482 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER, 



[ December 21, 1871. 



section being akin to the one immediately under notice, farther 

 remarks about it are unnecessary. 



Keturning, therefore, to the Scarlet section, I believe the 

 first improvement on the old Horseshoe-leaved was called 

 Waterloo, a favourite name in those days, and a very appro- 

 priate one too. The Brighton Hero which followed this, a 

 variety having a less distinct horseshoe marking and a much 

 brighter flower, attained a rather respectable position, being 

 for some jears the favourite bedding plant. Eventually, how- 

 ever, it was superseded by others of its class, of which one 

 called Sol became common about 1836, soon after which 

 time the importance of scarlet Geraniums as ornaments to the 

 flower garden were fully acknowledged. Now there arose a 

 host of aspirants to distinction, and the class became divided 

 into two sections : one tall, with foliage more or less downy, 

 was represented by the Emperor, or Smith's Emperor, a tall, 

 strong-growing plant with heads of flowers of large size ; the 

 other was shorter, with leaves more or less shining, and was 

 nshered in by such names as the Huntsman and Frogmore 

 Scarlet. The latter differed but little from Tom Thumb, which 

 followed it some years afterwards ; and whether a spurious Tom 

 Thumb made its appearance or not I cannot say, but for some 

 two or three years after the last-named kind came out, I could 

 not see any difference between the Tom Thumb I had and the 

 Frogmore. I believe the late Mr. Beaton never could make 

 anything out of Tom Thumb, and I do not think it was ever a 

 favourite of his. Nevertheless it must be admitted that Tom 

 Thumb reigned supreme in the class of scarlet Geraniums used 

 for bedding purposes for a much longer period than any had 

 done before or has done since. The plant had a good habit, and 

 was easy of culture, reasons which tended to prolong Tom 

 Thumb's popularity for some time after his rivals had fairly 

 eclipsed him in the contest for floral honours. Even now the 

 name is often brought up in connection with scarlet Geraniums, 

 although it may fairly be regarded as having ceased to be the 

 champion for some eight or ten years. Its decline was accele- 

 rated in a great measure by the late Mr. Beaton introducing 

 the class of bedding Geraniums now known as the Nosegay 

 section ; and to one of these the hero of several years had to 

 succumb. Stella beat Tom Thumb, and I believe I am speak- 

 ing within bounds when I say that from 1863 to 1869 Stella 

 was more grown than any other variety. Tom Thumb in the 

 meantime declined, but regal honours are at best but fleeting, 

 and Stella has had its day. Having during the last few weeks 

 seen several flower gardens, I had the opportunity of noticing 

 those flowers which appeared the most popular, and asked a 

 friend who had travelled much about, which was the best at the 

 present day, and he unhesitatingly said Waltham Seedling, 

 which beats Stella as Stella did all that came before it — an 

 opinion in which I fully concur. I do not pronounce this 

 opinion on the experience of one season or a small quantity of 

 plants, but upon that of three or four years, and rather an 

 extensive cultivation of it and others. I do not, however, deny 

 merit to other kinds, some of which may possibly do as well 

 elsewhere as Waltham Seedling has done where I have no- 

 ticed it. 



From the advent of Tom Thumb, about 1842, until the 

 present time many and very important members of this family 

 have made their appearance, and one amongst the number as 

 old as Tom Thumb is still popular. It represents a section 

 which, strange to say, has not been improved upon since, 

 and that is Mangles' Variegated. This fast-growing and con- 

 venient plant ought certainly to have undergone some trans- 

 formation during the thirty years it has been known to gar- 

 deners, yet there it is, still unchanged both in flower and 

 foliage. Fortunately its constitution does not seem impaired, 

 as it grows as well as before. It has done good service in its 

 time, and although some enthusiastic growers have promised 

 to change its somewhat dull white garb into a bright yellow one, 

 it has not yet been done. I am not particularly fond of the 

 yellow section; a clear, good, white edging being in my opinion 

 of more importance in the flower garden. 



But returning to the Scarlet class. I believe I am right in 

 asserting that Tom Thumb was the all-important one twenty 

 years ago, but which is the one now ? I have put Stella as Tom 

 Thumb's successor, and Waltham Seedling as superseding 

 Stella, basing my opinion on the general approval the public 

 has given to these varieties, and not on that of individual 

 growers, however high their judgment might stand. 



Next to the Scarlets in point of utility are the Pink-flowered 

 kinds, and I do not recollect any of merit before 1846 or 1847, 

 when, I think, Lucia rosea made its appearance, and was suc- 



ceeded by one or two others. By means of these a respectable 

 appearance was kept up for some years until Christine came 

 out, and though many faults have been found with this variety, 

 it is, nevertheless, more grown at the present day than any 

 other of the same colour. There have been produced during 

 the last few years many rivals to it, of which Wiltshire Lass, 

 Eose Eendatler, Beaute de Snresnes, Helen Lindsay, Blue 

 Bell, and others have all had their admirers, including, also, 

 some of the Nosegay class, of which Pink Stella may be re- 

 garded the type ; but I would rather that some one else elected a 

 principal to this class than take the responsibility of doing so 

 myself. If called upon to give an opinion, I would say that 

 Blue Bell is about as showy as any, the pink tint partaking a 

 little, though not much, of a blue colour, and not nearly so 

 much as I hope to see in the Geranium hereafter. 



White-flowering Geraniums of the Zonal section have never 

 yet, in my opinion, reached the same degree of perfection 

 that the Scarlet have. The White, if deserving the name, is, 

 in all the varieties I have seen, a dirty one, a stain of pink or 

 some other hue pervading almost every petal ; and, indeed, 

 for beauty of flower coupled with good foliage, there has none 

 of the so-called Whites of the Zonal section come up to the 

 White-flowered Ivy-leaved. The shining foliage of the latter 

 shows-up the flower to advantage ; but as that section may be 

 spoken of separately, and may, perhaps, be thought an unfair 

 rival to the class now under discussion, it need not be put in 

 comparison with it. I must say that if a good white-flowered 

 kind could be obtained, without that very dark zone which most 

 of them have — in fact, if a good white flower could be put 

 upon a Tom-Thumb foliage — the appearance would be much 

 improved. Still I am not sure they would ever become very 

 popular, for as foliage now-a-days has in a great measure 

 taken the place of white flowers, this class is not so much 

 wanted. Nevertheless, I may inform those interested in such 

 matters, that white-flowered Zonal Geraniums have been 

 known for considerably more than forty years, but the section 

 was never considered of much importance, and I have no re- 

 membrance of the first-named variety. Amongst those we 

 have grown here I can see very little, if any difference, and 

 yet they rejoice in such names as Ave Marie, White Perfection, 

 Ethel, Purity, Virgo Marie, Madame Vaucher, and some more; 

 all of these have a dark horseshoe marking, or a stain of 

 some other colour in the flowers, and when they decay the 

 appearance they present is more objectionable than that of any 

 other Geranium. 



It is needless to mention the other flowering varieties of this 

 family ; rather let me explain what is wanted than repeat what 

 we possess. We want a class with more blue in the flower, 

 and I imagine this is more likely to be obtained through 

 the pink section, of which Wiltshire Lass and Blue Bell are 

 the types, than through the darker-coloured varieties, as 

 Magenta, Celestial, Enchantress, and others. In these, I 

 think the crimson predominates too much, but of that ex- 

 perienced hybridists will be better able to judge. There is 

 one other class it would be wrong not to mention here, and 

 that is those having the tips of the petals of a paler hue 

 than the remainder of the flower. The lively appearance 

 these flowers present, at least the few of them that I am ac- 

 quainted with, seems to promise a useful future for them ; but 

 my knowledge is limited to two varieties, having only grown 

 in any quantity EugSnie Mezard and Eosy Circle, both light- 

 coloured. I think light ones will be best, as anything that 

 tends to soften the brilliant hue of the scarlet must be de- 

 trimental to its effect unless it be close to the observer. 



Of the class of salmon and dull redcolours, I find that Mr. Fish 

 still grows Eubens, a variety some sixteen or seventeen years 

 old, and yet good. I hardly know how much further back to 

 go for one of this colour, as it did not become popular until 

 that time, since which there has been no lack of varieties. One 

 of my greatest favourites for some years was Indian Yellow, 

 also another of poor Beaton's, but Hector, Mrs. Longman, 

 Striking, and some others, although not properly salmon colour, 

 are all good in their way ; whilst amongst the rose-tinted class 

 I also find Mr. Fish has returned to old Trentham Eose, after 

 having tried many more recent kinds. I myself hardly know 

 which to give the preference to in this class, as they seem to 

 merge into the darker hue so imperceptibly. When such as 

 Duchess of Sutherland, Dr. Eirkland, and others put forth 

 their claims, I must leave somebody else to choose one from 

 amongst them, none having of late years appeared so pre- 

 eminently popular in this way as Stella and Tom Thumb were 

 among the Scarlets. 



