1 7 o FLOWERS OF THE ROADSIDES AND HEDGES 



The name Canker refers to the fruit, and the galls caused by 

 Rhodites roses. Some people used to think a scratch from a rose was 

 venomous. The name Dog Rose is from its lack of scent and beauty, 

 as compared with the garden rose, though as a wild flower it is noted 

 for both. 



Michaelmas Day is called Hipping Day in Yorkshire, because hips 

 were collected just then for confectionery. The name Itching Berries, 

 like Ticklers, refers to the practice boys had of putting berries down 

 one another's backs at school. 



In a Scottish ballad the lines occur: 



" Out of her breast there sprang a rose, 



And out of his a briar; 



They grew till they grew into the church top, 

 And there they tied in a true lover's knot". 



A rose sprang up after the battle of Towton, where the rivals of 



the roses fell: 



" There still wild roses growing, 



Frail tokens of the fray, 

 And the hedgerow green bears virtues 

 Of Towton field that day". 



The prickles are said to point downwards, because when the Devil 

 was turned out of Paradise he tried to regain his place by a ladder made 

 of its prickles; but when only allowed to grow as a bush, he placed 

 its prickles in an eccentric position from spite. It is under the special 

 protection of elves and dwarfs in Scandinavia, &c. It was thought to 

 possess mystic virtues in love matters. It was of bad omen when 

 seen in dreams withered, but meant success in love when dreamt of 

 blooming; and to dream of being pinched by them shows that the 

 person has an ardent desire for something. Troths and roses have 

 thorns about them. "A bed of roses", "As sweet as a rose", "A 

 rose by any other name would smell as sweet ", are proverbs or well- 

 known quotations. 



The Rose was worn by the Romans in garlands ; and in Greece, it" 



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a lover died before his wedding a rose-bush was planted at the head 

 of his grave. It was used in bridal bouquets and in funeral rites, and 

 was thought by Anacreon to possess special virtue for the dead. The 

 Rose was dedicated to Venus as the flower of love. 



Roses and blood are connected in popular fancy, the former being- 

 used for haemorrhage in Germany. From Chaucer's " Romaunt of the 

 Rose" it appears to have been connected with Whitsuntide. Churches 



