November 10, 1887. ] 
405 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
employs in creating more, what an impetus it gives to trade and to art, 
what an incentive to the development of capacity ; and if we trac j it 
to its source we must follow the black caverns under mountain 
and plain, and though we recognise the presiding lord of the castle 
as good and great and noble, yet, after all, no other conclusion can be 
arrived at than that coal is king at Cardiff. 
CASTLE COCH. 
The drive from Cardiff to this ancient Castle is through a flat 
country. It is not picturesque, but the land is evidently fertile, and 
some, but not all, well cultivated. If I were asked what was the most 
noticeable feature along the route, which includes a village or two not 
quite arcadian in aspect, I should be inclined to say the number of 
dmgy, repellent, not to say ujly, public houses. One or two looked 
snug, clean, respectable hostelries, but the majority were the reverse of 
tempting to wayfarers. Passing through one village, however, with an 
unrememberable name, we admire a bright cheerful little mansion on 
the right, standing in well-kept and attractive grounds, which both 
owner and gardener must take delight in. This residence is in a 
measure historical, for the late Lord Beaconsfi-ld spent many happy 
hours in it before he took therefrom a wife ; and this reminds me of a 
memorable afternoon spent with Mr. A. F. Barron in the House of 
Commons, when the famous statesman’s great political antagonist made 
an earnest and eloquent appeal for a national monument for him, 
which speech the then Sir Stafford Northcote, with his proverbial 
grace, described as a memorial in itself never to be forgotten, and im¬ 
perishable. Thus party strife was hushed, and perhaps for the only 
time in my life I was really satisfied with the utterances of public men. 
If there should happen to be any readers who dissent from these 
remarks, I must ask them to blame Mr. Pettigrew for driving me past 
that house in Wales and awakening these slumbering memories. How¬ 
ever, my reverie is ended, and we push on to Castle Coeh. We see it 
ahead of us, rising above the trees on the slope of a commandin'* hill, 
and shortly reach its portal. 
It is an ancient fortress, but not very extensive, overlooking a pass 
between the hills on the east and down which a river flows, while the 
outlook from its towers southwards embraces a great extent of country 
to the Bristol Channel. It was for many years an uninhabited ruin, but 
has been restored by the present Marquis of Bute to its pristine strength, 
and the interior beautified in a manner that its old warlike chiefs never 
dreamt of. It is entered by a drawbridge and protected by a portcullis 
as in the olden time, and forms a quiet and secluded residence for the 
family when they wish to move from the greater buildingnear the busy 
town for a few days’ rest. It is surrounded by trees, indeed appears to 
be situated in a great wood, but not very far from its margin on the 
sides indicated, but high above the level of the surrounding district. It 
is a romantic looking pile, of ft kind that baffles the enterprise of Ameri¬ 
can millionaires to produce, one of whom once told me on an ocean 
steamer they could get anything for money but the old castles in the 
old country, and in respect to these they would own to being “ whipped.” 
Something has happened, deferring a reference to the chief object of 
our visit—the vineyard—to a future issue. 
EARLY CHRYSANTHEMUMS—SAVING SEED.. 
_ It must be remembered that in these notes I do not write about the 
prizewinuing class of plants, unless they are like Madlle. Lacroix, good 
for all purposes ; but about those that are early, semi-early, good for the 
open garden, and as pot plants for decoration, for market and large 
quantities of cut flowers. These monster one. two, or three flowers on a 
plant, are not indicative of the ability or strength of a sort as a flower 
producer in other modes of culture. The certificates granted, too, are 
very misleading, some even being given to old sorts—see for instance at 
South Kensington, the Floral Committee’s first-class certificate on the 
11th of October this year to L’Africaine. 
This season has not brought many striking novelties in early flowering 
Chrysanthemums, and the long continued dry weath r during the 
summer has rendered it hardly fair to fully judge the merits of those 
new sorts we have had under cultivation. We have learned this by ob¬ 
serving the behaviour of several old varieties—for instance, some have 
come later and partly failed. I will deal first with the shows. That at 
tha Crystal Palace on the 2nd and 3rd of September being a week earlier 
than usual, added to the effect of the season, which seemed to drive the 
flowers later, was not in favour of the display, in this instance only con¬ 
sisting of two competitors—viz., Messrs. Davis & Jones of Camberwell 
and myself, though Mr. Miles of the Dyke Hoad, Brighton, sent a very 
fine group of Mrs. Burrell for which he received a certificate. 
At the Aquarium Show on the 13th and 14th of September there was 
no particular new sort shown. The groups had the advantage of not 
being so tall as usual, and a new exhibitor, Mr. J. II. Witty of Highgate 
Cemetery, showed well. This is interesting, as it reveals the progress 
being made and the fitness of these plants for such places. The most 
striking advance in this exhibition was in the collections of cut flowers, 
the first prize going to Mr. Kendall, Roehampton, but he had old 
Chromatella and not F. Marronet, which is better. Mr. T. Ware of Hale 
Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, put in, I believe, a first appearance in this 
class with a thoroughly representative exhibit, which had all been 
grown in the open ground, showing their capacity as open garden 
flowers. Mr. J. Blackburn, gardener to Mr. J. Scott, jun., Elmstead 
Grange, Chislehurst, took first prizes for eighteen and twelve blooms of 
Madame Desgrange, which were very fine. Mr. H. Elliott, gardener to 
Mrs. L. Harrison, Leyden House, Mortlake, took first prize for twelve 
blooms of the yellow Desgrange, also verv good ; in fact, the whole show 
exhibited marked progress, but I think there should be some regulation 
in the class for cut flowers to discourage more than one bunch of a 
sort and to encourage the exhibition of new sorts. I noticed several 
old varieties shown when there are better ones in cultivation, such as 
old 1 Uustration instead of Salter’s Early Blush. I did not exhibit, as 
I do not quite like the mode of judgment. Personally, I have no objec- 
tion in any way to Mr. Holmes; he is polite, obliging, and energetic, 
but as chief officer of the National Chrysanthemum Society I do not 
think it is good for him to act as judge or referee at the Society’s 
shows. If two judges are not sufficient, and in some cases they may 
not be, by all means have a third, but that third should not be anyone 
who must know who is the owner of each exhibit to be judged. Last 
year I did not know that Mr. Holmes was a kind of third judge, but 
when I received the report and schedule of this year it was plain 
enough, and I think it is not for the benefit of the Society that it is so. 
The difficulty of last season with regard to the Chrysanthemum 
Mrs. Burrell has disappeared I am satisfied, as I have grown both it 
and. the yellow Madame Desgrange, and I see it is slightly paler. 
Besides, I have had the opportunity of seeing a large number growing 
together mixed, and it was then quite easy to pick out the pale ones ; 
still the difference is so small that unless they are grown side by side 
many will say they are tin same. 
Mr. J. R. Pitcher has this season come out well. Messrs. Davis and 
Jones, both at the Crystal Palace and the Aquarium, Westminster, 
exhibited some noble flowers from 5 to 6 inches across, of course dis¬ 
budded blooms, and I showed at the Palace some good plants of natural 
growth. Its value consists in its differing so materially from Madame 
Desgrange, which has pointed florets, while Mrs. Pitcher has rounded 
florets and of a different shade of colour. 
Leoni Lassali ; with extended slock I have been able to test the 
varied merits of this. It is a peculiar but capital plant, with the habit 
of disbudding itself in a measure, for some buds fail and others come 
out into large Hovers. I have had it in bloom from May, and it was 
flowering on October 30th, many of the flowers being 3 inches across. 
It comes into competition with Blanche Columbe, which [ think it will 
surpass. Wm. Holmes has proved a first-rate scarlet crimson Japanese; it 
is a superb plant either to grow for show bloom or for masses of flowers. 
It likes a large pot, but can make a good specimen in 32-size. It is 
in the way to M. H. Jacotot, but does not seam to pale under glass 
so much as that does. It is probably rather earlier too. is of more 
robust habit, and is a more profuse bloomer; besides, when all the 
buds are left on it has rather longer stalks to keep the, flowers apart. 
I doubt not that it will prove a great market sort for cut flowers. It 
stands a fair amount of frost even when the flowers are partly 
out. 
I have been growing this season Vierge Japonaise. It is very much 
like Mdlle. Lacroix and is said to be a seedling from it. but the flowers 
seem not quite so large, though they are very beautiful, and the plant 
has power enough to develope every bud to a flower worth looking at. 
It will be most useful amongst white flowers in October. 
Alice Butcher is coming into favour, and is certainly the best early 
red Pompon, with Pierre Verfiel and Toreador making the three best 
early lvds. Red Luxembourg is likely to be good for rough culture, and 
my red orange to yellow Piercy’s Seedling seems likely to be useful for 
market. 
Many of the new sorts of this season sent us as early have proved 
by no means so, and some of the French ones are rubbish, notably tw® 
sent us by Delaux, “Nain Perpetual” and “ Nanum Tolosanum.” In 
the first place, they are so much alike that I fail to see the least differ¬ 
ence, and they are neither of them so good as old Curiosity, which we 
gave up years ago. Out of twenty-eight new this season on Ddlaux’s 
list marked as early most have not bloomed till October, and at present 
I have only found seven that are either semi-early or remarkable. All 
this wastes time, labour, and money, and will certainly tend to damage 
the reputation of those growers in France who serve us thus. 
One of the best finds of the season is Golden Fleece, of American 
origin. It is very early, blooming at the end of August, of a bright 
lemon yellow slightly resembling a Dandelion in form. The flowers are 
about 2 inches across, and the plant 2 feet high. It comes into competi¬ 
tion with Flora, but the individual flower stalks are longer, making it in 
s ome cases more desirable as a cut flower. 
Lord Mayor, a new French variety ; dwarf bushy plant, 3 feet high, 
flowers about 3 inches across; colour slightly resembling White Ced® 
Nulli; base of petals white tipped pink ; reflexed, very full and charm¬ 
ing flower ; most profuse bloomer in October. Will make, I think, as 
the French say, a good small pot plant for market. 
Lambeth Amateur is a most remarkable dwarf, robust variety, with 
leaves like none other, more like pieces of Cabbage leaf than anything 
else. I have a plant 3 feet high, which seems its natural stature, which 
is 3 inches round the stem at the base. The flowers are from 3 to 
4 inches across, white with a pale yellow centre, fl arets very broad and 
much reflexed. Blooms in October. 
M. Chretien, a good stout Japanese sort, grows about 3 feet high, 
blooms 3 to 4 inches across, florets magenta in colour, standing out 
straight, blooms in September. Marie Ouvray is an October bloomer, 
deep magenta Japanese, about 4 feet high, flowers 4 inches across, the 
florets very much reflexed. Mrs. Matheson (Matheson) has shown n® 
sign of bloom at the end of October. Panache Toulousain and Fan- 
chette are not worth growing. 
