THE CULTURE OF BULBS. 
379 
seen it in time to have given a careful judg- 
ment whether it helped the flower or informed 
the amateur. Mr. Perry, the hon. secretary to 
the Handsworth Horticultural Society, says it 
is one of the best dark varieties grown. " Sap- 
phire," says Mr. Perry, " is in colour a bright 
coral red, sepals broad, beautifully reflexed, 
and of a thick waxy appearance. The corolla 
a deep blue purple." Moreover, the habit is 
said to be good, and the flowers profuse. All 
we can say is, we hail anything good among 
the dark varieties as a relief to the endless 
rubbish sent out of late seasons. The Floral 
and Horticultural world has had a loss in the 
death of both Messrs. Noble, of Fleet-street ; 
the active promoters of our favourite bant- 
ling, the benevolent Society, and of everything 
else good and charitable ; and it is the more 
to be deplored, as one was a victim to the 
cholera, the other had long been ailing. 
The break up of the Gardener^' Journal has 
been of great service to the Chronicle, as the 
florists who are dropping off rapidly, have to 
fly to the Chronicle, which has been rising 
ever since. The general opinion is, that 
there ought to be two newspapers ; but the 
total inutility of the Journal the last two 
years, has gradually reduced it to a low ebb, 
and there wants but an understanding among 
some of the distant florists to establish an 
independent florists' newspaper, or go over 
to the Chronicle at quarter-day. The only 
opportunity there was of rendering the 
Journal the second paper has been twice lost ; 
first, by the united gardeners, when they 
sealed the fate of the paper by the engage- 
ments they made ; and, secondly, by the 
parties to whom they sold the wreck of the 
paper, and who continued the management 
in the very same hands that ruined it. It 
may well be said, as it was at the meeting 
of florists on Tuesday last — " There never 
was a time when Floriculture was so dis- 
jointed, and those engaged in it pulled so 
many different ways ; there are several pub- 
lications all representing different cliques, 
and, but for the Tuesday evening meetings, it 
would be rare to find fifty florists together." 
The last show at Chiswick was grand be- 
yond measure. The display was in quantity 
and quality surpassing everything we had 
seen, and the grounds were in fine order. 
The arrangement improves from time to time, 
until there is little room for amendment. 
Gigantic plants, far superior to the generality 
of small ones, as to health and vigour, were 
exhibited in great quantity; and as to orchi- 
daceous plants, there appeared no end to the 
number and variety. To describe the vai'ious 
articles of merit where every plant seemed a 
specimen, would be impossible in our limited 
space ; and the grounds of the Duke of Devon- 
shire being thrown open, there was nothing 
to wish for. Country shows are moving too. 
The Leamington exhibition, which comes off 
next month, is worthy of imitation ; more 
especially the cottagers' department of the 
show. We refer to the usefulness of the 
prizes, which are to encourage the growth of 
nothing that is not adapted to the circum- 
stances of the class to be benefited. There 
are no prizes for things that will grow of 
themselves. All that are promised are for 
subjects that persons in humble life should 
chiefly grow. Cabbages, lettuces, savoys, 
potatoes, turnips, carrots, parsnips and beet- 
root, are all nutritious and wholesome, and 
the family which has plenty of them cannot 
be starved, and on a good supply of them 
much happiness and comfort may depend. 
What a contrast does it show compared with 
many country exhibitions, where prizes are 
injudiciously given for half-a-dozen pinks or 
pansies, or bouquets of flowers, as if to encou- 
rage the waste of time over frivolous and 
useless things ; for it is well known that a 
rod of flowers, and particularly of some kinds, 
will actually cost more labour than an acre 
of vegetables. Floriculture cannot be in- 
dulged in by the cottager without a great 
sacrifice of time and money, which he can ill 
afford, and it only tends to degrade the science 
when incompetent persons are urged by the 
hope of reward to attempt growing and show- 
ing things which they cannot produce in per- 
fection. 
THE CULTURE OF BULBS. 
Nobody would believe, from the casual visi- 
tation of the English gardens, that there are 
hundreds of species and varieties of hardy 
bulbous roots, sufficient to keep a garden in 
gay colours almost the year round ; for go 
where we may, there seems to be no space 
allotted for the culture of bulbs, as compared 
with the enormous room occupied by the most 
common and uninteresting plants. In the 
open ground we see the crocus; it is here in 
all its splendour ; but the scilla is not to be 
seen in one garden of a hundred ; yet the last 
February we saw, in an establishment greatly 
devoted to the hardy bulbs, the scilla fairly 
challenging admiration in the midst of millions 
of crocuses, which were flowering in all their 
splendour, but with no shade of blue to come 
nearly up to the varieties of blue in their 
rival. It would hardly be conceived that 
persons who loved flowers could be so 
ignorant as not to know them, or, if they 
knew them, so indifferent as to neglect 
them. The l)riiliant blue of the scilla is 
brighter than Salcia patens, the small bunches 
of flowers appear almost before any foliage is 
