37(5 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 15, 1890. 
FEOfJidifRWS^. 
-- 
The Rev. G. Jeans on the Philosophy of 
Florists’ Flowers.—IV. 
“In my former letters I have been occupied in the 
comparatively easy task of criticising the objections 
made by others. I now come to a more hazardous one 
of building up a system myself, and giving the objectors 
an opportunity of treating me as I have treated them ; 
and in truth, I invite, or rather request, them to do so. 
That there is a scientific system at the bottom of the 
ordinary estimates of flowers, I have long been con¬ 
vinced ; and if I do not succeed in developing it the 
fault will be in these papers, which, therefore, I should 
wish to be found fault with, because there is now an 
ample sufficiency of facts accumulated for the science of 
floriculture to be thence ascertained and to take its 
place with other established systems. It is time for 
some one to do it if I should fall. 
“ I proceed, therefore, to point out more particularly 
my view of the scientific principles on which the 
general agreement among florists, in what should be 
considered points of excellence in their flowers, is 
based. After which 1 purpose to apply those principles 
to some of the flowers, as a specimen of what is 
required in all for an acknowledged standard, to be 
referred to both by growers and judges ; premising, 
however, that I have not the arrogance to propose this 
essay as such a standard ; nor could it be, for the 
principles themselves must first be sifted by criticism, 
both friendly and unfriendly, until some principles are 
established and recognised, and not till then can such 
a manual be compiled. But this may serve as a first 
attempt towards it, to attract others into the same 
path, in order to weed out what is unsound, to prune 
what is amiss, and to supply what is wanting. It will 
also serve to show that there are defined and certain 
boundaries, within which are confined respectively the 
province of science, within which there will always be 
agreement, and the province of taste, which admits of 
infinite diversity. 
“And I am pleased at seeing the increase of instances 
of persons conversant with the details of such matters, 
and who probably have not turned their attention to 
the modes by which their judgments have been 
influenced, feeling their way intelligibly and success¬ 
fully to the very points which reasoning will demonstrate 
to be the'true points of ideal excellence. Mr. Kendall 
has, in the Florist [1849, p. 131], given us the proper¬ 
ties of a good Cineraria ; and as far as he has gone, if 
he had studied Aristotle and the metaphysicians, he 
could not have done it better. His guide, probably, 
was the experience of a practised and interested eye. 
It will be the province of these essays to show by 
reason that he is right in every particular. 
“The enl proposed by the Creator in the arrange¬ 
ment and colours of the petals of a flower, is that which 
is pleasant to the eye, and the two means by which 
this is produced are form and colour. 
“Form is available in two respects, absolute or 
direct, which is sought for its own sake, in that some 
forms are in their nature more pleasing than others, as 
a curve is more graceful than a straight line, and some 
curves than others; and relative or indirect, which is 
subsidiary to some other purpose, in that some forms 
are better suited than others to set off colours to advan¬ 
tage, as a smooth petal exhibits its markings more 
perfectly than a wrinkled one can. 
“ Colour is simply for its own sake, but it produces 
its effect in two ways—by contrast, as in painting light 
appears to be thrown upon any point by placing a 
shadow beside it ; and by combination, as purple unites 
harmoniously with either of its constituent elements, 
red or blue, while green will hardly unite with any 
other. Combination, moreover, may take place in 
three ways ; where each is preserved, as when one 
colour shades off imperceptibly into another ; where 
distinctness begins to be lost by partial fusion, as in 
the clouded colours ; and where the separate elements 
blend into a uniform new tint, as in the endless 
diversity of compound colours. 
“These are the few and elementary principles on 
which, with the latitude to be allowed for tastes, 
which will be defined hereafter, depends the effect of 
any flower in pleasing the eye. And it will be found 
that these principles are strictly scientific, and reducible 
to rules capable of application to each species of flower, 
so as to determine, in a great and ascertainable measure, 
the value of any variety of each species. 
“ And in fact, it is because there is so much of 
scientific rule, founded in nature, in the pursuits of 
florists, that there has been that large amount of 
agreement among them, which we find to have obtained 
in a matter which is vulgarly believed to be a mere 
matter of individual taste and caprice. 
“ Form or shape is the figure contained by a limiting 
outline, and it is the outline which for the most part 
suggests to the mind the idea represented by the figure, 
as has been demonstrated by Retsch, in his celebrated 
illustrations of the German and English poets. 
“An outline may be either general, of the whole 
flower under consideration, as the cup of a Tulip ; or 
subordinate, as being contained with others within the 
general outline, as that of the blotch in the petal of a 
Pelargonium. This distinction it is necessary to enlarge 
upon, because, in judging of excellences or defects, 
what in the former would be a fault, in the latter would 
be a beauty. The two kinds of outline, having different 
offices to fulfil, require different properties for their 
perfection. 
“For subordinate outlines being always appended 
to and controlled by the leading idea of the whole 
flower, admit, with manifest advantage, departures 
from perfect forms, which would be intolerable in the 
general one. 
“Thus the eye of a Pansy, if clear and not confused, 
is striking in proportion as it is made up of bold 
dashes and abrupt contrasts, preventing an uneven 
outline, which, if found in the flower which contains 
the eye, would condemn it to the dunghill. 
“These and other similar instances, presenting at 
first a difficulty to reconcile them with the rule and 
reduce them to order, are, in fact, no exceptions. 
They are examples of what our experience in everything 
is full of, that, as in the material world, every particle 
of matter is under the influence of an infinity of 
attractions on every side ; the amount of each of which 
is, nevertheless, subject to an invariable law, and 
therefore the inclination of the particle towards any is 
reducible to the strictest scientific investigation, so in 
the intellectual world, what are commonly supposed to 
be exceptions, are, in reality, only instances of the 
thingscoming within the superior influence ofsomeother 
rule. Every rule is paramount in its own little circle, 
but that circle is in every case very small, because there 
are other rules on the subject which have an equal 
claim to be obeyed in their place, the interfering 
influences of which must have their due weight allowed 
to them. 
“ It is a great mistake, and dishonourable to God as 
well as to ourselves, indolently to rest satisfied with 
calling so many things ‘ exceptions, ’ as we are in the habit 
of doing. An exception is, for the most part, only an 
expression of our ignorance. Real exceptions are much 
rarer than they are supposed to be. Our minds were 
made for order ; and however our habits may seem to 
contradict the assertion, it is still a fact, bearing 
evidence of our high original and destination, that 
disorder is unnatural to us. And this may be seen, 
not only in the natural preference always in the long- 
run shown for scientifically perfect forms, but also in 
the mode in which we unconsciously form our judg¬ 
ments of them. Thus, in examining a flower, we may 
not be aware of the fact, but it is not the less true, that 
we proceed according to strict rule and method. First 
we obtain a leading idea, excited by the whole, as 
made up of and containing its parts. Next, we begin 
to separate those parts into their respective groups ; 
and as our examination is extended or repeated, 
sub-dividing those again into their more elementary 
units. And as we become more familiar, and better 
acquainted with the object of examination, this 
process is reviewed and altered, and the divisions and 
sub-divisions recast into other groupings, arising out of, 
or suggesting new ideas. So that we may often perceive, 
as we contemplate a flower, new ideas and associations 
arising in our minds, and actually, as it were, changing 
its appearance in our eyes, and altering our judgment 
of it. Hence an extended familiarity with any flower 
is necessary before its characteristic points will be 
discovered, and its most natural divisions and 
peculiarities definitely settled. But when this process 
has been sufficiently gone through, the judgment will, 
in most cases, be found to be in accordance with nature, 
and will be generally acquiesced in. And a much earlier 
and more perfect agreement may be expected when the 
natural principles, in accordance with which our 
preferences are formed, are known and understood. 
“ There is, then, always one leading idea suggested 
by any flower controlled by the general outline of its 
form, and the disposition of its principal parts. This 
is the characteristic of the flower, to which all its 
ocher properties must be subservient. It is not always 
easy to express in words what this idea is, though 
when there is some other thing with which we are 
familiar to serve as an illustration, there is no difficulty. 
Thus the idea of a Tulip is a painted cup, and that of a 
Dahlia or a Ranunculus is a variegated rosette. 
“ And as the general outline takes the lead in the 
impression produced by the flower, a defective form in 
it cannot be compensated, because there is nothing of 
equal value, by a counter excellence in which it might 
be balanced. If, therefore, that outline be not full and 
graceful, the flower must needs be faulty ; such is the 
native Pansy, and therefore its improvement depended 
on first bringing its general form into what it may now 
be said to have obtained, a near resemblance to a circle. 
The Cineraria is still defective in this, from its outline 
consisting of points.* And therefore its improvement, 
on the supposition of its continuing a single flower, first 
demands the rounding off of its petals. "Whether it 
would be improved if rendered double is a question, on 
the solution of which something will be said when 
treating of the principle of variety. And thus much in 
the outset concerning outlines, general and subordinate.” 
Florists’ Tulips. 
With the mild weather of January and February, 
causing many spring-flowering things to be active 
before their accustomed time, it is no wonder that the 
Tulip is already to be seen thrusting its sheath of green 
up through the soil. This is a critical time—a time 
when the grower should exert himself to secure the 
expanding leaves from harm. Not that I wish to cast 
any reflection upon the hardihood of the plant—it is 
hardy enough ; it does not require any coddling ; it 
needs ample exposure to light and air ; yet it can be 
seriously injured if exposed to hailstorms and high 
cutting winds, and we may look for these. Depend 
upon it, we are not to pass entirely through the winter 
without some break in the spring-like character of the 
weather. There is no knowing how soon the wind may 
veer round to the north, the skies become clear and 
full of frost, and, it may be, snow in the wake of wintry 
winds. It is therefore a time in which the cultivator 
should be on the alert, prepared to act when necessity 
arises. 
Hailstorms are full of danger to the plant, and as the 
Rev. F. D. Harner observes, “any hurt to the leaves 
is sure to affect in some measure both the bloom and 
the future bulbs. Bright sunshine upon the leaves 
when frozen is very mischievous, and, therefore, at such 
times they should rather be protected from the sun 
than frost; any high wind that can stir the leaves 
when stiffened by frost also does them great damage.’’ 
Therefore it is, such protection being very necessary, 
that growers of choice collections of Tulips have pro¬ 
tection to their beds. Mr. Samuel Barlow places glass 
lights over his principal bed, which can be removed 
when required, and at the sides he places, when 
necessary, a thickish frigi-domo-like material; other 
beds are covered with a roofing of the same material, 
and there are means to cover in the sides of the 
beds also. I state this much because of the great 
harm which can befal ' the plants if the full 
force of hailstorms is allowed to fall upon them; 
and the authority already quoted further states :—“ If 
anything is wrong with the bulbs or their fibres, the 
consequence cannot be hidden longer than March or 
April, although it may be thus late before the mischief 
is noticeable. I have seen, in the mishaps both of 
others and myself, a bed of Tulips where scarcely a 
fibre had faced the new soil, because of something 
obnoxious to it. All went apparently well until the 
time when the buds should be showing, and then the 
young foliage suddenly fell sick, lost colour, and died 
down. The old bulb is able without aid of roots to 
support leaf growth thus far, and so to a considerable 
degree ; but by April, the time has come when it is 
naturally a great deal exhausted, and it is time for the 
fibres to take up the work, and supply a large share of 
food for the elaboration of leaves and blossoms. If the 
fibres are dead, all this process fails, and any strength 
the old bulb may still have, will be directed towards 
saving the life of the plants by doing what is possible 
beyond the formation of the new bulb, which, by the 
loss of its natural supporters, the leaves and fibres, 
seems left, as it were, a vegetable orphan.” 
I have myself seen this mishap in Tulip beds, and it 
is a sad disappointment to the grower. I saw a bed of 
fine varieties of Tulips in April last decimated in this 
way, much to the dismay of a gentleman who had 
[* Since this was written the general outline of the 
Cineraria has been to some extent improved by a 
partial widening and rounding of the individual ray 
florets ; and the idea of a double Cineraria has been 
realised,—E d., Florist .] 
