September  5, 1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
231 
the  white  flowers  being  in  direct  contrast  with  the  Lobelias.  If 
cultivators  were  to  take  more  interest  in  this  old-fashioned  plant  and 
grow  it  well  we  should  see  more  of  it  employed.  Its  merits  are  being 
recognised  by  persons  who  arrange  groups  of  plants  for  effect  in  com¬ 
petition  for  prizes.  The  tall  brightly  coloured  spikes  risinsr  from  a  mass 
of  Maidenhair  Fern  cannot  fail  to  please  the  judges. — E.  M. 
Chrysanthemum  Golden  Wedding. 
Owing  to  the  cold  and  wet  season  of  last  year  this  grand  variety 
was  almost  an  entire  failure,  but  with  me  this  year  it  is  likely  to  retain 
the  high  opinion  formed  of  it  two  years  ago  by  most  of  the  noted 
growers.  After  last  year’s  failure  many  growers  discarded  it  altogether. 
I  have  one  plant  only,  and  I  am  well  pleased  with  it.  So  far  it  is 
looking  as  healthy  and  strong  as  any  variety.  1  took  the  buds  on  the 
20th  of  this  month,  which  I  think  is  about  the  right  time.  Will  other 
growers  give  their  experience  of  the  behaviour  of  this  kind  under 
altered  climatic  conditions  this  year? — W.  R.  Heywood. 
Chrysanthemum  Raisers  and  the  Merite  Agricole. 
From  time  to  time  there  appear  in  the  French  gardening  papers 
lists  of  persons  on  whom  this  decoration  is  conferred  for  conspicuous 
service  in  horticulture.  Knowing  the  way  in  which  the  raisers  of  new 
Chrysanthemums  in  France  have  contributed  to  popularise  French 
horticulture  in  England,  Belgium,  and  perhaps  in  America  too,  it  does 
seem  strange  that,  with  only  one  exception,  none  of  the  well-known 
Chrysanthemum  growers  has  ever  been  the  recipients  of  the  Mhrite 
Agricole.  Men  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  work  unceasingly  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  years,  whose  names  are  known  the  wide-world  over, 
are  surely  deserving  of  such  a  recognition  from  their  Government,  and 
this  reflection  comes  with  greater  force  when  we  see  in  the  current 
number  of  “LeJardin”  a  list  four  columns  long  of  persons  who  have 
just  received  it,  but  whose  names,  with  very  few  exceptions,  have  never 
been  heard  of  outside  their  own  country. — C.  Harman  Payne. 
Importing  New  Chrysanthemums. 
Not  a  great  while  ago  an  American  correspondent  of  mine,  in 
drawing  attention  to  the  many  excellent  varieties  that  were  being  sent 
out  by  the  raisers  in  the  United  States,  explained  that  hardly  any  of 
their  trade  growers  could  be  expected  to  purchase  all  the  season’s 
novelties,  as  it  would  cost  him  about  £30  to  do  so,  and  that  the  element  of 
uncertainty  as  to  their  merits  would  scarcely  warrant  such  an  under¬ 
taking.  Having  just  completed  a  carefully  compiled  list  of  all  the 
continental  novelties  offered  this  spring,  I  have  been  struck  with  the 
serious  expense  that  must  be  incurred  by  many  of  our  own  trade 
growers  who  desire  to  keep  their  collections  up  to  date.  Apart  from 
English  and  American  novelties  the  continental  ones  must  always  be 
reckoned  with,  and  if  the  ordinary  grower  for  show  complains  at  the 
ever-increasing  number  of  new  varieties  which  bewilder  and  perplex 
him,  there  is  another  side  to  the  question  which  must  cause  the  importer 
deep  concern,  and  it  is  the  finding  of  the  necessary  capital  to  stock 
varieties  which  it  is  almost  certain  his  rivals  will. 
Merely  to  make  selections  would  be  risky,  and  probably  place  a 
grower  a  year  behind  his  fellows,  with  the  chance  that  some  varieties 
that  he  did  not  buy  would  turn  out  well,  and  consequently  having  no 
stock  he  could  only  offer  them  in  small  quantities,  if  at  all.  To  do  a 
safe  business  the  English  importer  must  buy  all,  throw  away  those 
that  prove  to  be  of  no  value,  and  rely  on  the  remainder  to  secure  a 
return  of  bis  cipital  and  a  profit  for  himself.  Tnere  are  at  the  present 
time  eight  or  nine  prominent  French  seedling  raisers,  and  a  rough 
calculation  shows  me  that  at  least  £50  is  required  to  purchase  their 
1895  novelties.  The  only  marvel  to  a  non-trader  is  that  a  nurseryman 
cam  ever  see  his  money  back  after  growing  them  for  a  year,  testing  and 
comparing  them  with  older  sorts,  and  finding  the  necessary  labour  and 
space  they  require.  If  the  Chrysanthemum  were  not  so  easy  of 
propagation  the  work  could  hardly  be  carried  on  at  all,  or  if  so  it  would 
be  at  prices  that  would  be  almost  prohibitive. — F. 
CARNATIONS  AT  BURTON  JOYCE,  NOTTS. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  the  Carnation  ranks  as  one  of  our  most 
popular  hardy  flowers.  The  improvements  in  the  habit  and  hardihood 
of  the  plant,  the  length  of  time  it  can  now  be  had  in  bloom,  and  the 
advancement  in  the  perfection  of  the  flowers,  all  add  to  its  usefulness  as 
a  decorative  plant  of  the  highest  order.  I  had  the  opportunity  a  few 
days  ago  of  seeing  Mr.  Lamb’s  Carnations,  which  he  grows  very  largely 
for  the  Nottingham  market.  He  only  cultivates  varieties  that  succeed 
in  the  open  borders  without  coddling,  and  afford  a  large  quantity  of 
flowers  of  the  best  quality.  A  few  years  ago  Mr.  Lamb  raised  and  sent 
out  a  Carnation  known  as  the  Duchess  of  Portland,  and  it  is  to  this 
variety  that  I  wish  more  particularly  to  draw  attention  in  these  notes. 
The  body  colour  is  pure  white,  with  deep  rose  bars  running  down  the 
petals,  which  are  stiff  and  numerous,  making  a  large,  bold,  erect  flower, 
with  the  perfume  of  the  old  Clove,  and  is  most  valuable  for  cutting  in 
quantity.  It  has  received  certificates  at  many  shows  in  the  Midlands 
and  at  Oxford.  The  flowers  never  burst  the  calyx.  Respecting  its 
hardihood  four  rows,  25  yards  long  each,  were  planted  in  the  open 
ground  last  autumn,  and  not  a  plant  was  destroyed  by  the  frost.  As 
regards  its  floriferousness,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  Burton  Joyce  it 
had  been  blooming  continuously  for  two  months,  and  to  all  appearance 
would  continue  to  do  so  until  destroyed  by  frost.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  the  Duchess  of  Portland  will  stand  in  the  front  rank  as  a 
flower  for  cutting  purposes. 
Two  other  sorts  raised  by  Mr,  Lamb  are  Red  Rover,  a  very  dark  good 
flower,  strong  constitution,  and  Blanche,  cream,  changing  to  pure  white, 
a  grand  flower  with  firm  calyx.  Other  varieties  which  Mr.  Lamb  is 
testing  as  market  garden  flowers  are  Carmina  (M.  Smith),  yellow,  very 
bright  and  attractive,  a  good  grower,  and  great  improvement  on 
Germania ;  Ketton  Rose  (Divers),  rose-coloured,  strong  and  good 
grower,  perfect  flower;  Marney  Murray  (M.  Smith),  light  scarlet 
I  flower,  strong  grower,  and  makes  good  “  grass ;  ”  Miss  Audrey 
Campbell  (M.  Smith),  pale  yellow,  very  attractive,  being  a  good  border 
plant.  Others  of  great  merit  were  notice!,  such  as  The  Pasha,  Pride  of 
the  Garden,  Duchess  of  Fife,  Uriah  Pike,  and  Almana.  Mr.  Lamb’s  object 
is  to  grow  good  garden  flowers,  such  as  will  stand  the  inclemencies  of 
our  variable  climate,  and  will  produce  good  financial  results. — 
Quintin  Read,  Exexliam. 
CYC  AS  REVOLUTA. 
i  About  a  year  ago  I  sent  you  a  note  along  with  a  few  ovules  from  a 
j  plant  of  the  above  which  was  here  bearing  a  fine  crown  of  fruit.  You 
i  were  happily  able  to  illustrate  the  subject  by  the  reproduction  of  a 
i  fruiting  leaf  from  a  former  head  of  the  same  plant.  When  testing  the 
i  ovules  which  I  last  sent,  you  made  a  footnote  expressing  a  wish  that 
I  we  would  be  able  to  get  the  seeds  to  germinate.  Herewith  I  take  the 
,  liberty  to  send  you  two  seeds  developing  well  in  the  process  of  germina- 
j  tion.  This  proves  that  our  first  impression  was  quite  correct,  that  the 
'  seeds  were  fertile  owing  to  the  application  of  the  pollen  from  the  male 
plant  at  Cringle  House,  a  photo  of  which  you  gave  “  in  fruit  ”  in  your 
issue  of  October  25th,  1894.  I  might  say  that  on  the  subject  we  had  a 
little  interesting  local  correspondence,  and  from  opinions  given  we  were 
in  doubt  whether  the  seeds  would  actually  prove  fertile.  On  the  closest 
i  observation  no  germ  could  be  detected  when  dissecting  a  seed,  but  the 
I  matter  was  set  at  rest  when  at  length  a  seed  that  was  planted  began  to 
i  grow.  Perhaps  you  may  be  interested  to  notice  the  fact. — Robert 
Mackeller,  The  Gardens.  Abney  Hall,  Cheadle,  Cheshire. 
[The  seeds  received  appear  to  be  germinating  freely,  and  our  corre¬ 
spondent  may  look  forward  to  home-raised  plants.] 
PRUNINGS. 
“  Lettuces  in  Winter  ”  (page  146). — This  is  of  course  something 
about  Lettuces,  and,  moreover,  an  exposition  of  the  laws  of  natural 
economy.  To  most  gardeners,  I  think,  the  salad  side  of  the  subject  is 
one  of  immediate  concern,  and  “  Grower’s  ”  advice,  or  at  least  so  much 
of  it  as  he  has  given,  is,  timely.  After  floundering  in  the  somewhat 
profound  depths  of  “  Grower’s  ”  second  paragraph — which,  probably, 
was  more  my  misfortune  than  his  fault — and  coming  to  the  surface 
(and  question  proper)  I  venture  to  ask  him  for  a  little  more  light  on  the 
Lettuces — to  let  us  would-be  growers  of  good  winter  salading  know 
what  are  the  best  varieties  for  frame  purposes  ;  how  to  cope  with 
damping  during  the  covering  period  of  a  long  spell  of  hard  weather  ; 
also  whether  he  has  yet  tried  “  New  York  ”  as  a  winter  variety,  and  if 
so,  his  opinion  of  it.  I  have  found,  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  frames,  that 
autumn  planting  at  the  base  of  a  warm  wall,  with  a  little  protection  by 
litter  when  occasion  requires,  gives  very  satisfactory  results  ;  whilst  a 
gentle  hotbed  in  the  spring  will  quickly  produce  succulent  leafage  from 
starved  plants  when  transferred  from  the  open  ;  but  rarely  indeed 
can  we  produce  in  early  spring  that  desideratum — viz.,  little  cricket 
balls,  clean  and  crisp,  such  as  we  are  now  playing  straight  into  the 
salad  bowl.  _ 
Dismal  indeed  is  “  A.  G.’s  ”  picture  of  the  evils  of  overcrowding 
(page  148).  Was  it  not  for  his  final  note  of  triumph  “  at  last  success  ” 
one  could  but  conclude  that  his  pen  was  ultra-pessimistic  ;  as  it  is,  his 
vivid  depiction  of  horror  on  horror  appears  to  be  drawn  from  the 
most  shady  of  shady  experiences.  Truly  it  would  be  strange,  passing 
strange,  if  any  gardener  (save  the  mark)  whose  conscience  tells  him  he 
is  included  in  this  category  does  not  mend  his  ways  ;  failing  to  do  so, 
may  the  ghosts  of  “  headless  Cauliflowers  ”  and  “  running  Lettuces  ” 
chase  him  out  of  the  garden  ;  it  will  but  serve  him  right,  and  blame 
whom  he  will  he  cannot  blame  “  A.  G.” 
“The  Apple  as  a  timber  tree,”  vide  American  note,  page  154- 
Presumably  this  will  not  “  take  on  ”  with  Britishers  from  a  commercial 
point  of  view,  although  one  may  shape  a  cudgel  from  their  favourite 
Codlin  to  be  handed  down  as  a  heirloom.  There  is  in  my  family  a 
•  Pear  tree  table  made  by  an  ancestor,  and  though  this  is  neither  time 
