HOCKINGS' GARDEN MANUAL. 



59 



The labors of Knight, Van Mons, and others, 

 have secured to the world varieties of peaches, apples, 

 pears, &c., as much surpassing the common sorts in 

 excellence as the latter do the crab ; and hybridizing 

 flowers is now so well understood by some persons, that 

 with certain flowers they can produce any color they 

 desire with almost the same precision as an artist mix- 

 ing his paints. 



There are, no doubt, occasional examples of hybri 

 dization in nature, by bees or other insects ■ and 

 valuable sorts of fruit or flowers may thus be 

 originated ; but the issue is altogether too uncertain. 

 Ten thousand seedlings might be raised without obtain- 

 ing a variety superior to the parent, and when it is 

 sought to impart some new quality to a plant, it is 

 unwise to depend upon chance, when, by bringing a 

 little natural science to bear upon it, the result may be 

 reduced to a comparative certainty. 



As the most likely and useful direction for expe- 

 riments in hybridization in a new country will be in 

 attempting to originate new and acclimatized varieties 

 of the best sorts of fruic and vegetables, I will attempt 

 to illustrate the mode of operation by small diagrams 

 of the orange blossom. 



Most flowers are composed of the following parts, 

 viz. : The calyx, which is usually green, and enveloping 

 the flowers whilst in the bud ; the corolla or petals, 

 leaves so beautifully colored, and so delicate in most 

 flowers ; the stamens, or male portion of the flower, 

 secreting the pollen or impregnating powder ; the 

 pistilis or pointals, the female portion, impregnatable 

 by the pollen, and rendering fertile the seeds ; and, 

 lastly, the pericarp or seed vessel. 



In conducting experiments of this kind, it is well 

 to know that in general the characters of the female 

 parent predominate in the flowers and fruit, while the 

 foliage and general constitution are mostly those of the 

 male parent. 



