October 3(l, VM'J 



HORTICULTURE 



(iOS 



who do little or nothing in the way of production but 

 purchape their stock in the wholesale markets from day 

 to day. These men have in many eases been hard to 

 reach, yet their support of the S. A. F. is most desirable 

 for in their ranks are found many representatives of 

 high standing and ability as business men whose fealty 

 would bring no little strength to any organization. 

 President Valentine is taking a commendable step in 

 endeavoring to bring them together with some common 

 purpose and we trust the effort will be successful. 

 Undoubtedly there will come to the surface at the pro- 

 posed meeting other ways in which the national society 

 can be of value to this class individually. We hope so, 

 for it is on this ground rather than on the plea of broad 

 general advantage that active support mu»t be sought. 



British Horticulture 



CHRYSANTHEMUM CONFERENCE 



The National Chrysanthemum Society, departing 

 from the programme followed in previous years, instead 

 of having a show of early varieties the first week in 

 October at the Crystal Palace, held a conference in 

 London, and this was attended by many of the leading 

 growers and amateur exhibitors. "Chrysanthemums 

 as Annuals" formed the subject of a paper read by Mr. 

 C. H. Curtis, assistant editor of the "Gardener's Maga- 

 zine," who spoke of the value of the flower in decorat- 

 ing the conservatory at a time of the year when variety 

 in form and color is of value. Mr. W. Wells, a success- 

 ful specialist, eulogised the value of early single chrys- 

 anthemums, many new varieties of which have been 

 introduced by his firm. Another commercial grower, 

 Mr. P. A. Cragg, dealt with "Late market chrysanthe- 

 mums," and Mr. D. B. Crane spoke on the best varieties 

 for cut flowers. There was a small but interesting col- 

 lection of blooms on show. Awards were made to the 

 following: White Gem, a large reflexed Japanese, 

 shown by M. Silsbury ; Empress, canary yellow, in- 

 curved Japanese, and Tom Edwards, rich yellow, in- 

 curved Japanese, shown by Norman Davis ; Medals 

 were won by Norman Davis, M. Wells and Co., J. B. 

 Eiding, W. J. Godfrey, J. H. Witty and T. Brazier. The 

 Society are arranging to hold a big show at the Crystal 

 Palace, early in November, and the annual dinner fol- 

 lows at a subsequent date. 



NEW ROSES 



At the autumn show of the National Eose Society 

 some meritorious seedlings attracted considerable attri- 

 tion. Messrs. S. McGredy and Sons, of Portadown, Ire- 

 land, who have introduced a number of sterling novel- 

 ties in recent years, gained a gold medal for Mrs. Ed- 

 ward J. Holland, of a rich pink tint and slightly re- 

 flexed petals, and cards of commendation for Mrs. 

 Wakefield Christie Miller, a H. T. of silvery pink and 

 cerise, and Mrs. Arthur E. Coxhead, of a magenta 

 shade. Two other Irish firms also distinguished them- 

 selves in this department. Mr. Hugh Dickson, of Bel- 

 fast, a well known exhibitor at these shows, was awarded 

 a gold medal for Miss Cynthia Forde, a shnpely H. T. 



of a pleasing pink and silver shade. Messrs. Alexander 

 Dickson and Sons, of Newtonards. received a card of 

 commendation for Mrs. Frank Bray, a rich orange yel- 

 low, H. T. Claudius is the name of a very fine H. T. 

 of a rich cherry red color, shown by Messrs. B. Cant 

 & Sons, who received a gold medal. Messrs. H. Mer- 

 ryweather & Sons showed a useful addition to the poly- 

 antha section, Jessie, of a nice crimson shade for which 

 a card of commendation was granted. The following 

 were adjudicated the best blooms in the show in the 

 trade section; H. P., Mrs. John Laing; H. T., Earl of 

 Warwick; Tea, Souv. de Pierre Netting. In the ama- 

 teur section the same varieties took the awards, with 

 the exception that Maman Cochet was the best Tea. 



.A COLOR STANDARD 



There has long been wanted some proper standard of 

 colors, in order that uniformity should prevail in the 

 descriptions of flowers. One has only to compare the 

 various trade catalogues to realize the widespread varia- 

 tion in the details of the colors published respecting the 

 same flowers. The Eoyal Horticultural Society has 

 lately taken up this matter with the view to forming 

 an international code which would convey the exact 

 meaning when any particular tint was mentioned. The 

 Bev. W. Wilks, Secretary of the Society, recently an- 

 nounced that the Society has obtained a color chart 

 "containing 360 colors between white and black, with 

 the names of each in French, German, English, Span- 

 ish, and Italian, together with four shades of each of 

 the 360 colors, so that anyone wishing to describe to a 

 friend at Calcutta the exact color and shade of a flower 

 or a silk or painting need only refer to the color chart 

 number, quoting if for apricot, e. g., page 53, shade 3; 

 or if for rosy pink, page 118, shade 4, and so on. My 

 excuse for asking you to make this widely known is the 

 manifest utility which would accrue to everyone all the 

 world over if this chart were adopted universally as a 

 standard of color nomenclature, not only (as it will be) 

 for flowers but also for all trade and commercial pur- 

 poses which relate in any way to color. How very 

 vague, for example, are most people's ideas of the dis- 

 tinction between purple, crimson, and mauve, and how 

 often is the word carmine used as an easy method for 

 solving the difficulty without conveying any definite 

 notion as to what color exactly is meant." 



JOTTINGS 



The second Masters' Memorial picture has been 

 given before the members of the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society, the subject being "The production of horti- 

 cultural varieties." — A proposal has been made to raise 

 a fund to provide .some fitting memorial to the late 

 Peter Barr, the "Daffodil King."— A pamphlet has 

 been issued by the Board of Agriculture with the ob- 

 ject of giving encouragement to the bulb-growing indus- 

 try in this country. Figures are given suggesting that 

 the gross returns per acre should be something like £40 

 after the first year, and a good deal more after the 

 second. 



London. 



^r/, Ctdi"^. 



