138 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 29, 1898. 
ful hue and beautiful as well as fanciful when seen in 
the mass. A salmon strain of various dark shades, 
with huge, circular flowers comes next in order. 
This lot is followed by four beds of a creamy-white 
strain, some of the flowers being choice and pleasing. 
A crimson-scarlet strain would come between the 
maroon-crimson and the scarlet ones. A bed was 
planted on trial looking for a blue Begonia, but after 
a dark magenta shade is passed the prospect does 
not yet seem clear. A crested strain is a more de¬ 
cided reality, the petals of the male flowers in some 
cases being almost covered with peculiar corruga¬ 
tions, while others have simply a well developed crest 
arranged in the form of a cross. Various shades of 
salmon-rose make another distinct strain. Orange 
in various degrees of intensity is also distinct. A 
pale strain, describable as salmon-blush, might also 
be added to the rest. The large circular flowers are 
very abundantly produced. 
Doubles. 
The selected strains of double varieties are less 
numerous than the above; but the percentage of 
doubles stands very high, and really first-class sorts 
are very numerous. A very large collection could 
be picked from the open ground, fit for pot culture 
anywhere. For many years past the aim has been 
to get refined flowers with smooth petals arranged 
round a single centre, in the form of Camellia 
flowers or Rosebuds, and in this thejcultivator has 
been highly successful. 
The pink strain has a very high percentage of 
shapely Camellia-formed blooms. Dark pink and 
salmon-pink strains are equally fine. Next to them 
comes brocze-yellow, amongst which are many 
handsome flowers in pleasing shades. A large per¬ 
centage of double flowers of high quality is also to 
be met with amongst the light pink strain. A great 
quantity of double crimson is grown, and being 
placed opposite to the single strain of the same hue, 
the flowers appear equally bright in colour and as 
abundant as the singles. 
The Picotee double strain bears large and hand¬ 
some flowers of regular and shapely outline. The 
flowers are pale pink or white with a darker margin 
of varying width, and many of them are refined and 
really splendid. A large area is planted with a 
yellow strain ranging from canary and primrose to 
golden-yellow. Many of them are of excellent 
quality, resembling Camellia flowers or Rosebuds in 
form, the refined petals being arranged round one 
centre. The scarlet varieties are also beautiful in 
shape, and at the time of our visit were being 
selected into uniform tints. Next to the scarlet 
comes the double white strain, among which varieties 
may be picked out having plain or crimped petals of 
a pure white, or creamy-white, or tinted with pink 
on the outside of the primary petals. Under glass 
many would be pure. A large proportion have 
flowers of fine Camellia form, and are carried erect 
on stout stalks. 
The accompanying illustrations have been pre¬ 
pared from photographs taken at Bexley Heath, and 
represent good modern types of Camellia-shaped 
flowers. The figure on p. 137 shows the rosebud 
appearance of the flowers in their earlier stages. The 
petals are all arranged round a single centre, giving 
the flowers a refined appearance. 
—--e-- 
GHRYSHHTHEmum PTES. 
THE ROYAL EXOTIC NURSERIES, CHELSEA. 
Chelsea is anything but an ideal district for the 
cultivation of the Chrysanthemum, for much of it 
is not far above the level of Father Thames, from 
whose bosom rise the nuclei, as it were, of those 
fogs which are so closely associated with everything 
metropolitan. For many years past, however, 
Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons have grown Chrysanth¬ 
emums and grown them well, too, even in low-lying 
Chelsea. This year the collection of plants in 
bloom is somewhat smaller owing to a heavier 
drain than usual having been made upon them for 
supplying orders, but there are still many fine flowers 
amongst the show blooms, and no gardener can fail 
to admire and appreciate the capital samples of bush 
culture that are to be seen, as a recent visit well 
assured us. 
Mr Weeks, the departmental foreman, under 
whose capable charge the Chrysanthemums are 
placed, informed us in answer to a question that the 
season is with them fully two or three weeks later 
than usual, and " you know what that means to us " 
he went on to say, “ for if we are to have anything 
good we must have it early, as the fogs of November 
are too much for us.” One other point that is of 
general interest at this time when growers are worry¬ 
ing night and day about the dreaded " rust ” among 
their plants is that Mr. Weeks has not yet seen 
it upon the Chelsea plants, and although we kept a 
bright lookout for it during our walk round we failed 
to discover a single spot. Evidently the fungus does 
not care about making the acquaintance of the Lon¬ 
don fogs, and the old adage about the ill wind may 
not inaptly be applied also to the fog. 
Show Blooms. —Amongst the large-flowered 
varieties there are several promising new ones, 
chiefly of Australian origin, and it would seem by 
the high quality of these that the land of the 
Southern Cross knows how to look after the Chry¬ 
santhemum. Miss Nellie Pockett is not only the 
best of these, but also one of the most promising 
forms that has been sent out recently. It is a 
creamy-white bloom of great size, and in contour 
and general build is not unlike Mrs. Chas. Blick 
when taken on a terminal bud, but the florets are 
narrower, and the bloom itself has much greater 
depth. John Pockett is a large and heavy flower 
with broad and massive florets of great substance. 
The colour is the most important point, however. 
It may be described as Indian-red, with an old-gold 
reverse. Chatsworth is another very promising form 
in which something of the general appearance of 
Viviand Morel can be seen. It is white, prettily 
striped with rose, and makes both a distinct and a 
showy flower. W. Towers, a grand canary-yellow 
form, has also acquitted itself remarkably well, both 
flower and habit of the plant being good. 
The new, hairy, yellow variety, Leocadie Gentils, 
which we noticed for the first time in the Messrs. 
Veitch’s collection last year, has not done quite so 
well this season, but it is a handsome flower, and 
one that is well worth while humouring if it wants 
it. Amongst new incurved forms, Mrs. N. Molyneux 
is a capital white, and we found Mme. Ferlat, which 
was certificated last year, in excellent trim, likewise 
the blooms being of great depth and size, and even 
better than those seen last year. This type of 
massive incurves has practically ousted the smaller 
class of so called true Chinese incurves from the 
field. 
Amongst the standard varieties we found many old 
friends to greet us. As an October flowering variety 
Emily Silsbury has never yet been beaten, and looks 
likely to hold its own for some time to come. The 
same may be said of Madame Gustave Henry, which 
is a little later than Emily Silsbury, and of a totally 
different type of flower. Amiral Avellan, although 
not the highest quality bloom, has yet its exceeding 
freedom of habit and growth to recommend it, as 
well as its colour, which is still good amongst 
yellows Louise, Beauty of Teignmouth, President 
Borel, Miss Ethel Addison, Wm. Seward, Jno. 
Shrimpton, Mrs. Bevan, Mrs. Malin Grant, Col. 
Smith, G. C. Schwabe, Edith Tabor, and Werther 
are a few of the other Japanese members of the 
collection that are favourites not only at Chelsea but 
the country over. 
Mrs. R. C. Kingston we found in fine condition 
amongst the incurves, and well vindicating its 
popularity as a back row flower. The pretty 
Japanese Anemone Descartes with its exceptionally 
high disc of crimson-red florets, and triple row of 
narrow, drooping, guard florets represents one of the 
choicest forms in its section. 
Late Struck Cuttings. —We noticed a fine batch 
of plants obtained from cuttings struck in April. 
These are now occupying 32-sized pots, and are 
promising well for flower, some of which in size will 
not be far behind that on the bigger plants. 
Bush Plants. —About two hundred bush plants 
are grown, and it would be difficult indeed to over¬ 
praise these for their health and symmetry, whilst 
the crop of flowers they are carrying is unusually 
even and good. Here Souvenir d'une Petite Amie is 
one of the best varieties that can be found, and our 
old friends Jno. Shrimpton, Wm. Seward, Wm. 
Tucker, Viviand Morel, and Etoile d’Lyon are also 
first-class. 
Squirrels are becoming a nuisance in the woods, 
plantations and gardens of Ireland. They destroy 
fruits in the gardens and orchards; and prove 
veritable enemies of various birds. They rob the 
nests of eggs or young, and have been seen with 
small adult birds in their clutches. They also devour 
the young chicks of pheasants. In this country they 
often prove very destructive to young plantations of 
Conifers, particularly if there is a scarcity of cones, 
which, of course, can never be very abundant in 
young plantations. 
Camellia-shaped Begonias. 
