834 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Xo»-EMBEK 13. 1902. 



AMERICAN CHRYSANTHEMUMS 

 IN ENGLAND. 



BY C. HAKMAN i'.W NFI. Lt.»NDOX. 



[Bead before the Chrysanthemum Society of 

 America at the Chicago conirention.J 



Having been in\-ite<l to contribute a 

 paper, to be read at the first convention 

 of the Chrysanthemum Society of 

 America, on a subject likely to interest 

 American growers of this popular au- 

 tumn liower. it seems thai we may use- 

 fully consider some of the facts relating 

 to the almost utter extinction of Ameri- 

 can varieties from our English exhibi- 

 tions. 



It is remarkable that while we had a 

 large number of really meritorious 

 American seedlings annually exhibited 

 on the show boards of our leading exhi- 

 bitions some few years ago, there remain 

 today scarcely half a dozen that continue 

 to find favor with our largest growers. 

 There is, as most of us are aware, no 

 question as to the ability of American 

 seedling raisers to produce varieties of 

 sterling merit. That fact has been 

 proven over and over again, and is be- 

 yond dispute to those of us who have 

 watched the progress of the chrysanthe- 

 mum during the past twenty years. 



To go back to the earliest attempts on 

 the part of our American friends to sup- 

 ply European cultivators with novelties 

 it is necessary to remind this meeting 

 that one of the first chrysanthemum 

 raisers in the states was Dr. Walcott, of 

 Boston. -John Thorpe. Mr. Waterer. of 

 Philadelphia, and W. K. Harris were 

 next heard of here as being engaged 

 in the work and many of their varieties 

 were imported into Enslaud about 

 1SS4-5. 



I well remember somewhere about that 

 date visiting my old friend. Xorman 

 Davis, then of Camberwell. and seeing 

 for the first time many of these Ameri- 

 can novelties which he was probably the 

 first to introduce, and the interest that 

 their appearance then caused. Up to 

 that time the French growers had en- 

 joyed the sole monopoly for some years 

 of raising new seedling chrysanthemums, 

 as they appear almost to have done dur- 

 ing later years. !Many of these early 

 American varieties being very distinctive 

 in form, soon became popular with our 

 growers and figured at English exhibi- 

 tions in goodly numbers. 



A few of them can be readily recalled 

 to memory, viz. : Bicolor, Christmas Eve. 

 Fimbriatiun. Gloriosum. Gorsteous. -Jes- 

 sica, iloonlight. Mrs. C. WT Wheeler, 

 ilrs. -James E. Pitcher. Mrs. Vannaman. 

 Mrs. Wm. ileneke. Sam Henshaw. White 

 Dragon and so forth. Of course I am 

 fully aware that some precise critics here 

 at home will say that many of the first 

 American novelties were really importa- 

 tions from -Japan, but that has little to 

 do with our present purpose, inasmuch 

 as we received them from American 

 sources. 



Interest having been excited in these 

 newcomers, our trade importers were not 

 slow to appreciate the fact that to keep 

 in the front they must each lay in a 

 store of the American novelties year by 

 year and so in due course other Ameri- 

 cans were brought into the line of ex- 

 pansion. The novelties distributed by 

 such growers as T. H. Spaulding. Peter 

 Henderson & Son. Fewkes & Son. E. G. 

 Hill. Xathan Smith * Son. Messrs. Hol- 

 lis, Allen. Surman. Domer. Pitcher & 

 Manda. J. C. Taughan. May and. for all 

 I kr.ow. many more besides were annu- 

 nl!y :i4d(.1 tn the ever increasing collec- 



tions of ovur large trade growers and 

 importers. 



When one remembers the names of 

 these men and the numerous seedlings 

 that they raised and distributed, a large 

 proportion receiving recognition of their 

 merits by the awards of first-class cer- 

 tificates from our leading societies, it is 

 liitlicult to understand the reason of 

 their present non-existence as show flow- 

 ers. Everyone of course knows that 

 improvement has been made, but as 

 time went on American seedlings did not 

 remain stationary any more than did 

 the seedlings of their rivals. 



Let us recall a few names extending 

 over that period and in order of their 

 appearance: I*uritan. Beauty of Castle- 

 wood. Coronet, iliss Anna Hartshorne, 

 Florence Percv. Lizzie Cartledsre. Elmer 

 D. Smith. Eda. Prass. Col. W. B. Smith. 

 C. B. Whitnall. ilrs. E. D. Adams. -Julius 

 Roehrs. Geo. W. Childs. W. G. Xewitt. 

 Golden Wedding. Good Gracious. Xiveus. 

 Mrs. E. G. IIill. Eugene Dailledouze. 

 Mutual Friend. Mrs. Henry Robinson, 

 iliss Georgiana Pitcher. The Egyptian, 

 ilodesto. Western King and Simplicity. 



Xow. to be properly understood. I do 

 not mean to say that these and similar 

 sorts are nowhere to be seen in England, 

 but I do say that these and many other 

 equally fine varieties have been entirely 

 discarded by the most prominent of our 

 exhibitors in the leading shows. And 

 further that for several years past little 

 cr nothing of American origin has been 

 sent over here to compete with the 

 French and more recently tlie Aus- 

 tralian seetllinas. The consequence is 

 that the English thirst for novelties 

 has to be assuaged by other means, and 

 that instead of there being a steady flow 

 of novelties from the other side of the 

 Atlantic to occupy a portion of the space 

 vacated by varieties that are pushed 

 aside for various reasons, nothing new 

 or attractive has come before our notice 

 for a long time past. 



The chief places where public opinion 

 on such matters is formed is undoubtedly 

 at the trade displays and at the floral 

 committee meetings where novelties are 

 staged by growers and importers. So 

 keen is the competition for supremacy 

 that unless a new variety obtains a cer- 

 tificate or gives great promise it is 

 hardly worth anyone's while to grow a 

 new variety a second year, the number 

 of novelties being so large. 



There is. however, some c-onsolation. 

 but it is one that does not appeal to a 

 raiser's pocket. At many private estab- 

 lishments and in the interesting collec- 

 tions that are gratuitously provided by 

 the London County Council in the public 

 parks many varieties. American as well 

 as others, are included and are grown 

 year after year. I think in an article on 

 this subject wliieh I wrote for the Amer- 

 ican Florist some time since special ref- 

 erence was made to this fact. But the 

 average chrysanthemum grower for ex- 

 hibition in England hardly ever pays a 

 visit to such places, which are intended 

 for the pleasure of the inhabitants in the 

 district where the parks are situated. 

 Consequently the authorities, not having 

 to appeal to critical trade in such mat- 

 ters, often keep in their collections many 

 old kinds of ordinary merit that are 

 only fit for general decorative display. 

 To the exhibitor for prizes, however, the 

 early possession of the finest novelties 

 means succ-ess or failure, and he will wil- 

 lingly pay the price for any new addi- 

 tion likely to secure him the fullest 

 number of points, for that means a 



considerable amoimt of prize money in 

 his pocket or an array of silver cups for 

 his sideboard. 



Whatever may be said to the contrary, 

 growing prize chrysanthemums in Eng- 

 land is mainly a matter of profit and not 

 honor. And the proof of this is easily 

 found in the fact that where substantial 

 prizes are not ofl'ered there will only be 

 found growers of average ability. And 

 it is also noteworthy that whatever vari- 

 eties are included in the winning, stands 

 of our cleverest exhibitors are eagerly 

 sought after by the numerous small 

 amateurs who hope to follow in the 

 greater one's steps. Hence the sale of 

 some peculiarly striking novelty will 

 often run into thousands the first year 

 it is shown. 



Going back to the subject of local dis- 

 play at the London parks it is curious to 

 notice, as I did last year, blooms of 

 many American varieties that once oc- 

 cupied a much loftier position. Many of 

 theui were in their turn exhibition 

 blooms: today they are rejected as such. 

 Yet although not grown in such fine 

 form as they were when in the hands of 

 our expert cultivators they may live on 

 for years giving pleasiu"e to many, whose 

 only opportunity of seeing such flowers 

 at all is a quiet stroll through the green- 

 house of a Ix>ndon park on a Saturday 

 or Sunday afternoon in mid-October or 

 early Xovember. 



SiuvHvors of these American introduc- 

 tions are as follows: Mrs. E. G. Hill, 

 an early useful variety for the back row 

 of a arroup of jjot plants: W. H. Lincoln. 

 Delaware, the anemone; Wm. Tricker. 

 a capital pink variety when grown for 

 decorative purposes: Gloriosum. Modes- 

 to. Col. W. B." Smith, Xiveus. Western 

 King. The Egyptian, Simplicity, G. W. 

 Childs, always bright and effective but 

 rather small. There may be a few others 

 but these are all that appear in my 

 notes of last year's visits to the L,ondon 

 parks. 



While these remain the originators 

 have some satisfaction in knowing that 

 their efforts have not been entirely ob- 

 literated. But mere honors will scarcely 

 console a man who undertakes the rais- 

 ing of any kind of plant for a livelihood. 



Only today I have been inspecting the 

 collection of a well known introducer of 

 new chrysanthemums, a man with little 

 or no sentiment in relation to the origin 

 of the new chrysanthemums he has to 

 sell. Upon finishing the work I expressed 

 surprise that new American seedlings 

 were practically non-existent in his col- 

 lection and had been for some years. His 

 remarks may be instructive and perhaps 

 of ser^nce to American growers and are 

 briefly as follows: 



"Taken as a whole the American seed- 

 lings are. as regards the blooms, quite as 

 fine in color as any others. The foliage 

 is good but very subject to mildew, at 

 least five out of every six suffering from 

 this disadvantage. For quality in respect 

 to seedbearing they are of a high order 

 of merit. George W. Childs having been 

 the parent here of many of our best 

 dark-colored kinds. !Most of the plants 

 have the disadvantage of being too tall 

 when grown in our style for exhibition 

 blooms and. generally speaking, they are 

 much later in blooming than the Conti- 

 nental varieties, an immense disadvant- 

 age when connoisseurs are eagerly on the 

 lookout early in the season for novelties 

 for the following season. 



Again, many are rather coarse, and I 

 remember this was the fault in the case 

 of .~ome of the first we ever had. Thev 



