CHAP. 40.—THE DURATION OF LIFE IN THE VARIOUS KINDS OF
FLOWERS.
At the very utmost, the white [Note] violet never lasts longer
than three years: should it exceed that period, it is sure to
degenerate. The rose-tree will last so long as five years without being pruned or cauterized, [Note] methods by which it is made
to grow young again. We have already stated [Note] that the nature of the soil is of the very greatest importance; for in
Egypt, we find, all these plants are perfectly inodorous, and
it is only the myrtle that has any particular smell. In some
countries, too, the germination of all the plants precedes that
in other parts of the world by so long a period as two months
even. The rose-beds should be well spaded immediately after
the west winds begin to prevail, and, a second time, at the
summer solstice: every care, however, should be paid, between
these two periods, to keeping the ground well raked and
cleaned.