90 
THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ APBII/, 
improvements, both in point of form and colour, have been worked out, in the course of two 
generations, by means of patient and judicious intercrossings by Mr. Little, whose collection 
immeasurably surpasses anything of the kind we have elsewhere seen. Mr. Little has been 
particularly fortunate in his choice of a pet flower, for there is perhaps no other ])lant, which, 
blooming as it does from autumn onwards till spring, could have given him such a continuous 
display of charming flowers. The brilliancy, too, which has been thrown into their colours is 
something really astonishing, as the following statement will show:—In 1870 Mr. Little 
gained a certificate for a purple variety called Purpureum, and in 1871 for another called 
Queen of Crimsons, both being decided advances upon the varieties in the same class of colours 
at that not very remote date. From these, crossed in various ways, a batch has been obtained 
which, with increased perfection of form, has, in very many instances, thrown marvellous 
depth and richness of hue. In one named the Prince of Purples, the colour is a solid violet- 
crimson, the purple flush rich and full-toned to the very tips of the petals, which are intense 
purple at the base ; in others, named respectively Meteor and Rose Queen, it is a carmine- 
crimson, with the base of the richest blood-crimson, the latter being the larger flower, but 
the former remarkably high-coloured at the base. These two under sun-light show up with a 
dazzling brilliancy which must be seen to be appreciated. Mr. Little’s Snowflake was another 
certificated variety, of the purest white; and in this direction and among the pale-coloured 
sorts generally there are flowers of wonderful merit from the florist’s point of view. One 
variety which we noticed had the mouth very deep purple, and the lower portion of the 
reflected petals of a lilac-purple, passing to white in the upper part; this is quite a 
novelty. Mr. Little very wisely breeds for quality as well as other desirable properties, 
and will have none of the coarse ribby flowers with which growers are liable to be led away 
from their mere size ; his aim is to secure refinement of texture and marking ; the surface must 
be as smooth as if the blossoms had been carved, and the colour in seifs dense, solid-looking, and 
uniform to the very tips of the petals. Amongst other features, breadth and rotundity of 
petals are insisted on, and with these a symmetrical imbrication of tho twisting petals, purity 
of tint, and when any marking is present, a definite ring of colour at the mouth, not a confused 
blotch running unequally up tho limb. To the above characters robust growth and a stiff, 
stocky habit have to be added. These qualities all realised, there are few choicer flowers than 
a nicely-grown Cyclamen. 
- fJtESSBS. Oeosse and Blackwell furnisli to the Gardeners^ Chronicle 
the following interesting particulars as to the Consumption of Fruit for making 
Preserves by their firm :—“ The total quantity of all kinds of fruits for tho 
season 1873 is 1,100 tons, consisting of the following proportions: 300 tons of Raspberries, 
200 tons of Strawberries, 100 tons of Red Currants, 100 tons of Black Currants, and 400 tons 
of other kinds. These fruits are mostly grown within 20 miles of London, chiefly about 
Bexley Heath and its neighbourhood; they are gathered during the day-time, and travel by 
road in the night, arriving at our factory very early in the morning, and are principally used 
for making jam, with the addition of pure refined white sugar. In order to retain the distinc¬ 
tive flavour and freshness of the fruit, every appliance is adopted to boil the fruit the same 
day as it arrives. The kinds of fruit for bottling and jam are Gisborne’s and Orleans Plums, 
Damsons, Greengages, and green Warrington Gooseberries, for bottling; ripe Warrington 
Gooseberries for jam. Although,” they say, “ our consumption is probably tho largest of any 
single manufactory, still it only bears a small proportion to the total quantity annually 
supplied to the general public.” 
- ^he Thuja occidentalis lutea^ called in America, George Peabody, was 
awarded a First-class Certificate when shown at South Kensington in February, 
1873, by Mr. G. Jackman. Its habit is dwarfer and more compact than that of 
its parent, the common American type; and Messrs. Maxwell Brothers, of Genova, N.Y., claim 
for it the richest golden-yellow colour of any evergreen, not merely the tips of the leaves, but 
from 1 in. to 3 in. of the current year’s growth being covered with this brilliant hue, which is 
afar more decided golden colour, they say, than that of Biota elegantissima, and the colour being 
reliable, as neither tho sunshine of hot summers nor the frosts and winds of winter have injured 
it* From what wo have seen of this variety, we believe it will prove a good garden plant, 
distinct in character from the equally good golden Cupressus Lawsoniana Intea, and the Thuja 
(Biota) semperaurea. 
— m ^ Loeenz, a gardener at Bunzlau, in Silesia, has accidentally succeeded 
in Cultivating the Morel hy means of Tan, in the following manner, as quoted in 
