ROSE-BUSH. 359 



The Common Provins Rose French, rosede Provins* 

 is one of the most beautiful yet known in the English gar- 

 dens : it is very large and full, folded close in the manner 

 of a cabbage ; some call it the Cabbage-Rose on this ac- 

 count. It is the most fragrant as well as the handsomest 

 kind we have : it will grow seven or eight feet high. The 

 petals, which are deep red and of a powerful scent, may be 

 kept for a year or eighteen months by being pressed close. 

 It takes its name not from Provence, as is commonly sup- 

 posed, but from Provins, a small town about fifty miles 

 from Paris, where it is largely cultivated ; and where it was 

 first introduced from the east. 



There are two small varieties of the Provins which are 

 much esteemed, the Rose de Meaux and the Pompone 

 Rose : if the old wood of these kinds be cut down every 

 year after they have done blowing, it will cause them to 

 shoot more vigorously, and to flower more freely. 



The Moss-rose, or Moss Provins-rose, is well known as 

 an elegant plant ; the flowers are deeply coloured, and the 

 rich mossiness which surrounds them gives them a luxuriant 

 appearance not easily described ; but it is familiar to every 

 one. It is a fragrant flower : its country is not known to 

 us, and we know it only as a double flower. 



The origin of its mossy vest has been explained to us by 

 a German writer : 



" The angel of the flowers one day 

 Beneath a rose-tree sleeping lay ; 

 That spirit, to whose charge is given 

 To bathe young buds in dews from heaven ; 

 Awaking from his light repose, 

 The angel whispered to the rose : 

 ' O fondest object of my care, 

 Still fairest found where all are fair, 



* Also, Rosier de France: Italian, Rosa d'Orto. 



