XVI. 



RAISING NEW VARIETIES. 



EW Roses occasionally come as 

 sports, but the only method de- 

 pended upon for their production 

 is sowing seed. Roses of the past 

 have, for the most part, been the product of 

 nature unaided by the hand of man. The 

 common practice has been to gather the seed, 

 without even keeping the varieties separate, 

 and to sow it promiscuously. There are a 

 few instances recorded where artificial cross- 

 ings have been resorted to, with successful 

 results, but the number of such operators has 

 been very limited. It is a well-known fact 

 that most fruits and flowers seldom reproduce 

 themselves with exactness from seed ; there 

 is often a close resemblance, yet some diver- 

 gence from the original. Nature is constantly 

 struggling for variation; even though the 

 pistils receive pollen from their own flower 

 alone, this law holds good ; but through the 

 agencies of wind, insects, etc. , the pollen from 

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