The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-09-06

And WantOned O'er Its parent breast.
The gods beheld this brilliant birth,
Aud hailed the ROse-the boon Of Earth"
This universal favorite has been theme
with the poets of all ages, in all countries,
and NEUROLOGICAL writers have loved to
dwell upon its charms. 1t was dedicated
by the Greeks to Aurora, as an emblem
OF youth, to Venus AZ an emblem Of love
and beauty, to Cupid as an emblem Of
fugacity and danger. BY Cupid it was
given to HarpOcrates, the god OF silence,
as q bribe, to prevent him bctraying the
amours Of Venus; as an emblem Of ST.
lence it was scOtPSNSeN on Ihe ceiling Of
drinking and fcasting rooms as warning
to EOests$nSS NtrSNS y, ,e-S..r. ~, >,.s!V,SSs<S
Of cOnvIvality was not to be repeated.
Hence the term "suJ rOst."
One Eahie''OF ~ daSc:>>,,aASs,.StAat ES02R
having fOUF.6 the dead body of one of her
favorite nynphS, HA0Se Oe&D,y was equal
cd only by her virtue. implored the assist.
ance Of all the gods and goddesses to aid
her in changing it into flower which all
other flowers should acknowledge to be
their queen. Apollo lent his vivifying
power Of his beams, BacchuS bathed it in
nectar, Vertumnus gave it perfume, PO-
mona fruit, and Flora herself diadem Of
flowers.
The Greek poets say that the rose was
originally white, and was changed to red
by the blood Of Venus, who lacerated her
feet by its thorns when rushing to the
aid Of Adonis.
Its fragrance is said to be derived from
a cup OF nectar thrown over it by Cupid !;
and its thOrnS 10 he the stIngS of bees
with which the arc OF his bow was strung
Now, perhaps, some will be so sceptical
as to disbelicve this agency of the gods in
its origin, yet none will deny that
"The hand that made it is Divine"
The real history of the rose dates back
to the time OF the earliest writers Of an
tiquity. HerodotuS speaks Of the double
rose, Solomon OF the rose Of Sharon, and
the plantations Of roses at Jericho: TheO.
phrastuS of the hundred leaved roses Of
Mount pangaeus. aud ii appears that the
Isle OF RhOda isle Of Roses, received its
name from the culture oi roses carried on
there.
The Romans attained TO high degree
of perfection in its cultivation, and in their
writings frequent allusiOn is made to its
virtues in such terms as TO show that they
almost held it in sacred vencration. From
the time Of the Romans down To the time
when botany became sciencr, its history
is little known, yet enough to show that
through those dark ages it was highly
prizvd by all. Hence to the present time,
It's history is well defined.
Its eXtrcme desirableneSS has led to
an almost endless increase Of varieties by
ny ybrilization, and very considerable
works upon its cultivation are current.
1t is chiefly cultivated as a tlorilerouS
shrub wherever grown; yet IN Europe,
Asia and North Africa it lot only pleaSes
the sensrs ot sight and smell, but it has
become an article Of commerce i'll the va
rlouS preparations from its flowers, used
in mcdiclne and domestic economy. These
are the dried petals, rOSe-water, vinegar
oi roses, spirit Of roses, honey Of roses,
conserve of roses, and altar, otto, butter
or essence of roses. \ description Of their
mode Of preparation would occupy too
much space for this article.
Pre-tminently the queen Of flowers, it
is not eXcellcd by any OF the many floral
candidates for our favor, aud is found in
greater or less variety in every weil-or-
dered garden, where, if the selection has
been carefully made aud the plants prop
erly treated, they will give, even in open
culture, a "round Of pleasure" from early
in June to freezing weather. 10 secure
this end, books or descriptive catalogues
should be consulted for their varieties, and
us there seems to be lack Of general
knowledge on the mode of cultivation, a
few practical hints, condensed from book
farming" aud founded on facts" may be
OF some service to those who have, sum
mer after summer, almost with tears in
their eyes, witnessed the blasting of their
hopes and roses together.
First, then. come soil aud situation.-
The rose will grow in almost any common
garden soil. but to thrive well, it should
have a soil naturally light aud free and
well enriched; in an open and airy situa-
ton, but little shaded, if at all, and not
under the drip Of trees.
In planting many persons think it only
necessary to dig a hole and bury the roots {;
but to secure good growth, care should
be had in pruning root and top, to leave
no mutilated part, and place the roots in
their proper positions, leaving no cavity
under them, but fill well with fine mould
and press it down lightly.
Or Pruning. the rose blossoms on
new wood, it is desirable to have that Of
vigorous growth. Hence it is necessary
to cut out freely the weak shoots, and cut
back well the stronger ones, so as to in-
duce the lower eyes to push. This ap-
plies TO dwarf or shrub roses, and not to
standards or to climbers. Pillar or trellis
roses usually require onlythe oldest wood
to be cut away, and a judicious heading
in. The time for pruning is in early
spring, when the sap is beginning to
move. If it is desirable to- ietard the
bloom of the perpetual or remOntant va
rieties, it may be done by pinching Oft the
earlier blossom buds.
IhSects.-Ot the many insects injurious
to the rose, are the aphides. commonly
called plant lice, or green flies, frequently
found in large numbers en- the tender
shoots, and sapping the very life Of the
plant, and were it not for the aid of the
lady bird, which is said to destroy them
in large numbers, and of the Small,Singing
birds, the careless gardener might find
his bushes soon ruined.
"Reaumur has calculated that in five
generations one Gphis rosa may be the
prOgenitor Of 5,904, 100000 descendants,
and in ordinary seasons ten generations
are produced"
Another and more destructive insect is
the rose saw.fly, SeLnndriG Rosa, whose
young is the rose-slug, q small "green
monster" third of an inch in length,
with dark stripe through the middle,
found lying fat upon the upper surface of
the leaf, and eating away the substance,
leaves only the veins and the lower sur
face to die and turn brown, thus rObbing
the plant Of its lungs, and giving it the ap-
naaranca of hov hpan ccOrchpd Their