Decbmbbb 8, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



n9 



NOTES ON NOVELTIES. 



Merstham Red is a very good color 

 and the broad petal shows to fine ad- 

 vantage, though the flower is not so 

 full as one could wish. It will, however, 

 be given another trial under more favor- 

 able conditions another year and reds 

 are not yet so numerous t"hat we can 

 afford to condemn any variety too 

 quickly. 



Mrs. H. A. Allen is a deep pink and 

 showed up very prominently in the Wells 

 gold medal lot at Boston. While it is 

 full to the center, it is more of a loose 

 spreading flower than Duckham or other 

 recent pinks and is chiefly useful to the 

 exhibitor. 



Dora Stevens reminds me morei of an 

 old favorite, Chenon De Leche, than 

 any other variety I ever grew. The 

 color is grand, a bright, rosy cerise, and 

 the shape of the flower is very attract- 

 ive. It does not scale high as to size 

 compared with some present day mot- 

 sters though I think it can be improved 

 next year in this respect. 



Lady Cranston is a sport from Mrs. 

 Barkley and as exhibited last year in 

 Edinburgh was almost a pure white. 

 This was considered a very fine variety 

 and was awarded a silver medal as the 

 best novelty. Mrs. Barkley is an in- 

 curving pink but the sport in every in- 

 stance showed a replexed petal, which 

 was much more pleasing, I think. When 

 our flowers began to open it was found 

 that the color was much the same as the 

 parent, Barkley, and inquiry on "the 

 other side " as to the why and wherefore 

 reveals the fact that all the stock has 

 reverted back to the pink of the parent 

 and only the reflexing petal remains to 

 distinguish Lady Cranston from Mrs. 

 Barkley. Whether it will change again 

 next year remains to be seen but Lady 

 Cranston, if it is sent out at all to the 

 trade, must be classed as a pink. 



Brian Bobu. 



REVIEW OF THE SEASON. 



As an Exhibitor Sees Varieties. 



In accordance with my custom for the 

 past four or five years I will look, over 

 the field and record my impressions by 

 giving a list of thirty varieties, stand- 

 ard kinds, that have been prominent in 

 the shows this year. It does not, of 

 course, follow that varieties do equally 

 well all over the country, but in the main 

 these kinds will be found best for exhi- 

 bition growers: 



Whites, Merza, Ben Wells, Guy Ham- 

 ilton, Nellie Pockett, Timothy Eaton and 

 Madame Camot. 



Yellow, Mrs. E. Thirkell, Cheltoni, F. 

 S. Vallis, Col. Appleton, General Hutton 

 and Yellow Eaton. 



Pink, W. Duckham, Leila Filkins, 

 Lucy Evans, Lady Hopetoun, F. A. Cob- 

 bold and W. A. Etherington. 



Red, Henry Barnes, H. J. Jones, S. 

 T. Wright, Maynell and Lady Roberts. 



Any other colors, Donald McLeod, 



Bessie Godfrey, Mary Inglis, John Fra- 

 ser, Harrison Dick, W. R. Church and 

 Ethel Fitzroy. 



Novelties, are purposely omitted from 

 this list because they have been men- 

 tioned a good deal already, from time to 

 time, in these notes, and so long as they 

 are not in general cultivation comparison 

 is hardly fair. 



The white section is distinguished 

 chiefly by the fact that Merza seems to 

 get larger every year. The flowers 

 shown have been marvels of size, com- 

 bined with perfect finish and any new 

 white that has to run the gauntlet of 

 comparison with Merza suffers very con- 

 siderably. Nellie Pockett, Eaton and 

 Camot are known to everyone and need 

 no comment. Ben Wells as a loose type 

 of Japanese is a grand exhibition flower 



the first named being probably the lar- 

 gest variety in cultivation today. For a 

 refined, beautiful flower Cheltoni will win 

 but it is a little too early in flowering 

 to keep fbr any later show than the first 

 week in November. Novelties in the 

 yellows are Mrs. W. Duckham, Mers- 

 tham Yellow and Alliance. 



In pinks, Lucy Evans and Lady Hope- 

 toun are perhaps the least known of the 

 kinds mentioned; they are both very 

 good, replexed in shape and clear col- 

 ors. Duckham, as is natural for a va- 

 riety so widely disseminated, has come in 

 for some criticism, but the best growers 

 are all delighted with it, and the way it 

 has been exhibited in the east stamps 

 it as the king in its color. This variety 

 needs good culture, early planting and a 

 crown bud. The terminal bud produces 

 a flower with an eye and a deficiency of 

 petalage. It was widely mentioned by 

 disseminators that crown buds should be 

 taken, yet so many growers drift along 

 in the old rut, take their buds any time 

 in September in spite of what they read, 

 and then write to their' paper to know 

 why Duckham has not come up to the 

 good reports they had heard of it. The 

 pink novelties of the year are Valerie 

 Greenham and Mrs. H. A. Allen. 



In reds, Henry Barnes is the finest 



Chrysanthemum Mrs. H. A. Allen. 



and so, in fact, is Guy Hamilton, though 

 its constitution is rather delicate. The 

 whites are reinforced this year consid- 

 erably by the addition of Emily Mile- 

 ham, Mrs. D. V. West and Mile. Jeannie 

 Nonin. 



In the yellows, F. S. Vallis and Thir- 

 kell were enormous in size everywhere, 



colored variety. Lady Roberts is partic- 

 ularly showy but a poor "doer." May- 

 nell makes a very large flower, though 

 apt to turn over and have a crooked 

 neck. This crooked neck, by the way, did 

 not develop on the first year's trial. S. 

 T. Wright should be taken on a late bud 

 to get the lovely coloring. Crown buds 



