FLOWER 



357 



FLUES 



istics of a florist's flower to be First, The power to be 

 perpetuated and increased by slips and other modes 

 independent of its seed. Secondly, The power to produce 

 new varieties from seed, capable, like their parent, of 

 being perpetuated ; and, thirdly, it must possess suffi- 

 cient interest and variety to be grown in collections. 



At present, the chief florists' flowers are the Amaryllis, 

 Antirrhinum, Anemone, Auricula, Calceolaria, Carnation, 

 Chinese Primula, Chrysanthemum, Cineraria, Crocus, 

 Dahlia, Fuchsia, Gladiolus, Hippeastrum, Hyacinth, 

 Hydrangea, Ixia, Iris, Lily, Lobelia, Narcissus, Pansy, 

 Pa3ony, Pelargonium, Petunia, Phlox, Pink, Polyanthus, 

 Ranunculus, Rhododendron, Rose, Sweet Pea, Tuberous 

 Begonia, Tulip, Verbena, Viola. 



FLOWER. See BLOOM. 



FLOWER FENCE. Poincia'na, 



FLOWER-GARDEN is that portion of the ground in 

 the vicinity of the residence disposed in parterres and 

 borders, tenanted by flowers and flowering shrubs, and 

 among walks and lawns, so that the occupiers of the 

 house may have ready access to what is so beautiful in 

 form, colour, and fragrance. See LANDSCAPE GARDEN- 

 ING, PLANTATION, &c. 



FLOWERING ASH. O'rnus. 



FLOWER OF JOVE. Ly'chnis Flo's-jo'vis. 



FLOWER-POTS are of various sizes and names : 

 Thimbles and thumbs ; any size under three inches 

 diameter at the top. 



In addition to the above, there is a description of 

 flower-pots called uprights, which are used for growing 

 bulbous plants, the roots of which do not spread laterally, 

 but perpendicularly. They are deeoer hi proportion to 

 their width than common flower-pets, and may be thus 

 particularised : 



The form and material also vary. Mr. Beck makes 

 them very successfully of slate ; and the prejudice against 

 glazed pots is now exploded. 



It was formerly considered important to have the pots 

 made of a material as porous as possible ; but a more 

 miserable delusion never was handed down untested 

 from one generation to another. Stoneware and china- 

 ware are infinitely preferable, for they keep the roots 

 more uniformly moist and warm. Common garden-pots, 

 if not plunged, should be thickly painted. Large pots 

 have been recommended to be employed, and there is 

 no doubt that this is a system much abridging the 

 gardener's labour ; but as with due care small pots will 

 produce magnificent specimen plants, we cannot recom- 

 mend an adoption of large pots, insuring as they do such 

 an immense sacrifice of room in the hot and greenhouses. 

 Captain Thurtell, one of the most successful of growers 

 of the Pelargonium, never employed pots larger than 

 twenty-fours. 



It is usual to have saucers in which to place flower-pots 

 when in the house, and so far as preventing stains and 

 the occurrence of dirt, they are deserving adoption ; but 

 as to their being used for applying water to plants, they 

 are worse than useless, except to plants almost aquatic. 

 The great difficulty in pot cultivation is to keep the 

 drainage regular ; and no more effective preventive of 

 this could be devised than keeping a pot in a saucer 

 containing water. No plan for most cultivated plants 

 could be invented more contrary to nature ; for we all 

 know that she supplies moisture to the surface of the 

 soil, and allows it to descend, thus supplying the upper 

 roots first. For drawings of various flower-pots, see The 

 Cottage Gardener, No. 64. 



FLOWER STAGES are made for the exhibition of 

 flowers at shows, in the greenhouse, and elsewhere. 

 The following are some very judicious observations on 

 the subject. The first object in the construction of stages 

 should be to have them so formed and situated as to 

 afford facilities for grouping plants ; the second should 

 be to give plants more the appearance of growing in 

 borders than upon artificial structures ; and the third 

 to keep the pot out of sight. This is requisite for two 

 reasons : first, because they are no ornament ; and, 

 secondly, that it is always desirable to protect the plant 

 from being scorched by exposure to the sun. It is also 

 desirable to adopt another mode of construction, for the 

 purpose of giving plants that aspect which is most suited 

 to their habits ; and, therefore, instead of placing the 

 stages from the front to the back of the house, as is 

 generally the case, let them be placed in groups of stages, 

 thus producing an effect similar to the borders in a well- 

 arranged flower-garden. The spectators, in their pro- 

 gress from group to group, would be attracted by the 

 separate display in each, instead of having their attention 

 drawn away by a whole blaze of beauty at once. 



Mr. Ainger, also, makes these good suggestions: " Stages 

 are frequently formed of an equal or nearly equal series 

 of ascents, in consequence of which the upper plants are 

 by no means so well seen as the lower ones. The proper 

 plan is to commence by small elevations, gradually in- 

 creasing as the shelves recede from the eye. The lowest 

 shelf to be eighteen inches from the floor, the first rise 

 is six inches, the next nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen, 

 twenty-one, and so on. The upper shelves should also 

 be broader than the lower, for larger pots. The advan- 

 tage of this arrangement, as commanding a better view 

 of the flowers, is obvious." 



FLUED WALL. See WALLS. 



FLUES are pipes formed of brick or slate, for conducting 

 heated air through stoves or other buildings where a 

 high artificial temperature is desired. It is a mode of 

 heating much less used than formerly, being superseded 

 by the much more manageable and effectual modes of 

 heating by hot water ; and flues have the additional 

 disadvantages, that they require frequent sweeping, and 

 that they emit a sulphurous fume that is injurious to 

 plants, and disagreeable to the frequenters of the struc- 

 tures so heated. This has been obviated by using 

 Valencia slates in the place of bricks ; yet flues under 

 few circumstances can compare with either the pipe or 

 tank system of hot-water heating. When flues are 

 employed, they are constructed inside and near the walls 

 of the building ; each flue eight or nine inches wide in 



