212 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 3, 1887. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—A meeting of 
the general committee of this society was held on 
Monday evening last, and after the usual routine 
business had been concluded, including the election of 
one Fellow and twenty-five members (which raised the 
number of subscribers to 470), it was decided, after 
some discussion, that the annual dinner should be held 
on Tuesday, December 13tli. A large majority of the 
members present were of opinion that it would be 
greatly to the interest of the society if the dinner took 
place at some more central place than the “ Old Four 
Swans,” Bishopsgate Street, and a resolution to that 
effect having been carried, a small sub-committee was 
appointed (to select a suitable place and make such 
other arrangements 'as may be necessary for carrying 
the resolution into effect. We understand that the 
sub-committee have since met and have made arrange¬ 
ments for the dinner to take place at Anderton’s Hotel, 
Fleet Street, at 6.30 p.m. on the date named. We 
have reason to believe that a larger number of the 
amateur supporters of the society will be present at the 
dinner than has been the case before, and we trust that 
the old and well-tried members of the society will, as 
heretofore, do their best to make this pleasant annual 
gathering still more agreeable to the visitors. 
Rival Horticulturists.—At the Central Criminal 
Court on Saturday last, one Edward Allam w r as tried 
before Mr. Justice Smith on the charge of having 
maliciously administered to William Racher a certain 
poison, with intent to do some grievous bodily harm. 
Allam and Racher were signalmen on the Great 
northern Railway, their box being on a lonely part of 
the line, near Barnet. They were both addicted to the 
pleasures of gardening, but the rivalry which sprung 
up between them seems to have been the cause of much 
quarrelling and ill-feeling, the one being ambitious of 
excelling the other by any means. It appears that at 
a recent local flower show Racher got a prize, and Allam 
did not, and the feud between them became greater. 
One of them surreptitiously watered the other’s flowers 
with salt-water and killed them, and the other retaliated 
by pouring petroleum over his opponent’s Cabbages. 
Allam was not content with this, but on the 17th of 
last month he put a quantity of hydrochloric acid and 
chloride of zinc into water in the signal-box, which he 
expected Racher would drink. Racher took some of 
the nauseous compound, but not such a quantity as to 
do him serious injury. When the Great Northern 
Railway Company heard of the occurrence they not 
only dismissed Allam, but resolved to prosecute him, 
because the result might have been very serious if 
Racher had been made insensible while on duty, as 
there are no less than 125 trains passing the box per 
day. It was urged for the defence that the affair was 
a practical joke, and the jury found Allam guilty of 
mixing the compound with intent to annoy. The 
judge admonished him for his foolish conduct, and 
allowed him to go out on his own recognisances of £50, 
to come up for judgment if called upon. 
American Jottings.—A bouquet of seventy-five 
American Beauty Roses, which had stems 3 ft. long, 
was presented to Mrs. James Brown Potter on the night 
of her deb t in New York.—“Chrysanthemum dinners ” 
are all the go. Everybody has gone Chrysanthemum 
crazy at Cincinnati.—A society for the prevention of 
“cruelty to wild flowers” is considered by a corre¬ 
spondent of the New York Post necessary to prevent 
the extinction of these “fallen victims, perchance, to 
the greed of gain, which strips the ponds of the Water 
Lilies so thoroughly that none are left for seed, and 
despoils the fields and brook-sides of their flowery 
treasures to sell in the streets of our great cities ; or to 
the carelessness and folly of amateur botanists, or even 
of genuine flower lovers, who dig np all the roots and 
pull all the flowers in the unlucky spots they visit.” 
—American Florist. 
Cooked Potatos.—Very little can be said in praise of 
boiled Potatos as exhibition objects, but a great deal 
may be written in praise of really good cooked Potatos, 
none the less. It is rather odd that, as far as we are 
aware, to EaliDg alone should be attached the credit of 
encouraging the good cooking of Potatos at its autumn 
shows, and, possibly, the knowledge that such subjects 
are not gay exhibits checks this action in other 
directions. Yet it must be said that great interest is 
always shown in these cooked-Potato competitions; and 
somehow the cottagers or allotment exhibitors did 
admirably manage to bring their Potatos in dishes, not 
only well cooked, but also quite hot. Prizes are offered 
for the best cooked samples of both round and kidney, 
and, as a rule, the samples could hardly be excelled for 
cooked quality. 
The Rose-leaved Bramble.—Cultivators are probably 
best acquainted with the double form of this Himalayan 
Bramble under the name of Rubus rosaefolius coronarius, 
which they grow for the sake of its pure white Rose¬ 
like flowers. No fruit is produced by the double form, 
although it is very useful for cut-flower purposes, 
owing to the numerous petals that fill up the centre 
of the flower, which is comparatively large for a 
Bramble. In the single form the flowers measure 
considerably over an inch in diameter, with large, 
orbicular, clawed and spreading petals. The individual 
flowers are not so lasting as those of the double form, 
but they are produced freely in small or loose panicles 
at the end of the main stems and side branches, and 
quickly give place to an oblong fruit, which, from the 
great number and small size of its drupels, more 
resembles a ^Strawberry than a Raspberry. These 
fruits are large for an unimproved Bramble, and of a 
deep red colour. A specimen planted out in the 
Palm-house at Kew, and trained to wires near the 
glass, is very ornamental, from the presence of fruits of 
all sizes, and flowers contemporaneously. 
Chrysanthemums and the Flower Trade.—A corre¬ 
spondent of the American Florist says that the question 
most frequently discussed lately at Boston was “ Are 
Chrysanthemums an injury to the flower trade ? ” And 
the poor Chrysanthemum has had to withstand some 
pretty severe assaults. “Some jealous Rose growers, 
indeed, have gone so far as to suggest a combination of 
growers, all of whom shall agree not to produce any 
Chrysanthemums, and to boycott any dealer found 
handling them ! ” 
Forty Years in a Cornish Garden.—At a meeting of 
the National Chrysanthemum Society, at the Royal 
Aquarium, Westminster, on Wednesday week, Mr. P. 
Craigo, Falmouth, exhibited specimens of an old variety 
of Chrysanthemum, named Old Tasselled Lilac, that 
has existed forty years in a Cornish garden. That it 
should have existed for the above time, and presumably 
unnoticed in these days of progress and change, is 
somewhat remarkable. Either the possessor had a high 
estimate of its value, was actuated by a veneration for 
its age, or preserved it on account of its own intrinsic 
merit. Though small, compared with the enormous 
development some of the more popular and newer 
kinds have attained, it is certainly not without attrac¬ 
tions or artistic merits, as some of our modern artists 
would say who cannot admire the compactness and 
regularity of many flowers which the florist admires. 
The florets are quilled, clavate, pale rosy lilac fading 
to blush at the tip, and spread loosely in all directions, 
somewhat after the manner of Gloire Rayonnante, also 
known as Porcupine and Hedgehog. The central 
florets are shorter than the rest. 
Lambeth and Southwark Amateur Chrysanthemum 
Society.—The thirteenth annual dinner of this society 
took place on Friday evening, November 25th, at the 
Bridge House Hotel, London Bridge, when a large 
company assembled. Mr. J. Nobes occupied the chair, 
and Mr. L. J. Dunham the vice-chair. In the course 
of the evening the members took advantage of the 
occasion to present their hon. secretary, Mr. Thos. F. 
Davison, with a handsome cruet-stand, as a slight 
recognition of his energetic services during the past two 
years. It is worthy of mention that this society has 
been instrumental in holding two exhibitions during 
the past season—one at the Drill Hall, Bermondse} 7 , 
and one at the People’s Palace, Mile End Road. 
Chrysanthemum Sports.—Every Chrysanthemum 
grower knows of the good qualities of the incurved 
Princess of Teck, and it is somewhat strange that it 
should have suddenly taken to throwing so many 
sports. At the last meeting of the Floral Committee 
of the National Chrysanthemum Society there were no 
less than five sports exhibited, originating from this 
one variety. Some years ago Hero of Stoke Newington 
was secured as a sport from Princess of Teck ; last year 
we had the beautiful golden yellow sport, Mrs. Norman 
Davis, from the same parent plant, and this golden 
sport has in its turn thrown yet another sport of an 
excellent rich bronze colour, which has been named 
after the Surrey Champion, Charles Gibson. A First 
Class Certificate has been awarded to it, and Messrs. 
Davis & Jones, of Camberwell, are, we believe, dis¬ 
tributing it. The blooms staged at the National 
Chrysanthemum Society Floral Committee were of 
good substance, and there is little doubt but that it 
will be of as great service as the parent plant. It was 
somewhat curious that at the same meeting a flower 
came from Epsom, which is said to be a sport from 
Hero of Stoke Newington ; the colour is almost the 
same as Charles Gibson, but not quite so bright, nor 
are there such good qualities in the Epsom sport, 
which has been christened Lady Dorothy. Mr. George 
Stevens, of Putney, has also an excellent white sport 
from Princess of Teck, which he has named Lord 
Eversley, and it has also been honoured with a First 
Class Certificate. 
Chrysanthemum Shows at Popular Prices.—The 
Chrysanthemum show held at the People’s Palace was 
in every respect a decided success, and for a first 
attempt was a feather in the cap of our East End 
caterers. The show was on a much smaller scale than 
the National Exhibition at the Royal Aquarium or the 
Crystal Palace show, but some of. our leading growers 
were well to the front with their enormous blooms, and 
if the East End did not get the quantity they may 
pride themselves upon having the quality. But the 
greatest success of all was the price of admission and the 
number of visitors ; during the time the show was open 
upwards of 80,000 persons, great and small, paid for 
admission, adults at 2d., and the small fry had a sight 
of a good Chrysanthemum show for the humble Id. 
Well done Whitechapel, try again ! 
Preston and Fulwood Horticultural Society.—At 
■the usual monthly meeting of the members of this 
society, to be held this (Saturday) evening, Mr. Thos. 
Spelman will read “A few short notes on the History 
and Culture of the Tuberous Begonia.” Chair to be 
taken at 7.30 p.m. by the president, Alderman George 
Galloway, Esq., J. P. 
The Conservatories at Westmount, Glasgow, noticed 
in our issue for November 19th, p. 184, are, we are 
informed, the property of Mr. Hugh Steven, one of the 
principals in the firm of Steven Brothers & Co., and 
not of the firm as inadvertently stated by us. West- 
mount is Mr. Hugh Steven’s private residence. 
-—>X<-- 
CEROLE DES ORCHIDOPHILES 
BELGES. 
The second meeting of this new society took place 
yesterday. The weather was mildandfine, which favoured 
the exhibitors, and, consequently, a good number of 
specimens were forthcoming. This time the plants were 
arranged for exhibition in the large dining room of the 
Royal Hotel, and instead of making one mass of them 
they were arranged intermixed with Ferns and small 
Palms in five small groups, four of which were placed 
in front of the large mirrors which adorn this fine 
room. All the members considered this to be a happy 
innovation, and I think myself it is a mistake to make 
compact groups of Orchids in flower as is generally 
done with Azaleas or other flowering plants. Orchids 
have such extra fine and highly curious flowers that 
they want to be seen as much as possible separately, 
for there is always some individual characteristic 
feature of interest which the true Orchid lover likes to 
see en detail. Certainly in this kind of arrange¬ 
ment something is also done to please the eyes of the 
“ non-orchidophiles,” and in the management of 
yesterday’s meeting this *was done to every visitor’s 
satisfaction. 
Together with the members of the society, and a good 
many pleasure-seeking gentlemen who attended the 
meeting, the exhibition had the honour of being visited 
by a great number of ladies who showed an unex¬ 
pected interest in the flowers exhibited, and we sincerely 
hope this will materially assist in creating greater love 
for these plants, for we are sure that many a lady will 
induce her husband or her father to try the culture of 
Orchids, and as we say in French, “ Ce que femme vent, 
Dieu le vent,” which means that gentlemen never can 
resist the ladies’ wishes. But I am, perhaps, trespassing 
too much on your space, and must confine myself to 
stating briefly what will most interest your Orchid- 
loving readers, namely, what was fine or noteworthy. 
Extra fine was a plant of Masdevallia tovarensis, 
with over 150 perfectly fresh blooms, from Mr. J. Hye. 
An extra large plant of Cypripedium insigne came from 
Mr. de Meulenaer, and is one of the best varieties that 
has been seen, being finer and brighter than what is 
flowering here under the name of C. insigne maxima 
and C. i. sylhetense. From Mr. James Bray’s collection 
came Cypripedium Amesianum, a new hybrid of Mr. 
Williams’ flowering for the first time here, and we may 
safely say that it is a fine and very distinct one. This 
gentleman also sent among other plants a good 
Odontoglossum Insleayi splendens and a finely-bloomed 
Oncidium tigrinum. Mr. D'Haene showed the new 
Cattleya Bowringiana, the finest plant that has flowered 
here ; but we hope that it will give stronger and larger 
flowers later on. Mr. Vuylsteke sent a nice plant of 
Cypripedium selligerum majus, an Odontoglossum 
Jenningsianum (Reichenbach), and a fine O. Insleayi 
