1880.] RHODODENDRON PRINCE OF WALES.-ON JUDGING SHOW PELARGONIUMS. 17 RHODODENDRON PRINCE OF WALES. [PLATE 507.] PN the Rhododendron now figured we have growing free-blooming habit which had already won the popular esteem. another of the Messrs. Veitch and Son's fine set of hybrids of the jasminiflorum type, to which, by a more recent cross, increased size has been added, along with variety of colour. R. Princess Royal, the first break, was a most charming plant, as indeed is the type, R. jasminiflorum, but the earlier varieties had smaller blossoms than those of the later batch, which, however, retain, with their increased size, the neat evergreen character and free ON JUDGING SHOW HE cultivation of several species of the beautiful genus Pelargonium has become so universally popular, and the varieties of each species have, in the last few years, so largely increased in number and improved in quality, that it appears to be necessary that some standard of excellence should be generally adopted, by which the merits of any new variety could be satisfactorily determined. This subject was discussed at some length at the late meetings of the Pelargonium Society, and although it was then asserted that standards of this kind had already been published in works on horticulture, yet no one present at those meetings could remember the title of any work in which they might be found. Even then, if they do exist, such standards must be of a very remote date, and probably inapplicable to flowers of the present day. In this paper my remarks will be confined to the class of Pelargoniums known in floral language as SHOW VARIETIES, since it is in that class alone that I have had much experience. I trust, however, that what I shall endeavour to do for Show Pelargoniums, may also be done for the Zonals and other classes, by those whose knowledge of them is of a more practical nature than my own. The rules of excellence must vary according to the age of the variety itself, or the mode in which it is exhibited. They may be divided into three standards, viz. : We can say of the variety now figured, and which is named PRINCE OF WALES, that it is fully equal to the figure, in which, moreover, Mr. Fitch has well caught the peculiar features of this particular group. The colour is a rich crimson-scarlet, the plant continuing to bear its fine floral coronets in succession as new growth is made and matured. It, of course, requires a moderately warm house.-T. MOORE. PELARGONIUMS. I In the first of these-SEEDLINGS-nearly all the rules should refer to the flower alone, since the character of the plant cannot be brought out by cultivation, so long as the quality of the flower remains uncertain. think, therefore, that in the case of varieties exhibited as seedlings, the following qualities should be regarded as the criterion of excellence, and that the comparative value of each should be estimated according to the order in which they are here arranged, those of chief importance being placed the first in the list : 1. Roundness or Evenness of outline. 5. Habit of growth. In these qualities, I have omitted any special notice of " a pure white centre," as I think that is sufficiently provided for under the head of "brilliancy of colour," and although a pure white centre is much to be desired, yet a flower may be of surpassing excellence without possessing that character. When prizes are offered specially for NEW VARIETIES, regard should be had almost solely to the qualities of the varieties themselves. For this reason, every facility should be afforded for their appearance in competition; no restriction should be placed on exhibitors, or on their productions. Provided that the varieties themselves are not yet in commerce, an exhibitor should be at liberty to show plants which may not have been raised, or even cultivated, by himself. So long as a new variety is brought into public notice, it cannot be of much importance where or how the plant has been obtained. с Although the excellence of the flower must be considered the most important character in seedlings exhibited for the first time, yet every practical gardener is aware that to make a plant, a good habit of growth and fecundity of bloom are indispensable. These qualities should, therefore, be imperatively required in plants exhibited in collections of New Varieties. The absence of these qualities is often a fruitful cause of disappointment, for it will sometimes happen that a variety whose flower is of superior merit, is rendered almost useless by shyness of bloom, or by a weak straggling habit of growth. It is difficult to ascertain these qualities in seedlings, until they have passed their first year of trial; up to that period, the uncertainty of their merit precludes the possibility of devoting much space or care to the cultivation of the plant. To ascertain these points should, therefore, be the main object of prizes offered for collections of new varieties, and the qualities required should stand in priority of importance as arranged in the following standard: 1. Habit of growth. 2. Head of bloom. 3. Excellence of flower. All that I have hitherto said refers to New Varieties, plants more or less in a state of infancy; but their true perfection cannot be recognised until they have arrived at full development in the form of SPECIMEN PLANTS, those magnificent objects which are, and will, I hope, continue to be, the great ornament of our summer exhibitions. But with specimen plants, the criterion of excellence requires considerable modification, and cultivation should be considered of primary importance. Those who, like myself, can speak from practical experience, well know the amount of labour required for the successful cultivation of specimen plants, and still more for the training and dressing them. To this latter point, indeed, special regard should be given in the award of prizes, for no object can be more unsightly than a plant which, from its bristling array of pointed sticks, appears to have been decorated on the model of a porcupine. The use of sticks is, of course, unavoidable, but such supports should be as much as possible concealed from view, and of no greater thickness than is actually required. In accordance with these I believe that the foregoing standards of excellence embody the principles which have always influenced the judges at the exhibitions. of the Royal Botanic and the Pelargonium. Societies; and it was for the purpose of making these principles more generally known and practised, that I proposed at the late meetings. of the Pelargonium Society that the above, or some such standard, should be adopted and published with the sanction of the Society. But as that could not be done in the way that I proposed, I now, with the consent of the Editor of the FLORIST, avail myself of the present method of bringing the subject into public notice.-A. MATTHEWS, Gumley, Leicestershire. PELARGONIUM MRS. CANNELL: NEW IVY-LEAVED. E recently published a plate of Mr. George's fine hybrid Ivy-leaved Pelargonium St. George, one of a few very choice and distinct forms which have resulted from his attempts to improve the Ivy-leaved race of Pelargoniums. We now publish a woodcut showing the habit of another striking advance in the true ivy-leaved section, in the variety named Mrs. Cannell, which is the largest and by far the best-shaped flower yet obtained. It is a plant of vigorous growth, and therefore well adapted for growing on into a specimen. |