ROSES THAT BLOOM IN JUNE. 39 



three hundred years; its native country is rather 

 obscure, though vague tradition says it comes from 

 the east, a term of great breadth and length ; how- 

 ever, Bieberstein asserts having seen it grow on the 

 Caucasus. Some suppose that this is the rose men- 

 tioned by Pliny as being a great fa'vourite among 

 the Romans. In this taste the modern world still 

 agree, for it disputes the palm of beauty with its 

 sisters of the present day; although it has been 

 crossed and amalgamated with many others, none 

 of the progeny outvies the parent in size, beauty, 

 perfection, and fragrance. In the humid air of 

 Britain, it blooms, for two months in the summer, 

 around almost every cottage ; but with us, two or 

 three weeks in June display- every flower, and if 

 the weather is very hot, they flower and fade in 

 a day. I confess that there is great difficulty in 

 deciding on the varieties that do belong to this 

 species, but as we intend to describe only the 

 finest, the specific character will not affect the 

 quality. The Provins or Cabbage Rose takes its 

 name from a town about twenty leagues from 

 Paris, where it is extensively grown for distilling ; 

 Cabbage, from the form of the rose, being of a large 

 round cupped form, never expanding flat. Some 

 suppose that its name is Provence, from a pro- 

 vince in the south of France, of which it is said to 

 be a native; the authority is rather vague, and 



