62 THE SUMMER KOSE GARDEN. 



chaste and delicate, and contrast well with groups 

 of the dark varieties of Rosa gallica and hybrid 

 China roses; they also make good standards, often 

 growing to a large size and uniting well with the 

 stock: they always bloom abundantly and bear 

 close pruning ; in this respect they may be treated 

 as recommended for the French roses. 



THE DAMASK ROSE. 

 (EosA DAMASCENA.) 



The " Damask Rose" is a name familiar to 

 every reader of English poetry, as it has been 

 eulogised more than any other rose, and its colour 

 described with a poet's licence. In these glowing 

 descriptions the truth, as is frequently the case in 

 poetry, has been entirely lost sight of; for in plain 

 unvarnished prose it must be stated that the 

 original Damask Rose, and the earlier varieties, 

 such as must have been the roses of our poets, 

 though peculiarly fragrant, are most uninteresting 

 plants; however we must not ungratefully de- 

 preciate them, for they are the types of our present 

 new, beautiful, and fragrant varieties. The original 

 species with single flowers is said to be a native of 

 Syria, from whence it was introduced to Europe 

 in 1573: varieties of it are still grown in the 

 gardens of Damascus. The branches of the 

 Damask rose are green, long, and diffuse in their 



