December 6, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
219 
to the florist as she is to-day for the development of 
this wonderful flower. 
It must be confessed that the florists and chief 
growers possessed, and it is said still possess, a strong 
predilection for the variety known as the 11 incurved.’ 
That is a form which, viewing the flower from its 
artistic aspect, does not commend itself to artists, while 
the definition of its ball-like form restricts its rise, but 
to their credit be it said, the growers have been equally 
devoted and enthusiastic in their culture of the reflexed, 
the Anemone-flowered, the Pompon, and, as they are 
called, the dishevelled Japanese varieties. The last is 
the dearest to tho artistic nature, and is evidently alike 
the favourite of the ornamentist at home and in far 
Japan. 
As 1 shall have occasion to use the words conventional 
and conventionalism somewhat frequently, this may be 
a not altogether unfitting opportunity to attempt some 
clear definition of this much-abused, because mis¬ 
understood, term. 
To many, not only of the general public, but also to 
our art workers, it is understood to simply mean the 
flattening out of an object. South Kensington is 
supposed to have originated and propagated this idea ; 
certainly the development is responsible for a multitude 
of drawings in which this definition has been practically 
shown. It may also claim the honour of instituting 
the exact turn-over, and the sub-division of the circle ; 
the result of which is a lifeless and irritating repetition 
of aimless form, conventional indeed, but not 
in the sense desired. This convenient word 
is, moreover, relied upon by many as an excuse 
for want of truth, consequent upon superficial 
observation. As I understand the real meaning of the 
word, conventionalism is the principle of selection, 
the discerning and adapting of the most salient charac¬ 
teristics of a flower, so that in the best conventionalised 
ornament the growth may never be. an outrage upon 
nature, but rather a clearer delineation of the same. 
This playful rendering of a spray of Chrysanthemums is 
designed to suggest a stork on the wing, and demon¬ 
strates how possible it is to realise the true growth and 
characteristics of nature for a definite purpose, and 
further, that conventional treatment does not necessarily 
restrict invention or fancy. The effect is so natural, 
that we can discern but little difference at the first 
glance from a drawing of the actual bird. Indeed, we 
can quite imagine a spray of the flower growing by a 
freak of nature in this manner. I am aware that this 
question of nature in art is but a small factor, inas¬ 
much as a growth may be conventionalised, as in 
much of the Chinese work, beyond recognition ; yet it 
by no means follows that it is not a good ornament, 
and fit for its purpose, but it at least lacks that interest 
which association always gives, and therefore I take it 
there is a distinct loss. But for a plant that is to 
appeal to as such to be delineated false in growth, and 
excused on the plea of conventionalism, is nothing less 
than an outrage on the principles of art and our common 
sense, treatment possessed of sufficient vitality to live, 
much less to form a vowel in the grammar of decorative 
art. The Lotus of Egypt in its conventional rendering 
alone would serve to prove the high civilisation and 
antiquity of Egypt, and to this day it stands the finest 
instance of conventionalism known, and yet in no way 
does it outrage true growth. 
It is important to observe that the flower and foliage 
growths have stamped a nation’s ornament with 
individuality and character for all time, are invariably 
conventional in treatment. 
The Lily of France, in its conventional treatment, is 
destined to immortality as the Fleur de Lis is a 
rendering of the Iris, while the selection and use of the 
Tudor Lose of England stamps the best period of our 
own art, although it existed in its adopted form long 
before that date. And with the true instincts of an 
artistic people, we find that the Chrysanthemum is 
lendered by the Japanese more or less conventionally, 
according to the purpose or material for which it is 
selected. 
Everyone knows that the Chrysanthemum is the 
imperial badge of Japan, but it may not be generally 
known that it shares this honour with the Paulownia 
imperialis, a growth equally capable of conventional 
expression, and recalling in its form our purple Fox¬ 
glove. 
We find the simplest expression and severest form of 
the Chrysanthemum—as we might expect—in its 
adaptation to heraldry, as the imperial badge, in which 
it is shown as a simple rosette or daisy composed of 
sixteen petals. Even in the later adaptation of the 
flower for postage stamps this simple and severe form 
was adopted. We may rest assured that its selection 
for this important function was not mere haphazard, 
prompted by personal caprice, or even some incident 
connected with the flower, but rather because it had 
within itself possibilities of a simple and satisfactory 
conventional treatment. The conventional rendering 
of an object is not due to either tradition or what is 
called taste, it is but the outcome of necessity, and 
simply means that the material to be decorated 
delineated the motif and method of treatment. Return¬ 
ing to its use as a badge. The reason for this simple 
expression is at once apparent, first, that it might be 
seen clearly, and from a distance, without the possibility 
of confusion, and equally important that it might be 
capable of execution upon, and in every kind of 
material. Hence we see it in the hardest alloy for 
weapons and armour ; carved in metal and crystal; 
beaten in high and low relief in brass ; carved in wood 
and ivory ; woven in fabric of dress and banner, and 
raised in lacquer, simple but unmistakable. 
But apart from being the badge of the Royal House 
of Japan, the flower is evidently dear to the people for 
its beauty alone. It appeals to them in its general 
adaptability for the ornamentation of their domestic 
surroundings, while it is by no means uncommon, I 
gather from one of those delightful letters from Sir 
Edwin Arnold, which appear from time to time, to find 
the Japs naming their daughters after these favourite 
flowers, O-Kiku-Sau, the Hon. Miss Chrysanthemum, 
in much the same way that we call our girls Rose, 
Yiolet, Lily, &c. 
The Chrysanthemum is the leading, if not the most 
characteristic feature in the ornament of this nation, 
who have taught us so much, and who are destined to 
still further revolutionize many of the ideas connected 
with applied ornament of the Western world—a nation 
whose history is so interwoven with the adaptation of 
this beautiful flower that I venture to say Japan is 
better known to the multitude to-day by the flower of 
her choice than by her civilisation of thousands of 
years, or by the character and history of her patient 
and talented people. As I have before said, we find it 
used in every imaginable way, from the severest possible 
form, as shown in the Imperial Badge, to the natura¬ 
listic paintings on silk or paper or the fanciful 
expression of form. It would be nothing short of a 
calamity to lose the varied expression of this flower, 
while it would be difficult to imagine the art of Japan 
without it. It stamps the native work with indi¬ 
viduality, and in conjunction with the Bamboo serves 
to typify this art. 
It is not possible to more than briefly allude to the 
extensive use made of the flower by designers and 
ornamentists in our own decorations and manufactures. 
Attention should be directed to the matter, inasmuch 
as I am compelled to admit that the flower is often 
either misapplied or adapted without sufficient simpli¬ 
fication. As pointed out, Nature has done much of the 
designer’s work, and we are too apt to rely upon this 
fact, utilising the flower as it is, instead of making it 
consistent with our requirements. As an instance, we 
not infrequently see in repousse, pointed-petalled 
blossoms, selected for high relief and attempts to 
render shapeless outlines, a method of expression 
suitable only for imitative painting. In woven fabrics, 
too, we see the flower overburdened with petals and 
necessarily confused in form. The same attempts at 
naturalism are to be found in wood carving, wall¬ 
papers, &c. We should do well to study the methods 
of Japanese adaptation, not necessarily to copy, but for 
the principles involved, and we should more conscien¬ 
tiously study the flower itself, and not accept as 
accomplished that which nature has still reserved for 
us to do, in the doing of which we invest the growth 
with a human interest. These conditions pre-suppose 
no arbitrary restrictions, inasmuch as the probabilities 
of variety are practically endless. 
The flower as such is perfect. It is left for the 
genius of man to make it equally so for his defined 
purpose. For the very reason that it is so decorative 
in itself we should resist the desire for imitative 
realism. 
The Japanese, to their credit and glory as an artistic 
nation, never fall into this mistake. If they use the 
flower as a motif for chasing in hard metals, as steel, 
alloys, iron, &c., they select blooms simple and defined 
in form. On the other hand, in chasing in soft 
metal—gold or silver — or carving in soft woods, they 
choose blooms, the beauties of which are better dis¬ 
played in a more modelled form. In metal work the 
treatment may be convex or concave. 
In their paintings we at once perceive that they allow 
themselves a wider selection, almost every kind and 
variety of flower finding recognition with greater 
latitude in treatment. Foreshortening, interlacing, 
and intricate arrangements are indulged in, and what 
may be termed an intermediate course is taken in their 
pottery and fabrics. Having taken a general though 
hasty view of the subject, it may be profitable to ask 
ourselves why this flower, over and above its claim for 
beauty, was and is so readily selected as a decorative 
motif ? The fact of it being the Imperial Badge of a 
distant and still almost unknown people can have had 
with us, at least, little influence, however much it may 
have affected the Japs themselves. It rests its claim 
for admiration and selection upon a beauty of form as 
remarkable as it is varied upon a wide colour range, 
and a growth strong yet graceful, and a foliage no less 
beautiful than the blossom. 
Many a flower has been grown in obedience to the 
demands of the fashion of the day, and their con¬ 
tributions to the art would have been of a negative 
nature. But in the flower we have met to honour we 
find it not only adapted to a variety of treatments 
consistent with the principles of applied ornament, but 
that, too, with little, and in many cases no alteration. 
Nature indeed seems to be so enamoured of her pro¬ 
duction that she was half tempted to turn artist. 
Finally we may all concede that we owe it a deep 
debt of gratitude, for it has made bright a period of our 
year that heretofore has been dull and flowerless. 
No longer can the poet sing— 
“No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, 
No comfortable feel in any member ; 
No shade or shine, no butterflies, no bees, 
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds— 
November ! ” 
- —- 
Hardening miscellany. 
-->- 
Hymenocallis ovata. 
The name by which this is universally known in 
gardens is Pancratium fragrans. The oldest or most 
correct botanical name is that above given ; but others, 
such as Hymenocallis amcena, Pancratium ovatum and 
P. amcenum have also been applied by different authors. 
Gardeners and growers generally are not so much 
troubled about names and synonyms, as they are to 
distinguish it from Hymenocallis speciosa. The two 
are certainly very closely allied, and both come from 
the West Indies. H. ovata has oblong acute leaves, 
and bears about six to ten flowers in a sessile umbel, 
that is, the individual blooms have no footstalks, but 
are seated directly on the common peduncle. The tube 
of the perianth is 2 ins. or 2A ins. long. On the other 
hand, H. speciosa has oblaneeolate-oblong, acute 
leaves, bears ten to fifteen shortly stalked flowers in an 
umbel, and the tube of the perianth is about 3 ins. 
long. Both are highly ornamental subjects, but 
somehow or other H. ovata has attained the greatest 
popularity. It occasionally makes its appearance in 
groups of plants at exhibitions, and is also used for 
decorative work in other ways. A large quantity of 
bulbs is grown for cut-flower purposes, for which the 
handsome character and the fragrance of the blooms 
render them well adapted. 
A Sportive Chrysanthemum. 
The incurved Lady Hardinge is described as silvery 
rose, of medium size, finely finished and constant. A 
bloom has been sent us by Mr. Alexander Chalmers, 
Terregles Gardens, Dumfries, which sets the above 
description wholly at defiance, and appears in another 
class altogether. It might rightly be described as a 
large incurved Anemone. A considerable number of 
the outer rows of florets was incurved, and of the same 
colour, or nearly so, as in the original or typical form. 
The disc was ins. wide, and wholly composed of 
long, well-developed tubular florets of a silvery rose, 
except at the five-toothed tips, which were white. 
The base of the quills was greenish, very slender, and 
gradually widened from thence to the mouth. Some of 
the outer ones showed a transition stage, the lower 
half being quilled, while the upper half was merely 
concave and incurved, like the outer and normal ones.- 
The fullness of the disc may be judged when we say 
that the florets were li ins. long, and quite closely 
arranged, even to the centre. If it can be propagated 
and preserved true to this character, it will be a 
valuable acquisition to the large Anemone class, and 
very distinct on account of the incurving of the outer 
or ray florets, which are usually spreading or reflexed. 
