PHILOSOPHY OF FLORICULTURE. 
201 
excess of natural rain, much more must it be the case with an 
excess of artificial watering,—a process which is always more 
clumsy and less beneficial than watering by the natural rain of 
heaven. 
We are distinctly to understand that there are two living pro¬ 
cesses which seasonally follow each other in a healthy and fertile 
plant,—the growth of the plant itself, as an individual of one gene¬ 
ration of its race ; and the elaboration of the flower and parts of 
fructification, which are wholly to be separated and cast off, when¬ 
ever the seed arrives at such maturity, as that it is in a condition 
for generating if placed in a situation proper for that purpose. 
These two operations may go on together in the same plant, but 
never in the same part of it; and if they go on together, each of 
them tends to weaken the other one. 
Knowing this, and paying careful attention to the difference 
between the circumstances which stimulate those two kinds of 
vegetable action, w r e are enabled so to work the plant, as to make 
it run more to individual growth or more to flowering, according 
as we may desire the one or the other. If we would have a large 
and handsome plant, we must keep dow r n, or, if necessary, entirely 
suppress the flowering, until these properties are obtained ; and if 
afterwards w r e w r ould have the flowering profuse and luxuriant in 
proportion to the previous growth of the plant, w r e must repress 
its growth as a plant, and, in as far as w r e can, direct the whole of 
its energy to the production of flow'ers. This is what every suc¬ 
cessful floriculturist does in reality, whether he understands the 
principle upon which he proceeds or not ; and our object is to 
make him, in so far at least, acquainted with the principle. 
The grand distinction between these two kinds,—we might call 
them successive generations,—of life in the same plant, is this : 
the growth of the individual plant works more by heat with 
moisture ; and the flowering w r orks more with heat and light, and 
a diminished supply of moisture. Light is indeed necessary to 
the healthy individual grow'th of all plants, excepting the very few 
which grow in mines and places absolutely dark, none of which 
are flow r erers ; and moisture is necessary to bring on the flowers 
until they are nearly perfected, and begin to blow, or expand their 
petals,—for until they do this they are still parts of the parent plant, 
and possess the same kind of vegetable life with the rest of it; 
but wflren they are perfected, and impregnation is about to take 
VOL. I. NO, IX. 
D D 
