[Original]
Rosa Moschata Hybrida.—Having treated of the China, Tea, and Musk roses, we now come to the hybrid offspring which they have jointly produced. In 1817, M. Noisette, a French florist at Charleston, S.C., raised a seedling from the Musk Rose, impregnated with the pollen of the' common China Rose. The seedling was different from either parent, but had the vigorous growth of the Musk Rose, together with its property of blooming in clusters, and a slight trace of its peculiar fragrance. This was the original Noisette Rose, and it has been the parent of a numerous family; but as it has, in turn, been fertilized with the pollen of the Tea, and perhaps of other roses, many of its descendants have lost its peculiar characteristics, so that in some cases they cannot be distinguished from Tea roses. It is thus that confusion is constantly arising in all the families of the rose; the groups becoming merged in each other by insensible gradations, so that it is impossible to fix any clear line of demarcation between them.
The distinctive characteristic of the true Noisette is blooming in clusters. Different varieties have different habits of growth, some being much more vigorous than others; but the greater part are true climbing roses. Those in which the blood of the Musk and China predominate are comparatively hardy. Many of them can be grown as bushes in the open air, with very little winter protection, even in the latitude of Boston. Two varieties—Madame Massot and Caroline Marniesse—are today (Oct. 16) in full bloom here, where they have stood for several years, with very little precaution to shelter them. Some other varieties, again, strongly impregnated with the Tea Rose, are quite as tender as Tea roses of the pure race.
As rafter-roses in the greenhouse, the Noisettes are unsurpassed.
[Original]
Aimée Vibert is one of the prettiest of the group. It was raised by the French cultivator Vibert, who named it after his daughter. The flowers are pure white, and grow in large clusters. Though not among the most vigorous in growth of the Noisettes, this variety is comparatively hardy, and in all respects very desirable. Miss Glegg resembles her French sister, but is scarcely so graceful or elegant. Joan of Arc is a pure white rose, growing very vigorously. Madame Massot, sometimes sold by American nursery-men under the name of Mademoiselle Henriette, bears large clusters of small flowers of a waxy white, faintly tinged with flesh-color. It is one of the hardiest of the group. Caroline Marniesse somewhat resembles it, but is not equal in beauty.