SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 17 



Moss Rose. 



This family is distinguished by the mossy appearance of their steins 

 and the calyx, and therefore there is no difficulty in recognising any 

 member of the family. 



The French Rose. 



This, to some of our readers, would appear to mean roses raised in 

 France. It happens, however, that the original was, as many of the 

 leading ones were, raised by Van Eden, in Holland, and it was years 

 before the French raised a single seedling from them ; nevertheless 

 some of the so-called varieties were raised in France, but as there are 

 hundreds raised in that country which are not belonging to this family, 

 the distinguishing name fails ; and were it not so, they are so unlike 

 each other that one could not recognise, in any particular feature, 

 enough to decide, nor do the rose growers themselves appear more 

 certain. 



Hybrid Provence Roses. 



These are said to be intermediate between French and Provence 

 roses, because they have the long shoots of one and the dense foliage 

 of the other ; the said long shoots and dense foliage being the charac- 

 teristics of roses of other families in quite as large a degree, and even 

 in this very family, we have varieties which seem to be between the 

 Boursault and Provence. So that all is indecision, change, uncertainty, 

 and frivolity. In this family, the distinguishing character is that they 

 "are robust and hardy ;" so are hundreds that do not belong to it 



Hyt>rid China -Roses. 



We are told of this family, that the numerous varieties give a com- 

 bination of all that is beautiful in a Rose. They are said to owe their 

 origin to all sorts of crosses ; but there is a distinguishing feature in 

 these, if it be adhered to: " leaves smooth, glossy, and sub-evergreen; 

 branches long, luxuriant, and flexible." Then, again, we are informed 

 '' that, hybrids produced frem the Rose, impregnated with the China 



