Plate 209 . 
UNITED ITALY, PELARGONIUM. 
No class of flowers is more popular at the present time than 
that which is commonly known as the bedding Geranium (the 
term scarlet Geranium being now clearly incorrect, inasmuch 
as colours of all hues, pure white, salmon, pink, rose, crimson, 
as well as scarlet, are to he found in them), and whether for 
the adornment of the flower garden or conservatory during the 
summer months, they are especially valuable, combining great 
brilliancy of colour, easiness of growth, and profusion of bloom. j 
This popularity has induced the promoters of our great flower- 
shows, during the present season, to offer prizes for collections 
of both the plain-leaved and variegated kinds ; but we must ex¬ 
press our decided opinion that the plants exhibited were, with 
very few exceptions, quite unworthy of the class and of the 
skill of the exhibitors,—that terrible love of formality which 
has so hindered the natural, and consequently beautiful, growth 
of many of our exhibition plants having completely spoilt the 
effect. In many cases they were trained, or rather tortured, 
into flat table-like shapes, like the specimen plants of Pompon 
Chrysanthemums we have seen formerly. In one instance the 
flowers were tied across, so that the eye was arrested by a series 
of sticks and stalks, and all for the purpose of getting the 
blooms into their proper place. Thus fine plants were entirely 
spoilt by the love of formality. Plants in our own greenhouse, 
which have been left to themselves, are now full of bloom, and 
vastly preferable to most of those which we saw at the metro¬ 
politan exhibitions. 
Amongst the plants which are most suitable for pot culture, 
the tricoloured-leaved varieties are very conspicuous. These 
are now divided into two sections; those with the ed^es of the 
G 
