100 
NAT. ORDER. ROSACEA. 
garden, from the most humble cottage to the gorgeous palace. Some 
species, such as the Rosa centifolia, Rosa damascena, &c, are also 
cultivated on a large scale by commercial gardeners, for distilling 
rose-water, and for making ottar, or essential oil of roses. Six 
pounds of the petals will impregnate by distillation a gallon of water 
strongly with its odor ; but a hundred pounds afford hardly half an 
ounce of ottar. The Rose is also used in medicine. Botanists are 
not agreed as to the number of original species of this genus ; and, 
notwithstanding the labors of many scientific men, the genus still 
remains a chaos, from which it can never be extricated. 
Propagation and Culture. The varieties are raised from seed 
in warm climates, but will not ripen well in this country. A num- 
ber of varieties have been raised in this country, especially of the 
Rosa spi?iossissima, or Scotch Rose. New varieties are raised in 
France and Italy, annually. Some are quite black, others shaped 
like a ranunculus, and many of them highly odoriferous. New vari- 
eties are chiefly propagated by seed, but mostly by layers, for con- 
tinuing approved sorts. They are also increased by budding, cuttings, 
and suckers. 
By seed. The hips containing the seeds are obtained from semi- 
double and single flowers ; and to increase the chance of new vari- 
eties, these should be taken from plants that have been planted 
among or near to the kinds of which a cross is desired. Extracting 
the stamens from one flower, and dusting the stigmas with the pollen 
of another kind might answer in most instances. In France, Italy, 
and some parts of this country, the usual mode is to form a planta- 
tion of double and semi-double sorts, mixed indiscriminately, and 
take the result of promiscuous impregnation : this is often done in 
some of the extensive nurseries of this country. The hips generally 
ripen in September or October. The seeds do not vegetate till the 
second season after sowing. The first year, instead of sowing them, 
they may be preserved among sand, or the hips entire may be so 
preserved a full year, when the husks will be perfectly rotten, and 
