2S2 
HUMEA ELEGANS. 
wild forms, he observes : " When we look at 
the species with single or semi-double flowers, 
which are the types of the present garden 
varieties, and compare them with those va- 
rieties, the contrast may well make us in- 
quire — Have the latter really descended from 
these species ? so greatly are they improved 
in form and texture of petal — increased also 
in size — changed from single to double — and 
varied in colour to a remarkable degree, that 
I do not wonder at persons unacquainted with 
the effects of cultivation on the wild species 
wishing to know the process of development 
before they accredit statements such as these. 
We may fairly presume, however, that such is 
their origin. But if so, how has such a change 
been wrought ? we reply, simply by a long 
course of careful and systematic culture. 
What was the rose comparatively speaking, 
fifty, or even thirty years since ? There are 
doubtless some admirers of the genus who 
can glance retrospectively to the former 
period, and trace the gradual alteration from 
flimsy semi-double varieties, few blooming in 
the autumn, to the full bold flowers of the 
present day, so exquisite in colour, so sym- 
metrical in form. In order to trace their 
descent, it is necessary to revert to the species 
which we must suppose existing in a wild 
state. We know little of cultivation as pur- 
sued in remote ages, but may be justified in 
presuming that seeds of the rose were sown, 
as well as those of other trees and plants. It 
is recorded that the Romans did this, but we 
now allude to times anterior to these. Now, 
supposing the seeds of the wild species to have 
been gathered and sown, Nature's stores thus 
opened, she would yield forth her treasures, 
here as elsewhere, in rich abundance ; the 
plants raised would produce flowers varying 
in colour, size, and degree of fulness. We 
may suppose the handsomest of these would 
be cherished most, and the probability is, that 
seeds would be saved from such ; hence we 
might expect to obtain a variety as before, 
and a further advance in beauty. So on from 
time to time, the improvement taking place 
so gradually as to fix the attention only of the 
curious in such matters. Ages might thus 
roll away, and the species be not marvellously 
changed from their primitive form. But 
following the stream of time, we reach the 
period when the raising of plants became a 
settled occupation ; soon men turned their 
attention to the improvement of races ; then 
the sexes of plants were generally acknow- 
ledged ; and finally, the effects of artificial 
fertilization were made known, and the art 
practised. The latter was indeed a grand 
stride in the path of improvement ; by its 
pursuance man stepped in to the aid of Nature, 
and the results are strikingly visible." 
The description of the varieties — each group 
of which is discussed separately — is given on 
a very complete and excellent plan, embracing 
not only the commonly observed points of 
colour, size, form, &c, but also such points as 
habit and rate of growth, considerations of 
great importance in the judicious and satis- 
factory arrangement of a rose garden. The 
historical portion of the work will form very 
interesting reading. — M. 
HUMEA ELEGANS. 
The Humea elegans is a very graceful 
plant when well cultivated. Its habit is erect, 
with a few very subordinate side branches, 
and it reaches from five to eight feet in height. 
The stem is clothed thickly with large lance- 
shaped downy leaves, which, under good treat- 
ment, should be preserved nearly down to the 
base of the stem, as much of the beauty of the 
plant depends on its being furnished with 
perfect foliage ; the foliage has an agreeable 
scent. The flowers are not individually con- 
spicuous ; they are small, and look not unlike 
brownish shining scales, but they are produced 
in a very large and most gracefully drooping 
plume-like panicle, from the top of the plant, 
and from the points of the side shoots. It is 
a biennial, belonging to the senecious division 
of composite plants (Compositas-Senecionideaa). 
The seeds of the humea should be sown in the 
month of Ap'ril or May, (they do not succeed 
well later,) in pots of light sandy soil, plunged 
in any pit or frame where there may be a 
gentle bottom heat ; this is necessary on ac- 
count of the seeds being oftentimes shy of 
germinating. After they have sprung up they 
are very liable to damp off if great care is not 
observed in watering. As soon as the plants 
are of sufficient strength to admit of it being 
done, they must be potted singly into small 
pots, using any sort of rich, light, vegetable 
earth or mould, with a good mixture of sand. 
They are then to be set in a pit or frame 
near to the glass, and if there be a gentle bot- 
tom heat so much the better. After a few 
days, abundance of air ought to be given them, 
otherwise they will be drawn up weak and 
spindly. As soon as they have filled the pots 
with roots, they must be re-potted in larger 
pots, using at this shifting much stronger soil 
in order to encourage the plants to grow sturdy 
during the summer months, so that they may 
rest awhile during the short dull days in 
winter. The kind of soil which suits the 
humea consists of equal parts of fresh fibry 
loam, and decomposed vegetable mould, with 
a sufficient quantity of sand to render the 
whole porous. They require at all times 
abundance of pot room and a liberal drainage 
of potsherds and small charcoal, which seems 
