FLORISTS FLOWERS. 
133 
had property enough to save it from the dung- 
hill. I have seen thousands of seedlings at 
Guyott's and Dickson's, years ago, and where 
they had one advance, they had five hundred 
go-backs from the sorts they were saved from. 
I do not know an exception in any flower 
that has been materially improved from its 
original simple state, to the disposition to go 
back; I am sure I have seen. tens of thousands 
of polyanthuses raised from seed, and never 
saw one in a thousand that was not worse than 
the parent, when the seed was saved from 
flowers in a general collection ; and, indeed, 
when we recollect how few polyanthuses there 
are at all esteemed, and how little they have 
advanced, although hundreds of people raise 
them, we need not doubt for an instant the 
care and watchfulness, the interest and excite- 
ment, that are required to keep up, not to say 
advance, the qualities of Florists' Flowers. 
The reason, then, why Florists' Flowers do 
not advance more rapidly are chiefly these : 
1st. The disposition of flowers to go back, 
instead of advance. 2dly. The practice of 
raising from seed indiscriminately gathered 
from flowers grown in great collections. 3dly. 
The carelessness evinced by great dealers in 
so saving all their seed. To these causes may 
be attributed the slow pace at which floricul- 
ture proceeds, and this will enable us to judge 
why amateurs succeed better than large 
dealers in raising good seedlings. The ama- 
teur's ground, if not his means, is generally 
limited. This limitation necessarily curtails 
the extent of his collections. The small 
number he can grow makes him choice of his 
varieties, and enables him to pay the more 
attention. He saves his seed from the best 
among a small choice collection, and he reaps 
his reward in the recognition of a flower 
better than he has, or as good', and new in 
some feature. With all his care, however, he 
throws away nine out of ten, nineteen out of 
twenty, or it may be, ninety-nine out of a 
hundred. He finds a customer in the nursery- 
man, who cannot, for the life of him, improve 
his breed, because he is obliged to grow large 
collections, and the seed saved from large 
collections will not give him a good one in 
a thousand, and sometimes not in ten thousand. 
Why then, it may be asked, why then does 
floriculture not advance more rapidly, when 
it is shown that amateurs can and do advance 
it ? The answer is very plain, easily under- 
stood, and not to be gainsaid. It is because 
even amateurs who raise seedlings are com- 
paratively few, and too many of those who do 
are not sufficiently careful. Having found, 
according to my notions, the cause of which 
all friends to floriculture must regret the,, 
effects, I shall propose a remedy, and I trust 
I may make this feasible to people of mode- 
rate understanding, and induce those whose 
means enable them to pursue it, to go at once 
into the most delightful branch of floricul- 
' ture — the improvement of the races. I close 
this part of the subject only to begin the 
other, and most important part, under the 
head of 
HINTS FOB THE IMPROVEMENT OF FLORIST 
FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 
I would rather depend on an amateur who 
had no flowers to begin with, than on one who 
had a collection, for the seed which would be 
likely to produce improvement, because I 
could dictate the sorts he should grow, and 
from which to save it ; and I know hardly 
any flower in which his services are not ab- 
solutely wanted. Let any one select his 
flower, and suppose he commences with 
THE TULIP. 
Let him grow away from his bed altogether, 
or if he have no bed, so much the better, a 
few kinds, every one of which should be 
selected for some excellent property: say that 
Rubens is selected for its colour; Siam for its 
thickness of petal and approach to form ; Poly- 
phemus for numerous good qualities ; Pomp 
for its rich yellow ground, though bad form; 
Rose Ceres Belle Forme for its clearness, and 
Sac for its colour ; Charbonin, Salvator Rosa, 
Triumph Royal, and such others as have 
perfectly clean bottoms, distinct colour, and 
thick petals. Let not a doubtful one of any 
description be admitted. Siam and Ceres Belle 
Forme are often doubtful in their ground 
colour, and some seasons they will not lose 
the tinge of yellow, but these are too good in 
other respects to omit ; Rose Catherine is a 
beautiful colour, but its foul bottom would, 
perhaps, spoil the whole batch ; sow these in 
an open situation, as many of each as you 
like, and let them be crossed by the bee, or 
if they do not in a few days show signs of 
having been inoculated, cross them any way, 
no matter how, for no crosses could be bad. 
Much is said by Tulip breeders about saving 
seed from unbroken Tulips ; others have 
boasted of crossing by hand, or artificial impreg- 
nations ; but I have seen the produce of such 
crosses, and have observed nothing to tempt 
me to follow the example. I have also known 
a wise person to pretend that a Tulip newly 
broken has been from a cross between this 
and that, only because he fancied he could trace 
the character of these flowers. The most suc- 
cessful have never crossed them at all, but let 
them cross themselves, or rather let the fly and 
bee do the work. But suppose you prefer im- 
pregnating each Tulip with the pollen of one of 
your own selecting, this is the way to do it; 
when the anthers burst, take a pair of pincers, 
and pull them off their stamens, and rub the 
