162 
T 
THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[November, 
Flesh Coloured or Blush Whites. —Mrs. 
Page, Mayer, and The Governor (Cross). 
Yellow Selfs. —Florence (Wallington), a 
glorious introduction, not merely by far the 
best yellow self, but one of the finest of any 
class of seifs, and having a fine robust habit, 
promises to be of signal service to the seedling 
raiser ; King of Yellows (Abercrombie), and 
Lady Kosebery (Turner), the latter a light 
primrose, pretty as a flower, but a very in- 
dilferent grower. 
Fancies. — Scarlet Bizarres : Apollyon, 
Saladin, Sir Toby Belch, and Smike. 
Crimson Bizarres : Fimbriata, Othello, and 
The Moor. 
Scarlet and Maroons: George Buflield, Hec¬ 
tor, Hercules, Oberon, Touchstone, and Venus. 
Crimson and Maroon, Bose and Crimson, 
or Crimson and Purple: Brilliante, Huson 
Morris, Madame Zwilchenbart, Mrs. Champ- 
ness, and Mrs. Mostyn Owen. 
Crimson Flakes : Adonis and Mrs. Pratt. 
Chocolate Flake : Saturn and Satellite. 
White, Jlecked and Jlaked with rose, extra 
fine.—Titania. Yellow ground, margined or 
marked with 7'ose, crimson, or purple. Of 
this class my experience is limited. They 
have been ever capricious in growth, and some¬ 
what finical of requirement. At Derby the 
cold dour atmosphere was distasteful to them, 
and at Clapham no attention sufficed to 
induce sound growth. Since I have been here 
we have had more success, but that has been 
relative only, and until we can get a race like 
Mr. Wallington’s Florence, I fear successful 
cultivation will be the exception rather than 
the rule with these flowers. The best of those 
I have grown are Alice Waite, Bullion, Car¬ 
nation, Flavius, Miss Watson, Princess Mar¬ 
guerite, and Prince of Orange, all save the 
latter of Mr. Turner’s raising,. 
The above was written in the early part of 
this year. During the season some very 
beautiful additions have been made. Of those, 
or part of those shown by Messrs. Veitch 
& Sons at South Kensington, on July 22, 
particulars are supplied by Mr. Douglas in his 
notes of new Carnations and Picotees, on 
pp. 134—185. I was physically so prostrate 
on that day that I was quite unable to 
attempt any minute criticism of the fine 
selection of varieties brought forward by the 
Messrs. Veitch. I saw enough, however, to 
be assured they are of great value, and I 
do not question the encomiums of Mr. 
Douglas were fully deserved. But upon one 
remark I desire to offer a brief comment. 
Mr. Douglas says, “Harvester well deserved 
the First-class Certificate it obtained, and will 
probably be the most popular of all. It is of 
the same colour as Florence, buff’ or apricot 
coloured, and smooth on the edges, udiereas 
Florence is fringed.” I detract nothing from 
the merit of Harvester, which I gladly assume ; 
but I suspect there lurks an error in that 
whereas, which has been the germ for many an 
evil word launched against florists for their 
hard and fast and arbitrary lines. It is quite 
true the Rev. George Jeans, in his essays 
on the “Philosophy of Florists’ Flowers,” 
informs us in his chapter on form, ‘ ‘ that some 
forms are better suited than others to set off 
colours to advantage, as a smooth petal (the 
italics, as with my quotation from Mr. 
Douglas, are mine) exhibits its mai'kinqs more 
perfectly than a wrinkled one can,” and every 
one conversant with the subject will fully sus¬ 
tain Mr. Jeans on the point. But when we 
come to self flowers, we require to go to 
another chapter, that on varietg, and determine 
its necessities and influence before we can 
arrive at sound and lasting conclusions. I 
have no intention to travel over the whole 
ground involved in this heading. To do so I 
must repeat verbatim the words of the chapter. 
I will only quote the opening sentence. “ Let 
us consider the effect of variety. This is even 
more essential to a pleasing form than unity 
is.” Again, “ From whatever source, however 
arising, it is essential that the florist’s flower 
which would claim a high position should not 
be deficient in this. . . . Our copy-books 
enunciate a philosophical truth, when they 
impress upon the child what the child knows 
better than any philosopher, that it is variety 
that is charming.” 
Well, then, in the self what is it gives 
variety ? “ It is produced by form, contrasts, 
brilliance, or an attractive colour as a whole,” 
says Mr. Jeans, that indeed which, within 
certain definable limits, gives life and variety, 
as against formality and primness. During 
the past season I was much impressed with 
this, not, however, let me say, a new ex¬ 
perience. We were blooming W. P. Milner, 
white self, for the first time, in contact and 
contrast with our old favourite The Bride. 
W. P. Milner has a faultless petal, smooth, 
and gently cupped perfectly to the centre ; 
it is pure in colour, and perfect in its outline. 
The Bride is fimbriated, generally reflexed, 
and thrusts herself frequently with a palpably 
expressed indifterence to the severe proprieties 
of form, into bloom. But the popular voice 
chose The Bride, and I heartily endorsed, for 
the reasons I have given, the choice of my 
friends and visitors.—E. S. Dodwell, Oxford, 
Oct., 1884._ 
RUSSELIA JUNCEA. 
TjWTHIS is a very showy plant when in 
flower, and merits a place in every 
collection. It produces a great pro¬ 
fusion of trumpet-shaped scarlet flowers 
during the months of August and September, 
