66 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
the principal in a very interesting manner, fully justifies its 
provincial name. 
To preserve these aberrations from the normal habit, and to 
continue them pure, the plants must be frequently transplanted 
into fresher and richer soil, for if this is neglected, they quickly 
return to their wild state. 
One other instance of the effects of cultivation may be noticed on 
the present occasion, and that is the wonderful improvement which 
has of late years been accomplished by the superior treatment 
bestowed upon the wild Scotch Rose. This rude, despised plant 
is found plentifully on the most rugged “ banks and braes ” of the 
northern parts of England and in Scotland. In those places it 
is a diminutive unattractive shrub, with small, single, almost scent¬ 
less flowers ; and exceeding repulsive from its hostile appear¬ 
ance, being profusely bristled with thorns. Wherever it is seen, 
it indicates sterility and neglect; and "while its congener is called 
the dog-rose (Rosa canina ), this, among country people, is called 
the cat-rose (Rosa spinosissima). It is within our recollection 
that no variety of the Scotch Rose was to be met with in gardens; 
but it having been observed that some of the wild ones had a 
tendency to vary from their natural habit by occasionally pro¬ 
ducing marbled flowers, and that some individuals were more 
double than the majority, these were thought worthy of culture, 
and accordingly were transferred to the rosarium. Here they 
were soon found susceptible of improvement, and being treated 
with richer soil, placed in better society, made to feel the con¬ 
trol of the pruning-knife, and all the other manipulations of the 
florist’s art, they became one of the most valued sections of the 
genus to which they belong. We have already above thirty 
varieties of this wild rose obtained from seeds impregnated by the 
pollen from other species of the family; and indeed there seems 
to be no end to the new varieties which may be originated by 
similar means. 
Rosariums are a fashionable feature in flower gardens. Pruning 
closely, and keeping the branches near the surface, and layering 
the longest shoots, are the usual means. But as it is our intention 
to give a detailed practical account of the culture of the rose 
family in an early number, we forbear anticipating the subject by 
any further observations at present. 
The examples we have given above ef the practicability of 
