THE GERANIUM AND ITS CULTURE. 



71 



dollar. It succeeds here, and is well suited 

 to the southern states, to which it must 

 prove a most desirable acquisition, as the 

 northern varieties do not thrive there. 

 Above a dozen splendid varieties have been 

 produced from the seeds of this estimable 

 parent. Hermaphrodite. 



Unique Prairie. — Called in Ohio — 

 " Necked Pine ;" but as it is a native of 

 the western states, and has no affinity 

 whatever with the Pine family, I have 

 dropped the latter title. It is of peculiar 

 form, ovate, with a very distinct neck, me- 

 dium or rather lar<re, light scarlet, indif- 

 ferent flavor and too acid, except well 

 sugared, or as preserves; foliage dark green. 



deeply grooved. Flowers medium. Pis- 

 lillite. 



Taijh)r''s Seedling, is another prairie va- 

 riety; medium to large, long oval, with a 

 distinct neck, light bright orange scarlet, 

 sweet and pleasant when fully ripe, but 

 not high flavored ; ripe soon after the Iowa. 

 Flowers medium. Pistillate. W. R. P. 



Flushing, July n,\S\S. 



[We hope Mr. Pkinck will exhibit some 

 of these new seedling varieties of his own, 

 — Charlotte, Primate, Primordian, &c., be- 

 fore the fruit committee of the Massachu- 

 setts or Pennsylvania Ilort. Societies, next 

 season, in order that a report may be made 

 on their respective qualities. Ed.] 



THE GERANIUM AND ITS CULTURE- 



IJY GKOUUK (5I-I:NNY » 



Enough, in all conscience, has been writ- 

 ten upon the subject of this favorite flower, 

 and yet we must write once more. One 

 would, however, think, tliat every cottage 

 window was in itself a lesson, when we 

 see the ruddy health and fine colour whicii 

 characterize almost every pkiiit we see in 

 those situations. The truth is, that per- 

 sons who grow plants for amusement only, 

 are content with ordinary loam and dung, 

 or even the common mould from a kitchen 

 garden, and as they do not excite the 

 plants, they remain in health, while others, 

 who grow for exhibition, mix up excitable 

 compost, which makes the plants grow 

 very strong, but in this very strength there 

 is danger. A slight check deranges their 

 machinery, or, rather, their structure ; and 

 whole collections fre(|uently get impaired 

 in the colour of their foliage, and the dis- 

 appointment is mortifying in the extreme. 

 There is no staving off the mischief, be- 

 cause it is all too deeply seated before it 

 shows itself, and often past recovery, as 

 fine specimens, before anything wrong is 



• From llie London Ilort. Musazinc. 



indicated by the appearance. A person 

 should never use exciting composts, unless 

 he is constantly attending to his plants, be- 

 cause the higher they are grown, the more 

 susceptible they are of damage ; and vice 

 versa, the more simple the compost, the 

 less likely they are to be deranged in their 

 economy, although they may not grow 

 quite so rampant and strong. The great 

 object of the cultivator for exhibition, ac- 

 cording to the present fashion, should be 

 strength, bushy habit, quantity of bloom, 

 and colour of foliage. This is not to be 

 accomplished by exciting composts, for 

 rapid growth induces long instead of short 

 joints, and nothing goes farther towards 

 spoiling habit. Suppose the slicks, the 

 scores of sticks, were removed from some 

 of the gay-looking show geraniums, they 

 would hang all over the pots — they having 

 been excited into raj)id and weakly growth, 

 and unable to sustain their own weight. 

 There is nothing so much wanted as a re- 

 form in this matter. The waste of time 

 required to prop these miserable branches 

 out at proper distances, can only be tolera- 



