November 10, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
167 
all be included in tbe most select of collections. The 
last-named has often been certificated, and is considered 
as one of the best fancy Pansies ever raised. 
For summer bedding purposes, the ever beautiful, 
hardy, and easily-grown Violas are yearly being culti¬ 
vated to a much larger extent. The merest tyro can 
grow them easily after a limited experience, and 
although restricted in the number of kinds as yet, 
compared with show and fancy Pansies, there is, never¬ 
theless, an abundance from which to select for bedding 
on an extensive scale. As in the case of Pansies, we 
can mention but a select few out of the mass. Countess 
of Kintore and Countess of Hopetoun are two of the 
most desirable, the former being well adapted to a dry 
climate. Bullion, golden yellow self; Duchess of 
Albany, bronzy mauve ; Skylark, white with a blue 
margin, or Picotee-edged ; Owen Cameron, indigo- 
blue ; Virginal, white ; and Lady Polwarth, pure white 
and free-flowering, afford beauty and variety which 
one cannot but admire. 
Antirrhinums, Pentstemons, Dahlias, &e. 
The collection of named varieties of Antirrhinum, in¬ 
cluding those of this year, is very extensive ; but we 
cannot stop to particularise where all are so beautiful, 
and rejoice in white, rose, crimson, yellow, and in¬ 
numerable other tints, while others are marked, 
mottled, or striped in a thousand ways. The same 
might be said of Pentstemons, which luxuriate in the 
new soil here, and bloom far into autumn. Eegalia, 
blue, with white throat; Sunrise, scarlet and white 
throat; Acme, dark rose ; and Amelia, pure white, are 
some of the gems of this year. 
Amongst show Dahlias, Bendigo, purple-crimson ; 
Spitfire, bright scarlet; Richard Dean, rich purple ; 
Florence, golden yellow ; and Harry Keith, rosy purple, 
are all positively new kinds of last year or the season 
previous. Splendid exhibition flowers are Harry 
Turner, dark maroon; Mrs. Douglas, brilliant scarlet; 
Cyprus, pale orange; John Neville, yellow; Mrs. 
Gladstone, pink, one of the most popular in modern 
exhibition stands ; Mrs. Langtry, cream, edged crimson ; 
and Walter H. Williams, brilliant scarlet. Beautiful 
new fancy Dahlias are Magnet, General Grant, Pelican, 
Adventure, striped red like a Carnation; General 
Gordon, yellow, striped crimson ; and Florence Stark, 
white, striped purple. Pompons, dwarf bedding, 
single, Cactus, and decorative Dahlias are grown in 
endless variety, and include all the leading new kinds. 
Hollyhocks, French Poppies, summer and autumn¬ 
flowering Phloxes are also grown in great variety. 
-—- 
THE ROOKERY, BROMLEY, 
KENT. 
On the main road leading from Beckenham to Bromley, 
and near the latter place, is the estate of Charles 
Norman, Esq., screened from the highway by a broad 
belt of trees. The mansion itself is a handsome red 
brick building greatly modernised by recent extensive 
improvements, while an original part of it still left is 
very old. It is surrounded by trees, some of which are 
of great size and age, especially the Elms, Planes, 
Birches, Cedar of Lebanon, and variegated Sycamores 
away behind the house. There is also a row of Scotch 
Firs with huge red-barked trunks on the lawn, and 
two very fine old Holly Oaks (Quercus Ilex) with their 
branches supported by chains. It may here be noted 
that the soil is clay to a great depth. A short distance 
from the house, on a low-lying part of the ground, is a 
winding pond beautifully surrounded with trees, and 
having Sweet Flag, Epilobium hirsutum and Bambusa 
metake planted on its banks. 
Hardy Fruit. 
Apples were a fairly good crop, but, with the exception 
of a few trees, Pears might be described as a failure. 
Amongst these exceptions we noted in the fruit-room 
were Baronne de Mello and Forelle, or the Trout Pear. 
They had borne good average crops, but the fruits were 
only moderate in size. Filberts and Raspberries were 
good crops, especially where the latter were trained 
to wires. Amongst Plums, Coe’s Golden Drop had 
borne uncommonly well. On the open wall Peaches 
have given great satisfaction, considering the untoward 
nature of the season. They were still being gathered 
for use during the second week of October. Some of 
the latest and useful kinds were Royal George and Lord 
Palmerston. 
In-door Fruit. 
Under glass the Peach trees are all young, and planted 
in a low span-roofed house, which, like most of the 
others on the place, has been greatly remodelled or 
improved. In fact, within the last three or four years, 
the gardener, Mr. Lydiard, has greatly improved, or 
entirely rebuilt most of the houses on the place, bring¬ 
ing them up to the modern style and requirements. The 
Peach house in question has inside borders, elevated 
some feet above the pathway, and supported by brick 
walls. The walls of the house are built on piers, so 
that the roots of the trees, although planted inside, 
have ready access to the outside borders. The inside 
borders behind the brick walls used to be empty. The 
trees bore a very fair crop, while Tomatos in a similar 
house also bore heavily. Cucumbers, in two stages of 
advancement, were being grown on for winter cropping. 
Only two varieties of Grapes are grown upon the 
place—namely, Black Hamburgh and Muscat of 
Alexandria. One house was devoted to each of these 
two kinds, and a considerable quantity of the former 
had been cut at the time of our visit. The Muscats 
were large, both in bunch and berry, and well finished. 
The rods have only been planted for three years, and 
have given great satisfaction. One old vinery is 
devoted to a single Vine of Muscat of Alexandria, an 
aged specimen, supposed to be 140 years old. There 
are records concerning it in the mansion which carry 
it back for 100 years. It consists of many branches or 
rods, which are trained over the whole roof, and bear 
wonderful bunches and berries of good size ; the flavour 
is also excellent. The Hamburghs in the earliest house 
had all been cut. 
The Plant Houses. 
The show house or conservatory was very gay with 
early-flowering Chrysanthemums, conspicuous amongst 
which were a large number of well-flowered specimens 
of Madame Desgranges. Richardia africana had also 
commenced to flower freely. The stoves and their 
contents were all in splendid condition. On the roof 
of one was a large specimen of Allamanda Schottii 
(Hendersoni) in a very floriferous condition, and the 
flowers are much used for dinner-table decoration. Two 
plants of Pandanus Yeitchii were nearly white, and 
curiously enough the middle of some leaves was green 
while the tip and base were white. A large specimen 
of Asplenium nidus (the Bird’s-nest Fern), better 
known as Neottopteris nidus-avis, bore fronds 4 ft. to 
5 ft. long, and all of which were in perfect condition, 
not eaten or deformed as we frequently see them when 
of large size. Lomarias and other Ferns are also well 
grown. A large specimen of Dendrobium densiflorum 
gives promise of a fine show of bloom later on. A strik¬ 
ing feature of this house was the way in which the end 
is covered with cork, with small pockets or crevices, in 
which plants of various kinds were thriving finely, 
including varieties of Begonia Rex, Pilea muscosa, 
Platycerium (or Stag’s Horn), and other Ferns, Ficus 
repens, Fittonias and many similar fine-foliaged plants. 
Another stove was devoted to Crotons, Pandanus, 
Capsicums, &e. 
Grown in tubs, and standing on a terrace, were 
beautiful specimens of the narrow-leaved Myrtle, neatly 
trimmed and kept down to a height of 9 ft. The 
sprays or cuttings from which they have been grown to 
their present dimensions were taken from Mrs. Norman’s 
wedding bouquet. The plants are housed in winter. 
The fruit room, Mushroom house, and some other 
structures are built against and hidden by the wall of 
the garden. All of these are new, fitted up in a very 
convenient way, and heated by means of hot-water 
pipes from one of the boilers. The Mushroom beds are 
built in the form of shelves or benches, one over the 
other, and those in bearing showed splendid crops. 
Taken altogether, the houses reflect great credit on 
Mr. Lydiard. 
-->X<-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
Chrysanthemums at Camberwell. 
A few days since I paid a visit to Messrs. Davis & Jones’ 
Nursery, Lilford Road, Camberwell. Seven houses are 
devoted to “Mums,” but the attraction is the large 
show house, 60 ft. by 30 ft., in which thousands of 
plants are carefully arranged from end to end, and the 
appearance was that of a large group of bloom put up 
for competition. Great care had evidently been taken 
in staging the plants, having due regard to colour. 
Plants are to be seen here carrying bloom fit for any 
exhibition board, and ranging in height from Avalanche 
2 ft. high, with three enormous white blooms, to 
Madame C. Audiguier, with equally large blooms, and 
standing 11 ft. or 12 ft. high. Blooms of Edwin 
Molyneux stand out like huge mops. The new 
crimson Japanese Anemone, Nelson, is a fine addition 
to this section, as is Souvenir de Madame Blandiniere, 
a rose-carmine, the tips of the centre florets white, with 
long guard petals. One of the finest white flowers in 
the collection is Madame Louise Leroy, which bids fair 
to rival Avalanche as a pure white deep exhibition 
flower. Mr. Garnar, a bright yellow, is in excellent 
form. Messrs. Davis & Jones have some good blooms 
of their new sport from Mr. Bunn, which has been 
named H. Shoesmith. Amongst the most prominent 
Japanese flowers were Mr. Mencke, a light yellow, with 
twisted florets; Hamlet, with straight florets of a 
reddish brown, very large ; Miss Gorton, blush; M. le 
Comte Foucher de Cariel is a lilac shading to white in 
the centre, a good deep flower ; and Florence Percy, 
which without a doubt is one of the most pretty white 
Japanese “Mums” of recent introduction. Both 
Anemone and incurved flowers are well represented ; of 
the former Thorpe Junr. is one of the best. I noticed 
here that Nouvelle Alveole has turned up again this year 
as M. Castex, sent out by Dr. Audiguier ; there can 
be no mistake about this flower because there is 
nothing like it. Some of the finest blooms of the 
Glenny family I have seen this season are to be found 
in this collection.— A. 
High Elms, Kent. 
Those who grow Chrysanthemums for exhibition con¬ 
trive to have them in full bloom, say during the first 
three weeks of November; then, of course, on all 
hands there is a glut of bloom which is soon over. If 
the flowers are desired for ordinary decorative purposes, 
some growers contrive to extend the season as long as 
possible, and with this object in view, Mr. Taylor 
gardener to Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., grows two 
batches, struck at different times, say November and 
again in March. Those propagated in the latter month 
afford an abundant supply of flowers at Christmas, and 
onwards into January. Some of them are in pots and 
others planted out. During summer the latter neces¬ 
sitate but a minimum amount of attention ; they are 
lifted in autumn, and planted on the inside border of a 
vinery, where they furnish a plentiful supply of bloom, 
although slightly smaller than those grown in pots. 
The early ones already render the greenhouse gay, 
and will continue to do so for some weeks to come. 
Foremost amongst white kinds is Elaine, the pure 
white flowers of which are of good size and beautifully 
formed. Mdlle. Lacroix also shows its long drooping 
florets. Yellow kinds are well represented by Peter 
The Great, Soleil Levant, Mr. Bunn, and Chevalier 
Domage. The latter, a brilliant golden yellow, is 
perhaps the best of its kind in the reflexed section, and 
is here well done. The orange-red, crimson and other 
shades of that type are maintained by Yal d’Andorre, 
Source d’Or, and Marguerite Marrouch. The rosy, 
quilled and loosely-arranged florets of Bouquet Fait 
render it a clean-looking and favourite flower. Rosea 
superba is much darker in colour, very floriferous, and 
only 2 ft. or 2| ft. in height, a matter of great 
importance for conservatory work. A similarly-shaped, 
but much paler flower is Madame de Sevin. Hiver 
Fleuri is also very floriferous and suitable for con¬ 
servatory decoration, and the dull rose colour is very 
distinct. Incurved kinds are not far behind, and 
include such popular sorts as Queen of England, 
Empress of India, Jeanne d’Are, and Mr. Cobay, an 
intensely dark bronzy red sport from Prince of Wales. 
The reflexed Cullingfordii is as rich as ever in colour. 
Amongst the large hybrid Anemone kinds Madame 
Clos is already in fine condition, although no forcing 
whatever has been employed. The heads of the 
Pompon, Model of Perfection, by disbudding, have 
attained a good size. 
Blooms Damping Off. 
What is the cause of Chrysanthemums damping off 
prematurely ? Several growers of exhibition blooms 
are just now asking themselves this question, and so 
far as I can learn, no two agree as to the answer. One 
attributes it to the premature appearance of frost, 
which may be right as regards early varieties. Others 
blame the stimulants, especially the various ammoniacal 
preparations, and fish manure ; and still more attribute 
the visitation to the comparatively sunless and moist 
season, and the pretty frequent feeding with stimulants 
at the same time. The state of the atmosphere has 
nothing to do with it, as 1 have some 300 plants in 
almost as many varieties against a south protected wall 
as good, if not better, than I have seen them during 
the past five years. Damp, of course, never affects 
them. This would seem to give a hint as to the 
remedy, for evidently the nearer we approach open air 
treatment, with just as much stimulant as can be 
elaborated, the nearer—or, rather, the further—we are 
from damping off. Is damping off prematurely general 
this year with exhibition growers ?— JV. J. Murphy, 
Clonmel, 
