On Gardeners' Flowers 



Wallflower, still higher cultivation will 

 finally alter the shape, producing that 

 large lax type of petal to which we have 

 already alluded, as one in which the form 

 seems almost escaping from its bounds ; 

 though even this change may be valuable 

 as the source of much new beauty. 

 Thirdly, there are plants in which, though 

 the flower may be greatly bettered by 

 cultivation, there is clear and serious loss, 

 as in the Pansies and Geraniums from 

 which we originally started. 



Note 3 



But is the work of Nature always per- 

 fect ? Not always of the highest type of 

 beauty certainly, for that was never in- 

 tended. And there are many instances 

 in which it is difficult to see the reason 

 of the imperfection. What a repulsive 

 smell the Daffodil has ! You would have 

 thought that something would have been 

 selected more consistent with the appear- 

 ance of that lively flower. It is the same 

 with some other of the Narcissuses. And 

 there is a species of Fritillary (jF. pyre- 

 naica), one of the most graceful of all 

 our spring plants, in which the rich varie- 

 gated brown would lead us to expect a 



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