November 12, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
167 
CHRYSANTHEMUM COUNTESS OF 
WARWICK. 
The incurved section of the Chrysanthemum is by no 
means overstocked with varieties producing blooms 
of the desirable modern size. Countess of Warwick 
adds one to the list, and will prove serviceable for 
the show board when developed in its best form, both 
by cultivation and favourable seasons. The bloom 
is of great depth, being high in the centre ; and the 
florets are fairly broad, blunt at the apex and of great 
substance. They are of a beautiful soft carmine-rose, 
fading to a flesh tint at the base. Those who have 
seen it find no fault with the form, which they reckon 
typical and perfect for this section of the autumn 
queen. Being new for 1898, it has, so to speak, to 
win its spurs on the show boards, a contest which 
this and the next two weeks will determine,'provided 
the season has been in its favour. Many of the 
best growers who saw the maiden blooms last year 
considered it the finest and most promising they had 
seen. The accompanying illustration, for which we 
are indebted to Messrs. T. S. Ware, Ltd., Tottenham, 
London, N„ will give a good idea of the general 
contour and build of the variety. 
--- 
PILEA MUSCOSA, THE ARTILLERY 
PLANT. 
This old subject, known to most gardeners, is some¬ 
times apt to be overlooked, or altogether forgotten ; 
yet for use in decoration, either as coverings to 
larger pots or on the dinner table it is most useful, 
and often comes in where nothing else will. Some 
fine pieces came under my notice a few days ago at 
the Grange, Exmouth, where Mr. Harman, gardener 
to Dr. Wilkinson, has plants in 5-in. pots, that have 
been permitted to spread out, and now are just per¬ 
fect specimens, quite round, measuring over 2 ft. in 
diameter, and are only 4J in. to 5 in. in height. 
These are in capital condition and are certainly 
likely to be very useful from a decorating point of view. 
The compost in which they are growing is cocoanut 
fibre, peat and leaf soil, with a sprinkling of sand. 
Occasionally a little manure water is given, and so 
far this season they have had no fire heat, but have 
been grown in a small house a little more snug than 
an ordinary greenhouse. On the verandah running 
round part of the house I noticed a large portion 
was covered with a strong plant of Solanum jasmin- 
oides, literally covered with flowers. This, in the 
middle of October, struck me as being worthy of 
note, though, at the same time, I must confess the 
situation, which faces the south-west, is well 
protected from strong winds.— \V. S. 
- 4 *.- 
THE WEATHER AND VEGETATION. 
That certain climatic and atmospheric conditions 
are favourable to the opening or expanding of blooms 
is apparent to almost everyone interested in their 
culture and growth ; and, that the conditions pre¬ 
vailing during the past fortnight are among the most 
favourable has been forcibly brought to my notice 
lately. Border flowers, especially summer-flowering 
Chrysanthemums, Salvias, &c., exhibit a freshness 
and finish, a proper development not before reached 
this autumn by any outside flowers. Chrysanth¬ 
emum Mme. C. Desgranges, Precocite, Geo.Wermig, 
&c., which I grow in quantity for cutting, having 
escaped the frost which prevailed in the early part 
of the past month, are now in full beauty and 
produce finer flowers than any I have yet been able 
to cut. 
It seems to me that the moistened atmosphere, the 
soil, grateful for the recent rain, giving off dews at 
night, and the absence of fogs, the sunshine fairly 
plentiful of late, all have combined to form just the 
most suitable condition for bud development. 
Another point not without interest is that the buds 
of Chrysanthemums appear to me to develop much 
better, quicker, and larger out of doors than under 
glass. Six weeks ago, fearing damage from the 
threatening frosts I housed a number of the decora¬ 
tive variety Source d'Or, leaving some outside for 
another three weeks or so, and now those left out¬ 
side are the most promising and forward blooms. 
The dews of late summer and autumn nights are 
important factors in assisting plant growth and 
flower development, and also in colouring and finish¬ 
ing Apples, Pears, Plums, &cc Such at least is 
the humble opinion of A . P. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
BATTERSEA PARK. 
The annual display of Chrysanthemums in Battersea 
Park is much appreciated by the inhabitants of the 
district, as the numbers of visitors that are to be seen 
wending their way across the park, towards the 
Chrysanthemum house, from all directions, on every 
fine day, sufficiently testify. 
The plants, of which about 2,200 are grown, are 
accommodated in the large Palm house, the sunken 
bed in this house being raised temporarily to bring 
the plants as nearly into line with the eyes of the 
visitors as possible. On entering the house the 
visitor finds that the plants are massed in serried 
array on his right. In order to obviate the monotony 
that would result from a bank of bloom sloping 
regularly from back to front along its whole length 
the plants have been so arranged that their blooms 
Amongst Japanese varieties that grand yellow 
Sunflower is showing up to great advantage with 
large blooms of exceptionally rich yellow. Hamlet, 
which closely resembles Source d’Or in build and 
contour of bloom, is remarkable on account of its 
colour, which may be called rosy-orange. President 
Borrel always does well at Battersea, and Edith 
Tabor is not far behind it for easiness of culture. 
There are also some very fair blooms of Mme. Carnot. 
John Shrimpton has nothing to beat it as a dark 
variety, for it comes well whether grown to produce 
large flowers or as a bush plant. Wm. Seward, M. 
Chas. Molines, M. Chenon de Leche, M. W. Holmes, 
Louise, Hairy Wonder, Wm. Tricker, and Mrs. E. 
S. Trafford have all done fairly well, and there are 
some medium sized blooms of each. 
The tall Japanese Anemone Descartes is very con¬ 
spicuous in the background with its triple row of 
narrow, drooping, deep crimson guard florets, and its 
high and full disc. Mdlle. Elise Dordan, the pretty 
lilac hued pompon, is also well in evidence. 
Chrysanthemum Ccuntess of Warwick. 
present a slightly undulating surface, and according 
to our way of thinking, this breaking up into mounds 
and valleys might well be carried to a greater extent 
than it is. 
Generally speaking, the blooms of the Japanese 
varieties are, with one or two exceptions, not so large 
as we have seen them in former years, but this is 
amply compensated for by the brilliancy of the 
colours developed, for all the flowers are clean and 
bright. Incurves, on the other hand, are distinctly 
better than they were last year, both with regard to 
size and form. 
Taking the collection right through Jeanne d’Arc 
has proved the best incurve, for there are some really 
fine flowers of it dotted about the house. Lord 
Brooke has also done well, and there are some 
capital blooms of G. H. Runchman, Lord Alcester, 
Empress of India, and Prince of Wales. John 
Lambert is small but neat and well finished. 
Mrs. Geo. Rundle and its relative Mrs. George 
Glenny are also neat, although small. 
The greatest feature of the display, however, is the 
decorative or naturally grown plants, of which there 
is a considerable quantity. Two rows of them 
run along the front of the house on the narrow shelf 
which runs the whole length of the house. The 
outer row of these plants is trained to a trellis 
so as to form a bank of bloom, the plants in the back¬ 
ground being loosely slung to the rafters of the 
house, and allowed to droop over in graceful sprays. 
The gable wall at each end of the house is decorated 
in similar fashion, the two varieties Margot and 
Elsie producing an exceedingly pretty effect when 
their pink and creamy-yellow hues are associated. 
Other varieties that have been utilised as bush plants 
are the Christines, pink, peach and gold, Snowdrop, 
La Vogue, Sunset, Soeur Melaine, and L'lle des 
Plaisirs. A row of these plants is carried right 
round the house, being slung to the eaves at the back 
of the bank of large blooms, and the effect thus pro¬ 
duced is excellent in every way. 
Battersea is not the most favourable place in the 
