May 3, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
367 
stamens. It is the representative in the southern of the Khododendron 
of the northern hemisphere. These two were reeeived from Kew, and 
Iwtanical certificates unanimously awarded to them. 
Plants &?it for Name. — Epidendrum tridactylum, with small 
greenish flowers, of no beauty ; Pleurothall is insignis, with slender pale 
grey lobes to the perianth ; I’inguicula grandiflora, and the pink variety 
from the Alps of Dauphin^, above Grenoble ; Eymphina tuberosa var. 
flavescens. A protest was made against the name “ Marliacea,” fur¬ 
nished with the specimen, asj tending to establish a confusion with the 
true name as given above. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
We have received notices of the following fixtures for the Shows of 
1888 
National Chrysanthemum Society, Metropolitan Shows, September 
12th and 13th ; November 7th and 8th ; and January 9th and 10th, 1889. 
Provincial Show at Sheffield, November 16th and 17th. 
Kingston-on-Thames, November 6th and 7th. 
Portsmouth, November 7th, 8th, and 9th. 
Teddington, November 8th and 9th. 
Crystal Palaee, November 9th and 10th. 
• Ascot, November 13th. 
Southend, November 13th. 
Devizes, November 13th. 
Brighton, November 13th and 14th. 
Cardiff, November 13th and 14th. 
Putney, November 13th and 14th. 
Winchester, November 13th and 14th. 
Barton-in-Humber, November 14th. 
Bournemouth, November 14th. 
York, November 14th, 1.5th and 16th. 
Market Harborough, November 14th and 15th. 
Brixton, November 15th. 
Reading, November 15th. 
Pembroke, November 15th. 
Lindfield (Sussex), November 15th and 16th. 
Sheffield and West Riding, November 16th and 17th. 
Liverpool, November 20th and 21st. 
Rugby, November 21st and 22nd. 
Birmingham, November 21st and 22nd. 
Hull, November 22nd and 23rd. 
Pontefract, November 23rd. 
Bolton, November 23rd and 24th. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN APRIL. 
The very interesting letter on this subject from Mr. W. Holmes, 
Hon. Sec. N.C.S., detailing the success achieved by Mr. Kipling in pro¬ 
ducing Chrysanthemum flower the whole year round, will I hope bring 
out for the benefit of Journal readers the experience of other growers 
who may have experimented in a like direction. I therefore give an in¬ 
stance from my own practice in support of the possibility of such being 
done. In July, 1886, I planted out on some good rich land in our 
kitchen garden a number of late struck plants of Madame 0. Desgrange 
and La Vierge. These grew rapidly and luxuriantly, producing very 
large and fine foliage, with plenty of flower buds, but as we had a wet 
and cold autumn they all failed to open. I, however, had the plants 
potted, and they were kept in frames and cold houses through the 
winter. They retained their foliage very well, and in March, 1887, the 
flower buds, formed the previous October, and which had been dormant 
through the winter, commenced to expand, and in most cases developed 
large and fine blooms. I exhibited good flowers cut from them at our 
Sheffield Society’s meeting in May, 1887, and they continued producing 
useful flowers until Julj’'. 
JAPANESE REFLEXED CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
I WAS very much interested in the letter from Mr. Orchard under 
the above heading in last week’s Journal. I think the reasons therein 
given, why the introduction of sub-sections in the large Japanese class, 
are very good and pointed. It is undoubtedly true that, owing to the 
large number of new varieties now being annually introduced, and the 
anxiety of exhibitors to grow only such varieties as will produce large 
flowers, a great number of beautiful but smaller varieties would soon be 
lost to cultivation, unless some such plan as suggested by Mr. Orchard 
be adopted. 1 hope his suggestions will meet with general approval 
from Chrysanthemum gi'owers, and the N.C.S. Catalogue Committee in 
particular.—W. K. W. 
It is said on page 348, “ The varieties named as Japanese reflexed 
are only excluded from the true reflexed class.” I do not remember 
(with one exception, Amy Furze) the sorts named being staged in the 
true refle.xed class. My impression is that a class should be made for 
Japanese reflexed varieties with a view to preserve those that stood a 
very great chance of being elbowed out of existence altogether by the 
increasing rage for size in the blooms as now staged in the Japanese 
classes, and that the varieties named as Japanese reflexed should not be 
shown in any other class but the one provided for them. I think the 
duties of judges will be increased by the present arrangement. If 
blooms of Triomphe du Nord are placed with Val d’Andorre, the former 
being probably 5 inches in diameter, of proportionate depth for the 
variety, while the latter will most likely be 8 inches across, both good 
blooms of their respective variety, but the smaller sort cannot be counted 
as valuable in a stand as the larger.— A Yobkshireman. 
VEGETABLES FOR EXHIBITION. 
TURNIPS. 
If these are wanted for an early show, or say in June or July, 
the seed should be sown on an east border, and this site, or any cool 
fruit quarter where the bushes or trees do not yet cover the whole 
of the ground, is suitable for successional sowings. In very hot 
dry weather we find a wide north border is a still better position 
for Turnips, these doing well with us even in such a hot and dry 
summer as we passed through last year. They grow quickly, and 
are of better form and clearer skinned when sown on fairly rich 
yet firm ground. We alternate them with Leeks on two east 
borders, and as a liberal dressing of manure is applied to the ground 
the season it is cropped with Leeks none is required for Turnips. 
Early Milan is of extra quick growth, being sometimes available in 
six weeks from the time of sowing, and as this useful variety 
forms but little top the rows may be 15 inches apart, and the 
plants finally thinned to about 8 inches apart in the row. To 
succeed that I can recommend Snowball, this perhaps being the 
best for the summer shows. Veitch’s Red Globe is suitable for the 
later crops, but though a really good Turnip I should always prefer 
to stage a good dish of the White Snowball. These two varieties 
ought to be sown in drills 15 inches apart, and a space of 9 inches 
from plant to plant be allowed. Seeing that Turnips are not 
improved in either quality or appearance if left on the ground long 
before they are shown, it is advisable to make more than one 
sowing in order to be certain of having fresh clean roots for any 
particular occasion. The first sowing should be made eight or nine 
weeks before the Turnips are wanted, and in order to encourage 
the desirable rapid growth it is a good plan to sow in the drills 
with the seed either a little guano, soot, or some kind of artificial 
manure. Plenty of soot and lime dusted over the plants and 
between the rows will act as a fertiliser, and also a preventive of 
flea, slugs, and other enemies. The flat hoe should also be freely 
used between the rows, and the thinning should be done before the 
plants overgrow each other. Adi this tends to encourage rapid 
growth, and good space being allowed the development will be 
equally as satisfactory. The handsomest roots are usually those 
that form the smallest tops. 
RUNNER BEANS. 
Much that has been advanced as to the preparation of the 
ground for Peas is also applicable in the case of Runner Beans. 
Dryness at the roots, overcropping, and crowding in the rows are 
the most frequent causes of failure, and must be guarded against 
if pods fit for exhibition are desired. A rather cool position should 
be assigned them ; the rows ought to be a good distance apart, or 
not less than 6 feet, and between these may be grown two or three 
rows of either Potatoes or Cabbages, these coming off the ground 
before the Beans are far advanced. I prefer to sow thinly in a 
single drill drawn about 2 inches deep, eventually thinning the 
plants to 12 inches apart. One strong stake about 8 feet high or 
less to be placed to each plant ; these, to prevent destruction by 
winds, being laced together near the top with a single and con¬ 
tinuous line of stakes securely fastened with tar twine, the plants 
to be duly secured to the stakes and stopped when the top of the 
stakes is reached ; then if kept well supplied with moisture at the 
roots, liquid manure also being occasionally given, plenty of pods 
will set in the hottest weather, these to be freely thinned, and 
only the best shaped of them reserved. It is advisable to make two 
sowings—the first early in May, and the other one month later, this 
being more often necessary when the pods are needed in August. 
If one row only is depended upon for giving a long succession of 
straight brittle pods, in addition to stopping and liberal treatment 
at the roots, all the earliest pods ought to be kept closely gathered, 
and on no account should any he left to perfect seed. A fortnight 
may sometimes be gained by raising the plants in pots or boxes 
under glass, transferring them to the trenches late in May, and 
protecting them from spring frosts. This is also the surest way of 
germinating the seed and saving the plants of any extra choice 
variety. All should be freely mulched with strawy manure, or 
some substitute, early in the summer. , ^ r- 
At one time Carter’s Champion was the most popular tor exhi- 
