108 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 16, 1889. 
FLOfJldl/LTl/S^. 
The Florists’ Laced Pink, 
ThE supporters of the florists’ laced Pink will have 
read with much delight the Editor’s intimation, in last 
week’s issue, that two Pink shows are proposed to be 
held in June and July next, in the Royal Aquarium, 
Westminster, for the purpose of affording all growers 
in the north and south an opportunity of exhibiting 
their blooms when in the nearest state of perfection ; 
and as schedules of prizes will be arranged to suit every 
cultivator of the Pink, even to the cottager, who will 
be able to show a couple or more bunches of the garden 
border Pink, it is hoped that a hearty response will be 
met with so soon as the official circular is issued. 
I am glad to announce that Robert Houlgrave, Esq., 
Castle Rank, Conway, North Wales (a great lover of 
florists’ flowers, and the gentleman Mr. Barlow’s cele¬ 
brated scarlet bizarre Carnation is named after), 
has kindly authorised me to enter his name for one 
guinea so soon as the National Pink Society is formed. 
—James T/iurstan, Finsbury House, Richmond Road, 
Cardiff. 
Hollyhocks, 
To those who were growers of the Hollyhock many years 
since when they were in the zenith of their popularity, 
and that good old florist and horticulturist, Mr. 
William Paul startled us with Lizzie, White Globe, 
and that superb batch which dwells in the memory of 
old growers. I have before me a list of 121 varieties, 
which forms the collection of Hollyhocks at present 
grown at Heathersland, Cornhill-on-Tweed, by Mr. 
George Steel, who has taken up the Hollyhock in 
earnest, and has procured all the best varieties from 
other growers. The Hollyhock is truly a noble garden 
plant, and even good seedlings are valuable as border 
decorative plant?. The time is fast approaching when 
the Hollyhock will generally be seen at the August and 
September exhibitions throughout the country. 
In a letter I have recently received from Mr. Steel, 
he remarks:—“Strange that all Paul’s fine varieties 
seem completely lost, for I have not been able to trace 
one of them, and he seems to have given them up 
himself. I am hard at work trying experiments with 
the Hollyhock fungus. I have it on several of my 
plants, but it did not hurt them at all this year. My 
old roots are buried, and I trust that they will come 
through nice and clean in the spring. It is all very 
well for people to talk of not having any disease on their 
plants, but I doubt them. I have had plants this year 
from three different firms, who say their stock is clean, 
but the plants were a great deal worse than my own. 
I have two friends, growers, who have got clear of the 
disease, but they keep very quiet about it, for they do 
not know how long they may remain so. If growers of 
the Hollyhock would only set to work with a determi¬ 
nation to succeed, I am sure we could get the better of 
the disease, the same as other diseases florists flowers 
are liable to.” 
The Hollyhock disease many years ago led almost to 
its extermination, and we then thought that over¬ 
propagation, to meet the demand, had undermined the 
constitution of the Hollyhock. Two years since, I 
received a batch of plants from Bath, in which I saw 
disease spots, and I wrote to the sender, a good grower, 
on the subject. His advice was, “Grow them freely, 
aud it will do no harm.” I did so, and the disease was 
no trouble to me, and since then I have adopted that 
plan, and had no trouble with them.— JF. Z>ean, 
Floriit, Sparkhill, Birmingham. 
Chrysanthemums Certificated. 
Miss M. A. Haggas. —This is a pleasing, soft yellow, 
incurve! variety, a sport from Mrs. Heale, with medium 
or large-sized heads. 
L Automne. —The flower heads of this variety are of 
moderate size, with broad, deeply involuted, incurved 
florets of a pleasing and distinct buff colour. It is 
described as an incurved variety ; but from its general 
appearance, its proper place would seem to be amongst 
Japanese kinds. 
Sunflower. —The large flower heads of this Japanese 
variety are of a brilliant yellow. The outer florets are 
long and drooping. 
Stanstead White.— This is going to be a fine 
exhibition sort, with stout, incurved, quilled florets. It 
is a pure white Japanese variety, and quite distinct 
from Meg Merrilies. 
Stanstead Surprise. —This Japanese variety pro¬ 
duces large flower heads, and has frequently appeared 
in exhibition stands this year. The florets are spreading, 
deep crimson-red, and rose on the reverse. 
Etoile de Lyon. —For size, this Japanese kind can 
hardly be beaten. The long, spreading, broad, flat 
florets vary from nearly pure white to a deep rosy 
purple. 
All of the above were exhibited at the Crystal 
Palace, on the 8th and 9th inst., by Messrs. J. Laing 
& Sons, Forest'Hill, and received First Class Certifi¬ 
cates. Mr. W. Packman, also exhibited Etoile de 
Lyon and Sunflower, and received certificates for them. 
Mrs. Alpheus Hardy. —The beautiful and distinct 
florets of this grand, new kind are so regularly in¬ 
curved that the variety might almost have been 
included in that section. They are also broad, pure 
white, and furnished on the back with shaggy, bristly, 
somewhat incurved hairs more than a J in. in length ; 
but next year we may fully rely upon the florets being 
broader and the hairs longer. The heads are also 
distinctly scented, some say of Primroses ; but there is 
also a faint but pleasing aromatic odour with it. It 
was shown by Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, 
Tottenham, at the Crystal Palace on the 8th and 9th 
inst., when a First Class Certificate -was awarded it. 
Alice Stevens. —The flower heads of this Pompon 
are brilliant yellow, with the florets broad, flat, and 
distinctly reflexed When fully expanded there is a 
slight tendency for the crown to be slightly open ; 
but this may right itself in time. A stand of it was 
shown at the Crystal Palace on the 8th and 9th inst. 
by Mr. Geo. Stevens, St. Johu’s Nursery, Putney, 
when a First Class Certificate was awarded it. 
Chinese Primroses at the Crystal Palace. 
These were invited at the Chrysanthemum show at 
the Crystal Palace on the 8th and 9th, and I have no 
doubt that other persons besides myself were surprised 
to find that in each of the three classes of twelve 
Chinese Primulas—reds, whites and doubles—it was 
required that the plants should be grown from seed 
sown in the spring of 1889. If the object of the 
prizes was to ascertain what could be done with seed¬ 
ling plants in the space of nine months or so, well 
and good, but it seems difficult to understand why two 
and three-year-old plants were not admitted to com¬ 
pete, because these make by far the largest and best 
exhibition plants, and when well done possess the 
greatest merit, from a cultural point of view. Besides, 
who is to know that the seeds were not sown in the 
month of October or November, 1888, or earlier ? Why 
it should be required that the twelve double varieties 
should be from seed sown in the spring of 1889 passes 
knowledge. The old double white, Lord Beaconsfield, 
and one or two other varieties were shown in good 
condition, but they were not seedling plants, certainly. 
The judges wisely took a common-sense view of the 
matter, and awarded the prizes to the best plants of 
the doubles shown. 
While it is not impossible to have fine plants by 
November from seed sown in February and March, 
special and careful treatment is required, and then 
they are finely grown and grandly bloomed ; but the 
time is short, and the plants need to be grown 
under something like special circumstances. Probably 
this is the reason why Messrs. Sutton & Sons, of 
Reading, in their admirable book on the culture of 
flowers from seeds, recommend that the seeds be sown in 
May and June, and a farther sowing in July if necessary. 
Plants raised at this period of the year make very fine 
specimens by the November twelve-month following,and 
they are then worthy of a place on the exhibition table. 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ remarks on sowing the seeds 
are worth reproducing, because they set forth what is 
so successfully carried out at the Portland Nurseries of 
that eminent firm. “ We prefer to use new pots which 
have been soaked in water, but if these are not at 
hand scrub some old ones clean, for Chinese Primulas 
are scrupulous at the outset, and it is by apparent 
trifles that some growers produce plants so immensely 
superior to others treated with less care. Provide free 
drainage, and place a little dry sifted moss over the 
crocks. Any fairly good rich soil will be suitable, but 
that consisting of equal parts of sound fibrous loam and 
leaf-soil, with a small addition of silver sand, is 
best. Press the compost firmly into the pots to within 
§ in. of the top. Water before sowing, and sprinkle 
sufficient sand over the surface to cover the soil. On 
this sand sow evenly and thinly, for it is well known 
that the finest Primula seed comes up irregularly, and 
a thin sowing admits of the removal of plants that may 
be ready, without disturbing the remainder. Covey 
the seed with just enough fine soil to hide the sand, 
and gently press the surface. Place the pots in a 
sheltered part of the greenhouse, protect from draughts 
and direct sunlight; a small glazed frame will be 
useful for the purpose. 
“While the seed is germinating, the temperature 
should not rise above 70°, or fall below 50°. So 
soon as the plants are large enough, prick off 
round the rim of small pots ; these do best when 
placed in a propagating box. Water with care, 
and shade when necessary. When established, give air, 
which should be daily increased until the plants will bear 
placing on the greenhouse stage. Transfer singly to thumb 
pots, and subsequently shift into larger sizes as may be 
necessary, but never do this until the pots are well 
filled with roots, and always put the plants in firmly 
up to the collar. During July, August, and up to the 
middle of September, they should be freely exposed to 
the air in any convenient position where shelter can be 
given in unfavourable weather.” Messrs. Sutton & Sons 
also say that if a greenhouse be not available it is still 
possible to grow good Primulas with a little care and 
patience. The instructions given can easily be adapted 
to a pit or frame, only there is necessity for a little 
more watchfulness in providing shade on sunny days to 
prevent overheating. 
I conclude with one more extract from this useful 
book. “Endeavour to give the plants a robust con¬ 
stitution from the first, for weak rickety things cannot 
produce a satisfactory bloom. Primulas need a long 
period of growth before they flower, hence they should 
never be subjected to a forcing temperature. Sufficient 
heat must be provided to raise the plants, but afterwards 
the cultivator should aim at making Primulas as nearly 
hardy as possible before cold weather sets in. There 
must, however, be ample protection against frost, damp 
and cutting winds.”— R. D. 
-- 
NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM 
SOCIETY’S ANNUAL EXHIBITION. 
The remarkable popularity of this society was again 
fully demonstrated on the occasion of the annual show 
held at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster, on Tuesday 
and Wednesday last, for despite the lateness of the 
date, for the season, and the agonies which growers 
have suffered through the mild, moist, flower-forcing 
weather recently experienced, they brought their best 
contributions from all parts, and made up such a truly 
excellent and representative display as will not be beaten 
this year anywhere. Judging the show critically, 
we should say that the cut blooms were not quite up to 
the usual standard as regards size, and in some of the 
classes were fewer in number, all the “whoppers” 
having damped and passed into oblivion with some of 
the smaller ones also; still, they were much better 
than could have been expected. The specimen plants, 
on the other hand, were shown in larger numbers and 
of better quality than has been seen here for several 
years, and the large masses of them, together with the 
ordinary groups, on the floor of the main building, 
lent a wealth of colour that was exceedingly pleasing. 
The show of vegetables and fruits, with the exception 
perhaps of Grapes, was as good as ever, while the mis¬ 
cellaneous subjects, always a good feature, fairly beat 
the record. Then what shall we say of the attendance? 
"Well, there were more gardeners present than we have 
seen at any metropolitan show this season; the members 
of the society came in great force, and the general public 
in thousands. On both nights the building was 
crowded, so that the financial results must have been 
satisfactory. It was hoped that the new president 
Lord Brooke, M.P., would bave been able to pay a 
visit to the show, but we understand that previous 
engagements prevented him from being present. The 
election of the new president created much interest 
among the supporters of the society, and many, we 
doubt not, will be glad to see the portrait of his 
lordship, which we have the pleasure to give in our page 
to-day. 
Cut Blooms. 
The Wimbledon and District Horticultural Society had 
this year the honour of winning the Challenge Trophy 
and £10. The twenty-four Japanese varieties were 
very fine, and included grand samples of Lady Lawrence, 
Ralph Brocklebank, Sunflower, Belle Paule, Jeanne 
Delaux, L’Adorable, Japonais, Grandiflorum, Boule 
d’Or, Album fimbriatum, Mdlle. Lacroix, Mrs. J. 
Wright, Meg Merrilies, Mr. Brunet Pelican, and 
Charles Sharman. Amongst the incurved blooms were 
Lord Alcester, Empress of India, Golden Empress, Miss 
M. A. Haggas, Queen of England, Princess of Wales, 
