4 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 6, 1890. 
seen there proves but an insignificant part of the 
immense whole of the plants grown for -winter 
decoration throughout the kingdom. The 
value of the Chrysanthemum for cut flower 
purposes has also immensely helped to popu¬ 
larise it and render its cultivation profitable. 
The Chrysanthemums at the Aquarium next 
week will be pretty enough, but for the time 
they will have the disadvantage of being 
compared with Gladioli and Dahlias, two of 
our most attractive autumn flowers. Their 
lives will, however, be short, for soon comes 
nipping frosts, and the beauty of the tender 
plants is gone in a night. With the advent 
of winter, too, comes in all the finest and 
grandest flowers of the Chrysanthemum, What 
the Rose is in summer and the Dahlia in 
autumn, the Chrysanthemum is in winter, a 
queen of the season, a grand floral beauty. 
3 |>arly Frosts.— We found frost with us, 
and sharp frosts too, so late as the 1st of 
June, and now we have to record white frost 
so early as the end of last week, when the 
night temperature went plump down to 
freezing point, and tender things had the 
narrowest escape from being irremediably 
injured. As it was Yegetable Marrows in low- 
lying positions were scorched. It is obvious 
that seasons of this nature, when not three 
months are allowed to elapse between the last 
of the spring frosts and the earliest of the 
autumn ones, create alarm. It is less the 
excessive rainfall of the summer which has 
created danger for the tender crops, and 
affected proper ripening of all forms of vege¬ 
tation, than the very low temperature which 
has prevailed, especially at night. 
The whole of the really warm days of the 
summer time might have been counted on the 
fingers of one hand, and the warm nights can 
hardly be remembered. We have been looking 
hopefully for a change to real pleasant dry 
autumn weather with the incoming of Sep¬ 
tember, but the prospect so far is not cheering. 
A dry warm autumn would render our trees— 
and fruit trees especially—enormous service. 
They seem to evidence a wonderful bud- 
development, but we need ripening weather to 
make those buds perfect and fertile. Our 
barren trees this year owe their lack of fruit 
chiefly to the want of needful warmth last 
autumn, and therefore all the more do all feel 
the need of warmth now, without which a 
further barren season for fruit should follow. 
We may recall the fact that last autumn 
tender things were generally killed by sharp 
frost so early as the 20th of September ; with 
the warning we have already had, no wonder 
the same date or thereabouts is looked for 
with considerable anxiety. 
Tsshe Coming Grape Conference. — The 
u action of the Council of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society in relation to this conference 
naturally gives rise to adverse comment. The 
Council appoint a body of twenty persons, all 
with one exception Fellows of the Society, and 
all well versed in matters affecting the Grape 
vine and its culture, to act as a committee for 
the supervision of the conference and exhibi¬ 
tion connected with it. When the members 
of the committee are invited to attend the first 
business meeting, they find that the Council 
has, in the most autocratic fashion, prepared 
and published the schedule of classes for the 
exhibition, and made arrangements for the 
papers to be read at the conference, which 
the committee are expected to adopt and work 
upon. Thus this body of experts, all entitled 
to the highest consideration, find that they are 
called together simply to register the acts of 
the Council. 
If the Council can do so much in regard to 
the Conference at first, why not have done all, 
and not have insidted a body of willing 
workers by setting them up as mere dummies 
without any power of initiative ? Last year 
the committee of the Yegetable Conference 
found that it was left with an absolutely free 
hand, and the result was that the committee 
entered into the work cheerfully, and the 
conference was a marked success. In the 
present case we venture to say that not a 
member of the Grape Conference Committee 
cares one rap about it. The papers proposed 
to be read were muddled, and whilst one was 
wrongly entitled, a second has to be struck 
out and another substituted for it. As to the 
classes we have grave doubt whether they will 
fill. If so, it will probably be through the 
trade growers. Given a bond fide procedure, 
and we should have been delighted to work 
hard for the success of the Conference, but in 
the present case we decline to be a mere 
puppet of the Council. 
Marguerites.—“ D’ye want to sell them 
Margarets, Guv’nor ” 1 asked a flower 
hawker the other day of a well-known grower 
“ I could take a lot on ’em sir.” Ho doubt 
he could, as our friend remarked, but those 
“Marguerites” were not to be cut for sale, and 
the coster departed disappointed. The incident 
was interesting, however, as showing how 
wide the term “ Marguerite ” has become. 
The appellation really came to us from 
France, and was first applied to the flowers 
of Chrysanthemum frutescens, and those are 
after all, perhaps, the most refined and most 
pleasing of all the “Giant Daisies.” But 
the question put by the coster related to the 
flowers of Chrysanthemum lacustre, now called 
C. latifolium, the giant Daisy of autumn, 
and by some regarded as a huge form of the 
Ox-eye Daisy of our fields. It is not that, 
however, but a taller-growing plant, -as when 
in full bloom the steins reach to the height 
of 4 ft. 
It is doubtful whether any giant Daisies 
of any description give such a mass of 
bloom as will an old-established clump of 
this grand autumn Chrysanthemum. The 
taller and not less beautiful Pyrethrum 
uliginosum follows later and produces splendid 
clusters of huge single flowers also. This 
blooms well up to the end of October. But 
beyond this Pyrethrum we have the various 
forms of summer-blooming Pyrethrums, the 
beautiful and varied-coloured flowers of which 
are “Marguerites ” also in popular estimation; 
indeed any bold Daisy-like single flower, no 
matter its colour, is a “Marguerite” to the 
popular mind. 
We have some very pleasing forms of 
single Chrysanthemum sinensis, which again 
came into the popular classification. Some 
of our florists deride the taste for these 
single flowers, hut there is little probability 
that such taste will be changed in favour of 
heavier double flowers for all forms of 
domestic decoration. 
-- 
The Chiswick Horticultural Society’s Annual Chry¬ 
santhemum Show is announced to take place in the 
local Vestry Hall, on Thursday, November 6th. 
Gardening Engagements.—Mr. Robert Deas, late 
of Newton Grange House, as gardener to the Right 
Hon. J. B. Balfour, Q.C., M.P., North Berwick. 
Mr. John Brown, late of Keisehill House, as gardener 
to General Drummond, Hawthornden Castle, Mid¬ 
lothian. 
The Potato Crop.—One of our largest Potato dealers, 
who has lately visited the principal Potato-growing 
districts in England and Scotland, estimates the total 
yield at about one third less than last year’s crop, the 
difference not being so much accounted for by diseased 
tubers as by the smaller samples, consequent upon the 
destruction of the haulm before the tubers were^fully 
matured. 
The London Parks and Gardens.—We understand 
that Messrs Carter & Co., 237 and 238 , High Holborn, 
have again received the order for bulbs to be planted 
in the London royal parks, and also the parks and 
gardens under the control of the London County 
Council. The orders include the requirements for 
Hyde Paik, Regents Park, Battersea Park, Kensington 
Gardens, Victoria Park, Kennington Park, Hampton 
Court, Thames Embankment, Victoria Embankment, 
Finsbury Park, Southwark Park, Ravenscourt Park, 
Bethnal Green, Leicester Square, Myatt’s Fields, 
Dulwich Park, and Clissold Park. 
Hardiness of Poinsettia pulcherrima.—Mr. S. G. 
Rowberry, The Gardens, Elmshurst, Bickley Park, 
Kent, writes :—The thermometer fell to 30 ° here this 
morning, September, 1 st. The dwarf Beans and 
Vegetable Marrows were blackened by the frost, and 
Heliotropes were made to hang their heads, but the 
Poinsettias outside escaped unhurt. This, I think, 
illustrates that many plants that are coddled up will 
withstand a much lower temperature than they are 
usually given ; the plants in question were standing 
in a fully exposed position. 
The Express Cucumber.—The very handsome new 
Cucumber which attracted so much admiration at the 
Reading Horticultural Society’s Show on August 27 th, 
was awarded a First Class Certificate of Merit in 
addition to the First Prize for the best brace of 
Cucumbers. Its superiority had been already recognized 
by the Award of First Class Certificates at the Royal 
Horticultural and Royal Aquarium Shows this season ; 
and it is certain to prove a valuable acquisition. 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons have acquired the entire stock 
of seed, and will distribute it during thecomiDg Spring. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—Questions having 
been asked whether fresh fruits may be shown at the 
forthcoming exhibition of preserved fruits, jams, &c., 
to be held by the Royal Horticultural Society, in the 
Drill Hall, on October 14 th, 15 th, and 16 th next, it 
may be as well to call the attention of intending 
exhibitors to the following decision of the Council: 
Any new or rare fruits submitted to the fruit committee 
will be heartily welcomed, but there will not be room 
for general collections of fresh fruit. The show will 
be exclusively of preserved fruits, with the exception 
of novelties in flowers and fruits sent for the judg¬ 
ment of the committees. 
Death of Mr. John Crehan.—On the 19 th ult. were 
removed to their last resting place, at Modeligo, co. 
Waterford, the mortal remains of Mr. John Crehan, 
for more than a quarter of a century head gardener and 
manager for Mrs. Malcomson, at Minellanear Clonmel. 
Few men in his sphere commanded more respect from 
those who knew him, than honest John Crehan. He 
was the soul of moral rectitude and uprightness, and a 
man much above the average capacity in his profession; 
winning prizes at all the local shows in which he 
competed, and occasionally impartially acting as judge. 
His distinguished son, Rev. E. A. Crehan, D.D., and 
doctor of Theology, gold medalist, &c., only arrived 
from Paris a few hours before the interment to take a 
last leave of all that remained of the best of fathers. 
The York Gala and Horticultural Exhibition.—The 
June exhibition was so successful as to have a nett 
profit of close upon £ 260 , after an expenditure of £600 
in prizes and another £600 for music, entertainments, 
&c. The Committee have during the existence of the 
Society, given large sums of money to the York 
Charities, and the sum of £150 has been voted in sums 
o£ from £10 to £40 to various institutions in the City ; 
£10 to the Yorkshire Schools in London; and in 
remembrance of very pleasant association for so many 
years with the late Mr. B. S. Williams, the sum of £10 
has been voted to the Williams Memorial Fund. 
Devizes Chrysanthemum Show.—This annual ex¬ 
hibition which is announced to take place in the 
Corn Exchange, Devizes, on November 4 th, is 
unique in character, seeing that it forms a part 
of the arrangements of an annual bazaar, held 
on behalf of the funds of the Benevolent Society 
of the town ; and by means of the Chrysanthemum 
show, although very liberal prizes are offered, the 
fund gains considerably. The sum of £6 is offered 
as a first prize for a group of Chrysanthemums 
to fill a space of 12 ft. by 6 ft., and a first prize 
of ten guineas for twenty-four cut blooms of 
incurved Chrysanthemums, not less than eighteen 
varieties. The Mayor offers a silver cup, value five 
guineas for twelve cut blooms of Japanese Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, distinct. This annual show is remarkable for 
the fine specimens of Chinese Primroses offered in the 
class for nine plants. 
The Shropshire Horticultural Society.—The record 
of success that had previously attended this society’s 
shows in the famed Shrewsbury Quarry, was fairly 
beaten this year, over 20,000 people visiting the 
show on the Wednesday, and over 45,000 on the 
Thursday. The gate receipts on the 1 st day were 
£311 13 s. 9 d. ; and on the second, £ 1,317 11 s. 9 d., 
which, added to the increased subscription list and sale 
of cheap tickets in advance, will bring the total up to 
a very handsome sum. Although visited by this 
enormous mass of people, it is very gratifying to know 
how much enjoyment all seemed to derive from the grand 
programme which was carried out, and the excellent 
arrangement made by the secretaries, Messrs. Adnit & 
Naunton, which were everything that could be desired. 
