Plate 7. 



DAHLIA— JOHN STANDISH. 



Those who have seen the wonderfully symmetrical blooms of Dahlias arranged at some 

 of our great shows, and the varieties of colour they exhibit, would imagine that it is 

 impossible to add anything to them either in form or colour, and that new varieties could 

 only be a repetition of those that were already in existence, but it is not so; and every year 

 adds to our lists some which in a little while take the p]ace of others in the same style, from 

 some superiority of character which they exhibit. 



No Dahlia that has been brought out of late years has attracted so much attention as 

 that which we now figure. We have seen it exhibited in many places during the past season, 

 and wherever it has been seen, we have remarked the admiration also which it has excited, 

 even amongst those who have been Dahlia growers for years. 



John Standish was raised and exhibited by Mr. Charles Turner, of the Royal Nursery; 

 Slough, and has received first-class certificates at the Royal Horticultural Society, and the 

 Metropolitan Floral Society's Show at the Crystal Palace. It is a flower of remarkable 

 symmetry of build, high up in the centre, the colour a deep rich scarlet crimson, and of 

 extra size. One remarkable feature about it is its constancy, the plant nearly always 

 producing perfect flowers ; and when exhibited, stands of a dozen flowers put up at a time 

 were all equally good, an unusual circumstance with Dahlias. It will be sent out this spring 

 by Mr. Charles Turner, with other varieties, and will no doubt be largely exhibited during the 

 coming season. 



Plate 8. 

 JECHMEA MARIiE REGINiE. 



Amongst the many beautiful stove plants which have been introduced during the past 

 season, that which we now figure lays claim to being one of the most remarkable ; and this 

 in a year in which new stove plants have certainly been more numerous than during many 

 past seasons. 



The iEchmeas being Bromeliads, like most of that family, from the character of their 

 foliage and from the fact that most of their beauty depends on the colouring of their bracts, 

 they maintain their brilliancy for a very long period, often remaining some months in per- 

 fection, a fact which of course adds greatly to their value. 



JEchmea Maries Regime was introduced by Mr. Wendland of Hanover, and is a plant of 

 robust habit with leaves of about eighteen inches in length arranged vase-like ; the flower- 

 spike rises from the centre, about two feet and a half in length, clothed with boat-shaped 

 bracts four inches in length, of a rosy pink colour; the flowers, tipped with blue and 

 changing to salmon colour with age, and arranged compactly on the upper part of the spike, 

 materially add to the beauty of this grand plant ; the bracts are very persistent and retain 

 their rich colouring for several months. It was exhibited by Mr. B. S. Williams of the 

 Victoria Nursery, Holloway, and received first-class certificates both at the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society and at the Crystal Palace, a distinction which it well merits. Its cultivation, 

 like that of many of the other Bromeliads, is not difficult ; it requires to be grown in a small 

 pot, with a good deal of water. 



