January 23, 1890. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
building needed, our hopes are more and more strengthened that we 
shall have assistance from some amongst the great and wealthy of this 
country, and so place the Society in a comfortable and becoming build¬ 
ing equal to those possessed by horticulturists in Belgium and America, 
to enable us to look up with pride and pleasure, and feel that the Society 
is advancing in the improvement and encouragement of the earth’s pro¬ 
ductions.—H. Canxell & Sons. 
On Tuesday, January 14th, I had an opportunity of discussing the 
proposal with several friends at the meeting in Westminster, and I am 
well satisfied with the tone that prevails amongst men who are at once 
leaders in horticulture and in great business undertakings. The hopeful 
spirit that now appears in the consideration of such a project contrasts 
strangely but pleasantly with the despondency that years of forbearance 
and vexation had engendered in the later days of the unfortunate occu¬ 
pation at South Kensington, when the K.H.S. exhibited symptoms that 
by some were mistaken for approaching dissolution. It was then fore¬ 
seen, as it is now, that in the event of the old phoenix renewing its youth 
it would need a nest to sleep in and a sky to fly in ; and it was neither 
this nor that man’s hap to conceive the idea of a home for horticulture. 
But so far as the matter obtained casual attention, the general opinion 
appeared to be that the Society must provide for itself, and therefore 
must wait until rich enough. Whether wisely or unwisely, I certainly 
did at times urge that the Society itself need not be concerned about 
building and incurring debt ; all it need do would be to pay a reasonable 
rent for a suitable place, and es for the rest, the commercial principle 
might be trusted in this as in other things. Messrs. Cannell & Sons 
profess to have originated the idea of a hall for horticulture, and I 
should be very sorry to damage their sense of satisfaction, and as I have 
made no such claim, there need be no conflict, save, indeed, as to the 
ways and means, for at that point I must leave them to form their party 
and develop their plans. But I will warn them in time that a sum of 
from £25,000 to £50,000 will be required for the thing that is wanted, 
and £1000, perhaps, might be, with good management and great effort, 
scraped together, and then—Well, beyond that they probably would not 
proceed, and the end would be, as Messrs. Caunell hopefully anticipate, 
■“ a disused church or chapel,” to be “ utilised so that the Society could 
call it their own.” I have no ambition to appropriate the idea ; Messrs. 
Cannell &: Sons are, in respect of any possible purloining on my part, 
as safe as if they had kept their dignified ideas entirely to themselves. 
It does not appear that in the whole of this great metropolis there is 
jiny such respectable centre for the association of men of science and 
lovers of such arts as horticulture may be honourably associated with, 
whether for corporate action in a common cause, or for their several 
«eparate labours, discussions, and festivities. The peculiarities of the 
negative case were forced upon the attention of the gentlemen who went 
forth to find a place of meeting for the K.H.S., and could find nothing 
better than the Drill Hall in Westminster. There are any number of 
places in which men may meet conveniently and with light enough for 
the display of plants, but there is usually a serious objection of no 
subtle nature, but flagrant and notorious. The case does not affect 
us solely ; it is one of general public interest, and bears directly on 
the round of recreations that are in daily demand, and abundantly 
pay their way in proportion to their merit and the cleanness of the 
management. Establish a handsome hall in a spot commanding a 
constant flow of traffic ; here initiate daylight occupations for the 
scientific, and evening entertainments for the people, and you will not 
fail of your reward, which will doubtless correspond with'your deserts, 
and will crown igood management with complete success. Our fort¬ 
nightly meetings would soon acquire renown in a place reasonably 
adapted for them, and a flower show under the electric light, with 
suitable accessories, would do for horticulture what has never been done 
yet—we should outdo the “palmy d.ays of Chiswick,” minus the dread¬ 
ful weather that first abolished Vauxhall and then applied the surplus 
of its savagery to the best flower shows of this nineteenth century. A 
thousand uses for such a hall would arise as it acquired a name and a 
place in the economy of society, and the life of the thing would bo in 
its independence and respectability. As an arena for lions and lambs, 
as a home for the trapeze and the wire rope, as a mere shelter for so 
many drinking bars, it would be a failure first, and finally a dis¬ 
grace and a curse. That it would fail if perverted from the purpose 
for ■which it is proposed cannot be doubted, and upon that assump¬ 
tion may be founded our expectation of success. We want a beautiful . 
building, with sufficient space for half a dozen meetings to be held 
simultaneously, and a noble hall abundantly lighted both by day and 
night, with, perhaps, a bijou plant house, in which subjects requiring 
to be on the spot for a few days or more might be kept under observa¬ 
tion, and flowered or fruited without disturbance or danger of transit 
at unseasonable times. The Weather Plant offers an example. It has 
been under operation for forecasting in a house in thell.H.S. Gardens at 
Chiswick, and has been seen by some dozen or score of persons only, 
fn a conservatory on the Thames Embankment it would have been 
visited by hundreds, possibly by thousands. 
The kind of institution I have in view should be somewhat of a 
costly affair, and the requirements of the B.H.S. should have direct and 
primary attention in the original design and its several details. It need 
not be said that under present circumstances the K.H.S. could not pay 
for such accommodation as it is proposed to provide, but it is a fair 
speculation that it soon will be able. In the meantime I wish this 
point to be kept in view, that the edifice suitable for horticulture will be 
suitable also for many other purposes that may be honourably and use¬ 
fully associated with horticulture. There is no such hall as we require, 
but there are a thousand uses for such a thing from the moment you 
have established it. To be safe against perils that are better understood 
than explained, you have but to adopt as the foundation of the business 
that the edifice shall be used only for such purposes as consist with the 
advancement of science, art, and literature, and all the rest will turn on 
management.— Shirlev Hibberd, A'ew. 
' [We are authorised to say with regard to the suggested Hall that 
the matter has been before the Council for the greater part of the 
past year. A Committee of the Council was appointed in the autumn 
for the purpose of elaborating a scheme, and they hope soon to be able 
to bring something tangible before the Fellows and the general public. 
It will then altogether depend on the amount of financial support 
which the Council receives whether the project be carried to a successful 
issue or not.] 
Chrysanthemums Commercially. 
When the varieties are well selected, the plants well grown, and 
the time of placing the crop in the market is well chosen. Chrys¬ 
anthemums pay fairly well. They are essentially a catch crop, because 
they occupy house space which otherwise would in all likelihood be 
unfilied, while they have the further advantage of brightening an 
otherwise dull period, and after having fulfilled this duty may be con¬ 
signed when fresh to the commission agent at a profit, instead of going 
to the compost heap when decaying, at a loss. Gardeners too often 
make the mistake of sending any kind of produce to market which is 
not wanted or not good enough for home use. True, the quality offered 
to the public by shopkeepers and the prices charged for the same might 
lead to the conclusion that anything is good enough, but when it comes 
to be a question of getting rid of produce at a fair price in the glutted 
market, then the best variety and the best quality must go together. 
In a private garden it is, of course, impossible to select too closely, 
for Chrysanthemums are, like Roses, possessed of great individuality, 
and this indeed is one of their greatest charms. But while growing a 
comprehensive selection, it is at the same time judicious to cultivate 
merely one or two each of these and increase the number of profitable 
sorts, which are also the best of decorative plants. Ahead of all stands 
Elaine, and if it were merely a question of growing the purest and best 
white, then we might be well satisfied with this alone ; but in some 
seasons it fails to set its buds, and consequently it would be suicidal to 
depend on it alone. In some seasons, also, it is earlier than other sorts, 
while, as a rule, some of the earlier varieties are of value before this is 
in. Next to the above comes Mrs. G. Rundle. Good blooms of this 
sell well, and the crop is always large, which is, of course, a point of 
importance. Fair Maid of Guernsey, owing to its lateness and great 
profusion, is also valuable, though not so good as either of the above. 
Lady Selborne is rather early to be of much value, but it carries such 
an enormous crop of flowers that it is well worth growing. Of yellow 
varieties, Peter the Great is of great value. It may be had either in 
midseason or late, and for colour, size, shape, and profusion of bloom it 
leaves nothing to be desired. Mr. Gienny and Mrs. Dixon are also good. 
Mr. Bunn is a fine early sort, but not so good as Mrs. Dixon, and very 
free and good is Elsie, which, moreover, stands well. Of coloured 
varieties. Source d’Or is in all respects fine. Of a darker shade is 
Reverie, also fine, and earlier is W. Holmes. I have not found the Teck 
family do well in the north. Some often can be had as late, and are 
much more free. Worth growing also are Felicity and Mrs. Forsyth as 
midseason whites ; while Lady Margaret, though not a free flowering 
sort, throws very fine blooms very late in the season. 
Of extra sorts of yellows, Chevalier Domage is fine, and Phoebus and 
Golden Queen may be profitably grown. Annie Lowe, though very light 
in shade, promises wmll, and the yellow Ethel should also be grown. 
There are several good coloured sorts, thus Cullingfordi, L’Ebouriffde 
when well grown, very fine as a late sort is Val d’Andorre. But it is 
important to note that a dozen blooms of one sort and a dozen of another 
are not -wanted so much as many dozens of two or three good sorts 
at a time. 
It will not do to allow the plants to grow without giving every attention 
to their wants and the requirements of the variety. Thus it will be found 
that cuttings selected and rooted in November or December will not 
only yield more blooms than spring struck cuttings, but the quality of 
the blooms will be better. Then an early propagated plant can be 
pinched early in its career, and three or four shoots produced instead of 
one, without in any way affecting the quality of the blooms. Another 
point of importance is to thin out the weak shoots which break from 
the main stems towards autumn. These weak breaks never produce good 
blooms, and they affect the others injuriously, while their removal has a 
beneficial effect on those left. From three dozen to fifty blooms is a good 
crop to a plant, and the power of a particular plant to develop a given 
crop must be estimated so as to thin to the desired number. And again, 
when the buds are set, the thinning of these must be s.een to, so that 
