5o2 
.SUGGESTIONS ON THE CULTIVATION OF ROSES. 
in the first division and .'place Rosa, spinosissima and its varieties, 
the R, lutea, sulphurea, and cinnamomea which from their slender 
shoots, small and numerous thorns, and fibrous roots growing very 
near the surface of the ground, are all, I believe, plants in their wild 
state growing on heaths and places where there is hut little depth of 
Soil, and are suri'ounded only by plants of a low stature ; they would • 
seem, therefore, to require to be planted in an airy situation and 
not to need much depth or strength of soil, as in their natural places 
of growth; they are exposed to the browsing of cattle, and we find 
them to hear much cutting and shortening of their shoots. 
In the second division, I include the numerous varieties of Rosa 
provincialis, centifdlia, gallica, and muscosa. The varieties of 
these species are so numerous, that this division contains the great¬ 
est number as well as many of the most beautiful roses; they appear 
to me to be plants which, judging from their manner of growth, 
have in their natural situations to contend with high grasses, and 
other strong growing perennial plants; when overpowered by these 
thejq as it were, remove by sending out roots near the surface of 
the ground which, when they reach a more airy spot, throw up 
suckers, these exhaust the old plant, and fomi a new one in a better 
situation; the roots of this division, though less fibrous than those 
of the first, yet are so much so, and grow so near the surface of the 
ground, as not to require either a strong or deep soiL It is to the 
roses of this division that the rules usuallv ariveii for the cultivatioii 
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of roses chiefly apply ; particularly those for cutting the last year 
shoots to a few inches in length, and removing the stems when three 
or four years old. 
The third division consists of Rosa villdsa, ruhigindsa, inoschsetaalbai 
damascenaj and canina: the roses of this division have much stronger 
roots than the others, and strike much deeper into the earth. The 
place of their growth in their wild state is among large, strong 
growing shrubs and trees: they therefore require a much stronger 
and deeper soil, and a less airy situation than the two fonner divi¬ 
sions. They do not need, nor bear so much pruning of the shoots; 
indeed, some of these species are often rendered less productive of 
flowers for a year or two, hv too much cutting, and the main stems 
of some of them, the R. villdsa, for example, will send out good 
blooming shoots for more than half a century, with only a moderate 
occasional pruning to keep the plant in proper form and bounds. 
The fourth division consists of Rosa arvensis, sempervirens, 
Ranksise, and multifldra. These roses, in their natural state, trail 
along the ground, or support themselves by bushes growing near 
