T>eoeu.brr 8, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
491 
plant of each variety entered. The novelties all run largely to oddity 
rather than beauty ; connoisseurs have become weary of ordinary types, 
and lavish their admiration on flowers that impress outsiders chiefly as 
horticultural jokes. It requires a liberal education to appreciate them 
on first introduction. The Pitcher prizes for the best single specimen 
and best specimen standard were taken by George McClure ; the same 
grower took the May prize for the best collection. Mr. McClure also 
took prize for the best display of dwarf Chrysanthemums to be grown in 
■6-inch pots. This was one of the most interesting features of the Show. 
The flowers were, almost without exception, particularly fine ; the 
plants were well grown and tastefully grouped. One of the handsomest 
flowers in this group was Cullingfordi. 
Thorpe Junior still stands at the head of the list among yellow 
Anemone-flowered varieties, while John Thorpe finds a worthy name¬ 
sake in the deep crimson flower that bears his name. For size as well 
•as beauty Mrs. Frank Thompson requires special note. It is a soft 
•silvery pink with a slight tinge of mauve, and has the usual straggling 
Japanese form, slightly incurred. It is particularly large and striking. 
Another superb new variety at this Show was G. F. Moseman ; one 
needs a whole dictionary of adjectives to do it justice. It is an 
irregularly incurved Japanese ; the petals are buff without, and bright 
iterra cotta within. It is very large and robust. 
“ Two charming new whites are Mrs. Langtry and Mrs. T. H. Spauld¬ 
ing. Both are picturesquely irregular in form ; the first-named is 
■especially noticeable for the width of its petals ; the flower rather 
resembles a fluffy bunch of white ribbon.” 
Floral decorations are usually important features in American 
•shows, and occasionally we have good examples at home ; but at New 
Jersey this department induced the following observations: — “The 
.poorest feature of the Show—we are treading on delicate ground now— 
was the display of designs. Most of them were criminally ugly ; they 
Teally ought to have been suppressed, out of regard for the sacred name 
of art. The first prize original design really gave one a pain in the eye. 
It was a sort of Japanese cottage—at Last we will call it a cottage —of 
•autumn leaves and flowers. It stood in a thicket of plants fairly 
arranged. A papier mache Jap in a Chrysanthemum toga peeped out of 
"the door ; he was not so very offensive, because he was partially con¬ 
cealed. In front another Japanese sat, or rather sprawled, in a rustic 
chair ; he held a cigar in his hand, and judging from his appearance he 
had indulged, not wisely but too well, in the cup that cheers and also 
inebriates. His clothes were also built of Chrysanthemums. This 
design was altogether indescribably affecting.” 
Chicago. —-At this town there seems to have been little of special 
consequence, but a note respecting the first-prize floral design is worth 
reproduction. This was “ a two-sided panel, one side of fronds of 
Adiantum gracillimum, with a basket of choice Roses embossed upon its 
side surmounted with two handsome bunches of Lapagerias alba and 
Tosea ; the reverse side bore two hearts partially joined, one of crimson 
Hoses the other of I iolets, skewered together with a Chrysanthemum 
■arrow. The side first described was really handsome, but the last was 
altogether too suggestive of the 10-cent ‘ 18-carat rolled gold engage¬ 
ment rings ’ of the agricultural paper advertisements, and gave a shiver 
to sensitive people.” 
Chrysanthemum Decorations. —At this time of year Chrysanthe¬ 
mums are largely emyloyed in floral decorations, and from the same 
source as the preceding is obtained the following note of two very taste¬ 
ful productions by the American florists :—“ The season of dinners was 
ushered in with one given at Delmonico’s to Count de Brazza the even¬ 
ing before he sailed with his bride for Europe. The cloth was cream- 
coloured satin. Through the middle of the board was an oval of plate 
glass to represent the ocean. This was supported on a band 9 inches 
wide of Thorpe, Jun., Chrysanthemums. At one end, placed in a cres¬ 
cent, was ‘ Au revoir,’ in large letters of Neapolitan Violets, and at the 
other end was ‘ De Brazza,’ in the same flower. Each letter was the 
same on both sides, and a favour to be presented to a guest after the 
feast. The letters ‘ Au revoir ’ were attached by sashes, the colours red, 
white, and blue alternating. The Italian colours alternated on the 
letter favours ‘ De Brazza,’ and were red, white, and green. The sashes 
were drawn to the centre of the plate glass ocean, and there a French 
knot was made—brilliant rosette of loops. Among these loops large 
■boutonniers of Forget-me-nots were laid. It will be seen that the pre¬ 
vailing style has reversed the placing of ladies’ favours as a centre and 
brought the men’s buttonhole ornaments there. Boutonniers are made 
of immense size for dinners. A single large Chrysanthemum, such as 
Mrs. Wheeler, is worn. Fred. Gordon made a dinner arrangement for 
an entertainment given Henry Irving on the 5th inst. A star 5 feet 
across was composed of all the golden and bronze shades of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. This was festooned, fringed, and finished with admirable taste. 
Loops of old gold ribbon formed a satin mat that showed only between 
"the points of the stars. The boutonniers were formed of Roman 
Hyacinths, there being from six to eight spikes in each. The room was 
profusely trimmed with autumn leaves, Chrysanthemums and Roses.” 
NOTES FKOM HINDLIP. 
Hindlip, or Hendlip, as it was termed in olden times, has, in com¬ 
mon with many other places in Worcestershire, an interesting history. 
It was here that some of the conspirators connected with the Gunpowder 
Plot hid for several days after its abrupt termination, and it was in the 
house occupied by Mr. A. Barker, the head gardener at Hindlip, that 
the letter from Mrs. Abington to her brother, Lord Monteagle, exposing [ 
the plot, was supposed to have been written. Unfortunately the old 
mansion built by Mr. Abington, and abounding in wonderfully con¬ 
structed secret chambers and passages, has been destroyed, and a much 
less interesting, though remarkably well built structure, has taken its 
place. This, however, it should be added, was not the work of the late 
Lord Hindlip, who, I believe, much regretted such an uncalled-for act 
of vandalism. The church close to the pleasure grounds and the 
vicarage, the house just alluded to as being occupied by the gardener, 
yet remains to interest lovers of historic research, and there are also 
a number of grand old Elm trees that must have been standing in those 
times. Some of these giants have the largest stems I have ever seen. 
A new feature is being added to the place in the shape of a lake of 
water, and this will enhance the beauty of an already charming land¬ 
scape, including the famous Malvern hills in the distance. I shall 
make no attempt to describe all that may be seen, including the 
number and position of the houses, at this well kept place, but instead 
of this propose to take the various departments of the gardens in 
detail, commencing with the 
Plant Houses. —There is no conservatory, but numbers of plants 
are employed in house decoration, and some of the houses near the 
kitchen garden are maintained in as attractive state as possible. Chrys¬ 
anthemums are extensively aud well grown, including many for pro¬ 
ducing large blooms. In former years Mr. Barker has exhibited most 
successfully at Birmingham and elsewhere, and had he decided to com¬ 
pete this year would have been a formidable opponent. All the best 
sorts are grown. They are all principally grown in 9-inch pots, and are 
not stopped. When the buds are set a top-dressing of loam, charcoal, 
and a sprinkling of Clay’s manure is given. Any kind of liquid manure 
calculated to clog the surface soil is avoided. When the plants need 
assisting in order to keep the foliage healthy and strong, good clear 
liquid manure is obtainable by soaking a bag of pigeons’ manure in a 
tub of soft water, this lasting a long time. Later on sulphate of ammonia 
is used, first at the rate of one-quarter ounce, and later on double that 
quantity to the gallon of water. Many do more harm than good with 
this manure, but not if they adopted Mr. Barker's plan of weighing out 
the quantities requisite for a large can of water, screwing these up 
singly in paper ready for use as required. The Chrysanthemums are 
flowered principally in a light span-roofed house erected for fruit trees 
in pots. A good variety of flowering plants are grown for the purpose 
of affording cut blooms. Cyclamens are flowering freely, and there are 
some fine double white Primulas. The latter are annually propagated, 
that is to say, every spring the old stems are mossed over, this causing 
them to strike root freely, and admits of their being safely cut to pieces 
and repotted. They are at first kept in handhghts set in a fairly warm 
house, and are subsequently shifted into fi-inch pots, and grown in 
frames with the seedling Chinese Primulas. Cinerarias are also plentiful 
and the plants strong. 
Nerine Fothergilli major is better grown than is often the case > 
plenty of fine flower spikes being annually obtained. Soon after they 
have ceased flowering, or early iu October, they are repotted, being then 
kept growing in gentle heat, a thorough drying off or resting being 
given during the summer. Under starvation treatment they make poor 
progress, but at Hindlip the bulbs are disposed thinly in 7-inch pots, 
these'more resemblin'Amaryllises than the average Nerines. Amaryllises 
are also extensively grown, the bulk of the stock being raised froni seed. 
This is sown in gentle heat early in the year. The seedlings are first 
pricked out in pans, then potted off and kept steadily growing in gentle 
heat throughout the autumn and winter. They are given another shift 
in the spring, and are kept moving to the autumn, being then dried off 
and rested for the first time. The strongest of the bulbs flower in the 
following spring, and the seed being obtained from a reliable source the 
majority of the flowers are superior to the common old forms. As seed¬ 
lings are reared each spring it does not take long, and costs but little to 
secure a large stock of bulbs. Quite large supplies of Rochea falcata 
and Crassula bracteata are grown and flowered on a dry shelf in a cool 
house, thesa two useful and old-fashioned succulents being seldom seen 
in such good condition. Long red Capsicums, well fruited, prove very 
useful for house decoration during the winter, and the same may be said 
of a well fruited Solanum Capsicastrum, the latter and also Bouvardias, 
which filled two large pits, being grown in the open ground during the 
summer and potted before frosts were experienced. Semi-double Zonal 
Pelargoniums are extensively grown for affording cut flowers during the 
winter, such sorts as Guillon Mangilli, F. Y. Rasphail, La Cygne, Can- 
didissimum plenum, Madame Thibaut, Mrs. A. Lattey, Louis Buchner, and 
Madame Dolby being amenable to gentle forcing. Perp.tual flowering 
Carnations are also well grown. 
The Eucharis amazonica deserve a separate Daragraph. At Hindlip 
mealy bug is absent, but in order to be thoroughly rid of it the stock of 
Eucharises had to be destroyed. Those to replace them and received 
from a friendly source proved to be equally as bad as those destroyed, 
and Mr. Barker decided upon applying a rather drastic remedy. The 
bulbs were shaken out of their soil, and after having all the leaves cut 
closely off were roughly and thoroughly cleaned. They were then 
placed in boxes of sandy soil and set on a hotbed. The whole of them 
eventually started afresh, and were then potted, about four bulbs going 
in a 6-inch pot. Plunged in a brisk bottom heat they soon filled these 
pots with roots, this necessitating a shift into 9-inch and in some cases 
rather larger pots. Being duly returned into the hotbed in a small 
forcing house and well attended to, especially as regards shading from 
bright sunshine, the progress was still most satisfactory. When I saw 
them in November a great proportion of them were flowering grandly, 
