80 



HORTICULTURE 



December 14. 19ii 



J ^/SINGLE AND POMPON CHRYSANTHEMUMS AT AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



Single Chrysanthemums. 



In most of the public exhibitions iu 

 the London parlis, single chrysanthe- 

 mums this year form a conspicuous fea- 

 ture They are chiefly used as free- 

 flowerng bush plants for edging the 

 groups, or else as plants placed at in- 

 tervals in the banks of the specimen 

 blooms to relieve the monotony of the 

 arrangement. Ladysmith is one of the 

 best and is largely used, its bright 

 pinkish mauve flower rendering it very 

 effective. Miss Mary Anderson and its 

 sport Miss Anne Holden are also often 

 met with — they are both old favorites 

 here. Edith Pagrani and Bronze Pa- 

 gram are a pair frequently exhibited 

 together, both being flowers of good 

 form and size. Pink Beauty well de- 

 serves its name. Acme is a large rose- 

 colored variety with yellow centre. 

 Ideal, pure white; Golden Fleece, a 

 yellow self. Rose Pink and Miss Par- 

 kinson, a pure pale yellow, are also 

 neat little varieties in this highly 

 decorative section. Mrs. E. Roberts is 

 a charmng flower of soft pale blush 

 and Mrs. Walton a deep rosy colored 

 flower with yellow centre. 



At some of the trade displays we 

 have specially noted a tew of the new- 

 est and also a few of the old.^r known, 

 which are this season to be ^een in the 

 highest state of development. 



One of the most floriferous is W. B. 

 Reeve, large flowers forming a perfect 

 mass of white; Miss G. Partridge, a 

 neatly built bloom in color not unlike 

 Ladysmith; Blushing Beauty, a won- 

 derful bloomer, very large flowers, 

 color soft shade of rosy blush, centre 

 yellow; Progress, terra cotta. passing 

 to golden yellow at the hi^sj, a very 

 distinct variety. White Duchess is 

 good, very full, the florets stiff and 

 flat, fair-sized blooms, color pure 

 white. Kitty Bourne, medium florets, 

 deep golden yellow. Cannell's Yel- 

 low, very large blooms, long florets, 

 pure golden yellow. Florence Adams, 

 very long florets, pure white passing to 

 bluish towards the tips. Freedom, 

 well named, a fine pure white, thin 

 florets rolled over, yellow centre. Mrs. 

 J. Ferguson is a Mary Anderson sport, 

 pale pink, white at the base, very 

 delightful little flower. Mary Richard- 

 son, rich golden terra cotta, a warm 

 and effective shade of color. Alice 



Crate, a neat little flower with flat 

 florets, medium width, deep, pinkisii 

 rose, ver.v fine and distinct. Kate 

 Covell, rosy amaranth, flat florets of 

 medium length. Mrs. H. .1. Hampton, 

 pale apricot yellow, narrow flat floret, 

 centre yellow. Bessie Payne, a fine 

 decorative fiower of the most striKing 

 kind, very free bloomer, flat florets, 

 color pretty shade of pinkish mauve 



Older varieties that are |)erhaps al- 

 ready known, or which may have been 

 described in former articles, include 

 among the best of their seMson's flow- 

 ering Mrs. C. H. Curtis, Pride of 

 Merstham, Mrs. Earle, Kate Westlake. 

 Green Eye. The Navy, Repulse. Flor- 

 ence Gilhani, Good Hope, Gold Point. 

 Venerable, The Pilot, Eric. Evelyn 

 Neale. 



P^or growing in beds and in the nprn 

 border, for cutting, for all kinds of 

 decorative purposes, these light, artis- 

 tic singles are absolutely invaluable. 

 and abundant evidence of that fact is 

 seen everywhere this season. 



American Chrysanthemums in Eng- 

 land. 



In spite of all the competition ther ■ 

 are some varieties that die hard. The..- 

 may be banished from the showboar 1 

 and the exhibitor may discard them 

 for others of more modern inti-oduc- 

 tion, but there are always some old- 

 fashioned growers who keep their long- 

 cherished favor- 

 ites through 

 good and evil 

 report. Every 

 season this fact 

 is made abun- 

 dantly evident, 

 and I have seen 

 this year sever- 

 al old varieties 

 in very good 

 form that, ac- 

 cording to all 

 the canons 

 of present- 

 day require- 

 ments. should 

 have been 

 thrown on the 

 rubbish heap 

 many years ago. 



In my early 

 days of chrysan- 

 themum grow- 

 i n g we had 



many good sorts that had long 

 been in cultivation by the ex- 

 hibitors, but when the flood of nov- 

 elties came pouring in from all quar- 

 tere of the glebe twenty years ago 

 the vast majority of the good old 

 standard show flowers passed into ob- 

 livion and their place was taken by 

 practically another race. This is true 

 of all sections — the Anemone, the In- 

 curved, and the Japanese in particular. 

 In these sections we had a fair pro- 

 portion of American seedlings. Of 

 these there are few to be seen now- 

 adays dt our shows, and except in a 

 small number of private collections 

 they are as good as extinct. During 

 my visits of the past few days I have 

 met some of my old friends of Ameri- 

 can origin that have been preserved, 

 and it is interesting just to place their 

 names on record. In the Japanese sec- 

 tion William Tricker. introduced in 

 1891, is still retained. Simplicity, a 

 white sent out the following year, is 

 also grown. Mrs. E. G. Hill, a big 

 early bloomer, dates from 1S94. Mod- 

 esto was one of the 1896 introductions 

 and is frequent in some decorative col- 

 lections. Good Gracious, although 

 raised in Japan, came to us via Amer- 

 ica in 1S9S and well deserves to be re- 

 tained. Mutual Fiiend is an 1891 va- 

 riety, and Col. W. B. Smith, whose 

 color even now wants beating, goes 

 back to the year 1892. 



Chrysanthemums .^t 



Peacock Cox.servatories. PrrrsBURi^ 



I, .'^ee page 769) 



