316 
NOTES ON FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 
generally well marked, but this is not likely 
at such a season as the present ; nevertheless, 
we have seen it perfect ; the feathering not 
the eighth of an inch down, the white as pure 
as snow, and scarcely a break all round the 
feather. It is decidedly an acquisition in a 
fine bed, and the sooner it is general the 
better. Bijou is a very striking rose, let out 
by John Dickson last autumn, and worthy of 
a place in any collection, however fine. It is 
very distinct, between the colour of Triumph 
Royal and that of Princess Sophia of Glou- 
cester, or Madame Vestris. It is quite dis- 
tinct enough to put into a stand with any rose 
extant, and we consider it a great acquisition. 
This year Cooper's flowers have been distri- 
buted, and among them were four or five of 
his own raising or breaking. His President is 
a Bizarre, stands in good condition in his 
outbed, but heavy in the general way : it is 
remarkably clean. His King of Oude, about 
which some florists said a good deal as a 
middle row flower, in the inside is worse 
than we know how to describe. It must be 
grown in the middle of a six feet wide clump, 
so that nobody can ever see the inside. 
Cooper's rose Fanny has been so heavy in 
colour as to be unfit to judge. All that we 
can say of it is, that it is clean, and when in 
good marking must be a pretty flower. Louis 
Philippe is a clear Byblomen, not a bad shape, 
but it rather hugs like Belle Ceres, and 
Maid of Athens, or Thalia. The tulip sales 
this year have exhibited something like a fall 
in prices, chiefly, however, through the want 
of money, and not a lack of buyers : the 
most showy and expensive of the season 
being Dickson's Duke of Devonshire, Pompe 
funebre, Lac, Bysantium, Strong's King, 
Jeffrey's Elizabeth, and one or two others ; 
but money has been considered, in comparison 
with all articles of luxury, to be twice as 
valuable as it was last year, consequently 
nobody would part with so much of it. 
Auriculas have not produced any great things. 
Mr. Dickson has exhibited a new one, which 
seemed to be a favourite, and one or two 
country flowers have exhibited some marks of 
promise, but nothing distinct enough to pro- 
nounce good has been seen this season. 
Geraniums have certainly made no decided 
advance in the first three or four shows that 
they have appeared at. Ordinary colours, 
and not better than recent ordinary forms, 
have abounded without any striking feature. 
Some three or four half-bloomed things have 
been seen, and they may, at future shows, 
redeem their character, or rather assume their 
character. Some of them appeared to have 
been placed in head to force out a flower, and 
we need not say that such flowers were not 
in their proper character. In Pansys, Mr. 
Turner has shown one of some promise. Mr. 
Bragg has produced a bright lively looking 
yellow ground flower, which he has named 
Mrs. Bragg. Mr. Hunt, of Bucks, has shown 
a flower called the Honourable Mr. Grey, 
which was in bad condition, but had a mag- 
nificent bottom petal, almost the best we ever 
saw; whether some ugly folds in the upper 
petals will come out or not, we have yet to 
see; the upper part of the flower is not equal 
to the bottom. Cinerarias have made a 
decided advance. Mr. Ivery is proving some 
that we fully expect to be able to recommend 
strongly for their excellent properties in ano- 
ther month. They show a disposition to lose 
the notch, and to close up in a very good 
circle. The colours, too, of several are very 
desirable, and, upon the whole, we think 
there will be six or eight fit to add to any 
collection. Petunias are in request. Girling's 
Madame Celeste, Miss Ellen Chaplin, and a 
third that we do not know the name of, are 
great acquisitions. Lucy Neal, however, is the 
very best we have seen, and we would strongly 
recommend everybody who has not got it to 
procure it : we consider it the best form of any, 
if not the best in one or two other points. 
The Royal Botanic Society has been 
liberal with prizes for florists' flowers, and it 
has had the best effect, because they form the 
most attractive features in a show. We shall 
be able to give a few names and descriptions 
of geraniums next month ; but hitherto we 
have seen nothing to warrant any very great 
notice ; the truth is, some of Mr. Beck's 
flowers are so fairly a-head, that seedlings, 
which might have been stars once, are eclipsed 
now, and so it is with some other flowers of 
scarcely less importance. — G.G. 
IMPROVEMENT IN "WATERING CANS. 
Mr. Saul, of Garstang, has suggested an im- 
provement in the construction of the common 
garden watering can, which consists in fixing a 
plate pierced with holes inside the can at the 
lower end of the spout, by which means any 
matters which may be contained in the water 
are prevented from entering the spout, and 
obstructing the discharge of the water through 
the rose fixed at the upper end. This is often 
a source of great annoyance in the operation 
of watering when the rose is made use of, the 
roses being constantly liable to become choked 
or stopped up by extraneous matters which 
may get into the water. "Watering cans of 
this construction would also be suitable for 
applying liquid manure. The addition is 
very easily made, and is, of course, effectual 
in preventing the inconvenience in question. 
Of course, in the case of watering cans that 
are constantly used without the rose on the 
spout, the addition is not required. 
