JUNE. 183 



keeping it, I determined to dry the roots well before storing them. 

 Accordingly, to make sure of sutficient fine weather to do so, no sooner 

 had the first frost killed the growth than I had them taken up and 

 dried. Please warn all your readers by my misfortune never to follow 

 my example, but to give their roots time to make eyes, after the foliage 

 is gone, before they dig them up ; or they may find in the spring, as I 

 did, that they have destroyed their hopes by the means they took to 

 secure them. Only one produced a shoot ! And as I do not mean to 

 replace the stock this year, that one will have to act the part of Robin- 

 son Crusoe's " garrison " against the pirates, and answer to a numerous 

 roll-call all round my island, as if it were a host in itself. 



One more flower I would mention as having suffered with me, through 

 a mistake I was led into by a writer in a leading gardening periodical, 

 and that is, the Cineraria. Nothing seems to me to suit it better for 

 the winter than the common garden frame, provided frost be excluded, 

 which there is no difficulty in doing in the ordinary way, by staking 

 the ground from 6 to 10 inches from the frame, filling up the space with 

 dry straw, and banking it with sods. But I saw an account that 

 promised a saving of trouble, and some other advantages, by filling 

 glaziers' crates with straw, and placing them round the frames. I can 

 truly say this had a fair trial, and was done with every care, and covered 

 with waterproofed material. But I lost the greater part of my Cine- 

 rarias. The fact is, the plan does not admit of work so compact as the 

 more vulgar method, and in a trying winter weak points will be found 

 out. But notwithstanding this disaster (and this in reality is no excep- 

 tion) my general impression is that with florists' flowers and other 

 plants under the hand of cultivation, the much-dreaded winter is not 

 usually the really difficult time for the grower ; and that in the majority 

 of cases the mischief developed by frost is done before ; or perhaps I 

 should say the power is given to frost to injure by previous blunders. 



Iota. 



ROYAL SOUTH LONDON FLORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



This was a very good spring exhibition, notwithstanding the lateness of 

 the season. The plants were not large, but were well-flowered healthy 

 specimens; they came Irom Mr. Young, Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Roser, and 

 Mr. Hamp. Of florists' flowers there was a very good display. 

 Tansies, both in pots and cut, were very good ; so also were the Cine- 

 rarias and Auriculas. Mr. Turner's plants of the latter were very healthy 

 and well grown. We give the names of the most prominent. 



Pansies in pots were furnished by Mr. Turner, who sent Uncle Tom, 

 Great Western, Crimson Perfection, Constance, Emperor, and Earl 

 Mansfield ; Mr. Dobson had Flower of the Day, Lady Emily, Ophir, 

 Fearless, Great Western, and Lady Carrington. These two collections 

 were shown in first-rate condition, the plants being covered with fine 

 large flowers. Crimson Perfection is a small flower, of a beautiful rich 

 new colour, gold ground, with bright crimson top petals and margin. 



