January s, 18.9. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
7 
tion of three varieties, which are all good, the best of them being Jean 
Marty, which has the largest centre of any variety in either of the 
Anemone sections. The colour is deep lilac, the guard florets being paler. 
James Weston, pure white, full centre, drooping guard florets, which 
are of great length. Mdme. B. Consanort is a self-coldured claret variety 
with a good disc. To the large flowered Anemone section can be added 
thnee desirable varieties, the best of them in my opinion being Thorpe 
Junior, owing to its rich orange colour resembling Chevalier Domage, 
which is highly prized on that account; a full centre and good guard 
petals completes the description of this sort, Sabine, guard florets sul¬ 
phur, primrose yellow disc, quite full. M. Pankoueke, purple claret 
guard florets, centre claret, bronze tipped. 
I have not seen anything noteworthy in the reflexed section which 
calls for comment, but the single varieties have been added to by Messrs. 
Cannell with four capital sorts, the best being Admiral Sir T. Symonds, 
which is a shade paler than Chevalier Domage, consequently orange 
yellow. It has three rows of guard florets, which recurve at the points. 
Altogether it is a magnificent variety. Effie, long florets, a curious 
mixture of chestnut and claret. Figaro has a double row of florets, 
which are pale lilac in the centre, which deepens towards the points. 
David Windsor is a bright chestnut red. 
Pompon M. Van Hulle is a novelty in colour, owing to some of the 
florets showing their reverse, which is gold colour, the upper surface 
being brick red. Golden Marabout is another acquisition to this section, 
if form and character of Marabout, except it has a golden centre, the 
outer part like Marabout.— E. Molyneux. 
FORMS OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
[Address at a meeting of the Chiswick Gardeners’ Association, hy Mr. George Gordon.] 
Knowing the importance of correct ideas as to the classification 
and properties of the several classes of Chrysanthemums, it is with 
much pleasure that I comply with the request to give an address on 
the forms of the flowers. But it must be understood that in the 
comparatively short time at my disposal, it is not possible to deal 
with the subject with the fulness its importance demands, and all 
that I can hope to do is to briefly touch upon the chief character¬ 
istics of the several sections. It is only within a comparatively 
recent period that the question of classification has occupied the 
serious attention of cultivators and others interested in the Chrysan¬ 
themum, and ten years ago it was quite common for societies of con¬ 
siderable importance to provide classes for “ large-flowering Chrysan¬ 
themums,” and allow exhibitors to stage any of the sections in mixture 
or otherwise in them. With the increase in the shows and the rapid 
multiplication of Japanese varieties there arose a desire for a classifi¬ 
cation of the varieties, and such definitions as would enable both ex¬ 
hibitors and judges to at once determine to what class any particular 
variety belonged. In compliance with the request of a secretary of 
one of the societies, I prepared in the autumn of 1879 a classification 
which, so far as it went, has proved of considerable service. This 
was not the first classification, nor has it been the last. In 1833 
Mr. Hayward prepared a classification of the varieties grown at that 
time in the Chiswick Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, and 
this was published in “ Loudon’s Gardeners’ Magazine.” This arrange¬ 
ment was enlarged by the late Mr. John Salter, and given in his book on 
the Chrysanthemum. A month or so after the appearance of my defi¬ 
nitions in print, two other writers attempted to deal with the question, 
and at the same time appeared anxious to show that they were oblivious 
of what had happened during the forty-three years that had elapsed 
since the publication of Mr. Hayward’s classification, which I would 
add is of no practical value at the present day. In the classification I 
prepared in 1879 I divided the great family into seven sections, but the 
changes that have been brought about during the past decade renders 
some modification necessary to adapt it to the requirements of the pre¬ 
sent day. 
I do not propose to discuss the history of the flower farther than is 
necessary to elucidate the evolution it has undergone since its introduc¬ 
tion to this country ninety-eight years since, and I must refer those 
who may be anxious to increase their historical knowledge to the cheap 
and excellent history of the Chrysanthemum by Mr. Harman Payne. 
The leading classes into which the Chrysanthemums are divided are 
the Incurved, Japanese. Reflexed, Large Anemones, Japanese Anemones, 
Pompons, and Pompon Anemones. The Japanese may be sub-divided, 
as I shall show in the course of my remarks. 
Chronologically the reflexed flowers stand first, for it is an un¬ 
doubted fact that the first large flowered Chrysanthemum introduced 
to this country in 1790 belonged to that section. This variety figured in 
the “Botanical Magazine” as the Old Purple, and included by Mr. 
Hayward in his classification under the name of the Tasselled Purple, is 
so similar to that well-known variety, Dr. Sharpe, that an attempt has 
been made to show that they are one and the same, but I have no doubt 
whatever as to their being perfectly distinct. But if the reflexed have 
the advantage in age they are far behind the incurved and the Japanese 
in importance, and the incurved must certainly have precedence. It 
would be a very interesting study to trace the development of the in¬ 
curved flower, but time will not permit to do more than deal with broad 
principles. It must not be supposed that the Old Purple is the pro¬ 
genitor of the many beautiful incurved flowers we now have, or that 
the process of development to the highest degree of perfection known to 
us, extended over a long period. On the contrary there can be very 
little doubt that they have descended from the Incurving Lilac, Two- 
coloured Incurved, Superb White, and similar varieties, which were 
introduced about 1823. As shown in the coloured plates which appear 
in vols. 4, 5, and 6 of the first series of the “ Transactions ” of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, several of the varieties introduced to this 
country from China about the year mentioned had a tendency to in¬ 
curve. If we accept the year mentioned as the date of the intro¬ 
duction of the progenitors of the present race of in-curved we can say 
that the flowers forming the section attained to their highest perfection 
in the comparatively short period of twenty-four years, for the Queen 
of England, the finest of all the incurved varieties, was introduced in 
1847. Whether Empress of India or Lord Alcester is preferable to the 
Queen of England does not affect the argument, for they, with 
several others, have descended from that variety as sports. This brings 
us to the question of properties, and I will at once tell you that the in¬ 
curved flower should be perfectly globular, and I would mention 
Empress of India as the most closely approaching perfection of form. 
The flower should be well filled up in the centre, and the florets should 
incurve regularly, and be well rounded at the points and free from 
notches, as indentations are disfigurements. We are told that a globe is 
inelegant and meaningless by those who are not sufficiently educated to 
appreciate the graceful curves of a perfectly developed bloom of the 
variety I have mentioned as a type, but without stopping to discuss that 
point, the more closely your flowers approach that form the greater will 
be the chance of your obtaining a high position in a close competition. 
Solidity is of hardly less importance than a good outline, for thinness 
is at once seen by the trained eye, and will not fail to heavily discount 
the chances of the cultivator taking a high place on the prize list. 
Freshness is essential, and the want of this important quality frequently 
places boards of blooms at a disadvantage when placed on the exhibition 
stage, and in not a few instances is the cause of much disappointment. 
Without freshness it is impossible to have the colour at its best, and 
although many cultivators fail to recognise the fact, to stage a bloom in 
its true colour is of the highest importance. It should always be re¬ 
membered that it is no part of the duties of judges to determine what 
the flowers were a fortnight before the show, or what they are likely to 
be a fortnight afterwards. Their duty, as I understand the case, is to 
determine the merits of the blooms on the day of the exhibition, and 
those who have them at their best on that date will be most likely to 
occupy a foremost position. 
As already mentioned, we have had the reflexed varieties from the 
first, and although a period of nearly a hundred years has elapsed since 
the introduction of the first variety, so little has been done in improving 
them that they are the most unsatisfactory class of all. There is not in 
fact half a dozen varieties that are even fairly good. The several 
Christines, which have long been in cultivation and are the most 
popular of all, are very coarse, and the more recent introductions, such 
as Elsie and Cullingfordi, which are so useful for decorations, have so 
much Japanese blood in them that they usually lack the refinement 
we have a right to look for in the section. With reference to the 
properties of the reflexed varieties, I would say that the larger the 
blooms are the better, provided they are free from coarseness. The blooms 
should be circular in outline, form as nearly as possible a half globe, 
and be free from any trace of thinness or confusion in the centre. The 
florets should be broad, quite flat on the upper surface, free from notches 
at the tip, and regularly recurve. The colour ought to be clear and 
decisive, and as in the case of the incurved be at its best when the 
blooms are staged. There is yet much to be learnt in connection with 
the reflexed, for large numbers of exhibitors, and not a few judges, 
regard mere size as the chief test of their quality, with the result that 
first-class blooms have frequently to play second fiddle to others of the 
coarsest description which represent the liberal use of fertilisers rather 
than skilful culture. 
The Japanese varieties afford such a diversity of form that it is no 
easy matter to indicate their chief characteristic. There are three well 
marked types—namely, the incurved, reflexed, and those with more or 
less twisted florets. A sub-division under the designation of reflexed 
Japanese has been created by the Catalogue Committee of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society, but it remains to be seen how far it will prove 
useful so far as the exhibitions are concerned. The best type of the 
reflexed group is Elaine, which, as so well known, has long, flat, 
ribbon-like florets that more or less reflex, but not with the regularity 
characteristic of such varieties as Chevalier Domage and Dr. Sharpe. 
With such a large number of distinct forms as is to be found in the 
Japanese it is not possible to do more than to refer to their properties 
in general terms without occupying more time than can be spared. Oue 
of the chief points of merit is size. Small-flowered varieties are 
exceedingly useful for decorating the conservatory and supplying blooms 
for the drawing-room and other indoor apartments ; but for exhibition 
purposes those of large or medium size are alone suitable.^ Large size 
may therefore be accepted as an important property. Fulness and 
decisiveness of colour are properties not less essential than size, for 
flowers that are thin or ineffective in colour fail to do an exhibitor much 
service when placed on an exhibition stage. In the reflexed class large 
size is also desirable, but the florets should be flat, somewhat regularly 
arranged, and more or less reflex. The colour of these also should be 
clear and decisive. Boule d’Or, Edwin Molyneux, Grandiflorum, Belle 
Paule, Madame C. Audiguier, and Avalanche may be mentioned as 
representing the finest types of Japanese, and all collections should 
contain a due proportion of varieties of similar character, as they carry 
much more weight than flowers so regular in form that it is not easy in 
certain stages to determine whether they belong to the Japanese or the 
reflexed classes, and I hope the quaint and fantastically formed flowers 
