196 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 28, 1885. 
and covered all round with a long fringe. They are 
entirely vegetable feeders, feeding on the flowers, leaves, 
or even the roots, whilst a few species live under bark. 
The eggs are deposited in the flowers or on the underside 
of the leaves or the veins. The larvae resembles the per¬ 
fect insect in form, but are softer in the texture of 
their bodies and bear no wings. They are also much 
paler in colour, being usually whitish, yellowish, or 
even blood-red, the perfect insects on the other hand, 
being black or dark brown. There are over fifty 
British species of Thrips known. The most destructive 
is that found on the cereals (to which they have done 
in some years enormous damage) and the two or three 
species found in hot-houses. The latter pass through 
the egg, larvae, pupa, and imago states in about thirty 
days, and if the temperature remains constant there is 
a new brood nearly every month. The pupa was 
illustrated by diagrams, and specimens of various species 
were shown under the microscope. In the discussion 
which followed, it was pointed out that it was easier 
and more effectual to destroy the Thrips as larvte than 
in other states of development. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN 
THE OPEN AIR IN NOVEMBER. 
I have enjoyed so much pleasure myself in this dull 
dark murky month by the profusion of Chrysanthemums 
I have had in the open air, that I have written to 
several of your contemporaries recommending the ex¬ 
tension of that method of culture—for decoration and 
cutting chiefly where at all possible. 1 must at once 
make myself understood as not merely advocating 
culture in pots with the view of transferring them under 
cover in October. They could be grown for exhibition 
without difficulty in that way. Neither am I going 
to specially recommend the August, September, and 
October bloomers, for if you except half-a-dozen, say 
Alexandre Dufour, Madame Desgrange, Soeur Melaine, 
Mrs. Cullingford, Mons. Jacotot, and one or two 
more out of some hundreds, the remainder cannot 
compare for a moment in out-door culture with later- 
flowering Incurved, Reflexed, and Japanese, but es¬ 
pecially the hybrid Pompons. These last are perfect 
bunches of blooms, but that you may see for yourself. 
I will cut in the morning one each of more than a score 
raiieties, most of them November flowering varieties 
generally grown for exhibition, planted in a border and 
trained against a south wall. 
Owing to being hardened and inured to the open air 
in this position, this day (or rather night) week they 
stood 8° of frost, without seeming to be much the 
worse for it. I have the means of protection, but so far 
I have seen no occasion to use it; and if the weather 
keeps anything like so mild as at present, I can as readily 
send you a box of similar blooms this day month 
(C hristmas-eve) as to-day. Nowthere must be hundreds 
of thousands of people able to do the same, but for some 
leason or another do not try, and thus miss the glad¬ 
some, varied, and brilliant blooms of Chrysanthemums 
that would make the. dead wall of their houses and 
gardens bright and cheerful. I may be told they grow 
them indoors, yes, but this entails having at least a 
greenhouse or conservatory, where there is generally a 
stnct prohibition against cutting a single bloom' a 
gardener as a rule, fire-heat to dispel damp and mildew, 
and twelve months of assiduous unremitting care, so 
much so, that one day’s drought at the roots—I might 
have said one hour’s-and all your toil and expense is 
lost, without being able to produce a tittle of such 
blooms as I am transmitting, and that have been grown 
without any of these things, and moreover, have taken 
care of themselves when I have been hundreds of miles 
away. 
h.' ow, although 1 am very anxious, as I commenced 1 
sa y m g> that as many as possible should have Chr 
santhemums during November and December ar 
especially those with town and villa gardens’ wl 
appreciate flowers so much at that time, and wl 
almost invariably have pieces of unoccupied south, eas 
or west walls ; it would be misleading to think th; 
success can be wooed and won without some indispei 
sable requisites. It would be unfair to conclude witl 
out alluding to what I think those are, or, witlioi 
asking you or your correspondents, to add therel 
details that may escape me. Given a south wall, 
against a house so much the better, as the eaves proje, 
and are ajprotection against frost, soot, dust, ashes, &c 
the next requisite is a good rich bed of manure ; if 
buried 1 ft. to 2 ft. deep, no harm arises, as the roots will 
very soon find it. The richer and more rotten the 
manure the more desirable it will be ; but let none 
hesitate on that account, if old rotten stable manure 
cannot be got, take it fresh, it will very soon be rotten, 
and the roots are voracious feeders, and not particular. 
In the absence of stable manure, try whatever manure 
can be got. If possible, get fresh loam from some 
pasture field, and cover, or incorporate therewith ; but 
as I know some of the difficulties of town and villa 
gardeners, even that is not a sine qua non. A good open 
aspect will enable the Chrysanthemums to elaborate 
the ingredients of both manure and soil, that any other 
flower would fail in ; even if there is plenty of soot in 
the soil it will not be injurious. After that comes the 
plants, and young beginners had better get them rooted, 
to make certain. 
Slugs will travel, if I may so speak, any distance to 
them, and cut them across before they have started into 
growth ; once started into vigorous growth, however, 
they are not liable to those depredators. Grass 
is a harbour of refuge for them, and if convenient, ’ 
separate it from the Chrysanthemum border by a 
narrow walk lined with coal-ashes, slugs cannot creep 
easily over it. If you intend to root your own cuttings, 
you may commence now, or at any time when they are to 
be had. If fine blooms, from 3 ins. to 4 ins. in diameter, 
or more, of the Japanese are wanted, they must have 
a long season to grov T and mature. I cannot name any 
varieties not to grow, I grow all I can procure, and find 
even the very latest promising to bloom -within the 
next ten days, such as Jardin des Plantes or Eve, 
incurved; Fleur de Marie, Anemone ; Daimio or 
Striatum perfectum, Japanese ; while types of those 
much earlier are forwarded, massive, well shaped, of 
great substance, and of more brilliant colour than is 
possible indoors. I have been cutting for six weeks 
blooms like these, and thousands are still left. — TV. J. 
Murphy, Clonmel. [With Mr. Murphy’s letter came 
a box of lovely blooms, flowers unsoiled by the weather, 
and wonderfully bright in colour.— Ed.] 
-- 
CULTURE OF THE ZONAL 
PELARGONIUM. 
The St. Peter’s, Hammersmith and District Gar¬ 
deners’, Amateurs’, and Cottagers’ Improvement Society 
lately offered a prize for the best paper on the cultiva¬ 
tion of the Zonal Pelargonium as a pot plant, which 
was awarded to Mr. H. J. Farrow, the honorary sec¬ 
retary to the society, for the following brief essay 
“The Zonal Pelargonium is generally propagated by 
cuttings, but alsosome times by seeds, which require a 
great deal more patience than such as myself can afford 
to bestow upon them, as they more often than not come 
to grief before blooming, owing to the want of room 
and other circumstances which I need not mention now. 
If I find I have the room to winter a few rooted cuttings 
in safety, I take the cuttings anytime in Juty. I look 
for short-jointed shoots as being more compact, and 
because, as a rule, they do not rush headlong away, as 
the long watery shoots are apt to do as soon as rooted. 
The Pelargonium likes a nice fibrous loam, and alittle leaf- 
mould with a dash of sand. About four cuttings to a 
48-sized pot are ample, and they should be placed 
round the sides of a pot which has sufficient drainage, 
say two layers of crocks at the bottom of the pot. Place 
the pots in the open on a cinder bottom about 2 ins. 
deep ; I like to place them where they will get the sun 
early and late, but not the mid-day until they are 
rooted. A sprinkling of water over the foliage now and 
then will help to keep it in a fresh condition. When 
struck, give them all the sun possible to harden and 
ripen them off ready for housing them for the winter, 
reducing the supply of water as the time for taking 
them indoors approaches. If you want plants for 
flowering early, pot them off as soon as struck, adding 
to the compost a little bone-meal or Clay’s fertiliser, or 
if it be flowers that are wanted only, feed them early 
by top-dressing now and then with Clay’s as the 
buds appear, and they flower much freer if potted close 
and well fed, and then picked as soon as fully ex¬ 
panded, so that they may not have time to seed or 
waste their energy. Another very important thing to 
be done, if large plants for show are wanted, is never to 
pot by leaps and bounds, but to shift them fpoiq size to 
size, or you will not be able to keep that sturdy compact 
growth which is so necessary for show plants. ” 
JOHN THORPE. 
The last number to hand of the Amervcom Florist 
contains a portrait of Mr. John Thorpe, the first presi¬ 
dent of the American Society of Florists, accompanied 
by the following appreciative remarks John Thorpe 
was born April 3rd, 1842, at Kevham, Leicester, 
England. His father was gamekeeper of a large estate, 
and also had much knowledge and skill as a gardener. 
Under his instruction, and later under that of an uncle, 
who was both a nurseryman and a florist, and to whom 
he was apprenticed, the lad rapidly acquired such 
knowledge, that before he was' sixteen years of age he 
grew and exhibited six Cinerarias at the Leicester spring 
show, beating three or four competitors. After the 
death of his uncle, which happened a month later, he 
went into a large fruit-growing establishment, where 
he remained three years. During this time he was grow¬ 
ing for exhibition with marked success, Pelargoniums, 
Calceolarias, Fuchsias, and Verbenas. After this he 
returned to Leicester, and had for his tutor the present 
curator of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens ; after four 
years he found himself in possession of the place in 
which he was apprenticed. Later, he became a partner 
in the Paddock Nurseries at Stratford - on - Avon. 
In April, 1874, he landed in New York, en route for 
Cleveland, Ohio, where he was to take charge of the 
grounds of Mr. TV J. Gordon. After three years he 
started in business for himself in the same citv, and 
continued in it until removing to Queens, L. I., in 
January, 1880. 
Mr. Thorpe’s life-work has been in the line of arti¬ 
ficial fertilization. V ith a keen true eye for form and 
colour, a thorough knowledge of plant life and laws, a 
persistent, steady purpose and a love and enthusiasm 
for his work, he could but make a successful hybridist. 
His seedlings are numerous, and many of them of rare 
merit. Among Pelargoniums, Macbeth, Mm. Cullen 
Bryant, Happy Thought, Henry Cannell, and others, 
show him to be the peer of any man living in his work. 
Black Knight and Portia among other Carnations bear 
witness that he is equally at home with this popular 
flower. And for Chrysanthemums what has he not done ? 
In their season they have become almost as popular as the 
Rose. Their glory and triumph attest the skill of their 
manipulator. Phloxes, Petunias, and even Potatos 
show forth his handiwork. Of the latter, he had at 
one time not less than 6,000 seedlings, some of which 
are grown to-day, the round Model raised twenty years 
ago, being shown in many collections last season. 
His busy life leaves him but little leisure, yet he has 
gained for himself a worthy place among horticultui-al 
writers. His style is clear, vigorous, and terse, only 
less pithy and pointed than his conversation, which 
is worth a days journey to enjoy, running over as it is 
with keen, crisp, original thought. 
-- 
GARDEN NOTES. 
I have kept a register of the rainfall since June, 
1881, and have not recorded the fall of 5 ‘00 ins. in any 
month previous to last September, when we had 5‘13 
ins. This coming after the three very dry months of 
June, July, and August—when the aggregate was only 
3"25 ins.—was most welcome, for the whole of the 
Brassica tribe were , at a standstill, and make growth 
they could not. The three corresponding months of 
1884 were very diy, but in August of that year we had 
1 ’70, while last August we had - 83 of an inch ; all our 
winter stufis—greens of all kinds—are consequently 
very small and very poor. But the October rainfail 
was very great, i.c., 7'41 ins., and in this part of 
Norfolk much land has been at times under water. The 
farmers were as much concerned about their operations 
as ourselves, for they could not get the Wheats in, 
nor haul off the land the splendid crops of Mangolds 
thej T have this year ; and as a result of so many wet 
days, we are thrown out of our course and have many 
arrears to make up. If we could but perform the 
weekly calendar as advised, how different we should 
fare. 
We have several Peach trees that we want to lift and 
root-prune, as has been so often advised in your columns 
during the present season. We have experienced the 
benefits of lifting trees that have gone down too deep, 
and in consequence make growths that will not 
properly ripen, and do not carry any fruit. 
Lifting gives them a check ; this is especially the 
case with young trees, those of mature age do not grow 
so strong. 
