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 charm

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 varieties of a plant are, by Botanists, designated by names intended to convey an idea of certain characteristics,—the form and consistency of the leaves, the arrangement, 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 difference in the color or form of the flower. Fanciful names have therefore been chosen, indiscriminatel

As before stated, the Rose was the theme of the earliest 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 exchange 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: Theophrastus among the Greeks; and among the Romans, Varro, Columella, Palladius, and Pliny. To Pliny are we speciall

The most suitable soil is a strong, rich loam, or vegetable 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. In a 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

In pruning roses at the time of transplanting, the principal 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 strongest shoots, and shortening even those down to a few eyes. If it is desired that the plant should continue dwarf an

“Seek Roses in December, ice in June.”— Byron . 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 possible. The soil used should possess all the nutritious elements required in the open ground, and, if possible, in somewhat greater abundance. More manure should be used, becaus

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 Boursault, 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

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 advert 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 era in the culture of the Rose, and advancing with rapid strides, it made more progress in forty y

  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 larvæ are supported at the expense of the plant. Among Cryptogamic parasites which have been observed upon rose-bushes, and which infest chiefly the Provence and other rough-leaved roses, the following are the most troublesome: Rust. —The rust, when examined by a magnifier, is found to consist of minute yellow spots, each of which is a fu

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 distinguished, with any degree of certainty, on the Egyptian monuments which are left us. Bocastre, the French traveler, 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 su

The ancients possessed, at a very early period, the luxury 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; [1] 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 afterwards, in order to render these luxuries more eas

Among the ancients, the Rose was conspicuous in all the sacred ceremonies, and in public and private fêtes. 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 Olympian 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 whi

In Great Britain, according to Loudon, “one of the earliest notices of the Rose occurs in Chaucer, who wrote early in the 13th 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 distilled 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, Si

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 discov

We have hitherto viewed the Rose as the chief ornament 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 medicina

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; rhoshà , in Sclavonic; ros , in Irish; ruoze , in Bohemian; ouasrath , in Arabic; nisrin , in Turkish; chabhatzeleth , in Hebrew; and gul , in Persian. These are the various names by which the f