482 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Koveinber  21, 1895. 
Mrs.  Chas.  BUcU  (Blick). — Narrow  grooved  florets,  curly  at  the  tips. 
Very  large.  Also  very  pure  white  in  colour. 
Lady  Byron  (Weeks). — Large  globular  blooms  with  broad  grooved 
florets,  very  strongly  incurving.  A  cross  between  Puritan  and  Mrs. 
Alpheus  Hardy.  Pure  glossy  white. 
Mutual  Friend,  (Mann). — Another  monster  bloom.  Very  long  wax¬ 
like  florets  of  great  breadth,  curly  at  the  tips,  and  deeply  grooved.  A 
white  variety. 
Leviathan  (Lacroix). — Broad  florets,  a  fine  solid  flower;  inside  colour 
violet  amaranth,  reverse  silvery. 
President  Carnot  (Calvat). — Medium  size,  with  good  florets  ;  carmine 
crimson  inside,  reverse  bufE. 
Souvenir  de  Jamhon  (Calvat). — Florets  of  medium  width,  a  globular 
and  massive  flower  ;  colour  chestnut  crimson,  reverse  old  gold. 
Vice-President  Calvat  (Calvat). — Large  and  solid ;  deep  crimson 
inside,  with  reverse  of  golden  ;  pointed,  grooved  florets. 
Prefet  Robert  (Calvat). — Very  broad  florets,  a  large  globular  flower  ; 
colour  carmine  amaranth,  reverse  silvery  pink. 
Souvenir  de  Petite  Amie  (Calvat).  —  Semi-globular  in  form,  very 
long  narrow  fforets,  outer  ones  partly  tubular  ;  pure  white. 
Souvenir  de  Toulon  (Calvat). — Large  and  solid  as  shown  at  the 
October  show,  grooved  florets  ;  pale  amaranth,  reverse  silvery. 
Kentish  White  (Cannell). — Semi-globular,  grooved  florets  of  medium 
with  ;  clear  paper  white,  centre  tinted  yellow. 
Queen  of  Buffs  (Owen). — Large  and  solid,  good  petals;  salmon,  gold, 
and  buff. 
Mrs.  B.  Ironside  (Briscoe  Ironside). — A  fine  chaste  looking  variety 
of  perfect  form,  and  very  regular  in  the  petal  ;  colour  salmon  blush. 
— C.  H.  P. 
Royal  Gardens,  Windsor. 
Considering  how  well  the  great  majority  of  plants  and  fruits  are 
grown  by  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  for  the  Royal  household,  it  would  be  a 
matter  for  the  utmost  surprise  if  Chrysanthemums  did  not  at  this  season 
of  the  year  receive  a  large  share  of  attention  on  account  of  their 
undoubted  utility.  Anyone  visiting  the  Windsor  Gardens  now  will  find 
such  a  display  as  cannot  be  seen  in  many  establishments,  and  flowers  will 
be  forthcoming  in  abundance  until  February,  the  earliest  plants  having 
been  in  bloom  in  September,  thus  giving  a  constant  show  for  upwards 
of  four  months.  This  is  prolonging  the  season  of  the  Chrysanthemum 
quite  sufficiently,  and  no  true  lover  would  desire  them  longer,  as  such 
would  only  tend  to  bring  about  their  downfall  through  giving  so  much 
as  to  engender  distaste,  where,  with  a  limited  season,  love  should  ever 
remain  supreme. 
But  let  us  return  to  the  “  Royal”  plants.  Remembering  the  extended 
season,  growers  of  the  autumn  queen  will  be  sure  that  not  only  is  a  very 
large  number  of  plants  grown,  but  also  that  different  styles  of  training 
must  of  necessity  be  adopted.  And  such  is,  indeed,  the  case.  On  the 
one  hand  may  be  seen  tall,  stately  plants  carrying  three  or  four  blooms, 
while  on  the  other  are  diminutive  little  specimens,  not  exceeding 
12  inches  in  height  and  bearing  perhaps  a  dozen  flowers.  Supposing 
these  to  represent  respectively  east  and  west,  then  on  the  north  we  see 
other  plants  to  give  blooms  to  Christmas,  and  to  the  south  still  more  to 
carry  the  feast  onward  thence  to  February.  It  will  readily  be  per¬ 
ceived  by  this  that  judgment  must  be  exercised  on  all  points  of  culture, 
be  they  large  or  small,  in  order  that  success  may  be  recorded  instead  of 
acknowledging  that  “  the  best  laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men  gang  aft 
agley,”  for  truly  a  goodly  amount  of  scheming  must  needs  be  done. 
Upwards  of  3000  plants  are  cultivated  in  the  various  styles  and  for 
the  different  seasons  of  flowering.  Dwarf  and  tall,  early  and  late,  are 
all  alike  in  splendid  health.  The  leafage  throughout  is  tough,  and  of  a 
dark  green,  while  all  the  shoots  are  composed  of  thoroughly  matured 
wood,  and  it  would  be  nothing  short  of  penal  to  omit  to  record  the  fact 
that  all  are  clothed  with  foliage  down  to  the  pot.  In  stating  that  all 
had  dark  green  leafage,  Philadelphia  should  have  been  held  as  a  reserva¬ 
tion,  for,  as  has  been  recorded  by  writers  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture 
during  the  past  week  or  two,  the  leaves  are  of  a  sickly  yellowish  green 
hue,  such  as  does  not  by  any  means  promise  the  good  blooms  that  are 
eventually  produced. 
Having  these  objects  in  view,  the  necessity  of  cultivating  many 
varieties  will  be  readily  apparent,  as  it  would  obviously  be  practically 
impossible  to  insure  such  an  extended  season  of  flowering  were  only  two 
or  three  sorts  grown.  The  majority  of  the  varieties  are  Japanese,  though 
Pompons  and  incurved  also  receive  a  fair  share  of  attention.  Considering 
their  far  greater  utility  it  cannot  be  a  matter  for  surprise  that  Japanese 
occupy  the  most  space,  and  that  they  are  trained  in  so  many  different 
styles,  including  those  for  large  blooms,  and  large  numbers  for  decorative 
purposes  in  smaller  sized  pots. 
Let  us  first  of  all  glance  over  the  Japanese  grown  usually  with 
about  four  blooms  on  a  plant,  and  which  plainly  evidence  the  best 
cultivation.  Here  the  varieties  are  very  numerous,  and  comprise  all  the 
best  of  last  season’s  novelties,  and,  of  coarse,  large  numbers  of  the  older 
ones  that  are  of  proved  merit.  It  would,  of  course,  be  an  impossi¬ 
bility  to  give  a  list  of  all  just  now  when  pressure  on  the  space  is  so 
tremendous  owing  to  the  shows,  so  mention  will  only  be  made  of  those 
that  are  doing  particularly  well,  without  troubling  at  all  whether  they 
come  under  the  magic  category  of  “  new  ”  or  not. 
Arranged  on  each  side  of  a  span-roofed  structure  the  plants  look 
very  imposing,  and  as  conspicuous  as  any  is  the  well-known  Edwin 
Molyneux,  which  seems  to  be  a  perennial  favourite.  Adjacent  to  this 
is  International,  noticeable  by  reason  of  its  immense  blooms  ;  the  same 
remark  applying  with  equal  force  to  Mrs.  C.  Harman  Payne.  Then 
there  are  Robert  Flowerday,  Rose  Wynne,  Prefet  Robert,  beautiful 
examples  of  Mdlle.  Th^rese  Rey,  Col.  W.  B.  Smith,  Owen  Thomas  (a 
yellow  incurved  Japanese,  that  promises  well).  Hairy  Wonder,  White  Louis 
Boehmer,  Mrs.  Dr.  Ward,  Mrs.  Libbie  Allen,  Coronet,  Eda  Prass,  Amos 
Perry,  Vice-President  Calvat,  with  Mrs.  W.  Stowe,  and  many  others. 
The  incurved  section,  though  not  receiving  such  a  large  amount  of 
attention,  is  by  no  means  neglected,  and  many  splendid  examples  of 
culture  are  to  be  seen,  several  of  the  blooms  being  well  up  to  the  best 
standard,  and  this  despite  the  fact  that  they  are  bound  to  be  content  with 
practically  the  same  treatment  as  is  accorded  to  their  more  easily  grown 
Japanese  brethren.  As  the  plants  are  so  much  less  numerous,  so 
naturally  are  the  varieties,  all  of  which  have  been  well  tried  and  are 
known  to  be  fairly  satisfactory  growers.  These  include  Golden  Empress, 
Lord  Wolseley,  Alfred  Salter,  Perle  Pr4cieuse,  J.  Agate,  Mrs.  Heale,  Lord 
Rosebery,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Kingston,  Robert  Petfield,  besides  other  equally 
well  known  sorts. 
Passing  from  the  large  to  the  smaller  blooms  we  find  an  entirely 
different  state  of  affairs,  for  here  the  plants  are  mostly  dwarf,  ranging 
from  about  12  to  36  inches  in  height.  Though  small  in  size  they 
are  large  in  quality,  and  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  decorative 
purposes  for  which  they  are  grown.  Amongst  the  most  popular  varieties 
are  Old  Gold,  Souvenir  d’Elsham  (a  handsome  pink  flower),  Belle 
Hickey,  Coquette  de  Castille,  Wm.  Stevens,  Lady  Fitzmaurice,  with 
L.  Canning  and  Golden  Gem  for  providing  the  necessary  after 
Christmas  supplies. — H. 
Chrysanthemums  around  Perth. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  interesting  to  your  Southern  readers  to  learn 
how  their  brethren  in  the  far  North  are  faring  with  the  queen  of  autumn, 
hence  my  reason  for  my  intruding  on  already  well  filled  pages  with  a 
brief  note  regarding  two  collections  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
inspecting  in  the  end  of  last  week. 
PiTCULLEN. — Although  the  name  of  Mr.  Leslie  is  generally  associated 
with  the  magnificent  Grapes  which  he  annually  produces  in  the  vineries 
at  Pitcullen,  and  with  which  he  carries  off  many  of  the  chief  prizes  at 
the  principal  Scottish  shows,  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  Grapes  are 
the  only  things  which  are  well  done  in  the  gardens  over  which  he  so 
ably  presides. 
Peaches  and  Tomatoes  in  their  season  are  well  worthy  of  a  journey 
to  see,  not  to  mention  stove  and  greenhouse  plants  in  variety,  and  at  the 
present  time  Chrysanthemums  of  which  there  is  an  excellent  display. 
Amongst  a  few  of  the  varieties  I  noted  as  especially  fine  were  President 
Borel,  a  finely  built  flower  with  long  drooping  petals,  carmine  rose  in 
colour  ;  Commandant  Blusset,  a  magnificent  solid  bloom,  deep  carmine, 
a  splendid  acquisision ;  Richard  Dean,  crimson  and  gold,  very  large,  a 
capital  exhibition  sort  of  striking  effect ;  Florence  Davis,  just  opening 
and  promising  to  be  very  good  ;  Souvenir  la  Petite  Amie,  a  very  fine 
white  ;  Madame  E.  Labat,  another  fine  white  of  massive  size  ;  Elaine, 
which  is  still  unsurpassed  for  purity  was  represented  by  deep  massive 
blooms  ;  Ed.  Molyneux,  good  ;  Gloire  du  Rocher,  very  fine  in  colour  ; 
Mrs.  Walters,  G.  W.  Childs,  Mrs.  E.  G.  Hill,  and  many  others  equally 
good  which  could  be  enumerated  did  space  permit,  all  of  which  combined 
to  make  the  greenhouse  exceedingly  gay  and  attractive,  and  reflect  great 
credit  to  Mr.  Leslie. 
Rossie  House,  Forgandenny. — Mr.  David  Nicol,  the  gardener  at 
Rossie,  is  now  pretty  well  known  throughout  Scotland  as  an  expert 
Chrysanthemum  grower,  and  during  the  past  few  years  his  name  has 
occupied  a  prominent  position  in  the  prize  lists  of  the  Chrysanthemum 
shows  held  in  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  Dundee.  Consequently,  it  was 
with  the  expectation  of  enjoying  a  treat  that  a  number  of  gardeners 
Chrysanthemum  fever  stricken  sallied  forth  on  Saturday  afternoon  to 
have  a  peep  into  the  Rossie  greenhouses. 
Nor  were  we  disappointed,  as  the  blooms  were  never  finer,  Mr.  Nicol 
having  this  year  eclipsed  all  his  previous  efforts  in  Chrysanthemum  culture. 
The  best  of  all  the  newer  sorts  as  well  as  the  cream  of  the  older  ones  were 
well  represented,  and  so  fine  are  the  blooms  generally  that  it  is  difficult 
to  select  a  few  representative  varieties  to  enumerate.  Amongst  whites, 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Lees  was  very  prominent  with  fine,  massive,  yet  graceful 
flowers;  Mdlle.  M.  A.  de  Galbert,  a  pure  white  broad  petalled  sort; 
Madame  A.  Chatin,  a  creamy  white  incurving  variety,  very  fine ; 
Madame  Carnot,  with  beautiful  long  drooping  florets,  very  chaste  ; 
Mdlle.  Thbr^se  Rey — this  lovely  sort  was  represented  by  a  number  of 
beautiful  blooms,  yellows  were  well  in  evidence,  very  fine  being  Amos 
Perry  ;  and  Pallanza,  gorgeous  in  colour  but  scarcely  broad  enough  to 
come  up  to  exhibition  standard ;  Duchess  of  York  Mr.  Nicol  feels  a 
little  disappointed  with,  as  it  hardly  comes  up  to  expectations  ;  Golden 
Gate  has  fine  broad  deep  flowers  of  a  rich  bronzy  yellow  ;  Col.  W.  B. 
Smith  is  very  fine,  as  also  is  Philadelphia,  a  large  incurved  Jap  of 
beautiful  primrose  colour  ;  Miss  Maggie  Blenkiron  is  a  huge  incurved 
bloom  of  a  pleasing  bronzy  yellow  shade,  very  attractive. 
Amongst  other  shades  we  noticed  extra  fine  blooms  of  Viscountess 
Hambledon,  a  grand  sort ;  Eda  Prass,  a  beautiful  salmony  pink ;  and  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Wheeler,  which  is  seldom  seen  at  its  best,  was  represented  by 
really  magnificent  blooms  ;  Mrs.  C.  H.  Payne,  very  large  and  highly 
coloured,  so  much  so  indeed  that  some  declared  it  to  be  a  sport ;  Prim¬ 
rose  League,  very  good,  with  a  distinct  yellow  sport,  which  we  hope  Mr. 
Nicol  will  be  able  to  fix.  I  might  go  on  enumerating  as  there  were 
many  equally  good,  but  I  am  afraid  I  have  already  trespassed  too  much 
on  your  valuable  space  ;  but  I  cannot  close  this  note  without  expressing 
our  thanks  for  the  very  kind  and  courteous  manner  in  which  we  were 
received  by  Mr.  Nicol,  and  wish  him  every  success  in  the  future,  both  in 
the  cultivation  and  exhibition  of  his  favourite  flowers. — Wm.  Little. 
