'"^'■"'•|i||ili!il!!> li: -i !»t i ml BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1891 A..2...3..a..jtr.J..3..., ^.J y.2-./a.&.. SB 41 1.8394"" """'"'"'"■"'™'''' "MlSi™?iM±i;,Y' development and c 3 1924 003 413 311 The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003413311 BOOKS FOR THE GARDEN LOVER With 163 Diagrams. Svo. 21s. net. A PRACTICAL GUIDE. TO GARDEN PLANTS. Con- taining descriptions of the Hardiest and Most Beautiful Annuals and Biennials, Hardy Herbaceous and Bulbous Perennials, Hardy Water and Bog Plants, Flowering and Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Conifers, Hardy Ferns, Hardy Bamboos, and other Ornamental Grasses. And also the best kinds of Fruits and Vegetables that may be Grown in the Open Air in the British Islands. With Full and Practical Instructions as to Culture and Propagation. By John Weathers, F.R.H.S., Horticultural Lecturer to the Middlesex County Council. "Every page (and they number 1169) is full of the most modern and accurate information of just the kind that is most helpful." — Garden. " It occupies by reason of its comprehensiveness, convenience of arrangement, and the fulness and accuracy of information, a unique position, and appeals very strongly to the ever-increasing number of amateurs, while in every way suited to the requirements of the general body of practical gardeners." — Gardeners' Magazine. With 20 Coloured Plates from Drawings by Hermann Friese, and 16 Woodcuts. ?>vo. Js. 6d. net. THE AMATEUR GARDENER'S ROSE BOOK. By the late Dr. Julius Hoffmann. Translated from the German by John Weathers, F.R.H.S., N.R.S. Part I. — Classification of Roses ; Annual Flowering and Summer Roses; Summer and Autumn Flowering Roses. Part II. — Raising and Culture of Roses in the Open Air. Part III. — Propagation of Roses. Part IV.— The Forcing of Roses. Part V. — The Different forms of Cultivated Garden Roses. Part VI. — The Raising of New Roses. Part VII. — Alphabetical List of Roses ; Enemies of the Rose ; Index. With 10 Illustrations from. Photographs and Diagrams in the Text. Crown Zvo. 2s. 6d. net. GARDENING IN TOWN AND SUBURB. By Harry H. Thomas, Assistant Editor of The Garden. •• Mr. Thomas (than whom the amateur gardener could wish for no better qualified guide) is nothing if not practical. . . . We confidently commend his comprehensive and well-illustrated handbook to all who desire their gardens to give them pleasure and do them credit." — World. LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. ; New York, Bombay, and Calcutta. ^OOKS FOR THE GARDEN LOVER Fourth Impression. Fifty Coloured Plates. Royal i^o. 42s. net. SOME ENGLISH GARDENS. After Drawings by George S. Elgood, R.I. With Notes by Gertrude Jekyll. 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LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 Paternoster Row, London, E.C.; New York, Bombay, and Calcutta. ROSES KOSA CANINA (Dog Itoae) from Flora Darjica. ROSES THEIR HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT AND CULTIVATION BY THE REV. JOSEPH H. PEMBERTON VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAiTeOSE SOCIETY WITH COLOURED FRONTISPIECE 9 LITHOGRAPHIC PLATES, AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA 1908 All rights reserved TO THE MEMORY OF A DEAR FATHER JOSEPH PEMBERTON A LOVER AND GROWER OF THE ROSE AND TO WHOM THE AUTHOR OWES SO MUCH THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED PREFACE In the latter half of the nineteenth century the rose was regarded primarily as an exhibitor's flower, and books on its cultivation, although useful to all growers, were written chiefly from an exhibitor's point of view. But fashion has changed ; the rose is now extensively grown for garden and house decoration, for which no flower is more adaptable or more popular. Species, hybrids of species, varieties old and new, summer flower- ing and perpetual, roses for pillars and pergolas, for bedding purposes and specimen bushes, all are in demand. The rose-grower's horizon is wider than it used to be, and it is in the hope of affording assistance in the cultivation of these many and varied classes of the Rose this book is offered. Among the many kind friends who have assisted me in the preparation of this book, I am greatly indebted to Alexander Dickson & Sons of Newtownards, the eminent raisers of new roses, to whom I submitted the chapter on hybridisation; to Dr. Cooke, the author of " Fungoid Pests of Cultivated Plants," for his assistance in preparing the chapter on rose pests ; to Mr. George Mount, of Canterbury, well known for his beautiful roses grown under glass ; and by no means least of all to X PRjEFACE Mr. E. T. Cook, the editor of The Garden, for reading the work in manuscript and giving me most valuable help. I also tender my acknowledgments to the firm of George Bell & Sons for permission to make extracts from excellent works, "The Soil and its Management," by Dr, Fream, and " Manures and their Uses," by Dr. Griffiths ; to the Royal Horticultural Society for extracts from the " Report of Conference on Hybridisation," and the sketch of mildew growth; to the Director of the Kew Herbarium for assistance and permission to copy plates of roses. I am also indebted to Mr. W. Paul's book, " The Rose Garden," and to Mr. T. Rivers' " Rose Amateur's Guide," and other authorities on the subject, a list of which is given at the end of the book. The sketches from which reproductions have been made, appearing in chapters on budding and pruning, are the work of my sister, Florence Pemberton. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . PART I THE ROSE CHAPTER I The Rose, the Flower op England CHAPTER II The Botany of the Rose PAOB xix CHAPTER III British Wild Roses 20 E. spinosissima, E. pomifera, E. involuta, E. rubiginosa, E. hibemica, E. canina, E. arvensis. CHAPTER IV Wild Roses of other Countries 34 E. alpina, E. bracteata, E. moschata, E. moschata grandiflora, E. multiflora, E. rubrifolia, E. setigera, E. rugosa, E. brunonii, E. macrophylla, E. ecse, E. lutea, E. wiohu- raiana, E. altaica, E. banksia. xii CONTENTS CHAPTER V PAOB Summbr-Floweeing Eoses 55 The Provence or Cabbage — The Miniature Provence — The . Moss — The Perpetual Moss — The French or Galilean — The Damask— The White— The Hybrid China— The Hybrid Bourbon — The Austrian Brier— The Scotch Brier — The Perpetual Scotch — The Hybrid Sweet-brier — The Ayrshire — The Boursault — -The Evergreen — The Climbing Multiflora. CHAPTER VI Autumn-Floweeing Roses ...... 80 The Hybrid Perpetual— The Hybrid Tea— The Bourbon Per- petual—The China — The Tea-scented — The Noisette — The Dwarf Polyantha— The Japanese — The Perpetual Scotch — The Perpetual Moss. PART II CULTIVATION CHAPTER VII The Soil and its Treatment . . . . .111 Composition : Sand, clay, limestone, humus — Texture — Moisture — Fertility — Water — Drainage — Trenching — Tilth. CHAPTER VIII Manures 128 The Requirements of the Rose— The Composition of the Soil — The Composition of the Manure— Farmyard Dung- Auxiliary Manures. CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER IX PAGE Planting 149 Situation — Selection : Time of Ordering ; Treatment on Arrival — Time of Planting : Condition of the Plant ; Texture and Condition of the Soil ; Temperature of the Soil— Planting Dwarfs : In a Bosarium ; on Lawns ; Singly or in Borders — Planting Standards — Labelling and Registration — Protection. * CHAPTER X Pruning 176 Greneral Remarks — Object of Pruning — Pruning and Thinning " — Tools for Pruning — Time for Pruning — Pruning tor Exhibition — Pruning Decorative Roses. CHAPTER XI Budding . . 196 Stocks : Manetti, Cutting Brier, Seedling Brier, Multiflora, De la Grifferse, Standard Briers — Planting Stocks- Budding Dwarfs : Preparing Stocks, Selecting Scions, Cutting and Preparing Buds, Cutting Stocks, Inserting Buds, Binding — Budding Standards. CHAPTER XII Cuttings, Grafting, Layering 218 Cuttings : Under Glass, Summer and Autumn Propagation ; in the Open : with a Heel, without a Heel — Grafting : Whip-grafting, Cleft-grafting, Wedge-grafting— Layer- ing — Suckers. CHAPTER XIII Raising Roses from Seed 229 Hybridisation and Cross-breeding — The Reproductive Organs of the Rose — Self-fertilisation — ^Artificial Fer- tilisation—Selection of Parents— Treatment of Seed- Treatment of Seedlings. xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER XIV PAGE Growing for Exhibition 246 Staking and Tying Dwarf Maidens — Staking and Tying Standard Maidens — Thinning — Disbudding — Tying the Blooms — Shading. CHAPTER XV Exhibiting 260 Exhibition Roses : Boxes, Cutting, Water, Staging, Arrival at the Show, Dressing — Decorative Roses : Cutting, Bunchingy Packing, Staging. CHAPTER XVI Judging 278 CHAPTER XVII Geowing Roses under Glass 285 CHAPTER XVIII Pests 291 Caterpillars— Aphides— Frog-hoppers — Earwigs — Saw-flies ^Rose Weevils— Iilildew— Leaf-spot— Black Blotch — Red Rust — Brand — Tumour. APPENDIX Descriptive List of selected Roses recommended for Cultiva- tion, and Method of Pruning. INDEX 307 331 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES Rosa Canina (Dog-Rose). Coloured . . Frontispiece From " Flora Danica." Rosa Damasckna Vabiegata (half natural size). "York and Lancaster" .... Tofaap. 3 From " Les Soses,' par J. P. Redouti. Rosa Spinosissima (natural size). The Parent OF THE Scotch Briers ... ,,20 From B. C. Ar^rewi' " Monograph." Rosa Arvensis (natural size). The Parent of THE Atrshires .... ,,32 From Sowerby's " Botany.'' Rosa Moschata (natural size). One of the Parents of the Noisettes ... ,. 40 From H. C. Andrews' "Monograph.'' Rosa Muitiflora (natural size). The Parent of the Ramblers . . . . ,, 44 From " Oarden and Forest." Rosa Gaxlica (half natural size). One of the Parents of the Hybrid Perpetual . ,, 64 Froni " Les Soses,'' par J. P. Redouti. XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Rosa Damascbna Italica (half natural size). " Rose of the Four Seasons." One of THE First Perpetuals . . . • From " Let Bosei^' par J. P. Redoute. RoBA BouRBONiANA (half natural size). " Rosier de L'Ilb de Bourbon." The Paeent of the Bourbons From " Les Boies," pwr J. P. RedouU. Rosa Indica Odorata (natural size) From H. C. Andrews' " Monograph.'' To face p. 80 90 96 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT Fia. PAOE Rosa Lyelli {from Lindley's " Rosa MonograpJda ") . 9 1. Diagram showing the Mode of Formation of a Local Soil 112 2. The Planet JR. Hoe 127 3. Lateral Growth 179 4. French Secateurs .181 5. The Levin Secateurs (American) . . 181 6. Pruning Shears 182 7. Maiden Plant awaiting Pruning . . . .184 8. Cut-Back Thinned ... ... 184 9. Out-Back Pruned Hard ... . 186 10. Out-Back with old Wood left .... 186 11. The Place to Prune 187 12. Blush Rambler; showing Method of Thinning . 191 13. DwAEF Stock . . 208 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii FlO. FASH 14. Scion .... ... 209 15. Budding Knife . . . . 209 16. Bud as Cut fhom Scion . .... 211 17. How TO Hold the Bud . .... 211 18. Bud with Wood Removed 212 19. Bud with Bark Trimmed ready for Insertion in Stock 212 20. Stock Prepared to Receive Bud . . . .213 21. Bud Inserted in Stock . . . . .213 22. Method of Bandaging 215 23. Cutting with a Heel 219 24. Prepared Cutting, without a Heel . . . 220 25. Cleft-Grafting 225 26. Layering 227 27. Section of a Rose, showing Principle of Fertili- sation 233 28. West's Rose Protector 258 29. Foster's Tube and Rose Support . . . 265 30. The Rose Aphis (magnified) ..... 294 31. Rose Weevil (magnified) 299 32. Rose Mildew (Sphierotheca pannosa) . . . 301 INTRODUCTION Dean Hole, with whom I first became acquainted by meeting him in friendly competition in the " Wars of the Roses," has left it on record that his love for the rose was the result of a sudden conversion — a certain Gallica rose converted him. I do not think there was any sudden conversion, or conversion at all, in my case ; I was raised in a rose atmosphere, and loved the rose when a child in petticoats. We had a kind old man as gardener. I never knew his name until when my gi-andmother died he was pensioned off; we just called him "gardener," nothing more. He would bud red and white roses on the same standard, and the combination of Gloire de Dijon and Souvenir de la Malmaison was a favourite one of his. He used to make up such delightful birthday bunches, all composed of sweet smelling flowere. The style of those nosegays was early Victorian : a round, closely packed bunch of flowers, no foUage except as a border. Slightly raised in the centre would be a few blooms of Duchess of Sutherland, around which were rings of other roses, such as L^opoldine d'Orl^Ans, F^Ucit4 et Perpetu^, Aim^e Vibert, or white pinks, with possibly a ring of pink ones to match the centre, to give the bunch a finish, and, after a considerable amount of bast had thus far XX INTRODUCTION been consumed, the whole was encircled by a frill com- posed of scented foliage of geranium. Just imagine how delicious was the perfume of a bunch like this What would he have thought of the modern scentless roses ! We had other roses in the garden besides those mentioned, but the old ones were bushes on borders or in odd comers, where they had been thrust to make room for the then more fashionable standard — bushes of Maiden's Blush, Old Cabbage, Red Provence, Tuscany, Lucida, Alpina, the Old Monthly, the Common Moss, and others. We did not in those days trouble about names ; we gave them names of our own, such as " Aunt Helen's Rose," Aim^e Vibert; "Grandmother's Rose," the little Rose de Meaux ; " Aunt Betsy's Rose," the common red China, and others. I do not like using the term common; the roses were not common in our eyes. In the centre of flower beds and along the borders of the middle walk of the walled-in kitchen garden we had standard roses in company with goose- berry and currant bushes. Some that I can recall to mind were, Sir Joseph Paxton, Mrs. Bosanquet, La Reine, Madame Laffay, Jules Margottin, G^nerale Jacqueminot, and two perpetual-flowering moss roses, Madame Ory and Salet. Of course, we had several standards of Gloire de Dijon and Souvenir de la Malmaison — everybody had, they bloomed so early and so late. My early recollections of church-going are associated with roses. We went every Sunday morning to an old Queen Anne church : ours was a square pew ; the pew- opener, a woman, walked before us, opened the pew door INTRODUCTION xxi and shut us in. We sat round facing one another, but could not see anything except the gallery having the royal arms in the centre, the children who sat there with the village schoolmaster, who was also parish clerk and gave out the hymns. When standing-up time came I had to stand on the seat to see over the top of the pew. In a neighbouring pew there was a gentleman who appeared every Sunday with a rose in his buttonhole ; I admired that rose, and resolved to wear as good if not a better one the next Sunday. During the week I was on the look-out for a suitable one, and when Sunday came again it was gathered — Moss, Wliite-crested Moss, Red Provence at first, and then Baron de Maynai'd or Boule de Neige were favourites. I appeared with my bloom, and when the time came to mount the seat compared it with the rose in the button- hole of my rival. The result of the judging was usually adverse to me, but I always went home hoping for better luck next time. My flowers were handicapped by the staging ; you see, I was in petticoats at first and wore a light-coloured Norfolk jacket, large mother-of-pearl buttons down the front, and a belt. My rival had a black coat, and the rose had a buttonhole all to itself; there is nothing like black to set off a rose, especially when added to this the flower did not have to share the buttonhole with a large button. I was quite aware of the drawback, and longed for the time when I might have a cloth jacket with a buttonhole at the side. Then came a time when I had a small garden of my own. There were three standards in it — red roses ; I did my own pruning, but they hardly ever gave me xxii INTRODUCTION a Sunday buttonhole ; the situation was too shady, and thete were laurels close by. When about twelve years of age my father showed me how to bud. My first attempt was to bud a White-crested Moss; it was a failure, however ; father said the stock did not run, but I am now inclined to think the budder bruised the bud. My father used to go to the Crystal Palace rose show, and sometimes took me with him. On one occasion I had in my buttonhole a grand bloom of Marie Baumann. I remember that flower so well, and how the people seemed to look at it as we walked over London Bridge together; I felt sure by the way they looked that we should not see a better one at the show. I liked those visits ; they meant more standards in the autumn from Rivers. Not that father relied altogether on what he had seen at the show ; before ordering them he would consult a man who budded for Rivers. He kept pace with the times, and had a book which he read a good deal, " The Rose Amateur's Guide," by Thomas Rivers : I have it still. Some of the roses we then had as standards were, Senateur Vaisse, G^n^rale Jacqueminot, John Hopper, Comtesse de Chabrillant, and Madame Bravy. When going back to school in September, I used to take with me a pointed flower of Souvenir de la Mal- maison, packed in an empty barley-sugar tin; it kept fresh in that tin box for a long time, and daily I would take it out, admire it, and recall happy memories of home of which it reminded me. Brown and battered I brought it home with me at Christmas. The peculiar perfume of a Souvenir de la Malmaison — a kind of beery smell — reminds me to this day of the rose in the barley- INTRODUCTION xxiii sugar box ; and although so long ago the standard from which those blooms were gathered is with us still. My father, however, never exhibited, but in the summer of 1874, the summer that followed his death, I ventured on my first attempt. I went round the standards the day before the show and found we could just get twelve varieties. Assisted by the gardener we borrowed a chrysanthemum stand with legs and tubes ; we covered the board with lycopodium on which the roses rested, cut with foot-stalks only, no foliage; the man said that was the proper way to do it, but having been to the Crystal Palace, I had my doubts. Although we had only the twelve roses and did not take any extra blooms, yet the stand won second prize. That did it; from henceforth I was on the warpath; fifty standards were ordered from Rivers, and a piece of the kitchen garden was prepared where they could grow all by them- selves free from gooseberry bushes. The next year I went to two local shows, and in 1876 to the Alexandra Palace and Crystal Palace exhibitions, where Mr. Ben- jamin R. Cant and Mr. George Prince took me in hand, giving me advice in staging and kindly encouragement. So that now I can look back upon thirty-two years of rose-showing, and to having exhibited at every metro- politan show of the National Rose Society, including the first, held at St. James's Hall, and at which I was awarded second prize for twelve roses in a class in which there were forty competitors. A word or two on the return into favour of the decorative roses. I know you wiU dub me an egotist, but bear with me. In the days of which I have been xxiv INTRODUCTION writing exhibition roses only were staged ; there was no class provided for the old-fashioned roses — they, like Cinderella, were left at home. One year, I forget which, when the National Rose Society held its exhibition at South Kensington, round the corridors that ran into the conservatory then adjoining the Albert Hall, I took up a box of Cinderellas — Maiden's Blush, Aim^e Vibert, Rosa Mundi, Red Provence, and Lucida were some of them — and staged them, not for competition, labelled " Grand- mother's Roses." That box attracted considerable atten- tion ; folks discovered old and forgotten favourites, and I have been told the demand for them and impetus given to raise the modern decorative roses is owing in part to that exhibit. Pardon these personal recollections, and please under- stand that they are given simply that you may see how I served my apprenticeship, and why this book has been written. PART I THE ROSE ROSA DAMASCENA VARIEGATA (half natural size). "YORK AND. LANCASTER." From 'Lcs Eases,' par J. P. Redouts. ROSES CHAPTER I THE EOSE, THE FLOWER OP ENGLAND " You violets that first appeare, By your pure purple mantles known, Like the proud virgins of the yeare. As if the spring were all your owne ; What are you when the Rose is blown ? " — Sir Henry Wotton. Yes, what are violets, and not violets only but all other flowers " when the Rose is blown " ? Rightly has the rose been taken as the symbolic flower of England. What flower more popular ? What flower has a longer season ? Bear in mind the rose is not an exotic ; the original species being all included between the 70 th and 20th degrees of northern latitude. Half the known species come from Asia; from the Russian empire and countries adjacent, from Persia, Northern India, China, and Japan. Europe, it is stated, has twenty-five species, of which five-sixths exist between the 50th and 40th degrees of latitude. Great Britain claims sixteen, Denmark seven, so that in the United Kingdom and in the country of our beloved Queen the rose of nature is quite at home. How glorious in June are the country lanes of 4 ROSES England ; grand arching sprays of Bosa canina are found everywhere, bearing flowers of the palest pink to deeper red according in part to the nature of the soil in which the plant is growing. And there is the arvensis of the woodlands, spinosisdma of the moors, and ruUginosa, better known as sweet-brier, or, as our Essex children call it, " Sweet Maria," some of the best known wild roses of England with which Flora decks our way. As the emblem of youth the rose was dedicated to Aurora ; of love and beauty to Venus. It was given by Cupid as a bribe to Harpocrates, the god of Silence, from whence originated the custom among northern nations — the rose countries — of suspending a rose from the ceiling at meetings where secrecy was enjoined and matters discussed svib rosa and doubtless it thus found a place in our early national councils. Roses were employed by Roman emperors as a means of conferring honours on their most famous generals, granting them permission thereby to add a rose to the ornaments of their shields. Vestiges of this may still be seen in some armorial bearings. At the present time the rose is used by his Holiness the Pope when desiring to confer special recognition on a sovereign, church, sanctuary, or country. " The Golden Rose," as it is called, used to be a single flower, but it now comprises several flowers and leaves of pure gold, with a principal flower at the top; the flower an emblem of the mortality of the body, the metal the immortality of the soul. The first instance on record of this gift is when, in 1366, Urban V. presented it to Joanna of Navarre. It was conferred on Henry VIII, THE ROSE, THE FLOWER OF ENGLAND 5 of England in his young days, before he came under evil influence, for the book he wrote in defence of the sacraments. Mary I. was another recipient. "Somewhere about the year 1277," says M. Opoix, an old French authority on the rose, " a son of the King of England, Count Egmond, who had taken the title of Comte de Champagne, was sent by the King of France to Provins, with troops, to avenge the murder of the mayor of the city, who had been assas- sinated in some tumult. He remained at Provins for a considerable period, and on his return to England took for his device the red rose of Provins, which Thibault, Comte de Brie, had brought from Syria, on his return from a crusade some years before." This Egmond was Edmund Langley, second son of Henry III. of England, and first Earl of Lancaster. Here we have the origin of the badge of the House of Lancaster, adopted long before the Wars of the Roses. It is not certain whether the rose in question was B. gallica, sometimes called " Rosier de Provins," or B. damascena, the wild rose of Damascus, for both were cultivated at Provins. As to the rose known as " York and Lancaster," of which we shall have more to say later, Nicholas Monardi, a writer of the early seventeenth century, in his mono- graph on the roses of Persia, shows that it was known in England in 1575, and describes the flowers as "inter album et rubrum medium colorem sortiuntur." We re- cognise it under this description ; it is moreover possible to find on a bush flowers wholly deep pink and wholly white, and Shakespeare may therefore have some ground for the following incident : — 6 ROSES In the Temple Garden Plantagenet. Let him that is a true-born gentleman, And stands upon the honour of his birth, If he suppose that I have pleaded truth, From o£E this brier pluck a White Rose with me. Somerset. Let him that is no coward nor no flatterer, But dare maintain the party of the trutli, Pluck a Eed Rose from off this thorn with me. Warioick. I love no colours ; and without all colour Of base insinuating flattery, I pluck this White Rose with Plantagenet. Suffolk. I pluck this Red Rose with young Somerset ; And say withal, I think he held the right. Vernon. Stay, lords and gentlemen ; and pluck no more Till you conclude — that he, upon whose side The fewest Roses are cropped from the tree Shall yield the other in the right opinion. Somerset. Good master Vernon, it is well objected ; If I have fewest, I subscribe in silence. Plantagenet. And I. — Henry VI., Act ii. scene 4. And this reference to the Wars of the Roses brings to mind an incident of local history. From the time of Saint Edward, King and Confessor, to the reign of Charles II., there were in Havering-atte-Bower two royal residences : The Bower, in Havering Park, the hunting- box of the reigning sovereigns, and Pyrgo Palace, the dower-house of the Queens-Consort. When Edward IV. of the House of York married Elizabeth, widow of Sir John Grey, a Lancastrian knight, the manor of Pyrgo was made over to her, and her adherence to the House of York was to be attested by a graceful act. Elizabeth held the manor on payment annually of a certain fee: that of presenting the King every year in the rose month THE ROSE, THE FLOWER OF ENGLAND 7 a white rose on the feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist. This was a yearly reminder to Elizabeth and evidence to the King's supporters that, although she was once the wearer of the Red Rose, now as Queen-Consort of Edward IV. she belonged to the House of the White Rose. The rose was doubtless gathered in Pyrgo Palace gardens. Thus Elizabeth was the Rose Queen of Havering- atte-Bower. CHAPTER II THE BOTANY OF THE ROSE Before proceeding to treat of the various rose species or families, an elementary botanical knowledge of the rose will be helpful. In most gardens where space is afforded for shrubs, especially if it is an old garden, the English dog-rose, or Bosa canina, is certain to be found growing. It may have been planted, it may have been sown by birds, or, what is more likely, it is the original stock on which a cultivated summer-flowering, hybrid china, or hybrid perpetual was once budded. The rose is dead ; the stock remains, and, freed from its trammels, is flourishing on its own account. Here it is, growing out of and above a clump of rhododendrons. Let us examine it closely. Notice first of all the long shoots which the plant is sending up from its base. These strong growths are called surculi, and are made, in the case of R. canina, in July and August, or as soon as the crop of flowers is over. By producing these shoots the plant is providing for next year's flowering. Of pruning we shall deal later on, but it may not be out of place to note in passing that all summer-flowering varieties — and by summer- flowering varieties is meant varieties that have only one crop of flowers — send up these strong growths as soon as the flowering season is over. As it is from 8 BOSA LYELLI (from lAndley's "Rosa Monographia") A. Prickles. — B. Pubescence. — C. Stipules, — D. Bracts. — E. Calyx.- F. Petals. — G. Stamens. — H. Footstalk. — I. Leaf, seven-foUate. THE BOTANY OF THE ROSE 11 these shoots the next year's crop of flowers is to come, it is a great mistake to prune them — a point overlooked by many people. Next examine the older and harder-looking shoots, the surculi of last year. These shoots have started into growth at certain distances from base to tip. This was done in the spring. These secondary shoots are known as hranchlets or laterals. From the tips of the branchlets, in the majority of rose species, come the flowers; but in the case of the B. canina, which we are now in- specting, and indeed of all brier roses, it is not so. Unlike other roses, the brier produces its flowers from a third growth, about 6 inches in length, starting from the branchlet. It is important to remember this when pruning or thinning plants of any of the brier order. We now come to the thorns on the shoots. Thorns of all kinds, large and small, with which this and other species are furnished, are termed arms, because the plant is armed with thorns to protect it from many of its enemies. The largest of these thorns are called prickles. Those of the H. canina are broad at the base where they spring from the shoot, and instead of being straight are curved or hooked. It is from the shape of these prickles, shaped like a dog's tooth, that the name canina is supposed to be derived. In determining the classifica- tion of any given species the prickles are an important feature, regard being given to their shape, colour, and position on the stalk. In addition to the prickles there are frequently found many smaller arms. Comparatively few in the dog-rose; but in some species the wood is so thickly 12 ROSES clothed with them that it is difficult to grasp the stem. These smaller thorns are termed setce. And smaller arms even than setce, with which not only the wood but also the leaf is covered, are known as glands. Pass your finger lightly along the under side of the dog-rose leaf, and these glands are at once detected. Some kinds of roses, notably the moss rose, are literally covered from head to foot with glands. These are the secreting organs from which, as in the case of JR. ruUginosa and B. alpina, for instance, a distinctive perfume is derived. And this does not exhaust the armature of the rose ; there is something more minute than glands, for we can detect on wood, leaf, and calyx of some species a kind of downiness caused by the presence of short hairs. This is termed pubescence, the presence or absence of which affording great help in naming the rose. These hairs give rise to the following botanical terms : pubescent, when the hairs are short, soft, and thinly placed ; pilose, when they are long, soft, and thinly placed; tomentose, when they are short, soft, and closely placed ; villous, when they are long, soft, and thickly placed ; hirsute, when they are long, harsh, and thickly placed. Leaving the wood, we must now inspect the leaf. Every one who exercises the power of observation even to a limited extent is aware how much the leaves of different species, and of hybrid roses also, vary both in form, shade, and texture, so that it is quite possible even for the beginner in the science of rose-culture to name a particular rose from the leaf almost as easily as from the flower. For instance, a friend brings you a red hybrid perpetual to name. From the flower you have an THE BOTANY OF THE ROSE 13 idea that it is Duke of Edinburgh, but you have your doubts ; it is variable in colour. You at once look at the leaf; there is no mistaking the leaf of Duke of Edinburgh, it is perfectly distinct from the leaf of any other hybrid perpetual, and if you have never observed this, get a leaf and see for yourself. There are parts of the leaf of considerable value in determin- ing the classification of species. These are the small leafy strips starting and growing up the sides of the leaf- stalk, and are called stipules. As a practical illustration, examine the leaf of Gustavo Piganeau, hybrid perpetual. Here again there is no necessity for having a flower before you, the rose is recognised at once by the distinc- tive formation of the stipules ; they are lyre-shaped. In the space between the leaves and the foot-stalk of the flower are found a sort of malformed leaves like broad blades of grass. These are called bracts, and are very characteristic of certain species. It is from the axils of these bracts that the flowers grow. Another variable feature of the rose, apart from the actual flower, is the hep or fruit. In the dog-rose before us, as we all know, it is red and oval in shape. In the sweet-brier the fruit is a darker red and less oval. In some varieties it is long like a sausage, as in R. alpiria, or like a dark-red gooseberry, as in S. forrdfera, whilst in others, as in B. spinosissima, it is quite round, almost purple or black There is as much if not more variation in the fruit of the rose as there is in the apple, and as the fruit remains on the plant until far into winter, and long after the plant has shed its leaves, the fruit greatly assists us in the determination of the variety. 14 ROSES Let us now turn our attention to the flower itself. Examine a bloom of B. eanina. It consists of two prin- cipal parts: the floral envelope and the sexual organs. The smooth stem starting from a joint at the last leaf or bract is called the foot-stalk. It terminates with a green urn-shaped pod termed the calyx. The diagram on page 233, giving a section of the rose, will assist us in under- standing its formation. Springing from the calyx, and strictly speaking part of it, are the sepals (a), five in number, serving as the outer covering of the organs of reproduction. A variety with long and broad sepals, which completely envelop the bud up to the very tip in its early stage, as in the case of hybrid perpetual Mrs. John Laing, is more proof against frost and other climatic changes than, for in- stance, hybrid perpetual Charles Lef^bvre, where the sepals are short and narrow, and which therefore fail to protect the petals entirely. The petals (h), likewise five in number, serve as the inner covering of the reproductive organs until these are fully developed. Then the petals unfold and expand. In popular estimation the petals are the principal part of the flower, but nature, as we have already stated, intends them as the inner wrapping to the more delicate parts ; those which are absolutely essential to fructification. When the flower is young the petals are packed tightly together, and are shapeless, like the wings of a butterfly or moth just emerging from the chrysalis. And just as the wings of the butterfly, in the first few minutes after its development as the perfect insect, expand and smooth out in all its beauty, so do the petals of the H, eanina THE BOTANY OF THE ROSE 15 and other single flower roses. To know the age of a blossom of a single-flowering variety we must look at the stamens. When the flower is young the stamens are a bright golden yellow, but after a few hours, in the case of B. eanina and many others, they turn black and the flower loses its freshness. This is especially noticeable in B. muUiflora simplex. In gathering fully expanded single- flowering roses, therefore, the condition of the stamens should be noticed. If these are bright the flower is one of to-day, if dull or black the flower is one of yesterday's blooms ; it is old and will soon drop its petals. The stamens (c), to which we have already alluded, consist of stalks or filaments and a head or anthers con- taining a yellow powder named pollen. The pistils {d) are hollow tubes numbering between fifteen and twenty, which spring up from the seed-pods or ovaries contained in a hard case called pericarps (e). The pistils in some species are surrounded by a ring or disc. Each pistil has at the tip a viscid secreting space termed the stigma. The pollen of the anthers falls upon the stigma, and descending the tube of the pistil fertilises the seed in the ovary. This process, when confined to the stamens and pistils of the same flower, is called self- fertilisation, but when the pollen of one species is placed upon the stigma of another, it is termed cross-fertilisation. It is by cross-fertilisation, performed artificially, that we now obtain the best of the new varieties of roses. But the further consideration of this process we must defer for another chapter. From the study of authorities, the botanical classifi- cation of the genus Bosa seems to present as much 16 ROSES difference of opinion to the botanist as that of the culti- vated inter-bred rose does to ordinary rose-growers. I offer no opinion, but have thought it best to follow the classification on the lines laid down by the late M. Crepin, one of the greatest of authorities, and given in the valu- able list of roses, cultivated by M. Gravereaux at L'Hay, published at the office of the Journal des Hoses. Rose species are grouped in sections according to the special characteristics of the wood, prickles, foliage, flowers, and fruit ; it will be sufficient for our purpose to enumerate them, adding a few brief remarks. Section. Characteristics. I. SynstylcB . . These roses and stylosce are perfectly distinct from all the rest in that the styles, instead of being free, are united, and rise above the disc in a slender column about the same length as the interior stamens. In the syndylcB the inflorescence, or the manner in which the flowers are arranged, is many flowered ; stems long, climbing or creeping. II. Stylosce . . . Inflorescence generally few-flowered ; prickles stout, curved. III. Indices . . . Styles free and rise above the disc about half the length of the interior stamens ; sepals reflexed; inflorescence generally several- flowered. IV. Banksice . . Styles free; sepals reflexed after flowering; stem unarmed, with slender climbing shoots ; inflorescence many-flowered in a false umbel ; leaves free from pubescence, except at base. V. GalliccB . . . Styles and sepals as No. IV. ; stems erect ; inflorescence one, rarely several-flowered; prickles hooked, broad at base, scattered. VI. Oanince . . ■ Styles and sepals as No. IV. ; stems arching ; inflorescence usually several -flowered^ prickles stout, shaped like a dog's tooth. THE BOTANY OF THE ROSE 17 Chakacteristics. styles free ; inflorescence usually several- flowered ; leaves lanceolate, 7-9 foliate ; sepals long, narrow. Stipules unusually long, curving over leaf-stalk. Styles free ; sepals erect after flowering ; stems erect ; inflorescence usually several- flowered; prickles straight, in pairs at base of leaves. ^Styles, sepals, and stems as No. VIII. ; stems ' densely clothed with aciculi; prickles straight, slender, scattered. Leaves spoon-shaped, incurved, usually 9-foli- ate; stems dark brown; prickles pale, straight, scattered ; flowers yellow. Stems brown, stiff, straight ; prickles very large, in pairs ; inflorescence one-flowered ; stipules; long, narrow, concave, without pubescence. Middle leaves 7-foliate, sepals erect; prickles straight, slender, alternate, mixed with numerous aciculi. Middle leaves 9-foliate ; sepals reflexed ; disc very large ; stamens very many ; stipules and bracts deeply incised ; prickles hooked or straight, in pairs below the leaves. Leaves ovate - lanceolate, tri- foliate, shiny, free from pubescence ; sepals erect after flowering ; stems long ; prickles falcate, scattered. Leaves 11, 13, 15-foliate ; sepals erect after flowering ; fruit prickly ; prickles straight, in pairs below the leaves. One species only of this section, berberidifolia, a dwarf shrub, with oistus-like yellow flowers marked with crimson, the leaves simple instead of being composed of several leaflets, devoid of stipules. From these sixteen sections all our modern hybridised roses have come, and the table given below is an attempt to indicate, however imperfectly, the section, species, and Section. Vn. Carolinm . . Vin. GinnamomecB . IX. Spinosissimw, or PimpineUifoliee X. Luteal . . . XI. SericcE . . . XII. Minutifolice . XIII. BracteatcB . . XIV. LmvigaicB . . XV. MicrophyllcB . XVI. Simplicifolice . 18 ROSES sub-species from whicli they have originated. When a rose has reached the hybrid stage the name of one or two varieties of the class is given. If we examine the table we shall notice two things: (1) the distance re- moved from the original species of the hybrid tea, and (2) that there are many species from which little, if any, advance has been made. They remain as they have come from the hand of nature; they have no progeny. Does not this fact indicate the wide field still open to hybridists for the production of new roses; how much remains to be done in directions other than crossing and inter-breeding hybrid teas ? And further, does it not suggest the probability that, great as the progress of the rose has been in the nineteenth century, it will be greater still in the twentieth, and that some of the most beauti- ful varieties of the genus Bosa are yet to come. THE BOTANY OF THE ROSE 19 Analysis of Species Division. Synstylse Stylosse . Indicse . Gallicae . Eauksise . Caniuse . . Cinnamomese i Species. Arvensis Moschata Multlflora (simplex) Setigera Sempervirens IWiohuraiana Stylosa / Indica \ Semperflorens . Gallioa Banksia (Canina Bubiginosa Tomentosa Villosa rCinnamomea Alpina J Maorophylla I Aciculaiis vBugosa Carolina CarolinsB . • {Spinosissima luvomta Xanthina r Sulphurea iLutea Lutese Serioae . . . MinutifoliiE . Bracteatas . . Lsevigatse . . Microphylla; . Simplicifolise . Serica Minutifolia /Bracteata \ (Macartney) Miorophylla Berberifolia Sub-Species, Ayrshire (Brunonii G-randiflora Moschata alba Fissardii Hylrids. Dundee Rambler Bubkfola TAglaia -j Crimson Rambler (.De la GrifEerai /L^opoldine d'Orl^ans \ Felicity at Perpetu^ /Jersey Beauty \Dorothy Perkins f Bourbons Noisettes "i Chinas Indica odoiata (Damascena Centifolia or Provence Muscosa Alba ■ I Tea-Scented ^Manetti (York and Lancaster ^^^^^^ i ^Sitti)j Four Seasons Moss Maiden's Blush Marie Leonidas Macrantha Pomifera {Bugosa alba Bugosa rubra Lucida rAltaica \Hibernica Americana /Mme. Georges Bruant ICourad F. Meyer /■Austrian Copper] Harrisonii {Austrian Yellowy Persian Yellow Marie Leonida CHAPTER III BRITISH WILD BOSBS B. spinosissima. B. pomifera. B.. involuta. B. rubiginosa. B. hibernica. B. canina. B. arvensis. Can anything be more beautiful than the highways and byways of Great Britain when Flora at midsummer bedecks them with wreaths, clusters, and cascades of wild roses ? Beautiful at least to those who can ap- preciate this gift of nature ; for there are some who fail to do so, and infinitely prefer a few standard closely cropped mop-heads of roses struggling for existence in the front garden. Strange that it should be so. And all because the one is wild and the other is culti- vated ! In nature's garden we have so much variety : pillars, bushes, climbers, and trailers. Look at E. caniria as you pass down the narrow country lane bordered right and left with high hedges. See how it thrusts out its long shoots well above the surrounding undergrowth, or cUnging for support to some tree trunk, its graceful branches laden with pale blush or pink blossoms. Or as you wander along some meadow hedgerow, there before you is M. arvensis, a dense, impregnable bush, breaking the even line of the hedge as it encroaches upon the grassy safe hiding-place for the rabbit. Year by year the long, slender, trailing shoots of purple wood and bright ROSA SPINOSISSIMA (natural size). THE PARENT OF THE SCOTCH BRIERS. f From H. C. Ajidmi-x' Monograph. BRITISH WILD ROSES 21 green leaves advance into the open, and from top to bottom the pure white sweetly scented flowers descend in cascades of loveliness. Or are you taking a seaside holiday ? Then wander along the coast, and in certain localities, wind-swept and sandy, you will doubtless find the compact, stiff, dwarf-growing R. spinosissima. Go into the coimtry where you will at midsummer, Flora will present you with a rose for your buttonhole. But you must make the most of your time. In the years that are coming roses by the wayside will be but recollec- tions, like Sedan-chairs, stage-coaches, and turnpikes. The paid highway surveyor of the Rural District Council has come upon the scene ; he wages war against high hedges. Notwithstanding the increased cost of repairs under the new system, the roads are bad. Worthless metal, lazy road-menders, lack of supervision, aU contribute to this result, and the high hedges have to bear the blame. Down they come ; away go pillars, streamers, and bushes of roses, and nothing is left but a row of hedge stumps, crowning the top of a mud-beplastered bank. Miles of trim hedges are taking the place of Flora's roadside rosary. Oh, the pity of it all ! For the present nature strives to break up this monotonous trimness, and some byways, hedgerows, and manor wastes still remain where we may revel in a wealth of wild roses. And how the country children love them ! — the nosegays of wild roses they gather on their way to school, a gift to some popular teacher. It is a good sign when this prevails ; it testifies to the existence of a good feeling between teacher and scholar, and shows a certain power of observation and appreciation 22 ROSES of the beautiful — a power which greatly needs develop- ment. It is the writer's pleasant duty to pay an annual visit of inspection for diocesan report to many elementary schools, and in the majority of cases the rural schoolrooms are decorated on the day of inspection with wild flowers, the rose being the favourite. I speak of Essex children. The love of roses, wild or garden, is great in Essex children. But some one perhaps will say : " These are only wild roses, we want to read of something better than mere dog- roses ; we want some hints on the growing of roses in the garden, and for exhibition." Indeed ! but you must waJk before you can run, and if you would be an efficient rosarian you should walk in the Flora's natural rose garden. May one ask whether you have learnt to distinguish in habit, growth, and flower between R. canina and B. arvensis, the commonest of British species ? If you have not, then I fear you have something to learn from the hedge- rows before we enter your garden. You perhaps lump these and all other British species together as dog-roses, just because they have single flowers, being unaware that in Great Britain and Ireland there are at least seven species, and many more sub-species; Sowerby gives sixteen ! Take three of these, B. canina, B. rvMgirwsa, and B. arvensis: study them carefully, and unless you have eyes and see not, they will teach you much as to the effect of soil and situation, the habit, flowering growth, fruit, the difference between a bloom of yesterday and to-day, and many things besides. Bear with the writer if, for a short time, he invites you to consider some of the wild roses of Great Britain and Irelacd. BRITISH WILD ROSES 23 Rosa Spinosissima (B. pimpinellifolia : The Burnet or Single Scotch Rose) This species obtains its name from the peculiarity and abundance of its prickles. It is the most spiny of all roses, as any one who handles it will speedily discover. In character it is a small bushy shrub, branches erect, 1 to 4 feet high, crowded with sharp straight-pointed prickles together with many smaller ones passing into stiff bristles and glandular hairs, both wood and prickles being brown in colour. The leaves are small and destitute of glands. The flowers are white, sometimes pink, cup- shaped, small, about 1 inch to 1^ inches in dia- meter, very fleeting when fully developed. It should be gathered in the bud stage if required for decoration. The transient nature of the open blossom is, however, neutralised by the abundance of the flowers. This species is one of the earliest of roses ; coming into bloom in May. The fruit is round, turning from purple to a dead black as it ripens. B. spinosissima prefers open sandy situations near the sea ; it is fairly distributed, being found, amongst other places, in Cornwall (the writer received Ms first plant from the neighbourhood of Penzance), the Channel Islands, Ireland, and Scotland, in which last-mentioned place it flourishes at an altitude of 1700 feet. It is therefore at home in diverse climates. The best way to obtain satisfactory plants of this rose is from seed, which speedily germinate. It is recommended that the seed should be sown in the place where it is desired to have the rose. Being of dwarf habit it is suitable for a border 24 ROSES to a shrubbery. Sow the seed in a row, and in a year or two you will have a compact bushy little hedge averag- ing from 18 to 24 inches high and 12 inches thick. -B. spinosissima is distinct, easy to propagate, hardy, and comes into flower so early that room should be made for it in every rose garden. Rosa Villosa {B. pomifera) The majority of botanists describe this British species under the name of B. villosa, but to present-day rosarians it is more generally known as B. pomifera. It is of robust habit, sending up erect and arching root-shoots or branches to the height of 9 or 10 feet in a single season, soon forming a large bush, and therefore needing plenty of space in which to grow. Lindley, in his Bosarum Monographia, states that it is " the largest of the genus, sometimes forming a small tree, with a trunk as thick as a man's arm." The wood when young is of a very light green, turning brown later. Its prickles are few, white, and straight pointed. The leaves are most noticeable, being of a dull pale green with a remarkable bluish tint ; leaflets very hairy but smooth on the under side. The flowers spring direct from the branchlets, and are pro- duced in pairs, pale pink, and small for the size of the wood and leaves, IJ inches in diameter. For a species it is comparatively late in blooming, opening about the first or second week in July. It is worth grow- ing, if only as a distinct variety, although not very attractive nor free flowering, and is better adapted for a shrubbery or border than for growing amongst other roses. It has, however, a beauty of its own, a beauty in the large BRITISH WILD ROSES 25 fruit which is orange red when young changing to dark red as it ripens. It is in the fruit quite distinct from any other species, British or foreign, for the fruit is covered with hairs, and when ripe — it ripens early — closely re- sembles a dark red gooseberry of the very finest size. The weight of this handsome fruit, which is out of all proportion to the size of the flower, causes the branches to bend down, thus affording light and air to the young growth. No pruning is required, except an occasional thinning out of the old wood to keep the plant within bounds. It is easily propagated from seed, and, although the writer has not tested it, it seems, from the smoothness of the wood and its upright growth, to be a likely stock on which to bud hybrids. This species must not be con- foimded with another variety sometimes exhibited at rose shows under the name of B. pomifera, for the flowers of this are larger and of a deeper colour. Possibly it may be a hybrid of the original species. B. villosa is stated by Sir Joseph Hooker to be found in hedges and thickets in the north as far as Shetland, and also in Ireland, ascending in Yorkshire to an altitude of 1500 feet. This variety is the parent of two sub- species, B. mollis and B, tomentosa, Rosa Involuta On the authority of Sir Joseph Hooker B. involuta forms one of the seven British species, and therefore claims a brief notice here. It appears that its name is derived from the form of the petals, which are involute. Discovered by Dr. Walker on the Scottish Highlands ; also found on banks and in hedges of the Orkneys, and in Ire- 26 ROSES land. In growth it makes a compact reddish-grey bush between 2 and 3 feet high. The branches are erect, somewhat single, and very strong, having a cracked bark densely covered with prickles. The leaves are glandular or hairy on both sides, and when bruised emit a turpen- tine smell. The flowers, produced singly, are variable in colour, both red and white. The tube of the calyx and the sepals bristle all over with setm and clammy glands. The fruit, produced sparingly, is red, and stands erect. B. inwluta forms a link between villosa and spinosissima. Rosa Rubiginosa (B. eglanteria, Linnaeus : Sweet-brier) We now come to the most popular of all the British species, well known to all lovers of the rose by the delicious fragrance emitted from the bruised glands of the leaves. No garden of any size should be without its brier bush, the eglantine of poets, the " Sweet Maria " of Essex children, referred to in Chapter I. How sweet it is when, in the early spring, the young leaves appear; how beautiful at the latter end of June with its deep rosy flowers ; and in the autumn, long after the leaves are gone, still attractive with its masses of deep orange- red fruit. No wonder it is popular. As a first lesson in the botany of the rose, or as an exercise in rose observation, it is well worth pains to compare rubiginosa with canina. Note first the habit. Whilst the dog-rose sends up long, arching branches, some 6 to 9 feet high and perhaps more, the sweet-brier is content with branches 3 or 4 feet in length. And, whereas in the dog-rose the branch continues single, the sweet-brier sends out side growths or branchlets, quickly BRITISH WILD ROSES 27 forming a dense bush. Note also the prickles. To a certain extent they are stout and hooked like those of the dog- rose, but more irregularly placed. On the young root- shoots, however, there is a marked distinction, for whilst on the sweet-brier this young growth is covered with set