188 THE FLORIST. 



bizarre, rose-flake, purple-flake, &c. are general and clear. If Azaleas 

 were arranged under the heads red and red grounds, white and white 

 grounds, yellow, orange, buff, variegated, pink, &c., a very useful 

 guidance might be given, accompanied with a further sketch of the 

 distinguishing characteristics of each separate variety, bracketing 

 together those which nearly resemble each other. 

 For instance, under the reds, begin with the old 



Coccinea .... Small starry flower, deep scarlet. 



„ major . . Flower larger, colour a shade brighter. 



Atro-rubens . . . Fine dark uniform red. 



Gloria mundi . . . Rich, deep orange-scarlet ; upper petal yellow. 



and so on. Let each nurseryman give the colours of his own cata- 

 logue; and then, however numerous the names, the general distinc- 

 tions will soon be reduced to order. Some names of themselves 

 indicate the colour, as Atro-rubens above, or Alba florescens rosea, 

 viz. white tinted with pink and yellow. But in what respects the 

 Reine d'Angleterre or Des Beiges differs from the Duchesse de Ne- 

 mours or from Marie Dorothee, or whether the Grand Due de 

 Luxembourg bears any resemblance to General Chasse, I am quite 

 at a loss to conjecture. I shall, therefore, not attempt to describe 

 my own collection, as many sorts have probably more than one 

 name, and one name often designates more than one sort, as in 

 the instances given ; to which I may add that I have received from 

 the same nursery under the name of " Exquisita," a white variety, 

 with a yellow upper petal and a large shaded orange one; while 

 Messrs. Waterer's of that name is a beautiful pink. All the three 

 are, however, well deserving of their name ; and it would indeed be 

 exceedingly difficult, out of the endless variety, to say which are most 

 beautiful. Even the old varieties, cultivated before the Belgian im- 

 provements of this family were introduced, have recommendations 

 peculiar to themselves ; and a more beautiful tribe, taken altogether, 

 cannot be found in the whole range of horticulture. Like many 

 other things, American plants, as they are called, are most longed 

 for where the soil forbids their general cultivation, and where a col- 

 lection is therefore the more rare, and the more prized. And the 

 Azalea possesses these advantages over the Rhododendron, that it 

 comes sooner into flower, and takes up less room. Any person 

 ordering Azaleas next autumn will receive them well set with bloom 

 for the ensuing spring, and may grow twice the number in the space 

 that would be required for Rhododendrons. Of the many splendid 

 floral displays which delight the eye in the neighbourhood of the 

 metropolis, none, in my opinion, equal that which is to be found at 

 the proper season in the American gardens of Surrey. The Auricula, 

 the Anemone, the Hyacinth, the Tulip, the Ranunculus, the Rose, 

 the Carnation, the Pink, the Pansy, the Cineraria, the Calceolaria, 

 the Geranium, the Fuchsia, and, though last not least, the Dahlia, 

 form a long succession of floral beauty, and are all so attractive in 

 their way, that one knows not which most to admire. They have 

 also this great advantage, that they may be cultivated any where and 



