50 
TIIE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ April, 
it may be timely that now, when great in¬ 
terest is being taken in this lovely flower, and 
a decided revival of its culture has set in, that 
I should write down, for the guidance of all 
concerned—admirers, growers, and judges— 
the rules upon which the Polyanthus was 
judged thirty years ago. These rules have 
never since been altered or questioned, and we 
are bound now to adhere to them strictly, or 
the gems of an olden time which may be 
shown, or those which may follow hereafter, 
may, by lack of a proper standard and incom¬ 
petent judging, be swamped by inferior flowers, 
to the disgust of the true and earnest florist, 
who knows what they ought to be; and to 
the confusion of properties,—the lowering of 
the standard of perfection, and the consequent 
deterioration of this lovely florist’s flower. 
Properties of the Gold-Laced Polyanthus. 
Habit of Plant and Truss. —The flower-stem 
should be strong, straight, and elastic, and 
from 4 in. to 6 in. in height. The foot-stalks 
of the flowers should be of such a length as to 
bring all the flowers well together into the 
truss, which should comprise a minimum of 
five flowers, which should be as nearly uniform 
in size and quality as possible. The foliage 
should be healthy, and cover the pot well. 
Note on the Truss. —The old florists used to 
cut down the truss to three flowers, so anxious 
were they to exhibit perfect flowers only; and 
when, a few years ago, the minimum was 
raised to five flowers, it was objected by some 
of the old stagers that five perfect flowers were 
never to be seen in one truss, even in the best 
kind that was ever raised. In addition to the 
five flowers by which the plant should be 
judged, the exhibitor may leave as many 
more flowers on his plant as he likes. He will, 
however, act wdsely in removing from the truss 
any flowers which are coarse and out of char¬ 
acter, retaining as extras only those that come 
fairly near the florist’s standard. The flowers, 
in addition to the five best, are simply left on 
to show the free-blooming habit of the plant, 
and add to its general effect on the stage, and 
must not prejudice the judges, who should decide 
upon the merits of the five best flowers only. 
Sice of the Flower. —This is of less import¬ 
ance than the quality ; still, no flower ought 
to be exhibited which is less than five-eighths of 
an inch in diameter. From this minimum, 
size is practical^ unlimited, providing quality 
accompanies it. From six to seven-eighths of 
an inch is about the best size for the flower. 
Structure and Form of the Flower. —The 
flower of the Polyanthus, like that of the 
Auricula, is formed of one petal only, which is 
divided into three parts. First, in the centre, 
is the tube or eye, which should be well filled 
out with anthers, and raised a little on its 
outer edge ; second, the centre, which should 
be as circular in form as possible ; and third, 
the ground or body colour and the lacing. 
This flower, or “pip,” as it is technically called 
by the florist, is divided on its outer edge for 
the depth of the body colour and lacing down 
to the centre into five or six segments, which 
have the appearance of separate petals. Each 
of these segments has an indentation in the 
centre, giving it a kind of heart-shaped form. 
This should not be cut too deeply, but should 
correspond with the indent shown in the flower 
at the junction of each two of these segments, 
which ought to be close, so as to preserve the 
circular character of the flower, so that a 
glance ought not to show which is the actual 
division of the segments and which is the in¬ 
dent in the centre. Five of these segments 
usually go to form the flower, but six are 
allowed,and in some flowers are an improvement. 
Proportion of Eye , Centre , and Ground 
Colour to the Lacing. —Draw a circle to repre¬ 
sent the size of the flower ; measure its dia¬ 
meter, and divide that into twelfths. The 
middle six-twelfths will represent the eye and 
the centre, of which two-twelfths ought to be 
diameter of the eye, and four-twelfths that of 
the centre surrounding the eye. The remaining 
six-twelfths, or diameter of the outer half of the 
flower, which represents the segmented .portion, 
is filled with ground colour and lacing. 
Colour. —The colour of the centre and the 
lacing should be the same in each flower, and 
should be of a bright golden or a bright lemon 
yellow 7 ; and the centre should be a self-colour, 
fi ee from shading, or the presence of another 
colour. The ground or body colour to be in 
black grounds as near black, and in red grounds 
as near a rich Indian red, as possible ; each 
colour should be decided, solid, and free from 
shading, and to have a texture of a velvet-like 
appearance, so as to give the flower a brilliant 
and attractive look. 
