14 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 7, 1905. 
courage them to be shown in vases and in the groups. the 
result is every class looks stiff and formal. The picturesque 
appearance of the shows is lost. Even the judges seem to 
lose their artistic tastes at Chrysanthemum shows. 
At the spring and summer shows artistic arrangement of 
groups is a very important feature. Why should it not be so 
at the Chrysanthemum shows? I do not wish you to think 
for a moment that I should like to see the exhibition bloom 
entirely discouraged—far from that. I always admire the 
great skill shown to bring these flowers to such an enormous 
size. One cannot say perfection, because in reality when such 
proportions are attained the beauty of the flower is lost ; the 
limit of natural beauty is passed by this excessive high cul¬ 
ture. I consider Chrysanthemum societies make a great mis¬ 
take by giving all the encouragement to the production of size 
and leaving out the refined and by far more useful decorative 
class. What a blessing it is that the gardener cannot with all 
the excess of high culture spoil the natural beauty of the hose 
or Sweet Pea;"but the Chrysanthemum lends itself to this 
practice, and the gardener knowing its weakness for rich food, 
feeds it as liberally as the farmer feeds the fat hog for Smith- 
$eld show until it attains such enormous dimensions that all 
natural beauty is lost. 
At the close of the discussion which followed, Mr. Moxham 
said he fully endorsed all that Mr. Sickelmore had stated. He 
hoped that Chrysanthemum societies would give more encour¬ 
agement to artistic gardening and the decorative classes in 
preference to mere size. Mr. Barrett seconded. The meeting 
closed with a vote of thanks. 
Adiantum farleyense. 
When grown under heavy shading this lovely Maidenhair 
will lose much of its beauty, as it is only when well exposed 
to the light that the young fronds have that lovely rosy pink 
hue. Even when well exposed they soon lose the colour if we 
get dull, damp weather. Another advantage in growing it 
fully exposed to the light is that the fronds will last fairly well 
when cut, and plants may also be used for decoration, except 
in very exposed positions. Although it may frequently be met 
with growing well and appearing to give but little trouble, 
there are many who fail to hit on the right method of treat¬ 
ment. When plants get into a weak and sickly state, it takes 
a long time to get them to make a good start again, but. once 
get them into a healthy state, with genial surroundings there 
is little difficulty in keeping them so. 
Like most other Ferns, it deteriorates with age. Plants 
grown on from single crowns make the finest fronds. As no 
fertile fronds are produced, it has to be propagated by divi¬ 
sion. It is best to divide young plants. If done before the 
pots get full of roots tlrey will soon start away again ; but 
where only old plants are to be had they may be broken up 
so as to secure some good roots with each division, and then be 
divided again after they have made a fresh start; or some of 
the crowns may be taken off and all the fronds cut. away. If 
put into sphagnum moss, peat and sand in equal parts and 
kept close, giving them similar treatment to young seedlings, 
they will start away and may be potted singly after they have 
made a. few fronds. By this method it takes some.time to 
establish useful-sized plants. The compost for potting should 
consist of good fibrous loam, a little good peat and sand. Care 
should be taken that the compost is neither too wet nor too 
dry when used for potting. Good drainage should be given, 
and in potting, the plants should be kept fairly well down, but 
not buried too deeply. The new soil may just cover the 
crowns, and should be pressed moderately firm. 
Few plants require more care in watering than A. farley¬ 
ense. Newly potted plants, or those which have few fronds, 
will not require much, while healthy plants with large fronds 
and the pots filled with roots will take more water than many 
plants. Letting the plants get too dry is often the cause of 
their being unhealthy. It i's easy to tell when a plant has 
been too dry, although no outward sign may be visible. On 
examination the under fronds will be found to be shrivelled 
up, and if these are left they cause damping as soon as they 
get a little moisture on them, and this evil will extend to the 
young fronds that are just starting up. Weak liquid manure 
may Ire used after the pots are well filled with roots. A. 
farleyense should never be grown under the shade of other 
plants or crowded. It may be stood on inverted pots oi it 
may be suspended from the roof with plenty of room for the 
air to circulate round it. If the plants are kept in a tempera¬ 
ture of from 60 deg. to 70 deg., they will continue to grow 
throughout the winter. I have kept farleyense healthy where 
the temperature lias often fallen as low as 50 deg. in winter. 
J. W. J. 
Grevillea thelemanniana. 
Of the many beautiful species of Grevilleas which have been 
introduced from Australia, there are few which equal for their 
graceful habit and beautiful form or inflorescence that of the 
subject of this article. It is something to be much regretted 
that this particular species, although introduced so long age 
as 1833, is so little cultivated at the present time. A well- 
grown specimen is always a source of admiration, and never 
fails to create a pleasing and lasting impression. The foliage 
of this species is most unique, the alternate leaves being 
divided into verv fine and narrow segments, whilst the flowers 
are produced in drooping racemes at the extremities of all the 
shoots, being in colour rosy-pink, tipped with green, the whole 
effect of which is to give the plant a most elegant and orna¬ 
mental appearance. Subject to cool treatment, and potted in 
a compost consisting of peat, fibrous loam and sand, Grevilleas 
thrive remarkably well. 
Propagation may be effected with this species from cuttings 
of the young side shoots inserted in a sandy compost and 
placed under a bellglass until callused, when they should be 
subject to a slight bottom heat, which will greatly facilitate 
the formation of roots. r ■ ■■ 1 • 
Rubus Ulmifolius Flore Pleno. 
How long this lovely Bramble has been in cultivation I do 
not pretend to know, but judging from circumstances under 
which I have come across it I am inclined to opine it is one 
of those very old inhabitants of British gardens that have 
almost become extinct. It was in a delightfully old-fashioned 
Scottish garden that I first became acquainted with this plant, 
and it immediately claimed my admiration, for at the time it 
was rambling at will down a bank where its abundance of pink 
double flowers showed to peculiar advantage among the dark 
green foliage and spiny steins. It had all the appearance of 
an old-world flower, and yet it seemed to me (and seems still) 
to be almost incredible that so beautiful a .plant could long 
have existed, for surely its charms would .appeal to some who 
would rescue it from oblivion. Appearances may therefore 
have deceived me, and it may be a comparatively new plant 
that has fallen into the hands of a few enthusiastic amateurs 
who have jealously guarded it from the outer world. What¬ 
ever the cause, the plant is not nearly so widely distributed 
as its merits deserve, and this fact induces me, in spite of my 
ignorance of its history, to draw the attention of lovers of 
hardy plants to this lovely trailer that would be a distinct 
acquisition to any fair-sized rock garden. I found it possible 
to propagate by means of cuttings of the ripened growth of 
the current season, taken with heel and inserted in a light 
compost in a cold frame, but the best method is to layer it in 
summer, the layers being ready for removal the following 
spring. 
It would be interesting to learn the plant’s history, but I 
think it more important to know its worth, and therefore make 
no apology for writing of a plant of which I know no more. 
Heather Bell. 
