2 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



puzzle tliem ; and straightway the Editor, or some contributor, or reader 

 of the " Floral World," becomes their friend ; and so in a constant inter- 

 change of sympathies, opinions, enquiries, and facts, the " Floral World " 

 must of necessity prove useful and agreeable as a monthly mirror of 

 gardening intelligence. 



This is to be emphatically an amateurs' journal, but the professional 

 gardener is not to be shut out ; by no means ; he is to be -welcomed 

 warmly ; for, though, like most other mortals, he may have his failings, to 

 which Ave shall not shut our eyes, he claims our regard, and we acknow- 

 ledge that our hobby is constantly indebted to him ; and we feel assured 

 that he can help us in establishing our fraternity of jolly gardeners. 



Now, we know that there are many ably-conducted gardening journals 

 that concentrate in their pages evidences of the highest skill — journals 

 that are ripe as to age, and up to the mark in all the departments they 

 embrace ; and if we were to project a competitor, we should deserve to 

 break down at the first step. But we do not aim at weakening any one 

 of them, whether big or little ; we would not willingly withdraw from 

 them a single subscriber, nor do we expect to — for the simple reason, 

 that we open our pages to a class of readers whose wants are not met by 

 any of the existing gardening periodicals. If a man has extensive ranges 

 of orchard houses, and pineries, and vineries, and forcing pits, and counts 

 his roses by the thousand, he does not need the help of a little monthly 

 adviser in gardening ; but for amateurs with moderate means and ambi- 

 tion to excel in the various practices of horticulture, and in the floral 

 decoration of the garden, greenhouse, conservatory, and the windows of 

 the dwelling, there is and has long been a need for a cheap and practical 

 medium of intelligence and intercommunication ; and here it is — the 

 " Floral W^orld " — its price within the means of all, and, we trust, so 

 planned as to be universally acceptable. 



Repeating the terms of our prospectus, it " will be devoted entirely to 

 gardening subjects, and no subsidiary topics will be allowed to interfere 

 with the full consideration of these, as represented in the several depart- 

 ments of plant-houses, flower, fruit, and vegetable culture, garden scenes 

 and embellishments, the management of allotment lands, flower shows, 

 and horticultural botany. These will be severally treated, in a simple and 

 practical manner, by experienced pens, and the fullest attention will be 

 given to communications from correspondents, whether seeking or con- 

 veying information. 



We might, of course, say a vast deal about what we mean to do, and 

 predict the success Ave hope for, but " promises are like " — you know 

 what ; so, trusting to our fourpenny sample, Ave say no more about our- 

 selves, but again Avish our friends a Happy NeAv Year, and know they 

 will respond with " Success to the ' Floral World !' " 



■ 



THE Past Season. — Among the many curious results of the unusual warmth of the 

 past summer, we may note the ripening, in the open air, of the fruit of the myrtle, 

 Aralia japoniea, white muscadine, Burgundy, Syrian, and Laeryma grapeg. Blackberry 

 blossoms were gathered at Farnham on the 12th of of December, and many things are 

 floAvering out of season. 



