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CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



THE ROSE. 



UEEN of Flowers ! How 

 appropriate the title ! And 

 if, in the days of Sappho 

 and Anacreon,this proud 

 title was considered applicable to the 

 Rose, when probably not more than 

 two or three cultivated varieties were 

 known, how much more suitable is it 

 now when, after two thousand years of 

 woi'ship at its shrine, it has developed 

 beauties then unknown, and varieties 

 unnumbered. 



It was a puzzle to us at one time to 

 understand the meaning of the term 

 " sub rosa " ; the literal meaning was 

 clear enough, but what was the sense 

 of such a phrase as " under the rose ? " 

 Well it seems that in ancient days the 

 rose was sacred to Harpocrates the 

 patron of Silence, of which therefore the 

 rose was the symbol. The phrase 

 therefore means secrecy concerning all 

 that follows ; and, with the same idea, 

 a rose is sometimes suspended over the 

 dining-room table to remind every one 

 that silence should be observed con- 

 cerning that which is said " sub rosa" 

 at dinner. It is with no such idea that 

 we now write " sub rosa " ; we have 

 nothing to conceal, but on the contrary 

 desire to write sujjer rosam and to 

 publish, for the benefit of all, any in- 

 formation we possess upon the subject 

 of Horticulture. 



The garden classification of roses is 

 not very simple, for the characteristics 

 of the varieties have not been well 

 defined by nature. A simple and con- 

 venient general division is (I) Remont- 

 ant (Fr. growing again), which includes 



our valuable hardy roses, known as 

 Hybrid Perpetuals. The latter is an 

 ill-chosen name because they are not 

 perpetual bloomers, but make distinct 

 and separate periods of bloom during 

 the season. The most prominent 

 representative of this class is General 

 Jacqueminot, a perfumed, beautiful 

 dark crimson rose, especially valuable 

 in bud. It was introduced from 

 France in 1853, and the rage for its 

 precious buds was so great in New 

 York city that on one special occasion 

 four of them were sold for $15 each. 

 Alfred Colomb is another exceedingly 

 fine i-ed rose of this class, and, though 

 not so strong a grower, it is large, 

 deeply built, and deserving special men- 

 tion. Another rose just now (July 19) in 

 bloom in our rose walk is of a brilliant 

 rosy crimson color, especially when first 

 unfolding ; the General Washington. 

 It is large and very double, but one 

 cannot help a feeling of disappointment 

 in finding that it lacks perfume. 



In the second (II) division we may 

 place the Bourbon, China, Tea, Musk, 

 and others which are truly perpetual 

 bloomers, and mostly very fragrant, but 

 too tender for out-door cultivation in 

 Canada. 



In the third (III) division, we have 

 the Garden, Moss, Brier, and Climbing 

 roses, or those which bloom only once in 

 a season. Madame Plantier is the most 

 prominent among the garden roses ; 

 its spotless white flowers, amid its rich 

 foliage, speaking to us of that purity 

 which is so worthy of our highest aspira- 

 tions. Among the mosses, the Crested is 



