Wliat constitutes a Florist's Flower ? 455 



changed, though usually every individual of the same species 

 varies slightly from its brethren. Among trees, for instance, 

 some will have an erect manner of growth, while others, of pre- 

 cisely the same kind, will assume a drooping habit ; and among 

 herbaceous plants the colours of the flowers will often materially 

 differ, and some even show a disposition to become double. The 

 more variable a plant is in a state of nature, the more readily 

 will it become changed by the different modes of cultivation 

 practised on it, though many plants scarcely differ under any 

 circumstances ; and, as a general rule, fewer annuals become 

 changed than perennials, and fewer ligneous plants than her- 

 baceous. The early floriculturists considered as florist's flowers 

 changed herbaceous plants only ; but florists of the present day 

 admit not only suffruticose plants, as pelargoniums and some 

 calceolarias, but also shrubs, as roses and camellias. 



Flowers, to constitute florist's flowers, must become subservient 

 to certain laws, the chief of which is form. The outline of every 

 florist's flower should be circular, or as nearly so as possible, as 

 may be readily perceived by drawing the outline of the most 

 esteemed tulips, carnations, pansies, &c. A change of the form 

 of the flower, however, is not generally the first departure from 

 nature in a plant, but is rather the result of culture or accident: 

 a departure from the usual colour of the flower, or normal habit 

 of the plant, is, however, by no means unusual ; and the former 

 constitutes, in conjunction with form, the chief merits of florist's 

 flowers. Let us examine, for example, the flower of the wild 

 carnation. In a state of nature, we shall commonly find it vary- 

 ing from flesh colour, rarely white, to dark crimson ; and the 

 outline, instead of being circular, ten-angled: but, by cultivation, 

 the flower becomes much increased in size ; the stamens are 

 metamorphosed into petals, rendering it what is called double ; 

 by which means, and by the enlargement of the original or 

 guard petals, the angles are filled up, and the outline rendered 

 circular; the ground colour also changes to pure white, striped 

 with crimson, scarlet, pink, or purple, in which case it is called 

 a carnation; or with a white or yellow ground, dotted and edged 

 with red, purple, or scarlet, it is termed a picotee. The flower, 

 however, is not the only part that undergoes a change; the 

 whole plant has also departed from the original type ; it has 

 become much more vigorous, with leaves broader and 

 blunter than in the species. The great distinction, however, 

 between native species and accidental varieties is, the inca- 

 pability of the latter of perpetuating themselves ; for, should 

 they produce seed, the greater portion of the plants raised 

 therefrom will be in a transition stage to the original stock : 

 the true way, therefore, to increase or perpetuate varieties is 

 only to raise seedlings from the most decidedly marked vari- 



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