NEW FLOWERS OF THE SEASON. 
211 
the hot gravelly or chalky soil, where the fruit 
will not come half so large, but that fruit, 
nevertheless, of the highest possible quality. 
Let the pine grower, who finds a deformed," 
stunted, unmarketable fruit, and eats it at home, 
say if he, once in a hundred times, ate a well- 
grown specimen so fine and ch in flavour. 
We remember to have eaten at Richmond, at a 
dinner of, we believe, gardeners, portions of 
some of the most beautifully-grown pine- 
apples that perhaps were ever put on table, 
and we hesitate not to say they were the worst 
and poorest in flavour that we ever tasted; and 
this only last year. We have also tasted several 
times the heavy Providence Pines; but we 
well remember putting a stunted Providence 
Pine (for one which weighed under two 
pounds might well be so called) before several 
pine growers, and as the crown was pulled out, 
and the stalk cut close before it was put down, 
and thus the only evidence of the variety re- 
moved, it was pronounced to be a splendid 
flavour, equal to anything they knew, nor 
were they easily persuaded it was a Providence 
until the plant it came from and the crown 
were shown as proofs. The difficulty of per- 
suading people that large fruit is worse than 
small, arises from the fact, that larger kinds of 
fruit are raised constantly, and many of them 
really improvements on old varieties, and this 
makes people familiar with large fruit, that 
supersedes altogether many of the inferior 
and older kinds, so that we are met by preju- 
dices against small fruit ; but we cannot too 
strongly impress upon the mind, that to be a 
judge, the fruit to be compared must be the 
same variety. Take a Moor Park Apricot, 
which may be grown larger than any other 
kind that we are acquainted with. On the same 
tree that in some parts grows this fine fruit, 
maybe occasionally found some deeply-colo ured, 
stunted fruit, speckled as if blighted. These are 
invariably of splendid flavour. So much for 
the general principle that we have laid down. 
The blighted, stunted, misshaped fruits have 
been as long growing as the finer and larger 
ones, thus establishing the principle, or rather 
confirming the truth of the principle, laid 
down, that rapid growth reduces the flavour, 
and that the loss of the essential flavour is an 
evil in fruit, but a good in vegetables, because 
in one thing all will agree, — there is but one 
opinion upon the fact, — that mild turnips, mild 
radishes, mild cabbage, mild everything in the 
list of culinary vegetables, must be the best. 
This, then, ought to be always thought of when 
you are growing things. The gardeners who 
exhibit for flavour, should never choose the 
largest fruit. The Horticultural Society has 
always given prizes for size, and this has led, 
not only to extravagant growth, but also to 
the cultivation of large and poor sorts of fruit, 
instead of those more distinguished lor flavour 
than beauty. At country exhibitions, where 
everything is judged by flavour, the best 
effects are produced. We should like to see 
this more attended to in the metropolis; and 
there never was a better opportunity for the 
promotion of good flavour in fruit than the 
establishment of the Royal Metropolitan 
Society of Horticulturists affords. 
THE NEW FLOWERS OF THE SEASON. 
If we look to the advance made last season 
in many flowers, it is highly gratifying, and to 
read some of the descriptions and the quantity 
of the novelties offered, there is a fearful 
prospect for the amateur with limited means : 
hundreds of subjects, we are sorry to say, are 
offered where there ought not to be a score ; 
and be it remembered, that, money laid out in 
plants by description of their raisers is, for 
the most part, lost ; for there are certain 
points on which there is no more dependence 
than on a rope of sand. For instance, the 
words, " excellent form," " fine form," " good 
show-flower," all of which distinctions depend 
on the taste of the raiser, or, at any rate, the 
person who describes, must go literally for 
nothing, unless backed by some competent 
authority; and none but those who can keep 
the model of a perfect flower in their "mind's 
eye" can be depended on — nay, can depend on 
themselves. The very best meaning men 
have confidently recommended things as of 
" fine form," when they have been exceedingly 
faulty in that respect ; and what has this 
disappointment led to ? Why, to the best- 
meaning men distrusting themselves, and sub*-= 
mitting whatever they think is really good 
and worth the trouble, to the opinion of 
others, whose opinions they quote, rather than 
describe a thing themselves. Now, amidst 
such awful lists of beauties as are recom- 
mended by the very numerous dealers who 
are soliciting orders, how is it possible any 
man who has seen nothing can select ? He 
wants in Petunias, Verbenas, Dahlias, or 
Fuchsias, say twelve or six of the best. To 
which must he look ? If we believe the 
describer, they are all good, all " fine forms," 
all "excellent show-flowers." The very thought 
confuses everybody, and the mischief is, that, 
being unable to select with any certainty, they 
leave it altogether for a season, and content 
themselves with buying them the next, after 
seeing them in bloom. This determination on 
the part of buyers is a great loss to the owners 
of new flowers, because, independently of the 
price being very much less, the orders are di- 
vided among the trade, instead of coming to the 
original vendor. Although we cannot for an 
instant recommend an amateur to buy without 
