282 
f H E GARDENING WORLD 
January 1, 1898. 
Here the Rev. G. Henslow pointed out the differ¬ 
ence between the yellow and other colouring matters. 
The yellow was granular, whereas the other colours 
are liquid. 
Of reds changing to yellow no examples had been 
furnished him, although there was the Changeable 
Buff before referred to. They might infer from 
this that if the other colours, including red, 
had sprung from yellow, Nature had made the 
change so long ago that she evidently did not care to 
change back again. 
Of reds changing to white there were ten examples 
received. All colours can easily take on the albino 
form, excepting yellow. The variety Madame Des- 
granges on first opening exhibited a sulphur-yellow 
hue, but turned white with age, owing to the way in 
which the yellow granules were spaced out. White 
seedlings were capable of giving rise to a great 
variety of colours. Thus the old bronze Abutilon 
never changed till a white seedling, Boule de Neige, 
appears. This was crossed, and thus broken up, 
and all the other colours resulted from it. The same 
applied to Chrysanthemums continued the lecturer. 
The fact about white forms giving rise to many 
and various colours in the flowers of the progeny 
was known in the cases of Carnations and Tulips 
over 200 years ago. 
Dealing with the green Chrjsanthemum, Professor 
Henslow said, that not one had been sent for him to 
examine, and he was consequently unable to say 
much about it. He could not say without examina¬ 
tion whether it was a reversion or not. In analysing 
Ixias, Professor Church found that the green was 
due not to chlorophyll, but to a modification of the 
purple. It was quite possible that the green in the 
green Chrysanthemum was due to chlorophyll, and 
in that case it would be a reversion. 
Some varieties sported more than others; and in 
such cases they formed a sporting family as in 
Queen of England, Empress of India, etc. 
The Rev. G. Henslow then proceeded to explain the 
development of the flower in the hands of the 
florists, how the short disc florets were converted in¬ 
to ray florets, also the breaking up of the borders of 
the florets which gave the dragon-mouthed forms. It 
was stated, however, that sportiDg generally took 
the form of change of colour, change of form of 
the florets being comparatively rare. In some of the 
very large flowers a multifold head was produced—a 
sort of " hen-and-cbickens ” arrangement—but no 
attempt was made to preserve this form. 
In the hairy varieties there were a number of out¬ 
growths arising from the surface of the floret. These 
terminated in points, and constituted the so called 
hairs. The cresting in Begonias, Daffodils and 
Cyclamen was an analagous phenomenon, and was 
probably due to over-nourishment. 
The fact of the same sport appearing in several 
places at once was next commented on. This was 
not confined to the Chrysanthemum, for the double 
Petunia was not known to exist until it occurred 
simultaneously in England, Scotland, and France. 
The cause of the variation of colour in sports was 
a problem of great difficulty. It was possible that it 
was the result of the dissociation of colours due to 
the effect of hybridising and crossing of the parents. 
The exact cause of sporting is unknown. Some 
credit of course must be given to the climate and the 
soil, and vatious big names were used to explain the 
phenomenon, but none of them were entirely satis¬ 
factory. Although we had no direct control of the 
plant we could do what we liked with the soil, and 
thus indirectly effect the economy of the plant. For 
instance, some growers found that striped Dahlias 
were best kept clean in poor soil. Mr. Low had 
expressed an opinion that starving Chrysanthemums 
bad important effects, whilst Mr. Burbidge had said 
that good cuttings of sports should be grown in poor 
soil without stopping, but should not be starved. 
Practical men were apt to look askance upon the 
scientist, but they should remember that the latter 
could only work upon definite observation and infor¬ 
mation, and the practical men were of all others in 
the best position to supply the information that the 
scientist wanted. Practical men, however, often did 
not appreciate the value of minute observation. 
Before any explanation could be given of sporting it 
was necessary to study the circumstances amidst 
which each sport occurs, the history of the plant, 
its progress, and development. If this had been 
done exhaustively he might at that moment have 
been holding forth on the origin and the develop¬ 
ment of sports. 
At the close of the lecture Dr. Masters offered a 
few remarks. He said that “ sporting ” in the 
Chrysanthemum in a general way was easy enough 
to understand. The Chinese and Japanese had 
cultivated the plants for 2,coo or 3,000 years, during 
which time they had been crossed and recrossed, 
intentionally, and unintentionally for many times. 
This had shaken the stability of the plant so to 
speak, and a very slight shaking of the colour cells, 
as in the shaking of a kaleidoscope, would suffice to 
produce a new arrangement. He believed the theory 
of the “dissociation of colours” accounted fairly 
satisfactorily for the phenomenon. 
A vote of thanks to the Rev. Henslow brought the 
meeting to a close. 
-- 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS AT SWANLEY. 
Whilst some popular flowers seem to have reached 
the zenith of their beauty and the highest pitch of 
excellence, the Zonal Pelargonium, year by year, 
exhibits a still greater improvement, until we begin 
to wonder where the development is going to stop. 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons have for many years 
taken the charming flower under their special pro¬ 
tection, and grown it by the thousand; indeed.no 
matter at what time a visit is paid to the Swanley 
Nurseries, houses full of Pelargoniums are to be 
seen, the plants a mass of flower, and the flowers 
themselves as fine—well, as Swanley Pelargoniums 
always are. 
Such easily-grown and floriferous plants as these 
never come amiss at any time of the year, but in the 
dull months their value is enhanced a thousand¬ 
fold. 
The needs of the ordinary establishment do not 
require that there shall be some of them in flower 
the whole of the year round, but by growing a 
sufficiency of plants a continuity of bloom may 
easily be obtained from the middle of October till 
March. 
The Swanley collection has nothing to surpass 
and very few to equal it in any part of the world, for 
every variety that is worth growing is there, and 
new ones are constantly being added, for in addition 
to those raised at Swanley the Messrs. Cannell have 
a keen eye for meritorious varieties raised else¬ 
where. 
During the past autumn at the various shows 
throughout the country the Swanley firm has largely 
exhibited cut blooms of their ” Zonals.” These ex¬ 
hibits have compelled the admiration of everyone, 
both from a decorative point of view and for the in¬ 
trinsic merit of the flowers themselves. 
Grand as such exhibits have been, however, one 
must see the plants at home before it is possible to 
obtain a true estimate of their value and beauty. 
Such a pleasure was afforded us during a recent 
visit to the Swanley Nurseries, for there were three 
span-roofed houses, each 100 ft. long, crammed with 
plants, which were literally blazing with colour. 
Not only was the number of expanded flowers re¬ 
markable, but the size of the trusses was prodigious. 
The same might be said of the individual pips, 
which displayed a regular circular outline, and in 
most cases opened till they lay quite flat. 
Almost every hue, except blue and black, was re¬ 
presented, scarlets, crimsons, pinks, and whites 
being in indescribable profusion, whilst there were 
many scores of intermediate shades, filling every 
possible gap between the more pronounced colours. 
It was only when we came to minutely examine 
these that we were able to appreciate their subtle 
tints to the full, for such a sight as was here spread 
out before us dazzled the eyes when an attempt was 
made to crowd all the range of colour into one com¬ 
prehensive view. 
The single-flowered varieties were the most con¬ 
spicuously in evidence, and, arranged as they were in 
bold masses of one colour, were singularly effective. 
Amongst the novelties sent out by the firm for 1897 
special mention should be made of Mrs. Pole Routh, 
which is certainly one of the finest forms in existence. 
The colour is a mottled salmon, shading deeper to¬ 
wards the eye of the pip. The habit of the plant 
and its general behaviour is all that could be desired. 
King of Crimsons, sent out at the same time, exhi¬ 
bits a rich, glowing crimson hue, with an enormous 
truss and pip. Sir Jas. Kitson, another novelty, is 
the boldest flower in the whole section of magenta- 
coloured varieties. The habit is first class. These 
three varieties at least should be in every garden, 
where, judging from the way they behave at Swan¬ 
ley, they will be found magnificent subjects for 
winter work. 
Amongst the ciimson and scarlet section the fol¬ 
lowing forms were particularly charming: — Souvenir 
de W. B. Miller, fiery crimson, with a large white 
eye: Iris, bright purple-rose ; Phyllis, salmon-rose; 
and Kitty, soft cherry-red with a white eye. 
Florists are still striving earnestly to obtain a true 
yellow-flowered form. Aurea Perfecta marks the 
nearest approach as yet to the desired object. J. H. 
Arderne is also in this way. There is a distinct 
shade of yellow iu each of these flowers, but it is 
disguised and hidden by the preponderance of red. 
Brittania is a very handsome form with purple 
flowers. The petals are very large, and overlap each 
other to a great extent, thus giving the pip a very 
substantial appearance. Royal Purple, also a stand¬ 
ard variety, must not be forgotten. This has been 
greatly admired wherever it has been shown. The 
colour is very rich and deep, and altogether this 
form is a distinct advance on the older King of the 
Purples. 
Duchess of Marlborough is one of the most pleas¬ 
ing of the salmon-flowered section. The flowers are 
mottled a good deal with white and pink. A. F, 
Wootten and Oenone are other capital sorts belong¬ 
ing to this colour division. 
Of whites we found a goodly selection. Niagara, 
Virginia, and Snowdrop are three magnificent varie¬ 
ties. Amy Amphlett is better known than either of 
the three, but is distinctly behind them. 
Countess of Buckingham, deep rose-pink, is one of 
the very finest of its class. Pink Domino is as re¬ 
markable for its huge trusses of bright pink as for its 
dwarf, vigorous, and speading habit. 
The double varieties have not been forgotten in 
the march of progress, although they are not so 
suitable for winter blooming as the singles, from 
their greater liability to damp off during foggy 
weather. 
Raspail Improved is well named, for it is an 
appreciable advance upon the old Raspail in size of 
both trusses and pip, the other characteristics of 
habit, constitution, and colour belonging to the older 
variety having been retained in the newer. Golden 
Gate is well worth attention, from the fact that the 
orange-scarlet shade it sets forth is all too scarce in 
the ranks of “ Zonals.” 
The Double Jacoby is the counterpart of the 
single form in colour and habit, but the blooms are 
all very double. This is one of the most useful of 
the double varieties. 
Beaute Poitevine, Eteranthe, M. Alphonse Ricard, 
Hermine, and Lady Candahar were, in conjunction 
with other varieties too numerous to mention in de¬ 
tail, in capital condition. Right through the collec¬ 
tion, indeed, from the first plant to the last, the same 
vigour of habit and close jointed sturdy growth 
assured us that we were looking at plants that not 
only were naturally first-rate doers, but on whose be¬ 
half cultural skill of no mean order and unvarying 
attention had been bestowed by Messrs. H. Cannell 
& Sons. 
-» « » 
THE QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES 
OF A GARDENER. 
His Duties. 
(Concluded from p. 267.J 
The foregoing remarks have treated principally 
upon the student. I now come to the fully qualified 
gardener and his duties ; and that these duties are 
onerous none will deny. They are so many and so 
varied that it is almost difficult which to place in the 
front; but I think most of you will agree with me 
that when a man takes his first head place, or a new 
charge, whichever it may be, his paramount duty 
should be to find out from his employers what their 
likes and dislikes are respecting fruit, flowers, and 
vegetables, as it is not the least good to think you are 
going to be successful unless you study their require¬ 
ments in this respect. The next duty and of equal 
importance is discipline. This is essential whether 
you are head over two or twenty, whichever the 
case may be; and here the old adage applies: 
“ example is far better than precept.” 
To " practice what we preach ” should R? our 
motto, and example includes, among many others, 
