1881 . ] 
CLEMATIS BELLE OF WOKING.-ON PERFECTION OF FORM IN THE TULIP. 
07 
CLEMATIS BELLE OF WOKING. 
[Plate 541.] 
UR figure of tliis handsome double- 
flowered Clematis was made by Mr. 
Fitch, some three or four years ago, 
when the Belle first flowered as a seedling. 
She has now, in the ordinary course, advanced 
to that stage when she has to be introduced 
into society, and we take this as an opportune 
moment for publishing her portrait. The 
Belle of Woking was obtained by Messrs. 
George Jackman and Son, of Woking Nursery, 
and appeared to us, when originally bloomed, to 
be a very distinct and meritorious variety, and 
a decided acquisition to the double-flowered 
section ; since then the plant has been under 
“ nursery ” manipulation. 
The double-flowered varieties of Clematis all 
belong to the spring-flowering division, and 
hence are better adapted for indoor than for 
outdoor planting. They are well suited for 
covering pillars or trellis-work in cool conser¬ 
vatories or in glazed corridors, and, like all the 
early bloomers, flower from the well-ripened 
wood of the preceding season. Hence a few 
strong young shoots should be encouraged to 
grow annually, and these should be ripened 
thoroughly, and in winter be trained to re¬ 
place the older exhausted ones, which may be 
cut away. Thus kept in a vigorous state by 
moderate pruning and judicious feeding, they 
will vindicate their right to occupy a prominent 
position in the floral arrangements of our 
cooler plant-houses and conservative walls. 
We quote the original description of the 
Belle of Woking from the Clematis as a Garden 
Flower , by Moore and Jackman, an exhaustive 
treatise on the cultivation of these showy 
flowers, which are valuable, on the one hand, 
for their noble blossoms in spring, and equally 
so, on the other, for their continuous blaze of 
colour during the summer and autumn :— 
“ Clematis Belle of Woking, Jackman .— 
A fine new double variety of the florida type, 
obtained from C. lanuginosa Candida, crossed 
by C. Fortunei. The leaves are ternate ; the 
leaflets rather small, ovate, and rugose. The 
flowers are double, with about eight series of 
sepals, and a small tuft of stamens ; they are 
upwards of 4 in. across, with the general out¬ 
line of the Duchess of Edinburgh, the sepals 
obversely lanceolate, acuminate at the apex, 
and narrowed below into a stalk-like base, 
forming a close rosette of about 3 in. in depth. 
The colour is a charmingly delicate, but de¬ 
cided tint of bluish-mauve, or silver-grey, the 
innermost sepals having here and there a dash 
of reddish-lilac, which is not very obtrusive; 
the filaments are white, supporting cream- 
coloured anthers. Tbe uppermost or bractei- 
form leaves, just beneath the flowers, are simple, 
varied in form, and more or less coloured, as 
often occurs in the double-flowered varieties. 
It is a decided acquisition, finely contrasting 
with the Countess of Lovelace, on the one hand, 
and the Duchess of Edinburgh on the other.” 
—T. Moore. 
ON PERFECTION OF FORM IN THE TULIP. 
“ GfpT is now conceded on all hands that no 
6] m Tulip can be perfect in form which does 
not expose the whole of its inner surface 
at a glance. Hence it follows that the shape of 
the cup must be circular in its outline, because 
every other form would throw more or less 
shadow over the surface, and thereby obscure the 
brilliancy of its colours. Other advantages will 
also be found in its superior gracefulness, and 
its more perfect accordance with the arrange¬ 
ment of the coloured markings. Strict atten¬ 
tion to these two points is, therefore, very pro¬ 
perly enjoined by Mr. Glenny. With regard, 
however, to what is the proportion of a circle 
which would constitute perfection, further con¬ 
sideration is requisite. His arguments against 
the perfection of the half-circle are by no 
No. 43. imperial series. 
means conclusive, and several facts, bearing 
strongly on the question, appear either to have 
been overlooked, or not duly appreciated. 
“ The Tulip is a flower of simple construc¬ 
tion, but remarkably well adapted to the dis¬ 
play of those richly-coloured forms with which 
Nature has so liberally endowed it, and which 
render it so peculiarly attractive. These, in 
many of our best varieties, require a large sur¬ 
face for their full development. Hence size 
becomes an important accessory, and the supe¬ 
rior advantage of the half-circle over the 
smaller one-tliird will at once be apparent, if 
we compare the relative sizes of the petals, in 
flowers of equal diameters at the opening or 
mouth, in both forms. In the half-circle, a 
flower of 3-g- in. diameter would have its petals 
nearly half an inch longer than those in the 
lesser form, which is an important difference. 
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