Varieties

These are added to annually; but the following are first-rate flowers, sufficient for any amateur: -

Acme (Brown's).

Alpha (Garrat's).

Achates (Neville's).

Alfred (Wallace's).

Beauty (Fairbairn's).

Beauty (Turner's).

Conqueror (Barrett's).

Defiance (Norman's).

Dr. Edwards (Ottey's).

Duke of Northumberland (Head-ley's).

Duke of Wellington (Norman's).

Eclipse (Brown's).

Eclipse (Bankell's).

Enchantress (Neville's).

Garland (Brown's).

Gauntlet (Dawson's).

Gem (Hodge's).

Great.Britain (Ward's).

Henry (Norman's).

Henry (Wallace's).

Lord Brougham (Acres).

Mary Anne (Jelf's).

Masterpiece (Turner's).

Miss Kate (Fairbairn's).

Monitor (Neville's).

Ne plus Ultra (Kean's).

Omega (Unworth's).

One Hundred and Thirty-four (Brown's).

One Hundred and Sixty-six (Hodge's).

President (Creed's).

Prince Albert (Legg's).

Prince of Wales (Wilmer's).

Queen of England (Hale's).

Rloseana (Church's).

Triumphant (Ibbet's).

Warden (White's).

Characteristics Of Excellence

Flower circular when viewed in front; semi-globular in profile, and uniform in size on the same plant. Petals stout, smooth-edged, each row smaller than those below it. Colour, ground white ; lacing, whatever its tint, should have a border of white beyond it; colour of the lower limb of the petal extending so as to be seen above the while edge of the petals above. Lacing unbroken.

Raising Varieties

M. Fries Movel, gives these directions:-

"Just before sunrise open carefully the flower to be operated on, and abstract the anthers with small pincers. About eight or nine o'clock place the ripe pollen from another flower upon its stigma, and repeat this two or three times in the course of the same day. If the act of impregnation has taken place, the flower will fade in twenty-four or thirty-six hours; but if not, the flower will remain in full beauty, in which case, the attempt must be repeated. This should always be done in fine serene weather, and care should be taken to defend this impregnated flower from rain and mists. Plants raised from seeds which have been crossed always bear the form of the mother, but take the colours of the male parent. Fewer seeds are produced by art than by nature alone; and the impregnated flowers are less visited by bees than others." - Gard. Mag.

Layering

Mr. J. Mearns, of the Manchester Zoological Gardens, says that he thus conducts this operation: -

"I do not use a dibber to plant with, but my forefinger; I lay the lower end of my slip horizontally upon the surface of the soil, and so press it down into it; when from the firmness of the soil, the slip is compelled to clip round the end of the finger. With the other hand I turn up the top to its perpendicular, and press the lower end down till the tail is about half an inch beneath the soil; I then make the soil firm, and the operation is complete. The pipings are best left with no other attention after planting, besides occasional watering in dry weather, and keeping them free from weeds till the time for planting out, which may be done at any time after the plants are perfectly rooted ; the usual season, however, to plant out for the flowering in the highest perfection is September, and for propagation all the month of June, even to the middle of July."-Gard. Chron.