12 
JOURN'AL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 3,1895. 
Vines, and Mr. Craven said they should be stopped at two joint# 
above where they are to be cut down, then allowed to make as 
much growth as can be exposed to light, or to grow at will the first 
year. He is not particular as to stopping two joints beyond the 
bunch of Vines in bearing, or to one or two more. Care is taken 
in the case of Vines with feeble root action not to rub out the bud 
at the point of the lateral or sub-lateral, as it is considered better 
to encourage such Vines to grow freely for a season or two, and 
crop lightly. The utmost pains is taken at all times to preserve 
the foliage in the best possible condition during active growth, as 
injury to the leaves means poorly elaborated sap, consequently 
impaired vitality. When vigorous Vines show abundance of 
bunches his practice is to cut off all the largest to begin with 
before flowering, leaving very few more than will finally remain 
for the crop ; the whole energies of the Vine is then centralised 
to that end. 
Temperatures received our attention now. Much heat during 
the flowering period is not approved of. The atmosphere of 
structures are kept in a congenial state, and so long as the 
temperature is sufficiently high to disperse the pollen that is 
regarded as sufficient. Vines suffer in parching atmospheres, and in 
Mr. Craven’s opinion a good set of fruit depends more upon well 
nourished buds the previous season, with good root action, than 
upon temperatures. Vines, he says, should be grown steadily from 
start to finish, so as to solidify every tissue, with air judiciously 
applied on all favourable occasions. 
You ask about various manures ? “ Well, I should vary the 
food as the Vines and condition of the soil indicates. This result 
can only be obtained by a close study of the plant. Vines here are 
rarely watered twice with the same kind of food. Thomson’s 
chemical Vine manure is good. I believe too much liquid manure 
is detrimental to finish of the fruit, especially in Hamburghs. In 
point of first class finish a plain substantial diet is by far the 
best.”—R. P. R. 
(To be con'daued.) 
OLE ARIAS. 
We have pleasure in publishing the following notes, the first from Mr 
Divers in answer to an inquiry, the second by the closely observant 
Mr. W. E. Grumbleton :— 
Olearia Gunniana. 
This plant was at one time known as Eurybia Gunniana, but the 
latter name is now discontinued. It is a beautiful evergreen shrub with 
grey foliage and white Daisy-like flowers, which are produced abundantly 
in attractive sprays during May and June. Being a native of Tasmania 
it is only partially hardy in Great Britain, and is liable to be killed 
during severe winters; it should therefore be planted against a warm wall, 
where it can also have a little covering during severe frost. It is not 
particular as to soil provided it is not a stiff clay, but a well-drained 
site should be chosen, and if the soil does not naturally contain any small 
stones it is advisable to mix some small pieces of limestone or broken 
bricks with it when planting, as these will materially assist the plant to 
withstand the cold weather. Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea, grow this 
Olearia well in their Coombe Wood Nursery. A good plant of it 
at one time grew in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens (see page 519) and is 
probably still there, but it is by no means commonly met with. When 
once established in a suitable position it grows freely. Upwards of eighty 
species of this family have been described, but very few of them are 
under cultivation, and much confusion has occurred among the names 
of them.— W. H. Divers. 
Olearia dent at a. 
As the above-named shrub has recently been referred to in your 
columns by Mr. Divers of Belvoir and also by another correspondent, I 
think it may interest some of your readers to know that the shrub in 
question is not O. dentata at all, but what is figured in the “ Botanical 
Magazine ” on plate 7065 under the name of O. macrodonta, which 
name had to be coined for it at Kew some years ago, when I sent 
flowering specimens there to be named. This name, however, has now 
had to be cancelled, as the shrub was found to be identical with what 
was known in New Zealand as 0. ilicifolia, which name of course it 
must henceforth bear in all correctly named shrubberies and collections. 
There is another species of Olearia in cultivation in some British gardens 
under the name of 0. ilicifolia with much smaller and more acutely 
crimped leaves, and more straggling whitish flowers of but little beauty, 
but this also is incorrectly named, its correct name being 0. myrsinoides. 
I grew it for several years, but have now lost it without much regret. 
The true 0. dentata is figured in the vol. 93 of the “ Botanical Magazine ” 
on plate 5973, and is a most beautiful shrub with large cupped pale rose- 
coloured flowers. It is a native of New South Wales, and alas ! not 
hardy in the United Kingdom save in one or two exceptionally favoured 
localities such as the Scilly Isles, whence I have received it from the 
celebrated gardens at Tresco Abbey, but could not keep it alive through 
the winter even on this mild seaboard of the South of Ireland.— 
W. E. Gumbleton. 
Chrysanthemum Bride op Maidenhead. 
This Japanese Chrysanthemum is undoubtedly a seedling from 
Avalanche, and closely resembles its parent in many respects. Avalanche, 
like all Japanese varieties that have been in cultivation ten years, 
is gradually deteriorating in constitution. The quality of its blooms 
are nothing as compared with those produced for the first few 
years. In spite of the number of white flowered Japanese Chrys¬ 
anthemums, we cannot afford to lose altogether one of the type of 
Avalanche. Bride of Maidenhead comes then at an opportune moment 
to take the place of the old favourite as an exhibition flower. So 
closely do they resemble each other that I should not like to advise an 
exhibitor to stage blooms of the two as distinct.—E. Molyneux. 
Lessons of the Past Season. 
Although many exceedingly fine specimens in the Japanese 
section were seen during the past season, it cannot be said that, taken 
as a whole, Chrysanthemums were equal to those of some previous years. 
Exhibitors are inclined to say year after year, “I do not remember 
having staged a better twenty-four than this.” They are too apt to forget 
the new varieties that very much enhance the appearance of a stand as 
compared with some that are now ignored by exhibitors. 
Having seen many collections of plants during the growing season, 
and the blooms produced by the plants at exhibitions, I am con¬ 
firmed in the opinion that plants which are denuded of their 
primary leaves to any extent by the end of September never produce 
satisfactory results. I have also noted where the plants were well 
clothed with foliage of the proper kind, and all other cultural details 
attended to at the right moment, the best blooms were produced. 
Readers of the Journal of Horticulture must not suppose that all the 
good blooms find their way to the exhibition tables. In a garden in 
Devonshire I saw the finest example of Charles Davis that I met with 
in a long tour of the best shows. The remarkably healthy foliage 
which this plant carried beyond the day when this bloom was cut was 
another instance of the advantage of perfect leaves to aid the plants in 
supplying the expanding blooms with the desirable nutriment which 
brings them to perfection. 
Much loss of the foliage is traceable to the long-continued wet and 
sunless weather experienced at various times throughout the growing 
season. An excess of moisture at the roots during periods of adverse 
weather has much to answer for. Chrysanthemums are moisture-loving 
plants no doubt, but they can have too much at the roots all the same. 
The plants will withstand more dryness in the soil than many persons 
imagine. 
Mildew has been a primary cause of loss of foliage in some collections 
of plants this season. This fungus has been particularly active, and 
where in the slightest degree neglected has done irreparable injury to 
the plants. Neglect to apply the usual remedies instantly is a mistake 
which many persons have had to pay dearly for this year, and should 
prove a reminder for another season. 
The employment of pots considerably larger than is necessary has in 
several instances nullified other good points in culture. Especially was 
this noticeable with plants of the Queen family. Many of them were 
growing in pots lOJ inches in diameter, certainly IJ inch too large, 
especially in a season like the past. Plants growing in large pots have 
not the same opportunity to mature their growth as those in smaller 
pots ; they more resemble those growing in the open. Without maturity 
obtained gradually it is useless to expect satisfactory results. 
As was to be expected after such an unfavourable season for the 
growth of the plants, complaints of the blooms damping was rife. The 
premature decay of the blooms was decidedly more active where the 
precaution of warming the hot-water pipes, especially during the night, 
was neglected. It is a well known fact that a cool surface condenses 
atmospheric moisture. If cultivators still ignore this truth, and 
persist in acting contrariwise, they court failure and disappointment. 
It is hoped that beneficial lessons have been learnt during the past 
season on the subject of staging the blooms in a more sensible manner, 
Less of the “ flopping ” plan has been seen, and the more rational 
method of raising the blooms a few inches above the stands more gene¬ 
rally adopted. In spite of the great advantages supposed to accrue 
from the use of enlarged stands these have not been made so much 
use of as might have been expected. Perhaps exhibitors have found 
that it is a mistake to arrange blooms upon a stand that is much too 
large for them. 
I observed that many of the leading exhibitors employ auxiliary tubes 
for the purpose of raising the back row of blooms well above those in 
front, so that every part of them could be seen, and not only the 
blooms, but the water in which they were placed was raised also. This 
is a step in the right direction ; any plan that raises the blooms out of 
the water is not a sensible one. 
Exhibitors who do not adopt rational methods of naming their 
blooms would dolwell to take a lesson from those who do. Many exhibitors 
