THE ROSE AND ITS CULTURE. 



often varies ; thus the two outer ones have little 

 leaflets on each side, the two inner ones have none 

 on either margin, while the intermediate one has 

 miniature leaflets on one edge and none on the 

 other. 



The normal numher of petals is five, as may be seen 

 in the lovely briar-roses of our hedges ; but under 

 cultivation the number becomes vastly increased by 

 the substitution, more or less completely, of petals 

 for stamens. The general form of the Rose flower — 

 " globular," " cupped," &c. — depends upon the form of 

 the hip, and on the number, arrangement, and size 



■Fig. 4, — Flower of a Wild Eose seen from above, showing 

 a portion of the stalir, the tips of the sepals, the five 

 petals, the numerous stamens, and the stigmas nlhng 

 up the centre. 



of the petals. The concavity of some petals, the roll- 

 ing back of the margins of others, are peculiarities 

 dependent on the varying rate of growth at one part 

 as contrasted with that at another. If, for instance, 

 the rate of growth be greater at the margins than in 

 the centre, the petal will necessarily be concave ; if 

 the upper surface grow faster than the lower, the 

 lalbter acts as a cm-b, and the tip of the petal will be 

 rolled back. The exquisite colours of the Rose, 

 varying from pure white to various shades of yellow, 

 and from pale pink to rich crimson, depend, as in 

 other flowers, partly on coloured juices within the 

 petal, and partly on a series of minute pimple-like 

 projections from the surface, visible under a low 

 power of the microscope, and which break up the 

 light and give that velvety translucence to the flower 

 which constitutes one of its main charms. 



The stamens, under normal conditions, spring 

 fi'om the inner edge of the hip within the sepals 

 and petals, as shown in the section at Fig. 1 ; 

 each consists of a slender filament, capped by 

 a small anther containing the pollen which is 

 required to fertilise " the germ in the young seed- 

 vessel, and which germ so fertilised becomes the 

 embryo or seedling plant. The stamens are extremely 

 numerous, and apparently arranged without order, 

 but in the very early stage of development it is 

 easy to see that there are only five, and that all 

 the rest are mere subdivisions and secondary forma- 



37 



tions from the five primitive ones. Even in the 

 fully-developed flower, the original five-fold division 

 may be traced in the quartered flowers of such Roses 

 as Souvenir de la Malmaison. In garden Roses the 

 stamens are, as above stated, more or less replaced by 

 petals, although never completely so, or the flower 

 would be sterile. 



As to the nature of the seed-vessel and fruit, that 

 has been sufficiently dwelt upon for our purpose 

 already. 



How to Obtain New Roses. — All that it is 

 necessary to say in this place is, that any one who 

 wishes to cross Roses, with a view of getting new 

 varieties, must apply the pollen from one flower 

 to the stigma of another, taking care that the latter 

 is not fertilised by its own pollen. This essential is 

 secured by the removal of the stamens from the un- 

 opened bud of the flower it is intended to cross. The 

 principles involved in crossing are simple, but the 

 practice requires much patient care, intelligence, and 

 forethought : qualities whose exercise will probably 

 be repaid by accessions of variety and beauty, which 

 will surprise and delight those who complain, and not 

 without reason, of the number of " too-much-alike " 

 Roses. A word may be said here as to the other 

 methods of obtaining new Roses. The most common 

 way is simply to sow the seeds. Among the progeny 

 are sm-e to be some sufficiently different from the 

 parent to attract attention, and probably to be worth 

 propagating. Of course, it is advisable to sow seeds 

 from the best kinds and the healthiest plants. 

 Another method is by removing and propagating 

 chance bud- variations or " sports." A white Moss- 

 rose, for instance, may suddenly be produced on a 

 branch bearing flowers of the ordinary character, and 

 if tliis " sport" be removed and propagated, it may 

 be perpetuated. The origin of these "sports" is 

 mysterious, but it is generally supposed to be due to 

 the dissociation of previously-blended characters. 

 Roses, like all other long-cultivated plants, have a 

 very mixed ancestry ; and sometimes, for reasons 

 we cannot explain, the characters of some of the 

 ancestors suddenly become, as it were, disentangled, 

 and show themselves in their original immixed state. 



l^ative Country of the Hose. — The species 

 inhabit the temperate regions of the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere, not growing wild within the tropics, but, on 

 the other hand, extending far north and to sub-alpine 

 elevations. European, Asiatic, and North American 

 Roses have each a distinct appearance, and their 

 numbers no one can compute, as it is so entirely 

 a matter of individual opinion whether they shall be 

 reckoned in tens, or whether we shall take the pains 

 to verify the alleged distinctions between hundreds. 



