THE FLORIST. 123 



was not above twenty yards in length and two in breadth, more than he 

 would the best hundred acres of land in England ; and added, that it would 

 have been worth twice the money it is, if a foolish cook-maid of his had not 

 almost ruined him the last winter, by mistaking an handful of Tulip-roots for an 

 he ip of onions, ' And, by that means,' says he, ' made me a dish of porridge that 

 cost me above a thousand pounds sterling. 1 He then shewed me what he thought 

 the finest of his Tulips, which I found received all their value from their rarity 

 and oddness ; and put me in mind of your great fortunes, which are not always 

 the greatest beauties. 



" I have often looked upon it as a piece of happiness, that I have never 

 fallen into any of these fantastical tastes, nor esteemed any thing the more for 

 its being uncommon and hard to be met with. For this reason I look upon the 

 whole country in spring-time as a spacious garden, and make as many visits to a 

 spot of Daisies, or a bank of Violets, as a florist does to his borders or parterres. 

 There is not a bush in blossom within a mile of me which I am not acquainted 

 with, nor scarce a Daffodil or Cowslip that withers away in my neighbourhood 

 without missing it. I walked home in this temper of mind through several fields 

 and meadows with an unspeakable pleasure, not without reflecting on the bounty 

 of Providence, which has made the most beautiful and most pleasing objects the 

 most ordinarv and most common." Addison. 



PANSIES. 



Our spirited correspondent and contributor, Mr. Turner, of the 

 Royal Nursery, Slough, has supplied the present illustration. We 

 have compared the drawings with the flowers, and have pleasure in 

 saying, that Mr. Wakelin has hardly done the latter justice, particu- 

 larly in the size of the Duke of Norfolk. We are happy to learn 

 from Mr. Turner that his entirely gratuitous services to The Florist 

 have not gone unrewarded by public favour, verifying the scriptural 

 passage, " The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things 

 shall he stand." We believe our other contributors in the trade 

 have found the same ; but we have no authority to say as much. 

 Have the body of that interest ever asked themselves the question, 

 Is The Florist, as a channel of information, rendering any service to 

 floriculture ? We do not put the query asking help. The work is 

 now past that point — it is thoroughly established ; and if we asked 

 aid, it would be to help us to obtain clean copies of last year's 

 Nos. 2 and 4, for which the Publishers will give 18 stamps each, if 

 sent post free. Unless such are obtained, they cannot supply more 

 copies of Volume I. 



PELARGONIUM ECHINATUM. 



Among the many plants that have been of late subjected to floricul- 

 tural improvement, strange to say this has hitherto escaped notice. 

 Is it because this variety of Pelargonium is a perfect gem in its pre- 

 sent form that nothing has been done respecting it ? Beautiful, 

 however, as it now is, surely we err if we consider it incapable of 

 improvement. As a stepping-stone to future action, therefore, 

 permit me to suggest the propriety, of such as may have an oppor- 



