90 THE COTTAGE GARDENER. May 
peril, for if they are “ droughted” only for an hour 
the buds will certainly drop off; and they will do so, 
too, if the soil is soddened. Care in watering, a 
loose, lumpy state of the soil, and shade, are the few 
and simple rules for flowering these lovely plants; 
and they are just sufficient to interest and amuse 
without expense or difficulty, and this, to a town 
florist, is of some consequence. These flowers are so 
truly beautiful that I hope many may he induced to 
attempt their culture, both as window and border 
plants, and if they succeed in blooming them I am 
sure they will be abundantly repaid. The leaves will 
sometimes become dusty and dirty, and then they 
will be refreshed by sponging them with water till 
they look clean and bright. Sometimes the roots in 
pots will become matted, and unable to receive a pro¬ 
per degree of moisture: tliis will be known by the 
sudden dropping off of the leaves and buds, while 
seeming to be in perfect health and beauty. The 
plant must then be repotted, pruned, and exposed 
to the hottest sun, but let the full blaze fall on the 
pot alone; the plant itself must be carefully shaded. 
This treatment will restore its health and strength. 
Stir the surface of the soil frequently, to prevent the 
growth of moss, and syringe them often in summer. 
Let me again recommend ladies to naturalize the 
camellia japonica, as I have described in a former 
paper. The beauty of their lawn or border will be 
so greatly added to by these rich shoots, that if they 
can possibly contrive the simple means of hardening 
them, they will never regret having done so; and 
thus a splendid plant, now little known except in 
greenhouses, will take its place among the varied 
beauties of our English homes. The frosts and chil¬ 
ling nights will soon be over, and then they may 
with safety be turned into the open ground, but 
place them in a dry, well drained situation, and 
screened as much as may be from cutting winds. 
Our gardens are now daily growing brighter and 
sweeter; every bud, every flower, every sprig that 
clothes the boughs, utters a fresh word of praise and 
thankfulness. Let our hearts respond, and let us 
unweariedly declare, “ as we lie down and rise up,” 
and “ as we walk by the way,” the goodness and 
mercy of God. 
HYBRIDIZING. 
Hybiudizing is the name of that fascinating process 
by which we obtain new seedling plants from two 
distinct species of the same genus, or family, or from 
two varieties of a single species, by merely crossing 
the one with the other. We have thus three names, 
the A B C of the language of hybridizing, or cross 
breeding, and I may, thus early, state that na¬ 
turalists, as well as the practitioners in this art, both 
in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, have by their 
writings and speculations rendered tliis most simple 
art a perfect Babel, and that by not first learning the 
A B C of the art. It is, therefore, most essential that 
the first three letters, or names, should be well un¬ 
derstood on the threshhold, otherwise on entering the 
temple we may easily be led away, like the rest, into 
endless confusion; for there have been as many theories, 
or rather hypotheses, broached on tliis subject as on 
the origin of evil. 
A genus, a species, and a variety, are the ABC. 
The genus is the family, A; the species, B, are the 
different members of that family, and these mem¬ 
bers will only interbreed among themselves, and 
with the varieties C, which must have sprung from 
the species. In obedience to the divine command to 
“increase and multiply,” the different species of a 
family of plants, as well as the species in a given 
family of animals, are formed to breed with each 
other, under certain restrictions; some with more 
freedom than others, it is true, and some resist all ad¬ 
vances in this direction. But for want of sufficient 
materials, or data, no theory can yet be constructed 
by which we could say beforehand that such and such 
species will cross; we must aim at this knowledge by 
actual experiments, step by step, and every reader of 
The Cottage Gardener may easily try an experi¬ 
ment, and even gain a step, and every step gained is 
a new fact; and we all know that it is from a multi¬ 
tude of well-attested facts that useful theory can be 
formed on any subject. Therefore, the more recruits 
that we can enlist into tliis experimental field, the 
sooner these facts will accumulate, on which to con¬ 
struct a sound theory that will assist the whole of us. 
The only absolute rule that we are yet in possession 
of, is the one I have referred to already—that plants or 
species will only intermix with others of their own 
family. This is certain and settled. I may state, 
however, that many assertions to the contrary have 
been advanced, but they are all too apocryphal to 
require a passing thought. It is true that botanists 
and zoologists, in their respective spheres, have 
unavoidably classed many plants and animals in dif¬ 
ferent families, to which they were not assigned “ in 
the beginning,” and many of these naturalists were at 
first very jealous of the cross-breeder’s art, as it 
revealed in some instances the looseness of their 
classification, but all this misunderstanding has hap¬ 
pily passed away, and now, if you can clearly prove 
that two plants will crosss together, although they 
may have been placed in two different families in the 
arrangement of the greatest botanist, he will give 
way at once, and range these plants in one family. 
Therefore, in addition to the great interest attached 
to cross breeding, as a means of increasing the diver¬ 
sity of our flowers, it is a useful check on the labours 
of the botanist, by which he may clear doubtful 
points in his arrangement, or allow' the gardener, or 
rather The Cottage Gardener, to do it for him. 
Now, to attain to such distinction, w r e must clearly 
learn the meaning of our ABC; let us, therefore, 
for illustration, take the genus or family to which we 
ourselves belong. In every arrangement ell families 
have a particular name to distinguish them from 
each other; and the name of our family is mankind. 
“ In the beginning ” there were only two species of 
this family or genus—Adam and Eve: although this 
definition will better illustrate my meaning, it is not 
strictly correct. Here, then, we have a genus and two 
species, but no variety, which is the only remaining 
letter in our alphabet. Now, when Cain and Abel 
were borne into the world, can you say whether or 
not they were two more species of the genus, or 
merely two varieties of it ? On this simple question 
hinges all the learned disquisitions with which phi¬ 
losophers have allowed themselves to be led away 
into old Chaos again, on the subject of cross-breed¬ 
ing, both among animals and plants; and thousands 
of the unlearned have also followed in their path, 
some in one way and some in another; for, like other 
questions that can bear to be handled on all sides, 
this one has had many expounders, almost every one 
of whom either adopts a new phraseology of his own, 
or applies that of another in a different sense to the 
original meaning intended for it. Hence the Babel 
of unmeaning or misapplied terms in the language 
of cross-breeding ; and hence, too, my reasons for ad¬ 
verting to these tilings, in order to guard my readers 
