172 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
r February 27, 1890. 
Mr. Garner having retired from the list, it is to be hoped not per¬ 
manently, we are indebted to the year 1887 for only one single Jap— 
Avalanche. This superb flower has, however, in this one year, and that 
by no means a favourable one for the variety, risen from No. 21 to 
No. 8 in the analysis. In fact in 1889 it was staged as often as the 
premier flower—Madame C. Audiguier. 
Sunflower, another splendid novelty and the champion flower of 
1888, on what is virtually its first appearance at once takes a prominent 
position, having been staged twenty-seven times last year and already 
standing No. 13 on the list. The rest of the new sorts sent out in the 
same year will be found as follows ;—Condor at No. 47, and Etoile de 
Lyon and George Daniels both at No. 55. These latter are certainly 
modest positions, but then it must be borne in mind what youthful 
aspirants for fame the.se 1888 varieties are, and that it is not given to 
all good new varieties to take the Chrysanthemum public by storm as 
Edwin Molyneus, Avalanche, and Sunflower have done in recent years. 
I find that no fewer than twenty-four new Japanese Chrysanthemums 
appear in the analysis this year which were absent from that issued 
only five years ago. Among these may be mentioned Maiden’s Blush, 
Edwin Molyneu.x, Avalanche, Madame J. Laing, Mr. K. Brocklebank, 
Sunflower, Carew Underwood and La Triomphante as undoubted 
acquisitions. 
Reflexed, Large Axemoxes, Pompons, and Pompon Anemone 
Varieties. 
Judging by the number of times the different varieties were shown 
at the last few exhibitions of the National Chrysanthemum Society 
the following short lists represent the cream of the above sections. 
Reflexed. —Cullingfordi, Cloth of Gold, King of Crimsons, Golden 
Christine, Pink Christine, Chevalier Domage, Peach Christine, Phidias, 
and Dr. Sharpe. 
Large Anemones .—Lady Margaret, Empress, Emperor, Acquisition, 
Gluck, Georges Sand, Fleur de Marie, Mrs. Pethers and J. Thorpe, junr. 
Pompons .—Black Douglas, Mdlle. Marthe, Golden Mdlle. Marthe, 
Mdlle. Elise Dbrdan, Prince of Orange, Marabout, and President. 
Pompon Anemones. —Antonius, Mr. Astie, Marguerite de Coi, 
Madame Chalonge, Miss Nightingale, Perle, Marie Stuart and Astrea. 
I once more, in conclusion, express my indebtedness to Mr. Harman 
Payne for providing me with the dates and raisers’ names of a few of 
the newer Japanese Chrysanthemums in the foregoing tables.—E. M., 
Berlihamsted. 
PARSLEY. 
Some vegetables it is possible to dispense with should a failure 
occur, but as regards Parsley there is no cessation in the demand, 
and scarcity means worry at the very least. Then it is such a 
common everyday crop that very little it may be considered can be 
said about it. But experience has shown me that even with 
Parsley there is a right method of proceeding, and no doubt many 
wrong ways of treating it. In the first place I should say a good 
strain is of the first importance, and on that account for many 
years I have selected a few plants and procured seed from these. 
In a good strain the leaves should be light green in colour, of 
moderate growth, and the foliage well curled. Then a poor soil 
seems to be better than a rich one ; indeed, dung should on no 
account be applied to ground on which it is intended to grow 
Parsley. Lastly, in order to make as sure as possible of a con¬ 
tinuous supply two sowings should be made. Though I do not 
always practise this myself, yet the omission of the second sowing 
is risky. I need only enlarge somewhat on the sowing and treat¬ 
ment of the plants. Make the earliest sowing by the beginning of 
March, and select soil in good condition. By May the young plants 
will be large enough to be transplanted on a damp cloudy day. Set the 
plants in rows 12 inchesapart. One watering at the time of planting 
is all that is required, the ground is hoed immediately after finishing, 
and an occasional hoeing is all the plant will require throughout the 
summer. Where a continued and unceasing supply has to be met a 
large number of plants must be grown, say from 500 to 1000. Each 
plant forms a large tuft of leaves, and the large quantity does away 
with the necessity of ever picking close, so that on the arrival of 
winter hardy plants are ready to keep up a supply during the worst 
period of the year. It has to be noted that sufficient plants are left 
in the seed rows to carry the supply forward from June until the 
main crop is ready. When grown in rich soil it is sure to go down 
during winter, and in spring nothing is left to gather. Poorly grown 
plants stand ordinary winters well, and hard ones if protected with 
loose bracken scattered thinly over them, and in spring they are 
still in perfectly good condition, and capable of carrying on the 
supply until the spring sown plants are ready. Remove the flower 
stalks as they appear, and a slight dressing of manure applied from 
the middle of March up to the beginning of April has a wonderful 
effect. 
It is at this period of the year that plants from a second 
sowing made in the beginning of August as the very latest date 
come in useful. The leaves are not large, but they are fresh and 
prevent a blank which might otherwise occur. The seed is sown 
thinly in rows, and little trouble is occasioned by this crop if lines 
are drawn on a quarter of newly dug Potatoes, no digging or othe? 
preparation being required apart from levelling the ground and 
raking it even.—B. R. 
THE JACOB^A LILY. 
Tiils is a bulbous plant with curiously shaped and rich scarlet 
flowers, and like many other members of the Amaryllis famdy 
be had in flower all through the winter months, and hence bo 
extremely useful. It is usually catalogued as Amaryllis formosis- 
sima, but its correct name is Sprekelia formosissima, and it hails 
from Mexico. It is certainly to be regretted that their beautiful 
flowers fade so quickly, but although they only last from four to 
six days they are nevertheless useful where choice flowers are 
required for cutting or for the decoration of conservatories through 
the winter. We find that established bulbs will expand their 
flowers in from four to six weeks after starting the bulbs in a tem¬ 
perature of G5° to 70°, but as soon as the flowers are open the plants 
should be removed to a cooler house. They may be grown singly 
in 5-inch pots, but as each bulb only throws up a one-flowered 
scape it is best to place about five bulbs in a 7-inch pot, especially 
if required for decorative purposes in a large house, or even for 
cutting purposes. The flowers usually appear with the leaves, and 
like all Amaryllises they are best when established and their 
are full of roots ; indeed, they should be forced gently the first 
year they are potted, and, with an eye to future usefulness, they 
must be well cared for after flowering. 
This is where many people fail with bulbous plants. As soon 
as the flowers have faded, and this is generally at an early stage 
of the plant’s growth for the season, they are thrown aside and 
neglected. We know, alas ! too well that it is impossible to de 
justice to the host of dissimilar plants that have to pass through 
the gardener’s hands, especially during the forcing season ; but this 
does not alter the fact that unless the embryo flower be formed in 
the bulb before the leaves die, forcing or even natural growth, s<> 
far as flowers are concerned, will be a disappointment the next 
year. We find three parts loam and one part each of leaf mould 
and sand a good compost for this Sprekelia, but it will pi^^y require 
potting every second or third year, and if the surface soil is remoy^ 
every season before starting the bulb and fresh compost supplied,, 
also all suckers removed and the drainage kept free, they will 
flower for years without being potted. After flowering keep-the 
plants well exposed to the sun until growth is completed, men 
gradually withhold water, and finally dry them off and rest them 
for at least three months.—J. H. W. 
TREATMENT OF MANURES, SOILS, AND CROPS- 
Onions. 
It is not difficult for old gardeners to grow any vegetable 
produce in a garden they are acquainted with, but it will often put 
an old practitioner in a fix when he is transferred to a strange-soil 
and locality, and the most successful cultivator is often overtaken 
in his old haunts with a series of failures, and that with a crop he 
has been unsurpassed in growing before. I could give many 
instances of this. How much more necessary, then, is it to insti'uct 
young beginners or fresh comers into certain localities as to the 
varieties suited to that part. Yet when a practical writer and 
gardener (say from the south) gives his experience and treatment,, 
someone from the north or east or upon a different soil writes, and 
contradicts him because he has grown a plant under different- 
treatment with excellent results. That is also the case with most 
artificial manures ; what one proves beneficial another fails with, 
but home manure is sure to suit the soil and crops in its district. 
Supply plenty in good condition, well work the soil, and the best 
results will be obtained. I was struck by seeing some twenty 
loads per acre of home or farmyard manure being placed upon the 
land by an artificial manure manufacturer. Yet he gave good 
dressings of these at the proper time, and no doubt secured a re¬ 
turn that satisfied him ; but in my opinion more disease has been 
created amongst vegetation by these manures than we are aware of. 
For Onions make use of the Celery ground well manured. Deep 
digging will do, but it is best if the soil can be turned up from the 
bottom, using soot and lime. Sow spring Onions in Febrixiry; 
make the ground firm before sowing, and roll after. The best 
method that I have found to act is either sow right through 
or cut them into beds by hoeing a path every 4 feet at right 
angles to the drills, or first mark out the paths and draw drills 
the length of the ground, and miss the path when sowing. 
The advantage of this is that Onion beds, being a nursery for 
weeds, these paths, which are only 1 foot wide, offer an easy 
