DOG ROSE 171 



were decked with it on St. Barnabas' Day. The clergy used to wear 

 garlands of roses, and churches were adorned with it on Corpus Christi 

 Day. Roses were said to fade on 2Oth July, St. Mary Magdalene's 

 Day. The Rose was said to have formed the Crown of Thorns. If 

 roses bloom in autumn it indicates an epidemic in the year. In Italy 

 it is unlucky for a rose to drop its leaves. 



" Robin Redbreasts ", as the plants were also called, were once 

 used for whooping-cough, and the leaves as a poultice in Greece. 

 When the birds complained of the nightingale's nightly wailings, the 

 latter replied that the rose was the cause of its grief. The first 

 rosaries were roses that replaced the brands on a maiden accused 

 of wrong and doomed to death at Bethlehem. 



The colour of the rose is due to Mohammed's blood, so the Turks 

 tell us. There is a Roumanian legend as follows: "It is early 

 morning, and a young princess comes down into her garden to bathe 

 in the silver waves of the sea. The transparent whiteness of her com- 

 plexion is seen through the slight veil which covers it, and shines 

 through the blue waves like the morning star in the azure sky. She 

 springs into the sea, and mingles in the silvery rays of the sun which 

 sparkle on the dimples of the laughing waves. The sun stands still to 

 gaze upon her; he covers her with kisses and forgets his duty. Once, 

 twice, thrice, has the night advanced to take her sceptre and reign over 

 the world; twice has she found the sun upon her way. Since that day 

 the lord of the universe has changed the princess into a rose, and- this 

 is why the rose always hangs her head and blushes when the sun gazes 

 on her." 



"Under the rose" owes its significance to the habit of wearing 

 roses in garlands. 



The hips are made into a conserve used in medicine, and as a 

 dessert in Gerarde's day, who says they " maketh the most pleasante 

 meates and banqueting dishes, and tarts, and such like ". The petals 

 were used in Chaucer's time for wounds and ointments. The rose 

 has long been used in perfumes. It has been cultivated, and much 

 improved in the process in colour, scent, and form. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



104. Rosa canina, L. Stem erect, branches arching, prickles equal, 

 hooked, leaflets flat, leaves pinnate, serrate, flowers white, large, petals 

 notched, peduncles smooth, sepals reflexed, not persistent, styles hairy, 

 fruit scarlet, many-seeded. 



