Rose as we know it today, but there is as much evidence 
one way as the other. 
Anacreon, Greek poet who sang of love, wine and Roses, 
speaks constantly of the Queen of Flowers. In fact, nearly 
every Greek writer between 500 and 300 B. C. mentions 
the Rose, which was evidently a great favorite. Grown 
extensively, it was used at banquet feasts and as decor¬ 
ation for the grave_s of the dead. 
In Egypt, land of lavish living, prior to and at the 
time of Cleopatra, the Rose could be obtained in great 
quantities. It was used extensively bv the Queen at her 
feasts and celebrations. In Egypt mattresses made from 
the sun-dried petals of Roses were luxuries, and beds 
of Roses were enjoyed only by the very wealthy. The 
Egyptions, at the time Egypt became a Roman province, 
sent Roses to Rome in the winter. 
The Romans, however, did not long consider the Rose 
an almost unobtainable luxury. They discovered long be¬ 
fore the Christian era that Roses could be grown in winter 
time in glass houses, heated with hot water. They fol¬ 
lowed the custom of placing a Rose over the entrance of 
their banquet halls, enjoining secrecy. Thus we get “sub 
rosa.” 
During the Dark Ages, when civilization waned, the 
early Christians cultivated the Rose and used the flower 
in their ceremonies. The rosary, or string of prayers, was 
first made from the hips or seed pods of the Rose in the 
seventh century. 
Let us speak a little of the cultivation of the Rose in 
rather recent time3. In 1600 Queen Elizabeth, lured by 
the desire for trade, chartered the East India Company 
of England, which later established trading centers in India 
and China, with other nations following, and soon the 
acquisition of strange plants from these far countries be¬ 
came a prime interest. 
2 
