290 THE FLORIST. 



of the petal, and are not terminated by any visible end. They run 

 out, as it were, and lose themselves in space. The lacing on the 

 petal of a Picotee or a Pink is stopped by its adjoining one, and it is 

 transverse to the length of the petal ; it forms a visible termination 

 both to the flower and to its colours. Hence a Pink, often as large 

 as the largest Carnation, will necessarily appear small and confined 

 in comparison. 



The restricting mode of colour, however, has its advantages as 

 well as its disadvantages. For the Carnation, from its greater 

 variety, both in forms and colours, ought to be the prettiest of the 

 three ; in which quality I believe most of my fair readers would be 

 disposed to place it, where I should myself, as the last instead of the 

 first. There is a sort of masculine character imparted to it by its 

 concentrated efforts towards magnitude, which impairs its delicacy. 

 It is this direction of the lines of colour in the Picotee which make 

 what are called " bars" a disfigurement; a sentence which many 

 denounce as capricious and unreasonable, not considering that they 

 are transverse to the lines of colour, and that lines at right angles 

 are necessarily harsh. 



The ordinary mode in which the petals of a modern Pelargonium 

 are disposed, give an instance of another effect imparted to a system 

 of colours by the shape of the ground on which they are laid. The 

 two larger or upper are sometimes called back petals, not because 

 they really lie farther back than the three lower ones, but because 

 these latter are commonly thrown straight forwards, while the others 

 have a greater tendency to the other direction and to reflex, whereby 

 the face of the flower is thrown upwards and forwards, and a cha- 

 racter of forwardness or boldness imparted to it, the same as there 

 is to the human countenance by the same position ; and what is 

 called ahold flower is one in which this disposal of the petals is more 

 than ordinarily conspicuous. 



When colour is only effective in the mass, the shape most adapted 

 for shewing it to advantage will depend partly on the natural form 

 of the flower, partly, as before observed, on its size, and partly on 

 the brilliance, or otherwise, of its hue, or, which comes to the same 

 thing, whether colour or shape take the precedence. 



Jn the subordinate parts of a flower, as the single petal for in- 

 stance, the imbricated form, so called from its resemblance to a drain- 

 tile, takes off from the stiff formality of the Camellia ; and the quilled 

 petal gives liveliness and grace to the Chrysanthemum. The same 

 form detracts from the appearance of the Aster, because its petals are 

 so narrow, that they cannot afford the shrinking of size it occasions. 



Observations of this kind may and ought to be extended to con- 

 siderable minuteness of detail ; but as they are only applications of 

 what has gone before, they will not require me to draw at greater 

 length upon the kind patience of your readers or yourself. 



The other origin of beauty is Colour, the most obvious source of 

 our varied pleasurable impressions from the flower-garden, and on 

 which, therefore, the reader may not unreasonably fear a discussion 

 as long as that which has gone before. Happily, however, in this 

 he will be mistaken ; for the philosophic or constant elements of its 



