148 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— May 27, 185G. 
bedding Geraniums, particularly. Then, as to saying 
which is which, from cut flowers through the post, there 
is not a man on earth who can tell the right name; and 
you might just as well send your scarlet Geranium to the 
man in the moon, as to the first professor in the line, on 
this side the globe, at least; indeed, it is but quackery of 
the tirst order to pretend to do anything of the kind. 
From what I have heard for the last two years, I am 
i perfectly satisfied that there will soon be a “ rage ’’ for white- 
I eyed, scarlet Geraniums, both for bedding and for in- 
; doors, also for new kinds of the Nosegay breed, but they 
! appear to be more scarce, and none of them that I have 
j seen are better than the oldest. The Pink Nosegay, alias 
Green's Seedling, and alias Fothergillii-Salmon, is another 
as good. Mrs. Vernon is another, and the best scarlet of 
them. 1 had it from Mrs. Vernon Harcourt herself, to 
Shrubland Park, in 1851, and 1 have not seeu it since, 
hut I should like to have it now. I had one more of 
them, the Lilac Nosegay, which is a pinkish flower, and 
seeds to such a degree, that I consider it as bad as any 
weed in a garden. In my eyes, and in those eyes for 
which T used to be on “ the look out,” a truss of dry 
: beaks in seed is as much out of place in a bed, vase, or 
pot, as a bunch of Sow-thistles,—in fact, intolerable. 
They had one kind of horse-shoe at the Crystal Palace, 
the first season, and every flower on it seeded to the end 
of the season; but they must have burnt it, for you 
never saw any more of it; and any body who allows Ge¬ 
raniums to seed in the beds ought to be brought before 
a magistrate for a nuisance. 
There was a very good Nosegay at the Crystal Palace 
last season, and 1 think it must be mentioned in my 
report of the plants in the colonnade. It was a present 
from some one, whose name T forgot; but if 1 see it again, 
I shall register the name and all about it, to prevent more 
confusion ; these, with my own crimson Nosegay, which 
is only a breeder yet, are all that I ever heard of, and I 
cannot distinguish them in the nursery catalogues as 
they are at present arranged. The Nosegay was the 
first real, or accidental, cross in the scarlet breed, and 
none, in that strain, better than it has appeared yet. It 
i comes as true from seeds as if it were a wild species; 
| but many more of them come equally true if they are 
confiued to their own pollen. Now that we have so many 
variegated kinds, the next kind we want more particu¬ 
larly is a dwarf edging plant, with a perfectly black 
horse-shoe mark. Any kind of flower will do, but if it 
, is a scarlet, the eye must he white. Baron Hu gel is the 
| nearest we have to what I mean, but the leaf is not the 
j thing; the green is not green enough, and the dark is 
too brown. 
There was a seedling by Mr. Wighton, from Cossy 
Hall, in Norfolk, with the best dark mark I ever saw, but 
, I forget the habit of the plant. A strong grower must 
not be used for an edging, particularly an edging to a 
j variegated Geranium. Let breeders be on their self- 
interest, and we shall soon hear of a suitable edging, 
j not only for variegated Geraniums, but also for Tom 
Thumb; but would you believe it, there was actually a 
: Geranium edging to a bed of Tom Thumb at "the 
I Crystal Palace last season, without any one out of ten 
j thousands perceiving it, although it was in the centre of 
the terrace-garden, on the right-hand side after coining 
down the steps from the upper walk; so you see there 
is a desire for all these moves in the higher circles in 
gardening. __ -D- Beaton. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
THE VERBENA. 
'There are every year such large numbers of new 
Verbenas raised, both in this country and on the 
continent, that it is extremely difficult, and no easy 
task, to solect twelve of the best out of the number. 
In those below, I have endeavoured to choose the 
varieties that will be suitable for both the flower- 
garden as bedders, and to grow in pots; for either the 
greenhouse stage or the exhibition table. There are 
many in the nurserymen’s catalogues, the merits of 
which are not sufficiently proved; therefore, another 
summer’s trial must pass before a correct judgment can 
be formed on their respective merits. 
What are the properties of a good Verbena? This is 
a question that has often been put to me. I will take 
this opportunity of giving my rules by which 1 judge 
any new or old varieties that are submitted to my in¬ 
spection. The first indispensable property is form, or 
shape. This is a property that every kind of florists' 
flower must possess. The Verbena, as is well known, 
blooms in trusses, and each separate flower in the truss 
is called a pip. These should be round in general form, 
each petal should be stout and thick, with smooth edge, 
that is, without notches. They should also be as flat as 
possible. The truss should also be flat, and each pip, 
in forming the truss, should just touch each other, so 
that the interior of the truss should be hid. It is also 
a great advantage if the outer blooms remain perfect 
till the innermost ones are expanded. Colour: this 
should be dense, and clear, and distiuct, in the striped 
varieties. Habit: the bloom should be abundant, the 
plant dwarf, and the foliage rather small. With these 
properties, any seedling will be worth propagating, and 
sending out to the public. 
Twelve Selected New Varieties. 
1. Countess of Oxford (Bragg).—Form and habit 
good ; colour a rich lavender, or a silver-grey, with a 
large, white eye. A conspicuous and pleasing variety, 
very distiuct from any other. 
2. Crimson Perfection (Edmonds).—Truss very fine; 
pip round, flat, and thick ; colour bright ruby-red, with 
a large, white eye; habit good. A fine variety for 
bedding. 
3. Criterion (Weatherill).—Truss medium size; pip 
round and stout; colour nearly a self rosy-pink; habit 
excellent. One of the best of its class. 
4. Dr. Maclean (Edmonds).—Truss very large; bloom 
largo, even, and stout; colour a fine rosy-purple, very 
distinct; eye large, and pure white; an abundant bloom ; 
of excellent habit. Especially suitable for pot-culture. 
5. Duke of Cambridge (Edmonds) —Truss large; 
bloom medium ; colour a deep, rich purple, with a neat, 
round, clear white eye. A free grower, of excellent 
habit. 
fi. Imperialis (Bragg).—Truss medium size, and well 
formed; pip large, flat, and stout; colour mulberry- 
crimson, with a light centre; very novel and distinct; 
habit good. An abundant bloomer, and excellent for 
bedding. 
7. King of Sardinia (Edmonds).—Truss large ; bloom 
large, flat, and stout; colour rich crimson, with a dark 
centre ; habit good. Excellent for bedding. 
8. Loveliness (Edmonds).—Truss large and flat; pips 
well formed, flat, and stout; colour a bright rosy-pink, 
one of the best of that colour; habit dwarf and compact; 
a most abundant bloomer. An especial good bedding 
variety. f 
*J. Moonlight (Bragg). — Truss large; blooms also 
large and well formed ; colour pure white ; habit a i'ree- 
grower and most abundant bloomer. The best white 
variety ever raised for pot-culture. 
10. Pre-eminent (Edmonds). — Truss large; blooms 
large, also flat, round, and stout; colour bright ruby- 
red; eye large and pure white; habit dwarf. A very 
fine variety. 
11 . Standard Bearer (Edmonds). — Truss medium size, 
very compact; blooms large; colour deep blue, with 
