428 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 8, 1888. 
tinct Japanese, certificated by the Floral Committee of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society on October 2-tth last. It has large blooms, the 
outer florets in the older examples drooping and curling, rich rosy 
crimson on the upper surface at first, fading to pink with a silvery 
reverse. The blooms come early on the crown buds, but they keep 
well, and some that have been out for fully three weeks have not lost 
all their charms yet. Terminal buds are coming later, and seem likely 
to bj right for the shows. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM WM. HOLMES. 
The enclosed bloom is one of seven, all the same size, grown on a 
plant under 3 feet high including pot, with good healthy foliage. 
The bloom is much past its best, having been out over a month. 
However, I trust it will arrive in sufficiently good condition to enable 
you to form an idea of what it has been. Its measurement at the time 
of sending is, circumference 194 inches, height 5 inches. The box, un¬ 
fortunately, is too small, but should it not arrive in fairly good condi¬ 
tion, will be pleased to send you another. Should it be deserving of 
merit possibly you will mention it in your next issue of the Journal.— 
F, C. Barker, Ipswich. 
[The bloom arrived in good condition, and is an extremely fine ex¬ 
ample, the size being fully that given by Mr. Barker. The characters of 
the variety are also capitally displayed by 800 plants in Mr. Stevens’ 
nursery at Putney, and the grower says as the result of his experience, 
“ William Holmes must not be stopped.” Upon stopped plants the 
blooms are much lighter in colour. The centre florets a kind of bronzy 
orange, quite distinct from a well-developed later bloom, which has the 
upper surface of the florets of the brightest crimson hue, the lower sur¬ 
face a beautiful golden bronze.] 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS AT MAIDENHEAD. 
TAKING an interest in Chrysanthemums, I called on Mr. Owen at 
the above nursery a few days since to inspect his collection, including 
many new varieties, all of which I saw a month previous in a very pro¬ 
mising condition. Unfortunately, Mr. Owen’s plants suffered terribly 
the early frosts, 13° being registered here on the night of October 2nd. 
A few plants only had been housed, some of the new varieties amongst 
them. This is the second year Mr. Owen has unluckily missed flowering 
several promising new seedling and other varieties through destruction 
of his plants, or at least their buds, by frost. 
Of those now in flower, taking the Japanese as most numerous first, 
I noted two especially that promised to make large exhibition blooms— 
George Daniels, a new seedling variety, blooms 9 inches in diameter, the 
florets reflexed, and three-quarters of an inch in width, colour silvery 
white, the under side lined with" deep rose ; Fimbriatum, delicate pink, 
lighter centre, large distinct flower. Also very good were Florence 
Percy, milky white ; Alcyon, rosy amaranth, silvery pink reverse, shape 
of flower resembling that of M. Freeman ; Elsie, creamy white, very 
pretty; Avalanche, fine pure white ; Gorgeous, deep yellow ; Sarah 
Owen, the fine bronze sport from Madame J. Laing ; Holborn Beauty, 
good lemon yellow ; Anatole Cordonnier, of dwarf hahit, flowers dark- 
amaranth, with long narrow florets ; Priscilla, salmon red shaded bronze ; 
and Gordon, peach pink, pretty. A variety sent for trial, and named 
Miss Burgess, proved to be the old Japanese Bouquet Fait, odoratum, 
dark purple, highly scented. 
A new reflexed variety, James Carter, bronzy yellow, promises to be 
an acquisition in this class.—C. H. 
THREE USEFUL CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
We have found the three following grown in quantity extremely 
useful for general decorative purposes during October, and many are 
still in good condition. Madame C. Desgrange, white ; and G. Wermig, 
yellow ; these two are well known. The third, Roi des Prdcoces (Jap,), 
dark crimson, makes a fine contrast; the flowers are not lanje, but are 
produced very freely, and the plant is of dwarf habit. Late-struck 
cuttings give good heads of flower on plants not more than 1 foot 
high in small pots.—C. Herrin, Dropmore. 
CANKER IN APPLE TREES. 
I reap with interest the other day a discussion whether this 
canker is disease or the consequence of uncongenial soil and 
imperfect nutrition. I should be glad to give my experience of an 
Apple tree. Last autumn I had a young tree (Peasgood’s None- 
such) given me by a neighbour five or six years old. It was very 
badly cankered in six places. We transplanted it carefully. My 
garden, though adjoining, is very different in soil to that whence 
the tree came. We transplanted it early in October. Early work 
does best for us. We cut off the leading shoot, it was so badly 
cankered. From the other five places we cut out all cankered 
matter (in some very deep), then covered the spots with clay, 
enveloped it in brown paper, and tightly secured it to keep them 
free from exposure. This year the tree has borne well. We had 
thirty Apples on it, twenty of them fine specimens, and some of 
them on the cankered branches. I exhibited five at the Pomo- 
logical Show in Exeter last month, and not only took the first prize 
in the class, but the Apples were pronounced the finest fruit in the 
Show. 
We have since uncovered the diseased parts, and find them re¬ 
covering health, and new bark forming over them. The tree looks 
healthy, the bark bright, and good promise for next year. We 
have followed the same plan again with the tender spots. I think 
these facts may be of interest in the study of this question.—- 
Henry Bramley, Uffculme Vicarage, Devon. 
CLETIIRA ARBOREA. 
It is surprising this valuable shrub is not more grown. Plants 
are seldom seen, and good specimens are rarely heard of, but it 
merits being classed amongst the best of half-hardy shrubs, and at 
this season I do not know any shrub, hardy or exotic, that can equal 
it in beauty and usefulness. We have several specimens here. 
They are grown in boxes like the Orange trees, placed in the open 
air with them in May, and brought into a cool house in October,, 
and they succeed admirably with this treatment. Our largest plant 
is a little over 3 feet in height and 10 feet through, and when this 
tree is clothed with its beautiful white spikes of blossoms, as it 
always is in October and November, it is a most pleasing sight. It 
is commonly called the Lily of the Valley Tree, and the blooms are 
suggestive of that charming flower both in the spike, form, and 
fragrance. Our trees have been in bloom since September, and 
they will continue so for some time yet. Two years ago we planted 
a small specimen out in the open. The frost destroyed the points 
of the shoots, but the main stems were not injured, as they emitted 
young shoots freely in spring, and although it is not absolutely 
hardy, it is nearly so. Apart from this point it is such an excellent 
autumn and early winter-flowering tree for the greenhouse and 
conservatory that to grow it for the decoration of either of these 
structures will amply repay all cultivators. 
Small plants flower freely, and in proportion a plant in a 6 or 
8-inch pot will produce as much flower as one in a tub 4 feet square. 
They root freely, and a mixture consisting of loam, a little manure, 
and a quantity of sand will grow them well. They bear cutting. 
When in bloom we cut armfuls of flowers, with some wood attached, 
from them, and if a plant was becoming too tall it might be cut 
partially down with the result of securing a more bushy plant. We 
keep them somewhat dry in the winter, but water freely at other 
seasons. I have never known this Clethra to be infested with 
insects, and fighting against these is not an operation to be included 
in their culture. When grown in pots they should be placed out in 
the open air during the "warmest part of the summer, as it is im¬ 
portant that the wood should be well ripened before they begin to 
flower. — J. Muir, Margam, S. Wales. 
GRAPES SCALDING. 
My best thanks are due to Mr. Combe for trying to set us right and 
clear away the difficulties respecting this important subject. Both Mr. 
Young and Mr. Riding are very anxious to bring me back to the point 
where they first differed from me. They evidently regard what they 
characterise as “ fancy ” and “ pure theory ” as a strong point in their 
arguments. I have no doubt that your correspondents would have been 
highly delighted with Mr. Combe’s letter had he not added his last 
paragraph, in which he ventures his opinion “ that all Grapes are liable 
to scald if proper precautions are not taken to prevent it.” In my first 
letter, page 1G2, I said this would be the case if necessary precautions 
were not taken—the difference is not a great one. By continually 
carrying me back to this point your correspondents, with the exception 
of Mr. Combe, have clearly proved at least two things—first, that 
they have been relying upon somebody’s theory or practice to carry them 
safely over the period when Lady Downe’s is most likely to scald without 
taking the trouble to investigate the matter very deeply themselves. 
If they have succeeded, well and good. Secondly, by singling out Lady 
Downe’s as an exception amongst Grapes that will scald, they have 
regarded the evil of scalding with this particular variety as constitu¬ 
tional. They wish to repudiate this, but the line of action they have 
taken leaves room for no other conclusion. 
Had they not been so certain in flatly denying what I stated to be a 
fact, I might have given the grounds upon which I was warranted in 
making this statement—“ It is no more difficult to scald the berries of 
Black Hamburghs and Madresfield Court than those of Lady Downe's,” 
and I have since added all other varieties of Grapes. I venture to 
assert that the man who can render the conditions of a house suitable to 
scalding Grapes can also, avoid such a catastrophe. Long ago I dis¬ 
covered how to do this with certainty. I did not experiment on a house 
of Grapes and run the risk of failure in maintaining the supply, but 
with a few that were provided for the purpose. The varieties tested 
were Black Hamburgh, Foster’s Seedling, Madresfield Court, Alicante, 
Alnwick Seedling, and Muscat of Alexandria, but the last I shall exclude 
because it failed to show bunches. Without it the list is a fairly repre¬ 
sentative one. The berries of every one of these scalded ; the Alicante 
was the worst, then Black Hamburgh, while Alnwick Seedling had the 
least number of scalded berries. Before this was tried I had grave 
doubts whether the scalding of Lady Downe’s was constitutional or due 
to defective management. I have had no doubts on the subject 
since. 
