NOTES ON EUROPEAN NURSERIES. 33 



the open ground were perhaps an eighth of an acre of a special 

 class of these plants selected as most useful for bedding purposes. 

 None of them grew over a foot high and all were full of mostly 

 dark crimson flowers from two to four inches across. These 

 should have a full and fair trial here, as the effect is very striking 

 and beautiful. I begged this genial old man who has done so 

 much, to turn his attention to the good old tall phloxes, which 

 still need genius and patience and are capable of so much im- 

 provement. 



Another place that was first in my thoughts as I left home, was 

 Thomas S. Ware's, at Tottenham. If you would like to see nearly 

 all the hardy herbaceous plants worth growing that are yet known, 

 you could easily do so by staying at Ware's for a summer. Little 

 crossing is done there, but all the fine things coming to light any- 

 where are at once added to his list. The fields of new Dahlias 

 were the most gorgeous sight conceivable. Imagine two acres of 

 the newest sorts, six plants of each in the very highest state of 

 development, planted as a show ground merely for visitors. I value 

 my notes made in that field, but cannot attempt any description 

 of such blossoms. 



Another class of plants here, of high interest and much useful- 

 ness, was the hardy Poppies. We consider the Parkman poppy 

 the best one ever produced here, but I saw there several of far 

 greater novelty and beauty. One was broadly striped with white 

 on a vermilion ground. 



The tall Phloxes were extraordinarily good at Ware's, and some 

 new seedlings of his were great advances on the previously exist- 

 ing sorts. One, with very large salmon colored blossoms and large 

 white eye, had a solid truss exactly the shape of a prize spike of 

 hyacinth. This will probably be the parent of a section of 

 phloxes with this new shape of panicle, which is very extraordi- 

 nary. This was to me the most interesting single plant I saw in 

 Europe. 



The packing and the labelling at Ware's are as nearly perfect as I 

 ever hope to do it. Zinc tags with the numbers stamped on them 

 agreeing with the numbers and names in the invoice, bring every 

 plant to the purchaser with the correct name. Mr. Ware also 

 grows in pots one season those herbaceous plants which do not 

 bear transplanting well. This causes them to give far better 

 results when planted again here than they would otherwise do. 

 3 



