19G 



THE PLORIL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



approach yet made towards a faultless 

 flower. Its drawback is that it is sombre 

 instead of bright; its colour is not, like 

 that of Maria, one tliat would insist on 

 pleasing in spite of many faults. Nsxt to 

 Pizarro I should place Mrs. Sturrock, not- 

 withstanding its flimsy petal and undecided 

 colour. And then — perhaps — Otlielio. After 

 these would come Nonsuch, Blackbird, 

 North Star, Vulcan. Then Bessie Bell, the 

 Metropolitans, Meteor Flag, Key's Apollo, 

 and many others. It will bs observed I 

 have not inserted in this list Lord Clyde, 

 which is not bacause I rank it with 'the 

 " many others," but the contrary; because 

 I cannot yet satisfy myself where to place 

 it; probably among the first three; but I 

 must grow it another year before lean tell 

 its real value. 



And now to conclude. The properties 

 of an auricula blossom being supposed to 

 consist in form, colour, and substance ; the 

 substance being as leathery as may be 

 without clumsiness; the general form cir- 

 cular and fiat; and the colour, whatever it 



is, bright and pleasing; the lobes six iu 

 number (and therefore broad) and ellipti- 

 cal; then the form of its component parts 

 comes into reviesv, and here it is that the 

 self differs from the edged classes. In the 

 latter, a line drawn through the centre 

 should leave four breadths on each side of 

 it nearly equal, for the eye, the paste, the 

 colour, and the edge. But iu the self the 

 two exterior circles are united into one, 

 and therefore the paste should, at any rate, 

 never fall short of its due proportion, but 

 rather should occupy a little broader space 

 than in an edged flower. Nor should it 

 ever be angular ; the smallest inequality 

 catching the eye so much more readily 

 against the broad unbroken contrast of 

 self-colour. Now it happens that both 

 these particulars are just those in which 

 most of our present self's most offend. Very 

 few have their proper breadth of paste, or 

 have it circular. Pizarro has both, and 

 therein consists its advance upon its pre- 

 decessors. 



Rev. George Jeans, in the Florist. 



AVINDOW AND BALCONY GARDENING. 



O.v receiving the kindly-expressed and va- I leaves brightly, and the centre spike is un- 

 luable answers to my inquiries in the paper folding most satisfactorily. 



The Aristolochia braved the winterwith- 

 out protection; it is trained against the 

 iron trellis of my verandah. It began to 

 shoot about May, and is well covered with 

 leaves, though not much grown, and show- 

 ing no signs of flowers. Tlie Nerium has 

 grown well, and the Bouvardia, after nearly 

 dying, is a health ' plant with many flowers, 

 the Ceanothus is growing well on a cor- 

 responding trellis, and has a good spike of 

 bloom now. The winter, however, proved 

 too severe for the other plants, and greatly 

 to my disapi'ohitment, 1 failed in rearing 



entitled "An Invalid's First Attempt at 

 Gardening" (Floral World, vol. iii., p. 

 198), I set to work with refreshed energy 

 on my ai-rangements far the winter pro- 

 sperity of my favourites. That I have not 

 fully realized the editor's encouraging prog- 

 nostications, I attribute partly to the un- 

 usual severity of the season, and partly to 

 my health preventing my giving the plants 

 sufficient air after they were once removed 

 to my window. Still, on the whole, I have 

 reason to congratulate myself on not expe- 

 riencing greater losses, and, ..t the time I 



write, the balcony is filled with various the little plants of Solanum capsicastrura. 

 luxuriant specimens, though but few of! I now coma to the accomplishmetit of 

 those I described last year. I niy wish for raising bulbs in the window. 



To commence witli my grand achieve- Tlie editor of the Floral World kindly 

 ment, I have the pride of recording the answered my inquiries on this sulyect 

 Dracsena is thecentre ornament of my stand, ' (Vol. iii. p. 322), and I obtained in con- 

 in health and beauty. I took it iu on the 

 first turn of autumn, and w.atched it with 

 trembling anxiety during many months, 

 when it appeared doubtful of putting out 

 another spike, and the last looked of a 

 '^'"gy green, very corroborative of the edi- 

 tor's fears it would perish! However, the 

 plant lived on, and in the third week of 

 April I ventured to put it out in the bal- 

 cony, bringing it, and others of the less I they mostly grew too rapidly, and failed in 

 hardy plants, in every evening for some perfecting bloom. Still, in a less severe 

 weeks Now (August) it is rearing its gay I winter, and in a case where the plants 



sequence a supply of hyacinths, crocuses, 

 snowdrops, and Lachenalia quadricolor. 

 Finding that there were other bulbs which 

 might thrive with similar treatment, I 

 added Polyanthus narcissuses, and a selec- 

 tion of ixias, and bulbs of that character. 

 Tliey Were all long in coming up, and, 

 owing to the over-dryness of the atmosphere 

 in my room, and the absence of fresh air. 



