86 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
vator, has given his attention to size and form, and he and Mr. 
"Williams and others have exhibited plants with flowers of great 
size, combined with elegant habit and fair colour, but as yet there 
seems to be a difficulty in raising a variety of large flowers coupled 
with the great freedom of bloom of the smaller varieties. Then again 
as to colour, none of the largest types are equal in intensity of 
colour to Mr. Little’s best strains. 
As regards the possibilities of the Cyclamen, the past few years 
have seen great advances, but there is much yet remaining to be 
accomplished which will take time and perseverance ; the wonders 
effected by hybridisation are not always sudden in their achieve¬ 
ment ; year after year of patient crossing, each season bringing the 
hybridist a little nearer his desired climax; disappointment often 
awaits him, sometimes failure; accident may deprive him of the 
fruits of many years of toil. Still, it is a labour of love, and well 
is he repaid in the result accomplished, and the approbation of those 
who are eagerly watching his experiments. 
An important question here arises. Does the size and vigorous 
habit of some plants arise invariably from a favourable combina¬ 
tion of qualities inherited from either parent ? Not always. It 
will be remembered what a revolution has been effected in the 
mode of cultivating the Cyclamen, to which I have already alluded. 
Under the old drying method the bloom was small, and the habit 
cramped. Now, however, the plants are expected to bloom the 
first year, the seedlings have been helped forward vigorously, there 
has never been the slightest check ; the surroundings, soil, tempe¬ 
rature, light, air have been regulated so as best to suit the plant’s 
requirements, and, in consequence, fine succulent cornis have been 
produced which have yielded the magnificent heads of stately 
bloom, larger and stronger than have ever before been seen, 
whilst astonishing profusion of bloom is achieved after a few years; 
Mr. Little writes to me that upon one of his plants ten years old, 
measuring 8 inches across, have been counted at one time as many 
as 300 flowers! A circumstance worthy of being recorded. 
"What we wish to see is a combination of the largest size coupled 
with the richest colour in the flowers, the compactest, neatest foliage, 
emarginate, zoned or otherwise, the most graceful habit, and withal 
the most vigorous and abundant bloom and definite fragrance. 
Some day doubtless all this may be combined in a single plant, but 
much remains to' be done first, for with the size of the flower gained, 
freedom of bloom seems to be lost, probably on account of the 
