116 ON THE NATURALISATION 



i 



India ; where it grew, it is true, on mountains, but of no 

 very considerable elevation. Some plants succeed only 

 partially on being transplanted to a foreign climate. 

 Thus the artificial grasses, such as clover and cinquefoil, 

 thrive very well as grasses : they are cut down when in 

 blossom, the heat of summer being seldom sufficient to 

 ripen their seed, we are under the necessity of importing 

 it from warmer climates, in order to renew them. 



Emily. I thought that the artificial grasses were cut 

 down at that earlier period of their growth, as being then 

 most tender, and best suited for the nourishment of cattle. 



Mrs. B. That is true : but were we able to ripen the 

 seed, we should cultivate a portion for that purpose, in- 

 stead of annually renewing it from foreign parts. 



Caroline. Why have these grasses obtained the name 

 of artificial ? 



Mrs. B. Because they require continued cultivation 

 from seed. They are not perennial, but must be con- 

 stantly resown ; whilst most of the grasses of our pas- 

 tures and meadows spread by the root. 



There are many plants which will not admit of trans- 

 planting to a colder climate : thus the orange and the 

 olive have made no progress northward since the time 

 of the Romans, but are still confined to the same limits. 



Caroline. The orange-tree bears our climate under 

 shelter of a greenhouse extremely well. 



Mrs. B. There are few plants which cannot be culti- 

 vated with some degree of success, by the artificial tem- 

 perature of a greenhouse or a hothouse ; but I am speak- 

 ing of their being naturalised to a climate, so as to admit 

 of being raised in the open air. 



When you make the experiment of introducing a new 

 plant from a warmer climate, you must treat it with great 

 care, and endeavor, by gentle gradations, to wean it from 

 its native country, and accustom it to our more inclement 

 skies. You should begin by placing it in a hothouse ; 

 the following year you may try the greenhouse ; and, if 

 it does not appear to suffer from this change, you may 



651. And of artificial grasses'? 652. Why do some grasses obtain 

 the name of artificial! 653. What plants will not admit of trans- 

 planting! 654. Are there any plants which cannot be well cultivated 

 by artificial temperature! 655. When a new plant is to be introduc- 

 ed from a warmer climate, what should be the mode of treatment! 



