February  4,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
99 
A  Tour  Abroad  by  a  Happy  Trio. 
( Continued  from  page  31.) 
It  is  certainly  worthy  of  remark  and  a  conspicuous  tribute  to  the 
widespread  influence  of  the  N.C.S.  when  I  say  that  every  exhibit  of  cut 
blooms  at  the  Ghent  Show  was,  with  one  small  exception,  raged  by 
members,  either  English  or  foreign,  of  the  National  Chrysanthemum 
Society  of  London.  Tbe  business  of  judging  occupied  the  best  part  of 
the  day,  and  then  the  jury  adjourned  to  a  banquet.  The  following  day 
was  Sunday,  and  the  show  was  beautifully  arranged.  Gn  entering  we 
were  supplied  with  a  neatly  printed  catalogue  of  the  show  of  thirty  odd 
pages,  in  which  were  supplied  not  only  t;he  names  of  the  exhibitors  and 
the  varieties  they  had  staged,  but  a  list  of  the  prizes,  the  names  of  the 
members  of  the  jury,  and  other  matter  likely  to  be  of  interest  to  the 
visitors.  The  visitors  were  numerous,  and  evidently  of  good  social 
standing.  We  spent  several  hours  taking  notes  and  observing  in  detail 
some  of  the  more  striking  variations  between  a  Belgian  and  an  English 
Chrysanthemum  show.  Then  we  remembered  an  invitation  to  dine  with 
Mr.  Ed.  PyDaert.  Mr.  Ed.  Pynaert’s  nursery  lies  at  some  distance  off 
in  the  Rue  de  Bruxelles,  and,  as  he  reminded  us,  he  was  something  like 
Robinson  Crusoe,  for  it  is  almoBt  an  island,  being  bordered  by  canals  on 
almost  every  side.  We  took  a  stroll  through  the  greenhouses;  but  our 
host  is  not  a  specialist  in  Chrysanthemums,  and  his  stock  consists  prin¬ 
cipally  of  Azaleas,  Araucarias,  Palms,  Ferns,  Orchids,  and  Rhododen¬ 
drons.  Here  we  had  a  splendid  example  of  Belgian  hospitality.  For 
three  hours  we  were  at  table,  provided  with  the  best  of  everything,  and 
both  Mr.  and  Madame  Pynaert  did  their  utmost  to  make  our  visit 
enjoyable. 
We  inquired  whether  there  were  any  establishments,  either  private 
or  public,  in  the  vicinity  of  Ghent  where  Chrysanthemums  could  be 
seen,  and  which  were  worthy  of  a  visit,  but  discovered  that  the  best 
plants  were  at  the  show,  and  so  we  decided  in  our  anxiety  to  reach 
Paris  to  move  on  to  Brussels  early  next  morning.  Mr.  Anatole 
Cordonnier,  the  well-known  Chrysanthemum  specialist  of  Bailleul,  just 
over  the  frontier  in  France,  was  desirous  that  we  should  pay  his 
establishment  a  visit,  and  came  over  to  Ghent  to  meet  us  and  make 
the  request  in  person,  but  we  found  it  impossible  to  accept  his  pressing 
invitation. 
On  Monday  morning,  the  16th  of  November,  we  started  for  Brussels, 
and  knowing  the  N.C  S.  had  a  foreign  member  living  not  far  away,  a 
Mr.  de  Wolf,  we  decided  to  give  him  a  call  and  see  his  collection. 
We  took  a  queer-looking  conveyance  called  a  steam  tramway  to  Ixelles, 
and  were  landed  in  what  appeared  to  be  the  heart  of  a  forest  of  Beech 
trees,  then  after  a  journey  by  tram  and  road  found  ourselves  in  a  curious 
little  provincial  town  with  narrow  streets  and  queer-looking  cottages. 
We  found  Mr.  de  Wolf’s  house  after  several  inquiries,  and  as  he  was  not 
at  home  his  gardener  obligingly  allowed  us  to  go  through  the  greenhouses 
and  view  the  flowers.  There  were  in  all  four  curvilinear  houses  full  of 
Chrysanthemums.  The  total  number  of  plants  amounted  to  about  2000. 
The  best  of  them  were  arranged  in  four  rows  in  a  large  structure  measuring 
about  100  feet  in  length  by  35  feet  wide.  They  were  well-grown  dwarf 
plants,  such  as  might  be  seen  at  the  house  of  an  English  suburban 
enthusiast,  most  of  the  leading  varieties  being  represented.  We  were 
pleased  with  what  we  saw,  for  it  was  the  only  opportunity  as  it  happened 
that  we  had  of  visiting  a  private  collection  while  abroad,  and  thanking 
the  old  gardener,  who  seemed  to  take  a  pride  in  his  productions,  we 
returned  to  Brussels,  dined,  and  caught  the  six  o’clock  express  to  Paris. 
— C.  Harman  Payne.  _  . 
(To  be  continued. ) 
Incurved  Chrysanthemums. 
The  General  Committee  of  the  N  C.S.  has  bowed  to  what  it  has 
considered  the  inevitable,  and  has  drafted  into  the  ranks  of  the 
“  incurved  ”  section  a  miscellaneous  assortment  of  varieties,  many  of 
which  have  hitherto  been  classed,  in  the  trade  catalogues  and  even  in 
tbe  catalogue  of  the  N.C.S.  itself,  as  “  incurved  Japs,”  or  even  pure 
“  Japanese.” 
In  face  of  the  general  “  bolt  ”  of  both  exhibitors  and  judges  from  the 
old  condition  of  affairs,  when  a  “Qseen”  or  “Empress”  was  the 
standard  of  the  true  “  incurved,”  it  was  obvious  that  the  N.C.S  ,  power¬ 
less  to  resist  the  revolt,  would  probably  be  forced  to  do  something  ;  but 
whether  the  “something”  which  the  Committee  has  done  will  not,  in 
the  long  run,  be  found  to  have  provided  a  remedy  far  worse  than  the 
disease  is  a  question  to  which  it  will  require  the  lapse  of  a  season  or  two 
to  supply  tne  conclusive  answer.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  exhibitor, 
having  asked  for  a  draught  of  water,  has  been  treated  to  a  deluge. 
With  tee  admission  of  these  twenty-two  new  so-called  “incurved” — 
the  pioneers  obviously  of  an  army  soon  to  come — we  may  take  it  that  the 
knell  of  the  old  Chinese  incurved  has  been  rung.  It  will  be  interesting 
indeed  to  compare  the  “best  eighteen  incurved”  of  1898  with  those  of  a 
couple  of  years  ago. 
It  was  perhaps  inevitable,  in  view  of  the  strong  pressure  which  had 
arisen,  to  somewhat  loosen  the  stringency  of  the  old  standard  of  an 
“  incurved  ”  so  as  to  permit  of  the  introduction,  after  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  new  candidate  had  been  acquired,  of  certain  of  the  new  varieties 
which  seemed  almost  to  attain  to  the  old  standard  ;  but  surely,  when, 
we  analyse  the  crowd  just  admitted,  one  cannot  resist  the  conclusion 
that  the  matter  has  been  altogether  overdone. 
But  the  chief  danger  lies  in  the  future.  The  only  principle  which  is 
to  guide  future  action  seems  to  be  that  stated  in  the  resolution  passed, 
“  That  the  position  of  any  variety  shall  be  determined  by  tbe  majority 
of  those  voting.”  Naturally  the  majority  must  prevail  where  there  is  a 
difference  of  opinion,  but  where  do  we  find  the  standard  which  is  to 
influence  and  form  that  opinion,  and  so  provide  that  it  shall  be  a 
constant  quantity,  and  not  vary  with  the  individual  notions  of  the 
members  of  the  Committee  in  the  future  ? 
I  am  aware  that  the  action  of  the  Committee  in  making  these 
additions  to  the  incurved  class  is  supposed  to  have  been  upon  the  basis 
of  the  Society’s  definition  of  an  incurved,  but  such  a  suggestion  can 
scarcely  be  accepted  ;  certainly  not  if  we  are  to  believe  for  a  moment  in 
the  consistency  of  those  responsible  for  the  definition  in  question.  The 
definition  stands  in  the  centenary  edition  and  also  in  the  Jubilee  edition 
of  the  Society’s  catalogue,  and  with  this  definition  before  them  Messrs. 
W.  H.  Lees,  C.  H.  Payee,  and  H.  J.  Jones,  as  members  of  the  Revision 
Committee,  classed  Duchess  of  Fife  and  Mrs.  Airdree  as  JapB,  and 
Egyptian  as  an  incurved  Jap. 
The  same  gentlemen,  with  others,  on  the  late  Special  Committee 
proceed  to  group  these  varieties  with  the  “incurved,”  as  “being 
varieties  which  may  be  regarded  as  incurved,  according  to  the  standard 
of  characteristics  set  forth  on  page  20  of  the  Jubilee  edition  of  the 
Society’s  catalogue.”  It  is  all  very  well  to  take  the  bull  by  the  horns 
in  this  fashion,  but  which  do  these  gentlemen  mean,  and  on  which 
occasion  were  they  right  in  their  interpretation  of  the  definition  1  If 
these  varieties  had  the  “  characteristics  ”  of  the  true  incurved  when  the 
catalogue  was  revised  for  the  Jubilee  edition,  why  did  they  class  them 
as  Japanese  1 
Again,  Miss  L.  D.  Black,  classed  by  Mr.  Wells  in  his  catalogue  as  a 
“Jap,”  which,  “on  second  crowns  or  terminals,  is  almost  as  pure  an 
incurved  as  it  is  possible  to  get,”  and  which  was,  so  late  as  the  25th  of 
November  last,  declared  by  a  large  majority  of  the  Floral  Committee  of 
the  N.C.S.  not  to  be  an  “  incurved,”  is,  on  tbe  25th  of  January  inst., 
unanimously  declared  by  the  Society’s  Committee  to  be  one.  And  other 
cases  might  be  cited.  Of  course,  there  is  the  convenient  retreat  covered 
by  the  plea  that  the  true  character  of  the  varieties  had  only  been  dis¬ 
covered  after  the  earlier  classification  ;  but  this  only  adds  emphasis  to  an 
old  complaint,  and  is  an  admission  that  classification  takes  place  before 
the  varieties  have  been  fairly  tested.  And  how  about  such  discoveries 
of  latent  character  between  the  25th  of  November  last  and  the  25th  of 
January  inst.  ? 
The  cases  which  I  have  cited  show  that  we  have  drifted  away,  for 
better  or  for  worse,  from  the  old  standard,  and  have  now  no  real  standard 
applicable  to  the  “  reformed  incurve  ”  at  all.  What  can  more  forcibly 
demonstrate  the  confusion  which  prevails  at  the  present  time  than  the 
following  ? 
The  Special  Committee  declares  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  which  Mr.  Jones 
in  his  catalogue  calls  an  “  incurved,”  to  be  a  “  Japanese  incurved,”  and 
so  classes  it ;  and  then  defers  tbe  classification  (votes  being  equal)  of 
Harold  Wells,  which,  in  fact,  is  a  primrose  sport  from  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence  itself.  Truly  a  curious  result  of  the  “  one  man  one  vote 
system.” 
‘  What  is  done  cannot  be  undone,”  but  it  behoves  the  Society  to 
lose  no  time  in  getting  back  on  to  safe  and  definite  lines  by  carefully 
constructing  a  definition  which  shall  be  a  reality,  having  regard  to  the 
character  of  the  varieties  now  admitted  as  “  incurved.” 
The  floodgates  have  been  opened,  and  the  stream  has  commenced  to 
run  with  a  vengeance.  Unless  it  be  confined  within  definite  and 
recognisable  limits  it  may  soon  get  altogether  beyond  control. — Tokio. 
THE  VICTORIAN  MEDAL. 
An  admirable  suggestion  of  yours,  Mr.  Editor,  so  far  as  relates  to  the 
interests  of  the  Gardeners’  Benevolent  Institution  ;  but  it  has  the  demerit 
of  suggesting  that  the  proposed  medal  of  honour  may  thus  be  purchas¬ 
able,  a  conclusion  from  which  the  Council  of  the  R.H.S.  will  doubtless 
revolt.  I  have  no  objection  to  give  a  guinea  to  the  Benevolent  Fund, 
but  not  to  secure  some  medal  equivalent.  If  the  Committee  of  the 
Benevolent  Fund  had  proposed  to  give  to  every  subscriber  to  their 
Victorian  Fund  of  I  guinea  some  sort  of  medal  specially  struck  for  the 
purpose,  and  commemorative  of  the  year  and  the  event,  then  might  a 
capital  stroke  of  business  have  been  done,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to 
provoke  no  hostile  comment. 
A  medal  for  honour,  or  merit,  or  service,  or  whatever  object  proposed 
to  be  given,  must  not  in  any  way  be  associated  with  cash  payments. 
However,  it  does  seem  to  me  that  in  the  ranks  of  horticulture  it  would 
be  nearly  as  easy  to  name  1000  good  men  deserving  the  honour  as  to  name 
twenty.  There  are  numbers  doing  good  and  honest  work  in  their  respec¬ 
tive  spheres,  though  often  unnoticed,  who  are  in  their  ways  as  meri¬ 
torious  as  are  others  who  have  greater  opportunities.  That  much  you, 
Mr.  Editor,  know  as  well  as  I  do.  With  respect  to  medals  for  special 
work,  what  I  meant  was  that  whilst  these  Victorian  medals  would  pro¬ 
bably  be  given  for  general  service  to  horticulture,  special  medals,  such  as 
those  of  the  Fruiterers’  Company,  could  only  be  secured  by  special  work 
or  service.— A  Fellow  op  the  R.H.S. 
[A  good  “  Fellow,”  too,  and  we  are  glad  by  having  nearly  drawn  a 
guinea  from  him  for  the  Gardeners’  Benevolent — it  only  needs  to  be 
