936 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 9, 1905. 
show the other clay, which was held at the 
Town Hall, Stratford, and which extorted the 
admiration of all who were privileged to see 
it. The display was of a very high order of 
merit, and admittedly the best of the fourteen 
shows promoted by the society. Most of these 
beautiful specimens of the Chrysanthemum 
were, as the Mayor observed, grown in West 
Ham, and not a few of them by men employed 
at the Great Eastern Railway Works, who at 
this time of the year only saw their flowers 
once a week, unless they viewed them by 
candle light. That was an indication of en¬ 
thusiasm, at any rate, and the cultural skill 
of the exhibitors was quite remarkable. For 
three days this exhibition remained open, and 
it was well patronised by the public. 
While myself strolling around the hall en¬ 
joying the visual feast and the strains from a 
very clever ladies’ orchestra, I ran up against 
the secretary of the society, Mr. A. E. Cress- 
well, whom, as a matter of fact, I had come 
to seek, although perhaps the occasion was 
hardly the most propitious, seeing that his 
time would necessarily be much occupied. 
Nevertheless, being in the neighbourhood, I 
had decided to try the feat known as killing 
two birds with one stone, and, though nothing 
of a sportsman, succeeded, or to put it 
plainly, obtained the desired interview. 
“.There’s a bit of a lull just now,” Mr. 
Secretary Cresswell said, “ and I’ll answer 
any questions you like to put to me.” 
We thereupon adjourned to a certain place, 
and fell without more ado- into conversation. 
“You’ve got a first-rate show,” I said by 
way of preliminary, “ It would bear com¬ 
parison noth some of the best, and come as a 
surprise to many Londoners to know you 
could raise such flowers in West Ham.” 
“ There’s West Ham and West Ham,” ob¬ 
served Mr. Cresswell somewhat- dryly, I 
thought. “ But really it’s surprising what 
even some of the poorest people living in the 
quite destitute quarters of the district con¬ 
trive to grow.” 
“ I suppose you consider your society have 
done something towards educating the public 
of these parts in horticulture?” 
“ Most certainly we credit ourselves with 
having done so,” came the assured rejoinder. 
“ The tast-e for gardening in this neighbour¬ 
hood is growing,” was the somewhat punning 
after remark, though Mr. Cresswell was too 
serious to have consciously committed the wit¬ 
ticism, “ and,” he continued, “ the society has 
helped largely to foster a love of flowers and 
an interest in their cultivation.” 
He could enlighten me very little respecting 
the history of the society. We may place it 
on record that, after the manner of Topsy, it 
“growed.” Unlike so many similar institu¬ 
tions, it would seem to have experienced few, 
if any, viscissitudes. Montesquieu it was, I 
think, who said “Happy the people whose 
annals are blank in History's book,” and it 
may be assumed, perhaps, that the society 
with blank annals has a happy history. It 
has proceeded from year to year in the even 
tenor of its way, and is now a forceful and in¬ 
fluential agent for good—and the good it does 
in the quiet and unassuming way of such 
societies is more considerable than might be 
suspected, even by that cute observer the 
man in the street. 
Like the society of which he is secretary, 
Mr. Cresswell’s life has evidently been smooth 
and comparatively uneventful. Since the 
tender age of ten he has been following the 
occupation of his first great ancestor, and 
when quite a young man had worked his way 
up in the profession to the post of head 
gardener in a large private establishment. 
That is sufficient to show that the subject of 
this sketch has brains and perseverance. 
“ I came to Wan stead seven years ago,” he 
said, “ to take up the position of head gar¬ 
dener to Mr. W. Waugh, of Fellside, and I 
am there now. I have been a member of the 
local Chrysanthemum Society for some years, 
and this year was appointed secretary by a 
large majority of votes, though I should be 
allowed to say I was not- anxious to undertake 
the office. Still I appreciate the compliment 
conveyed by the selection, and need scarcely 
tell you I have my heart and soul in the 
work, and shall not spare myself in furthering 
the interests of the society.” 
If the show owed anything to the efforts of 
the secretary—and needless to say it must 
have done—then Mr. Cresswell has no occa¬ 
sion to voice his sentiments. It was a tribute 
to Iris untiring energy, zeal, and fitness for 
the post ; for, given an incapable secretary, 
and you would be absurdly sanguine to look 
for a successful exhibition. 
Here I may add that Mr. Cresswell dis¬ 
tinguished himself when quite a child at 
school by capturing a gold medal for profici¬ 
ency in certain studies. He has since then 
won many prizes at flower shows ; he has done 
a good deal of lecturing in connection with 
horticultural mutual improvement societies, 
and his services have been in request for 
judging at shows. His forte in floriculture is 
Chrysanthemums. In adjudging at exhibi¬ 
tions of this flower he is a “dabster,” as his 
colleagues on such occasions readily acknow¬ 
ledge. 
“ Tell me; Mr. Cresswell, in as few words 
as may be, something about the society.” 
“ To begin with, then,” he responded, “ we 
are about- 250 strong, including 90 honorary 
members, and our income- averages £160. 
The membership has greatly increased since I 
became secretary, and I think I am entitled 
to attribute a large percentage of this increase 
to my efforts. I hope we shall muster 500 
before long. 
“We hold a big Chrysanthemum show in 
November, and monthly exhibitions from 
April to October at the. Norwich Hall, Rom¬ 
ford Road, the prizes offered in the latter fox- 
competition being for foliage and flowering 
plants, cut flowers, fruit and vegetables. A 
lecture is also delivered at each of these meet¬ 
ings, and - discussions encouraged. At our 
monthly displays we have an average of 100 
exhibits, and an attendance usually of upwards 
of 100 members. There is a great enthusiasm 
among the members. Then we have summer 
outings and occasional concerts, so that there 
is practically no dead season. Oh, and I 
might mention that there is- our annual dinner 
and presentation of prizes in December, at 
which his worship the Mayor of West Ham 
presides, supported by the aldermen and 
councillors.” 
“How do you dispose of your surplus 
funds 1 ” 
“Ah, I’m glad you’ve asked me that. We 
devote them to charity. During the fourteen 
years of their existence the society have handed 
over nearly £200 to the West Ham and East 
London Hospital. We are proud of the fact.” 
And very rightly so. The society’s philan¬ 
thropy has not ended here, for they iiave de¬ 
voted considerable sums of money to other 
good causes, including a local Christmas 
dinner fund for the poor ; while at the big 
annual show there is a stall for the sale of 
plants and blooms, the proceeds of which arc 
also handed over to the West Ham Hospital. 
Where the society differentiate from others 
of the kind is that they hold their meetings 
at all seasons except winter. The executives 
of most similar organisations find they cannot 
get members to attend meetings in the warm 
months, but in this particular the Forest Gate 
and Stratford. Society evidently find no diffi¬ 
culty. Another noticeable feature is that pro¬ 
fessional gardeners are not allowed to compete 
for any of the prizes. It is strictly what its 
title indicates, a society for amateur horticul¬ 
turists, and the professional element is con¬ 
spicuously absent, although it is maintained 
by some society organisers that without this 
element no association of the mutual improve¬ 
ment character can long survive. 
The Forest Gate Society have a brilliant 
list of patrons, and a host of good friends in 
the West Ham Corporation and elsewhere. 
They are fortunate, too, as the reader will 
doubtless agree, in the possession of such a 
capable and zealo-us secretary as Mr. Cress¬ 
well, for, as we all know, so much depends 
on this important functionary. 
I might have learned more about this 
flourishing and interesting Essex association 
if more time had been at our disposal, but 
Mr. Cresswell was soon called away on some 
pressing matter which needed his. attention, 
and I myself had precipitately to take my 
departure, and run to catch a train. 
Enough, however, has been said to show 
that the Forest Gate and Stratford Amateur 
Chrysanthemum Society is a very worthy 
representative of this order of institution, and 
is carrying out an excellent work in the pro¬ 
pagation of horticultural knowledge and the 
spread of a love of flowers and gardening. 
Petee Penn. 
Chrysanthemum Mrs. William 
Knox. 
(See Supplement.) 
The subject of our supplementary illustration 
this week is a new Chrysanthemum character¬ 
ised by its size, the quantity or number of 
florets in a head, and the ease with which the 
plant may be grown. The bloom measures 
8 in. across, while the clear yellow florets are 
moderately wide, recurved and more or less 
interlaced at the base of the bloom when the 
florets become revolute and twisted in their 
ultimate stages. Although at the beginning of 
November the blooms timed to reach their best 
at that period are of a uniform, clear yellow 
hue, those that reach perfection towards the 
end of the month are more or less shaded with 
rosy-bronze. The variety w-as raised in 
Australia, where it is reputed to be the finest 
of its colour. It has also reached America, 
and is considered a very handsome variety 
with a slight defect for certain purposes. It 
lias wdiat they term a long neck—that is, some 
length of stem between the leaves and the 
flower, making it unsuitable for staging in tall 
vases. For ordinary staging on the Chrysan¬ 
themum board there can be no question, how¬ 
ever, that it has a future before it, and is almost 
certain to be represented in large numbers at 
the exhibitions in different parts of the country 
next year. The bloom from which our illustra¬ 
tion was taken was furnished us by Messrs. 
W. Wells & Co., Merstbam, Surrey. We under¬ 
stand that Messrs. Wells’ customers are to 
receive a plant or cutting of this variety as a 
free gift simply to remind them that Messrs. 
Wells & Co. have transferred their head¬ 
quarters from Earlswood to Merstliam, where 
they are situated between two stations, but 
certainly much the nearer to Merstham Station. 
- o- 
Thex and Now.—In Japan the Chrysan¬ 
themum gave its name to a high order of 
honour, “ The Order of the Golden Flower.” 
In 1832 there wore only forty varieties of the 
Chrysanthemum known ; now they are to be 
reckoned by the hundreds. 
