'264 



THE FLORIST. 



petals, an exactly double allowance ; and certainly it was no improve- 

 ment. 



2. Size by itself gives no means of judging ; for the Dahlia is as 

 large as the Tulip, and the former gains, while the latter loses, by 

 being doubled. So again, on the other side, the Hepatica loses, 

 while the Daisy and American Groundsel, which are no larger, gain 

 by it. 



3. But size and colour conjointly do enable us in some measure 

 to form a judgment. For if delicacy of touch in the strokes of 

 colouring be one of the leading characteristics of the flower, accord- 

 ing to which varieties are discerned and prized, the individual blossom 

 is of more importance than the mass of bloom, and size (proportionate 

 to the growth and habit of the plant) is indispensable ; in which case 

 multiplying the petals hides the beauties and deteriorates the cha- 

 racter. A double Auricula or a double Tulip could never be endued 

 with so many points of excellence as belong to them in their single 

 state. This is not the case with a Rose or a Dahlia. They are 

 large, but their colour is valued as a whole, not in its parts ; and the 

 variety caused by numerous petals and a filled-up outline is advan- 

 tageous to them, as their size admits of such an increase without 

 detriment to their brightness. 



But if, on the contrary, it is the colour itself, and not the pencil- 

 ling of colour, that is the characteristic, and the size of the individual 

 blossom be small, then the brilliancy is greatly impaired by the flower 

 being doubled. The single and the double pink Hepatica are of 

 the same hue ; but the single one is far the more striking flower, 

 because its whole bright surface is seen. In the double, the petals 

 being so small and seen edgewise, much of the brightness is lost, 

 and it looks comparatively uninteresting. In the Dahlia, Rose, and 

 others, the surface is so much larger that this effect is not produced. 



The colours of the Cineraria are so bright, in some instances so 

 dazzlingly so, that even while its pretensions were far humbler than 

 they are now, I have doubted whether, in losing the intensity of its 

 hue, which would be unavoidable were it to become double, it would 

 not proportionably lose its interest. It is now, however, developing 

 qualities which put the other impediment also in the way, and render 

 a double Cineraria a thing not to be wished for. 



Of variety produced by colours I shall speak under the head of 

 colour. 



[To be continued.] I OTA. 



SOILS AND THEIR PREPARATION. 



Let no time be lost in preparing and housing under cover the com- 

 posts likely to be required during the winter months, and in getting 

 heaps of raw material together ready for turning in the frosty wea^ 

 ther of the coming winter. Gardeners, professional and amateur, of 

 all people, require abundance of thought for the future. Remember 

 the adage : " Forewarned is forearmed." 



