March 20, 1897, 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
489 
Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, Lapagerias (fine speci¬ 
mens grown from seed), Tea Roses, greenhouse 
plants in variety, and many fine foliaged species. 
There is a range of spacious houses for fruit—Grapes 
and Peaches especially. The Vines only planted two 
years were most promising, and the wood being 
strong, short jointed and firm like Oak, we expect to 
hear of them again. Making a casual inspection of 
rockeries, vegetable garden, &c., we hurried on to 
make the best of our time, feeling deeply indebted to 
Sir William's talented and courteous head gardener, 
Mr. John McArtney. We took time to visit the gar¬ 
dens of the president of the Gardeners’ Horti¬ 
cultural Association where fine primulas, and other 
florists’ flowers were much in evidence. The 
gardener is one of the leading Chrysanthemum 
growers at Ayr. From this we had another walk 
(through wind and rain) to visit the gardens of 
Walter Neilson, Esq., of Ewnfield, where flowers are 
also strongly to the front. Mr. Gordon, the gar¬ 
dener, is also an orchard house enthusiast. A fine 
lean-to house is being utilised for Cherries, Plums, 
Peaches, &c Here we had to “ Ca’ canny,” as the 
elements were against the visiting of the beauties of 
Ayr, to say nothing of an intended visit to Auchin- 
cruive, of hardy fruit fame, and Culzean Castle, 
where Mr. Davie Murray has made a great name as 
a fruit grower, as is well known by his incursions to 
the leading exhibition tables in Scotland, and his 
famous Ailsa Craig Onion, which has added lustre 
to his fame.— M. Temple, Carvon, N.B. 
- » ■- 
EXHIBITING CHRYSANTHEMUM 
BLOOMS. 
Gardeners get the credit of being men of good 
taste, but they do not show it much in their method 
of exhibiting Chrysanthemum blooms. Surely the 
time has come when they should be shown with 
their foliage intact. Enthusiasts will tell you that 
good blooms require no extraneous dressing to re¬ 
commend them ; so say I, but do not rob them of 
Nature’s dressing—the foliage. Does it not look 
ridiculous, for instance, for Edwin Molyneux, Edith 
Tabor, and even Modesto, appearing on the show 
boards in the same condition as to clothing as our 
first parents were before the fall. The double 
Dahlia is also exhibited without foliage, and I have 
no doubt this accounts a good deal for the disfavour 
into which it has fallen. 
We have a good deal to learn from Rose shows 
how to exhibit Chrysanthemum blooms. The Roses 
are exhibited with their foliage intact, and although 
the peduncles of many varieties are weak, they are 
supported in a very neat way by wire holders, which 
can only be noticed on close examination. The 
boxes are usually covered with moss of a much 
lighter shade of green than the foliage, which throws 
the deep green shade of the foliage into relief, making 
an admirable setting for the flowers. Seeing that 
the leaves of the Chrysanthemum are bigger than 
the leaves of the Rose, covering the boxes with moss 
would not be very necessary, as the large leaves 
would almost cover the boards, and take away the 
stiffness that the moss is supposed to do. 
The boards, however, would need to be of a much 
lighter shade of green than the foliage, or they might 
be fawn colour, which would show the foliage still 
better, and not be obtrusive. The weakness and 
length of the peduncles of some of the varieties are 
often used as arguments against showing them with 
foliage. The weakness can be got over by using 
supports the same as are used in exhibiting the Rose, 
but larger. The length of the peduncles is a greater 
drawback ; some of the varieties could not be shown 
with foliage without raising them to an ungainly 
height above the board. The peduncle has never 
been taken into consideration up to the present time 
in judging ; but once let this system of exhibiting be 
adopted, and short, stout peduncles will be con¬ 
sidered a merit, and long weak ones will soon dis¬ 
appear before the intelligence and perseverance of 
the raisers of new varieties. 
If a bloom is shown in much the same way as it 
grows on the plant, it stands before the judge with 
all its advantages and defects revealed ; a truer 
judgment can be given ; there are no hidden defects 
that may be perpetuated, such as weak or too long 
peduncles, poor foliage, or loose flabby petals at the 
base of the bloom requiring support. I do not 
couple the non-dressing of blooms along with the 
showing of them with their own foliage as some do. 
If dressing only goes the length of assisting Nature, 
there is nothing to which objection may be taken. 
If some such method as I have indicated were adopted 
in exhibiting the Chrysanthemum, its improvement 
would be more rapid and real, and the improvements 
would at the same time be more in keeping with 
good taste.— 'Mum. 
--**- 
NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
Le Chrysantheme a la grande fleur by Anatole 
Cordonnier. Published by the author, Bailleul, 
(Nord) France. 
When the first edition of this excellent treatise on 
Chrysanthemum cultivation appeared we gave a 
notice of it, and were not at all surprised to have 
enquiries as to whether there was any likelihood of 
there being an English translation, for the contents 
are not only useful, but conveyed to the reader in an 
interesting and literary style. A second edition has 
recently been published in an enlarged form with 
several new illustrations,and to those English growers 
who understand French the book will be of much ser¬ 
vice in more ways than one. It is very complete, well 
printed, freely illustrated, and turned out in good 
style, and the price, 2/-, is remarkably low. M. 
Anatole Cordonnier is one of the foremost cultivators 
of the popular flower in France, the energetic 
secretary of the northern French Chrysanthemum 
Society, and has of late years done much to spread 
the love of the Chrysanthemum abroad in his 
country. The selected lists of varieties which he 
gives shows that he is not animated by patriotic 
motives to exclude all but native productions, but 
on the contrary can appreciate at their proper value 
novelties from all sources, whether English, French, 
American, or otherwise. 
As a large exhibitor at most of the Continental 
shows, the author is well able to judge what varieties 
are of practical utility to the Continental grower, for 
whom, of course, the book is mainly compiled, and 
much of the cultural matter is directed towards this 
method. The new chapters, however, that tend to 
increase the size of the second edition deal with open 
air cultivation, and the details of the work to be 
accomplished month by month in all departments of 
Chrysanthemum growing. 
The list of selected varieties comprises a large 
number of standard kinds with short descriptions, 
and what is likely to be of some value to many 
growers, an indication of the bud to be taken for the 
best results. Taken as a whole we know of no other 
Continental work on the Chrysanthemum likely to 
compete seriously with M. Cordonnier's excellent 
work. 
-- 
ARDENING ® ISCELLANY. 
NARCISSUS INCOMPARABIL1S 
SEM1PARTITUS 
Some authorities consider this as a distinct species, 
and Haworth even gave it generic rank in naming it 
Queltia semipartita. The structure of the foliage 
and flowers shows that it comes very near N. incom- 
parabilis, from which it differs chiefly by its shorter 
and more deeply-divided corona. There is now a 
double form of it in Holland, under the name of N. 
semipartitus plenus. It is not so massive and lumpy 
as the several double forms of N. incomparabilis in 
cultivation, judging from the coloured plate given in 
a recent number of Tijdsehrift voor Tuinbouw. The 
segments are relatively few,irregularly disposed, and 
coloured with a mixture of various shades of sulphur 
and yellow, the latter colour being darkest towards 
the base of the segments. 
RHUS GLABRA LACINIATA. 
Among hardy deciduous shrubs with handsome 
foliage this is one of the best and most useful, and, 
withal is a most excellent town plant, and thoroughly 
hardy. Naturally it will grow from 4 ft. to 7 ft. in 
height and become branching. It may with great 
advantage be utilised in beddiog arrangements in 
the same way as the Ailantus glandulosa is treated 
in the London parks; but its dwarfer habit of 
growth makes it available in positions where the 
Ailantus, owing to its larger growth, would be 
unsuitable. A group of three, or a single plant in a 
small bed, will form a most effective centre piece. 
If cut down annually it will throw up shoots 12 in. to 
15 in. high, but only one growth should be allowed to 
a stool; and a succession of young plants should be 
kept up to replace any which may in time become 
too strong. Besides being used in bedding arrange¬ 
ments it has a most telling effect treated in the same 
fashion on banks at the back of rock work and near 
or among hardy Ferns.— W. B. G. 
STATICE LATIFOLIA. 
This is one of my earliest acquaintances among 
hardy herbaceous plants, and also one of the most 
useful and beautiful; yet how seldom met with. 
Wherever hardy plants are grown it should find a 
place. The dense heads of pale blue flowers are 
excellent material for use among cut flowers in the 
same fashion as the Gypsophila, and more lasting. 
A good plant of it on rock work with its broad 
shining foliage is at any time attractive, more 
especially during the late summer and autumn, when 
the tuft of foliage is crowned with its spreading 
inflorescences. When once planted it should remain 
undisturbed for a few years.— W. B. G. 
CINERARIAS. 
When going round the garden of Yoecliff House the 
other day, I was greatly struck with a splendid 
batch of Cinerarias. On inquiring from Mr. Daking, 
the head gardener, whose strain they were, I was 
informed that the seed came direct from Messrs. 
Jas. Carter & Co., High Holborn The plants are 
growing in 5 in. pots, and they are carrying heads of 
bloom 18 in. across, the blooms being 2J in. across. 
Mr. Daking is very proud of his Cinerarias, and well 
he might be. Messrs. Jas. Carter & Co., are to be 
congratulated on being the possessors of such a 
splendid strain.— Thos. Cockerill, Wivksworth. 
PRIMULA PRINCESS MAY. 
The above Primula is the very finest of recent intro¬ 
ductions, and is one of the good things sent out by 
Messrs. J. Carter & Co. It is just the shade of 
colour that ladies like, being a delicate pink. The 
flowers are borne on strong stems, well above the 
foliage. Mr. Daking has some grand plants in full 
bloom at Yoecliff House.—T. C. 
-- 
OBITUARY. 
Robert Hogg, LL.D., F.L.S. 
It is with deep regret that we announce the death 
of Dr. Hogg, which took place at his residence in 
London, about midnight on Sunday last, His well- 
known figure has been familiar to us since 1880, as 
he used to attend meetings in the gardens of the 
Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. We also 
had the honour of a personal acquaintance extend¬ 
ing back for many years. 
In “ Men of the Time ” it is stated that '* Robert 
Hogg, LL.D., F.L.S., was born at Dunse, N.B., in 
1818, and was educated at a private school in his 
native town.” He was the son of Mr. Robert Hogg, 
Cheeklaw and Bogan Green, Berwickshire, the head 
of the old firm of Hogg & Wood, of Coldstream. 
After a curriculum at the Edinburgh University, like 
many another enterprising Scot, he steered his 
course to London, travelling by the mail coach in 
1836. He was present at Her Majesty's coronation 
in 1837. On arrival he was in charge of Mr. Charles 
Lawson, who assisted in finding him a situation, and 
finally got him engaged to the nurseryman, John 
Ronalds, of Brentford, of fruit-growing fame. The 
young Northerner felt passing rich at a remuneration 
of 15s. a week. By diligence and perseverance he 
became an expert in the raising of trees and the 
cultivation of fruit. 
About this period he first established friendly 
relations with the Continental botanists and horti¬ 
culturists, as a result of his travels in France, 
Belgium, and Germany, and nursed this relationship 
during many subsequent years. In 1845 he became 
a partner by purchase in the firm of Gray & Adams, 
of the long-famed Brompton Nursery at Kensington. 
The business of Gray, Adams & Hogg, continued till 
the dissolution of the whole concern in 1851. This 
nursery was first established in 1681, and long after 
the whole district was occupied with nurseries and 
market gardens. The land became too valuable for 
gardens and soon became built over with noble man¬ 
sions, forming part of the wealthy "West End” of 
London. Exhibition Road now occupies the site of 
the main thoroughfare of the Brompton Nursery. 
