181 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 23, 1889. 
F^ofJidUbTiff^. 
Carnations. 
In the Gardeners' Magazine for August 24th we had a 
most interesting paper by our friend, Mr. R. Dean, on 
“Fancy, Self, and Yellow-ground Carnations,” closing 
with these words 
“ The yellow-ground ilowers are becoming very 
numerous indeed, and, it must be admitted, quite be¬ 
wildering. The Kilmurry strain appears to mainly take 
the character of flaked flowers—that is to say, the 
prevailing ground-colour is yellow, with varying shades 
of colours and breadths of the flakes. Then, under the 
comprehensive term yellow grounds, we get pure yellow 
to buff, salmon-buff, and pinkish buff. Mrs. Reynolds 
Hole, for instance, is classed among the yellow grounds, 
and others of an even deeper shade ; and as every raiser 
appears bent on producing seedling yellows, we shall 
presently have hundreds of them. They want classifi¬ 
cation, but who is competent to undertake the task I 
cannot say. There should be a class for yellow seifs— 
such flowers as Germania, Will Threlfall, Pride of 
Penshurst, Edith, &c. Then the flaked flowers—by far 
the largest number—should form a section by them¬ 
selves ; and next should come the yellow Picotees 
proper. True yellow Picotees—flowers having the 
colour on the petal, edged, solidified, and in the form 
of a definite beading, as in the case of the other Picotees, 
need to be classified. Of these we have but few, but it 
is very desirable the varieties should be extended. 
“I think that a good many of the yellow grounds 
s) called—such as Mrs. Reynolds Hole, Amber, 
Florence, and others—should go among the self flowers. 
Yellow grounds should be yellow, whether Carnations or 
Picotees. I hope that in all future competitions this 
will be insisted upon by judges and by compilers of 
schedules. I heard many remarks tending in this 
direction from growers at Oxford ; and it is with a view 
of ventilating the subject I have penned the foregoing 
remarks.” 
I was under many and special obligations to my 
friend for the great service he rendered in the super¬ 
intendence of the show on August 1st—service it was 
impossible for me, from sheer infirmity, to give, and 
thus, doubtlessly, I missed all knowledge of the 
reference to yellow grounds spoken of. Had I been 
aware of the discussion I would certainly have made a 
contribution to it. Failing that, I trust I shall not be 
thought impertinent in seeking now to do so. 
We are all under great obligation to our friend far 
the many and informing papers he writes on flori¬ 
culture, and rare indeed it ia when reason and 
experience do not run on parallel lines with him. But 
I must confess the words I quote appear to me to carry 
us much farther than it is desirable to go, and to be 
pregnant of consequences undesirable to realise. In all 
humility, let me say I claim neither to be guide nor 
guardian for my fellow lovers of the Carnation. I ask 
only they shall be guided by laws, open, at least, to 
intelligent interpretation as much by the young as by 
the old. Age gives me this advantage only—-that I 
have noted the rocks on which shipwreck, may be, has 
been made. 
I think I see one in that very trite proposition, 
“ yellow grounds should be yellow, whether Carnations 
or Picotees." May I say here once again that Picotees 
are a section of Carnations—as with flakes, bizarres, 
seifs, or fancies. As Hogg wrote, we should speak not 
of the Picotee, but the picoUed Carnation. Of course 
a yellow ground should be yellow ; but what do our 
friends mean ? If we go to Nature, we find an infinite 
variety of shades of yellow, from pale straw and delicate 
primrose to warm orange or umber. The Rev. George 
Jeans, in his invaluable essays, tells us of variety “from 
whatever source, however arising, it is essential that 
the florists’ flower which would claim a high position 
should not be deficient in this”: and Dr. Horner, in 
his masterly plea for the yellow Picotee, urges that in 
its yellow ground, with its “ capability of every shade 
from primrose to deep yellow,” it “ possesses an amount 
of contrast, variety, combination and singleness of 
colour which in all fairness entitles it to be esteemed 
the most lovely, striking and beautiful of its tribe.” If, 
then, our friends, by their “ yellow should be yellow" 
intend anything beyond a barren truism, there must be 
limitation in their requirements, and so we make 
shipwreck of variety. God forbid that forty years after 
the teaching of Mr. Jeans, florists may be so insane I 
Verily might I write, forty years long have I been 
troubled with the hard and fast lines of old school 
florists, for well I remember the long struggle needed 
to obtain for the inimitable pink and purple bizarre— 
Sarah Payne—recognition on the show table, at the 
hands of many in that far-off time. And now, on the 
very threshold, as I believe, of the most important 
development ever known of the Carnation—the calling 
into existence of the yellow ground, with its wealth of 
colour and boundless variety—that we should be met 
with the proposition to map and scale and tie and bind 
that variety, appears to me to be the very climax of 
pretension, and I hope my friends will take much 
thought before they move in such a direction. For 
more than five years I have given a close and interested 
attention to this subject, with advantages probably not 
surpassed in any other quarter, and the conclusion 
which added experience has more and more forced upon 
me is the undesirability of attempting definition at the 
present stage. So strongly, indeed, was this impressed 
upon me from an early day, that when preparing our 
schedule for the past show, a note, as follows, was 
appended to the special prizes for yellow grounds, 
single specimens :—“ The judges are instructed to 
award these prizes to the best and most effective flowers, 
whether seifs or with markings, and whether the 
markings be longitudinal or curvilinear, or of mixed 
character.” 
Now this note, though originated by me, went to 
every member of the executive of the Carnation Union 
in proof sheet before issue to our friends, and it seems 
strange that in a discussion so directly traversing its 
spirit no reference whatever should have been made to 
its existence. I can only suppose our friends were— 
as I have known more than once upon matters of 
import in former times—filled with the imaginings of 
that older time, and could not grasp the new lessons 
which altered conditions should impart. What those 
new lessons in their full import shall be, it appears to 
me to be altogether premature to attempt to determine. 
What alone appears clear is the marvellous variety, 
relatively to the white grounds, the yellow grounds 
give to us in their infinite diversity and shades of 
colour, an I in their mole of coloration, and I respect¬ 
fully and very earnestly invite my friends to fully 
possess themselves with what that shall teach before 
they resolve what shall be within rule and compass, 
and what shall be without. Classification has its 
useful place amongst flowers beyond all doubt, but far 
more important to the florist is the cultivation of the 
artistic element. The more fully they realise the “joy 
for ever” involved in the “ thing of beauty,” the more 
they go to Nature and note her glories and simplicities, 
the more will they turn from dogma and the ignorant 
formulas in which, as a rule, it revels. Form, with 
its infinite expression ; colour, with its glorious 
harmonies ; contrast, in its masculine force ; and 
combination, in its enchanting results, will be ever an 
informing study, leading always to higher and yet 
higher ideals—ever enlarging, never restricting ; and 
minds so formed will not peddle as to a shade of colour, 
the breadth or direction of a stripe, or as to varying form. 
What is to be in the future I know not ; but if the 
Carnation amongst its great variety should take 
upon itself the winged form of some Lilies even, 
marvellous as the departure might seem, I have faith 
to believe the florist I have painted would rejoice in 
God, and gratefully accept His glorious gift.— E. S. 
Dodwell, The Cottage, Stanley Road, Oxford, November, 
1889. 
Auriculas Blooming in Autumn. 
Tins—what the Rev. F. D. Horner styles “the 
Primulaceous trick” of the Primula family—is un¬ 
doubtedly showing itself in the Auricula to a very large 
extent this season. Mr. J. Douglas states that “no 
method of culture seems to alter it.” I do not think 
early or late potting has much, if anything, to do with 
it, but perhaps seasons move. The past summer and 
autumn proved a very generous one for the Auricula. 
It scarcely seemed to avail itself of its natural season of 
summer rest. The plants appeared to grow generously 
all the summer, as if some irresistible force bore them 
on, and activity was an inevitable consequence. Has 
anyone ever noted the effects on autumn blooming pro¬ 
duced by a moist and generous season, and a hot, dry, 
and retarding one ? It may be that the secret lies 
here ; but my own plants are singularly free from 
autumn trusses, and yet they were scarcely inactive at 
any time during the summer. 
I have some seedlings blooming, but I encourage 
them to do so, for the sake of the autumn flower. 
As a matter of course they do not last long, owing to 
the damp and foggy character of the month. If a 
plant of promise blooms, the flowers are at once 
pinched out and the plant marked. If, on the other 
hand, the bloom is inferior, then it is allowed to 
remain to give a little brightness of tint in the autumn 
months. Autumn trusses on exhibition Auriculas are 
something in the form of a calamity, for as Mr. 
Douglas remarks, “the most vexatious part of it is, 
that none of these late autumn-flowering plants will 
give first-rate trusses when we want them to be at 
their best in April next year.” Unfortunately, this 
is so. — P. D. 
-->X<-- 
LARGE ONIONS. 
A great many of the standard or leading varieties of 
Onion in cultivation can be grown to a great size, by 
good methods of culture, in good soil; but the tendency 
of the present age is to raise new varieties that may 
be rightly termed big Onions. Amongst these the 
Large Round Giant Madeira stands out very promi¬ 
nently. It is ovoid in outline, very deep, and of a 
pale red when the outer and looser coats are removed. 
Another variety of this type is the Cocoa-nut, which, 
in rich soil, attains striking dimensions. In fairly 
good seasons it ripens up splendidly, forming bulbs of 
great firmness, admirably adapted for exhibition pur¬ 
poses. When properly matured, the skin is of a pale 
straw-brown colour. 
It is a selection from another sort, named Excelsior, 
and its general appearance may be recognised from our 
illustration. The great depth of this variety detracts 
somewhat from its width. Ailsa Craig is another 
deeply ovoid sort, attaining a diameter of 4 ins. or 
5 ins. Some of the flattened Onions also attain won¬ 
derful dimensions, including the Anglo-Spanish, 3 ins. 
to 5^ ins. in diameter, and Rousham Park Hero, 4 ins. 
to 51; ins. across, straw-yellow of pale brown, and very 
much flattened. In order to obtain Onions of these 
dimensions, the seed must be sown under glass, even if 
it be only a cold frame early in February, and trans¬ 
ferred to the open ground in the last week of April. 
Plenty of space must be left between the rows, as well 
as between each, and if a good mulching of well-rotted 
manure be given during the growing period, so much 
the better, for the Onion is a gross feeder. 
-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR DECO¬ 
RATIVE PURPOSES. 
At first sight it might seem that Chrysanthemums, 
from a decorative point of view, might he left to take 
care of themselves ; but the question might well be 
asked whether much good might not result by giving 
them encouragement at exhibitions of the universally 
popular flower. A class might be specially made for 
them, and moderately liberal prizes offered to induce 
the regular cultivation of varieties suitable for the 
purpose. Those who have seen them well grown 
cannot but admire their suitability for the decoration 
of the conservatory. 
Modern exhibitors are wont to point to their tall 
leggy specimens of some 6 ft. to 9 ft., bearing one or at 
most but three flowers on the top, and then boast of 
the triumphs of horticultural skill, as if perfection 
alone could be attained by mere size. No one, or but 
few, would question the handsome character of such 
productions to the stands of the exhibition table ; but 
it is a well-known fact that horticultural shows fre¬ 
quently give encouragement to the raising and growing 
of fruits, flowers and vegetables that have only size 
and appearance to recommend them, at the expense 
of quality. Potatos, Gooseberries, Pumpkins, Grapes, 
Rhubarb, and many other things might be referred to 
as instances. Now economy and utility should above 
all things be encouraged. Upon reflection it would 
seem that the prime motive for growing Chrysanthe¬ 
mums should be for decorative purposes and not for 
exhibition. 
The beauty of a group that is dwarf enough to come 
under the eye is already well recognised and appre¬ 
ciated, and in order to obtain this some growers have 
recourse to the cutting-back system, with good results. 
Tolerably large flowers can be obtained on dwarf plants 
by this system, which is deserving of further en¬ 
couragement. They are more adapted for the decoration 
of small conservatories than the tall ones, which in 
many cases are quite inadmissible. Again, a group of 
these tall plants, as they are frequently seen at 
exhibitions, would be impracticable in a conservatory, 
for the simple reason that the crowding of plants is 
excessive in order to get the. desired display of bloom, 
and to further this purpose many of the pots are stood 
on the top of others containing plants. This can 
neither be termed good practice nor good taste. Prizes 
are now offered for groups containing Chrysanthemums 
mixed with other subjects, but such cannot be termed 
