THE ROSE-GARDEN. 577 



Ventoso, near the city of San Pedro, in Mexico, on the 19th parallel, the south- 

 ern limit of the rose on the American continent. 



1S20. Returning to the Old World, and to that portion of it which is re- 

 nowned as the birthplace of the human race, we find it to contain a greater 

 number of indigenous, so-called, species than all the other portions of the 

 earth. Of these, thirty-nine have been minutely examined. The vast Chinese 

 empire, where horticulture is so highly honoured, possesses, no doubt, many 

 species still unknown to us. At present twelve distinct species of Chinese 

 roses are known. Among these let us note the charming Rosa Lawranceanay. 

 or miniature rose, whose stem, full of elegance and grace, only rises from 

 three to five inches in height, which blooms the whole j'^ear, its buds rarely 

 exceeding the circumference of a shilling in size. The Banksian rose is another 

 importation from the flowery land, where it is found among the rocks which 

 crown the low hills of the country, where it climbs and entwines itself, covered 

 with small compact double flowers, of a whitish yellow, remarkable for the- 

 violet-scented odour they exhale. 



182 1. In Cochin-China, most of the Chinese roses are found, and along with 

 them some peculiar to the country ; among these Rosa alba, which is indi- 

 genous to Piedmont and other parts of Europe. Most of the Chinese roses 

 are also found in Japan ; among them the Multiflora, one of the prettiest, 

 and Rosa nigosa, whose solitary flower has some resemblance to the Kamt- 

 schatka rose. 



1822. In Southern Asia many remarkable roses are found, along with others 

 common to China. In Northern India are six species, two indigenous to Nepaul., 

 RosaLyellii, remarkable for its milk-white flowers, blooms in our gardens during 

 the whole summer, and easily resists the severity of the winter in France. 

 Ros% Brownonii is another well-known species, with fine white petals. As 

 we approach the centre, Rosa iniacrophyUa is found, which closely resem- 

 bles the Alpine rose, without being at all confounded with it, its white petals 

 being tipped at the summit with a point of red. Beside it is found the Rosa; 

 cericea, the under-part of its leaves having a velvety tissue of a silky bril- 

 liancy, its flowers drooping and solitary. The burning shores of the Bay of 

 Bengal exhibit in spring a pretty white rose, which is common also to Nepaul 

 and China ; the white and nearly solitary flowers of Rosa involucrata arc 

 surrounded by three or four leaves, which form a sort of collar, and the 

 jungle is rendered nearly impassable by the dense stems of Rosa semperflorens, 

 whose evergreen leaves and pretty red flowers seem to bloom without 

 ceasing. 



1823. In the gardens of Kandahar, Samarcand, and Ispahan, Rosa arlorea 

 is widely cultivated ; the stem rises to the dignity of a large shi'ub, covered in 

 spring with innumerable white and odorous flowers, which are manufactured 

 into a scent known as rosea moscJiata. There also grows spontaneously Rosa 

 verbenifolia, which differs singularly from all others of its kind, its open star- 

 like yellow flowers being marked in the centre by a large spot of crimson. 

 Rosa damascena also grows here, which was transplanted into France by th» 



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