May 11, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
581 
whites raised have been tried, but all lacked constitu¬ 
tions. Yellows are plentful enough in Violas, but the 
flowers in these are neither large enough nor stout 
enough. Here is, then, a field open to Pansy raisers to 
provide the desired varieties. — X. 
-->X<-- 
REGAL AND DECORATIVE 
PELARGONIUMS. 
On the occasion of a visit to Swanley the other week, 
we could not help admiring the magnificent display of 
bloom produced by the zonal Pelargoniums. Other 
houses were, however, getting quite gay with many 
beautiful varieties of the Regal and decorative classes, 
which, if they do not come under the hard and fast 
rule of the florist with regard to the large show and 
small fancy kinds, yet without them the garden would 
be shorn of many handsome and popular sorts, that is, 
those cultivated by the market growers in quantity, 
and admired by the mass of the populace. The florist 
sport, named Volonte Nationale alba. A new sport 
from the same parent (No. 2 of our illustration), named 
Princess Maud, has a deeper-coloured blotch on each 
petal. No. 6 of the accompanying illustration is 
Jubilee, a new variety, having flowers of a beautiful 
soft china-pink, with a maroon-crimson blotch on the 
two upper petals, and a white centre. An older sort, 
named Maid of Kent, has white flowers beautifully 
feathered on each petal. 
Decorative Varieties. 
Of these there are twelve new kinds, six of which are 
figured in the illustration, for which we are indebted 
to Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons. They have flat or even 
petals, and therefore come near the show kinds ; but 
although they do not conform to the florists’ ideal, they 
are nevertheless showy. Champion (No. 1) has huge 
white flowers lightly shaded with blush, and variously 
blotched and feathered. Rose Queen (No. 4) has 
large, soft rosy pink flowers, with a reddish maroon 
noted at that time as a very suitable variety for forcing. 
It really came into flower in November, and is yet in 
full beauty. To be definite, however, the present crop 
of bloom is the second—there being a slight cessation, 
although hardly observable. It is difficult to get it to 
cease flowering in time to rest it properly in order to 
get it in bloom again early. The points of the leading 
shoots first produce flowers, and after these have 
expanded and have been cut off, numerous lateral 
branches are developed from the axils of the lower 
leaves, thus keeping the plants dwarf, and producing a 
much greater profusion of bloom than occurs in mid¬ 
winter. It merits extended cultivation for the sake of 
its white flowers for cutting purposes. Few or none 
of the ordinary kinds behave in this manner. 
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SYRINGING. 
With your reply to Mr. Murphy’s inquiry, “Should 
Vines setting fruit be syringed?” at p. 568, I entirely 
Regal and Decorative Pelargoniums. 
kinds, both show and fancy, are sleek, smooth and 
glossy, but for purely decorative purposes they are even 
excelled in beauty by the undulated, crisped and 
frizzled flowers of the Regal kinds. 
Regal Varieties. 
All of these, as already stated, are characterised by their 
undulated petals. A handsome kind is Madame Thibaut 
with white flowers, marbled with rose, and having a 
crimson blotch on each of the two upper petals and a 
white centre. This, as well as several others, seems as 
much inclined to sport as are many of the Chrysan¬ 
themums, and several new sports of Madame Thibaut 
are now in bloom—to wit, Mrs. Harrison, President 
Harrison, and Princess of Teck. The first is stronger 
in habit than the parent, and has the ground colour of 
the flowers pink reticulated with white, and having a 
white centre and margin. President Harrison differs 
from its parent in having rich carmine flowers, and the 
centre tinted with pink. Princess Teck has semi¬ 
double pure white flowers of great size and beauty. 
Volonte Nationale has white flowers, with a rosy carmine 
blotch on each petal, and has given rise to a pure white 
blotch on the centre of each petal. Mrs. John C. 
Stone (No. 8) is a very distinct kind, with large, deep 
puce-coloured flowers with maroon-coloured veins and 
a large white centre. Another very richly-coloured 
flower is Sultana (No. 7), which is red tinted with 
chestnut, and shading into purple around the white 
centre. The margin is also bordered with pure white. 
A large maroon blotch occupies each petal of Mrs. 
Ashby Improved (No. 3), and this fades into a rosy 
red all round, while the centre is white. The plant is 
dwarf in habit and sturdy. The other variety figured 
is Lord Salisbury (No. 5). The two upper petals are 
almost black shading into orange, carmine, and pink ; 
the blotches on the lower three petals are smaller and 
of maroon and orange shades. It is a handsome 
variety that ought to be largely grown. 
Independently of these, there is a large number of 
useful and beautiful varieties under the name of French 
spotted and early-flowering varieties. Amongst these 
we cannot resist mentioning Venus, a very early and 
continuous-flowering kind, with a purple blotch on 
each of the two upper petals. A large batch of plants 
commenced flowering before Christmas, and which we 
agree. Syringing Vines is often carried to excess, 
possibly owing to that dreaded pest, red-spider, 
attacking the foliage, which it will invariably do if 
the house is kept long in a dry state. The atmosphere 
being necessarily arid, is favourable to the spread of 
the pest ; but at the same time I am in favour of a 
somewhat dry atmosphere with a buoyant air when 
Vines are in flower. 
The cultivation of the Vine has probably produced 
more controversy in the horticultural press than any 
other subject, and the various systems of successful 
culture advanced go to prove what an accommodating 
plant the Vine is, and show that there is no hard and 
fast rule to follow to bring about that “ consummation 
devoutly to be wished ”—a good crop of highly- 
finished fruit. I am no advocate for dressing Vine- 
rods with tar and clay as has been recommended, 
neither do I believe that a high temperature is 
necessary for the successful setting of Muscats, as I 
have seen them successfully set in a temperature of 55°. 
“ Syringing ” and “ damping down ” are hackneyed 
terms in gardening phraseology. Where it is possible, 
rain water should be used for syringing, as that sup- 
