THE ROSE GARDEN 



969 



than its near relative the Common 

 Buckthorn {Rhamnus catharticus). The 

 former has rounded leaves with smooth 

 edges ; the berries, about the size of 

 a pea, are borne singly, and are of a 

 purple hue ; further, the stems bear 

 no thorns ; but in the case of the latter 

 the leaves are toothed, the berries are 

 black and often clustered, whilst the 

 twigs often end in a thorn. 



From the crushed berries of the Com- 

 mon Buckthorn is prepared the syrup 

 of Buckthorn — a medicine now but little 

 used. A yellow dye is also made from 

 the unripe berries. But it is for the 

 entomologist that this shrub has special 

 interest and attraction, on account of 

 its being the food plant of the caterpillar 

 of that beautiful sulphur-coloured but- 

 terfly, the Brimstone, an insect which 

 delights the eyes of all who see it. 



Bexjamix H.\xley. 



ALDER BUCKTHORN fIN FRUIT). 



THE ROSE GARDEN 



A Garden of Roses is complete and fully satisfying 

 By H. H. THOMAS 



IT matters not how many kinds of 

 flowers a garden may boast if Roses 

 are absent ; nor how few if Roses 

 are among them. The former lacks the 

 essential spirit of garden life, while the 

 latter has little to gain by the inclusion 

 of other blooms. Roses form, as it were, 

 the corner-stone of the garden. If the 

 foundation is laid with the queen of 

 flowers, then the garden may e.xtend its 

 bounds away and beyond, stranger petals 

 may flutter here and flutter there, for the 

 heart of it all rests firm and sure amid 

 the rich colour and sweet fragrance of 

 the Roses. As a rule, ever}^ man begins 

 to make a garden by planting Roses ; he 

 feels that with Reuses wanting his garden 

 would be as a country without its queen, 

 elf-land without its fairies. There are 

 few flowers with which alone a garden can 

 be made, and among those few the Rose 

 123 



stands easily first. A garden of Roses 

 is complete and fully satisfying. No 

 flower is such a host in itself ; not only 

 does it possess the attributes of a perfect 

 blossom, rich colour and fragrance, but 

 for v^ariety of form in leaf and flower it is 

 unapproached. One may have Roses 

 that grow only a foot or so high, others 

 that throw their slender growlhs to a 

 height of fifteen feet or more among 

 the leafage of holly or the lichen-crested 

 boughs of some aged orchard tree, and 

 between the two extremes there is variety 

 indescribable — and all of Roses. 



A Rose garden of to-day is very different 

 from that of ten 3'ears ago, owing chiefly 

 to the remarkable progress made by 

 workers among the flowers, whose lot it 

 is to enrich our borders with Rose treasures 

 that fall, as it were, from the lap of the 

 gods. Progress has been most marked 



