44 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



walks of life, such as Mr. Benjamin Simonite, of Sheffield, a 

 working cutler, who has done a good work amongst the Auriculas 

 and Carnations, as his father also did amongst the Pinks. 



The first decided improvement in the Hollyhock was made 

 by Mr. Charles Baron, a Saffron Walden shoemaker^ What 

 splendid work was done, too, by the Lancashire weavers in the 

 old days I They improved the Auricula, the Carnation, the Pink, 

 the Tulip, the Polyanthus, and other beautiful garden flowers, and 

 their work has come down to us in the Lancashire Hero Auricula 

 of Robert Lancashire, and the Smiling Beauty of James Heap. 



When a very high standard of excellence has been reached, 

 progress is necessarily slower, but it still goes on, and if but 

 little progress seems to be made season by season, the work 

 shows itself in the course of years. The cultivation of florists' 

 flowers is not well understood, even amongst gardeners ; but it 

 is a fact that every section of them may be successfully pro- 

 duced with very little labour indeed. The amateur has a love 

 for his favourite flowers, and the time spent in attending to 

 them is a pleasure to him. He soon finds out their require- 

 ments, and gives them the attention they need at the right 

 time. He is always thinking about them, and daily, at a certain 

 hour, they are looked over, water is given when needed, decayed 

 leaves are removed, and if plants require repotting, they are 

 done before it is too late. Insect pests are noticed at once 

 by the attentive observer, and they must be dealt with before 

 they do mischief. 



There are so many details required in the various classes of 

 work, that some would-be florists may be inclined to remark, 

 "That if the things require so much attention, it may be better 

 not to grow them at all." In answer to that objection, I can 

 only say it is the same with orchids and all other choice plants : 

 the amateur or fancier must have a real love for his flowers, 

 and when this is in evidence, attention bestowed upon them is 

 a pleasure, and toil and trouble are not thought of. 



Another source of pleasurable excitement is found in the 

 raising of seedling varieties. My friend Ben Simonite says a man 

 is not worthy of the name of florist if he does nothing in 

 the way of seedling-raising to improve the flowers he culti- 

 vates. Cultural directions are of little use to those who do not 

 take sufficient interest in their plants to follow them up. 



All florists' flowers are not included here. Several are of 

 sufficient importance to have a chapter devoted to themselves — 



