1878.] 
TWO MONTHS OF CARNATIONS AND PICOTEES. 
11 
anything remains to be done. Nor is it true 
that the fruition of his labours is limited to 
three weeks of bloom. In my own case, my 
earlier flowers opened in the third week of 
June, and I cut a fine specimen of John Iveet, 
rose-flake, from a late spindle on August 27. 
With my friend Mr. Rudd, of Bradford, the 
season was even more prolonged ; though I did 
not choose the title of this paper to indicate the 
results in my own collection merely, but rather 
to note that as the swallow follows the 
summer, it was my privilege to go in the past 
season from bloom to bloom. 
My first pilgrimage was to the collections at 
Loxford Hall, in the charge of my friend and 
fellow-florist, Mr. Douglas. Up to this time, such 
had been the untoward character of the season, 
that I must frankly avow I had suffered keen 
anxiety for the success of the Aquarium Show, 
in the promotion of which I had been made to 
bear a prominent part. But my visit to Lox¬ 
ford Hall dispelled all fear. With a rare in¬ 
telligence and a perseverance only possible to 
loving devotion, Mr. Douglas had so used his 
opportunities as to bring his flowers to the very 
day,—and such flowers ! Such size, such sub¬ 
stance, such markings, such brilliant colours 
and lovely white grounds! memory may recall 
and imagination paint their equals, but rarely 
is it given to mortal eye. to rest upon such 
beauty. For two hours, which seemed only 
seconds, I paced to and fro with my friend, 
now sipping here, now there, until poor, frail 
mortality sank almost sated with beauty! But 
beauty dies not; as Keats sang, “ a thing of 
beauty is a joy for ever,” and as I journey far 
from home, and from the garden, which next 
after home lies nearest to my heart, I travel 
with an inexpressible delight and a never- 
wearying joy from beauty to beauty, enshrined 
for ever in that storehouse of compact propor¬ 
tions, but illimitable capacity—the mind’s eye. 
On the 18th we had the first great Show of 
the season, at the Aquarium. On the 23rd, I 
visited the Royal Nursery, Slough. My own 
bloom culminated at the end of the month, 
and during the three latter weeks of August I 
was in Lancashire and Yorkshire, visiting the 
collections of Mr. Gorton on the 15th ; of Mr. 
Booth, of Failswortli, on the 18th; assisting 
at the show in Manchester on the lGth, and 
again at Bradford on the 22nd; and finally, 
visiting the collection of Mr. W. M. Hewitt, 
at Chesterfield, on the 24th. 
I have thus, I trust, shown cause sufficient 
for my title, and so, with my readers’ kind 
permission, I will endeavour to describe the 
results of my observation. I have already 
touched upon the rare growth and the ex¬ 
quisite beauty of the flowers at Loxford Hall, 
During a long life I have seen many fine dis¬ 
plays of Carnations and Picotees, but never any 
finer. Beyond the point attained by my friend 
mortal skill cannot go, and even imagination 
stands quiescent, for what more of beauty can 
be desired ? 
Of the Aquarium Show, I will only say it 
was worthy the effort made to produce it. The 
productions of Mr. Douglas and Mr. Turner 
may be equalled, but can never be surpass ed. 
To those who may desire to obtain a valuable 
lesson in the art of effective setting-up, I sug¬ 
gest they turn to the report of the show (vide 
vol. for 1877, p. 186), and copy out the collec¬ 
tions of Mr. Turner and Mr. Douglas in the 
open class, commencing at the left and reading 
to the right, observing that Mr. Turner’s col¬ 
lections, both of Carnations and Picotees, were 
displayed on stands of four sixes, whilst Mr. 
Douglas showed his in three lines of eight 
each. No one who may follow this advice, 
and who is moderately familiar with the 
characteristics of the flowers exhibited, can fail 
to appreciate the beauty developed, or miss 
the artistic lesson conveyed. 
Notwithstanding the beauty of the flowers 
produced by Mr. Turner on the 18th, the 
general collection yet wanted on the 23rd 
several days to the height of the bloom. But 
the most remarkable feature was the absence, 
not absolute but relative, of the grand old 
varieties—patriarchs in Carnations, like Curzon, 
Milton, Premier, &c. The eye ranged over 
hundreds, to note ones and twos only of these 
grand old favourites, where in such an ex¬ 
tensive collection twenties and thirties might be 
looked for. A brief word of surprise elicited 
the reason. So large had been the demand , 
that over thirty-two thousand plants had been 
sent out from this nursery alone in the previous 
season , and thus the depletion of the stock was 
amply accounted for. But what a commentary 
on the ignorance—or shall I say innocence ?—of 
the writer, who also in the Journal of Horti- 
