SOME OLD FAVOURITES AND NEW 73 



in Holland and coming again into favour in 

 England, it is the smaller members of the Fritillaria 

 family that are more really popular, — the little 

 Snake's-head Fritillary, which in some of its duller 

 colours is native to Oxfordshire, the red Recurva, 

 the golden yellow Aurea, and other expensive 

 varieties of the somewhat insignificant flower. 

 They may all be seen in Holland, and are regarded 

 with considerable admiration, even by some of 

 the old and conservative growers. I remember to 

 have seen one dear old man kneeling before a 

 Fritillaria aurea gently dusting off the sand 

 which had blown upon its fluffy inside. 



Among the new favourites begonias should 

 perhaps be mentioned, although they are not 

 grown in Holland to anything like the extent 

 they are in Belgium, where they are raised 

 literally by the million ; or in England, where the 

 great florists, Laing and Veitch,. have done so 

 much to popularise and improve them. They 

 were introduced into Europe about 1776, from 

 Jamaica in the first instance, though subsequently 

 from other places too ; but they do not appear to 

 have been much cultivated and developed until 

 comparatively lately. Certainly it was not until 



quite recently they were to be seen in the bulb 



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