HYBERNATION OF PLANTS. 71 



their constitution ; but no doubt it will also be found 

 that as the dormouse, the sloth, the snake, the 

 mole, &c., undergo a greater or less degree of tor- 

 pidity, and some require it not at all so in plants, 

 the length and degree will vary much in different 

 species, and according to their state of artificial cul- 

 tivation. As a general rule, young gardeners must 

 take heed not prematurely to force the juices into 

 action in spring, nor to keep them too lively in 

 winter, unless they are well prepared with good and 

 sufficient protection till all the frosts are over. The 

 practical effect of these observations will be, that 

 many pknts which have hitherto only been culti- 

 vated by those who have had flues and greenhouses 

 at their command, will now be grown in as great or 

 greater perfection by those who can afford them a 

 dry, though not a warm shelter. One instance may 

 serve as an example : the scarlet geranium, one of the 

 greatest treasures of our parterres, if taken up from 

 the ground in autumn, after the wood is thoroughly 

 ripened, and hung up in a dry room, without any 

 soil attaching to it, will be found ready, the next 

 spring, to start in a new life of vigour and beauty. 



One characteristic of our native plants we must 

 mention, that,, if we miss in them something of the 

 gorgeousncss and lustre of more tropical flowers, we 

 are more than compensated by the delicacy and 

 variety of their perfume ; and just as our woods, 

 vocal with the nightingale, the blackbird, and the 

 thrush, can well spare the gaudy feathers of the 

 macaw, so can we resign the oncidiums, the cactuses^ 



