426 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 13, 1890 
The National Chrysanthemum Society. 
May I be allowed to express the desirability (which is very generally 
felt among the patrons of the National Chrysanthemum Society) of 
obtaining a more fitting place to represent them in their annual Exhi¬ 
bition ? The associations connected with the Aquarium are such as to 
debar very many of the supporters of the N.C.S. from taking part in it 
there. I feel sure that any loss that might be sustained through the 
removal would be more than fully made up elsewhere to the amount 
contributed by the Aquarium Company. Should there be any doubt 
about this, I should be pleased to contribute with others to meet any 
reasonable deficiency, and would offer &5 as a first instalment.— JAMES 
L. Wood, Wood Green. 
Chrysanthemums—Exhibitors’ Mistakes. 
T was interested in Mr. Molyneux’s article on the above in last 
week’s Journal, and I hope it may have the desired effect of causing 
some intending exhibitors to go about their preparations, &c., in a more 
steady and careful manner. There is another “Exhibitors’ mistake” I 
should like to add to those mentioned by the above esteemed authority— 
namely, allowing themselves to be interrupted during their preparations 
by so many visitors. It is a common practice when an exhibitor of any 
note is known to be dressing his flowers for a number of gardeners to 
call upon him “to see how they look now they are cut.” And when 
they have seen they still linger discussing the merits of this or the 
demerits of that, which distracts the operator’s attention from his work 
when the time is very valuable to him. An exhibitor of experience 
knows that the shorter the interval which elapses between his flowers 
being dressed and placed before the judges the fresher they appear. 
Therefore he allows himself the time which he knows to be requisite to 
do the work well, and it is very annoying to be continually interrupted 
by callers. I forward this to you on the eve of the show season, hoping, 
should you publish it, that it may be the means of causing some of 
these wanderers to nurse their inquisitiveness until they can see them 
on the show day, and thus let the intending candidate for Chrys¬ 
anthemum honours get through his work in peace and quietness.— 
J. Tunnington, Ripley Castle. 
Chrysanthemum John Doughty. 
In reply to your correspondent I would advise him not to stage John 
Doughty in the same stand as Bronze Queen of England, or John Lam¬ 
bert with Golden Queen. I think it has not been claimed for the new 
comers that they were distinct, but only superior in build, and that 
recommendation l shall be able to endorse. I have never grown a 
bloom of Bronze Queen fit to put on a stand, or G >lden Queen approach¬ 
ing any of the other members of the family, but John Doughty, I think, 
will reward my effort after another season, and nothing could be more 
satisfactory than the manner blooms of John Lambert are developing.—S , 
Chrysanthemums at the Public Parks. 
Having a few hours’ leisure I proceeded on Saturday, November 1st. 
to make an inspection of the various Chrysanthemum Shows open to 
the public in the metropolitan district. Commencing with the Temple 
Show, I was agreeably surprised to find such a fine show of blooms, 
especially after the late foggy weather. A few of the most noteworthy 
old varieties were Avalanche, Mrs. J. Wright, Stanstead Sumrise, 
Maiden’s Blush, Edwin Molyneux, La Triomphante, Hamlet, Elaine, 
and W. Holmes ; whilst of new varieties Albert Victor, Madame Louise 
Leroy, and Mrs. Stephenson Clarke were most worthy of notice. In¬ 
curved varieties were not so good, the petals having a tendency to reflex, 
most noticeable in the Queen family, the reasons for which are, that the 
house being unheated and open at the sides to all weathers, it contains 
an atmosphere charged with excessive moisture, which is exceedingly 
detrimental to the perfect opening of incurved blooms. 
At Battersea Park the large Palm house is entirely filled with a very 
good collection, effectively arranged with a quantity of Palms, which 
add much to the beauty of the flowers, and takes off that heaviness so 
noticeable in large groups of Chrysanthemums. In such a large collec¬ 
tion, containing about 1500 well grown plants of the best varieties, it 
was difficult to make a selection. The most conspicuous were Edwin 
Molyneux, Avalanche, Sunflower, Cullingfordi, M. Weick fils, W. 
Holmes, Mrs. G. Bundle, George Glenny, and Mrs. Dixon, which are 
grown in quantity and massed, a system of staging that shows them to 
the best advantage. There were also good blooms of Prince Alfred, 
Lord Wolseley, Princess Beatrice, Prince of Wales, Queen of England, 
Empress of India, and Lord Alcester. The whole of the flowers were 
very fresh, and with careful attention will last in good condition for a 
considerable time. 
Calling at Southwark on my return journey I siw a very creditable 
group, arranged in a span-roofed house. It contained some very good 
specimens of Fair Maid of Guernsey, E. Audiguier, Edwin Molyneux, 
and W. Holmes, the last-named variety being grown in quantity. 
This collection is later than the others, and will be seen at its best in 
a week or ten days’ time. 
I regret that through pressure of business I was unable to visit 
Finsbury Park, where, from information received, there is an excellent 
display of bloom.—II. P. 
Chrysanthemums at Froyle Park, Alton. 
Froyle Park, the residence of J. Murray Bobertson, Esq , has 
become during the last few years famous for its Chrysanthemums, and 
there is just now in the conservatory such a display as is seldom 
seen. Tne p’ants are grown on the large bloom system, four to six 
blooms on a plant, very dwarf, and arranged as they are in a long 
sloping group, with the Japanese and incurved varieties mixed, and the 
colours artistically blended, few plants could equal the Chrysanthemum 
for effect. The plants to be seen at Froyle are strong, well furnished, 
with healthy dark green foliage, and the buds were evidently taken at 
what is usually termed in gardening language “ the right time.” Among 
the Japanese varieties I noticed superb blooms of Etoile de Lyon, 
Avalanche, Stanstead Surprise, Edwin Molyneux, Mr. Orchard, Marsa, 
Phoebus, Mr J. M. Pigny, Boule d’Or, Golden Dragon, &c., and although 
all are good, the best of the incurved are represented by Queen of 
England, extra g. od ; the Empress family, Princess of Wales, Violet 
Tomlin, Jeanne d’Arc, Prince Alfred, and Lord Wolseley. Mr. Coster 
evidently thoroughly understands the culture of the Chrysanthemum, 
but attributes his success in a great measure to the kindness and 
liberality of Mr. Bobertson. Damping, the great enemy of the grower 
of specimen Chry-anthemum blooms, is almost absent from Froyle 
Park this season, and Mr. Coster thinks his preventive has been the use 
of Thomson’s manure instead of the usual farmyard liquid. The side 
stages in thi3 conservatory are filled with fine plants of Bouvardias in 
all the best known varieties blooming very freely.—G. Trinder, Dog- 
•mersjield Gardens, Winclifield. 
Notes in Ireland. 
Condor. —This will probably go into the reflexed Japanese class, 
judging from a magnificent specimen before me (kindly sent by Mr. 
Crawford, Kilcronagh Gardens, near Waterford), where so many of the 
best splendid varieties are already classed. He sends it to me to see 
how some of his largest blooms are damping off to illustrate the accuracy 
of Mr. Wright’s propositions on that subject last issue. First as to its 
size. I have carefully measured the bloom before me, and find it 
1)4 inches in diameter, and when spread out nearly 80 inches around. 
1 mention that to show the size this variety can be grown to. The 
petals are five-eighths of an inch across and wonderfully numerous in 
the centre. The outer petals are all white, while the centre ones have a 
rich shade of pinkish lilac very effective and telling. 
Damping. —I have some fine blooms of Etoile de Lyon, Mrs. 
Falconer Jameson, Avalanche, Fair Maid, M. Freeman, Mr. and Mrs H. 
Cannell, C. Orchard, Elaine, Criterion, and so on, besides a sport I shall 
immediately refer to, in my greenhouse, and none show signs of damp¬ 
ing. This’ has set me thinking, as growers are not at all satisfied of the 
cause in each individual case. The worst cases I have always found 
where the feeding was most marked and continuous, especially with 
sulphate of ammonia. This does not refer to my friend above named, as 
I am unaware if he used liquid feeding of any kind. I have recom¬ 
mended another grower to use fire heat who apprehended damping, but 
he told me this might “rush” his exhibition blooms prematurely before 
the show. This there was no gainsaying, and thus the exhibitor is 
between two misfortunes. I have found keeping the temperature not 
much above 50° Fahr. did not cause my blooms to come prematurely or, 
and there has been no damping, but it is only fair to say I only grow as 
an amateur for my own amusement and information. I thoroughly 
agree with Mr. Wright in his contention that the time to take thought 
of damping is not now, when it is visible, but to take precautions before¬ 
hand. Thorough exposure to light and air in the summer and autumn, 
proper soil, manure and potting, and repotting, just at the right time, 
and so on as pointed out by Mr. Molyneux, are the real antidotes. 
Since writing the above I have received a further note from Mr. 
Crawford, who is a large grower and cultivator, saying it was remark¬ 
able that those Chrysanthemums he had put into the houses, no matter 
how dry and how airy (and he had a few degrees of fire heat in the 
greenhouse) they continued to damp, while an extra collection for which 
he had not room indoors were placed under a temporary structure of 
sashes placed against a south wall not one had damped. They were 
fully open in front and the ends, and on those he says he must mainly 
depend. This is certainly suggestive. 
Lady Camilla. —At the Waterford Show last year I noticed 
seemingly a new variety in the stand of Hon. Dudley Fortescue, 
Summerville, as shown by Mr. J. A. Calthorpe. I procured one of the 
blooms and forwarded it to Mr. Wright for his opinion. He only saw it 
several days after being cut, and could only say it much resembled 
Etoile de Lyon (Cannell). At present I have a plant of both growing 
side by side in my garden, and though the colour of the blooms somewhat 
resemble, they are otherwise wholly different—the colour of the blboms 
in Lady Camilla even being a much deeper lilac tint. The height of the 
latter, too, is twice that of the former. Mr. Calthorpe cannot account 
for this ardent sport further than that it grew in the same pot with 
Mrs. Beale he had from Messrs. Carter.—W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
