Tebruary 10, 1892.] 



Garden and r'orest. 



67 



him privately. When Sir W. Hooker was appointed Direc- 

 tor of Kew, in 1841, he brought Fitch with him. Here he 

 ■soon found scope for his skill in the preparation of botan- 

 ical illustrations of all kinds. He made the plate for 

 Hooker's /cones Plantarum from the commencement 

 (1837), and soon afterward took over the entire work of 

 plate-drawing for the Botanical Magazine, for which he was 

 sole artist for a period e.xtending over forty years. . He 

 made the illustrations for all the principal publications pre- 

 pared at Kew up to within a i&w years of his death. The 

 splendid folios by Sir Joseph Hooker on Himalayan Plants 

 and Himalayan Rhododendrons ; the six quarto volumes 

 which were the result of Sir James Ross's Antarctic expe- 

 dition ; the Botany of the Herald; the Flora Vitiensis ; 

 Bateman's Odontoglossums ; Elwes' Monograph of Lilies ; 

 Saunder's Refiigiuni ; Howard's Cinchonas- — these con- 

 tain some of his best work. He also prepared the illus- 

 trations for the botany of the Speke and Grant expedition, 

 published in the Transactions of the Linnean Society, and for 

 Welvvitsch's plants, published in the same periodical. All 

 the numerous pictures of Ferns pubHshed by SirW. Hooker 

 were by Fitch's hand. His fidelity to nature, the judg- 

 ment he exhibited in bringing into prominence those de- 

 tails which in botany are of primary importance, although 

 art of the popular kind would hide or ignore them ; the 

 picturesque arrangement of his subject, the accuracy of 

 outline, perspective and color — these were some of the 

 points in which Fitch excelled. His eight magnificent 

 illustrations of the Victoria regia, prepared for the Ele- 

 phant folio devoted to this plant by Sir William Hooker 

 and published in 1S51, are among the best examples of his 

 picturesque work. He obtained a Government pension of 

 ^100 a few years ago. 



London. 



W. Watsor 



Cultural Department. 



New Chrysanthemums. 



ONE of the most striking things connected with the present 

 passion for Chrysanthemums is the ahnost universal 

 passion for change. The fancier may 'be faithful to the 

 species, but he is certainly very fickle in his attention to 

 individual kinds; and constant and unceasing change in the 

 varieties grown, and not always for the better, seems to be 

 tlie rule. Amateur cultivators of other flowers, while testing 

 new varieties, will grow the old ones year after year for a life- 

 time, but looking back for the last decade, there will be found 

 very few Japanese Chrysanthemums in the lists of that time 

 which are now much esteemed or grown, while in this country 

 the most popular varieties are mostly of home production or 

 imported more recently from Japan. The French varieties 

 which preponderated no longer than five years ago are 

 gradually disappearing from the lists, and new ones excite 

 little attention here, except in special cases. American kinds 

 are also making their way in the world at large, though it took 

 the foreigner a remarkably long time to discover their merits. 

 It is scarcely five years since one of the leading English 

 growers and dealers wrote me that he had seen only one good 

 Chrysanthemum from America. To-day they are appearing on 

 the prize-stands, and gain certificates in what seems the most 

 erratic way. 



From the lists of new varieties now appearing, it is pleasant 

 to know that the most ardent desire for change can be 

 gratified. I have not counted the number of new varieties 

 offered from various sources, but from a careful estimate I 

 think that a fairly full collection of the new kinds could be 

 secured for something over S400 — not an excessive amount 

 for a fad, but a striking contrast to the condition of things 

 a few years ago. Most interested growers have already 

 made notes of the promising kinds desired, and it is perhaps 

 not expedient to express an opinion as to the merits of the 

 productions of one's neighbors; it may be said, however, that 

 among the new sorts are a fair number of first-rate kinds with 

 a smaller number with striking distinctness. A few changes 

 of color among some older forms seem the greatest gains — 

 as, for instance, yellow hairy kinds, offered by two growers. 

 A form of this character seems to have been first offered in 

 the United States by an Oakland (California) nursery last year 

 under a Japanese name, and W. A. Manda, from the United 

 States Nurseries, is highly commended. 



Aljroad, Delaux again offers new varieties of his strain of 

 dwarf early-blooming, large-flowering kinds, at prices ranging 

 from one tlollar each to two marvels at six dollars each. "This 

 last seems an excessive price for a weak Chrysanthemum-slip, 

 but no plant would seem dear with this description : " Nain, 

 55 centimetres, fleurs soutenues par de veritables liges de fer, 

 cieme frais imitant la cire, flammees et bordees de rose mous- 

 seline ; coloris frais et entierement nouveau dans les Chrysan- 

 themes. Cette nouvelle venue qui est absolument remontante, 

 surpasse en beauts les plus remarquables varietesd'Autonine(!) 

 elle fera sensation dans le monde horticole, ou elle est appelee 

 au plus grand avenir, pour la confection des corbeilles, culture 

 en pots pour marches et pots specimens pour Exposition." 

 Catalogue-writing seems to be one of the things they do bet- 

 ter in France. "There is an air. of sincerity mixed with enthu- 

 siasm, and a struggle to express a mental picture in the above 

 which would convert a brazen image into a buyer, or even im- 

 press those who have learned to translate into the vernacular 

 by the light of experience. 



Delaux's new strain, however, is said to have proved valuar 

 ble under him in England, and is worth the attention of any 

 one interested in such flowers. The varieties are said to com- 

 mence to bloom in April, August, September and October, 

 and to be remontant or successional bloomers, and very dwarf, 

 with large flowers. A fewof these were exhibited by Mr. J. H. 

 Spaulding last fall in his general collection, being the first 

 shown in the United States. New breaks and types of flowers 

 are always interesting, and in no family more so than in the 

 Chrysanthemum, especially when one has grown a thousand 

 or more varieties, a large number of which are merely slight 

 variations on others. 

 Eiizaijetii.x.j. J J . .\ . Uerard. 



Potting Ferns. 



'X'HE month of February is generally a good time for this 

 -•■ operation, as a majority of Ferns begin their new growth 

 soon after and the roots become active.. To secure strong new 

 fronds the Ferns should be potted before the new growth has 

 made much progress, and this is especially necessary when the 

 ball of earth has to be reduced to avoid the use of large pots. 

 With many of the Adiantums this reducing process may be 

 successfully used before the young fronds are far advanced, 

 and at the same time the worst of the old fronds may be re- 

 moved, although cutting olf all the old fronds at this time may 

 weaken the following growth. 



Propagation by division of the crowns is best done at this 

 season ; but whenever it is possible to secure them, seedlings 

 make better and more rapidly growing plants. Specimens too 

 large to shift without inconvenience are much benefited .by a 

 top-dressing of new compost, and the vigor of Tree-ferns will 

 be increased by wrapping sphagnum around the trunk, the 

 moisture thus applied inducing a fresh outgrowth of roots into 

 the moss, and from thence into the soil below. With the 

 Gleichenias the dividing process should have been begun 

 before this, the safest practice being to separate the rhizomes 

 some months before the piece is taken away from the parent- 

 plant, thus giving the young Fern a chance to make some 

 fresh roots before the final removal. The. potting material 

 for these beautiful Ferns may be somewhat . stiffer than is 

 suitable for many others, and especially for the strong-grow- 

 ing species, such as G. flabellata and G. dichotoma, while G, 

 Mendeli, G. rupestris and G. dicarpa in its various forms pre- 

 fer a little more peat. But in all cases abundant drainage 

 should be provided, since the plants have shallow roots, and 

 are impatient of stagnant water. 



The Filmy Ferns, of which the various HymenophyllumS 

 and Trichomanes are the best known, will probably need 

 repotfing or top-dressing, and the mixture for this purpose 

 should be rather coarse and open in texture, and should in- 

 clude some pieces of charcoal and broken sandstone, or if that, 

 is not at hand some broken brick will answer. Ferns of this 

 class, including the lovely Todea superba, should be potted 

 rather high — that is, raised a trifle above the rims of the pots^ 

 and should not be disturbed about the roots oftener than is 

 absolutely necessary. 



In so large a genus as the Adiantums much difference is 

 found in the requirements of the various species, both in soil 

 and in temperature. For instance, the finest of all the Maiden- 

 hairs, A. Farleyense, is best potted in a strong soil composed 

 of good fibrous loam, with a small quantity of sand and a liberal 

 proporfion of well-rotted cow-manure. Then, with careful 

 shading and watering, it will soon make a fine specimen. The 

 use of peat for this species seems to be a drawback, while for 

 A. curvatum I have found nothing better than coarse peat 

 alone. A. rhodophyllum and A. Victoria, both of which are 



