92 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



ROSES. 



Wkll, what can be said, new, about roses? Nothing, 

 reader; and, therefore, in the outset we disclaim any pre- 

 tensions to novelty in presenting these remarks to your 

 notice. The rose has been handled by writers of every 

 grade, in all times, and every part dissected and. analyzed. 

 One talks of its leaves, and another of its petals, its buds, 

 its flowers in every stage of development, and praises 



LION DBS COMBATS ROSS. 



hare even been sung to its thorns. But the subject is al- 

 ways new. "As sweet as a rose," "as beautiful as a 

 rose," " as perfect as a rose," are continually falling upon 

 our ears, and convey to our minds the highest images of 

 perfection the imagination is able to conceive. 



The rose bud is particularly admired ; the whole class 

 of moss roses is cultivated especially for the buds; but a 

 rose bud of any kind is beautiful. We know little of the 

 mathematical properties of Hogarth's " line of beauty ;" 

 but if it does not exist in a perfect rose bud, we fear that 

 the great artist has made some fatal error. Beautiful as 



the wild rose bud is just as it has come to us from its Maker 

 its beauty is yet excelled by the gentle, nursing care of 

 art. This whole great natural order, Rosacese, would 

 seem to have been created expressly for the encourage- 

 ment of horticulture. Nearly every member of it has 

 habits so pliable as to enable it to be moulded almost at 

 the pleasure of the human will; and in this family of' 1 

 plants horticulture has achieved her most brilliant 

 triumphs. Contrast, for example, the "best" apples and 

 pears of our orchards with the wild 

 crab and the choke pear, and the 

 cherry, the plum, the peach, the 

 apricot, and the nectarine, with 

 their representatives in a state of 

 nature, or yet a full blown La 

 Reine, Geant des battailles, or Gen. 

 Jacqueminot, with its little wilding 

 relative, pretty, but so poor, beside 

 its rich and high bred cousin, as 

 almost to make one's heart groan 

 with pity. 



The bud, no less than the flower 

 and the fruit, changes its form 

 under culture ; and thus, instead of 

 one, it exhibits an endless variety 

 of shapes. This change takes place 

 especially in the sepals of the 

 calyx, which are expanded into an 

 infinite variety of beautiful forms. 

 The sepals, in some cases, assume 

 the form of perfect leaves, aDd from 

 this extreme of development, they 

 vary through every conceivable de 

 gree to the simple sepal. To de- 

 scribe these ever changing forms 

 would be impossible, and we can 

 give no better idea of the effect they 

 produce, than by referring to the 

 annexed engravings. 



The beauty of this leafy calyx is 

 not even confined to the bud, for 

 when the flower is full blown, it 

 forms a rich green back ground, 

 coming up to the flower closer than 

 the leaves, and by contrast greatly 

 enhancing the effect of the whole. 

 Leafy calyxes are found in many 

 varieties of the hybrid perpetuals, 

 and of such that exhibit this pecu- 

 liarity we shall particularize only 

 a few sorts first rate in every re- 

 spect. 

 Besides Lion des Combats and Gen. De Brea, shown 

 here, we will mention Marquis de Bocella, Olivier de 

 Serres, Comte de Derby, Gen. Jacqueminot, Caroline de 

 Sausal, Poniatowski, Charles Boissiere, and Duchess of 

 Sutherland. 



In connection with this subject, we here take ocoasion to 

 specify a few more varieties of the best hybrid perpetual 

 roses, which should be found in every good collection : 



Adele Meange — A large, full, double rose, rose color, 

 tinged with lilac ; it blooms in clusters in great profusion, 

 and is a very desirable sort. 



