March 27.] 
with the vine and other objects of culture, every seventh 
year was to the olive-tree a year of rest (Exod.xxiii. 11). 
The berries were not gathered, but beaten off; the 
gleanings being left “ for the stranger, for the fatherless, 
and for the widow” (Dent, xxiv 20), and the oil was 
expressed by treading (Micah vi. 15). 
GARDENING GOSSIR. 
Ax the meeting of the Society for the Encouragement 
of floriculture, the subject of showing florists' flotvers in 
pots, at public plant exhibitions, raised an animated dis¬ 
cussion. It was at once admitted, that public shows 
were not the places for the comfort of the sliewers, and 
that the closeness of the single specimens, when packed 
in a show box, prevented any proper examination by 
florists who took a real interest in them ; and while some 
condemned the notion of showing Picotees and Carna¬ 
tions on their plants in pots, every one admitted that for 
effect it was by far the best mode. 
It was considered, however, that if they were to be shown 
in pots, they should he merely removed from the stages of 
the grower to the place of exhibition, aud he judged as 
plants are judged, by the general appearance and effect, and 
not by the rules which prevail in stand showing. If the 
rules which are adopted at Carnation and Picotee shows ex¬ 
clusively, when a split pod, a run petal, or even a crack, con¬ 
demned a whole stand, the growers would he forced to cut 
away every bloom that had the smallest blemish, and leave, 
perhaps, only a solitary fiower that would stand the test; 
thus they would not only destroy the beauty of their plants 
for then' own collection, but would make no effective show 
for the public; whereas, if they were shown as they were 
seen on their own stage, three or four very showy blooms 
which have the best possible effect, might be seen on every 
pot. Of course, the trouble of carrying pots was objected to 
unless the prizes were liberal; upon this point, however, 
there was no discussion ; and it was generally conceded that 
for a public exhibition of plants, a tent full of Carnations 
and Picotees would be one of the most effective features that 
could be added to the present extensive displays at Chiswick 
or the Regent’s Park. 
Florists' Floivers having been greatly increased of late 
years, and frequent questions having arisen as to what 
are entitled to that distinction, the best definition I can 
give is, they are flowers which have been improved by 
raising new and better varieties from seed, and each 
of which varieties can be multiplied by means of cut¬ 
tings, layers, slips, offsets, grafts, buds, or suckers; thus 
enabling us to perpetuate by name any variety worthy 
of being added to our collections. The Tulip, Hyacinth, 
Pink, Carnation, Picotee, Ranunculus, Anemone, Auri¬ 
cula, and Polyanthus, were for a long period the leading 
florists’ flowers; but the florist soon took under his care 
the Rose, Geranium, Rhododendron, Azalea, Dahlia, 
Verbena, Fuchsia, Hollyhock, Chrysanthemum, Camellia 
Japonica, aud many other subjects, which had been 
almost limited to these species, and which now com¬ 
prise many noble varieties, far surpassing the vory best 
of the pure species. We here talk of hybrids among 
plantsmen, but florists’ flowers would be a better term 
for all garden varieties, unless a novelty be a complete 
mule between two distinct families; for the fact of a ] 
393 
plant produced by a cross breed bearing seed, fairly 
shuts it out from any claim to the title of mule or hybrid, 
if it does not actually prove the families to be the same; 
at least, such is a very prevalent opinion among florists. 
Objections to the present mode of disfiguring plants 
by unnatural training, are becoming very general. Many 
subjects of fine habit are grown in and on wire-work 
frames like so many bird-cages, and the flowers dragged 
through to the surface, or tied down in all directions; 
others have a frightful number of stakes and wires, so 
as to destroy altogether the character of the specimen ; 
and we are glad to find that some of the principal judges 
who are appointed at a few popular shows, have deter¬ 
mined to show their abhorence of the system, by award¬ 
ing prizes to the best grown and most gracefully formed 
aud trained plants produced without supports, or with 
the fewest contrasts of any kind. Those, therefore, who, 
in imitation of some of the shewers near London, grow 
these plants among a mass of wires and stakes, and 
fastening them with innumerable ties, will have the 
mortification to find that small, compact, well-grown, 
and well-bloomed specimens, produced according to their 
natural habit, will beat all those overgrown plants which, 
divested of their rigging, as a bystander once applicably 
called the sticks, wires, and cords that supported some 
of the monster specimens, would not sustain a single 
branch in its proper position. For my own part, I 
think the formality that reigns over a modern collection 
of show plants, and exhibits specimens of all habits, like 
so many monster sugar-loaves, or beehives, or balloons, 
destroys all the charm, and the sooner it meets with a 
severe check, by the better taste of the judges awarding 
the prizes to well-grown plants of a fourth of the size, 
the sooner will our Metropolitan exhibitions reap the 
advantage of increased popularity, and the more encou¬ 
ragement will be given to a large class of gardeners, who 
will not condescend to cage plants, as people cage ani¬ 
mals, and waste in mechanical contrivances and arrange- j 
ments that valuable time which should be devoted to the j 
health of the collections. 
Torenia Asiatica .—We have seen this plant exhibited j 
many times little better than a weed, beautiful as is the i 
blue velvet-looking flower. The very small proportion 1 
the blooms have borne to the size of the plant, has 
greatly lowered its value as a show plant; and as it has 
always been trained up some frame or wire-worked 
design, it has been made worse by the exhibition of as 
much of the wrong side as of the right side of its-foliage. 
The proper way to grow this plant is to let it hang down 
allround the pot, which is its natural growth; and in 
that position it may be shown for months, with hundreds 
instead of tens of flowers; and all the foliage grows 
with its best surface outwards. 
The rEschynanthus tribe has been exhibited trained up 
wire supports, and its blooms very scarce. Although : 
the plant is not a favourite of mine, I recommend culti- ; 
vators to suspend the pot, and let all the growth hang j 
down all round it. The flowers, which come at the ends 
of the long branches, are then shown to the best advan- j 
tage; I have seen ten or a dozen sorts suspended from 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
