THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 14, 1907. 
601 
>lonia schroederiana Heaton var. 
‘ ie sepals of this variety are of a shining 
br/n, slightly netted with yellow. The 
pels are incurved over the flowers like a 
bp’s horns and are less netted with yellow 
lh the sepals. The lip is creamy white 
ar reddish-purple on the lower half, 
yrd of Merit by the R.H.S. on August 
w hen exhibited by Messrs. Charles- 
xv,hand Co., Heaton, Bradford. 
P, to Dobbie’s Favourite. 
nis variety has been tried in the R.H.S. 
G.lens at Wisley and given an Award of 
Mit by the Fruit 'Committee on August 
jo. The tuber is oval, white and clean 
skned, though the specimens brought up 
tore Royal Horticultural Hall were only 
of noderate size. No doubt the cropping 
ar quality are all that could be desired. 
'F senders were Messrs. Dobbie and Co., 
Ruesay. 
-- 
list Year’s Flowering Season. 
ir many years past Mr. Edward Maw- 
1c F.R. Met. Soc., V.M.H., Rosebank, 
p diamsted, has been keeping a record 
if le flowering of thirteen native British 
pi its in various parts of the country. 
T re are, of course, a large number of 
st ons extending over the British Isles 
A an observer at each station who re- 
cos the first flowering of the plants in 
action, and sends in these records to 
M Mawley. Two diagrams, represent- 
in different divisions of England, Ire- 
la, and Scotland, show at a glance 
w ther these flowers have been early or 
la. In 1906 we note that the Hazel, 
C :’s-foot, Wood Anemone, Blackthorn, 
at Garlic Hedge Mustard bloomed at 
ni rly all the stations in advance of the 
a> ‘age of former years, except in the 
n, h of Scotland, where the most of 
tin were invariably a little later. When 
w come to the flowering of the Horse 
C stnut and, later, the Hawthorn, the 
Mite Ox-eye Daisy, and the Dog Rose, 
w find that they were almost invariably 
1; r than the average at all the stations. 
Ts would indicate that the middle por- 
ti of the season was colder and the 
p its accordingly bloomed later. It 
tr ht have been, hotvever, that they lost 
ti; in May and June and were unable 
tc nake up the lost time, and were there- 
b behind their average time. W T hen we 
cue to the Black Knapweed, Harebell, 
a: greater Bindweed, we note that they 
F not vary much from the average, but 
at; ome stations were a little earlier ,and 
anthers a little later. The Ivy was a 
li e later than usual in the south-west 
0 England, the east and north, as well 
a :he north of Ireland. At other places 
i: r as a little earlier than usual. W e are 
ruer surprised that the great heat in 
J y and August did not bring them into 
tom much earlier than it did, but it 
s aied to have only the effect of keeping 
tlm near to the average dates. From 
t ; time of the blooming of the Horse 
distnut onwards, almost all of them 
" e behind time in the north of Scotland, 
all a great many of them likewise were 
1 ; in the east of Scotland. This may be 
a ounted for by the fact that the weather 
i: Scotland was very different from that 
0 England, being much colder and 
ter, especially in August. 
Chrysanthemum 
Mrs. Charles Bowthian Bell. 
Improvements continue to be made 
amongst seedling varieties of Chrysanthe¬ 
mum maximum, which has proved very 
variable when repeatedly raised from 
seeds and seeds gathered from selections 
and again sown. The variety under no¬ 
tice grows 20 in. to 22 in. high, with 
stout, erect stems. The flowers measure 
about 5 in. in diameter, and have broad, 
white ray petals of great substance, re¬ 
curved at the tip. In this respect the 
variety differs from King Edward VII., 
in which the rays are more or less ascend¬ 
ing, making a somewhat cup-shaped 
flower. This is not the first one in 
which the rays are recurved, but it is of 
greater substance and the raj s are in two 
or three rows. 
The golden disc is somewhat promin¬ 
ent, but that will always be the case with 
single flowers of large size. The larger 
the flower head, the more numerous must 
be the florets of the disc, and if people 
will insist upon large flowers, they must 
be prepared to accept, with as good grace 
as they can, a very large and prominent 
disc. Flowers of the above were sent us 
by Messrs. J. Cheal and Sons, Lowfield 
Nurseries, Crawley, Sussex. 
The cultivation of this variety is as 
easy as C. maximum itself. It will grow 
in any good garden soil, and the richer it 
is, the better will be the flowers and the 
more vigorous the plants, provided, of 
course, that the situation is open and the 
plants get plenty of space bfetween them. 
Those who do not particularly fancy 
large flowers may simply cultivate it in 
the ordinary herbaceous border, giving it 
the same treatment as the occupants of 
that. Even under those conditions, we 
consider the flowers come cpiite large 
enough for ordinary decorative purposes 
in the cut state. The blooms last well 
in water. 
\Maclaren and Sons. 
Chrysanthemum maximum Mrs. Charles Lowthian Bell. 
A Piano in Flowers. 
The Shrewsbury Floral Fete this year 
surpassed itself and the show tents were 
a veritable paradise of flowers. A fea¬ 
ture in the large tent reserved for fruit 
classes, bouquets, Dahlias, etc., was a 
full-sized piano made with flowers by 
Messrs. Jones and Sons, Ltd., Shrews- 
bury. The white keys were of Stocks, 
ancl the black keys were composed of 
Violets, while the framework was made of 
dyed Laurel leaves. In addition, there 
was the pianoforte stool, the seat com¬ 
posed of Asters and the frame of dark 
Ferns. The great attraction was the 
superb collection of Grapes, and if 
Shrewsbury is noted for. its flowers, it is 
also noted for its Grapes. In the cham¬ 
pionship classes alone there u-ere 550 
bunches of the finest Grapes one could 
wish to see, and the finest of the lot was 
shown by Lord Hastings. He, therefore, 
repeated his former successes and once 
again carried off the champion cup. 
Streptocarpus F. Burdett. 
The above name has .been given to a new 
hvbrid strain of Streptocarpus with leaves 
about 18 in. long and clusters of flowers 
of remarkable size, being 2^ to 3 in. across. 
On different plants they vary from a pale 
to deep sky-blue with three large deep 
purple blotches or bands on the lower lip. 
Award of Merit was given for the strain 
by the R.H.S. on August 20th when shown 
by Mr. F. Burdett, Sunningdale, Berks. 
