ROSA IIRMISPIIAIIRICA 
Lete, a worthy Merchant of London, and a great loner of flowers, from Constantinople, 
which (as wee heare) was first brought thither from Syria ; but perished (juickly 
both with him, and with all other to whom hee imparted it : yet afterward it was 
sent to Master lohn do FraiKjueuille, a Merchant also of London, and a great loner 
of all rare plants, as well as flowers, from which is sprung the greatest store, that 
is now flourishing in this Kingdome.”* 
John Rca^ writes of the Rose as follows : 
“ The Double Yellow is the most unapt of all others to bear kindly and fair 
flowers, unless it be ordered and looked unto in an especial manner ; for whereas 
all other Roses are best natural, this is best inoculated upon another stock ; others 
thri\’e and bear best in the Sun, this in the shade ; therefore the best way that I 
know to cause this Rose to bring forth fair and kindly flowers, is performed after 
this manner ; First, in the stock of a Franeford Rose near the ground put in a Bud 
of the single yellow Rose, which will quickly shoot to a good length ; then half a 
yard higher than the place where the same was budded, put into it a Bud of the 
double yelloio Rose ; which growing, the Suckers must be kept from the Root, and 
all the Buds rubbed off except those of the kind desired ; Avhich being grown big 
enough to bear (which will be in two years), it must in Winter be pruned very 
near, cutting off all the small Shoots, and only leaving the biggest, cutting off 
the tops of them also as far as they are small ; then in the Spring, when the 
Buds for leaves come forth, rub off the smallest of them, leaving onely some few 
of the biggest, which by reason of the strength of the stock affording more nourish- 
ment than any other, and the agreeable nature of the single yellow Rose from 
whence it is immediately nourished, the Shoots will be strong and able to bear out 
the flowers, if they be not too many, which may be prevented by nipping off the 
smallest Buds for flowers, leaving onely such a number of the fairest as the Tree 
may be able to bring to perfection ; which Tree would stand something shadowed, 
and not too much in the heat of the Sun, and in a standard by it self, rather 
than under a wall. These Rules being observed, we may expect to enjoy the full 
delight of these beautiful Roses, as I myself have often done by my own practice 
in divers Trees so handled, which have yearly borne store of fair flowers, when 
those that were natural, notwithstanding all the helps I could use, have not brought 
forth one that was kindly, but all of them either broken, or, as it were, blasted.” 
Rivers says : 
“Various situations have been recommended. Some have said, ‘Plant it 
against a south wall ’ ; others, ‘ Give it a northern aspect, under the drip of some 
water-trough, as it requires a wet situation.’ All this is quackery and nonsense. 
The Yellow Provence Rose is a native of a warm climate, and therefore requires a 
warm situation, a free and airy exposure, and rich soil ; a wall with a south-east or 
or north-west aspect will be found eligible. Give the plants surface-manure every 
Autumn, and water with manure-water in May ; prune with the finger and thumb 
in Summer, as recommended for the Persian Yellow. 
“At Burleigh, the seat of the Marquis of Exeter, the effect of situation on this 
Rose is forcibly shown. A very old plant is growing against the southern wall of 
the mansion, in a confined situation, its roots cramped by a stone pavement : it is 
weakly, and never shows a flower-bud. In the entrance-court is another plant, 
growing in front of a low parapet wall, in a good loamy soil, and free, airy exposure : 
this is in a state of the greatest luxuriance, and blooms in fine perfection nearly 
every season. Mr. Mackintosh, the gardener, who kindly pointed out these plants 
to me, thought the latter a distinct and superior variety, as it was brought from 
France by a French cook a few years since ; but it is certainly nothing but the 
* P. 420. ^ Fhra, Ceres, and Pomona, pp. 33, 34 (1655). 
275 VOL. ir. — F 
