November 22, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
183 
within, florets of the disc. The golden colour of the 
disk is the result in the first instance of the pollen 
produced by the syngenesious or coherent anthers, 
which perfect and disperse the pollen some days in 
advance of the protrusion of the stigmas, and when 
these are ready to receive pollen advantageously the 
pollen of the florets to which they belong is all dispersed 
and gone, and, consequently, we may regard it as a rule 
of life with the Chrysanthemum that although the 
stigmas may receive pollen from the florets of the same 
disc, they cannot receive it from the same floret, and 
will be very likely, indeed, to receive it from the 
stamens of another flower. The word “ flower ” I use 
for convenience solely ; the proper term is capitulum, 
because a so-called flower consists, as already explained, 
of many florets united in one head. 
When we reflect on the number of wild flowers that 
are fertilized by pollen from other flowers on other 
plants of their own kind, and that many of them are 
proterandrous or produce their pollen in advance of 
their stigmas, it seems a marvel that they should 
remain constant to a certain typical form, as many 
appear to do for centuries, although exposed to the 
chances of cross-fertilisation. Variations do indeed 
occur, as every botanist knows full well, and yet the 
constancy of what we call species presents a problem of 
tremendous import for the philosopher. Many plants 
associate in groups which flower simultaneously and so 
favour a settled heredity, and thus the circumstances of 
place and time contribute to the constancy I am 
hypothecating. And another cause contributes to it, 
for varieties have a more slender tenure of existence 
than settled types, and we speak of the survival of the 
fittest to express our faith in the practice by nature of 
a process of selection, death being the ageney for the 
removal of variations that are not wanted. Thus crea¬ 
tion and continuance are both kept in check, and types 
survive variations, except in some' peculiar cases, in 
which they become established to behave themselves as 
species. 
But when man steps in the case is altered. Anything 
that differs from the accustomed type will suit his 
taste, even if it be useless and ugly. A pelorie Snap¬ 
dragon, or a wheat-ear Carnation, or a green Bose, or a 
Chrysanthemum in which the florets of the ray have 
usurped the place of florets of the disc, and so produces 
what we call a “double” flower, will afford great 
^delight. His first business will be to keep this new 
creation, whereas, perhaps, if he had left it alone, death 
would have swallowed it as a thing unfit. This keeping 
of the curiosities is the beginning of floriculture. A 
variation fires a new enthusiasm; the variety is 
cherished, and though unable to propagate itself by 
reason of its barrenness, the florist finds means to 
multiply it, and he takes the hint it offers and labours 
to obtain other variations, and 30 by degrees becomes 
the master of nature within certain limits, which, 
indeed, are very narrow, and as compared with the 
great scheme of nature the work of the florist is but 
trifling. But as an amusement, floriculture must have 
the highest place amongst what may be termed elegant 
pursuits, for its aim is the creation and preservation of 
floral beauty, and its work will be of incalculable value 
to the philosopher if he will but remove the scales of 
prejudice from his eyes and see what he can learn from 
it. We talk of heredity and the causes and conse¬ 
quences of variation, and sometimes imagine the 
botanists know all about it. The truth is, they know 
very little about it; the key to such knowledge is in 
the florist’s hands as regards the subjects of his atten¬ 
tion, for he possesses records of their variations, and 
their life histories are to him familiar, and the 
habit of observation is not only forced upon him as 
essential to his success, but it grows by what it feeds 
upon, and every day reveals to him something that is 
concealed from the botanist, unless he happens to be 
also a florist, which he seldom is, and perhaps never 
CaD ^ e ' ( To be continued.) 
-- 
POPULAR EXHIBITION CHRY¬ 
SANTHEMUMS. 
Another round of Chrysanthemum shows has come 
and gone, enabling lovers of this beautiful class of 
plants to make notes for future service and to compare 
notes with the past. The Japanese varieties may be 
considered the most radical of the whole family, and 
the most liable to change and the caprice of fashion, or 
in other words, it may be stated that most improvement 
has taken place in that class, old ones being replaced 
by newer and larger blooms. The incurved, reflexed, 
and Anemone classes, but particularly the first-named, 
may be termed the conservatives of the family. No 
new forms have yet been obtained to surpass Lord 
Alcester, Queen of England, Empress of India, or their 
varieties, nor is this likely to happen for many years 
to come. For size, form, and neatness, Lord Alcester 
has taken a prominent position this year, both at the 
National and leading suburban shows. 
In making a review of the Chrysanthemum season, a 
pretty good general idea can be gained from glancing 
over the exhibits of the National Chrysanthemum 
Society, held at the Royal Aquarium last week, owing 
to the numerous and varied contributions from different 
parts of the country. Besides the incurved sorts already 
named, other old varieties that came out well were 
Princess of Wales, Lord Wolseley, Mrs. Healc, Hero of 
Stoke Newington, Alfred Salter, Jeanne d’Arc, Prince 
of Wales, and Itefulgens. Less common were the 
pretty and 'characteristic Empress Eugenie, Barbara, 
Nil Desperandum, Novelty, Mrs. W. Shipman, and 
Jardin des Plantes. On the other hand, some of the 
newer varieties—mostly sports from something else— 
were not only in fine form, but in considerable 
numbers, including Miss M. A. Haggas, soft yellow ; 
Miss Violet Tomlin, violet-purple, shading to rose ; 
John Doughty, delicate fawn ; Charles Gibson, bronze- 
red, and cinnamon-fawn centre ; and Lady Dorothy, 
cinnamon-butf. Notwithstanding their close similarity, 
the two latter were shown in the first prize exhibit of 
forty-eight blooms in the Centenary Class. Mrs. 
Norman Davis, another of the Princess Teck group, 
although naturally late like all the others, was in good 
form, but not very frequent. On the whole the in¬ 
curved kinds in many cases presented a rough and 
unfinished appearance, especially the larger kinds, such 
as Queen of, England, Golden Queen of England, 
Empress of India, and others of that class, which were 
often open in the centre, although large enough 
certainly. 
Amongst the Japanese varieties, many of them seem 
to be gradually disappearing from the exhibition boards, 
to wit, Bertier Rendatler, Comtesse de Beauregard, 
Fair Maid of Guernsey, Flarnme de Punch, Joseph 
Mahood, Triomphe de la Rue des Chalets, and others. 
Mademoiselle Lacroix and Belle Paule were not so 
frequent as we have seen them, although some beauti¬ 
fully coloured and well-formed blooms of the latter were 
to be seen in different stands, especially of the 
Centenary class. They are, no doubt, losing ground 
on account of their small size. Everywhere mostly 
this season, Madame C. Audiguier seems to be coarse 
and altogether out of form, compared with what it has 
been in former years. The peculiarities of the season 
have, doubtless, altered its normal character, for when 
in its prime it should be closely and somewhat regularly 
incurved. Some of the blooms shown were of great 
size and depth, but the florets were narrow, and some¬ 
what loosely reflexed. The sudden disappearance of 
Elaine from exhibition boards is somewhat phenomenal, 
and is, no doubt, readily explained by the popularity of 
Avalanche, Stanstead White and Florence Percy, all of 
which are good white sorts, but especially the two 
former, on account of their size, fine appearance, and 
the readiness with which they respond to cultural 
treatment. 
A considerable number of new and imported forms 
have taken the place of the old favourites, and con¬ 
sidering the comparative newness of some of them, 
it is remarkable how quickly they have become 
established all over the country, and shows at least 
how quickly Chrysanthemum growers lay hold of the 
newest and best sorts. Well-grown blooms of Stan¬ 
stead White measure 9 ins. and 10 ins. across, and 
the quilled florets are of good substance. Lady 
Lawrence, another good white, is notable for the great 
breadth of its florets, but the blooms are only of 
medium size. Mrs. H. Cannell when well grown is 
much larger^ and also white, but the petals are thin in 
substance, and the constitution of the plant not so 
good. The latter fault is also characteristic of Mrs. 
Alpheus Hardy, which has been an almost universal 
failure, this the second year of its appearance. It will 
be necessary, however, to grow it another season to test 
what its constitution really is. The excessive propa¬ 
gation to which it has been subjected no doubt militated 
against its welfare and vigour. A finely formed bloom, 
however, about 6£ ins. in diameter, was shown in the 
first prize lot of the Centenary' class. Eynsford White 
is similar in size to Elaine, but the florets are more 
revolute at the edges; it appears to be a suitable 
subject for decorative work. Something sprightly and 
pretty in its way when full grown is Souvenir d’Angel e 
Amiel, with long, slender, tubular, white florets, 
expanded and flattened at the tip only. It certainly 
adds variety to an exhibit of twenty-four or forty-eight 
blooms. 
Amongst the coloured Japanese varieties none have 
appeared to better advantage this season than Etoile 
de Lyon, measuring 9 ins. and 10 ins. across. As far 
as colour is concerned it is extremely variable under 
different conditions, but when well exposed to light it 
becomes of a deep rosy purple or violet, and when well 
done has an imposing appearance. At other times it 
fades away almost to white, and then approaches 
Condor and Geo. Daniels in appearance. The latter 
are by no means fine, and do not often present them¬ 
selves on the exhibition board; whereas Etoile de 
Lyon has taken many prizes, and has sometimes 
furnished the premier bloom in the show at suburban 
exhibitions. Other new varieties that have made 
tblemselves somewhat prominent this season are Edwin 
Molyneux, Mrs. C. W. Wheeler, Mrs. C. H. Clarke, 
Mrs. Irving Clark (delicate peach), Mrs. Falconer 
Jameson, Madame J. Laing and Sarah Owen, the two 
latter especially. Sarah Owen is a golden bronze sport 
from the rose and creamy white Madame J. Laing, and 
we noted a plant of the former in the exhibition bearing 
both kinds of flowers, some of them having gone back 
to the original. Sunflower is considered to be the best 
golden yellow Japanese variety that we have. Mrs. 
H. Cannell is an incurved Japanese form, after the 
style of Thunberg, but the blooms are larger and much 
firmer in texture. Ralph Brocklebank cannct be 
considered entirely new, yet it is of comparatively 
recent origin, and has presented itself in much finer 
form than Meg Merrilies, from which it sported. A 
curious feature about Edwin Molyneux is that the 
florets are sometimes so closely incurved as to show the 
golden reverse, while at other times they spread so 
much as to show the crimson almost entirely. 
Stanstead Surprise and Ed. Audiguier take their places 
on the board pretty frequently. 
Old varieties still in good repute are Carew Under¬ 
wood, Baronne de Frailly, Gloriosum, Madame Baeo, 
Mons. Bernard, Criterion, Meg Merrilies, Jeanne 
Delaux, Boule d’Or, Grandiflorum, Maiden’s Blush, 
Yal d’Andorre, Japonais, and Album Fimbriatum, the 
latter sometimes appearing like a mass of curled 
Endive. Pelican, pure white; and Raritan, white, 
flushed with pink, sometimes make their appearance in 
good form. A bright yellow one named W. H. Lincoln is 
likely to make some headway, at least for a time. Ada 
Spaulding, an incurved Japanese sort, has not yet made 
much headway, and at present has only been of medium 
or small size. 
Trained plants have made a splendid display, not 
only at the Royal Aquarium, but at other shows in the 
neighbourhood where they have been better than for 
many years previously. The nature of the season seems 
to have been particularly favourable to their best 
development. Growers have not confined themselves 
to old and well-tried sorts, but have given many of the 
newer kinds a trial with good results. Many of them 
have been trained as standards with shortly conical 
heads ; but the larger specimens had their branches 
trained in an ascending direction till they were from 
12 ins. to 36 ins. above the surface of the pots, and 
then above this trained in slightly domed or even semi- 
globular form. Many specimens, particularly Pompons, 
were trained nearly flat across the pots to some con¬ 
siderable width in the old way. Old and meritorious 
Japanese varieties that still hold their own for this sort 
of work are Source d’Or, ¥m. Robinson, L’lle des 
Plaisirs, Madame Baco, Bertier Rendatler, La 
Triomphante, L’Adorable, Chinaman, Margot, Yal 
d’Andorre, and Miss Gorton. The more recent 
varieties called into requisition are Elsie, Sunflower, 
Etoile de Lyon, Avalanche, Madame J. Laing, and 
Florence Percy. Many of these have much to recom¬ 
mend them. When poorly grown Elsie comes with an 
open centre, but under good cultivation the flowers 
attain good average size and are very neat. The 
blooms of Sunflower attain good size, and are of a 
brilliant golden yellow; those of Avalanche and Madame 
J. Laing also attain a good size. The peculiar spiral 
twist of the florets of Florence Percy is conspicuous 
even when grown as a trained specimen. The blooms 
of Etoile de Lyon come very irregularly, some being of 
great size, and others quite young and undeveloped, 
so that variety is obtained in this way, as well as 
duration. Mrs. G. Rundle, Golden George Glenny, 
Prince of Wales, Guernsey Nugget, and Barbara 
represented the incurved kinds, while Dr. Sharpeand the 
white, golden, peach, and pink Christine amongst 
reflexed varieties were in good form. 
