ROSA. 



250 



ROSA. 



duced between the root, which gives 

 the idea of an aged tree long since 

 felled or dead, and the erect young 

 shoot which foretells a future tree. 

 The shadow of the group so formed 

 in the water is a circumstance that 

 redoubles the interest. 



Roots may be piled up, and con- 

 nected together by dowels or wooden 

 pegs, so as to form arches, arcades, or 

 covered ways, or grottoes, or other 

 structures for shelter or repose ; the 

 interstices being filled in with moss 

 or heath, and the exterior being 

 thatched with heath, or the chips or 

 shavings from hoops common in 

 countries which abound in coppice- 

 wood, such as Sussex, Roots also 

 may be piled up so as to form gro- 

 tesque fences, which are suitable for 

 certain situations and purposes. A 

 flower garden in a wood or seques- 

 tered glen, surrounded by a fence of 

 this kind, has sometimes a striking 

 effect ; and sometimes the area of 

 gravel before the entrance front of a 

 villa is separated from the lawn by 

 an irregular ridge of roots varied by 

 greenhouse plants with the pots con- 

 cealed. 



A very common error in the use of 

 roots, is that of mixing them with 

 stones in rockwork, which has been 

 already pointed out. — See Rockwoiik. 



Rosa. — Rosacea. — The Rose-tree. 

 Of all flowers none are more beautiful 

 than roses ; and none better reward 

 the care of the cultivator. Roses are 

 natives of Europe, Asia, Africa, and 

 America, but none have yet been 

 found in Australia. The number of 

 roses is almost incredible, above a 

 hundred distinct species have been 

 described, and there are above two 

 thousand named varieties to be pro- 

 cured in the nurseries. In this 

 chaos, all that can be done in a work 

 like the present is, to give a slight 

 sketch of the different kinds of roses 

 grown in British gardens, with a few 



particulars of the more remarkable 

 species. The best known and most 

 common kind of rose is the cabbage or 

 Provence rose {Rosa centifolia). 

 This species is a native of Eastern 

 Caucasus, whence it was brought at a 

 very early period. There are more 

 than a hundred varieties of it ; all 

 very beautiful and very fragrant, and 

 all distinguished by their close cab- 

 bage-like form, the curving inwards 

 of their petals, and their slender foot- 

 stalks, Avhich give a peculiarly graceful 

 and drooping appearance to the full- 

 blown flowers. The moss roses are 

 all varieties of the cabbage. All the 

 cabbage roses may be grafted standard 

 high on briars of the common dog 

 rose : and they all require a richly 

 manured soil, and an open situation. 

 The French or Provins rose (Rosa 

 gallicd) is a compact erect-growing 

 plant with large open flat flowers 

 borne on stiff erect flower-stalks ; 

 thus forming as strong a contract as 

 possible to the cabbage rose. This 

 rose is found wild in France, and it 

 is grown on a large scale near the 

 little town of Provins in the depart- 

 ment of the Seine et Marne, and also 

 at Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris, 

 for the purpose of making conserve of 

 roses. There are more than a hun- 

 dred varieties of this rose. The 

 French roses do not require a rich 

 soil, and they are never grown as 

 standards. Rosa damascena or the 

 perpetual rose differs from R. centi- 

 folia, in the large size of its prickles, 

 the greenness of its bark, its elon- 

 gated fruit, and its long reflexed sepals. 

 There are above a hundred varieties 

 of these roses, the most beautiful of 

 which is Lee's perpetual or the rose 

 du roi. These roses are very fra- 

 grant, and they continue blossoming 

 till November. As the perpetual 

 roses are of very luxuriant growth, 

 and as they produce abundance of 

 flowers, they should be grown in very 



