December 24, 1904. 
THE GARDEMNG WORLD. 
1049 
and Meyer. The flowers are borne in clusters of two to five, 
and are followed by small globular black fruits in August and 
September. The leaves are nearly orbicular, covered with 
silky hairs beneath, especially in their early stages, but forms 
occasionally occur in gardens with leaves nearly smooth. 
There were trees of it in this country many years ago at 
least 12 feet high. Specimens 4ft. to 6 ft. high are frequent 
at the present day. The branches are rather slender, and 
the round leaves give the species a distinct appearance in 
the shrubbery. 
C. bacillaris is another Himalayan species that gives rise 
to numerous straight stems which have been much used for 
walking-sticks; hence the specific name. The flowers are 
white, borne in compact clusteis, and followed by brown or 
red fruits. The leaves are variable from elliptic to oblong or 
lanceolate, and narrowed to the base. 
C. affinis is better known in gardens, and has white 
flowers produced in rather large corymbs. It seems to be 
somewhat variable in the matter of fruit, which may be 
brown or various shades of red, for which reason it has often 
been confused with the next species and with the previous 
one. The leaves are broadly elliptic and downy on the 
under-surface, and in this respect differ chiefly from those 
of C. bacillaris. When allowed to assume the form of a tree 
it makes a specimen at least 15 ft. high, though it may be 
kept to much smaller dimensions. 
The finest of all the large growing ones is undoubtedly C. 
frigida, which should find a place in every garden where 
accommodation can be found for it. The flowers are white, 
and produced in large corymbs very similar to those of the 
Mountain Ash. The fruit is globular, scarlet, ripens in 
September, and hangs for many weeks, provided the birds 
can be induced to let them alone. The leaves are oblong, 
narrowed to the base, and usually about 2 or 3 in. i.Uj 
length. With age this acquires the dimensions of a smal 
tree 16 ft. to 20 ft. in height with a spreading head- 
Where the Mountain Ash does not succeed, owing to the 
dryness of the ciimate, this would make an excellent 
substitute, being a much finer and far more showy subject 
than either of the two preceding species, all three of them 
coming from the Himalayas. - 
Chrysanthemum Mrs. T. Dalton. 
In our description of this new variety on p. 1019, we gave 
the name incorrectly as Mrs. A. Dalton. The mistake was 
not ours, as it was furnished us, and we made the alteration 
against our will for lack of time to make enquiries. Our first 
rendering of it on p. 986 was correct. We are now able to 
slate that the plant grows to the height of 4J ft., and is of 
vigorous constitution. It should be stopped at the end of 
March, and the second crown bud retained. We understand 
the entire stock of this fine variety has been purchased by 
Mr. W. J. Godfrey, The Nurseries, Exmouth, Devon. 
Costly Christmas Trees. —The custom of Christmas trees 
was introduced into this country by King Edward’s father, tha 
Prince Consort, who brought the idea from Germany, where 
the custom was almost universal. A huge tree, heavily laden 
with costly toys and presents, was always provided at Christmas 
during the King’s boyhood at Windsor Castle. Sometimes 
wealthy people spend hundreds of pounds in decorating with 
jewellery and valuable presents a Christmas tree. A gentle¬ 
man well known on the Stock Exchange spent £400 a few years 
ago in ornamenting with costly articles a Christmas tree for 
his children ; but perhaps the dearest tree was one provided 
by a gentleman, familiar as the owner of racehorses, who de¬ 
sired to lavishly celebrate the twenty-first birthday of his 
daughter, who was born on Christmas Day. The trei was hung 
with all kinds of jewellery, diamonds, rubies, and pearls spark¬ 
ling with magnificent effect in the electric lights which lit up 
the tree. This tree cost £1,500, and all the articles on it were 
drawn for by the guests. 
Sutton’s Amateur’s Guide. 
All who love a garden—and who does not ?—will be keenly 
interested in Sutton’s Amateur’s Guide in Horticulture for 
1905. I his work supplies just the kind of information which 
enables practical men to ensure a continuous succession of the 
finest vegetables and the most beautiful flowers throughout 
the entire year. As a further aid in this direction almost every 
page contains one or more high-class engravings. The majority 
of these illustrations are reproductions from photographs, but 
here and there in the list of flowers will be found examples of 
the artist s skill of such singular beauty and force as to 
raise a feeling of regret that wood engraving is a dving art. 
The opening list of garden Peas affords startling evidence 
of recent changes for the better in this much-prized vegetable. 
Both pods and peas are of a size that would have been pro¬ 
nounced impossible a few years ago: and increased size has 
not been gained at the expense of other important qualities. 
Among the advantages of modern varieties is the wide choice 
of dwarf Peas, which freely produce immense pods filled with 
large peas of most delicious flavour. In nearly all other 
classes of vegetables similar changes will be observed. Either 
the period of usefulness has been extended or some other 
quality of real value has been secured. 
Messrs. Sutton have long been honourably known as intro¬ 
ducers of seedling Potatos. The pioneer of a remarkable 
scries of new varieties was the renowned Magnum Bonum 
distributed in 1876, which practically revolutionised the 
Potato trade of this country. This variety has stood the test 
of time, and large breadths of it are still planted even- 
season. Two years ago the Reading firm launched their 
Discovery, which at once created a reputation as a heavy 
cropper capable of resisting disease to an extraordinary 
degree. For the approaching season another new seedling 
Potato is offered, and it will doubtless be received with the 
confidence inspired by past experience. 
Allusion has already been made to the section devoted to 
flowers. A careful examination will show that rom beginning 
to end of the list not a superfluous variety is offered, either for 
culture under glass or in open beds and borders. This part of 
the work is illustrated with many superb plates, and also with 
bijou photographs well worthy of close attention. We 
observe that Messrs. Sutton invite their customers to inspect 
their glass houses and experimental grounds when the 
sumptuous displays of Begonia, Calceolaria, Cineraria, Cycla¬ 
men, Gloxinia and Primula are in full beauty. We can 
scarcely imagine a greater pleasure than is afforded by the 
sight of thousands of these beautiful flowers, to say nothing 
of the sheets of bloom in great beds of out-door annuals and 
perennials from seed, which are visible to passengers on the 
Great Western, South-Eastern, and South-Western Railways. 
It is impossible to glance through Sutton’s Amateur’s 
Guide without being impressed with the perfect organisation 
and immense resources which such a work implies. We may 
add that the book is beautifully printed and will be an orna¬ 
ment on any drawing-room table. 
Epicures and the Potato Furore. —Above the tumult of the 
Potato war the cry of the epicure may now be heard, and his 
loud and long complaint is that nowadays the interests of the 
consumer are set at nought by the average Potato grower, whose 
sole attention appears to be centred upon obtaining a record of 
prodigious yield, regardless of quality or flavour. It is averred 
that the only reason that “ Stars ” are still shining is on account 
of their good points from the growers’ vantage-ground. It is 
conceivable that with a certain class of grower the eagerness 
to obtain an abundant crop may override the more important 
object of securing tubers of first-rate quality. As a remedy 
for this lax state of affairs the connoisseur urges that at all 
exhibitions where the tuber enters into competition a sample 
of the cooked “ ware ” should be introduced, in order that the 
full merits of a boomed variety may be put to the test and its 
table qualities made known. 
