306 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICDLTUEE AND COTTAGE OAEDENEE. 



( March 25, 1869. 



unnecessarily expensive ; tbat it shaU cost little to fix ; that it 

 shall burn any fael ; that it shall expose a large upper surface 

 to the action of the tire ; that nothing but iron, with water 

 behind it, shall touch the fire ; that it shall require no brick- 

 work inside or outside above the fire bars, so that the return 

 pipes shall pass direct into the boiler ; that it shall be made of 

 oast iron, because wrought iron rusts so quickly, and, as I have 

 proved, is more quickly destroyed when not at work than when 

 in constant use. Now, can such a boiler be made ? I think it 

 can, for I have the model of such a one before me. Mr. 

 Foster, of Beeston, who has erected all my houses, brought it 

 tome a few days ago, and said, ''There, now, can you find 

 fault with that?" and I am bound to say I cannot. It looks 

 perfect, and when I have an opportunity I will give the Koyal 

 Horticultural Society's Scientific Committee a chance of pass- 

 ing their opinion upon it. Knowing the interest I have taken 

 in the subject, Mr. Foster has left the model with me, and as 

 lie intends to patent it, will certainly not object to its being 

 seen afterwards. 



Everything that tends to cheapen and improve the building 

 of glass houses is of importance to many of your readers, and 

 I shall, I think, have their thanks for bringing to their notice 

 Foster's boiler.— J. E. Peabson, Chilwell, Notts. 



'GRAND INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 

 GL.VDIOLUS. 



I SHOULD like to make known to all lovers of this beautiful 

 flower that it is in contemplation to hold a grand show of it at 

 the Crystal Palace in August. The Crystal Palace Company has 

 given £50 towards the Show; and Messrs. Kelway; Downie, 

 Laird, & La ng ; Paul & Son ; Bunyard & Son ; and Cutbusb, 

 amongst growers for sale ; and Messrs. Banks, Sladden, and 

 others, amongst amateurs, have already signified their intention 

 of supporting it. There will be a class for foreign growers, some 

 of whom will contribute, one for growers for sale, and one for 

 amateurs, also for novelties and seedlings. I shall be glad to 

 receive any subscriptions either at the office of this Journal, 

 or at Westwell Vicarage, Ashford, Kent. — D., Deal. 



THE CHRYSANTHEMUM AS AN OUT-DOOR 

 PLANT. 



If the claims of a plant to our notice be measured by its 

 services when other flowers are scarce, the Chrysanthemum 

 will give place to very few, if any ; for in the dull autumn 

 mouths, almost up to Christmas, it cheers us with its varied 

 hues. Each individual floret, too, has been, through the skill 

 and patience of cultivators, made to conform to a high standard 

 of excellence, and without diminishing the constitutional vigour 

 of the plant, as in the case of some other plants tbat have 

 undergone improvement at the florist's hands. The Chrysan- 

 themum, on the contrary, seems to be quite as hardy and as 

 accommodating as of old, when its varieties were few, and the 

 flower very loose and ill-formed. In one respect, however, it 

 seems to baffle its cultivators — its period of blooming has been 

 neither hastened nor retarded, and it does not appear willing 

 to exhibit its beauties at any other than the allotted time. I 

 remember, about thirty-five years ago or more, a provincial 

 horticultural society offering prizes for plants flowering out of 

 their natural course, and many attempts were made with the 

 Chrysanthemum to comply with the requirements of the sche- 

 dule, but no one, as far as I am aware, was successful, although 

 many other plants were coaxed to flower out of their season. 

 The autumn being the flowering time of the Chrysanthemum, 

 its culture has settled down into au endeavour to make it as 

 showy as possible at that period, with some efforts to prolong 

 the blooming by raising early and late varieties ; but a longer 

 duration of its flowering can only be secured by growing plants 

 nader glass or other protection. Of the management of such 

 it is not my intention to treat, the cultivation of plants out of 

 doors being the object of the present article. 



At what time the Chrysanthemum was first tried out of doors 

 I cannot precisely state ; but the first time I saw it so grown 

 was about forty years ago, when it was blooming beautifully 

 trained against a south wall, in a situation by no means favour- 

 able for tender plants. The autumn being fine, and care 

 having been taken to cover the plant with mats at night, its 

 flowers contrasted very favourably with those of other plants 

 starved in pots in the greenhouse. The Chrysanthemum, how- 

 ever, was not generally planted in the open border.? till some 



years afterwards, or, rather, it did not succeed well ; but by 

 degrees the capability of the plant not only to endure our 

 winters, but also to withstand the murky atmosphere of large 

 towns, became known, and it speedily found its way into the ■ 

 shrubbery borders, open plots in front of villas, and the squares 

 of our large cities. It appears to succeed better in such places 

 than in the clear, pure atmosphere of the country, and, with 

 the Aucuba, it seems to be essential for their decoration. It 

 must not, however, be supposed to dislike a pure atmosphere ; 

 only, where that prevails, it is seldom so well treated out of 

 doors as it is in cities, and in many important gardens it is 

 disregarded entirely. This is certainly wrong ; for although it 

 may not succeed well every year, being often cut off by frost, 

 yet the number of seasons in which it does prosper in the south 

 of England is such as to justify its more extensive cultivation, 

 and when it succeeds well the general regret is " that there, 

 was not more of it." 



The cultivation of the Chrysanthemum is very simple, and 

 as an out-door plant it may be said to take care of itself. The 

 only point on which an inexperienced person is likely to founder 

 is the eutting-in the plant in summer. If this be left till too 

 late, there will be no flowers ; if performed too early, the plant 

 will grow taller than it ought to do. A little care is also neces- 

 sary in preserving the plant in winter in stiff damp soils, for 

 slugs are apt to destroy it ; a covering of coal ashes is a good 

 protection. Frost, unless very intense, rarely injures it, and 

 it is not particular as to soil and position ; on the contrary, it 

 will luxuriate in very unpromising situations, and many a town 

 front garden is enlivened with the bloom of this plant in autumn, 

 year after year, althoug'a its growth in spring and summer may 

 nave been a struggle against the feet of children who have 

 made it their playground. It deserves, however, better treat- 

 ment than this : and when generously dealt with, its flowers 

 are proportionately better. 



For out-door display I would give the preference to the 

 Pompon varieties for neatness of habit, diversity of colour, 

 and better adaptability to bouquet-making ; but some of the 

 intermediate class between these and the Large-flowering are 

 also good, as well as several of the large kinds. The colours 

 will, of course, depend on the taste of the grower and his re- 

 quirements ; but, as a general rule, where blooms out of doors 

 are wanted as late as it is possible to have them, the colour 

 which seems to be best capable of bidding defiance to the 

 autumn rain is bright yellow. Chrysanthemums of this colour 

 appear to withstand the bleaching effects of moisture better 

 than those of any other, and even slight frosts that tinge the 

 points of the petals do them less harm, for the yellow is con- 

 verted into a sort of bronze colour, but the tips of a white or 

 pink flower which has been exposed to frost show damage from 

 that cause more conspicuously. A good yellow helps also to 

 brighten up all around it ; the duU foliage, dark ground, and 

 even murky atmosphere at the time the plant flowers, require 

 some lively colour to give cheerfulness. A good white, I admit, 

 would be as well, perhaps better, but the greater dehcacy of 

 that colour, and its liability to be injured in the way described, 

 are great drawbacks ; while all dark colours, as maroon, crim- 

 son, purple, and rose, fade or bleach into tints very different 

 from what they ought to be, and, of course, much less beautiful. 

 These remarks, it will be understood, relate to the kinds re- 

 commended for very late-flowering. Earlier-flowering varieties 

 may be of any colour, and if a race of Chrysanthemums flow- 

 ering still earlier than any we now have could be raised, they 

 would be most useful for out-door cultivation. As it is, both 

 early and late varieties may be planted with advantage in places i 

 where a somewhat mild autumn may be expected, or where 

 flowers for cutting are wanted. By planting a number of 

 Chrysanthemums where they can be protected in severe wea- 

 ther their beauty will be prolonged, and they will repay the 

 trouble incurred. But even without this advantage, out-door 

 Chrysauthemuma often flower well enough in the south of 

 England to entitle them to more extensive cultivation than at 

 present, and the autumns in which an unusually early frost 

 destroys all chances of their doing well are so few as not to 

 weigh against the advantages which the Chrysanthemum offers 

 in favourable seasons. 



The propagation of the Chrysanthemum is so simple that I 

 need not advert to it here, further than to remark that I would 

 recommend not turning out too early those plants which have 

 not been planted out — say in the end of April, as slugs are so 

 fond of them ; but iilants growing out of doors may be taken 

 out of the ground, divided, and replanted any time in April, 

 throwing a little soot or lime over their crowns to keep ma- 



