* This will do for the Southern States. Unhappily, it willnot do in New England.
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Rosa Multiflora.—The parent of this family belongs to Japan and China. With few exceptions, we cannot recommend them to Northern cultivators for growth in the open air, as they bear our winters but indifferently, and, in some cases, are killed outright. Russelliana, or Scarlet Grevillia, blooms in large clusters of a rich, dark lake, changing to various shades of red and lilac, so that the cluster presents a curious diversity of hue. As it is extremely vigorous in growth, it would make an admirable pillar or climbing rose, were it but a little more hardy. It would, no doubt, succeed if the pillar were protected during winter by fastening around it a covering of pine or spruce boughs. These exclude sun, but not air; so that the rose is not exposed to the dangers from dampness which attend a compact mass of straw soaked by rain and snow. As Russelliana bears pruning better than most climbing roses, it may be grown as a bush; in which state it has flourished here for a number of years without protection. De la Grifferaie may also be grown as a bush with perfect success as far North as Boston. It gives a great abundance of blush and rose-colored flowers, forming a high mound of bloom. Laura Davoust forms an admirable greenhouse stock for rafter roses. Indeed, it is well worth a place for its own sake. Its small double flowers of bright pink and flesh-color, changing to white, are produced in large and graceful clusters, beautiful from the varieties of shade which they exhibit. Carmin Velouté, Alba, and Coccinea are also good varieties of this family, the value of which is greatly diminished by the imperfect hardiness of many of its members.
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The following are roses of doubtful parentage, several of them much esteemed abroad; though, for the most part, they have not been sufficiently tried here to establish their merit and their hardiness in our Northern climate. All those named below bear an English winter.
Madame d'Arblay, or Wells's White, is of a light flesh-color, and its growth is exceedingly vigorous. The Garland is of a light fawn-color, changing to white, and blooms in large clusters of double flowers, which turn to pink before fading. Sir John Sebright has small semidouble crimson flowers, a color valuable in a climbing rose, because not very common. Menoux is also crimson. Indica Major is of a pale blush. Among others under this head may be mentioned Astrolabe, Bengale Formidable, Queen, and Clair. The last, however, is but a moderate grower for a climbing rose.
"Among climbing roses, but few can be found that will bear seed in England, the Ayrshire roses excepted, from some of which it is probable that some fine and original climbers may be raised. A most desirable object to obtain is a dark crimson Rosa ruga: this may possibly be accomplished by planting that favorite rose with the Ayrshire Queen, and fertilizing its flowers very carefully with those of that dark rose. It is remarkable, that although these roses are both hybrids, from species apparently very remote in their affinities, yet both of them bear seed, even without being fertilized. The Blush Ayrshire, a most abundant seed-bearer, may also be planted with the Ayrshire Queen, the Gloire de Rosomènes, the Double Yellow Brier, Single Crimson Moss, Celina Moss, the China Rose Fabvier, and its flowers fertilized with the pollen of these roses: if any combination can be effected, pleasing results may reasonably be hoped for. To make assurance doubly sure, the anthers of the Ayrshire Rose should be removed from some of the flowers with which the experiment is tried."—Rivers.
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Rosa Banksia.—This very beautiful and very singular family more resembles in bloom a double Spiraea prunifolia, dwarf almond, or Chinese plum, than a rose. Its shoots are long, flexible, and graceful, and its foliage of a deep, polished green. In the flowering season, each shoot is like a pendulous garland of white, yellow, or rose-colored blossoms, small in size, and countless in number. It is not hardy here, or even in England; but it is one of the few once-blooming roses that are worth training on a greenhouse rafter. We have found it to succeed in a house without fire, with the protection of straw placed around it in winter. It will then bloom in the spring.
This rose is a native of China, and was named in compliment to Lady Banks. In Italy and the south of France it grows to perfection, climbing with an astonishing vigor, and covering every object within its reach. According to the French writer Deslongchamps, there was in 1842 a Banksia Rose at Toulon, of which the stem was, at its base, two feet and four inches in circumference; while the largest of the six branches measured a foot in girth. Its foliage covered a space of wall seventy-five feet wide, and about eighteen feet high; and it sometimes produced shoots fifteen feet long in a single year. It flowered in April and May; from fifty to sixty thousand of its double white blossoms opening at once, with an effect which the writer describes as magical. This remarkable tree was then about thirty-four years old. Deslongchamps also describes another Banksia Rose at Caserta, in the kingdom of Naples, which climbed to the top of a poplar sixty feet high, killed it with its embraces, and mantled its lifeless form with its rich green drapery, and its flowery garlands and festoons of white.
Banksian roses must not be shortened much; for, if they are, they will not bloom. The branches may be thinned out, however, to any degree necessary. The strong, thick shoots of overgrown proportions, and often but half ripened, which they sometimes make towards the end of summer, should be cut out, as they draw too much life from the blooming part of the plant. The same rule will also apply to many other species. These gross and immature shoots occur in many roses, both in the open ground and under glass; and, as they rarely produce good flowers, they should not be suffered to rob the rest of the plant of its nourishment.
The Double White Banksia is the best known, and one of the most beautiful. Jaunâtre Pleine is of a primrose yellow. Jaune Serin is of a bright yellow. Fortune's Banksia has double white flowers, much larger than usual with the species, and is greatly admired. The Yellow Banksia is of a bright yellow, small, and very double. Rosea is of a bright rose, double.
The Banksia is frequently used in greenhouses and conservatories as a stock for other climbing roses; and, in many cases, answers well.
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Rosa Rubifolia.—This native rose has been much improved by Mr. Feast and others, and now has many varieties, some of which are evidently hybrids. The single variety is in itself very attractive; blooming in clusters, which last a long time, and exhibit a pleasing diversity of shade, since the flowers grow paler as they grow old. For our own part, we prefer the parent to most of its more pretending offspring.
All of this family are held in great scorn by transatlantic cultivators. Perhaps the climate of England is unfavorable to them; perhaps national prejudice may color the judgment; or perhaps the fact that a less rigorous climate permits the successful cultivation of many fine climbing roses which cannot well be grown here may explain the slight esteem with which these coarse children of the prairies are regarded. Coarse, without doubt, they are, except those into which another element has been infused by hybridization, accidental or otherwise: and yet our climate forbids us to dispense with them.
The Queen of the Prairies is among those best known and most desirable. Individually, its flowers are as void of beauty as a rose can be. Sometimes they are precisely like a small cabbage,—not the rose so called, but the vegetable,—and they are as deficient in fragrance as in elegance. Yet we regard this rose as a most valuable possession. It will cover a wall, a pillar, a bank, or a dead trunk, with a profusion of bloom, gorgeous as a feature of the garden landscape, though unworthy to be gathered or critically examined. It is perfectly hardy, and of the easiest culture. Those who can make no other rose grow rarely fail with this. The Baltimore Belle is a notable exception to every thing we have said in disparagement of the Prairie roses. It is evidently a hybrid of some tender, ever-blooming variety, apparently one of the Noisettes; and derives, from its paternal parent, qualities of delicacy and beauty which are not conspicuous in the maternal stock. At the same time, it has lost some of the robust and hardy character of the unmixed Prairie. In a severe New-England winter, its younger shoots are often killed back. It shows a tendency to bloom in the autumn; and a trifle more of the Noisette blood infused into it would, no doubt, make it a true autumnal rose. Some florists use it for spring forcing in the greenhouse; for which the delicacy of its clustering white flowers, shaded with a soft, flesh-color, well fits it. When the worthy Rivers, patriarch of English rose-growers, pronounced sentence, ex cathedra, against the whole race of Prairies,—"I will dismiss them with the remark, that none of them are worth cultivating,"—he included in his decree of excommunication one of the prettiest climbing roses in existence.
Anna Maria has very double flowers of pink and rose. Linnæan Hill Beauty bears white and pale blush flowers. Miss Gunnell is pale pink, with a tinge of buff. It is one of the best, though not equal to the Baltimore Belle. Mrs. Hovey has large white flowers; President, deep pink; Triumphant, deep rose; Superba, light pink. Among other sorts are the King of the Prairie, Eva Corinne, Jane, and Seraphim, all excellent for general effect, but not to be classed with the roses suitable for the bouquet or the drawing-room.
The Prairie roses might, no doubt, be greatly improved by hybridizing. Thus, by fertilization with the pollen of the Musk Rose, we should probably obtain an offspring with some of the delicacy and fragrance of that species. Again: by applying the pollen of some vigorous, hardy rose of deep and vivid color, we should improve the color of the Prairie without impairing its hardiness. Hybrid China Paul Ricaut would probably answer well for this experiment. The Baltimore Belle bears seed occasionally; but is so uncertain and capricious in this respect, that it will require no little perseverance in the hybridist.
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THE ROSES of which we have hitherto spoken have but one period of bloom in the year. June is gay with their flowers; but at midsummer their glory is departed, not again to return till a winter of rest has intervened. Various families of roses have, however, the faculty of continuous or repeated blooming. Some remain in bloom with little interruption for a long time; while others bloom at intervals, after periods of rest. These classes are known, with little discrimination, as "Autumnal Roses," "Ever-blooming Roses," or "Perpetual Roses." The French have a name for those blooming at intervals, which is very appropriate. They call them "Remontant Roses,"—Rosiers Remontants,—in other words, roses which grow again. This very well describes them. They make a growth in spring and early summer, and the young wood thus produced bears a crop of flowers. Then the plant rests for a while; but soon begins another growth, which, in turn, bears flowers, though less abundantly than before. The June, or once blooming roses, it is true, make also a first and second growth; but, with them, the second growth gives leaves alone. In the true ever-blooming roses, or roses that bloom continuously, the growth of young wood capable of bearing flowers is going on with little interruption during the whole period when the vital powers of the plant are awake. It is to stimulate the production of this blooming wood that we prune back the shoots that have already bloomed, as soon as the flowers have faded.
It is the possession of a great variety of roses of repeated or continuous bloom that gives to the rose-lovers of our own day their greatest advantage over those of former times. Our forefathers had but very few autumnal roses. The ancient Romans, it seems, had roses in abundance in November and December; but this must have been with the aid of a supreme skill in cultivation, as there is no reason to believe that they were in possession of those Chinese and Indian species, to which the modern florist is indebted, directly or indirectly, for nearly all his autumnal flowers. As these species are by far the most important of the ever-blooming andremontantfamilies, both in themselves and in the numberless progeny of hybrids to whom they have transmitted their qualities, we place them first on our list.
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Rosa Indica.—Rosa Semperflorens.—We include under the head of the Chinese Rose two botanical species, because they are so much alike, that, for floral purposes, it is not worth while to separate them, and because their respective offspring are often wholly undistinguishable. The most marked distinction between the two is the greater depth and vividness of the color of Rosa Semperflorens; though, by a singular freak of Nature, seedlings perfectly white are said to have been produced from it.
China roses will not endure our winters without very careful protection; yet they bloom so constantly and so abundantly, that they are very desirable in a garden. In large English pleasure-grounds, they are sometimes planted in masses, each of a distinct color. They may also be so used here by those who will take the trouble to remove them from the ground in the autumn, and place them in a frame for protection. For this purpose, a hotbed frame may be used, substantially made of plank. It should be placed in a situation where the soil is thoroughly drained either by Nature or Art. The roses are to be placed in it close together, and overlapping each other, to save room; the roots being well covered with soil, and the plants laid in a sloping position. By covering them with boards and mats, they will then be safe from every thing but mice. The most effectual way to defeat the mischievous designs of these pestiferous vermin is to cover, not the roots only, but the entire plants, with earth. The covering of boards and mats must be so placed as to exclude water from rain and melting snow. Tea roses, of which we shall speak under the next head, are, as a class, more tender than the Chinas; and, in order to preserve them, the soil in the frame should be dug out to the depth of a foot, the roses laid at the bottom, and wholly covered with earth somewhat dry. On this earth, after the roses are buried, place a covering of dry leaves some six inches deep, and then cover the whole with waterproof boards or sashes. The leaves alone, if in sufficient quantity, would protect the roses from cold, but, at the same time, afford a tempting harborage for mice, which would destroy the plants, unless buried out of their reach. Thus treated, the tenderest Tea roses will bear the winter with impunity in the coldest parts of New England.
Though China roses are not equal in beauty to some of their hybrid offspring to be hereafter described, they surpass all other roses for pot-culture in the window of the parlor or drawing-room. They are more easily managed than Tea roses, and, though less fragrant, are not less abundant in bloom. No roses are of easier culture in the greenhouse. The varieties of this group are the Bengal roses of the French, and are those familiarly known among us as Monthly roses. They were introduced into England from the East about the beginning of the last century.
Carmin d'Yèeles, or Carmin Superbe, has bright carmine flowers. Cramoisie Supérieure has double crimson flowers, and, like the former, is excellent for pot-culture. Eugène Beauharnais is large, very double, and of a bright amaranth-color, approaching crimson. Fabvier is of crimson scarlet, very vivid and striking. President d'Olbeque is of a cherry-red.
All of the above belong to the Semperflorens species, and are of deep colors. The following are varieties of Rosa Indica. Archduke Charles is of a bright rose-color, gradually deepening as the flower grows older, till it becomes, at times, almost crimson. Cels Multiflora is white, shaded with pink, and flowers very freely. Madame Bréon is of a rich rose-color, very large, double, and compact in form. Clara Sylvain is pure white. Madame Bureau is white, with a faint tinge of straw-color. Mrs. Bosanquet may be placed in this division; for, though it is certainly a hybrid, the blood of the China Rose predominates in it, and characterizes it. It is of a pale, waxy, flesh color, very delicate and beautiful, at the same time large and double. Napoléon is of a bright pink, and the Duchess of Kent is white.
The Dwarf roses, called Lawrenceanas, or Fairy roses, are varieties of the Chinese. They are very small, many of them not exceeding a foot in height, and are used as edging for flower-beds in countries of which the climate is not too severe for them. Like all other China roses, they are very easily grown in pots.
"China roses are better adapted than almost any other class for forming groups of separate colors. Thus, for beds of white roses,—which, let it be remembered, will bloom constantly from June till October,—Clara Sylvain and Madame Bureau are beautiful. The former is the taller grower, and should be planted in the centre of the bed. For crimson, take Cramoisie Supérieure,—no other variety approaches this in its peculiar richness of color; for scarlet, Fabvier; for red, Prince Charles and Carmin Superbe; for deep crimson, Eugene Beauhamais; for blush, Mrs. Bosanquet; for a variegated group, changeable as the chameleon, take Archduke Charles and Virginie; for rose, Madame Bréon. I picture to myself the above on a well-kept lawn, their branches pegged to the ground so as to cover the entire surface; and can scarcely imagine any thing more chaste and beautiful.
"To succeed in making these roses bear and ripen their seed in England, a warm, dry soil and south wall are necessary; or, if the plants can be trained to a fined wall, success will be more certain. Eugène Beauharnais, fertilized with Fabvier, would probably produce first-rate brilliant-colored flowers. Archduke Charles, by removing a few of the small central petals, just before their flowers are expanded, and fertilizing it with pollen from Fabvier or Henry the Fifth, would give seed; and as the object ought to be, in this family, to have large flowers with brilliant colors, and plants of hardy, robust habits, no better union can be formed. China roses, if blooming in an airy greenhouse, will often produce fine seed: by fertilizing their flowers, it may probably be insured. In addition, therefore, to those planted against a wall, some strong plants of the above varieties should be planted in the orchard-house,—the place, above all others, adapted for seed-bearing roses."—Rivers.
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Rosa Indica Odorata.—This is a Chinese species, closely allied to the last named, but more beautiful, far more fragrant, and usually more tender. The two original varieties of it, the Blush Tea and the Yellow Tea, were introduced into England early in the "present century; and between them they have produced a numerous family, than which no roses are more beautiful.
To grow them in the open air, they require,'in the first place, a very thorough drainage. If the situation is at all damp, the bed should be raised some six inches above the surrounding surface; but this will be rarely necessary in our climate. If it rests on a good natural stratum of gravel, this will be drainage sufficient; but, if not, the whole bed should be excavated, and underlaid to the depth of four or five inches with broken stones, broken bricks, or with what is much better than either,—oyster-shells. Over these, sift coarse gravel to prevent the soil from working into their crevices, and on the gravel make a bed somewhat more than a foot deep of good loam, mixed with a nearly equal quantity of light, well-rotted manure, adding sand if the texture of the loam requires it. The bed should be in an open, sunny situation, and sheltered, as far as may be, from strong winds. The Tea roses planted in it—unless they have been exhausted by forcing in the greenhouse—will give a liberal supply of bloom until checked by the autumn frosts.
Many of these roses can be grown to great advantage in a cold grapery, in a bed suitably prepared. They differ greatly in hardiness, and in respect to ease of culture. Some are so vigorous as to form greenhouse climbers, and so hardy as to bear a Northern winter by being simply laid down, and covered with earth, like a raspberry. Of these is Gloire de Dijon, a rose of most vigorous growth, and closely resembling in the shape of its blossoms that matchless Bourbon Rose, the well-known Souvenir de la Malmaison. Its color, however, is very different, being a mixture of buff and salmon. It has one defect,—a crumpled appearance of the central leaves, which gives them a somewhat withered look, even when just open. Five or six large plants of this variety are growing here with the utmost luxuriance on the rafters of a glass house, without fire. In winter they are protected by meadow-hay thrust between them and the glass, and have never been injured by the frost.
For preserving a small number of Tea roses through the winter, an ordinary cellar answers perfectly, provided there is no furnace in it. They may either be potted or "heeled" in earth in a box. A few degrees of frost will not hurt them. Roses and all other plants will bear the same degree of cold much better in a close, still air than in the open sunlight and wind.
The prevailing colors of Tea roses are light and delicate: of the rose-colored varieties, Adam is one of the finest, as is also Souvenir d'un Ami. Moiret is of a pale yellow, shaded with fawn and rose. Bougere is of a deep rosy bronze, large and double. Silène resembles it in color, and is very much admired. Canary is of the color which its name indicates, and its buds are extremely beautiful. Yet, in this respect, no variety can exceed the Old Yellow Tea, which is, however, one of the most tender and difficult of culture in the whole group. Devoniensis is very large, double, and of a pale clear yellow; a very fine rose, but shy of bloom. Gloire de Dijon, already mentioned, is a superb rose, though somewhat wanting in that grace and delicacy, which, in general, characterize this class. Madame Bravy is of a creamy white, and very beautifully formed. Madame Damaizin is salmon, and very free in bloom. Madame William is of a bright yellow, large, and very double. Niphetos is of a pale lemon, turning to snow-white. Safeano is one of the most distinct and remarkable roses in the group. It is of a buff and apricot hue, altogether peculiar. Its buds are beautifully formed; as are also its half-opened flowers, though they are not very double. It is a very profuse bloomer, easy of culture, free of growth, and hardy as compared with most other Tea roses.
"With attention, some very beautiful roses of this family may be originated from seed; but the plants must be trained against a south wall, in a warm, dry soil, or grown in pots, under glass. A warm greenhouse or the orchard-house will be most proper for them, so that they bloom in May, as their hips are a long time ripening.
"For yellow roses, Vicomtesse Decazes may be planted with and fertilized by Canary, which abounds in pollen: some fine roses, almost to a certainty, must be raised from seed produced by such a union. For the sake of curiosity, a few flowers of the latter might be fertilized with the Double Yellow Brier, or Rosa Harrison. The Old Yellow Tea Rose bears seed abundantly; but it has been found from repeated experiments that a good or even a mediocre rose is seldom or never produced from it: but, fertilized with the Yellow Brier, something original may be realized. Souvenir d'un Ami and Adam would produce seed of fine quality, from which large and bright rose-colored varieties might be expected; Niphetos would give pure white Tea roses; and Gloire de Dijon, fertilized with Safrano, would probably originate first-rate fawn-colored roses: but the central petals of the latter should be carefully removed with tweezers or pliers, as its flowers are too double for it to be a certain seed-bearer."—Rivers.
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Rosa Moschata.—This rose is a native of Asia, Northern Africa, and adjacent islands. In Persia it is said to reach a prodigious size, resembling some gorgeous flowering tree. It is said, too, that it is the favorite rose of the Persian poets, who celebrated its loves with the nightingale in strains echoed by their English imitators. Being very vigorous, it is best grown as a climber; but, with us, it requires the shelter of glass. It flowers in large clusters late in summer, and in a warm, moist air, exhales a faint odor of musk.
The Double White Musk has yellowish white flowers of moderate size. Eponine has pure white flowers, very double. The New Double White, or Ranunculus Musk, is an improvement on the Double White, which it much resembles. Nivea, or the Snowy Musk, can hardly be said to belong to the group, as it blooms only once in the year. Ophir, Princess of Nassau, and Rivers, are also good examples of this family.
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Rosa Moschata Hybrida.—Having treated of the China, Tea, and Musk roses, we now come to the hybrid offspring which they have jointly produced. In 1817, M. Noisette, a French florist at Charleston, S.C., raised a seedling from the Musk Rose, impregnated with the pollen of the' common China Rose. The seedling was different from either parent, but had the vigorous growth of the Musk Rose, together with its property of blooming in clusters, and a slight trace of its peculiar fragrance. This was the original Noisette Rose, and it has been the parent of a numerous family; but as it has, in turn, been fertilized with the pollen of the Tea, and perhaps of other roses, many of its descendants have lost its peculiar characteristics, so that in some cases they cannot be distinguished from Tea roses. It is thus that confusion is constantly arising in all the families of the rose; the groups becoming merged in each other by insensible gradations, so that it is impossible to fix any clear line of demarcation between them.
The distinctive characteristic of the true Noisette is blooming in clusters. Different varieties have different habits of growth, some being much more vigorous than others; but the greater part are true climbing roses. Those in which the blood of the Musk and China predominate are comparatively hardy. Many of them can be grown as bushes in the open air, with very little winter protection, even in the latitude of Boston. Two varieties—Madame Massot and Caroline Marniesse—are today (Oct. 16) in full bloom here, where they have stood for several years, with very little precaution to shelter them. Some other varieties, again, strongly impregnated with the Tea Rose, are quite as tender as Tea roses of the pure race.
As rafter-roses in the greenhouse, the Noisettes are unsurpassed.
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Aimée Vibert is one of the prettiest of the group. It was raised by the French cultivator Vibert, who named it after his daughter. The flowers are pure white, and grow in large clusters. Though not among the most vigorous in growth of the Noisettes, this variety is comparatively hardy, and in all respects very desirable. Miss Glegg resembles her French sister, but is scarcely so graceful or elegant. Joan of Arc is a pure white rose, growing very vigorously. Madame Massot, sometimes sold by American nursery-men under the name of Mademoiselle Henriette, bears large clusters of small flowers of a waxy white, faintly tinged with flesh-color. It is one of the hardiest of the group. Caroline Marniesse somewhat resembles it, but is not equal in beauty.
All of the above have very distinctly the Noisette characteristics, as inherited from their parent, the Musk Rose. Those which follow have been hybridized to such a degree with the Tea Rose, that its traits predominate; and though, in some of them, the cluster-blooming habit of the Musk is not lost, the flowers bear, in size, shape, color, and fragrance, a marked resemblance to the Tea. Chroma-tella, or the Cloth of Gold, is, when in perfection, the most beautiful of all the yellow roses; but it is shy of bloom, and difficult of culture. Solfaterre is also a fine yellow rose, much more easily managed than the last. The same may be said of Augusta, a seedling raised from it in this country. Isabella Gray was also raised in America, and is a seedling from the Cloth of Gold, which it rivals in beauty; though, like its parent, it is somewhat difficult to manage. Jaune Desprez, or Desprez's Yellow, is of a sulphur-color tinged with red, very large and fragrant. America is also a large and fine flower of a creamy white; but perhaps the best known of the whole group is Lam arque, in New England the greatest favorite among greenhouse climbers. Its flowers are of a sulphur-yellow, large and double; and its growth is very vigorous.
"But few of the Noisette roses will bear seed in this country: the following, however, if planted against a south wall, and carefully fertilized, would probably produce some. The object here should be to obtain dark crimson varieties with large flowers; and for this purpose Fellenberg should be fertilized with Octavie, Solfaterre with the Tea Rose. Vicomtesse Decazes would probably give yellow varieties; and, these would be large and fragrant, as in Lamarque and Jaune Desprez. In these directions for procuring seed from roses by fertilizing, I have confined myself to such varieties as are almost sure to produce it; but much must be left to the amateur, as many roses may be made fertile by removing their central petals, and consequently some varieties that I have not noticed may be made productive."—Rivers.
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Rosa Damascena.—This is a race of Damask roses endowed with the faculty of blooming in the autumn. The old roses known as the Monthly (not the China roses so called) and the Four Seasons are the parents of the group, though not without some infusion of foreign blood. The Damask Perpetuals are hardy, and remarkable for fragrance. They demand rich culture, even more than most other roses; and the best of them with neglect and low diet will bloom but once in the year, and that indifferently. On the other hand, they repay generous treatment liberally, as some of them are as beautiful as they are fragrant. American nursery-men usually catalogue them among the Hybrid Perpetuals, where they are out of place; since the true Damask Perpetual is not, in any sense, a hybrid, though, as before mentioned, some foreign blood has found its way into the family.
The French rose-grower Vibert has formed a new group, which he calls the Rose de Trianon, out of the Damask Perpetuals; but, as the subdivision seems unnecessary and perplexing, we shall re-annex it to the parent group.
The following are good examples of these Perpetuals: Joasine Hanet has deep purplish-red flowers, very showy. Sydonie bears large flowers of a rose or bright salmon, and blooms profusely. Yolande of Aragon has deep-pink flowers, and is an abundant autumn bloomer. The above belong to Vibert's new division. The following are unquestioned Damask: Crimson, or Rose du Roi, is of a bright crimson, very large, very fragrant, and an excellent autumn bloomer. There is a history attached to it. Count Lelieur was superintendent of the royal gardens of St. Cloud, where this rose was raised from seed, a little before the restoration of the Bourbons. He named it Rose Lelieur, after himself. When Louis the Eighteenth came to the throne, an officer of his household insisted that the new rose should be named after him. Count Lelieur resisted. A debate ensued. The party of the courtiers prevailed: the new rose was called the King's Rose, Rose du Roi; and the count resigned his post in disgust. Mogador is a seedling from this rose, and is, perhaps, an improvement on it. Portland Blanche is pure white, and blooms well in autumn. An English writer sets it down as worthless: whence I infer that there must be two of the same name; for here it lias proved itself one of the most beautiful of white roses. Bernard is a small but very beautiful rose, of a clear salmon-color, and is said to be a sport from the Crimson.
"As the culture of this class of roses," says Rivers, "is at present but imperfectly understood, I shall give the result of my experience as to their cultivation, with suggestions to be acted upon according to circumstances. One peculiar feature they nearly all possess,—a reluctance to root when layered: consequently, Perpetual Damask roses, on their own roots, will always be scarce. When it is possible to procure them, they will be found to flourish much better on dry, poor soils than when budded, as at present. These roses require a superabundant quantity of food: it is therefore perfectly ridiculous to plant them on dry lawns, to suffer the grass to grow close up to their stems, and not to give them a particle of manure for years. Under these circumstances, the best varieties, even the Rose du Roi, will scarcely ever give a second series of flowers. To remedy the inimical nature of dry soils to this class of roses, an annual application of manure on the surface of the soil is quite necessary. The ground must not be dug, but lightly pricked over with a fork in November; after which some manure must be laid on, about two or three inches in depth, which ought not to be disturbed, except to clean with the hoe and rake, till the following autumn. This, in some situations, in the spring months, will be unsightly: in such cases, cover with some nice green moss, as directed in the culture of Hybrid China roses. I have said that this treatment is applicable to dry, poor soils: but, even in good rose soils, it is almost necessary; for it will give such increased vigor, and such a prolongation of the flowering season, as amply to repay the labor bestowed. If the soil be prepared as directed, they will twice in the year require pruning: in November [in March, for this country] when the beds are dressed; and again in the beginning of June. In the November pruning, cut off from every shoot of the preceding summer's growth about two-thirds its length: if they are crowded, remove some of them entirely. If this autumnal pruning is attended to, there will be, early in June the following summer, a vast number of luxuriant shoots, each crowned with a cluster of buds. Now, as June roses are always abundant, a little sacrifice must be made to insure a fine autumnal bloom: therefore leave only half the number of shoots to bring forth their summer flowers; the remainder shorten to about half their length. Each shortened branch will soon put forth buds; and in August and September the plants will again be covered with flowers. In cultivating Perpetual roses of all classes, the faded flowers ought immediately to be removed; for in autumn the petals do not fall off readily, but lose their color, and remain on the plant, to the injury of the forthcoming buds. Though I have recommended them to be grown on their own roots, in dry soils, yet, on account of the autumnal rains dashing the dirt upon their flowers when close to the ground, wherever it is possible to make budded roses grow, they ought to be preferred; for, on stems from one to two feet in height, the flowers will not be soiled: they are also brought near to the eye, and the plant forms a neat and pretty object."
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Rosa Hybrida Bourboniensis.—The China Rose and one of the old Damask Perpetuals, known as the Red Four Seasons, have produced between them a distinct family of hybrids known as the Bourbon roses. They are so called because they were originated on the Isle of Bourbon. One M. Perichon, an inhabitant of that island, in planting a quantity of seedling roses raised for a hedge, found one very different from the rest, and planted it apart. On flowering, it proved to be distinct from any rose before known. Soon after, in the year 1817, a French botanist, M. Bréon, arriving at the Isle of Bourbon as curator of the government botanical garden established there, investigated the case of this remarkable seedling, and became convinced that it was produced between the two species named above; since these were then the only roses on the island, and both were freely used as hedges. M. Bréon sent plants and seeds of the new rose to Paris; and from these have sprung the whole race of the Bourbons,—a race of sweeter savor in horticulture than in history.
They are remarkable as a family for clearness and brightness of color, perfection of form, and freedom of autumnal blooming. Some of them are quite hardy; others are not so in New England. Their growth is various; some climbing vigorously if trained to do so, and others forming compact bushes. Abundance of manure, a deep and well-dug soil, and mulching with newly-cut grass or some similar substance to keep them moist in dry weather, joined to judicious pruning, are needed to bring forth their beauties in perfection. The stronger growers cannot be pruned severely without greatly diminishing the quantity of their bloom; but the ends of tall, strong shoots of the same season's growth may be cut off with great advantage, thus checking their growth, and causing them to throw out small blooming side-shoots.
No roses are better than these where the object is to produce a late autumnal bloom. They may be made to bloom into the winter by pinching off their summer flower-buds, in order that they may not exhaust themselves in that season, and by sheltering them from the frost. For forcing, they are unsurpassed.
Some of the most vigorous varieties would make gorgeous pillar-roses, provided pains were taken to lay them flat, and cover them with earth every winter. Without protection, they would suffer severely in the Northern States.
Acidalie was, till recently, the only white Bourbon; yet it is not pure white, but has a tinge of blush. Of late, another white Bourbon has been added,—Blanche Lafitte,—which is also faintly tinged with flesh-color. Adelaide Bougère is of a rich velvety purple. Du-petit Thouars is of a vivid crimson, large and double. George Peabody is of a purplish-crimson. Louise Odier is a rose of very vigorous growth, and one of the hardier members of the family: its flowers are of a bright rose-color, of a beautiful cupped form; and it has a tendency to bloom in clusters. Prince Albert is still hardier. Its color is a brilliant crimson-scarlet, and its autumn bloom is abundant. Sir Joseph Paxton is of a bright rose-color, tinged with crimson: its growth is exceedingly vigorous; and, with moderate protection, it will bear our winters. Souvenir de la Malmaison is unsurpassed among roses. It is very large, and beautifully formed. It is of a light, transparent flesh-color; and no rose is more admired in a greenhouse. It will also thrive in the open air, and, when the soil is well drained, may safely be trusted to bear a New-England winter, provided it is covered with earth. In a wet soil, it is usually killed. Vorace is of a dark purplish-crimson, and, like the last named, only partially hardy. Hermosa, or Armosa, resembles a China rose in the character and abundance of its bloom. None surpasses it for forcing.
The above will serve as favorable examples of the best types of this group.
"I hope in a few years to see Bourbon roses in every garden; for 'the Queen of Flowers' boasts no member of her court more beautiful. Their fragrance also is delicate and pleasing, more particularly in the autumn. They ought to occupy a distinguished place in the autumnal rose-garden, in clumps or beds, as standards and as pillars. In any and in all situations, they must and will please. To insure a very late autumnal bloom, a collection of dwarf standards, i. e. stems one to two feet in height, should be potted in large pots, and, during summer, watered with manure-water, and some manure kept on the surface. Towards the end of September or the middle of October, if the weather be wet, they may be placed under glass. They will bloom in fine perfection even as late as November....
"It is difficult to point out roses of this family that bear seed freely, except the Common Bourbon; but Acidalie, planted against a south wall, would probably give some seed. * If any pollen can be found, it might be fertilized with the flowers of Julie de Loynes. A pure white and true Bourbon Rose ought to be the object: therefore it should not be hybridized with any other species. Bouquet de Flore may be planted against a south wall with Menoux, with which it should be carefully fertilized: some interesting varieties may be expected from seed thus produced. Queen of the Bourbons, planted with the yellow China Rose, might possibly give some seeds; but those would not produce true Bourbon roses, as the former is a hybrid, partaking of the qualities of the Tea-scented roses. Anne Beluze, planted with Madame Nerard, would give seed from which some very delicate Blush roses might be raised; and Le Florifère, fertilized with the Common Bourbon, would also probably produce seed worthy of attention."—Rivers.