April 25, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
545 
bedding Coleus (C. Verschaffeltii), of which you 
speak, in point of hardiness, a few degrees of frost 
would be fatal to either. 
Choisya ternata. —Is this plant hardy ? I have 
one or two specimens of it growing in my green¬ 
house, and as they have got too] large for the house, 
I thought of planting them out in the open if they 
will flourish there. How am I to set about raising 
a stock of young ones for growing on in pots ?— F. 
Downton. 
Choisya ternata will do very well out-of-doors in 
the southern counties. If it can be given a warm 
corner against a south wall so much the better. In 
your locality (Reading), it should succeed very well. 
Cuttings composed of fairly ripened shoots will 
strike easily enough if inserted in sandy soil in a 
gentle heat, and covered with a bell-glass. They 
should be taken off at the beginning of the summer. 
-—j*- 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
As I have received numerous enquiries respecting 
the treatment of the undermentioned varieties, I 
think the following remarks may be found useful, 
and prevent disappointment. 
Mrs. H. Weeks. —I notice in various lists of 
novelties that stopping in May is recommended for 
this vaiiety. No doubt this would be early enough 
for growers in the South, but is misleading to those 
far north of London. Here, in the Midlands, I find 
about April 20th the best time. 
Lady Byron. —Care should be taken not to over¬ 
pot this variety ; for, although it has a vigorous 
growth, it does not make roots in proportion, and is 
apt to become weak and sickly if overpotted, an 8-in. 
pot being ample. This should be stopped early in 
May, and the second bud taken. 
Mrs. Armistead. —I notice the crown bud is 
recommended for this variety, but I find the second 
crown or “ terminal ” are best, as blooms from crown 
buds produce a quantity of quilled florets, which are 
absent in those from later buds. 
Mrs. G. Carpenter. —This is a strong grower, 
and requires a 10-in. pot; it comes good on any bud, 
but preference should be given to crown buds.— H. 
Weeks. 
———»*- 
THE DAFFODIL CONFERENCE AT 
REGENT’S PARK. 
The Daffodil Conference was held at Regent’s Park, 
on Tuesday, April 14th, under the auspices of the 
Royal Botanic Society of London, in the museum 
belonging to the Botanic Gardens. Mr. J. G. Baker, 
F.L.S , F.R.S., of the Herbarium, Kew, presided. 
Most of the leading lights in the Daffodil world were 
conspicuous, either upon the platform or amongst 
the general audience, listening whilst all the pros and 
cons of Daffodil culture, and the great possibilities of 
the gorgeous flower were discussed and conferred 
upon most exhaustively. An exceedingly attractive 
and imposing array of papers had been furnished by 
a number of contributors, no less than eleven dealing 
with various various phases of the noble flower 
appearing upon the schedule, although time per¬ 
mitted the reading of only seven of these. Still, a 
vast amount of ground was covered, and the Queen 
of hardy spring flowers was surely never in greater 
prominence, for eminent botanists and horticulturists 
of rare skill, together with many amateur cultivators 
had, for the time being, gone Daffodil mad. Each little 
item of news concerning the behaviour under various 
conditions, trying and otherwise, of the numerous 
species and varieties composing the genus Narcissus 
was eagerly seized upon by an attentive audience, and 
the interest never flagged from first to last. This 
was doubtless due in a great measure to the happy 
manner in which the chairman arranged the delivering 
of the papers with regard to their relative sequences, 
no particular point being dwelt upon at undue length 
or to the disadvantage of others ; for the audience 
was deftly guided from phase to phase of the subject, 
and here, as ever, change of theme meant rest. 
Mr. F. W. Burbidge, M.A., F.L.S. 
To this gentleman fell the task of opening the confer¬ 
ence with an address upon the “ Past, Present, and 
Future of the Narcissi." Mr. Burbidge, as many of 
our readers are aware, is possessed of rare skill as a 
lecturer, and has the ability of exciting the interest 
and appreciation of his hearers. With reference to 
the past of the Daffodil, the lecturer said that it dated 
back to very ancient times. It was accorded honour¬ 
able mention by both Homer and Sophocles. Some 
dried up flowers had been found from time to time 
in mummy cases in Cairo, where they had been 
interred, at least as far back as the year 2000 b.c. 
This was conclusive evidence that even at that far¬ 
away period the Daffodil must have been known and 
valued—possibly regarded with great reverence, or it 
would scarcely have been set apart for the honour of 
interment with the honourable remains of deceased 
celebrities. 
Speaking of the poet’s Narcissus, this was not N. 
poeticus, as the name given to this species would 
imply, but N. Tazetta, which is popularly known as 
the Polyanthus Narcissus. The common Lent Lily 
was the only species that was common to Great 
Britain, although several others had been naturalised 
here in various ways. Probably the Phoenicians 
during their frequent visits to Cornwall in search of 
tin were largely responsible for this. Any¬ 
way, in Cornwall and in the Scilly Islands, off 
the south-west coast, Daffodil-growing had 
become of late years, an important industry. 
From the Scilly Islands, particularly, there were 
shipped each year vast quantities of flowers, which 
ultimately found their way into most, if not all, of 
our great markets. Daffodil-growing for market 
threefold way. First, their work was interesting ; 
secondly, it might prove an invaluable aid. to science ; 
and thirdly, it was profitable. 
In conclusion, the lecturer paid a well-merited 
tribute to the decorative value of the Daffodil, saying 
that at the present time all the gardens and pleasure 
grounds pertaining to private establishments were 
adorned by it, whilst our public parks and botanic 
gardens, such as Kew, were all ablaze with a 
glistening sheen of gold that could scarcely fail to 
attract the attention, and win the admiration of 
all beholders. 
Mr. Baker, in commenting upon Mr. Burbidge’s 
admirable paper,said that there was no good book treat¬ 
ing of the past history of the Narcissus, although in 
many pre-Linnaean works, such as those of Parkinson 
and Schwertz, a number of flowers are figured. 
Many of our so-called hybrids had been known in 
gardens for a long time, and it was a great pity that 
there should not be a more authentic history extant 
concerning them. He could wish that Mr. Burbidge 
would add a detailed history of the Narcissus to his 
already published monograph of the genus. 
Rev. E. S. Bourne. 
A most practical and valuable paper upon the 
Narcissus Madame de Graaff (see page 542). 
might be regarded as fairly remunerative, for an acre 
of them, bulbs and flowers included, might be worth 
anything from £50 to £500. 
With regard to the future of the Narcissus, Mr. 
Burbidge said that what we wanted was flowers of 
finer form, larger size, and better texture, like N. 
maximus, and N. ovallaris. The plants of the future 
must also be very free flowering, that is to say, the 
increase in size of the individual bloom must not be 
effected at the expense of the general floriferousness. 
We also want more colours— tri- instead of bi-colours. 
Again, we were in search of better forms of the starry 
Narcissus. At the present time the best of these 
came from Ireland, and were hybrids of N. poeticus, 
and N. poetarum. 
In hybridising and cross breeding it should be 
borne in mind that the seminal vigour of the wild 
plants, such as those of France and Spain, far 
exceeded that of the cultivated forms, which were 
doubtless weakened to a great extent by continual in- 
breeding. Thus the results of a cross between two 
such fine varieties as Sir Watkin and Horsfieldii were 
comparatively poor and unsatisfactory. Those who 
were engaged in the improvement and development 
of our lovely spring flower by hybridisation and 
cross-breeding were encouraged in their labours in a 
“ Cultivation of Narcissi by an Amateur," was next 
read by the Rev. E. S. Bourne. In defining the 
scope of his essay, that gentleman declared that he 
wished to speak to, and for the benefit, of beginners 
merely, and not to the old hands. Furthermore, the 
information he intended to convey was entirely the 
result of his own personal experience. The name 
Narcissus was the one applied to the whole of the 
members of the genus, that of '\ e Daffodil to those 
flowers possessing long crowns or trumpets, In 
commencing the culture of the Narcissi there were five 
points which par ticularly recommended themselves 
to careful notice. They were :—( is t) s °il and situa¬ 
tion ; (2nd) time of planting; (3rd) supply of nourish¬ 
ment ; (4th) time of lifting; (5tk) some good 
varieties. These points he would consider in order. 
While Narcissi required plenty of water when 
they were growing, they resented a water-logged 
soil, and hence the first thjDg must be to secure good 
drainage. The ideal soil was a medium loam con¬ 
taining a fair proportion of gutty material, with a 
porous subsoil. If the soil is too heavy, and not 
naturally well drained, the site upon which it is pro¬ 
posed to plant should be dug out to the depth of 
from 2\ ft. to 3 ft., and a layer of stones or brick 
rubbish put in, covering this With hedge toppings to 
