418 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 14, 1889. 
Upon entering some good trained specimens well arranged arrest 
attention. These are composed of Standards, pyramids, flats, and bush 
trained plants. Perhaps amongst the most notable is a grand pyramid 
of Mrs. Stevens, with between two and three hundred flowers. Triomphe 
du Nord, Madame B. Pigny, and Bertier Rendatler are also very fine. 
Of novelties amongst American varieties of promise are Puritan, very 
good, W. W. Coler, a fine bold flower, reddish bronze in colour, and very 
distinct in form. George Atkinson is also likely to make a good exhi¬ 
bition variety, the blooms are large and of good form, delicate blush in 
colour. Mrs. Andrew Carnegie is opening, and promises to be as good a3 
represented in the American Press. Of the other Japanese varieties 
the most notable are Sunflower, Florence Percy, Avalanche, very fine, 
though some of the finest flowers are past their best, as also are E. Moly- 
neux, Comte de Germiny, and some others. Mdme. C. Audiguier, M. 
Bernard, Boule d'Or, Mdme. J. Laing, and its fine sport Sarah Owen, are 
in fine form, while Miss M. A. Haggis, Violet Tomlin, H. Shoesmith, 
Lord Alcester (the finest blooms in the Show), Princess Beatrice, Mrs. W. 
Shipman, John Salter, and Jeanne d’Arc, form the best of the incurved 
varieties, though it may be seen that Princess of Wales and Mrs. Ileale 
have been very fine. Some novelties are worthy of notice amongst the 
Anemone class. Mdme. Robert Owen has the appearance of being the 
whitest Chrysanthemum in cultivation, Nelson, Sabine, Souvenir de 
Mdme. Blandiniere, Jeanne Marty, and Miss Annie Lowe are all well 
represented. There are numbers grown as decorative plants, which are 
much admired, especially Wm. Holmes, Wm. Stevens, Source d’Or, 
Ornements, Elaine, Soeur Melaine, Coquette de Castille, and the bright 
Anemone Thorpe junior. There is a large and fine show of fruit. 
The Zonal Pelargoniums are worth inspection. The Show remains open 
until the end of the month.— Visitor. 
DRESSING CHRYSANTHEMUM BLOOMS. 
Blooms for dressing should be cut with a stem 6 inches longer than 
the tube in which the flower is to be placed, the extra length of stem 
being required for the operator to draw the bloom down into the tube. 
Some growers use tubes for the flowers which are not suitable. The 
flange should be as large as possible, without being seen under the edge 
of the florets. This is a support which is of advantage in setting off the 
florets to the best position, and retaining the bottom row stiff. Cut off 
the leaves from the stem, slip the stem through the tube, bringing the 
latter close up, but not pressing on the petals at first. Steel tweezers, 
from 3 to 5 inches long, are the best. The points should be narrow and 
rough for obtaining a firm grip of the petals without slipping, as is the 
case with those made from ivory. Care should be taken that the florets 
are not bruised in the operation by gripping them too tightly, as a light 
and steady hand is needed to dress the blooms properly. Take the flower 
in the left hand, and with the tweezers remove any florets that are 
damaged or out of place, or any that are too stiff to incurve. The top 
or centre is the correct place to commence dressing after the removal of 
the florets previously mentioned. If the florets there show an inclination 
to reflex, very gently draw the jaws of the forceps up to the edges of the 
florets from the base to the point. If this be done with care and good 
judgment the centre will be quite filled, while the florets in other parts 
of the bloom should be arranged as desired. The bloom should then 
be drawn down as tight in the tube as is necessary to prevent the florets 
moving out of their place, but in no wise should the bloom be drawn 
down so low as to reduce the depth of the bloom any more than is 
absolutely necessary for security. The stem should be fixed in the tube 
by means of a small piece of cork cut wedge-shaped, and in size accord¬ 
ing to the space between the stem and the size of the tube. If the cork 
is soaked in water before using it is softer and more easy to push into 
its place with the thumb. In conclusion I would advise beginners to 
practise freely upon various sorts of blooms, and then a knowledge will 
be gained as to how much pressure each variety will stand from the 
tweezers without bruising the florets, as there is a difference in the con¬ 
stitution of the petals of some kinds.—E. M. (in the Chrysanthemum 
Annual). 
STAGING JAPANESE BLOOM3. 
The following is a very cheap way of staging Japanese blooms, as it 
does away with the necessity of using cups. As will be seen from the 
sketch (fig. 53) a piece of wire, No. 16 gauge, is twisted with as many 
spirals as may be required according to the size of the bloom, and the 
end is bent to fit into the cup, and the stem is fixed to the wire with 
bouquet wire. The advantages are that they cost next to nothing, and 
can be varied to suit a reflex flower like Criterion, which should be shown 
more or less flat, or if one of Mdlle. Lacroix type by bending the wire 
the drooping character can be preserved.— Geo. Walker, WimUedun. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
Teddington, Putney, Chiswick, Cranbrook, and Birkenhead, Thursday, 
Nov. 14th. 
Leicester, Eccles, Wellington (Somerset), and Cheshunt, Friday, Nov. 
15th. 
Bolton and Derby, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15th and 16th. 
Twickenham, Winchester, Liverpool, and Cardiff, Tuesday and Wed¬ 
nesday, Nov. 19th and 20th. 
Rugby and Birmingham, Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 20th and 21st. 
Falmouth, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Nov. 20th, 21st, and 22nd. 
Hull (National Society’s Provincial Show), Thursday and Friday, Nov. 
21 st and 22nd. 
Chorley and Stockport. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22nd and 23rd. 
Pontefract, Thursday, Nov. 23th. 
EXHIBITION APPLIANCES. 
From Mr. R. F. Jameson, Hessle, Hull, we have received samples of 
two useful appliances for the assistance of exhibitors. They have both 
been patented. When exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society’s 
Chiswick Conference and the Crystal Palace Show they received the 
commendations of the Judges. 
The new Jameson spring cup support (figs. 50 and 51), consisting 
FIGS. 50 AND 51.— SPRING CUP SUPPORT. 
of a circular plate with two sprirgs attached, is screwed underneath 
each hole of the show tray, and the two springs grasp the cups one oa 
each side as it is passed through the hole, retaining 
it at any desired height. This cup support is an 
improvement on the cup with springs inside, which 
Mr. Jameson introduced two or three years ago, inas¬ 
much as it cannot draw the stem of the bloom out 
of the water, and as it adapts itself automatically to 
cups of various sizes it can be used with exhibitors’ 
old cups. 
The “Name Card Holder” (fig. 52) contains three- 
cards, one holder being placed behind each row of 
blooms. To attach the holder to the tray fasten two- 
round-headed screws, one close behind the other, at 
the back of each row of blooms, slip the foot of the- 
holder at the widest part over the two screws, draw 
it forward, and it is perfectly firm, but can instantly 
fig. 52.— name be slipped back and detached for travelling or othes- 
CARD HOLDER, purposes. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
November 5th. 
Scientific Committee. —Present—Mr. Michael (in the chair), Mr. 
Burbidge, Mr. Veitch, Mr. Pascoe, Mr. O’Brien, Dr. Muller, Dr. Oliver,. 
Dr. Masters, and Rev. G. Henslow, Hon. Sec. 
Monstrous Chrysanthemums. —Mr. Burbidge exhibited two flowers, 
in one of which the corollas had become part'y virescent and distorted p. 
in the other they were surrounded by a numerous progeny of buds, 
producing the “hen and chicken” form. The question was raised as to- 
the possibility of fixing such peculiar monstrosities by breeding. It 
was observed by Mr. Veitch that a tendency to doubling is secured and? 
intensified by" self-fertilisation, as occurred in the Balsamiflorum 
section of his East Indian Rhododendrons. Mr. O’Brien remarked that 
the first double Begonias were secured in precisely the same w r ay. 
Observations were made on the possibility of the effects of mechanical 
injury to plants being hereditary. It was the belief of Mr. O’Brien that 
Ferns may become tasselled, and transmit that feature solely from, 
repeated injury to the fronds, judging from a case within his experience. 
Mr. Burbidge also corroborated the belief that irritations which are- 
prolonged tend to produce effects which may be transmitted to the- 
offspring. The cause of the monstrous condition of the specimens 
exhibited was thought to be over-nutrition, judging from the gross 
nature of the foliage, &c. 
Origin, of Chrysanthemum .—A communication was read from Mr. 
Ilemsley, in which he recorded the fact that the earliest specific name 
given to the Chrysanthemum was not sinense, but morifolium, 1 y> 
Ramatuelle, C. indicum being supposed to be a distinct species. Mr. 
Burbidge, however,observed that of seedlings from any Chrysanthemum, 
forms apparently identical with C. indicum, which is a native of China,, 
always arise, leading to the supposition that this latter species is the 
real origin of both kinds in cultivation. All wild specimens are yellow 
and single, the other colours having arisen by cultivation. 
Orchids Exhibited. —Mr. O’Brien showed the following plants,, 
which were received from Mr. Tautz of Hammersmith :—Cycnoches- 
barbatum. This first flowered in 1849 with Mrs. Lawrence of Ealingr 
Park. It was (if dimorphic as other species) presumably the male 
form. A botanical certificate was unanimously awarded. Stelis 
micrantha, a minute flowering plant; Trichosma suaveolens, trilabellft,. 
this being one of several Orchids now cultivated, with a tendency to 
I’eloria, in that the two other petals are more or less colourel like the 
label lum. 
Indica-javanicum, bigener. —Mr. Henslow described the foliage of 
this cross, exhibited by Mr. Veitch at the last meeting. Though 
smaller in size the leaf agreed both in form and anatomical details with 
