186 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



He " who giveth raiu upon the earth, and 

 sendeth waters upon the fields," calls too for 

 " the whirlwind out of the south, and cold out 

 of the north."* Even the crystal brooks are 

 now, in the descriptive words of the patriarch, 

 " blackish by reason of the ice, wherein the 

 snow Hes hid ;" and of a great portion of the 

 day it may be said, " Now men see not the 

 bright light by reason of darkness." The pro- 

 gress of the early year seems to breathe a call 

 to energy and exertion ; but its gradual decline 

 seems to bid iis " stand still and consider the 

 wonderful works of God." 



The Chinese or monthly rose {Rosa indicd) 

 yet puts forth its delicate and odorous blooms, 

 which, if they have not quite so bright a tint 

 or so powerful a perfume as in midsummer, 

 are not less valued now, when gayer roses have 

 left us. Like all other species of rose it requires 

 a pure air, and will not thrive well in the crowded 

 city. IMore than two hundred varieties of the 

 China rose are known, and Villaresi, the royal 

 gardener at Mouza, is said by Loudon, to have 

 raised upwards of fifty varieties of this species, 

 Avhich have never reached Britain. The China 

 rose flourishes much better in France and at 

 the south of Eiu-ope than in our country, and 

 some of the varieties alluded to are described 

 as quite black, others much resembhng a ra- 

 nunculus, and many of them as highly odori- 

 ferous. The pretty noisette, or tea-scented 

 roses, Tarieties of the China rose, are sold at 



* Job xxxvii. 9 ; Job vi, 16. 



