May 30, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
619 
Gestiana acaulis. 
With this I close my notes on early blue flowers. It 
is best known as the Gentianella ; an old inhabitant of 
our gardens, growing close to the ground in tufts, and 
bearing on stems 2 ins. in length large solitary flowers 
of the deepest and most lustrous blue. In a deep moist 
loam this plant does well; it is all the better for partial 
shade, and it should not bo frequently disturbed. I 
have seen it employed in Yorkshire as a garden edging, 
and, when in flower, lovely in the extreme. I think it 
is still to be seen in the forecourt garden of one of the 
older villa residences in Ealing Lane, South, employed 
as an edging to a circular bed.— R. D. 
-*»$*«- 
MRS. THROWER ON THE N. 0. S. 
CENTENARY EXHIBITION. 
It will be in the memory of all who took part in the 
Centenary celebration of the introduction of the Chrysan¬ 
themum into this country, which took place at the 
Royal Aquarium in November last, that of the Foreign 
and Colonial visitors who attended the exhibition the 
best informed and most enthusiastic “Mumist” was 
the lady who represented the Northern Horticultural 
Society of Tasmania—Mrs. W. J. Thrower. 
Since her return to Tasmania Mrs. Thrower has 
published a singularly interesting account of her trip 
to Europe, and many will, no doubt, read with 
pleasure what she has to say about the Centenary 
celebration. 
“The very great expectations which had been enter¬ 
tained by all who are interested in the cultivation of 
Chrysanthemums and by all who admire them, were 
more than realised by the magnificent success which 
crowned the efforts of those who have laboured so 
zealously to accomplish so splendid a result as that 
which met the eyes of visitors to the Royal Aquarium, 
at Westminster, on November 11th. I can quite 
realise the remark which fell from the lips of the 
present honorary secretary of the society, when he 
responded to the toast of his health at the judges’ 
luncheon upon that day, viz., that the exhibition of 
Chrysanthemums which marked the Centenary might 
truthfully be said to be one such as the world had never 
previously witnessed. It was with something of a 
feeling akin to despair that I looked down those long 
rows of superb blooms of Japanese and Incurved varie¬ 
ties, and recognised the names of so very many which 
graced the stands of our successful exhibitors, but which 
would scarcely be known as the same if they were 
placed side by side with those grown in Tasmania. Of 
what use is it, I thought, for us to import all the best 
varieties, as we do, if we cannot achieve better results 
than we have hitherto done ? But then, I reflected 
again, that as we have after all not done badly con¬ 
sidering the time which has elapsed since we, in 
Tasmania, began to pay any attention to Chrysanthe¬ 
mum culture, I took heart of grace and mentally 
resolved to persevere until we reached a standard nearer 
to that which exists in England than we now possess. 
“At the National Society’s show on Tuesday the 
greatest attraction was the cut blooms, and soon after 
the opening ceremony had taken place it was extremely 
difficult to get close enough to the stands to see them 
perfectly ; but as the honorary secretary, Mr. Richard 
Dean, had very kindly accorded me permission to 
accompany the judges when they were making their 
awards, I had a splendid opportunity of viewing them 
before the general public obtained access. At one o’clock 
Lady Brooke, wife of the president of the society, 
accompanied by her suite, arrived at the Broad 
Sanctuary entrance to the Aquarium, where she was 
received by the hon. secretary and the guests who had 
been invited to be present, including myself. Her 
ladyship, who takes great interest in floriculture, was 
conducted to the large hall—St. Stephen’s Hall, in 
the first instance, and she was evidently very much 
pleased by the splendid exhibition which was there 
displayed, not only of cut blooms of Japanese, Incurved, 
Anemone flowered, Reflexed and Pompons, but of floral 
devices, sprays, epergnes, and various other table 
decorations. The best collection of pot-grown specimen 
plants which, it is said, has ever yet been exhibited, 
was displayed in this hall also, and I must say that it 
was a revelation to me to perceive to what perfection 
these plants were trained, so that a perfect half-globe 
of foliage surmounted the stems, and upon the foliage, 
most symmetrically arranged, stood in brilliant relief 
against the dark green background the starry or 
ball-like blooms, according to the variety grown. In 
the great hall beneath were displayed the long rows of 
cut blooms in their various classes, but no description 
can do justice to the exquisite effect produoed by the 
m agnificent banks of blooms which occupied the centre 
of the hall, the gradations of height being so skilfully 
arranged, and the blending of colours so artistically 
managed that I saw, as I had never done before, how 
beautiful an effect is to be produced by large quantities 
of Chrysanthemums massed together, and having Palms 
and Ferns for a margin or a background. As the 
horticultural papers will convey to all who are interested 
in matters connected with the Chrysanthemum the 
results of the various competitions there is no occasion 
for me to mention them here ; the names of those 
varieties, too, which were to be found in all, or most 
of the winning stands, are also enumerated therein, 
but it may be interesting to mention those which I 
consider were among the most remarkable for size and 
beauty. I think the now well-known Avalanche, a. 
magnificent white, of immense size, and most graceful 
habit was peerless, a stand in which six of these were 
exhibited being a sight which was worth going a long 
way to see. Next to Avalanche, and exceeding it 
greatly in size, came Etoile de Lyon, a most marvellous 
flower of a delicate rosy lilac tint, changing to a lighter 
tone, so that some of these blooms were almost white, 
the petals of great breadth and length ; some of the 
examples of this flower which I saw were so large that 
its outer petals would cover a dinner plate. 
“Sunflower, a brilliant yellow, is I think unequalled 
among the yellows, while Edwin Molyneux and Mrs. 
C. W. Wheeler, of similar colour but of different form, 
seemed to vie closely with each other. Stanstead 
White, Mrs. H. Cannell, Mrs. J. Wright, Florence 
Percy, Jeanne Delaux, Mrs. Falconer Jameson, Sarah 
Owen, Criterion, Madame Baco, and Madame John 
Laing were absent from but very few collections. In 
the incurved section the most successful blooms included 
Lord Wolseley, Golden Empress, Empress of India, 
Yiolet Tomlin, Barbara, Lord Alcester, Miss M. A. 
Haggas, Mrs. S. Coleman, Mrs. N. Davis, Princess of 
Wales and Princess of Teck. In the collection of 
twenty-four incurved andAwenty-four Japanese blooms, 
distinct, open to all, which was awarded the first prize, 
I saw a superb bloom of Mrs. Alpheus Hardy ; it was 
of great size and of lovely form. I was very much 
pleased with the Anemone-flowered Chrysanthemums 
of both the Japanese and large-flowered types. In the 
Reflexed section the Christine family figured very 
conspicuously in the winning stands. Cullingfordi was 
not behindhand in securing a good place, and Cloth of 
Gold was also very successful. I think that for general 
decorative purposes there are few flowers which can 
excel the single Chrysanthemums. They possess a light 
and elegant effect, which harmonises exquisitely with 
the delicate feathery Grasses and Ferns with which I 
have seen them intermixed. 
“ 1 spent the greater portion of the day following in 
examining at my leisure all the exhibits, and in taking 
down the names of the most successful blooms in the 
various classes of the successful stands, as well as of 
some very interesting and striking varieties which I had 
not seen or heard of previously. On Thursday evening 
I attended by invitation 'a grand banquet which was 
held in St. Stephen’s Hall ; this was the first occasion 
upon which ladies had been present at the annual 
banquet, and I may remark that I consider it was a 
most graceful compliment which the committee paid me 
in making this innovation in order that I might be 
present. 
“To realise how magnificent an effect may be pro¬ 
duced by decorating entirely with Chrysanthemums, one 
should see reproduced those exquisite arrangements 
which were the theme of universal admiration at St. 
Stephen’s Hall. The lovely blooms of yellow, white, 
orange, ruby, peach, and other tints mingling so 
deliciously with autumn-tinted oak leaves, feathery 
grasses, and asparagus, the soft light from shaded lamps, 
the snowy cloths and glittering crystal which covered 
the tables seemed like a vision from fairyland. The 
chair was occupied by the president of the National 
Chrysanthemum Society (Lord Brooke, M. P.), and 
songs, glees, and other musical selections followed each 
toast, and contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the 
evening. Many very interesting and appropriate 
speeches were given, that of Lord Brooke, when pro¬ 
posing the toast of “The National Chrysanthemum 
Society,” being especially so. Not the least among my 
pleasant memories of England will be the remembrance 
of the exceeding great kindness which I received from 
all who were connected with the great National Chry¬ 
santhemum Society of England, and I feel that it is 
something to be proud of that I was able to represent 
the Northern Horticultural Society of Tasmania at a 
banquet at which so many distinguished lovers of the 
Chrysanthemum were present. ” 
flljptiuttgs IJrom TCIorlb 
of Stiriur. 
- ~i- - 
The Cultivated Oranges and Lemons, &c.— 
Mr. E. Bonavia has written a book in two volumes 
upon the various members of the Orange tribe, 
dealing largely with their history, morphology, and 
the derivation of the aboriginal names. The Seville 
Orange was the first to reach Europe from its native 
home in China or Cochin-China, from whence it 
was transported to the Malay Archipelago, and thence 
to India, where it was named Nartum. The Persians 
next received it, and in their turn named it Narandj. 
In Europe the latter was changed to Orange, as we 
now have it. "We have read frequent accounts of the 
origin of various forms of Oranges, and their almost 
indiscriminate crossing with one another. Mr. Bonavia 
disbelieves all this, and is of opinion that the species 
and varieties of Oranges, Lemons, &c., rarely cross 
with one another. His hypothesis is that the greater 
part of the intermediate forms in cultivation have 
simply arisen by variation. 
Rain without Clouds.—Now and again the so- 
called Rain-tree turns up afresh ; but it is evident that 
there are many rain trees. Pithecolobium Saman is 
grown in stoves in Britain occasionally, and receives the 
name of Rain-tree. In clear bright weather the 
phenomenon of rain dripping from trees is explained 
by the twigs being punctured by myriads of insects 
belonging evidently to the order Hemiptera ; these 
eject the sap as excrement, and this falling to the 
ground resembles rain. In America these insects prey 
upon the Cotton, Okra, Mulberry and Peach trees. 
The insect is known as Proconia undata, and is stated 
to occasion considerable injury to "Vines, causing the 
stems to wither and the bunches to drop off. The 
phenomenon of rain falling from the trees may also bo 
seen by the observant in Britain. In warm summers 
Pterocallis Tilice, one of the British Aphides, increases 
to such an extent upon the Lime, and throws out so 
much of its sugary secretion that stones or pavement 
beneath the trees are kept quite wet till midday, even 
under the influence of hot sunshine in July. The Pear 
tree is sometimes laid under contribution by the Pear 
Sucker (Psylla pyrisuga), and the amount of excretion 
thrown off by a populous colony is sufficient to justify 
the term of rain without clouds in the same sense as 
the above. 
Late-foliating Trees.—In olden times, the Oak 
and the Ash wore looked upon as the latest trees to 
come into leaf in this country. The Oriental Plane 
and its variety Platanus orientalis acerifolia slowly 
creep into leaf about the same time. Still after this 
Robinia Pseud-Acacia looks bare and scrubby. The 
latter is, however, followed by the Honey Locusts 
(Gleditschia triacanthos and G. sinensis), as well as 
the Kentucky Coffee (Gymnocladus canadensis), whose 
scanty, stout branches have a very stumpy appearance. 
Rhus typhina is also late in coming into leaf, but is 
followed by Catalpa syringrefolia, Sophora japonica and 
Ailanthus glandulosa, which long retain their winter 
condition. Many of the above lose their leaves com¬ 
paratively early in our climate, so that altogether their 
season is a short one. Their beauty, however, is such 
that we cannot afford to dispense with them. Amongst 
the forms of the English Elm, late varieties may be 
found which appear almost naked, whilst others are 
quite green. Court Pendu Plat and Vagil are culti¬ 
vated varieties of the Apple, which also foliate tardily. 
Starling Eating Earwigs.—About twelve years 
ago I was at a station where we kept our lamps and oil 
in a small wooden house at the end of the office. I 
also used to keep a few Pelargoniums in the window 
of this house. During the summer months this place 
was swarming with earwigs ; and I used to get a 
number of stems of the Cow-parsnip, and cut them in 
lengths of 7 ins. or 8 ins., and place them amongst the 
flower pots. "When I examined the stems in the 
morning, they were always full of earwigs. I had- a 
tame starling, which I took out with me when I went 
to examine the stems of Cow-parsnip in the 
morning. When I shook the earwigs out of the stems 
on to the floor, the starling always devoured them as 
fast as it could pick them up. I also sometimes dug 
up the sand at the bottom of the wall, where there 
were numbers of earwigs concealed among the sand. 
When doing so, the starling followed after me, and 
greedily devoured every earwig that made its ap¬ 
pearance.— F. Brebner, in Science Gossip. 
