March 11, 1905 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
207 
Llf way between the centre and the margin of the Mower. This 
also is a novelty not yet obtainable. 
Jtellata Varieties. 
Several very distinct varieties of the new Star Primulas may 
be noted in this collection, but we were most pleased with that 
named Mont Blanc, which has white Mowers and bronzy-brown 
Fern foliage. The Mowers are produced on tall, whorled stems, 
and last well in the cut state. A very handsome variety also 
is Lilac, with flower-stems 9 in. to 12 in. high, very slender, 
and carrying whorls of lilac Mowers. Mrs. LI. Cannell is similar 
to Mont Blanc, but has more slender stems than the ordinary 
foliage. A dwarfer plant is that named Mrs. It. Cannell, with 
large white flowers. That named Stellata White is distinct in 
producing four to five Mower-stems G in. to 8 in. above the pot. 
Some novelties may be noted in this group, including a 
double with carmine flowers, vermilion with single Mowers pro¬ 
duced on dwarf stems. Blue is also a variety of moderate 
height. The three latter are only yet in small quantity. 
Great care is exercised in the reproduction of all of the above 
standard varieties, and equal activity is maintained in the 
endeavour to get new varieties in this popular class of plants. 
A large number of selected plants have been set aside and 
crossed in a variety of ways, but with what results only time 
will show. 
Miscellaneous. 
In walking through the houses we noted the free flowering 
and now popular Primula kewensis, with its golden-yellow 
Mowers. A Hue batch of Schizanthus wisetonensis is now being 
brought along, the plants at this stage being 9 in. to 12 in. 
high. Calceolarias are always well grown here, and quite re¬ 
cently the large-flowering herbaceous types have been put into 
24-size pots, with a few in a smaller size. The Pigmy and Tom 
Thumb strains are also well cared for, and have recently been 
repotted. These never attain any great size, but excite a 
considerable amount of interest amongst lovers of this class of 
plant owing to the small size of the Mowers, plants’, and foliage 
compared with the modern race which has been brought to 
ji such perfection. 
The florist’s Cineraria is also extensively grown, one house 
130 ft. in length being entirely filled with plants of the large- 
flowering strain. They are notv in 24-size pots, the foliage 
| covering the surface, of the soil. Some of the same strain, may 
be seen in other houses, including a batch of a white-flowered 
J strain. A hatch of Cineraria stellata is also being brought 
j along in another house. 

Linaria alpina rosea. 
M ere it not that Linarias are 1 too often looked upon as being 
nothing more than common weeds, we should And many a bit 
of rockwork or stone wall beautified by some really pretty 
varieties that are 1 obtainable, and also we think we should soon 
have many new and still more beautiful things in the way of 
hybrids and selected forms. The ordinary Linaria alpina is 
i to our mind a beautiful thing, and valuable for the adornment 
of rough or exposed comers of the rockery, but. the rose- 
coloured variety is a real gem that would be worthy of better 
positions were it less accommodating in the matter of site and 
soil than it. is. One can scarcely speak too liighly of a plant 
of so cheery a colour and modest requirements, for it will 
thrive and bloom with freedom where many less beautiful 
t lings would perish, and its foliage is beautiful even without 
the additional charm of its flowers. 
Stock is easily increased by means of cuttings of the young 
giowths that break up from the crown} and young plants com¬ 
mence flowering while still very small. We have seen a pale 
pink form that is equally beautiful as the original deeper rose 
variety, and there is little doubt many lovely shades could be 
obtained with ease, and our gardens would be the richer if 
someone with opportunity and inclination would take in hand 
;. ta ‘ sk of raising varieties of these pretty and easily grown 
L " ,ari “' ’ Heather Bell. 
Letters to the Editor. 
Flower Shows. 
To the Editor of Tub Gardening World. 
Sir,—I have been agreeably struck by the letter in your 
issue of the 2.)th ult. by W. II. Wharton on “Flower Shows.” 
Every word of Iris opening remarks I cordially endorse, and 
many of the collections enumerated by him are well worth 
the attention of flower show committees ; but my experience 
of the management of flower shows (for well over thirty 
years) lias been, “owing to the composition of committees 
generally,” the difficulty is in getting classes arranged 
so as to suit the greatest number of likely competitors. 
Take for instance a Chrysanthemum show. The great 
craze is for large blooms (many an employer objects to having 
more than perhaps a few just to give his collection a little 
more cli; iracter). An amateur again may have his hobby, and 
let 1 um follow his hobby as he chooses, but on no account 
should he be allowed to predominate in arranging classes for 
other people’s servants (simply for the reason that he thinks 
that such and such would look better on the exhibition table), 
often putting them in such a way as to prohibit the great 
Reduced Diagram oe Liliiflorae. (See p. 199.) 
majority from entering ■ consequently only two or three come 
forward instead of, as might be expected, a dozen or more 
had the prizes offered been such as to encourage the gardener 
to grow that which is most appreciated by his employer. 
Take for instance a group of “ ’Mums,” without restriction. 
M ould there be any chance of, say, a small grower putting 
up a group of undisbudded plants against the large grower 
using only disbudded blooms, each plant carrying only one 
or two blooms 1 No ; but for a mixed group restrict the number 
of disbudded blooms, and then you may expect aspirants for 
honours, because by so doing the gardener is encouraged to 
follow his master’s tastes. I do not hesitate to say that the 
majority of ladies and gentlemen prefer their flowers more 
like nature than in some cases what the art of man can do. 
The nurseryman is the worst sort of individual to make out 
a schedule of prizes for private growers. By all means give the 
large growers encouragement, but do not neglect spread¬ 
ing the interest to the small grower and protecting him some¬ 
what from those in more favoured circumstances. Surelv 
if ten or twenty of these could be interested in the competi¬ 
tions instead of one or two (who make a trade of it some¬ 
times for profit), our flower shows would more likely be 
successes. 
Another instance I might mention of how Mower shows 
might add to their patronage is by offering prizes for school 
children for drawing, etc., and admitting schools at a nominal 
charge to view the exhibition, not only interesting the 
children, but their parents and friends, and so acting as a 
good advertisement. There are some societies near where 
I write in which this sort of competition lias been a great 
