302 
THE FLORIST. 
and that alone. Thus breadth of petals, and consequent roundness 
and fulness of flower, for that nar¬ 
rowness which leaves considerable 
looseness and openness of form, stout¬ 
ness for flimsiness, smoothness for 
coarseness, refinement and harmony 
in colours for that which, in a manu¬ 
factured article (silk for instance), 
we should call vulgarity; these are 
all obtained by the judicious cul¬ 
tivation and crossing of different 
flowers. It is almost impossible to 
recognise, in our present beautiful 
varieties of Pelargoniums, the long 
narrow-petalled flat-coloured parent 
from which they have sprung, and 
which is represented by the annexed 
wood-cut. 
The Pelargonium in its habit should be moderately dwarf, with 
stout foliage, and short stalks to the leaves, so as to form a com¬ 
pact bushy plant, from which should stand erect a strong stalk, 
crowned with a truss of at least four flowers (five is better), and these 
should be abundantly distributed above the foliage. Each individual 
flower-stalk should be sufficiently long to allow of the flower’s ex¬ 
pansion without confusion. The flower should be of good size, say 
two inches in diameter, composed of five petals, two upper and three 
lower ones, and these should form a circle. They should be quite 
free from curl or crumple, stout and velvety in texture, with perfectly 
smooth edges, as if stamped out (a), with no indentations ; the whole 
Refulgent. 
should be sufficiently broad at the base to prevent any portion of the 
