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THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



offsets, layers, tubers, cuttings, or by any other methods independently of seeds, and 

 moreover the different varieties of the several kinds thus established, must be sufficiently 

 numerous, distinct, and beautiful to form large named collections. To put the matter 

 concisely, "Florists' Flowers" are those raised or originated from seed in the garden 

 by the " Florist " or cultivator. 



Thus florists' flowers are essentially flowers of art — the result, largely, of human 

 skill, stimulated by devotion in raising and selecting them with painstaking care. 

 They are the products of human intelligence, and this raising of new flowers, an 

 American writer has said, " having in mind an ideal form, is man's nearest approach 

 to the Creator in his dealings with the organic world ; and has been the greatest 

 force in the wonderful upbuilding of our cultivated flora." * 



SCOPE OF FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



A narrow or a broad view may be taken of the flowers which may be appropriately 

 treated as florists' varieties. In a popular work of this kind the broad view will be 

 taken. The circumscribed view is to place in this category only about a dozen long- 

 established kinds, practically hardy. The patrons of these, of which the auricula, 

 carnation, and tulip may be cited as examples, cultivate their favourites within the 

 most rigid ideas of the points that constitute a true or perfect flower. It is impossible 

 to speak in terms too high of the devotion and skill of these whole-hearted florists, who 

 thus establish varieties embodying the highest types of beauty, and it has long been 

 the custom to append the names of the raisers to varieties of permanent value, as in the 

 case of auriculas and the most refined carnations, but not to varieties for decorative 

 purposes, as these are usually soon superseded. 



The varieties of some well-known and generally recognised florists' flowers are 

 so numerous and beautiful, and also regarded as so important by a large number of their 

 patrons and admirers, that national societies have been established for stimulating raisers 

 and cultivators to excel in their production ; also for gaining more adherents, as true 

 lovers of flowers in the highest possible state of development desire that others shall 

 love them too. 



There are not less than eight national floral societies, each devoted to the improve- 

 ment and extended culture of a particular kind of flower, in this country — a greater 



* H. Bailey, Cornell University, in "The Survival of the Unlike." 



