By Joseph Sabine, Esq. 233 



The flower, in its natural state, has eight radiate florets 

 or petals, as they are erroneously called : when these are 

 increased in number the flowers become semi-double; this 

 change being produced by the conversion of the outer florets 

 of the disc or centre, which are tubular, into ligulate florets, 

 like those of the rays ; in good collections, these semi-double 

 flowers are as numerous as the single flowers, the number of 

 radial florets varying from ten to twenty, and upwards. 

 When the whole of the disc is changed into radial florets, 

 the flowers are called double, of which about eighteen are 

 enumerated in the English collections, as well as in the 

 Dutch Catalogues ; they have mostly received fancy names, 

 not founded on any peculiarity either of colour or character. 

 The double ones first raised, were the purple and the lilac ; 

 the purple have since become more numerous, differing 

 only in circumstances of form and size, the largest measuring 

 nearly six inches over ; of double ones there are also a very 

 grand buff, and a most beautiful pale yellow, as well as seve- 

 ral dark reds ; I have been told of a double white, but have 

 doubts of its existence at present. Independent of colour, 

 the mode of growth and arrangement of the multiplied radial 

 florets, will form essential points in the double flowers, as 

 these varieties increase in number. It has been objected to 

 them, that they are not only tardy, but very shy in producing 

 their flowers, but this does not equally apply to all the sorts, 

 some of which seem to yield their flowers better than others, 

 though certainly with less freedom than the single ones. 

 Semi-double flowers often appear on plants considered as 

 double ; frequently both descriptions of flowers exist at the 

 same time, and it sometimes happens that a plant for a whole 



