ORIGIN OP SEVERAL VARIETIES OP MOSS ROSES. 189 



Moss Rose I must claim myself. It was a sport of nature. I disco- 

 vered it on a Sunday afternoon, in the month of June, 1813. I sold 

 the whole stock to Messrs. Lee, of Hammersmith. It has a delicate 

 shell-like form, and is a beautiful blush : now nearly extinct. On the 

 first known production of La Blanche Unique, or the white Provence, 

 it was discovered by Mr. Daniel Grimwood, nurseryman, of Little 

 Chelsea. He was on a journey of business, in the county of Norfolk, 

 in the month of July, 1775, when riding very leisurely along the road, 

 he perceived a Rose of great whiteness, in a mill ; he alighted, and on 

 close inspection, discovered it to be a Provence Rose. He then sought 

 an interview with the inmate of the mill, who was an elderly female, 

 and begged a flower, which was instantly given him, and in return he 

 gave her a guinea. In cutting off the flower he cut three buds. He 

 went to the first inn, packed it up, and sent it direct to my father, who 

 was then his foreman, at his nursery, Little Chelsea, requesting him to 

 bud it, which he did, and two of the buds grew. In the following 

 autumn he went down to the same place, and, for five guineas, brought 

 the whole stock away. He then made an arrangement with my father 

 to propagate it, allowing him 5*. per plant, for three years. At the 

 expiration of that time he sold it out, at 21*. per plant, my father's 

 share amounting to upwards of 300/. Mr. Grimwood tent the old lady 

 at the mill a superb silver tankard, &c, to the amount of 60/. The 

 Shailer's Provence, or Rosea gracilis, so named by Messrs. Lee, was 

 raised from seeds of the Spineless or Virgin's Rose, sown by myself 

 in 1799, and flowered in 1802. We raised numerous varieties from 

 seed up to 1816, and generally sold them to Messrs. Lee, who sent them 

 out under their own naming. — Extract from Practical Gardener. 



