March 25, 1911 



HORTIC U UTU HE 



413 



British Holticulture 



The Sweet Pea Boom in Britain. 

 A well directed effort is being made 

 to have the sweet pea regarded as the 

 Coronation flower in the festivities 

 which will take place in the summer 

 this year. Judging from the many 

 firms who are now offering this flower 

 to the gardening public there is no 

 diminution in the popularity it has at- 

 tained in the last few years. The Na- 

 tional Sweet Pea Society is still going 

 strong. Since the recent annual meet- 

 ing 63 new members have joined, 

 while several additional local socie- 

 ties have become affiliated. A fur- 

 ther series of trials will be made 

 in Surrey this season by the Society, 

 a number of the leading home and for- 

 eign raisers having sent varieties. 

 The Society's "Year Book" for 1911 

 has lately been brought out, and it is 

 once more filled with good things for 

 the sweet pea enthusiast. An impor- 

 tant feature is the report of the sub- 

 committee appointed to examine 

 sweet pea diseases. Growers have 

 particularly suffered from the ravages 

 of a disease which has been popular- 

 ly described as "streak." Affected 

 plants have been subjected to a criti- 

 cal examination by experts. The re- 

 sults so far have not thrown much 

 additional light on this somewhat 

 strange ailment. In most cases, it 

 appears, eel-worms were found to be 

 injuring the roots, and the fungus 

 Thielavia basicola was discovered. 

 Mr. Chittenden, the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society's expert, strongly ad- 

 vises the eradication of the eel-worm 

 from the soil with a view to checking 

 the disastrous spread of the infection. 



The Cult of the Chrysanthemum. 



Another organization which looms 

 prominently in the horticultural world 

 is the National Chrysanthemum So- 

 ciety. At the annual meeting on Feb- 

 ruary 6th, Sir Albert Rollit, who pre- 

 sided, was able to congratulate the 

 members on the excellent progress 

 which was being made. The Novem- 

 ber show, he stated, was considered 

 the finest the Society had ever held. 

 He alluded to a visit paid by represen- 

 tatives of the Society to France; these 

 visits were very valuable in promot- 

 ing a good feeling between France 

 and Britain. In December the Society 

 held a very successful conference In 

 London. The Society were co-operat- 

 ing in the arrangements for the Inter- 

 national Exhibition at Chelsea in 

 1912; several of the Society's officers 

 are members of the exhibition's execu- 

 tive. As regards the financial posi- 

 tion, the year had closed without any 

 unpaid debts, whilst there was a bal- 

 ance in hand. Sir Albert Rollit was 

 re-elected president; John Green, 

 treasurer; Richard Witty, secretary; 

 Thos. Bevan, chairman of committee, 

 and C. Harman Payne, honorary for- 

 eign corresponding secretary. A pleas- 

 ing feature was the appointment of 

 M. Viger, president of the National 

 Horticultural Society of France; M. A. 

 Truftaut, premier vice-president of the 

 same society; M. Maxime de la Roche- 

 terie, president of the French Chrys- 

 anthemum Society; D. B. Crane, and 

 J. H. Witty as fellows of the Society. 



A Few Novelties. 



This is the time when the study 



Carnation Washington 

 Dark Pink Sport of Euchantress. 



table becomes laden with the printers' 

 masterpieces issued by the nurse y 

 and seed firms. One cannot he p no- 

 ticing that in recent years tlie:e has 

 been a decided advance in the high 

 class character of the British cata- 

 logues. The best examples of letter- 

 press work and illustrations are 

 brought into foice to enumfrate the 

 leading lines of the principal houses. 

 There is once again a wide a-iay of 

 novelties to satisfy the demands of the 

 most exacting enthusiast. Messrs. 

 Wells & Co., of Merstham, are putting 

 on the market nine meritorious chrys- 

 anthemum novelties. These include 

 Lady Carmichael, white; Mrs. Gilbert 

 Drabble, marble-white; E. M. Quitten- 

 ton, deep crimson, with gold reverse; 

 Marie Loomes, chestnut terra-cotta; 

 H. E. Converse, reddish bronze, with 

 gold reverse; Mrs. R. E. Witty, red- 

 dish terra-cotta, the florets being 

 broad and drooping; William Turner, 

 white; Mrs. G. C. Kelly, deep old rose, 

 with silver reverse; Wells' White. The 

 new singles embrace: Merstham Rose, 

 rose, white border; Miss Hi'da We Is, 

 crimson, with gold band circling disc; 

 Crimson Jewel, crimson, tipped with 

 gold; Sam Standen, rose, white ds:;; 

 Yellow Fortescue, a spidery variety 

 from Japan; Merstham Gem, crimson, 

 with yellow circle round disc. B ack- 

 niore and Langdon are sending out 

 Begonia Rose Queen, an exhibition 

 variety; Winsome Partner, reddish 

 salmon; Kennerley Rumford, apricot; 

 Madame Clara Butt, pale rose, lightly 

 mottled with white; Duchess of Corn- 

 wall, dark crimson. Messrs. Sutton & 

 Sons are offering a new sing'e aster, 

 Sutton's Southcote Beauty. Amonest 

 the new dahlias, Messrs. Hobbies, Ltd., 

 are distributing: H. L. Brous;on, a 

 pink; Mrs. Douglas Flemming. white 

 with faint green markings at the bas^ 



of the florets; American, White, with 

 crimson stripes and markings. Raynea 

 Park Gem is the name of a dark crim- 

 son bedding cactus dah ia which 

 Messrs. Carter & Co. are offering. The 

 same firm have some new hybrid esch- 

 scholtzias. A late white a ter has 

 been added to the list by R. H. Bath, 

 Ltd. This firm are handling the two 

 new American sweet peas, Ethel 

 Roosevelt and Florence N gh'lngale. 

 A specialty in rock ga-den pants Is 

 made by Barr & Sons, who are ofler- 

 Ing Onosma Helveticum, a new species 

 of the Golden Drop; this has long, 

 dark green leaves, with citron-yellow 

 flowers. Some new hyb ids cf aubrl- 

 etias are likely to prove popular. Too- 

 good & Sons are making a special fea- 

 ture of the following antirrhinvms: 

 Toogood's Lightning, vermilion; Buff 

 Queen, rose, with cream Ijp; Pr nee 

 Chamois, golden chamois; and Golden 

 Fairy, shell pink, with pale yellow 

 blotched Up. 



Items of Interest. 



Mr. T. W. Sanders, F. L. S., has 

 been presented with an illuminated 

 address in recognition of his services 

 to the National Amateur Gardeners' 

 Association, which has just celebrated 

 its 21st birthday. — A well-known hor- 

 ticulturist has lately passed away In 

 the person of Mr. George Daniels, one 

 of the founders of the firm of Messrs. 

 Daniels Brothers, seedsmen, of Nor- 

 wich. — A National Daffodil Society is 

 the latest project to receive considera- 

 tion in gardening circles. The North 

 of England Horticultural Society, 

 formed a short time ago, has made an 

 encouraging start. It is proposed to 

 hold a big show in Leeds in August or 

 September. 



W. H. ADSETT. 



