284 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 2, 1897. 
of Maidenhair, and a few trails of Smilax. Six or 
eight small glasses could be filled with Roman 
Hyacinths, or Lily of the Valley. The centre-piece 
should consist of other white flowers. A few sprigs 
of well-berried Holly might be arranged round the 
bases of the candelabra, the latter being furnished 
with red shades. Iceland Poppies, in the three 
shades of orange, yellow, and white. Their long stiff 
stalks render them very easy to arrange, and if cut 
in the morning before the bees are at work they will 
be found to last several days, even in the hot 
summer weather. The Shirley Poppies are also 
most valuable for table decoration. 
On special occasions, such as silver weddings and 
other social functions, floral decorations occupy an 
important position. It is fortunate, therefore, that 
there is scarcely any time when we cannot get some¬ 
thing out-of-doors. The endless variety of spring 
and summer flowers give place to the berries of 
autumn, which are followed in their turn by the 
Christmas Roses and yellow Jasmine. 
-- 
TO THE LONDON PLANE. 
Plane-tree of London, the Orient Plane, 
Humbly thy praises I sing ; 
All through the season, in sunshine and rain, 
Daily thy homage I bring. 
Slowly thy leaves from their wintering creep, 
Clad in a russety down ; 
Summertide makes them a bright polish take ; 
Autumn arrays them in brown. 
Oft has the morning sun, mirrored in dew, 
Shone from thy leaves manifold, 
Then, ere the gloaming received his adieu, 
Burnished thy leafage with gold. 
Dreary November, now riding the blast, 
Deaf both to pity and grief. 
Moans as it musters to carry the last 
Struggling and lone dying leaf. 
Now, like a hand 'tis outstretched in distress; 
Lo ! it is severed and falls ; 
Briefly I bid it farewell, and confess 
Sorrow my heart now enthralls. 
Bur-like and spherical clusters of fruit 
Cling to thy branches forlorn ; 
Yes, and will linger till each from its shoot, 
Earthwards by wild winds is torn. 
Mortals when sickness or fierce foes assail, 
Cling to the bare bones of life, 
Just as thy seeds in their dead coat of mail, 
Safely outlive winter’s strife. 
Beautiful Plane, ’tis the close of thy day ; 
Keenly I’ll look for the noon, 
Patiently wait for the flowery May— 
Wait for the bowery June. 
— Osmund*, 16 th November, 1896. 
-—J-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE FOR 
EXHIBITION. 
[Continued, from p. 267). 
Treatment whilst in a Young State. —The 
more cool and airy these plants are kept the better. 
Anything approaching heat entices them to move at 
a time when little or no good is done. If single pots 
have been used, in a month’s time the young plants 
should be very slightly shaken out, and given a little 
stronger loam. This is necessary, as the material 
they are struck in must of a necessity be of a sandy 
nature. After they are well rooted they are better 
out of this. The above applies also to those that 
are struck, five in a pot. By no means use any 
artificial manure at this stage. Always crock freely. 
A nice fitting one must go at the bottom, and some 
broken pieces as small as Peas on the top. Good 
drainage and plenty of it will never at any time harm 
Chrysanthemums. The plants at this potting should 
not be rammed, but should at the same time be 
potted firmly, and all pains taken with them as they 
are just starting on their career. For this shift I 
like a 4-in. pot in which, if the treatment has been 
good, they will stop until the final potting is com¬ 
menced. Lastly, by all means keep them cool and 
very slowly moving. Frames are far the best place 
for the plants. Plenty of covering must always be 
kept on hand at this stage of growth, for frost will 
work great harm. 
Material for Final Potting. —As far as soil 
is concerned the cultivator for exhibition must bring 
all his knowledge to bear at this stage. The best 
material in existence is good turf of a yellow or 
brown colour—black I do not like at all, as it 
generally denotes the presence of ashes, and is 
always of a loose nature. The above should be 
taken off as deep as the fibre goes, that is two or 
three inches. Take it off neatly, for the sake of 
appearance. When this is done choose a dry 
position outside on which the sods can be stacked. 
The size of the stack will necessarily be in propor¬ 
tion to the number of plants grown. Commence 
with a layer of sods at the bottom, then a good 
covering of manure, which is all the better for being 
dry and well decomposed. If the manure at hand is 
not good, better leave it out. Anything approaching 
vegetable matter should by no means be used. 
Build this stack up, using alternately a layer of 
sods and manure, crushed J or £ inch bones, Clay’s, 
Thomson’s, Ichthemic Guano, or any other good 
artificial manure may be added. Charcoal forms, 
along with broken oyster shells, the best grit 
possible for this subject. 
When the stack is finished two or three sheets of 
galvanised iron should be put on the top, and tilted, 
to throw off the rain. When the soil is wanted, 
start at one end and chop it straight down with a 
sharp tool into pieces about the size of Apples. 
Mix thoroughly and then put it on the bench for 
using. 
How to Pot.— Chrysanthemums are flowered in 
various sizes of pots from 5 in. to 9 in., the smaller 
ones being more for plants obtained from tops 
struck in March or April. An 8-in. pot is large 
enough for all other purposes. Of course 9-in. 
may be used, but as a rule the smaller the pot the 
better. For all purposes crocking forms a main 
feature. A larger quantity of crocks must be used 
than for the young plants. Always mind that they 
“bed "or lie nicely. Soot, if sprinkled among the 
crocks, is the best preventative against worms. 
Again, a thin layer of sphagnum moss is a thing not 
to be despised if it is at hand in plenty. Now spread 
a quantity of the rougher material over the creeks or 
sphagnum and then place the plant in position. It 
should be 1 in. or so below the rim of the pot when 
potting is finished to allow for a little top dressing. 
Firm potting is the backbone of successful Chrysan¬ 
themum growing. As the plants are potted set them 
out in an open position as close together as they will 
stand. Be very careful with the watering-can. 
Just a sprinkle to keep the tops up is all that is 
necessary, using a rose that will settle the surface of 
the soil nicely and evenly.— J. G. Pettinger, Strawberry- 
dale Nurseries, Harrogate. 
(To be Continued.) 
- — - 
BIG PLANTS AT AYR SHOW. 
“ Mum,’’ according to his remarks on p. 262, is in 
great distress over my statement in favour of the 
first prize lot of specimen Chrysanthemum plants at 
Ajr Show. I can assure him I am in no way 
distressed over the matter ; they were worthy of it, 
also of the praise they received from the gentlemen 
that adjudicated the awards in the plant classes. 
With the exception of one plant they were 
certainly under 7 ft., and the one exception was not 
to be ashamed of. I heard a person say he ques¬ 
tioned if there was under 2,000 blooms on the same 
plant. I did not count them, but it was the heaviest 
flowered plant I have seen. This and the others 
were clothed to the pots with healthy foliage ; and 
according to a statement made to me by the gentle¬ 
man to whom the first prize lot belonged, they were 
over 7 ft. through, with flowers of good size, colour, 
and freshness. If “Mum” thinks lightly of such 
plants I am afraid he has had very slight practice in 
growing specimen plants. I speak not against 
dwarfness ; it is in the plants' favour. I have seen 
dwarfer and probably neater plants at other shows, 
but after all is said, the Ayr plants have the honour 
so far as culture goes in producing plants of 
big dimensions cjmbined with quantity of flowers of 
good quality. If “ Mum ” has not produced plants 
like unto those at Ayr Show, I advise him "to go 
and try to do likewise.”— W. Rushton. 
-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM GROUPING. 
I have been much interested with the excellent 
remarks of A. P., A. S. G., and Mr. George Potts on 
the above subject. There can be no question but 
that the miscellaneous groups are much to be pre¬ 
ferred to the huddled mass of colour which generally 
obtains at ’mum shows. Mr. Potts’ suggestion on 
page 267 is an excellent one, and where practicable 
should be acted upon. We used to run both styles, 
but on account of insufficient room had to cut one 
out. The committee after due deliberation decided 
to retain the 'mum group for the reason that where 
there was one gardener who could put up anything 
like a decent miscellaneous group, there were three 
who could not on account of not having the necessary 
foliage plants, whilst all of them could manage a 
'mum group. 
This year we had a class for twelve cut blooms on 
leng stems arranged in a space 3 ft. by 2 ft., with 
plants or foliage. There were some excellent 
exhibits, the best being set up with branches of 
Beech, Brake, Ferns, etc. If exhibitors were allowed 
to use something similar amongst the plants in pots, 
those without Palms and other foliage plants would 
not stand out against any alteration in the present 
system of arrangement, for they would be able to 
make a good show without spoiling the whole of their 
collection, which you are bound to do, however care¬ 
ful you may be in taking them to and from the show. 
— C., Secretary. 
—-- 
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
The Narcissus or Daffodil* 
*Biggs & Son’s Handy Series of Fruits, Flowers, and 
Vegetables. No. 1 
The Narcissus or Daffodil. By T. W. Birken- 
shaw, Head Gardener, Totley Hall, Sheffield. 
With additions. Illustrations from Photographs 
by Messrs. J. Carter and Co., Seedsmen, High 
Holborn. Price 2d. Biggs and Son, 139—140 
Salisbury Court, London, E C. 
Here we have a small pamphlet of some 32 pages 
that runs over the whole range of the history of the 
Daffodil, culture, classification, and selections of the 
best varieties for any given purpose. Mr. Birken- 
shaw, the author, like most other writers on the 
subject,feels unable to omit the classical but mythical 
legend of Narcissus. Well, we do not quarrel with 
him,for the beauty of the poetry is fascinating enough 
for those who can get away from mere cultural 
routine and hard matters of fact. We smile in¬ 
credulously, however, when Mr. Birkenshaw treats 
us to a new classification of the Daffodil which was 
read by Mr. J. G. Baker at the Daffodil Conference in 
1884. So much has been said about Daffodils during 
the last 12 or more years that the subject is now pretty 
well worn. Ther eis one more criticism we will make 
concerning the name Alba plena odorata as applied 
to the double Gardenia variety of the Poet's Nar¬ 
cissus. Both alba and odorata have wrong termina¬ 
tions, and both are equally superfluous, for all the 
varieties of the Poet’s Narcissus we have met are 
white and sweet scented. There are two double 
varieties, but that under notice is N.poeticus recurvus 
plenus. 
In speaking of the culture of Daffodils the author 
does well to state that they should be changed from 
place to place each time they are transplanted. If 
vigorous growth is desired this practice is necessary. 
Shallow planting is to be preferred in stiff soil, he 
says ; but surely the statement that the double Poet’s 
Narcissus requires a more retentive soil and to be 
planted 6 in. deep, is imaginary, not to put it more 
forcibly. We have seen it flowering profusely in 
borders of light sandy soil where the bulbs were 
almost on the surface. Better treatment would no 
doubt give larger flowers, though not more of them. 
White Daffodils dislike manures near them, and we 
take it that the author means rank farmyard manures. 
To this group he might also have added the Tenby 
Daffodil which is very impatient of the manure cart. 
Artificial manures used judiciously should prove very 
beneficial. Bonemeal or bonedust is here recom¬ 
mended. Why not potash and nitrogen as well, in 
safe quantities? The author recommends early 
planting, say in the first or second week of August or 
earlier. This would be desirable where the ground 
is available. The bulbs should be lifted every second 
or third year without fail. Seedling bulbs do not 
reach their best development till they are nine years 
old. 
Everybody's Medical Guide.* 
‘Everybody's Medical Guide: a Handbook of 
Reliable Medical Information and Advice. By 
M. D. (Lond).London : Saxon & Co., Publishers, 
23, Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, E.C. Cloth 
6d. Leather is. 
This little handbook of 122 pages is merely intended 
to afford hints and suggestions rather than to be 
acted upon in any or every case. The force of this 
