34 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  12,  1900, 
The  {(istory  of  tlie  Rose. 
■  {Continued  from  page  478.) 
It  is  singular  that  Pliny  has  not  mentioned  the  twice-blowing 
Rose  of  Pmstum,  so  often  referred  to  by  Roman  poets.  Is  the 
Prsenestine  or  the  Campanian  Rose  to  be  regarded  as  the  Psestan 
Rose,  or  a  species  of  it  ?  If  s  -,  is  it  not  probable  that  Pliny  would 
have  noticed  them  more  particularly  ?  Of  the  Passtan  Rose  we 
unfortunately  possess  no  detailed  accounts.  They  appear  to  have 
been  extremely  beautiful  and  fragrant,  and  to  have  grown  very 
abundantly  at  the  place  from  which  they  took  their  name.  Virgil, 
Martial,  Ovid,  and  Propertius  constantly  alluded  to  the  Paestan  Roses, 
speaking  at  one  time  of  their  abundance,  at  another  of  their  fragrance 
and  colour. 
But  there  is  a  Rose  which  still  blooms  amid  the  ruins  of  Paestum, 
and  it  is  thus  noticed  by  Mr.  Swinburne  in  his  “  Travels  in  the  Two 
Sicilies: — “The  Paestan  Rose,  from  its  peculiar  fragrance  and  the 
singularity  of  its  blowing  twice  a  year,  is  often  mentioned  with  pre¬ 
dilection  by  the  classic  poets.  The  Wild  Rose  which  now  shoots  up 
among  the  ruins  is  of  the  small  single  Damask  kind,  with  a  very 
high  perfume.  As  a  farmer  assured  me  on  the  spot,  it  flowers  both  in 
spring  and  autumn."  The  Paestan  Rose,  according  to  most  authorities, 
appears  to  have  been  of  a  deep  red  colour;  yet  Pomponius  Fortunatus, 
in  his  notes  upon  Columella,  says  it  was  almost  white;  he  further 
observes  that  it  flowwed  in  May  and  September. 
Of  the  ancient  rosaria,  or  places  set  apart  for  the  cultivation  of 
Ro.se  trees,  no  account  has  reached  us  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  laid  out.  Pliny  and  Columella  mention  March  and  April 
to  be  the  months  during  which  the  rosaria  should,  be  dug  up,  and 
otherwise  prepared  for  the  reception  of  plants;  but  Palladius  lecom- 
mends  an  earlier  commencement.  He  says,  “  We  are  to  plant  beds 
of  R  >ses  this  month  (February),  which  are  to  be  set  in  very  narrow 
furiows  or  in  trenches,  either  suckers  or  seeds.  The  seeds  of  Roses 
are  contained  in  integuments,  which  they  produce,  which  become  ripe 
after  the  vintage  ;  and  their  maturity  may  be  known  by  their  dark 
brown  colour,  and  from  their  soltness.  If  there  are  also  any  old  beds 
of  Roses  they  are  stirred  at  this  sea-on  with  weeding  instruments  or 
pickaxes,  and  all  the  dry  wood  is  cut  ofll.  Now,  also,  those  places 
that  are  not  well  supplied  are  to  be  recruited  by  means  of  layers.  If 
you  wish  to  have  Roses  more  early  than  usual,  you  aie  to  dig  round 
them  at  the  distance  of  two  palms,  and  to  water  them  twice  a  day 
with  warm  water . Although  beds  of  Rosea  are  to  be  planted 
in  February,  we  may,  however,  make  plaiitations  of  Roses  in 
November ;  which,  if  being  in  want  of  plants  you  wish  to  be  well 
supplied  with,  you  ought  to  cut  the  young  shoots  with  their  joints, 
and  to  set  them  in  the  same  manner  as  a  Vine  is  propagated,  and  to 
cherish  them  with  compost  and  watering.  When  they  are  a  year  old 
you  are  to  transplant  them  a  foot  distance  from  each  other,  and  thus 
to  fill  the  ground  which  you  destine  to  this  sort  of  plantation." 
Neither  Columella  nor  Palladius  mentions  by  their  names  the  kinds 
of  Roses  which  were  cultivated  in  these  plantations.  This  omission 
may,  perhaps,  be  attributed  to  the  kinds  of  Roses  used  for  wreaths, 
chaplets,  &c.,  1  eing  generally  known,  since  we  learn  that  none  but 
those  so  em  >loyed  were  planted  in  the  rosaria.  The  most  celebrated 
of  these  Rose  plantations  were  at  Paestum.  It  may  here  be  men¬ 
tioned  that  the  custom  of  rearing  large  plantations  of  Rose  trees 
still  exists  in  the  East  and  in  Russia,  .as  appears  from  the  following 
extract  from  Van  Halen’s  account  of  his  journey  in  that  country  : — ^ 
“  On  the  following  morning  we  left  our  place  of  bivouac,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kuba,  with  the  rising  sun,  and  proceeded  through 
picturesque  fields  covered  with  Rose  trees.  The  exquisite  fragrance 
emitted  by  them,  and  which  the  morning  dew  rendered  more  fresh 
and  grateful;  the  varied  warbling  of  a  multitude  of  birds,  who  had 
their  nests  in  these  delightful  bowers  ;  and  the  sight  of  several 
cascades,  whose  playful  waters  leaned  from  their  steep  summits, 
produced  on  every  sense  an  indesciibable  feeling  of  delight.  One  of 
the  nobles  belonging  to  the  suite  of  Ashan  Khan  made  me  a  present 
of  a  small  flagon  of  oil  extracted  from  these  Roses,  and  which,  when 
some  months  after  I  compared  with  the  best  otto  of  Roses  of  Turkey, 
surpassed  it  in  fragrance  and  delicacy.  Beyond  these  woods  of  Roses 
spreads  an  extensive  forest.” 
Roses,  according  to  Theophrastus  and  Pliny,  were  raised,  in  some 
cases,  from  seeds;  but  they  say  that  the  growth  of  the  plant  when 
so  p'opagated  was  slow  owing  to  the  seea  being  situated  within  the 
bark  under  the  flower,  and  having  a  woolly  covering.  Shoots 
or.  cuttings  were  also  planted,  and  this  mode  of  propagating  the 
plant  was  preferred  to  the  above  because  their  growth  was  more 
rapid. 
The  cuttings,  according  to  Pliny,  were  four  fingers  or  more  in 
length,  and  were  planted  soon  after  the  setting  of  the  Pleiades,  perhaps 
about  April,  and  were  afterwards  transplanted  during  the  following 
spring.  The  young  plants  were  placed  1  foot  distant  one  from  another, 
and  were  frequently  dug  round.  They  required  a  light  soil,  not  rich 
nor  clayey,  nor  one  in  which  there  were  springs.  Their  favourite  soil 
was  ground  covered  with  the  rubbish  of  old  buildings. 
The'  following  account  of  the  cultivation  of  Rose  trees  is  given 
by  Didymus  in  the  “  Geoponics.” 
If  you  wish,  says  the  above  writer,  to  have  a  constant  succession 
of  Roses,  plant  and  manure  them  every  month.  But  Roses  are 
planted  in  various  ways.  Some  transplant  them  with  the  root  entire  ; 
others  take  them  up  with  the  root,  and  cut  them  down  to  the  size 
of  four  fingfrs  in  length,  and  plant  all  that  is  cut  off  the  roots,  and 
what  grows  from  them,  at  the  disiance  of  foot  from  each  other. 
Some  weave  wreaths  of  Rose  plants,  and  plant  them  for  the  sake  of 
their  fragrance.  But  we  ought  to  recollect  that  Roses  will  have  more 
fragrance  when  they  are  grown  in  dry  places,  in  the  same  manner  as 
Lilies  have.  Roses  come  early  both  in  baskets  and  in  pots,  and 
require  the  same  attention  as  Gourds  and  Cucumbers.  If  you  wish 
those  Rose  trees  already  planted  to  bear  flowers  early,  dig  a  trench  two 
palms  in  breadth  from  the  plant,  and  pour  into  it  warm  water  twice  a 
day.  Democritus  says  that  if  a  Rose  is  (thus?)  watered  twice 
every  day,  in  the  middle  of  summer,  it  will  bear  flowt  rs  in  the  month 
of  January.  Florentinus  says  a  Rose  may  be  grafted,  or  in-eyed,  into 
thp  bark  of  an  Apple  tree,  and  that  Roses  will  appear  at  the  same 
time  the  Apples  do.  If  from  a  few  plants  you  wish  to  make 
more,  take  cuttings  of  them,  and,  making  them  four  fingers  or  a 
little  more  in  length,  set  them  into  the  ground.  When  they  are 
a  year  old  transplant  them  at  a  distance  of  a  foot  from  one  another, 
and  tend  them  by  careful  digging,  and  removing  all  the  rubbish  from 
about  them. 
It  was  customary  among  the  ancients  to  cut  back  and  burn  down 
Rose  trees,  by  which  means  the  trees  were  increased  in  size,  and 
produced  a  larger  number  of  flowers.  Theophrastus  says  that  the 
flower  by  these  means  was  rendered  more  beautiful. 
The  Rose,  like  the  Vine,  appears  to  have  grown  most  rapidly  when 
transplanted;  and  Theophrastus  informs  us  that,  when  this  was  done 
frequf'ntly,  a  more  beautiful  flower  was  produced.  The  Rose-tree 
cuttings  required  to  be  put  in  the  ground  deeper  than  young  fruit 
trees,  and  not  so  deep  as  Vines  ;  the  latter  being  sunk  in  the 
earth  to  the  depth  of  2  feet.  Didymus  observes  that  the  fragrance 
of  the  Rose  is  increased  and  improved  by  being  grown  in  the  vicinity 
of  Garlic.® 
The  rarity  of  early  Roses  made  them  valuable,-  and  like  all 
vegetable  productions  obtained  out  of  their  season,  they  were  eagerly 
sought  after,  and  bore  a  high  price. 
“  Kara  juvant :  primis  sic  major  gratia  pomia, 
Hibernae  pretium  sic  meriiere  Rosae." 
Martial,  lib.  4,  epig.  29. 
“  The  rare  delights  ;  we  find  first  Apples  nice, 
And  winter  Roses  bear  a  tenfold  price." 
Elphinston's  trans. 
The  employment  of  warm  water  for  forcing  Roses  has  already  been 
mentioned.  Palladius  and  Seneca  both  allude  to  this  custom,  and 
Pliny  states  that  the  time  when  it  should  be  put  into  practice  is  when 
the  calyx  of  the  Rose  begins  to  sprout.  Columella  and  Plin/  state 
that  it  was  usual  to  cover  plants  with  the  “lapis  specularis”  (talc), 
when  it  was  an  object  to  make  them  produce  their  fruits  early  ;  and 
this  plan  appears  from  Martial  to  have  been  pursued  with  respect  to 
flowers  also : — 
a  “Oondita  sic  pnro  numerantur  lilia  vitro. 
Sic  prohibet  teneras  gemmaf  latere  rosas.” 
Lib.  4„  epig.  22. 
“ So  through  the  crystal  are  the  Lilies  told; 
So  does  the  gem  the  Dlushing  Rose  unfold." 
Elphinston's  trans. 
Before  quitting  this  portion  of  the  subject,  we  must  allude  to  a 
singular  practice  mentioned  by  Didymus  in  the  passage  from  the 
“Geoponics"  above  quoted — namely,  the  weaving  of  wreaths,  and 
planting  them ;  because  Casaubon,  in  his  “  Comments  upon 
Anthenaeus,"  where  a  passage  is  quoted  from  Nicander’s  “  Georgies,” 
in  which  it  is  mentioned  that  frequently  a  complete  crown  made  ot  Ivy 
is  planted,  says,  Ridiculum  est,  .  .  .  interdum  coronam  ipsam 
hederaceum  cum  suis  racemis  esse  plantandam."  It  is  probable  that 
Casaubon  had  not  met  with  the  passage  in  the  “  Geoponics  ”  which 
proves  the  possibility  of  forming  wreaths  thus ;  and,  moreover,  shows 
that  it  was  by  no  means  an  uncommon  practice  to  “  plant  crowns.” 
*  - “  The  Psestan  Rose  unfolds 
Her  bud  more  lovely  near  the  fetid  Leek." 
Ehilips,  Cider,  v.  254. 
t  By  “  gemma  ”  is  to  be  understood  the  talc  with  which  the  Roses  were 
covered*  in  gardens. 
