March 2i, 1970. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



223 



pots, and three collections were produced, two of them com- 

 prising plants trained to wire skeletons, the other grown in the 

 way Messrs. Salter & Son cultivate their plants, and each 

 plant had from eight to twelve splendidly incurved flowers. To 

 these the first prize was rightly awarded, not without a protest 

 from some wedded to the flat circular style of training. The 

 plants which received the first prize were exhibited by Mr. J. 

 James, gardener to W. F. Watson, Esq., of Isleworth, who is 

 also well known as a successful cultivator of the Auricula, 

 Pansy, and Calceolaria, besides other flowers equally well known. 



Visiting Mr. James a few days afterwards, I saw such a col- 

 lection of Chrysanthemums as fairly held me in surprise as I 

 looked upon them. The conservatory, a handsome and airy 

 building, with a large sloping stage at the back, was filled with 

 Chrysanthemums, all grown similarly to those shown by Mr. 

 James at the meeting referred to, and laden with really mag- 

 nificent blooms of great size, and so full as to be very finely 

 incurved. There was also a bank of plants along the front of 

 the conservatory, but standing on the handsome floor of orna- 

 mental tiles ; so the visitor walked along a floral avenue of un- 

 common occurrence. There were in the conservatory about 

 2C0 plants in pots, the great majority in 11-inch potB, with 

 Pompon Chrysanthemums in 8-inch pots, to form front rows to 

 the bank?. 



I grouped the flowers, as far as I could, in divisions of 

 colours, with the following result : — 



Of crimson shades, the most desirable were Albion, very 

 finely incnrved ; Julio Lagravtre, rich bright crimson, a reflexed 

 flower, but it should be in every collection ; Progne ; Prince 

 Albert, large and fine, a reflexed flower, but not so showy as 

 Julie Lagravure; Sam Slick, ruby red, slightly reflexed, but 

 very good ; Sauguineum, bright reddish crimson, very fine ; 

 and Dr. Sharpe, pale crimson, very large. The foregoing 

 formed a really very fine gronp of dark flowers. 



Of lilac and rose shades, the following were well deserving 

 of notice : — Alma, very fine, though rather rough, but coming 

 finely incurved ; Fingal, very fine indeed ; Lady Talfourd, pale 

 pinkish lilac ; Venus, very fine ; Ossian; Prince of Wale?, very 

 fine; Captivation, finely reflexed; Lady Slade, very fine; 

 Lady Harding, a grand flower ; Leon Leguay, silvery lilac, 

 very pretty ; Princesse Marie ; Princess of Wales, delicate rosy 

 lilac, very fine ; Hebe, blush, almost white, a late-blooming 

 variety ; Princess of Teck, which opens pure white, but changes 

 to a delicate blush tint, very fine, one of the best ; and Little 

 Pet, pale blu6h, very pretty, small in size, but remarkably good. 



The bronze section, as it is termed, furnishes not only some 

 very fine flowers, but considerable variation in point of colour, 

 as it gives reddish bronze, orange, cinnamon, and reddish 

 buff hues. The following varieties were the most striking: — 

 John Salter, reddish cinnamon, with orange centre, very fine ; 

 Abb6 Passaglia, yellowish amber, very fine ; Dnpont de l'Eure ; 

 General Slade, very fine ; Antonelli, salmon orange, very fine ; 

 Golden Eagle, Indian red and orange, very fine ; Lord Rane- 

 lagh, pale reddish orange, very fine ; Garibaldi ; General Bain- 

 brigge, dark amber, with golden centre, very fine ; Sir Stafford 

 Carey, very fine ; Prometheus, very fine ; Robert James, very 

 fine; Cherub, golden amber, almost yellow; Little Harry, 

 bright golden amber, very good ; and Josiah Wedgwood, bright 

 bronzed carmine, lively, and very fine. 



Of the yellow and golden flowers, some are remarkably 

 fine. There are, for instance, Gloria Mundi, deep gold, very 

 fine; Yellow Perfection; Guernsey Nugget, clear primrose 

 yellow; Cloth of Gold, very fine ; and Golden Queen of England, 

 also very fine, of great size, and among the earliest to bloom. 

 The finest of all the yellows to my mind is Jardin des Plantes. 



Then white flowers : — Empress of India, of great size, and 

 very fine ; Beverley, a very early-blooming variety, that carries 

 its flowers well ; Mrs. George Bundle, very fine ; Mrs. Heale, a 

 fine flower, but it does not close well in the centre ; Mrs. Hali- 

 burton, fine ; Queen of England, very large and fine ; and 

 Virgin Queen, probably the purest white flower. 



The following among the Anemone-flowered large-flowering 

 varieties should be in every collection : — Fleur de Marie, pure 

 white ; and Prince of Anemones, lilac blush, large and fine. 



Of the Pompon kinds Mr. James cultivates a few to give 

 him a kind of margin to his stage, and they occupied the 

 lowest shelf. The following are very good — Mdlle. Marthe, 

 pure white ; Mrs. Dix, blush, bordered with rose ; Helene, rosy 

 lilac ; Rose Trevenna, rosy blush, very good ; Aureole, reddish 

 cinnamon; and Aigle d'Or, canary yellow. 



Of the Anemone-flowered varieties of the Pompon section, 

 the following are good — Madame Montels, white, with yellow 



oentre ; Cedo Nulli, white, with brown points ; and Golden 

 Cedo Nulli. 



The value of the new Japanese varieties of the Chrysan- 

 themum as decorative agents, was here excellently illustrated, 

 as here and there Mr. James had introduced a plant with the 

 curious flower-heads so characteristic of this race, with the best 

 results. The following kinds are well worthy of notice — The 

 Dragon, Red Dragon, The Daimio, and Nagasaki Violet, fine 

 and distinct. 



The very earliest of the large-flowering varieties to bloom 

 were Beverley, Mrs. George Bundle, Prince of Wales, Queen of 

 England, Golden Queen of England, Gloria Mundi, Prince 

 Albert, Alma, and Princesse Marie. 



In height the plants ranged from 31 to 5 feet, and had been 

 raised from cuttings struck last year in January, the year in 

 which they bloomed ; but another time Mr. James will strike 

 his cuttings a month later, in order to get the plants rather 

 dwarfer. They are struck in pans, or in a bed in a stove, and 

 when sufficiently rooted are potted into 3-inch, and then 

 shifted into G-inch pots. This is a rather large shift, but it 

 gives the plants plenty of root room when they most require it. 

 When they take hold of the new soil the plants are set out of 

 doors, and Mr. James Btated they appear to do best in the full 

 sun. They are abundantly watered, and when the plants begin 

 to throw out their buds, plenty of manure water i3 given. Dis- 

 budding is done as soon as the buds are large enough to be re- 

 moved, and one shoot is allowed to carry only two or three, 

 but mostly two, flowers. The large-flowering varieties are not 

 stopped at any time. Towards the blooming time, when the 

 buds are nearly ready to expand, the plants are removed to the 

 conservatory, and arranged as described. 



Such a collection as Mr. James grows remains in bloom 

 about three months. When the plants have done blooming 

 they are cut down, set in a cold frame till sufficient cuttings 

 are obtained, and then thrown away. Probably no soil suits 

 the Chrysanthemum so well as a good yellow loam, with which 

 should be mixed plenty of thoroughly decayed manure and leaf 

 soil, using some sand for the first shift. 



How to make, and then how to nse manure water, are things 

 not always clear to amateur cultivators. Mr. James obtains 

 his by putting some cow and pigeons' dung in a tank, and 

 pouring water over it. According to its strength, so is it di- 

 luted with fresh water. I asked Mr. James if he could lay 

 down anything like a rule as to the strength in which it should 

 be applied. His tank was filled with an almost black fluid, 

 and he stated that he used it for his Chrysanthemums in 

 that state in which, if a pan 2 inches deep were filled with it, 

 the bottom could be seen, but then his mixture was a very 

 strong one. The manure water is not applied after the plants 

 are removed to the conservatory. There is no reason why it 

 should not be applied, but in a handsome conservatory the 

 floor is apt to become stained, besides which the effluvia are 

 not pleasant, especially if the temperature of the house should 

 become heightened by the sun shining. 



The main points to be regarded by those who would produce 

 such flowers as those Mr. James obtains from his plants, are 

 disbudding and feeding with manure water. If by the former 

 process the number of flowers borne by the plant becomes 

 materially reduced, there are yet obtained magnificently de- 

 veloped flowers, full, of large size, and finely incurved. Sup- 

 posing one of the plants 5 feet in height carries from twelve to 

 fifteen blooms, they, because of their fine development, form a 

 splendid floral display, which more than counterbalances the 

 loss in number by the process of disbudding. In regard to 

 feeding, according to Mr. James's testimony, the time to do 

 this is when the buds are forming, and until they are ready to 

 expand. It is then the foundation for massive, well-coloured 

 flowers is obtained, and those who would see what can be 

 done by this process should endeavour to pay Mr. James a 

 visit during the month of November. — Via. 



Colouring of Grates. — At the annual meeting of the 

 Western New York Grape- growers, an experiment was described 

 by the President which fully proves that the Grape does not 

 need light npon the fruit in order to ripen. A gentleman 

 enclosed a bunch while the fruit was of the size of buckshot, 

 and quite green, so as to be in complete darkness, and it 

 ripened and coloured perfectly. Ye advocates for summer de- 

 foliation, for cutting off the leaves so as to let the sunlight in 

 upon the fruit, what excuse have you now for your harmful 

 practice? Did you ever see a wild Grape Vine that had 



