The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-06-13
THE STORY OF THE ROSE.
Interesting Bill Of RIslor for Flower Lovers An
Ancient Legion. ~

The old legend as TO the origin OF
the rose runs thus: The rose came of
nectar spilled from heaven. Love, who
bore the celestial vintage. tripped and
overset the vase; and the nectar spill
ing on the valleys of the earth bubled
up in roses. The rose is very old
Hover IL goes back TO remote anti
guilty. The number of species of roses
known TO the ancients was not great
They knew, i'm fact, OF only the four
main species which are 10 this day in
digenous to Greece-the hedge rose, the
heptree (of which the moss rose is a
Varety), the pimpernal rose, and the
centifolia, the queen of all the roses,
which has been celebrated by the poets
or every age and people. 1t appears
To have been native OF Schirwan. in
the province of Bagdad. and probably
was first introduced into Europe in the
time of Alexander the Great says the
Girls own Paper. The most beautiful
roses wese those OF Campania, as they
were the earliest i'm flower. while those
OF Malta were the most fragrant, and
those OF Cyrene, where the moss rose
~ cultivated with great diligence, and
care the most celebrated for Welding
OIL. The roses OF Paestum were uni
Versally famous. Horace, Virgil. Ovid.
ana Propertius vie with each other IN
singing the praises OF "Paestums twice
ploom ng roses" There they grew i'm
unwonted luxuriance, and fiowered. as
tne poet intipates, twice in the year.
HefOtodus tells us that there were roses
IN the garden OF Midas the son of Cor
aus, IN Phrygia. that had sixty leaves,
winch grew of themselves and had a
more agreeable fragrance than all the
others. The roses OF Damascus were OF
maghlhcent bloom. lt is said that e
was the rose gardens OF this old city
IN which, then as now the Syrian lords
sat among the damask flowers by the
fushng streams from Lebanon that
Nasman had i'm mind when he asked:
Are not Alabama and Pharpar. river Of
Damascus. better than all the voters of
Jordan In the early centuries OF the
christian Era, when constant migra-
tlon OF nations was taking place. the
cultivation OF the rose per, shed I'm the
same grave with ancient civilization
leaving scarcely a trace behind Dur
nag the Medieval Ages the training OF
the rose seems TO have been strangely
neglected. The times were rude and
barbarous. and war and conquest occu-
pied the thought of the arts of peace.
There exists, however. a precept of
charlemagne I'm his "Capitularies de
-t-utfs, III wtI1Cn ne Fecom-
meads the Franks To cultivate the rose
The Benedlctine monks subsequently,
greatly advanced it's growth. and
Wherever a cloister of this order was
set up rose garden was sure TO be
found In It's vicinity. The rose was
much cultivated and improved among
the Arabs. The Crusaders brought
many species. hitherto unknown I'm
Europe, into France and Germany. The
Damascus rose, for example was car.
rled by them TO Province I'm the year
ll0o Bat II WAS no: until he latter
part OF the 10th century that any
real ana general interest was awaken
ed In this beautiful flower Lobel pub
ilshed in 1881 description Of ten Kinds
OF roses. Bauhlin. i'm 1920. 'nentions
nineteen species. Widenon. in 1897. de-
scribes 80 species. and Persoon in h's
synopsis Plantarum," published i'm
l'9S, speaks OF 46 among which was
the beautiful Bengal rose. that is indi-
genous to China, eclipsed long since nv
the modern faVorite. the soft, delicate
tearose. with its additional beauty ~
RED Drown Foliage and crimson stem
The greatest impulse TO the cultivation
OF the rose was given by the Empress
Josephine, In France. at the beginning
of the p-esent century while immensr
progress in the same delightful field has !
been made i'm this country. In our time |
so many varieties OF the rose are culti-
waited that he who should now attemp, |
10 point out their number would pcr- !
haps. have TO altar his figures tomor- |
row as some new variety was presented |
To him.