86 THE FLORIST. 



the inner florets and the whole of the outer ones were pale purple ; 

 sometimes each floret was striped white and purple, and on which 

 account it had heen called the Magpie Chrysanthemum ; while in a 

 warm situation, and in a line autumn, the centre florets would be- 

 come pur])le, and the outer ones white ; and at other times, though 

 but rarely, one side of the whole flower would be purple, and the 

 remainder white ; and 1 have even seen the flowers become entirely 

 deep purple, like the original, in very warm seasons. 



" Another old kind, known as the Buff or Orange, a sort with 

 dingy orange or buff florets, sported, and produced a variety with 

 rose-coloured flowers, which was recognised in old collections under 

 the name of ' Rose or Pink.' This variety first sported in the 

 garden of Mr. Veres at Kensington Gore, as far back as 1800, a 

 year or two after its introduction, and since then it has frequently 

 produced flowers, first of the one colour and then of the other. The 

 rose-coloured variety produced another variety in the same way with 

 very pale flowers. Since that time many similar freaks in colour 

 have been observed ; but the most distinct which I have seen oc- 

 curred on a plant in the Society's collection, in vrhich a kind with 

 dull brownish- purple flowers produced a stem with bright yellow 

 flowers, some of which had florets of the original colour, and one 

 flower three-fourths bright yellow, and the remainder dull brown- 

 purple." 



Our best thanks are due to Mr. Gordon for his excellent letter ; 

 and we trust that others will come forward in the same friendly 

 manner, and record their experience in regard to this very curious 

 and interesting subject, which is well worth a little investigation. 



REVIEW. 



Nurserymen and Seedsmen's Catalogues. 



These have reached us in great abundance ; and without alluding 

 to any one in particular, we may remark in general terms upon the 

 improvement observable in these publications. Of this our readers 

 may judge for themselves by the samples stitched in our present 

 and last Numbers. Competition is a famous thing for setting our 

 wits to work ; and he that would win the favour of the public in 

 these times must be prepared not only to supply a good and cheap 

 article in the way of plants and seeds, but also a considerable amount 

 of useful information respecting them. That many of our catalogues 

 are sadly overloaded, few will deny ; and a considerable reduction 

 might judiciously be made from quantity without at all impairing 

 the quality of the collection that would remain. More care is also 

 required in selecting seedling varieties for sending out; the distinc- 

 tions must be much greater than they have been of late. 



