Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-07-07
HOW MAN MADE
THE FRAGRANT ROSE
CAREFUL PLANS OF PROVIDENCE
LONG AGO ABANDONED.
NONE OF TooAYs FINEST FLOW
ERs KNOWN A CENTURY AGO.

| ERS KNOWN A CENTURY AGO.
She was FIVE years old. June l
was approaching and her father said,
unadvisedIy:
"One of these mornings maybe We
shall b ar the roses popping. be-
fore breakfast; and when we get
out in the garden we shall see some
OF the oeauuruI Duas open"
"Oh, call re said she; and after
that the father felt that in some
way Or another he must make good
his wicked prediction.
There We're no open roses in the
garden on June /, thanks TO the
cold rains; but he stopped in the
dower market on The way home that
evening and bought a double armfui
| OF ported roses with blossoms al
ready open. These he planted in
the dark of the night where the un-
timely death OF other bushes had
left blank in the garden.
| Listen" he told the little girl
next morning, as she lay in bed
with her eyes just opening. 4 think
the flowers are popping. You listen
while go down and peek"
So the father went outdoors ana
stood under the window He had
some paper bags which the grocer
had given him and he filed one
with breath and exploded it against
his hand. The little girl few to the
window. There was a second, a
third, and a fourth explosion--the
garden was red with iacqueminots!
The flowers are OUT" called the
father Il think I heard them" said
the child, with wondering smile.
He wrapped her in a blanket and
took her out to see the roses and
explain the deception
let us play it on mother and the
baby" he said So they repeated
the joke. The mother pretended to
be greatly surprised and uttered
cries of delight and wonder Only
the baby showed no signs of mysti-
fcarion:
Don't again. daddy" She ex-
claimed the moment the father APP
peared.
Ecstasies of Centuries.
June always sees an abundant crop
of roses. and articles about roses.
For centuries man has gone into &c
stasies over the month, and poets
have tried to explain why. To write
further along that line, then. would
be iuexcusable, but perhaps were
one to promise not to quote poetry
or recount the story of how Cleo
patra bought 5000 worth Of rose-pet-
ais for Antony to walk on, one might
be allowed TO make few remarks
suggested by the text Dot again
daddy
In that phrase lay a two-year-oId
childs conviction that her father
could make roses spring open at
command On the face of it the
idea is somewhat grotesque The
popular Impression mas it that Proyi
dence attends TO all those things
Yet in the case Of roses man has
long since stopped waiting for Prov-
dence to act and has gone ahead
and done things himself
Among garden roses there are
still few which grow as they did
once in a state of nature; but Of
all the superb modern garden roses
which cJme double and large and
longlived, every one is the work OF
man.
ProoaoIy the best-lnown rose in
the world today g La France 1t
was the first of a new class of rOs-
es. the most important which exists
today; and yet it is no older than
1867. Gen Jacqueminot was m
known before 1858; and garden
books published in the early part OF
the last century show that tea-roses
were just beginning 70 be known at
that time. Our forebears then. never
knew the rose as it exists in the
florists window today. The best
they had were single and seml-dou-
Bile flowers, Of small size. usually
growing in clusters like the Grim
son rambler of today and for the
most part clf~' bling plants. which
elung to the of the house or
embraced a uiIl.r.
Motif in At and Legend.
Many Of hese were exceedingly
beautiful The rose has been mo-
tis in art and legend since thou
sand or tive years before Christ
Some of them were probably as dec
o-atiye in The garden picture as any
thing we have today. But they are
not the superb modern rose.
In those days the botanical Glass;
fcation Of the varieties practically
conceded with the garden classified
tion, Nowadays they hardly resem
Bile each other The average bot
anist unless he happens 10 be q
garden-lover also knows next to no
thing abou, the garden varieties
In 1Si4, according To French
writer there were only 1872 varieties