THE FLORAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



195 



sulphur margin, pale carmine zone, 

 bright scarlet flowers ; this has a weak 

 and washy look ; if cancelled, there 

 will be no harm done. Red Riding 

 Hood, bright scarlet, dull zone ; this 

 has about it a peculiar glitter, and no 

 doubt will become a favourite. Mr. 

 William Paul is known to have be- 

 come possessed of the improved and 

 unnamed seedlings of the late Mr. 

 Donald Beaton, and those interested 

 in zonate geraniums have naturally- 

 enough been looking out for any 

 gems that might come out of the 

 batch. On the present occasion there 

 were several exhibited, and amongst 

 them some glorious additions to our 

 lists. Donald, Beaton, leaf like Punch, 

 immense truss of light scarlet, flowers 

 well formed ; this is a superb variety. 

 3£rs. William Paul, like Pose Queen. 

 Beaton's Indian Yellow, this is the 

 geranium of which it is said in one of 

 the journals that Mr. Beaton had 

 secured a genuine yellow tint. It has 

 a neatly-zoned leaf, and the flowers, 

 which are poor in form, are of a pecu- 

 liar shade of orange-scarlet inclining 

 to salmon. I cannot see any yellow 

 in it, but it is certainly a very distinct 



variety, and would have a remarkable 

 effect as a bedder if used skilfully. 

 Beauty ofWaltham, a thorough bedder 

 in every character, foliage dull green 

 with dull zone, trusses large, colour 

 red-scarlet. Amy Hogg, crimson-red, 

 deeper and a more bluish tinge than 

 Trentham Pose ; in form half a nose- 

 gay, immense trusses ; this is a really 

 grand geranium. Salamander, large 

 deep scarlet, white eye, large trusses. 

 From Messrs. Saltmarsh and Son, 

 Chelmsford, Little Treasure, dwarf 

 habit, dark green leaf with dark green 

 zone, small trusses of lively scarlet 

 flowers, as good in form and sub- 

 stance as Attraction ; this will no 

 doubt be a first-rate bedder. From 

 Mr. B. S. Williams, Golden Nugget, 

 pale greenish- yellpw leaves, small 

 scarlet flowers. Annie Williams, like 

 Mrs. Milford, but a more decided 

 green tinge. From Mr. ^Windsor, 

 gardener to Lord Dufferin, Highgate 

 Rival, previously reported on. Fair 

 Ellen, pale pink, like Bull's Eve, and 

 perhaps as good, certainly not better. 

 The best were Clipper, Achilles, 

 Donald Beaton, Beauty of Waltham, 

 Amy Hogg, and Highgate Pival. 



BEDDING AND BEDDERS IN 1864 



Long-continued drought and a more 

 than average amount of solar light 

 and heat have rendered 1S64 one 

 of the " remarkable" seasons. The 

 reader may, perhaps, have already 

 noticed, in the perusal of summaries 

 on the " weather of the past year," 

 that every season is remarkable in 

 some way or other. It is certain, 

 however, that the summer now draw- 

 ing to a. close has been unusually hot, 

 bright, and dry, and corresponding 

 with these conditions, decorative 

 plants in the open air have been re- 

 spectively good, bad, and indifferent. 

 Upon the whole, however, the sea- 

 son has been propitious to the flower 

 garden, and especially propitious to 

 the parterre. The great public gar- 

 dens in and near the metropolis were 

 never bo gay before, and though in 

 many the grass disappeared before 

 the end of July, or was preserved in 



anything like a verdant condition 

 oniy by excessive watering, bedding 

 displays have compensated by their 

 magnificence, and many of the more 

 interesting and noble decorative 

 plants that have no distinct relations 

 to the "bedding system"have attained 

 to a perfection rarely seen in our times 

 and in this fickle climate. For one 

 part of the result we are indebted to 

 the sunshine, which has been almost 

 continuous from dawn till sunset 

 since the middle of April to the pre- 

 sent time. The earth has been 

 warm, and no doubt would have 

 been much warmer if moderately 

 supplied with rain. For the other 

 part of the result we are to own our in- 

 debtedness to the march of improve- 

 ment. Two distinct points are recog- 

 nizable in the modern practice of the 

 masters of bedding: first, the increased 

 reliance placed in subjects that may 



