8o4 



DO CHRYSANTHEMUMS WEAR OUT? 



On the whole I endorse your Editorial remarks under this heading that 

 appeared in the issue of November 19th. There can be little or no doubt 

 that among chrysanthemums, as among other plants, and most animals 

 also, over-feeding tends to weakness, exhaustion, disease, and death. 

 Through this cause horticulture has lost many rich and valuable treasures, 

 and there can be little doubt that far more of our valuable plants have 

 been fed, rather than starved, to death. Starvation rather stunts growth 

 than destroys life. Probably, then, the Queen of England and many other 

 favourite chrysanthemums, incurved or otherwise, have suffered con- 

 siderably and lost much vigour of constitution through the extreme 

 concentration of vital force in the plant by the modern methods of 

 culture. I was much impressed by the remark of one of our greatest 

 authorities the other day, to the effect that plants capable of furnishing 

 one perfect bloom would generally furnish at least three as well, or 

 better. If this be true, as I believe it is, what, then, becomes of two-thirds 

 of the vital force of the plant ? We cannot blow it off as the engine driver 

 does his waste steam. Neither can it always be grown off in seasonable 

 shoots, which may mar the perfection of our blooms, as well as enfeeble 

 the constitutional vigour of our plants. 



The intense concentration of force into limited areas, being unnatural, 

 is always accompanied with more or less extra risk or danger to 

 health and life ; hence, if two-thirds of the force of a chrysan- 

 themum is allowed to run to waste, what more certain than 

 that this waste — which may be defined as vital force in the wrong 

 place and state— should induce disease or shorten life ? An excess 



Fruits for Cottagers 



S 



Far 



The criticisms by the Rev. E. Bartruin D. D.(p. 770), on the selection committee of 

 the R.H.S. are somewhat severe There is, however, much truth in wh7h 'sly 

 and considerable room to doubt the choice of varieties (in many instances) in this 

 latest selection. In cnticismg all selections of fruit due regard should be paid to 

 local conditions, such as soil, situation, and market requirements. All of these 

 factors that cannot be lightly disregarded. For instance, Lord Suffield *is th 

 best kitchen apple in commerce where the soil is suitable. In other districts wher* 

 the soil is heavy and retentive of moisture, this apple will scarcely exist, let alone 

 flourish. Market requirements too need deep consideration. For' example 

 Ecklinville Seedling is quite useless with some fruiterers, who regard it as much 

 too " soft n in the skin and flesh also. For home consumption for the large estab- 

 lishment and for the cottager this cooking apple deserves a place in even the 

 smallest collection. As a bush tree it is perfection, as its habit of growth is all 

 that could be desired, being free yet compact, and as such it should he included 

 in the R.H.S. list. I agree with the Rev. Dr. Bartrum that Blenheim Pippin is 

 an excellent cooking apple, and well deserves a place. Apples that can be eaten 

 when cooked, without the addition of sugar to make them palatable to all tastes 

 are to be encouraged, and this is one of them. At one time I held astroDg objec- 

 tion to Blenheim Pippin, owing to its sby cropping propensities in a young state, 

 but now, after from fifteen to twenty years' growth, I regard it as indispensable • 

 when once thoroughly established it appears to be less influenced by climatic con- 

 ditions than any other apple, as it gives a crop of fine fruit annually. 



The reverend gentleman seems to have missed the substitution of Lord 



of vital force or unappropriated protoplasm is as likely to weaken the Grosvenor for Lord Suffield, as a bush, by the R.H.S. ; with this alteration I 



health and shorten the longevity of chrysanthemums or other plants as nn u+ MM „ e * niPm „ ™„„u ^ * ♦ *u *u \_ , . 



excessive feeding: in fact, they amount to the same thing. No/varieties q T T ' , > form r s much more trustwort y than the latter m a variety of 



do not die out through the lapse of years, though they may be stuffed out *° lIs ' J rcg f ? 11 aS ^ ltc . lh * beSt app * e for marke * m Au « ust and September. 



through excess of food or choked through having protoplasm sufficient 

 for a dozen blooms crammed into one stem and flower. 



But the decline of incurved chrysanthemums, which most of us have 

 noted and regretted, is capable of a more simple explanation. We have 

 fashions among chrysanthemums, as in ladies' dresses or bonnets. So 

 for some years past, and now more than ever, the Japanese forms have 

 been and are still all the rage, but instead of turning penitently to 

 our older loves, the incurved, we are welcoming decoratives and single 

 varieties, almost calling those dwarf Chusan daisies back again. 

 Another revolution in the whirligig of fashion will call the incurved 

 varieties back. At present they are suffering from neglect, and it is 

 hoped that all our finer incurved varieties will return before any of 

 them are lost. Cultivators have only to put their love and skill into the 

 work and incurved floweis will hold their own with the best Japanese. 



D. T. Fish. 



Chrysanthemums in Italy. 



Readers of the Gardeners' Magazine will no doubt remember that early 

 in the present year the formation of a National Chrysanthemum Society for Italy 

 was announced. The popular autumn flower has been grown there for some 

 few years, and there is no doubt that the residence of Mr. Briscoe-Ironside, a 

 well-known amateur and great enthusiast in all matters pertainiDg to the flower, 

 has in no small degree helped to quicken the interest that is now being taken in 

 the chrysanthemum in Italy. 



Several gardeners and nurserymen in that country have taken up the subject 



of seedling raising, chief of whom perhaps is Mr. Alexander Scalarandis, gardener 



to the Kinp. Then there are others, such as Messrs. Radaelli, Longhi, Ragionieri, 

 Baragio'a, &c 



During the past season three shows have been hel !, viz , at Turin, Pallanza, 

 and Milan. The first was a great success, and was visited on the first day by the 

 King and Queen. Thousands of pot plants were exhibited, and these were mostly 

 rematkable for their dwarlness, hardly any being more than two feet in height. 

 At this show the leading prize-winners were Messrs. Scalarandis, Radaelli, 

 Brocchi, and Briscoe-Ironside. 



Pallanza was the scene of another show, although somewhat smaller in extent. 

 Besides showing cut blooms, Mr. Ironside set up an imposing group of pot plants 

 twelve yards long by six yards wide, comprising several hundred varieties, the 

 whole being interspersed with palms, draccenas, foliage and other plants, and here 

 too, as at Turin, Mr. Ironside was the recipient of a medal and diploma in recog- 

 nition of his display. 



The chief interest perhaps to English exhibitors centres itself in the efforts of 

 the Italian N.C S., whose first annual exhibition was held at Milan from Novem- 

 ber 10 to 15. It took place in the Fine Art Gallery, and a finer and lighter and 

 more suitable building for such a show would be difficult to find. There are two 

 floors, several passages, besides committee and refreshment rooms, and the walls 

 being covered with pictures gives an additional source of interest to the visitors. 

 The floor space in all is probably equal to that of the Royal Aquarium at West- 

 minster, and it was well filled, the majority of exhibits being pot plants. Mr. 

 Briscoe -Ironside had a room to himself, which he filled with an exhibit with 

 examples of every section of the chrysanthemum, and also with plants. For this 

 he was awarded a gold medal. 



The Floral Committee held a meeting, but awarded only two first-class certifi- 

 cates. These went to Mr. Ernest Calvat for the following— Princesse Bassaraba 

 de Brancovan, a large Japanese of the C. B. Hayward type ; and Lesdiguirex, 

 also a Japanese of large size, pale orange streaked crimson. At the show there 

 were eighty-four competitors in the forty classes, and after the proceedings of the 

 first day were concluded a banquet was held, at which seventy guests were present, 

 including a delegate from the newly-formed Swiss N.C.S. 



C. Harman Payne. 



way 



cannot 



cleanse the 

 the nerves 



ever before'ex- 

 convincing the 



* 4 • 



who suffer from disorder ; n ^r nil a ^ , a bIe >sing to the afflicted, and a boon l« ... 



their use aW they have %2££ e * tcrn ? ! - Thousands of persons have testified that 

 c*ssful-[SSvT.V W beenrestoied to health, after other remedies had proved — 



Grenadier with me is shy in bearing Sturmer Pippin can well be spared from 

 any list, as it has but its free-beuiog properties to recommend it, while in flavour 

 it is quite third-rate. Duchess of Oldenberg is one of the best app'es for 

 espalier training possible to find ; its growth is just what is required, as it produces 

 spurs freely. As a bush, too, it is a desirable form. I should not think of planting 

 this apple as a standard in a position at all exposed to south-west winds, as the 

 fruit at all stages of growth is "soft" and easily damaged. I agree with the 

 committee in placing Alfriston in the list of selected standards ; it is a grand 

 apple, free bearing, shapely, keeps well, and is of the finest quality as a cooking 

 variety. Tower of Glammis is not a good grower, being somewhat sparse ; 

 perhaps this is why it was emitted by the R.H.S. Cox's Pomona is indeed a 

 strange selection for the dessert ; it is as bad as the admission of Wealthy as a 

 dessert variety at exhibitions. Cox's Pomona is a really good market apple, as its 

 handsome colour will sell it anywhere, though hardly a second time, for dessert, to 

 those who consider flavour a desirable stipulation. In my opinion Pott's Seedling 

 is hardly sure of its position, as it is prone to canker in retentive soil, and this 

 should be a strong argument against any variety being included. 



Stirling Castle, although one of the most free-bearing varieties, requires much 

 assistance in the way of stimulative food to render its growth free enough to give 

 ihe best results. It may not be generally known that Lane's Prince Albert is one 

 of the Lest varieties in existence to plant as a standard ; its growth is of that semi- 

 weeping character desirable in a large, well-furnished head on a full or half 

 standard. Mr. Gladstone is much too small, I think, for a typical dessert fruit. 

 Beauty of Bath will prove to be more desirable, and also Red Astrachan. Wor- 

 cester Pearmain, I see, is included in both selections, bushes and standards, and 

 rightly so when its free cropping and showy appearance are taken into account. If 

 I were confined to one apple for market use I should select Worcester Pearmain, 

 as it is one of those apples that will bring a high price in September, and there is 

 no trouble in storing or loss by wind. No one will dispute the rights of both 

 King of the Pippins and Cox's Orange Pippin to both lists, as both sell readily. 

 Gascoigne's Scarlet I cannot regard as a cesser t apple. In the first place it grows 

 too large, and its flavour is quite third-rate. I should replace it with Rosemary 

 Russet or Fearn's Pippin if a late variety were wanted. If this was not imperative 

 I would include Benoni, an eating apple not nearly enough known, but which will 

 in a short time work its way to the front. In appearance it much resembles King 

 of the Pippins, is a trifle flatter on the top, has broader streaks of red on its chest, 

 and ripens between Worcester Pearmain and King of the Pippins just at a time 

 when dessert apples are exceedingly scarce. In point of flavour it excels King of 

 the Pippins. It is a free cropper and has an upiight growth, so that thick 

 planting can be practised with safety. 



Swanmore Park. E. MOLYNEUX. 



unsue- 



APPLES FOR SMALL CULTIVATORS. 



I have no intention of defending the R.H.S. Fruit Committee from the 

 onslaught made by the Rev. Dr. Bartrum on the new "Fruits for Small 

 Growers" pamphlet. That body needs no defence; but it is fair to say 

 that only a limited numbei of its members, collected from, so far as possible, 

 all parts of the kingdom, are responsible for the lists criticised. It is all 

 very well to say that the new lists include too many varieties, but, while one 

 critic thinks only of those varieties that do well with him, others think of those 

 and diverse ones that do well with them. Hence, when the committee which 

 arranged and reorganised these li«ts of varieties met some time since, the difficulty 

 encountered was not so much paucity of recommendations as that so many excel- 

 lent varieties, quite first-class in one part of the country or another, were 

 uggested, and from out of the whole the pre-ent lists were formed because 

 sientially represent uive of the kingdom at large. But everyone knows UW 

 beyond these very limited lists there are scores of varieties that are held to be gooo 

 somewhere. Then the lists were remodelled to show varieties somewhat in we 

 order of ripening, which is an advantage over the alphabetical order. Then tw 

 removal of such a very strong growing apple as Blenheim Pippin from. the gener ai 

 lis to the standards is most wis! "beaJS? it is quite unfit for the bush method 

 culture But, as the lists now give both bush trees and standards, that 

 sitated longer ones. Small curators need, in gardens moderate grower jesri) 

 croppers, and general or reliable croppers also. These the lists give. *>£™ 

 being could give a list ofthe best half dozen apples for every soil, sit 

 district in the kingdom. Growers must of necessity do something fco-jU* «P" 



to find out the rest for them«elve« A 



su 

 es 



