148 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 6, 1886. 
Damp is such an enemy to the large show 
Chrysanthemum blooms that it must be kept 
down at all hazard ; hence firing lia3 been in¬ 
dispensable to maintain a dry atmosphere, 
whilst all the time the temperature was too 
high. We shall not be surprised to learn that 
many fine blooms have come too soon, and 
probably not a few growers are lamenting the 
anxiety shown early in putting plants under 
glass when the weather has shown that they 
would have been so much better outdoors. We 
see, so far, Chrysanthemums blooming beauti¬ 
fully outdoors, and fairly competing in brightness 
and beauty with the indoor flowers. Naturally, 
such a fact renders the sale of indoor blooms 
dull, as the quantity of flowers now at disposal 
is enormous. However that may be—and we 
very heartily condole with market growers—at 
least those who have Chrysanthemum gardens 
may enjoy their favourites to the utmost. 
Some cottage gardens have been very beautiful 
so far, the plants blooming early and with 
wondrous freshness. Doubtless, the season, 
which has proved so acceptable to pot plants, 
has been not less generous to the outdoor ones. 
There is a general anticipation that flowers this 
year will be unusually good. Without doubt, 
growth has been unusually robust; but whether 
such growth will produce the best blooms 
remains to be seen. If it means big flowers, 
but rather thin than full, not only will they the 
earlier open, but the sooner decay. This is far 
from being the chief element in a good Chry¬ 
santhemum bloom, and if got at the expense of 
quality, nothing is gained, but something is lost. 
There is one thing from which comfort may be 
derived. So many of our exhibition growers 
have such a reserve of plants that there is good 
reason for hope that, come what may, they will 
be able to put in an appearance more or less 
respectably. Those whose plants are a little 
later than usual will probably benefit. 
To us here in the south, wdio see the finest 
blooms ready quite early in the month, it is hard 
to realise that a couple of hundred or so of miles 
farther north, the fourth week of November, or 
even the first week in December is the more 
favourable. That fact shows how advantaged 
are those who have cool houses, as well as those 
with south aspects, in which to place their 
plants. We hear very much stress laid upon 
the importance of ripening the wood for the 
production of fine blooms; but it would seem 
as if so far north as Sheffield grand flowers can 
be produced, vieing with our best southern 
blooms ; and yet there, certainly, sun-heat must 
be very materially less than it is around London. 
Probably, human skill enables that drawback to 
be overcome so admirably. 
South Kensington Shows.— The series of 
flower, fruit and vegetable exhibitions held at 
South Kensington during the past season have 
been remarkably successful and encouraging, 
and have admirably served to bring together 
some of the best garden produce of the year. 
Evidence of that was amply afforded at the 
more recent shows, for Grapes, hardy fruits and 
vegetables were all first class. It is thus very 
evident that the prestige which for so many 
years has, in the minds of gardeners, attached 
to South Kensington—or, really, the Royal 
Horticultural Society’s shows—still remains, 
and that prizes at these shows are held to be 
the blue ribands of the season. 
What another year—and we will not look 
into the more distant future—may bring in con¬ 
nection with the Royal Horticultural Society 
and South Kensington shows we cannot at 
present conceive, for all is uncertain; still, 
there can be no doubt but that once there is a 
severance on the part of the society from South 
Kensington it will be a final one; Whether 
that severance will prove beneficial or otherwise 
it is utterly impossible to forecast; but this is 
certain, we shall part with all the more recent 
delightful South Kensington associations with 
deep regret. Thanks to the great national 
exhibition held there, the various displays held 
under the auspices of the Royal Horticultural 
Society have been seen bj r myriads of intelligent 
flower - loving people from all parts of the 
kingdom—indeed, from all the world—and our 
products have given no room for criticism. 
It has been very pleasant to see the South 
Kensington halls again and again so thickly 
peopled, especially after so many former years 
of gaunt and ghostly emptiness. If it be the 
fortune of the Royal Horticultural Society 
still to remain tenants at will of their old estate, 
and shows still continue, it is possible a worse 
fate may befall the society and its Fellows. 
-- 
His Eoyal Highness the Pkince of 'Wales has 
recently received from the Mikado of Japan the decoration 
of the Distinguished Order of the Chrysanthemum. 
The ninth spring show of the Preston and Fulwood 
Horticultural Society will be held in the new Public 
Hall, Preston, on March 17th and 18th, 1887. 
Messes. Sutton, of the Eoyal Berkshire Seed 
Establishment, Beading, have been awarded a Gold 
Medal for their fine display of seeds, grasses, models, 
&c., at the Edinburgh International Exhibition of 
1886. 
At the ceremony of opening Highgate Wood on 
Saturday last, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress each 
planted a conifer in memory of the event. 
We regret to hear from Ghent that Mr. Aug. Van 
Geert is very ill. 
The proposed Sutton (Surrey) Chrysanthemum show 
will not be held as announced, the committee being 
unable to get a suitable place in which to hold the 
exhibition. 
Mr. Albert Cairns, formerly gardener and steward 
to Captain Thomas, Carlow, has been engaged as gar¬ 
dener and steward to — Close, Esq , Newtown Park 
House, Dublin. 
A meeting of the General Committee'of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society was held on Monday evening 
last, the president, E. Sanderson, Esq., in the chair. 
The business transacted was of a purely routine 
character, and included the election of fourteen new 
members, bringing the role up to 374. 
A correspondent of the The Bateman states that 
he has seen in one of Messrs. Dobbie & Co. ’s gardens at 
Bothesay, a monster Leek, which is worthy of putting 
on record. The blanched portion measured 12 ins. in 
length and 9 ins. in circumference ; one of the outside 
leaves, slipped off and laid out flat, measured no 
less than 15 ins. in breadth and about 3 ft. in length. 
Dobbie’s Champion was the variety. 
The seventh monthly meeting of the Preston and 
Fulwood Horticultural Society, will be held this 
(Saturday) evening, in the Large Boom of the “Legs 
of Man ” Hotel, when a discussion will take place on 
Mr. William Swan’s paper, “An Evening amongst 
Ferns,” read at the last meeting and recently published 
in these columns. 
The partnership subsisting between Mr. John Laing 
and Mr. J. B. Box, trading as John Laing & Co., 
nurserymen, seedsmen and florists, at Stanstead Park, 
Forest Hill, was dissolved by mutual consent on the 
30th ult. The business will in future be carried on 
under the same style and title by Mr. John Laing and 
his two sons, who have for some time been assisting in 
the business. Mr. Box, we understand, has taken a 
business at North End, Croydon. 
The founder of the Journal of Horticulture, Mr. 
G. W. Johnson, died at Croydon, on October 29th, 
aged eighty-four years. Mr. Johnson was a younger 
brother of Mr. Cuthbert W. Johnson, author of several 
valuable works on agriculture and other rural pursuits, 
and will himself be known to posterity as the author 
of the Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary, published in 1860. 
Two years later he brought out The Science and Practice 
of Gardening, and subsequently the History of Gar¬ 
dening and British Ferns. The first number of The 
Cottage Gardener, subsequently altered to The Journal 
of Horticulture, was issued on the 5th of October, 1848, 
and for thirty - two years its founder was closely 
identified with its management. 
Beplying to an address of welcome recently 
presented to him by the Eoyal Horticultural Society of 
Ireland, His Excellency the Marquis of Londonderry 
said: — “ The science of horticulture has made great 
strides of recent years. This may be seen by a visit to 
the Botanical Gardens of Dublin, the possession of 
which must be a source of constant pleasure to the 
citizens of our metropolis. But I congratulate you 
most on the many improvements that are already 
apparent in the art of gardening in Ireland, which I 
do not doubt are largely owing to the endeavours of the 
Boyal Horticultural Society. A few weeks since I had 
oceasioh to visit the beautiful People’s Gardens in the 
Phcenix Park, where I had an opportunity of seeing 
what enj oyment it afforded to large numbers of all classes. 
I am confident that those who visit it will benefit much 
by what they see there, and will derive from it great 
assistance in their attempts to improve their own small 
gardens ; for it is in this, no less than in greater aims of 
the science of horticulture, that we should endeavour to 
seek for improvement.” 
-- 
NOTES ON LILIES. 
In a note on our Lilies, written in July (p. 694 of 
vol. ii.), I proposed adding a few particulars later in 
the season. Lilies in the open may be considered over 
for the year, as only a few chance ones remain in flower. 
I will begin with what is usually considered the queen 
of Lilies, L. auratum, though some good judges con¬ 
sider L. speciosum rubrurn in its best form, and others 
L. candidum simplex, have at least equal right to the 
title. L. auratum has, on the whole, succeeded well 
with us this season, though some beds were more cut 
than usual by spring frosts. L. auratum rubro vittatum 
w T as finer than we ever had it before ; among our few 
plants, which have been in the open border since 1881, 
one had eight and the other seven flowers. This is a 
truly gorgeous Lily, with its broad stripe of crimson ; 
but after some days, while the flower seems still fresh, 
the crimson turns to a dull stale claret colour, and then 
most of the beauty is gone. 
The next finest of the family is L. auratum platy- 
petalum, of which there appears to be two varieties, 
one, a variety known as L. auratum macranthum, 
being low-growing. The first L. auratum platypetalum 
exhibited were almost without spots, like L. a. virginale ; 
but the species includes all varieties of colour up to 
pietum. Two small clumps of L. a. macranthum were 
most beautiful, and were much admired ; a petal from 
one of these measured 3| ins. broad. The bulbs should 
be planted wide enough apart to prevent their knocking 
against one another in high winds ; ours were not so. 
Our two finest of the ordinary L. auratum both bloomed 
in the wood at the Weybridge cottage garden. One 
seemed to dwarf all the flowers about it, one of the 
petals measuring 7£ ins. long ; it was, therefore, 15 
ins. across the flower. 
In another bed one grew to 9£ ft. in height, and yet 
was so well proportioned that it looked neither drawn 
up nor gawky. L. pardalinum and L. californicum 
were cut by spring frosts in some beds, and bloomed 
well in others a few yards off, where the frost-wind had 
not reached them. L. speciosum, rubrum and album 
were very fine, and so were L. Leichtlinii and L. longi- 
florum albo-marginatum, or, as I suppose, it ought to 
be called, L. longiflorum foliis albo-marginatis. L. 
Szovitzianum, in good soil, always does well; L.' 
Hansoni were moderately good ; L. Krameri were fine, 
and seeded freely ; L. giganteum bloomed well, but 
was not very tall ; L. cordifolium, the Japanese, 
dwarf form of giganteum, was cut down by spring 
frosts in our Wisley Wood, as it was not sheltered 
from the sun which came after them ; in the orchard- 
house at Weybridge, in a pot, it had eight good 
flowers on a stem. L. longiflorum bloomed well in 
some places, best in shelter, but failed in others; L. 
chalcedonicum did not bloom well, but the bulbs are 
strong and healthy ; they were in full sun, so I have 
moved them into a sheltered place ; all the L. mar- 
tagons bloom well, and L. superbum. The question as 
to the relative merits of full sun or shade and shelter 
for Lilies, especially L. auratum, crops up from time 
to time in the different gardening papers ; it is not an 
easy one to solve, as L. auratum often blooms thoroughly 
well in complete shade, and also in full suu. Eliodo- 
dendron beds, as I have often before said, are the easiest 
places to grow it in, and the question of the necessity 
of sun to ripen the buds is settled by my friend Mr. 
McIntoshs Lilies, which, themselves or their children, 
