428 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the cultivation of the Early-flowering Chrysanthemum, and a great 

 stimulus was given to the raising of new sorts. From 1880 to 1895 new 

 varieties of considerable merit with comparatively large flowers made 

 their appearance, one of the best known being ' Roi des Precoces,' a 

 variety until recently in general cultivation on account of its decided 

 crimson colour — a shade awanting in the earlier introductions. In 

 1 891 a French raiser sent out no fewer than one hundred and twenty- 

 five new early varieties. 



While many French growers were engaged in the raising of new 

 kinds, we must not forget that there were equally enthusiastic culti- 

 vators and raisers in our own country, and the names of such men as 

 the late Mr. Cannell, Messrs. Davis, Godfrey, Goacher, Holmes, 

 Jones, Wells, and Young of Edinburgh, will ever be associated with 

 the Early-flowering Chrysanthemum as we know it. The last-named 

 gentleman gave us such good things as 'Caledonia,' 'Hector,' 'Cyn- 

 thia,' 'Artemis,' ' Craigmillar ' — the stand-by of the Edinburgh 

 Parks — ' Stella,' and a number of other well-known sorts. 



While the Pompon Chrysanthemum held the field for many years 

 and is still cultivated to a considerable extent for special purposes, it 

 was certainly the introduction of the large-flowered varieties that 

 popularized the Early-flowering Chrysanthemum. ' Madame C. 

 Desgranges ' and its sports have already been referred to, but the 

 introduction of ' Madame Marie Masse ' into the country about 1891 

 brought about quite a revolution in the growing of this plant. A 

 new era had dawned upon it because we had in this an introduction 

 of wonderful constitution, a perfect habit, and most profuse in its 

 flowering qualities. This variety was highly commended by the 

 Royal Horticultural Society at the trial in 1897, and received an 

 Award of Merit in 1898. 



I have previously referred to ' Madame C. Desgranges ' being 

 " discovered " and to other varieties being " found " as it were from 

 home. Is there any of this curious history about ' Madame M. Masse ' ? 

 The Rev. W. Wilks was good enough to write me a year ago about 

 a variety he had cultivated in his garden since 1879 under the name of 

 ' Emperor of China,' and I thought at the time that it resembled 

 ' Madame M. Masse, ' but I am assured by Mr. Wilks that he knew it 

 long before the introduction of the variety in question, and he believed 

 that it was given to his father in 1859 by the Rev. Joshua Dix. 

 Mr. Wilks sent me a root, and the produce is by universal consent the 

 same as ' Madame M. Masse.' Is it possible that ' Madame M. Masse ' 

 also was, like 'Madame C. Desgranges,' "discovered" and sent out 

 under a new name ? Let the origin be what it may, the many valuable 

 sports produced by it and its varieties would make a nicely varied 

 collection in itself, but the introduction of improved varieties did not 

 end here, and in recent years there has been quite a flood of new things, 

 many of which do not hold the field for long. 



In 1897 the Royal Horticultural Society had a trial at Chiswick, 

 and 141 stocks were sent in. At the conclusion of that trial some 



