On Hybridizing* 113 



state of expectancy in which the operator is kept as to the results of the turn he 

 gives to the workings of Nature surrounds it with more than ordinary interest. 



The improver of plants is, so to speak, moving continually amid ideal scenes ; he 

 works in an enchanted sphere ; he is striving to raise up new forms, knowing what 

 he wishes, what he works for, but not what he will obtain. The seeds ripen beneath 

 his care, and he sows them ; but as to the issue of events he remains in profound 

 ignorance until by the flowering of his pets the magic wand of Nature dissolves the 

 spell and realises or dissipates his hopes. And is it unworthy of the chief actor in 

 these terrestrial scenes to employ his hours of relaxation in striving to diversify and 

 increase the beauty of the natural objects scattered around him, thereby holding up 

 to view the wonders of the Infinite, and administering to the necessities and enjoy- 

 ments of his fellow-man ? As a recreation, who can object to it ? Its tendency is 

 useful. It is harmless, healthful, and exhilarating, and calculated to soften down the 

 asperities and ills of life. There is philosophy in striving to vary and improve the 

 simple Pansy, counted as a weed in our corn fields, as well as in turning the attention 

 towards the amelioration of those more valuable plants which constitute the food 

 and raiment of man. 



But it is with the Rose we have to deal at present, and let us turn immediately 

 to the subject. 



The improvement of this flower by cultivation has been wrought out chiefly by 

 foreign growers. But why seedling Roses should not be raised in England is a 

 question I could never yet determine. I know it has been said by some, " We do 

 not understand the business ; " by others, " Our soil is not suitable ; " and, again, 

 " The climate of England will not admit of the seed ripening perfectly." But these 

 are seeming objections mere obstacles of the imagination, the semblance of which 

 is greater than the reality.* For if our soil is not naturally suitable we can render 

 it artificially so ; if we do not understand the business surely we can learn. We 

 are not isolated from our fellow-labourers ; we cannot be so satisfied with pur own 

 doings as to refuse to learn a lesson from them ; or, even were it so, the great book 

 of Nature is open to us all, in which " we may read, and read, 



" And read again, and still find something new : 

 Something to please, and something to instruct. " 



To me the difference between the climates of England and France seems the only 

 point worthy of consideration ; and that difference, although great, is not of such 

 magnitude as to raise an insuperable barrier against the successful prosecution 

 of the art. 



* This was written in 1848, since which time English Florists have done much to improve and vary the Rose 

 by raising seedlings. Mr Bennett's recent acquisitions, notably Heinrich Schultheis, Grace Darling, Her Majesty, 

 and Mrs John Laing, are in advance of any French improvements. 



M 



