August 13, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
131 
Hebe has a heavy dark red lacing, which is irregular and rather rough, 
but is a useful back row flower. Fellowes’ Zoe. bright heavy red lacing, 
has fine guard petals, and is also good in lacing, but the centre petals 
were irregularly marked early, but came better later, and may evidently 
be caught occasionally. Jones’ John Love, light purple lacing, is a 
promising flower, with good petal and form. Paul’s George White, light 
purple lacing, a well-known flower, with good petal, is still amongst the 
best; and Dr. Maclean is also a good old variety. Bertram, heavy red 
lacing, is a telling corner flower ; and Fellowes’ Minerva, dark red lacing, 
is better than Bertram, finer in every way. Hooper’s Emerald, very 
heavy red laced, is very large and full, but small in petal. Hooper’s 
Henry Hooper, dark purple lacing, which is rather feathery, is both good 
and useful. Turner’s Godfrey, deep bright red lacing, which is regular, 
has a good petal, and is a good old variety. Turner's Galopin, heavy 
purple laced, is beautiful in form and lacing, and has a good petal. 
Boiard, red laced, is still one of our best Pinks, although having a narrow 
petal, and it tells well in a stand. Of Modesty too much cannot be said 
in its favour. It is in every way a grand flower, and was very much to 
the front at Wolverhampton and elsewhere. It has a light rosy purple 
lacing, with broad fine regularly laced petal, and requires scarcely any 
dressing. Empress of India has a grand petal and brilliant colour, and 
if it possessed another tier of petals would be almost unsurpassable. It 
took the premiers as a red laced both at Wolverhampton and Manchester. 
Paul’s William Paul, clear red lacing, is very large and full, with good 
petal and form, and is one of the best in cultivation. Maclean’s Ernest, 
heavy red lacing, large and fine. Fellowes’ Lustre, large, but with small 
centre petals, of the colour of William Paul, but inferior to it. Turner’s 
Blondin is one of the older sorts, dark red laced, and still a fine flower. 
Hooper’s Reliance large, and a good old variety. Fellowes’ Rosy Morn, 
bright red lacing, full and fine. Maclean’s Device, another old variety, 
bright purple laced, and still one of the best grown. Turner’s Dr. 
Masters, very heavily laced with rich dark red, and broad petal, which 
is smooth on the edge, is a very large and full flower. Hooper’s Fred 
Hooper, pale rose lacing, large, smooth, and extra fine. Cronk’s Noble 
Grand, very dark lacing, and a promising flower. Paul’s Ada Louise, 
dark purple lacing, large and full, a fine back row flower. 
These notes must be taken as referring to the blooms in Mr. Brown’s 
collection at Handsworth. Other growers’ experience may be different, 
but these remarks were written after careful examinations. With regard 
to the propagation of the Pink Mr. Brown adopts layering instead of 
piping) and finds they make strong plants very much earlier ; and Mr. 
C. H. Herbert adopts the same plan, and I do not know any others who 
do, except Mr. Cocker of Aberdeen, and I think he does, as I know that 
layered plants are sent out by him. 
A question arises out of my notes, Where do the purples end and the 
reds.begin ? Truly they are running so closely into each other as to be 
getting very much •* mixed,” and it is only experts in Pink lore who can 
be looked to now to define the two classes ; and can they always do so 
satisfactorily to others ? I know of some curious decisions in the single 
classes when a flower at one exhibition is classed as a red laced and in 
another exhibition as a purple laced. We are also getting so many 
degrees of lacing that it is a question in my mind whether a classifica¬ 
tion, as with Picotees, light, medium, and heavy, should not be adopted. 
I know that I am not alone in this opinion, and these remarks may bring 
out the opinion of growers on the subject.— William Dean. 
TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 
That these are grand plants in any form no one will for an instant 
dispute I am certain, but I fear that the hankering after size in the 
blooms is not conducive to the be9t results for the future of this plant 
when considered in a decorative point of viewq whether it be for the 
adornment of the conservatory, greenhouse, or the flower beds. Raisers 
appear to pay much attention to mere size of flowers, whether of double 
or single varieties, which they have in hand. I am aware also that they 
do consider the habit of growth of the plants, endeavouring to render it 
as dwarf as possible, which may suit their point, showing to the best 
advantage the few blooms which the majority of the plants are furnished 
with. To those who love size and compactness in the double blooms it 
is all very well, but as decorative plants in the broad sense too few blooms 
are produced. 
I prefer varieties which are remarkable for their floriferousne3S, com¬ 
pact habit of growth, and still maintaining the blooms of a somewhat 
circular form, and characterised also by solidity, devoid of “flimsiness.” 
Plants of either double or single varieties which can be grown in a 7-inch 
pot for instance, with perfect foliage and fairly covered with medium¬ 
sized blooms, are far more creditable, interesting, and satisfactory to the 
bulk of cultivators than those carrying perhaps a dozen huge blooms. 
The extra free-flowered varieties are more often semi-erect in habit of 
growth, just the style to render a well-grown plant appreciated on the 
dinner table for instance, where it would show to the greatest advantage 
without the aid of separate stakes to support the prodigious blossoms 
now becoming so common at exhibitions from the leading trade growers. 
In private gardens seldom do we see these large flowered sorts in the same 
state of perfection in that respect as we do at the metropolitan shows 
for instance. For flower gardens the varieties with medium-sized flowers 
are distinctly preferable to the huge flowered sorts, and more especially 
is this noticeable when growing in vases on the terrace wall, where the 
erect large bloomed sorts appear far too stiff in growth ever to “ shine ” 
highly as a decorative subject. For filling small vases for the house 
capital plants can be had in 4-inch pots of the free-flowered section, 
which are just the things for this aim. 
The appearance of Tuberous Begonias in flower beds may be very 
much improved when of the drooping or semi-drooping character by 
supporting their blooms with the aid of small fork-like sticks thrust into 
the soil amongst the foliage upon which the blooms rest. Nothing 
answers better for this purpose than the remains of an old birch broom, 
the twigs of which through being dry are rendered stiff, although of 
small size ; therefore they will support the blossoms easily and effectually, 
rendering the inspection to be carried out considerably easier than when 
the flowers are, or nearly, touching the ground : and besides, the blooms 
are prevented being splashed with the soil from the beds.—E. M. 
LILIUM CONCOLOR. 
A graceful plant is Lilium concolor when flowering as it has 
been in the last week or two in gardens and nurseries where Lilies 
are prized. The flowers are of moderate size, the petals narrow and 
recurving, but the colour is a peculiarly bright orange red, and the 
whole appearance is light and elegant. Variations from seed are not 
uncommon, and they differ chiefly in the depth of the colouring on the 
prominence of the spots. One variety, shown by Mr. T. S. Ware of 
Tottenham at a recent meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society was 
noticeable for its soft tint, all clearly defined spots, and from this a 
sketch wa 3 prepared, which is reproduced in the accompanying wood- 
cut (fig. 20). 
In some old works this Lily is referred to as a greenhouse plant, 
and in the early part of the present century it was so grown. Long 
