20 PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



apply them with a fair amount of common sense, and attention to 

 details necessitated by the nature of any particular plant. 



Although, unhappily, a good knowledge of plants, their structure 

 and requirements, does not necessarily mean that a person with this 

 knowledge is also a good cultivator, it is nevertheless true that a 

 gardener who turns such knowledge to practical use has a much 

 better chance of producing fine flowers, fruits, and vegetables than he 

 who is not so well equipped in this respect. Many gardeners — amateur 

 and professional — are like poets : they are born and not made ; they 

 seem to know instinctively and exactly how to cultivate any particular 

 plant ; or if they do not, it is not very long before they find out. 

 Without knowing it, such gardeners carry out the true principles of 

 cultivation, which after all are in strict accordance with natural laws, 

 and therefore the more one studies the nature of a plant and its 

 requirements the sooner will he be able to grow it to perfection in his 

 garden. 



Before one can hope to grow a plant of any kind satisfactorily it is 

 obvious that at least some knowledge is required in regard to the 

 functions of the various parts of plants, the soil and its composition, 

 and treatment, and many other details. An attempt has been made in 

 this direction with a view to giving the reader information that may be 

 of use to him in the garden. It is most important to have a clear idea 

 as to the functions of the Boots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, Fruits, and 

 Seeds, as this will prevent many mistakes in cultural treatment. A 

 doctor who did not understand the anatomy of his patient, and what he 

 required to keep him in good health, would be a sorry practitioner. So 

 with the person who would grow plants successfully. He must under- 

 stand them, he must know something about their relationship to each 

 other, the countries in which they grow wild, the kind of soil that suits 

 them best, whether they prefer sunshine or shadow, moist or dry 

 situations, and how best they may be increased so that they shall not 

 die out of cultivation altogether, either through old age, ill-treatment, 

 or other causes. 



