THE FIRST CHRYSANTHEMUM IN ENGLAND. 5 



The First Chrysanthemum Show. 



About the time that Nancy de Lermet was raised, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Fortune, the chrysanthemums in this coun- 

 try were far superior to those in China, and this despite 

 the fact thai they met at first with scant favour in England, 

 though it was otherwise in France, where many beautiful 

 varieties soon appeared. 



From the inception of the Stoke Newington Show long- 

 strides have been made, both as regards varieties and culti- 

 vation. The earliest chrysanthemum show in Great Britain 

 was that held at Norwich, about the year 1829, and although 

 no prizes were given it was considered to be a rather rash 

 undertaking. Some of the varieties exhibited at Norwich 

 were Early Blush, Curled Lilac, Semi-double Quilled Pink, 

 White Quilled, Tasselled Yellow, Parks Yellow, Purple 

 Quilled, Tasselled Lilac, Changeable Pink Buff, Change- 

 alble Pale White, Changeable Purple, Spanish Brown, 

 Quilled Orange, Two-coloured Red, and Early Crimson. 

 What's in a name? 



Varieties Then and Now. 



I need not dwell upon the old varieties, or those which 

 were introduced for some years afterwards, but I w r ill give 

 the names of some of the best varieties which were to be 

 seen in England in 1890 and it is a remarkable fact that 

 out of the varieties which were so popular at that time not 

 one is to be found on the Show bench at the present time. 

 The best thirty-six varieties in 1890 were as under : Ava- 

 lanche, Carew Underwood, Boule d'Or, Belle Paule, 

 Baronne de Frailly, Comte de Germiny, Elaine, F. A. 

 Davis (Jeanne Delaux), Edwin Molyneux, Golden Dragon, 

 H. Cannell, Japonaise, L'Adorable, Lady Lawrence, Etoile 

 de Lyon, Mdm. B. Pigny, Mdm. Bacco, Mdm. J. Laing, 

 Mdm. C. Audigier, Mdlle. Lacroix, Marsa, Mons. Bernard, 

 Mons. Freeman, Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs. J. Wright, Meg 

 Merrilless, Pelican, Ralph Brockkbank, Sarah Owen, Sun- 

 flower, Stanstead White, Soleil Levant, Val d'Andorre, W. 

 W. Coles, Thunberg, Stanstead Surprise, etc. 



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