164 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 10, 1894. 
aphides. A small moth of the Tineina 
class seems the most difficult enemy to 
battle with, but according to our experience 
it is chiefly troublesome during dry summers 
only, as in last year. It penetrates the 
flower stalks just beneath the bud, and thus 
prevents it from any further development. 
Were Chrysanthemums presently to get 
into disfavour, and be neglected by allowing 
them to stand or grow in places overgrown 
with weeds, they would soon get ruined 
with insect pests. At present, however, 
there is not the slightest sign of such 
neglect or misfortune. During the present 
and next week the queen of autumn flowers 
has and will be reviewed and commented 
upon by all classes of people, traders, 
gardeners, amateur growers, and the British 
public generally. It is remarkable with what 
enthusiasm amateurs will rehearse their 
successes with certain varieties, and curious 
to note the firmness of their decision to dis¬ 
card others as worthless, although they have 
given them only one trial during the present 
unfavourable season. There is such a 
wealth of variety to select from that no 
despondence is exhibited at failure with 
certain sorts. We are surprised, however, 
that some growers should place W. H. 
Lincoln, Val d’Andorre, and J. S. Dibbins 
in the category of varieties that fail to give 
satisfaction. 
The leading Chrysanthemum show for 
London, or, indeed, for Britain, has again 
been carried to a successful issue, and the 
thousands of visitors who attended it were 
more charmed than ever with the gorgeous 
display of bloom. Even connoisseurs who 
are well versed in all that pertains to the 
glorious autumn flower admitted that their 
expectations were more than realised after 
such a lengthened and sunless season as the 
past. The incurved varieties were hardly 
up to the standard in size and finish ; and 
the general opinion was that they werelacking 
in rich colouring and variety. The bad 
season has been more prejudicial to them 
than to their redoubtable rivals of the 
Japanese section. The fact is that the 
latter are more pliable, and continue to 
improve by the introduction of newer and 
larger blooms that more readily respond to 
the art of the cultivator, and so keep up 
their reputation and public interest in spite 
of the adverse and fickle British climate. 
The public interest they created more than 
made up for the deficiency of the incurved 
varieties. Competitive groups were con¬ 
spicuous by their absence, much to the 
disappointment of many. Table decora¬ 
tions gained considerably in interest and 
effectiveness on this occasion, and the 
American style of exhibiting blooms cut 
with long stems and artistically arranged in 
vases was much admired by an appreciative 
public. On the whole, Chrysanthemum 
culture is still full of life and healthy vigour, 
and seems likely to go on prospering for 
many years to come. 
Royal Horticultural Society. —At the next meeting 
of this Society, which takes place in the Drill Hall, 
Westminster, on Tuesday next, a lecture on Chry¬ 
santhemums will be given by Mr C. E. Shea, at 
3 P or 
The South Shields Chrysanthemum Show, not 
previously included in our list, is fixed to be held on 
the 14th and 15th inst., and promises to be better 
than ever. 
Death of Mr. Henry Sibray of Sheffield.— We regret 
to hear of the death on the 24th. ult., at his resi¬ 
dence, The Hollies, Handsworth, of Mr. Henry 
Sibray, of the old established, and much respected 
firm of Messrs. Fisher, Son, and Sibray, of the 
Handsworth Nurseries. The deceased, who was 
fifty-seven years of age, when only a lad joined the 
firm of Messrs. Fisher, Holmes, and Co., and devoted 
much painstaking attention to the interests of the 
firm. A few year later he married the eldest 
daughter of the late Mr. Edward Holmes, and 
subsequently when his father-in-law retired from 
business, took his place as a partner in the concern. 
The deceased gentleman devoted himself almost 
entirely to his business, and took very little part 
in public affairs. He leaves one son, Mr. E. E. 
Sibray. 
Fruit Growing for Profit! —Mark Twain relates that 
when he was editing an agricultural paper in 
America he made the unfortunate announcement to 
his readers that the best way to gather turnips was 
to shake them from the tree. Amateur fruit 
growers, it seems, says the Worcester Journal, do 
almost equally funny things. A gentleman from 
Chester, who read a paper on fruit culture at the 
Worcester Conference last week, told a story of 
having been called in by a would-be grower to see 
why his young trees did not grow. The expert 
found that some of the trees had been planted three 
feet deep. Questioned as to the reason for this, the 
grower replied that he had bought a lot of the trees 
at a sale, and had planted some of them deep “ to 
make all the tops level! " 
The advantages of Tree Culture. —Tree Culture, 
says a writer on British Forestry in Blackwood's 
Magazine, increases the fertility of the soil. It does 
this in more ways than one. Reference has already 
been made to the protection which the woods pro¬ 
vide to the soil from the effects of extreme heat and 
extreme cold, as also to the shelter from the blast¬ 
ing influence of dry arid winds. Woods, moreover, 
prevent the waste of soil by washing in times of 
heavy rainfall. But the influence of woods on the 
soil is not merely negative. They break up and 
loosen the lower layers by the operations of the tree 
roots. They add largely to the fertility of the sur¬ 
face soil by the great mass of vegetable matter which 
drops upon it from the leaves, and there decomposes 
and turns into humus. The tendency of all this is 
to raise the temperature of the soil, and to render it 
capable of maintaining higher forms of vegetable 
life than it produced before it grew a crop of trees. 
Examples of the truth of this may be found in many 
parts of the country. 
Noble Market Gardeners. —Discussing the question 
of Railway Rates and Charges in connection with 
the subject of fruit growing as a panacea for agricul¬ 
tural depression, a correspondent of th e Mark Lane 
Express remarks that “ Small holders of land might 
make money from choice fruit and vegetable growing 
were it not that the price of these is, probably in 
every county in England, kept down by the fact 
that, say, eight out of ten of the ‘ nobility and 
gentry ’ have become market gardeners. About this, 
I am told, there is a bitter feeling in some districts. 
It cannot be called fair competition, for perhaps 
thousands of pounds have been spent on some of 
their gardens (without regard to whether it would 
pay or not). If every expense were reckoned, from 
first to last, I doubt not, much of this gentleman’s 
garden produce is sold at less than half what it has 
cost to grow it.” 
National Chrysanthemum Society's Catalogue,— 
With the hundreds of new Chrysanthemums that 
are appearing every year it is impossible to remember 
the half of those that are accorded certificates, letting 
alone those that get no recognition at all. The 
latter are generally of small importance to the 
general public and of no value practically to those 
who grow entirely for exhibition, so that we are not 
surprised that the National Chrysanthemum or any 
other Society should decline to catalogue them. 
When they are honoured with certificates it is good 
evidence that they are worthy of cultivation and fit 
for exhibition. A large number of the others must 
die out or be discarded every year. The Society in 
question has just published a second supplement to 
the Centenary Edition of the catalogue, and this 
includes only the very best of the varieties that have 
appeared since the centenary edition was published 
in 1890. One supplementary list it may be noticed 
was bound up with that edition. A supplement 
appeared in 1892, and the present makes really a 
third, though described as the second. All the three 
are, however, included in this second supplement, so 
that the Official Catalogue of the Society as it now 
stands consists of the Centenary Edition and the 
present supplement. All previous supplements are 
therefore surpressed by it, and exhibitors and judges 
are to be guided by the catalogue in its present form. 
This will be a great convenience to all who have to 
make frequent reference to the list, and we hope it 
will still further be simplified next time it is over¬ 
hauled by the whole being included in one volume, 
as is suggested by the Catalogue Committee. 
Fruit and Flower Growing in Jersey versus Corn¬ 
wall. —It is with no little concern that flower and fruit 
growers in the Scilly Islands and in Cornwall learn 
that Jersey growers are becoming large if not serious 
competitors. All, however, is fair in trade as “ in 
love and war.” The news that is widespread in 
Cornwall is that the Channel Islands are about to 
excel the Scilly Islands with spring flowers. Wages 
are heavier there than at Scilly, and this will take 
the gilt from the ginger-bread. The head gardener 
in Jersey gets 25s., whilst labour is considerably 
under this at Scilly, but on the other hand carriage 
of goods to London is cheaper from Jersey. Jersey 
glass houses cost about £1 a foot to erect. An acre 
of garden ground with two or three medium-sized 
glass houses costs from £1,000 to £1,500. There 
the very early Grapes grow best. The crop must 
be cut before Strawberries come in. After Grapes 
come Tomatos, but the price of these has consider¬ 
ably fallen of late. Fortunes certainly have been 
made out of fruit farming in the Channel Islands, 
but that was before the days of cheap fruit and 
universal competition. At the present time resources 
of the land there are being taxed to their utmost, 
and everyone who can buy, or rent, literally a few 
feet of ground are said to be able to raise good fruit 
for the English market. 
-=»*»- 
GARDENERS’ MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT 
SOCIETIES 
The progress of Mutual Improvement Societies and 
the intellectual activity consequent thereon, has not 
only affected all classes of the community with more 
or less intensity, but has penetrated even into the 
domain of gardening. That this should be so is not 
at all surprising to those who are acquainted with 
the rising generation of gardeners, whom, to their 
credit be it said, are more and more desirous to 
obtain an insight into those practices and principles 
which go to make up that very comprehensive term, 
“horticulture.” As to the methods of procedure 
best calculated to attain those ends, i. e., the advance¬ 
ment of knowledge, there will always be matter for 
debate, although your correspondent " G.” in your 
last issue puts the subject very clearly, with, perhaps 
one exception, as to the motives which sometimes 
prevail with the writers of papers. 
Now it may be perfectly true that individual 
members of these useful organisations do sometimes 
place too much importance—from a selfish point of 
view—upon their own productions. But if this be 
granted, I do not see how it can possibly operate to 
the disadvantage of the other members. Selfishness 
is not necessarily antagonistic to others interests ; it 
is merely the pursuit of personal pleasure. The 
writing of essays, as ” G ” points out, is immensely 
to the benefit of the writers, therefore the more 
essays that are written the more correct should be 
the style and subject matter. If this be also 
granted, I think it follows that the " selfish ” 
interest is more than compensated for by the 
enlarged ideas and riper knowledge which the author 
is able to lay before his hearers. That such a one, 
however, does not require much "pressure” to in¬ 
duce him to act is, I think, a little ungenerous, as I 
know th.at some secretaries would be glad to be able 
to put their hands on such men in making up their 
annual programmes. 
But, perhaps, this is only an “ illustration " after 
all, and that ” G.” did not intend to generalise from 
isolated instances. Anyhow, the writing of papers 
is to be highly commended, as it entails not only a 
large amount of labour, but an education which 
cannot be obtained in any other way. 
As to the question of impromptu speaking, I must 
admit that I am not quite at one with “ G.” in this 
matter, because I believe no good can result from 
discussing something which one knows little or 
nothing about. The aim and object of these 
societies is to supply a demand—accurate informa¬ 
tion—and this can only be assured by much thought 
and consideration. A far better plan is the one 
adopted by a society with which I am connected, 
namely, the asking of questions at one meeting to be 
discussed at another, or on a particular evening set 
apart in the programme for that form of entertain¬ 
ment. I say entertainment, because that method of 
eliciting information has proved highly successful. 
It is less stereotyped and sometimes more interesting 
than the formal delivery of an abstruse essay, for it 
not only enables the members to compare practice 
with practice, but it acts as an incentive to everyone 
to look up the subject. In my own case I can 
honestly say that I have been much benefited by this 
form of interrogation ; and, moreover, with a view to 
minimise, as far as possible, that inherent selfishness, 
and to impart better information than I possess, I 
do not hesitate to ply my professional friends.— 
C. B. G., Acton, IF. 
