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PARSONS ON THE ROSE.
A Treatise on the Propagation, Culture, and History of the Rose
by
SAMUEL B. PARSONS.
New and Revised Edition.
Illustrated.
[Illustration: logo]
New York:
Orange Judd Company,
1908
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by the
O. Judd Co.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.
Some forty years ago the commencement and partial preparation of this
work assisted to beguile the tedium of a winter's residence from home,
where even Orange and Magnolia groves with the novel vegetation of a
semi-tropical region, could scarcely dispel the 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 Deslongchamps 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 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 questioned. 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 worthless, 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 7
CHAPTER II.
Garden Classification 27
CHAPTER III.
General Culture of the Rose 69
CHAPTER IV.
Soil, Situation, and Planting 86
CHAPTER V.
Pruning, Training, and Bedding 93
CHAPTER VI.
Potting and Forcing 102
CHAPTER VII.
Propagation 113
CHAPTER VIII.
Multiplication by Seed and Hybridizing 130
CHAPTER IX.
Diseases and Insects Attacking the Rose 140
CHAPTER X.
Early History of the Rose, and Fables Respecting its Origin 153
CHAPTER XI.
Luxurious Use of the Rose 161
CHAPTER XII.
The Rose in Ceremonies and Festivals, and in the Adornment of
Burial-places 167
CHAPTER XIII.
The Rose in the Middle Ages 175
CHAPTER XIV.
Perfumes of the Rose 185
CHAPTER XV.
Medical Properties of the Rose 198
CHAPTER XVI.
General Remarks 202
PARSONS ON THE ROSE.
CHAPTER I.
BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION.
The Rose is a shrub or dwarf tree, with mostly deciduous 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 character, 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 arranged 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 pinnatifid. 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 vessel, or _hip_,
is formed by the tube of the calyx, which becomes plump and juicy,
globular or oviform, having but one cell, and containing numerous
small, one-seeded, dry 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 substitute for box in many kinds
of manufacture. The longevity 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 McIlvaine, 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 garden, 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
Præneste and Pæstum, which were, perhaps, identical; those of Campania
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 _R. 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 being 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 also that of Carthage, which bloomed in winter.
Unfortunately, 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 species. In the
_Florilegium_ 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 recognition of their species. In the _Jardinier Hollandois_,
printed 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 varieties do not occupy more than a
page and a half, while 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 thirteen 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 perfumery. Some of
the English collections, however, numbered during that century some
twenty-two distinct species, and a number of varieties. In 1762,
Linnæus was acquainted with only fourteen species. In 1799, Wildenow,
in his _Species Plantarum_, mentioned thirty-nine; and Persoon,
a little later, reached forty-five species; De Candolle, in his
_Prodromus_, published in 1825, increased 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 Linnæus,
when he said, "Species limitibus difficillime circumscribuntur, 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 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 latitude.
Captain Fremont, (now General Fremont) in his description 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 Kamschatka. "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 parents of our garden sorts. A
large part of the species described by these authors cannot be found
in any collection 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.
BRACTEATÆ.--BRACTED ROSES.
This section is readily distinguished by the woolliness of branches
and fruit. Leaves dense, usually shining; prickles placed under the
stipules in pairs. Sepals simple, or nearly so.
R. bracteata, _Wendl._--THE LARGE-BRACTED
ROSE.--Macartney Rose. Evergreen. Branches upright. Prickles
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 spherical, orange red. Native
of China; growing to the height of five feet or six feet, and
flowering from June to October.
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, _Roxb._--THE SMALL-LEAFLETED
ROSE.--Hoi-tong-hong, _Chinese_. Stem almost without prickles.
Leaflets glossy, sharply serrated, veiny beneath, with densely
netted, anastomosing veins. Stipules very narrow, 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.
PIMPINELLIFOLIÆ. LINDL.
Plants bearing crowded, nearly equal, prickles, or unarmed. 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 nearly. It, however, may be
distinguished by the great number of leaflets, which vary from seven
to thirteen, and even to fifteen, instead of from five to seven. The
flowers are also without bracts, except in some species not mentioned
here. These, having connivent permanent sepals, 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, _Ait._--THE SULPHUR-COLORED ROSE.--The
Double Yellow Rose. _Synonyms._ R. hemispherica, _Herm._ R.
glaucophylla, _Ehrh._ Rosa lutea flore pleno, _Rai. Hist._
R. lutea, _Brot._ Stipules linear, divaricate, dilated at
the apex. Leaflets glaucous, flattish. Tube hemispherical.
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, consequently, 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 beautiful 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 magnificent 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 unknown. "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-flowered varieties were
brought into Europe by the Turks; as Parkinson tells us, in a work
which he dedicated to Henrietta, the queen of our unfortunate Charles
I., that the 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 Constantinople, 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 London, and a great
lover of all rose plants, as well as flowers, from which is sprung the
greatest store that is now flourishing in this kingdom.'"
R. spinosissima, _L._--THE MOST SPINY, OR SCOTCH
ROSE.--Prickles unequal. Leaflets flat, glabrous, simply
serrated. A dwarf, compact bush, with creeping suckers. Flowers
small, solitary, white or blush-colored. Fruit ovate, or nearly
round, black or dark purple. Native of Europe; 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.
CENTIFOLIÆ.--HUNDRED-LEAVED ROSES.
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 _Rosa_ 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 commerce, is either obtained from roses belonging
to this division indiscriminately, as in the manufactory at Florence,
conducted by a convent of friars; or from some particular kind, as in
India. It appears, from specimens brought from Chizapore by Colonel
Hardwicke, that _R. Damascena_ is there exclusively used for obtaining
the essential oil. The Persians also make use of a sort which Kæmpfer
calls _R. Shirazensis_, (from its growing about Shiraz), in preference
to others; this may be either _R. Damascena_, _R. Gallica_, or _R.
centifolia_, or, perhaps, _R. moschata_. The species contained in the
present section are all setigerous, by which they are distinguished
from the following divisions; their thickened disk and divided sepals
separate them from the preceding. To the section of Rubiginosæ 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.--THE DAMASCUS, OR DAMASK ROSE.--Rose à
quatre Saisons. _Synonyms._ R. Belgica, _Mill_. R. calendarum,
_Munch_. R. bifera, _Poir_. Prickles unequal, the large ones
falcate. Sepals reflexed. Fruit elongated. Native of Syria.
Flowers large, white or red, single or double. The present
species may be distinguished 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 July.
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 in autumn of its own accord, yet it
cannot always be relied upon to do so. 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 winter. Gregory, of Tours, speaking of the year
584, says, "This year many prodigies appeared, and many calamities
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 appeared in the ninth month."
R. centifolia, _Lin._--THE HUNDRED-PETALED, PROVENCE,
OR CABBAGE ROSE.--_Synonyms._ R. provincialis, _Mill._ R.
polyanthos, _Rossig._ R. caryophyllea, _Poir._ R. unguiculata,
_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; single, 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 _R. Gallica_ 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 will
then be produced, sufficiently vigorous to furnish a beautiful and
abundant bloom the following spring.
_Varieties._ Above one hundred varieties have been assigned to this
species, and classed in three divisions:
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 mountain near that
city. Many varieties of it have been obtained, 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, _L._--THE FRENCH, OR PROVENCE ROSE. RED
ROSE.--_Synonyms._ R. centifolia, _Mill._ R. sylvatica,
_Gater._ R. rubra, _Lam._ R. holosericea, _Rossig._ R. Belgica,
_Brot._ R. blanda, _Brot._ Prickles unequal. Stipules narrow,
divaricate at the tip. Leaflets, 5-7, coriaceous, rigid, ovate
or lanceolate, deflexed. Flower bud ovate-globose; sepals
spreading during the time of the 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
_R. Gallica_ are those which are principally used for making conserve
of roses, and, when dried, for gargles: their odor 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 confounded with the Damask rose.
_Varieties._ The varieties of this species are very numerous. One of
the most distinct is Var. parvifolia. (R. parvifolia, _Ehr._ R.
Burgundiaca, _Rossig._ R. remensis, _Desf._) THE BURGUNDY ROSE.--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.
VILLOSÆ.--HAIRY ROSES.
Suckers erect. Prickles straightish. Leaflets ovate or oblong, with
diverging serratures. Sepals connivent, permanent. Disk thickened,
closing the throat. This division borders equally close upon those
of Caninæ and Rubiginosæ. From both it is distinguished by its
root-suckers being erect and stout. The most absolute marks of
difference, however, between this and Caninæ, exist in the prickles of
the present section being straight, and the serratures 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 another character by which this tribe may be known from
Caninæ. Rubiginosæ cannot be confounded with the present section, on
account of the unequal hooked prickles and glandular leaves of the
species. Roughness of fruit and permanence of sepals are common to
both.
R. alba, _Lin._--THE COMMON WHITE ROSE.--Leaflets
oblong, glaucous, rather naked above, simply serrated. Prickles
straightish or falcate, slender or strong, without bristles.
Sepals pinnate, reflexed. Fruit unarmed. Native of Piedmont,
Cochin China, Denmark, France, and Saxony. Flowers large,
either white, or of the most delicate blush color, with a
grateful fragrance. Fruit oblong, scarlet, or blood-colored.
A shrub, growing from four feet to ten feet in height, and
flowering in June and July.
RUBIGINOSÆ.--BRIER ROSES.
Prickles unequal, sometimes bristle-formed, rarely wanting. 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 _R. tomentosa_ has
sometimes glandular leaves, the inequality of the prickles of the
species of Rubiginosæ, and their red fruit, will clearly distinguish
them. This division includes all the Eglantine, or Sweet-brier Roses.
R. rubiginosa, _Lin._--RUSTY-LEAVED ROSE, SWEET-BRIER,
OR EGLANTINE.--R. suavifolia, _Lightf._ R. Eglanteria, _Mill._
R. agrestis, _Savi._ R. rubiginosa parviflora, _Rau._ Prickles
hooked, compressed, with smaller straighter ones interspersed.
Leaflets elliptical, doubly serrated, hairy, clothed beneath
with rust-colored glands. Sepals pinnate, and bristly, as well
as the peduncles. Fruit obovate, bristly toward the base.
Native throughout Europe, and of Caucasus. In Britain, in bushy
places, on a dry gravelly or chalky soil. Leaves sweet-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 formation of Tea
Roses, and it is estimated that two hundred thousand are budded
annually in the vicinity of 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 itself die, yet the
variety budded upon it will frequently perish in two or three years.
This is doubtless partly owing to a want of 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 Eglantine in Lower Saxony, whose trunk
separated into two very strong branches, twenty-four feet high, and
extending 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 tradition 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. Flowers, pink. Fruit,
scarlet, obovate or elliptic. A shrub, growing from four feet to six
feet in height, and flowering in June and July.
CANINÆ.--DOG ROSES.
Prickles equal, hooked. Leaflets ovate, glandless or glandular, with
the serratures conniving. Sepals deciduous. Disk thickened, closing
the throat. Larger suckers arched.
R. canina, _Lin._--DOG ROSE.--_Synonyms._ R. glauca,
_Lois._ R. arvensis, _Schrank_. R. glaucescens, _Mer._ R.
nitens, _Mer._ R. teneriffensis, _Donn._ R. senticosa,
_Achar._ Prickles strong, hooked. Leaflets simply serrated,
pointed, quite smooth. Sepals pinnate. Fruit ovate, smooth,
or rather bristly, like the aggregate flower stalks. Native
throughout Europe, and the north of Africa; plentiful in
Britain, in hedges, woods, and thickets. Flowers 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 flowering in June and July.
R. Indica, _L._--THE INDIA OR CHINA ROSE.--Stem upright,
whitish, or green, or purple. Prickles stout, falcate, distant.
Leaflets 3 to 5, ovate-acuminate, coriaceous, shining,
glabrous, serrulate, the surfaces of different colors. Stipules
very narrow, connate with the petiole, almost 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 beautiful 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.--THE NOISETTE ROSE.--Stem firm, and,
as well as the branches, prickly. Stipules nearly entire.
Flowers panicled, very numerous, semi-double, pale red. Styles
exserted.
This well-known and very beautiful rose is almost invaluable 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.--THE TEA-SCENTED CHINA 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 _R. Indica_.
SYSTYLÆ.
(From _sun_, together, and _stulos_, a style; in reference
to the styles being 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 frequently persistent.
R. sempervirens, _Lin._--EVERGREEN ROSE.--_Syn._ R.
scandens, _Mill._; R. Balearica, _Desf._; R. atrovirens,
_Viv._; R. sempervirens globosa, _Red_.--Evergreen. Shoots
climbing. Prickles pretty equal, falcate. Leaves of 5 to 7
leaflets, that are green on both sides, coriaceous. Flowers
almost solitary, or in corymbs. Sepals nearly entire, longish.
Styles cohering into an elongate pilose column. Fruit ovate or
ovate-globose, orange-colored. Peduncles mostly hispid with
glanded hairs. Closely allied to _R. arvensis_, but differing
in its being evergreen, in its leaves being coriaceous, and
in its stipules being subfalcate, and more acute at the tip.
Native of France, 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, _Thunb._--MANY-FLOWERED ROSE.--_Syn._
R. flava, _Donn._; R. florida, _Poir._; R. diffusa,
_Roxb._--Branches, peduncles, and calyxes tomentose. Shoots
very long. Prickles slender, scattered. Leaflets 5 to 7,
ovate-lanceolate, soft, finely wrinkled. Stipules pectinate.
Flowers in corymbs, and, in many instances, very numerous. Buds
ovate globose. Sepals short. Styles protruded, incompletely
grown together into a long, hairy column. A climbing shrub,
a native of Japan and China; and producing 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. Grevillei.--R. Roxburghii, _Hort._; R. platyphylla,
_Red_.--THE 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 _R. multiflora_ by the fringed
edge of the stipules; while those of the common _R. 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. Donald'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 averaged about 30 in
each corymb, so that the amount of flower buds was about 3,000. The
variety of color produced by the buds at first opening was not less
astonishing than their number. White, light blush, deeper blush, light
red, darker red, scarlet, and purple flowers, all appeared 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
produced 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 free flowerer; but the
shoots are of a bramble-like texture, and the plant, in consequence,
is of but temporary duration. R. Donald's _R. Grevillei_ 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 _R.
sempervirens Russelliana_.
Var. Boursaulti, BOURSAULT ROSE, 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 valuable for
flowering early and freely. This is a very remarkable rose,
from its petals having a reticulated appearance.
R. moschata, _Mill._--MUSK ROSE.--_Syn._ R.
glandulifera, _Roxb._--Shoots ascending. Prickles upon the stem
slender, recurved. Leaflets 5 to 7, lanceolate, acuminate,
nearly glabrous, the two surfaces of different colors. Stipules
very narrow, acute. Flowers, in many instances, very numerous,
white, with the claws of the petals yellow, 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-like manner at their extremities. 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 cultivated there for
the sake of an essential oil, which is obtained 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 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 extremities of the shoots, which are often 10
feet or 12 feet in length. It flowers freely, and is well worthy of
cultivation. This rose is thought by some to be the same as that of
Cyrene, which Athenæus 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 Gessner, 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 mentions 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. Seeds of this tree were sent to Paris
and produced the common Musk Rose.
BANKSIANÆ.--BANKSIA ROSES.
(So called because all the species contained in this
section agree in character with _R. Banksiæ_, a rose named in
honor of Lady Banks.)
Stipules nearly free, subulate, or very narrow, usually deciduous.
Leaflets usually ternate, 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
particularly distinguished by their deciduous, subulate, or very
narrow stipules. Their fruit is very variable.
R. Banksiæ, _R. Br._--LADY BANKS' or BANKSIA
ROSE.--Without prickles, glabrous, smooth. Leaflets 3 to
5, lanceolate, sparingly serrated, approximate. Stipules
bristle-like, scarcely attached to the petiole, rather glossy,
deciduous. Flowers in umbel-like corymbs, numerous, very
double, sweet-scented, nodding. Tube of the calyx a little
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. Banksiæ 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 gardens of those countries, and
producing flowers of a pale red or pure white. The original plant
is of a deep purple 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.