ee ee үүт 
Г CALCEOLARIA, Williams’ superb strain, и. 
Í 35. 6a 
_ CINERARIA, Weatherill’s extra — "m ^H ód., 
| Patoa” 
THE 
JULY 24, 1875.] 
GARDENERS' 
CHRONICLE. 
97 
Крео се: А, CINERARIA, 
MULA and CYCLAMEN. 
The best sins t the kingdom, including Janies, Waters’, 
er w ell: knov п gro 
Price, per packet ә a E or one ach of the 4 ‘Varieties for 7s. ба, 
CYC phe for cae ea a Боо 
тез y bi rize, 25. 62. a 
HARDY PERENNIALS, 12 perks varieties, 3s. post free. 
THE HEATHERSIDE NURSERIES Co. rng 29, 
Queen Victoria : een Victoria sche London Nurseries—Bagshot 
ms 
PRIZE SEEDS OF FL OF FLORISTS’ 
FLOWERS. 
CALCEOLARIA, “the best," per pkt., 25. 64. 
CINERARIA, “the best,” per packet, 25. 64. 
PRIMULA, “the best,” per packet, 2s. 64. 
Post Free, 
THE QUEEN'S SEEDSMEN, 
237 and 238, HIGH. HOLBORN, LONDON, W.C. 
BENJAMIN 8. WILLIAMS’ 
SUPERB ST 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS 
(Post Free). 
Per — ls 4, 
ód., 
and 
o 
and 
_ CYCLAMEN PERSICUM, Williams! кыса га. 
64., 35. 6d. а 
_ SLOXINIA, saved from th E 
ved from 
MM л ч 
с осоо 
finest mixed 
n Rd Wn Looe ew fr 
or mixe vs 24. 
35. ба. and 50 
| VICTORIA and PARADISE NURSERIES, 
= UPPER HOLLOWAY, LONDON 
~~ RICHARD DEAN'S 
CANTERBURY BELLS, &c. 
| hs Seeds of the сеч Ae cam now be supplied :— 
. PRIMROSE, „extra fine high-coloured hybrids, per 
i POLYANTHUS ter or Mottled, extra fine, рег. 
Ex Gola. per packet, rs. 6 
3 CANTERBURY E BEKES, New er n (see p. 824, Gar- 
| TUS диет EK | Ms bet риб ix @ 
i T are T das. Brompton, extra fine, per 
on 
ас Beauty, per packet, ту. ' 6d. 
PRICES TO THE TRADE ON APPLICATION. 
—————— 9 
SED. DEAN, 
а R, EALING, LONDON, w. 
Rs Carer: TALINO; тонро 
. PRIMROSES, POLYANTHUSES, - 
SATURDAY, YULY 24, 1875. 
——— 9 —————— 
PELARGONIUMS. 
HERE is probably no race of ornamental 
lants more extensively cultivated in this 
country than the genus Pelargonium—a genus, 
it must be remembered, which includes the so- 
called * Geraniums " of our flower-beds, as well 
as the greenhouse plants to which the name is 
often restricted in popular parlance. When we 
consider the number of specimens used annually 
in our public gardens alone, and ad 
a greater or less n 
arid garden, large or small, to say nothing 
the indoor-grown examples which brighten 
many a cottage window, we may form some 
idea of the aggregate number of * Geraniums " 
which are in cultivation each year. To this 
should be added a calculation—if such calcula- 
tion were possible—as to how дору die at the 
end of each season, and how many * cuttings " 
are taken for the next year; and it is probable 
that the very magnitude of the result of such 
calculation would prevent us from in any way 
realising its extent. 
strikes us at the outset, 
wonderful dee sar displayed in the form and 
colour of the flowers and leaves of these “ bed- 
ding Geraniums,” for we are not at present con- 
cerned with the greenhouse species. is, 
indeed, difficult to believe that all these varieties 
have originated from two species, and it seems 
yet more strange that these have been known in 
England for less than 200 years, the Horseshoe 
Geranium (Pelargonium zonale) having been 
introduced in 1710, and the “scarlet” (P. 
inquinans) in 1714. Such, however, is the case, 
w that we have among us a Pelargonium 
Society which has been established with the 
praiseworthy object of promoting the improve- 
ment of the various sections of the Pelargonium, 
of facilitating the introduction of new species 
and varieties, and of giving system and method 
generally to the practice of hybridisation, a few 
notes upon the history of cultivated Geraniums 
may be of some interest. 
The genus Pelargonium, to which, as we have 
already stated, all our garden Geraniums really 
belong, was established by L'Héritier in 1787,and 
differs technically from the Geranium in eain 
irregular flowers, and the calyx prolonged in 
a tube at the base. It is usually spoken of as a 
Cape genus, nor is this unnatural, as about 
170 of the species are confined to the South 
Aírican region, Oneor two, however, are found 
in St. Helena ; five (one of which is identical 
with a Cape species) occur in tropical Africa ; 
three are native North Africa and the 
Levant region ; sid: A are Australian, one of 
these nt also in New Zealand and at the 
C e of these, erens are in d 
vation, aitik perhaps in c Garden 
being devoid of any diss кадагы 
interest. 
Pelargonium zonale—the Horse-shoe Gera- 
nium, ге жш Pelargonium” of more modern 
inquinans, claims 
peces of its earlier introduc 
cultivated in 1710 by the Duchess of вшм 
in whose collections (which form part of the 
Sloanean herbarium), now in the British 
Museum, there is a specimen of the plant, on 
c “ horse- 
of which the umbels are adroitly composed, may 
be those of P, peltatum, which was in cultivation 
at ап earlier date in the Duchess’ collections. 
Philip Miller, in the Gardeners’ Dictionary 
(1752), describes both P. zonale and P. i 
the name of African Tree Crane's-bill. 
e is a specimen 
from that island in the British Museum herie- 
rium, collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1771 
but it is not included in Roxburgh's list of lasts 
published in Beatson's Tracts Relating to St. 
describes it as forming in the wild state at the 
Cape a large shrub, with juicy green stems and 
thick leaves, which are usually, though not in- 
variably, marked with the dark semicircle to 
which the plant owes its specific as well as its 
nglish name. By this mark, as well as by the 
narrower petals, it may be distinguished from 
^ inquinans, which is a superior plant ; but 
many of the garden Pon. which are apparently 
of hybrid origin, cannot t be referred with cer- 
tainty to either spec 
The white- E variety of the Zonal 
m zonale 
with fine varie- 
gated leaves, which is preserved in most of the 
English gardens for the beauty of its leaves." 
Miller's specimens from the Chelsea garden in 
um 
the British Muse herbarium seem to be 
bordered with yellow rather than white, but 
this may be the effect of drying. A variety 
known as “ Miller's Variegated А has been 
“grown as a rather rare greenhouse plant in 
this country for many years," according to Mr. 
P. Grieve. But the white-margined Zonal 
Pelargonium was known much earlier than 
this; for, in his Flower Garden Displayed 
(1732), Sir Thomas Moore mentions a “striped- 
shrubs among greenhouse plants. 
brought into England from the Paris 
and, as it grows very idee by cuttings planted 
in May or any of the summer months, it has 
now grown very a in the curious Fade. 
botanical 
.Later on, this form was notic 
works as 8 marginatum of Cavanilles; but 
it can only be considered as a forerunner of the 
“sports” of P. zonale, which have since мечі 
іп such. жем grofus sion. 
he 
Г и кд NES | ^ 
a popularity far greater "than they deserve, 
although usually classed as‘ 
both from P. 
Flanders, Holland, and northern { 
autumn of 1817, and in Patrick Neill's journal 
of its observations is the following passage : 
* An ornamental variety of Pelargonium: inqui- 
hans, with double pe is very common at 
Ghent, no fewer t ten different 
having exhibited 
m named Triomphe de Gergovia in 
ars previous to 1867. 
b 
P 
Hieron several ye 
Pollen from this variety was used by M, 
Lemoine to fertilise the fine pink zonal, Beauté 
de Suresnes, and from this anion the well- 
known double, Gloire de Nancy, was as obtained in 
865. The first double white, Aline эне," was 
obtained in a. 
In connection with with P. zonale, P. Fi 
