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far more brilliant, and of almost every tint — and al- 

 though an ideal form of symmetry has been all but 

 obtained, as in Keyne's Standard of Perfection — yet 

 one thing still remains to be accomplished, viz., the 

 fixing of colour in those usually called " fancy" varie- 

 ties. This has hitherto baffled the skill of the most 

 experienced cultivators. AVhy purple flowers with 

 white tips should be inconstant, and white flowers 

 with purple tips remain constant, has alike puzzled 

 the botanist and florist ; no two persons agree as to 

 the cause, or have been able to suggest a certain re- 

 medy. Some attribute it to richness of soil, but 

 proof is not wanting that it occurs very often upon 

 the poorest lands — even upon sand and gravel ; others 

 suppose it to be occasioned by a humid atmosphere ; 

 but although these may be, and no doubt are, acces- 

 sories, it must be obvious that they are not the pri- 

 mary cause. In Paris, where the soil is poor, and 

 the summer and autumn usually dry and hot, there 

 is as great an uncertainty as in the comparatively 

 damp atmosphere of Belgium and England ; one sea- 

 son they may be seen true, the next selfs. Some- 

 times a plant will only produce two or three good 

 flowers ; at other times one branch will be found 

 bearing variegated flowers ; others will come constant 

 here, but bad elsewhere ; in fact, so uncertain is the 

 whole race of tipped flowers, that not one single va- 

 riety can, with any certainty, be guaranteed to keep 

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