ROSARY. 



755 



moss, like General Drouet, is a bad grower, — at 

 least with us, — and less certain in flowering. 



Musk rose (Rosa muscatd). — One of the oldest 

 roses in existence, and to be met with in every 

 country where the rose is cultivated. They so 

 nearly resemble the Noisette roses in habit that 

 the same soil and culture may be adopted. 

 They are extremely fragrant, profuse bloomers, 

 hardy, and of free growth, and may be planted 

 as pillar or pole roses, or trained to walls or 

 espaliers. The original Musk rose is a rambling 

 shrub, abounding in Madeira, Persia, and the 

 north of Africa. It seldom flowers till late in 

 summer, at which time the flowers appear in 

 large clusters, and have a peculiar musk-like 

 scent. None of the tribe are very hardy, all of 

 them requiring a sheltered situation, with a 

 humid and still atmosphere. They succeed 

 well in many parts of the west coast of Scot- 

 land, and seldom on the eastern. 



China rose (Rosa indica), and Crimson China 

 rose (Rosa semper florens), are both natives of 

 China, the former introduced to Britain in 1789. 

 These two species are the parents from which 

 a pretty extensive and very interesting family 

 of roses have sprung. The progeny of each 

 remain pretty distinct, those of the latter be- 

 ing amongst our most abundant and brilliant- 

 coloured autumnal sorts. They are also known 

 as Bengal roses, and when compared with others 

 they are of small growth, and bearing a closer 

 resemblance to each other than most other 

 sections. They are very suitable for pot-culture, 

 as they may be with little care had in flower 

 throughout the year. Some of them, such as 

 the common pale China, are pretty hardy — the 

 majority, however, are not, requiring the pro- 

 tection of a wall to secure them from frost 

 during the severity of winter. This is, how- 

 ever, more applicable to the climate of Scot- 

 land than to that of the south of England, 

 where they are the ornament of almost every 

 cottage, and stand the winter even when planted 

 in groups in the open rosary with very slight 

 protection. This protection consists in secur- 

 ing the roots from frost, and is best effected by 

 covering the ground with coal-ashes, sawdust, 

 or tanner's bark, to the depth of 2 or 3 inches ; 

 and where enrichment is deemed necessary for 

 the soil, to lay on 3 inches of half-decayed stable 

 manure about the beginning of November. The 

 tops may be secured by sticking branches of 

 trees thickly amongst them, by covering them 

 thinly with dry asparagus haulm, fronds of 

 ferns, or wheat straw drawn straight, and made 

 up into handfuls, and tied to the plants ; or, 

 better, to a stout stake driven in close to them, 

 and a few inches higher than the plants, so as 

 not to be blown off during winter. The com- 

 mon broom, however, makes the best of all 

 protections, as it retains its green colour pretty 

 well through the winter, and is therefore better 

 suited for roses planted on the lawn, or in a 

 high-kept flower-garden. Whatever protection 

 is used, it is of importance that it be not too 

 early removed in spring, and also that its re- 

 moval take place by degrees. In all cold locali- 

 ties this section should be accommodated with 

 the protection of a wall, and even then protec- 



tion during severe frosts will be required. Like 

 many of the more delicate roses, even in other 

 sections, these might be grown in good sized 

 pots, and plunged in the borders during sum- 

 mer, taken up and placed under the shelter of 

 a cool pit or shed during winter; and many 

 might with great safety be carefully dug up, 

 even when planted out, and laid in by the 

 heels behind a north wall pretty closely together, 

 so that they could be covered over with straw 

 or dry litter during severe frosts. It is by the 

 annual taking up and protecting tender roses 

 in a somewhat similar manner that the French 

 and Germans manage to preserve so many 

 fine roses during their winters, which are so 

 much more severe than ours ; their summers 

 also being so much warmer ripens the wood, 

 and enables many even tender roses to with- 

 stand a considerable degree of cold during 

 winter. The varieties of the common China 

 succeed well when wrought on stocks of the 

 Dog rose from 2 to 3 feet in height ; the varie- 

 ties of the Crimson China do not, thriving better 

 on their own roots. This section furnishes ma- 

 terial for producing groups of distinct colours 

 better than any of the others amongst roses ; 

 and when so disposed on the lawn, or in a regu- 

 lar rosarium, produces a very charming effect. 

 The following arrangement has been suggested 

 by Mr Rivers, and will continue in bloom 

 from June till October : " Clara Sylvain and 

 Madame Bureau — the former, being taller, should 

 be placed in the centre of the bed : for crimson, 

 take Cramoisie superieure ; for scarlet, Fabvier; 

 for red, Prince Charles and Carmine superb ; for 

 deep crimson, Eugene Beauharnais ; for blush, 

 Cels multiflore, Napoleon, and Mrs Bosanquet, 

 the latter being planted in the centre of the 

 bed ; for a variegated group, take Archduke 

 Charles, Etna, and Virginie; for rose, Augustine 

 Hersent and Madame Breon." These should be 

 pegged down to cover the entire surface; and to 

 prevent the flowers from injury during heavy 

 rains, the whole bed should be coated over with 

 nice green moss. 



Tea-scented China rose (Rosa indica odorata). 

 — This section is properly a subdivision of the 

 China group, having for its type Rosa odorata. 

 They are greatly esteemed on account of their 

 fine fragrance and extreme delicacy of colouring. 

 They are, however, of all others, the most tender. 

 The majority of them are unfit for planting in 

 exposed borders in cold situations, yet thriving 

 pretty well when afforded the protection of a 

 wall. To grow them, however, as well as many 

 in the last section, to the highest degree of per- 

 fection, they should be planted in a rosary 

 covered with glass. As orchard-houses are now 

 the order of the day, we see no reason why rose 

 amateurs should not have their rose-houses also. 

 This is more to be desired in Scotland than in 

 England, on account of our cold springs, which 

 are so adverse to all tender plants of this tribe. 

 A properly-appointed rose-house would afford a 

 supply of roses throughout the whole year, and 

 in such a structure they would appear in all the 

 splendour they do in the warm climates of 

 France and Italy. Rosa odorata, the type of 

 the section, is a native of China, introduced to 



