December 3, 1892. 
rHfi Gardenixg world. 
209 
The Brisbane Botanic Garden. —In this beautiful 
garden (writes a correspondent of the Manchester 
City Neii’s) may be seen trees from all parts of the 
world, growing luxuriantly. One may walk in the 
avenue of Bamboos or sit beneath the shade of a 
beautiful Palm, Fig-tree, or majestic Fir, and take 
in a view which time will scarcely efface. All around 
are beautiful flowers of every hue and climate, and 
trees of almost every kind. There is the Banana 
tree, the Papan Apple, the Fig, Cypress, Pine, Bam¬ 
boos, Palms, Bottle-tree, Gums, Eucalypti, and 
trees from America, India, China, England, Japan, 
and many other countries, always green, always 
beautiful. The walls are well planned, and the 
Ferneries are pictures of loveliness. Here are noble 
Fern-trees, rich Orchids, luxuriant varied climbers, 
Begonias, beautiful Maidenhair Ferns, Dracaenas, 
Lilies, and almost every variety of Fern known to 
Queensland, together with the Ferns from other 
countries, all perfectly arranged, all thriving, the 
Tree Ferns touching the high roof and Orchids 
throwing out their blooms. 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The undermentioned Chrysanthemums were exhi¬ 
bited at the meeting of the Floral Committee of the 
National Chrysanthemum Society on the 23rd ult., 
when they were accorded First-class Certificates :— 
Mrs. Mitchell.— This incurved variety is a sport 
from Empress Eugenie. The florets seem broader, 
and are of a pale fawn fading off to buff-pink around 
the base as the florets reach their ultimate develop¬ 
ment. The blooms exhibited by Mr. E. Molyneux, 
The Gardens, Swanmore Park, Hants, were about 
3^in. in diameter by 2J in.Lleep, and were beautifully 
firm and compact. Empress Eugenie shown along¬ 
side of them were seen to be quite distinct. 
Kentish Yellow. —The blooms of this variety 
measure yjin. to 6 in. in diameter, and are of a clear 
bright yellow. The florets are moderately broad, 
smooth at the tips, and regularly but somewhat 
loosely reflexed ; but as the bloom reaches its ulti¬ 
mate stage the central florets rise upwards, making 
the whole semi-globose. There is plenty of material 
in the centre. It is a reflexed Japanese variety simi¬ 
lar in size and form to the white Elaine, Eynsford 
White, and Sydenham White, but entirely different 
in colour. 
Mrs. Bruce Findlay. —The heads of this Japan¬ 
ese variety attain a large size, measuring when in 
good condition 7J in. to Sin. in diameter, and 4^in. 
to yin. in depth. The florets are rather narrow but 
flat, curiously toothed on each side of the apex as a 
rule, and of a uniform soft, bluish-lilac except to¬ 
wards the base, where they deepen somewhat. They 
diverge in all directions except on the top, which is 
somewhat flattened. The great number of the florets, 
their by no means common colour, and the size of 
the heads all contribute to make this a desirable 
variety. The leaves are dark green, leathery, trifid, 
and slightly cut. 
Robert Owen.— The compact and regular form 
of this Japanese variety, as well as the peculiar 
twisting of the florets, as shown in the illustration in 
our number for February 6th last, marks it out as 
very distinct from anything we have in cultivation. 
The florets are fluted, narrowed to an acute tip, 
hooked there, and nearly always regularly twisted 
against the sun. All the upper portion is of a golden 
yellow or deep apricot, but towards the base this is 
of a golden buff, but seems to vary from year to year 
according to treatment. It gained some prizes last 
year as the best bloom in the show, but there was 
only one bloom of it and consequently it could not be 
certificated till this year. 
Waban. —This is also an incurved Japanese form of 
a soft, uniform rosy-pink. It is altogether different in 
form, however, from Robert Owen or Viscountess 
Hambleden. The florets are very much fluted, ap¬ 
pearing almost quilled, but they are loosely arranged, 
twisted against the sun, and forming a series of 
open or rather widely separated coils. The bloom 
measures 6 in. to 6J in. in diameter, and 3 in. in 
depth, and seems destined to be incorporated with 
many collections before long and to make its appear¬ 
ance on the show boards. This, as well as Mrs. 
Bruce Findlay and Robert Owen, were exhibited by 
Mr. Robert Owen, Castle Hill, Maidenhead, who 
has been successful in the raising of many fine va¬ 
rieties. 
Primrose League.— This may be described as a 
Japanese variety pure and simple. The blooms are 
creamy-white in the early stages with a primrose- 
yellow centre ; but as they attain their full size the 
yellow disappears to a great extent, and the outer 
florets are almost pure white. They are of medium 
width, the lower ones pendent or drooping, the mid¬ 
dle ones spreading, and the central ones ultimately 
ascending more or less. The bloom is of great size, 
measuring 6 in. to 7 in. wide and 4 in. to 4^in. in 
depth in the natural position, that is, without spread¬ 
ing out the florets. It seems likely to become a 
favourite with many cultivators. The exhibitors 
were Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley. 
Mrs. W. Cutting, a silvery-rose incurved Japan¬ 
ese variety, and The Tribune, bright yellow Japan¬ 
ese reflexed, were commended. 
—-- 
PACKING ORCHID FLOWERS, 
Having had some experience in packing Orchid 
flowers I find the following method the safest and 
most practical in shipping these delicate flowers. 
When the flowers are cut they should immediately 
be placed in water, so the stems get well saturated 
before starting on their journey, especially when they 
have to be shipped a long distance. The boxes used 
should be made of light wood, about two feet long 
by a foot wide, and not more than foui inches high. 
Never put more than one layer in each box, as the 
flowers are liable to get crushed and spoiled before 
they arrive at their place of destination. When you 
have your boxes ready line them with cotton batting, 
putting an extra thickness on the bottom, so as to 
prevent the flowers from getting chilled while stand¬ 
ing on the cold platform of the depot or the express 
waggon'. When you have done this, line it well with 
tissue paper, putting again an extra thickness on the 
bottom. When your box is lined you may commence 
packing. Lay your flowers in a row, putting a piece 
of tissue paper between each, so as to prevent the 
flowers from rubbing against each other ; then take 
a sheet of tissue paper, double it to a width of one 
inch, lay it across the stems close to the flowers, 
putting a tack at each end, and one or two in the 
middle. All the flowers should face the top ; this is 
easily done with all single-flowered varieties, such as 
Cypripedium, Lycastes, and most of the Cattleyas of 
the Labiata group ; many flowered varieties such as 
Odontoglossums, Phalsenopsis, Oncidium, and many 
others, may be packed in the same way, only putting 
a tack on each side of the stem. When your box is 
filled lay a sheet or two of tissue paper over the top, 
putting a tack at each end, then turn your ends of 
the lining over this, which will keep the paper from 
rubbing against the flowers. After this is done you 
may nail on your cover : if the weather is severe 
wrap the box in cotton batting, and over this put a 
sheet or two of brown paper. During the summer 
the same method may be used, with the exception of 
cotton batting —Joseph Manda, Jr., in Florists' 
Exchange. 
--- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
American Seedlings. 
The following comments on the new varieties 
exhibited at the late New York Chrysanthemum 
Show are taken from the A merican Florist :—When 
staged they presented a grand appearance and were 
constantly surrounded by enthusiasts, notebook and 
pencil in hand. The general public did not, however, 
pay any very special attention to this department 
except in the case of one or two varieties which had 
been well advertised. The number of seedlings 
shown was probably not as large as last year, but 
the average of quality was far ahead, the exhibitors 
having learned, apparently, the uselessness of bring¬ 
ing a lot of stuff inferior to already existing varieties. 
The approach to symmetry and regular fullness of 
flower was very apparent to one who has observed 
such collections in past years, ragged, twisted, open 
eyed, and generally eccentric characters seemingly 
having been gradually hydridized out of existence. 
Only an occasional Pompon or Anemone was to be 
seen. A great many of the seedlings were shown 
under number. A description of these, no matter 
how good, would be of little use, so only the best of 
those exhibited under name will be referred to here. 
Not less than six blooms of each variety competing 
were required to be shown, and in all cases with long 
stems. Awards were as follows:—Best white to 
W. S. Waby for The Queen, in immense incurved, 
improvement on Flora Hill. Best yellow to Pitcher 
& Manda for Mrs. F. L. Ames, a brilliant orange- 
yellow, very robust, style of Lincoln. Best pink to 
John Keane for Pride of Englewood, a handsome 
flower, but hardly a pink, nearer to a light garnet 
rather. 
For best bronze to E. G. Hill & Co. for Robt. 
Mclnnes, approaching in colour Mrs. C. H. Wheeler, 
but much fuller in centre. For best any colour to 
E. G. Hill & Co. for Mrs. J. W. Crouch, an immense 
incurved amaranth. For any variety exhibited 
previous to 1892 but not yet in commerce, to F. T. 
Underhill for Emily Ladenburg. For best collection 
of seedlings not yet in commerce, to J. N. May for a 
set of about thirty-five varieties. 
Certificates of merit were given to the following 
varieties : Exhibited by J. N. May, Thos. H. Brown, 
a large incurved bright pink, very early ; Gloriana, 
bright lemon, petals incurving and very broad ; 
Fascination, pale lemon, in way of Rohallion ; 
Yellow Queen, very early, petals broader than Mrs. 
J. G. Whilldin ; Portia, a soft pink, in way of Bride 
of Roses; Miss Frances Thorley, an immense white; 
Truth ; Summit, white reflexed, a perfect globe ; 
Creole, dark scarlet, somewhat in style of Emily 
Ladenburg. 
To E. G. Hill & Co. for W. G. Newitt, a big 
white, style of Mrs. E. D. Adams. To Thos. H. 
Spaulding, for M. B. Spaulding, a splendid light 
yellow which was certificated at Philadelphia last 
year; for Wm. Plumb, a lovely flower resembling 
Ada Spauldiug, but deeper in colour, as regular in 
form as a Dahlia, but possibly not quite large enough 
for prevailing demand. To Daille-douze Bros, for 
Wm. Brown, a strong robust grower. To Thos. 
Monahan for Black Beauty and Goliath. To Geo. 
Bennett for Ada Strickland, an exceedingly fine 
bronze Anemone. To Pitcher & Manda for Mrs. 
Leslie D. Ward, a hirsute buff-bronze, full double, 
and for Mrs. Bayard Cutting, an enormous flower in 
way of Mrs. Irving Clark, but better form, pink, 
shaded to violet-rose in centre, showing up especially 
well in the evening. 
THE ROYAL GARDENS, 
KEW. 
On Tuesday a deputation from the Town Council of 
Richmond waited upon Mr. Shaw Lefevre, First 
Commissioner of Works, to urge that Kew Gardens 
should be thrown open to the public at an earlier 
hour than twelve o’clock on week-days. The object 
of the deputation having been spoken to by Aider- 
man Burt (the Mayor), and others, 
Mr. Shaw Lefevre, in reply, said that he had 
every sympathy with the general object which they 
had in view. The question of the earlier opening of 
Kew Gardens was, however, an old story, and not 
altogether free from difficulty. In 1S83, as First 
Commissioner, he went into the subject, and with 
some difficulty persuaded the Treasury to sanction 
the expenditure of some £200 or £300 for the pur¬ 
pose of opening the gardens at twelve instead of one 
o’clock, and the Treasury, in giving their sanction, 
sent a minute to the department giving their reasons 
for so doing, but warning them that they thought 
the interests of the public generally must be con¬ 
sidered in future rather than those of the neighbour¬ 
hood. He had recently been further considering 
the question, and he had referred the matter 
of expense to a committee, which was now sitting 
investigating the subject of the labourers' wages 
at Kew and the royal parks generally, and until 
he knew accm.tely what the real cost of the 
arrangement w .ach tne deputation suggested was, 
he could not come to a final determination 
upon it. It was certain, however, that the 
expense would not be inconsiderable. The park- 
keepers were now employed as labourers in the early 
morning, but at 12 o'clock they donned their uniform 
and appeared in the capacity of parkkeepers. He 
disputed the statement that not much watching would 
be required in the gardens in the early morning in 
consequence of the paucity of the number of people, 
for the director assured him that it was just when 
there were few people about that most watching was 
required. The gardens were now, and had been for 
some time, open to the public on the morning of 
Bank Holidays, and notwithstanding that the rail¬ 
way companies advertised it very largely, it was a 
strange fact that comparatively very few people 
arrived before twelve o’clock. It must also be 
borne in mind that there was a great interest in 
