40S 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 1, 1890. 
FLO^ldUXTUI^. 
The Rev. G. Jeans on the Philosophy of 
Florists' Flowers.—YI. 
“On variety, I would observe, that by this term I do 
not mean exactly that quality which gives value to a 
new seedling plant, by reason of its being different 
from others already in cultivation, but a quality to 
be looked for in any single given specimen, irrespective 
of others—that is, not comparative, but absolute ; not 
as differing from its fellows, but as containing differences 
in itself. And this quality, as I observed before, may 
arise from either of the three sources of form, number 
or colour, or from any two, or all united. The Passion 
Flower, and still more the Water Lily, strike the eye 
as much from their varied forms as colour, and the 
Hyacinth derives its principal and constant value, 
irrespective of colour, from the same source. The 
petals of the Ranunculus are alike in form and markings, 
but their numbers contribute as much to an appearance 
of variety as to fullness of outline. And a bizarre 
Carnation, one which has two colours besides the 
ground, is considered to belong to a higher class than 
the simpler flaked kinds. From whatever source, 
however, arising, it is essential that the florists’ flower 
which would claim a high position should not be 
deficient in this. In a bed or border the brilliant 
colour of some self flowers make them the most useful 
and attractive of all, as the scarlet Geranium, the 
Gentianella, the Lobelia cardinalis or ccerulea, the 
Nemophila, and others ; but that is because variety is 
produced by their being seen as a whole, and contrasted 
with surrounding objects. Separate a single blossom 
from the plant and examine it attentively, and you will 
find it flag in its interest sooner than one in which 
relief is given to the eye by variety. Its properties are 
perceived at a glance, and the eye has done its office ; 
and our copybooks will be found to enunciate a philo¬ 
sophical truth, when they impress upon the child what 
the child knows better than any philosopher, that 
it is variety that is charming. 
“ It is produced by form. No class of plants 
approach the Orchids in illustrations of this. Yery few 
of their blossoms have simple forms, and when there is 
a leading feature, as in the Papilio, iu some of which a 
butterfly is represented as faithfully as a bee in a 
Larkspur, the whole blossom, nevertheless, is complex. 
Indeed, it'is probably as much from the endless variety 
in every department of that quality that is found in 
these flowers, as for any individual superiority they 
possess, though this too must be accorded to them, that 
they owe their unrivalled popularity. But as these are 
beyond the reach of ordinary growers, I prefer drawing 
my illustrations from more familiar objects. 
“ A very good instance is the Fuchsia. At present, 
and until F. spedabilis has revolutionised the tribe, 
its pendulous character, its want of petalous expansion, 
and its glossy texture of skin unbroken for the greater 
part of its length, seem to remove it in appearance 
from the class of flowers, and liken it to a fruit. It is, 
however, and will probably always continue very 
popular, and it has several points of high excellence, 
of which I have here only to remark upon those which 
depend on the variety of its outline. 
“ Flowers of this class differ from those of a more 
uniform surface, in a manner somewhat analogous to 
the difference between sculpture and paintings, and are 
hardly more fit to exhibit delicate markings of colour 
than a statue would be. Contrasts, brilliance, or an 
attractive colour as a whole, are the points in this 
respect in which their excellence is to be sought. But 
the very unevenness of form, which prevents the finer 
uses of colouring, is itself a parent of many advantages. 
The general outline is ever varying, and never the 
same from any two points of view. The ordinary 
position of the blossom of the Fuchsia on the plant is 
full of variety. The long and gracefully-arched foot¬ 
stalk, the seed-pod, the tube itself rarely cylindrical, 
the calyx, the corolla, the anthers, the pistil, form a 
constantly varying and pleasing outline. But in this 
position the petals are, for the most part, and some¬ 
times entirely, hidden, and if you examine them, 
the tube is out of sight. It is owing chiefly to this 
that the notched starry appearance of the open sepals 
in most varieties, so disagreeable in other flowers, is no 
dissight in this ; indeed, it has a positive advantage in 
opening, to sight the contrasted colours of the corolla 
within. 
“Nor does it signify whether the variety of form be 
iu the substance, or in the markings of flowers. The 
Carnation owes much, though not all, of its superiority 
to the Picotee or the Pink (excuse me, ladies) to the 
fact that, without violence to its general unity, it has 
no two petals, and no two stripes on the same petal, 
alike in the form of their colours. A Calceolaria that 
has its spots or its stripes all of the same size and shape, 
is tame compared with one that is more varied in its 
markings. 
“The Pelargonium and the Pansy have many points 
common to both, and each flower has its respective 
admirers ; but general estimation assigns the palm to 
the former, and it may be interesting and not unin- 
structive to trace to the quality now under consideration 
some of the superiority of the one over the other. The 
number of petals, their form, the order of their disposi¬ 
tion, and their relative importance, are the same in 
both flowers. The general outline is, in the main, 
alike, and the required properties, as far as they can be 
compared, not very different, yet the ideas excited by 
them are exceedingly dissimilar, the reasons of which 
I will now investigate. 
“1. The Pelargonium has a throat, the Pansy ter¬ 
minates at the eye ; and therefore the former has a 
whole class of properties of which the latter is deprived ; 
and these, though not numerous, have a very influen¬ 
tial bearing upon the general appearance of the flower, 
and are becoming of more importance to its estimation 
every year. Here is an advantage in respect of variety. 
“ 2. Again, an immediate result from its closed 
throat is, that the Pansy cannot be too flat; whereas a 
flat-centred Pelargonium, like Meleager, proves that 
the brightest colour loses something of its brightness, 
and becomes flat-coloured from the deadness of its 
surface. The form of the Pelargonium has the advan¬ 
tage again in variety, which gives greater effect to its 
colours. 
“ 3. A corresponding difference is observable also 
at the limb or outer extremity. Owing partly to its 
flat centre and partly to its flimsy substance, the edge 
of the Pansy must be flat likewise. In fact, it never 
curves inward but when withering, or outwards but 
from inability to support its own weight. The stouter 
texture of the Pelargonium admits of its being slightly 
inflected or reflected, and thus another source of 
graceful variety is obtained, the one making an ap¬ 
proach in form to the reversed ogee, or Hogarth’s line 
of beauty, the other to that of the rim of a Tuscan 
vase. And Meleager is, as might be expected, an 
instance in this, too, of the loss sustained by a flower 
which gives up one of its own properties, for it is as 
level as a Pansy. And therefore, notwithstanding its 
very high colour and beautiful tint, it is not brilliant. 
There is much value in the varying surface of the 
Pelargonium, another proof of which will be referred to 
presently under another head ; and therefore, from its 
greater richness in variety of outline, as well as for 
some other advantages, it is completely removed from 
fear of rivalry on the part of its humbler but not less 
pretty sister, the Pansy. 
“ Variety may also be produced by number, when 
the units composing it are alike, as in spotted, striped, 
or double flowers. Thus a spotted Calceolaria or a 
striped Marigold is not destitute of variety, by reason 
of the many changes of individual object the eye has 
to take in. The same may be said of a double Rose or 
Dahlia. Not that this is the only object attained by 
multiplying the petals, because the general. outline 
commonly undergoes thereby a complete alteration, and 
properties that were prominent before become subor¬ 
dinate or altogether obliterated, and others take their 
place. From this it happens that some flowers, as the 
Tulip, are handsomer when single, others when double, 
as the Rose. Nor is it always easy to predict w T hich 
of the two is the more desirable form until actual 
comparison has decided between them. A few general 
remarks, however, are applicable. 
“1. To bear the double condition with advantage 
the petals must be symmetrical, or such as 
that a line being drawn lengthwise through the 
centre, the parts on each side of this line shall 
be alike. For if otherwise, the entire petal will 
have a peculiar and distinctive shape, in which some, 
and perhaps the chief, properties of the flower are 
contained ; and these will be hidden and lost in the 
double form. The lower petals of the Pelargonium are 
symmetrical, but the upper petals are not, and iu these 
the leading characters are found. And therefore a 
double Pelargonium would be no advantage. The 
double condition would reduce all at an equal distance 
from the centre to an equal value, or else would make a 
one-sided flower. It so happens that direct experiment 
has in a manner shown this to be correct, for this year 
I had a blossom of Aurora with four upper and six 
under petals—an exactly double allowance, and 
certainly it was no improvement. 
“2. Size by itself gives no means of judging ; for 
the Dahlia is as large as the Tulip, and the former 
gains, while the latter loses by being doubled. So again, 
on the other side, the Hepatica loses, while the Daisy 
and American Groundsel, which are no larger, gain by 
it. 
“ 3. But size and colour conjointly do enable us in 
some measure to form a judgment. For if delicacy of 
touch in the strokes of colouring be one of the leading 
characteristics of the flower, according to which 
varieties are discerned and prized, the individual 
blossom is of more importance than the mass of bloom, 
and size (proportionate to the growth and habit of the 
plant) is indispensable, in which case multiplying the 
petals hides the beauties and deteriorates the character. 
A double Auricula or a double Tulip could never be 
endured with so many points of excellence as belong 
to them in their single state. This is not the case 
with a Rose or a Dahlia. They are large, but their 
colour is valued as a whole, not in its parts ; and the 
variety caused by numerous petals and a filled up out¬ 
line is advantageous to them, as their size admits of 
such an increase without detriment to their brightness. 
“ But if, on the contrary, it is the colour itself, and 
not the pencilling of colour, that is the characteristic, 
and the size of the individual blossom b? small, then 
the brilliancy is greatly impaired by the flowers being 
doubled. The single and the double Pinx Hepatica 
are of the same hue ; but the single one is far the more 
striking flower, because its whole bright surface is seen. 
In the double, the petals being so small and seen edge¬ 
wise, much of the brightness is lost, and it looks 
comparatively uninteresting. In the Dahlia, Rose, 
and others, the surface is so much larger that this 
effect is not produced. 
“ The colours of the Cineraria are so bright, in some 
instances so dazzlingly so, that even while its pretensions 
were far humbler than they are now, I have doubted 
whether, in losing the intensity of its hue, which would 
be unavoidable were it to become double, it would not 
proportionately lose its interest. It is now, however, 
developing qualities which put the other impediment 
also in the way, and render a double Cineraria a thirg 
not to be wished for. 
“ Of variety produced by colours I shall speak und<r 
the head of colour. ” 
Carnations from Seed—Sowing. 
It is not everyone that attempts to raise Carnation 
from seed who has the convenience and help of a small 
frame. At Oxford, Mr. Dodwell sows his seed in 
spring, in a bed of fine Carnation soil made up in a 
small frame, raised upon a bed in which he roo:ed 
Carnation cuttings during the winter. To this some 
fresh soil is added, drills are drawn, the seeds sown 
thinly, and slightly covered; the light is placed on 
and kept close for a time, and the seed quickly 
germinates. Air is freely given as the plants increase 
in size and strength, until they are finally planted out 
in the open ground to flower the following season. 
There is this advantage in sowing early : that the 
plants are well advanced for planting out in the open 
at the end of the summer, and if they winter well, 
they are very strong by the time they flower. 1 am 
sure, one of the charms attending upon visiting Mr. 
Dodwell’s garden at the end of July, is to see the seed¬ 
ling Carnations in flower. They are very strong by that 
time, and it is remarkable what marvellous heads of 
bloom they produce. 
Not having the convenience of such a frame, I sow 
Carnation seeds in shallow boxes, placing them on a 
shelf in the greenhouse, and shading from the sun 
when it shines out warmly. When the seedlings are 
well through the soil, the boxes are removed to a cold 
frame, and when the plants are large enough they are 
pricked off into other boxes, and so grown on into size 
until they can be planted out in the open to flower. 
In making up a bed for Carnations in the open 
ground, care should be taken that it is not too light. 
As the Carnation appears to like firm potting when 
grown in pots, so in the open ground it is decidedly 
best for the plants to be iu a fairly heavy soil. A bed 
can be made up of a good heavy loam, with one third 
added of leaf-soil and well-rotted manure, well 
mixed together. The bed should be made up at least 
a week before planting, so as to allow the soil to settle, 
then raked over and pressed down somewhat firmly. 
Then the plants can be placed in the beds IS ins. apart 
each way, and the soil pressed firmly about the stems. 
If there is danger of any of the leading shoots being 
blown about and damaged by wind, let them be staked 
