DIVISION

I.

TO EMBRACE THE HISTORY OF THE ROSE,

THE FORMATION OF THE ROSARIUM,

AND A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS PRACTICES ADOPTED IN THE SUCCESSFUL

CULTIVATION OF THIS POPULAR FLOWER:

THE SUBJECT ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

CHAPTER I.

THE HISTORY OF THE ROSE.

THE Rose, which is the leading flower of the day, the acknowledged favourite of the two greatest nations in the world, is to be found, in a wild state, very generally spread over the earth's surface.

As if too beautiful to be excluded from the natural Flora of any one of the ancient divisions of the world, it graces alike various countries of Asia, Africa, and North America, and extends over the whole of Europe, where, blooming in its native wildness and simplicity, it is universally prized and admired.

But although the geographical distribution of the various species makes the Rose an inhabitant of nearly the whole of the Northern Hemisphere, some species are far less plentiful than others, or, if plentiful in certain localities, have a less extended range. Here is one, confined to some particular and favoured spots; here another, not content with ranging one quarter of the globe;-the RoSA CANINA for instance, the one most commonly seen adorning our wilds and hedge-rows, is found also in Africa and Asia.

It is a remarkable fact, that Australia has naturally no Roses; and none have yet been found wild very near to, or south of, the Equator. It is in the temperate regions of Asia, and throughout Europe generally, that those species abound, from which nearly the whole of the present garden varieties have sprung. But if we extend our view, we find some growing on the mountains of North America, whose tops are covered with eternal snow; and others in the dreary wilds of Greenland, Kamschatka, and Iceland; while in Siberia there are several interesting species. On the other hand, if we turn to warmer climates, we discover that Mexico, Abyssinia, China, Persia, India, and Egypt have their Roses; and even on the outskirts of the mighty Sahara one species is found, gladdening the approaches to the desert with its clusters of white flowers, though doubtless often

Born to blush unseen,

And waste their sweetness on the desert air.

Who were the first people to bring this flower from its natural habitats, to be a dweller in cultivated grounds, will ever remain a matter of conjecture. Doubtless it attracted the notice of the virtuoso in plants at a very early date; probably b2

when they were merely valued as objects of natural history, or for their medicinal properties. We may follow in imagination the busy doings of the plant-collector in the earliest times; we may fancy him gathering, and fixing in one spot, the beautiful productions scattered around him; and it is natural to suppose that the most beautiful, or most useful, would be the first collected. This surely would give an early date to the civilization of the Queen of Flowers. And doubtless the Rose has a claim to our regard as well for its antiquity, as for its beauty, variety, and fragrance. The famous gardens of Babylon, which are supposed to have existed 2000 years before the Christian æra, would probably number it among its treasures. This, of course, can be but conjecture; though the probability is increased when we consider that the neighbouring country, Persia, has ever been famous for the Roses it naturally produces. In the Sacred Scriptures we read of "him who was to make the wilderness be glad, and the desert to blossom as the Rose" we read also of " the Rose of Sharon," and "the Rose of Jericho."

:

It has been questioned whether the flowers met with in translations of the ancient writers are identical with those known under like names in the present day. Indeed, what is commonly known as the Rose of Jericho, is a little cruciferous plant, with white flowers, very different from our Roses. I do not feel disposed to enter into this question; indeed it would be out of place to do so here: but I would remark, in passing, that the non-existence of the wild forms in those countries, at the present time, is not conclusive evidence to me that they never flourished there; or even were it so, the productions of other countries might have been introduced, to administer to the comforts and enjoyments of this people.

In the Book of Wisdom (chap. ii. ver. 7, 8) the following passage occurs:"Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointment, and let no flower of the spring pass by us. Let us crown ourselves with Rose-buds before they be withered." Hence it is apparent that the practices so common with the Greeks and Romans of crowning themselves with flowers at their Bacchanalian feasts, and on various other occasions, were resorted to in these early times, and most probably were borrowed from the Jews. Again, in the Book of Ecclesiasticus (chap. xxxix. ver. 13) we find the following passage :-" Hearken unto me, ye holy children, and bud forth as a Rose growing by the brook of the field." Homer, the most ancient of all the profane writers, uses the Rose figuratively, both in the Iliad and Odyssey; and above 2000 years have rolled away since Sappho christened it the "Queen of Flowers." Philostratus (Epistle 73), writing of this lyric Poet, says, "Sappho was enamoured of the Rose, and bestows upon it always some distinguished praise: she likens it to the most beautiful of maidens." Such was the Rose then, and it still maintains as distinguished a position. It were scarcely necessary to search the Greek authors for quotations to shew in what esteem that people held our flower. Ancient history, by which their customs are handed down to us, bears sufficient evidence of its popularity. The Rose, with other flowers, was used by them in times of public rejoicings, in their religious ceremonies, and the youth of both sexes wore them in the fêtes.

They consecrated it to Venus, Cupid, Aurora, and also to Harpocrates, the God of Silence. If it was dedicated to Venus as an emblem of beauty, and to Cupid as an emblem of love, we may conjecture wherefore it was also dedicated to the goddess of the morning: it was the symbol of youth. But, beyond this, the Greeks doubtless were alive to the fact, that the Rose is most beautiful at sunrise: then, newly expanded by the breath of morn, there is visible all that freshness, in which consists so much of its peculiar beauty, and which soon vanishes before the radiance of a summer's sun. From its being consecrated to Harpocrates, the God of Silence, probably arose that custom practised in the north of Europe, but now almost fallen into desuetude, of suspending a Rose from the ceiling at convivial or other meetings, to signify that what transpired was of a confidential nature. "The White Rose has long been considered as sacred to silence: over whatever company it was suspended, no secrets were ever revealed, for it hung only above the festal board of sworn friendship. No matter how deep they might drink, or how long the wine-cup might circulate round the table, so long as the White Rose hung over their heads every secret was considered inviolable;-no matter how trivial, or how important the trust, beneath that flower it was never betrayed; for around it was written the sentence

He who doth secrets reveal
Beneath my roof shall never live.

What faith, and what confidence must there have been between man and man in the olden time, when only the presence of a flower was needed to prevent the maligning whisper-to freeze up slander's hateful slime-and destroy that venom, which, when once circulated, proves so fatal to human happiness! Beyond the circle to which the expressive text was assigned that wound about the Rose, not a whisper wandered. The pleasure only was remembered; the painful word forgotten ere it had gathered utterance; or, if remembered at all, it was only as having existed for a moment "under the Rose." Truest test of friendship! inviolable bond of brotherhood! sacred altar, on which heart was sworn to heart! thou didst need no golden chains to bind thee to thy trust; no solemn vow sworn but to be broken. Nothing but a simple White Rose, to bind these men of true hearts and strong faith together!" - The Poetical Language of Flowers, by Thomas Miller. Bogue. London.

Hence, in ordinary conversation, some people, when about to communicate any thing in confidence, announce their intention by the expression, "Sub Rosa.”

Sappho having named the Rose the "Queen of Flowers," other of the Greek writers would naturally consider it a subject worthy of their attention. This was eminently the case. Theocritus, on account of its transitoriness, compares it to the course of human life. The gay Anacreon alludes to it in several of his Odes, calling it "the most beautiful of flowers," "the delight of the gods, "the favourite of the muses"; and says its leaves are full of charms. He speaks of it still more definitively as useful in diseases. The Rose is made the particular