September 18, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
245 
vigour in an extension of growth, increased root action, greater 
supplies of nutriment passed to enlarged parts through freer, 
because younger and wider channels. The system pursued is a 
modified rod and spur system of Vine cultivation. The principle 
is to train in a young growth wherever there is space or one is 
wanted to displace a rod weakened by fruiting, and so by 
rejuvenation of the Vines an abundant crop is had of bunches, 
large, medium, and small, all line in berry and of good finish, so 
that every want and taste is catered for and met, whether it be 
the big bunch for parties or the medium and small for everyday 
consumption. This, I thinV is the system your correspondent 
wishes to see extended in gardens, so as to increase the cropping 
of the Vines, secure crops of Grapes of greater interest and 
service to the proprietors and doing more credit to the cultivators. 
It is the principle of the rod denuded of its crudities, the prin¬ 
ciple of extension without its disadvantages, in that no growth is 
allowed to he made, but that having full exposure to light and 
air, especially those leaves that are to transmit elaborated and 
assimilated nutriment to the buds at their base, and which are to 
be pruned to or reserved for furnishing next season’s Grapes. It 
is a certain means of keeping the roots active, and of reliance on a 
crop on parts not previously burdened and weakened by fruiting. 
The only danger is in overcrowding, common alike to the rod, 
spur, or that to which your correspondent has directed attention 
in a manner which should set Grape growers thinking how best 
they can act to increase the produce of their Vines. I thank 
‘ Experientia docet,” as many others will no doubt without 
giving it public expression, which is to be regretted, as it might 
prove an incentive of something equally trite on other subjects of 
interest aud importance. 
Extension is the panacea propounded by our friend for weak 
and gross Vines, the roots in both cases not being practically 
under control. I have had Vines in “ borders ” of a yard wide with 
an 8-foot gravel walk and lawn in front To get at the roots in 
such case was simply impracticable. They had rambled away. I 
found some in planting an Ai’bor Vitae on the lawn at least 
8 yards distant. A V'ine filled a house 40 feet by 20 feet in 
one case, and that a Black Hamburgh Some young canes were 
run up, and though they did not improve much in vigour the 
first year they were much stronger in the second, though the 
crop, through the fruit being borne on young wood, left at 
pruning 6 inches to 5 or G feet long, was much better; in fact, 
double in weight to what it was in the previous year. The Vines 
kept on improving. In a mixed vinery I once had charge of was 
a Vine labelled Alicante. It was an old vinery planted in 1837, 
roots all out-ide. The other Vines were fairly satisfactory in 
fruiting, but this particular Vine was sterile. Its roots went 
straight down by the wall; subsoil clay over freestone They 
were in a cold wet medium, bare and fibreless to the depth of the 
border. Nothing was allowed to be done at the roots. The 
Vine must not be touched. The growth was gross as to length, 
long-jointed, and though it was late in starting it soon out¬ 
distanced all others in growth. It must be kept to its space, 
therefore was stopped, and it showed fruit on the laterals—poor 
things of bunches. A cane was run up, which ripened and gave 
fruit the year after, which, though it did not colour well, gave 
satisfaction, and that was everything.—G. Abbey. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
(Continued from page 226.) 
ARRANGING IN STANDS. 
That there is a right and a wrong method of arranging Chrys¬ 
anthemum blooms in stands for exhibition is plainly exemplified at 
almost every show which is held throughout the country. To a 
beginner this matter may appear to be of little importance, but when 
he ha3 had experience he will find that a considerable advantage is 
gained by arranging his blooms in the stands in a manner calcu¬ 
lated to show them to the best advantage. An error into which 
nearly all young exhibitors fall is this, they cut the blooms with 
much too short a stem, thus fixing them in the tubes so that the 
blooms rest on the board, which dwarfs them in appearance consider¬ 
ably. The correct method of arranging in the stands is to place the 
blooms at such a height from the board that the size of each is 
displayed to the best advantage. The stem should be cut 1 inch 
longer than the tube ; this allows for elevation, when cups are not 
used of the pattern as shown by fig. 25. When the blooms are re¬ 
quired to be higher than the stem will allow, and cups without 
springs are used, narrow strips of brown paper wrapped round the 
stem of the tuba will raise the blooms to any required height. If 
they are placed too high in the stands they look ungainly ; there is 
a certain point at which they look the best, and this I will en¬ 
deavour to make as clear as possible. I will take a stand of 
twelve incurved flowers, giving the names of those varieties which 
I consider make a representative collection, arranged according to 
the colours of each so as to harmonise agreeably. This is a point 
requiring much consideration, as nothing is worse to the eye than 
two flowers the colours of which kill each other, so to speak, by 
being staged in the wrong place. I will also give the height at 
which the back, middle, and front row flowers should be placed 
from the board measuring from the bottom florets ; the names of 
the blooms in each row read from left to right as follows—Queen 
of England, 5 by 3 inches ; Empress of India, 5 by 3 inches ; 
Alfred Salter, 5 by 3 inches ; Lord Alcester, 5 by 3 inches ; 
Princess of Wales, 5 by 2f inches ; John Salter, 5 by 2f inches ; 
Jeanne d’Arc, 4} by 2£ inches ; Prince Alfred, 5 by 2| inches ; Jar- 
din des Plantes, 44 by 2j inches ; Hero of Stoke Newington, 44 by 
2£ inches ; Refulgence, 4 by 2£ inches ; Princess of Teek, 4^ by 
2i inches. The blooms in the hack row should be elevated 
l| inch from the stand, those in the middle 1 \ inch, and those in 
the front row fixed 1£ inch above the board or stand. By fixing 
them at these heights every bloom is shown to the best advantage. 
The figures following the blooms denote their sizes, the first one 
representing the diameter, while the second gives the depth. A selec 
tion of varieties could be made to appear much larger on the 
boards by including such as Golden Empress and Golden Queen of 
England in the middle row in the place of, say, Princess of Wales 
and Jeanne d’Arc ; the last named would then be brought into the 
front row in the place of Princess Teck and Jardin des Plantes ; 
but such a stand as that is seldom if ever seen. Therefore I 
think it far better to enumerate those varieties which are in more 
general use than to mislead by including the unlikely ones. Reflexed 
and Anemone flowers should be arranged in the same manner as. 
the incurved. 
The varieties of Japanese with long drooping florets require 
setting up a little higher on the board, just sufficient to allow the 
points of the florets to stand clear. The cupping of these should 
be done in a careful and judicious manner. Each variety requires 
special study, as the forms vary so much in character. Take Boule 
d’Or or Meg Merrilies for instance, neither of which possessing' 
long drooping florets should be “ cupped ” in such a manner that 
the florets are placed in a horizontal position ; the tube should be 
of sufficient diameter to support them in such a way that they 
retain their drooping character, not quite in such a perpendicular 
form as when growing on the plant, because in this way much of 
the size of the bloom is lost by not spreading them out to the best 
advantage. Place them in the tube then in such a way that the 
florets droop easily ; the relative length of these of each variety 
must guide the exhibitor in fixing the height from the stand. It 
would be almost impossible to define accurately the height in inches 
of each flower. The number of varieties of Japanese so far ex¬ 
ceeds the incurved that a “ selection ” if given would perhaps not 
be available at a given date. Owing to the interlacing of the florets 
of some sorts and recurving of others the blooms in this section 
are not so easily arranged in the tubes as the incurved type. The 
best way to proceed is the following : Take a bloom of any of the 
long-petalled varieties, turn it upside down, slip the tube over the 
stem, place the stem of the flower in the mouth of the operator ; 
this sets both hands at liberty. If the florets are interlaced at the 
back of the flower, with loth hands disentangle them and spread 
them out evenly, then with one hand hold them in position, and 
with the other hand slip the tube into its place close under the 
base of the florets. Tightly hold the stem of the flower and the 
tube in the hand, turning it into position so that the correct height 
to fix the tube in position can be ascertained ; by slipping up or 
down at will, the florets can thus be brought into the required form,, 
then with the cork as previously described make the bloom fast in- 
the tube. The new type Anemone Japanese owing to their long 
guard florets require treating in the same manner as the others. 
Pompon and Anemone Pompons are generally shown in 
bunches of three flowers, one on each stem, with their foliage. In 
arranging these in the stands the flower stems for back row should 
be cut 7 inches long, for the middle row 5| inches, and for the front 
row 44 inches ; the blooms are placed in a triangular position, two at 
the top and one below, just sufficiently low to allow of the bottom 
flower being plainly seen without in any way interfering with those 
above. As varieties varying in size of flower it is difficult to say 
how much the front flower requires to be lower than those above ; 
therefore the size of the flowers must guide the grower in this 
respect, but 1 inch will allow for the arrangement in most instance 5 . 
The peduncles of some varieties are so weak that supports at o 
necessary to show the blooms to the best advantage, in fact, all 
are much improved by fixing them firmly and exactly where wished. 
Nothing is better for this purpose than galvanised wire, about the 
thickness of small knitting needles, cut the same length as the 
flower stem. About 3 inches from the point at the top give the 
