January  14,  189?, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
31 
dwarf  habit,  will  become  popular  in  the  near  future  for  either  exhibition 
or  decoration.  Emily  Silabury,  pure  white,  a  very  easy  grower,  is 
already  receiving  the  attention  of  market  growers,  but  is  rather  early. 
Lady  Byron  and  Lady  Esther  Smith,  both  pure  white,  new  last  year,  are 
also  being  grown  largely.  Surely  here  we  have  plenty  of  whites  ;  but  if 
Baron  A.  de  Rothschild  does  not  prove  a  useful  market  variety  I— but 
stop.  I  am  only  a  “  probationer,”  and  my  article  will  have  to  be 
“  deleted  ”  I  fear.  However, 
I  venture  to  pass  on  to  the 
yellows  and  others. 
Golden  Gate  is  a  splendid 
variety  for  Christmas  blooms. 
Thomas  Wilkins  is  very  good, 
but  if  you  want  a  broDzy 
shade  try  E.  G.  Hill,  which 
is  a  good  late.  Tuxedo  is 
a  grand  orange,  a  strong 
grower,  coming  in  December 
and  January.  For  a  bright 
yellow  nothing  can  yet  com¬ 
pare  with  W.  H.  Lincoln. 
Wilfred  Marshall  is  a  fine 
bold  flower  of  a  lemon  yellow 
tinge.  Of  newer  varieties 
Edith  Tabor,  canary  yellow, 
must  become  a  favourite  for 
market.  Australian  Gold  has 
also  the  habit  of  growth  re¬ 
quired  for  market  work,  and 
Modesto  is  without  doubt 
the  most  brilliant  yellow  in 
existence,  a  good  grower,  and 
sturdy  habit,  meeting  every 
requirement  in  a  decorative 
plant. 
Well,  Mr.  Editor,  there 
are  a  few  more  I  should  have 
liked  to  say  a  word  for, 
which  you  will  see  in  the  box  of  blooms  sent  to  you.  Those  exhibition 
chaps  have  had  all  the  say  in  our  paper  for  some  months,  but  their 
big  game  is  all  slaughtered  now,  and  tnrir  monster  idols  in  the  dust, 
so  such  like  as  your  humble  scribe  can  possibly  come  in  with  a  few 
late  blooms. — T.  G.,  Devon. 
[Devon  is  not  considered  a  cold  late  county,  and  Devoniarg  have 
done,  are  doing,  and  will  do,  good  service  in  the  floral  world.  Though 
the  weather  has  been  mild,  if  not  “  balmy,”  of  late  in  the  West,  this 
free  lance  has  evidently  no  lack  of  pure  and  bright  Chrysanthemums,  or 
he  could  not  have  sent  us  about  forty  blooms  in  fifteen  varieties — mostly 
yellows,  but  one  golden  bronze,  his  favourite,  E.  G.  Hill,  highly  effective. 
The  purer  and  pale  yellows  include  Charles  Blick.  rich  ;  Owen  Thomas, 
fine  ;  Wilfred  Marshall,  attractive  ;  Ducbess  of  Wellington,  Le  Prince 
de  Bois,  Duchess  of  York,  Challenge,  Jeanette  Sheeham,  pale;  and 
Philadelphia,  sulphur.  Blush-tinted  are  represented  by  Louise,  Princess 
May,  and  Madame  Calvat,  and  whites  by  Madame  Alfred  Chatin  and 
Miss  Mardchaux.  Now  the  “  pen  is  drawn  ”  it  can  run  on,  and  the 
“  chap  ”  behind  it  need  not  trouble  himself  about  “  deletion.”] 
A  Tour  Abroad  by  a  Happy  Trio. 
{Continued  from  page  3.) 
The  'steamer  drew  up  to  the  side  of  the  Ostend  quay,  the  captain 
shouted  his  orders  in  what  I  took  to  be  Flemish,  the  seamen  holloaed,  and 
the  passengers  soon  began  to  crowd  round  the  gangway  preparatory  to 
disembarking.  Fortunately  I  had  made  friends  with  the  steward,  and 
had  discovered  he  was  a  Ghent  man.  He  was  delighted  to  be  of  service 
to  us,  finding  we  were  on  the  way  to  his  native  city,  and  without  more 
ado  he  set  off  and  brought  us  a  couple  of  porters  to  land  our  boxes  and 
see  them  into  the  train  for  us.  But  this  was  easier  said  than  done.  A 
tall,  heavily  built  official  put  the  usual  question  that  first  strikes  the 
foreigner’s  ear,  Avex  votes  quelque  chose  a  declarer  ?  which  being 
interpreted  means,  Are  you  a  smuggler?  and  then  we  knew  we  were  face 
to  face  with  the  Customs  House  Officer.  The  flower  boxes  were  objects 
of  mystery.  I  explained  they  only  contained  cut  flowers  for  the  grand 
Chrysanthemum  show  at  Ghent  on  the  following  day.  He  seemed 
dubious,  as  if  Chrysanthemum  leaves  were  used  for  cigar  making,  and 
finally  our  flower  boxes  had  to  be  ruthlessly  broken  open  where  the  lids 
did  not  give  easily,  and  inspection  allowed.  I  found  he  was  searching 
for  phylloxera,  but  as  the  blooms  had  no  roots  the  boxes  were  passed, 
fastened  up  afresh,  and  put  in  the  carriage. 
This  interesting  performance  took  place  about  three  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  and  a  raw,  uncomfortable  morning  it  was.  Having  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  or  so  to  wait  before  the  train  started,  we  had  a  cup  of  hot 
coffee,  and  then  started  off.  Then  we  stopped,  and  I  could  not  help 
thinking  of  the  Dean  of  Rochester’s  funny  story  about  a  cow  on  the 
line.  But  we  ultimately  did  arrive  at  Ghent  a  little  before  5  A.M. 
We  got  outside  Ghent  station  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and 
the  porter  called  a  cab,  and  when  we  found  the  driver  was  none  other 
than  Honorez — genial,  buxom  old  Honorez,  the  English-speaking  cabby 
who  acts  as  guide,  philosopher,  friend  and  interpreter  to  so  msny 
English  and  American  visitors — our  joy  was  unbounded.  Gentle  reader, 
if  you  have  been  to  Ghent  you  know  his  “gee-gee.”  Everybody  does  ; 
it  is  so  wonderfully  and  fearfully  made,  but  it  can  travel  and  whisk 
round  corners  in  a  way  that  is  positively  alarming  to  a  tired,  timid 
traveller.  And  the  cab  1  A  splendid  vehicle,  and  Honorez’s  own 
property ;  but  the  only  fault  a  tall  man  can  find  is  that  it  ought  to  have 
a  sliding  roof,  that  is,  of  course,  when  there  is  no  luggage  on  the  top.  A 
few  minutes  brought  us  to  the  door  of  the  Hotel  de  la  Poste,  and  after  a 
little  rest  came  down  to  breakfast  fresh  as  Daisies.  Honorez,  true  to 
the  tick  of  time,  was  awaiting  us,  and  we  reached  the  Casino  in  safety, 
and  with  a  long-drawn  sigh  of  relief  I  saw  those  boxes  of  flowers  carried 
into  the  exhibition  hall.  A  hearty  welcome  awaited  us»  Mons.  Ernest 
Fierens  (fig.  9),  the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  came  forward  in  his  usual 
genial  manner  to  greet  us  and  to  make  such  introductions  as  were 
needful;  the  Comte  Kerchove  de  Denterghem,  Mons.  de  Meulenaere 
(fig.  10),  his  son,  Mons.  Ed.  Pynaert  and  his  son,  Mons.  Van  Houtte, 
Mons.  Van  Hal,  Mons.  Stepman,  and  many  others  whom  I  already 
knew,  being  already  on  the  spot.  We  soon  explained  the  object  of  our 
coming  with  so  much  luggage,  and  the  greatest  facilities  were  offered 
for  the  effective  arrangement  of  our  trophies.  Mr.  Jones  and  Mr.  Bevan 
being  practical  men,  were  soon  busily  arranging  the  blooms,  and  as 
there  was  a  good  run  of  tabling  provided  for  the  exhibits,  they  were 
ere  long  placed  in  the  glass  bottles  provided,  then  labelled  and  placed 
in  position. 
The  flowers  staged  in  the  name  of  the  N.C.S.  consisted  of  some  grown 
by  the  following  members — viz.,  Messrs.  Brookes,  Turk,  Martin,  Skeggs, 
Sandford,  Jukes,  Bevan,  and  Page,  and  formed  a  good  representative 
collection  of  the  different  sections.  The  grand  Madame  Carnot,  which 
was  grown  by  Mr.  Page,  was  particularly  conspicuous,  and  specially 
mentioned  by  the  jury,  while  the  entire  exhibit  (the  first  of  its  kind 
Bhown  in  the  name  of  the  N.C.S.)  was  awarded  a  silver-gilt  medal 
encadree — one  of  the  prettiest  things  I  know,  being  an  ordinary  medal 
of  the  Royal  Agricultural  and  Botanical  Society  of  Ghent  set  in  a  Laurel 
wreath  bordering  with  a  ring  attached,  and  measuring  altogether 
2£  inches  in  diameter.  The  inscription  is  as  follows  : — “Awarded  to  the 
National  Chrysanthemum  Society  of  London  for  a  group  of  cut  Chrys¬ 
anthemums,  Novemb  r  15th,  1896.”  Messrs.  Cannell  &  Sons  of  Swanley 
also  contributed  a  collection  of  cut  blooms,  as  did  Mr.  Jones.  Both  of 
these  exhibitors  were  awarded  a  similar  prize. 
The  work  of  judging  is  not  left  in  the  hands  of  one  or  two  persons, 
as  is  customary  in  England;  but  a  jury,  as  it  is  called,  is  appointed, 
consisting  of  a  large  number  of  gentlemen,  and  these  not  actual  residents 
in  Ghent.  Besides  Chrysanthemums  there  was  a  large  display  of  Palms, 
Ferns,  foliage,  and  other  decorative  plants,  and  these  with  the  Chrysan¬ 
themums  displayed  with  exquisite  taste,  and  I  certainly  think  that  some 
of  our  organisers  of  shows  would  do  well  to  run  over  to  Ghent  one 
November  and  see  for  themselves  what  is  possible  to  be  done  and  how 
to  do  it  in  the  way  of  pictur¬ 
esque  arrangement. 
Before  commencing  opera¬ 
tions  each  member  of  the  first 
section  of  the  jury,  of  which 
I  had  the  honour  to  be  ap¬ 
pointed  President,  was  sup¬ 
plied  with  a  copy  of  the 
schedule  and  of  Mr.  de 
Meulenaere’s  excellent  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  catalogue  for  re¬ 
ference.  This  gentleman, 
besides  being  a  most  enthusi¬ 
astic  amateur  cultivator  and 
a  large  exhibitor  of  finely 
grown  Chrysanthemums  at 
the  Ghent  exhibitions,  is  also 
a  literary  worker  of  inter¬ 
national  repute.  His  cata¬ 
logue  of  Chrysanthemums  and 
subsequent  supplements  are 
monuments  of  patient,  un¬ 
tiring,  and  trustworthy  zeal, 
and  contain  very  much  infor¬ 
mation  of  a  detail  nature, 
such  as  dates  of  introduction 
into  commerce  and  raisers’ 
names,  which  cannot  be 
obtained  from  any  other 
source,  and  which  have  been 
officially  recognised  both  by  the  Society  at  Ghent  and  by  our  own 
N.C.S.  here  in  London.— C.  Harman  Payne. 
(To  b^  continued.) 
FIG.  10.— MONS.  0.  DE  MEULENAERE, 
The  Clematis  Disease. — Many  Clematis  growers  unfortunately 
know  that  the  beautiful  variety  Jackmanni  is  liable  to  die  off  suddenly 
by  an  attack  of  fungus  near  the  root,  which  sends  its  ferment  through 
the  whole  upper  portion  in  precisely  the  same  manner  that  fire  blight 
does  in  trees.  This  seems  to  occur  more  frequently  when  the  plants 
are  about  one  or  two  years  old.  It  would  be  very  interesting  to 
know  whether  anyone  who  has  a  plant  older  than  three  years  that  has 
suffered.  If  it  be  a  fact  that  the  disease  is  entirely  confined  to  these 
young  plants  it  would  be  encouraging  to  lovers  of  this  fine  flower  to 
replant  when  one  has  died.  There  is  scarcely  anything  more  beautiful 
than  this  variety  of  Clematis,  and  many  growers  would  not  mind 
planting  a  few  times,  if  they  felt  sure  that  after  reaching  a  certain  age 
the  plant  would  have  immunity,— (“  Meehan’s  Monthly.  ) 
