114 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 27, 1860. 
Crystal Palace Show with no fuss or fashionable at¬ 
tendance. And any foreign customers of ours who may 
like to see our Christmas cheer will be able, this season 
for the first time, to see the strength and beauty of these 
Chrysanthemums at the same time. 
On the left, along the winter garden, is a sloping bank 
of beauty, rising from an undulating front to a snow-white 
back wall, against which the whole way is gracefully 
festooned with Cobsea scandens. Against the face of the 
back wall above the Chrysanthemums is a line of speci¬ 
men scarlet Geraniums in bloom, and interspersed with 
sizable Orange tree or bushes in fruit, and some fine¬ 
leaved plants. The even surface of the huge bank of 
bloom is varied with standard plants or “ starers ” 
artistically set for effect, like the rest of all the moves 
in this fashionable nursery, the rarest of which starers is 
a broad-leaved new plant called Wigandsia caracassana, 
which will do out of doors in summer, and which is said 
to bloom after the fashion of Paulownia imperialis; 
Oranges and Myrtles, Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria 
excelsa), a dried specimen of the flower-stem of Ferula 
glauca in fruit, and nearly 10 feet high—this kind of 
Ferula being the best wilderness plant in England; 
Arundo mauritanica, a fine thing, which blooms freely, 
which few of them do with us ; a remarkable specimen of 
a new Acacia from New Zealand, something in the way 
of A. lophantha, received from a settler as “their scarlet 
Mimosabut whether scarlet flowers, or pods, or pro¬ 
duce was not stated on the label. A. lophantha itself 
was there also—one of the best front hall or lobby plants 
we have, and others of the same clan. 
Along the centre walk are introduced beds of oval 
shape, planted, and the walk going round them. From 
these the front is literally crammed with dwarf plants of 
all kinds of Pompones and Chrysanthemums, and good 
things of other classes. The oval beds are planted thus : 
Dwarf plants of Canna gigantea and Lycopods in one, 
a short Norfolk Island Pine and fancy Ferns in the next, 
Centaurea gymnocarpa (like a frosted silver Fennel plant) 
with little Cupressus funebris round it, and deeply bor¬ 
dered with Festuca glauca —the best grass in the world 
for making miles of carriage-road verges through woods, 
shrubberies, and wild scenery. It never wants cutting, 
rises from four to six inches only, and sits as solid as a 
Saxon lord, and as greenish-grey the year round as the 
back of a wood pigeon. Next bed, all kinds of variegated 
Ivy, of which latifolia maculata is the newest and the 
best, and seems as if between the Irish Ivy and the one 
called heterophylla. Another is of a silvery variegated 
Fern, called Pteris argyr.ea, which is in the way of the 
new P. tricolor; and in the end bed next the entrance is 
an 8-feet-high pyramid of Camellia elegans—Chandler’s 
best variegated sort—the finest specimen of it I ever saw 
in a pot, and when in full bloom a fit wedding present to 
a princess. "Verily and indeed, the proper setting of 
plants to get them to combine for artistic effect adds 
ninety per cent, to their value to a stranger, and the 
art of placing plants properly is now fast gaining ground 
about London. 
I would advise a run up, or a drive down, just to see 
how the Messrs. Salter, father and son, and he “ Alfred 
Salter,” have done so much for effect at so little cost, 
even if you did not intend to buy a single plant, but 
confined your purchases to the double ones, and here 
they are and to spare and satisfy. Beginning with the 
best of the newest—say, Alma, a large crimson (Chry¬ 
santhemum crimson), with reflexed florets, one of the new 
strain of good habit for private pot culture. Arthur 
"Wortly (Salter), a delightful flower worthy of the name 
it bears; a rosy amber, a new tint, tipped with golden 
yellow ; a standard model of shape, undressed, and one 
of the best pot plants. Boule de Niege, a very late white 
kind when all the whites and blushes are over, a full 
incurved bloom. Clipper (Clark), another of these non¬ 
descript colours between red, orange, gold, and carmine 
in shades; an excellent kind for single-specimen style. 
Jewess, orange and red, and as good as Clipper singly. 
Mrs. William Holborn, I believe the Anne Salter that 
was, one of the very finest of all the true white flowers, 
having, of course, all the properties due to such a name; 
but like all Madames this requires kind and liberal treat¬ 
ment to bring out that which Nature planted within. 
Mr. Murray, a reflexed beauty in the nearest tint to the 
new magenta colour, which Mr. Salter describes as dark 
violet rose, and what I would call a deep rose, suffused 
with violet purple. At all events Mr. Murray is now 
the best of that clan, and a true lady’s colour with the 
new habit of close growth for specimens ; and Queen of 
the Isles, a pure white, incurved. The first newest six 
kinds in Mr. Bird’s selection (see page 104), belong to 
the above, or say in so many words. Alarm, Negro Boy, 
Novelty, Saccoa Nova, and Yellow Perfection. But Mr. 
Salter has proved Novelty not to be constant; you must 
mind, therefore, it is only a show flower, the largest of 
them all, though not constant without particular treat¬ 
ment. In addition to the first-rate old kinds from Mr. 
Bird’s report, the following are added by Mr. Salter as 
first-class flowers for private use, for the length of time 
they keep, for the easy management they require, or for 
the habit of the plants for good pot specimens. Baron 
Scalebert, Cassandra, Celestial, Colonel Combes, Dr. 
Rosas (an extra surely), Globe White, Golden Lotus, 
Indostan, Jardin des Plants (extra), Louisa, Madame 
Dumage, Marshal Lannes, Persanne, Prince Jerome, 
Pygmaleon, and Sulphurea superba. 
That addition to my list of primers need not hinder me 
to give the praise due to Queen of England, and the sport 
to Vesta, and Dupont de l’Eure, Aimee Ferriere, Alfred 
Salter, Chevalier Dumage, Thermis, Pio None, Luci- 
dum, done in such style as to deceive your reporter, who 
mistook it for Novelty. Does your Lucidum come pure 
ivory-white, or half white, or half pink, or suffused with 
pink on the edges of all the florets P The bottom half of 
the present style of Lucidum was much pinky, and the 
size half as large again as we generally see it; yet the 
plant was from the open ground. Anaxo, one of the best 
of the foxies ; Beauty, very fine ; Hermione, never seen 
larger and fairly tipped; Fabius, nearly over; Curtius 
Quintus, fully as good from the open ground as those 
plants of it which were potted in pots; and Princess 
Marie, which is a type plant for a new strain of flower 
differing entirely both from the incurved and reflexed, or 
recurved flowers. The flowers of Princess Marie, of 
Jewess, and a few others, are globes after the shape of 
the best Dahlias. Dr. Rosas gathers itself up to a centre 
naturally, and as evenly as the most dressed flower. The 
yellow sport from Trilby is here also ; Lady Hardinge, 
the new rosy blush for which Mr. Salter had a first-class 
certificate from the Floral Committee, is among a lot of 
equally good kinds. Little Harry is one of them, an 
excellent-habited dwarf kind, with fine yellow flowers— 
next shade to Fabius ; for this in its earliest stage a cer¬ 
tificate of merit was given by the Committee, but in its 
present full development deserves the first-class honours. 
Baron Gros, named after Lord Elgin’s French fellow 
plenipo’ in China, is an improvement on yellow Queen of 
England, having stiffer florets, and will be a good lift at 
competitions, will come out next spring ; also, Rifleman, 
a large Indian red flower; and Golden King, a clear 
yellow sport from his grace, just come in time to hold up 
the honours of the ancient coronet. To these novelties 
add the following, which are still under numbers waiting 
to be approved by r those after whom they are to be named ; 
but they can be had next spring under the numbers, if, 
meantime, we should not hear their patronymics. No. 22, 
a large, white Anemone flower, the best since Nancy de 
Sermet came out. No. 35, a new colour, yellow and light 
amber finely mixed, one of the best seedlings yet raised. 
No. 68, a fine, large, creamy yellow flower, of the same 
shape and style as Christine. No. 69, this will be a 
