THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ May, 
ns 
of such high mark. At that time, Taylor’s Glory, 
which no doubt is in the show to-day, was a first- 
prize flower, along with Lee’s Bright Venus, and 
others; and the best seifs were Whitaker’s True 
Blue, still extant, Grimes’ Flora’s Flag, and Red- 
mayne’s Metropolitan. I remember this last being 
sold for 2is. a plant, but half a century ago it grew 
iu garden borders, aud might be had for 2d. a head. 
“ Ten years later (1831) the green-edges were a 
stronger class by several flowers still to be found in 
old collections. Such were Pollitt’s Highland 
Laddie and Standard of England, but nearly all the 
first prizes fell to Colonel Taylor. To the greys 
were added Sykes’ Complete, a good flower grown at 
present, and Grimes’ Privateer. White-edges were 
augmented by Favourite and Incomparable from 
Taylor, the raiser of Glory, and by flowers of less 
note. The seifs have additions, but the best is 
Othello, a round-petalled black flower, that was 
much thought of. Another ten years (1841), and 
the most notable green-edge is Page’s Champion, 
once very plentiful, especially with the raiser, who 
was wont to throw surplus off-sets into the Thames, 
but now exceedingly scarce, and one of the very few 
Auriculas difficult to grow in an impure air. At 
this period came Conqueror of Europe among the 
greys, with great sensation, and Ashworth’s Regular, 
a small, correct white-edge, still valued by some old 
growers in the North. 
“ By 1851 some of Lightbody’s flowers appear, 
such as Star of Bethlehem, but that and all others 
were outshone by the first appearance, in 1846, 
of Lancashire Hero, Robin Lancashire’s magnifi¬ 
cent grey. Like many other light-mealed greys, 
it has the power of blooming in a green-edged form, 
and that generally occurs either on a truss from a 
young plant, or one formed very early on an old one. 
The bloom of its middle-life at mid-season is rich 
silvery grey. This surprising flower is worth a 
word by the w r ay. When first shown, in 1846, it 
was placed second to a flower inferior to it in char¬ 
acter, Grimes’ Privateer. Lancashire had then 
eight or ten plants of his seedling, and in his grief 
hastily sold all for a trifling amount. He offered a 
good deal more to have them back, but could not 
get them. From their first purchaser they passed 
to Mr. James Cheetham, by w'hom it was eventually 
sent out. But it is truly Lancashire’s Hero, and 
no name but that of Robin Lancashire should ever 
have been associated with this flower, It is the 
noblest type of an Auricula, and at its best there is 
no grey better. Our opinions are, however, divided, 
and some of us hold by Headlv’s George Light- 
body as the model. This is a grand flower, that 
was sent out in 1861, and the two greys will pro¬ 
bably never pass out of cultivation while Auriculas 
are grown. They will meet immense competition, 
aud have worthy companions, but they are Auriculas 
right properly, and no florist washes to see them 
discarded, but he will not rest till he has their 
equals. By 1861 we also had Campbell’s Pizarro, 
then our brightest, roundest self, of soft brown, 
together with more of Lightbody’s flowers; and 
Campbell was busy for years at this time, trying to 
give us a crimson self of standard properties. His 
work at that time extended over many years, and is 
a good example of a florist’s patience. He started 
with a cross between the old carmine flower Lord 
Lee, and a puce-coloured self of Martin’s. At once 
he got the colour, but he lost the paste, Lord Lee 
having none; and when Mr. Lightbody reported to 
me his neighbour’s success in two crimson seifs, 
Duke of Argyll and Lord Lome, there had been 
failures past all count. 
“ II. I pass on now to speak of the Auricula from a 
florist’s point of view, and I cannot better lay the 
subject before you in the abstract, than in the 
words of a brother-florist, the Rev. F. Tvmons, who 
would gladly have been with us to-day, and before 
whom the Auriculas here have often stood for judg¬ 
ment. He says, ‘ The points of a good flower are not 
arbitrary, as the uninitiated sometimes say, but 
really appeal to canons of beauty, recognised and 
allowed by all who have made a study of the plant. 
Thus, as in other matter of beauty or taste, the 
verdict of those most skilled in the subject is that 
which is entitled to weight. Rigid attendance to 
these points is of proportionate importance in any 
flower which is largely the creation of skill, stretch¬ 
ing forward to some ideal standard. Capability of 
modification under culture, so as to draw nearer and 
nearer to that standard is one of the prime distinc¬ 
tions of “ florists’ flowers.” Among these, none 
probably are more artificial creations than the 
Auricula. Hence the importance of a thorough 
knowledge of what a good flower oioght to be.’ 
“Auriculas are divided, first, into two distinct 
groups, separated from each other by the marked 
feature of mealed or unmealed centres. Those 
destitute of meal are termed Alpines, aud their 
essential qualities are the unmealed centre and the 
heavily-shaded petal. The highest form in the 
Alpine is the shaded petal, and the golden centi’e, 
which last is not difficult to obtain, except in such 
as have lilac, or any shade containing blue. To 
admit shaded flowers of these tints, it has been 
found necessary to allow a pale, almost white 
centre, unmealed, of course. This section is the 
hardiest and most prolific of all Auriculas, and 
those that are grown in garden borders are Alpine 
blood of more or less inferior strain. 
“ The other group is the Auricula Royal, contain¬ 
ing all the edged classes, which constitute the 
highest and most wonderful development of this 
flower. The green-edges hold the highest rank of 
all, and are the only class in which a mealy habit 
of foliage never occurs. The contrast of their zones 
of emerald, black, and white, in a setting of silver 
leaves, would be very beautiful; but Nature denies 
this combination, though often granting the con¬ 
verse in white edges with green leaves. The green- 
edges have required the most winning, for the edge 
must be absolutely pure from meal, and that has 
been found a very trying test. Now, however, this 
splendid property is becoming more brilliant and 
more fixed, but that it has proved one of difficult 
attainment is shown by the very few true greens 
among the old varieties. 
“ The grey-edges, a strong class, are those in which 
a sprinkling of meal, like hoar frost upon springing 
grass, lies delicately over a green edge, without 
hiding it further than to give a pearly effect, as of 
a silver dew crystallised and secured upon it. 
“ The white-edges are exquisitely fair and lovely 
—a very favourite class. The whole face of the 
flower, except the dark velvet rim of ground colour, 
must lie deep under a snow’y meal, usually of finer 
grain on the edge than on the middle of the flower. 
Good, true whites have been very few indeed among 
the old flowers. 
“ Then follow's that beautiful consort of the edged 
classes, the Self. This, w'ith its pure, densely-mealed 
white centre, and colour of one velvety, unshaded, 
and decided hue, is a very different flow'er from the 
Alpine, and not the least approach of the one to the 
properties of the other can be tolerated. 
“ Such are the differences that form the class 
distinctions in the Auricula. We must look a little 
closer to see what those properties are that give 
expression and harmony to all. The perfection of 
a whole lies in the perfection of its parts. I take a 
single flower to pieces part by part. In the centre, 
the tube, w'ith its contents, stamens and pistil, is a 
little member, but one of mighty import. So is the 
