Sfptember 23, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
2G7 
B. Tube half an inch long, more than one-eighth of an inch thick. 
F . corallina. —Perfectly glabrous, young stems polished ; habit 
robust ; stems long and spreading, with few branches ; flowers 
3 inches long, 2 to 2£ inches across the sepals ; sepals bright crimson, 
not reflexed to be at right angles with the flower ; corolla purple. 
The dark green or reddish leaves are strong and almost leathery, 
ovate, tapering, or slightly rounded at the base, with red midribs 
about 3 inches long. This is a beautiful plant, one of ihe finest, and 
bearing the largest flowers of all. On the coast of Devon it grows 
against the houses as high as the eaves, but inland, not far distant, 
becomes herbaceous. It was raised by Mr. Pince of Exeter, and was 
expected to supersede F. exoniensis, which, however, maintained its 
position. F. discolor, I think, was probably one of the parents. 
F. exoniensis. —Stems pubescent, especially also the ovary and 
tube ; habit more branching than the last, and stems rather slender ; 
flowers not quite 3 inches long, about 2 inches broaj! ; tube rather 
more than half an inch long ; sepals dull red, spreading, and even re¬ 
curved ; corolla purplish red ; leaves ovate, inclined to be cordate at 
the. base. This beautiful and distinct kind was lost sight of by the 
majority of those interested in the genus till about three years ago, 
when it was brought to notice on the appearance of a figure of F. 
corallina under its name. It is of interest as one of the early popular 
Fuchsias, and, like F. corallina, was raised by Mr. Pince of Exeter. 
It has been said to be from a cross between F. cordifolia and F. 
globosa. There is, however, no evidence in its appearance of the 
former species. 
F. discolor. —Stems long and spreading ; flowers 2£ inches long, 
rather more than 2 inches across the sepals, differing from those of 
F. exoniensis by being glabrous ; sepals bright red ; corolla purple. 
The narrowly ovate leaves differ from those of F. corallina in their 
smaller size, greener colour, and softer texture. One of the largest I 
have measured is 2 inches long. This is considered the hardiest of 
the hardy Fuchsias, but it is of less beauty than the two preceding. 
It was raised from Patagonian seed. 
C. Tube about three-eighths of an inch long, slender, scarcely, if at 
all, exceeding an eighth of an inch in thickness. 
F. gracilis. —Tall, erect, and slender, more or less branching ; 
flowers 1} inch to 2i inches long in the different forms, 1 to lj inch 
broad ; sepals narrow and slightly curved. Under this species I am 
obliged to group four different forms, all, however, with the same 
flowers. The true F. gracilis, etill more slender than these, with 
rather large ovary and tube, I do not happen to have. One form I 
have received from Backhouse as F. salicifolia, a name I do not find 
recorded. Its stems produce branches down to the base ; the 
peduncles are nearly as long as the flowers, a greater length than I 
find ^in any other. Another form is very pubescent, the leaves 
reddish and the flowers profuse. This I call “ Rufus.'’ The next 
(“ Free Lance ”) is nearly glabrous, with numerous small green 
leaves and rather small flowers, and branching very little. The third 
(“ Burning Bush ”) is nearly glabrous, but the leaves are rather 
larger than those of the last, and the branches interlace to form a 
thicket. All these, with the exception of the first, have been known 
as gracilis, and they cannot be referred to anything that has been dis¬ 
tinguished under a name. They are probably seed variations. All 
the hardy Fuchsias are referred by Mr. Hemsley to one species—viz., 
F. macrostema, but for garden purposes they are more conveniently 
distinguished as above. The true F. coccinea is not hardy ; it differs 
from all these by having very short hairy and flat petioles. F. 
recurvata (“ Bot. Mag." t. 3521) is apparently a very fine variety, 
and worth looking out for, as probably it exists in some collection.— 
R. Irwin Lyncii. 
NOTES ON GRAPES AT THE EDINBURGH SHOW. 
For beauty of finish some bunches were perfection, notably Mr. 
McKelvie’s Muscats, which were of a deep golden colour and without spot 
or blemish. The whole of the Grapes exhibited by Mr. McKelvie proved 
him to be a first-rate cultivator. Such varieties as Alnwick Seedling, 
Alicante, Gros Guillaume, and Gro3 Colman were shown by | others 
in what may be called perfection of finish as far as concerned appearance ; 
but if the question of taste comes in, then certainly we cannot call them 
“ perfectly finished,” as they would still require some time before being in 
good condition for the dinner table. However, as late Grapes will always 
(most likely) be shown before they are really at their best for eating, we 
may say that some of the samples in Edinburgh might be called A1 in re¬ 
gard to finish. Allowance can be made for the fact that time alone is 
needed to develope the edible qualities, as other evidences of “ finish ” go 
far to assure us that in due time they will also be A1 in their various 
classes in regard to dessert qualities, though some of them have a standard 
of perfection in that respect which is not particularly high. 
Gros Maroc was shown fine in colour and bloom, and it is really a 
very handsome Grape. It colours more easily and quickly than Gros 
Oolman, and its fine berry will insure its being pretty largely grown by 
those who think more of appearance than taste, as certainly it cannot be 
called high class in regard to the latter quality. 
Barbarossa (Gros Guillaume) maintained its character for being a 
handsome-hunched variety, and though the size of berry was much behind 
Colman and Gros Maroc it still presented a very fine appearance. 
Madresfield Court in some cases was wanting in finish, though there 
were some fine samples shown. Lady Downe’s was wonderfully well 
coloured, but not particularly striking in regard to either size of hunch or 
berry. That fine-flavoured Grape Muscat Hamburgh was well shown, 
some fine bunches well finished being staged. Gros Colman was, as a 
rule, wanting in high colour and bloom, but a noticeable exception to this 
was the bunch shown by Mr. Jeffrey, Craigcleuch, Langholm. It was 
highly coloured and well bloomed. Mrs. Pince showed its peculiarity of 
not colouring well at the footstalk, some fine bunches suffering in appear¬ 
ance from this. It is sometimes seen thoroughly well coloured, but more 
often not. It is a pity, as the quality is good, its distinct Muscat flavour 
being a great recommendation for a late black Grape. 
Duke of Buccleuch was shown by several exhibitorsin very good style ; 
in most cases the bunches were not very large, but berries were good, 
colour fair, but not so fine as has been seen before. No signs of cracking 
were visible, the bunches being compact and firm. Messrs. Thomson and 
Sons exhibited a fine basket of “ The Duke,” a little behind in colour but 
otherwise good. They also showed a basket of Muscats well up in colour 
and good in bunch and berry. Duchess of Buccleuch wa3 shown in con¬ 
siderable quantity, and in several instances the bunches were very large and 
finely coloured. One bunch would weigh about C lbs. and was beautifully 
finished. Another bunch would be nearly 5 lbs., if not over that. It was, 
however, deficient in colour, as often happens. “The Duchess ” carried 
the prizes in the competition for the best flavoured white, several 
bunches of it being Bhown in that class. 
Chasselas Napoleon, a handsome white Grape not so much grown as it 
should be, was shown in grand condition by Mr. Ramsay, Fordel. Its 
qualities are by no means inferior, it fruits freely and keeps well into the 
winter when well ripened, though sometimes it cracks and is unsatisfac¬ 
tory. Mrs. Pearson was shown fine in bunch and berry, though a little 
longer time was needed to improve the colour. This Grape seems a use¬ 
ful variety, though not of the best for quality. Many finely coloured samples 
ofGol ien Hamburgh were shown. Its colour is pretty, but its quality and 
flavour are poor. There were very good examples of other varieties of 
Grapes, and there were also some very poor exhibits that would have 
been better kept in the background.— Visitor. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
(Continued from page 246.) 
JUDGING CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
I have much pleasure in incorporating in my series of chapters 
on the Chrysanthemum the following notes on judging, with which 
I have been favoured by Mr. J. Wiugiit, of the Journal oj 
Horticulture, who has had great experience in the work, and shared 
in awarding the twenty-five-guinea cups that I have had the for¬ 
tune to win in excellent competition ; and it is gratifying to feel 
that my able opponents have borne willing testimony to the justice 
of the awards on the several occasions. 
Notes on Judging. —Chrysanthemum shows may b9 said to form 
a brilliaut close to the floral year. They are the last and brightest of 
exhibitions, and appear to be constantly increasing in number, extent, 
quality, and popularity. At no other shows are visitors more numerous, 
and especially more critical, and for no cut flowers are there so many 
substantial prize 3 offered as for the great November favourite. For these 
reasons the question of judging is of paramount importance. The blooms 
are grown to be judged, and cultivators strive to produce them in the 
best possible condition, whether they are placed iu public competition or 
arranged to form home exhibitions. Many of these are_ highly meri¬ 
torious, and the public are thoughtfully invited to share in the enjoyment 
of the owners of the collections. These are “ judged” unofficially, but 
judged nevertheless, and it is a consciousness of this fact that stimulates 
growers to excel in the culture of the plants and blooms. The root and 
mainspring of this commendable spirit of emulation is traceable to the 
public displays where man competes with man in friendly rivalry for the 
coveted prizes. 
It is obviously a matter of vital moment that these prizes be rightly 
awarded, both as an act of justice to individuals and as indicating a 
standard of excellence for the guidance of those cultivators who have still 
“ something to learn,” and these, it may be confidently stated, are in a 
considerable majority. A prize, then, wrongly adjudged is something 
more than an act of injustice to an individual, for it amounts to setting 
up a wrong standard ot value, which is a public misfortune. An example 
will render the matter clearer. Several stands of incurved flowers are 
placed in competition for a silver cup. Those in one stand range from 
5 to 6 or more inches in diameter, and 2 pr 2j inches deep ; the florets 
are broad, though some of them are not particularly fresh, but the blooms 
almost cover the board. Those in the competing stand range from I to 5 
inches in diameter, but are 3 inches or more deep ; the florets may n °t 
be quite so broad as the others, but are faultlessly disposed, and the 
blooms fresh and firm. Yet the prize is given to the former because ot 
their size and “ weightbut the latter term is a misnomer, for if the 
whole were weighed the so-called small aud “ light blooms would be 
the heavier because of their solidity. By such an award hollowness and 
roughness, which are really defects, are recognised as virtues, and culti¬ 
vators are invited to perpetuate those defects if they hope to win a silver 
