,;iVERSITY 



14 FLOWERS AND FRUITS. 



it. la olden times, the Pope on Good Friday used to consecrate 

 one with great ceremony, and then gave it to some prince whom he 

 wished to propitiate. Months before the solemn act of imparting 

 peculiar sanctity to it was performed, negociations would be on foot, 

 messengers journeying to the different courts, and every kind of in- 

 trigue resorted to by the agents of the respective monarchs, to 

 obtain the rose for their masters. The flower itself was considered 

 an emblem of the mortality of the body, and the metal of which it 

 was composed of the immortality of the soul. History relates that 

 the Roman emperors took this method of conferring honor upon 

 their favorite generals, whom they allowed to add a rose to the orna- 

 ments of their shields ; a custom which continued long after the 

 Roman empire had passed away ; and the vestiges of which may be 

 traced in the armorial bearings of many of the eminent noble fami- 

 lies of Europe, and perhaps caused its adoption as the emblem of 

 England. 



There are over nine hundred varieties of this flower, of every 

 possible size and height, from a few inches to thirty feet. Some of 

 them are evergreens, and run along the ground. It is only the 

 smaller kinds that are much valued, either for scent or beauty. When 

 distilled with water, a yellow butter rises to the surface, which is 

 white when cold. This is called the Otto of Rose. One drop of it 

 rubbed up with half a tea spoonful of white sugar, adding a pint of 

 water during the trituration, will give an elegant perfume, the Aqua 

 Rosa of the shops, far superior to Cologne. 



The same day the rose perfects its beauty it dies ; nature can 

 do no more, she has exhausted her resources, and sinks to recover 

 strength to renew her efforts the next year. In the north latitudes, 

 this flower is the emblem of Beauty, it is found in them from the 19th 

 to the 70th degree, There are none in the southern continent. 



