February  25,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
155 
<n~>w  very  charming.  Livers  of  hardy  flowers  are  daily  watching 
their  favourites  in  anxious  expectations.  To  such  the  early  spring 
has  a  particular  charm,  and  one  is  apt  to  envy  the  enthusiast  who 
has  the  facilities  for  growing  them  in  quantity.  How  interesting 
are  these  habits,  and  with  what  unfailing  regularity  they  follow 
each  other  in  rapid  succession  !  But  the  singing  of  their  praises 
shall  be  left  to  abler  pens  than  mine.  Just  a  word  about  the 
Daffodils,  which  are  peeping  through  and  growing  stronger  day  by 
day.  Last  week’s  Journal  told  of  22  tons  of  spring  flowers  being 
despatched  from  the  Scilly  Islands  one  day  recently.  What  an 
industry  this  has  become  !  and  how  much  the  inhabitants  of  the 
genial  isles  owe  to  these  accommodating  spring  flowers  !  In  our 
colder  climate  we  must  be  content  to  wait  “a  little  longer. 
Ah  !  this  does  one  good,”  said  a  gardener  the  other  day,  as  he 
stood  in  the  early  vinery  watching  the  invigorating  effect  of  the 
sunshine  on  the  foliage.  In  no  portion  of  the  garden  is  the  turn 
of  the  tide  felt  with  greater  benefit  than  in  the  early  vineries  and 
Peach  houses.  In  the  absence  of  sunshine  the  foliage  of  the  Vines 
is  weak  and  without  substance.  Growth  is  slow,  and  even  with 
great  care  mildew  makes  itself  seen.  The  first  bright  days,  how¬ 
ever,  make  a  difference  ;  improrement  is  apparent,  and  the  leaves 
Tapidly  take  that  green  and  leathery  appearance  that  all  gardeners 
like  to  see.  How  helpful,  too,  it  is  to  the  setting  of  the  blossoms 
in  the  early  Peach  house,  and  also  to  the  first  plants  of  forced 
Strawberries  ;  indeed,  where  can  we  look  without  seeing  beneficial 
effects  from  February  sunshine  ?  Yet  pessimists  shake  their  heads 
and  say  we  are  getting  on  too  quickly,  and  shall  have  to  suffer  for 
it  when  March  comes  in.  Let  us,  however,  make  the  most  of  the 
present  and  hope  for  the  future. — Monocle. 
Madame  Carnot. 
Most  readers  of  Chrysanthemum  notes  in  the  Journal  will  remember 
that  a  collection  of  cut  blooms  was  staged  at  the  Ghent  Show.  These 
blooms  were  contributed  by  several  members  of  the  National  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  Society,  and  included  in  the  collection  was  a  bloom  of 
Madame  Carnot  sent  from  the  gardens  here,  and  which  received  a  special 
mention  from  the  Jury.  I  am  very  pleased  to  say  that  I  have  jast 
received  through  Mr.  T.  Bevan  a  certificate  from  the  Ghent  Society  for 
the  bloom  mentioned  above.  We  staged  nine  blooms  of  Madame 
Carnot  last  November  at  two  shows,  and  were  awarded  premier  prize 
for  the  best  bloom  in  the  show  in  each  case.  Seven  of  the  nine  blooms 
figured  in  first-prize  stands,  and  two  in  second-prize  stands,  and  were 
exhibited  at  the  Highgate  and  Finchley  Chrysanthemum  Exhibitions. 
We  were  also  awarded  tho  prize  for  the  best  bloom  in  the  Highgate 
Exhibition  with  Madame  Carnot  in  1895. — H.  A.  Page,  The  Gardens, 
White  House,  New  Southgate. 
A  Tour  Abroad  by  a  Happy  Trio. 
{Continued  from  page  S9.) 
Th^  journey  to  Paris  was,  like  most  of  the  travelling,  done  at  night, 
and  we  consequently  had  little  opportunity  of  seeing  the  country  through 
which  we  passed.  After  leaving  the  Belgian  frontier  we  could  not  fail 
to  notice  that  we  were  traversing  a  busy  industrial  part  of  France,  and 
one  large  town  was  conspicuous  by  the  lurid  glare  thrown  upon  its 
buildings  from  numberless  furnaces  and  lofty  chimneys,  suggesting  very 
vividly  that  part  of  our  native  land  known  as  the  Black  Country.  The 
express  steamed  into  the  Gare  du  Nord  at  Paris  shortly  before  midnight, 
and  we  beheld  a  friend  waving  his  umbrella  to  attract  our  attention. 
We  were  quicklyat  the  hotel,  and  there  found  Mons.  Ernest  Calvat,  and 
learned  we  should  have  congenial  company. 
Despite  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  we  strolled  for  a  time  up  and  down 
the  Boulevard  des  Italiens  and  the  Boulevard  Poissonniere,  which  at 
midnight  are  as  densely  thronged  with  foot  passengers  and  vehicular 
traffic  as  they  are  at  midday,  the  numerous  cafds  and  restaurants  being 
all  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  the  whole  scene  well  worth  a  visit.  Though 
early  morn  before  we  retired  to  rest  we  had  to  rise  at  half-past  six  so  as 
to  breakfast  and  be  at  the  Palais  de  ITadustrie  by  eight,  when  the 
judging  began.  This  operation  was  a  somewhat  arduous  one,  for  the 
method  of  staging  the  exhibits  varies  considerably  from  that  adopted  in 
England,  the  exhibits  in  the  same  class  being  often  in  quite  different 
parts  of  the  building,  and  consequently  necessitating  much  needless 
running  about.  The  main  features  of  the  show  have  been  given 
in  a  former  issue  of  the  Journal,  but  there  are  a  few  items  of  interest 
that  may  be  usefully  inserted  here.  The  judging  was  performed  by  six 
sections  of  the  Jury,  the  first  three  being  for  Chrysanthemums,  the  fourth 
for  fruit,  fruit  trees,  and  ornamental  shrubs,  the  fifth  for  foliage  and 
flowering  plants,  bouquets,  and  subjects  for  the  decoration  of  apartments, 
and  the  sixth  for  market  garden  produce. 
At  the  hour  appointed  the  members  of  the  Jury  were  called  into  the 
Secretary’s  office,  and  the  roll  was  called.  Each  member  was  then 
supplied  with  a  stiff  covered  book  of  tabulated  forms  and  a  lead  pencil. 
The  forms  contained  columns  for  the  No.  of  the  class,  the  No.  of  the 
exhibitor,  the  nature  of  the  exhibit,  the  points  allotted,  the  award  made, 
and  remarks.  When  the  whole  proceedings  were  over  the  Secretary  of 
each  section  wrote  out  a  formal  report,  which  was  signed,  and  then 
transmitted  to  the  proper  authority,  presumably  the  Secretary  of  the 
Society,  under  whose  auspices  the  Show  was  held. 
The  next  part  of  the  first  day’s  performance  was  the  luncheon 
offered  to  the  Jury.  This  took  place  at  the  famous  Restaurant  Ledoyen, 
only  a  stone’s  throw  from  the  Exhibition  Hall.  Mr.  Viger,  formerly 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  and  now  President  of  the  National  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,  took  the  chair,  there  being  a  large  number  of  eminent 
French  horticulturists  present,  besides  the  members  of  the  Jury. 
After  other  toasts  the  Chairman  gave  the  “  Health  of  the  Foreign 
Members  of  the  Jury,”  in  a  speech  that  was  warmly  received,  to  which 
1  replied  in  my  best  French.  Handshaking,  introductions  to  new 
friends,  the  renewing  of  old  acquaintances  occupied  some  time,  and 
then  we  returned  to  the  Palais  de  l’lndustrie.  But  what  a  sight  1 
When  we  left  the  building  had  not  been  opened  to  the  general  public  ; 
when  we  returned  there  was  a  concourse  of  visitors,  all  crowding  in  as 
hard  as  they  could  go,  and  waiting  their  turn  with  heroic  patience. 
Hearing  that  we  should  have  no  time  to  go  to  Grenoble,  Mons.  Calvat 
had  specially  come  to  Paris  to  meet  us.  with  seven  well-known  members 
of  the  Chrysanthemum  fraternity.  We  had  a  most  sociable  dinner  with 
the  great  grower.  Our  host  was  in  the  best  of  spirits,  for  after  a  long 
series  of  triumphs  elsewhere  his  success  in  Paris  that  day  was  only 
another  tribute  out  of  many  to  his  skill  as  the  foremost  producer  of 
new  seedlings.  He  had  carried  off  the  special  gold  medal  presented 
for  competition  by  the  Minister  of  Agriculture,  to  say  nothing  of  half 
a  dozen  more,  and  had  been  awarded  more  first-class  certificates  for  his 
novelties  than  almost  all  the  other  exhibitors  of  new  seedlings  put 
together. — C.  Harman  Payne. 
(To  be  continued.) 
NATIONAL  CHRYSANTHEMUM  SOCIETY. 
On  Monday  evening  last  the  annual  general  meeting  of  the  members 
of  this  Society  was  held  at  Anderton’s  Hotel,  Fleet  Street,  Mr.  R. 
Ballantine  occupying  the  chair.  After  the  minutes  of  £he  last  annual 
general  meeting  had  been  read  and  confirmed,  the  Secretary  submitted 
the  report  and  financial  statement  for  the  past  year,  and  also  a  statement 
as  to  the  reserve,  ail  of  which  were  considered  as  being  eminently  satisfac¬ 
tory,  and  reflecting  the  greatest  possible  credit  on  the  Executive.  The 
following  is  the  text  of  the  report. 
Report  of  the  Committee,  1896. 
In  presenting  their  annual  report  and  statement  of  accounts  for 
1S96,  your  Committee  can  refer  with  pride  and  satisfaction  to  the 
remarkable  success  which  attended  the  celebration  of  the  Jubilee  of  the 
Society  in  November  last.  The  programme  of  the  Committee,  liberally 
conceived,  was  carried  out  with  spirit  and  with  a  measure  of  eclat 
beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  the  Executive. 
The  widespread  interest  taken  in  the  Jubilee  was  shown  from  the 
fact  that  the  large  sum  of  £382  6s.  was  raised  as  a  special  Jubilee 
Fund.  The  two  exhibitions  held  during  the  four  days  set  apart  for 
the  celebration  were  on  an  extensive  and  imposing  scale  ;  the  extent  of 
the  competition  and  its  keenness  in  some  of  the  leading  classes  was 
almost  unprecedented.  Groups,  specimen  plants,  and  cut  blooms  of 
Chrysanthemums  were  shown  of  the  highest  quality,  while  the  display 
of  fruit  and  vegetables— the  latter  mainly  in  response  to  the  valuable 
special  prizes  offered  by  several  of  the  leading  seed  houses  in  the 
kingdom — was  of  so  extensive  a  character  as  to  establish  a  record  in 
London  exhibitions.  Among  the  many  attractive  special  prizes  offered 
one  was  of  a  gratifying  international  character — a  gold  medal  presented 
by  the  American  Chrysanthemum  Society.  The  banquet  was  a  social 
observance  indispensable  to  such  an  occasion,  and  was  carried  through 
by  the  President  in  a  way  which  did  himself,  the  Society,  and  its  guests 
honour.  The  Conference,  which  was  well  attended,  gave  occasion  to 
the  reading  of  some  excellent  papers,  which  form  admirable  additions  to 
the  literature  of  the  Chrysanthemum.  The  Directors  of  the  Royal 
Aquarium  increased  their  special  donation  to  the  Jubilee  Fund  from 
£75  to  £100. 
By  way  of  enabling  the  many  societies  in  affiliation  to  participate  in 
the  Jubilee  celebration  a  bronze  Jubilee  medal  was  presented  to  every 
Society  in  affiliation  on  October  1st  last,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  know 
there  was  displayed  on  the  part  of  local  exhibitors  the  keenest  rivalry  in 
becoming  the  possessors  of  these  medals. 
The  Jubilee  Sub-Committee  have  earned  the  thanks  of  the  members 
for  their  labours  in  bringing  the  celebration  to  such  a  successful  issue. 
The  Jubilee  edition  of  the  Catalogue  brings  the  work  of  the  classifica¬ 
tion  of  the  Chrysanthemum  up  to  last  season,  and  it  is  a  most  useful 
companion  to  the  Centenary  edition.  Your  Committee  have  acknowledged 
the  labours  of  the  Catalogue  Revision  Committee  by  making  them  the 
recipients  of  the  medals  of  the  Society. 
Finding  some  difference  of  opinion  existing  in  reference  to  the 
classification  of  a  number  of  incurved  varieties  of  recent  introduction 
which  do  not  find  a  place  in  the  Jubilee  Catalogue,  your  Committee 
appointed  an  influential  Special  Committee  of  leading  growers  to  deal 
with  the  doubtful  varieties.  This  Committee  have  made  a  report  which 
has  been  accepted,  and  it  finds  a  place  with  the  published  annual  report, 
schedule  of  prizes,  &c. 
