The Glory of the Rose 
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history. It has been mentioned in story and song in all ages. 
It is the eternal flower of love, the emblem of sentiment. 
“All the world loves the lover,’’ said Emerson. And it is 
true that all the world loves roses, probably for the same reason. 
Cherished in the palaces and gardens of the rich and mighty, it 
is, nevertheless, the flower of all classes and stations in life. 
The fancier may differ in his tastes; the pocketbook may dic- 
tate the choice of many; the wealthy gardener may have the most 
exquisite flowers of every land and clime at his beck and call, 
but all unite in claiming the rose as the first flower. And this 
universal love for the rose is unequaled elsewhere in all the things 
which Nature has given us. 3 
It grows wild in the temperate zone thruout the world. When 
the pioneers poured down over the Allegheny mountains and into 
the plains of Kentucky and Ohio, later upon the prairies of Illinois, 
Iowa and the West, they found the wild rose everywhere. Full 
many a prairie home was gladdened and enriched in those trouble- 
some days by the splendor and color of the wild rose. It brought 
a vision of peace and of lofty sentiment to those sturdy souls in 
their hours of struggle; it gladdened the hearts of the lovers and 
brightened frontier weddings without number. The first flower 
that the bride planted in her dooryard, whether in the forests 
of Kentucky or in the sod huts of Kansas, was the queen of the 
prairie, the wild rose. 
The rose has left an imperishable imprint upon the literature of 
all times and races. During the days of feudalism and chivalry, 
it was the accepted badge of favor. Sturdy knights and mighty 
warriors battled the one with the other in contests of prowess to 
win the rose of some fair lady. To have this token from the gen- 
tler sex was a higher tribute than any that royalty might bestow. 
In the period of the Renaissance, when the blight of the Dark 
Ages was lifting before the dawn of modern literature, we find 
the rose still the favorite of mankind. When Dante thought of 
love and the queenly Beatrice, he sang sonnets to the rose. 
To trace the rose in literature would be to produce a compila- 
tion of the work of all authors and poets. Never has man or woman 
achieved fame in letters without writing of the rose. The litera- 
ture of France, of Spain, of England, of Ireland, of sturdy old 
Scotland, of Scandinavia, of America, is replete with it. 
We find it even in the fables of antiquity. Among the ancients 
it was held sacred to Cupid and Venus, called Eros and Aphrodite, 
respectively, by the Greeks. They considered it the emblem of 
joy and love, and at the same time, of prudence. 
The Romans placed it over the door when a feast was in progress 
and whoever passed under it incurred a solemn obligation not 
to reveal what was seen or heard. From this custom has sprung 
the term sub rosa, meaning “under the rose,’’ as applied to any- 
thing revealed in confidence. 
Later, it was placed at the entrance to confessional at Rome, 
as a symbol of secrecy. In poetry, it has ever stood as a symbol 
of purity and innocence; to all classes, it has ever been the em- 
blem of everything beautiful and delightful. 
In art, as in literature, we find it going back to the very dawn 
of the Aryan race. It is seen in the art of the Greeks, the Romans, 
the Egyptians, the Assyrians. The Etruscan rose is almost as 
famous as the Etruscan vase. The rose has been distinctly a 
favorite of the Western world, as distinguished against the Orient. 
Tt is strikingly absent in the horticultural affairs of the early 
Chinese and Japanese. 
In history, the rose has played an important part. In the days 
of Heraldry, it was a badge worn by whole armies. The badge of 
the House of Lancaster was the rose gules, and the rose ardent 
of the House of York. MHenry VI., king of England, was sur- 
rounded and supported by the adherents of the House of Lancaster 
Te tose has been known to man from the earliest hours of 
in his claim to the throne. Richard, Duke of York, had a better 
claim to the throne by descent and his adherents provoked one 
quarrel after another with the Lancasterians, in the hope of ulti- 
mately placing Richard on the throne. The personal emblem of 
the Duke of York was a white rose, which his followers adopted 
in order to distinguish friend from foe. The House of Lancaster 
promptly adopted the red rose as its emblem. From this fact, 
the struggles between the two families for the throne of England 
which lasted several years, came to be known as the ‘‘War of the 
Roses.”” Thus the rose played an important part in at least one 
war, a war which destroyed the flower of English manhood and 
eventually made it possible for the French to drive the English 
off the continent -forever. 
Roses in the future are going to be better understood by the 
people at large; they are becoming more and more common in 
amily gardens and the uses to which they may be devoted in 
addition to their bloom, will bring a fuller realization of the glory 
and beautty of the rose to every lover of Nature. Too long we 
have labored under the impression that rose culture was not for 
the masses; that this queen of the florist’s art was distinctly a 
creature of skill and intricate care. Too long our gardens have 
been bare of the queen of flowers and our vases empty. 
_ The rush of commercialism in the early days of the present 
industrial age seemed to sweep all sentiment, all'love for the 
leisurely joy of growing things and enriching life and home with 
flowers, out of our lives. But the advent of universal prosperity, 
the coming of the thought that of all attainments the home is 
the most important, the settling down of America to ennoble 
and to enrich herself in the worthier things, has swept back that 
old desire, that old longing, for the ‘‘vine over the door.” 
And never before has the great middle class been so favored, 
whether here or elsewhere. The modest backlot gardens in many 
cities outrank those of the aristocracy of yesterday. Many a 
busy housewife has a larger and better garden than that boasted 
by her Colonial grandmother. 
The natural love for the rose has had a great deal to do with this 
revival of interest in floriculture. Hardly has sod been turned 
before thoughts of roses blooming in the garden come to the 
garden lover. It assumes expression often before a shrub is 
planted or lawns established. 
The rose stands for permanency. It has none of the disadvan- 
tages of annual flowers which endure for a season and must be 
planted again each succeeding spring. It endures from year to 
a: 
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year, blooming each season and attaining a varying growth de- ~ 
pending upon variety. It blooms the first season, if properly 
established, and continues to repay the gardener thruout the 
years. The Teas and Hybrid Teas are, as a general rule, con- 
tinuous in the blooming habit and one or two of the Hybrid 
Perpetuals display the same admirable trait. 
There is a rose for every climate where people live in any con- 
siderable numbers. Wild varieties are found in Lapland and 
Labrador. Even the delicate teas are successfully grown out- 
doors in Canada, where thousands of them are to be found in the 
public parks. 
As there is a rose for every climate, so there is a rose for every 
purpose, susceptible of outdoor cultivation. From the tiny 
polyanthas to the giant and rugged rugosas and climbing varieties, 
there is a wide selection for almost any condition that may be 
present. Unsightly terraces or bare spots in lawn or park or cem- 
etery may be made a place of beauty with the creeping varieties. 
In the rose we find all the variations which climate, nature and 
skill in man can combine. It is not extraordinary, then, that the 
rose should have the universal place it holds in the hearts of so 
many people in all classes and in all climes. It is the universal 
flower and its appeal in that direction is only indicative of its 
merits. I 
ROSES FOR OUTDOOR PLANTING 
CULTURAL NOTES 
The cultivation of Roses is as follows: 
The Soil—The soil which best suits the Rose is a deep, unctuous 
loam, with free drainage, as Roses do not thrive where there is 
stagnant moisture. If these conditions are not to be had naturally, 
they must, as far as possible, be provided. In the first place, if 
drainage is bad, the soil must be thrown out to a depth of 18 
inches, and, if it is not convenient to use tiles, about 5 or 6 inches 
of broken bricks or other rough material should be thrown in the 
bottom, and a layer of turf laid on top, grassy side down. On 
the top of the turf should be placed a layer of well-decayed farm- 
yard manure, then a light layer of soil, and another layer of 
manure, on top of which should be placed the remainder of the 
soil, to which, if light and sandy, should be added a liberal supply 
of well-chopped-up turf, raising the whole of the bed to a height 
of about 12 inches above the original level of the soil. In case 
of heavy land, a layer of lime rubble should be added, as this 
will help to sweeten the soil. 
Planting should be deferred until the soil is in proper condi- 
tion to receive the plants, as it is a great mistake to plant in wet 
soil. Teas and Hybrid Teas should be planted about 18 inches 
apart and the Hybrid Perpetuals 2 feet apart, keeping all manure 
away from direct contact with the roots when planting. Firm the 
soil well around the plants and give a thorough watering. 
Pruning—All the short, prematurely ripened wood and all 
small shoots should be cut clean away, leaving just the strongest 
shoots, from 4 to 6 inches long. Pruning should be done immedi- 
ately after the plants are set out, if it has not been previously done. 
This close pruning does not apply to the Hardy Climbers or 
Ramblers; these should be shortened back if they have grown 
beyond their allotted space and thin out the very small shoots. 
Protection—Before the ground freezes solid the soil should be 
pulled up around the base of the plants, 7 or 8 inches, and the 
surface of the bed afterward well covered with dried leaves or 
cornstalks. When so protected, even the most tender varieties 
of Hybrid Tea Roses are entirely hardy as far north as Winnipeg. 
This condensed list is the cream of the varieties suitable for 
American culture today, especially Columbia, which has asserted 
itself as being the very finest outdoor pink Rose so far produced. 
To dig and delve in nice clean dirt 
Can do a mortal little hurt. 
To live ’mongst lush and growing things 
Is like to give the spirit wings. 
Who works ’mongst roses soon will find 
Their fragrance budding in his mind, 
And minds that sprout with roses free— 
Well, that’s the sort of mind for me! 
