444 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 14, 1891. 
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“Variety” Carnations and Picotees. 
By “variety” Carnations I mean those which are 
usually termed “fancies.” I have never liked the 
name “fancy,” and think “variety” is a better and 
much more comprehensive title ; so, if you please, we 
will call them “variety.” At the exhibition of the 
Oxford Carnation and Picotee Union in 1889, held in 
Mr. Dodwell’s garden at Oxford, I was looking at the 
magnificent stand of twelve variety Carnations just 
staged by Mr. Bead, and as I looked at them they 
grew upon my admiration and love, and much as I 
admired Seedling 167 (Dodwell)—a noble flower—yet 
my fancy was most captivated by Theodor, a most lovely 
flower of a warm rich heliotrope colour, which looked 
like a self, but when closely examined the base of every 
petal was found to be crimson or carmine. While 
admiring the rich satiny petals and the play of light 
and shade upon them, the quiet Quaker-like richness of 
the petals, and the absence of gaudy, glaring, positive 
colour upon them, there passed a young swell of the 
“haw, haw” type, accompanied by a young lady. 
The swell, pointing with his cane to Theodor, said, 
“Oh, look, what, a beast! ” I turned round indignantly, 
for my admiration was at its height about then, but 
seeing the calibre of the critic, I muttered, “ If there is 
a beast here or hereabouts, it is not Theodor.” That 
gent is a type of many thousands, who have eyes but 
see not. 
We are fairly well acquainted with the “variety” 
Carnations and Picotees raised in this country by such 
eminent growers as Messrs. Dodwell, Douglas, Hooper, 
Turner, and others ; also with the Kilmurry varieties. 
Many of these are very beautiful, as is well known. 
They are mostly yellow grounds, but with the 
heliotrope and brown grounds we are not so familiar, 
beyond a few glimpses of these combinations brought 
to the Oxford exhibition by our amiable and worthy 
friend, Mr. William Wardill, of Luton, not staged for 
exhibition, but produced from his hat, his pocket, or 
some mysterious recess, and put forth with a timid 
and “ hope-we-don’t-intrude ” sort of air, to those who 
deigned to look at them. The combination shown me 
by Mr. Wardill awakened my interest as to colour and 
its possibilities in the Carnation. Keeping Carnations 
in one’s pocket for part of a week does not improve 
them, hence the other qualities of the flowers of our 
friend were not so apparent, but the colours were there. 
Until I saw the stand staged by Mr. Beed, above 
alluded to, I had no idea that such undeniable florists’ 
quality was already attained by these strange colours 
in many of Mr. Ernest Benary’s varieties. 
The ^reputation of Benary - is of course world-wide ; 
but we owe him an especial debt of gratitude for what 
he has done for the Carnation. Had Benary done 
nothing more than to give us his grand Champion 
Yellow Germania, his niche among illustrious florists 
in the Temple of Flora would have been secure ; but 
he has done more, much more—he has shown us the 
great capacity of the Carnation for receiving and dis¬ 
playing such a grand variety of colours, colours rich 
and positive, as in Yon Bennigsen, colours also of 
secondary and tertiary combinations, equally rich but 
subdued and toned down, as in Theodor, and all sorts 
of combinations between the two. 
Twelve months ago last autumn I received from 
Benary a small collection of his Carnation and Picotees, 
the bloom of which was to me a revelation as to 
colour and quality; the blooms seemed to revel in colour. 
In Van Dyck we have ground heliotrope richly flaked 
with carmine ; in Justus Meyer, light brown or bronze 
ground, richly bizarred with scarlet and maroon. In 
Yon Helmholtz we have buff ground, bizarred with 
heliotrope, scarlet, and orange ; but I have not time, 
nor have you space to describe all which I have found 
worth describing. The following varieties of Benary’s 
will please all who try them : Schlosser, Schlieben, 
Stadtrath Bail, Yan Dyck, Yon Helmholtz, Von Ben¬ 
nigsen, Justus Meyer, Theodor, Heinrich Engel, Yon 
Blodau, Gustav Freytag, and Kora. 
The Picotees, although many of them large and 
very showy, were not so good as the Carnations ; but 
Alegatiere will please any one. I have emphasized 
these varieties of Benary’s because they are not so well 
known in England, and I wish my brothers who love 
the Carnation to have the same pleasure as I had in 
the enjoyment of their blooms. 
Mr. James Yates, of Stockport, has also raised some 
very good seedlings on the Benary line, the best which 
I have tested being 303, 304, and 250, The best 
which I have noted of Mr. Dodwell’s seedlings are 
167, 169, 779, 202, 154. 
It is well known to all the authorities who have 
written on colour, Cheveuil, Yon Helmholtz, Church 
and others, that a colour is always best shown on a 
polished surface, such as a fine silk satin. The petal 
of the Carnation is much superior to any satin or fabric 
which can be made, and hence is most suitable for 
displaying the richness and beauty of colour. I may 
add, in conclusion, that Benary.’s Theodor is the 
most lovely-scented flower of all Carnations.— S. 
Barlow, Stakehill House, March 7th, 1891. 
Show and Fancy Pansies. 
I have been following up the Pansy correspondence 
going on in your paper for some time past with 
considerable interest; being myself an ardent admirer 
of this lovely flower, I have devoted considerable 
time and attention to its cultivation as well as being on 
intimate terms with most of our best Scotch growers. 
I have had the pleasure of inspecting and sometimes 
judging their famous collections at some of the most 
important shows throughout Scotland, and am anxious 
to encourage the cultivation of this deservedly popular 
flower, but without the slightest intention of entering 
into the spirit of controversy, or trespassing on your 
valuable space. As a Scotch grower I very cordially 
comply with the request of your correspondent 
of 21st of February (p. 392), by appending below, after 
a very careful selection, what I consider a superb list, 
and one that will do credit to the grower if properly 
managed ; of course, many others might be added, but 
I have kept to the numbers specified. I also observe a 
number of new varieties to be put out this year, but 
not having seen them in flower, cannot give an opinion 
in the meantime. 
List of Twenty-four Show- Pansies. 
Dark Selfs. 
Alexander Black 
David Malcolm 
Dr. Inch 
Harry Paul 
Peter Lyle 
William Fulton 
W. E. Gladstone. 
White Selfs. 
Miss Mary Mitchell 
Mrs. Gladstone. 
Yellow Selfs. 
Archibald Bolland 
M. Thomson. 
White Grounds. 
Bella Watt 
Countess 
Fair Maid 
John Scott 
Lady Bute 
Lady Seafield 
Mrs. A. Finlayson. 
Yellow Grounds. 
Chaucer 
James Christie 
Adam Train 
David Dalglish 
James McLeish 
William Bobin. 
List of Thirty 
A. S. Glass 
John Taylor 
James Douglas 
James Campbell 
Lord Hamilton 
Mrs. John Walker 
Mrs. Lindsay 
Mrs. Lister 
Mrs. Aitkinson 
Nora Philips 
Bobert Walker 
, Agnes Loudon 
Archie Buchanan 
Blooming Heather 
Catherine Agnes 
Donald Morrison 
Endymion 
George Cromb 
— P. V. Agnew, Gardener 
Ascog, Bute, N.B. 
—*- 
six Fancy Pansies. 
John Pope 
J. G. Paul 
Julia Goodfellow 
John J. Ashton 
Lord Bute 
Lady of the Lake 
Lord Bosebery 
Mag. A. Scott 
Mag. B S. Cocker 
Mrs. John Ellis 
Mrs. Browell 
Mrs. John Downie 
Mrs. Maxwell 
Miss Henderson 
Mrs. L. Carnegie 
Neil Leitch 
Pilrig 
Sir James King. 
to Thos. Bussell, Esq., 
Laced and Border Pinks. 
It is certainly absurd, if not worse, for Mr. B. Dean to 
pretend he does not know what a florists’ laced Pink is. 
It is as easily recognised and described as a bizarre 
or flake Carnation. A pure white ground is absolutely 
essential. If Mr. Dean were to include a yellow ground 
Carnation or Picotee in either of the ordinary classes 
at Oxford or Westminster, he knows he would be 
promptly disqualified. And if he showed a laced Pink 
with coloured ground, no matter how neatly it might 
be edged, he would also be disqualified. Lord Lyon, 
Derby Day, Magnet, Noble Grand, or any other edged 
and coloured flower of a similar kind may be appro¬ 
priately shown in a class for border flowers. Pinks 
having been so long neglected that few florists describe 
them properly in their catalogues, and many do not 
give anything but the bare names. My old friend, 
Hooper, of Bath, used to catalogue them as “Fancy, 
Self, and Show,” just as he did the Pansies, and the 
distinction appears to me to be sufficient and appro¬ 
priate. I have had no opportunity of referring to the 
records of bygone years, but I have no doubt Mr. 
Thurstan and others who have seen the exhibitions in 
the olden times will agree with my definition of a 
laced Pink. 
As to the gold-laced Polyanthus the circumstances 
are very similar. Mr. “ R. D.” states that he opened 
his eyes to their widest capacity on being told that the 
plants from his seed beds, which he calls ‘ 1 fancy ” 
Primroses and Polyanthuses, were not florists’ flowers. 
He knows they are not; and I can only say that if 
money subscribed for the purpose of encouraging the 
culture of genuine florists’ flowers is given away in prizes 
lor ordinary garden seedlings it is simply dishonest. 
It matters not how pretty and showy they may be, 
that is not the point. There are certain distinctive 
characteristics which they lack. It is like comparing 
a pantile with a Wedgewood plaque. I well remember 
two or three old florists at South Kensington looking 
at a basketful of these “fancies,” and making the 
single remark, “rubbish,” but I never saw a florist 
pass a pot of gold-laced Polyanthuses without taking a 
second look.— E. Ranger Johnson. 
New Pinks. 
Two new Pinks are announced—viz., the new white, 
Her Majesty, which it will be remembered was produced 
at one of the exhibitions at the Crystal Palace in 1889, 
and won general admiration from the large size of its 
blossoms ; and a variety that was shown at Manchester 
last year under the name of Souvenir de Sale, shown 
by Messrs. Ryder & Son, nurserymen of that place. 
Both have received First Class Certificates of Merit, 
which can be taken as a fair assumption that they are 
well worthy the attention of the lovers of Pinks. The 
Gardening World contained the following reference 
to this Pink when commenting upon its first appearance: 
‘It is said to be a perpetual-flowering variety, the 
blooms as large as those of a good Carnation, pure 
white and sweet scented ; the petals are numerous and 
flat, or nearly so. A number of plants in pots, and 
abeut 1 ft. in height,” attracted much attention, 
because it seemed to indicate that it makes a good 
addition to the forcing Pinks, a group too much 
neglected by those who have to supply cut blooms. 
Her Majesty was shown by Mr. F. Hooper, of Bath, 
who sold the stock to Messrs. Ryder & Son, and it is 
now in course of distribution by them and Mr. Thomas 
S. Ware, of Tottenham. 
I was very much pleased with Souvenir de Sale, 
when I saw it at Manchester last year. It is described 
as one of the largest Pinks ever seen, the colour entirely 
new, and of a soft rosy pink tint; the flowers are very 
full, beautifully fringed, and very useful for cutting ; 
the habit is remarkably good, the plant being dwarf 
and bushy, and the flowers are freely borne on short 
foot-stalks ; it is very hardy, growing freely in any 
ordinary soil. Both of the foregoing promise to make 
useful border varieties ; and they can also be potted up 
in autumn, kept through the winter in a cold frame, 
and brought on into flower in a gentle warmth in early 
spring. It should be borne in mind that Pinks will 
not bear a great deal of forcing; they want to be led on by 
gentle stages in a temperature that will keep them 
moving, and every attention paid to keep the habit of 
growth as stocky and vigorous as possible, so that they 
can be had in bloom before plants in the open ground. 
A few other good and well-known varieties may be 
mentioned, such as Alice Lee, creamy white ; Clove Pink, 
deeprose, highly fragrant; Derby Day, deep pink, laced 
with purple ; Early Blush, a pink self ; Emerald, deep 
bright rose, with dark lacing ; Fimbriata major, fringed 
white ; Lord Lyon, deep purplish crimson ; Mrs. J. M. 
Welch and Mrs. Sinkins, both white ; and Paddington, 
red with a dark centre. —B. D. 
The Gold-laced Polyanthus. 
That, after a life a large portion of which has been 
devoted to the encouragement, to the improvement and 
culture of florists’ flowers, I should be roundly accused 
of heresy by one of the high priests of floriculture, and 
practically excommunicated, is hard lines indeed. I 
can imagine Mr. Thurstan echoing the wail of an old 
writer of forty years ago—one who, seeing in some 
of the flowers then being taken in hand subjects that 
had hitherto received but little attention in comparison 
with what had been paid to others, was led to give 
utterance to these words: “Some younger spirits, 
straining after new worlds of flowers to subjugate, or 
in which to mend Nature, have obtruded Hollyhocks, 
Phloxes, Verbenas, Snapdragons, &c., to the much 
discomfort and surprise of the old school.” What an 
immense loss would have resulted to floriculture if 
