UBBABY 

 NEW yojy. 



AND 



GARDEN GUIDE, 



§2$-£SS€M£S3es 



LAEGE-ELOWEEING PELAEGOJSITJMS. 







CO 

 CD 



BY GEOBGE GOBDON. 

 (With coloured figure of Turner's Pelargonium "Polly.") 



HE absence of the grand collections of large-flowered 

 Pelargoniums from Hoyle, Eraser, Bailey, Turner, and 

 other celebrated growers, at the horticultural exhibi- 

 tions held in the metropolis during the last two or three 

 seasons, is certainly an indication that they are a few 

 shades less popular than they were a few years since ; yet it would be 

 wrong to suppose that few people care for them. Indeed, for home 

 decoration, I believe that the esteem in which they have hitherto 

 been held has decreased very little indeed, and also that there can 

 be no doubt that the disappearance from the arena of the collec- 

 tions referred to, is more directly due to parsimonious schedules 

 than to any lack of interest felt in them by the general public. It 

 must be borne in mind that it is a most expensive affair to grow and 

 convey to an exhibition such huge specimens as those staged by 

 the foregoing exhibitors, and it would be unreasonable to expect 

 any one, whether in the trade or not, to devote much time, labour, 

 and skill in the cultivation of any class of plants with the full 

 knowledge of their incurring a large pecuniary loss, even if most 

 successful. Without any further preface I will offer a few remarks 

 on their cultivation for conservatory decoration, and then give a 

 short descriptive list of a few of the best and most distinct of the 

 new varieties. 



It matters not at what season of the year their cultivation is 

 commenced, but where they are taken in hand for the first time, or 

 where an addition to the existing stock is made, the plants should be 

 purchased as early in the season as possible. For instance, sturdy 

 little plants that come to hand now, can with proper care be grown 

 into moderate-sized specimens by the period of their flowering, 

 whereas those purchased late in the season, will be so small in size, 

 that the flowers will be sparingly produced, even if they bloom at 

 VOL. vi. — no. i. 1 



