It has been the custom of some botanists to 
entertain a seeming contempt for double flowers 
and hybrid plants, because these appear to inter- 
fere with the convenience with which, according 
to some favourite method, they would desire to 
class all vegetable productions. Surely we ought 
rather to endeavour to make our system of classifi- 
cation adequate to the circumstances presented to 
us by nature, instead of quarrelling with the 
multitude and exuberance of her productions. 
Plants which are raised between two varieties of 
the same species are, usually, fruitful, and are 
called cross-bred ; but such as are raised between 
distinct species, and considered true hybrids, are, 
it is maintained by most botanists, unfruitful. We 
are inclined to a contrary opinion, and are quite 
sure that the pistils of most hybrids are perfect, 
and that fertilization may be secured by the pollen 
of a kindred plant ; and their anthers also are 
sometimes perfect. 
The Gladiolus Colvillii, like many of the hardier 
species of Cape bulbs, may be grown in perfection 
in the open borders. We have flowered it with as 
little care or management as the tulip ; it is, not- 
withstanding, the better practice to prepare a bor- 
der, at the foot of a south wall, with a light 
compost of loam, peat, and sand, where many 
species will not only flower well, but by having a 
covering of moss, tan, or straw, during winter, the 
bulbs may remain undisturbed. The safest plan, 
however, is to take them up in autumn, keep them 
dry in paper bags during winter, and plant them 
again in spring. 
FI. Gard. v. 2, 155. 
