258 
THE FLORIST* 
STRAY THOUGHTS ON ROSES. 
BY MR. RIVERS. 
MOSS ROSES. 
One was almost inclined to think that the march of improvement in 
Roses was at an end, so very beautiful are many varieties in each 
family ; it is therefore doubly gratifying to find such a long step made 
in the right direction as the creation of a family of Moss Roses that 
will give us their fragrant flowers in autumn,— in other words, Per¬ 
petual Moss Roses. It is now many years since Monsieur Laffay 
sent over to England, for sale, plants of his Perpetual White Moss, 
a variety of the Four Seasons Rose, which produces occasionally, in 
some soils, in autumn, dense clusters of its white flowers, covered 
with spines, approaching to what we call Moss; but we have now 
two very pretty Roses, which flower freely in autumn, having the 
fragrance of the Moss Rose, both in their leaves and flowers. The 
Perpetual Red Moss, or Mousseuse Perpetuelle (Mauget),—so called 
from its being raised by a grower at Orleans of the name of Mauget,—- 
is a very pretty variety, of a very dwarf habit, which produces, early 
in summer, abundance of flowers of a delicate rosy crimson ; in 
autumn they are not quite so deep in colour. They are very double, 
elegantly shaped, and highly fragrant; nearly every shoot made by 
the plants in August and September gives a cluster of flowers. The 
habit of the plant is rather delicate, and it seems to require a rich, 
moist, fertile soil. 
The Crimson Perpetual Moss, or General Drouot, a variety raised 
from seed at Angers, is a far more vigorous-growing variety, with 
flowers, not quite double, of the most brilliant crimson, slightly tinted 
with purple. This variety puts forth very vigorous shoots, and is not 
quite so prolific in flowers in a.utumn as the preceding, still it does 
bloom very beautifully in September; and as it bears seed freely, 
it will probably be the parent of some valuable varieties. These 
Roses are the result of a cross of the Moss Rose with some Autumnal 
Rose, consequently they are hybrids, not pure Moss Roses; their 
moss is not of the graceful nature peculiar to the old Moss, or that 
of Moss Lancel, remarkable for the extreme beauty of its green mossy 
buds; it is rather what may be called spiny moss, like that of Moss 
Lanei, and other hybrids. 
There are two or three Perpetual Moss Roses with single flowers ; 
but these are of little interest, except as to the probability of their 
being the parents of some double Roses which will retain their 
habit of blooming in autumn. 
Among Summer Moss Roses there are but few novelties worthy 
of notice: Princesse Royale (Portemer) is really a very nice Rose, 
with flowers much like the Perpetual Rose Bernard : its habit is 
most vigorous and hardy. Diaphane, Lanei, and Aixa, are Moss 
Roses, raised by Monsieur Laffay,—all hybrids, and just on the verge 
of losing the mossy character ; still the)'- are pretty varieties. Com- 
