1835.] 



FAR T'l E R S ' R E G I S T E R 



27 



parts of the Union, and described by Rafinesque. 

 This section may also be readil}^ distinguished by 

 the numerons leaflets, generally Irom seven to fil- 

 leen in number. 



6. Centifolia. — Characters agreeing with what 

 is usually called the hundred leaved rose. To 

 this section of ten varieties belong the moss, the 

 hundred leaved, the damask, and R. gallica; con- 

 sequently, also, great part of the multitude of gar- 

 den varieties belore mentiond, which have been 

 raised li'om seed. 



From the damask is probably obtained most of 

 the essential oil called attar of roses. If those 

 who distil rose-water would leave it immediately 

 alter distillation in large shallow pans Ibr two or 

 three days, they would find an oily film on the top, 

 which may be skimmed otf with a feather, and the 

 feather cleaned with a little warm water — this is 

 true attar. In many parts of the east it is manu- 

 lactured by throwing large quantities of rose 

 leaves into shallow tanks filled with Vv'aiei-; after 

 Bome weeks (depending on the heat of the weath- 

 er) ihe oil rises to the top, and is removed for sale. 

 This section may be distinguished from the others 

 by the plants bearinir bristles as well as prickles, 

 and by the pieces of the calyx called sepals being 

 divided. 



7. VilloscE. — Villous. Closely covered with- 

 long soft loose hairs. The white rose, R. alba, is 

 included in this section, which theretbre contains 

 some of the most beautiful of the tribe; tor in- 

 stance, the celestial, nova ccelestis (new celestial,) 

 bouquet blaiic. buule de niege (snow-ball,) maiden''s 

 blush, and thirty or forty others. The most dis- 

 tinguishing character of this section, is theslraight- 

 ness of the prickles, as in several varieties of the 

 white rose the villousness is not very apparent 

 without the microscope, the hairs being short and 

 adhering close to the stem; the prickles, however, 

 are to be considered as comparatively, not mathe- 

 matically, straight. 



8. Rabiginnscs. — Rustv. The under side of 

 the leaves being generally more or less covered 

 with brown, rusty-colored glands. To this sec- 

 tion belong the Jrtlicous seemed sweet-briers, the 

 true Eglantine of the old poets, ol which sixteen 

 garden varieties have been enumerate;!, one of i hem 

 mossy. The native sweet-brier is called by Pursh 

 Rosa suavoleiis; Rafinesque and Eigelow call it 

 R. rubiginma. One of the section, R. caryophyl- 

 lacea, a native of Podolin, Volhynia and Iberia, 

 has a strong clove scent. A distinctive character 

 of this division is the arched'growth of the suck- 

 ers; this must have been often remarked in the 

 two years old shoots growing near Boston; also, 

 the sepals (pieces ol" the calyx) are permanent, 

 that is, remain on when the fruit is ripe, 



9. CaniiKB. Characters agreeing with Rosa ca- 

 niiia, the dog rose. To this section belong not 

 only the most numerous and common ornaments 

 of the hedires in Europe, but also those valuable 

 sorts the Chinese rose, R. indica and its var. odo- 

 ratissima. the tea rose; iikewi-se var. Koiscltiana, 

 the Noisette, rose, with its delightful clusters of 

 blossom. R. scmpsrflnrens, the everflowering Chi- 

 na rose, and R. pseudo indica, the yellow Indian 

 rtjse, are included in this division. I have the 

 riames of nearly fifty garden varieties of this sec- 

 tion, the chief characters of which are the smooth- 

 ness of leaves, the prickles hooked, and the peculiai' 

 anigratellilfiavorof the pulp of the fruit, which con- 



tains citric acid, and is often made into a conserve b}' 

 boiling, or baking with sugar. 



10. Systyla. — From two Greek words, alluding 

 to the styles being connected together into an en- 

 longated column. In this section arc included all 

 the climbing roses, as R. sempervirens, which in 

 Europe is evergreen, I have never seen it here; 

 the fruit is of an orange color, it grows rapidly, 

 and .soon covers a trellis with its numerous and 

 fragrant flowers. Of this, the var. roseclare has 

 large spreading corymbs of deep red blossoms, 

 and is most probably a hybrid between this and R. 

 indica. R. muUiflora, of which the Boursault and 

 Greville are varieties, also belongs to this section, 

 as does R. mosr.hala, Irom which it is supposed the 

 Persian attar ot' roses is made; the flowers have 

 a slight odor of musk. The bramble-leaved rose, 

 R. rubifidia, a native of this country, is also to be 

 laund in this division. 



11th, and last, is Banksian<z. — Characters agree- 

 ing with the Banksia rose. The species of this 

 section are distinguished by their long graceful, 

 and sometimes climbing shoots, their drooping 

 white and tinged flowers, and shining leaves of 

 three or at most tour leaflets; to it belong the na- 

 tive R. setigera of Michaux, the R. lavigata of 

 Georgia, and several natives of China, one of 

 which, R. hystrix, has purple fruit, and another, 

 R. fragrariflora, has flowers in corymbs of the 

 size and color of the strawberry. 



There remain about forty or fifty varieties, 

 which have not been sufTicienrly examined to be 

 yet to be cla.'jsed in any of these sections; several 

 of these are natives of North America, and par- 

 ticularly of Tennessee and Alaryland. 



To raise new varieties from seed, as is practised 

 in France and Italy, is rather a tedious affair. 

 Plantations are made, in which the varieties from 

 which hybrids are desired are promiscuously plant- 

 ed, for the purpose of impregnation; the fruit or 

 hips are ripe in October and November; the seeds 

 may be separated by rubbing them in dry sand; 

 they may be sown the following spring in a rich, 

 damp, shady place; the hard shell will not, how- 

 ever, be sufficiently decayed to permit the seed to 

 vegetate until the spring ensuiuix. The year alter, 

 they may be removed from the seed bed into rich, 

 moist soil, protecting them carefully daring the 

 winter with litter and pine boughs. The third 

 year; some will blossom, but the majority not un- 

 til the fourth and filth year. By something like 

 this process, innumeiable varieties have ben raised 

 by M. Villaresi, of the Royal Gardens at Monza, 

 in Lombardy, where there is a large shrubbery 

 entirely of J^lagnolia grandiflora, and by many 

 celebrated gardeners in France, as Messrs. Noi- 

 sette, Cels, Soulange Bodin. In England, the 

 climate is hardly warm enough to ripen the seed; 

 consequently little has been done there, except in 

 Scotch rose^; but in this country there is ample op- 

 portunity of raisins' new and spiendiilvarieties,and I 

 trust the public will not be backvv'ard in encourag- 

 ing the efforts. I am not acquainted with the ex- 

 act method adopted by Mcs-rs Winship, but think 

 several of their seedling roses, exhibited this sum- 

 mer at the Horticultural Society's rooms, equal 

 to many imported. 



There are several good private collections of 

 these seedlings varieties in the vicinity of Boston. 

 The best I have yet seen is that of M. P. Wilder, 

 Esq., of Dorchester, who certainly seems to have 



