manure on the surface of the bed, to be washed in by the rains of winter.

To raise Provence Roses from seed, for which more full directions are given when treating of Moss Roses in pp. 18, 19, the Wellington should be planted with, and fertilised by, the single Crimson Moss, and Le Grand Bercam with the Luxembourg Moss; if seed can be procured from either of these varieties, thus fertilised, some fine crimson, and, what is also very desirable, pure Provence Roses may be raised. As the characters of the true Provence Rose are so desirable, the object ought to be to endeavour to obtain deep crimson varieties, with all the pleasing qualities and perfume of the original. Wilberforce planted with the single Crimson Moss might possibly produce seed, but this variety is a hybrid, and, like many other hybrid roses, it does not bear seed so freely as those that are pure; but I shall have occasion to notice many exceptions to this, in giving instructions for raising new roses from seed: these instructions and hints, with the names of the best seed-bearing roses, will be given at the end of each article, and they will, I hope, form a valuable addition to this work.

THE MOSS ROSE.

(ROSA CENTIFOLIA MUSCOSA.)

The Moss Rose, or Mossy Provence Rose, is most probably an accidental sport or seminal variety of the common Provence Rose, as the Old Double Moss Rose, which was introduced to this country from Holland in 1596, is the only one mentioned by our early writers on gardening. If it had any claims to be ranked. as a botanical species*, the single-flowering Moss Rose would have been the first known and described; but the Single Moss, as compared with the Double, is a new variety. Some few years since a traveller in Portugal mentioned that the Moss Rose grew wild in the neighbourhood of Cintra; but, most likely, the plants were stragglers from some garden, as I have never seen this assertion properly authenticated. The origin of the Double Moss Rose, like that of the Old Double Yellow Rose (Rosa sulphurea) is therefore left to conjecture; for gardeners in those days did not publish to the world the result of their operations and discoveries. As regards the

Miller says, with a most remarkable simplicity, that he thinks it must be a distinct species, as it is so much more difficult of propagation than the common Provence Rose.

Moss Rose I regret this; for it would be very interesting to know how and where this general favourite originated. Probably, when first noticed, gardening was of such small consideration, that the discovery of a rose, however remarkable, would not be thought worth registering. That it is merely an accidental sport of the common Provence Rose is strengthened by the fact, that plants produced by the seed of the Moss Rose do not always show moss: perhaps not more than two plants out of three will be mossy, as I have often proved. Those that are not so are most evidently pure Provence Roses, possessing all their characters. To show, also, the singular propensity of the varieties of Rosa centifolia to vary, I may here mention that the common Moss Rose often produces shoots entirely destitute of moss. In the summer of 1836 I also observed a luxuriant branch of the Crimson, or Damask, which is generally more mossy than the Old Moss Rose, having a remarkable appearance. On examination, I found it nearly smooth. This season (1837) it has entirely lost its moss, and has produced semi-double flowers, the exact resemblance of the Scarlet Provence. The White Moss is another instance of this singular quality, for that originated from a sporting branch; the Mossy de Meaux is also a curious deviation,

the history of which will be given in the descriptive enumeration following; the Crested Moss, or Provence, is another case in point. It seems, therefore, very feasible that the Provence Rose, from being cultivated in Italy through so many ages, produced from seed, or more probably from a sporting branch, the Double Moss Rose, that is, a double Cabbage or Provence Rose, covered with that glandular excrescence which we term moss; this branch or plant was propagated, and the variety handed down to us, perhaps, as much admired in the present day as when first discovered. These Roses always have been, and I hope always will be, favourites: for what can be more elegant than the bud of the Moss Rose, with its pure rose-colour, peeping through that beautiful and unique envelope?

The first in the catalogue is the Asepala, or Rosa muscosa asepala; a new variety, something like the Provence Dianthæflora, curious, but of no beauty. The Blush Moss is a most beautiful variety of the colour of that wellknown rose, the Celestial, --so exactly inter

mediate between the White Moss and the common, that it is quite necessary in a collection. The Crimson or Damask Moss, sometimes called the Tinwell Moss, was originated in the garden of a clergyman at Tinwell in Rutlandshire; from thence sent

to Mr. Lee of Hammersmith. As it was one of the first deep coloured Moss Roses, it was much esteemed, and plants of it were sold at a high price. This is a more luxuriant grower than the Old Moss; its branches, leaves, and buds are also more mossy. It is an excellent rose for beds; for, if its shoots are pegged to the ground with small hooks, the surface is soon covered with its luxuriant foliage and flowers. For this purpose it is better on its own roots, as worked plants so treated would throw up too many suckers. The French Crimson Moss is, perhaps, not quite so deep in colour, but much more double than the preceding, and not such a luxuriant grower. The Crested Moss, Crested Provence, or Rosa cristata, for it is known by these three names, is said to have been discovered growing from the crevice of a wall at Friburg in Switzerland. No rose can be more singular and beautiful than this. The buds, before expansion, are so clasped by its fringed sepals, that they present a most unique and elegant appearance, totally unlike any other rose. When the flower is fully expanded, this peculiar beauty vanishes, and it has merely the appearance of a superior variety of the Provence Rose. It should here be mentioned, that, if grown in a poor soil, its buds often lose their crest, and come plain, like the Provence Rose. As a standard, this rose is