7L 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
[ July 27, 1893. 
Chrysanthemum Prospects. 
Several well-known trade and amateur growers are of the opinion 
that the present spell of moist, rainy weather will, after the long 
drought, start the plants into rapid growth, and thus delay bud for¬ 
mation, by which, instead of the season being an early one, it is more 
likely, in their opinion, to be rather late. It would be interesting to 
know how far this view is held by cultivators at large. 
A Japanese Chrvsanthemum Snotv. 
To those who have no idea of what a Chrysanthemum show is like in 
its native country, it may be useful to point out that in a collection of 
pictures by Mr. Alfred Parsons, now on view at the rooms of the Fine 
Art Society, 148, New Bond Street, there is a charming little piece of 
water colour drawing (No. 90) entitled “ A Chrysanthemum Show, 
Yokohama. November.” A covered building of bamboo with a wide 
opening in the middle of the roof through which a delicious fine sky is 
observable, has a bank of large-flowered Chrysanthemums on each side 
securely sheltered from the sun and wind. The flowers are big, massive, 
and of all colours, and the plants appear to be sunk in the ground, as no 
pots are visible. They are railed off, and a large open space is left for the 
public to walk about in. Ten or a dozen Japanese in native costume are 
enjoying the show, which is depicted so well by Mr. Parsons. The 
colours of the blooms are mostly white, yellow, purple, and crimson. 
The picture is bright and clear, and such an exhibit at any of our shows 
would meet with a very favourable reception. 
Chrysanthemums in New Zealand. 
The flowers staged at the recent meeting of the N.C.S. at the 
Aquarium were in some respects less interesting than those sent over by 
Mr. Earland, which were shown last September. On that occasion the 
varieties were stated to be seedlings raised from Colonial saved seed, 
and were all named by the raiser. The four blooms sent from Sydney 
were fairly well grown, but unfortunately no information was forth¬ 
coming as to whether they were true Australian seedlings or only old- 
established varieties. From correspondence read by the Secretary and 
by the Foreign Secretary, it appears that there had been for some time 
previous to the holding of the New Zealand shows a great deal of wet 
weather, and as the Colonial growers do not resort to protection of any 
sort the exhibition suffered somew'hat severely. The weather in 
Australia has also been unfavourable for the popular flower.—P. 
National Chrysanthemum Society. 
A SPECIAL meeting of the General Committee and the Floral Com¬ 
mittee was held at the Eoyal Aquarium, Westminster, on Friday last, 
the principal item on the agenda paper being the consideration of some 
Australian-grown Chrysanthemums, which had been frozen in blocks of 
ice, and sent to the Society for adjudication. Mr. R. Ballantine occupied 
the chair. After reading the notice convening the meeting, mention 
was made of the death of the late Mr. E. Saunderson, for many years 
President of the Society. The Chairman announced that the funeral 
was attended by himself, the Secretary, and several other members, and 
that a wreath w'as sent in the name of the N.C.S. 
The Secretary read a letter from the Auckland (N.Z.) Chrysanthe¬ 
mum Society concerning their recent Show, at which many novelties 
had been staged, the chief of which were W. Tricker, Vi viand Morel, 
Miss Anna Hartzhorn, E. G. Hill, Gloire du Rocher, Eynsford White, 
and Lilian B. Bird. 
Mr. Harman Payne read some interesting correspondence from New 
Zealand relating to the frozen blooms sent out by the N.C.S., which 
had been exhibited at the Wellington and Christchurch Societies, and 
were to be sent to other places in the Colony. Large numbers of 
visitors had paid for admission to see the English flowers, and it was 
confidently felt that the experiment would result in a large increase of 
growers in New Zealand. The incurves were particularly admired, and 
nothing so perfect had ever been seen there before. 
Mr. Dean announced that the blooms then on the table were grown 
by a Mr. R. Forsyth of Sydney. This gentleman was a prominent 
exhibitor at the Sydney Show, and a successful prizewinner. It was 
to be regretted that the names of the blooms had not been communi¬ 
cated, because in the frozen state, which caused some degree of dis¬ 
colouration, they could not be identified with any certainty. One of 
che blooms was a large incurved Japanese of the Lady Lawrence type, 
the colour being a dirty white. Another was of the build of Bouquet 
Fait, of a decidedly brownish tinge, but of good size and substance. 
The third was a very flat, broad-petalled, incurved Japanese flower of 
light bronze, and the fourth bloom was an incurved with very close 
regularly disposed petals, and of a deep bronze or cinnamon yellow, A 
-’liver modal was awarded for the exhibit. 
Mr. J ukes thought that although the sending of such exhibits was 
interesting they had but little educational advantages, and could only 
be reftarded as curiosities. He thought the Society, now that they had 
a fair idea of the way the Chrysanthemum was grown in the Antipodes, 
should be on their guard against encouraging too many exhibits of this 
sort, as it caused considerable expense for carriage and cold storage. 
Mr. Cannell received a vote of thanks for staging some seedling 
Begonias, one, a deep double crimson, attracting much attention. 
Several questions submitted by affiliated societies were disposed of, 
and it is a gratifying proof of the usefulness of the scheme for affiliation 
to find that disputes are so readily settled by the ruling of the parent 
Society, 
FLOWERS AT READING. 
A VISIT to the nurseries and trial grounds of Messrs. Sutton & Sons 
the other day revealed the fact that Reading has, in common with other 
places, suffered from drought. Annuals are dwarfer in growth than 
usual, but in most instances the plants are flowering profusely, and in 
some cases seeding prematurely. No rain, we were informed, had fallen 
practically for four months, and were it not for the strenuous attempts 
to counteract the effects of a prolonged drought, the results could not be 
other than disastrous. Judicious management, combined wdth good 
cultivation, such as has been recommended in these pages, curtailed the 
evil effects, however, to a great extent, and it is anticipated that there 
will be an e-xcellent seed harvest, notwithstanding the deficiency of rain 
during the early stages of growth. Much might be seen at Reading, 
there being always something of interest to note, and much could be 
recorded. Space, though, is limited, and we must confine our remarks 
for the present to the flowers that are now the most attractive at this 
world-famed establishment. Cleanliness and brightness pervade the 
whole premises, and smartness in attention to details relative to the 
production of the best possible seeds is most noticeable. 
As is well known, every flower worthy of note, and that it is possible 
to grow from seed, receive attention at the extensive nurseries, and in 
the trial grounds of Messrs. Sutton, but none more so perhaps than 
Tuberous Begonias. These now form a special feature, and they are 
well worth a visit. It may be possible to see larger and more unwieldly 
blooms, but it is questionable whether from a decorative point of view 
more useful plants are forthcoming from any source. For neatness of 
habit combined with vigour and gracefulness we have never seen better 
plants, and the same may be said in regard to the flowers. These are 
not ungainly In size, as is too frequently the case, but large enough to 
display their beauty and symmetry. Of colours there is a great variety, 
and the shades of blossoms on plants produced from a packet of seed of 
the Reading Beauty strain are really surprising. Plants from seed sown 
six months ago are now a sight worth seeing, being from 12 to 15 inches 
in height and covered with blooms. One cannot help noticing the 
diversified habits of the plants; and although all present that healthiness 
and equilibrium that denotes careful fertilisation and judicious manage¬ 
ment, some are erect, with the flowers on stout stalks, standing well 
above the foliage, others are semi-erect, and not a few are of a drooping 
nature, possessing the gracefulness of a Fuchsia, and suitable for hang¬ 
ing baskets. For trade purposes the plants of the above-mentioned 
strain are arranged in sections under glass, and it may be interesting to 
note that the firm makes a speciality of offering seeds of the various 
colours separately. Numerous colours, from pure white to a deep crim¬ 
son and the richest yellow with delicate tints of pink are also included 
in Sutton’s prize strain ; and the plants are also dwarf in habit with a 
robust constitution. No attempt is made to compile a long list of named 
varieties, the principal object kept in view being to grow seeds that can 
be relied upon to produce compact plants which will yield an abundance 
of flowers of an equal size and exquisite colouring. A new single white 
of exceptional merit, however, has recently been raised, and this is 
known as Queen of Whites. It is a beautiful variety, one of the best in 
cultivation, and always attracts attention. The plant is of good habit, 
and the flowers are pure white, large, and of great substance. In 
Reading Gem we have an interesting break from the ordinary type of 
Begonias. The flowers are of perfect form, and have white centres, 
which merge into a charming pink shade, the margin of the petals being 
a glowing carmine. It is one of the prettiest Begonias we have seen, 
and it will doubtless become a popular variety. Those who require 
blooms of a rich orange scarlet shade should make their acquaintance 
with Prince of Orange, whilst for producing bright orange coloured 
flowers Meteor will be found a most useful variety. The last-named 
kind has handsome dark foliage marked with light veins, which enhances 
its appearance considerably. 
What has been said in regard to the single Begonias applies with 
equal force to the double varieties. The compactness of the plants and 
diversity of colouring in the flowers are equally noticeable in this section. 
Sutton’s Double Mixed comprises blooms of the most superb forms and 
varied colours. Among them may be found flowers representing 
Camellias, Hollyhocks, Dahlias, Carnations and Roses, and in innumer¬ 
able shades of yellow, rose, carmine, scarlet, and crimson, quite equal to, 
and in some cases surpassing, many named varieties. The Double 
White is a magnificent variety with pure white blossoms of superb form 
and substance produced well above a mass of sturdy robust foliage. 
Indeed, both single and double forms are unique ; but to fully realise 
the quality of the strain the plants must be seen, and once seen they will 
be grown. 
A new departure in Begonia culture has been made at Reading, and 
the result is that we now have a useful class of fibrous-rooted plants of 
the B. semperflorens section. These can be raised from seed as easily as the 
tuberous varieties, the plants usually flowering freely within a period of 
