53 
and afterwards placed ina cold frame, where they 
can be shaded from the hot sun, and occasionally 
watered. If allowed to grow in the seed pans until 
the autumn, they may then be transplanted into 
the open ground in a well-sheltered border, and 
there allowed to remain until they bloom. Many 
of the seedlings will bloom the first year, but little 
more than the colour can be ascertained until the 
plant has been established at least two years. 
Those which produce very thin petals, or which 
are deficient in colour, or single, may safely be 
discarded at once, retaining only such as have good 
outline, decided and distinct colour, petals of good 
substance, and the flowers, if not full, somewhat 
more than semi-double. If all, or any of these 
properties exist, they will improve under culti- 
vation. 
Crossing or Hybridising.—By crossing varieties 
of opposite characters, the colour, habit, and form 
are changed, and new varieties are obtained ; thus 
we are constantly receiving flowers of increased 
size and more perfect form. To perform this 
operation with any chance of success, a judicious 
selection of the varieties to be crossed must be 
made. Choose for the parent plants such sorts 
as bear seeds freely ; upon a dry fine day, when 
the bloom is fully expanded, remove the anthers 
from the flower with a pair of scissors, to prevent 
self-impregnation, then take the pollen of another 
variety of opposite character, or one possessing 
some property that it is desirable to impart, and 
place on the pistil of the parent plant. This will 
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