8 ANTIRRHINUMS AND PENTSTEMONS 



exposed when the bloom is pinched at the sides, was 

 generally yellow, and the cleaner the better. The loWer 

 half of the flower, called the " tube," could be either clean 

 white or coloured after the manner of the frill and lip. 

 The blooms were required to be closely and compactly 

 set upon the stem, forming a dense and even spike, gaps, 

 looseness, or horizontal poise of the individual flowers 

 being considered serious blemishes. 



The selfs, usually referred to in old works and cata- 

 logues as bedding varieties, were sought in clean whites, 

 yellows, pink and rose shades, reds, crimsons, and purples, 

 and as long ago as I can remember all these colours could 

 be had in clear, decisive shades, although some of the 

 rosy and purple shades were a bit flat and dull. 



From all points of view it must be acknowledged that, 

 with a broader and less conventional standard or ideal, 

 raisers of the twentieth century have evolved, developed, 

 and perfected a race of Antirrhinums that for garden use 

 surpasses the very best of the old types, and in colours, 

 except those of quaint stripes, mottling, and speckles, the 

 Antirrhinums of to-day are brighter, richer, and far more 

 varied. 



It has been customary to classify Antirrhinums under 

 three headings — Majus, or tall ; Nanum, or intermediate ; 

 and Tom Thumb, or dwarf; but it has become almost 

 necessary to use four diflferent terms to distinguish the 

 modern Antirrhinum, for we have a number of noble 

 giants that attain a height of over 4 feet and even up to 

 5 feet under fairly good cultivation. Then we have many 

 intermediates that run between 2 and 3 feet, dwarfer inter- 

 mediates that grow from 12 to 18 inches, and real Tom 

 Thumbs that make compact little bushes smothered with 

 short heads of bloom scarcely attaining a height of 6 

 inches. The intermediates are probably the most generally 

 serviceable, for they are capable of furnishing beds of 

 fairly large size, or of forming effective clumps in the 



