December 26, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
267 
group, and was ab/*r to hold bis own, would probably 
have stood no chance in the miscellaneous group, 
simply because he had not got the convenience to 
grow the variety of plants that he would require. 
Therefore I would suggest that the society, which 
can afford to offer the prizes, should “ run " both 
styles. A good group of 'Mums maybe “broad,” 
even if it is not artistic from the decorator's point of 
view .—Geotge Potts, December 14 th. 
LATE HAMBURGHS. 
Your correspondent, W. B. G. thinks the tempera¬ 
ture given by me in a previous issue which was 45 0 
when the majority of foliage had fallen, is too high, 
and says the house where his Grapes are hanging is 
often below 40°. W. B. G. must be writing from a 
much drier county than Devon I presume, for it is 
quite certain in this moist climate where I write 
from, I could not keep any kind of Grape, and have 
them presentable even at this date if I had the house 
full of plants as he has and with such a low tempera¬ 
ture. My late vinery is a lean-to about 13J ft. high 
at the back, and 5! ft. at the front with a 4-in. flow 
and return pipe along the front, and can be kept at 
45 0 without the least hard firing. I have kept Lady 
Downes plump and in first-class condition up to the 
middle of April, and the last bunch then looked as 
though it would have kept another two months. 
With the full know ledge that this date is late to have 
good Hamburghs, I am inclined to think your 
correspondent’s low temperature has not a little to do 
with the shrivelling he speaks of. Ere this appears 
in print all my Grapes (Alicante and Lady Downes) 
that I have left will be cut, bottled and placed in a 
room that seldom falls below 40°, and that only when 
iz° or more of frost are registered, where, as I have 
said, they keep well into April.—/. Mayne, Bicton, 
Devon. 
• I * - 
CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE FOR 
EXHIBITION. 
Another season is all but over, and preparations 
are being made for another struggle, and real 
struggling it is getting to be in many cases. A little 
while ago I promised to give a few notes on the 
above subject. On consideration I think the proper 
time is the present, as thereby one gets the beginning 
and the end. 
From the cutting to the flower I propose to divide 
my subject into the following heads : —first varieties 
good for exhibition (this subject must come first as 
being the key to all success afterwards); second 
cuttings, good and bad ; third treatment whilst in a 
young state ; fourth, material for final potting, also 
how to pot; fifth, the difference betwixt stopping 
or pinching and plants that are not to be stopped ; 
sixth, what the crown buds, second crowns, and 
terminal buds ; seventh, how to take or secure the 
buds, also how to keep them. 
Varieties.—I will give my readers a list of the varie¬ 
ties in a stand of eighteen Japanese, shown by the Earl 
of Harrington, at Leeds (gardener, Mr. Goodacre) : 
Amiral Avellan, Miss R. Schroeter, Mrs. C. H. 
Payne, Mrs. W. H. Lees, Duke of York, Madame 
Carnot, Edith Tabor, Rose Wynne, Jules Chretien 
Mutual Friend, J. Seward, Etoile de Lyon, Mrs. 
H. Weeks, and Phoebus. In some of the above there 
were two of one kind making the eighteen. On a 
showboard this is by far the finest lot I have ever 
seen in every way. Colour, size, depth and breadth 
and finish were all excellent. There was, moreover, 
not the slightest coarseness. The two blooms of 
Madame Carnot will long be remembered by those 
who visited Leeds Town Hall. One of these blooms 
was awarded the premier prize for the best bloom 
in the show. 
The following is a list of varieties that are up-to- 
date, and most of which have shown us their faces 
during the last season. 
Viviand Morel 
Col. Chase 
Col. Wm. B. Smith 
Mutual Friend 
Rose Wynne 
Wm. Seward 
John Shrimpton 
Good Gracious 
Etoile de Lyon 
Florence Davis 
Violetta 
Puritan 
Demay Sallandier 
M. Panckoucke 
Wilfred Marshall 
Mrs. W. H. Lees 
Madame Cambon 
Madle Therese Rey 
Chenon de Leche 
President Borrel 
Major Bonaffon 
Baronne de Buffieres 
Alice Seward 
Eva Knowles 
Beauty of Exmouth 
Eda Prass 
Duke of York 
Edith Tabor 
Avalanche 
W. Tricker 
Boule d’Or 
W. W. Coles 
Sunflower 
Golden Gate 
International 
H. Jacotot Fils 
Interocean 
H. L. Sunderbruch 
G. C. Schwabe 
John Seward 
Souvenir de Petite, Ami 
G. W. Childs 
Commandant Blusset 
Kentish White 
Louise 
Lady E. Saunders 
Phoebus 
Lord Brooke 
W. H. Lincoln 
Niveus 
Mdlle. Marie Hoste 
Oceana 
Madame Carnot 
Silver King 
This is a list of good varieties, not the newest, but 
all well tried and to be found in any good catalogue 
for next season. 
Cuttings, Good and Bad. —The best cuttings 
come from under the soil. The worst are taken 
sometimes, but of necessity, from the stems and called 
stem cuttings. A length of 2 in. is quite sufficient 
for any cutting. Single pots are preferable ; if these 
are not used then not more than five cuttings 
should be inserted round the side of a sixty-pot. A 
tight case if it can be found forms the most suitable 
accommodation, but it is by no means a thing that 
cannot be dispensed with ; only when exposed in 
a great space the cuttings require a little more water. 
Above all keep them'cool and away from the frost. 
The coming season is my first with Edwin 
Molyneux, Chrysanthemum, so I can say nothing 
about it, but by conversation I find it is apt to die 
right out, because it cannot be done well. One gcod 
man said he had put ten fine cuttings in, and tried 
them ten different ways with the same result. Cannot 
Mr. Molyneux be induced to speak, perhaps to save 
the life of his namesake. The above is not one 
instance by a lot.— J. G. Pettinger, Strawberry Dale 
Nursery, Harrogate. 
(To be Continued.) 
HOME OF HORTICULTURE. 
Will you allow me to add to my former letters upon 
the above subject a few further remarks upon 
finance. It is most desirable to create and foster 
interest in every department of the horticultural 
community, the trade, the employers of labour, the 
gardeners, the amateurs and the cottagers. 
As I have already stated, the Rose and other floral 
festivals held about the middle of June (as near to 
the 20th as convenient) would in my judgment be a 
most appropriate celebration in which all could take 
part. The trade, I would suggest, who derive their 
income from the gardening body, might take the 
initiative and subscribe, say, £i,coo, to be distributed 
in prizes to those societies who would be represented 
by a Life Governor or an Associate. If their co¬ 
operation can be obtained for carrying out my 
scheme, I shall be pleased to offer £100 towards this 
fund, and believe another four hundred would be 
forthcoming from four other firms. Surely amongst 
all our large and wealthy trade community, ten 
other sums of £50 each can be relied upon, thus 
making £1,000. 
The assistance of gardeners might be solicited 
through the post, collecting cards being sent to them, 
prizes being offered for the largest amounts so col¬ 
lected. Collectors might also ballot for a certain 
number of their fellow-collectors to be elected as 
associates without payment, thus ensuring a 
thoroughly representative council ; also all collectors 
of over £'2. to be entitled to a free membership (first 
year) with all its privileges. 
A cordial response from noblemen and gentlemen 
interested in horticulture, amateurs and cottagers, 
would, it is confidently anticipated, result from a 
special appeal by the Horticultural Press, particu¬ 
larly if the papers would receive donations, and 
acknowledge them in their columns. 
I offer these suggestions entirely because no one 
else appears to come forward with a definite scheme ; 
the forthcoming event is too important to pass un¬ 
noticed. Celebrations and festivities of all kinds 
will be held all over the kingdom. Shall horticulture 
be silent ? 
Will the Royal Horticultural Society consider 
these suggestions ? They are not made with the 
idea of forming a rival institution, but establishing a 
Home in which all interests should be united ; and 
the Royal Horticultural Society would naturally be 
the head of it. Will they therefore take the lead ?— 
James L. Wood, Oahleigh Park, Whetstone. 
CHRISTMAS FLOWERS AT COVENT 
GARDEN. 
Christmas ! what a wealth of meaning is bound up 
in the word, and what far-reaching consequences 
does its observance entail I Scarcely is there an 
avocation, indeed, but what is affected by it, either 
directly or indirectly, although in no direction does 
it exercise a more potential influence for good than 
upon the gardener and the market grower. These 
represent a colossal organisation, the energies of 
which are devoted, not only to supplying a vast 
amount of wholesome and nutritious food in the 
shapes of fruit and vegetables to the public at large, 
but also the furnishing of the wherewithal for the 
adornment of our dwelling houses, and our public 
halls, as well as our persons. Covent Garden is the 
heart of this organisation, and it is to this heart that 
all the wealth of material flows for redistribution. 
A walk round the market just before the Yule-tide 
festival is most instructive, for the products of the 
skill of the modern gardener are many and varied. 
Naturally, the characteristic decorations of the 
season are very much en evidence. Shops, booths, 
and stands are all in festive garb, and outside of the 
building cartloads more, of Holly, etc., are to be seen. 
Holly-berries are unusually plentiful this year, a 
prophecy exactly in accordance with the wishes of 
the coal-dealer, according to rural ideas. The 
ordinary red berries are the chief favourites, for 
although the yellow ones were represented, it was 
only in comparatively small quantities. Mistletoe is 
likewise carrying heavy crops of berries this season, 
and judging from the quantities there are of it upon 
the market, and the brisk way in which it changes 
hands, there is no sign of its popularity waning. How 
strange it is that this relic of barbarism should still 
be cherished by us after the symbolism and the 
religious rites with which it was associated by our 
Druid forefathers have become a dead letter. The 
Anglo-Saxon is conservative, however, and sticks to 
his Mistletoe. Long light sprays of Ivy, the leaves 
of which exhibit a charming shade of bronze green 
are capital decorative material, and bundles of them 
are to be seen at every corner. Rather a new dodge 
in the way of festoons are the threads of Holly leaves 
interspersed at intervals with the berries, threaded 
singly like beads. 
Flowers are in great abundance, and we were 
pleased to see that although their waxen travesties 
were still on view, there seems to be a slight falling 
off in the favour with which the dyed and otherwise 
denaturalised articles are regarded. Agrostis 
nebulosa is a common subject for the ill-mannered 
attentions of the dyer. Other abortions are the 
bright scarlet dried and dyed “ Cape Flowers," 
for which some use is evidently found, Chrysanthe¬ 
mums are lasting out bravely, the late L. Canning 
being one of the best white varieties at this advanced 
season. Violets are grateful, not only for their 
colour, but for their perfume. Bunches of the Czar, 
were marked up in the windows of several shops at 
2d. each, not a bad price by any means. The south 
of France is a heavy contributor of Violets, both 
single and double, for our autumn and early winter 
days are two foggy for them to be produced here, 
and hence the foreigner has to be called upon. 
Forced flowers of all kinds are to be had in great 
profusion. Roman Hyacinths, White Azaleas, 
Camellias, Paper-white Narcissi, Cyclamen, Lilies 
of the Valley, and the noble spathes of Richardia 
africana show no lack in this respect. For wreaths, 
button-holes, and other floral designs, Eucharis 
amazonica has no equal, and its wax-like blooms find 
a ready sale. Such Bouvardias as Alfred Neuner, 
Vreelandi, and Priory Beauty render valuable service 
just now. A valuable contribution comes from the 
south of France in the exquisite blooms of Rose 
Catherine Mermet, which is such a favourite 
throughout the summer in our gardens at home. 
Orchids are few, the principal being Cypripedium 
insigne, Odontoglossum Alexandrae, Oncidium 
Forbesii, and O. varicosum, the last two being some 
of the best Oncidiums for market work. Long 
strings of the popular Smilax (Myrsiphyllum aspar- 
agoides) furnish decorative greenery of the utmost 
value, and the quantities of it sold are something 
immense. Asparagus plumosus nanus, and A. 
tenuissimus are in great demand owing to the way in 
which they last when in a cut state. We noticed a 
lot of cut fronds of the hardy Lomaria spicant which 
were doubtless intended for similar uses. The 
