266 NATURAL HISTORY. 



into an ovate or oblong head; subacid, well-flavored ; 

 ripe in August and September. Several varieties, all 

 growing wild. Bristly Blackberry (R. hispidus), De 

 Cand., Dewberry (Rubus canadensis, or trivialis), Ph., 

 which is a fine fruit, and generally preferred before the 

 others. Valuable medicinal qualities are attributed both 

 to the berries and the root. ] ?. 



ROSE FAMILY. ROSACES. Juss. This tribe is re- 

 markable for the number and variety of its genera. The 

 rose-bush, naturally low and shrubby, can, by cultivation, 

 be made to attain to a considerable . height. Leaves five 

 to seven, feather-veined ; leaflets, elliptic-lanceolate. 

 Flowers, mostly solitary ; sometimes single, consisting of 

 but five petals (the latter greatly multiplied by culture) ; 

 large, beautifully colored and delightfully fragrant ; stalk 

 and branches armed with numerous recurved thorns and 

 prickles. The rose, distinguished by its beauty and 

 fragrance, has been most appropriately termed the queen 

 of the flowers. The fruit is the fleshy or berry-like red 

 calyx-tube, called a Hip, Avhich contains, within a rather 

 hard envelope, a sweetish pulp, enclosing numerous seeds, 

 surrounded with bristle-like hairs. The rose is, however, 

 seldom propagated by seeds, but rather by offsets or cut- 

 tings. The roses of Persia and Cashmere, celebrated for 

 their odor, furnish the delightful perfume known as 

 "Otto of Roses," which is so costly that but few can 

 afford to buy it. Nevertheless, one drop is sufficient, so 

 penetrating and enduring is its fragrance, to perfume a 

 wardrobe or chest of drawers for years. The flower petals 

 are used for a variety of purposes. The hips are, or 

 rather, used to be eaten as fruit, and the seeds were for- 

 merly employed as medicine for purifying the blood. 

 The Swamp Rose (R. Carolina), Michx., Prairie Rose 



