ON THE ACCLIMATATION OF PLANTS. 
the present time in the possession of Mr. Ambrose of Battersea—in whose establishment it originated— 
and I believe has not as yet been let out to the public. Having said thus much of those which we 
think in a great measure best adapted for hybridizing, we will offer a few remarks for the guidance of 
those who may not be acquainted with the best mode of preparing the plants for seeding. They 
should be kept in pots as small as possible, so that they may not grow too freely, as it will be found 
that those which become pot-bound seed the freest. They should be placed in a situation as sunny as 
possible, in the front of a house, or on a shelf, where they can have a free circulation of air at all times. 
Canvass should be placed round the house to exclude the bees, and great care must be taken to remove 
the anthers from such flowers as are intended for impregnation, before they deposit them pollen, or the 
operation will be next to useless, at least you cannot calculate with any certainty upon the produce. 
In addition to the leaves above represented, we have also among our fancy seedlings, one thousand 
of which we hope to flower next season, some very distinct and remarkable characters, certainly more 
novel than anything we have before seen; in fact, our success this season emboldens us to say that the 
foliage of Pelargoniums is capable of as much change as the most fastidious could desire; and Messrs. 
Foster, Hoyle, Gaines Beck, and the west country growers, if they only make the experiment will 
find there is yet an unexplored field open for them, and that it may be, in a commercial view, worth their 
while to try the experiment of transferring some of their fine flowers to the elegant foliage of some of 
the old oak-leaved kinds. They would also be gainers in another way ; they would improve the 
constitution of their plants, for it is notorious that some of them have been breeding in and hi so long, 
and feeding so high to produce colour, as to bring their stock into a very diseased and unhealthy state. 
One raiser this season could not supply the plants ordered of two of his seedlings, and even the plants 
sent out were mere shadows of what the same raiser used to supply. We all know that breeders 
in the animal kingdom when their race of animals become weakly, go to a common stock for a male 
parent, and we have no doubt that the breeders of diseased Pelargoniums are paying the penalty of 
working, or attempting to work, against the laws of nature. In conclusion, I can only remark, I shall 
be very happy to show the seedlings to any person who may feel interested in the matter, and who may 
think fit to pay a visit to this place. 
- * - 
OH THE ACCLIMATATION OF PLANTS. 
By Mr. SAUL, Gardener to Lord Stodrton, Aelerton Park, Yorkshire. 
j[/lIEX we consider the great number of plants, trees, and shrubs, of every kind, that are yearly 
introduced into Great Britain from all parts of the world, through the exertions of persevering 
and indefatigable collectors ; when we reflect what ornaments many of them are to our pleasure- 
grounds and parks ; and when we think on the large sums of money that are in this manner annually 
expended—we may be easily convinced how important a subject that of the acclimatation of plants is. 
It is now a well established fact in Vegetable Physiology, that all plants are peculiarly and specially 
adapted to the soil and climate, they inhabit; or, in other words, then organization is fitted to the 
conditions and circumstances they are born under. If, therefore, we wish to succed in the acclimatation 
of plants, we must make ourselves acquainted with all the circumstances by which they are surrounded 
in then native localities. Every region of the globe has its appropriate vegetation. There are vegetable 
forms adapted to every soil and climate, however cold, arid, or moist. Some plants luxuriate under 
the influence of light and air; others prefer the shade; some grow on the sides and summits of moun¬ 
tains ; some in valleys; some in boggy places; some on the banks of rivers; and some in lakes. The 
physical circumstances by which each of these localities, in any one country, is characterized, are very 
different. Some are characterized by a greater or less elevation above the sea; others by more or less 
exposure to light, by the nature of the soil; each and all of these circumstances influence the natural 
distribution of plants. But there are other agents which influence the distribution of plants—heat and 
cold: because each individual is so organized as to grow only within certain limits of heat and cold. 
Certain conditions of the atmosphere, as regards temperature and moisture; of the soil, as regards 
quantities and compositions; and of the situation, as regards altitude, exposure, and shelter: all 
influence the distribution and localities of plants. These being the principal circumstances which 
influence the localities of plants, and all plants being specially constituted to suit their native habitations, 
we at once see what principles are to form the basis of our operations in all our attempts at acclimatation. 
No power of man can alter the constitution of a plant so as to make it grow and flourish under 
circumstances opposite to those under which it was born. The question then arises, have we, in Great 
Britain, all the circumstances requisite to the well-being of plants from all the temperate regions of the 
globe ? We certainly have not all these ; nevertheless, there is scarcely a locality in Great Britain 
to 
