ADDITIONAL PICOTEES. 219 



much difference between a flower when badly grown and the same 

 when grown well, as there is between a poor half starved, ragged, 

 and shivering wretch, and a man well fed and dressed in the height 

 of fashion, and walking forth in the full consciousness of mental and 

 bodily health and vigour ; and this is so correct a comparison, that it 

 should always be borne in mind by the purchaser of new flowers, 

 who should never condemn anything till he has grown it strong. 



I shall again commence with one of Mr. Ely's offspring, who I see 

 is sending out a host of new seedlings this autumn, which may per- 

 haps furnish matter for future writers in succeeding years. Indeed, 

 " flower christenings " must be now of so frequent recurrence at 

 Rothwell Haigh, that I should say if the worthy gentleman were to 

 invite only a tithe of his friends and customers on these " interesting- 

 occasions" to a floricultural parent, although his fame may be spread 

 far and wide over the land, and his flower-beds full of the choicest 

 gems that the heart of the florist can wish for, yet his larder would 

 suffer most severely from the heavy drain that would be made upon 

 it by the admiring circle around his fireside. But a truce to all 

 further prating. 



Ely's Grace Darling. 



Whether it be that Ely has seized upon the name of our brave and 

 intrepid Northumbrian maiden to push his flower into notice, or that 

 he has named it after her in his admiration of her heroic deeds in 

 the cause of humanity, is a matter of no consequence to the purchaser, 

 as the flower is worthy of the name, and the name worthy of the 

 flower. It is a lovely Picotee indeed — a perfect picture of purity. 

 The ground colour is of the purest white, and the lacing light and of 

 a palish purple, giving the flower a very sweet and delicate appear- 

 ance. Indeed it is by far the sweetest looking purple-edged picotee 

 that I have as yet seen. It is not quite so large as Ely's Dr. Horner, 

 which was described last autumn, and has not quite so high a crown, 

 but from its great purity and lighter edge it will no doubt become a 

 decided favourite with the majority of connoisseurs. Its edge is much 

 paler than that of Mrs. Hemmingway, and I think it gets a little 

 larger than that variety. They, however, form a beautiful trio of the 

 purple edges, and should always be grown together. Grace Darling- 

 is, like the two last mentioned, a strong and vigorous grower, and 



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