelers, that several kinds of roses
crossed over into Persia.

It is very certain that the Rose was cultivated by the
Jews during the reign of Solomon, abou; two centuries
after Semiramis ; for mention of this flower is made in the
Scripture books attributed to that king. In the Song of
Solomon, he says: “I am the Rose of Sharon, and the
Lily of the valleys ;” and in the Apocryphal Wisdom of
Solomon—* Let us crown ourselves with rose-buds before
they be withered.”

It also appears, by several passages of the Book of
Ecclesiasticus, the author of which lived about 700 years
after Solomon, that the Jews possessed beautiful gardens
of roses, particularly at Jericho. “Iwas exalted like a
palm-tree in Engaddi, and as a rose-plant in Jericho:”
xxiv. 14. ‘“ Hearken unto me, ye holy children, and bud
forth as a rose growing by the brook of the field 2” xxxix,
13. ‘And as the flower of roses in the spring of the
year:” 1, 8. These passages prove that this most fertile
and beautiful portion of Palestine abounded in roses,
palms, and cedars. They no longer, however, abound;
for while “the cedars wave on Lebanon,” and the solitary
palm stands in its isolated beauty, the Rose has entirely
disappeared; and that now called the Rose of Jericho is
but a little plant of the family of Crucifere. The Greeks
cultivated the Rose at an early period, during the time
of Homer, who lived about 200 years after the wise He-
brew monarch. In the Iliad and Odyssey he borrows the

HISTORY OF THE ROSE. 155

brilliant colors of the Rose to paint the rising of the sun.
Aurora, according to this poet, has fingers of roses, and
perfumes the air with roses. I’ew poets are more cele-
brated than Homer for beauty of conception, and for his
frequent similes borrowed from natural objects. His se-
lection, in this instance, evinces that the Rose was neither
an unknown nor an unadmired flower. Herodotus, who
lived about 400 years before the Christian era, mentions
that in Macedonia, in the gardens which were supposed
to have belonged to Midas, there were roses of sixty pet-
als, which grew spontancously without culture, and
emitted a most delightful perfume,

Ancient writings are full of allusions to the Rose, and
fabulous accounts of its origin. From its brilliant colors,
melting into exch other as the shades of night melt into
the glowing richness of the rising sun, it was frequently
consecrated to Aurora. It was also consecrated to Iar-
pocrates, the patron of Silence, of which it was consider-
ed the symbol. Thus the expression, “sv rosa” (under
the Rose), signified that all that was said should remain
secret; and there is scarcely used a more expressive de-
vice for a seal than the simple figure of a Rose. It was
the custom, in some of the northern countries, to suspend
a Rose over the table in the dining-room, reminding the
guests that silence should be observed respecting all that
might be said during the meal.

Anacreon, Bion, Theocritus, Apollodorus, and others,
relate various fables respecting its origin, and its obtain-
ing the bright color for which it is distinguished.

One fable relates that Flora, having found the dead
body of one of her favorite nymphs, whose beauty could
only be equaled by her virtue, implored the assistance of
all the Olympian deities to aid her in changing it into a
flower, which all others should acknowledge to be their
queen. Apollo lent the vivifying power of his beams,
Bacchus bathed it in nectar, Vertumnus gave its perfume,

156 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Pomona its fruit, and Flora herself gave its diadem of
flowers. A beetle is often represented on antique gems
as expiring, surrounded by roses; and this is supposed to
be an emblem of luxurious enervation; the beetle being
said to have such an antipathy to roses, that the smell of
them will cause its death.

From the earliest period the Greeks gave to the Rose
the preference over all other plants, and distinguished it
as the “Queen of Flowers.” In the fragments which still
exist of Sappho, who lived about 600 years before the
Christian era, there are lines in which the Rose is placed
in the highest rank.

Since Sappho, many poets, both ancient and modern,
have celebrated in their songs the charming qualities
of the Rose. They have chosen it for an emblem
of the most beautiful things—for the most pleasing and
delightful comparisons; and they have united in making
it the symbol of innocence, of modesty, of grace, and of
beauty. Quite a volume might be collected of all the
verses and pleasant sentences that have been inspired by
the elegant form of the Rose, its charming color, and de-
lightful fragrance. Some of these we have inserted in
another part of the work. Nothing proves better the
preference which has always existed for this beautiful
flower than the thoughts expressed by Sappho. Anacreon
and the other poets of antiquity have since imitated her
in almost every language, and the lines of these have sac-
rificed nothing of her elegance and freshness,

The poets and writers of the East have abundantly
celebrated in their works the beauties of the Rose. <Ac-
cording to the Boun-Delesch, of Zoroaster, the stem of
that flower was free from thorns until the entrance of
Ahrimanus (the evil one) into the world; the universal
spirit of evil, according to their doctrine, affecting not
only man, but also the inferior animals, and even the very
trees and plants. The same work states that every flower

HISTORY OF THE ROSE, 157

is appropriated to a particular angel, and that the hund-
red-leaved Rose (Rosa centifolia) is consecrated to an
archangel of the highest order. Basil, one of the early
fathers, had undoubtedly seen these passages in oriental
works, when he related that at the creation of the world
the Rose had no thorns, and that it was gradually fur-
nished with them as mankind became more corrupt.

The oriental writers also represent the nightingale as
sighing for the love of the Rose; and many beautiful
stanzas have arisen from this fable. According to the
Language of Flowers ; “ Inacurious fragment by the cele-
brated Persian poet, Attar, entitled Bulbul Nameh, the
Book of the Nightingale, all the birds appear before Solo-
mon, and charge the nightingale with disturbing their rest
by the broken and plaintive strains which he warbles forth
all the night in a sort of frenzy and intoxication. The
nightingale is summoned, questioned, and acquitted by
the wise king; because the bird assures him that his ve-
hement love for the Rose drives him to distraction, and
causes him to break forth into those passionate and touch-
ing complaints which are laid to his charge.” The same
work also mentions that the Persians assert that “the
nightingale, in spring, flutters around the rose-bushes, ut-
tering incessant complaints, till, overpowered by the
strong scent, he drops stupefied on the ground.” The in-
vention of these fables, extravagant as they are, evince
the Persian fondness for this beautiful flower. The Ghe-
bers, or Persian fire-worshipers, believe that Abraham was
thrown into the fire by Nimrod, when the flame turned
into a bed of roses, According to the Hindoo mytholo-
gy, Pagoda Siri, one of the wives of Vishnu, was found
in a rose,

Among the many stories of roses in the East, is that
of the philosopher Zeb, relatel by Madame de Latour.
“There was at Amadan, in Persia, an academy with the
following rules; Its members must think much write a

158 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

little, and be as silent as possible. The learned Zeb, cele-
brated through all the East, learning that there was a
vacancy in the academy, endeavored to obtain it, but ar-
rived, unfortunately, too late. The academy was annoyed
because it had given to power what belonged to merit ;
and the president, not knowing how to express a refusal
without mortifying the assembly, caused a cup to be
brought, which he filled so full of water, that a single
drop more would have made it run over. The wise phi-
losopher understood by that emblem that no place re-
mained for him, and was retiring sadly, when he per-
ceived a rose petal at his feet. At that sight he took
courage, seized the petal, and placed it so delicately on
the water, that not a single drop escaped. At this in-
genious allusion to the rules of the academy, the whole
assembly clapped their hands, and the philosopher was
admitted as a member.” Madame de Genlis relates very
nearly the same anecdote, but attributes it to Abdul-kadri,
a person celebrated among the Turks, who was desirous
of residing at Babylon, where they were unwilling to re-
ceive him,

The Turks themselves, matter-of-fact as they are, have
also seen something marvelous in the beautiful and vivid
tints which the hand of nature has painted on the corolla
of the Rose; but their imagination, less glowing than
that of the Greeks, furnished them an idea more singular
than pleasing. They suppose that the Rose owed its .
origin to the perspiration which fell from Mahomet; for
which reason they never tread upon a rose-leaf, or suffer
one to lie on the ground.

Meshilu, the Turkish poet, speaks of “a pavilion of
roses as the seat of pleasure raised in the garden;” of
“roses like the bright cheeks of beautiful maidens ;” of
the time when “the plants were sick, and the rose-bud
hung its thoughtful head on its bosom ;” and of the “ dew,
as it fills, being changed into rose-water.” They also

HISTORY OF THE ROSE. 159

sculpture a rose on the tombstone of a female who dies
unmarried,

The early Roman Catholics have made the Rose the
subject of various miraculous events, one of which is
attributed to the canonized Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary.
As the French author, Montalembert, relates it in his his-
tory of that Queen, Elizabeth loved to carry to the poor
herself, by stealth, not only money, but even food, and
other things which she had provided for them. She went
thus loaded, and on foot, by the steep and hidden paths
which led from the chateau to the town, and to the cot-
tages in the neighboring valleys. One day, when, accom-
panied by her favorite maid, she was descending by a
rough and scarcely visible path, carrying under her cloak
some bread, meat, eggs, and other food, for distribution
among the poor, she was suddenly met by her husband,
who was returning from the chase. Astonished to see
her thus bending under the weight of her burden, he said
to her, “ Let me see what you are carrying.” At the
same time he threw open the cloak, which she held, with
terror, to her breast, but found, as the legend says, noth-
ing there but some white and red roses, the most beauti-
ful he had ever seen.

D’Orbessan, in his work on the Rose, states, that in the
ehurch of Sainte-Luzanne, at Rome, is a mosaic of the
time of Charlemagne, in which that prince is represented
in a square mantle, and on his knees, while St. Peter is
placing in his hands a standard covered with roses.

Micnaud, in his Biographie Universelle, speaks of
Clemence Isaure, a French lady, who lived in the latter
part of the fifteenth century. She bequeathed to the
academy of Toulouse a large income, exclusively for the
celebration of floral games, and for the distribution of
five prizes for as many pieces of poetry. The prizes con-
sisted of an amaranth and rose of gold, and of a violet,
mar ‘gold, and lily, of silver. The will also required that

160 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

every three years, on the day of the commencement of
the floral games, among other ceremonies to be observed,
the members of the academy should visit and spread
flowers upon her tomb. Ronsard, the French poet, hav-
liz gained the first prize in the floral games, received, in
place of the accustomed rose, a silver image of Minerva.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was so much delighted with Ron-
sard’s beautiful poetry on the Rose, that she sent him a
magnificent rose of silver, valued at £500, with this in-
scription :—“ A. Ronsuard. T Apollon de la source des
Muses.”

LUXURIOUS USE OF THE ROSE. 161

CHAPTER XI.
LUXURIOUS USE OF THE ROSE.

The ancients possessed, at a very early period, the lux-
ury of roses, and the Romans brought it to perfection by
covering with beds of these flowers the couches whereon
their guests were placed, and even the tables which were
used for banquets;* while some emperors went so far as
to scatter them in the halls of their palaces. At Rome,
they were, at one time, brought from Egypt in that part
of the year when Italy could not produce them; but af-
terwards, in order to render these luxuries more easily at-
tainable during the winter by the leaders of the ton in
that capital city of the world’s empire, their gardeners
foundsthe means of producing, in green-houses warmed
by means of pipes filled with hot water, an artificial tem-
perature, which kept roses and lilies in bloom until the
last of the year. Seneca declaimed, with a show of ridi-
cule, against these improvements;+ but, without being
discouraged by the reasoning of the philosopher, the Ro-
mans carried their green-houses to such perfection that,
at length, during the reign of Domitian, when the Egyp-
tians thought to pay him a splendid compliment in honor
of his birthday, by sending him roses in the midst of
winter, their present excited nothing but ridicule and
disdain, so abundant had winter roses become at Rome
by the efforts of art. Few of the Latin poets have been

* “ Tempora subtilius pincuntur tecta coronis,
Et latent injecta splendida mensa Rosa.” (Ov, lib. v.)

+ ‘“‘ Non vivunt contra naturam, qui hieme concupiscunt Rosam ?
Fomentoque aquarum calentium, et calorum apta imitatione, bruma
lilium florem yernum, exprimunt.’’ (Seneca, epistle 122-8.)

162 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

more celebrated for their epigrammatic wit than Martial;
and his epigram “ To Caesar, on the Winter Roses,” serves
to show that the culture of roses at Rome was carried to
such perfection as to make the attempts of foreign com-
petitors subjects only for ridicule.

“The ambitious inhabitants of the land watered by the
Nile have sent thee, O Cesar, the roses of winter, as a
present valuable for its novelty. But the boatman of
Memphis will laugh at the gardens of Pharaoh as soon as
he has taken one step in thy capital city—for the spring,
in its charms, and the flowers in their fragrance and
beauty, equal the glory of the fields of Pastum. Wher-
ever he wanders or casts his eyes, every street is brilliant
with garlands of roses. And thou, O Nile, must now
yield to the fogs of Rome. Send us thy harvests, and we
will send thee roses.”

By this passage it is evident that the cultivation of
Roses among the ancients was much farther advanced
than is generally supposed. In another epigram Martial
speaks again of roses, which were formerly seen only in
the spring, but which, in his time, had become common
during the winter. We are, also, but copyists of the Ro-
mans in the cultivation of flowers in windows; for vases
of every style of beauty, and filled with roses, were a fre-
quent ornament of their windows. Martial says that a
miserly patron had made him a present of a very small
estate, and adds that he has a much better country place
in his window. Much that illustrates the use which the
ancients made of roses in their ceremonies, in their festi-
vals, and in their domestic life, may be found in various
authors, evincing still more how very common the use of
them had become. Florus relates that Antiochus, king
of Syria, being encamped in the island of Eubcea, under
woven tents of silk and gold, was not only accompanied
by a band of musicians, but that he might yet more en-
hance his pleasures, he wished to procure roses; and

LUXURIOUS USE OF THE ROSE. 163

although it was in the midst of winter, he caused them to
be collected from every quarter.

The gallants of Rome were in the habit of presenting
their favorite damsels with the first roses that appeared
in spring; and “ Mea rosa” was an affectionate expres-
sion they often used to their betrothed.

We frequently find in old Latin authors an entire aban-
donment to pleasure and excessive luxury, signified by
such expressions as “living in the midst of roses,” “sleep-
ing on roses,” etc. (“ Vivere in rosa,” “dormire in rosa.”’)

Seneca speaks of Smyndiride, the most wealthy and
voluptuous of the Sybarites, who could not sleep if a sin-
gle one of the rose-petals with which his bed was spread,
happened to be curled.

Cicero, in his “ De finibus,” alludes to the custom which
prevailed at Rome at that time, of reclining at the table
on couches covered with roses; and comparing the happi-
ness which virtue gives to the pleasures of luxury says,
that ‘“* Regulus, in his chains, was more happy than Thori-
us drinking on a couch of roses, and living in such a man-
ner that one could scarcely imagine any rare and ex-
quisite pleasure of which he did not partake.”

The same author, in his celebrated speech against
Verres, the greatest extortioner whose name is recorded
in history, reproached him not only with the outrageous
robberies and cruelties which he committed during the
three years that he was governor of Sicily, but yet more
with his effeminacy and licentiousness. ‘* When spring
commenced,” said the Roman orator, “ that season was
not announced to him by the return of Zephyr, nor by the
appearance of any heavenly sign; it was not until he had
seen the roses bloom that spring was visible to his volup-
tuous eye. In the voyages which he made across the
province, he was accustomed, after the example of the
kings of Bithynia, to be carried in a litter borne by eight
men, in which he reposed, softly extended upon cushions

164 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

made of transparent material, and filled with roses of
Malta, having in his hand a net of the finest linen, and
equally full of these flowers, whose fragrance incessantly
gratified his eager nostrils.”

Latinus Pacatus, in his eulogium on the Emperor Theo-
dosius, inveighs against the luxury of the Romans, whose
sensual desires, he says, were not satisfied until they had
reversed the order of the seasons, and produced roses in
the winter season to crown their cup of wine, and until
their Falernian, during the summer, was cooled in large
vessels filled with ice. The forcing of roses in winter is
no longer extensively practiced in Rome; but during the
summer they are abundant, and we recollect being much
struck with admiration of some beautiful hedges of the
Daily rose in the villas near Rome.

After reading the preceding statements of the abund-
ance of roses among the ancient Romans, it is with some
surprise that we recollect the great scarcity of that flower
during the gayest and most animated festival of the mod-
ern Romans—the Carnival. As we slowly walked along
the Corso, submitting with as quiet a grace as possible to
the various fantastic tricks of the masked figures around
us, and occasionally pelted with handfuls of sugar-plums
from the windows, or passing carriages, we looked in vain
for roses or camellias in the numerous bouquets that were
cleaving the air around us. Little bouquets of violets
were numerous, and the air was thick with them, as our
eyes, nose, and mouth, could bear striking witness; and
we recollect, too, the contemptuous curl of the lip, and
rush of the aristocratic blood into the face of a fair En-
glish girl in one of the carriages whose blue eyes had been
nearly closed by an awkward cast of one of these little
bouquets from the hand of a plebian performer. But we
only recollect catching 2 glimpse now and then of a single
rose or camellia, skillfully passed by a cavalier below into
the hands of some dark-eyed beauty in the balconies

LUXURIOUS USE OF THE ROSE. 165

above, the bright sparkle of whose eye convinced us that
the single flower was of value, and a mark of especial re-
gard. The Rose appeared to be valued as some rare
exotic, and not to be idly bestowed where there was small
probability of its due appreciation; it was, indeed, a
“vara flora in urbe,” and quite superseded by the very
pretty and abundant violets.

The modern Romans have not only lost many of the
good qualities of their early ancestors, but they have also
escaped much of the effeminate softness which character-
ized the Romans under some of the later emperors; and,
as belonging to this state of luxury, the cultivation of the
Rose has, in modern times, been much neglected. The
homage of the Romans is now reserved for art, and the
beautiful products of nature are, in their opinion, worthy
only of secondary consideration. The Rose is now most-
ly confined in that city to the residences of the wealthier
classes, and can scarcely be said to have resumed its old
place in Roman esteem until it is again a favorite with
the mass of the people.

When Cleopatra went into Cilicia to meet Mark An-
tony, she gave him, for several successive days, festivals
in which she displayed a truly royal magnificence. She
caused to be placed in the banqueting hall twelve couches,
each of which would hold three guests. The walls were
covered with purple tapestry, interwoven with gold; all
the vases were of gold, admirably executed, and enriched
with precious stones,

On the fourth day, the queen carried her sumptuous-
ness so far as to pay a talent (about six hundred dollars)
for a quantity of roses, with which she caused the floor
of the hall to be covered to the depth of eighteen inches.
These flowers were retained hy a very fine net, in order
that the guests might walk over them.

After the loss of the battle of Actium, Antony, not
wishing to survive his defeat, from fear of falling into

166 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

the hands of Augustus, thrust himself through with his
sword, and requested Cleopatra to scatter perfumes over
his tomb, and to cover it with roses.

The greatest profusion of roses mentioned in ancient
history, and which is scarcely credible, is that which Sue-
tonius attributes to Nero, This author says, that at a
fete which the emperor gave in the Gulf of Bais, when
_inns were established on the banks, and ladies of distine-
tion played the part of hostesses, the expense incurred for
roses alone was more than four millions of sesterees—
about $100,000. Since Nero, many of his successors have
nearly equaled him in prodigal enjoyment of the luxury
of roses. Lucius Aurelius Verus, whose licentiousness
and destitution of every manly quality equaled that of
the worst emperors, but whom no one reproaches with
any act of cruelty, was the inventor of a new species of
luxury. He had a couch made on which were four raised
cushions, closed on all sides by a very thin net, and filled
with leaves of roses, Heliogabalus, celebrated for luxury
and vice of every kind, caused roses to be crushed with
the kernels of the pine (Pinus maritima), in order to in-
crease the perfume. The same emperor caused roses to
be scattered over the couches, the halls, and even the
porticoes of the palace, and he renewed this profusion
with flowers of every kind—lilies, violets, hyacinths, nar-
cissus, ete. Gallien, another equally cruel and luxurious
p:ince, lay, according to some authors, under arbors of
roses; and, according to others, on beds covered with
these flowers. And finally, Carrius, another licentious
and prodigal emperor, who reigned only a few months
caused roses to be scattered over the chambers of his
palace, and on the couches of his guests,

THE ROSE IN CEREMONIES, ETC. 167

CHAPTER XII.

‘THE ROSE, IN CEREMONIES AND FESTIVALS, AND IN
THE ADORNMENT OF BURIAL-PLACES.

Among the ancients, the Rose was conspicuous in all
the sacred ceremonies, and in public and private fetes
The Greeks and the Romans surrounded the statues of
Venus, of Hebe, and of Flora, with garlands of roses
They were lavish of these flowers at the festivals of Flora
in those of Juno, at Argos, the statue of the Olympiar
Queen was crowned with lilies and roses. In the festivals
of Hymen, at Athens, the youth of both sexes, crowned
with roses and adorned with flowers, mingled in dances
which were intended to represent the innocence of prime:
val times. At Rome, in the public rejoicings, they some.
times strewed the streets with roses and other flowers.
It is thus that Lucretius gives a description of the manner
in which were celebrated the festivals of Cybele.*

To scatter flowers on the passage of the funeral proces-
sion of a private citizen was an honor not common at
Rome. Pliny informs us, however, that a Scipio, belong-
ing to the illustrious family of that name, who while he
was tribune, fulfilled his duties to the satisfaction of the
people, dying without leaving sufficient to pay his funeral
expenses, the people voluntarily contributed to pay them,
and on the appearance of the body, cast flowers upon its
passage.

“Ergo cum primum, magnas invecta per urbes
Munificat tacita mortales muta salute ;
4Hre atque argento, sternunt iter omne viarum.
Largifica stipe dilantes, ninguntque Rosarum
Floribus, umbrantes matrem comitumque cateryas.’’

Lucretius, lib. ii., ver. 625.

168 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

At Baie, when fétes were given upon the water, the
whole surface of the lake of Lucina appeared covered
with roses. ;

The custom of encircling the head, of surrounding the
neck, and also the breast, with crowns and garlands of
roses, on different occasions, and particularly during the
last days of a gay festival, when, after the solid dishes,
they passed to the dessert and the rare wines, is well
known by the odes of Anacreon, and from the writings
of several of the ancient poets.

The voluptuous Horace, when he abandoned himself to
pleasures, was always supplied with roses. In congratu-
lating one of his friends on his safe return from Spain, he
recommended that these flowers should not be wanting at
the festival. On another occasion, he told his favorite
servant that he cordially disliked the pompous displays of
the Persians, and escaped them by searching in what
place the late Rose was found. Drawing a picture of
luxurious ease for his friend Hirpinus, he speaks of “lying
under the shade of a lofty Plane or Pine tree, perfuming
our spotless hair with Assyrian spikenard, and crowning
ourselves with roses.” We can very well judge how
general had become the custom of making crowns of
roses, from the number of times which it is mentioned in
Pliny, and the frequency with which Martial speaks of it
in his epigrams. The latter author also informs us, that
in the very height of Roman luxury and reveling, the
most favorable time for soliciting and obtaining a favor
was when the patron was entirely given up to the pleas-
ures of the table and of roses.*

Whatever doubt may exist of the use of crowns of
roses, as objects of luxury, it is well authenticated, that

* “ Hee nora est tue, dum furit Lyzeus
Cum regnat Rosa, cum madent capilll,
Tunc me vel rigidi legant Catones.”’
Lib. x., epig. 19.

THE ROSE IN CEREMONIES, ETC. 169

among medical men of antiquity, endeavors were made to
determine what kinds of flowers were suitable to place in
crowns without detriment to health; and according to
the report made on this subject, the parsley, the ivy, the
myrtle, and the Rose, possessed peculiar virtues for dis-
sipating the fumes of the wine. According to Atheneus,
a crown of roses possessed not only the property of allevi-
ating pain in the head, but had a very refreshing effect.

Pliny mentions two Greek physicinns—Mnesitheus and
Callimachus,—who wrote on this subject.

The custom of crowning with roses had passed from
the Greeks to the Romans, and it also existed among the
Hebrews, who had probably borrowed it from some of the
neighboring nations, either from tlhe Egyptians, in the
midst of whom they had spent many years, or from the
Babylonians, with whom they had in the captivity much
connection. The practice of this custom among the
Israelites is attested by the previously qucted passage
in the apocryphal “ Wisdom of Solomon.”

At Rome it was not only at the religious festivals that
they crowned themselves with roses and other flowers,
but it was the custom to wear these crowns during public
and private fétes; they were strictly forbidden at some
other times, and above all on certain public occasions,
where to appear with such an ornament would pass for an
insult to a public calamity. Pliny informs us, that during
the second Punic war, which lasted sixteen years, a banker
named Lucius Fulvius, for looking from his gallery on the
Forum, and wearing a crown of roses on his head, was,
by order of the Senate, sent to prison, from which he was
not liberated until the end of the war.

This anecdote, moreover, proves that crowns of roses
were in fashion at Rome at an early period, and before
licentiousness and luxury had yet made many inroads up-
on the national character.

It may readily be supposed, that at Rome, under the

8

’

170 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

emperors, the use of crowns of flowers was, like every
other species of luxury at that time, constantly on the in-
crease. At first they wore the crowns interwoven with
leaves of flowers, then they wore them composed partly
of roses, and finally they were not satisfied unless they
consisted of these flowers only.

Martial, as we have already mentioned, speaks often of
his crowns of roses. The crown sent by this poet to his
friend Sabinus was composed entirely of these flowers,
and he was desirous that they should be considered the
production of his own gardens.

From the poverty of Turkish history, little is known of
the early use of the Rose among them. We have, how-
ever, some account of its use among the Mohammedan
Persians.

Although wine was forbidden by the laws of Mahomet,
the Persians frequently made use of it; and in the time
of Tavernier and of Chardin, they frequently drank it to
excess. One of their kings, Soliman III., was intoxicated
almost every day; and it was the custom then in Persia,
to serve the wine in crystal decanters, which, when the
season permitted, they corked with roses.

The most interesting purpose to which roses were de-
voted was the adornment of tombs and_ burial-places.
The Greeks employed generally for this object, the myrtle
and the amaranth; but the Romans gave the preference
to the lily, the saffron-plant, and, above all, the Rose.

The ancients were careful to renew the plants which
were placed around the sepulchral urn, in order that it
might be surrounded by a continual spring. These flow-
ers were regarded as sacred, and as a relic of the deceased,

The Romans considered this pious care so agreeable to
the spirits of the departed, that wealthy citizens bequeath-
ed by will entire gardens, to be reserved for furnishing
their tombs with flowers. They also often ordered that
their heirs, or those to whom they left a legacy for the

THE ROSE IN CEREMONIES, ETC. 171

eare of their ashes, should meet together every year, on
the anniversary of their death, and dine near their tomb,
scattering roses about the place. This custom is attested
by several stories of ancient Roman tombs. One with an
ancient inscription was found at Ravenna, and others in
some other parts of Italy.

D’Orbessan, in his “ Essai sur les Roses,” mentions hay-
ing seen, at Torcello, a city about five miles from Venice,
an inscription of this kind, mentioning a donation made
by an emancipated slave to the assembly of the Centum,
consisting of gardens and a building to be employed in
celebrating his obsequies and those of his master. It re-
quested that roses should not be spared, and that food
should be then distributed in abundance. Generally, the
donation made on condition of covering the funeral monu-
ment with roses was transferred to another, if that con-
dition was not fulfilled. Sometimes the most terrible
maledictions threatened those who dared to violate these
sacred gardens. That which proves how frequent among
the Romans was this custom of ornamenting tombs with
roses is, that those who were not rich enough to make
such bequests often directed to be engraved upon the
stone which covered their remains a request to the passers-
by to scatter roses upon their tomb. Some of these stones
still exist, with the following inscription: “ Sparge, pre-
cor, Rosas supra mea busta, viator.’ It was, perhaps,
because they compared the short duration of human life
to the quick fading existence of the Rose, that this flower
was devoted to the burial-place of the dead; and there
can certainly be chosen no more beautiful emblem of this
transitory state of existence. This supposition is some-
what strengthened by the following passage from Jerome,
one of the early Christian fathers:

“The ancients scattered roses over the urns of the deceased, and in

their wills ordered that these flowers should adorn their graves, and
should be renewed every year. It was also the custom for husbands to

Wie) PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

east roses, violets, and lilies, on the urns which enclosed the ashes of

their wives. These modest flowers were emblematic signs of their
grief. Our Christians were content to place a Rose among the ornaments
of their graves, as the image of life.”

In Turkey, females that died unmarried had a rose
sculptured at the top of their monument.

At the well-known cemetery of Pére la Chaise, which
has often excited the ecstasy, admiration, or praise of many
travelers, but which in reality exhibits neither elegance,
sentiment, nor taste, wreaths of roses and other flowers
are frequently seen upon the thickly crowded tombs, either
as mementos of affection, or in compliance with a popular
custom; while the street leading to the cemetery is filled
with shops in which are exposed for sale the wreaths of
flowers.

The prevalence of the same custom in Denmark is al-
luded to by Shakespeare, in Hamlet, in the scene of
Ophelin’s burial.

The custom still remains also in America and Great
Britain. In Wales, when a young girl dies, her female
companions bring flowers with them to her funeral, and
place them in her coffin. They plant lilies and snow-drops
over the graves of children, and wild and cultivated roses
over those of adults.

Gwillym, a Welsh poet, thus speaks of the custom in
one of lis elegies:—Oh! while the season’ of flowers
and the tender sprays, thick of leaves, remain, I will pluck
the roses from the brakes, to be offered to the memory of
a child of fairest fame; humbly will I lay them on the
grave of Ivor.”

Evelyn tells us that “the white rose was planted at the
grave of a virgin, and her chaplet was tied with white
riband, in token of her spotless innocence; though some-
times black ribands were intermingled, to bespeak the
grief of the survivors. The red rose was occasionally
used in remembrance of such as had been remarkable for

THE ROSE IN CEREMONIES, ETC. 173
\

their benevolence; but roses in general were appropriated
to the graves of lovers.”

Drummond, the Scotch poet, requested one of his
friends to have the following couplet placed over his grave:
“* Here Damon lies, whose songs did sometimes grace

The murmuring Esk :—may roses shade the place.”

The first Christians disapproved of the use of these
flowers, either at their festivals or as ornaments for their
tombs, on account of its connection with the pagan my-
thology, and the custom thus became extinct. Tertullian
wrote a book against crowns and garlands. Clement of
Alexandria thought it improper that Christians should
crown themselves with roses. <A little later, however,
Christians relaxed from this strictness, and the Christian
poet Prudence did not fear to invite his brethen ‘to cover
with violets and with verdure, and to surround with per-
fumes those bones which the voice of the All-Powerful
would one day restore to life.”

The Roman Catholics of this day admit flowers to their
churches and ceremonies, and on feast days they adorn
the altars with bouquets and garlands. At the most im-
posing of these solemnities, the day of the “ Féte-Dieu,”
rose petals, during the procession, are scattered in the air,
and blended with the perfume of censers, directed towards
the Host; in many of the towns, particularly those in the
south of France and of Europe, the streets through which
the procession passes are scattered throughout with fra-
grant herbs and flowers of every kind,

Since the extinction of paganism in a greater part o!
the world, the custom of wearing crowns of flowers at fes-
tivals has passed entirely away. Women only use roses
as an ornament for their hair, or employ them in different
parts of their toilet. In our own country the toilet of a
bride is never considered perfect unless she wears a wreath
of roses or other flowers, whose snow-white hue is an em-
blem of her departing maidenhood, Sometimes she is

174 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

provided only with a bouquet of white roses and camel-
lias, and her bridesmaids wear similar ornaments of na-
ture’s manufacture.

The Rose is abundantly used by children in their beau-
tiful celebration of May-day. We well recollect our en-
joyment of one of these scenes some years since. We
were returning from a ride in the vicinity of Charleston,
8. C., on the first day of this, the sunniest of the months
of spring—a day dedicated not to the spirit of motion,
and celebrated not by processions of furniture carts, amid
the bustle and noise of a populous city, but dedicated

~~ thére, at the sunny South, to innocent and joyous festivity,
- and celebrated amid all the fresh and fragrant luxuriance
Se of southern vegetation, surrounded by the delicate sweet-
f ness of the magnolia, the Rose, and other flowers, while
“ “the mocking-bird, with its sweet and varied note, was the
minstrel’for the occasion. Riding quietly along the road,
we were suddenly stopped by a procession which had just
dismounted from a number of carriages in a beautiful
grove hard by. It consisted mostly of noble-looking
boys and beautiful girls, of all ages under fourteen, the
latter dressed in white and crowned with wreaths of roses
and other flowers. The manly attention of the boys to
the fair creatures with whom they walked hand in hand
would not have disgraced the gallantry of Bayard, or the
politeness of Chesterfield. As the procession wound
slowly from our view, under the shade of the lofty live
oak and the rich magnolia, we could not help reflecting
how beautiful was this graceful enjoyment of the sunny
days of childhood, and how preferable to the mental ex-
citement and precocious training of many of the infant
philosophers of this most enlightened nineteenth century.

It is much to be regretted that in circles where fashion
reigns supreme, nature is gradually giving way to art,
and instead of the fresh and natural beauty of a newly
gathered Rose, various forms of artificial flowers are found

THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, 175

upon the center table, or in the hair of those whose quick
discernment and refined taste should lead them to per-
ceive the great inferiority of these artificial toys to the
delicate beauty and welcome fragrance of a Rose just
from its parent plant.

Very much additional matter could be inserted respect-
ing the early history of the Rose, and its connection with
ancient superstitions. Sufficient, however, has been given
to show the esteem in which the Rose was held by the
ancient Greeks and Romans.

CHAPTER XIIL

THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

In Great Britain, according to Loudon, “one of the
earliest notices of the Rose occurs in Chaucer, who wrote
early in the 15th century; and in the beginning of the
15th century, there is evidence of the Rose having been
cultivated for commercial purposes, and of the water dis-
tilled from it being used to give a flavor to a variety of
dishes, and to wash the hands at meals—a custom still
preserved in some of the colleges, and also in many of the
public halls within the city of London.”

In 1402, Sir William Clopton granted to Thomas
Smyth a piece of ground called Dokmedwe, in Haustede,
for the annual payment of a rose to Sir William and his
heirs, in lieu of all services. The demand for roses for-
merly was so great, that bushels of them were frequently
paid by vassals to their lords, both in England and France.
The single rose, paid as an acknowledgment, was the
diminutive representation cf a bushel of roses—as a single

176 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

peppercorn, which is still a reserved rent, represents a
pound of peppercorns—a payment originally of some
worth, but descending by degrees to a mere formality.
Among the new-year gifts presented to Queen Mary in
1556, was a bottle of rose-water; and in 1570 we find,
among the items in the account of a dinner of Lord Lei-
cester, when he was Chancellor of the University of Ox-
ford, three ounces of rose-water. In an account of a grant
of a great part of Ely House, Holborne, by the Bishop of
Ely, to Christopher Hatton, for twenty-one years, the
tenant covenants to pay, on midsummer-day, a red rose
for the gate-house and garden, and for the ground (four-
teen acres) ten loads of hay and £10 per annum; the
Bishop reserving to himself and successors free access
through the gate-house, for walking in the gardens and
gathering twenty bushels of roses yearly. In 1597, we
find Gerard speaking of the Damask rose of Damascus
and the Cinnamon rose as common in English gardens,
Hakluyt says that the rose of Damascus was brought to
England by De Linaker, physician to Henry LX. ; and his
successor, Sir Richard Weston, who wrote in 1645, says,
“We have red roses from France.” In the reign of
James L., the keeper of the robes and jewels at Whitehall,
among a variety of other offices, had separate salaries al-
lowed him, “for fire to air the hot-houses, 40s. by the
year;” and, “for digging and setting of roses, in the
spring gardens, 40s. by the year.”

It would seem, by these incidents, that previous to the
seventecnth century, roses were far from being abundant,
and indeed were so rare, that a bottle of distilled water
was a fit present for Royalty, and a few roses an amply
sufficient rent for house and land.

In the times of chivalry, the Rose was often an emblem
that knights were fond of placing in their helmet or shield,
implying that sweetness should always be the companion
of courage, and that beauty was the only prize worthy of

THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, 177

valor. It was not, however, always taken for such em-
blems, nor did it always bring to mind pleasant and agree-
able images, but was often the signal for bloodshed in a
desolating civil war which raged in England for more than
thirty years.

The rival factions of the White and the Red Rose arose
in 1452, during the reign of Henry VI., between the
houses of Lancaster and of York. The Duke of York, a
descendant of Edward III., claimed that his house pos-
sessed a nearer title to the crown than the reigning branch.
He adopted a white rose on his shield, for his device, and
the reigning monarch, Henry VI., of the house of Lan-
caster, carried the red rose. After several furious civil
wars, after having flooded the whole kingdom with blood,
and after the tragical death of three kings, Henry VIL.,
of the house of Lancaster, re-united, in 1486, the two fam-
ilies by marrying Elizabeth, the heiress of the house of
York,

The adoption of the red rose, by the house of Lancaster,
was at a period far prior to these civil wars. About 1277,
the Count of Egmont, sor of the King of England, and
who had taken the title of Count of Champagne, was sent
by the King of France t~ Provence, with some troops, to
avenge the murder of Williim Pentecote, mayor of the
city, who had been kil’ed in an insurrection,

When this prince returned into England, after execu-
ting his orders, he took for his device the red rose, that
Thibaut, Count of Brie and of Champagne, had brought
from Syria, on his return from the crusade some years
before.—That Count of Egmont was the head of the
house of Lancaster, who preserved the red rose on their
arms, while the heuse of York, on the other hand, adopted
the white rose as their device.

An anecdote is told of the Prince of Bearne, afterwards
Henry IV. of France, who was not 15 years of age when
gr

178 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Charles IX. came to Nerae, in 1566, to visit the court ot
Navarre.

The fifteen days that he spent there were marked by
sports and fétes, of which the young Henry was already
the chief ornament. Charles IX. loved to practice arch-
ery; in providing for him that amusement, they thought
that none of his courtiers, not even the Duke of Guise,
who excelled at this sport, would venture to prove himself
more adroit than the monarch. The young Henry, how-
ever, advanced, and at the first shot, carried off the orange,
which served fora mark. According to the rules of the
sport, he wished, as victor, to shoot first in the next trial;
the King opposed it, and repulsed him with warmth;
Henry stepped back a little, drew his bow, and directed
the arrow against the breast of his adversary ; the monarch
quickly took shelter behind the largest of his courtiers,
and requested them to take away “that dangerous little
cousin.” Peace being made, the same sport was continued
on the following day; Charles found an excuse for not
coming. This time the Duke of Guise carried away the
orange, which he split in two, and no other could be found
for a mark.

The young prince perceived a Rose in the bosom of a
young girl among the spectators, and seizing it, quickly
placed it on the mark. The Duke shot first, and missed ;
Henry succeeding him, placed his arrow in the middle of
the flower, and returned it to the pretty villager with the
victorious arrow which had pierced it.

At Salency, a village of France, the Rose is the reward
of excellent traits of character; they attribute the origin
of the féte of La Rosiére, in that country, to Medard,
bishop of Noyou, who lived at the end of the fifteenth,
and beginning of the sixteenth century, during the reign
of Clovis. That bishop, who was also Lord of Saleney,
had established a fund, giving a sum of twenty-five livres
(five dollars), and a crown or hat of roses, to the young

THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. ~ #79

girl on his estate who enjoyed the greatest reputation for
ainiability and excellence of character. Tradition states
that the prelate himself gave this desired prize to one of
his sisters, whom the public voice had named to be Rosieére,
Before the revolution of 1789, there could be seen, beneath
the altar of the chapel of St. Medard, at Salency, a tablet,
where that bishop was represented in pontifical dress, and
placing a crown of roses on the head of his sister, who
was on her knees, with her hair dressed,

The bishop had set aside, on a part of his domain, since
called the ‘ Manor of the Rose,” an annual rent of twen-
ty-five livres, at that time a considerable sum, for paying
all the expenses of this ceremony. It is stated that Louis
XIII, being at the chateau of Varennes, near Salency,
about the time of this ceremony, was deirous of adding
to its éclat by his personal presence; but finding himself
indisposed, he sent to La Rosiére, by a marquis of rank
and first captain of his guards, a ring and his blue ribbon.
“Go,” said he to the marquis, “and present this riband
to her who shall be crowned. It has been long the prize
of honor; it shall now become the reward of virtue.”
Since that time La Rosiére has received a ring, and she
and her companions have worn the blue ribbon.

The Lord of Salency at one time enjoyed the right of
choosing La Rositre from three of the village girls, who
were presented by the inhabitants. But in 1773 anew
lord, who purchased the estate of Salency, wished to take
away the right enjoyed by the inhabitants, of naming and
presenting to him the three candidates for the Rose. He
assumed the nomination of La Rositre, without any as-
sembling, election, or presentation, and suppressed entirely
the pomp and ceremonies which until that time had al-
ways been observed. On the complaint of the inhabit-
ants of Salency, the Court of Chancery at once set aside
the pretensions of their lord; but he, not wishing to yield
them, instituted a civil process before the Parliament of

189 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Paris, which gave a decree in favor of the inhabitants of
the place, by which it confirmed to them all the ancient
customs of the féte of La Rosiére, of which the Lord of
Salency was ordered to pay all the expenses.

The ceremony of La Rositre was suppressed during
the excesses of the Revolution, but was reéstablished
when the times had become more quiet. The celebration
takes place in June, and would be well worthy the at-
tendance of foreign travelers.

We have mentioned this custom very much in detail,
as it is one of the few ceremonies still existing, in which
the Rose occupies a prominent position, and is made alone
the reward of merit. Other festivals of the Rose, similar
to those of Salency, were established in several other vil-
lages of France and the neighboring countries. When
Louis XVIII. was staying at Blakenbourg, in Germany,
during the years of his exile, he was invited to assist at a
festival of La Rositre. When he had placed the crown
on the head of the young girl who was designated as the
most virtuous, she said to him, ingenuously, “ My Prince,
may your crown be restored you.”

There exists a touching custom in the valley of Enga-
dine, in Switzerland. If a man accused of a crime is able
to justify himself the same day on which he is liberated
from prison, a young and beautiful girl offers him a white
rose, called the Rose of Innocence.

It is somewhat singular that, although the Rose was in
these instances employed as the emblem of virtue and in-
nocence, it has been considered, at other times and places,
as a sign of disgrace and dishonor,

The synod held at Nismes, about the year 1284, order-
ed the Jews to wear on their breast a rose, to distinguish
them from Christians, in order that they might not receive
the same attentions. At one time, in certain German
provinces, a crown of red roses was the punishment of
immorality.

THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 181

It appears that, in the Middle Ages, roses were much
more abundantly cultivated in certain provinces than they
have been since; for the following passage is found in
Marchangy’s History of France in the 14th century:
“Tor the ornament of certain festivals, they cultivate, in

‘the vicinity of Rouen, fields of flowers of several rods:
and the annual sale of bouquets and wreaths of roses is
valued at 50,000 frances. The business of maker of
wreaths, and that of rose merchant, is in France very
common and very profitable. The above sum will not
seem surprising, when we think of the enormous consump-
tion of rose-water at that time. In all family parties,
companies, and associations, many bouquets were present-
ed; at table, during festivals, they crowned themselves
with flowers, and scattered them on the table-cloth and
the floor.”

The Marquis de Chesnel, in his History of the Rose,
mentions that, among the old customs of Auvergne, An-
jou, Tours, Lodunois, and Maine, there was one in the no-
ble families, that a father who had sons, frequently gave
to his daughters, on their marriage, only a wreath of
roses. In Normandy, also, the daughters received, for
their legitimate portion, a hat adorned with the same
flowers. Among the ancient seigniorial rights in France,
in the 14th century, was one by which each tenant was
obliged to furnish a bushel of roses for the manufacture
of rose-water for the lord of the soil. Madame de Genlis
mentions, however, that about the same period, every one
was not allowed to cultivate these flowers; but permission
to do so was granted to privileged persons. Whether it
was ever a royal monopoly she does not state; but it
would certainly be no more singular than the monopoly
of the sale of butter by the King of Naples.

We have already mentioned the wars of the White and
Red Rose, which during so long a time deluged England
with blood. There is also an instance in French history,

182 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

where this flower, associated as it is with innocence and
pleasant thouglits, served, under the reign of Charles VL.,
as the rallying sign of the faction of Burgundy against
that of Armagnac. The Parisians, urged by the agents
of the Duke of Burgundy, established the order of St.
André for their partisans, in order to manage them more
easily; and the church of St. Eustache was chosen as
their rendezvous. Each church member wore a crown of
red roses, of which more than seven hundred were made
in the space of twelve hours, and the flowers were suf-
ficiently abundant to perfume the whole church.

According to an ancient custom, the dukes and peers of
France were formerly obliged to present roses to the Par-
liament of Paris, at certain periods of its session. The
peer who was chosen to do the honors of this ceremony
caused all the chambers of Parliament to be scattered with
roses, flowers, and fragrant herbs; and entertained at a
splendid breakfast the presidents, councilors, and even the
notaries and door-keepers of the court. He afterwards
went into each chamber, accompanied by a page with a
large silver basin, which contained as many bouquets of
roses and other flowers as there were public officers, with
an equal number of crowns composed of the same flowers.
The Parliament also had its cultivator of roses, called the
Rosier de la Cour, from whom the peers could obtain the
roses for their presents.

Under the reign of Francis L, in 1541, there was a dis-
pute between the Duc de Montpensier and the Due de
Nevers respecting the presentage of the roses to Parlia-
ment. It was decided that the Duc de Montpensier, from
his rank as prince of the blood, should be entitled to
the first presentage. Among the princes of the royal
family who submitted to this ceremony at later periods,
are numbered the dukes of Vendome, Beaumont, Angou-
leme, and several other distinguished names. Henry IV.,
while only King of Navarre, proved to the procureur-

THE ROSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, 183

general that neither he nor his predecessors had ever fail-
ed to perform that duty.

About the year 1631, there was published a very curious
book on the Rose, by a German named Rosenberg.
About 250 octavo pages are devoted entirely to the praise
of the curative properties of the Rose in almost every
known disease, making, in fact, this flower a universal
panacea for the many ills to which flesh is heir. The au-
thor also claims for it supernatural qualities, particularly
for driving away evil spirits. The work closes by assert-
ing, as a positive fact, supported by several authorities
which he quotes, the remarkable regeneration or resurrec-
tion of the Rose. He gives also the process of this re-
production, which is scarcely worth inserting here, being,
like the story of the Phenix, a fable engendered by super-
stition upon ignorance. It is somewhat surprising that
this fable should have been very gravely reproduced, in a
French work on the Rose, published in 1800. The author
states that, ‘notwithstanding the many marvelous things
which we already know respecting the improving, forcing,
changing, and multiplying of roses, we have yet to de-
scribe the most surprising of all—that of its regeneration ;
or, in other words, the manner of reproducing that flower
from its own ashes. This is called the imperial secret, be-
cause the Emperor Ferdinand II. purchased it of a foreign
chemist, at a very high price.” The conclusion is a rather
amusing instance of Munchausenism in the 19th century.
“Finally, all this material being placed in a glass vessel,
with a certain quantity of pure dew, forms a blue powder,
from which, when heat is applied, there springs a stem,
leaves, and flowers, and a whole and perfect plant is form-
ed from its own ashes.”

It is difficult to credit the fact that, in any part of this
enlightened age, an author could be found who would
gravely and in sincerity advance such opinions and state
such facts as the above; and it is but an additional proof,

184 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

if such were wanting, that nothing can be advanced toa
monstrous or too incredible to be entirely without be-
levers.

If the sight of roses, or their delicate fragrance, has
been generally delightful and pleasing, there have also
been those who could not endure them. Anne of Austria,
wife of Louis XIII, of France, although otherwise very
fond of perfumes, had such an antipathy to the rose, that
she could not bear the sight of one even in a painting.
The Duke of Guise had a still stronger dislike, for he al-
ways made his escape at the sight of a rose. Dr, Ladelius
mentions a man who was obliged to become a recluse, and
dared not leave his house, during the season of roses; be-
cause, if he happened to imbibe their fragrance, he was
immediately seized with a violent cold in his head.

The odor of the rose, like that of many other flowers,
has often occasioned serious injury, particularly in closed
apartments; and persons to whose sensitive organizations
the odor is disagreeable should not sleep with them in the
chamber. Some authors of credibility mention instances
of death caused by a large quantity of roses being left
during the night in a sleeping apartment.

PERFUMES OF THE ROSE, 185

CHAPTER XIV.

PERFUMES OF THE ROSE..

At an early period in the cultivation of the Rose, and
after its admission among the luxuries of the wealthy,
human skill was exerted to extract its delightful perfume.

Several authors have considered the invention of the
essence of the Rose very ancient, and have even traced it
back as far as the siege of Troy, This, however, can
scarcely be admitted, for nothing relating to the essence
or essential oil of roses can be found in Homer, or in any
other author for many subsequent years. The discovery
of these valuable articles of commerce was made at a
much later period. If the essential oil of roses had been
known to the ancient Greeks or Romans, it would proba-
bly have been more particularly mentioned by Pliny, and
the mode of preparation even would have been described.
In speaking, however, of various perfumes, he says noth-
ing of any distillation from the petals of the Rose, but
simply mentions that, as early as the siege of Troy, the
expressed juice of roses was known, and being mixed with
a delicate oil, formed an agreeable perfume.

In speaking of artificial oils in general, Pliny also ob-
serves that the oil of roses was made by simply steeping
the rose-petals in oil. According to the same author, oil
was the body of nearly all the perfumes used at that day,
and for a perfuming substance, roses were most frequent-
ly used, because they grew everywhere in the greatest
abundance.

Perfumes of every kind were more abundantly used
among the ancient Greeks and Romans than at the pres-
ent day. Athenzus, in his Feast of Wise Men, states

186 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

that nearly all of these were drawn from the Rose, and
says that the most sweet were those of Cyrene, while
those of Naples, Capua, and Faseoli were the best and
most delightful of all.

This agrees with the subsequent researches made on
the same subject by D’Orbessan. “ The cities of Naples,
Capua, and Preneste,” says the latter, “obtained their
roses from Campania, where there is yet a considerable
tract of land, commonly called Z/ mazzone delle Rose.

“This field is sometimes called Rosetinus, on account
of the prodigious quantity of roses which grow there
without culture, and in greater abundance than in any
other section of that country.”

Athenzeus states that the perfume of roses was frequent-
ly used in culinary preparations, and gives a curious re-
ceipt for a sort of pot-pourri, made by the cook of the
King of Sicily. “ This is what I call potted roses, and it is
thus prepared: I first pound some of the most fragrant
roses ina mortar; then I take the brains of birds and
pigs, well boiled and stripped of every particle of meat ;
I then add the yolks of some eggs, some oil, a little cor-
dial, some pepper, and some wine: after having beaten
and mixed it well together, I throw it in a new pot, and
place it over a slow but steady fire.” “ As he said these,
things,” so runs the story, “ the cook uncovered the pot,
and there issued forth a most delicious fragrance, perfum-
ing the whole dining-hall, and overcoming the guests with
delight.” This is a point in gastronomic luxury to which
Americans have not yet attained.

Although the perfume of roses was considered more
choice than any other, it was frequently used when men
were least in the state to enjoy it; for D’Orbessan states
that slaves were made to burn it around their masters
while sleeping.

If the essential oil of roses had been known in the time
of Pliny, that author would have mentioned it among the

PERFUMES OF THE ROSE. 187

most esteemed and precious perfumes. So far from this,
however, he only speaks of the “ Royal Perfume,” so
called because it was prepared expressly for the King of
the Parthians. This was composed of the oil of Ben, an
Arabian tree, with several aromatic substances. Accord-
ing to Langles, who has carefully examined a great num-
ber of oriental works, no writer, previous to the sixteenth
century, has mentioned the essential oil of roses, although
these flowers abounded at that time, and mention is made
of rose-water as an agreeable perfume. Besides these
negative proofs against the ancient existence of this per-
fume, Langles quotes several oriental historians, from
which it seems evident that its discovery dates about the
year 1612, and was owing entirely to accident.

According to Father Catron, in his History of the
Mogul Empire, in the fétes which the sultana Nourmahal
gave to the great Mogul, Jehan-guire, their chief pleasure
was sailing together in a canal which Nourmahal had
filled with rose-water.

One day that the Emperor was thus sailing with Nour-
mahal, they perceived a sort of froth forming and floating
upon the water. They drew it out, and perceived that it
was the essential oil which the heat of the sun had disen-
gaged from the water and collected together on the sur-
face. The whole seraglio pronounced the perfume the
most exquisite known in the Indies ; and they immediate-
ty endeavored to imitate by art that which nature had
made. Thus was discovered the essence, essential oil,
otto, or attar of roses.

According to Langles, the word A’ther, A’thr, or Othr,
which the Arabs, Turks, and Persians use to designate
the essential oil of Roses without adding the name of
that flower, is Arabic, and signifies perfume. It is neces-
sary, the same author states, to recollect the distinction
between ther, or A’ther gul and gulab, which is simply
rose-water.

188 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

From the very small quantity congealed on the surface
of the water, the manufacture is limited, and the cost of
the article immense. Langles states that the rose-water is
left exposed to the freshness of the night, and in the
morning a very small quantity of attar is found collected
on the surface.

Dr. Monro, according to Loudon, gives the manner of
making the attar in Cashmere, which is apparently more
simple, without the tedious process of distilling.

“The rose-petals are put into a wooden vessel with pure
water, and exposed for several days to the heat of the
sun. The oily particles, being disengaged by the heat,
float upon the surface of the water, whence they are taken
up from time to time by applying to them some very fine
.dry eotton wool. From this wool the oil is pressed into
little bottles, which are immediately afterwards sealed
hermetically.”

Another method is, exposing the rose-water to heat,
then suddenly cooling it, and collecting the drops of con-
gealed oil which float upon the surface.

Bishop Heber describes the method used in India, which
is very similar to that of Langles. The attar has the con-
sistency of butter, and never becomes liquid except in the
warmest weather.

Loudon states that “a wretched substitute for otto of
roses is said to be formed by the apothecaries of Paris,
The petals of Rosa Damascena are boiled in a large cal-
dron of water along with as much hog’s lard as will cover
its surface with a thin stratum of grease. The oil of the
rose-petals, on separating from them by boiling, unites
with this grease, from which it is again separated by spir-
its of wine.” <A large portion of the attar imported into
the United States is probably of this manufacture.

The quantity of genuine attar produced from a given
weight of rose-petals is not always the same; it is very
liable to vary according to the nature of the climate, the

PERFUMES OF THE ROSE. 189

temperature of different seasons, the period of bloom at
which the roses are picked, the process of manufacture,
and the skill of the manufacturers. Generally, a hundred
pounds of roses will scarcely produce a drachm of attar,
sometimes only half a drachm, and at others a drachm
and a half. Bishop Heber states that in India, at Ghaze-
poor, two hundred thousand well-grown roses are requir-
ed to produce one rupee’s (165 grains) weight of attar.
The calyx is sometimes used with the petal, but as the oil
of that contains little or no perfume, although it may in-
crease the quantity of attar, it must sensibly weaken its
properties,

The color of attar is generally green, sometimes lemon
or rose color, and occasionally brownish. These differ-
ences in color are owing to the various processes of manu-
facture, and the different periods at which the roses are
picked. The attar is prepared in Barbary, Syria, Arabia,
Persia, India, in the island of Scio, at Fayoum, in Egypt,
at Tunis, and many other places in the East. That made
in Syria and Barbary is considered very inferior; while
the best is made in Chyraz, Kerman, and Cashmere. In
some parts of France and Italy it is also prepared, but in
comparatively small quantities.

The attar is very costly, although not so dear as for-
merly. The French traveler, Tavernier, who visited Ispa-
han about the year 1666, stated that the price of attar at
Chyraz rose and fell every year on account of the unequal
produce of flowers; and that an ounce of that article
sold, at one period, for ten tomans (about ninety-two
dollars).

At the time another Frenchman, Chardin, traveled in
Persia, some years after Tavernier, the attar was some-
tines much higher. He states that forty pounds of rose-
water were required to produce half a drachm of attar,
an ounce of which sometimes sold in India for two hund-
red ecus, Juangles states that in India half an ounce of

190 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

attar 1s worth about forty dollars. Bishop Heber also
speaks of its enormous price at Ghazepoor, where the
variation in price is also very great, being, according to
Langles, sometimes as low as eight dollars an ounce.

At one time, soon after its discovery, it was valued at
about five times its weight in gold. Until quite recently,
it was worth its weight mm gold, but now sells in Paris for
about one quarter that value.

Attar is rarely found pure in commerce; it is always
more or less adulterated. In the countries where it is
manufactured, they frequently increase the quantity of
the attar by mixing scrapings of sandal-wood with the
rose-petals during the process of distillation Keempfer,
a German writer, states this mode of adulteration to have
been known a long time, and adds that the sandal-wood
gives additional strength to the attar; but another au-
thor, who has also made some researches on the subject,
asserts that the sandal-wood injures the delicacy of, the
attar, which is more sweet and agreeable when mild than
when strong.

The quality as well as the quantity of attar which they
obtain from roses depends upon the proportion of aroma
which they contain; and this is found more developed at
the South, and in a warm climate. The kinds of roses
used in distillation have also a great influence on the
quality of the attar. In Persia and the East, the Musk
Rose is generally used, and the Damask is employed in
France.

Although roses are distilled in large quantities at Paris
for perfumery and for medical purposes, very little attar
is made, because the proportion of the manufactured ar-
ticle to the roses required is, in that climate, extremely
small; so small, in fact, that, according to one writer, five
thousand parts in weight of rose-petals will scarcely pro-
duce one part of essential oil. This limited manufacture

PERFUMES OF TPE ROSE, 191

exists only at Grasse and Montpelier, in France, and at
Florence, in Italy.

Some years since, the adulteration of attar was success-
fully practiced in the south of France by mixing with it
the essence distilled from the leaves of the Rose Gerani-
um (Pelargonium capitatum). This adulteration is very
difficult to detect, because this last essence possesses the
same properties as the attar; its odor is almost the same ;
like that, it is of a lemon color; it crystalizes at a lower
temperature; and its density is very little greater.

The attar, when pure, is, beyond comparison, the most
sweet and agreeable of all perfumes. Its fragrance is the
most delicate conceivable, and equals that of the freshly
expanded Rose. It is also so strong and penetrating,
that a single drop, or as much as will attach itsclf to the
point of a needle, is sufficient to perfume an apartment for
several days; and if the small flask in which it is sold,
although tightly corked and sealed, is placed in a drawer,
it will perfume all the contents.

When in a congealed or crystalized state, the attar will
liquefy at a slight heat; and if the flask is merely held in
the hand, a few minutes will suffice to render it liquid.
In the East much use is made of the attar, particularly in
the harems. In Europe and America it is employed in
the manufacture of cordials, and in the preparation of
various kinds of perfumery.

Rose-water, or the liquid obtained from rose-petals by
distillation, is very common, and is found in almost every
country where the arts and luxuries of life have at all
advanced.

Pliny tells us that rose-water was a favorite perfume of
the Roman ladies, and the most luxurious used it even in
their baths. This, however, must have been some prepa-
ration different from that now known as rose-water, aad
was probably a mere tincture of roses.

The ancients could have known nothing of rose-water,

192 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

for they were entirely ignorant of the art of distillation,
which only came into practice after the invention of fie
alembic by the Arabs. Some attribute this discovery to
Rhazes, an Arabian physician, who lived in the early part
of the tenth century; and others attribute it to Avicenna,
who lived at Chyraz, in the latter part of the same cen-
tury. It is also attributed to Geber, a celebrated Arabian
alchemist, who lived in Mesopotamia in the eighth cen-
tury. Subsequent, therefore, to this discovery of the
alembiec, we find, according to Gmelin, in his history of
the preparation of distilled waters, that the first notice
of rose-water is by Aben-Zohar, a Jewish physician, of
Seville, in Spain, who recommends it for diseases of the
eye. From the Arabs, this invention passed among the
Greeks and Romans, as we are informed by Actuarius, a
writer of the eleventh or twelfth century.

In France, the first distillation of rose-water appears to
have been made by Arnaud de Villeneuve, a physician,
who lived in the latter part of the thirteenth century.

The Orientals made great use of this water in various
ways in their houses, and in the purification of their tem-
ples when they thought they had been profaned by any
other worship than that of Mahomet. There are many
anecdotes told by historians of the use of rose-water by
the Sultans on various occasions ; and several of these, as
Chateaubriand remarks, are stories worthy of the East.
It is related of Saladin, that when he took Jerusalem from
the Crusaders, in 1187, he would not enter the Mosque of
Omar, which had been converted into a church by the
Christians, until the walls and courts had been thorough-
ly washed and purified with rose-water brought from Da-
mascus. Five hundred camels, it is stated, were scarcely
sufficient to convey all the rose-water used for this pur-
pose. An Arabian writer tells us that the princes of the
family of Saladin, hastening to Jerusalem to worship
Aliah, Malek-Abdul, and his nephew, Taki-Eddin, distin-

PERFOMES OF THE ROSE. 193

guished themselves above all others. The latter repaired
with all his followers to the “‘ Chapel of the Holy Cross,”
and taking a broom himself, he swept all the dirt from
the floor, washed the walls and the ceiling several times
with pure water, and then washed them with rose-water ;
having thus cleansed and purified the place, he distribu
ted large alms to the poor.

Bibars, the fourth Sultan of the Mameluke dynasty,
who reigned from 1260 to 1277, caused the Caaba of the
temple of Mecca to be washed with rose-water.

Mahomet II., after the capture of Constantinople, in
1453, would not enter the Mosque of St. Sophia, which
had been formerly used as a church, until he had caused
it to be washed with rose-water.

It is stated by a French historian that the greatest dis-
play of gorgeous magnificence at that period was made in
1611, by the Sultan Ahmed I., at the dedication of the
new Caaba, which had been built or repaired at his ex-
pense; amber and aloes were burnt in profusion, and, in
the extravagance of Eastern language, oceans of rose-
water were set afloat, for washing the courts and interior
surface of the walls. Rose-water is by no means so gen-
erally used now as for a few hundred years subsequent to
its invention, In France, during the reign of Philip Au-
gustus, it was a necessary article at court. It was for-
merly the custom to carry large vases filled with rose-water
to baptisms. Illustrating this custom, Bayle relates a
story of Rousard, the French poet: “It nearly happene
that the day of his birth was also that of his death; f
when he was carried from the Chateau de La Poissoni¢ére
to the church of the place to be baptized, the nurse who
carried him carelessly let him full; his fall, however, was
upon the grass and flowers, wuich received him softly ; it
so happened, that a young lidy, who carried a vase filled
Witit rose-water aid a collection of flowers, in her haste
to aid in helping the child, overturned on his head a large

9

194 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

part of the rose-water. This incident was considered a
presage of the good odor with which France would one
day be filled by the flowers of his learned writings.”

At one time rose-water was largely consumed in the
preparation of food and the seasoning of various dishes.
In the “ Private Life of the French,” it is mentioned that
in the fourteenth century, the Comte d’Etampes gave a
feast in which a large part of the dishes and even the
chestnuts were prepared with rose-water. It is still used
to flavor various dishes, but its principal use is in affeec-
tions of the eyelids, or as a perfume for the toilet. The
principal consumption of rose-water is, however, in the
East, where the inhabitants are very fond of perfumes.
In Persia a very large quantity is made annually for do-
mestic use. They deem it an excellent beverage mixed
with pure water.

The Corinth Grape, mixed with rose-water, and a slight
infusion of spices, is the nectar so much in yogue among
the Greeks of Morea. The Persians, according to Le-
bruyn, sprinkle with rose-water those who visit them.
They also make it an important article of commerce;
large quantities are sent to different parts of the East,
and entire cargoes are sometimes shipped to India.

In Egypt, the nobles and wealthy inhabitants consume
large quantities of rose-water; they scatter it over their
divans and other places where they spend their time; they
also offer it with confectionery to their visitors.

The custom of offering rose-water to a guest is alluded
to by Shakespeare, who makes one of his characters in
Padua say:

“What is it your honor will command ?
Let one attend him with a silver bason
Full of rose-water, and bestrewed with flowers.”’
Almost all the rose-water used in Egypt is distilled in
the province of Fayoum, from the pale rose. “ About the
middle of February, in Fayoum,” says a French writer,

PERFUMES OF THE ROSE. 195

“they pluck the roses every morning before sunrise,
while the dew is yet upon them; they then place them
immediately in the alembic, not allowing them to become
dry or heated by remaining too long a time without dis-
tillation. This lucrative branch of manufacture has not
escaped the monopoly of Mehemet Ali. No private indi-
vidual can now distil roses in Egypt, and those who culti-
vate them are obliged to sell the petals to government at
a low price. The value of all the rose-water distilled in
Fayoum, annually, is estimated at 50,000 or 60,000 frances.”
Of the profusion with which rose-water is used in India,
some idea may be formed from the narrative of Bishop
Heber, who was shown, in the ruins of the palace of
Ghazepoor, a deep trench round an octagonal platform of
blue, red, and white mosaic pavement. This trench, he
was told, was filled with rose-water when the Nawab and
his friends were feasting in the middle. ‘* The ancient oil
of roses,” according to Loudon, “is obtained by bruising
fresh rose-petals, mixing them with four times their
weight of olive oil, and leaving them in a sand-heat for
two days. If the red Rose of Provence is used, the oil is
said to imbibe noodor; but if the petals of pale roses are
employed, it becomes perfumed. This preparation was
celebrated among the ancients. Pliny says that, accord-
ing to Homer, roses were macerated for their oil in the
time of the Trojans. The oil is chiefly used for the hair,
and is generally sold in perfumers’ shops, both in France
and England, under the name of (’huile antique de Rose.”

Spirit of roses is made by distilling rose-petals with a
small quantity of spirits of wine, and forms an agreeable
article for external applications. The green leaves of the
sweet-brier are sometimes, in France, steeped in spirits of
Wine to impart a fragrance ; and in England they are fre-
quently used to flavor cowslip wine.

As the petals of the rose preserve their fragrance for a
{ong time after being dried, many are in the habit of mak-

196 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

ing, annually, little bags filled with them. These, being ~
placed in a drawer or wardrobe, impart an agreeable per-
fume to the linen or clothing with which they may come
in contact. The petals can be obtained from almost any
garden in sufficient quantity for this purpose, and can be
dried by the process mentioned hereafter. The confec-
tioners, distillers, and perfumers of France draw from tlie
Rose a part of their perfumes, particularly from R. Da-
mascena, and RF. centifolia, in fixing their sweet odors in
sugar-plums, creams, ices, oils, pomatum, essences, and
fragrant powders.

The petals of the Rose, after being freshly picked and
bruised in a marble mortar, until they are reduced to a
sort of paste, are employed in the preparation of different
kinds of confectionery. Of this paste the French also
make little perfume balls of the size of a pea. They are
made round in the same manner as pills, and before be-
coming hard, they are pierced with a needle and strung
on a piece of silk. In a little while they become hard
like wood, assume a brownish color, and emit a delightful
perfume. This rose scent continues very long, and one
writer remarks that he has known a necklace made in this
style, possess, at the end of twenty-five years, as strong a
perfume as when first made.

In Great Britain, in the vicinity of the large cities, and
in many private gardens, the flowers are gathered for
making rose-water or for drying as perfumes. In Hol-
land, the Dutch hundred-leaved and common cabbage rose
are grown extensively at Noordwich, between Leyden
and Haarlem, and the dried leaves are sent to Amsterdam
and Constantinople. In France, the Provence Rose is ex-
tensively cultivated near the town of Provence, about sixty
miles south-east of Paris, and also at Fontenay aux Roses,
near Paris, for the manufacture of rose-water, or for ex-
portation in a dried state. The petals of the Provence
Rose (Rosa Gallica) are the only ones that are said to

PERFUMES OF THE ROSE. 197

gain additional fragrance in drying; a!l the other varie-
ties losing in this process more or less of their perfume.
A French writer states, that apothecaries employ both
pale and red roses; the pale give more perfume, while the
red keep the longer.

Loudon states that “the petals of roses gught always
to be gathered as soon as the flower is fully expanded ;
and the gathering should never be deferred until it has
begun to fade, because, in the latter case, the petals are
not only discolored, but weakened in their perfume and
their medical properties. They should be immediately
separated from the calyx, and the claws of the petals
pinched off; they are then dried in the shade, if the
weather is dry and warm, or by a stove in a room, if the
season is humid, care being taken, in either case, not to
spread them on the ground, but on a platform raised two
or three feet above it. The drying should be conducted ,
expeditiously, because it has been found that slowly dried
petals do not exhale near so much odor as those which
have been dried quickly, which is also the case with hay,
sweet herbs, and odoriferous vegetables generally. After
the petals are dried, they are freed from any sand, dust, or
egos of insects which may adhere to them, by shaking
them and rubbing thein gently in a fine sieve. After this,
the petals are put into close vessels, from which the air is
excluded, and which are kept in a dry, airy situation.

“ As it is extremely difficult to free the rose-petals en-
tirely from the eggs of insects, they are taken out of
these vessels two or three times a year, placed in sieves,
rubbed, cleaned, and replaced.”

I have been careful to give the details of the above
process, because it may be useful to those who embark ex-
tensively in the cultivation of roses for the exportation of
petals in a dried state. We should suppose that rose-
petals produced in this latitude, where the Rose has a
long period of hibernation, would produce more perfume,

198 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

and be more valuable in a dried state than those grown
under the tropics. The Provence and Damask Rose are
both known to succeed well here, and to produce abund-
ant flowers. Their fragrance is unsurpassed, and our
summers sun would be abundantly sufficient to dry the
petals without any artificial heat. It is not too much to
hope that the attention of our cultivators may yet be di-
rected to this subject, and that the manufacture of rose-
water and the preparation of dried petals may yet be an
important branch of domestic industry, and form an im-
portant addition to the list of exported articles.

CHAPTER XV.

THE MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ROSE.

We have hitherto viewed the Rose as the chief orna-
ment of our gardens, and if we have found it abounding
with charms of fragrance and beauty, we shall now find
it occupying a prominent place in Materia Medica. Some
authors have, with a degree of exaggeration, endeavored
to make its medical as brilliant as its floral reputation.
Rosenberg, in his work on the Rose, makes it a specific in
every disease, and even attributes to it supernatural
virtues.

In the opinion of most medical men, the medicinal proper-
ties of the Rose are about the same in all the kinds, while
some writers assert that the Rosa Gallica is superior to
all others in a greater or less degree. We will mention
those principally used in medicine, and the properties
which are especially attributed to each.

The most valuable properties of the Rose reside in its

THE MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ROSE, 199

petals, and in order to preserve these properties, it is
highly essential that the petals should be quickly and per-
fectly dried. Those of the Provence Rose (Rosa Gallica)
have an astringent and somewhat bitter taste, and are
tonic and astringent in their effects.

According to an analysis recently made in France, they
contain, besides vegetable matter and essential oil, a por-
tion of gallic acid, coloring matter, albumen, tannin, some
salts, with a base of potash or of chalk, silex, and oxide
of iron. A small dose in powder strengthens the stomach
and assists digestion. Their prolonged use will sometimes
cause a slight constipation of the bowels, while in a much
stronger dose they act as purgatives.

The conserve of the Provence Rose has much reputa-
tion in France for the treatment of all chronic affections
of the bowels, caused by weakness and inactivity of the
digestive organs; it is also employed in colic, in diarrhea,
in cases of hemorrhage and leucorrheea.

The conserve of any variety of roses is considered ex-
cellent in cases of cold or catarrh. It is prepared by
bruising in a mortar the petals with their weight in sugar,
and moistening them with a little rose-water, until the
whole forms a homogeneous mass. Some receipts pre-
scribe powdered petals mixed with an equal part of
sugar; others direct to use two layers of sugar, and only
one layer of pulverized petals.

Opoix, a physician of Provence, states that the true Rose
of Provence has a more sweet and penetrating fragrance
than the same rose grown elsewhere, and even goes so far
as to say that it has acquired properties which it does not
possess in its native country, the Caucasus. On account
of the supposed superior qualities of this rose, the citizens
of Provence, in 1807, addressed a petition to government
to encourage in their territory the cultivation of the true
Provence Rose, by giving it the preference in all the hos-
pitals and military dispensaries, This gave rise to a dis-

200 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

cussion between two French chemists, but without decid-
ing the fact whether the Rosa Gallica was superior in
medical properties to any other rose. It seems to be ac-
knowledged that ee cultivated at Provence were superi-
or to the same kind grown elsewhere, and this superiority
is attributed by some to the presence of iron in the soil
about that city. It was probably owing, also, to the very
careful cultivation practiced there. The petals are used
extensively in several medical preparations, as the sugar
of roses, the ointment of roses, the treacle of roses, ete.
Rose-water 1s, however, more extensively used in medi-
cine than any other preparation of the rose. This water,
when manufactured from Rosa Gallica, or any other of
the section of Centifolice, is employed internally as an
astringent, and is sometimes mixed with other medicines
to destroy their disagreeable smell and taste. In external
applications, it is used principally for affections of the
eyes, either alone or with some ointment.

The alcoholic tincture of roses, or spirit of roses, before
mentioned, which was formerly given as a stimulus in
many cases, has now fallen very much into disuse, medi-
cal opinion being very much against the employment of
any alcoholic medicines excepting in very rare cases.

The syrup of roses, manufactured from the pale or Dam-
ask Rose, is sometimes employed as a purgative, and was
once highly esteemed and recommended as a mild laxa-
tive. It is now, however, scarcely considered purgative,
and its laxative properties are probably owing in a great
measure to the senna and other articles which enter into
its preparation.

The electuary of roses, which is now no longer used,
was also probably indebted for its medical qualities to the
addition of scammony, ’ very strong purgative.

Vinegar of roses is made by simply infusing dried
rose-petals in the best distilled vinegar, to which they
communicate their perfume. It is used for cooking and

THE MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ROSE. 201

for the toilet, and for headaches, when applied in the
same way as common vinegar. The ancients prepared
this vinegar, and also the wine and oil of roses, which are
no longer used.

Honey of roses is made by beating up rose-petals with
a very small portion of boiling water; the liquid, after
being filtered, is boiled with honey. This is esteemed for
sore throats, for ulcers in the mouth, and for anything
that is benefited by the use of honey.

The fruit of the rose is said also to possess some astrin-
gent properties; the pulp of the fruit of the wild varie-
ties, particularly of the dog rose, after being separated
from the seeds and beaten up in a mortar with sugar,
makes a sort of conserve, formerly known in medicine
under the name of Cynorrhodon.

Children in the country sometimes eat these fruits after
they have attained perfect maturity, and have been some-
what mellowed by the frost; they then lose their pungent
taste, and become a little sweet. Belanger, a French
writer, who traveled in Persia in 1825, found in that
country a rose whose fruit was very agreeably flavored.
The apple-bearing rose (2. villosa pomifera) produces the
largest fruit of all, and is the best adapted for preserving ;
but an English writer remarks that the fruit of A. systyla
and F. arvensis, although of a smaller size, bears a high-
er flavor than that of any other species. Rose-buds, like
the fruit, are also frequently preserved in sugar, and
pickled in vinegar. Tea is sometimes made of the leaves
of the rose, which are also eaten readily by the domestic
animals.

The ends of the young shoots of the sweet-brier, de-
prived of their bark and foliage, and cut into short pieces,
are sometimes candied and sold by the confectioners.

The Dog Rose takes its name from the virtue which
the ancients attributed to its root as a cure for hydrophobia.
The heathen deities themselves, according to Pliny, re-

g*

202 PARSONS ON THE ROSE,

vealed this marvelous property, in dream, to a mother
whose son had been bitten by a dog affected with this
terrible disease.

The excrescences frequently found on the branches of
the Rose, and particularly on those of the wild varieties,
known to druggists by the Arabic name of Bédeguar, and
which resemble in form a little bunch of moss, partake
equally of the astringent properties of the Rose. These
excrescences are caused by the puncture of a little insect,
known to naturalists as the Cynips rose, and, occasion-
ally, nearly the same effects are produced by other insects.

CHAPTER XVI.
GENERAL REMARKS.

The name of the Rose is very similar in most languages,
but of its primitive derivation very little or nothing is
known. It is rhodon in Greek; rhos, in Celtic; rosa, in
Latin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, and Polish ;
rose, in French, Saxon, and English; rosen, in German;
roose, in Dutch; rhoshd, in Sclavonic; ros, in Irish; rwoze,
in Bohemian; owasrath, in Arabic; xésrin, in Turkish;
chabhatzeleth,in Hebrew ; and gul,in Persian. These are
the various names by which the flower has been known
from very early times, and a strong resemblance can be
traced through all. The Latin name, rosa, also forms a
component part of terms used to designate several other
things.

The name of rosary was given to a string of beads used
in the Romish Church to represent a certain number of
prayers; it was instituted about the year 667. but was not

GENERAL REMARKS. 203

much used until Peter the Hermit excited the Christian
nations to the Crusade, about 1096. Dominique, a Romish
saint, established, in 1207, the brotherhood of the Rosary,
and the festival of the Rose was instituted in 1571 by
Pope Pius V., in thanksgiving for the victory gained by
the Christians over the Turks at Lepante. Subsequent
popes gave to that ceremony more eclat, and caused it to
be established in Spain. The name of rosary was former-
ly also given to the vessel used in distilling rose-water.
The Rose has also given the idea of new forms of beauty
in architecture and the arts. A rose is sometimes sculp-
tured in the centre of each face of a Corinthian capital.
It is also frequently seen in iron castings for the banisters
of the stone steps of a house, and it is sometimes display-
ed upon the pavement in front of some splendid mansion.
This, however, is rare in the United States, although fre-
quent in Europe.

Among all the imitations of the Rose, none can compare
with those painted on glass, some of which can be found
in the windows of celebrated European Cathedrals in
Canterbury, Cologne, Milan, Rheims, St. Denis, and oth-
ers. We can scarcely imagine anything more beautifully
soft than these paintings on glass, as seen from the interi-
or of a church, in the rich light of a glowing sunset; the
Rose thus painted seems to possess all the freshness and
beauty of the real flower.

The nave of the Cathedral of Paris, besides twenty-four
large windows, is lighted by three others, large and mag-
nificent, in the shape of a Rose, which are each forty feet
in diameter. The paintings on glass which ornament
these windows were executed in the 13th century, and
still retain their fresh and bright colors: that over the
grand entrance represents the signs of the zodiac, and the
agricultural labors of cach month.

In heraldry, the rose frequently forms part of a shield,
in full bloom, with a bud in the centre, and with five

204 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

points to imitate thorns; it is an emblem of beauty and
of nobility acquired with difficulty.

The Golden Rose was considered so honorable a present,
that none but monarchs were worthy to receive it.

In the 11th century, the Pope introduced the custom of
blessing a golden Rose, which he presented to some church,
or to some prince or princess, as an especial mark of his
favor.

In 1096, the Pope Urban II. gave a Golden Rose to the
Comte d@’Anjou. Alexander III. sent one to Louis, King
of France, in acknowledgment of the attentions of that
prince during the Pope’s visit to France, as stated ina
letter which he wrote the King.

“In accordance with the custom of our ancestors, in
carrying arose of gold in their hands on Dimanche Letare,
we do not think we can present it to one who merits it
more than yourself, from your devotion to the Church and
to ourselves.”

Pope John, in 1415, sent the Golden Rose to the Em-
peror Sigismund. Martin V., in 1418, sent another to the
same prince. Pius II., in 1461, sent one to Thomas Pale-
ologue, Emperor of Constantinople. Henry VIIL., of
England, before his separation from the Church of Rome,
received the Golden Rose twice; the first from Julius IL,
and the second from Leo X.; and in 1842, the Pope’s
Nuncio Capaccini presented it to Donna Maria, Queen
of Portugal. Isabella, Queen of Spain, was presented
with it a few years since.

The public ceremony of blessing the Rose was not insti-
tuted until 1366, by Urban V.: that pontiff, wishing to
give a particular mark of his esteem to Joanna, Queen of
Sicily, solemnly blesse:l a Golden Rose, which he sent her,
and made at the sa:ne time a decree, that a similar one
should be consecrated every year. For fifty or sixty
years, the Pope gave the Rose to-princes who came to
Rome; and it was the custom to give 500 louis to the

GENERAL REMARKS. 205

officer who carried it for the Pope. The Rose, in its in-
trinsic value, was, however, sometimes worth double that
sum.

We have thus given all the information we have been
able to collect respecting the history of the Rose.

We shall feel abundantly gratified if the facts and anec-
dotes we have cited shall tend to enhance the already
growing interest in this flower; and by thus connecting
it with the lore of antiquity, cast around it a bright halo
of pleasant associations.

Among the various riches of the garden, there are many
flowers of great attraetions: some we admire for their
beautiful forms, others for their brilliant colors, and oth-
ers again for their delightful fragrance; and we scarcely
know which to pronounce the most pleasing. But what-
ever ay be our feelings of admiration for these beautiful
flowers, a desire for something still more beautiful draws
us to the Rose, and compels us to pronounce it superior
to all its rivals. It is the Rose alone that never fatigues,
that always exhibits some new beauty, and that is never
affected by fashion; for while Dahlias and other flowers
have had their hour of favor, and have passed out of no-
tice, the Rose has been a favorite for some three thousand
years, and is still the first and most beautiful,—the chef
PMoeuvre of the vegetable kingdom.

The Rose is rendered a favorite by many pleasant asso-
ciations. It has been the cherished flower of the ancient
poets, and with modern poets it has lost none of its
charms, but is still apostrophized and made an object of
frequent comparison. With the ancients, it was, as we
have seen, the ornament of their festivals, their altars,
and their tombs: it was the emblem of beauty, youth,
modesty, and innocence, and was full of tender sentiment

206 PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

and pleasant images. A French writer, in a somewhat
more extravagant vein of laudation, says, “Its name alone
gives birth in all sensible minds to a crowd of pleasant
thoughts, while, at the same time, it excites a sensation
of the most delightful pleasures, and the most sweet en-
joyments.” The name of “ Queen of Flowers,” has been
given to the Rose, almost from time immemorial; but
this name is particularly applicable to the RR. centifolia
and the hybrids from it. Yet the little, modest wild rose,
found only in woods and hedges, adorns the solitude
where it grows, and possesses for many a charm not sur:
passed by that of any of the cultivated varieties: its
regularly formed corolla, of a soft and delicate color, com-
bines in its simplicity many an attraction not found in the
most beautiful flowers of the garden; and late in the sea-
son, when the fields are stripped of their verdure, the
landscape is enlivened by the bright appearance of its red,
coral-like fruit.

The beauty of the Rose has preserved it and its reputa-
tion for many ages. The most populous nations, the
largest cities, the most wealthy and powerful kingdoms,
have disappeared from the earth, or have been involved in
the revolutions and subversions of empires, while a sim-
ple flower has escaped them all, and still remains to tell
its story. It has seen a hundred generations succeed each
other, and pass away; it has traveled through ages with-
out changing its destiny or losing its character: the hom-
age rendered and the love borne it have been always the
same: now, as in the earliest periods of the world’s his-
tory, it is decreed the first place in the floral kingdom. In
these days, as in those of antiquity, it is par excellence,
the Queen of Flowers, because it is always the most beau-
tiful, and because no other flower can furnish half its
charms. To elegance and beauty of form it unites the
freshness and brilliance of the most agreeable colors, and,
as if nature had showered upon it all her most precious

FLORA’S CHOICE. 207

gifts, it adds to its other qualities a delightful perfume,
which alone would suffice to entitle it to a distinguished
place among the beautiful and pleasant things of the vege-
table kingdom.

ATborforsROsessa- ees - ese "= 96
Bedding SRoses= === 522==-—5—== 100
Botanical Classification - ------- 7
Diseases—Mildew ------------- 140
Mould’: 222-22 ees ese ee 141
Rustes) ooo 2s ee 140
Hrlantine== sens saa ae 19
Horeing*- = a= aos ee eon eee 103
Garden Classification ---------- 27
General Culture.------------.- 69
ety bridizin o2 2 sess eae 130
Insects—Gall-tlies __-.--------- 142
Green-fly 2222232 s25- see 141
IROS€=DUG == see ee nes 146
Rose-slug = - == ="-—-—- = 143
Rose Leaf-hopper- -------- 151
Multiplication by Seed-------- 130
Pillar Roseso sso 2223 eee snes: 94
Planting, 22255 822s sas. S 22s on= 89
Rotting c= =a ee eee ee 102
Propagation—Budding -------- 120
Cuttings 222-22 =-2=-2-=-5 == 118
Grafting = 2223) eee ee 125
Leaf-cuttings ==---22-- 22-2 116
RYCIS o> Soe ees 117
Suckers®22-s2cs22--=2-2= = 120
(BRU one 93
Pyramids (of, Rosese----------— 95
OSA GUTESLES tee eee 19
a) bay eee oe eee 19
OTUCNSIS Sense ee ae eee 20
QUOUITENS ee eae 22
(BULEOTiCG 2 aoa teen 22
iIBanksiie = === see e ee 25
EBRCL ECO ae ee 15-17
DUEL ee ae ae ee 15
Glande aos soe ee ee ive
bracteata 252. —--2---as--== 12
SBUTGUMAUCM mans nea 18
COMNOAUWMN oan n ea eae 15
Canina Asses = Seen 20
COTYOPNYUEM == == == anne 16
cenltifolia 2 2-52 52-s-2-2- 16
Var pipimnatae= === === 17
BAMUSCOSAR Soo no oe 17
POMPOUISssees ese 17
provinicialis === -2-s=-— 19
DUNOUSCEND aan ane aa 15
QS a 22
igltantert —-~--------~-_-- 19

JU iemaamnecn=eseesnaceasee 22
Jiovida SSC QUES oon sSsse 22

Rosa (Gallicas2-222=ssae eee, 2h
Var. parvifolia s-= eee 18
glandulifera _-.----. .----- 24.
glauca... 2. ee 20
glaucescens =e 20
GlaUcophyllt ane 15
hemisphericn.- =. 222 13
holosericea -.-2-- 17
Indica <-222:2. 21
var. Noisettiana_-----.-- 22
odoratissima__--_--___ 21
indica fragrans== 22
TUT EN CON === ae 22
hittea. 232 se 13
l0Te PlENO = se 13
microphylla ====—.-— =e 12
moschata 2-222. === 24
multiflora: 2 =e 22
var. Boursaulti_-_---_-_- 24
Geld = 23
Russelliana —2 2222s 24
NUCNS 2.2 2 20
odoratissima ----. = 2222-8 22
platyphylla_.------ sue Dees 23
potyanthos _—- = 222 16
PrOVINCLANS = =. oo ee 16
TEMCNSIS =. == 2325 = eee 18
ROLDUT GN === 23
rubiginoss\-25--=-=4— =e 19
TUONO, .2225 55252555 eee eee Lys
TUGOSO o-oo Saco ne 22
SCONGCNS, 22-2 - 2-5 =a eee 26
SCMpPervilens===— == === 22
sempervirens globosa_------- 22
Senticosa..- === 2 nee 20
spinosissima --.---2------- 14
Suavifolia 2222.52 -eeeee 19
Sulphurea. -===2—- = 13
sylwaticd =. _.=23. 222 17
Lenerifjensis 2222 = ee 20
unguiculata 2... 55. See 16
VATIONS -2-3.3- eee 16
Rose—Adornment of Burial
Places =. ==. =2--25225 ee 167
Attar of2. 22.2. 25222 187
Conserve) of. .-_--== =e 199
Early History of -=----22== 153
Early Works on-_---------- 9
Electuary of 2. == 200
Geographical DisuinatiaaBe aL:
Honey Of: --.:--2_ aes 201

InCeremoniesand Festivals 167

INDEX. 209
Rose—In the Middle Ages-.--.- 175 {| American Beauty ------..--..- 32
Luxurious Use of--------- 161) |) Andre Schwartzi2-=-+---.----- 43
Medical Properties -------- 198} jeanne de Diesbachy22=s2—-=-2- 33
Otto) of, == 225 == = 187 | Anne Marie de Montravel ----- 48
Perfumesiof 2 a----— === — She PPA MWiO0Gs==e-s=sseesa =n 33
VLD Ob eeesee seca nea 200m Antoine Mermebass—— 2 ese e= == 43
Tables Concerning -------- 153 | Antoine Mouton -_-----..----- 33
sinc tues Ofer LOOM Re Appolinep se ssees ssn sae eee = 39
Wainewar Of: 2-422.22-252--- 200) Auguste Mie=2- 22222 222 22 = 733
FRose=Winter S255 cess s5=2 522 LOU Ayrshire =) 25222222525. 222222 62
IROSG-leaves! 222s. -e sea 5-222 196; || Baltimore Belle =5--==-=----—_- 68
Roses, Classes of—Ayrshire_.-. 62 | Banksian -.--.--.------------- 63
iBanisianee cee se= aaa ee 63 | Baron de Bonstettin----------- 33
Beng alesse ese eee aaa 2-8 | Baronne de Wassenaer -------- 56
IBouUTpONIS === == od |) baronne brevOsti---=--=-—=-=-- 85
IBOUTSa I hese eae ea 64 | Baroness Rothschild ---------- 33
Briers es eae sae se Se 59 | Beauté de Europe ----------- 41
China st ess 5 35. s- cee ee 40 | Beauty of Waltham -------__-- 33
Chimbine-Peare=--- = 52--—- 430) Blanche; Moreau 22—= 22-52. ——— 37
Wamadkeeres sseee aso =e by Ul ellen ees eee ee 65
EV eCneTeG Wee ae ee eae === Go) iebolel diene ss == ee eee 33
Hrencheesse pesos eee 52 bons sllene@ese sss. sees eee 3
Gardenias =a 32 25 in MPEOUPCLE et = sn 2 eee sae 43
Hybrid Bourbon ---------- Da pepouleide Neier sas aee ee 33
iEtybrid) China)===- 2 == Dep eboursaultee- === 2 oes aa eee 64
Hybrid Climbine2=25-—5 == CGR Briere sae ae ee 59
Hybrid Perpetual --------- 30) | ‘Captain’ (Christy===-------=--—— 33
Etybrid Proyences=---=---— be || Captaininerams == 2-255 — = 56
Macartneyinsscoetssess=s== 0 i Capucine Sel oeees senna 43
iIMicrophylla===-==-= 5-2" == bE ig Caroline! ee es eae 43
1 COS 9 ee a 56 | Caroline de Marniesse--------- 41
Multifioras==-/=---ss2-=---—= 67 | Caroline de Sansal ---_-------- 33
Miaisker ao = sochsosso-s5 51 | Catharine Mermet --..---.-..-- 43
INGISetie sas. 2-2 -coSe ens 41a) CelestislsS2 Bio 235s a 60
Polyantha) 2-22 = 2 5s2--8-5- 48, || Celine Worestiers-- 42-3 2-222__ 42
IRCA eee se Sees GSa ei Celssmultifiorass =a 40
IBFOVENCE = 225-2225 = 52 | Charles Lawson, H. B. ---.---- 54
Remontantia--s-5--------5 30) || sCharlesslefebyres--5---—-----— 33
Remontant Moss---------- Seam Chenedoley Hn Cre aee nee ee 54
Remontant Scotch--------- 36 | Clara Sylvain a eee ee 43
EOS ae ene eee ADB Commoneaan = ses a ena se enee 56
SOC Ca ae eee 59 | Comtesse de Frigueuse--_----__- 43
Hieare Sock oss ss2 = 2 42 | Comtesse de Murinais_-----__- 56
Wihiter soos etek 52 | Comtesse de Serenye_-----.--- 34
Bituations=-~-22-2-5-c---=22--— 88 | Copper Austrian, A. B.-----_-- 60
Oi Se re see eee eee 86 | Coquette des Alpes ----.--__-- 34
SweetiBrier=+.-222.-=--....--- LOE Corméliesochp sass se sess ss a. 43
Countess of Glasgow---------- 59
VARIETIES AND SPECIES Coupe Hebe Ht Bea====-= 409
Cristata&sese* Seat eee ets 56
Abel’ Grandia = 22-22. = ss) 222-5 Soe Dallyab shes ees eae ee 40
JNGUDIIG eee A eee 30 |e Dally gWihitew = ceee esse ee ee 41
Ad aine= a weet ess Sooo AZ De laGriteraiee== eee see 67
Agrippina --.---.------------- 405 |eDevoniensis;/ee== === nee = 43
PATINGe ViDerbeas== sass ooes- == 41 | Dundee Rambler_-----..----_- 63
PMID AMO MOLAA Seon sees aa 51 | Double Blush Ayrshire----_-_- 63
FAltred( @olombrss— 22s.) =---= == 32 | Double Margined Hip, H. 8. B. 60
PMIiGeBILCTOY= 22a j2=oe-=a- nas 50m DoublesVellows = saa 64
IATTR GID). ASE bSpebds ceceeaeenee 65 | Double Yellow Provence .--.--- 60

210

Douglass ---...« apo pneeenotaeee 41
DoublesWhite-+-.-----------=— 64
Dr Bertheb os. -. os -- eee 39
Duc de Magenta ----.--...---- 43
IDO Gye el ee eee 41
WliseyBoelle.] == -a2e-- ose n= 34, 42
Himerance, Hobs -2se=— eee 55
J PONING foes eae eee 52
Etendard de Jeanne d’Arc_-_-_-- 43

tna = see Uo Le eee 57
Burene de)Savoie-----_-.----- 37
Bupene) Verdier=--s-----==- 34, 57
VGN S TC CIs eae eae 65
ag W eG 238522) oe See 34
Beélicité Perpetuelle -------=--- 65
Higher HH olmeso2a= een es = — = 34
Mertuniana, s.-2- 46 s2 oe ee eee 64
Francois Michelon -----.------ 34
Gem) of theverairie=_------— == 68
General “Tartasse. eee eee 44
General Jacqueminot---------- 34
General Washington -.-------- 34
Georcve Peabodyes=-- 5 ea-== 39
George the Fourth, H. C.------ 55
Gloireide Dijon! ==---+-----=--— be
Gloire des Mousseuses -------- 57
Grevillei or Seven Sisters------ 67
Harrisoniiisscs 2 see eee eae oe 62
Her Majesty =2---sesssss-e=—5= 44
IFLCTMOSAy = soon eee ace ee ae 33
IN Omens eee eee eas 44
Indica Major: -.--_-=-2-=------ 66
TsabellaiSprunt..-=-5---5---2== 44
DANG see eorae fo feeosee a ee 69
Jsauned: Orcs see eee 44
JauneinenNea- se seee eee 64
John Crangstone =e 57
AGUNA TE Goya) Yipee ee 34
Jules Margottin.-.------------ 34
Julie d’Etranges, F.-.-.------- 55
Julie) Mansaise=--—---— 2 eee 44
a France = 3-~ 2 =-ss= 50-25 ee 34
MamMarque sense aaa 42
Wane eter on = ae eee 57
arene 22: soe. cosas eee eee ee 35
laure DavOustpeo- --2-ssses——— 67
Mitte \Gem=:—. a+ =. ==. senness 57
Witte bet. 22-5 see Sano see eee 41
iouises@arique=------------—— 35
Imouis:Gimard 22)5- 22-22. 57
Louis Van Houtte-.-2--------- 35
IXEMDOULR ae ser ee ee 57
Mabel Morrison. -------------- 35
Macartney =---2-5=--=-s6-=5555 50
Madame) Bravyeoo----2.00--== 44
Madame Bréon---_----—----—— 41

Madame Chedayne Guénois-
BEAU eee eee ene ee se
Madame ‘Cusin=-c.comese-csewe 4

PARSONS ON THE ROSE.

Madame d’Arblay----.------5 bu
Madame de Rochelambert - ---- 57
Madame de Tartas ----------_-- 44
Madame Edouard Ory ------ 37, 57
Madame Halcot)-2--===-- =e 44
Madame Gabriel Luizet ------- 35
Madame: Hardy; Heese 5
Madame Plantier, H. C._--.--- 55
Madame Victor Verdier __-___- 35
Madame William Paul -_---_-_-- 37
Mademoiselle Cécile Berthod -_ 44
Maona Charta ---2--- 22 35
Marechal Niel 232-222 see 42, 47
Marguerite de St. Amande -.-- 35
Maria Leonidajs---- == 242s 51
Marie Baumann--.--.--...--.--- 35
Marie ‘Berton 2.252s-sse2se-ee" 4+
Marie Guillott £2222 22222e—ssse= 45
Marie Van Houtte --......---- 45
Marquise Balbiano ------------ 40
Marquise de Castellano ------- 35
Marquise de Mortemarte------ 35
MarshallP> Wilder=--—-————=ee 35
Maurice Bernardin---.-------- 36
May ‘Paul: .-->-) = 2a 45
Melanie de Montjoie ---------- 66
Menoux:::..-2.-5-22-225ee eee 66
Merveille de Tiyon==2-222see=== 36
Microphylla 22-32-—- == 51
Miononette!=2sne== === 49
M’lle. Cécile Brimner -----..-- 49
Moss =------2.2-2-- eee 56
Mousseline -2-.2222---25-eee = 37
Mrs. Bosanquet=------2-2-5—— 41
Mrs, Hovey: ==--2222----22 69
Musk... 22.22.22 csceqseseee 51
Myrianthes, =-2222225---=-e 66
Niphetos: 2.s-2-2= 222-2 45
Notting 22. 25s.228.-23seeeee 37
Nuits (de Woung=22222--es-= 57
Obscurite; has) sas eee ee 5D
Guillet Parfait) hee 55
Ophire: -. ~~: 3s... 225 eee 42
Pronia:..-----=. 2s. 36
Papa Gontier- 22 22-2-2-ee ee 45
Paquerette=- 3-22 25-)e 49
Paul (Neyron 222220) ae 36
Paul’s Single White2-2-2====== 36
Paul’s Single Crimson-_-------- 36
Perle d?Angers=_=-2-2sess=ee== 40
Perle'de) Lyon] 222 -=--2=-e-=—== 45
Perle:@ Ors -22252522222-— eee 49
Perle des Jardins---....-.-.--- 45
Perpetual White--.......-.- 37, 58
Persian Yellow, A. B. ---.----- 62
Pierre Guillot-2-- 2=--5-e—eeeee— 45
Pierre Notting: °=-2-2=sseeeee== 36
Polyantha!- 232. <---seeee ee 48
Pride of Waltham.........---- 36

INDEX. 211

Pride of Washington------.._- GOR iNoltaterres=*s=sese=— = aes ees 42
Prince Camille de Rohan ------ Som tsombreuil\ees=s—- ee eee 46
Princesse Adelaide----_---_--- Oe BSOUPerbeeen sce cad hee eee nen 37
Princesse Wilhelmine des Pays Souvenir de la Malmaison ---_-_- 40

BAB Set wee onan ee cee eS 49 | Souvenir d’un Ami__-_.....__- 46
Princess of Nassau -...---.---- Ogee Stanwelle sso" ses 2 s,s 36
princess Royaless=s--s2—-=-—-— DSi; Sunsetiecs. see seen ee eee es 46
Rurigan® so = see 2 sop e eee 45 | The Bride------- Bee Se ee 46
Queen of Bedders ------------- 40g eho Garlandeessseseeee eee eee 67
Qneenion May 222 -s--s-—--=2s== Dog | eLhomasyMill gees ease ees eG
Queen of Queens-_---.---.---- 36 | Tricolor de Flandre, F,.--_.__- 5D
Queen of the Bourbons-------- 40 | Triomphe de Bollwiller----____ 66
Queen of the Prairies----.---.- 68 | Triomphe de Guillot fils-____.. 46
iReme blanche sss=2s=-2s=5—— 58 | Triomphe de Rennes---------- 42
Ramangs yess soe see o2 one eee 49 | Vallée de Chamouny ---------- 46
Reine Marie Henriette --..---- 45 | Vicomtesse de Cazes --.-...----- 46
Revere ven Camm'y=— =... = SGm | mViCton Verdier=== eee saseee nee 36
RoserAnele, Ss Baa--ceea == sa 62) Miridifloraeess--se-ssencese cs 41
RUpens sae see es sono ens 46 | Waltham Climbers ----------.- 48
Rubia ess oa ansonccacseenncs DI AWeekBennethesas=ee eee see 48
Russeliiana esos asscoess--ee- 67 White Baronesss-.-------2--6- 36
Nalranos teen saoe cece soe S 4G White Bathe is Sateen ee nes
Salete eee s 2 -cescesc 37, 58 | William the Fourth -.......... 59
Sir John Sebright -...-. Soosane

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By Dr. F. H. Cuitrenpen, of the United States Depart-
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descriptions of the more important insects attacking vegetables
of all kinds with simple and inexpensive remedies to check and
destroy them, together with timely suggestions to prevent their
recurrence. A ready reference book for truckers, market-
gardeners, farmers as well as others who grow vegetables in a
small way for home use; a valuable guide for college and ex-
periment station workers, school-teachers and others interested
in entomology of nature study. Profusely illustrated. 514 x 8
inches. 300 pages. Cloth, . . . 2 « «© « - « $1.50

Farm Grasses of the United States of America

By WiitamM Jasper SprrrmMan. A practical treatise on
the grass crop, seeding and management of meadows and
pastures, description of the best varieties, the seed and its
impurities, grasses for special conditions, lawns and fawn
grasses, etc., etc. In preparing this volume the author’s ob-
ject has been to present, in connected form, the main facts
concerning the grasses grown on American farms. Every
phase of the subject is viewed from the farmer’s standpoint.
Illustrated. 248 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth, . . $1.00

The Book of Corn

By Hersert Myrick, assisted by A- D- SHamet, E. A.
Burnett, ALBERT W. Furton, B. W. SNow and other most
capable specialists. A complete treatise on tbe culture,
marketing and uses of maize in America and elsewhere, for
farmers, dealers and others. Illustrated. 372 pages. 5 x 7
inches. Cloth. RAI aree eek tt Roma ee) eck? IOS

The Hop—lIt’s Culture and Care, Marketing
and Manufacture

By Hersert Myrick. A practical handbook on the most
approved methods in growing, harvesting, curing and selling
hops, and on the use and manufacture of hops. The result of
years of research and observation, it is a volume destined to
be an authority on this crop for many years to come. It
takes up every detail from preparing the soil and laying out
the yard to curing and selling the crop. Every line represents
the ripest judgment and experience of experts. Size, 5 x &;
pages, 300; illustrations, nearly 150; bound in cloth and gold;
BUICCIEPOStPAIGs: «tc ) ws BP fetawo even fe of Susy | PE.5O

Tobacco Leaf

By J. B. Kitrzesrew and Hersert Myricx. Its Culture
and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture. A practical hand-
book on the most approved methods in growing, harvesting,
curing, packing and selling tobacco, with an account of the
operations in every department of tobacco manufacture. The
contents of this book are based on actual experiments in
field, curing barn, packing house, factory and Jaboratory. It
is the only work of the kind in existence, and is destined toc be
the standard practical and scientific authority on the whole
subject of tobacco for many years. 506 pages and 150 orginal
RagtaNiligs. 5 Xx geisiches, iClothe %) 4 (6:2 e- «)- $2.86

The Nut Culturist

By Anprew S. Futier. A treatise on the propagation,
planting and cultivation of nut-bearing trees and shrubs
adapted to the climate of the United States, with the scien-
tific and common names of the fruits known in commerce as
edible or otherwise useful nuts. Intended to aid the farmer
to increase his income without adding to his expenses or
labor. Cloth. 12mo, 9%), © -« .< /« “G15

Cranberry Culture

By JosepH J. Wuite. Contents: Natural history, history
of cultivation, choice of location, preparing the ground, plant-
ing the vines, management of meadows, flooding, enemies
and difficulties overcome, picking, keeping, profit and loss.
Illustrated. 132 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth, . . $1.00

Ornamental Gardening for Americans

By Extas A. Lona, landscape architect. A treatise on
beautifying homes, rural districts and cemeteries. A plain
and practical work with numerous illustrations and instruc-
tions so plain that they may be readily followed. Illustrated.
300) pages) 5x 7 inches, (Cloth) 3 )).40 5 =a ees O

Grape Culturist

By A. S. Futter. This is one of the very best of works
on the culture of the hardy grapes, with full directions for
all departments of propagation, culture, etc., with 150 excellent
engravings, illustrating planting, training, grafting, etc.
282 pages. 5x77 inches: Cloth, . © 2 Seis

Gardening for Young and Old

By JosepH Harris. A work intended to interest farmers’
boys in farm gardening, which means a better and more profit-
able form of agriculture. The teachings are given in the
familiar manner so well known in the author’s “Walks and
Talks on the Farm.” Illustrated. I91 pages. 5 x 7 inches.
Gloth, (ou! oe fe ES

Money in the Garden

By P T. Quinn. The author gives in a plain, practical
style instructions on three distinct, although closely connected,
branches of gardening—the kitchen garden, market garden and
field culture, from successful practical experience for a term
of years. Illustrated. 268 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth. $1.00

Greenhouse Construction

By Pror. L. R. Tarr. A complete treatise on greenhousé
structures and arrangements of the various forms and styles
of plant houses for professional florists as well as amateurs.
All the best and most approved structures are so fully and
clearly described that any one who desires to build a green-
house will have no difficulty in determining the kind best
suited to his purpose. The modern and most successful meth-
ods of heating and ventiiating are fully treated upon. Special
chapters are devoted to houses used for the growing of one
kind of plants exclusively. The construction of hotbeds and
frames receives appropriate attention. Over 100 excellent
illustrations, especially engraved for this work, make every
point clear to the reader and add considerably to the artistic
appearance of the book. 210 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth, $1.50

Greenhouse Management

By L. R. Tart. This book forms an almost indispensable
companion volume to Greenhouse Construction. In it the
author gives the results of his many years’ experience, together
with that of the most successful florists and gardeners, in the
management of growing plants under glass. So minute and
practical are the various systems and methods of growing
and forcing roses, violets, carnations, and all the most impor-
tant florists’ plants, as well as fruits and vegetables described,
that by a careful study of this work and the following of its
teachings, failure is almost impossible. Illustrated. 382 pages.
Bpxeyincues.. Cloth s.\). Sep SSeS ow 2 $50

Fungi and Fungicides

By Pror. CLARENCE M. Weep. A practical manual con-
cerning the fungous diseases of cultivated plants and the
means of. preventing their ravages. The author has endeav-
ored to give such a concise account of the most important
facts relating to these as will enable the cultivator to combat
them intelligently. 90 illustrations. 222 pages. 5 x 7 inches.
paper, s50. cents; cloth: ~ % 9 s9 S) Pile) be e- SIOO

Mushrooms. How to Grow Them

By Witi1AM FAtconer. This is the most practical work
on the subject ever written, and the only book on growing
mushrooms published in America. The author describes how
he grows mushrooms, and how they are grown for profit by
the leading market gardeners, and for home use by the most
successful private growers. Engravings drawn from nature
expressly for this work. 170 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth. $1.00

Land Draining

A handbook for farmers en the principles and practice of
draining, by MAnty Mrtes, giving the results of his extended
experience in laying tile drains. The directions for the laying
out and the construction of tile drains will enable the farmer
to avoid the errors of imperfect construction, and the disap-
pointment that must necessarily follow. This manual for
practical farmers will also be found convenient for reference
in regard to many questions that may arise in crop growing,
aside from the special subjects of drainage of which it treats.
Illustrated. 200 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth, . . $1.00

Barn Plans and Outbuildings

Two hundred and fifty-seven illustrations. A most valu-
able work, full of ideas, hints, suggestions, plans, etc., for the
eonstruction of barns and outbuildings, by practical writers.
Chapters are devoted to the economic erection and use of
barns, grain barns, horse barns, cattle barns, sheep barns, corn:
houses, smokehouses, icehouses, pig pens, granaries, etc.
There are likewise chapters on birdhouses, doghouses, tool
sheds, ventilators, roofs and roofing, doors and fastenings,
workshops, poultry houses, manure sheds, barnyards, root
pits; etc, 235 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth, © <= sbred

Irrigation Farming

By Lute Witcox. A handbook for the practical applica-
tion of water in the production of crops. A complete treatise
on water supply, canal construction, reservoir and ponds,
pipes for irrigation purposes, flumes and their structure,
methods of applying water, irrigation of field crops, the
garden, the orchard and vineyard, windmills and pumps,
appliances and contrivances. New edition, revised, enlarged
and rewritten. Profusely illustrated. Over 500 pages. 5 x 7
inches. Cloth. wo) vag | nilptel ook bre UIeante ante ee ee

Forest Planting

By H. Nicuortas JArcHow, LL.D. A treatise on the care
of woodlands and the restoration of the denuded timberlands
on plains and mountains. The author has fully described
those European methods which have proved to be most useful
in maintaining the superb forests of the old world. This
experience has been adapted to the different climates and trees
of America, full instructions being given for forest planting
of our various kinds of soil and subsoil, whether on mountain
or valley. Illustrated. 250 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth. $1.50

-_

The New Egg Farm

By H. H. Sropparp. A practical, reliable manual on
producing eggs and poultry for market as a profitable business
enterprise, either by itself or connected with other branches
of agriculture. It tells all about how to feed and manage,
how to breed and select, incubators and brooders, its labor-
saving devices, etc., etc. Illustrated. 331 pages. 5 x 7 inches.
Gictitmmes Moae rae te) Men aly ay sate I SELOO

Poultry Feeding and Fattening

Compiled by G. B. Fiske. A handbook for poultry keep-
ers on the standard and improved methods of feeding and
marketing all kinds of poultry. The subject of feeding and
fattening poultry is prepared largely from the side of the
best practice and experience here and abroad, although the
underlying science of feeding is explained as fully as needful.
The subject covers all branches, including chickens, broilers,
capons, turkeys and waterfowl; how to feed under various
conditions and for different purposes. The whole subject of
capons and caponizing is treated in detail. A great mass of
practical information and experience not readily obtainable
elsewhere is given with full and explicit directions for fatten-
ing and preparing for market. This book will meet the needs
of amateurs as well as commercial poultry raisers. Profusely
illustrated. 160 pages. 5 x 7 1-2 inches. Cloth. . $0.50

Poultry Architecture

Compiled by G. B. Fisxe. A treatise on poultry buildings
of all grades, styles and classes, and their proper location,
coops, additions and special construction; all practical in de-
sign, and reasonable in cost. Over 100 illustrations. 125 pages.
rise manches.:' Cloths. i's a1 selene) iste eae) ees) So FSOI5O

Poultry Appliances and Handicraft

Compiled by G. B. Fiske. Illustrated descriptions of a
great variety and styles of the best homemade nests, roosts,
windows, ventilators, incubators and brooders, feeding and
watering appliances, etc., etc. Over 100 illustrations. Over
125 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth. oe tee eh Pe SOSSO

Turkeys and How to Grow Them

Edited by Herzert Myrick. A treatise on the natural
history and origin of the name of turkeys; the various breeds,
the best methods to insure success in the business of turkey
growing. With essays from practical turkey growers in
different parts of the United States and Canada. Copiously
illustrated. 154 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth, . . $1.00

Cabbage, Cauliflower and Allied Vegetables

By C. L. Atrten. A practical treatise on the various
types and varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels
sprouts, kale, collards and kohl-rabi. An explanation is given
of the requirements, conditions, cultivation and general
management pertaining to the entire cabbage group. After this
each class is treated separately and in detail. The chapter
on seed raising is probably the most authoritative treatise on
this subject ever published. Insects and fungi attacking this
class of vegetables are given due attention. Illustrated. 126
pages: 5 x 7amches, Glothy , 5 <)?) 5) %: Cae eee

Asparagus

By F. M. Hexamer. This is the first book published in
America which is exclusively devoted to the raising of aspara-
gus for home use as well as for market. It is a practical
and reliable treatise on the saving of the seed, raising of the
plants, selection and preparation of the soil, planting, cultiva-
tion, manuring, cutting, bunching, packing, marketing, canning
and drying insect enemies, fungous diseases and every require-
ment to successful asparagus culture, special emphasis being
given to the importance of asparagus as a farm and money
crop. Illustrated. 174 pages.5 x7 inches. Cloth. - $0.50

The New Onion Culture

By T. Gretner. Rewritten, greatly enlarged and brought
up to date. A new method of growing onions of largest size
and yield, on less land, than can be raised by the old plan.
Thousands of farmers and gardeners and many experiment
stations have given it practical trials which have proved a
success. A complete guide in growing onions with the great-
est profit, explaining the whys and wherefores. Illustrated.
5X7 inches.. 140 pages. Cloth; 4, «0 .. 3° su) Reese

The New Rhubarb Culture

A complete guide to dark forcing and field culture. Part
I—By J. E. Morse, the well-known Michigan trucker and
originator of the now famous and extremely profitable new
methods of dark forcing and field culture. Part I1I—Compiled
by G. B. Fiske. Other methods practiced by the most experi-
enced market gardeners, greenhouse men and experimenters in
all parts of America. Illustrated. 130 pages. 5 x 7 inches.
Cloth. e e . . . ° . e om . . $0.50

Successful Fruit Culture

By Samuet T. Maynarp, A practical guide to the culti-
vation and propagation of Fruits, written from the standpoint
of the practical fruit grower who is striving to make his
business profitable by growing the best fruit possible and at
the least cost. It is up-to-date in every particular, and covers
the entire practice of fruit culture, harvesting, storing, mar-
keting, forcing, best varieties, etc., etc. It deals with principles
first and with the practice afterwards, as the foundation, prin~
ciples of plant growth and nourishment must always remain
the same, while practice will vary according to the fruit
grower’s immediate conditions and environments. Illustrated.
2o5epagess. 5x27) inches: Cloth; “37 vs <. ss | | SOW

Plums and Plum Culture

By ®. A. WaucH. A complete manual for fruit growers,
nurserymen, farmers and gardeners, on all known varieties
of plums and their successful management. This book marks
an epoch in the horticultural literature of America. It is a
complete monograph of the plums cultivated in and indigenous
to North America. It will be found indispensable to the
scientist seeking the most recent and authoritative informa-
tion concerning this group, to the nurseryman who wishes to
handle his varieties accurately and intelligently, and to the
cultivator who would like to grow plums successfully. Illus-
traleds 301 pages. 5.x 7 inches. Glothy 99 9. 6. S150

Fruit Harvesting, Storing, Marketing

By F. A. WaucH. A practical guide to the picking, stor-
ing, shipping and marketing of fruit. The principal subjects
covered are the fruit market, fruit picking, sorting and pack-
ing, the fruit storage, evaporating, canning, statistics of the
fruit trade, fruit package laws, commission dealers and dealing,
cold storage, etc., etc. No progressive fruit grower can afford
to be without this most valuable book. Illustrated. 232 pages.
5x 7 inches. Cloth. geri A OMOEA Servier = | Sr00

Systematic Pomology

By F. A. Waueu, professor of horticulture and landscape
gardening in the Massachusetts agricultural college, formerly
of the university of Vermont. This is the first book in the
English language which has ever made the attempt at a com-
plete and comprehensive treatment of Systematic pomology.
It presents clearly and in detail the whole method by which
fruits are studied. The book is suitably illustrated. 288 pages.
Faepinemess \ClOfa i 6 vey ss | te ye) se on) eee SEROO

Bulbs and Tuberous-Rooted Plants

By C. L. Atten. A complete treatise on the history,
description, methods of propagation and full directions for
the successful culture of bulbs in the garden, dwelling and
greenhouse. The author of this book has for many years
made bulb growing a specialty, and is a recognized authority
on their cultivation and management. The cultural direc-
tions are plainly stated, practical and to the point. The
illustrations which embellish this work have been drawn
from nature and have been engraved especially - for this
book. 312 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth, . =” Syiese

Fumigation Methods

By Wiis G. Jounson. A timely up-to-date book on
the practical application of the new methods for destroying
insects with hydrocyanic acid gas and carbon bisuiphid, the
most powerful insecticides ever discovered. It is an indis-
sensable book for farmers, fruit growers, nurserymen, garden-
ers, florists, millers, grain dealers, transportation companies,
college and experiment station workers, etc. Illustrated. 313
pages. 5x7 inches, Cloth, AE 6 oo SEE

Diseases of Swine

By Dr. R. A. Cratc, Professor of Veterinary Medicine at
the Purdue University. A concise, practical and popular guide
to the prevention and treatment of the diseases of swine. With
the discussions on each disease are given its causes, symptoms,
treatment and means of prevention. Every part of the book
impresses the reader with the fact that its writer is thoroughly
and practically familiar with all the details upon which he
treats. All technical and strictly scientific terms are avoided,
so far as feasible, thus making the work at once available to
the practical stock raiser as well as to the teacher and student.
Illustrated. 5 x 7inches. 100 pages. Cloth... = 93 S04

Spraying Crops—Why, When and How

By Crarence M. Weep, D. Sc. The present fourth edition
has been rewritten and reset throughout to bring it thoroughly
up to date, so that it embodies the latest practical information
gleaned by fruit growers and experiment station workers. So
much new information has come to light since the third edition
was published that this is practically a new book, needed by
those who have utilized the earlier editions, as well as by fruit
growers and farmers generally. Illustrated. 136 pages. 5x7
inches. Cloth. Ce ee ie Ch ONIN 52!

Farmer’s Cyclopedia
of Agriculture Jd Jd

A Compendium of Agricultural Science and Practice
on Farm, Orchard and Garden Crops, and the
Feeding and Diseases of Farm Animals

By EARLEY VERNON WILCOX, Ph. D.
and CLARENCE BEAMAN SMITH, M.S.

Associate Editors in the Office of Experiment Stations, United States
‘Department of Agriculture.

HIS is a new, practical and complete pres-
entation of the whole subject of agricul-
ture in its broadest sense. It is designed
Cy a “en Pe ‘ aes
OS for the use of agriculturists who desire

up-to-date, reliable information on all
matters pertaining to crops and stock, but more
particularly for the actual farmer. The volume
contains

Detailed directions for the culture of every
re ES EE EO a

important field, orchard, and garden crop

grown in America, together with descriptions of
their chief insect pests and fungous diseases, and
remedies for their control. It contains an account
of modern methods in feeding land handling all
farm stock, including poultry. The diseases which
affect different farm animals and poultry are de-
scribed, and the most recent remedies suggested for
controlling them.

Every bit of this vast mass of new and useful
information is authoritative, practical, and easily
found, and no effort has been spared to include all
desirable details. There are between 6,000 and 7,000
topics covered in these references, and it contains
700 royal 8vo pages and nearly 500 superb half-
tone and other original illustrations, making the
most perfect Cyclopedia of Agriculture ever at-
tempted.

Handsomely bound in cloth, $3.50; half morocco
(very sumptuous), $4.50, postpaid

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, “**tiarstt Guiting, chicago, 1,

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