212 THE FLORIST. 



but of this class were noticed at all. And even in England I know 

 a person of excellent taste, enthusiastic floral propensities, and 

 himself a raiser of seedlings, who moreover has had several of this 

 class among his own seedlings, and treated them as " Amateur" 

 treated his, and with similar expressions of disgust ; and who never- 

 theless has recently become a purchaser of some of the class. And 

 certainly there is something very striking and original about their 

 tricuspid petals, and quaint, lively markings. 



But whether I can get Mr. Beck out of the scrape of raising 

 them, I am not so certain. A journalist must notice these things, 

 and a sender of seedlings into the market must defer somewhat to 

 the taste of the day ; but I confess I rather wondered that a gentle- 

 man of such correct judgment as is the raiser of Clown, Harlequin, 

 and Singularity, should risk the high prestige of his name by con- 

 necting it with any specimen of a doubtful class of flowers, — for such 

 at least this must be considered. 



My own opinion of the class is, that " Amateur" may console 

 himself with the expectation of seeing it extinct at no distant period, 

 for the following reason : Were it a return to the original form of 

 the native petal (as Siddonia is), there might be a reason for its 

 adoption, and a hope that it might lead us to a new strain in a 

 different direction of qualities. And in this manner I think it not 

 impossible that, with Siddonia or Dodecatheon for a female parent, 

 crossed with pollen from Centurion or some other flower of good 

 quality that is blotched on the under petals, something new might 

 be produced. 



But in the shark-toothed forms this is not the case : there is a 

 departure from the original form, such as always takes place under 

 culture, but in the wrong direction, — towards irregular and defective 

 outline, meretricious colouring, and deteriorated qualities ; and there- 

 fore nothing much beyond themselves is to be expected. Further pro- 

 gress would probably only make them worse ; and in their present 

 state, if they were, like our annuals, to carry a succession of their 

 abundant bloom with its strongly contrasted forms and tints in our 

 borders, they would be very desirable. But as this is out of the 

 question, I have too good an opinion of the English taste in the 

 long-run to expect their being long sought after by purchasers. 

 And when these fall off, their doom is sealed, and " Amateur" will 

 be relieved of the nightmare. G. J. 



RHODODENDRONS. 



Our readers are no doubt all well acquainted with the ordinary form 

 of the Rhododendron as it grows in their gardens ; but perhaps some 

 whom we address may never have seen our metropolitan exhibitions of 

 these plants. We will therefore endeavour to give, as shortly as we 

 can, some idea of the nature of such displays, and how they are got 

 up. 



