6 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  4,  1895. 
ayatenl  magnificent  blooms  are  obtained  wbich  sell  readily,  and  will 
average  2j.  6d.  per  dozen  blooms.  They  are  really  not  so  much  trouble 
as  would  appear  at  first  eight,  as  only  one  stake  is  required  to  each 
plant,  any  shoots  that  require  it  being  attached  loosely  to  the  stake  with 
a  piece  of  raflSa. 
The  varieties  that  I  have  found  most  suitable  for  this  system  of 
cultivation  are  Madame  Louis  Leroy  and  Stanstead  White,  the  latter 
being  my  favourite,  as  it  is  a  robust  grower,  requiring  no  tying  and 
carrying  large  blooms  of  pearly  whiteness.  Plants  of  this  variety  may 
be  had  in  bloom  as  late  as  the  middle  of  January,  and  I  have  sometimes 
sold  blooms  of  this  variety  at  fis.  per  dozen.  Etoile  de  Lyon  is  a  good 
late  variety  for  the  same  mode  of  culture,  and  comes  remarkably  well 
from  terminal  buds.  The  colour  varies  from  pale  pink  to  nearly  white. 
This  is  rarely  in  bloom  before  January,  at  which  time  good  flowers  of 
any  variety  invariably  sell  well.  It  is  a  very  strong  grower,  and  with 
the  other  two  varieties  will  amply  repay  the  grower  any  reasonable 
trouble  that  may  be  taken  with  them.  Lady  Lawrence  is  another  good 
late  white  where  it  thrives,  but  after  trying  to  grow  it  as  bushes,  both 
planted  out  and  in  pots,  also  In  pots  and  disbudding  them,  I  have 
discarded  it,  as  it  absolutely  refused  to  flower  with  me.  Good  blooms  of 
it  will  always  make  top  prices  in  the  market.  These  are  also  grown 
in  a  low  temperature,  only  sufficient  heat  being  given  to  keep  out  the 
frost  and  dispel  damp. 
I  grow  my  Chrysanthemums  in  good  loam  with  a  little  Mushroom 
bed  refuse,  and  at  the  final  potting  I  find  it  advantageous  to  leave  space 
for  top-dressing  the  plants  when  the  buds  are  formed.  The  ingredients 
1  prefer  for  this  purpose  are  composed  of  bonemeal,  loam,  and  burnt  soil 
in  equal  parts,  with  a  sprinkling  of  soot  added.  The  plants  will  show 
the  benefit  arising  from  it  within  a  few  days  of  using  it.  I  have  treated 
Chrysanthemum  culture  at  some  length,  as  I  have  not  fouhd  any 
difficulty  in  disposing  of  them  in  quantity,  and  my  experience  is  that  it 
is  a  paying  crop  if  worked  on  the  lines  indicated . 
Aktim  Lilies. — These  should  be  extensively  grown.  If  planted  out 
during  the  summer  months,  they  ought  to  be  lifted  early  in  September, 
before  they  have  made  much  growth,  and  potted  afterwards,  placing 
them  out  of  doors  for  a  month,  and  finally  in  a  cool  house.  If  allowed 
to  grow  slowly  in  a  temperature  of  45°  to  50°,  they  will  bloom  freely  at 
Christmas,  when  their  spathes  are  much  in  demand  and  prices  are  high. 
Another  plan  of  growing  Arums,  which  I  consider  preferable  to  the 
above,  instead  of  planting  them  out  in  the  spring,  is  to  gradually  dry 
them  off  in  the  open  air.  Should  the  weather  be  showery  lay  the  pots 
on  their  sides,  and  the  foliage  will  then  die  down.  As  soon  as  they 
commence  growing  again,  which  they  usually  do  in  July,  they  are 
shaken  out  and  potted  in  good  loam.  Treated  thus  the  plants  grow 
freely  and  experience  no  check,  as  they  sometimes  do  when  planted 
out  and  left  too  long  before  being  lifted.  Abundance  of  water 
must  be  afforded  at  all  times  after  being  brought  into  the  house,  and 
when  the  pots  are  full  of  roots  I  have  found  liquid  manure  of  great 
assistance,  also  a  little  soot  occasionally.  The  after  treatment  is  almost 
similar  to  those  that  were  planted  out,  but  the  temperature  may  be 
increased  to  from  50°  to  55°. 
By  this  means  they  will  bloom  freely  in  December,  when  prices  are 
high,  usually  averaging  from  fis.  to  Ss.  per  dozen  spathes.  For  several 
weeks  this  spring  the  returns  were  only  Is.  per  dozen  blooms,  and  I 
need  hardly  say  they  do  not  pay  at  that  price.  The  aim  should  be  to 
have  the  first  good  crop  of  flowers  in  December,  when  prices  are  high. 
There  is  usually  a  good  demand  for  them  at  Easter,  but  this  year, 
probably  owing  to  Easter  being  late  and  other  flowers  plentiful,  they 
did  not  make  such  good  prices  as  usual,  only  averaging  from  Is.  to  6i. 
per  dozen  spathes.  ,rri  .  ^  x 
'  (To  be  continued.) 
ADIANTUM  FARLEYENSE. 
This  Fern,  the  noblest  of  all  the  Maidenhair  section,  is  not  grown  as 
generally  as  it  deserves  to  be.  It  may  be  on  account  of  the  supposition 
that  it  is  difficult  to  manage  at  all  times,  and  so  it  certainly  is  when 
once  out  of  order.  One  of  the  finest  collections  of  this  grand  Fern  to  be 
met  with  in  this  country  is  at  Hatfield  Gardens,  where  it  ia  magnificently 
grown  by  Mr.  Norman. 
Plants  of  all  sizes  were,  when  I  last  saw  them,  pictures  of  health  and 
vigour.  They  are  allowed  abundance  of  growing  room,  and  never  staked 
or  tied  out,  but  allowed  to  hang  down  at  will,  completely  hiding  the 
pots’.  My  memory  lingers  over  a  house  full  of  these  plants,  arranged  so 
as  to  slope  to  the  front,  the  younger  fronds  showing  the  delicate  tint 
peculiar  to  them,  toning  down  with  age  to  a  healthy  green  in  the  lower 
fronds,  and  all  well  furnished  and  growing  luxuriantly. 
I  have  since  followed  his  mode  of  culture  with  unvarying  success, 
and  although  I  have  only  a  dozen  good  sized  plants  they  are  in  the  best 
of  health.  Mr.  Norman  uses  a  compost  of  good  fibrous  loam  and  ordinary 
red  sand  well  washed  beforehand.  The  loam  is  pulled  to  pieces  by  hand, 
and  the  fine  discarded,  the  pots  being  clean  and  well  crocked.  The 
mixture  is  warmed  through  over  the  boilers,  and  in  potting  the  whole 
secret  is  firmness.  The  next  item  is  watering,  which  behoves  close 
attention  until  the  Dots  are  full  of  fibrous  roots,  neither  erring  on  the 
wet  nor  dry  side,  but  endeavouring  to  maintain  a  happy  medium. 
Syringing  must  be  regulated  by  circumstances,  it  being  better  to  damp 
amongst  them  with  the  spout  of  a  watering-can  than  to  constantly  ply 
the  syringe,  a.s  the  thick  dense  growth  is  conducive  of  damp.  By 
following  the  above  simple  instructions,  and  growing  in  suitable  houses 
in  warmth  and  shade,  one  need  not  have  any  misgivings  as  to  success. 
— Geo.  Dvee,  StvHon  Hall  Gardens.  ^  ‘ 
Mr.  Papworth  is  growing  at  Biddings  Court,  Caterham,  an  unusu¬ 
ally  large  number  of  seedling  Chrysanthemums  for  a  private  garden. 
There  is  amongst  them  in  growth  and  leafage  much  diversity,  and  a  few 
which  flowered  last  year  showed  high  promise.  He  told  me  that  a 
Japanese  gentleman  who  visited  his  employer,  J.  Lyon,  Esq.,  promised 
to  send  over  seed  from  Japan  from  varieties  dissimilar  to  what  were 
generally  grown  here.  That  would,  perhaps,  be  difficult,  but  there  may 
be  in  Japan,  all  the  same,  varieties  diverse  from  what  we  may  have,  but 
whether  better  or  otherwise  remains  to  be  seen.  At  any  rate,  the  col¬ 
lection  will  all  bloom  well  and  show  true  form  this  season,  because  all 
are  now  from  propagated  plants.  Will  a  time  come  presently  when 
growers  will  raise  plants  from  seed  every  year,  and  will  not  grow 
named  varieties  ?  The  possibility  is  enough  to  stagger  the  traders  in 
Chrysanthemums. — D. 
Chrysanthemum  Philadelphia. 
Long  as  I  have  known  the  famous  flower  from  the  far  East  there  is 
none,  save  Mrs.  Alpheus  Hardy,  that  has  been  more  loudly  praised  and 
more  skilfully  advertised  in  America  than  Mr.  Hugh  Graham’s  Phila¬ 
delphia.  It  has  been  freely  illustrated  in  the  American  gardening  press, 
the  finest  illustration  of  it  being  undoubtedly  that  which  appeared  in 
the  “  American  Florist  ”  for  the  10th  November  last. 
Most  of  us  who  saw  the  fine,  solid,  massive  blooms  of  this  variety 
that  were  exhibited  at  the  Aquarium  show,  after  their  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic,  will  be  curious  to  know  how  the  plant  succeeds  under  English 
cultivation.  Perhaps  some  of  our  friends  who  have  obtained  plants, 
and  are  growing  it  will,  at  an  early  opportunity,  give  us  some  indication 
of  what  Philadelphia  promises  to  be  like. 
Japanese  Incurved  Varieties. 
These,  I  gather  from  the  writings  of  several  eminent  specialists  of 
late,  are  not  so  highly  thought  of  by  English  growers  as  the  varieties 
properly  designated  Japanese.  Perhaps  the  solid,  globular  blooms  of 
the  Japanese  incurved  Chrysanthemum  may  suggest  rather  a  distorted 
form  of  tbe  more  formal  'but  smaller  old-fashioned  incurved.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  there  seems  to  be  good  ground  for  assuming  that  considerable 
additions  may  be  expected  to  our  lists.  Many  of  the  new  American 
seedlings  for  1895  may  be  expected  to  turn  out  to  be  Japanese  incurved 
in  form,  and  if  the  raiser’s  descriptions  can  be  relied  on  size  will  not 
be  the  least  of  their  characteristics. 
Many  of  these  new  American  kinds  ar-e  reported  to  be  exceedingly 
dwarf  in  growth,  the  average  being  from  3  feet  to  4^  feet  in  height. 
This,  at  any  rate,  is  a  desirable  quality  to  those  who  have  grown  such 
old  -  fashioned  sorts  as  Madame  C.  Audiguier  and  Madame  Bertier 
Eendatler. 
Chrysanthemums  in  New  Zealand. 
A  private  correspondent  at  Wellington,  N.Z.,  writes  me  that  the 
Chrysanthemum  show  was  held  there  on  April  26th  last,  and  that  it  was 
in  every  way  creditable  to  the  colonial  growers  and  exhibitors.  It  is 
believed  that  the  show  would  have  been  a  much  greater  success  but  for 
a  severe  storm  that  took  place  about  a  fortnight  previous  to  the  opening. 
It  seems  that  the  plants  are  all  grown  out  of  doors,  with  merely  a  canvas 
covering  to  keep  off  the  heavy  rains  which  are  prevalent  early  in  April, 
but  this  protection  was  insufficient,  and  much  damage  was  done  to  the 
plants.  The  quality  of  the  flowers  staged,  however,  was  superior  to  that 
of  former  years,  and  competition  was  keen. 
I  learn  that  cultivation  has  greatly  improved,  and  that  exhibitors  are 
keenly  alive  to  the  necessity  of  securing  all  the  latest  and  best  varieties. 
Referring  to  the  white  Japanese  Avalanche,  I  am  told  that  the  growers 
try  hard  to  get  good  blooms,  but  that  it  is  so  difficult  to  manage  that 
the  writer  has  never  seen  a  bloom  fit  for  exhibition.  Lady  Trevor 
Lawrence  and  W.  W.  Coles  are  also  reported  as  unsatisfactory  varieties. 
Among  the  principal  prizetakers  the  names  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Kerslake, 
Mr.  J.  McLeod,  Mr.  C.  Hill,  and  Mr.  F.  Cooper  are  mentioned,  the  first- 
named  gentleman  securing  the  N.C.S.  silver  medal.  Seedlings  were 
exhibited  by  Mr.  Bolton  and  Mr.  J.  Garland. 
Certificated  Chrysanthemums  in  Austr.4.lia. 
Some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago,  when  I  first  took  up  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  the  Chrysanthemum  in  a  small  London  back  garden,  I  was  then, 
as  now,  much  interested  in  the  new  varieties  as  they  came  out  year  by 
year.  An  acquaintance  with  a  few  of  the  English  importers  and  an 
ability  to  correspond  with  the  French  raisers  were  ia  those  days  all  that 
was  necessary  to  keep  oneself  fully  acquainted  with  the  progress  that 
was  then  being  made.  Nowadays  a  much  wider  scope  is  necessary. 
Those  who  desire  to  keep  fully  acquainted  with  the  work  that  is  being 
done  in  Chrysanthemum  matters  must  be  prepared  to  push  their 
inquiries  into  directions  that  would  at  one  time  have  been  considered 
barely  within  the  bounds  of  possibility,  and  which  perhaps  could  never 
have  been  prosecuted  at  all  except  at  the  sacrifice  of  every  other  hobby, 
