THE FLORIST 131 



five or seven full-grown bulbs of Rubrum, or of any of the other 



varieties, in an 18-inch pot, and I venture to promise that you will 



have such a picture of floral beauty as you never previously possessed. 



Birmingham. W. H. 



PROPERTIES OF A GOOD CINERARIA. 



By the time the present Number meets the eye of the public, the 

 floricultural campaign will have begun in right earnest. Amateurs 

 will therefore be able to judge for themselves what properties a 

 good Cineraria ought to possess ; and it would be well if the proper- 

 ties of every florist's flower were accurately portrayed in the pages 

 of The Florist: all would then know when a good flower presented 

 itself to their notice, and would make their purchases accordingly. 

 In laying down the following rules, I have been guided by the known 

 and acknowledged laws of floriculture ; but I am well aware that 

 there is no flower yet produced which comes up to the standard set 

 up by florists, and it is highly probable that there never will be. 

 Nevertheless, there must be some fixed rules to judge by ; and it has 

 been thought best to fix the standard of excellence high, so that he 

 who comes the nearest to it may receive the greatest honour. 



In judging the properties of a Cineraria, the size of the flower is 

 of secondary consideration ; but where every other property is equally 

 good, a large flower will always take the lead, and I do hope yet to 

 see every pip as large as a half-crown, and as round as a full moon. 

 The petals individually should be broad, obtuse, and of good sub- 

 stance ; the outline being well defined, without a notch or indenture, 

 and so arranged that no confusion occurs, each petal naturally 

 taking such a position as to form collectively a well-arranged flower, 

 and the nearer it approaches a perfect circle the better. The petals 

 should slightly cup ; a perfectly flat flower will pass, but if the 

 petals reflex it is a fatal point, and cannot be overlooked. The disc 

 ought never to exceed one-third the diameter of the flower : a large 

 disc invariably destroys the beautiful proportions that constitute a 

 good Cineraria. 



The habit of the plant should be close, throwing up a large com- 

 pact mass of flower, exhibiting to advantage the individual blossoms 

 which compose the truss. A tall, spindley, gawky-looking plant is 

 an abomination in the eye of a florist. The foliage should be clean 

 and well expanded; the leaves of some varieties have a natural 

 tendency to curl, and this is a defect for which even a good flower 

 cannot compensate. 



In judging a flower, colour must of necessity take the last place, 

 most persons having a sense of colours peculiarly their own ; but, as 

 a general rule, the high colours have most admirers. For selfs no 

 rule can possibly be laid down, as they embrace every shade, from 

 pure white to a bright crimson ; yellow and scarlet are perhaps not 

 altogether hopeless colours for the Cineraria. In the tipped or parti- 



