October 22, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
113 
gardeners. As a consequence a course of about 
twenty lessons and demonstrations has been arranged, 
and a commencement was made on Monday last, the 
class being conducted by Mr. D. Storrie, who was 
strongly recommended to the committee as a skilful 
and enthusiastic botanist and horticulturist. The intro¬ 
ductory lecture was free, but the fee for the course will 
be 5s.; and members of the horticultural association to 
the number of sixty will be enrolled free of charge, 
preference being given first to apprentice and journey¬ 
man gardeners. 
^Distribution of Flowers. —The surplus flowers in 
the various London parks and gardens are annually 
distributed in October when the bedding plants are 
lifted, thus affording an opportunity for the poorer 
classes who love flowers to become possessed of 
them. As a rule a day is appointed for this purpose, 
so that all may receive as equal a share as possible, 
and no loss of time may be occasioned in the working 
of the parks. In some cases the flowers have to be 
obtained by written application previous to the day 
of distribution. A different method was adopted at 
the small pieces of garden ground in front of the 
Houses of Parliament, Westminster, on the 12th 
inst., on the occasion of the funeral of Lord Tenny¬ 
son. Thousands of spectators crowded the available 
area around the Abbey and also the pavement around 
the railings facing the gardens. The flowers were 
being rapidly dug up by a staff of workmen, and as 
quickly handed in small bundles or handfuls to eager 
expectants apparently without discrimination. It is 
needless to state that a very rapid clearance of the 
flowers were made to people who carried off the 
spoil with evident delight. 
Presentation at the Birkbeck Institution. —The 
recent marriage of David Houston, Esq., F.L.S., 
botanical and biological lecturer' at the Birkbeck 
Institution, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, was 
considered a fitting occasion by the numerous 
students attending his classes to make him a 
presentation in recognition of his invaluable services 
to them in the cause of science, and also as a token 
of the good fellowship existing between them. The 
students met in one of the rooms of the institution, 
and the chair was taken by the manager, Mr. G. 
Norris, who spoke of the high appreciation in which 
the Birkbeck Institution was held by the public for 
the high character of its technical instruction and 
its staff of scientific teachers, of whom Mr. Houston 
was one. Several of the students in the course of 
their speeches alluded to the past and present history 
of the institution, and the facilities for instruction 
that it afforded them. The new laboratory amply 
fitted up with various appliances, and well stocked 
with all kinds of specimens intended for biological 
instruction and research, was also alluded to, as well 
as the appreciation in which the teacher was held 
by his numerous students. It may also be stated 
here that Mr. Houston has secured the important 
post of staff teacher in the biological section to the 
Essex County Council, thus opening up a new and 
valuable field of labour in which Mr. Houston is 
destined to be of great service to the rising 
generation. 
The Fruit Growing Industry of Cornwall. —For 
most kinds of fruit of early growth Covent Garden 
has long been greatly dependent upon Cornwall. 
This has been a "fruitful” source of income to 
many in the past, one conspicuous case of which 
may be mentioned in which a man who began at 9s. 
a week, and by grubbing up woodland and planting 
Strawberries in his spare time, managed to acquire 
landed property worth very nearly £ 10,000, and 
each of his sons has a farm of his own. But this 
must be taken as an exceptional case. Truthfully 
speaking, fruit growing in Cornwall has not nearly 
been followed up as it should have been in the past 
considering the climate and resources at command. 
At length, however, farmers and others have awoke 
to the fact. Farming has done badly for many years 
in Cornwall, and the rut of depression has awoke 
the necessity. It is thought that by cultivating land 
in many of the sheltered nooks and valleys fruit can 
be more abundantly produced for the London 
markets. Cornwall has -about a fortnight’s earlier 
growth of fruit than any other part of England. 
The first Strawberries in Covent Garden generally, 
so far as England goes, come from Cornwall, and con¬ 
sequently gain the highest prices. The latest idea 
is therefore to start model fruit farms in various 
parts, and by the aid of the landowners to plant 
trees of all kinds and to utilise the best known skill 
for bringing on early fruit. It is calculated that in 
about 2\ years these farms will be not only self¬ 
paying but yield a good profit for the original outlay. 
Rare Plants found in Cornwall. —If there is one 
county in England more than another celebrated for 
the unearthing of rare plants it is that of Cornwall. 
Year by year the rarest of specimens are brought to 
light both by local botanists and the swarms of 
visitors who make the county their rendezvous for the 
summer months. The present season has been 
unusually prolific, and the plant hunters have been 
well rewarded. A few days ago was found a beauti¬ 
ful specimen of the whorled Knot-Grass (Illicebrum 
verticellatum), which is only found in three stations 
in England. There has also been found a plant of 
the Sand Strapwort (Corrigiola literalis), a species 
which is often conflicted with the first-named plant. 
National Auricula and Garnation and Picotee 
Societies. —The annual general meeting of the 
southern section of these societies is announced to 
take place at the Hotel Windsor on Thursday, 
October 27, at 5 p.m. The circular convening the 
meeting is a little puzzling. It sets forth that the 
business of the meeting will include the presentation 
of the report of the committee, and also the secretary’s 
report. This looks at first sight as if there were to 
be opposition reports, but we can scarcely imagine 
that in the management of such societies there can 
be any possible conflict between the committee and 
their secretary, and the rules are silent as to the 
presentation of a report by the secretary. What 
does it all mean ? 
Trees in Paris. —According to the Revue de l'Horti¬ 
culture Beige, Paris is the city of the world which 
contains the greatest number of trees, according to 
a statistic prepared by the learned M. Edouard 
Andre, one of the assistants of M. Alphand, the 
illustrious director of works of the city of Paris. In 
the parks and Parisian gardens no less than 299,294 
shrubs and 22,038 trees may be counted. The 
number of trees planted out in lines is about 100,000. 
Of all the quarters of Paris the best division is 
Passy. Then come the Champs-Elysees, Grenelle, 
Montparnasse, the Ternes, and Maison-Blanche. It 
is in the second district that the fewest trees are 
found. Should it be desired to know the cost of one 
of the trees planted in line, it is about 200 francs. 
Multiply that sum by 100,000, and the grand total of 
20,000,000 francs is arrived at, or ^833,333 6s. 8d. 
- -I- - 
CHRYSANTHEMUM 
NOTES. 
Early Chrysanthemums from Rothesay. 
Chrysanthemums from the open air will now be 
looked upon with much more favour than they were 
a month ago, more especially if they look fresh after 
being dashed about with the heavy rains and equi¬ 
noctial gales with which we have been visited lately. 
A boxful of flowering shoots has been sent us by 
Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, N.B.; although 
gathered from the open ground they were bright 
and fresh. Some were Pompons, and others early 
flowering varieties belonging to the Japanese type 
like Madame Desgranges. Notwithstanding the 
popularity of the latter, it is inferior in some respects 
to certain other and purer white varieties. 
Some of the yellow varieties sent us were bright 
and attractive, particularly Flora, sometimes called 
Yellow Perfection, a Pompon with bright golden-yel¬ 
low flowers. A dwarfer variety is Canarii, about 2 ft. 
high, with clear yellow flowers and slightly fluted 
florets produced in masses. A little gem is Sol 
d’Or, with flowers a shade paler than the last named, 
and produced on stems 8 in. high. Still paler is the 
primrose-yellow L’Ami Conderchet, but good in form. 
A variety named St. Mary grows 2J ft. high, and 
produces creamy-white flowers in quantity. Golden 
Shah is a bright bronzy-gold variety of great merit 
for market work, and grows 2 ft. high. Somewhat 
duller in colour and having more fluted florets is 
Maud Pitcher, but it bears a close resemblance to a 
sort erroneously named Fred Pele, and while either 
of the two are good we should prefer the brighter 
coloured Golden Shah. The other yellows sent are 
larger and early flowering Japanese varieties, in¬ 
cluding the primrose-yellow Mrs. Burrell, which 
grows 4 ft. high. Several shades darker is the noted 
Mrs. Hawkins, with fluted florets. M. Dupuis grows 
3 ft. high, and has light buff-yellow florets tinted with 
terra cotta in the centre. Madame Zephyr Lionet is 
a new variety of this year with golden-bronze flowers, 
appreciated for market purposes. The florets are 
evidently flat when grown in the open air. 
White varieties were less numerous, but included 
the beautiful and pure white Mrs. Cullingford. 
Madame Leon Lassala is similar in size, but the 
florets are flatter and creamy-white. Another variety 
named St. Mary, and the true one has pure white 
flowers. The white flowers of Madame Desgranges 
are well-known to everybody. Very distinct and 
graceful in its way is Grace Attick, with long tubular 
slender florets. 
The purple and white or rose-tinted varieties sent 
are more numerous. That named Nanum grows 
only about 18 in. and has flesh-coloured flowers 
shaded with white. Madame Jolivart has larger 
blush-coloured flowers, but like the last is a Pompon. 
When grown in the open air Mrs. J. R. Pitcher has 
its white flowers more or less deeply tinted with pink. 
It is a Japanese variety. Precocite Japonaise is 
similar in size and more or less deeply tinted with 
lilac. Blushing Bride is a rosy-blush Pompon with 
a white centre. Mr. Selby is described as a blush- 
white Pompon, but the beautifully neat flowers when 
grown in the open air are of a pleasing and uniformly 
soft shade of pink. Quite a distinct thing is Le 
Poete de Chrysanthemums, a new variety of this 
year. The blooms are close upon 3 in. in diameter, 
and are of a beautiful and uniform lilac-purple with 
a silvery reverse. Similar in colour, but somewhat 
duller in tint, is Martinmas, a variety that grows 4 ft. 
high. The blooms moreover are smaller, more com¬ 
pact, and not so choice as the last-named in our 
opinion. 
Of the darker-hued types M. Louis Lionet, a new 
variety of this year, is rather distinct. The long 
florets are revolute at the edges, making them ap¬ 
pear narrower than they really are. For want of a 
better term we should describe the florets as of a 
coppery-pink with a red reverse to the outer florets 
and yellow on the inner ones. A deep bronzy-red 
Pompon is Toreador, with somewhat fluted florets, 
so incurved as to show the yellow edges. The true 
bred or Frederic Pele is a dark crimson-flowered 
Pompon of good average size and good form, having 
the florets tipped with gold. 
-- 
NEW CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
The undermentioned Chrysanthemums were exhi¬ 
bited amongst others at the early autumn exhibition 
of the National Chrysanthemum Society, on the 12th, 
13th, and 14th inst. First-class Certificates were 
awarded them. 
Felix Cassagneau.— At first sight this new 
variety reminds us of Criterion, but it is darker in 
colour, and an altogether deeper bloom, and is there¬ 
fore likely to supersede Criterion for exhibition pur¬ 
poses, unless its earliness prevents it from being kept 
till the November shows. A year or two however 
will soon determine its capabilities. While expan¬ 
ding the florets are of a terra cotta hue, but they 
gradually become revolute at the margin, more or 
less twisted and of a golden bronze. It belongs to 
the reflexed Japanese section and is large for that 
type. 
Mrs. Hubbuck.— In this we have the ordinary 
Japanese type, with very large blooms of a deep 
amaranth purple with a silvery reverse. The bloom 
is flat on the top but very full with broad florets. It 
is also of considerable depth, while the florets are 
incurved at the sides of the bloom, and in a great 
many instances showing the reverse. Both this and 
Felix Cassagneau were exhibited by Mr. H. J. Jones, 
Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham. 
Beauty of Exmouth. —The flowers of this beau¬ 
tiful variety are of great size and width, the more 
compact portion being about 7 in. in diameter. The 
long florets are ivory white and shining ; the outer 
ones are reflexed, revolute at the sides, and more or 
less twisted, while the inner ones are incurved. The 
centre of the bloom is crowded with a great amount 
of material that takes a long time to expand. The 
general appearance of the flower is that of Florence 
Davis, but it is larger, earlier, and the centre is not 
so green during the early stages of expansion. It is 
a seedling from Avalanche fertilised with the pollen 
of Stanstead Surprise. It was exhibited by Mr. W. J. 
Godfrey, F.R.H.S , Exmouth, Devon, and also 
received an Award of Merit at the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society on Tuesday. 
