FIRST JAPANESE TYPES 19 



open to the public, Mr. Salter stated he had upwards of 

 900 named varieties, while ten years later, when he retired 

 from the business, his collection contained about 2000. In 

 1874 Salter died, and for a period the Chrysanthemum 

 seemed to be under a cloud, and there was a great diminu- 

 tion in its popularity. 



After his death, however, several growers still kept the 

 public informed in successful Chrysanthemum culture, 

 notably Mr. Adam Forsyth, who was followed by Messrs. 

 Dixon, of Hackney, and others. 



The greatest impulse ever given to the cultivation of 

 Chrysanthemums was the introduction by Mr. Robert 

 Fortune of the Japanese type of flower, although its influ- 

 ence was not manifest until some years afterwards. About 

 the year 1860-1 this intrepid plant collector made his 

 second visit to the Far East, and while there sent home 

 seven varieties which he found were highly thought of by 

 the Japanese florists. In describing his discovery he tells 

 us, speaking of Ah-sax-saw, that it is the most famed in the 

 vicinity of Yedo for its Chrysanthemums. At the time of 

 his visit they were in full bloom and would have delighted 

 the eyes of our English florists, if they could have seen 

 them. He procured some of the varieties, quite distinct 

 from those grown in Europe, and they were sent to Mr. 

 Standish of Bagshot, who grew them, and in 1872 these 

 novelties were staged at a meeting of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



The names of these new-comers were Bronze Dragon, 

 Japonicum, Grandiflorum, Roseum punctatum, Yellow 

 Dragon, Laciniatum, and Striatum, but contrary to Mr. 

 Fortune's expectations the English growers of that day 

 treated the Japanese novelties with contempt. 



