150 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



tube to a poiut at the potal edge; other- 

 wise, if not of sufficient strength, and too 

 much indentation between each petal, the 

 flower will have a flimsy appearance, as is 

 the case with by far the greater number. 

 On the other haml, too heavy a line is 

 o.f'ten observed, and this is nothing less 

 than coarseness. Thirdly, the very beau- 

 ful pencilling and marking in the tube, tlie 

 greater portion of which arc on the upper 

 part, should end abruptly, so to speak, that 

 is, not to intrude on the surface of the 

 flower, whether selfs, or flowers with white 

 sulphur, dark violet, or purple tubes ; other- 

 wise than this is coarseness. Fourthly and 

 lastly, the habit should be dwarf and free, 



bred them for several years, my attention 

 being first directed to them in 1843, and I 

 have been a breeder of petunias more or 

 less ever since, according to conveniences. 

 Indeed, so confident have I been of the 

 strain of flowers I should have, from my 

 own hybridizing, that in 1857 I ventured 

 to plant a bed in a conspicuous position 

 wholly of eeedlings. Although they diff"ered 

 in shape of bloom, they were all purples. 

 And were I but a cottager, and notiiing 

 but my window far the raising of seeds, I 

 should have a batch of seedling petunias ; 

 for the scent, though peculiar in many, is 

 very sv/ee(: in others, and for bloom thei'e 

 is a succession from .Juno imtil frost puts 



what might be called a soft grower ; if, on 

 the contrary, hard wooded, they are very 

 diffieult to keep through the winter and to 

 propagate. I e^m quite certain it is capable 

 of being brought to a dwarf, shrubby, and 

 compact habit, having myself, at the pre- 

 sent season, seedlings of from six to eight 

 inches high literally covered with bloom. 

 These being cross-bred, I shall term Hybrid 

 Dwarf Bedders — a style of growth so much 

 wanted for bedding purposes as well as for 

 pot culture, being alike desirable either for 

 the conservatory or for beds and borders. 



Free flowering scarcely need be added. 

 I rarely ever saw one that was not free, if 

 in a healthy growth at all, though I have 



an end to it. But for those who have 

 not convenience or practice in breeding, 

 named varieties of course are best; and as 

 the newest flowers are easily to be ob- 

 tained, and are moderate in price, and are 

 easily propagated, there is no excuse for 

 not having a sufficient supply of the very 

 best. But then it is said by some there is 

 not a sufficient mass of bloom, at one time, 

 to make it a bedding favourite. Is this the 

 fault of the plant? I unhesitatingly answer, 

 No. What, then, is it? — what makes them 

 in a wet season run so much to growth, or 

 in a dry season die ofi' by exhaustion ? 



Take a set of plants, and plant them in 

 a light compost, say, for instance, in a 



