LITERARY NOTICES. 
139 
of the world, it graces alike various countries of Asia, Africa, and 
North America, and extends over the whole of Europe, where, 
blooming in its native wildness and simplicity, it is universally 
prized and admired. But, although the geographical distribution 
of the various species makes the rose an inhabitant of nearly the 
whole of the northern hemisphere, some species are far less 
plentiful than others, or, if plentiful in certain localities, have a 
less extended range. Here is one, confined to some particular 
and favoured spots ; here another, not content with ranging one 
part of the globe—the -Rosa canina , for instance, the one most 
commonly seen adorning our wilds and hedge-rows, is found also 
in Africa and Asia. 
“ It is a remarkable fact, that Australia has naturally no roses ; 
and none have yet been found very near to, or south of the 
equator. It is in the temperate regions of Asia and throughout 
Europe generally that those species abound, from which nearly 
the whole of the present garden varieties have sprung. But if 
we extend our view, we find some growing on the mountains of 
North America, whose tops are covered with eternal snow; 
and others in the dreary wilds of Greenland, Kamschatka, and 
Iceland; while in Siberia there are several interesting species. 
On the other hand, if we turn to warmer climates, we discover 
that Mexico, Abyssinia, China, Persia, India, and Egypt have their 
roses; and even on the outskirts of the mighty Sahara one 
species is found, gladdening the approaches to the desert with its 
clusters of white flowers, though doubtless often— 
- ‘Born to blush unseen. 
And waste their sweetness on the desert air.’ 
“ Who were the first people to bring this flower from its natural 
habitats, to be a dweller in cultivated grounds, will ever remain 
a matter of conjecture. Doubtless it attracted the notice of the 
virtuoso in plants at a very early date; probably when they were 
merely valued as objects of natural history, or for their medicinal 
properties. We may follow in imagination the busy doings of 
the plant-collector in the earliest times; we may fancy him 
gathering, and fixing in one spot, the beautiful productions 
scattered around him; and it is natural to suppose that the most 
beautiful or most useful would be first collected. This surely 
