The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-12-14
The Queen of All the
Plants.
An Immense Number of
Varieties.
A Concise History of This Most De-
+ Eghtful, Useful and Varied
Vegetable Product.

vegetable PRODUCT.
The question has been asked "What
is the most remarkable family of
Towering plants?" and description
of the family characters invited. With
the aid Of friend l have decided to
give the rose or Rosaceae family the
place of honor.
1t has for all ages been the favorite
flower, and as such it has a place in
general literature that no other plant
can rival. 1t is called the queen of
flowers, and among them reigns su
Ireme; without it no garden, however
humble, is thought complete, for its
dignity, fragrance and infinitude OF
form and color it is interviewer with
all poetry and all art.
| Robert Burns compares his love to
| the ''red, red, rose, that is newly
sprung in June,' and Tennyson sings
sweetly, "She is coming, my life, my
fate, The red rose cries, She is near,
she is near, and the white rose weeps,
She is late"
| The rose was a great favorite with
the Greeks and Romans. Nero caused
showers of roses to be sprinkled on
his guests at banquets, and Helioga-
balus carried this to such an extent
that several persons were suffocated
before they could eXtricate themselves
from the mass.
| This flower was dedicated to the
god Silence, and was among the an
clients the symbol of secrecy. A rose
! hanging over great table was a
hint that conversation was to be ''sub
rosa" 1t was customary, too, for
wreaths of roses to be worn by war
riors, and rose leaves (petals) were
often strewn Oh the dishes on festal
occasions. In later times the rose was
especially dedicated to the virgin, and
in Dante's Paradise she is termed the
mystic Rose.
In English history, in the feud be-
tween the houses of York and Ian
| caster the white rose was the badge
of the former and the red rose of the
latter. The rose still remains the
flower of England.
In most cases the rose of the poets
and the rose of the bctanist is one
and the same in kind, but popular
usage has attached the name of the
rose to variety of plants whose kin
ship to the true plant no bOtaniSt
would for a moment admit. The rose
gives it's name to the order Rosaceae,
Of which it may be considered the
type. The genus consists of species
varying in number, according to the
diverse opinions of botanists of Oppo-
site schools, from thirty to one hun
dred and eighty or even two hundred
and fifty, while the garden varieties
are numbered by the thousands. The
species are natives Of all parts of the
Northern hemisphere, but are scantily
| fo6 in, ftan tvsnYN
To this Rosacea family belong the
Spiraece, the Rubus. or bramble, in
Guiding dewberry, blackberry, rasp-
berry, mulberry, all fruit-bearing.
Then comes the delicious strawberry,
with it's endless variety. and the black
thorn. Hawthorn, chokeberry, wild
crab tree, prune, plum, cherry, pear,
ounce and "the APPLE" in whose stem
springs the life never failing, which
sin lost to Adam when he tasted
knowledge forbidden, and found death
in the fruit of it.
The rose has been grown for so
many centuries and has been crossed
and recrossed so often that it is diff
ficult to refer the cultivated forms to
their wild prototypes. The blossoms
appear in all colors except blue, and
this color may be produced in the
| near luCuTe. Mdly varieties dIt pIO-
duced by budding or grating on the
Istem of the brier or bramble, and it
is not an uncommon sight to see a
rose tree with three or four different
kinds of roses on it.
| For fragrance, what flower can COM
pare with it? An essential oil of ex-
ceeding fragrance is distilled from the
Rose Damascena and Rose Masclata,
called Otter of Roses. 1t requires
about 10000 flowers to make half an
ounce which sells at $50.
| The rose water of commerce is
chiefly produced in Europe from the
cabbage rose; conserves and infusion
of roses are prepared from the petals
of rosa Gallicia, and are useful for
medicinal purposes, as are also the
wild cherry and blackberry. The cher
ry, laurel, and seeds of the peach yield
much prusic acid. But in no instance
does the rose secrete honey.
For its fruit, variety Of color, fra
GRANGE and beauty, and usefulness,
| it should stand for the most remark
able family of Towering plants.
AS we are yet undecided as to the
state flower fer Oregon why not
adopt the Byzantine or sweet briar
rose? A. F. ].