734 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[Dbcembeb 22, 1888. 



next. The Hon. Secretary stated that he had been 

 in communication with the Trustees of the Turner 

 Memorial Fund, with a view of obtaining a grant for 

 the exhibition next year, but he had been informed 

 that the money had been voted for the promotion of 

 Tulip culture. Mr. Glasscock intimated that owing 

 to age aud increasing infirmities he should have 

 to resign the post of Hon. Secretary and Trea- 

 surer, and proposed that Mr. T. W. Girdlestone 

 should be elected in his stead. Mr. Girdlestone 

 having consented, the proposal was seconded and the 

 election carried unanimously. A cordial vote of 

 thanks was passed to Mr. Glasscock for his past 

 services. In revising the list of officers and com- 

 mittee, the name of Mr. H. Glasscock was placed 

 among the vice-presidents. The following were 

 added to the committee : — Messrs. W. II. Apthorpe 

 and J. Burrell, Cambridge ; J. Cheal, Crawley ; J. 

 Gilbert, Ipswich ; W. Holmes, Hackney ; Geo. Paul, 

 Cheshunt ; T. J. Saltmarsh, Chelmsford ; J. H. 

 Tranter, Henley-on-Thames ; and J. Walker, Thame. 

 The proceedings closed with thanks to the Horti- 

 cultural Club for the use of the room for the meeting, 

 and to the Chairman for presiding. 



Horticultural Club. — The usual monthly 



dinner and meeting of the Club took place at the 

 Hotel Windsor on Tuesday evening. The Hon. and 

 Rev. J. T. Boscawen presided, in the absence of Mr. 

 John Lee, who is, we are glad to say, making rapid 

 progress towards recovery. There were present also 

 Dr. Hogq, Messrs. Lindsell, H. J. Pearson, C. E. 

 Peakson, Walker, H. Turner, &c. The subject 

 for discussion was "The Chrysanthemum," opened 

 by Mr. C. Pearson with a most practical paper on 

 its culture, illustrated by some very fine examples. 

 An interesting discussion followed, in which Dr. 

 Hogg and Mr. P. Denny took part. 



New Chrysanthemums.— The number of re- 

 puted new varieties from all sources is so great 

 as to become not only embarrassing in the matter of 

 choice, but positively perplexing because of the huge- 

 ness of the lists of new varieties. The Chrysanthe- 

 mum is now probably the most popular flower of the 

 day, and when a subject reaches to such a height of 

 popularity, a perfect avalanche of novelties is certain 

 to descend upon the market. A list of new Chrysan- 

 themums for 1889 has just come to hand, and for the 

 information of cultivators it gives lists of new 

 varieties for 1888-89. Thus Mr. Waterer sends from 

 America twenty new varieties ; Spaulding, twenty- 

 three ; J. Goode & Co., nine ; making sixty-one 

 varieties from America alone. There are six new 

 varieties imported direct from Japan, some of them 

 bearing names very difficult to spell, and still more 

 difficult to pronounce; one from China; the Delaux 

 (France) collection, always a numerous one, 

 consists of thirty-seven varieties ; Audiguier 

 sends us five ; Reydellet, thirty-three ; Rozain 

 twelve ; E. Lacroix, eight ; Hoste, eight ; other 

 raisers (foreign), four ; while, finally Messrs. Cannell, 

 Carter, Stevens and others, make up an additional 

 fifty-seven. This gives a list of two hundred and 

 forty-one varieties of different sections, but mainly 

 Japanese. It will probably be found that other cata- 

 logue makers publish forms not included in the fore- 

 going. This is one of the penalties that has to be 

 paid for the popularity the flower created to a large 

 extent, or at least fostered, by the striking success 

 of the National Chrysanthemum Society. Really it 

 is necessary to revise the catalogue of the Society 

 every year. But who is equal to the cultivation of 

 all these new varieties so as to understand whether 

 they are distinct or not ? — or, if distinct, of any value ? 

 Probably of every hundred not more than a dozen in 

 each will be fitted to take their place among the 

 crack flowers of the day. 



" The Journal of Botany."— The December 



number contains articles on " The movements of the 

 chlorophyll grains according to the direction and 

 intensity of the light," by Mr. Spencer Moore ; Mr. 

 George Murray continues his *■ Catalogue of West 



Indian Algte " ; Professor Babington contributes a 

 sensible article on " Botanical Nomenclature," and 

 there are numerous other matters interesting to the 

 botanist. The horticulturist will be glad to have 

 recourse to the convenient biographical index of 

 British and Irish botanists compiled by Mr. James 

 Britten and Professor Boulger. In the present 

 instalment we find notices of John Eorjses, collector 

 in East Africa for the Horticultural Society ; 

 William Forsyth, Robert Fortune, John Eraser 

 Robert Eurber, and others. To indicate the nature 

 of these notices we transcribe one relative to a man 

 famous amongst other things for his introduction 

 of the Catawba Rhodondron : — 



" Fraser, John (de. 1750 — 1811 : b. Tomnacloich, 

 Inverness, 1750; d. Sloane Square, Chelsea, 26th 

 April, 1811 ; bur. Old Burial-ground, Chelsea. Hosier 

 and Collector. F.L. S., 1810. Published Walter's 

 Flora Caroliniana. To Newfoundland, 1780 ; South- 

 ern States, 1785; and seven times across Atlantic 

 between 1780 and 1810. Established nursery at 

 Sloane Square, 1795. Collector to the Czar, 1798. 

 Herbarium presented to Linn. Soc, 1849. Comp. 

 Bot. Mag., ii., 300; Pritz. 112; Jacks. 122, 145; 

 Lasegue, 199; C'ott. Gard., viii., 250; London, 

 Arboretum, 119 ; Faulkner, Chelsea, ii., 41. Litho. 

 portr. in Comp. Bot. Mag. Frasera, Walt. 



"Eraser, John (fl. 1799—1852): F. L. S„ 1810. 

 A. L. S., 1848. Son of preceding. Accompanied 

 his father in his travels, and subsequently to N. 

 America. Introduced Dahlia [Subsequently to 

 Lady Bute. Ed.] Had nursery at the Hermitage, 

 Ramsgate, 1817—1835. Comp. Bot. Mag., ii., 302; 

 Pritz. 112." 



ROYAL Visit TO EALING,— The decorationTTn 

 the streets of this pretty suburb on the opening of the 

 Jubilee Victoria Memorial Hall and Public Library on 

 Saturday last, by their Royal Highnesses the Prince 

 and Princess of Wales, deserve mention, as they 

 were very successfully accomplished by Messrs. C. 

 Lee & Son, Hammersmith. The manager of the 

 Ealing branch, Mr. George Cannon, superintended 

 the arrangements of all the designs, and had the 

 honour, with the members of the Local Board, of 

 being presented to the Royal party. 



International Centenary Chrysanthe- 

 mum Show in Edinburgh.— a largely attended 



meeting of the Council of the Scottish Horticultural 

 Association was held in 5, St. Andrew Square, 

 Edinburgh, on the 13th inst., Mr. D. P. Laird in 

 the chair, to consider the propriety of holding an 

 International Centenary Chrysanthemum Show next 

 year, under the auspices of the Association, in Edin- 

 burgh. It was unanimously decided to proceed with 

 the project, and that the show should be held in the 

 Waverley Market on a Thursday, Friday, and Satur- 

 day in November, 1889. It was further proposed 

 that a guarantee fund should at once be opened in 

 support of the undertaking, towards which a sum of 

 about £60 was subscribed by the members of the 

 Council present. The matter is being taken up 

 with great enthusiasm by the members, and they 

 confidently rely on the cordial support of the patrons 

 of horticulture, gardeners, and the trade everywhere. 

 Messrs. Wm. Thomson & Sons, Clovenfords, as 

 already intimated, have signified their intention of 

 giving 5 guineas towards the prize list. A small 

 committee, consisting of Messrs. Robertson 

 Munro, Secretary ; McKenzie, treasurer ; D. P. 

 Laird, and M. Todd, was appointed to conduct pre- 

 liminary matters, and a meeting of the Council was 

 arranged to be held on an early day t;> receive its 

 report. 



The National Chrysanthemum Society. 



— The annual dinner of this Society took place at 

 Anderton's Hotel, Fleet Street, E.C., on the 

 13th inst., the President of the Society (Mr. E. 

 Sanderson) beiDg in the chair, a large number 

 of members and their friends being present. In pro- 

 posing " Success to the National Chrysanthemum 

 Society " the Chairman gave a rcsumi of its opera- 

 tions during the past year, mentioning the fact that 



at the great November show at the Royal Aquarium 

 there were 504 distinct exhibits, that the sum of 

 £250 was paid in prizes, and that the membership 

 of the Society had reached over 600. Sir Louis 

 Pelly, M.P., and the Rev. W. Wiles, Hon. Secretary 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society, responded to the 

 toast of "Our Patrons, Fellows, and Guests," the 

 former stating that while the Emperors of Japan 

 selected as their crest the Chrysanthemum, the 

 Empresses took that of the Mulberry, because so 

 useful in maintaining the silkworms, as so many of 

 their choicest fabrics were woven from the silk 

 thereby produced. In response to the toast of " The 

 Hon. Secretary and Committees," Mr. W. 

 Holmes stated that this was the eleventh 

 year of his holding office, and he had watched 

 the development of the Society with satisfac- 

 tion and honest pride. Eleven years ago the Society, 

 then known as the Borough of Hackney, numbered 

 fifty-five members, with an income of £75 per year ; 

 now it had 633 members, and its income for 1888 

 amounted to nearly £1000. This result had been 

 brought about by means of unceasing and energetic 

 work on the part of the executive committee. The 

 year now drawing to a close had brought its quota 

 of success. The exhibition held in the Royal Aqua- 

 rium in November was the best ever seen there ; 

 the catalogue of Chrysanthemums, though deficient, 

 was yet acknowledged to be a publication redound- 

 ing to the credit of the Society. The provincial 

 show at Sheffield, though wanting in some features, 

 was a distinct success as an experiment ; and the 

 Conference at; Sheffield was the first one held in 

 connection with the Chrysanthemum. Mr. George 

 Gordon also responded on behalf of the committee 

 in a spirited address. The musical arrangements, 

 carried out by Miss Marie Belval, gave the 

 greatest satisfaction. 



BRITISH GRASSES. — We are informed that 

 Messrs. Laing & Mather, seedsmen, Kelso, N.B., 

 have issued for the use of teachers and students of 

 agriculture in the border counties, an illustrated 

 manual of the principal grasses used in the district. 



Chambre Syndicale of Ghent.— At the 

 monthly meeting of this Society on Monday, Decem- 

 ber 10, the following plants received Certificates, 

 viz. : — Cypripedium cardinale, shown by MM. Ed. 

 Vervaet & Co. ; Anthurium Andreanum atro-san- 

 guineum, shown by M. Ed. Pynaert, Van Geert ; 

 Andromeda japonica foliis albo-marginata, shown by 

 MM. F. Desbois & Co. ; and Vriesea Marise, shown 

 by M. Truffaut, of Versailles. Pandanus Desme- 

 tianus, shown by M. L. Desmet-Duvivier ; and 

 Euonyraus pulchellus foliis albo-marginatis, shown 

 by MM. F. Desbois, & Co., were commended. 



CANADIAN PLANTS. — Professor Macoun ~has 

 just issued, for the Geological and Natural History 

 Survey of Canada, the fourth part of his Catalogue of 

 Canadian Plants, comprising the Endogens. No 

 descriptions are given, but a complete list of Cana- 

 dian plants, with synonyms prepared by a compe- 

 tent botanist, is likely to be very valuable to growers 

 of herbaceous plants. To local naturalists the care- 

 ful mention of localities will be very serviceable, and 

 will furnish the material for an account of the 

 geographical distribution of the species. The work, 

 which is creditable to the Dominion and to the 

 author, is published at Montreal by Dawson 

 Brothers, 



Chrysanthemums at Ghent.— The President 

 (Comte de Kerchove) of the " Soci<St6 Royale d Agri- 

 culture et de Botanique de Gand " informs us that 

 in the year 1889 there will be held at Ghent a 

 " Grande Exposition Internationale " to celebrate 

 the centenary of the introduction of the Chinese 

 Chrysanthemum into Europe." This exhibition 

 will, it is proposed, remain open from November 23 

 to December 1 ; and all who are interested (either 

 as amateurs or professionals) in these beautiful and 

 popular plants are invited to enter their names as 

 soon as possible as exhibitors, either of growing 



