August 7, 1800. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
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vallia for diversity in inflorescence, sepals, petals, and lip. Twenty 
species have been figured in the “ Botanical Magazine,” and not one 
of these resembles M. Carderi in the symmetrical pendulous cam- 
panulate flowers, which show scarcely any tendency to obliquity 
in the position of the ovary relatively to the scape. Nor are the 
colours common to the genus, the predominance of white in this 
being very exceptional. Dr. Reichenbach refers it to the group 
Saccolabiatfe, in which the terminal lobe of the lip is conspicuously 
saccate, and to the near neighbourhood of his M. Houtteana 
{Illust. Hortic. t. 2106), in which the sheaths on the scape are 
lanceolate and loose, the perianth much shallower and more deeply 
divided, and the midlobe of the lip keeled within in the middle. 
Mr. Rolfe has pointed out to me a nearer alley in M. Troglodytes, 
E. Morren, in which the midlobe is, as in M. Carderi, quite even 
within, and the perianth of which more resembles that of the 
latter, though more deeply divided and very differently coloured. 
It further differs in the flowers being pedicelled, the narrow 
hypochile, and the acuminate column.” 
Hakea laurina. 
A member of the now forsaken Protea family, and like many 
of its relatives, it is, when in flower, very handsome. The leaves 
are long and narrow, the flowers in scarlet balls, from which the 
long yellow styles project to a considerable distance. 
l£ Unfortunately it is not one that will stand in the open air in 
any but the warmest parts of the British Islands, and being a 
native of a very dry part of Australia, even the warmer counties 
would probably prove too damp for it. This, however, remains to 
be seen, for hitherto it has been treated in England only as a green¬ 
house plant. In the Mediterranean regions it does well ; it has 
flowered profusely in Italy and Sicily, first, I believe, in Palermo 
in 1880, and later with the Baron Ricasoli, at his residence of 
Casa Bianica, near Argentaria, in Sardinia. Mr. "Watson informs 
me that under the name of the Sea Urchin it is the glory of the 
gardens of the Riviera, where in Mr. Hanbury’s garden, Mortalo, 
near Mentone, he saw a plant of it, forming a shrub 10 feet high, 
covered with balls of flowers 2b inches in diameter. The specimen 
here figured was flowered by M. Braves at Nice, by whom a flower¬ 
ing branch was sent to the Royal Gardens in 1889. It is a native 
of the south-west coast of Australia, where it ranges on hills from 
Cape Arid to King George’s Sound.” 
The Culture of the Chrysanthemum. 
At a recent meeting of the Dalston Amateur Chrysanthemum Society 
the President (Mr. W. Holmes) delivered an instructive lecture upon 
The Culture of Chrysanthemums,” of which the following is the 
substance. 
After some introductory remarks by Mr. Arthur Hill, the President 
proceeded to give a rough outline of the necessary operations and “ time 
table ” for the cultivation of Chrysanthemum blooms for exhibition 
purposes, specially applicable to Dalston and similar districts, and 
based his remarks upon the following carefully prepared directions :— 
November (at the shows), first consider and decide positively which of 
the sections it is preferred to grow ; (at home) second, estimate exactly 
the number of plants you can accommodate when the time arrives for 
housing ; December, secure a sufficient number of good clean cuttings, 
make them carefully, pot into a suitable light soil, and place in a cool 
position, when struck pot into thumbs or 2J-inch pots ; January, secure 
cuttings of those varieties that could not be obtained in December, and 
treat in a similar manner ; February, shift all p'ants that may be ready 
into small 60’s or 3 ^-inch pots, keep close for about a week, afterwards give 
a moderate amount of air during daytime, specially guarding against 
frost, and keep the plants to a single stem ; March, shift the remainder of 
the plants which were not ready in February, and treat in a similar 
manner; April, repot all the strongest plants into 32’s or 6-inch pots, keep 
close at night for a week or ten days, and then give all the air possible ; 
May, repot the remainder of the collection, and treat in a similar 
manner ; June, shift the strongest plants into their flowering pots—viz., 
IG’s or 8|-inch, stake and tie securely ; July, shift remainder of plants 
and treat in a similar manner, and arrange plants in summer quarters ; 
August, secure suitable buds where possible, and having done so com¬ 
mence stimulants in very moderate proportions ; September, secure buds 
of those varieties that could not be taken during previous month ; 
October, house plants in greenhouse, and increase use of stimulant as 
buds develope into flowers ; November, keep a strict watch over flowers, 
remove malformed or damping petals, look out for earwigs after dark, 
and one or two days before the show cut and dress the blooms, stage on 
regular boards, and win. 
Speaking to the above “ directions,” Mr. Holmes, in a chatty and 
conversational manner, said they were assembled for the purpose of 
disseminating such knowledge as they happened to possess of the cul¬ 
tivation of their pet flower, the Chrysanthemum. It was somewhat un¬ 
usual that meetings in the interest of that flower should be held at a 
time of the year when the Queen of Summer, their favourite flower, 
the Rose, had so nearly reached the zenith of its beauty and perfection. 
The Queen of Autumn, however, was their pet flower, and out of in¬ 
terest for it, no less than for their earnest regard for the Society, they 
did not hesitate to summon a meeting at the present period of the year 
to discuss the best methods of producing it. If any justification were 
needed for holding that meeting, it would not be difficult to find plenty. 
In the first place, it was pretty well known that the present year was 
the centenary of the introduction of the flower into England. As they 
were probably aware, it was proposed in November next to hold larger 
and more extraordinary exhibitions than usual to celebrate the event, 
not only in London, but in most of the larger towns and suburbs around 
the metropolis. That being the case, they were surely justified in hold¬ 
ing an extraordinary meeting such as the present, to enable them to pay 
closer attention to the cultivation of the plant, and to produce such 
flowers as had not hitherto been seen. If further reasons were required 
it was only necessary to refer to the admirable statement which had 
been submitted by their Chairman and the Treasurer as to the progress 
which the Society had made, proving how strong was the hold which it 
had taken upon the florists in that particular district. He was glad to 
say that the enthusiasm displayed with regard to that flower was not 
confined to that district alone, for as Secretary of the National Chrys¬ 
anthemum Society he had during the past four or five months received 
no less than twenty applications from bodies of gentlemen in various 
parts of the country, who had bound themselves together, and were 
organising such societies as theirs. 
Having mentioned one or two other features indicative of the interest 
and enthusiasm which was evinced in the cultivation of the plant all 
over the world, the speaker went on to deal seriatim with the 
“directions” above referred to, and in the first place remarked that there 
were now some nine or ten sections set out in the catalogues, irrespective 
of the many forms of Japanese. Having explained the leading charac¬ 
teristics of these, the President said he had no hesitation in saying that 
the easiest to produce good exhibition flowers was the Japanese section. 
They were much easier to stage, they required less dressing, and were more 
largely grown than any other section. There was no more fruitful 
source of failure in the culture of the Chrysanthemum, or indeed of any 
other plant, than the attempt to grow more than they had accommodation 
for. He had seen many collections absolutely spoiled because of over¬ 
crowding, and owing to the fact that an attempt was made to do 
more than the capacity of the house or ground could provide for. He 
strongly recommended everyone to take double the number of cuttings 
required in consequence of the many risks to which the plants were 
exposed. The extra trouble was very small compared with the distinct 
advantage of having a large stock to select from. They must be careful 
that the cutting was “ clean cut,” and that it was made at the bottom of 
one of the joints. The reason for that was that in nineteen cases out 
of twenty roots would come from immediately below the axil of the 
leaf. If they did not make their cutting immediately below that axil 
the result was that the portion which was left on decayed until it 
reached the axil and then struck off. In the process of decay, however, 
the probability was that the whole cutting would be lost because it had 
not been made in the right place or cleanly. 
The soil must contain plenty of grit, and be thoroughly well drained ; 
and the young plants should be placed in thumbs, or 2-inch pots. It 
was a fact which was proved by experience that cuttings placed on the 
edge of the pot would strike in about two-thirds of the time which 
would be occupied if they were placed in the centre; and this was 
owing to the fact that the drainage on the edge of the pot was far more 
complete than was the case when the cuttings were surrounded by soil. 
As to position they should get an ordinary handlight, and place it in the 
greenhouse, taking care that there was not too much moisture. Very 
little water was required after the cuttings were put, in. One good 
sound watering should be given, to settle the plants, and they should 
then be left for a week or ten days. Everything must depend upon the 
surrounding conditions as to what quantity of water should be 
administered, but generally speaking very little was required for the 
first fortnight. They must not dib a deeper hole than the cuttings 
required, and care must be taken that it touched the base of the hole, 
as many hundreds shrivelled up in consequence of their not doing so. 
Then it was not advisable to grow year after year from the same plants, 
but stock should be interchanged with neighbouring florists. Generally 
speaking cuttings should be taken in December, but in the case of many 
varieties it was necessary to postpone doing so until January. Cuttings 
should always be shifted from one pot to another as soon as the roots 
reached the side of the pot. The best soil to use was that containing 
three-fifths of good rich loam, one-fifth of grit and oyster-shells pounded, 
one-fifth of the ordinary rotten manure, and a quart of good clean 
soot to every bushel of soil, for the purpose of preventing aphis and 
insects generally. The cuttings should be tightly potted. 
Having explained the best method of connecting the young plants 
with the bamboo canes, which were the best things to use for the pur¬ 
pose, the President went on to say that the first buds that were set were 
practically useless for exhibition purposes and should be discarded. 
