460 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 21, 1891. 
tfiiOSfrdiTi^irs^. 
--4-- 
The Florists’ Tulip. 
From a florist’s point of view it is refreshing to notice 
the revival of interest in those two fine old flowers, the 
Pink and the Polyanthus, as exemplified by the 
formation of Pink societies in Manchester and 
Birmingham, and by the controversy in your columns 
between “ R. D.” and Mr. James Thurstan respecting 
the Polyanthus, which mildly reminds one of the 
conflicts on kindred topics waged by Messrs. Glenny, 
Slater, Lightbody, Headly, and others in the good old 
days of The Midland Florist. 
I have, however, no intention of inflicting my 
particular views on either Pink or Polyanthus upon 
you, but seeing that a renewed interest is being taken 
in these flowers, I would endeavour to attract attention 
to the claims of another flower, equally worthy of a 
florist's skill and attention. I refer to the Tulip, the 
empress of florists’ flowers. When one thinks of its 
easy culture, its fascinating changes from breeder to 
feathered or flamed state, its varied wealth of glowing 
delicate colour, and its markings so bold yet so refined, 
it is indeed hard to imagine why this flower is so 
neglected. 
Time was when important collections of Tulips were 
numerous all over England ; now-a-days a very 
different state of things exists. In the south so far as 
I am aware, there is no grower except Mr. P. Barr, of 
Long Ditton Nurseries, who has recently purchased a 
small collection. Mr. Thomas Haynes, of Warwick, 
has the Midlands practically to himself, whilst Mr. 
James Thurstan is probably the only grower that 
“ gallant little Wales” can produce. In the Northern 
Counties more are to be found, among whom we may 
mention Mr. Samuel Barlow of Stakehill, Mr. John 
H. Wood, of Royton, Mr. J. Knowles, Staleybridge, 
Mr. W. Kitchen, Stockport, and the Rev. F. D. Horner, 
of Burton-in-Lonsdale. 
Up to the present we have managed to present a 
fairly bold front at the annual exhibition of the Royal 
National Tulip Society, held in the Botanical Gardens, 
Manchester, but death every year is busy amid our thin 
ranks, and we are beginning to fear that unless a revival 
of interest quickly comes, not only will our society 
be among the things that have been, but the men who 
love the Tulip will be gone also, and their knowledge 
lost for ever. It is, indeed, sad to see one old grower 
after another passing in the fulness of time to his 
appointed place, leaving his life-loved favourites to the 
mercy of a generation knowing little, and caring nothing 
about them. I may mention that during the last twelve 
months we have lost by death from our little band 
of growers, Messrs. D. Woolley and R. Woolfenden, 
whilst the deaths of Messrs. James McIntosh and 
Shirley Hibberd, both generous, good supporters and 
sympathisers, have further greatly weakened us. 
In this time of our distress, I have ventured to write 
to you in the hope that some of your florist readers may 
find room among their other floral favourites for a bed 
or two of this undeservedly neglected flower. —James 
IF. Bentley, Stakehill, Castleton, Manchester. Hon. 
Secretary, Royal National Tulip Society. 
—♦— 
The Gold-laced Polyanthus. 
For some years past I have grown a considerable 
number of gold-laced and fancy Polyanthus ; some of 
them have been really beautiful, and have given 
immense delight to other amateur gardeners who live 
near, as well as myself. I was so charmed with the 
gold-laced that, in my pride and ignorance, I ventured 
to invite two or three gardening friends of the old 
school to see them. Then pride had its fall, for I was 
assured that they were not to be compared with gold- 
laced varieties of the days of yore. So I made up my 
mind to go to the show at the Aquarium last spring, and 
did nearly 300 miles of travelling in the fond hope of 
seeing something that would enable me to judge what a 
gold-laced Polyanthus was like. Alas ! it was another 
dream dispelled—I went, I saw, and I was sadly dis¬ 
appointed. The display of gold-laced flowers was a 
miserable failure. I had left dozens of blooms at home 
that were infinitely superior. So I have yet to see the 
class of flower about which my good old friends so 
fondly dream and so lovingly describe. 
The correspondence between Mr. Thurstan and 
“ R. D. has recalled this to my mind, and I have 
been wondering whether the former gentleman can tell 
me where to buy or see any of the genuine flowers. 11 is 
one of the ambitions of my life ; for I am a real lover 
of the Polyanthus, and have grown many hundreds of 
seedlings this season (and for years past) in the 
expectation of some day being the proud possessor 
of such trusses and pips as I have heard and 
read about. Gladly would I take another journey to 
London or go to Cardiff if I could make sure of seeing 
laced flowers as Mr. Thurstan or Mr. Douglas have at 
different times described, and such as Mr. E. Ranger 
Johnson assured us in your last issue are the genuine 
“ Wedgewood plaques,” and not mere “ pantiles.” 
I am not a florist, but simply an amateur who revels 
in his garden and loves his flowers, so nothing I 
write will be controversial. But may I be allowed to 
express my admiration of the beautiful fancy Primroses 
and Polyanthuses which are styled “ rubbish” by 
certain writers. Those who saw the fine display at the 
Aquarium show referred to above, and marked the 
beauty of many of the varieties exhibited by Mr. 
Douglas, Mr. Dean and others, would scarcely treat 
them with contempt. At any rate, it was quite 
evident that the general public did not, whatever 
professionals might do. If I cultivated these for sale I 
should be inclined to make a selection of the finest 
varieties procurable, with a view to working up a large 
stock, for I feel sure “ there is money in it.”— Amateur, 
March 14 th, 1891. 
One of the reasons why the gold-laced Polyanthus has 
not made so much progress at the National Auricula 
Society’s shows as “ R. D.” could desire, is to be found 
in the fact of there being so few growers and exhibitors 
among that body, hence so few entries. Again, the 
plants are badly arranged as a rule, being scattered in 
two or three little groups about the hall ; and the 
collections are so small, only six and three plants against 
twelve plants each of the Primroses and fancy Polyan¬ 
thuses, the latter being staged altogether make much 
better groups. In looking over the Royal Aquarium 
schedule for this season, I find they have omitted the 
class for gold-laced Polyanthuses. Last year they 
secured seven entries—Messrs. Douglass and Dean, of 
the National Auricula Society, and five outsiders— 
which for a first attempt I consider was satisfactory, as 
showing that there are growers willing to compete at 
an open show of this description in preference to 
meeting the giants at the N. A. S. show. It was a 
much better display too as regards the number of plants 
and profusion of flower than the N. A. S. ever had, 
always excepting Mr. Barlow’s exhibits, which are 
always superior in florist properties. If the Royal 
Aquarium Company had continued the prizes this 
season I have no doubt we should have much better 
florists’ flowers shown, and an increase in the number 
of exhibitors. 
It would be very pleasing to see the gold-laced 
Polyanthus taken to again as in the days of old. I 
believe with Mr. Thurstan that they can be grown 
around London, as they were in my memory forty 
years ago, and I hope “ R. D.’s ” sad misfortune with 
them this season will not deter others from trying. 
By “R.D.’s” own showing they are very difficult to 
produce; and the more difficult to get, the more 
pleasing they are when you have them. I am not 
quite at one with Mr. Thurstan regarding the Primrose 
and fancy Polyanthus, and must give credit where 
credit is due, viz., to the Messrs. Dean and Douglass 
for their exhibits at the N. A. S. shows. They 
are very varied and beautiful in colour, and make 
glorious groups. If I remember rightly, “R.D.’’ had 
some good plants, and secured two first prizes at the 
Royal Horticultural Society’s show in 1874, still in my 
opinion they lack the refinement of the gold-laced 
flowers.— Ravenholme, Balham, S. TF. 
“Variety" Carnations. 
Permit me to supplement the remarks of Mr. Barlow, 
in the last number of The Gardening World, on 
“variety Carnations,” by calling the attention of 
lovers of the flower to a plate that has been issued by 
Mr. Ernest Benary, in which the beautiful varieties 
described are figured together with many others 
equally as good, numbering in all about fifty of his 
best sorts. Amongst them are many yellow Picotees, 
with distinct scarlet and rose edges, one white ground 
Picotee, the exact counterpart of Mrs. Sharpe, and 
nearly all the rest seems to be made up of “fancies,” 
or as Mr. Barlow will have it, of the “variety” kind. 
Two bloom3 of Germania form the centre-piece, they 
are arranged in glasses in bunches of three to each 
glass, and the plate altogether make a very handsome 
subject for framing. I do not think we have had any¬ 
thing so good since the old Florist was published, and I 
shall be glad to show it to any Carnationist who may 
look this way .—Richard Vesey, 93, Mano Street, 
Clapham, March 14 th. 
Laced and Border Pinks. 
Are not Mr. E. Ranger Johnson’s remarks a little out 
of place ? I have nowhere said that I do not know what 
a florists laced Pink” is, nor have I pretended not to 
know. The schedule of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
as I have already stated, contains two classes for Pinks 
amongst those set apart for competition on June 23rd. 
One, as already shown, is for “twelve blooms of laced 
Pinks,” and another for “ six bunches of border Pinks, 
laced flowers excluded.” Now the schedule is circu¬ 
lated among a large number of persons who cannot lay 
claim to the possession of much floricultural knowledge, 
and I was looking at the matter rather from the stand¬ 
point of these than from the florists’ point of view. 
The latter is an infinitesimal quantity in the fellowship 
of the Royal Horticultural Society. The simple question 
I put is What is a laced Pink ? And I maintain that 
any Pink, whatever the colour of the ground, provided 
the petals are laced, is a laced Pink for the purposes of 
the schedule of the Royal Horticultural Society, and 
also that of the National Pink Society as revised by 
Mr. Johnson. If it is intended in the case of both 
schedules that the flowers staged shall be the white 
ground florists’ laced Pinks, and those only, it should 
have been clearly stated. I can quite understand what 
■was in the minds of those who cast the classes ; but 
the outside public—the lovers of flowers it is desired to 
interest in the culture of the Pink—are ignorant of the 
mental limitations of the florist, and possibly cannot 
comprehend them except after a course of education. 
In the words of a popular song, framers of schedules 
should “ say what they mean and mean what they 
say.” 
As to the thunderbolt he forges and casts at my 
head for placing the fancy Polyanthuses among florists’ 
flowers—I say the fancy types are as much florists’ 
flowers as the gold-laced section. Because a few dead 
men of a century or so ago, whose knowledge of popular 
flowers as compared with our own was necessarily of 
a very limited character, took in hand certain flowers 
restricted in number—as was to be expected in those days 
—we with our wider knowledge and larger experience 
are to accept the few they grew, and no more. They 
knew little or nothing of Cyclamen, Begonias, Gloxinias, 
Delphiniums, fancy Pansies, Gladioli, Japanese Chry¬ 
santhemum, Pyrethrums, Primula Sieboldi Gaillardias, 
and others which are now to all intents and purposes 
florists’ flowers. 
I maintain that any p.erson who takes in hand a 
particular flower, who improves and perfects it, and 
places it before the public in such new and beauteous 
forms which the traditional florist approves, as to 
command universal admiration, is as much a florist as 
the man who improves the Auricula or Carnation, and 
has a perfect right to call his particular pet a florists’ 
flower. Who is to say what is and what is not a 
“ genuine florists’ flower ” ? Who is authorised to set 
up a stand of genuineness ? 
Mr. Ringer Johnson out-Herods Herod when he 
states that for the National Auricula and Primula 
Society to give away prizes for ordinary garden seedlings 
“is simply dishonest. ” What are all our new Auriculas, 
show and alpine, but “ ordinary garden seedlings?” 
What are the “certain distinctive characteristics” the 
fancy Polyanthuses lack ? The flowers are large, stout, 
circular, smooth, handsomely coloured, refined, varied, 
and attractive. What more is required ? To one person 
who grows the gold-laced Polyanthus, there are a 
thousand who cultivate the floral “pantiles.” They 
may be called rubbish by a few, but the multitude 
gather about them, and grow and admire them ; proving 
that the floral instincts of the many are more true — 
R. D, 
Fancy Carnations. 
Fancy Pansies, fancy Polyanthuses ! Well, truly, flori¬ 
culture is a matter of fancy, and as the term fancy has 
so long been the accepted style for these exquisite freaks 
of nature, in contradistinction to the term florists’ 
flower, I think it inadvisable to change the term as 
proposed by my genial friend, Mr. Barlow. I must 
confess that I have ever had a strong admiration and 
love for this class of flowers : the fancy Polyanthus, 
the fancy Carnation, the Alpine Auricula, have been 
subjects of my particular care and loving culture for 
over forty years, and for the raising of these from 
seed I have an unconquerable passion. Mr. Barlow 
says that a sight of them at the Oxford Show was 
quite a revelation to him. Well, such revelation came 
to me a great many years ago, and I am surprised that 
such an enthusiast as Friend Barlow had never met 
with them ; but ’tis not to be wondered at, as the Hite 
