March 21, 1889. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
241 
Hardy Herbaceous Plants.—A n interesting collection from Mr. 
Ware was adjudged the best of these, and the flowers were much 
admired : a similar remark applying to the second prize lot of Mr. Paul, 
Cheshunt. 
> Miscellaneous Exhibits formed a considerable part of the 
Exhibition. Daffodils were shown in great beauty and diversity by 
Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, and T. S. Ware, the latter’s group 
receiving a bronze medal. A variety of hardy flowers, including a 
beautiful box of Lenten Eoses, also enriched Mr. Barr’s collection, for 
which a large bronze medal was awarded. Messrs. W. Paul & Son, 
Waltham Cross, were represented by a beautiful collection of Camellia 
blooms, and were awarded a large bronze medal. Messrs. T. Sander 
and Co., St. Albans, received a silver medal for a small but choice group 
of Orchids, among which Cattleya Trianse splendens with eighteen 
flowers, Lyeaste Skinneri and its white variety, and Angraecum. San- 
derianum were conspicuous. A bank of bulbous flowers, the pots 
plunged informally and surfaced with moss, was Messrs. Cutbush’s con¬ 
tribution, and for this a small silver medal was recommended. 
Messrs. Paul & Sons, Cheshunt, received a large bronze medal for a 
group of Eoses in pots, and a group of Imantophyllums with other 
plants secured a bronze medal for Mr. E. Scott. Some fine pyramids of 
Lilies of the Valley were shown by Mr. Jannoch, and a large bronze 
medal was awarded. A silver medal was given for a fine group of 
spring flowers, mainly Hyacinths, from Messrs. H. Williams & Sons. 
A beautiful collection, mainly composed of Cyclamens, Amaryllises, 
Primulas, and Imantophyllums, came from Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper 
Holloway, for which a large silver medal was recommended. A bronze 
medal was awarded to Messrs. Carter & Co. for a fine group of Primulas, 
to the St. George’s Nursery Co. and Mr. Odell for Cyc'amens, and a 
large bronze medal fell to Mr. James, Farnham Eoyal, for Cinerarias. 
Messrs. Veitch and others showed several plants for certificates, but 
these had not been dealt with when our representative left the Exhi¬ 
bition. They may be referred to later. 
NYMPHiEA, A NEW SWEET-SCENTED CHBYSANTHEMUM. 
I should like to ask if any British growers have yet grown this, 
which has been raised by Mr. Hales of Eidgwood Nurseries, New Jersey. 
Our stock of sweet-scented Chrysanthemums is so limited that I have no 
hesitation in drawing your attention to it. I see a special prize was 
awarded it by the New York Horticultural Society, and it is thus briefly 
described :—“ The plants are dwarf and bushy in habit, and of the 
purest white colour. After expanding the blooms incurve gracefully 
and retain their shape and colour for a long period. It is calculated 
from its delicate perfume and long stems to be very useful for florists 
and bouquetists.”—W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
CUTTING DOWN CHEYSANTHEV1UM3. 
In reply to “ W. D.,” I willingly make an attempt to comply with his 
wishes, noted at page 200. I am in a position to say it is not one or two 
seasons I have practised the cutting-down system. I began with this busi¬ 
ness eight years ago, and I have followed it up more or less as circumstances 
admitted, with at first certainly very indifferent results with some kinds. 
However, to the point. Seven years ago I was induced to try “ W. D.’s ” 
plan of potting previous to cutting down, not merely topping or taking 
the tops off, still leaving perhaps 18 inches of stem. My plants were cut 
back, some to within 6 inches to 9 or 10 inches of the pot, as I have 
already recommended ; or in some cases 1 foot is necessary. The plants 
were placed in their flowering pots about the middle of May, and most 
of them cut down from ten days to three weeks from the time of being 
potted. I must here say dull showery weather with chilly nights set in, 
with the result that the soil became sad and sour before the roots had 
taken possession of it, the consequence being the plants were a long 
time in breaking, in some cases making two or three shoots, while their 
neighbours, which of the very same kinds, had from six to eight breaks 
each. These were plants which had yet to be potted. At the flowering 
season I had in most cases very poor flowers of second or third-rate 
quality, and very few in number ; while the plants cut down on the 
system I have practised since that time were all that could be desired— 
in fact, blooms exhibited from these plants were in two cases awarded 
first and in one case a third prize at a Eoyal Horticultural Society’s 
Exhibition. I have also witnessed failures in the south of England as 
well as in other places, where the plan is not likely to be tried 
again. I am inclined, after the experience I have had, in spite of all 
“ W. D.” may say, to follow a system which has carried me safely 
through ; in any case, I should cut down previous to placing the plants 
into their flowering pots. I ought to have said that the blooms from 
the plants cut back after potting were retarded a fortnight. I think 
I have here said enough to show my ideas on the matter. 1 have 
not referred to any individual varieties, but I have fresh in my mind 
the Beverleys, Mr. Bunn and the Bundle family as being the worst, 
which as a rule I find do very well on the cut-down system. In con¬ 
clusion, I can say I have given the system much consideration, and I am 
in hopes of still plodding on. 
Experience has taught me that more damage may be done by affording 
too much than too little wat§r to the plants after being cut down, either 
in large or small pots, as firm potting is adhered to, consequently the 
soil does not become dry so soon as in ordinary potting, such as with Pelar¬ 
goniums, Fuchsias, or any other softwooded plants.— -Notts Grower. 
PEEMATUEE BUD FOEMATION. 
Mes Merrilies, Ealph Brocklebank, John Salter, Barbara, Golden 
Dragon, Mrs. Heale, and Triomphe de la Eue des Chfilets have shown 
buds with me. The Queen family and earliest sorts are growing freely, 
only the latest varieties forming premature flower buds. I will venture 
to give my opinion as to the cause of this, and ask other growers to 
refresh their memories as to the parts of the old plants from which they 
took their cuttings, then to compare their work with these notes. 
Nearly all mine which have shown buds were taken from stem-cuttings, 
or very close to the base of the old plant stem. Those which were taken 
from clean sucker-cuttings have grown freely. As other of your 
correspondents testify, plants last season did not throw up a plentiful 
supply of good sucker-cuttings, but owing, perhaps, to the cold wet 
season and the immaturity of the wood, cuttings grew freely from the 
stems, particularly in the case of late varieties. This being so many 
growers may have had recourse to stem-cuttings, and the consequence 
is premature bud formation. I do not know if this is a right solution 
of the question, but the results of my own practice point to the pro¬ 
bability of its being so. Last season I had no trouble with premature 
buds, my treatment being then the same as it is now. I have followed 
Mr. Molyneux’s directions as faithfully as I could. I think it is not the 
treatment which is at fault with any of us, but the results of an adverse 
season.—G. Garner, Amberwood. 
This, if we may judge from the notes that have appeared in the 
Journal for some weeks past, appears to be unusually prevalent this 
year. We are among those troubled, and some varieties have shown 
buds on every plant. The worst are M. J. Laing—which with us is 
always more or less addicted to the precocity—M. H. Elliott, Galath^e, 
\V. G. Drover, and Pelican among the Japanese, and Queen of England, 
John Salter, and Empress of India among incurved. We have always 
had a few plants show buds in March, but this year there are more than 
we have ever had before. I am quite at a loss to account for so many 
showing now, for, as in Mr. Doughty’s case, it is certainly not the result 
of too early propagation, our cuttings having been inserted about the 
same time as in previous years—viz., from the 5th to the 12th Decem¬ 
ber ; neither can 1 account for it in any other way unless it is the result 
of the bad weather of last season.—C. L., Bristol. 
I find by reading the Journal Mr. Doughty is not the only Chrys¬ 
anthemum grower troubled with premature buds. This season the 
cuttings have been weaker than usual, and that in my opinion has much 
to do with the formation of these unwelcome buds. I had some strong 
cuttings of Mr. H. Cannell, Mrs. H. Cannell, Avalanche, Florence 
Percy, Duchess of Albany, Belle Paule, Boule d’Or, and E. Molyneux. 
I inserted them under a handlight in the vinery the first week in 
November, and not one of them has shown any signs of budding. All 
my cuttings were in by the 11th December. T find it is my later struck 
cuttings which have formed these buds, but I am not troubled to such 
an extent as some other growers. I have fourteen showing buds out of 
150 plants, including Mrs. Heale, Princess of Wales, Belle Paule, late 
struck, Mrs. Wheeler, Meg Merrilees, Ealph Brocklebank, and Triomphe 
du Nord. Those of the Queen family are looking well with no signs of the 
bud at present. A few of my plants showed buds at this time last year. 
I treated them as Mr. Beckett advises, in placing them in a genial 
temperature after pinching, they then start fresh growth quicker and 
are not so likely to show the second bud prematurely.—D. Hill, 
Beachboro Park, Hythe. 
HOT-WATER PIPES-STOPPING LEAKAGE. 
Mr. Bardney, on page 209, gives good advice on the preservation of 
hot-water pipes. A mistake is often made when they are first laid by 
building them in too close with the brickwork which forms the walls 
under and through which the mains pass from one house to another, 
often along the back of the sheds. I have seen many breakdowns take 
place through jamming the pipes tight with the bricks built in the 
trenches. Where a branch is connected to the main, or at the end where 
a bend turns away to any house or part, sufficient space is not allowed 
between the pipes and the wall, and when the fire is being driven harder 
than usual the pipes are sure to leak somewhere, the direct cause being 
a non-sufficiency of space to allow for expansion. I would warn all 
perions who are, or about to have, hot-water pipes fitted to allow ample 
space at the end of the mains, and at any place where there is a con¬ 
nection, giving all flanges room to expand. It is often about this time 
of the year when breakdowns occur, owing to the extra heat required 
consequent upon forcing operations being carried on. 
Where a crack takes place in the pipes, which is generally the main 
flow, it may not be serious at first, and will show less signs of leaking 
when the pipes are cooling, but as the fire is driven harder to increase 
the tempeiature of any house, the flaw in the pipe widens, causing a 
greater leakage of the water. It may not be convenient to have the 
damaged piece of pipe removed, for more reasons than one, and replaced 
