The village maiden8 has a beauty and a charm of her own; and so has her counterpart in the floral world,—the wild rose that grows by the roadside. Transplanted to the garden, and, with its offspring after it to the fourth and fifth generation, made an object of skilful9 culture, it reaches at last a wonderful development. The flowers which in the ancestress were single and small become double in the offspring, and expand their countless10 petals11 to the sun in all the majesty12 of the Queen of Flowers. The village maid has risen to regal state. She has lost her native virgin13 charm; but she sits throned and crowned in imperial beauty.
Now, all the roses of our gardens have some wild ancestress of the woods and meadows, from whom, in the process of successive generations, their beauties have been developed, sometimes by happy accidents, but oftener by design. Thus have arisen families of roses, each marked with traces of its parentage. These are the patricians14 of the floral commonwealth15, gifted at once with fame, beauty, and rank.
The various wild roses differ greatly in their capacity of improvement and development. In some cases, the offspring grow rapidly, in color, fulness, and size, with every successive generation. In other cases, they will not improve at all; and the rose remains16 a wild rose still, good only for the roadside. With others yet, there seems to be a fixed17 limit, which is soon reached, and where improvement stops. It requires, even with the best, good culture and selection through several generations before the highest result appears. In horticulture, an element of stability is essential to progress. When the florist18 sees in any rose a quality which he wishes to develop and perfect, he does not look for success to the plant before him, but to the offspring which he produces from this plant. 'But this production and culture must be conducted 'wisely and skilfully19, or the offspring will degenerate20 instead of improving.
There are different kinds of culture, with different effects. That which is founded in the laws of Nature, and aims at a universal development, produces for its result not only increased beauty, but increased symmetry, strength, and vitality21. On the other hand, it is in the power of the skilful florist to develop or to repress whatever quality he may please. By artificial processes of culture, roses have been produced, beautiful in form and color, but so small, that the whole plant, it is said, might be covered with an egg-shell. These are results of the ingenious florists22 of China and Japan. The culture that refines without invigorating, belongs, it seems, to a partial or perverted23 civilization.
These several families of roses, resulting from the development of the several species of wild rose, have mingled24 together; in other words, they have intermarried: for Linnaeus has shown that "the loves of the flowers" are more than a conceit25 of poetical26 fancy. From the fertilization of the flowers of a rose of one family with the pollen of a rose of another family arises a mixed offspring, called hybrids28: Seeds—which are vegetable eggs—are first produced; and these seeds germinate29, or hatch, into a brood of young plants, combining in some degree the qualities of their parents. As this process of intermixture may be carried on indefinitely, a vast number of new varieties has resulted from it.
The botanical classification of the rose is a perplexity to botanists30. Its garden classification—quite another matter—is no less a source of embarrassment31 to its amateur, not to say professional, cultivator. To many, indeed, its entire nomenclature is a labyrinth32 of confusion; and some have gone to the length of proposing to abolish distinctions, which, in their eyes, seem arbitrary or fanciful. These distinctions, however, are founded in Nature, though the superstructure built upon her is sometimes flimsy enough to justify33 the impatience34 of its assailants. The chief difficulty arises from the extent to which the hybridization of the rose has been carried, and the vast entanglement35 of combinations which has resulted. Out of a propensity36 to classify, where, in the nature of things, precise classification is impossible, has arisen the equivocal and shadowy character of many of the nominal37 distinctions.
Omitting less important divisions, the following are the groups into which cultivated roses are ordinarily divided: The Provence,* the Moss38,* the French,* the Hybrid27 China, the Damask,* the Alba,* the Austrian Brier,* the Sweet-brier,* the Scotch39,* the Double Yellow,* the Ayrshire,* the Sempervirens,* the Multiflora,* the Boursault,* the Banksia,* the Prairie.* These bloom once in the season. The following are perpetual or remontant: The China,* the Tea,* the Bourbon, the Hybrid Perpetual, the Perpetual Moss, the Damask Perpetual,* the Noisette, the Musk40,* the Macartney,* the Microphylla.*
Some of the above are marked with a star*: these are roses of pure blood. The rest are roses of mixed or hybrid origin. By the former are meant those which have sprung, without intermixture, from the wild roses which grew naturally in various parts of the world, and which are the only roses of which the botanical classifier takes cognizance. Many of them are of great beauty, and would be highly prized for ornamental41 uses, were they not eclipsed by the more splendid double varieties, which the industry of the florist has developed from them. Each of these groups of unmixed roses, however modified in form, size, or color, retains, as already mentioned, distinctive42 features of the native type from which it sprang. Yet it often happens that the name is misapplied. Thus a rose called Damask is not always a Damask, but a hybrid between a Damask and some other variety. The true distinctive features of the group are thus rendered, in some nominal members of it, so faint, that they can scarcely be recognized. Leaving these bastards44 out of view, we will consider at present only the legitimate46 offspring of the various families of the rose.
On Mount Caucasus grows a single wild rose, from the seeds of which have sprung the numerous family of the Provence or Cabbage roses, very double, very large, and very fragrant47. This race is remarkable48 for its tendency to sport, from which have resulted some of the most singular and beautiful forms of the rose. For example, a rose-colored variety of the Provence produced a branch bearing striped flowers, and from that branch has been propagated the Striped Provence. The Crested49 Moss is the product of another of these freaks, being of the pure Provence race. The Common Moss, and all its progeny50, have the same origin; being derived51, in all probability, from a sporting branch of one of the Provence roses.
The family of the French-Rose, or Rosa Gallica, is of vast extent, and, though including many diverse shades of color,—some pale, some bright, others spotted52, striped, or marbled,—is commonly recognized without much difficulty by its family features. It is a native of Southern Europe.
The wild progenitor53 of the Damask or Damascus roses is a native of Syria. The name Damask, by the way, is popularly applied43 to deep-colored roses in general; but its floral signification is very different. In this group, for the first time, we meet with a feature, which, desirable as it is, was not many years since regarded as rare and exceptional. June has always been regarded as the month of the rose; but some of the Damasks have the peculiarity54 of blooming twice, or more than twice, during the season. These have been placed in a group by themselves, and christened Damask Perpétuais. The remontant character, however, is not confined to them; for individual plants belonging to groups and varieties which usually bloom but once will sometimes display an autumnal bloom. Thus the common wild rose of New England is now and then to be seen covered with flowers in September; and there is little doubt, that, from the seeds of these twice-blooming individuals, a new race of hardy56 remontant roses might be produced. It should be added, that many of the so-called Damask Perpetuals are not pure Damask, but crossed with the blood of other families.
Of the remaining races of pure blood, the Alba is remarkable for the delicate coloring of its flowers; the greater part being, as the name imports, white, or nearly so. The original variety grows wild in Central Europe.
The Austrian Brier is another family, of features very strongly marked. Yellow and copper57 are its prevailing58 colors; and from its habit of growth, and the color of its twigs59, it is easily recognized under all its forms. Its original types are natives of the south of Europe, and probably of Persia; to which country we owe its finest development,—the well-known Persian Yellow.
The Double Yellow Rose, Rosa Sulphurea, remarkable for its beauty, and, in our climate, notorious for its intractable and uncertain character, is regarded by some botanists as belonging to a group distinct from the preceding. The Single Yellow, from which it must have sprung, has been found wild in the north of India.
The Sweet-brier, found wild in various parts of the world, is too well known to need further notice. The American variety differs distinctly from the European.
The Scotch roses owe their origin to the dwarf60 wild rose of Scotland. The Ayrshire is a family of climbing roses, originating from the wild trailing rose, Rosa Arven-sis, common in the British islands. The best of them are said, however, to be hybrids between this rose' and other species. The Boursault roses are descendants of Rosa Alpina, a native of the Alps; and no family is more clearly marked by distinctive features. The Sempervirens and the Multiflora are, with us at least, less familiar. Both are climbers, like the former; the one originating from a wild rose of Italy, the other from a wild rose of Japan. The Banksia, with its smooth, shining leaves, and slender, green stems, is well known in every greenhouse. Its progenitor is a native of China or Tartary, and the improved varieties are chiefly due to the labors61 of Chinese florists.
There is another race of climbers, held in great scorn by foreign florists, but admirably adapted to our climate, under whose influences they put forth62 beauties by no means contemptible63. These are the progeny of the wild Michigan or Prairie Rose, rampant64 growers, and generally sturdy enough to outface our hardest winters. The best of them, however, the Baltimore Belle65, is evidently the offspring of a foreign marriage, which, while contributing fragrance66 and beauty to the rugged67 race of the prairies, has detracted something from its hardihood. The union, probably accidental, seems to have been with the Tea Rose or the Noisette.
Of the foregoing groups, all except the Damask Perpetual are once-blooming. The following have, to a greater or less extent, the desirable character of a continued or successive bloom.
The Macartney Rose is a wild rose of China, from which a few improved varieties have been raised from seed. Its evergreen68 shining foliage69 is its most attractive feature. The Microphylla, or Small-leaved Rose, is closely akin70 to the Macartney, and, like the latter, is a native of the East.
The Musk is a rose much more familiarly known. It descends71 from a Persian or Syrian progenitor, and its vigorous growth, rich clusters of bloom, and peculiar55 fragrance, have long made it a favorite. But by far the most interesting and valuable among the unmixed races of ever-blooming roses are the numberless offspring of Rosa Indica, in its several varieties. To it we owe all the China and Tea-scented roses, while to its foreign alliances we are indebted for a vast and increasing host of brilliant hybrids.
Thus, from the families of pure blood, we come at length to those in which is mingled that of two or more distinct races. Convey the pollen of a China rose to the stigmas72 of a French, Damask, or Provence rose, and from the resulting seed an offspring arises different from either parent. Hence a new group of roses known as the Hybrid Chinas. The parents are both of moderate growth. The offspring is usually of such vigor as to form with readiness a pillar eight feet high. Its foliage is distinct, its bloom often as profuse73 and brilliant as that of the China, and its constitution as hardy, or nearly so, as that of the French Rose. Unlike the former, it blooms but once in the year, or only in a few exceptional instances shows a straggling autumnal flower. By a vicious system of subdivision, the group has been separated into Hybrid China, Hybrid Bourbon, and Hybrid Noisette. The two latter are the same as the first: except, in the one case, a slight infusion74 of the Damask Perpetual; and, in the latter, of the Musk Rose. In many cases, no human discernment could detect the effects of the admixture.
Again: convey the pollen of the China or Tea Rose to the flowers of the Musk, or vice75 versa and for a result we obtain the Noisette, inheriting from the former various striking characteristics of foliage and bloom, and from the latter its vigorous climbing habit and clustering inflorescence. But, by impregnation through several generations, some of the Noisettes retain so little of their Musk parent, that its traits are almost obliterated76: they no longer bloom in clusters, and can scarcely be distinguished77 from the pure Tea Rose.
Again: a union of a Damask Perpetual with a China rose has produced a distinct race, of vigorous habit and peculiar foliage, possessing in a high degree the ever-blooming character of both its parents. It is hardier78 than the China Rose, though usually unable to bear a New-England winter unprotected. This is the Bourbon Rose, a brilliant and beautiful group, worth all the care which in this latitude79 its out-door culture requires.
The Moss Rose, impregnated with various ever-blooming varieties, has borne hybrids partially80 retaining the mossy stem and calyx, with a tendency more or less manifest to bloom in the autumn. Hence the group of the Perpetual Moss, a few only of whose members deserve the name.
It is evident, that, by continuing the process of hybridizing, hybrids may be mixed with hybrids, till the blood of half a score of the original races is mingled in one plant. This, in some cases, is, without doubt, actually the case; and this bastard45 progeny must, of necessity, be classified rather by its visible characteristics than by its parentage. Thus a host of ever-blooming hybrids, which are neither Noisette nor Bourbon nor Perpetual Moss, have been cast into one grand group, under the comprehensive title of Hybrid Perpetuals. Whence have they sprung? What has been their parentage? The question is easier asked than answered: for as, in a great nation of the West, one may discern the lineaments and hear the accents of diverse commingled81 races; so here we may trace the features of many and various families of Indian or Siberian, Chinese or European, extraction. The Hybrid Perpetuals, however, inherit their remontant character chiefly from Rosa Indica,—the China or Tea Rose,—and, in a far less degree, from the Damask Perpetual. An infusion of the former exists, in greater or less degree, in all of them; while the blood of the Damask Perpetual shows its traces in comparatively few. Many of the group are the results of a union between the Hybrid China roses and some variety of the China or Tea. Others owe their origin to the Hybrid China and the Bourbon, both parents being hybrids of Rosa Indica. Others are offspring of the Hybrid China crossed with the Damask Perpetual; while many spring from intermarriages within the group itself,—Hybrid Perpetual with Hybrid Perpetual.
By some over-zealous classifiers, this group has been cut up into various subdivisions, as Bourbon Perpetual, Rose de Rosomène, and the like; a procedure never sufficiently82 to be deprecated, as tending to produce no results but perplexity and confusion. Where there, can be no definite basis of division, it is well to divide as little as may be; and it is to be hoped that secession from the heterogeneous83 commonwealth of the Hybrid Perpetuals will be effectually repressed. In regard to roses in general, while a classification founded on evident natural affinities84 is certainly desirable, yet, in the name of common sense, let us avoid the multiplication85 of new hybrid groups, founded on flimsy distinctions, and christened with new names, which begin with meaning little, and end with meaning nothing.
In our enumeration86 of the families and varieties of the rose, we shall make two great divisions,—that of the "Summer," or once-blooming, and that of the "Autumnal," or "ever-blooming" roses. In each of these divisions, we shall place first the roses of unmixed race, and, after them, the hybrids which have sprung from their combinations.
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1
judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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rejection
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| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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pollen
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| n.[植]花粉 | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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8
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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patricians
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| n.（古罗马的）统治阶层成员( patrician的名词复数 )；贵族，显贵 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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18
florist
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| n.花商；种花者 | |
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19
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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florists
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| n.花商，花农，花卉研究者( florist的名词复数 ) | |
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23
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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24
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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hybrid
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| n.(动，植）杂种，混合物 | |
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hybrids
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| n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物 | |
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germinate
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| v.发芽；发生；发展 | |
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botanists
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| n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 ) | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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entanglement
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| n.纠缠，牵累 | |
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propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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bastards
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| 私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙 | |
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45
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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47
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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48
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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49
crested
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| adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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50
progeny
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| n.后代，子孙；结果 | |
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51
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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52
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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53
progenitor
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| n.祖先，先驱 | |
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54
peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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56
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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57
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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58
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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61
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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63
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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64
rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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65
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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descends
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| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
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stigmas
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| n.耻辱的标记，瑕疵( stigma的名词复数 ) | |
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profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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infusion
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| n.灌输 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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hardier
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| 能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的比较级 )； （植物等）耐寒的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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81
commingled
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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heterogeneous
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| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
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84
affinities
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| n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同 | |
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multiplication
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| n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法 | |
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enumeration
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| n.计数，列举；细目；详表；点查 | |
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