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yellow flower; General Bainbrigge, orange amber with golden centre, a large and beautifully formed incurved flower; Jardin des Plantes, bright golden orange, splendid colour, and flowers finely incurved; Lady Slade, delicate lilac pink with blush centre, finely incurved; Lalla Rookh, dark ruby rose, a very close incurved flower; Lord Palmerston, amaranth, suffused with rose, and tipped with silvery blush, a distinct and finely incurved flower; Mulberry, dark mulberry, a small flower, but the colour very good, also incurved; Oliver Cromwell, dark chestnut, fine and incurved; Prince Alfred, a splendid flower, very large and full, colour rosy crimson, finely incurved; Princess of Wales, pearly white, delicately tinted with rose, very large, of exquisite form, and finely incurved; and Sir Stafford Carey, dark brown chestnut with golden points, large, and very finely incurved.

New Pompone flowers are represented only by Prince Victor, much darker and finer than Bob, the colour rich maroon; and the hybrid class by White Trevenna, a sport from the pink Trevenna, having neatly formed flowers of a pure white colour. The Anemone section has one new representative only— Prince of Anemones, a large flower of good form, colour pinkish rose.

The following are very fine Pompone flowers-viz., Capella, dark red chestnut with orange centre; Florence, dark cherry, very fine; and Miranda, a fringed bright rose flower, extra fine, and fragrant like the Violet; while many others are valuable either as border flowers or for conservatory decoration.

I fear that the Japan flowers recently introduced by Mr. Fortune will scarcely become favourites with any of us. They are loose ungainly-looking things, and the colours are by no means attractive, and the less said about their form the better. They may possibly be by-and-by turned to account by the hybridiser; but as a class, unless there can be some very marked improvement made in them, they will soon be left stranded on the shores of the past.

QUO.

NOTES AT THE FLORAL AND FRUIT COMMITTEES. Dec. 5th. Thanks to Mr. Veitch, this meeting was made very interesting by a display of flowering Orchids and some other plants. Of the former there were the beautiful rose-flowered hybrid Calanthe Veitchii; Cattleya Dominiana, with handsome lilac flowers; Dendrobium Tattonianum, and several beautiful varieties of Lycaste Skinneri. Of other plants not the least interesting were Thibaudia macrantha, "with large, waxy, pinkish flowers, barred crossways with crimson," extremely novel; Rhododendron Princess Alexandra, with waxlike blossoms of a delicate flesh colour; a Sonerila margaritacea, with large white blotches on the leaves; Manettia micans, several specimens of which were in three-inch pots, in which they blossomed very freely, and it looked a valuable basket plant, as they were covered with bright scarlet blossoms; Eriocnema marmorea, very beautifully marked; some half-standard Epiphyllums in variety, &c. Messrs. Lucombe, Pince & Co. received a first-class certificate for a very handsome variety of Polystichum angulare, called parvissimum, one of the most interesting things in the exhibition. A large collection of plants came from the Society's garden, in which were various Cypripediums, Barkeria Skinneri, the charming little Sophronitis grandiflora, Lycaste Skinneri, a variety of Odontoglossum, sent home by Mr. Weir, the Society's collector; Dracenas, Crotons, Musa coccinea, Hibiscus Cooperi, and some dwarf, robust, and very healthy plants of Poinsettia pulcherrima, with heads of a beautiful vermilion scarlet hue.

But very little was produced for the Fruit Committee. From Mr. Vair, gardener to Lady Dorothy Nevill, came a fruit of Monstera deliciosa, which

was found on trial to be extremely luscious and excellent in flavour. From Mr. A. Parsons, of Danesbury Gardens, came a collection of Pears; and from Mr. Myatt, of Deptford, came a very good seedling Pear.

Dec. 19th. This meeting was made exceedingly interesting and very attractive by the presence of a fine display of varieties of Lycaste Skinneri in great variety, the tips of some of the flowers being beautifully marked. There were as many as fifty-three specimens, and no two of them could be said to be exactly alike. Besides this group there were the following plants of Orchids in flower :-Barkeria Skinneri, Barkeria Skinneri atropurpurea, the latter being much deeper in colour, and Dendrobium Tattonianum. Also the following blooming plants:-Rhododendrons Princess Alexandra and Princess Helena, the latter pink, veined with carmine, the tubes of the flowers being bright carmine; a small plant of the curious Thibaudia macrantha, having seven flowers; and Urceolina aurea, called a yellow Eucharis, with foliage greatly resembling E. amazonica, but the flowers are of a different shape. They were of a clear yellow colour, and the plant itself was introduced by Mr. Veitch from Peru a year or two ago. There were also plants of Aucuba japonica vera with clusters of bright red berries of a large size; also A. japonica variegata, and A. longifolia. A collection of plants also came from the gardens of the Society, and with them cut sprigs of Chimonanthus fragrans, and the variety grandiflorus, both extremely fragrant. This favourite wall plant seldom seeds, and the large-flowered variety appears to have been obtained from cuttings struck from C. fragrans.

But little fruit was produced. From Mr. Rivers came some excellent Tangierine Oranges; and by G. F. Wilson, Esq., the Chairman of the Fruit Committee, were produced some fine Chaumontel Pears from a tree in a pot, grown in an orchard-house, and moved outside to ripen the fruit.

SCARLET PELARGONIUMS-BEATON'S RACE.

R. D.

THE first instalment of the rich legacy left to the horticultural world by the late Mr. Beaton has now been placed fairly before the public, and the verdict is one of general approval.

Donald Beaton, like others in life, had his detractors; but if an honest heart, uncommon industry, and more talent than he had tact to turn to account, entitle a man to the respectful remembrances of his fellows, then his friends need not trouble themselves about his fame.

Some of his hybrid Pelargoniums, the result of many years' thought and labour, he did not live to see bloom. Masses of selected kinds were planted out in my nurseries at Waltham Cross about the end of May last, and have been seen there by many leading horticulturists, both amateur and professional. They have also been grown in limited quantities at Battersea Park, at the Royal Gardens at Kew, at Chiswick, and at Kensington, and the managers of these establishments have given the best evidence of their opinion of them by intimating their intention of using them extensively in their arrangements for the forthcoming year. The criticisms ingenuously and sometimes, I fear, disingenuously, put forward that the flowers are deficient in form (which by the way only applies to some of them), does not affect their value one jot. Who, when looking on the glorious masses produced by Stella, to which race these hybrids principally belong, would think of descending to the minute criticism of a single flower? But it is the custom with some to depreciate what they do not possess, and I am obliged to hear that some of the loudest detractors, who were at the same time large buyers, having now raised a stock, are begin

ning to acknowledge their mistake! This, I suppose, they would designate a clever business "move." As far as I am concerned they are welcome to all the benefits they may derive from it; and I accept their recantation in good faith, because it is better that they should "repent" than "continue in sin." To those who have but one standard of beauty, the florist's standard requiring the circular form, Donald Beaton, Princess Lichtenstein, and Mrs. William Paul, may be recommended as in advance on all others of their colour. But while I am ready to support the axioms of the florist when applied to florists' flowers, I sternly refuse to apply them to every object in the floral world, and I maintain that Beaton's hybrid Pelargoniums are manifestly without their pale. To my mind there is a poverty of conception in being unable to discover beauty out of and beyond the florist's pale, however sound may be his premises, however logical his conclusions. The late Mr. Beaton once said to me, in reply to a remark that the florist would never recognise the Stella race of Pelargoniums, "Never mind; let me get novelty of colour, compactness of habit, freedom of flowering, flowers that will stand the sun and rain: the public will appreciate their qualities, and I will improve the form afterwards." Alas! his life was too short to complete the task. But there remain among us others who can and doubtless will take up the work, and extend and perfect the new lines of beauty which he so successfully struck out. No impartial critic could for one moment contend that the florist's Pelargoniums produce anything like the effect of these hybrids when planted in masses in the flower garden. This is all that has been or is at present claimed for them. If the florist is not content with them as they are, let him cultivate the new and rich ground, to which the late Mr. Beaton has given him access, and draw forth productions in accordance with his own taste. A rich harvest will surely reward his skilful brain and industrious hand. But until he succeeds in combining his ideal of form with the valuable qualities these hybrids possess -namely, perfection of habit, freedom of bloom, novelty of colour, compactness, and indifference to sun, wind, and rain, we must continue to say that the race now before us is "indispensable in the future of every well-arranged flower garden." Of the sixteen varieties sent out from these nurseries last spring there is not one but what has been praised by some who are entitled to be heard. As, however, they have been constantly under my eye throughout the summer and autumn, it may be interesting to your readers to know the order of merit which I have assigned to them in my common-place book :

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Princess Lichtenstein
Scarlet Gem
Magenta Queen
Salamander

The remaining two, Fulgens and Pillar of Beauty, I do not recommend for bedding-purposes, but for growing under glass, the latter as a climber, they are of uncommon merit. Now, in the adjustment offered above it must be borne in mind that it is founded on the experience of a single and peculiar season, for although these kinds bloomed with me in the summer of 1864, I was then too intent on propagating and seeding them to allow them to take their natural development. Hence it is just possible that another season's experience may modify their positions.

It is a fact well known to the florist that when new ground is once broken the disposition of succeeding generations to vary is often extraordinary. I have found it so with the offspring of Beaton's hybrid Pelargoniums. Among the seedlings which bloomed here for the first time this summer I have found not only improvements on the originals in form and colours, for which I was

working, but also sports and novelties quite unlooked for: "dark rosy purple," "light rosy purple, with white blotch on upper petals," "light bluish pink," "rich crimson, orange blotch, white eye," "scarlet and purple nosegay," "purple and rose shaded," are descriptions extracted from my note-book, which abundantly testify to this tendency. Then there is a race of Pompons, or Liliputians, of various colours, of which the well-known "Waltham Pet" may be taken as the type. It was a sad day for the Verbena and other kindred but uncertain "bedding" plants when Beaton took to hybridising the rich and varied species of the genus Pelargonium. The certainty with which they accomplish the work allotted to them, their freedom and continuity of bloom, the gorgeous masses of colour which they produce, and their comparative independence of the changes of weather, place them without rivals in their own peculiar walk. The following set have been selected from among some thousands of seedlings for distribution in the forthcoming spring; and although I am not prepared to say that this will be the exact nature of the issue, it is yet that which is contemplated at the present time.

1. NOSEGAY, OR HYBRID NOSEGAY VARIETIES, RECOMMENDED FOR MASSING OUT OF DOORS.

Banneret.-Flowers crimson, purple and scarlet shaded. Very bright and

beautiful.

Fairy Queen.-Rosy purple. A large smooth flower.

Minstrel.-A salmon Nosegay, something like Lord Palmerston, but brighter in colour, broader in the petal, and consequently more effective.

Monte Rosa.-Dark rosy purple; fine truss, and habit very free.

Nimrod.-Orange scarlet, white eye; large truss; fine foliage. Very free. Nymph.-A salmon-pink Nosegay, large and fine.

Peach Nosegay.-Peach colour; plain leaf; splendid truss. Very free, Phanix.-Splendid scarlet, in the way of Stella, but much brighter. Prince of Orange.-Orange scarlet, very bright; great substance; good habit; blooms very freely.

Rebecca. Flowers cherry colour; fine truss; very profuse; habit dwarf. St. George.-Flowers dark chestnut, quite a new colour.

Salmon Nosegay.-Flowers true salmon.

Sir J. Paxton.-Bright orange; fine large truss.

Village Maid.-Deep pink, white eye, habit dwarf; the deepest of the pink varieties.

2. VARIETIES SELECTED FOR THE FORM OF THE FLOWER AND TRUSS, AND RECOMMENDED PRINCIPALLY FOR IN-DOOR CULTURE.

Bride.-Flowers pure white, deep red eye; of fine form and great substance; good truss and habit.

Cardinal.-Orange scarlet; perfect in form and of good substance; truss and habit good.

Celestial.-Flowers rosy lake with fiery spot on upper petals, centre bluish purple, reminding one of the Cactus speciosissima; large white eye. New in style, and surpassingly lovely.

Lord Chancellor.-Salmon pink; perfect shape; white eye; fine habit, and very free. Poet Laureate.-Flowers rosy purple, top petals orange scarlet; yellowish eye. Tiara. Flowers scarlet crimson, with a glow of purple; fine habit; good truss; very free.

3. POMPON, LILIPUTIAN, OR PIGMY VARIETIES. Diamond.-Fine scarlet, purple centre, distinct white eye; blooms very freely; good dwarf habit.

Dryad.-Beautiful rosy pink; fine shape and truss.
Naiad.-Flowers purple, scarlet top.

Waltham Gem-Flowers light red, white eye, peculiar and beautiful colour; leaves yellow; habit dwarf and compact.

Waltham Lilac.-Flowers true lilac.

Zephyr.-Light purple, rose top; very dwarf and free; stands the rain and

sun well.

These varieties once in circulation, and thanks to the intelligence and industry of the late Mr. Beaton, a complete and splendid flower garden may be formed of Pelargoniums alone.

Waltham Cross, London, N.

WILLIAM PAUL.

REMARKS ON FRUIT-TREE CULTURE.-No. 5.

In my former papers on this very interesting subject I have endeavoured to point out in plain and practical language, divested alike of technicalities or scientific theories, a few of the more prominent points which have occurred to my mind during the course of my manipulations and practice; and as I trust they may serve as reminders to those young beginners in the profession, who will, most probably, consult their own interest by keeping up an acquaintance with the gardening literature of the day, I will resume the subject by commencing with the management of the trees the season after planting, which is the point to which we have now arrived. And here we must set before our mind's eye the objects which we propose to strive after in our future operations, the principal of which I conceive to be the production of fruit, and, therefore, our attention will naturally be directed to the formation of fruitful wood. This part of the subject is altogether so important that it ought most particularly to engage the attention of the young practitioner. Fruitful wood is never the result of chance, but may, in most cases, be traced to a primary moving cause; and the one great moving cause into which all other minor causes converge, or from which they radiate, is that law of nature by which plants in common with animals are impelled to reproduce their kind, which as a general rule will take place when a certain point of maturity is attained, or, perhaps I might say, certain conditions of growth arrived at in which the tree is strong enough to bear fruit. In practice we are accustomed to follow out certain methods, by which we can almost to a certainty act upon the known tendencies of trees under certain conditions and circumstances, so as to produce, as it were, artificially those conditions by which plants are influenced to obey the above law when growing in a state of nature; or, in other words, left to ramble unchecked. In writing on these subjects we are very apt to allude to plants as if they were animated beings; and I do not see the unfitness of this, because plants do really possess a principle of vitality which is very near akin to the vitality of animal life, and the principles on which we work are alike in both cases. Many of them also possess a wonderful power of accommodating themselves to various circumstances, and it is only by acting on this analogy between them that we are able to produce corresponding results. In the case immediately before us, under ordinary circumstances plants do not proceed to the formation of fruitful wood to any extent until a partial exhaustion takes place, or, in other words, a certain degree of maturity is arrived at. The time at which such maturity is attained varies very much in different plants, but when attained the functions of the tree are at once diverted to the development of the organs of reproduction, and the result is the formation of fruitful wood.

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