196 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



B. nitida alba odorata has smaller flowers, but of the purest 

 white, and sweet-scented. 



B. semperflorens gigantea carminca and rosea are almost 

 identical, growing into fine bold plants with deep green foliage, 

 and producing an abundance of flowers of a rich shade of rosy- 

 red. 



B. odoratissima, a sweet-scented variety of the B. se??iper- 

 florens gigantea class. 



Before proceeding any further, it will be as well to say 

 that all the varieties above mentioned require to be well pinched 

 back when in a young state, so as to cause them to branch out 

 and form bushy plants ; and, further, particular attention should 

 be given to them, as although the other varieties I shall mention 

 are very beautiful, yet it is these kinds that give the best effect 

 in a collection. 



We must not, of course, ignore the claims of B. ascotensis, 

 which in a warm and suitable climate is a gem for bedding, with 

 its lovely large clusters of pink flowers hanging in graceful 

 profusion. 



B. Carrier ei, a cross between B. semperflorens and B. Sclimidtii, 

 is a variety that will smile under the roughest of treatment, and 

 yields a mass of small white blooms throughout the whole 

 season. 



B. Carrierei villosa has very similar flowers, but a trifle 

 larger, and the foliage and stems are more hirsute. 



B. fuchsioides deserves mention for its long service. It 

 produces flowers of a bright red colour, and from its extended 

 habit can be made use of for training up and covering pillars. 



B. Knowsleyana is of great value where many cut flowers 

 are in request ; it is very free and vigorous, with silvery-blush 

 flowers. 



B. polyantha, with its pretty green foliage and soft pink 

 flowers, is the only variety which seems to me adapted for using 

 in sprays and button-holes. It is an early-flowering variety. 



B. Digsiuelliana, with soft pink flowers, is pretty and dis- 

 tinct. 



B. Dregei is a very free flowering kind, with lovely green 

 foliage and small white flowers. B. Bichardsiana and B. 

 Bichardsiana vastissima (syn. validissima) are somewhat similar 

 varieties. 



