ROSCOMMON 116 ROSEBERY England, March 8, 1753. His most im- portant work, "The Life of Lorenzo de' Medici" (1796), did much toward stimu- lating English interest in Italian litera- ture. His "The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast" (1807), a nursery classic in verse, attracted the attention of the king and queen, and was set to music for the young princesses. Among his many other works may be named : "A General View of the African Slave Trade" (1788) ; "The Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth" (1805) ; and "On the Origin and Vicissitudes of Literature, Science and Art" (1817). He died in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, June 30, 1831. ROSCOMMON, an inland county of Connaught, Ireland, called after Comon, a founder of monasteries and schools in the eighth century. The area is 949 square miles. The surface is fertile and I is watered by the Shannon river. The plain of Boyle in the center, celebrated for sheep, is full of historical landmarks, and at Croaghon, formerly Rath Crua- chain, the ancient burial-place of the kings of Connaught, still stands the pillar stone of King Dathi, killed in the Alps, 428 A. D. Sheep and cattle raising and agriculture are highly developed. The capital is Roscommon. Pop. about 90,000. ROSE, the beautiful and fragrant flower which has given name to the large natural order Rosacex, seems to be con- fined to the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The species are numerous and are extremely difficult to distinguish. The rose is easily cultivated, and its varieties are almost endless. Nature, almost unaided, will perform wonders in bringing forth new roses; but man, properly conversant with her > se- crets, can do much to help. Crossing, grafting, and bud variation are the methods practiced by growers. Of these crossing is the favorite and most success- ful; it consists in transferring the pollen of one variety to the stigma of another. The American Beauty rose had its birth in an almost neglected corner of the Wash- » ington garden of the late George Bancroft. Amid a tangle of roses of common varie- ties suddenly blossomed this new and won- derful rose. Slips were at once experi- mented with, and American Beauty has been steadily improved in size and fra- grance. ROSE, JOHN HOLLAND, an English historian, born at Bedford, England, in 1855. He was educated at Owens Col- lege, Manchester, and at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating from the latter in 1879. He was lecturer on modern his- tory to the Cambridge and London So- cieties for University Extension, in 1911, after which he was reader of modern history at Cambridge. His historical writings include "The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era" (1894) ; "The Reign of Queen Victoria" (1897); "The Rise of Democracy" (1897) ; "William Pitt and the Great War" (1911) ; "Origins of the War" (1914) ; and "The Development of the European Nations, 1870-1914" (1915). He was one of the contributors to the Cambridge Modern History. ROSE ACACIA (Robinia hispida, natural order Leguminosse) , a highly or- namental flowering shrub inhabiting the S. parts of the Alleghany Mountains, and now frequently seen in gardens in Eu- rope. It is a species of locust; the flowers are large, rose-colored, and inodorous ; the pods are glandular-hispid. ROSE APPLE, or MALABAR PLUM, a tree of the genus Eugenia, the E. Jam- bos, belonging to the natural order Myr- tacese. It is a branching tree, a native of the East Indies. The fruit is about the size of a hen's egg, is rose-scented, and has the flavor of an apricot. ROSE, ATTAR OF. See Attar. ROSEBAY, in botany, the popular name of the genus Rhododendron. ROSEBERY, ARCHIBALD PHILIP PRIMROSE, FIFTH EARL OF, an Eng- lish statesman; born May 7, 1847; was educated at Eton and Oxford, and suc- ceeded his grandfather in 1868. He was an advanced Liberal in politics, and a ready and effective speaker. He was un- der-secretary at the home office, 1881- 1883; lord privy seal and first commis- sioner of works, 1885 ; next year held the secretaryship of foreign affairs till the fall of Gladstone. Had he been able to enter the House of Commons, his rise would have been more rapid. In 1878 he was elected lord-rector of Aberdeen University; in 1880 of Edinburgh Uni- versity; in 1899 of Glasgow University, Chancellor of the same in 1908. In 1889 he became a member of the London County Council, and was appointed chair- man of that body. The University of Cambridge conferred the degree of LL.D. on him in 1888. He advocated the reform of the House of Lords, and was much interested in the questions of imperial federation and the social conditions of the masses. In 1878 he married Hannah, daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild; she died in 1890. When Mr. Gladstone succeeded to power Lord Rosebery be- came Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and in October of the same year (1892) he was made a Knight of the Garter. On the resignation of Mr. Gladstone in
