April 23, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
537 
flourish, even although they may appear to be pot- 
bound. If the plants had not been in good health 
they would not have produced such a quantity of 
foliage. You may give an occasional dose of liquid 
manure if you like—fresh farmyard manure is as 
good as anything. A very strong reason for en¬ 
deavouring to keep the plants in the same pots for 
as long as possible is that they are so much more 
useful for decorative purposes. 
Dwarf Cockscombs —S. Rose is much puzzled to 
account for the very dwarf Cockscombs that are to 
be seen at exhibitions throughout the country. He 
has tried to grow them himself, but has only 
succeeded hitherto in producing rather “leggy” 
specimens. 
The cultivation is chiefly accountable. These 
dwarf specimens are obtained by growing the plants 
close up against the glass, also by potting rather 
firmly. The strain again has something to do with 
it. Those cultivators whose plants 5 . Rose so much 
admires procure only the best strains of seed, and 
this fact coupled with the kind of cultivation we 
have mentioned produces the desired results. If S. 
Rose tries his hand again the hint may be of service. 
chosen. These were in 3-in. pots at the time, and 
were potted in pairs into 6£-in. After the roots had 
taken to the new soil, the top of one was taken off, 
about 5 ins. from the tips, and a slit was made with 
an upward cut cf the knife at an equal height in the 
other. The point of the first was shaped into a 
long wedge and inserted carefully in the slit of the 
second. They were then carefully bound with fine 
threads of raffia, and some moss bound round all to 
insure moisture. Placed in a cool, shady position, 
they united perfectly in about a fortnight. The 
plants now stood growing two roots to one plant,and 
each was contributing an equal share to the main- 
tainanceof the growing foliage and resultant blooms. 
This was evident from the stems of each stock swell¬ 
ing at the same rate through the growing season. 
They were finally potted into 10-in. pots and took 
their place with the rest of the collection. 
The varieties chosen were picked with an idea of 
testing what effect the union would have on the 
colour and shap; of the resultant blooms. For this 
purpose Mdlle. Therese Rey was united with Chas. 
Shrimpton, the lead being taken by the first- 
named so that any tinge of colour would 
show most distinctly on the white flowers. In 
No. 2. Mdlle. Therese Rey was again used in con- 
last season, but they showed no variation from the 
true variety, and so I suppose the experiment ends ; 
and I am as far as ever from producing sports by 
artificial means. To my mind, however, it seems to 
prove that the roots have little or nothing to do with 
the colouring of the flower, for though two root 
stocks were absorbing materials and mingling the 
resultant sap all the summer, yet nothing of a 
colouring nature could have been collected by them. 
This, of course, may be nothing new to those versed 
in colour science and plant structure, but perhaps 
the experiment may have other teachings to them, 
and this must be my excuse for taking so much 
space in recording it. The accompanying photo¬ 
graph will explain things, perhaps, more clearly than 
I have been able to do.— R. E. Richardson, Wollaton, 
Notts. 
NOTES FROM THE SWANLEY 
NURSERIES. 
In addition to the Chinese Primulas which have been 
making such a grand show at the Swanley and 
Eynesford Nurseries of Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, 
there are not lacking other attractions. Amongst 
these one of the most conspicuous is the 
Grafted Chrysanthemums. 
AN EXPERIMENT TO INDUCE 
SPORTING. 
The recent recurrence to the subject of sporting in 
Chrysanthemums has suggested to me that the 
following account of an experiment I made in the 
season of 1896, may be interesting ; though it may 
not throw any additional light on the subject. 
It was in the dark days of the previous winter, 
while lamenting the hard fate of sundry seed heads 
of Chrysanthemums, which, after having been care¬ 
fully fertilised,had given up the struggle to reproduce 
their kind, and which hung ugly and disgusting, a vic¬ 
tim to damp,that the wish (being father to the thought) 
to produce new kinds suggested an experiment in 
grafting to gain the desired end. The idea may not 
be new, but as I have never heard or read of any¬ 
thing similar, perhaps a short account of the process 
may be interesting. My desire at first was to induce 
an artificial sport from the plant, but all my cogita¬ 
tions failed to give me a cue to work upon. 
I had,so to speak, the material,but no tools and no 
formula. Then the thought presented itself of graft- 
hybridising, and, though this is no new scheme, the 
method so far as I know is original. Two plants of 
similar size, but of very opposite characters, were 
junction with J. S. Dibbens, the first beiDg again the 
leader. In No. 3 Etoile de Lyon was coupled with 
Brookleigh Gem; in this case the incurved was 
given precedence to see if the coarse reflexed blooms 
would influence its co-partner. In No. 4 Louis 
Boehmer and Mrs. F. A. Spaulding were wedded, 
the latter taking the lead; this was to try if the 
hirsute petals would tell on the smooth ones. No. 5 
was Gloire du Rocher with Jean d’Arc ; and No. 6, 
Chas.Shrimpton with Mme. Chas. Molin, the second- 
named in each case leading. 
The result was certainly not very startling. In only 
one case could I see any variation from the normal; 
this was in No. r, in which some petals were a decided 
pink. In all the other cases I could not distinguish 
anything from those under normal conditions, the 
blooms, however, being exceedingly large and fine 
for their kinds. This hint may prove serviceable to 
big bloom growers, and prove a " leg up ” to some 
beautiful but delicate kinds, which have feeble root 
action; and, perhaps, might correct the deplorable 
bud-producing habit of others. As no patent rights 
have been secured for the method I’ll make Chrys- 
anthemists a present of the idea. 
Cuttings were taken above the union, from the 
plant which showed a slight pink tint, and grown on 
Cinerarias, 
We found several houses filled with these handsome 
and popular plants, one house in particular in which 
the cream of the collection was placed being a mag¬ 
nificent sight. The plants were all sturdy specimens 
of their kind, dwarf and compact, but not so dwarf 
as to give that idea of squatness that dwarfness car¬ 
ried to the extreme invariably does. The foliage 
throughout was of remarkable substance, and well 
exemplified the vitality and vigour of the strain. 
The heads of flower were magnificent in size and 
grandeur, and the individual flowers were all that 
could be desired for size, regularity of outline, and 
richness and variety of colours. We were informed 
upon enquiry that all the plants we saw were really 
the progeny of the “ March Past ” strain that was 
shown a considerable number of years ago with 
excellent results by the Messrs. Cannell, the words 
“ March Past ” having been given in allusion to the 
superiority of the strain over others then in 
existence. 
Naturally enough no trouble has been spared to 
improve the strain, and make it keep pace with that 
almost feverish spirit of improvement that has 
characterised matters floricultural during the last 
two decades of the present century. Thus, whilst 
