1869.] NEW FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 117 



hands of such experienced men as those I have named, a cross is almost certain 

 as to its results, and success seems surely to follow. Mr. Morris is very sanguine 

 that in the Pelargonium called reticulatum, which is so curiously marked in 

 the leaves, like the Japanese honeysuckle, he will be able to replace the yellow 

 with scarlet. When this is accomplished, it will give us a decidedly new race, 

 which may possibly prove to be equally valuable with that of which the re- 

 nowned Mrs. Pollock is the type. 



If these gentlemen Could be induced to give the floral world some account of 

 their experience and success in the art of cross-breeding, they would certainly 

 confer a great boon on those cultivators who are anxious to keep this little island 

 far ahead of the rest of the world, in regard to the production of objects for 

 beautifying the earth's surface. I, for one, should hail such information with 

 joy ; and I am sure many others would do likewise. 



Woohvich. H. Cannell. 



NEW FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



'OME of the old florists, who have ardently longed for the return of that 

 time when their favourite flowers shall be once more in the ascendant, may 

 take heart from the fact that Cinerarias are again winning honours, and so 

 suggesting that named ^varieties are being again sought after. At the 

 meeting of the Floral Committee, on the 6th of April, a First-Class Certificate was 

 awarded to Cineraria Orb of Day, exhibited by Messrs. F. and A. Smith, Dulwich ; 

 it is a very fine variety, Avith the florets unusually stout and smooth, of a rich, 

 bright rosy-crimson, white at the base, forming a narrow circle round the pale disc, 

 and with a thin line of bright deep rose separating the white from the crimson ; the 

 colouring of this flower is superb, but it has a tendency to reflex. Messrs. Dobson 

 and Sons, Isleworth, had another variety, called Princess Tech ; white, with a dark 

 disc, but inclined to coarseness. Other new varieties were shown, but not in a 

 condition to call for special notice. In the way of new Azaleas, Messrs. F. and 

 A. Smith had Advancer, a taking flower of a clear rosy-pink hue, but said by 

 competent judges to resemble too closely Frost's Perfection, sent out a few years 

 ago. Messrs. Veitch and Sons, Chelsea, exhibited a group of plants of Azalea 

 James Veitch, a variety that was thought very highly of at the International 

 Horticultural Exhibition at Ghent last year ; the flowers are of a remarkably bright 

 deep rose hue, but they were shown small and rough, as if they had been pushed 

 on too rapidly into bloom. Primula sinensis fimbriata alba magnifica, a fine 

 white form of the single Chinese Primrose, the flowers produced on red stalks, 

 was shown by Mr. B. S. Williams, Holloway ; this was not so pure or distinct 

 in character as one exhibited by Mr. W. Paul a few weeks since. The type of 

 flower shown by Mr. Williams has this season been observed on several occasions, 

 and is not so novel as he would seem to suppose. There is also a tendency 

 on the part of all white Primulas with red stalks to come striped, or flaked. 



