given for the nourishment of this bud. It THE WHITE 

 became a willing slave, proud of its slavery, ROSE BUSH 

 proud of the beautiful white roses not its own. 



But how did the gardener come to have that 

 bud now grown into this bush of white roses? 

 If there was a time when there were no such 

 roses, how did the bud come to be ? 



This opens one of the most interesting chap- 

 ters of the garden book; "perhaps," as one 

 botanist says, "the most fascinating chapter 

 of all in the life-history of plants." It is a 

 chapter much too long to write or to read as 

 we stand before this rose bush, but we may 

 look a little further into the history of this 

 white rose. 



But first step over to the Sweet Brier and 

 look at it. You see its flower is composed of 

 five leaves or petals, in the midst of which are 

 many delicate threads supporting little yellow 

 masses. These are called stamens, and are the 

 male members of the colony. The yellow 

 masses are the pollen, with which the pistil 

 or female which rises above the stamens is 

 touched by the bee which has just flown away. 

 The bee in search of honey has carried the 

 [83] 



