66 SUGGESTIONS FOR DETERMINING THE MERITS OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 
the common hawthorn bushes, at intervals, so as to form standard trees, in such of their 
hedges as border public roads ? And why should not the scarlet oak and the scarlet acer 
be grafted on the common species of these genera, along the margins of woods and plan- 
tations ? Such improvements the more strongly recommend themselves, because, to many, 
they would involve no extra expense ; and, in every case, the effect would be almost 
immediate. Every gardener can graft and bud ; and every landed proprietor can procure 
stock plants from nurseries, from which he can take the grafts ; or he may get scions 
from botanic gardens, the garden of the London Horticultural Society, that of the 
Caledonian Horticultural Society, or the Dublin Gardens at Glasnevin." 
SUGGESTIONS FOR DETERMINING THE MERITS OF 
FLOWERING PLANTS. 
It is by no means an uninteresting or useless occupation, to inquire into the 
nature and causes of the pleasure or indifference begotten in us when witnessing 
different kinds of plants in a flowering state. By so doing, we are led at once to 
discard all those vague and ambiguous notions which are frequently induced by 
extrinsic circumstances or personal infirmities, and to establish definitive rules for 
our future regulation and guidance. What is termed taste is, we know, ex- 
ceedingly varied and capricious, but there are even in this certain essential prin- 
ciples which may be easily reduced to some degree of order, and rendered generally 
available. 
The first thing which attracts the attention of the observer of a flowering plant 
is its blossoms. If these are very numerous, conspicuous, and of a brilliant colour, 
all other characters are sometimes forgotten, and it is pronounced valuable. But, 
when the flowers have faded, the plant occasionally proves to be a meagre or even 
unsightly object, and in this state it continues throughout the greater part of the 
year. This is a case in which the impropriety of judging the merits of a plant by 
its flowers alone, is evident. Instances of a contrary nature might be adduced to 
show that where the flowers are small and inelegant, the general appearance of the 
plant may yet be ornamental, and remain so perpetually. Again, if the foliage be 
taken as a criterion in the absence of flowers, similarly erroneous conclusions may 
be deduced. 
To determine with any degree of accuracy the general character of a plant, every 
feature must be strictly scrutinised. A really beautiful object of any description, 
is one in which all the parts are in some measure conformable to each other, and 
this is precisely the case with plants. Symmetry and harmony of outline, though 
essential, are quite insufficient to constitute beauty, unless every component part 
contribute distinctly and individually to create that harmony. A large, gross, and 
uncomely flower surmounting a slender and naked stem, is certainly far from being 
