216 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 4, 1886. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN THE 
NORTH. 
The notes on the Chrysanthemum and its culture, 
which have from time to time appeared in The Gar¬ 
dening World, have not touched upon that great 
field which is comprised between the Tyne and the 
Humber, where this noble autumnal flower excites a 
large amount of interest, and is keenly discussed by 
floriculturists. When we say this, we do not wish to 
convey the impression that the votaries of the flower 
in Durham and north-east Yorkshire, or in North¬ 
umberland, make any particular mark at the exhibition 
board, because such a statement would by no means be 
borne out by facts ; but there is a keen interest in the 
flower, and, in a quiet way, very many gardeners here¬ 
abouts have been informing themselves of the charac¬ 
teristics of the plant. 
Mr. Molyneux has done great service to these en¬ 
quirers by issuing his book, and, from what we can 
gather, the result of that publication will be the acces¬ 
sion of some two score of gardeners on the Teeside 
alone to the ranks of the cultivators of the Chrysan¬ 
themum. Already, it is said, there are 100,000 fanciers 
of the queen of autumn flowers in the United Kingdom, 
and if the same rate of increase is perceptible in other 
quarters as in Durham, very soon the term Chrysan¬ 
themum grower will be synonymous with gardener. 
In Durham there have been several attempts to 
establish Chrysanthemum shows ; but owing to the 
want of competitors, they have not been signally suc¬ 
cessful. Mr. T. B. Morton, of Mowden Bridge 
Nurseries, Darlington, hitherto has swept the deck of 
all before him ; but he this year terminates his career 
as a competitor, and will devote his ripe experience 
and knowledge to the trial of new varieties, and to the 
development of the beauties of the flower. At these 
nurseries a thousand plants have been grown for exhi¬ 
bition purposes, and this year no less than 140 new 
varieties of the season have been tested. Thus Teeside 
growers have a splendid opportunity of comparing sorts 
and keeping right up with the times, as the Mowden 
Bridge exhibition is annually thrown open for public 
inspection. 
As the prices are very moderate, it is a common 
thing to see the smallest growers in the neighbourhood 
possessed of batches of new varieties, which are prac¬ 
tically unknown to even prominent exhibitors. We 
mention this to show that this district is favoured by 
circumstances for “going in ” for the Chrysanthemum. 
An effort was made to start a show at Stockton, but 
for some reason it failed—or, rather, was held over 
until next year. Another attempt was made at 
Darlington, but that proved abortive. Under the 
circumstances, we should feel disposed to suggest that 
these towns amalgamate, and establish a Teeside Chry¬ 
santhemum Society, which ought to receive the 
assistance of Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Bishop’s 
Auckland and even Richmond. That there is a keen 
love for the flower was evidenced by the crowds who 
assembled at Hull, where £90 more was taken at the 
doors than was the case last year ; and after 10,000 
persons had been admitted scores were turned away. 
At this show, Mr. Stanley, an amateur of only 
three years’ standing, won the cup. It is said that he 
cut some 400 blooms from which to select his stands. 
Altogether, he took nine firsts and one second ; but 
the effort exhausted him. The best bloom here was 
a Boule d’Or shown by Mr. Mease, which measured, 
it is stated, 14 ins. across; but this variety has 
done well this year, and we have seen several blooms 
fully 12 ins. The same exhibitor has, this season, 
shown the best Fair Maid of Guernsey we have ever 
seen. Taking the exhibits generally, and what we 
have observed at private gardens, we think Boule 
d’Or of the Japanese and Lord Alcester of the in¬ 
curved varieties have come to the front, while Jeanne 
d’Arc has done the worst. Some good blooms of 
Empress of India have been seen ; Queen of England 
has come very light this season, and Belle Paule has 
been disappointing. 
On a recent visit to see the Mowden collection, we 
were struck with some of this year's introductions, and 
give, as a pick of the lot, Le Chevrefeuille, Don Quixote, 
Mr. H. Elliot, and Mdlle. Paulo Dutour. We see that 
M. D. D. Hillier, which was sent over as a new variety, 
is nothing more nor less than Mons. J. Laing which came 
over the year previous ; while Salmonea plena is in 
the same position with L’Aube Martinale. Surely, 
there are enough mystifications without the Frenchmen 
increasing them in this inexcusable manner. We can 
only touch further upon these introductions by saying 
that the following are showing themselves to be ac¬ 
quisitions :—Maiden’s Blush, L’Adorable, La Triom- 
phante, Mdme. J. Laing, Mons. Jno. Laing, and 
Mdme. de Sevin, all of which have done remarkably 
well in this district. Of this year’s introductions the 
following were shown in grand form at York by Mr. 
Morton :—Wm. Clarke, Robert Owen, Gloriosum, T. S. 
Ware, Ornements, Lady Mathieson, Mdme. Horte, 
Mdme. Ghys, and Moonlight. There are some fine 
things among this batch.— C. 
-- 
PEARS v. PEACHES. 
Notwithstanding the tardiness of my note, I can 
say, without fear of contradiction, that it was season¬ 
able, and I did not wish it to be understood that the 
seasons of 1885 and 1886 were the only favourable ones 
for the Peach crop. If I had more time at my disposal, 
I would gladly give your readers the benefit of a 
carefully-kept record of the number of Peaches and 
Nectarines gathered from the outside walls since 1S77, 
which would show that the numbers of this year have 
been exceeded ; but the uniform quality of this season’s 
fruit I have not seen equalled. I am pleased to have 
elicited from “ W. C.” a reason for his failure in out¬ 
door Peach culture. Now, had he, in the first place, 
have written a word of warning to those similarly 
placed to himself—that is, in close contiguity to some 
vein of brine or other dangerous mineral—some might 
have thanked him for saving them from falling into a 
similar error. 
I had given up the idea of putting my thoughts upon 
“ W. C.’s” first note to paper, until I was reminded 
again this autumn, in The Gardening World, by 
some wonderful Pears which had taken the place of 
Peaches in his garden. I will not forget to say that 
the simple multiplication sum “ W. C.” set me would 
not, after it was worked, give me the size of his fruit. 
Have I not good reasons to be gratified at having 
gathered over 1,000 fruits fit for table, at a compara¬ 
tively small outlay, when “ W. C.,” by his own 
showing, has not gathered sufficient to defray the cost 
of his trees ? If our outside trees got as much attention 
as the inside ones, I should expect very much more 
from them ; at any rate, I can safely say that the 
returns from the south wall are more than adequate 
to the outlay. 
How do we generally treat our Peach borders out of 
doors ? A man would be considered out of his mind 
who planted early Potatos or sowed early Peas on his 
inside border. Not so when he crops heavily outside— 
oh, no ! because there he can show^ his skill as a vege¬ 
table grower. Those tempting warm south borders are 
required for so many things that we want to get in 
early. We are not even satisfied with allowing the 
trees to have the usual 2 ft. or 3 ft. of space from the 
wall for walking upon to themselves. No, we must 
sow a few Radishes betwixt each one. What does all 
this manuring, digging and sowing end in ? A good 
crop of vegetables at the expense of the Peaches ; and 
if early vegetables and salads are of more value than 
the fruit, do not put all the blame on the soil, the 
seasons or the climate. 
I have found from experience that a good hard root 
run is what the Peach delights in. How can it have it 
if you are continually stirring the soil ? Our best trees 
are planted beneath a hard gravel path, which is re¬ 
gravelled and rolled annuall} 7 just in the same way as 
other walks are treated ; they suffer less from drought 
than any others, and never get any stimulants. Last 
May one might have said, “You are failing with your 
Peaches this year,” and I, myself, had some misgivings, 
as they were badly attacked with blister or curl, as well 
as black fly. Well, the worst leaves we cut off, and 
persevered with tobacco-juice and that indispensable 
implement the water engine ; and being aided by warmer 
weather, a change for the better soon came and con¬ 
tinued. Therefore I say to all young men who happen 
to be situated in favourable localities, with the position 
of a south wall at their command, and who have 
not succeeded with Peaches out-of-doors, do not be 
Gros Maroc. 
