298 . 
say in regard to novelties, that they must be handled 
with care, as if you invest heavily the chances are that 
you will come out the loser. We cannot tell you not to 
touch them at all, for we must remember many of the 
fine flowers that we enjoy at the present day came to us at 
one time or other in the form of novelties, and to elimi- 
nate novelties entirely from our purchases would be 
depriving ourselves of the chance of securing some of 
these good things. But when we remember that more 
than ninety per cent. of novelties sent out in the last 
fitteen years have failed to come up to the high standard 
claimed for them, we can best judge of the sum that we 
would deem prudent to invest in them. It is best to let 
your home florist test all novelties and see if they are 
worthy the praise bestowed upon them. It he is the right 
kind of man he will test those things before offering them 
to his customers, and by encouraging him he will bring 
- to your door all the latest acquisitions worthy of culti- 
vating as soon as fully tested, and save you the mortifi- 
cation of spending time and money in trying to geta 
plant totally unfit for your climate and soil. 
There is a desire on the part of the florist, the seeds- 
man, and the nurseryman, to give their customers the 
best their is in flowers, seeds and trees; to improve where 
possible existing varieties, and get all their respective 
goods to the highest possiblestandard of excellence. How 
far they have succeeded in all this is fairly attested in 
the improvement of many of the plants and varieties of 
seeds and trees of the present day over the sorts distrib- 
uted twenty years ago. There is also a desire on the part 
of the consumer to secure the best in the market. This 
desire to get something rare on the part of the consumer, 
and the great desire to offer something unequalled on the 
part of the seller, is the germ from which springs the 
