170 THE FLORIST. 



We cannot, however, consider the Calceolaria in its present 

 state in any other light than that of an annual; and in this view 

 of the matter we are not alone, for being favoured in another 

 page with an outline of the culture practised by Mr. H. Con- 

 stantino, gardener to C. Mills, Esq., Hillingdon, a successful 

 exhibitor at each of the London shows both in 1852 and in 

 1853, we observe that his opinion entirely coincides with our 

 own on this subject. Until an increased amount of shrub - 

 biness has been infused into their constitution, we fear they 

 cannot be looked upon as safe subjects to be classified, or 

 rather say elevated into the ranks of florists' flowers. 



Mr. Stones intimates his intention to propagate as many 

 as he can for sale next spring ; let him, therefore, harvest his 

 seed well, and distribute the same through the trade or other- 

 wise, and for the future turn his attention to the desideratum 

 " shrubby habit," so much needed, — a task we can but own 

 requiring some energy and much perseverance. 



As regards our illustration, we have refrained from ap- 

 pending names to the varieties there displayed, from the 

 acknowledged uncertainty there is pertaining to their propa- 

 gation. 



To those of our readers who may not have attended the 

 metropolitan shows, it may be observed, that Mr. Constantine's 

 plants there staged each measured from seven to nine feet in 

 circumference, and that they might have been termed one 

 solid mass of bloom, numbering many hundreds on each plant. 



THE PINK. 



In 1852 (page 59 of the Florist for that year), a correspondent, in a 

 sensible but rather severe article on the Pink, concluded by prophesy- 

 ing that an improvement in this old but favourite flower was at hand ; 

 grounding his hypothesis on the fact that a large number of seedlings 

 was known to have flowered in 1851. The result is now pretty 

 well ascertained; and however sanguine the writer may have been, 

 we think it must have exceeded his expectations ; it certainly has 

 ours. The best stand we have seen this season — namely, that which 

 took the first prize at the Regent's Park show on the 29th June — 

 contained, out of the twenty-four varieties, fourteen that were raised 

 in that year. More conclusive proof of improvement there could not 

 be. Neither have we been standing still since. The present season 

 has produced some in advance of any thing we have before seen. The 

 full confused flowers are now pretty well gone out of cultivation. 

 Great Britain and Narboro' Buck, once such favourites, are now only 



