PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE. 
173 
any department of the vegetable world, must be a student for 
life ; and such is the nature of his profession,—more especially 
if he is a florist, and seeks to obtain what is new and beau¬ 
tiful,—that his own experience forms the grand and important 
book, out of which he has to learn those general principles 
which guide him in his operations. Consequently the longer 
that he practises and studies, the greater must be the result¬ 
ing knowledge, both to himself and others. There is no doubt 
that in various species of plants, hybrids were occasionally formed 
before the admirers of flowers either understood the principle 
or performed the operation ; nor was it till the fertilizing and fer- 
tilizable parts were distinctly known, and their functions under¬ 
stood, that this part of the art was turned to advantage. Those 
who are ignorant of the principles of Botany, which, we regret to 
say, is too often the case with amateurs, and sometimes with 
professional men, are still ignorant on this subject; and thus, 
though the operation is a simple one, they cannot perform it 
aright. For this reason we shall occasionally devote a page or 
two of our Journal to it ; and we shall endeavour to do this in as 
simple terms as possible. 
Every one knows that the only means of obtaining permanent suc¬ 
cessions of the same identical plant or flower is by getting perfect 
seeds ; and it follows, by very obvious analogy, that if we wish to 
obtain new varieties of any species, we must, generally speaking, 
impart the principles of those varieties to the seeds by artificial 
means. But still all that we can do is the mere application of 
substance to substance ; and the progress of the new seed, and 
also the result of our new application, must always be the 
work of nature. 
Now, in every plant there are three principles, or systems, any 
one or two of which may be so excited, either by natural or by 
artificial circumstances, as to get the better of the remainder. 
Increase of the plant by simple growth of the individual is the 
first of these ; and to it the cultivator chiefly attends when he 
wishes to have his seedlings strong plants. As much moisture 
as the habit of the plant will bear, together with shelter from the 
inclemency of severe weather, and as much air and light as to 
prevent it from being drawn up and etiolated, together with the 
proper compost or soil, in its richest state, are the chief means 
resorted to for effecting this strong individual growth. To do it 
