THE rose Beerns to have been a cherished flower from time
itnulciuorial. In Holy Writ the prophet Isaiah says The wilderness
and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice
and blossom as the rose, but it is doubtful if the roae he mentions
is the true one. However, the rose has long flourished in the Holy
Land and the East generally, and so it is more than probable that
the rose of Holy Writ may be the true one. Anyway, the ancients
were well acquainted with its beauties and subtle charms, since
Herodotus, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Virgil, and Pliny of old refer
to it. The latter, indeed, says that the warriors of his time
crowned themselves with garlands of roses during their feasts, and
also covered their food with the petals or sprinkled it with the
fragrant oil thereof. In more modern times the roae has alsobeen
held in high esteem as an emblem of joy and sadness. Thus young
folks used to decorate themselves with garlands of roses, strew
roses on the ground before the happy bridal pair and, according to
Camden, a writer in the fifteenth century, there was in his day a
classical custom observed, time out of mind, at Oakley, in Surrey,
of planting a roae tree on the graves, especially of the young men
and maidens who have just lost their lovers, so that this
churchyard is full of them. Then, it has long been a custom in this
country to use rosewater to wash the hands and refresh the face
after a banquet. In other ways, less romantic, the rose has come
into prominence in this country. As everyope who hae read English
history knows, the red and the white rose were chosen as emblems by
the opposing factions in the War of the Roses, made famous by the
immortal bard, Shakespeare . . . . This brawl to-day Grown to this
faction, in the Temple Garden, Shall send, between the red rose and
the white, A thousand souls to death and deadly night. Since that
memorable affair the rose, however, has been regarded more as the
emblem of peace. For the last three iii hundred years, at least, it
has gradually becou e a favourite flower for decorating the garden,
the greenhouse, and the home. Now the possessor of the humble
cottage, garden, the villa garden, and of the larger garden of the
manor and palace, cultivates the rose by the dozens, hundreds, and
thousands, and cherishes its brilliant and dainty colours and
delicious fragrance more than that of any other flower. So popular,
indeed, has it become that it has been crowned unanimously as the
Queen of Flowers. As showing the remarkable increase of varieties
cultivated during the last three hundred years, we may mention that
in 1581 ten sorts were described, in 1630 nineteen varieties, in
1784 twenty-one, in 1797 forty-six. In 1829 a French grower
published a catalogue of 2,562 varieties, and tell years later the
number had advanced to thousands. The varieties named in the
classified list a. t the end of this volume by no means represent
the wholeof those in cultivation on the Continent. Still, the list
is a formidable one...
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