HYBRIDIZING. 59 



He thinks it a wicked extravagance, as it cer- 

 tainly was, to sell a meadow for the sake of 

 a tulip root, and he thinks it an absurdity, as it 

 certainly was not, that we should have brought 

 the " Marvel of Peru " over so many miles of 

 ocean ; but all this might be forgiven, but not 

 the "forbidden -mixtures" which grafting and 

 hybridizing have brought about. Meanwhile, as 

 we are now untroubled by such scruples, we 

 may not only enjoy the results of the art of the 

 skilful florist, but may even take an intelligent 

 interest in the art itself. It lets us into many 

 secrets of nature. It helps to explain problems 

 of much higher significance than the brief 

 existence of a garden flower. It makes us 

 understand, in some small degree, how, in every 

 form of life, a higher type may be produced 

 from one of inferior order. 



And the results are really wonderful. It is 

 difficult to know what class of plants has in late 

 years most profited by the artful nature, or 

 unnatural art, of the skilful gardener; but 

 certainly, some of the most striking successes 



