December  1,  1598. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
417 
fine  rich  pale  canary  yellow  form  of  Mrs.  Dr.  Ward,  and  wat  recently 
commended  by  the  N.C.S.  Lizzie  Adcock,  the  palest  yellow  sport 
from  the  good  old  Source  d’Or,  wh:ch  as  a  decorative  Japanese  has 
few  rivals.— C.  H.  P. 
WIRE-PETALLED  CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Beautiful  as  are  these  singularly  interesting  flowers,  and  charm¬ 
ing  as  they  are  for  vase  and  bouquet  purposes,  there  is  very  little 
prospect  of  their  being  made  into  show  flowers.  But  those  who  love 
Chrysanthemums  for  their  intrinsic  beauty  most,  and  least  for  mere 
size  or  prizewinning  capacity,  will  find  in  the  singularly  pretty  Mrs. 
Filkins,  bright  yellow,  petals  fine,  and  pointed  with  a  branching  or 
stag’s-horn  formation  ;  Bouqucterre,  fine  fluted  petals,  erect,  pale  pink 
flushed  golden  bronze ;  Sit-ju-jet-ui  (I  syllabilise  this  odd  Japanese 
name  as  it  should  be  pronounced),  reddish  lilac,  white  ditto,  very 
■charming;  Mrs.  Harvey,  petals  erect,  densely  set,  white  flushed  pink, 
wonderfully  free;  and  Alice  Carter,  chestnut  red,  tipped  yellow,  as  a 
very  beautiful  selection.  I  found  these  in  Messrs.  Cannell  &  Co.’s 
interesting  collection  at  the  Drill  Hall  on  the  22nd. — A.  D. 
[We  should  like  to  hear  “A.  D.”  pronounce  “Sit-ju-jet-ui  ’’  in  his 
sonorous  way,  and  then  give  its  English  equivalent.] 
TOO-MUCH-ALIKE  FLOWERS. 
Nothing  helps  to  kill  an  absurdity  so  much  as  converting  it  into 
Tidicule.  Your  correspondent  of  last  week,  “  W.  J.  G.,”  seeks  to  do 
this  by  showing  the  unfortunate  position  in  which  the  N.C.S.  Classifi¬ 
cation  Committee  has  placed  itself  in  reqiect  of  linking  together 
C.  H.  Curtis  and  Major  Bonnaffon.  There  is  not  a  grower  of  incurves 
but  declares  them  to  be  quite  distinct.  But  the  oddest  thing  is  that 
whilst,  as  quoted  by  “  W.  J.  G.,”  the  N.C.S.  Year  Book  describes 
C.  H.  Curtis  as  rich  golden  yellow',  and  Major  Bonnaffon  as  pale 
yellow,  yet  in  the  very  fine  stand  of  bh'oms  shown  at  the  Drill  Hall 
on  Tuesday  last  by  Mr.  Flight,  including  two  blooms  of  each  of  these 
varieties,  C.  H.  Curtis  was  “  pale  yellow”  and  Major  Bonnaffon  “rich 
golden  yellow.”  Apart  from  that  distinction  in  colour  the  form  of 
flower,  breadth,  and  character  of  petal  are  so  diverse  that  classing 
them  as  varieties  too  much  alike  is  the  veriest  absurdity.  In  growth 
and  foliage  they  differ  also.  —  Observer. 
I  note  the  remarks  on  this  subject  by  “A.  D.,”  page  370,  who 
seems  to  suppose  that  the  “trade”  has  supplied  certain  varieties 
wrongly  named.  Persons  who  are  not,  by  long  practical  experience, 
acquainted  with  the  niceties  in  Chrysanthemum  culture,  may  easily 
fall  into  such  an  error,  for  an  error  it  is  in  the  present  reference.  The 
formation  of  the  flower  buds  at  various  stages  and  periods  has  such  an 
■effect  upon  both  colour  and  shape  of  the  blooms,  that  a  m  m  with 
little  experience  in  technical  points  may  easily  be  misled. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  distinguishing  blooms  of 
Mrs.  Ideale  from  Princess  of  Wales  when  both  are  properly  repre¬ 
sented,  nor  need  there  be  any  trouble  in  detecting  the  differences 
between  blooms  of  C.  H.  Curtis  and  those  of  Major  Bonnaffon. 
Unfortunately  some  cultivators  arc  not  nearly  particular  enough  in 
observing  the  conditions  necessary  to  enable  them  to  stage  both  sorts 
without  risk  of  disqualification.  Perfectly  dissimilar  blooms  shown  as 
Princess  of  Wales  and  Mrs.  IJeale  have  teen  cut  from  the  same  plant, 
and  a  similar  result  is  possible  with  the  other  two  varieties  quoted. 
If  all  growers  were  as  careful  to  stage  them  distinct  as  was  Mr.  Lees 
in  the  stand  alluded  to,  there  would  not  be  the  slightest  necessity  to 
bracket  any  two  sorts  as  too  much  alike.  It  is  in  the  interest  of 
persons  who  do  not  know,  or  do  not  take  sufficient  notice  of  the 
distinctive  character  of  the  blooms  they  stage,  that  such  rules  are 
necessary. 
In  the  case  of  C.  H.  Curtis  and  Major  Bonnaffon  in  is  a  weli- 
"known  fact  that  early  blooms  of  the  former  so  much  resemble  those 
of  the  latter  in  colour  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
them.  How  would  “  A.  D.”  act  in  a  case  of  that  kind?  Is  it  not 
better  to  have  such  a  rule  as  that  lately  drawn  up  by  ihe  N.C.S. 
and  relieve  exhibitors  from  the  pain  of  disqualification  in  such  cases  ? 
Tre  point  which  seems  to  me  to  be  the  most  important  is  this  : — 
How  could  the  executive  of  any  affiliated  society  expect  their 
members,  (specially  in  a  remote  district,  to  know  of  the  existence  of 
such  a  rule,  published  only  in  the  prize  schedule  of  the  N.C.S.,  and  not 
even  hinted  at  in  their  own  schedule  ?  Exiiiuitors  think  they  are 
hardly  dealt  with  by  judges  disqualifying  them  for  not  observing  the 
latest  rule  made  by  the  N.C.S.,  which,  according  to  “A.  D.,”  is  not 
clear  even  to  some  of  those  who  made  it. 
All  affiliated  societies  should  print  in  their  schedule  of  prizes  next 
season  the  particular  c'auso  in  question,  then  exhibitors  will  have  no 
reason  for  complaint  if  judges  disqualified  them  in  the  dLcharge  of  their 
duty. — Sadoc, 
[This  is  a  good  and  natural  suggestion  under  the  circumstances. 
Whether  the  rule  is  clear  or  not,  we  know  of  judges  who  declined  to 
enforce  it  at  some  provincial  shows,  on  the  reasonable  assumption  that 
many  exhibitors  did  not  know  of  its  existence.} 
Tf 
Events  of  the  Week.— With  the  almost  absolute  cessation  of 
Chrysanthemum  shows  horticulturists  enter  upon  a  season  of  comparative 
rest.  The  last  show  of  the  autumn  queen  is  that  of  the  N.C.S.,  which 
opens  on  Tuesday  next,  December  5th,  and  will,  as  usual,  continue  over 
the  two  following  days. 
-  Weather  in  London. — The  weather  in  the  metropolis  during 
the  past  seven  days  has  been  extremely  changeable.  From  the  time  of 
going  to  press  on  Wednesday,  November  23rd,  until  Saturday  night,  wo 
had  heavy  cold  rains  with  fine  intervals.  On  Sunday,  though  dull,  it  was 
dry,  this  condition  prevailing  until  Monday  afternoon,  when  rain  rcc'-m- 
menced,  and  continued  all  the  evening.  A  light  drizzle  fell  on  Tuesday 
morning,  but  it  became  fine  later,  with  frost  at  night.  At  the  time  of 
going  to  press  on  Wednesday  it  was  mild,  but  rather  dull. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — The  long  course  of  wet  and  foggy 
weather  was  suddenly  broken  on  the  night  of  the  2 1st  by  a  frost  of  11°. 
A  snowfall  of  6  inches  took  place  on  the  following  night,  but  a  thaw 
following  soon  chared  the  low  grounds,  the  hills  around  being  still 
covered.  The  27th  and  28th,  although  cold,  were  fine  seasonable  days 
with  frost  of  4’  and  5°.  On  Tuesday  morning  141  of  frost  were 
registered,  and  the  ground  was  white  with  dense  rime. — B.  D.,  S.  Perth • 
sh  ire. 
-  Late  Peas. — The  prolonged  drought  and  the  dry  and  overheated 
state  of  the  soil  have  told  very  generally  against  the  acquisition  of  late 
Peas  this  season.  In  an  exhibit  of  vegetables  at  the  late  Frorne  Chrys* 
anthemum  Show  very  general  surprise  was  manifested  over  a  fine  dish  of 
Autocrat  staged  by  Mr.  Richard  Morse  of  Babbington,  Bath,  They  were 
as  fresh  in  the  pod  a3  summer  Peas,  and  as  full  of  large  seeds  ;  indeed,  it 
was  almost  difficult  to  believe  they  were  gathered  in  the  middle  of 
November  in  such  an  un  oward  season.  They  were  sown  at  the  end  of 
Juno,  but  I  did  not  learn  whether  they  were  benefited  by  a  bountiful 
water  supply.  In  any  case,  they  reflected  more  than  ordinary  credit  on 
the  exhibitor,  and  quite  a  prominent  feeling  of  envy  was  raised  in  the 
minds  of  many  visitors. — W.  S. 
_  “  Record  ”  Prizes  for  Grapes.— We  understand  that,  in 
commemoration  of  the  twenty-fifth  summer  Show  of  the  Shropshire  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,  to  be  held  at  Shrewsbury  on  August  23rd  and  24th,  a 
special  class  for  Grapes  will  be  provided,  for  which  cash  prizes,  value, 
£100,  will  be  offered.  We  arc  not  in  possession  of  the  exact  conditions, 
but  think  the  stipulations  will  be  for  a  collection  of  Grapes,  in  six  distinct 
varieties,  two  bunches  of  each  variety,  the  bunches  to  be  staged  on 
boards  in  a  space  7  feet  by  4  feet  6  inches,  and  that  small  plants  and 
loose  foliage  will  be  allowed  for  decoration.  The  prizes,  we  hear,  will 
be  as  follows  :  — 
First  Prize 
... 
...  £30 
Second  Prize 
... 
...  £25 
Third  Prize 
... 
...  £20 
Fourth  Prize 
... 
...  £15 
Fifth  Prize 
...  £10 
The  cla-s,  we  believe,  will  bo  open  to  cultivators  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  We  have  no  recollection  of  £100  being  offered  in  one  class  for 
Grapes  beforo,  and  splendid  competition  may  be  anticipated. 
_  Disappointment  with  Ferns.— Frequently  is  the  advice  ot 
gardeners  required  to  improve  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  ever- 
popular  Maidenhair  Fern.  Much  of  this  would  be  unnecessary  if  growers 
would  bear  in  mind  that  the  plants  require  a  period  of  partial  rest  during 
the  winter  months,  instead  of  subjecting  them  to  growing  treatment  the 
whole  year  round.  It  is  unreasonable  to  expect  Adiantums  to  keep  up  a 
continual  strong  growth  throughout  the  whole  season,  yet  frequently  the 
plants  know  no  change  in  the  way  of  temperature  and  water  supply. 
And  the  result— sour,  water-logged  soil,  fronds  small  and  half  matured, 
and  the  general  appearance  of  the  plants  sickly  and  unhealthy.  It 
Maidenhairs  are  allowed  a  somewhat  cooler  temperature  in  the  winter 
than  that  of  the  stove,  and  kept  on  the  dry  rather  than  the  wet  side, 
they  enjoy  the  period  of  rest,  and  after  being  potted  early  tbe  following 
spring,  root  and  Irond  action  commence  simultaneously,  and  the  grower  is 
profited  by  the  possession  of  specimens  suitable  for  all  purposes.  G. 
