April 8, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
265 
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COMING EVENTS 
8 
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Koyal Society at 8 p M. 
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Quekett Club at 8 P.M. 
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Sun 
5th Sunday in Lent. 
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National Chrysanthemum Society, General Committee at 7.30 p.M. 
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Royal Horticultural Society—Fruit and Floral Committees at 11 A.M. 
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Royal Botanic Society’s Spring Show. [Promenade Show. 
INCURVED AND JAPANESE CHRYSANTHEMUMS 
AT THE NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW. 
the splendid exhibition held in November last 
by the National Chrysanthemum Society at the 
jl Aquarium, Westminster, I took down, with the 
assistance of a friend, the names of all the 
flowers that were staged in competition in those 
classes devoted to the incurved and Japanese 
varieties. The number of the former I find to 
_have been 839, while of the more popular 
Japanese there were 835, thus making a grand 
total of no less than 1674 blooms in these two sections alone. 
The incurved were represented by, altogether, 82 different 
varieties, and the Japanese by 136 varieties. Certain sorts, 
of course, appeared under several different names, but these 
cases were by no means numerous, and it being contrary to 
the regulations of the National Society for any synonymous 
varieties to be shown together in the same stand the following 
analyses are in no way affected by them, all synonyms 
having been tabulated under but one name. Making all 
reasonable reductions on the score of duplicates there still 
remains a singularly large number of sorts from which to make 
a selection which have proved themselves capable of produc¬ 
ing exhibition flowers. From the foregoing particulars it will 
be seen that this was a very extensive and thoroughly repre¬ 
sentative exhibition, and one well suited for the purposes I 
had in view. 
As to whether the lists which follow give the precise 
relative positions of the leading Chrysanthemums in the two 
sections, only the accumulative results of several similar 
analyses can determine; but that they are there placed, 
with at any rate approximate accuracy, cannot, I think, 
admit of much doubt. 
It may be of interest to dwell for a moment or two on 
some of those marked differences between the incurved and 
Japanese Chrysanthemums which are shown in the two lists. 
For instance, on glancing down the dates of introduction the 
more recent character of the latter becomes at once apparent. 
Indeed, taking the first thirty-six dates in each case, the 
average date of the incurved comes out as 1868, and that of 
the Japanese, omitting Soleil Levant as 1878, thus show¬ 
ing a mean difference of ten years. Or, looking at this matter 
in another way, there will be found only four sorts among 
all the incurved that have been sent out since 1879, whereas, 
taking the same number of Japanese, there are as many as 
eighteen which have appeared since that year. These dates 
further show how much more rapidly improvement is going 
on in the latter case than in the former. Not that the in¬ 
curved are by any means as much at a standstill as some 
would have us suppose, as is indeed proved by the fact that 
half of the eight leading flowers are respectively only four, 
five, and seven years old. The number of sports in the 
incurved section as compared with the Japanese is very re¬ 
markable. But admirable as many of these are, they can 
scarcely be expected to lead to an advance in the direction 
where it is generally agreed that advance is most needed— 
No. 302.— Vol. XII., Third Series. 
viz., towards the realisation of flowers which require but 
very little, if any, skill on the part of the dresser to make 
them presentable on an exhibition table. 
The prominent positions which have been so soon obtained 
by some of the newer varieties in both seotions is very sur¬ 
prising, and at the same time very encouraging. For in¬ 
stance, as regards the incurved, Lord Alcester (1882) stands 
No. 3 in the analysis, Jeanne d’Arc (1881) No. 6, and Lord 
Wolseley (1882) No. 7. Among the Japanese we find 
Madame C. Audiguier, although only seven years old, taking 
premier place; while more remarkable still, that extremely 
dark beauty, Jeanne Delaux, which only came out in 1882, 
follows her very close for first honours; Mdlle. Lacroix, 
only six years old, running into third place in a neck-and- 
neck race with Fair Maid of Guernsey. The best of the 
1883 varieties in this division appear to be Monsieur Astorg 
(No. 10), Monsieur Tarin (No. 12), Monsieur Henri Jacotot 
(No. 16), Flamrne de Punch (No. 17), Margot (No. 17), Rosea 
Superba (also No. 17), and Monsieur Moussillac (No. 20); 
while several of the 1884 flowers already take fairly good 
positions—viz., L’Incomparable (No. 14), Madame de Sevin 
(No. 16), Mr. John Laing (No. 16), and Fernand Feral 
(No 21). 
The premier flower among the incurved, the Empress of 
India, is one of the oldest in cultivation, being nearly thirty 
years old. Its history is somewhat remarkable, for it appears 
that it was raised by a Scotch gardener, name unknown, and 
brought out by Messrs. Downie, Laird, & Laing as Lady St. 
Clair, and under this title received a certificate from the 
Royal Horticultural Society. Some time afterwards a few 
well-grown flowers of the same variety wer6 submitted to 
this Society by another grower as those of Empress of India, 
and to these another certificate was awarded. As showing 
how entirely the higher designation has ousted its original 
and true title, I may mention that throughout the whole 
exhibition at the Aquarium I did not come across one flower 
named Lady St. Clair ; neither was there a single Snowball 
or Mrs. Cunningham, and only one solitary White Queen, 
these being other names by which this grand variety is said 
also to be known. In the National Chrysanthemum Society’s 
catalogue—which I am pleased to hear is now undergoing a 
most searching revision—Lord Alcester is only to be found 
under its synonym of Princess Imperial, and yet so much 
better is it known by its newer name that there were only 
three Princess Imperials staged to thirty-nine Lord Alcesters ; 
and in the same way only five Mr. Howes to thirty.seven 
John Salters, only one Madame Madeleine Tezier to twenty- 
eight Jeanne d’Arcs, and only one Princess Alexandra to 
twenty-eight Princesses of Wales. In the Japanese section, 
however, the name of F. A. Davis occurred no less than ten 
times. 
As to the lists of dates and raisers’ names which I am 
now able to give, I think I may claim in their behalf that, 
notwithstanding some imperfections, they still remain the most 
complete and accurate of the kind that have yet appeared. 
For the valuable information they contain I have to express 
my great indebtedness to Mr. N. Davis, Camberwell; Mr. 
John Laing, Forest Hill; Mr. Orchard, Kingston-on-Thames; 
Mr. Owen, Maidenhead; Messrs. Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea; 
and especially to Mr. C. Harman Payne, and Mr. Alfred 
Salter. Where known, I have given the raiser’s name, and 
where this was not obtainable have substituted the name of 
the grower by whom each variety was sent out. At the head 
of the raisers and introducers of those refined and exquisitely 
formed incurved varieties stands the time-honoured name of 
Salter, while among the more neglige, and now more gene¬ 
rally popular Japanese, Delaux is credited with either raising 
or introducing more than one-third of the varieties on my list 
—surely a remarkable performance for any florist, however 
gifted. 
It is an extremely difficult matter to describe correctly the 
colours of many Chrysanthemums, for they possess tints not 
No. 1958.— Yol. LXX1Y., Old Series. 
