FEBRUARY. 



21 



very beautiful variety, remarkably attractive from its fine form. Carmine rose slightly veined, 

 and with a slightly darker spot near tbe white throat ; the upper dark maroon passing off to 

 crimson towards the edge, and narrowly bordered with the carmine rose ground colour. 



Pelargonium Royal Albekt.— G. W. Hoyle, Esq.: First-class Certificate, May 21. — Rosy 

 carmine, deeply sbaded towards the centre ; the upper petals deeper-coloured, with a brilliant 

 edge ; the throat pure white. A magnificent flower. 



Pelargonium Royalty.— Mr. Nye : First-class Certificate, June 1 1 .— Bright rose faintly 

 spotted; the throat white, and the upper petals very dark maroon, margined wilh bright rose. 

 A very telling flower. 



Pelargonium Theophkaste. — Mr. Bull : Commended, June 26.— An imported French 

 or Diadematum variety, with large and well-formed lively-looking flowers, bright carmino, 

 with a lightish centre. A fine decorative sort. 



Pelargonium Viceroy op Egypt. — Mr. Bull : Second-class Certificate, Juno 26. — 

 Spotted, rich rosy carmine, marked with even dark spots ; the upper petals dark maroon with 

 light margins. 



Pelargonium (fancy) Miss-in-her- teens. —Mr. Turner, Slough : Second-class Certifi- 

 cate, June 11. — Somewhat novel ; the lower petals faintly spotted and veined, and the upper 

 ones a dark scarlet-lake colour. 



Pelargonium (zonale) Conqueror op Europe. — Mr. Williams, Holloway : First- 

 class Certificate, May 21. — A fine rosy salmon, of perfect shape, and flowering with a good 

 truss ; the leaves finely zonate. 



Pelargonium (zonale) Nesfield. — Mr. Turner : Second-class Certificate, May 21. A 



free bloomer, with small zonate foliage ; brilHant scarlet. 



Pelargonium (scarlet) Waltham Pet. — Mr. William Paul, Waltham Cross: First- 

 class Certificate, May 21. — Remarkably dwarf and compact, with small foliage and erect 

 flower-stalks. The flowers small but of excellent form, brilliant orange scarlet, with a conspi- 

 cuous white eye. 



Petunia (inimitabilis) Eliza Mathieu. — Mr. G. Smith, Hornsey : First-class Certifi- 

 cate, May 21.— The finest Petunia in cultivation. The flowers very large, even, and double 

 of a light purple freely blotched and edged with white. 



Petunia Emma. — Mr. Bull: Second-class Certificate, May 21. — A rosy purple of good 

 form, with dark throat and deeply veined. An acquisition to the class. 



(To oo continued,?) 



THE ALICANTE GRAPE 



Is an old variety, but recently called the Kempsey Alicante. I have here an established Vine 

 of it, which I brought to this place, having a great favour for it. It is upwards of twenty- 

 five years since I showed it at the Edinburgh Horticultural Society's competition. It was 

 then greatly admired and extolled for its handsome shape, a long bunch tapering to a berry 

 quite a sugar-loaf shape. It is very similar to the Canon Hall in appearance of the large 

 noble berries, in shape and symme 4 ry, only the hemes are a little more elongated, and of^a 

 dark purplish colour ; the flavour is good, and the bunch hangs well. 



The Alicante for a Black, and the Canon Hall for a light Grape. I consider these two 

 of the most noble-looking Grapes yet extant. Both varieties, however, have a great detri- 

 ment inherent to their natural constitution — that is, they are very bad setters. On that 

 account they are not generally grown, although many who have attempted to grow them 

 have eventually discarded them from their collections. 



But, now, as there is quite a mania for new and ennobled varieties of Grapes to oain 

 these ends we must exert every available means, as I feel, from previous and varied 

 experiments tried with the Alicante, every confidence in saying that the difficulty of settino- 

 it has been experienced by every one. I tried impregnating it with the pollen of free setters 

 1 watched to see the result, but I could not discern any between the impregnated and unim- 

 pregnated. The whole secret or cause arises from the summit of the pistil of every individual 

 flower being invariably covered with a sort of nectar or honeydew : this dewdrop keeps or 

 shuts out the pollen from entering to take effect for fecundation. To avoid this I o'cntlv 

 with a very soft camel's-hair brush, or carefully vrith both hands, strip down the individual 

 bunches when coming into bloom till I see all the dewdrops are off; then the pollen gets 

 admission. This I do every morning between nine and ten o'clock, and again about three 

 o'clock m the afternoon for several days till they are all set. I have frequently striped mv 

 hands down other free-setting sorts when in full bloom, the pollen adhering to the hands ■ 

 then striped clown the Alicante bunches. This, however, is more effectual at the moment' 

 But the chief reason is the dewdrops, which in a few hours again accumulate, to the deterio- 

 ration of the free admission of the pollen to cause fructification. 



