Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/455

 ItOSE 435 rise to another race of climbers ; it is the wild rose of Italy, where, as in other warm climates, it is evergreen, but not so in the north, where some of its varieties are hardy and others ten- der ; it has very bright green leaves, and in its wild state produces an abundance of single white flowers ; its best double variety is feli- cite perpetuelle. The Ayrshire roses, of which there are pink sorts, are varieties of this ; they grow with great vigor, producing shoots 20 to 30 ft. long, and are useful for covering walls, banks, and other objects. The musk rose (R. moschata) is a native of Asia, where it grows to a great size ; its cultivated varieties are treated as climbers by training up their shoots ; the flowers, later than those of any other, are in large clusters, white or yellowish white, and very fragrant, especially in the evening; the " white musk cluster " is the best known vari- ety. The many-flowered rose (R. multiflora), from Japan and China, has furnished a race of climbers, most of which are not hardy north of the middle states ; it has large clusters of small, scentless, white and pale purple flowers ; the Seven Sisters, or Grevillei, is one of the best varieties. The Boursalt roses are sup- posed to be from this, crossed with some hardier species ; they are hardy, rampant grow- ers, with long red stems, and produce a pro- fusion of blush or crimson-purplish flowers, which are odorless. The Banksia or Lady Banks's rose (R. Banksice), from China, is (at the north, at least), only a greenhouse climb- er; it has very glossy foliage, and umbels of double small roses, not larger than the flower of a double cherry, white or buff, and with a violet fragrance. 2. Garden Roses. Under this not very definite title are included those non-climbing kinds which, without regard to their origin, bloom but once in the season ; some of these are but little removed from their normal form, such as the Scotch roses, which originated from the Burnet rose (R. pimpi- nellifolia) of temperate Europe and Asia ; they grow from 1 to 2 ft. high, and are exceedingly prickly ; their leaflets are small, roundish, and smooth, and their small flowers, abundantly pro- duced all along the stem, are about two weeks earlier than other garden roses. The first double variety was found near Perth, Scotland, and has been reproduced abundantly by seed, giving white, pink, and yellow sorts ; there are between 200 and 300 named varieties ; among the most distinct are Countess of Glasgow, pink, William IV., pure white, and Yellow Scotch. The yellow brier {R. eglanteria), closely re- lated to the sweetbrier, produces double yel- low, buff, and orange varieties, among which are Harrison's yellow, the best known yellow rose, but inferior to the Persian yellow. The yellow rose (R. sulphured) of Persia and the far East, also known as the yellow Provence, produces large full double flowers, of a fine transparent yellow ; it is rarely seen in our gardens, it being of doubtful hardiness, and very difficult to cultivate, the buds spoiling be- fore opening. The cinnamon rose (R. cinna- momea), from Europe, is rarely met with ex- cept in old country gardens, from which it has in some places escaped and become partially naturalized ; it has brownish red bark, a few prickles, and small double but badly shaped flowers with a cinnamon-like fragrance ; it is closely related to the wild R. llanda. The white rose (R. alba), from central Europe, is very near the dog rose, and has given sev- eral white and blush varieties. The common summer or June roses are from the French or Provence {R. Gallica), the hundred-leaved or cabbage (R. centifolia), and the damask rose (R. Damascena) ; while these are distinct in their typical forms, they are much confused in the garden varieties, and the most skilled rosarians are unable to trace them to their original species. While these old-fashioned roses have been largely displaced by more re- cent kinds, none exceed them in beauty and fragrance, or in the abundance of flowers during their short season. The pompone or button roses are dwarf, small-flowered forms of the hundred-leaved. The most striking va- rieties are those known as moss roses, in which the glands and bristles upon the flower stalk, and especially upon the calyx, are developed as a substance resembling moss; this was sup- posed to be due to injury by insects, until it was found that the peculiarity was reproduced by seeds. The first moss rose was introduced into England from Holland in 1596, and until early in the present century it was the only va- riety known ; and although more than 100 oth- ers have since been introduced, the old or com- mon moss is not exceeded by any in the abun- dance and beauty of its mossiness. Celina and Lane's are good varieties, and some of the new- er kinds have good flowers when full-blown. A favorite sort, the crested moss (cristata of the catalogues), unlike the others, is said to be a variety of the Provence ; its calyx lobes are fringed by a broad and much cut crest, rather than the fine mossiness of the other kinds. 3. Roses blooming more than once in the season. The most popular garden roses are the remon- tants, more generally known as hybrid perpet- uals, an incorrect name, as they are not per- petual bloomers, but produce abundantly in June, and after a season of rest bloom again in autumn ; they have also been called autumnal roses, but the varieties differ greatly in their ability to flower a second time, and the French term remontant (growing again) is adopted by the best rosarians. This class of roses is the result of various crossings of other classes de- rived from the China or India rose (R. fndica), and includes also a strain of the damask rose ; they have great size, the most brilliant colors, and exquisite fragrance, with perfect hardiness ; the great show roses and those of the rose fanciers are found here, and are the kinds re- ferred to as having so generally superseded the old June roses ; it being a mixed race, va- rieties quite unlike in appearance are com-