THE 



GARDENERS 



1 



MAGAZINE 



SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5. F 8q8. 



NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY 

 A ROYAL AQUARIUM, WESTMINSTER, 



November 8, 9, and 10, 1808. 

 GREAT AUTUMN CHRYSANTHEMUM FESTIVAL. 



a Plants Groups, Cut Blooms, Fruit and Vegetables. The Largest Chrysanthemum 



Specimen nam , f ShQw [q ^ Kingdom- 



<?rTiedu!es of Prizes from 



Richard Dean V.M.H., Secretary and Superintendent, 42, Ra^elagh Road, Ealing, W. 



BRADFORD and DISTRICT CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY.— 

 TWELFTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION in St. George's Halt., November ii and 

 /i win prizes, four Silver Cups, and three Gold Medals to be competed for. Entries close 



Vnvember 7. Schedules, &c, to be had from 



>ovemDer 7. R Eichel, Hon. Secretary, Westcliffe Road, Shipley. 



there is no diminution in the interest taken by the general public in the 

 golden flower, which brings so much of brightness and beauty into what 

 is admittedly the dullest period of the year, and thus be in a position to 

 state that those who are careful to introduce new features into their 

 exhibitions may proceed with their good work with the assurance of 

 substantial support. Of the general character of the season it is yet early 

 to speak otherwise than with some reservation ; but as far as it is pos- 

 sible to judge from the exhibitions at which we have been present, the 

 collections in gardens we have seen, and the reports of our corre- 



seen 



ERBY 



CHRYSANTHEMUM ASSOCIATION. 



ANNUAL EXHIBITION. 

 Royal Drfll Hall, November ii and 



Entries close November 7. Schedules and particulars from 



H. J. Bell, F.R.H.S,, Hon. Sec, Normanton Road, Derby. 



12 



HULL— The 15th ANNUAL CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW of the HULL 

 AND EAST RIDING CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY will be held in th« Artil- 

 iery Barracks, Hull, on WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY, November 16th and 17th. 

 Entries close November 9th, 



Schedules free from the Hon Sees., 



Edward Harland, Manor Street, Hull. 

 James Dixon, F.R.H.S , 2, County Bui'dings, Hull. 



T EEDS PAXTON SOCIETY'S CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW, Town 



Lj Hall, Leeds, TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY, November 15 and 16. Upwards 

 of ^180, including four Challenge Cups, will be given in prizes. Schedules from the Hon. Sec. f 



James Campbell. The Gardens, Methley Park, Leeds. 



READING CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY —ANNUAL SHOW of 

 CHRYSANTHEMUMS and FRUIT, Town Halls, WEDNESDAY, Novem- 

 ber 16. W. L. Walkek, Secretary, Balmentie Road, Reading. 



UGBY CHRYSANTHEMUM EXHIBITION, November 16 and 17, 



1898. Entries close November 9. 



William Bryant, Secretary, 8, Barby Road. 



CHEFFIELD CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY.— A NNUAL SHOW 



*D m Corn Exchange, Sheffield, November ii and 12, 1898. 

 £200 in Prizes. Schedules free on application to 



W. Housley, Secretary, 



28, Joshua Road, Sheffield. 



WIMBLEDON AND DISTRICT ROYAL HORTICULTURAL AND 

 COTTAGE GARDEN SOCIETY. 

 The ANNUAL EXHIBITION of CHRYSANTHEMUMS, VEGETABLES, FRUIT, &c, 



be held in the DRILL HALL, WIMBLEDON, on Wednesday and Thursday, 

 November 9 and 10 



Schedules and particulars of the Hon. S*c , W. S. Thomson, The Nurseries, Wimbledon. 



VORK CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW.— The NINETEENTH ANNUAL 



j* SHOW will be held November 16, 17, and 18, 1898. Upwards of ^200 offered in Prizes, 

 m literal proportions, for Plants, Cut Flowers, Fruit, and Vegetables. 



Schedules, &c, to be had from ^ 



J. Lazenby, 13, Feasegate, York. 



Challenge Prize, value £20, added to 1st Prize G£io) for 36 Cut Blooms. £7 and Cup (£5) for 

 Oroup. Entries November 9. 



HE ROYAL GARDENERS' ORPHAN FUND. 



The ELEVENTH ELECTION of CHILDREN to the benefits of this Fund, consisting of 

 anallowanceof 5 s. per week f subject to the conditions stated in Rule XIII ), will take place on 



All^Y 7 " eXt at ANDE RTON'S HOTEL, Fleet Street, E.C. 

 j A11 applications must be made on a printed form, copies of which mav be had gratis of the 

 oecretary or of any of the locai Secretaries Such form must be correctly filled up, duly signed, 

 anu returned to this office not later than TUESDAY, December 20. 



A. F. Barron, Secretary, 13, Sutton Court Road, Chiswick. 



HORTICULTURAL CORRESPONDENCE CLASSES. — For PROS- 



fW *f c JUSand LIST of PRIZES apply T. H. Smith, 18, Somerville Road, Small 

 Ef arowngham. First Examination Paper ready November 5. Join early for the whole 



FOURTEENTH s P onden ts, we are of opinion that the present season will hardly be up 



to the high average of recent years. There will be large and attractive 

 displays at the exhibitions, but there is a probability of the quality of the 

 greater proportion of the blooms staged being lower than usual. We 

 hear on all sides of many buds on the finest Japanese varieties open- 

 ing slowly and unsatisfactorily, and Madame Carnot, so finely shown 

 last year, is this season especially disappointing in not a few collections 

 from which we received information. Indeed, one grower states : " I 

 have a score of plants of Madame Carnot and its sports, from which I 

 shall not cut more than half a dozen exhibition blooms." The incurved 

 varieties appear to be even more unsatisfactory than the Japanese, for 

 the buds have not expanded well, and so far the blooms that have 

 attained their full development have been wanting in the high finish 

 which forms so great a charm of the section. We have already seen 

 considerable numbers of rough incurved blooms on the exhibition tables, 

 and, although we shall expect an improvement in the later flowers, we 

 must be prepared for some amount of roughness in the section, and 

 especially is this likely to be the case where many of the varieties that 

 are intermediate between the older incurved varieties and the Japanese 

 are grown. The cause of this lack of quality in the several sections is 

 not difficult to understand. It is not due as some of our friends would 

 have us believe, to the disease popularly known as chrysanthemum rust, 

 for in no case that has come under our notice has the attack been so 

 severe as to bring about the results of which cultivators are complain- 

 ing. In our opinion the cause of the failure of so large a proportion of 

 the plants to produce blooms of high quality has been the unfavourable 

 climatic conditions that obtained during the summer months. Until 

 midsummer the weather was for the most part cold and dull, and this 

 was followed by a period of excessive heat and drought, which continued 

 until quite the end of September, and imposed a check upon the growth, 

 and brought about a premature ripening of the tissues. This point is 

 of interest, for, if its significance is fully appreciated, it will be at once 

 understood that any falling off in quality which may be noticed has not 

 been due to lack of skill on the part of the cultivators, but to conditions 

 over which they have no control. 



HORTICULTURAL SHOW ADVERTISEMENTS are inserted in this 



Bent Offi ° " mn 0 at 9 ne Snillin S Per line, the minimum charge being Five Shillings. Advertise- 



■Mf Da;, r, — . , - u * ul,, fs pci 1111c, luc minimum cue 



^!!i^ L M8 and 149, Aldersgate Street, London, E.C. 



NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. 



0wi ng to continued increase in circulation, the " Gardeners' Magazine " 

 now goes to press on Wednesday. No advertisement can be guaranteed 



insertion, or altered, unless received before Four p.m. on that day. 



Chrys 



wise. 



Notes of the Week. 



THE CHRYSANTHEMUM SEASON. 



anthemums have for some time past contributed liberally to 



i the raCtl0ns of tlle garden, and where full advantage has been taken 

 K)rder ^ alth of material to be found in the early-blooming section the 

 tad v" ^oughout the past month presented a bright appearance, 



ed an abundant supply of cut flowers for the decoration of the 

 ns ^ . nc * er glass, the fantastic and gaily coloured Japanese and the 

 °°ni t ^ nCUrve( * have for two or three weeks past been sufficiently in 



iportant^ 10 ^ 11 ^ an attract * ve display and quicken the interest in the 

 a$o n { 8roup of Plants to which they belong. But the chrysanthemum 

 tt week° m A ex k^ tor ' s point of view, did not commence until the 

 cond anifk* 30 numer ous were the competitive gatherings during the 



^cter f thlrd dayS that sufficient have been heId to indicate the 

 tisfectioj^ sea son. It has afforded us an immense amount of 



t0 ^ave unquestionable proofs, in crowded buildings, tha 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE APPLICATION OF WATER. 



How often one hears the question put, 44 How many times a day must 

 I water this plant?" The querist evidently regards the plant in the light 

 of an animal, needing so many meals a day to sustain life ; and it matters 

 not what may be the time of the year, or the weather, or the condition of 

 the plants, whether at rest or active, this question is put Now there are 

 great differences in respect of the quantity of water plants can endure 

 without being materially injured by it, but with the exception of such as 

 grow wholly submerged there are none that may not be hurt by an over- 

 supply at some stage of their growth. The principle, indeed, is a 

 perfectly general one, modified in innumerable ways, no doubt, according 

 to the varying nature of the plants, but still, in itself, one and invariable- 

 Inflorescence, and the act of pollination, which is the natural purpose of all 

 flowering plants, must be performed in dry air and not in water. We 

 have proof of this everywhere around us ; for in orchard, in cultivated 

 fields in garden, and in wild nature an over-rainy season during the 

 flowering period is invariably accompanied both by decreased numbers and 

 beauty and diminished fertility of the flowers. Anyone who chooses 

 mav verify this by his own observation, in what part of the country soever 

 he happens to be situated ; and if this is the case with an excess of 

 natural rain, much more must it be the case with an excess of artificta 

 waterine-a process which is always more clumsy and less beneficial than 

 3 by the natural rains of heaven. Let it be understood that there 

 ,re two liviL processes which seasonably follow each other m a healthy and 

 fertile olant-thc growth of the plant itself as an individual of one genera- 



f its race and the elaboration of the flower and parts of fructification 

 tion o isr separated and cast off whenever the seed arrives 



which are wholly 10 ^ ( ^ 

 2 qiic h maturity as that it is m a condition for generating if placed in a 

 position proper for that purpose. These two operations may go on 

 Lcthcr in the same plant, but never m the same part of it ; and if they 

 go on together each of them tends to weaken the other. Knowing this 



