November 18, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE QABDENER. 



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and can be easily removed. — Geo. Cukd, Bclvedfrc, Co. West- 

 ineath, 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS 



AT THE ALEXANDRA PALACE. 



Messrs. W. CuTjsnsH it Sons, Highgate, have provided the 

 display in the Alexandra Palace ; the plants are arranged for 

 conservatory effect, no attempt at producing grand blooms 

 and gigantic plants having been made. The plants are ar- 

 ranged on an elevated platform down the centre of the great 

 hall, about 1'20 feet in length, containing five tiers of plants. Of 

 this bank of flowers Chrysanthemums are the staple ; amongst 

 which are intermixed hardy Palms, Solanums, Eetinosporas, 

 Hoathe, Euonymuses, &a., with a few large Musas, green 

 Draoasnas, and Dicksonias. The display is very elfective and 

 worthy inspection, and the bright colouring of the hall itself 

 is for once subdued by the brighter colours of the Chrys- 

 authemuujs. 



The plants generally are not large, but are admirable ex- 

 amples of conservatory decorative plants, the Pompons espe- 

 cially being dense and well bloomed ; and many plants of tho 

 large-flowering section are not only dwarf and floriferous, but 

 most of the blooms are of good size and shape. The display 

 includes all the best varieties, and it is noticeable that sorts 

 which have been favourites for twenty years are favourites still. 

 Annie Salter presents a golden mass of compact blooms, stamp- 

 ing it as still good. Aureum Mnltiflornm is yet brighter and 

 very eft'ective. Princess of Teck, white and pink, is very fresh; 

 and Princess of Wales and Empress of India show to advantage 

 amongst the light-coloured flowers. Elaine, Felicity, and lire. 

 (i. Bundle are still more pure, and are indispensable in all 

 collections. Jardin des Plautea and Gloria Mundi are very 

 line, and Mrs. Sharpe and Dr. Sharpe, with George Glenny, 

 are worthy of special note. Most of these plants are in 6 and 

 7-inch pots, each having about fifty good blooms. 



Amongst the best of the Pompons are Golden Aurora, Auto- 

 nius. La Vogue, and Mr. Aste amongst the yellows ; Andro- 

 meda, Mrs. Dix, Madame FoulJ, Madame Martha, and Marie 

 Stuart (a lovely Anemone-flowered variety), and Andromeda 

 rosea are the best of the light and rose colours ; and amongst 

 the dark colours are Brilliant, rich crimson ; Dick Turpin, 

 very gay; and Miss Julia, a chastely-formed flower, each of 

 the chestnut petals being tinged with gold. 



Cut blooms of all the best varieties are included in the dis- 

 play, and which, with fading plants, are renewed from Mr. 

 Catbush's reserve stores at Highgate. This display is as cre- 

 ditable to the old Highgate firm as the plants are worthy of the 

 splendid hall in which they are arranged. 



The display is to be continued until the 27th iust. 



AT THE PINE APPLE NURSERY, MAIDA V.\LE. 



We visited this nursery with " great expectations," and we 

 are free to say that they have been amply fulfilled ; for the 

 arrangement of the plants in the great conservatory is exceed- 

 ingly imposing, and the collection has a just claim to be con- 

 sidered as one of the finest exhibitions of the year. It is not 

 fine, however, for a few highly-perfected and massive blooms, 

 neither is it in any way remarkable for trained symmetrical 

 plauts, but it is yet a great show of Chrysanthemums. 



The plants are grown in the most natural manner, and are 

 as vigorous as good culture could make them, and as floriferous 

 as healthy plants can be. There has been no thinning of the 

 buds and no bending of the branches, but each plant has 

 followed its own habit, and has loaded itself with all the 

 blooms that it was capable of producing. The plants, of which 

 there are about a thousand, are mostly on single stems and 

 afterwards branched into large heads, vary from o to 8 feet 

 in height, and the conservatory is one great mass of glowing, 

 soft, and brilliant colours. The health and exuberant foliage 

 of the plants is also very noteworthy — indeed they resemble 

 in this respect plants which had an unlimited range in trenched 

 soil rather than restricted larders of 9 and 10-inch pots. 



Amongst the most noticeable varieties of this great display 

 are Aimrn Ferriere, silvery white tipped with rose, and very 

 lovely; (leorge Glenny ; Prince of Wales, extra fine; Prince 

 Albert, rich crimson; Iiady Talfoui-I, Golden Jtihu Silter, 

 Jardin des Plantes, Fingal (very goad), Sam Weller, White 

 Venus, Eve, AVhite Globe, Ariadne, Empress of India, and 

 Lady Hardinge. Little Harry and Aureum Mnltiflornm afford 

 proof of their usefulness, and Progne is not only distinct by 

 its rich colour, but is deliciously scented, rivalling almost the 

 scent of Violets. Whether this is an n" i 1 ^-ital circumstance 



we are unable to say, but certain it is that the perfume is 

 remarkable and decided. These are a few of the best of the 

 large-flowered varieties. Noticeable in the Japanese section 

 are Elaine, Fair Maid of Guernsey, Gloire de Toulouse (very 

 fine), and Garnet. Amongst the Pompons the best are Acqui- 

 sition, Prince of Anemones, Princess Thyra, Lady Margaret, 

 Miss Julia, Aurora Boreahs, Bob, and Julie Lagravi6re. The 

 last-named is not strictly a Pompon, but by its free-blooming 

 character and rich colour it must be considered one of the 

 most useful for decorative purposes and for affording a great 

 supply of cut blooms. This gay collection is now at its best, 

 and is worthy a visit by all who can appreciate this fine 

 autumn flower when grown in a natural manner and without 

 string and stakes, the plants at the same time possessing 

 great vigour and an unusual multiplicity of bloom. 



The other collections of plants in this nursery are in excel- 

 lent health, notably the Azaleas and show Pelargoniums, which 

 are well and extensively grown. Heaths and ornamental- 

 foliaged plants are also as clean and healthy as we expect to 

 find them in a first-class establishment. 



LARGE PEARS. 



We have from time to time read in the newspapers snrpria- 

 iug accounts of the enormous size Pears and Apples have 

 reached in California and other favoured places in the United 

 States, but I had no idea that we possessed in England either 

 a climite or a soil sufficiently fertile to produce Pears rivalling 

 the fruits of our brother Jonathan. A few days ago I received 

 from Carmarthenshire a box of .specimen Pears of such un- 

 usual size and beauty, that I think they are worthy of being 

 noticed in the pages of our Journal. 



Easter Beurrii, lib. 1 oz. ; Beurre Superfin, lib. A oz. ; 

 Durandean, 14Aozs. ; BeurrC d'Anjou, 12ozs. ; Marie Louise, 

 12J0ZS. ; Winfer Nelis, lOiozs. ; Gansel's Seckle, 8ozs. ; 

 Zephirin Gregoire, Cj ozs. ; Doyenne du Comice, 1 lb. 6Jozs. 



This last magnificent specimen measured 13.\ inches every 

 way. These Pear trees were not delicately nurtured under 

 glass in an orchard house and fed with stimulants, but they 

 grew in the open air, and carried full crops of fruit. The 

 Marie Louise last year produced upwards of (140 fruit, and has 

 yielded another very large crop this year. — C. M., Vicarage, 

 Gargrm'i: 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— STATICES. 



An extensive order of ornamental border plants are the 

 Statices. Some of them are natives of Britain. Under 

 favourable circumstances in the vicinity of some of our large 

 rivers and seacoasts they are very attractive. They are fre- 

 quently met with in what are termed salt marshes, and are 

 known to many as " Sea Lavender." If not presenting to us 

 the gayest of colours, there is a grace and beauty in many of 

 their habits and flowers that is only to be seen in their own 

 family. They may be planted either on the rockery or in 

 the border. They are moisture-loving plants, but should not 

 suffer from continual saturation. They will grow well in a 

 mixture of good loam, peat, leaf mould, and sand ; and are 

 increased by seed and division. 'When established the plants 

 should be disturbed as little as possible. They are useful 

 where cut flowers are in demand, lasting for a length of time 

 after being cut. Some of them when carefully dried retain 

 much of their original beauty, and are useful for decoration in 

 winter, when flowers are not over-plentiful. 



Statice Limonium is one of the best herbaceous plants we 

 have in cultivation. It is useful as a pot plant, and indis- 

 pensable for exhibition purposes. It lasts a long time in 

 bloom, and ought to be in all gardens. S. latifolia is said to 

 be a variety of the above ; it is a fine border pla:it. S. belli- 

 difolia, or known by some as S. globnlarifefolia, i < a compact- 

 growing kind, adapted alike for the rockery or bor Jer. S. nana 

 is of neat dwarf habit, and is a good rock plar.t. S. inoana 

 alba is a charming plant, and should have a place on nil 

 rockeries and borders. There are also S. alpina and S. Gmelini, 

 and a host of others that need only to be seen to 1 e appreciated. 

 S. tatarica is of compact habit, and is one of the best of the 

 family ; it is desirable on account of its late-Kooming proper- 

 ties. S. binervosa is also a useful border plant, but does not 

 remove well, except small young plants are chosen. Statice 

 ararati, or Acantholimon glumaceum, is worthy of special 

 notice. This species cannot endure much wet, and should 

 have thorough drainage; it should have a sunny situation on 



