130 PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS 



cletail the reasoning process with each order, but the reader may take 

 it for granted or reason it out as above that the Wallflower belongs to 

 the natural order ' Cruciferse,' because it agrees in the main with all 

 the essential characters of the order as set forth at p. 201, and it cannot 

 be made to fit into any other order. 



8. Having found the order, the genus or surname of the plant has 

 next to be found. The genera in each Order follow in natural (not 

 alphabetical) order, and the reader will find that his Wallflower will not 

 fit into the first genus, ' Matthioli ' or Stock (p. 201), nor into the second, 

 ' Parrya ' (p. 203), but it agrees in almost every detail with the characters 

 of the third genus, ' Cheiranthus ' (p. 204). It is therefore placed under 

 that genus and bears its name. 



9. The last step in the identification of the plant is to discover what 

 species it is. As there are generally only a few of these in each genus, 

 they have been described in alphabetical order, for the sake of con- 

 venience. The characters of each species have been given in sufficient 

 detail to enable the reader to decide for himself which specific (or as it 

 were christian) name he is to apply to the plant. He may regard species 

 in the same light as brothers and sisters, differing from each other in 

 details, but all having the same family or surname. 



10. Varieties. — Besides the above nine steps to be followed in 

 tracing or running down any plant, it may be added that there are 

 often many ' varieties ' or forms of one species (see, for example, Clematis 

 heracleafolia, p. 133). These varieties usually agree in almost every 

 detail with the species, but often have flowers of a different shade of 

 colour, or the leaves may be broader or narrower, hairy or smooth, and 

 so on. Where such characters are constant, a varietal name, often 

 describing the peculiarity, such as alba, rosea, purpurea, tomentosa, 

 is sometimes given. 



11. Florists' Varieties. — What are known as florists' varieties, how- 

 ever, are quite distinct from natural varieties. The custom now is to 

 give popular fancy names to florists' varieties, and they represent often 

 only the slightest variations in colour shades, which may differ vnth 

 good or bad cultivation, shadow or sunshine &c., and can in no way 

 be kept constant if the plants are increased from seeds. 



It therefore matters little what name is given to florists' varieties 

 of such plants as Clematis, Paeonia, Carnation, Pink, Polyanthus, 

 Primrose, Violet, Pansy, Phlox, Pentstemon, Hollyhock, Eose, Dahlia, 

 Chrysanthemum, Gladiolus, and many others, although for the sake of 

 convenience one must use them when they represent really fine garden 

 plants. 



