FLORICULTURE. 
317 
FLORICULTURE OF THE MONTH. 
BY GEORGE GLENN Y. 
The last month has done something for 
Floriculture. The various shows have almost 
outstripped all former efforts in the quality, 
and, in some cases, the quantity of well-grown 
plants. Chiswick presented, in its admirable 
arrangements, a sight we had never witnessed 
before. The noble tents in use at the June 
show were so extensive and so well disposed 
on the grounds, that, with an immense con- 
course of people, there was neither crowd 
nor confusion, and the display of plants was 
equal to that of any former occasion. There 
was nothing secondary : unlike the mass of 
ordinary plants which we have seen crammed 
and crowded up together at some places, even 
the present season, there was ample room to 
place all the plants in the best possible con- 
dition to be appreciated ; and if there were 
fewer competitors for the great prizes, the ex- 
hibition was greatly improved by the absence 
of those long, bare-legged, ragged specimens 
which, with no quality but their age and size, 
have greatly added to the inconvenience, 
without in the least increasing the interest 
or beauty of the more worthy specimens. In 
short, Chiswick presented nothing but win- 
ning specimens, while other shows have been 
crowded and confused by many losing collec- 
tions, which were deservedly excluded from 
the prizes, and ought to have been absent 
from the tents. The authorities at Chiswick 
do not encourage florists' flowers to the extent 
they are patronised at the Regent's Park, but 
the absence of prizes is far better than inju- 
dicious distribution — the one deceives nobody, 
the other deceives all who place any faith in 
the awards. The geranium still forms, how- 
ever, a grand exception, and is advancing 
still in public estimation, although opinions 
have been expressed that there is nothing 
more wanted. There were many seedlings at 
Chiswick that, being all placed together, at- 
tracted a great crow T d all day. Among the 
mass we particularly noticed Hoyle's Cecil, 
Hoyle's May Queen, Hoyle's Ajax, Beck's 
Rosa, and Beck's Diana, not without faults 
certainly, but worthy to be admitted to the 
very best collections ; keeping in our eye at 
the same time our established favourites, 
Salamander, Pearl, Forget-me-not, Queen 
Adelaide, Duke of Northumberland, Rosa- 
mond, Sundown, Cassandra, Gulielmus, and 
some others, which in June stood as high 
as any we have in common cultivation ; 
and when seedlings equal, or superior to 
these, may be added without sameness of 
colour or character, there can be no question 
as to their merit. While upon the subject of 
Geraniums, we may mention two others, 
Major Domo (Beck's), the largest of all the 
good flowers in cultivation, and one of the 
most noble trussers of the family ; and Flying 
Dutchman, a lively addition to the bright 
colours. We are obliged to admit, therefore, 
that the Pelargonium family has this year 
received a great acquisition, although we have 
not seen all yet ; we were informed that Mr. 
Beck has others, and that Mine of Ramsgate, 
the successor of Mr. Miller, has a few worth 
exhibiting. There is a class very rapidly 
gaining ground in public estimation, the so- 
called French fancy geraniums for bedding 
out ; but these are undergoing all the silly 
propping and spreading out into large plants 
that have characterized the show sorts. They 
are certainly very inferior and weedy at pre- 
sent, compared with the florists' varieties, 
and we never care to see the present sorts 
shown in collections; there are not half-a-dozen 
worthy of such notice, for we will never re- 
cognise flowers naturally ragged. The only 
tolerably fair ones are Donna Inez, Defiance, 
Hero of Surrey, and Negress. There is a 
great sameness among the others, all the 
markings are scratchy and indefinite, most of 
the petals uneven in the surface and serrated 
in the edges. In short, if they bloom as con- 
tinuously as the dwarf scarlet kinds, they are 
very well adapted for bedding out, because 
there are various shades that will give a good 
effect in masses ; but as show flowers, the four 
we have mentioned are the best, and they are 
by no means all they ought to be. The Hero 
of Surrey is new, and has been, we believe, 
awarded a certificate, but to this we attach no 
importance whatever. We consider that, 
from the sorts we have noticed, the Pelar- 
gonium family have advanced, and that we are 
getting fairly into a new style of flower that 
approaches the standard nearer than those of 
more distant days. Calceolarias have been at 
a stand-still, as to form, some time ; it is, 
therefore, with great pleasure that we recog- 
nise a movement this year in the right direc- 
tion. The flat faces which, according to an- 
tiquated notions, were no detriment, were 
nevertheless the prevailing fault. The melon- 
formed compartments were disappearing fast, 
and the sizes and colours of the flowers im- 
proving, but the flat pancake fronts were at a 
stand-still. We observed the other day two 
very pretty exceptions, Baron Eden and 
Ne plus ultra, well blown out, and pretty 
nearly as thick from front to back as from 
side to side — the habit of the plants, too, by 
no means despicable; and when we look at 
