FLORICULTURAL GLEANINGS. 253 



raged to persevere with his father in their floral labours, by the 

 present of a few pots of Carnations, which he grew with success, and 

 from which the Mayor of Ripon (scarlet bizarre), and several others, 

 made their appearance, and were considered fine at that time. 



Mr. Ely's stock of flowers had now become so extensive, and his 

 fame as a successful raiser of Carnations and Picotees so spread 

 abroad, that he became anxious for more garden ground, his space at 

 Carlton being very limited; and, in 1826, he purchased a piece of 

 ground at Rothwell Haigh, on which he erected himself a house and 

 shop. In 1827 he resolved to remove to his own premises, and, 

 consequently, in that year we find that he removed away with all his 

 family from Carlton, where he had spent so many years of comfort 

 and happiness, and for two years move carried on the smith business, 

 along with that of a public florist; but as the latter continued to 

 increase upon him, he found the two trades totally incompatible with 

 each other, and that he would be obliged to give up one of them. 

 Being passionately fond of the Carnation, it is not to be wondered at 

 that he at length resolved to resign the smith business altogether, 

 and to rely on the culture of florists' flowers alone as the means of his 

 future support. From this time, therefore, we find that Mr. Ely 

 launched his bark on the sea of life as a public florist. 



About this period Mr. Ely was very anxious to improve the menta 

 acquirements of the younger branches of his family and to extend 

 their education ; but his means being somewhat limited, and his 

 finances nearly absorbed by his recent purchase at Rothwell Haigh, 

 he was not able to do without the assistance of his son, and it appears 

 that in this respect he had not been able to gratify his wishes. 



From this time till the clay of his death scarcely a single season 

 passed over Mr. Ely's head without producing something new and 

 worthy of circulation from his seedling beds; but it was reserved for 

 the auspicious season of 1838 to bring to light that grand acquisition, 

 Ely's Doctor Horner, a plate of which appeared in the Cabinet of 

 March, 1839, and which may be safely pronounced to be the fac 

 simile of a perfect Picotee, and which received the following notice 

 from the editor at the same time : — " We now state that this un- 

 rivalled and noble flower was raised by Mr. Ely, the celebrated 

 Carnation grower, of Rothwell Haigh, near Leeds. It was sent out 

 by him last year, in a limited number, at Is. 6d. per pair (its present 



