508 
THE GAEDEKINO WORLD. 
April 11, 1891. 
-—i- 
The Florists' Tulip. 
Our. friend Mr. Bentley writes a little too gloomy on 
p. 460. We know of Mr. Horner’s glorious beds, and 
also of Mr. Barlow’s ; but does not Mr. Bentley know 
that there are a few of us left yet in Yorkshire ? In 
the good old days of The Midland Florist we were 
there, and we are not dead yet. How many times has 
“ Schofield ” shown at the Royal National Tulip Show 
at Manchester ? From him I caught the fever, and 
started with twenty bulbs, at Is. per bulb, in 1849. 
Aglai was included among them, and we cannot do 
without that old variety yet ! I have 150 rows of 
bulbs ; Schofield will^have 200. 
Why also should the Wakefield men be forgotten ? 
They consider themselves to be the largest society in 
England, and the figures below about justify the 
assertion. Mr. (Moorhouse’s collection was once a 
Manchester one, and my own represents almost the 
whole of Hepworth’s best bed, four-fifths of them 
having been thrown out, the stock of Mr. Brown— 
who I believe is, or was, the last survivor of the South 
London A. Tulip Society—and a good many aristocrats 
from Mr. Barlow, from Wakefield and Wortley. It 
will interest some of the “old ones” to hear that 
Schofield (the raiser of Clipper, S.F., Lady Holmesdale, 
Pic, &c.) still plants and lifts every bulb, though 
over seventy years of age ! 
The Wakefield growers, and the extent of their beds, 
are as follows :—Mr. Moorhouse, 60 yards ; Mr. Gill, 
60 yards ; Mr. Spurr, 50 yards ; Mr. Calvert, 40 yards; 
Mr. Lister, 30 yards ; Mr. Hardwick, 30 ; Mr. Mellen, 
14 yards ; making a total of 284 yards, with about 
eleven bulbs in each row.— John Cliff, Fulneck, Leeds. 
We were pleased to notice in your issue of the 21st 
March, Mr. Bentley’s remarks on the florists’ Tulip, 
and hope with him that we may again see a revival of 
these old-fashioned favourites. As some years ago we 
purchased the entire collection of that worthy old 
florist, Mr. David Barber, of Stanton-le-Dale, near 
Nottingham, and have added to it since, we believe 
we have one of the largest collections in the kingdom. 
We send you a list of those we have, and would like 
your readers to know that they are grown in Scotland, 
and there is a show of them yearly in Dunfermline.— 
Stuart A- Mein, Kelso. 
Carnations and Pansies at Birmingham. 
Our midland and northern floricultural friends are 
certainly moving onwards, and Birmingham bids fair 
to rival both London and Manchester as a centre of 
floricultural activity. The restless activity of Mr. 
Robert Sydenham and his floral allies of the Midland 
districts have brought about the establishment of a 
Midland Carnation Society that bids fair to rival 
both Oxford and London in importance, if it does not 
excel them; and they have secured^something over 
£100 as subscriptions. That is good, and if only Dame 
Nature will smile pleasantly upon the efforts of our 
friends, and the season prove favourable to the pro¬ 
duction of good blooms, the coming season will be 
one of unwonted activity ; and what with London, 
Oxford, Birmingham, and Manchester, some leading 
Carnation growers may make 1891 memorable by 
realising fortunes. Let us hope they may. But better 
than realising fortunes will be the widening of the 
circle of Carnation lovers ; this is a certain result, and 
it is safe to say that among the various ways it will 
manifest itself, will be increased support to Carnation 
societies. 
The Pansy men have caught this infection of activity, 
and they have formed a Midland Pansy Society. 
Scotland has some Pansy societies, but I think the 
newly-formed Midland one is the only organisation of 
its kind south of the Tweed. A revival of interest in 
the Pansy as an exhibition flower is greatly needed. I 
find at provincial shows held in July and August that 
prizes are offered for Pansies—much too late to have 
flowers in the best character—but as a rule the blooms 
staged are wretchedly poor. And as sometimes happens 
when I am acting in the capacity of judge, I express a 
determination to withhold the prizes for Pansies on the 
ground of the poorness of the flowers, and the reply one 
meets with frequently is—that these prizes are kept in 
the schedule at the request of seme member of the 
committee, and if they be withheld there is danger of a 
storm. So it is to be sincerely hoped that an improve¬ 
ment in the general character of the cut blooms of 
Pansies may result from the increased prominence to 
be given to this flower in the Midland districts. 
As the new Pansy Society is formed for the purpose 
of encouraging the cultivation of the Pansy in the 
Midland distriets, the competition for the present will 
be confined to exhibitors residing in the counties of 
"Warwickshire, Salop, Staffordshire, "Worcestershire, 
Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Northamptonshire, 
excepting a few open classes. The show and fancy 
Pansies are abundantly provided for, and also the 
pretty Yiolas. The first seven classes are open to all 
residing in the eight counties named, including a Silver 
Medal for the first six blooms of dissimilar seedling 
Pansies raised by the exhibitor, but not yet sent out; 
and also a Silver Medal for three blooms of the best 
seedling fancy Pansy raised in 1890, and named. Then 
follow eight classes, open only to amateurs and gentle¬ 
men's gardeners residing in the eight counties ; and in 
the first six of these Mr. James Simkins will add to the 
first prize a copy of his excellent book, The Pansy, and 
how to Grow and Show it. Then follow four classes 
for the same section of exhibitors, for those who have 
never won a prize for Pansies—“maiden growers,” as 
the Lancashire florists term them. Then follow a few 
classes open to all in the United Kingdom, which will 
no doubt be the means of bringing to Birmingham the 
leading trade cultivators in Scotland. Then follows a 
series of six special prizes, all being of an interesting 
character. 
Is the fancy Pansy a florists’ flower ? If so, who 
made it so ? Should it not be in the same category as 
the fancy Polyanthus, and be relegated to the border ? 
And yet the fancy Pansy holds exactly the same position 
towards the show Pansy —yellow grounds, white 
grounds and seifs—as the fancy Polyanthus does to 
the gold-laced varieties. Relatively, the fancy Poly¬ 
anthus has been improved just as much as the fancy 
Pansy, and yet, by general consent, the fancy Pansy is 
recognised as a florists’ flower. This is a little nut to 
crack that I present to my old friend, Mr. James 
Thurstan.— 11. I). 
“ Variety ” Carnations. 
Allow me to apologise to Mr. Rowan for the omission 
of his name in my scribble on March 21st, on the 
Fancy Carnation. Mr. Dodwell was in no way 
astonished on seeing the continental fancies; it was Mr. 
Rowan who expressed his approval of them as decorative 
blooms, especially one which took his fancy—a deep 
orange-yellow ground, edged with crimson and flaked 
with white ; it was not of perfect petal, but I was 
anxious to save it, seeing the possibilities of it as a seed 
parent, and divided the plants produced with my friends, 
in hope that one of us might succeed in improving on 
it, but alas, alack, we each equally failed in our 
endeavour ; since then I have annually sown seed 
from the same source—Mr. Ernest Benary, the 
famous raiser of Germania and other grand fancies. 
Since that time I have annually taken to Oxford any¬ 
thing from my seedlings which I thought would please 
my friends. As for the prizes offered by Mr. Martin 
Smith, far be it from me to grumble : I was and am 
hopeful that this offer may be the means of inducing 
the more extended culture of the Carnation as a hardy 
garden flower. Personally I am so little hungry after 
the prizes that I would not cut a dozen blooms to 
secure them, but as a lover of the flower I would cut 
from every plant in my garden if I thought that I had 
anything which would be of interest to my floral 
friends, and would freely exchange with any of them 
such things as were likely to extend the popularity of 
the Carnation and the Pieotee ; but as I may be rather 
democratic in my tendencies with regard to the Flora 
I was anxious that this class should be taken up by 
amateurs of the artizan class, it being truly every¬ 
body’s flower and should be of universal culture. 
Seedlings, too, being of more abundant bloom and of 
more hardy constitution, must become a source of 
interest and enjoyment to the working man, his wife, 
and family. By culture of this, the queen of the 
summer, Tom, Dick, and Harry may be kept from the 
pot house, and led to a higher degree of enjoyment— 
an enjoyment shared equally by both peer and peasant. 
As for the grand plate of yellow and fancy Carnations, 
it should be in the hands of every true lover of the 
Dianthus caryophylloides ; a study of its beauties must 
open the eyes and gladden the hearts of each and all 
who have a love for the Beautiful. I would recommend 
those who would enter into the enchanting occupation 
of sowing seeds and watching their development, to 
immediately apply for a supply of seed from the col¬ 
lection of Mr. Benary, as this disastrous winter may 
have destroyed many choice varieties, and another 
year may be too late for them. — William JVardill, 
Luton. 
Properties of the Pansy. 
Mr. James Simkins in his book on the Pansy—one 
that I am sure Mr. Thurstan would greatly appreciate— 
lays down in pages 60 and 61 the properties of the 
show and fancy types. As to the show Pan 3 y his first 
requirement is : 
N Form. —The bloom should be nearly perfectly circular, 
flat and smooth, without waviness or crinkled edges. 
Texture. —The petals should be thick and velvety 
in texture, lying closely and evenly upon each other. 
Colour and Markings.—The field of all the three 
lower petals should be the same exactly, whether it be 
white as in the white grounds, or yellow as in the 
yellow grounds ; there should be no variation of shade 
whatever in the ground colour of these three petals, 
and the colour should be level and pure. 
Bloteh. —The blotch should be dense and solid, as 
nearly circular as possible in form, and free from 
mixture, or running into the ground colour or the eye. 
The belt or margin should be exactly the same shade 
as the two top petals whatever that may be ; and 
whether it be broad or narrow, should be of equal 
breadth throughout, without running into or suffusing 
the ground colours. 
Eye. —The eye should be of a bright orange colour, 
solid and sharp at its lower edge, without rays or 
suffusion, and should be in the centre of the flower. 
Size. —The size of the bloom should not, for compe¬ 
tition, be less than 1J ins. in diameter. The larger 
the bloom (other properties being equal) the better, if 
without coarseness. 
Ragged or notched edges, crumpled petals, waviness, 
indistinct markings or pencillings, and flushed or run- 
colours are to be considered as blemishes, and avoided ; 
and if the bloom has one ground colour to the lower 
petal, and another colour to the side ones, or if it has 
two shades of ground colour at all, it is not a show 
flower. So much, then, for the properties of the show 
Pansy. 
The Properties of a Fancy Panst. 
Form. —The bloom should be nearly perfectly circu¬ 
lar, flat and smooth, without wariness or crinkled 
edges. 
Texture.— The petals should be thick and velvety in 
texture, lying evenly and closely upon each other. 
Colour and Markings.— The colours should be harmo¬ 
nious, but are not necessarily confined within set limits, 
as in the show Pansy. It was on account of the 
fanciful disposition of colours in many of the early 
varieties that this section received the name of Fancy 
Pansy. 
Blotch. —The blotch should be dense and solid, and 
large enough to occupy the whole surface (except a 
narrow margin) of the three lower petals, but it may 
flush into the margin or be suffused with other colour 
or colours without detriment. The top petals may be 
either the same colour as the blotch or the margin. 
In the latter case the top petals are usually veined 
with colour from the centre, or flushed with some 
other colours, such as rose, near their edges. 
Eye. —The eye should be of a bright orange colour, 
solid and sharp at its lower edge, without rays or 
suffusions, and should be exactly in the centre of the 
flower. 
Size. —The size of the bloom should not, for compe¬ 
tition, be less than 2 ins. in diameter. The larger the 
bloom (other properties being equal) the better, if with¬ 
out coarseness. 
Ragged or notched edges, crumpled petals, and 
diffuse eyes are to be considered as blemishes. 
Under the head of general remarks Mr. Simkins 
makes some excellent suggestions, a few of which it is 
desirable to mention. “Both in fancy and show 
Pansies the lower petal should comprise as nearly as 
possible one half of the whole flower. Its top edge 
should be horizontal and long enough to almost reach 
the outer edges of the side petals on a line with the 
eye. A bottom petal with sloping shoulders is not to 
be tolerated. The wings, or qide petals, should be 
large enough to meet, or nearly so, both above the eye 
and below it, where they are covered by the bottom 
petal. An eye of medium size is much more effective 
than one that is too large or too small. The first gives 
an appearance of coarseness to the bloom, and the last 
the appearance of weakness, in addition to too closely 
confining the throat of the lower petal, which is thus 
frequently caused to curl up, shell-shape, or twist on 
one side, when it should be perfectly flat and straight. 
The brows over the eye should be white, especially in 
dark seifs, and should form, by contrast, a cone-shaped 
arch above the cavity of the eye. The blooms of both 
varieties should be sufficiently strong in texture to 
enable them to present their whole surface flat to the 
