38 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The conclusion, therefore, is irresistible that the original Moss- 
Rose mutation arose as a bud-variation of the Old Cabbage-Rose 
(R. centifolia L.). 
We conclude, therefore, that the original Moss-Rose first appeared 
at Carcassonne, in the south of France, about the year 1696, as a bud- 
mutation of the Old Cabbage-Rose (R. centifolia L.). 
The second ' Moss ' mutation was the ' Moss de Meaux,' which 
appeared in the West of England in 1801 as a bud-mutation of 
Rose de Meaux. 
The third and last ' Moss ' mutation was the ' Unique Moss ' 
which appeared in France about 1843 as a bud-mutation of Rose 
Unique. 
All other Moss-Roses have been derived directly or indirectly 
from one of the three original mutations. As a matter of fact, between 
1788 and 1832 no less than seventeen distinct Moss-Roses appeared 
as bud-variations of the Old Moss-Rose in England and France. 
One of these had single and fertile flowers (Shailer, 1852), and became 
the ancestor of many hybrid Moss-Roses raised in England and France 
between 1824 and i860. 
Further confirmation of the origin of the Moss-Rose may be 
found in the interesting fact that twelve of the distinct bud-variations 
of the Old Moss-Rose which appeared between 1788 and 1832 
have precise parallels in twelve bud-variations of the Old Cabbage- 
Rose which appeared between 1637 and 1813, the only difference 
between them being the presence and absence of ' Moss ' respectively. 
This can only be due to their like factorial composition in all respects 
except in the presence or absence ol the ' Moss ' factor. 
Presumably this implies a common origin, and here we seem to 
get a glimpse of the true nature of related species and varieties, for 
these twelve bud-variations are indistinguishable in kind from the 
seed-variations that normally arise among seedlings of related species 
and varieties of Rosa. 
Another noteworthy fact has become prominent in the course 
of this inquiry, and that is the comparatively few bud-variations 
recorded in the fertile R. gallica L., and R. damascena Mill, compared 
with the large numbers found in the sterile R. centifolia L. 
Is it possible that there is a definite connexion between sterility 
and bud-variation ? Are we to regard bud-variation as an alternative 
mode of expression of variation in the presence of sterility. 
The facts in Rosa certainly point in that direction. It is interesting 
to note that no other species of Rosa presents the ' Moss ' mutation 
but R. centifolia L. No trace of it is ever seen in the closely allied 
species or sub-species R. damascena Mill, or R. gallica L. The nearest 
analogues to the mossiness of R. centifolia L., are the extreme hairy 
and glandular forms of R. rubiginosa L. (Sweet Briar) and R. moschata 
Brunonii (Musk Rose), which, however, are quite distinct from R. 
centifolia muscosa Seringe, both in their structure and their glandular 
secretions. 
