2 THE BOOK OF ROSES. 



those thickets of the West, where spring the 

 yucca and cassava roots. On all sides, bene- 

 ficent nature has combined the useful with the 

 ornamental in the distribution of her vegetable 

 kingdom. 



But the rose, the object of her especial 

 predilection, is scattered every where ; and if 

 still undiscovered among the wilds of South 

 America, it is probable that botanists have 

 not penetrated into those mountainous recesses, 

 where the favourite flower doubtless unfolds 

 her fragrance. 



It has been asserted, that the rose flourishes 

 only between the 20 and 70 of latitude ; a 

 theory disproved by the existence of the rose 

 of Montezuma, the Abyssinian rose, and seve- 

 ral other varieties. 



Various countries possess their specific species 

 of rose, unknown elsewhere, unless by trans- 

 plantation. Of these, some extend their growth 

 to a province, some to a smaller space of terri- 

 tory ; some even restrict themselves to a single 

 mountain or solitary rock. The Rosa Pollini- 

 ana is peculiar to Mount Baldo, in Italy; the 

 Rosa Lyonii to Tenessee, in North America ; 

 while the Rosa arvensis, or field rose, is to be 

 found in all the countries of Europe ; and the 

 Rosa canina, or dog rose, in Europe, as well 

 as a considerable portion of Asia and America. 

 To proceed to a consideration of the more 



