November 2, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
137 
The Blue Chrysanthemum. 
"While savants like Mr. Harman Payne, and nursery¬ 
men like Messrs. Cannell are looking to Japan for the 
blue Chrysanthemum, it may he instructive to inquire 
what varieties we have already that most nearly ap¬ 
proach to it. Of the older kinds, probably Dormillon, 
large Japanese, bluish purple, one of Lacroix’s 1883 
introductions, is the nearest resemblance. 
One of the newer varieties I am acquainted with, 
Theodore Bullier, a fine violet-purple Japanese re¬ 
flexed, surely must have “blue blood,” from whatever 
source obtained. The important question then arises 
whether it be not more judicious for the hybridists to 
try and obtain a blue Chrysanthemum from their 
present materials than look to Japan. Some of your 
readers may add other varieties to experiment with.— 
W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
Elsie (see p. 133) is a neat and beautifully-reflexed 
variety, of medium or even large size for that class, and, 
as will be observed, is very similar in general aspect to 
Amy Furze, figured in our last week’s number. The 
flower-heads are of a pale canary-yellow on their first 
expansion, and ultimately fade to a pale creamy 
white. 
The plant is of moderate height, and flowers during 
October and November. Its popularity is chiefly 
determined by its value for decorative purposes, as the 
plant is bushy, moderate in dimensions, and produces 
a large number of heads of a useful size for conservatory 
purposes, or for the cut-flower basket. It comes of 
the best quality when allowed to bloom fairly freely, 
but is coarse when grown on the single-stem system. 
"We are indebted to Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons for the 
opportunity of illustrating the two varieties. 
appear to dispute their company in the least. It is 
perfectly clear that the wireworm has a decided 
weakness for some kind or other of vegetable matter, 
yet I would not be the least astonished to find that it 
also can subsist on any organic substance. The 
difficulty with which it is destroyed by chemicals when 
isolated from the soil places it hopelessly beyond their 
reach when in the latter. Therefore we cannot expect 
much aid from that source for their destruction. 
I may mention here a few chemical tests which I 
have tried in order to determine their effect upon this 
worm. I put two worms into the best undiluted 
paraffin oil, and after a submersion of five minutes 
they were apparently none the worse. A strong solution 
of sulphide of potassium (when I say strong, I mean 
much stronger than could ever be applied to vegetation) 
was poured over another lot, and in the same period 
Chrysanthemum, Edwin Molyneux. 
POPULAR CHRYSANTHEMUMS- 
Those popular varieties, Edwin Molyneux and Elsie, 
were hoth introduced in 1886, and since then have 
become leading sorts with a large number of growers, 
although their characters, qualities, size and utilitarian 
objects are widely different. The first-named is an 
exhibition variety of the first water, that came out 
prominently at the November exhibition of the 
National Chrysanthemum Society last year, furnishing 
the largest blooms in the show. It is a Japanese 
variety of the same type as Comte de Germiny, but the 
florets are, as a rule, less compactly incurved ; the 
latter are, however, of enormous length and great 
breadth, of a rich maroon or crimson-red on the upper 
surface, and deep golden yellow on the reverse. Owing 
to the somewhat variable position and direction of the 
florets, both of the surfaces are visible to the eye in 
fully expanded specimens, and the whole bloom is of 
noble and telling aspect. A splendid future seems 
before it for exhibition purposes. 
THE WIREWORM. 
To the gardener the presence of wireworms in a Vine 
border perhaps occasions as much alarm as the approach 
of a cholera epidemic does to the sanitary authorities. 
It would be both unwise and unfair to insinuate that a 
healthy dread of this garden pest is not well sustained. 
At the same time I believe its rapacious and destructive 
proclivities have been enormously exaggerated. There 
is much to support its destructive nature in some 
directions, while in as many more the evidence is 
necessarily negative. Perhaps, in the case of its 
alleged devastations in Vine borders by attacking the 
roots, too much blame has been attached to the wire- 
worm. The evidence in this department is far from 
being satisfactory, and is certainly anything but con¬ 
clusive. Still, it may be quite possible that even Vine 
roots can be digested by this larvie, though I would 
presume that this would come about more by a law of 
necessity than of demand. I know where a Vine border 
is actually full of wireworm, and the Vines do not 
as the last experiment no apparent damage was done to 
the vitals of the worm. Permanganate of potassium 
was next tried with the same result, and ferric-cyanide 
of potassium fared not a bit better. I next applied a 
very strong solution of sulphate of ammonia, and 
barring a little uneasiness occasioned to the worms, no 
definite effect resulted. Chloride of barium was next 
tried, and appeared to be the most potent of any, 
though not causing death in the prescribed time. A 
dilute solution of nitrate of silver did not give definite 
results, nor did that of gallic acid. Common salt 
(chloride of sodium) and sodium hydrate (caustic soda) 
did not reveal that this application to a soil with the 
intent of destroying the worm would be of any service. 
However, there remains the possibility that common 
salt, owing to its harmless character when abundantly 
applied to vegetables, may act as a fair preventative. 
I then tried the effect of a few more drastic chemicals 
than any of the above. A few drops of hydrochloric 
acid poured over the worm did not act with immediate 
effect as I expected it would, and the strongest acetic 
