November 20, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



563 



with semi-globular flowers of immense size and a delicate pink 

 color. Kioto ; Ciillingfordii, unrivaled yet in its deep crimson ; 

 Source d'Or, of an orange tint which has never yet been dupli- 

 cated in any other Mower, and many more, were shown in 

 almost perfect specimens. By the way, Mr. Verner's collec- 

 tion would have been improved if CuUingfordii had been sub- 

 stituted for one of the pink flowers. Five pink varieties are too 

 large a proportion of that color in a dozen Chrysanthemums. 



Of flowers for the first time shown, Harry E. Weidener, a 

 bright lemon yellow, of the Grandifl<jrum type and perfectly 

 incurved, took the Blanc prize. It was raised by William 

 Jamison and shown by Hugh Graham's Sons. The same 

 firm gained an award for a white seedling, incurved, and also 

 of perfect form and immense size. Crown Prince, grown by 

 James Monahan, gardener to Mr. Charles Trotter, is an evi- 

 dent improvement on Mrs. Wheeler, much larger and of freer 

 growth. J. T. Emler is in the way of Mrs. Carnegie, and has 

 a better form than that fine flower. Molly Bawn is a white 

 sport from the well known Syringa — a novel form in a white 

 flower. Thomas A. Edison is very large and valuable for its 

 color — a creamy lilac and quite new. Eldorado is of the deep- 

 est yellow — a yellow flushed with orange — and Mrs. Trotter is 

 a beautiful flower of a novel lilac shade. John Hughes, gar- 

 dener to George W. Childs, showed several fine seedlings, a 

 firm white and a delicate rose with pale reverse, both being 

 especially good. Mr. W. H. Graham showed one large, in- 

 curved blush white with broad florets, and another of pure 

 white. The flower which won the premium as the best single 

 bloom was Mrs. W. K. Harris, to which the plant prize went last 

 year. It is a large, rich yellow, incurved, very deep, and carrying 

 as many florets, perhaps, as any Chrysanthemum in cultivation. 



Of many other admirable new flowers, like Progression, 

 Coronet, E. G. Hill and Ada Spaulding, we have no space to 

 speak ; but it is to be hoped that by another year the National 

 Chrysanthemum Society will be prepared to give certificates 

 to such as merit the distinction. Mr. Peter Henderson's new 

 Louis Boehmer would have caused a sensation two years ago, 

 since it is almost an exact reproduction of Mrs. Hardy, except in 

 color, which is called by some a silver rose and by others a 

 rosy lilac. It is not a lively tint, and the pubescence, which is 

 quite as dense as that on Mrs. Hardy, ratherdulls than brightens 

 it. The plant is interesting as a new example of downy 

 florets, and it will prove useful to the hybridizer. The cut 

 flowers, as a class, were good, but inferior in quality to the 

 plants. The twelve blooms which took the grand prize were 

 H. Cannell, Domination, Compte de Germiny, Kioto, Lord 

 Byron, Mrs. Frank Thompson, Mrs. Langtry, W. W. Coles, 

 Mrs. W. Barr, Gloriosum, E. Molyneaux and Mrs. Houston. 



Among the principal prize-takers besides those named 

 above, were J. W. Colflesh, Gordon Sniirl, F. R. Sykes, Thomas 

 Long, E. P. Wilbur and George L. Fowler. 



Philadelphia. .J. 



The Chrysanthemum Exhibition in Boston. 



THE exhibition of Chrysanthemums of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society, which opened in Boston on Tues- 

 day of last week, was the most successful the Society has 

 given. The season has not been a particularly good one for 

 the growth of the Chrysanthemum and several of the Massa- 

 chusetts collections have suffered seriously from the attacks 

 of a species of Typhlocyba, closely allied to the Rose-leaf 

 hopper, which, unless some method for keeping it in check 

 can be found, seems destined to interfere seriously with the 

 successful cultivation of this popular plant. 



The exhibition, however, in spite of these drawbacks, was 

 siu'prisingly gootl, and contained a larger number of well grown 

 plants and of cut specimen flowers than any of its prede- 

 cessors. The arrangement was good ; the lower hall being 

 devoted to cut flowers, while in the larger upper hall the speci- 

 mens were most effectively arranged in great groups and 

 banks. The exhibition was varied, but hardly improved by 

 the introduction of a number of tall, single stemmed ])lants with 

 one flower, or, at most, a couple of flowers at the top of the 

 stem. This is the favorite English fashion of growing Chry- 

 santhemums, and an unnatural one it is, and not to be encour- 

 aged except when abnormally large, single flowers are wanted 

 for exhibition purposes. The tall standard plants, with naked 

 stems five or six feet high and surmounted with a scanty para- 

 sol-head bearing occasional tired looking flowers — wonderful 

 examples, no doubt, of cultural patience — were hardly attrac- 

 tive either, and not to be compared, from an ornamental or 

 from a useful point of view, with the compact half specimens, 

 like those with which Mr. Walter Hunnewell took the first 

 prize in the class for twenty named varieties. These were 



models of what Chrysanthemums should be ; compact, well 

 gro\yn plants, with rather short stems, covered to the pot with 

 large, healthy, deep green foliage, and profusely flowered, with 

 blooms not too large to aj^pear unnatural or to lack substance. 

 A better or more even lot of twenty well grown and well 

 selected plants has not been seen in Boston. 



The big flowers, however, attracted the masses, and a stand 

 of eighteen cut flowers, of Japanese varieties, shown 1)y Mr. 

 Simi^kins, of Yarmouth, was surrounded from morning till 

 night by crowds of people, who learned here, perhaps for the 

 first time, what a Chrysanthemum flower, in the hands of a 

 first-rate gardener, can be developed into. The flowers which 

 rei)resented most of the new favorite varieties were simply 

 marvelous in size and quality, and it is not easy to imagine tliat 

 larger or better grown specimens have ever been produced. 



An interesting feature of the lower hall was the row of tall 

 vases occupying the end platform, containing cut flowers of 

 many of the best varieties, with stems a yard long, and evidently 

 grown specially for this purpose. The beauty of the flowers 

 was heightened by the fact that only three or four specimens, 

 always of the same variety, were used together in the same 

 vase. This exhibition was made by Galvin Brothers, and 

 showed how the Chrysanthemum can be used for the very 

 best effect in large decoration. 



The usual nuniber of new varieties and of seetllings were 

 shown. But it is not wise to judge of these from an acquaint- 

 ance which does not extend beyond the show-table ; and the 

 number of novelties which are produced now in all countries 

 is so great that a new variety should be subjected to the severe 

 trial of long cultivation and to varied conditions before the 

 public can take much interest in it. The new seedling, Ada 

 Spaulding, is a case in point. This is the variety which, at 

 Indianapolis the other day, won the cup offered by the wife of 

 the President of the United States for the best American seed- 

 ling Chrysanthemum for the year, and which has thus gained 

 a sort of national reputation. The flower was, no doubt, badly 

 shown in Boston ; as seen here it was not large, and lacked 

 sul)stance ; the color was weak and washy, as if it had been 

 taken from a weak plant and had suffered from traveling. 

 But due allowance being made for all this, it was no better 

 than a dozen other seedlings of the year, \vhich appeared here, 

 and there were many better varieties sho\yn in the exhibition. 



The following first prizes were awarded by the Society : 

 For a display of twenty named plants, distinct varieties, to 

 Walter Hunnewell ; for twelve plants, to Mrs. Francis B. 

 Hayes ; for sixteen Chinese varieties, to Dr. H. P. Walcott ; for 

 six Japanese varieties, to Dr. H. P. Walcott ; for six Chinese 

 varieties, four blooms each. Dr. C. G. Weld ; for a specimen 

 plant of Chinese variety, H. L. Higginson ; specimen Japanese 

 " Snow-storm," H. L. Higginson ; specimen Pompon plant. 

 Dr. H. P. Walcott ; specimen Anemone plant, H. L. Higgin- 

 son ; best standard specimen plant, Dr. C. G. Weld ; for 

 twelve blooms of Chinese varieties, Joseph P. Melley ; twelve 

 blooms Japanese variety, John Simpkins ; six blooms of Chinese 

 varieties, E. A. Wood ; six lilooms of Japanese varieties, John 

 Simpkins ; for best fifty blooms, E. A. Fewkes & Sons, who 

 received also, for fifty blooms, a piece of plate provided from 

 the Bradley fund. A special prize, the Society's Silver Medal, 

 was awarded to James Brydon, gardener to ^Ir. Simpkins, for 

 the best seedling of 1889; Fewkes & Son and George Hollis 

 winnin"- the second and third prizes for new seedlinsrs. 



Boston. Lf. 



[The Chrysanthemum, Ada Spaulding. is rather an early- 

 variety, and it was not as good a flower when seen in Boston 

 and Philadelphia as it was the week before in Indianapolis. 

 It has bloomed the second season and we can now speak of 

 it with some confidence. Its color is not the most desir- 

 able, but it has unusually good form, size and substance. 

 Our correspondent does well to note the fact that ever}'- 

 year brings a host of novelties, which arc no better than 

 the old kinds. But certainly no one would discourage the 

 production of new seedlings — for this is the only road to 

 improvement. Only a small fraction of one per cent, of 

 the kinds raised prove worth propagating ; but it is proper 

 to otTer prizes for the best Chrysanthemum of the year 

 and in such contests it is plain that the new ones can- 

 not compete with the older sorts. What we need is not 

 fewer seedlings — but some tribunal to pass vigorous and 

 impartial judgment on them. If our National Chrysanthe- 

 mum Society will assume this authority and exercise it 

 firmly and judiciously, they will place every friend of this 

 flower under obligations. — Ed.] 



