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THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Nearly all of them are now out of cultivation ; but a few of 

 the best still exhibited in the north are George the Fourth, 

 Alexander, Cheshire Favourite, Exile, William the Fourth, 

 Formosa, Lancer, and John Bright. 



Cultivation. — This type of Polyanthus can be easily raised 

 from seed, which should be sown in March in 6in. pots or 

 seed-pans, in good sandy loam and leaf-mould. It will germinate 

 freely in two or three weeks in a gentle hot-bed. The seed 

 may also be sown in July, when it is gathered ; but at that time 

 it is better to put the seed-pans in a shaded, cold frame. To 

 obtain the best results, cross-fertilisation should be attended to ; 

 and good parents must be selected, with all the best properties. 

 They should also be very vigorous in constitution. Buck's 

 George the Fourth is one of the most vigorous, and is generally 

 well up in the properties. The parents ought also to possess 

 well-formed flower-trusses, supported on stout flower-stems, 

 about 5in. or 6in. in length. The "pip," or corolla, should be 

 large, quite round, and smooth on the edges. The tube or 

 throat of the corolla should be yellow, round, and well filled 

 with anthers, and the ground colour of a rich dark red or a dark 

 maroon. The centre ought to be a good yellow, and the margin 

 of the same colour as the centre. The margin of the corolla is 

 sometimes of a paler yellow than the centre, but this, in the 

 eyes of the fancier, is a fault. The colours must be alike. 

 The flowers should not be pin-eyed — that is, the stigma pro- 

 truding from the eye, with the anthers down in the tube. 

 The stigma should be down in the tube, with the anthers 

 in the mouth of it. The anthers must be removed before 

 the pollen is scattered, and the stigma can be dusted with 

 some foreign pollen. 



The seed ripens in August, and ought to be sown as soon as 

 possible, or it may be kept until the following spring ; any time 

 between February and April will be found suitable. A slightly- 

 shaded position should be chosen for the plants ; where Primroses 

 grow well is also suitable for the Polyanthus, but the fancier 

 delights in having his choice Polyanthuses grown and flowered in 

 pots. They can be potted up in July, August, or September in 

 good loam, with the addition of a fourth part decayed manure. 

 The best position for them is on the north side of a wall or fence, 

 where they get a little of the afternoon sun. The plants must be 

 well attended to as regards watering, and the leaves should be 

 kept free from red spider, which is really their desperate enemy 



