A FLOWER HOBBY 237 



has no small hobby on his hands. This dozen can 

 be chosen from a list of one hundred and sixty-five 

 varieties; doubtless from longer lists also. 



Aside from Bailey's monumental work, there are 

 many books of reference that can be used as the 

 means of education in the pursuit of a flower hobby. 

 The rose, iris, daffodil, lily and crocus have all had 

 books written about their species and hybrids. Cat- 

 alogues, too, frequently are of incomplete botanical 

 assistance, but now and then there is needless con- 

 fusion of name. It must be borne in mind also 

 that common names are not always to be relied 

 upon for establishing the genus of a plant. Thus 

 the Christmas rose belongs to the genus Helleborus, 

 not Rosa; the Guernsey lily to Nerine, not Lilium; 

 the grape hyacinth to Muscari, and so on. If your 

 hobby is roses, however, and you think that you 

 would like Christmas roses with others, just let 

 them come in and say nothing; botany can be dread- 

 fully elastic in the gardens, sometimes, 

 i Whether the hobby serves any marked decora- 

 tive purpose is of minor importance. The prime ob- 

 ject is the production of perfect individuals and 

 very often it is much more convenient to put the 

 plants in rows in a secluded part of the grounds, 

 using, perhaps, the surplus for special display else- 

 where. In such a place the raggedness incidental 

 to seed-saving does not matter and there is plenty 

 of room for experimenting with cuttings and seed- 

 lings, as well as hybridizing if one has the time 

 for that. 



