68 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 29, 1888. 
The Florists’ Laced Pinks. 
By J. G. Paul. 
I read with Very much pleasure Mr. Barlow’s and Mr. 
Thurstan’s interesting remarks on the florists’ laced 
Pinks, in your issues of August 11th and September 1st, 
and trust they may be the means of causing many of 
your readers to commence the cultivation of this hardy, 
easily grown, and beautiful flower. 
The Pink is very highly appreciated and largely 
grown in Scotland, and would be more so if there were 
more July exhibitions. The cultivation of this flower 
received considerable impetus on the formation of the 
Glasgow and West of Scotland Rose, Pink, and Pansy 
Society in 1880, prizes being offered in classes open to 
nurserymen, gardeners, and amateurs. During the 
eight annual exhibitions of this society the entries 
increased year by year ; the 1887 show being par¬ 
ticularly noticeable for the number and excellence of 
exhibits. It may be interesting to mention here that 
“ Wm. Paul” and “ Boiard ” carried off the prize for 
the best Pink in the hall at most of these shows. 
Pinks have also been well shown for years at July 
shows in Paisley (three societies) Hawick, Helensburgh 
and Penicuik (Midlothian). For many years my father 
(the late Wm. Paul, Paisley), and subsequently myself, 
exhibited (not for competition) large collections of 
Pinks at the annual July exhibition of the Royal 
Caledonian Horticultural Society in Edinburgh, where 
the flowers were considered a feature of the show, the 
society s large silver medal, or special awards being 
granted on each occasion. 
Edinburgh holds the most important July show in 
Scotland, and it is a pity the directors do not give the 
encouragement the Pink deserves in their prize list. 
Mr. John Downie, who is one of the directors and an 
enthusiastic lover of the Pink, it is hoped may bring 
his influence to bear on this matter in the future. The 
obliging secretary of the society, Mr. Wm. Young, has 
been devoted to the Pink for probably over thirty 
years, and should have some voice in the matter. 
Prizes might be offered in the open gardeners’ and 
amateurs’ classes, and I am sure the society would have 
no lack of competitors, as well as adding more lustre to 
their otherwise magnificent exhibition. What a grand 
thing it would be if Pink growers from the various 
districts could be gathered together at this centre, to 
exchange friendly greetings, compare notes, and see the 
new introductions of their favourite flower! Certificates 
would also be granted to the seedling flowers of merit, 
and emanating from such a society, would give the 
flowers an undeniable reputation. 
Your readers must understand that great strides 
have been made in Scotland in the improvement of 
this flower during the last twelve years. In 1877 my 
late father had a batch of 1,600 seedlings, among them 
being flowers which completely revolutionised the Pinks 
of that day, and which were seen growing and much 
admired by the late Mr. John Keynes and the late Mr. 
Charles Turner when on their journey a year or two 
afterwards. From these seedlings came such fine 
flowers as William Paul, Yanessa, Egeria, Modesty, 
and many others which I am afraid are now lost, 
unless in the possession of those at a distance who 
received them when sent into commerce. 
The petals of the present day flowers are large, pure 
white, smooth, and of great substance, with very 
refined lacings of different shades of -red, rose, purple 
and magenta, with smooth edges (a serrated edge would 
not be tolerated), and having from twenty to fifty 
petals, forming well-built flowers of from 2 ins. to 
3i ins. in diameter. 
The Glasgow and West of Scotland Society referred 
to did not hold a show this year, no doubt owing to 
the counter attractions of the Horticultural Society’s 
one, held in connection with the Glasgow Exhibition 
on July 11th and 12th, at which prizes were offered for 
Pinks in two classes ; but owing to the backward 
season no blooms were staged. The season has been 
practically a lost one—at all events, as regards showing, 
a few stands of twelve being staged at Helensburgh^ 
and one or two at Paisley. 
Pinks with us were not in general good flower until 
the beginning of August, and they also appear to have 
been late in the south, for well on in July I had some 
blooms from a friend in Taunton, and on August 2nd 
some from Orpington, Kent. 
When judging at the Royal Horticultural Society’s 
Grand Floral Fete, at Aberdeen, on August 23rd, I 
had a treat which I did not expect at so late a season, 
in the exhibit of two stands of Pink blooms, staged by 
my friend Mr. Cocker, which for size, form, and rich 
colouring were truly grand. For the benefit of your 
readers, I give a list of what I consider the best thirty 
varieties in commerce, with the colours of the lacing, 
and I may state, in conclusion, that I consider Boiard 
the best all-round Pink in cultivation :— 
Annette, rose 
Attraction, red 
Allan Kerr, rosy red 
Angus Paul, heavy red- 
purple 
Bertram, heavy red 
Boiard, very dark 
David Saunders, dark rosy 
purple 
Device, dark purple 
Dr. Masters, bright red 
Dr. McLean, rosy purple 
Egeria, dark red 
Emerald, red 
Empress of India, dark red 
Fairest of the Fair, pale 
lilac 
Harry Hooper, dark red 
James Douglas, red 
Mamie Walker, rosy red 
Mary Auberton, red 
Modesty, rosy purple 
Mrs. Fred Hooper, bright 
rose 
Mrs. J. Cronk, rosy purple 
Ne Plus Ultra, dark red 
Noble Grand, dark purple 
Pirate, dark red 
Robert Stafford, very dark 
red 
Tom McCrorie, bright rosy 
red 
Tottie, purple 
Undine, rose 
Vanessa, dark red 
Wm. Paul, clear rose. 
—Barngill Nursery, Bridge of Weir, N.B. (late of 
Paisley ). 
Carnations from Chesterfield. 
A few days since Mr. R. W. Proctor, of Chesterfield, 
a well-known Derbyshire florist, sent me a box of 
blooms of Carnations, cut from the open border, and 
though Mr. Proctor does not state so I presume they 
are in the main seedlings raised by himself. Four of 
them appear to me to be very distinct, and well worthy 
of cultivation—viz., Miss Proctor, pale bright golden 
buff, with carmine flakes, and edged with the same—a 
very pleasing and distinct flower; Beethoven, yellow, 
with wire edge of rosy crimson - a true yellow-ground 
Picotee, which while thoroughly good in itself, is 
likely to make a very useful parent, and give us what 
is badly wanted—a race of true yellow-ground Picotees. 
I know that our good friend, Mr. Dodwell, is en¬ 
deavouring to obtain a race of yellow-ground flaked 
Carnations, and everyone interested in the development 
of the class wishes him all the success he can desire, 
but I sincerely hope the yellow-ground Picotee will not 
be overlooked, and as Mr. Proctor has a good parent I 
hope he will make all the use of it possible as a pro¬ 
genitor. The other two are John Huss, yell&w flaked 
and suffused with delicate pink, and Emilie Galothee, 
in the same way, but with a little white on the petal 
edges, both very distinct, charming in the extreme, 
and likely to be great favourites with the ladies. 
Mr. Proctor has a good batch of seedling yellow- 
ground Carnations, several of which are named, also a 
good lot of fancies, all of which will prove useful for 
cutting from.— R. D. 
Revival of Tulip Cultivation. 
In view of the imminent revival of the Florists’ Tulip 
Messrs. Stuart & Mein have just completed the pur¬ 
chase of the famous collection of Mr. David Barber, 
Stanton-le-Dale. The collection contains several 
thousand bulbs of the best varieties in existence, 
many of them never having been offered for sale to the 
public. Mr. Barber, who has several times won the 
Champion Cup and other prizes open to all England, 
is one of the last of his generation of enthusiastic 
Tulip growers. He is upwards of seventy-three years 
of age, and for a period of upwards of forty-three years 
he has gathered together and grown his favourites. It 
is satisfactory to record that this famous collection has 
come to Scotland, and we are sure that nothing will be 
left unaccomplished that skill and enterprise can do to 
make the collection equally famous in this country._ 
Kelso Chronicle. 
New Dahlias Certificated. 
Dahlia growers had a grand field day in Westminster 
on Tuesday, when a considerable number of new sorts 
were submitted for the judgment of the Floral Com¬ 
mittee. The show and fancy varieties certificated were 
Agnes, a rich canary-yellow self; Hugo, a large globular, 
rich crimson flower ; Maud Fellowes, white ground, 
petals tipped with purple, very fine ; and Admiration, 
deep crimson, tipped with white, from Mr. C. Turner. 
John Cooper, a fine large, flat, fancy variety of a pale 
buff ground colour, and the petals spotted and flaked 
with rose and purple; extra good, from Mr. Humphreys, 
Kington Langley, Chippenham ; and Matthew Camp¬ 
bell, fancy, orange-yellow ground, striped and flaked 
with crimson, very pretty, from Messrs. Keynes, 
Williams & Co. The pretty Pompon section was also 
well represented, and the following were selected for 
awards:—Juliette, lemon-yellow ground, tipped with 
crimson ; Vivid, crimson-scarlet ; and Lothair, orange- 
yellow, tipped with crimson, from Mr. Turner. 
Whisker, yellow, faintly tipped with buff; Eurydice, 
pink ground, tipped with rosy purple ; Little Ethel, 
pure white; and Little Darkie, dark maroon, and 
exceedingly neat, from Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co. 
In the Cactus section, Panthea, salmon-red, and 
Honoria, clear yellow, from Messrs. Keynes, Williams 
& Co., also gained the Certificate, while the only 
single variety which gained distinction was Lady Mon- 
tefiore, clean canary-yellow- centre, and the petals 
tipped with rose, from Messrs. Cheal & Sons. 
-->3K-- 
DECORATIVE AND CACTUS 
DAHLIAS. 
The show and fancy Dahlias have for a long series of 
years been held in high esteem by the public at large 
and florists in particular, many of whom have devoted 
their best energies to its cultivation and improvement, 
and whenever the results of their labours have been 
displayed upon the exhibition tables, they draw forth 
the most unqualified admiration from the crowds who 
press around the prize-winning stands. The richness 
and variety of colour of these flowers at the great 
autumn shows is not surpassed by any other subjects 
similarly brought together. One drawback, however, 
with regard to these displays has been the want of 
variety in form, resulting from the florists setting up 
an ideal standard and adhering too rigidly to it. By 
so doing, they have deprived the public at large of 
many variations from their ideal, which would have 
pleased the eye and given an impetus to Dahlia culture, 
which the introduction of the single and so-called 
Cactus varieties a few years since has done. 
Complaints are sometimes heard respecting Juarezii, 
that it is late and shy flowering, and under ordinary 
treatment it is so ; but by a little extra care in getting 
strong and well-established plants this difficulty can be 
got over, and a good display of flowers secured. We 
have noticed that it is one of the last to succumb to 
frost, and can assign no reason for this, unless it be that 
there is some constitutional peculiarity about it. The 
introduction of this sterling novelty has given rise to 
the formation of a class called after it, Cactus Dahlias, 
some of them being the counterparts of it as 
respects form, and others having a greater or less 
resemblance to it ; these, by the singularity of their 
flowers are of immense service for the decoration of 
the mixed borders of the flower garden in the autumn, 
and harmonise better with the other occupants of the 
flower beds than their more formal rivals. 
Some of the recent introductions are more floriferous 
than the original Juarezii, and as we are gradually 
getting in them all the shades of colour so long known 
to the show and fancy varieties, the inferior ones being 
weeded out, there will soon be sufficient variety to call 
for competing stands of these at the flower shows. The 
following list is partly made up from flowers kindly 
given me by Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, of Swanley, 
and I have endeavoured to frame it so that anyone 
starting a collection can, by taking the first six or 
twelve, secure a good variety :— 
Charming Bride. —White ground, with rose-tipped 
petals, and very free flowering ; a gem. See p. 69. 
Constance, —White, well known and popular. 
Yellow Juarezii. —Canary-yellow ; rightly named. 
Prince of Wales. —Rich orange-red; a splendid 
flower. 
Lady Kerrison. — Amber-yellow, with a distinct 
lacing of bright red ; a very pretty variety. 
Lilian Abery. —Petals white, broadly margined with 
red, semi-double ; wonderfully pretty. See p. 65. 
Annie Harvey. —Crimson-maroon, a highly-coloured 
variety. 
Juarezii. —Red ; well known. 
Lady M. Marsham. —Reddish salmon ; a large, bold 
flower, and distinct. 
Mr. A. W. Tail. —White, petals partly fringed; 
novel. 
W. T. Abery. —Similar to L. Abery, yellow margin. 
Sir Trevor Lawrence. — Claret, shaded purple ; 
beautiful. 
Lady E. Dyke .—Yellow, very double, distinct, and 
free. 
Black Knight. —Almost black, free flowering. 
Empress of India. —Large, crimson, shaded maroon 
and magenta. 
Lady H. Campbell.— Plum, shaded claret; unique. 
Our Leader. — Semi-double, rich scarlet-crimson ; 
attractive. 
Prince Albert Victor-. —Long narrow petals, reddish 
crimson. 
Mrs. Hawkins. —Rich sulphur-yellow, shading off 
towards the tips to a lighter colour, very free and 
good.— W. B. G. 
