UNIVERSITY 1 

 ABOUT HOME J 13 



Before the delicate flower opens, it is enclosed by the 

 green cup or calyx, which ends in five leaflets. These are 

 bent back in the open flower. Within the calyx the wild 

 roses have five corolla leaves or petals, while the cultivated 

 species have a large number of petals. Inside the petals we 

 find a ring of dust threads, carrying the yellow dust bags. 

 The dust threads are generally called stamens, and the little 

 bags are called anthers. In the cultivated roses many of 

 the stamens with their anthers have been changed to petals. 

 Where are the stamens inserted? In the centre of the 

 flower you see a bundle of tiny pistils. Are these more dis- 

 tinct in the wild, or in the cultivated kinds ? 



After the beautiful flower has faded and the delicate petals 

 have dropped to the ground, the globular, or pear-shaped 

 calyx of the wild roses continues to grow, and within it grow 

 the hard seeds. We shall examine some of these hips later 

 in the season. Late in fall, when frost has killed flowers 

 and leaves, these red hips still adorn the wild bushes. Many 

 cultivated roses bear no seeds. How could you propagate 

 them? 



Even the leaves of the rose are beautiful. The whole 

 leaf consists of five or more leaflets, and each leaflet has a 

 nicely saw-toothed margin. A leaf consisting of two or 

 more leaflets is called a compound leaf. The leaves of the 

 rose and of clover are compound ; those of the tulip are sim- 

 ple. Compare the leaves of a number of plants, when you 

 stroll through the woods or over the prairie. Did you find 

 any insects which seem to make the leaves and flowers of 

 the rose their pasture ? Are they beneficial or injurious 

 to it ? 



The stem of the rose is woody and lives several years. 

 Some roses are low shrubs, others are quite tall, and some 

 climb on trees or walls. You have all heard the proverb : 

 "No rose without thorns." Botanists call these thorns 



