A FLOWER HOBBY 237 
has no small hobby on his hands. This dozen can 
be chosen from a list of one hundred and sixty-five 
varieties; doubtless from longer lists also. 
Aside from Bailey’s monumental work, there are 
many books of reference that can be used as the 
means of education in the pursuit of a flower hobby. 
The rose, iris, daffodil, lily and crocus have all had 
books written about their species and hybrids. Cat- 
alogues, too, frequently are of incomplete botanical 
assistance, but now and then there is needless con- 
fusion of name. It must be borne in mind also 
that common names are not always to be relied 
upon for establishing the genus of a plant. Thus 
the Christmas rose belongs to the genus Helleborus, 
not Rosa; the Guernsey lily to Nerine, not Lilium; 
the grape hyacinth to Muscari, and so on. If your 
hobby is roses, however, and you think that you 
would like Christmas roses with others, just let 
them come in and say nothing; botany can be dread- 
fully elastic in the gardens, sometimes. 
: Whether the hobby serves any marked decora- 
tive purpose is of minor importance. The prime ob- 
ject is the production of perfect individuals and 
very often it is much more convenient to put the 
plants in rows in a secluded part of the grounds, 
using, perhaps, the surplus for special display else- 
where. In such a place the raggedness incidental 
to seed-saving does not matter and there is plenty 
of room for experimenting with cuttings and seed- 
lings, as well as hybridizing—if one has the time 
for that. 
