212 
NEW FLOWERS OF THE SEASON. 
some accredited opinion is added to that of 
the vendor, we can see quite enough for any 
moderate grower, advertised with such opinions 
as may be depended on, if genuine ; that is, 
if the words of the parties are given ; and 
without venturing to approve of one in ten of 
the varieties of Fuchsia advertised, it cannot 
he too earnestly impressed on the mind of the 
buyer, that if he can only get hold of half-a- 
dozen well-authenticated improvements on our 
present varieties, he can well afford to miss a 
dozen good ones among the hundred he cannot 
afford to buy. In this advice to the amateurs 
of gardening we have two objects, both of 
them we trust important and useful. The one 
is, to direct attention to such plants and 
flowers as are offered by nurserymen who 
have not relied altogether on their own 
opinions, but have submitted to a somewhat 
severe test, for the security of the Floral 
world ; because we think any subject which 
has been pronounced by a competent authority 
to be worthy of patronage, ought to be ex- 
tensively purchased, to encourage the raisers 
of flowers when they do succeed, and to pro- 
mote the practice of submitting flowers to 
competent authorities. The second object is, 
to save amateurs from the mortification of 
finding among their purchases many things 
not worth the room they take. Besides, we 
have seen it somewhere in print, that no less 
than seven hundred subjects were submitted to 
one person for his opinion, and that all adverse 
opinions were unpublished, while the few 
favourable opinions bestowed on the novelties 
were made the most of. Now, it is only a 
fair supposition, that those numerous varieties 
which are offered by all classes of dealers 
without any accredited opinion on their merits 
are the rejected varieties; or that the owners, 
knowing or believing they would not pass the 
ordeal, declined to submit them at all. In 
either of these cases, they cannot be worth the 
risk of buying by an amateur, because he 
cannot, however large his establishment, desire 
to fill it up with secondary matters. Nobody 
likes to find among his collected beauties 
subjects of less than average value. It is a 
plain and incontrovertible fact, that unless a 
man studies the subject very closely, he does 
not know how to estimate a new flower. Not 
only have the most respectable nurserymen in 
the kingdom been totally mistaken in their 
own judgment, but when some of the leading 
men formed themselves into a Society to 
decide upon what was worthy, and what was 
not worthy, to be let out as new flowers, the 
whole body was mistaken in a great majority 
of cases, and failed altogether in their object. 
This speaks volumes in behalf of the most 
severe test being applied ; and there are 
several nurserymen of high repute who hesi- 
tate not to act upon this plan. Such has b?en 
the case with many subjects that will be let 
out this spring. Petunias, Verbenas, Fuchsias, 
Dahlias, and other flowers, may be found in 
the catalogues, with quotations from the 
opinions pronounced upon their merits ; and 
it is one consolation to the Floral world, that 
there are enough of these flowers so authenti- 
cated to meet the wants of all moderate 
growers, without running the risk of ordering 
a single variety which has not such recom- 
mendation, and which may, for the most part, 
be, for aught we know, some of the hundreds 
rejected ; not because they were bad, perhaps, 
but because they were not improvements upon 
what we had already, and not sufficiently 
novel to be worth adding to our collections. 
It is perhaps worth mentioning, incidentally, 
that several nurserymen have made a rule of 
submitting their plants to two different judges, 
and that many have been condemned by one 
judge, and praised, or flatteringly described, 
by the other. Experience in the purchase of 
such things, last season, has made us bitterly 
repent our confidence in these one-sided 
characters. A lot of plants from one of the 
Eastern counties, recommended strongly by 
an authority in which a revered friend of 
ours had the highest confidence, proved a total 
loss ; not a solitary one proved worth re- 
taining, although the whole had been held up 
as being of the highest order. We do not 
attribute the mistaken opinions publicly given 
to any improper motive ; but they proved 
altogether fallacious, and caused a sad loss to 
us, and to those amateurs to whom we sold 
them by the descriptions that were published. 
It becomes, therefore, a duty we owe our- 
selves, and the amateurs generally, to say, in a 
few words, to what conclusions we have come, 
after considering all these matters calmly and 
dispassionately, and they may be safely acted 
upon by the amateurs throughout the country. 
First. — That an amateur cannot, under any 
circumstances, want one-fourth, even if »he 
want one-tenth of the numerous flowers to be 
let out this spring. 
Secondly. — That, to suit himself as to 
number, he need not have one which is ad- 
vertised without an accredited warranty as 
to its worthiness to be added to our col- 
lections. 
Thirdly. — That if he buy any of those 
which have not been advertised with a sound 
accredited opinion of their quality and pro- 
perties, he runs the risk of buying the 
actual varieties which the best authority on 
the properties of flowers has rejected as un- 
worthy to be let out. 
Fourthly. — By purchasing any of those 
flowers which have not been submitted, or 
which, being submitted to competent autho- 
