ROSA GALLICA 
French interest in Rose-raising began early in the nineteenth 
century and was due in a great measure to the Empress Josephine, 
who was an enthusiastic and enlightened patroness of gardening. At 
her wish Dupont collected all the most beautiful Roses to be found at 
the time. He had every opportunity of making a fine collection, for 
he was the founder of the celebrated Rose Garden of the Luxembourg, 
which w T as then still under his direction. According to Paul, 1 Kennedy, 
the owner of the famous Vine Nurseries at Hammersmith, was granted 
a passport enabling him to go to and from Paris during the war 
solely for the purpose of assisting the Empress with her garden at 
La Malmaison. Descemet of St. Denis seems to have been the first 
Frenchman who went seriously into the raising of Roses, although 
others were working in the same direction. His seedlings, amounting 
to some ten thousand in number, were in danger of being destroyed 
by the second entry of the Allies into Paris in 1815. The whole 
collection of little plants was transplanted by Vibert to his own nursery 
at Chenevieres-sur- Marne, and the greater part survived. An immense 
impetus was thus given to Rose-raising in France about this time, 
and great emulation was aroused among the growers, among whom 
were Vibert, Laffay, Prevost, Desportes, Hardy, etc. Vibert’ s name 
is especially connected with Rosa gallica hybrids, and some of the most 
beautiful varieties originated in his garden. The fashion for Roses 
soon reached this country, and we find Mason, Loddiges, and Lee and 
Kennedy among the first to grow Roses in quantity. The Rosa 
gallica hybrids still played a prominent part. Out of 1,059 varieties 
enumerated in Sweet’s Hortus Britannicus (1827) by far the greater 
number are gallicas . William Paul mentions 471 gallicas by name, 
as well as a large number of gallica crosses with various other species. 2 
Loddiges of Hackney grew 2,500 Roses, of which a large part were 
gallicas. 
Mrs. Gore’s Rose-fancier s Manual (1838) was published with 
the avowed purpose of encouraging English growers, for hitherto 
pre-eminence in Rose-growing had remained with the French. 
Many illustrations of these Roses were made during the time 
when they were in such high favour. Among them may be cited the 
four plates in Miss Lawrance’s Roses under the heading of gallica , 
“ The Giant Rose,” “ Red Officinal Rose,” “ Rosa Mundi versicolor,” 
and “Royal Virgin Rose .” 3 Roessig has three plates, “Gallica 
duplex,” “ Gallica superbissima,” “Gallica maxima” 4 ; and Andrews’ 
three drawings are called “Red gallica,” “Striped French Rose, 
Rosa Mundi,” and “Marbled-flowered variety .” 5 Redoute has a 
1 Rose Garden, p. 7 3 (1848). 
2 lb. pt. 2, pp. 40 seq. (1848). 
3 Nos. 4, 43, 76, 88 (1799). 
4 Die Rosen , t. 7 (1802-1820). 
5 Roses , vol. i. t. 45, 46, 47 (1805). 
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