216 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



auctioneer, or a pocket-book dropper, will freely pay ten 

 dollars for a rose plant of which a picture has been shown 

 them as having a blue flower ; the chance of its coming 

 blue being about equal to the chance that the watch of the 

 mock auctioneer will be gold. It has long been known 

 among the best observers of such matters, that in certain 

 families of plants particular colors prevail, and that in 

 no single instance can we ever expect to see blue, yellow, 

 and scarlet colors in varieties of the same species. If any 

 one at all conversant with plants will bring any family of 

 them to mind, it will at once be seen how undeviating is 

 this law. In the Dahlia we have scarlet and yellow, but 

 no approach to blue, and so in the Rose, Hollyhock, etc. 

 Again, in the Verbena, Sal via, etc., we have scarlet and 

 blue, but no yelloio ! In the Hyacinth we have blue and 

 a fairly good yellow, but no scarlet. Some have con- 

 tended that in this family we have the combination, for 

 of course we have crimson ; but crimson is not scarlet any 

 more than blue is purple. If we reflect it will be seen 

 that there is nothing out of the order of Nature in this 

 arrangement. We never expect to see among our poul- 

 try, with their varied but somber plumage, any assume 

 the azure hues of our spring Blue-bird or the dazzling 

 tints of the Oriole ; why, then, should we expect Nature 

 to step out of what seems her fixed laws, and give us a 

 blue Rose, a blue Dahlia, or a yellow Verbena ? 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

 HUMBUGS IN HORTICULTURE. 



A PAPER under this head was read by me at a meeting 

 of the National Association of Nurserymen and Florists 

 held at Chicago, 111., June 16th, 1880; and although it 

 has already in part been published in my work, " Garden 

 and Farm Topics," yet I take the liberty of again repeat- 



