\'26 THE FLORIST. 



be so in cattle ; credit is given to the farmer that he ha^ a reason 

 founded in nature for the points of his beast, though that reason 

 does not lie on the surface, to be discerned by every passing beholder. 

 They are admitted to be what they really are, — an index of its quali- 

 fications to fulfil its destined functions. 



The same thing occurs in judging between the relative values of 

 different specimens of the same kind, in all articles, whether natural 

 productions or works of art. There are always some technical marks 

 to judge by, which serve to indicate, in short compass, the intrinsic 

 qualities of the article. And these marks will seem arbitrary to those 

 who do not understand them, because their connexion with the qualities 

 is not seen. The merchant judges of samples by marks that are 

 meaningless to others, but which lead him to a correct result, because 

 they have a real natural connexion with the qualities he seeks. And 

 the florist has an equal reason for the properties of his flower. A 

 novice will sometimes bring a seedling Polyanthus to an older culti- 

 vator, expecting the same admiration it has excited in himself. In 

 size, and shape, and colour, and edging, it is perfect ; and he is sur- 

 prised and mortified at the coldness of its reception. And when told 

 why it must be rejected, he considers the floristic canon as arbitrary 

 and unreasonable which condemns an otherwise excellent flower for 

 the trifling defect, if defect it is to be called at all, that the stigma 

 is visible. Yet condemned it would be, and universally, by judges ; 

 and they are right, as will be shewn in its place. A pin- eyed Poly- 

 anthus or Auricula has no business in a collection, though not out of 

 place in a border. 



There is no caprice in this. And the real agreement that has 

 obtained all along from the first among florists in their estimate of 

 fancy flowers is greater than is at first discoverable ; because they did 

 not set out from a known system acknowledged by all, or by any, 

 and therefore their differences of taste were greatest at first, and 

 diminish continually afterwards. No such system was then thought 

 of or supposed to exist, but each endeavoured to improve his chosen 

 flower in his own way. But now, after their labours have in a course 

 of years slowly collected various and tangible results, we can see that 

 those results have been reached by successive steps, all in the same 

 direction. The Tulip — which has perhaps been cultivated longest as 

 a fancy flower, and which, as the gaudiest of them, is peculiarly likely 

 to dazzle even the experienced into mistakes of its true properties — 

 has undergone several apparent revolutions of opinion about its 

 standard points. We have now, however, no difficulty in following 

 the successive advances it has made, and discovering that there was 

 no capriciousness, nor any other general alteration of taste than what 

 arose from a general onward progress. 



It maybe true that some old varieties exist in most fancy flowers, 

 which have seldom been surpassed since ; but at the time of their 

 first appearance they were not, as they are expected to be now, the 

 types of the whole bed. And when it is thence inferred that many 

 have been discarded to make room for others no better, or perhaps 

 worse, than themselves, it is not indeed denied that such mistakes 



