934 



HORTICULTURE 



December 31, 1910 



BRITISH SOCIETIES. 



Chrysanthemum Conference. 

 Besides arranging each season some 

 excellent shows, the National Chrys- 

 anthemum Society has done useful 

 work in fixing up conferences at which 

 leading experts have an opportunity of 

 explaining and interchanging their 

 views. The Society has of late years 

 had to pursue an economical policy, 

 or otherwise these valuable meetings 

 would doubtless be more often held. 

 I have pleasant recollections of a 

 congress being held at the Crystal 

 Palace, a few years ago, when papers 

 were read, and discussions took place 

 on the early flowering varieties. On 

 Dec. 5th the Society held a conference 

 in London, attended by many of the 

 leading growers. Mr. Norman Davis, 

 the raiser of Framfield Pink and other 

 well known varieties, opened with a 

 paper on "The Culture of Japanese 

 Chrysanthemums for Exhibition," in 

 the course of which he gave some ex- 

 cellent hints from his long experience 

 as a commercial grower. Mr. H. J. 

 Jones, a successful trade exhibitor, 

 dealt with the methods of exhibiting 

 Japanese and incurved varieties. Mr. 

 Jones had a number of practical hints 

 for improving the Society's shows. 

 Amongst other things he suggested 

 classes respectively for 12, 24, and 48 

 blooms, more or less distinct, set up 

 for effect. Classes tor both Japanese 

 and incurved blooms should be pro- 

 vided for, and their value as decora- 

 tive material would be proved in no 

 mean degree. He further suggested 

 that classes be created for groups of 

 cut chrysanthemums on a given table 

 space or of a specified number of 

 blooms, leaving it to the originality of 

 the exhibitor to make the most of the 

 space. Mr. R. F. Felton. the author 

 of a first-class book on floral dtcora- 

 tion, handled this part of the subject. 

 He considered that there was a greater 

 decorative effect and color range ob- 

 tainable in the chrysanthemum than 

 from any other flower. He had never, 

 however found a tiue pink. There 

 was, he thought, quite a crusade 

 against the large blooms. This he 

 never could comprehend. The highest 

 price carnal ion was Carola. and this 

 was simply bi'cause of its size. He 

 deprecated the glutting of the market 

 with poor stuff, which spoilt the trade 

 tor really good bloom. This was not 

 fair to the best growers. "Don't grow 

 more than you can grow well." was his 

 advice. Giowers should not adhere to 

 the old varielies, many of which had 

 been superseded by the newer kinds. 

 As regards the singles, he thought 

 many of these were getting too big. 

 Mensa, Merstham Jewel, and Ma'y 

 Richardson were the best types; larger 

 ones lacked vigor and did not last 

 well. A paper on "The culture of in- 

 curved chrysanlhemums for exhibi- 

 tion" was contributed by Mr. W. 

 Higgs. The following new varieties 

 were exhibited during the day, and re- 

 ceived awards: Cissie Rungay (T. 

 Stevenson, Addlestone, Suirey), a use- 

 ful single; December Gold (Norman 

 Davis, Framfield, Sussex), market va- 

 riety; Jack (T. Stevenson), crimson 

 single; Lady Furness (W. Wells & Co., 

 Merstham, Surrey), single, salmon 

 bronze, with light zone, and gold disc; 

 Mrs. Gilbert Drabble (Messrs. Wells), 

 pure while exhibition bloom; Phoebe 



(H. W. Thorp, Durrington, Sussex), 

 rich decorative pink. 



A Prosperous Society. 



The National Sweet Pea Society is 

 still meeting with a full measure of 

 support from a large circle of amateur 

 and trade growers. At the annual 

 meeting held in London on December 

 15th, an encouraging report was pre- 

 sen.ed of the Society's progress. In ad- 

 dition to the usual routine business a 

 paper on "Judging sweet peas" was 

 contributed by Mr. Walter P. Wright, 

 and "Cultivation of sweet peas," by 

 Mr. George Herbert. Both gentlemen 

 are well known experts. The Society 

 has arranged to hold its annual series 

 of trials at "The Times" experimental 

 station, Sutton Green, Surrey, next 

 year. Novelties will be tested, and 

 awards and certificates granted accord- 

 ing to merit. For these trials it has 

 been decided to accept varieties only 

 from the raiser or introducer. Varie- 

 ties placed at the head of each color 

 class in the classification list for 1911 

 will be grown at the trials as standards 

 of comparison. At the request of nu- 

 merous seedsmen the committee will 

 conduct a further and distinct trial 

 solely for the purpose of testing cor- 

 rectness and puiity of stocks of sweet 

 peas. W. H. ADSETT. 



MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL COL- 

 LEGE. 



The State Horticultural Department 

 of the college at College Park, Md., has 

 arranged for a two-weelcs course for 

 practical men, orchardists, gardeners, 

 etc., on Fruit Growing, Insect Pests, 

 Plant Diseases and Spraying Appara- 

 tus. The course will begin on January 

 30, 1911, and will include eleven topics 

 by Prof. C. P. Close, horticulturist, 

 fourteen by Prof. J. B. S. Norton, 

 pathologist and ten by Prof. T. B. Sy- 

 mons, entomologist. The local inspec- 

 tors for the State Horticultural De- 

 partment will be selected from those 

 taking this course. All persons think- 

 ing of taking the course should com- 

 municate with Prof. Symons. 



NEW YEAR'S BELLS. 



lling out wild bells, to the wild sk.v. 

 The fl.ving cloud, the frosty light: 

 The year is dyiug in the night; 



King out, wild bells, and let him die. 



Ring out the old, ring in the new. 

 Ring, happy bells, across the snow: 

 The year is going, let him go; 



King out the false, ring in the true. 



King out the grief that saps the mind. 

 For those that here we see no more: 

 King out the feud of rich and poor; 



Uiiig in redress to all mankind. 



Ring out a slowly dying cause. 

 And ancient forms of party strife: 

 Ring in the holder modes of life. 



With sweeter manners, purer laws. 



King out the want, the care, the siu. 

 The faithless coldness of the times: 

 Ring out. ring out my mournful rh.vnies. 



Hut ring the fuller minstrel in. 



Ring out false pride in place and blood. 

 The civic slander .ind the spite: 

 liing in the love of truth and right. 



Ring in the common love of good. 



Ring out old shapes of foul disease. 

 Ring out the narrowing lust of gold: 

 Ring out the thousand wars of old. 



Ring in the thousand years of peace. 



Ring in the valiant man and free. 

 The larger heart, the kindlier hand: 

 Itiug out the darkness of the land. 



Ring in the TRUTH that is to be. 



— Alfred TfnnysoH- 



WAFTED FROM WABAN. 



As everybody knows, roses of the 

 Killarney type have the public prefer- 

 ence today. Bride and Bridesmaid the 

 buyers do not want and will not buy 

 when they can get anything else. No 

 doubt, one of Killarney's strong points 

 with the public is its perfume. A rose 

 without fiagrance stands "in a slippery 

 place." But Killarney stands well wich 

 the grower for other reasons besides 

 its popularity. According to Alexander 

 Montgomery, than whom there is no 

 more observant grower, Killarney can 

 be manipulated as you Tvaut. There is 

 no more tractable subject. It's all in 

 the pinching; seven week? from pinch- 

 ing, there stands the flower. Beds 

 pinchfcc back two weeks apart will fol- 

 low in the same sequence in flowering. 

 Mr. Montgomery calls attention to a 

 very prevalent f-uult with growers of 

 V^'hite Killarney in cutting the buds 

 too close. This Viiviety has more pet- 

 als than the pink one and is a longer 

 keeper and the buds should be allowed 

 to remain on the plant until all traces 

 of green have ^oiie from the petals. 

 Green "white" Killarneys are frequent- 

 ly seen in the market. They had not 

 been given suffi^ie;;[ time to mature. 

 Another characteristic of White Kil- 

 larney is that it beats its pink parent 

 fully seven days in coming into crop. 

 This counts up when the profits are 

 estimated. Two-year and three-year 

 plantations of Killarney at Waban 

 Rose Conservatories were a sight 

 worth going a long distance to see, 

 just befoie Christmas especially. E. G. 

 Hill, who was Bast at that time, took 

 alvantage of the opportunity for a 

 Icok and was tiansported to the sev- 

 enth heaven at the inspiring sight. 



As elsewhere, Richmond, although 

 most wanted of all the Christmas 

 roses, was far behind Killarney in pro- 

 ductive exuberance. Richmond needs 

 the higher holiday price in order to 

 save it, but towards spring there are 

 three months during which the big 

 strong shoots from the bottom are pro- 

 duced in abundance and then Rich- 

 mond averages up for its lost ground. 



We shouldn't wonder if Mr. Mont- 

 gomery would have some promising 

 candidates for the novelty race in the 

 not far distant future, "but that's an- 

 other story." 



Des Moines, Iowa, December 17. — A 

 brave but ineffectual insurgent move- 

 ment among the members of the Iowa 

 State Horticultural Society came with- 

 in a notch of winning out the past 

 week and effecting revolution in that 

 somewhat fossilized body of ancients. 

 An effort was made to put some nev/ 

 and young blood on the board and 

 three diffeient names were proposed. 

 One of them was Frank Belief of At- 

 lantic, a true naturalist and a young 

 man far ahead of his times. In order 

 to keep the control within the small 

 group it became necessary to select 

 two officials who live just across the 

 road in one county. Some of the direc- 

 tors have been officers in the society 

 for twenty-five years or more, and it 

 has been found practically impossible 

 to get any new blood into the associa- 

 tion. This was the real cause for the 

 formation of three auxiliary associa- 

 tions, one of florists, another of plant 

 breeders and the park and forestry as- 

 sociation. The "old guard" has a firm 

 grip on affairs, however. — Council 

 Bluffs Novpnrcil. 



