Definition of Species, &c. 221 



of the Florist, and as varieties usually originate with him, we may presume that he 

 is competent to answer the above questions. 



Having the species, or varieties produced from species, at his command, he saves 

 seed from them, which he sows; and from the proneness of 'Nature's offspring to 

 assume new forms and tints, hence arise individuals differing from their parents. 

 These are commonly termed varieties ; and he bestows names on such of them as 

 he deems improvements on former kinds and therefore worthy of public notice. 



But the Florist does more than this. He does not rest satisfied with the simple 

 workings of Nature. Her march is too slow for him. He strives to anticipate her. 

 He brings together varieties of different species, and, hybridizing them, he effects 

 new combinations produces new races ; * the individuals of which differ widely 

 in appearance, and which may eventually become so numerous as to induce him 

 to group them, that they may be the more readily comprehended. To accomplish 

 this end he seizes hold of external characters whether it be the colours of the 

 flowers, as in Carnations, &c., or the general appearance of the plant, as in Roses 

 and forms a system of arrangement of his own ; not strictly botanical, perhaps, but 

 popular and useful. Such is the origin of the Floricultural Groups. As to the 

 differences between these groups, we shall point out, as we approach each one, the 

 characters which distinguish it from all others. 



Now, it will be tolerably evident, that to be able to group varieties correctly, 

 some practice among Roses, combined with previous study, is necessary. If an 

 individual wish to become sufficiently acquainted with Roses to enable him to do 

 this, I would say let him first study the features of the species from which the 

 Florist's groups have descended. Let the groups be considered next ; then the 

 varieties, which, though ever so variously hybridized, will after a little practice be 

 readily understood. A hybrid may sometimes be met with whose place it may at 

 first sight be difficult to determine ; but in such cases a second or third inspection 

 and a little reflection usually solve the difficulty. To illustrate this remark, let us 

 suppose the existence of a variety due to the hybridizing of a Damask with a 

 Hybrid Provence Rose. The Hybrid Provence being a hybrid between the French 

 (R. Gallica) and the Provence (R. centifolia), such variety might partake of the 



* M. Deslongchamps in his work on the Rose devotes considerable space to a discussion on the subject of 

 raising Roses from seed, and especially in proving that they vary from seed without being hybridized. What 

 practical man has any doubt on the subject ? But with the same stroke he endeavours to establish that the so-, 

 called hybrids are not really such have not been produced by the union of two distinct species, but by freaks of 

 Nature. In this, if he admits as distinct species those plants which most Botanists do, he appears to me to fail 

 absolutely ; and he admits that the authority of the French Rose-growers, most of whom devote a great part of 

 their time to the raising of seedlings, is against him. M. Vibert, one of the oldest and most distinguished 

 cultivators in France, goes so far as to say that he obtained spotted Moss Roses by crossing the spotted varieties 

 of the French Rose (R. Gallica) with self-coloured varieties of the Moss Rose (R. centifolia). The plants 

 produced . from this experiment partook unmistakably of the characters of each parent, and differed from all 

 pre-existing kinds. 



