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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  14, 189S. 
Mrs.  George  West. — A  Japanese  incurved,  very  globular  in  form  and 
massive  in  build  ;  colour  velvety  amaranth  inside,  reverse  silvery  pink. 
Also  shown  by  Mr.  H.  J.  Jones. 
Oceana. — A  seedling  incurved  Japanese,  raised  in  Australia  ;  a  noble 
flower  of  its  type.  The  florets  are  of  great  width,  deeply  grooved,  and 
of  much  substance.  The  colour  is  clear  golden  yellow.  An  introduction 
of  Messrs.  H.  Cannell  &  Sons,  who  were  also  the  exhibitors. 
Arena. — A  Japanese  with  narrow  pointed  florets  incurving  at  the 
tips  ;  the  inside  colour  is  reddish  crimson,  and  the  reverse  a  waxlike 
golden  yellow.  Raised  and  exhibited  by  Mr.  Briscoe-Ironside. 
Clinton  Chalfont. — A  really  attractive  medium  sized  Japanese  ;  useful 
for  decorative  purposes,  and  of  American  origin ;  pure  pale  yellow,  with¬ 
out  shade  or  marking.  Staged  by  Mr.  Godfrey  of  Exmouth. 
Annie  Heard,. — A  neat  little  single-flowered  variety,  with  several 
rows  of  short,  flat  white  florets  round  a  yellow  centre.  Also  from  Mr. 
Godfrey. 
Baronne  de  Bvfihres. — Very  globular  and  solid  ;  an  incurved 
Japanese  having  medium  sized  florets  ;  colour  pale  soft  lilac,  with  a 
reverse  of  pearly  pink.  This  was  staged  by,  Mr.  W.  Wells. 
Mens.  Cltenon  de  Leclie. — Very  large,  and  of  excellent  form  ;  a 
reflexed  Japanese  which  was  commended  last  year  by  the  Committee. 
The  florets  are  very  long,  regularly  arranged,  and  of  medium  width. 
The  colour  is  a  yellow  ground,  shaded  salmon  bronze  in  the  centre, 
passing  to  a  rosy  bronze  on  the  outer  florets.  This  came  from  Mr. 
W.  Wells  too. 
Mdlle.  M.  A.  de  Galbert. — A  large  white  drooping  petalled  Japanese ; 
the  florets  are  medium  to  broad,  and  the  colour  clear  and  distinct.  Also 
from  Mr.  W.  Wells. 
Le  Moucherotte, — A  giant  Japanese  of  great  breadth,  and  very  full 
and  double ;  the  florets  are  long  and  narrow,  the  colour  deep  golden 
yellow  slightly  tinted  bronze.  Another  of  Mr.  Wells’  introductions,  and, 
like  the  three  preceding  seedlings,  raised  by  M.  Ernest  Calvat. 
Ewan  Cameron, — A  single-flowered  Japanese  with  flat  florets  ;  centre 
yellow.  Sent  by  Mr.  E.  C.  Goble. 
The  Committee  wished  to  see  several  varieties  again,  the  principal 
being  L’Am^thiste,  a  rosy  amaranth  incurved  ;  William  Bolia,  a  Japanese, 
rosy  amaranth  and  silver ;  Duchess  of  Fife,  large  white  incurved 
Japanese  ;  Mrs.  Hepper,  incurved  white  ;  Harold  Wells,  a  fine  primrose 
yellow  Japanese  incurved  ;  Mayor  of  Exmouth,  and  Mrs.  W.  J.  Godfrey, 
the  white  hairy  variety. 
Among  M.  Calvat’s  varieties,  which  had  suffered  by  their  long 
journey,  Vicomte  Rene  de  Chezelles  was  in  good  form,  but  identical 
with  Mr.  Ironside’s  Arona.  Rive  d’Or  was  large,  but  thin  in  the  petal. 
Australie,  a  very  large  colonial  Japanese,  amaranth  and  silver  ;  and  Mrs. 
Hume  Larg,  somewhat  similar  in  style,  will  be  both  seen  again.  King 
of  the  Yellows,  Lady  Ridgway,  Mrs.  C.  Orchard,  and  several  other 
novelties  were  very  presentable. 
Judging  at  Chrysanthemum  Shows. 
Is  it  not  high  time  to  introduce  a  more  scientific  and  consistent 
method  of  judging  at  Chrysanthemum  shows  than  obtains  at  present  ? 
As  it  is,  judges  have  no  particular  recognised  authority  beyond  their 
personal  reputations,  and  are,  as  a  consequence,  laid  open  to  all  sorts  of 
unpleasant  charges  and  abuse  from  disappointed  competitors,  who  appear 
unable  to  control  their  feelings  in  many  cases.  I  would  suggest  that 
some  form  of  examination  should  be  instituted,  by  means  of  which 
candidates  should  be  submitted  to  a  test,  and  if  found  properly  qualified 
given  a  certificate  to  that  effect,  just  as  official  football  referees  are 
appointed.  As  one  frequently  called  on  to  act  as  a  judge,  I  should  be 
very  pleased  to  stand  or  fall  by  such  a  test,  provided  it  was  arranged  by 
an  authoritative  body,  such  as  the  Committee  of  the  N.C.S.  for  instance. 
I  also  consider  that  such  a  course  would  recommend  itself  generally  to 
both  judges  and  competitors  all  over  the  country. 
Another  thing  greatly  needed  is  a  set  of  axioms  laid  down  with 
regard  to  certain  principles  in  judging,  concerning  which  the  best 
judges  appear  to  differ.  The  decisions  of  one  set  of  judges  are  some¬ 
times  found  to  be  entirely  different  from  those  of  another  set,  and 
founded  on  entirely  different  principles.  This  state  of  things  is  not 
fair  to  the  competitor,  and  might,  1  venture  to  say,  be  obviated  to  a 
very  large  extent  by  the  set  of  rules  or  axioms  to  which  I  have  referred. 
I  will  give  a  case  in  illustration  of  what  I  mean.  We  will  suppose 
a  board  of  blooms  is  being  pointed.  We  come  to  a  splendid  Viviand 
Morel,  perfect  in  form,  freshness,  and  colour.  It  gets  the  maximum 
number  of  points.  Next  comes  a  smaller  bloom  of  Mrs.  Alpheus  Hardy, 
fresh  and  of  fair  form.  It  is  not  so  fine  a  bloom  as  the  Viviand  Morel 
by  any  means,  but  it  also  receives  the  maximum,  because — and  here  is 
the  point — because  it  is  a  difficult  doer  and  is  a  fine  bloom — “  for  Mrs. 
Alpheus  Hardy.”  I  have  frequently  differed  from  my  colleagues  in  this 
matter,  and  I  will  admit  1  almost  invariably  find  myself  in  the  minority 
concerning  it.  My  contention  is  that  the  choice  of  varieties  to  grow  and 
show  lies  entirely  with  the  competitor,  and  that  if  a  man  chooses  to 
select  weak  and  inferior  sorts  he  deserves  to  suffer  for  his  lack  of  dis¬ 
cretion  in  that  respect,  and  not  to  be  favoured  because  of  it,  as  he  is  in 
the  case  I  have  mentioned.  A  difficulty  also  often  turns  up  in  the  class 
for  six  Japanese,  any  one  variety.  How  can  one  compare,  say,  six 
Mme.  Carnots  with  six  W.  H.  Lincolns?  Presuming  all  the  blooms  are 
equally  fresh  and  well  developed,  the  question  resolves  itself  into  one  of 
taste,  not  judgment,  and  tastes  as  we  know  differ.  In  this  class,  there¬ 
fore,  it  is  simply  a  toss-up,  depending  entirely  on  the  individual 
tastes  of  whoever  happens  to  judge  them.  Here  again  a  hard  and  fast 
rule  would  be  of  use,  and  would  insure  a  scientific  conclusion  being 
arrived  at. 
I  do  not  bring  forward  the  two  instances  I  have  referred  to  as 
matters  for  controversy,  but  simply  as  examples  where  a  recognised  set 
of  rules  would  prevent  much  valuable  time  being  wasted  in  useless 
argument,  as  is  often  the  case  under  existing  circumstances.  I  should 
very  much  like  to  know  the  opinions  of  our  most  eminent  judges  on  the 
matter.  The  principle  of  the  scheme  I  suggest  might,  of  course,  be 
introduced  generally  with  regard  to  judging,  but  for  simplicity’s  sake  it 
would,  I  think,  be  advisable  to  confine  ourselves  to  Chrysanthemums  at 
first. — Fred.  C.  Smale,  Torqtiay. 
[We  think  the  Judging  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  have  formulated  a  series  of  “  axioms,”  if  they  may  be  so  called, 
in  judging  Chrysanthemums.  We  also  think  they  have  been  sanctioned 
by  a  number  of  exhibitors  and  judges ;  but  we  do  not  know  that  they 
include  every  point  in  our  correspondent’s  letter,  which  affords  material 
for  discussion.  ] 
New  French  Chrysanthemums. 
The  best  of  the  new  introductions  from  France  are  usually  to  be- 
met  with  early  in  the  season,  and  the  present  year  is  no  exception  to 
the  rule.  At  most  of  the  trade  displays  a  large  number  of  French 
seedlings  have  been  seen  in  remarkably  good  form,  and  taken  as  a  whole 
I  do  not  remember  ever  yet  to  have  been  so  much  struck  with  the  great 
brilliancy  of  colour  in  the  season’s  novelties  as  this  year.  And  this 
applies  not  only  to  varieties  sent  out  in  1895,  but  to  those  of  former 
years,  whether  American,  French,  or  English.  Probably  the  remarkable 
heat  of  the  past  summer  may  have  contributed  to  bring  this  about,  a 
point,  however,  which  may  well  be  left  to  the  consideration  of  more 
experienced  culturists  than  I. 
On  looking  over  my  note  book  there  seems  to  be  good  ground  for 
assuming  that  the  threatened  extinction  of  the  French  raisers  is  just 
about  as  far  off  as  ever.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  by  some  to  be 
unpatriotic  to  say  so,  but  in  some  matters  of  public  importance  even 
truth  is  preferable  to  patriotism.  The  Chrysanthemum  happens  to  be 
a  case  in  point.  We  have  never  yet,  since  the  French  florists  began  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  seeding  of  the  Japanese  Chrysanthemum,  been 
able  to  dispense  with  their  productions,  and  probably  never  shall.  One 
raiser  may  perhaps  for  a  time  hold  the  sway  and  then  decline,  but 
another  rises  up  in  his  place  to  startle  the  world  with  some  new  depar¬ 
ture  or  novelty  in  form  or  colour,  and  thus  gives  an  impetus  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  flower  which  seems  to  be  unfailing  in  its  capacity  ta 
astonish  and  delight  us. 
The  boundless  inexhaustibility  of  the  Chrysanthemum  is  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  and  those  who  have  known  it  the 
longest  will  be  the  first  to  admit  that  it  sets  all  expectations  at  defiance. 
New  races,  new  types,  new  families  have  practically  been  the  order  of 
the  day  ever  since  seedlings  were  first  raised  in  Europe, jseventy  years 
ago,  but  most  certainly  so  since  Robert  Fortune  introduced  the  Jap 
in  1861,  then  so  much  despised  and  derided  by  the  former  generation  of 
Chrysanthemum  fanciers — “Ragged  Jacks”  they  were  called  then  by 
some  folks,  and  one  false  prophet  declared  they  would  soon  be  stranded 
on  the  shores  of  the  past,  by  which  it  would  be  wise  for  present  day 
prophets  to  infer  that  it  is  never  safe  to  prophesy  unless  you  know. 
The  season  of  1895  will  long  be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  this 
famous  flower  for  the  marvellous  additions  to  our  lists  of  new  Japanese 
varieties.  Some  of  those  which  have  come  prominently  forward  this 
season  are  not,  strictly  speaking,  novelties  of  1895,  but  have  been  with 
us  rather  longer  ;  the  season  has  favoured  their  higher  development,  and 
they  may  thus  have  been  saved  from  falling  into  oblivion. 
Having,  in  another  issue,  referred  to  American  varieties,  I  propose  in 
this  paper  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  recent  French  seedlings,  and  the 
chief  of  these  appear  to  be  : — 
Madame  Ch.  Champon  (Calvat). — A  large  spreading  Japanese  with 
long  flat  florets,  rather  loose  in  form  ;  white  shaded  purple. 
Marquis  d' Aiquesvives  (Delaux). — Japanese ;  petals  slightly  in¬ 
curving  ;  colour  golden  yellow,  outer  florets  shaded  crimson. 
Mens.  G.  Montigny  (Calvat). — A  large  loose  Japanese  ;  very  long 
florets,  tips  toothed,  rosy  white  streaked  lilac. 
Floridor  (Lacroix).  —  Japanese  incurved  ;  florets  pointed,  inside 
colour  crimson,  centre  yellow. 
Koces  d’Or  (Calvat). — Japanese  incurved  ;  medium  grooved  florets, 
golden  yellow. 
President  Armand  (Calvat).  —  Japanese  incurved  of  large  size; 
grooved  florets  ;  colour  carmine  chestnut,  reverse  brassy  yellow. 
Phoebus  (Lacroix). — A  real  Japanese  ;  long  drooping  florets  ;  deep 
golden  canary  yellow. 
Mens.  Ch.  Molin  (Calvat). — Japanese  with  flat  florets,  rather  broad  ; 
pure  yellow  shaded  bronze. 
Boule  d' Or  (Calvat). — Japanese  incurved  ;  figured  and  described  in 
the  Journal  on  24th  October. 
Mens.  Aug.  Laevivier  (Lacroix). — Japanese,  very  large  when  well 
done  ;  colour  rich,  being  of  a  golden  rose  with  inside  tone  of  salmon  rose. 
3Ions.  Georges  Biron  (Calvat). — Japanese  of  incurved  form  ;  crimson 
and  eold. 
31ons.  Bevj.  Giroud  (Calvat). — Japanese  of  globular  form,  not  large, 
but  very  fine  m  colour  ;  deep  crimson,  reverse  golden. 
Beine  d'  Anyleterre  (Calvat). — A  large  flat  petalled  Japanese  ;  colour 
white  ground  stiaded  rosy  colour. 
Sonvenir  de  Toulon  (Calvat). — Japanese  incurved,  large  and  solid  ; 
florets  grooved,  pale  amaranth,  reverse  silvery  pink. 
3Ions.  J.  Allemand  (Calvat). — Very  large  but  straggly,  a  J,ipanese  ; 
tubular  florets  ;  colour  white  shaded  purple. 
