of different Flowers from Seed. 129 



rich and splendid the money purchased plant may be, it was 

 bought for a price, with money, and money will buy it again; 

 but the favorite seedling was not so bought, nor will it be thus 

 parted with until its increase shall have secured to its originator 

 all he desires of it. It may, indeed, be compared to the feeling 

 a man has for the slave purchased by his money compared with 

 that he has for his own child. The writer of this once had a 

 rose bush raised by him from seed; for three years he had watch- 

 ed and cultured it, when on the fourth it showed a single bud, 

 and this bud was to announce to him whether he had produced 

 a new and beautiful rose, or whether all his labor and watching 

 had been thrown away. One morning the bud had just opened 

 the calyx sufficiently to show the color of the flower, which in- 

 dicated something very fine; the bud was also very promising in 

 form. But during the day, some rude hand plucked the bud 

 off; and when this was discovered, the feelings excited by it 

 could scarcely be conceived to be the result of so apparently 

 trifling an occurrence. Many a tear was shed on the occasion, 

 at least. I mention this to prove the intense interest that attach- 

 es itself to the raising of new plants from seed. 



I agree with you, generally, in ah your remarks on this subject. 

 You seem not to be aware, however, of the extent to which the 

 practice has been carried in Baltimore. There is, at this time, 

 an immense number of seedlings of all the plants you name in 

 the collection of Samuel Feast, in this city, and all of them the 

 product of very judicious cross impregnation. Of the superb 

 new^ rhododendrons, he has several hundred seedlings, impreg- 

 nated by the farina of each other, and of all the finest azaleas, 

 and vice versa, the leaves and wood of which indicate a great 

 variety of character. None of these have bloomed yet, and 

 of course we cannot say what they will be, but you may be able 

 to judge of the prospect. Of camellias he also has several hun- 

 dred seedlings, many of them now beginning to show flowers of 

 great promise; all of which have had the advantage of cross im- 

 pregnation from the very best sorts. Of roses, I think I may 

 say with safety, he has at least five hundred specimens, all of 

 which promise very favorably. Besides which, he has many 

 blooming plants of excellent character, produced by him years 

 ago. I am unable to name more than one or two, though I 

 know he has a considerable collection. The Kurtzif, a most 

 beautiful tea rose, and Master Burke, the most dwarfish rose, I 

 believe, in existence, occur to me at the moment as a sample. 

 When three years old, the Master Burke had fine full blown 

 and very double flowers; and the half of a common hen's egg 

 shell would have covered the whole bush without touching it. 

 This I saw and assert to be a fact. It is now seven or eight 

 years old, flowers regularly every year, affording wood for prop- 



VOL. III. NO. IV. 17 



