THE ROSE 33 



supply, and in that case only those living in towns would 

 be able to get them at all. 



On the other hand, Rose-growing being an immense 

 industry in the United Kingdom, the supply in June will be 

 almost inexhaustible ; therefore every man, woman, and child 

 will be able to wear them, even though they have to go out 

 and pluck wild ones from the hedgerow. 



Yours, &c., 



R, F. FELTON. 



The Wars of the Roses no doubt stimulated the 

 national regard for the Rose, but quite aside from 

 their use as partisan emblems, many passages in con- 

 temporary writers go to show that in the Middle 

 Ages Roses were the most popular flowers in 

 England. In those days Rose-lovers had to content 

 themselves with the six native species, for no aliens 

 had yet reached our shores. The fifteenth century, 

 however, witnessed the arrival of the Damask Rose 

 and the Provence Rose, which soon became universal 

 favourites, and by Shakespeare's time there were 

 over twenty varieties that could be distinguished 

 one from another. 



Thus about this time we begin to find Roses not 

 only in the garden, but in the storeroom, the still- 

 room, and even strewn on the floor in lieu of 

 carpets. 



Old cookery books abound in recipes for preserv- 



