104 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 14, 1891. 
A PLEA FOR UNLUCKY 
GARDENERS. 
There can be no two opinions as to the craftsman 
with theoretical and practical knowledge having an 
infinite advantage over the craftsman who has prac¬ 
tice only to recommend him, and so I cordially agree 
with all that has been written from time to time 
concerning the careful study of good books, of even¬ 
ing classes, and social gatherings, with a view to the 
encouragement of recording experiences and exchan¬ 
ging ideas. It is, however, rather rough on the poor 
gardener who is "out of collar" and "hard-up" 
(often through no fault of his own), to brand him as 
an ignoramus, and to say that his present unhappy 
position is due to his past neglect to read, mark, and 
learn. As an old traveller, I have again and again 
come in contact with those persons who perpetually 
complain of the lack of good gardeners, and all that 
sort of thing, and secretly know them to be exacting 
and merciless creatures whom no man could satisfy 
or please. I know some of them too, as individuals, 
who have risen in the world by leaps and bounds, 
and they, having escaped the woods, of course, can 
whistle. 
We are all of us, I fear, apt to forget in prosperity 
the days of our adversity—and here I can lay it down 
as a fundamental fact, that it does not always follow 
that learned gardeners command all the best places. 
I can, and do speak with some authority on this 
point, because for many years I had charge of the 
gardeners’ register, at the great Exeter Nursery, from 
whence eminent gardeners have been scattered far 
and wide, and I have often proved that an ordinary 
gardener, possessing tact and influence, generally did 
well. It is, of course, equally true that a gardener 
having tact and influence, together with theoretical 
and practical knowledge, would stand a chance of 
doing still better, apart from the old saw, that once 
a man has gained a reputation for early rising he may 
lie in bed all day ; and so I quite expect that the 
" men of mark" mentioned by Mr. Burbidge owe 
their distinction in a large measure to tact and 
patronage. For instance, there would have been no 
Sir Joseph Paxton, had there not been also a Duke 
of Devonshire; and my late lamented friend John 
Dominy would probably have gone down to his 
grave, a poor obscure Devonshire gardener, instead 
of a wealthy Orchid specialist and hybridiser, but 
for the great house of Veitch. 
If space permitted I could cite plenty of similar 
parallels—and also of the* clever gardeners who, 
hrough a tangled skein of circumstances, have been 
driven out of the profession altogether, to seek refuge 
in petty husbandry, others 'as greengrocers or 
publicans, and not a few alas, into the poor houses. 
I am often grieved to see the intellectual men who 
haunt the London nurseries for berths, or even 
temporary employment as garden labourers, their 
position in some respects being analogous to that 
poor man at the Pool of Bethsaida, who cried :—“ Sir, 
I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me 
into the pool; but while I am coming another 
steppeth down before me."— W. Napper, Chelsea. 
_ - ♦ 
— 
PLANTS FOR WINDOWS. 
In reply to " Enquirer,” who at p. 136 asks for in¬ 
formation respecting the best plants for growing in 
windows in and near Manchester, I may say that, 
as a rule, plants are not generally done well in that 
city, and some of the most suitable for the purpose 
are seldom or never seen in the local markets. This 
cannot be wholly from ignorance, as I have several 
times written on the subject to the Manchester City 
News and other papers. 
The silver-spotted Begonia argyrostigma is one of 
the best of all plants for town windows, as, being 
evergreen and having leaves of a thick, leathery 
texture, it stands washing well when dusty. As a 
basket plant or for trailing in any form there is nothing 
to equal Pelargonium peltatum, the Ivy-leaved 
Stork's Bill. Aspidistra lurida and its variegated 
variety both stand smoke well. Musk can easily be 
grown, and with a few plants in various stages of 
growth nice plants can be had nearly all the year 
roun I. This remark applies more particularly to the 
Common Musk, and its large-leaved variety, Har¬ 
rison’s Musk, is a good window plant, but I do not 
care a fraction for it, the two brown blotches on the 
flower in my opinion quite spoiling it. Mr. Richard 
Dea,n sent me a form two or three years ago which 
had no blotches — a decided improvement on Harri¬ 
son’s. Its odour, moreover, was equal to that of the 
Common Musk. 
The Ivy appears to be a good town plant, for in 
Salford, just over Blackfriars Bridge, a splendid 
plant of the Irish form may be seen trained all about 
a window. Zonal Pelargoniums 'also grow and 
flower well, and several of the scented-leaved species 
are also useful. They used to be common in win¬ 
dows, but some of them I have not seen for years. 
As a rule they are not subject to be much troubled 
with insect pests, and consequently are easily man¬ 
aged. Formerly there was a plant much grown in 
towns under the common name of French Nettle 
(Plectranthus fruticosus). I have seen it growing 
in the dingiest places, but not of late years. The 
common Elderberry was also much grown at one 
time, but there are so many other good things now, 
that it is not worth the space it would require. 
Marica Northiana is perhaps the most extensively 
grown of any plant in the neighbourhood. It is 
seen in every street, almost in every window, and in 
some windows half-a-dozen. It is seldom seen in 
flower, but when in bloom it is, of course, a gem. 
This remark refers also to all the Iris family. The 
leaves are sword-like, about 2 in. wide, and from 
12 in. to 18 in. in length, arranged somewhat in the 
form of a fan, which gives it a noble appearance. 
My friend, Councillor James Wild, calls it the 
" Oldham Window Blind," not an unhappy designa¬ 
tion. 
Vallotta purpurea is extensively grown in this 
district, and flowers grandly in cottage windows. 
I hope " Inquirer ” will not meddle with its specific 
name, purpurea, as it is all right. I saw lately a 
remark in a contemporary that the Editor did not 
understand why it was so called. Saxifraga sarmen- 
tosa, the Pedlar's Basket, also does grandly in 
baskets and reproduces itself by means of runners 
like Strawberries, It is also called Mother of Thou¬ 
sands, but of course there is another plant bearing 
this name, viz., LinariaCymbalaria, w'hich is equally 
as good as the Saxifraga, if not quite so handsome. 
Oxalis acetosella for damp, shady places has few 
equals, being evergreen. Oxalis violacea grows and 
flourishes magnificently, near the gas works at 
Middleton. It loves sunshine, Tradeseantia zebrina 
for a basket is also excellent.— Janies Percival, Smithy 
Bridge, near Rochdale. 
-—-—- 
HONEST EXHIBITING. 
It is rare that any horticultural society committee 
has the courage shown by that of Hull as reported i n 
your columns last week. Probably there are few who 
have ever exhibited at flower shows whose hands 
are absolutely clean, or who can cast stones at others. 
None the less there is much that is unfair winked at 
because,there is some fear lest exposure should 
bring harm to the society affected. 
It would perhaps be difficult to find a man who 
has never under any circumstances either declined 
help in exhibits or has refused to help others. The 
morality of the proceedings has been governed by 
the fact that inability to accede to the full conditions 
of the schedule was rather a misfortune than a fault, 
or else that it was thought the filling of classes some¬ 
how, fair or unfair, would be for the general benefit 
of the show. But it would often happen that classes 
would be indifferently filled, did not small helps 
between one and another of exhibitors be given occa¬ 
sionally, there can be no doubt. 
Assuming that schedules make no stipulation as 
to previous growth, or possession a certain time 
before the show is held, then no description of help¬ 
ing is proscribed. As a rule the conditions of 
competitions require possession of exhibits sometime 
prior to the date of the show, to ensure that they be 
of the bona fide growth of the exhibitor. The rule is 
a salutary one, and in all cases where there is a gross 
attempt at deception should be rigidly enforced; 
whilst it is none the less very difficult to do so 
except when evidence is furnished of a very em¬ 
phatic kind. 
Probably few committees would trouble to 
animadvert on small peccadilloes because they harm 
no one. It is when outrageous attempts to deceive 
are made that they become little less than frauds, 
and demand punishment. Judging by the decisicn 
of the judge in the Hull case, the effort to decei\e 
was a bad one, and merited all that followed. Ti e 
publication of the report of the case cannot fail to co 
good, and will help to sustain those horticultuial 
committees favourable to morality!— A. D, 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
New Chrysanthemums at Camberwell. 
Mr. Norman Davis, of the Lilford Nurseries, has some 
interesting novelties on view at the present moment 
as he usually has. His plants this year are all very 
dwarf compared with those we have seen there in 
times gone by, but they lose nothing by the change. 
Continental seedlings have always been a feature at 
Camberwell, but, considering the large number dis¬ 
tributed this year, it is unsatisfactory to note that a 
very small proportion appear to have attained any 
degree of perfection, but this is by no means an ex¬ 
ceptional experience. 
The best of all is Vi viand Morel, a splendid variety, 
largely grown at Camberwell, and in every instance 
justifying the high opinion that has already been 
formed of it. Comte Lurani is very promising, being 
a nicely formed Japanese flower of a distinct shade 
of pink, heavily flushed with rose. Marquise de 
Clapier is a globular reflexed flower, deep rose 
amaranth. Cardinal Toulon is a Japanese most 
brilliantly coloured with deep amaranth. Mme. 
Darquier, another striking flower of the same section, 
with whorl shaped florets, having a yellow centre 
and pointed petals rose and white. Alex Vogel, of 
the Hamlet type, is a delicate soft rose. M Dupan- 
loup, a new Japanese Anemone, deep lilac-mauve, is 
not unlike Souvenir de Mme. Blandiniere. 
Amongst new French incurves are Ann Hoste, very 
deep build, yellow flushed purple petals of good form ; 
also Mme. Rowan, a dainty little incurve of purest 
white. Camille Flammarion at Camberwell runs 
rather coarse, having loose petals, and the colour 
rather dirty. There are several new sports and seed¬ 
lings, besides the usual quantity of old- established 
varieties. 
Louis Bcehmer. 
The Variability of this new Japanese variety is 
already an established fact. Not only does tile 
flower vary in colour but also in form. The colour 
depends greatly, no doubt, upon whether the crown 
or the terminal buds have been taken, just as in a 
large number of other Japanese varieties, and upon 
general treatment. The darkest variety may be de¬ 
scribed as purple, even on the reverse, while the florets 
are so strongly incurved that the plumy appearance, 
characteristic of the ostrich plume race, is seen to 
best advantage. The flowers of the lighter form are 
larger and more reflexed, especially the outer florets, 
apparently narrower, owing to their length, and lilac- 
pink, with a densely crowded centre of florets, which 
are yellowish or greenish-yellow for a long time be¬ 
fore expansion. Individual blooms fade to a blush 
hue or almost white, and in a few years we should 
expect to get a pure white variety, which will be an 
acquisition provided the constitution of the plant is 
as good as that of Louis Boehmer itself. Mrs. 
Alpheus Hardy may then be discarded unless its cul¬ 
tivation can be better understood. The usual height 
of Louis Boehmer is 3 ft. to 3Jft., and the leaves are 
but slightly divided, very leathery, and more or less 
tinted with a bronzy hue, which is generally 
charcteristic of robustness and vigour. In the course 
of another year mostly everybody must have it. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM 
PRESIDENT RENE DE ST. FOIX. 
We are now in a position to illustrate one of the 
many new and early flowering Japanese varieties, 
which have been raised on the Continent, and intro¬ 
duced to this country for the first time this year. The 
bloom is of large size, and, when taken from the 
crown bud, it expands during the first week of Sep¬ 
tember on stems only)30 in. high. The florets are of 
a bright carmine-red, with a bright yellow reverse 
and tip. When theterminal bud is taken the plant 
attains a height of 44 in., and blooms during the first 
week of October, and we first made our acquaintance 
with it at that time. The half-expanded blooms were 
very conspicuous, owing to the amount of yellow seen 
in contrast to the carmine-red. The florets are not 
quite so broad as those of the crown bud, but 
they are variously splashed with yellow on the upper 
surface towards the tips. Our illustration was made 
from terminal blooms, kindly supplied us by Mr. H'. 
J. Jones, Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham, 
who obtained 497 new sorts from the Continent this 
season. The new varieties give unmistakeable 
evidence of the possibility of holding a Chrysan¬ 
themum show during the first or second week of 
October., or even earlier for the matter of that ; ' for 
