DIALOGUE, &C. 221 



Wouldknow. Pray what beautiful scarlet Flake is that, at 

 the end of the stage ? 



Bloomwell. An old favourite of mine, Pearson's Madam 

 Mara, which when well blown, is surpassed by no flower of its 

 class that I have seen. Perhaps no flower is more universally 

 grown, and I believe no flower has taken more prizes. The 

 scarlet is good, the white at first has a pink shade, but bleaches 

 as the flower expands. The petals are very apt to cup, and from 

 that circumstance often crack at the edge which spoils the 

 bloom. 



Wouldknow. Pray is not Stearne's Dr. Barnes, said to be 

 the same flower with this ? 



Bloomwell. It has been so said, and no doubt as there is a 

 great likeness, the old flower has been frequently sold for the 

 new one by unprincipled persons, and this has caused the two to 

 be confounded. I have never had Dr. Barnes from the raiser 

 which is the surest way of comparing the flowers, and I cannot 

 believe any true Frorist would be guilty of such an imposition, 

 without the clearest evidence ; another reason for doubting the 

 indentity of the two flowers in question is, from my own experi- 

 ence. A few years ago I raised a seedling scarlet Bizarre, from 

 Wild's perfection, so much like the parent, that it might easily 

 have passed for it without much danger of the cheat being dis- 

 covered. This being my case, why may not others have had the 

 same thing happen to them? The whole mystery seems to me to 

 be thus easily accounted for. A new flower of uncommon at- 

 traction is announced, some old stager of more cunning and sa- 

 gacity than honesty, finds out that it is very much like some old 

 and cheap sort, and instigated by the love of gain, immediately 

 substitutes the one for the other, so that in a year or two the 

 confusion becomes complete. 



Wouldknow. Are there many flowers in this perdicament? 



Bloomwell. Perhaps there may, in the Florist's Gazette for 

 1832, I find Leightons' Miss Foote, and Sir George Crewe, rose 

 flakes,' classed as one flower. Also in the same class Faulkner's 

 Eliza, and Smalleys' Wonderful. With respect to the former of 

 these, I can say nothing, having grown Sir George Crewe only, 

 but for the latter, I affirm there are not in the whole class perhaps 

 two flowers more unlike. I had ' Wonderful' from a person who 

 had it from the raiser, and 'Eliza' from a gentleman amateur, who 

 is very careful in his selection of plants, and in all probability had 



