ON THE POLYANTHUS. 153 



of them making their appearance at any of our neighbouring north 

 country exhibitions ; I therefore conclude that the following impartial 

 remarks may be of some utility to many of your north-country 

 readers, and perhaps not devoid of interest to some M'ho read the 

 Cabinet in the southern counties. 



I shall preface my remarks with the following quotation from the 

 Gardener's Chronicle on the properties of the Polyanthus; and, 

 coming from the pen of Dr. Lindley, I think few of your captious 

 correspondents will feel inclined to dispute their correctness. 



" The pip of the Polyanthus should be large, and the nearer the 

 outline approaches a circle the better ; it should be free from any 

 unevenness, and lie perfectly flat; the edge must be smooth, and the 

 divisions in the corolla, which form it into heart-shaped segments, 

 should reach the eye, but not cut into it. The segments should be 

 well rounded, making the divisions between them small and shallow. 

 The tube must be of a fine yellow, round and clearly denned, well 

 filled with anthers, and terminating in a narrow ridge, raised slightly 

 above the surface of the eye. The eye should be of a bright rich 

 yellow colour, of a uniform width round the tube. The ground 

 colour must be entire, free from specks or blemishes, of a dark or 

 rich crimson, not paler at the edges, and uniform in every division. 

 The edge should form a narrow and well-defined rim of yellow, 

 perfectly regular, bordering each segment, and passing down the 

 centre of each division to the eye. It is essential that the edge and 

 the eye be of a uniform yellow. These qualities in the pips, and 

 the flower forming a compact truss, standing well above the foliage, 

 on a firm upright stem, will constitute perfection in the Polyanthus." 



Having given the properties from so eminent a pen, I shall pro- 

 ceed with my remarks, and commence with 



Clegg's Lord Crewe, 

 which is one of the finest Polyanthuses that I have as yet had the 

 pleasure of seeing. While writing, a truss of eight fine full blown 

 pips stands before me, and I think such a flower will very rarely be 

 surpassed by the most experienced cultivator. The pips are very 

 large and regular, the tube beautifully elevated above the eye, which 

 is perhaps rather large in proportion, but of a clear stainless yellow, 

 the ground colour very dark, and contrasting well with the purity of 

 the eye, and the lacing neat and uncommonly regular. It is indeed 



