MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 67 



Demerara, growing on Palm-trees ; Dendrobium discolor, producing a raceme 

 of dingy flowers with singularly twisted segments ; Spiranthes cernua, one of the 

 terrestrial orchidaceae which abound in Mexico and Guatemala, with curious 

 wax-like flowers, worthy of cultivation on account of its unusual appearance, as 

 well as for the facility with which it may be cultivated, and the length of time 

 which it continues in bloum; Lycaste lanifera, a species lately introduced by 

 Mr. Hartweg, with pale green flowers; and Begonia vitil'olia, not a showy spe- 

 cies., but valuable for blooming at this peiiod of the year. Cut flowers of Chi- 

 monanthus Iragrans. grandiflorus, and parviflorus, were also exhibited ; the 

 latter, although much smaller than either of the others, is no less worthy of 

 cultivation, as the flowers are more fragrant, and are produced later than those 

 of the other two varieties. 



[By the kindness of Mr. Wildman, the secretary, we have been favoured with 

 the following observations on the D dilia, from a p iper drawn up by him, and 

 read at the meeting. — Conductor.] 



He began by adverting to the exhausted subject which he had to deal with : 

 and proceeded next to n jtice the relative value of the three general and leading 

 properties, form, colour, and size — a combination of which must not be wanting 

 in any first-class seedling ; but the two latter, however desirable, might upon 

 emergency be dispensed with in collections, to a certain extent, without dete- 

 riorating their general appearance. The only flower possessing form which 

 often really damages a stand is Nicholas Nickleliy : but it was rendered more 

 than usually conspicuous by its peculiarity and striking defects. In ordei to 

 show the advjnces which had been made, both in the flower and in correctness 

 of opinion, as to what constituted beauty, he turned to the Horticultural and 

 other early publications, in which many loose and misshapen fiowe.s had been 

 figured and described as good, even by some of the, then, best judges ; proving 

 that accurate notions of excellence or perfection are not intuitive, but acquired 

 by observation and comparison. Our opinions, therefore, advance in proportion 

 as they are influenced by the production of more perfect things, not contem- 

 plated at the time our first ideas were foimed. General form was a combina- 

 tion of other points, worked out upon the same principle as that by which itself 

 was governed; thus, if the form, as a whole, was to be circular, the rows of 

 pe'als, as well as the petals themselves, must be circular also : and so on through- 

 out. He should therefore pursue the plan adopted in the forms used by the 

 Society last >ea-on in the judgment of seedlings, and begiu with the petal. In 

 suggesting these for 1 s, he had the best hopes of their effect, and the result had 

 not ended in disappointment ; for where every point must be commented on, and 

 sepa ate reasons assigned for the decision, laxity could not well prevail, and par- 

 tiality would be instantly detected. He strongly recommended those who 

 wished to obtain an intimate knowledge of the structure of any particular flower, 

 to res >rt to frequent dissection, which, in the Dahlia especially, from its exact 

 and api arently mechanical arrangement, would well repay the trouble. Having 

 recapitulated the general and well-known properties of the petal, Mr. Wildman 

 stated that upon a very slight inspection it would be found to be composed of 

 three parts, which would readily divide. The central division would be found 

 to Le broader than the others, which, by their adhesion from their inner 

 edges, assume a sickle shape, so as to embrace and St exactly those of the middle 

 segment, and give the petals a cupped form. The sickle shape, however, of the 

 outer sides cannot long be retained after separation, for when released from the 

 connexion they become nearly straight. Upon the shai e of these several parts 

 and the manner in which they were naturally joined together, the form of the 

 petals, as well as the appearance they ultimately assume, mainly dejend, as to 

 whether they were too much or too little cupped ; quilled or otherwise abruptly 

 indented or bumpy; the indentations in the edge, as well as notches, are also 

 often thus accounted for. Mr. Wildman then minutely described the parts and 

 their several defects. The faults he had alluded to were mostly observed ; but 

 there was another to which general attention had never been sufficiently di- 

 rected , and which was often overlooked, although it occurred in some of the 

 best flowers ; he meant a diamond-like shape, which the inner part of the petal 

 was apt to take, causing an angularity of appearance throughout the flower; as 

 was the case with Widnall's Queen, however good in other respects, Springfield 



G 2 



