Plate 203. 



NEW GLOXINIAS 



The three new varieties of Gloxinia here figured are the plants referred to in our last number 

 as being in the possession of Mr. B. S. Williams, of Upper Holloway, and to be sent out by 

 him this spring. The size and colour of the blooms will be best understood by a glance at 

 the plate, which speaks for itself. The Gloxinia, says the Garden, has of late been so much 

 improved upon, and seeds so freely, that a pinch of seed will be certain to furnish some very 

 fine varieties, and there is the additional pleasure of watching for new beauties to unfold 

 themselves. The seed of the Gloxinia is as easily raised as that of the Chinese Primulas. If 

 a pinch of seed be sown in March in a pan of fine soil, and covered with a sheet of glass or a 

 bell-glass, and placed in a cucumber -house or a propagating-pit, it soon germinates. As soon 

 as the plants are large enough to handle, they should be pricked out into shallow boxes in a 

 fine soil consisting of peat, silver sand, and thoroughly-decayed leaf- mould, and grown on in 

 a brisk bottom-heat. In June the plants will be fit to put into forty-eight-sized pots, in 

 which they will flower during August, September, and October. A packet of seed saved from 

 a good strain will produce flowers both of the drooping and erect-flowering varieties. 

 Syringing overhead is recommended by some growers, but this should be withheld while the 

 plants arc in flower. In a dry atmosphere the leaves are apt to become infested with rod 

 spider. 



Plate 204. 



AMARYLLIS — HONNEUR DE HAARLEM. 



The Amaryllis here figured is rich in colour, and very distinct from most other varieties. It 

 has been selected for illustration from Messrs. Veitch and Son's rich collection at Chelsea, and 

 we are informed by Messrs. Veitch. that it came originally from Messrs. Schertzer, of 

 Haarlem, who are well-known and successful hybridisers of the members of the genus 

 Amaryllis. At the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, Messrs. Veitch and Sons 

 contributed one of the finest collections of hybrid Amaryllis ever seen. The group numbered 

 forty-two plants, and was a most effective one. First-class certificates were awarded to 

 " Junius,'' deep blood-red, with a darker shade down the centre of the segments, a good bold 

 flower ; " Sultan," a crimson-shaded claret, with a light centre and recurved segments ; 

 " Agatha," a fine, smooth flower, crimson-tipped and edged with creamy-white ; "Phoebe," 

 dark vermilion red, with a pale green centre, very striking; "Rev. J. Staniforth," rosy 

 claret, with a well-defined band of white down the centre of the segments ; and " Circe," a 

 large, broad-petalled flower and well-reflexed, petals deep crimson with a green eye, the 

 three lower segments having indications of a slight stripe. The group was highly 

 commended, and a vote of thanks awarded to an almost equally good group of Cyclamens 

 sent by the same firm. These varieties of Amaryllis (Hippeastum) are, for the most part, 

 crosses between IT. parclinurn, II. Leopoldii, H. Ackermanni pulcherrimum, and others, and 

 their colours vary from rich crimson through all the shades of rose, white, vermilion, and 

 scarlet, some being striped, tipped, or margined in the most distinct manner possible. It is 

 almost impossible to adequately describe the vivid colours of these plants ; some of the light 

 varieties are very chaste. The batch added another honour to the great Chelsea firm, and 

 the plants will be of immense value to decorators. 



