ROSA. 



253 



ROSA. 



the best known of "which are the 

 ■white Rose, Rosa alba, with its nu- 

 merous varieties ; the yellow Austrian 

 Rose, R. lutea, which has the petals 

 scarlet above and yellow beneath ; the 

 Sweet Briar or Eglantine, R. rubi- 

 ginosa, with its very numerous va- 

 rieties ; the common Dog Rose or 

 briar, R. canina, which is common 

 in the hedges in England, and its 

 multitude of varieties ; the ever- 

 flowering dark-crimson Chinese Rose, 

 R. semperflorens ; and the Fairy 

 Rose, R. Lawrenceana. To these 

 may be added the Isle of Bourbon 

 Roses, R. Bourboniana, the origin of 

 which is uncertain, but which are gene- 

 rally supposed to be hybrids between 

 the common China monthly Rose (i?. 

 indica) and the Rose a-quatre-saisons 

 (R. Damascena). The Bourbon 

 Roses are very beautiful ; they are 

 large and rather flat, with rich velvet- 

 like petals much darker inside the 

 flower than on the outside. They 

 flower in autumn, and they grow best 

 in dry sandy soils, unless they are 

 grafted standard high on the Dog 

 Rose, when they should be manured 

 like other standard Roses. 



All Roses require a rich and free 

 soil, and plenty of pure air. They 

 are not so particular with respect to 

 light, as they will flower beautifully 

 in situations which are shaded, at 

 least during part of the day ; and in 

 fact, appear to prefer partial shade to 

 constant exposure to the sun. Coal- 

 smoke is very injurious to them. 

 Roses are frequently planted in Rose- 

 gardens or Rosariums, in which each 

 kind of Rose is contrived to fill a 

 separate bed, and these beds are ar- 

 ranged so as to form a regular figure 

 like a geometric flower-garden. Py- 

 ramids or pillars of Roses are formed 

 by twining the climbing kinds against 

 framework ; or they may be trained 

 over arcades, or so as to form baskets 

 like that shown in Fig. 11, p. 104. 



The Rose is generally propagated by 

 budding or grafting the finer kinds on 

 the common briar, or by layers. New 

 varieties are also raised from seed ; 

 and the dwarf kinds are propagated by 

 cuttings, most of the leaves of which 

 should be left on, see Fig. 24, "p. 231. 

 Roses should be generally planted in 

 autumn ; but some of the more tender 

 Chinese and Musk Roses, may be 

 planted in spring. A pit should be 

 dug about two feet square every way, 

 and half-filled with very rotten ma- 

 nure or vegetable-mould mixed with 

 an equal portion of pit-sand ; or if the 

 soil be naturally sandy, with equal 

 parts of sand and loam. Every fifth 

 or sixth year the Roses should be 

 taken up, their roots shortened, and 

 replanted in fresh soil, the old soil 

 being removed ; and every year, in 

 March, about half a barrowful of 

 rotten manure should be laid on 

 the surface of the ground, round 

 the stem of the tree and spread out 

 so as to cover the roots ; the unplea- 

 sant appearance of the manure being 

 concealed by covering it with turf or 

 stones. The pruning of Roses is a 

 subject on which there are many dif- 

 ferent opinions, and Roses are gene- 

 rally cut in every year in October or 

 March, so as not to leave more than 

 three or four buds on each shoot. An 

 opinion, however, appears to be gain- 

 ing ground among gardeners, that this 

 pruning has been carried too far, and 

 that many kinds, particularly all the 

 climbing Roses, ought not to be 

 pruned at all. Roses are so easily 

 forced, that, with a very little trouble, 

 they may be had in flower every 

 month in the year. For instance, 

 some Moss Roses may be taken up as 

 soon as they have done flowering, and 

 having been put into pots and pruned, 

 they may be kept in a shady situation 

 in the open air till wanted for forcing. 

 Those that are wanted to blossom at 

 Christmas, should be plunged into a 



