A TRIO OF SWEET-SCENTED ROSES 
B. Y. MORRISON 
Reminiscent of the Oldentime Gardens of Fragrance, These New Musk Roses 
Come with the Double Appeal of Intrinsic Charm and a Sentimental Heritage 
Editors’ Note. Though less obvious and infinitely more subtle than sight or sound or touch, the sense of smell is none the less potent and all of us have ex¬ 
perienced at some time or other the power of a perfume to revivify lost or drowned memories to sudden, startling life. Nature has distributed her gifts with a wise 
impartiality in the kingdom of flowers as in the kingdom of men, and it is seldom that one plant preempts all desirable qualities. The Dahlia, for instance, attracts 
a wide attention nowadays by its brilliant range of color despite a lack of grace and gentleness, whereas the Daphne, the Arbutus, and kindred lowly garden folk irresist¬ 
ibly draw and hold the heart by their persuasive aroma, redeeming inconspicuousness by virtue of their scent. Incidentally, the potency of perfume was a subject of 
special interest to L.afcadio Hearn who seems to have been endowed with particularly keen olfactory perceptions, perhaps by way of compensation for a subnormal 
vision; and in an editorial written by him for the New Orleans Item (August 12, 1878) appears this interesting statement: “It has been averred by scientists that the 
human senses are by no means developed to their full extent; that, in fact, some of them have developed appreciably within the last two thousand years. 11 has been 
claimed that the Greeks of the Homeric period had no idea of the color blue.” 
•HOUGH the Musk Rose has been in gardens 
early part of the nineteenth century, it is 
common now. It is really a semi 
climbing Rose of wide-spreading, 
bushy habit; but it makes canes so 
strong that it can be trained as a 
climber, or as a pillar Rose. A 
casual inspection might suggest 
the common forms of Rosa 
multiflora, butitisnot so hardy 
as that species and shows 
some tendency to summer 
bloom. The delicious per¬ 
fume, which is its most ar¬ 
resting characteristic, is 
similar to that of the old 
pink and white Ramblers 
but is even sweeter and more 
pervasive. Like Rosa mul¬ 
tiflora it bears foliage that is 
not so fine as that of Rosa 
wichuraiana, with the result 
that its hybrids have disap¬ 
peared from gardens before the 
increasing numbers of Hybrid- 
wichuraiana varieties with their 
glossy foliage and greater hardiness. 
Many years ago John Champney of 
Charleston, S. C., combined it with a blush 
colored China Rose and from that seedling Phil¬ 
ippe Noisette in France produced the first of the 
series of Roses that make the Noisette race, valuable 
for the South, as is well known, but of little use to 
gardeners who live where the winter climate is at 
all severe. Although other varieties have originated 
since that time, but few have caught the public fancy, 
because of this lack of hardiness, undoubtedly. 
In recent years, a well known rosarian in England, 
the Rev. Joseph Pemberton, has been producing 
many charming hybrids of the old Musk Rose, some 
of which certainly deserve the attention of the Ameri¬ 
can Rose amateur. Three of these have taken my 
fancy. 
Danae was the first one known to me. It forms 
large spreading bushes of fairly open habit, with small 
clusters of loosely formed flowers at the end of every 
twig and branch. The buds are very hard and tight 
and of a deep orange color which fades to a tinted 
ivory white as the flower opens. The foliage is ex¬ 
cellent and lasts well through the summer. The 
flowering is continuous and while the June bloom is 
the best, the other flowers are good. There is a faint 
but very sweet perfume. 
Thisbe is a later introduction with distinctly 
climbing habit if grown in deep clay soils. In light 
since the 1 sandy soil it makes rather irregular and straggling bushes which 
far from do not compare with those from the heavier soil. Its first bloom 
comes with the last of the Tall Bearded Iris and its per¬ 
vasive and heavy scent mingling with the fragrance of 
the Iris of trojana lineage is ravishingly sweet. The 
foliage is rough, but a good green, and lasts well 
through the entire summer. It is free from 
mildew and spot. The flowers are small, as in 
Daniie, and are of rather similar coloring. In 
dull or rainy weather, however, it keeps its 
deep orange color when fully expanded, but 
as we rarely have such weather in Rose 
TWO OF THE NEWER MUSK ROSES 
Thisbe (shown just above, f natural size) begins to bloom about the time of the 
last Tall Bearded Iris; its buds are deep orange and ravishingly sweet. Pax (in 
oval, D natural size) is less fragrant but makes up for this lack by its lusty 
growth and beauty of foliage, bearing its long, slender, lemon-white buds not in 
clusters as do the other varieties, but on long stems like those of the Hybrid-tea 
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