150 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 22, 1894. 
The Japanese Chhysanthemum Electiojt—A National Trial 
Wanted. 
This is a first-class idea, but the late election has one weak point. 
The selection was not confined to varieties of which growers had practical 
knowledge. In other words, some of the varieties occupy high posi¬ 
tions more from what report has said about them than from the elector’s 
personal knowledge of their growth. I have an idea that some of the 
growers who were kind enough to assist in the election included varieties 
which they had not grown and hardly seen. Among the first twelve 
enumerated by one grower are three varieties which I have reason to 
believe he has not yet grown. I have been expecting someone would 
have pointed out the peculiar positions of Mdlle. Th^rese Eey and 
Mdlle. Marie Hoste. In the order of merit among the twenty-four 
varieties the former stands seventh with thirty-eight votes and the latter 
fourth with forty votes. In the first twelve varieties Mdlle. T. Rey is 
fourth with thirty-six votes, but Mdlle. Marie Hoste drops to position 
thirteen with only seventeen votes. 
Another anomaly of the voting is that Lord Brooke should obtain 
the thirteenth position with twenty-nine votes in the twenty-fours and 
only twenty-seventh place in the twelves with five votes, whilst W. H. 
Lincoln, which is placed fifteenth in the twenty-fours but in the 
twelves is also No. 15 with eleven votes ; also Robert Owen, which is 
placed below Lord Brooke in the twenty-fours, has more than three 
times the number of votes than the latter in the twelves. How is it 
to be accounted for 1 I notice that whilst Mdlle. Th^r^se Rey occupies 
a high position, Madame Calvat, which is of the same set, is not men¬ 
tioned. Yet my experience is there is not much to choose between 
them. I am strongly of opinion that next season will unearth some 
good varieties which at present are ignored, although they liaTe been in 
commerce at least two seasons. 
In the last issue of the Journal I note “ Amateur ” (page 134) points 
out that catalogue descriptions are not to be relied on, and the same 
is also said of the certificates granted by the National Chrysanthemum 
Society. All this I grant, yet what is the remedy ? The descriptions 
and notes given by private growers or “ experts ” are not to be wholly 
depended on, as can easily be seen by turning to the various horti¬ 
cultural periodicals for autumn, 1892. 
Growers hardly know what to select among so many novelties. One 
English trade grower is offering about eighty new ones, and many more 
growers from half a dozen upwards. Of the continental raisers Calvat 
offers forty, Delaux about half that number, and so on with others, to 
say nothing of American cousins, and all these novelties belong to the 
Japanese section. It certainly would not be diflicult to obtain 300 new 
varieties in this class alone, all and every one of which is promised 
to be “ extra good,” a “ grand addition,” and so on. Who is to test them ? 
Ah I an idea strikes me 1 Why not the National Chrysanthemum 
Society do so ? It exists for Chysanthemums and by Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. Why not have gardens or trial grounds as the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society ? Here let every well known variety be grown, and 
then comparisons can easily be made. Farewell Aquarium I—OMEGA. 
j_The “ electors ” were quite within the terms of reference to name 
varieties which they had either grown or seen exhibited, and which 
the successful growers in question regarded as meritorious, such, in 
fact, as they would themselves grow for showing. With the other 
subjects of “ Omega’s ” suggestive letter we leave others to deal.] 
Stopping Plants foe Timing Buds, 
I WAS much interested in an article which appeared in your issue of 
January 25th (page 76) by Mr. A. Young on stopping Chrysanthemums, 
and have looked in vain for a further reference to this important question. 
It is a well-known fact that in many varieties the crown buds are too 
early to be of any use, and if run on to the terminal are too small for 
exhibition purposes. For instance, the Queen family, if grown without 
stopping, will form crown buds too early, and the next or terminal buds 
will be too small. Now I hold the opinion that these should be stopped 
from the middle of March to the middle of April (according to the 
district, whether it be early or late), and the breaks resulting therefrom 
be reduced to one shjot. This shoot ought to be allowed to grow and 
break again naturally, from which break take up three shoots, and the 
first buds that form will be the ones to take. 
By stopping thus early the plants have the whole season to recover 
their strength, and are retarded a fortnight or three weeks, which brings 
the crown buds to about the right time. This I consider a better plan 
than rooting the cuttings late in February or March, as recommended 
by Mr. W. Tunnington, page 133, as the plants are stronger and have a 
longer season of growth, also more roots to begin with. Other naturally 
early varieties might be treated in the same way. Last season I had 
from plants of Viviand Morel, stopped the end of March, blooms which 
measured 21 inches over, and were perfect in colour and form, which 
proves to my mind that the method I advocate is the right one in the 
case of this variety. 
On the other hand, late varieties, such as Boule d’Or, Mrs. F. Jameson, 
and Mrs. E. W. Clark, should be stopped from the middle of April 
to the middle ol May, and when they break into growth, instead of 
reducing to one shoot, take up three, and secure the first buds that 
appear. I should like to hear the opinion of other growers on this 
subject, as I think now is the time of all others when this matter should 
be discussed in your columns.—J. Fergusson, Manchester. 
When should Chrysanthemum Cuttings be Rooted? 
Mr. Tunnington’s note (page 133) on late rooted cuttings is well 
worth discussing. During the exhibition season of 1893 I had the 
pleasure of meeting him on several occasions in the capacity of 
fellow adjudicator, and naturally the extraordinary season and its 
influence on the Chrysanthemum became the topic of discussion. 
At Barnsley Show he stoutly upheld his previous publicly expressed 
opinion of some years back, that it is possible to over-ripen the Chrys¬ 
anthemum, and that late rooted cutcings, if even rooted in March and 
April, were likely to give better results than those grown on what is 
now considered the orthodox system. For the sake of argument I took 
exception to this dictum as too sweeping an one to make. It so happened 
that at this show, amongst the competitors, one had come to the front 
with remarkably good flowers for the district, who at once broke into 
the argument with a thorough support of Mr. Tunnington’s views, and 
quoted his own successful blooms as a case in point in favour of late- 
rooted cuttings. In consequence of this many of the bystanders were 
delighted to see myself so conclusively as they thought bowled over. 
But thoughtful Chrysanthemum cultivators know well that one point 
does not prove a case any more than does “ one swallow make a 
summer.” It is at here where young and thoughtless cultivators make 
the mistake, when further reflection would show to them that we 
cannot afford to dogmatise on any point, except all the factors in the 
case be weighed and reckoned with. 
A knowledge and practice of sound principles of cultivation 
involving everything conducive to healthy growth, as a matter of 
course, are of indispensable importance in the cultivation of the Chrys¬ 
anthemum ; but no matter how intelligently applied, will not in 
these days of keen competition take the cultivator to the highest 
success. If this knowledge is not supplemented by a thorough study of 
the constitutional characteristics of each variety in his collection, and 
the climatic influences of his locality on them, sooner or later he realises 
that these factors make it impossible to lay down what may be termed 
any royal road to success, and not until he sees his position in this 
respect can he be considered to have found his true starting point. 
The worse his climatic environment, the more decidedly any iieglect in 
this direction will militate against his success. In the cultivation of the 
plant from year to year he will find that circumstances of which he has 
no control will necessitate a divergence here and there from previously 
traversed lines, every season developing unexpected results, by reason of 
what may be termed climatic variations, so influencing the constitutional 
characteristics of the different varieties and families, causing them to 
reveal to us new phases of character which give rise to fresh ideas which 
we incorporate into our general practice. 
Let us take first the climatic influences on the Chrysanthemum, and 
fix in our minds the fact that we rarely have two seasons alike in 
atmospheric conditions, amount of sunshine, and temperature. This 
applies generally; but all the stronger for our argument it scarcely 
ever occurs that we have two seasons alike during the corresponding 
periods of the year. Until last season the continual lament of the 
grower was the want of sufficient sunshine to ripen the wood, as it is 
technically termed ; but the season 1893 taught us the lesson that the 
constitutional vagaries of the Chrysanthemum had a wider range than 
we thought, or at least it strongly confirmed any previously formed 
opinion on the point of over-ripe wood ; and there can be no doubt that 
Mr. Tunnington is right in his argument so far as it applies to certain 
varieties and families. 
Take the Queen family, also some of the medium growers and mid¬ 
season varieties in the Japanese class. Last year it was generally noted 
that the early blooms of the Queen family were exceedingly rough and 
out of character; in fact, they were so poor, as a rule, that exhibitors 
rarely staged them, whereas in ordinary seasons, as a matter of 
course, they overtop the other varieties in both quality and numbers. 
It would be an interesting point to clear up as to what extent this case 
is parallel to over-ripe wood accruing from too early propagation of 
seme of the early and midseason varieties, when through loss of foliage 
the root action becomes torpid, and the natural consequence a poor, thin 
flower. At this point let us bear in mind that in the cases of under¬ 
ripeness, or a bad ripening season following on the bud stage, we get 
hard monstrous buds which never develop into flowers in their proper 
character. This proves that in the Queen family a very limited margin 
to play upon between this unripe and the over-ripe condition, the 
latter the result of too much sunshine or too early propagation, as the 
case may be. 
Starting at one end of the scale with the varieties which naturally 
have a constitution adapting themselves to our ordinary seasons we 
come to those which are constitutionally beyond our scope in cultiva¬ 
tion, because our climatic conditions (on account of their gross consti¬ 
tution) are not suited to bring them into condition necessary to the 
blooming period as preliminary to the seed-bearing stage, the chief end 
and aim of Nature; or, put in other words, they are not ripe to this 
end. Let us now place our variable climate in one scale and the great 
