488 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 31, 1888. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Reminiscences. 
I have lately been re-reading Hogg and bis supplement, 
the latter rare. How grandly the figure of the fine old 
man looms in the far-off perspective ! How relatively 
small seem some of his compeers ! And it is the old 
story on both sides. On the one we have unaffected 
devotion to, and the transparent delight in the flowers 
for their own sakes. On the other, palpable, un¬ 
scrupulous self-seeking, and lust of greed. Hogg lived 
in times of trouble—social, political, and commercial 
—inconceivable, I veritably believe, to the present 
generation, and it is inexpressibly touching to picture 
him, as seen in the light of his supplement, paralysed 
in body, robbed of all interest in his treatise, reduced 
to the narrowest of means, yet still delighting in his 
flowers, bravely battling for truth and integrity, and 
sternly repudiating personal advantage dissociated 
from honour. 
To know Hogg fully, his treatise must be read, 
collated with his supplement. What a growth of the 
man and the cultivator the latter shows ! In his 
treatise, Hogg’s composts are two parts dung, one part 
loam, and another part of sand and calcareous matters. 
In the supplement he says, “young plants, like young 
children, thrive best on plain food.” What an 
exemplification of the lessons in practical physiology 
his plants had taught him ! 
But—and this is apropos of a statement made recently 
by a writer who averred he took a great interest in 
the Carnation and Picotee, that Hogg’s treatise was 
published in 1839—it was not necessary to know 
the supplement to be aware that Hogg’s hand had no 
touch in any edition after 1822-3, for of that fact, to 
any one possessing even a smattering of knowledge of 
the history of the Carnation and Picotee, the treatise 
itself, in the very 1839 edition referred to, supplies 
incontestable proof. But this by the way ; as it was 
in the days of Hogg, so it is now. There were always 
men patient, persevering, intelligent, loving the work 
for the work’s own sake ; and there were then, as now, 
others rushing in with their blatant, discordant, penny 
trumpet notes, flatulent only of themselves. 
To return to Hogg. I cannot doubt that to him 
belongs, more than to any other man, the wondrous 
improvement effected in the White-ground Picotee. 
When he wrote in the closing months of 1819 (his 
first edition was published in February, 1820), the 
flower—pounced, serrated, striped—was without classi¬ 
fication or order. Hogg’s manful avowal of his.belief 
in its beauty, drew attention to its possibilities, with 
the result that his list in his supplement gives us the 
classification followed to the present day. And what 
a galaxy of beautiful flowers comes back upon the mind 
as we come down the long vista from that day to this ! 
Chastened indeed it is by the thought of friends and 
fellow workers lost by the way—Burroughes, May, 
Norman, Headly, Hollyoake, Marris, and many others 
—but the flowers are ever fresh and beautiful, and 
never fade. “ A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” 
In 1848 Dr. Homer thought “the circle for improve¬ 
ment was narrowed to the almost extreme point,” yet 
looking from that date forward to the present day it 
seems as if improvement at that time was only at the 
threshold. What a cluster of glorious flowers came 
between ’48 and ’54 1 Hollyhoake’s : Duke of Rutland, 
Harris’s Prince of Wales, Prince Albert and Victoria 
Regina, Headly’s Venus and King James, Norman’s 
Mrs. Norman, Fellowes’ lovely Ganymede and Haidee, 
Alfred, Amy Robsart and Mrs. Bayley, the latter 
bantlings of my own. Then came fine things from 
Mr. Smith, of Darlington': Aurora, Ada Mary, Lauretta, 
and Dr. Epps, the latter surviving to this day. Mr. 
Simonite, the dear old Ben of his familiars, the tried, 
trusted, and approved friend of all florists, came to the 
front at this period—the close of the fifties and the 
early sixties—and gave us his Mary, Mrs. Summers, 
Wm. Summers, and coming to more recent years his 
Violet Douglas and Mrs. Gorton ; Mr. Bower, with 
his John Smith and Mrs. Bower ; and then in another 
decade came the glorious batch from our friend and 
fellow worker Robert Lord, of Todmorden : Ann Lord, 
Alice, Minnie, Fanny, Zerlina, Miss Horner, Miss Lee, 
and Cynthia—how fine the latter was shown at the 
last “Feast” of the Carnation and Picotee Union!—Mr. 
Hewitt gave us his magnificent Muriel, and the Rev. 
Charles Fellowes, ever to the fore, his unbeatable Mrs. 
Payne, his glorious scarlet-edged Constance Heron, his 
Madame Corbin, Duchess, and others ; Mr. Rudd his Mrs. 
Rudd and Nellie, the latter, discarded first for its gross 
growth and unseemly appearance, brought by Mr. 
Rowan to the first meeting of the Carnation and 
Picotee Union, disciplined, refined, and chastened to 
win premier prize, and find universal favour. Mr. 
Willmer gave us Clara Penson ; and Liddington’s 
Favourite, dug from obscurity, went at one bound into 
a leading front place, and became a necessity for every 
first class collection. Last, but not least, Mr. Sharp 
gave us his glorious heavy-edged scarlet, Mrs. Sharp. 
Other flowers are rising above the horizon, and soon, 
probably, will be noted in full noon-day splendour. 
So memory delightedly recalls the glories of the far-off 
past, and brings us to the beauty of the present, or, by 
anticipation, to that of the closely nearing future. 
And so we come to the end of our tale. We pass in 
a moment through a long vista of years, but who can 
measure the importance or bound the limit of the 
influence the beauty of their surroundings has had 
upon us ? Poor Hogg was soothed, softened, and, I 
doubt not, chastened in his troubles by his flowers. 
May it be ever thus with every generation of florists! — 
E. S. Dodwell. 
Hyacinths at “Westminster. 
A vert fine collection of some 200 plants formed one 
of the chief features at the interesting meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, on Tuesday last. They 
were shown by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic 
Nurseries, King’s Road, Chelsea, and evidenced high- 
class cultivation. Amongst them were several new 
varieties, which were submitted for certificates, though 
all failed to secure the coveted award. One named Sybil 
wis a single variety of the purple or claret section, 
of a pale purple-colour and close compact spike, 
decidedly novel and fresh in colour, and likely to make 
a good exhibition variety. This was the only new one 
that could lay claim to high-class quality. Other 
novelties were Symmetry, a semi-double creamy white, 
with slight lines of pale pink along the segments. 
Lord Salisbury, double, rosy purple, changing to 
pale lilac with age ; good bell, but a long loose 
ungainly spike. Gladiator, double, pale lilac-pink, 
with slight lines of rosy purple, apparently likely to 
make a good spike, but it was only partially in flower; 
Criterion, single yellow, very much in the way of Ida, 
but perhaps with a rather deeper yellow tint; and 
Star of Hillegone, pale bright salmon, with lines 
of a deeper tint of salmon on the segments, and good 
close spike, distinct and attractive. As a matter of 
course, there were duplicates of leading varieties in so 
large a group, and a few of the very finest are to be 
found in Garibaldi, brilliant pale red, extra fine ; Alba 
superbissima, pure white ; King of the Blues, deep 
blue with darker lines ; La Grandesse, white, one of 
the very best; Yon Schiller, bright pale red, extra 
fine ; Grand Maitre, pale blue with dark lines, a fine 
and striking variety ; Koh-i-noor, a very fine red ; 
Duke of Connaught, dark blue, extra fine ; Grand 
Lilas, pale silvery blue ; Prince Albert Victor, bright 
red, and fine symmetrical spike; Czar Peter, pale 
greyish blue, extra fine ; Queen of the Blues, pale 
blue; Macaulay, pale red, very smooth spike ; 
La Joyeuse, deep pink tinted with red, a very fine 
variety ; Countess of Rosebery, delicate pinkish red, 
very pretty indeed ; Chimney Sweep, very dark blue ; 
Masterpiece, black, one of the deepest in colour ; and 
Electra, pale blue. Add to these Ida, and Bird of 
Paradise, yellow, and in the forgoing list one may 
be said to have the very pick of the single Hyacinths. 
The above make a very fine lot of exhibition 
varieties. They are also well adapted for decorative 
purposes, for we need scarcely remark that the finest 
Hyacinths make the best display. Those we have 
named in the selection are generally moderate in price, 
and some of them quite cheap. 
Cineraria, Emperor Frederick. 
Under this name Messrs. J. Carter & Co., Forest Hill, 
London, exhibited a small group of a new strain of 
Cineraria at the Crystal Palace on Saturday last, on 
the occasion of the spring exhibition. It was certificated 
at South Kensington last year under the name of 
Alexander Warwick. The peculiarity consists in the 
elongation of the tubular portion of the florets of the 
ray, while the flattened limb is proportionately short¬ 
ened. The disc florets appear normal and perfect; but 
such is not the case, as hitherto the plants have failed 
to produce any seed, so that the stock has been increased 
by propagation from off-sets. A microscopical ex¬ 
amination of these florets failed to show any trace of 
pollen, the anthers being semi-transparent and empty. 
Should this peculiarity continue, the strain may easily 
be kept pure ; but if variations are desired from this, 
the pollen of some other kind must be applied 
artificially. The plants are dwarf, very floriferous and 
compact, while the rays of the flower heads are of a rich 
reddish purple self colour, both pleasing and attractive. 
Pelargonium, Swanley Double “WTiite. 
Referring to the note on this Pelargonium at p. 475, 
will you allow me to say that when on a visit to Messrs. 
CanUell’s nursery, early in December last, I was as 
much astonished with the dwarf bushy habit of growth 
of this variety as I was with its floriferousness. Most 
lovers of zonal Pelargoniums are familiar with the 
name of Cannell and Swanley in connection with the 
introduction of many varieties of great merit; but I 
venture to predict that this last comer, when it becomes 
well known, will eclipse in popularity all the kinds 
that have previously been sent out from that floral 
depot. As I saw the plants last December by the 
hundred, all so full of flower and so compact in growth 
as to forcibly remind one that they had all been cast in 
a mould, I exclaimed, “Why, Mr. Cannell, whatever 
variety is this ?” The reply was, “Ah ! that is a good 
thing. We have christened it Swanley Double White, 
but it should have been called Perpetual Double White, 
for it is always in flower. We had it from Paris without 
name.” It need hardly be added that I bought plants, 
and I can honestly aver that up to the present time the 
character “perpetual” has proved correct. For the 
production of white flowers during the winter season, I 
question not only whether we have any other Pelar¬ 
gonium to equal it, but whether there is a white 
flowering plant of any kind that can do so. I mean to 
try it for bedding ; but I am not so sanguine of success 
in this direction, as none of the doubles turn out well 
as bedders, for either they make too much wood, or the 
flowers become so full that rainfall rots them. — TV. TV. 
Selection of Dahlias. 
Mr. Titus Dvson, Milnsbridge, asks for the names of 
a small collection of Dahlias to be shown under the 
following headings, and our selections are given in each 
case. Six show varieties : Constancy, Hon. Mr. Percy 
Wyndham, Joseph Green, Miss Cannell, Mrs. Glad¬ 
stone, and Thomas Hobbs. Three fancy Dahlias : 
Gaiety, Miss Browning, and Professor Fawcett. Three 
dark Dahlias : George Rawlings, James Vick, and 
Prince of Denmark. Three striped Dahlias : Annie 
Pritchard, Duchess of Albany, and Harry Glasscock. 
Three yellow Dahlias : John Neville Keynes, Joseph 
B. Service, and Mrs. G. R. Jeffard. Three scarlet or 
crimson Dahlias : James Stephen, John Standish, and 
Mr. G. Harris. Six other good useful show Dahlias 
will be found in Clara, Georgians, Mrs. Langtry, Mrs. 
Shirley Hibberd, Sunbeam, and William Rawlings. 
Six other good fancy Dahlias : George Barnes, Fanny 
Sturt, Maid of Athens, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Saunders, 
and Peacock. 
The Florist Emmerton. 
In the fourth edition of Thomas Hogg’s work on 
The Culture of the Carnation and other Florists' 
Flowers, published in 1823, the old Paddington florist 
gives a quotation from “Emmerton on the Auricula,” 
and, if my memory serves me rightly, about the years 
1835 and 1836 a number of extracts from some work of 
Emmerton’s were published in Harrison’s FloricuUural 
Cabinet. Can any of your readers give me any 
information respecting this author, and the correct 
title of his work ? or, better still, does anyone know 
who has a copy of the same to dispose of?— E. V. 
- -->X<-- 
AZALEA BALSAMINiEFLORA. 
The foliage of this plant has much the same appear¬ 
ance as that of the Indian Azalea with which we are not 
so familiar, the individual leaves being about the same 
size, but when in flower the plant is quite distinct, and 
from a horticultural point of view a great acquisition. 
The dwarf habit, the floriferous nature of the plant and 
the double flowers are all recommendations too obvious 
to be overlooked. The latter are regularly and per¬ 
fectly double, of a bright salmon-red, and of good size 
compared with that of the plant bearing them ; while 
in general appearance the}- may be compared to a 
Camellia-flowered Balsam, owing to the imbricated and 
recurved condition of the petals. It is a distinct 
species, and was introduced a few years ago from Japan 
by Mr. William Bull, King’s Road, Chelsea, with 
whom it flowers annually and freely, even in a small 
state—say about a foot in height. The flowers last a 
long time in perfection owing to their double character, 
and may be used in bouquets and other floral decora¬ 
tions, or for conservatory work. 
