YOL. LV.-No. 3.083. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1912. 



4 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



Chrysanthemum 



shapely incurved varieties, because the 

 date Avas so early as to render it practi- 

 cally impossible for these noble flowers to 

 l3e shown at their best. ProA^isions Avere 



Igested in these pages, some 

 years since, that a few classes 

 )vided for Japanese varieties 

 in vases, for the purpose of rendering the 



The exhibition season of the chrysanthe- made for them at the Essex Hall show on shoAvs less monotonous, there had been a 



mum has noAV practically run its course, the 20th inst., and a fcAv of the growers considerable decrease in their numbers, 



and those AA'ho ha\e visited any consider- Avere careful to take adA^antage of their There was then an appreciable slackening 



able number of the exhibitions that may l:>e opportunities for presenting examples of of interest in 



regarded as representatiA-e in character, their skill in the groAvth of the incurved 



are noAV in a position to express Avith some varieties 



blooms 



It is unfortunate this section, after the noAelty of 



the owners of gardens, and not a few had, 



had 



degree of authority their vieAvs on the sea- 

 son in relation to vears Avhich haA'e imme- 

 diately preceded it. We have 

 visited many of the competitive 

 gatherings, both in the north and 

 south, and after a careful compari- 

 son of them Ave are strongly in- 

 clined to the opinion that the shows 

 mav, as a Avhole, be described as 

 a good average. Some of onr 

 friends, Avhose opinions are entitled 

 to respect, regard the exhibitions 

 that have been held during the 

 past season as below, Avhile others 

 consider them as above, the aA^er- 

 age of the past fcAv years. Much, 

 of course, depends upon tlu' cha- 

 racter of the exhibitions that haA^e 

 been visited bv those Avho readily 



* * 



give expression to their <i|)inions on 

 the superioiity or <itlierAvise of the 

 A'arious sliows. TIum'*. is, (vf course, 

 a consensu.s of opinion that the so- 

 cieties Avhich devote their attention 

 exclusively to the chrysanthemum 

 do not possess the same degree of 

 strength as that Avhich enabled 

 them to render splendid serA'ice 

 in the cause of the flower from 

 fifteen to twenty-five years ago. 

 Societies, on the other hand, that 

 do not set so severe a limit on 

 their usefidness, haA'e suffered less 

 from the change in public taste, 

 and have been able to hold gather- 

 ings tliat li:n-e l)een highly attrac- 

 tive, varied in inteiest. and li?ian- 

 cially successful. Of the great<^si 



interest to large iiumhers of the fan^'iers 

 of chrysanthemums Avere the tAvo t^xhihi- 

 tions held by the National Chrysanthemum 

 Society at the Crystal Palace! IMu^ eaily 

 October shoAV AA-as of special interest for 

 the aid it rendered in bringing into promi- 

 nence the most beautiful of the varieties 

 that are available for beautifying the gar- 

 den and decorating the conserA'atorA' and 

 indoor apartments during the months of 

 September and October. On the glorious 

 display that Avas produced at the end of 

 OctnlxM' by the joint efforts of amateur and 

 trade <'ultivators much praise might he 

 lavished, but it must suffice to re<'oi<l tlu* 

 fact that it Avas. in many respe<*ts, Avorthy 

 of the b(vst traditions of the society. 

 There Avere no classes for the fine and 



on Avhich past generations of chrysanthe- 

 mum srroAvers laA'ished nuicli love and skill. 



111- 



prize-wmnuig 

 Avorn off, an abjection to so much atten- 

 tion being deA^oted to the production of 



exhibition blooms. In manv 

 stances, this objection was based 

 on their consideration for their 

 gardeners, knowing that the pro- 

 duction of blooms of such quality 

 as Avould bring honours in a keen 

 contest at an exhibition of the 



first class 



imposes 



upon the cultivators. If the in- 

 curved varieties are no longer re- 

 garded Avith much favour by either 

 cultivators or the public, and the 

 large blooms of Japanese varieties 

 are less popular than they were a 

 decade or more ago. there is no 

 occasion for those who appreciate 

 tlie flower in its many attributes 

 of beauty to regard the future of 

 the chrysanthemum with any de- 

 gree of apprehension. We venture 



to suggest that at 



period 



the history of the chrysanthemum 

 in this c*ountry has it enjoyed a 

 higher degree of popularity than 

 at the present time. Twenty Aears 



ago 



its culture was, to a A-ery 

 large extent, confined to the glass 

 structures, chiefly in the gardens 

 of the wealthy, and now immense 

 numbers are grown in open be<ls 

 and borders in the gardens of all 

 classes. The change in the trend 

 of public taste, in its relation to 



MR 



A. G. GENTLE. 



chrvsanthemums, has 



pecial 



ged 



shouhl have fallen on evil days, but the fact 

 must l)e faee<l and looked at squarely. We 

 rt^uret the de<-ade)U'e of the incurved chry- 



tion to the single, semi-double, and 

 decorative varieties, and the success they 

 have achicAcd has been such as to place at 

 the disposal of cultivators a wealth of 



sanlhenuiin. hut we slioukl <-ertainly not tlowers remarkable for elegance and attrac- 

 a<lvise m-oAvei s to <'ultivate varieties that tive colouring. At practically all the exhibi- 

 tions the singles are largely shown in bas^ 

 kets, vases, and other receptacles, and 

 some groups of wondrous beauty are ar- 

 ranged Avith these varieties, notably at Rei- 

 irate and Windsor. The decoratiA-e chrv- 

 santliemums. Avhich are really Japanese 

 arieties Avith medium flowers, are not less 



are not in iucorchince Avith the taste of their 

 etn|)]oy(M*s or themselves. There is also a 

 slight decline in the groAvth of large flowers 

 of the exhibition Ja])anevSe varieties, and 

 there i.s some <liAersity of opinion as to 

 the cause or <'auses hv \vhi<'h this chani^e 



Some growiMS 



has been brou":ht alHuit. 



<-onsider tin. introduetion of the vase Classes valuable in their Avay, and it would be well 

 as the sole < ause. The chanue in the ;vere something done beyond what has Ihhmi 



as the sole <ause. I he change m tlie were sometnnig none wyonu wnax iias nwi 

 method of staging may linve hel|)(Ml to re- already accomplishe<l in defining, the class 



<liu the rinmhers ot hu ge Ja]>anese blooms, 

 hnt it has not been the oiily eaiise. In ])roof 

 of this, Ave have oJily to point <iut that 



Ft has aflonled us i-onsiderable pleasure dur- 

 ing the season to see how little those socie- 

 ties that in\ited miscellaneous flowers and 



