112 PRACTICAL SLORlCtJLTURE, 



Double Carnation, yet gives him back, seemingly identical 

 with the parent, his Corn or his Wheat, his Tomato or his 

 Cabbage, or in flowers his Mignonette or Alyssum. I say 

 " seemingly," for it may be doubted if they are identical, 

 only the variation is so slightly marked that it escapes 

 notice. Many, whose experience in such matters should 

 have taught them better, are always confounding plants 

 raised from cuttings or slips with those raised from seeds, 

 and cannot see why the plant raised from the slip or root 

 of a White Dahlia, or the tree raised from the graft of a 

 Baldwin Apple, should be always identical with the plant 

 or tree from which they are taken, while the seeds taken 

 from either would not produce the same. Any cutting 

 from a root or a branch, whether rooted itself or engrafted 

 on another stock (except in rare cases of sports), will be 

 identical with that of the original form from which it is 

 taken ; in fact, it is only a separated part of the same 

 plant, while the plant raised from seed is a distinct indi- 

 vidual. 



Very few not engaged in the cultivation of flowers as a 

 business, know that many of the most beautiful ones 

 used for decorating flower beds in summer, and hot-houses 

 in winter, can be raised from seed. The price of seeds, 

 as compared with plants, is very low ; a package of seeds 

 costing twenty-five cents will usually raise as many plants 

 as could be bought from the florists for $25. It is true 

 that care and labor are necessary in starting them, but 

 the pleasure derived from the operation alone well repays 

 that, independently of economic considerations. April 

 is the best month for sowing most of the seeds of tropi- 

 cal plants, and it is best done where there is the conven- 

 ience of a hot-bed or warm greenhouse. The hot-bed is 

 made in the usual manner (See chapter on Hot-beds). 

 The soil should be, if possible, of a light, sandy nature, 

 mixed with at least one-third of leaf-mould from the woods; 

 if the leaf mould is not procurable, pulverized muck, or 



