38 
THE FLORIST. 
of Friends, and the writer is a clergyman of the Established Church, 
there existed between them the closest sympathy, and a real unanimity 
of creed and of feeling in the all-important matter of religion. A long 
and truly Christian letter illustrative of this, written only on the fourth 
of last month, is lying before us, and strongly tempting us to make 
extracts, showing a Christian’s way of meeting the anxieties of a family 
man, and God’s practical way of answering the prayer. He puts into 
the heart of such an one to use. May his family follow in his steps. 
Would we all resembled him in this; for he was a living proof that a 
man of business, and a leading florist, can at the same time be a con¬ 
sistent Christian. 
It was floriculture that brought us together, but the gospel of Christ 
that cemented the acquaintance into friendship. It was at his instance 
and for his sake the writer made his first appearance under the signa¬ 
ture of “ Iota,” and with his departure that signature shall be laid down. 
Henceforth, any articles that come from the same pen, shall bear the 
signature of 
George Jeans. 
Alford Vicarage, Jan. 18. 
MR. EDMONDS. 
The severity of this winter has been manifest, not only in its effects on 
the gardener’s productions, but on gardeners themselves. A notice of 
one eminent raiser of florist flowers appears above, and we have to 
record also the death of another, very eminent as a raiser of Verbenas. 
Mr, Edmonds was gardener to the Dowager Lady Lacon, at Great 
Ormsby, Norfolk, and in that capacity not only won the respect of his 
employer, but became well known, by name at least, to the floricultural 
world, in connection with a flower so universally grown as the 
Verbena. 
The aim of Mr. Edmonds was to grow the seedlings in the open air, 
so that it might be seen which were fit for out-door purposes ; conse¬ 
quently, except in a very young state, they never bloomed under glass ; 
and out of many thousand seedlings which he annually grew, not more 
than one or two dozen ever came up to his idea of what was required. 
In the year 1852, Ormsby Beauty was distributed, and annually, since 
then, the lists of new Verbenas have borne evidence to his industry 
and great skill in hybridizing ; Leviatlian, Mrs. IMoore, Lord Shaftes¬ 
bury, IMrs. Spencer, and other well known and esteemed fiovrers were 
of his raising; and it is a melanclioly instance of the “Vanitas vanitatum,’* 
to see his name affixed to new varieties now coming out, and the raiser 
himself among us no more; he died suddenly on the 4th inst., respected 
by all who knew him. 
Deal, Jan. 22. D. 
