October 28, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 305 
- Writing to us on the weather in ^Lancashire a 
Grange-over-Sands correspondent states :—“We have not had any 
snow here, but severe frost. On the night of the I9th inst. the 
mercury fell to 23°, or 9° of frost; on the 20th to 27°, or 5° of frost; 
and on the 21st to 22°, or 10° of frost.” 
- We have received from Messrs. Sutton & Sons of Reading 
a sample of Magnum Bonum Potatoes, with a request that we 
should test their quality. We have done so, and found them 
excellent. Had they been more floury their shape when cooked 
would not have been retained, while at the same time they were 
melting, the flavour delicate and most agreeable. On all soils 
the tubers are not equally good, and they usually improve in 
quality as the spring approaches. 
- We recently noticed an admirable specimen of MikAnia 
pulverulenta trained over a pyramidal trellis in a large pot, 
and as the trellis was well covered with foliage the effect was 
very good. The leaves are palmately divided with irregularly cut 
segments, very dark green, of a velvety appearance. The plant 
is climbing in habit, and may be trained up the rafters of a stove 
or employed as a plant for the stages. A compost of rich loam 
with a good proportion of sand and abundant drainage suit it 
well. 
- Referring to lifting unripe Potatoes, Mr. W. 
Roberts, of Penzance, slates that “ In Cornwall the early varieties 
are almost without exception dug immediately they finish growing, 
be the stalk green or not. I am quite aware that many gardeners 
allow Potatoes to remain in the ground until the stems are quite 
dead ; but surely a plan that is generally adopted here is worth 
trying, considering that several hundreds of tons are dispatched 
weekly to the London and other markets.” 
- A correspondent writes—“There is every prospect this 
autumn of a fine display of Chrysanthemums in the vicinity 
of Liverpool. The fine summer weather in the later stages of 
their growth thoroughly ripened and matured the wood. Last 
year the growth was rapid and soft, and under such conditions 
well-developed blooms were scarcely expected. The weather has 
during the past week or two been most favourable for the early 
development of the flower buds, and if all goes well for a few 
more weeks some magnificent blooms both as regards colour, 
size, and form may be expected at the Liverpool Show.” 
- From the same source we learn that “ The Allamandas 
at Norris Green are still magnificent. The plants are grown 
in pots and are trained over the roof of the stove, and have been 
blooming continuously for some months past. The flowers are 
not so large now as they were earlier in the season, although they 
are quite as numerous.” 
- A correspondent writing relative to the weather 
near Sheffield states:—“We have had a week of very 
cold and frosty weather here. The thermometer has registered 
from 4° to 10° below freezing point on different nights, Tuesday 
night being the most severe, accompanied with a slight fall of 
snow ; not sufficient, however, to afford protection to many plants, 
as the immature growth has been blackened by the cold, and 
now the foliage is fast falling, leaving some trees as denuded as 
in the depth of winter. The crop of fruit about here has not been 
good, neither has the quality been excellent; but almost all kinds 
have made good growth, and with plenty of fruit buds let us hope 
that these early frosts have not injured them.” 
- Two elegant plants for the tropical fernery are Selagi- 
NELLA erythrophylla and S. HA3MATODES, both of the cau¬ 
lescent type, with flattened closely-pressed fronds of triangular 
form. S. erythrophylla is particularly neat, the fronds appearing 
as if they had been carefully pressed in a book, so flat and even 
are all the leaflets, which are of a fine dark green hue. S. haema- 
todes has rather larger and coarser fronds of a bright fresh green 
colour, but the leaflets in that are also so closely placed as to bear 
the pressed appearance which characterises the other species. 
Both succeed well in shallow well-drained pots or pans containing 
a light compost of peat, loam, and sand, and they may be easily 
increased by division. 
- Under the attractive title of the “ Gardens of the 
Sun ; or a Naturalist’s Journal on the Mountains and in the 
Forests and Swamps of Borneo and the Sulu Aichipelago,” a 
new book is announced by Mr. F. W. Burbidge. The admitted 
ability of the author as a writer and practical horticulturist, and 
his peculiar field of observation, invests the coming volume wiih 
considerable interest. 
- The Journal of Forestry, in an excellent article on the 
advantages of autumn planting, concludes as follows :—“ In 
nearly every instance of forest tree planting the work can be 
better and more expeditiously performed in the autumn than in 
either the winter or the spring, and by doing so the losses from 
everything but game are reduced to a minimum. Still, the dilatory 
and less successful practice of winter and spring planting gene¬ 
rally prevails in most parts of the country, and often in circum¬ 
stances where no excuse can be made for neglecting to plant in 
the autumn—the most economical as well as the most favourable 
season for the operation. As knowledge spreads, and the prin¬ 
ciples of plant life are better understood among those in charge 
of forests and plantations, autumn planting will be more generally 
adopted, with much saving to the landowner and more success 
and credit to the skilful operator.” 
COMING CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
Now that the Chrysanthemum season may be said to have 
arrived, and the exhibitions fast approaching, a few remarks upon 
the provisions the various societies have made to ensure good 
displays may not be uninteresting to some of our readers. We 
have before us the schedules of nineteen Societies, some of which 
are exclusively devoted to the improvement of the Chrysanthemum, 
while others endeavour to render their exhibitions as generally 
interesting as possible by offering prizes for plants, fruit, and 
vegetables. In all, however, special provision is made for the 
Chrysanthemum. 
The first Show on the list is that of the Brixton Society, which 
is to be held on November the 11th and 12tb. Thirty-five classes 
are enumerated, fifteen being devoted to Chrysanthemums, the 
prizes varying in value from 40,s', to 2 s. 0>d. Provision is made for 
specimen plants, which are usually very good there, and the various 
sections of cut blooms, which are also generally well represented. 
One speciality worth notice is a class confined to growers who 
have not previously taken a prize for Chrysanthemums. The 
Stoke Newington Society follows with an Exhibition on November 
the 15th and lGth. This old and well-known Society is solely 
devoted to the encouragement of Chrysanthemum culture. The 
most important class is that for a collection of ten specimens in 
111-inch pots, for which a six-guinea silver cup is offered as the 
first prize. The Borough of Lambeth Amateur Chrysanthemum 
Society will hold their sixth exhibition on November 15tb, lGth, 
and 17th. The competition is confined to amateurs within a mile 
and a quarter of the Elephant and Castle, and yet the general 
good quality of the exhibits staged there is surprising. The 
prizes are not high, but they include four silver cups as first prizes. 
One stipulation, so far as we know, does not occur in any other 
schedule—viz., “that all blooms be shown as grown, and any 
exhibitor staging blooms or plants with the flowers artificially 
dressed shall be disqualified.” The Putney Society will hold a Show 
of one day’s duration on November the lGth, when a satisfactory 
display may be expected, the cut blooms being generally good 
there. There is nothing particularly noteworthy in the schedule 
except the class for the best collection of specimens of not less 
than twenty varieties, a silver cup and three prizes being offered. 
The Walton and Weybridge Exhibition will take place upon the 
same day, when, in the twenty classes devoted to Chrysanthemums 
alone, a display of considerable merit may be confidently expected. 
Curiously in the schedule that we have there is no intimation as to 
the value of the prizes. Standard plants are usually very good at 
Walton. 
The Southampton Show will be held on the lGth and 17tb, 
