108 
THE FLOKIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[July, 
leaves. The petioles are long, slender, roundish, 
and of a dark-green colour; the lamina is 
bipinnatisect and spreading ; the pinnules are 
firm in texture, obliquely falcato-lanceolate, 
acuminate, the margins prettily toothed or 
serrated. It may be added, that the gracefully 
drooping habit of the broad spreading leaves— 
so different from the stiff formality common to 
the order—very much enhances its beauty, and 
whether permanently serrated or not, it may 
take its place amongst the most ornamental 
of the palms and larger ferns with which it 
would become associated in cultivation.—T. 
Mooee. 
MARKET PLANTS.—V. 
Vaeiegated Zonal Pelaegoniums. 
HE Tricolor Pelargonium has certainly 
ceased to be the pet plant with many 
that it was a few years ago, when there 
was something like a passion for new and ex¬ 
pensive varieties. But the rage soon subsided, 
for it was quickly found it was only under 
special circumstances that the plants could be 
well grown and finely coloured, as they were 
when shown by their introducers. A few fail¬ 
ures with any particular plant soon affect the 
demand for it; but though the Tricolor or 
Variegated Zonal Pelargonium declined as a 
pet, it has never ceased to be an acceptable and 
most useful plant in the garden, for pot-culture 
and for beds. 
One particular grower of this plant, Mr. 
Thomas Pestridge, of the Boston Park Nursery, 
Brentford, sends to market twelve thousand in 
a season, a goodly number in large 60-pots, the 
larger quantity in small 60-pots. It is during 
the months of April and May that they are sent 
to market. A dozen plants are put into a small 
light box-—sometimes consisting of one variety 
only, sometimes of two, and not infrequently 
of several varieties mixed together. A model 
market plant in a small 60-pot is from four to 
five inches through, short-jointed, branching, 
dwarf in growth, and with richly-coloured leaves 
feathering to the pot. Such plants command 
a good price, and there is a very ready sale for 
them, as London nurserymen, who find it 
difficult to grow the tricolors, become large 
purchasers for supplying orders. Bronzes or 
bicolors are also largely grown by Mr. Pest¬ 
ridge, as he gets through some ten thousand 
plants in a season ; and they also are nice bushy, 
compact, dwarf specimens, with grandly 
coloured leaves. 
The leading market Tricolor varieties are 
Achievement, with a very bright, evenly-marked 
zone ; Masterpiece , very fine and attractive ; 
Golden Queen , excellent in every respect ; 
Miss Goring , very good, and of fine habit; Mrs. 
Little , very fine in colour, and much in de¬ 
mand in the market in consequence; Prince of 
Wales , a useful variety, but much like Mrs. 
Pollock ; Marie Stuart (Pestridge), large, bold, 
circular leaf, rich marking and excellent habit; 
Florence (Wills), in the way of Mrs. Pollock, but 
having more colour, besides being a more com¬ 
pact grower, and a great improvement on this 
old variety ; Salamander (Pestridge), very fine 
colour; Peter Grieve , finely marked, large, bold 
leaves, but a slow grower; and Macbeth , a 
capital grower, with fine, high-coloured foliage, 
well fitted for a large bed, because so free and 
robust. 
The Silver Tricolors are grown also, but only 
in the proportion of an eighth part, as com¬ 
pared with the Golden. But a few varieties 
of silvers are grown; the best for the purpose 
are Lass o’ Gowrie , Miss Bond, Empress of 
Lndia (Pestridge), the best grower among the 
Silver-edged varieties, very fine and effective, 
a variety that will become the leading one for 
market purposes; Dolly Varden , very effective ; 
and Mrs. John Marshall (Pestridge), fine in 
colour and of excellent habit. 
The best Gold and Bronze, or Bicolor varie¬ 
ties grown for market, are :— W. E. Gumbleton , 
having a fine, broad, reddish zone, a good, 
robust variety, that sells well; the Shah, dis¬ 
tinct and fine, and excellent habit; Mrs. 
Harrison Weir, not a heavy zone, but a taking 
variety; and Mrs, Quilter. 
