MARCH. 81 



handsomest, however, is yet obtainable, although much scarcer in the 

 country than its merit would lead one to suppose. This is P. spe- 

 ciosus, whose flowers are of the most beautiful blue colour imagin- 

 able. Seeds should be sown in spring, and the young plants grown 

 in pots till the next spring, then to be planted in the borders, where 

 their beauty when in bloom will amply repay this little extra trouble. 



Then comes the Snapdragon {Antirrhinum majus), a common but 

 highly ornamental old plant, which has latterly been under the hands 

 of the improver, although hitherto without any very encouraging 

 result so far as the real advancement of the flower is concerned. 

 Some of the new kinds are highly praised ; but none that I have seen 

 surpass in efi^ect the old bi-coloured, tri-coloured, deep crimson, 

 white, and bright yellow varieties. Those who desire to try the new 

 sorts should purchase the set advertised by Mr. Turner in the last 

 number of the Florist, and propagate by cuttings the colours that are 

 preferred. 



Among shrubby Calceolarias, the Kentish Hero is worthy of par- 

 ticular notice as a bedding-plant. The individual flowers are ill 

 shaped, and the colours (yellow and brown) not bright ; yet its 

 distinctness and profuseness of bloom combine to make it a very 

 desirable thing. C. amplexicaulis has bright yellow flowers, and 

 Kayana (or Caieana ?) is of a deeper yellow, and both these form 

 showy beds. Further remarks upon this class of plants must, how- 

 ever, be deferred till next month. J. B. Whiting. 



N.B. Whenever I mention nurserymen's names, it is to be un- 

 derstood that any respectable man can supply the articles alluded to. 



EXHIBITION OF INDUSTRIAL PllODUCTS IN 1851. 



I HOPE that a very large niche will be allotted in the proposed Ex- 

 hibition for the products of floricultural industry. Although all the 

 exhibitions of French industrial products held at Paris were adorned 

 with specimens of artificial flowers, in the manufacture of which 

 our continental neighbours stand unrivalled, it was reserved for the 

 Exhibition of 1849 to see nature and art vying with each other as 

 candidates for popular favour. 



The idea of adding floricultural specimens does not appear to 

 have been started until a very short time before the opening of the 

 Exhibition, or there can be no doubt but that a much finer display 

 of flowers would have graced the salle dC exposition. 



Amongst the principal exhibitors in this department, the names 

 of Bertin, L'Homme, Ketter, and Michel, stood conspicuous ; and a 

 collection of Ericas and Azalias by the latter was much and justly 

 admired. As I do not wish that floriculturists should be taken by 

 surprise, I have ventured to address you on this subject. 



E. H. D. 



VOL. III. NO. XXVII. G 



