424 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  December  i,  I8>s. 
A.  squarrosi  sometimes  attains  the  same  height,  which,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  is  only  reached  by  established  plants.  It  has  also  white 
flowers,  but  is  denser  and  more  compact  in  habit  than  its  congener.  The 
Bayonet  Plants  may  be  increased  by  division  in  spring  or  by  means  of 
seeds  sown  under  glass  at  the  same  season.  Such  effective  plants  ought 
to  be  more  frequently  seen. — S.  Arnott. 
GARDEN  PYROTECHNICS. 
It  is  Guy  Fawkes’  day,  and  an  hour  ago  an  enterprising  youth  placed 
a  Catherine  wheel  on  my  front  gate,  ostensibly  with  the  object  of  gaining 
access  to  my  pocket  under  cover  of  the  state  of  imaginative  intoxication 
that  the  firework  was  calculated  to  produce.  Unhappily,  success  did  not 
attend  the  design.  The  wheel  fizzed  and  whizzed  merrily  enough  ;  but  it 
was  only  the  old,  old  wheel,  and  did  not  tempt  me  to  fling  all  my  small 
change  to  the  luckless  rural  Brocks,  and  never  again  will  they  sink  their 
cavings  in  Catherine  wheels  for  the  benefit  of  so  unappreciative  a 
Philistine. 
But  although  at  the  moment  of  writing  Guy  Fawkes’  day,  with  its 
flares  and  glares,  its  shooting  of  rockets  and  its  bursting  of  squibs, 
is  making  itself  unpleasant,  it  will  be  gone,  and  may  be  forgotten 
t»y  the  time  these  remarks  see  the  light  of  the  garden  office  or  bothy. 
In  its  place,  however,  there  will  be  the  recollection  of  other  pyrotechnical 
displays,  whereat  the  public  are  dazzled  with  horticultural  rockets.  No 
cellar  conspirator  called  them  into  being.  They  are  not  based  on  any 
dark,  nefarious  design.  So  far  things  are  in  their  favour,  and  however 
much  they  may  bo  open  to  criticism  no  one  can  question  their  eminent 
respectability.  But  when  this  is  said  the  first  and  last  argument  against 
the  truth  of  my  parallel  has  been  urged,  and  we  are  face  to  face  with  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  the  damp  squib  and  the  misplaced  wheel 
about  horticultural  exhibitions.  The  mac,  or  body  of  men,  who  organises 
a  flower  show  has  the  same  end  in  view  as  the  disillusioned  juveniles  who 
illuminated  my  front  gate  with  a  Catherine  wheel.  Of  course,  I  do  not 
mean  that  it  is  a  case  of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence,  and  nothing  beside. 
In  both  instances  there  is  evidence  of  artistic  aspirations  ;  but  in  the 
main  it  is  a  matter  of  business.  The  question  is,  Are  the  means  employed 
always  and  everywhere  all  that  they  might  be  ? 
One  show  is  very  much  like  another.  They  proceed  on  a  comfortable 
jog-trot  round.  When  a  new  society  starts,  it  does  not  offer  a  prize  for 
the  best  schedule— new  and  original  features  to  score  most  points  ;  it 
simply  appropriates  somebody  else’s.  This  it  haggles  over  for  several 
weeks,  but  in  the  end  uses,  with  only  a  minor  alteration  here  and  there, 
put  in  to  soothe  the  fiercely  moral  member.  Thus,  when  show  time 
•comes,  there  is  the  same  order  of  classes  and  the  same  type  of  competition 
as  prevail  at  any  one  of  the  other  horticultural  affairs  in  the  district.  It 
seems  like  the  same  old  wheel,  that  has  been  spinning  these  scores  of 
years  past,  and  is  getting  tired  of  the  duty. 
Garden  pyrotechnics  are  not  up  with  the  times — they  are  stale  and 
damp,  they  keep  up  some  sort  of  flickering,  but  it  is  not  bright  enough  to 
allure  the  public.  This  is  not  because  of  want  of  example.  There  are  a 
few  cases  where  the  rockets  soar  to  the  very  clouds.  The  eyes  of  the 
reader  turn  westward  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  he  thinks  of  Shrewsbury. 
Where  else  can  they  go?  The  patriotic  tyke  cries  “York,”  and  the 
point  is  conceded  to  him.  But  omitting  Shrewsbury  and  York,  what 
centre  is  there  where  the  public  flock  in  their  thousands  ?  At  almost 
every  other  exhibition  the  squire  and  his  friends  have  the  tents  to  them¬ 
selves  for  a  time  ;  after  six  a  few  amateurs  and  villagers  take  advantage 
of  the  reduced  charge.  The  bulk  of  the  people  do  not  come  ;  they  have 
«een  it  all  bafore. 
it  would,  however,  be^  a  huge  mistake  to  imagine  that  horticultural 
products  have  no  charms  for  the  public.  The  way  they  troop  to  Shrews¬ 
bury  proves  that  if  the  thing  is  good  and  cheap  enough  the  people  will 
patronise  it.  There  was  never  so  large  a  number  asking  for  entertain¬ 
ment  as  there  is  now.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  merely  that  the  population 
is  larger,  but  that  a  greater  proportion  looks  for  something  out  of  the 
daily  routine.  The  newspaper  and  publishing  trades  have  seized  on  this 
fact,  and  cater  liberally  for  the  colossal  class  which  Mr.  George  Gissing 
calls  the  “quarter-educated.”  There  is  an  opening  here,  I  suppose,  fora 
*neer  about  cheapness, and  an  intimation  that  the  “quarter-educated”  is 
not  worth  thinking  about.  Isn’t  it  ?  What  about  the  threepenny 
magazines  with  their  hundreds  of  thousands  of  readers  ?  They  are  an 
eye-opener  if  you  like.  Remember  that  they  a  e  not  rubbish.  They 
charge  very  little,  but  they  give  a  great  deal  for  it.  And  our  flower 
show  committees  will  make  more  money  when  they  leave  their  Sleepy 
Hollows  and  join  the  editors  in  Wideawakeville. 
I  do  not  write  this  without  a  full  cognisance  of  the  fact  that  it  will  be 
unpopular  with  a  large  section  of  the  gardening  community.  It  is 
cheerful  and  comforting  to  be  patted  on  the  back  and  told  that  we  are 
all  very  clever  and  pushing  persons,  entirely  beyond  criticism.  There  are 
opportunist  writers  in  plenty  ready  to  tell  us  this  ;  indeed,  absolutely 
wanting  in  the  moral  courage  to  say  anything  else.  But  none  the  less  it 
seems  the  duty  of  every  thoughtful  and  discriminating  person  to  point 
out  the  weak  spots.  Perhaps  his  particular  rocket  may'  hang  fire  for  the 
moment,  because  it  is  a  little  ahead  of  its  time,  but  events  move  and  truth 
illuminates  the  heavens.— W.  Pjsa. 
SEASONABLE  HINTS  ON  FLORIST  FLOWERS. 
One  might  reasonably  ask  at  this  present  time  w'hether  there  was  any 
florist  flower  but  the  Chrysanthemum,  for,  go  where  you  will,  nothing 
else  presents  itself.  You  open  any  of  the  gardening  papers,  and  pictures 
of  the  Chrysanthemum,  descriptions  of  new  varieties,  and  reports  of 
Chrysanthemum  shows  fill  their  pages.  You  go  up  to  London  and  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  R.H.S.  at  the  Drill  Hal),  and  there  in  a  sparsely 
furnished  room  you  find  the  Chrysanthemum  in  evidence.  Horticul¬ 
turists  meet,  and  one  asks  the  other  “  Are  you  going  to  the  Chrysanthe¬ 
mum  Show  at  the  Aquarium?”  “Not  I,”  is  the  reply;  “I  should  not 
mind  seeing  the  flowers,  but  the  light  is  so  bad,  and  the  noise  so  great, 
that  I  shall  not  attempt  it,” 
Chrysanthemums  meet  you  in  the  streets,  and  the  florists’  shops  are 
quite  full  of  them  ;  and  yet  I  remember  the  time  when  there  were  hardly 
any  of  them,  when  one  used  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  John  Salter’s  at 
Hammersmith  to  see  some  of  the  new  varieties  which  he  annually  intro¬ 
duced  from  France  and  the  Channel  Islands.  One  remembers,  too,  with 
what  pleasure  we  hailed  the  advent  of  the  little  Pompon  after  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  the  Chusan  Daisy  by  Mr.  Fortune,  and  then  with  what  a  shrug  of 
the  shoulders  and  upturned  noses  we  regarded  (the  ragged  Jacks  as  we 
called  them)  the  first  Japanese  varieties,  and  what  a  foolish  prophet  he 
would  have  been  thought  who  would  have  ventured  to  predict  that  this 
latter  section  would  have  almost  ousted  all  others,  and  have  increased  to 
such  a  size.  But  I  must  stop,  for  I  did  not  commence  this  with  the  idea 
of  writing  anything  about  the  Chrysanthemum,  but  of  other  florist  flowers 
which  really  do  exist  and  deserve  a  little  consideration  and  care  at  this 
season. 
The  Auricula. 
The  extraordinary  and  beautiful  autumn  which  we  have  had  in  this 
part  of  England  (the  south-east)  has  been  favourable  in  some  respects  to 
the  conditions  of  these  flowers.  I  have  never  kept  my  frames  containing 
them  in  their  summer  quarters  so  late  as  I  have  done  this  year.  Again, 
the  almost  total  absence  of  rain  has  relieved  one  of  any  anxiety  about 
drip — that  most  deadly  enemy  to  the  Auricula — and  consequently  my 
small  collection  never  looked  in  better  vigour.  But  alas !  there  is  one 
d  awback;  a  larger  number  than  usual  of  the  plants  have  thrown  up 
autumn  blooms,  and  one  knows  how  prejudicial  this  is  to  the  bloom  in  the 
spring,  and  I  hear  from  others  whose  collections  are  much  larger  than 
mine,  the  same  thing  has  happened  with  them.  The  plants  will  now 
only  require  to  have  the  dead  leaves  pulled  off  and  aphis  got  rid  of  either 
by  brushing  with  camel’s-hair  pencil,  or  by  fumigating  the  frame  or 
house  in  which  they  are  lodged,  it  is  probable  with  a  night  temperature 
of  45°  the  plants  will  require  more  water  than  in  ordinary  seasons,  but 
it  should  be  carefully  applied,  for  it  is  not  desirable  to  stimulate  them 
at  this  season. 
Carnations  and  Ficotees. 
So  far  as  I  can  judge  from  my  own  experience,  which  was  corro¬ 
borated  by  the  testimony  of  other  growers,  this  has  been  a  most 
favourable  season  for  these  plants.  The  layers  have  rooted  well,  and 
ought  now  to  be  in  pots  and  placed  in  their  winter  quarters.  I  am  no 
advocate  for  planting  them  out  in  the  autumn  ;  they  may  succeed,  but 
if  hard  weather  ensues  they  may  be  dragged  out  of  the  ground  by  frost, 
or  their  foliage  injured,  while  the  grass  produced  will  be  too  strong  for 
good  layers  next  year,  for  they  will  be  what  honest  John  Ball  calls 
“  gouty.”  I  think  in  one  sense  it  is  a  matter  for  regret  that  the 
beautifully  refined  Carnations  and  Picotees  of  former  days  have  given 
place  in  many  instances  to  what  are  called  Fancy  and  Border  varieties. 
We  are  told  by  some  that  this  was  because  they  were  so  overdressed  that 
it  was  not  the  man  who  could  grow  them  best  but  he  who  could  dress 
them  who  was  sure  to  be  a  winner  in  any  competition.  I  do  not  think 
that  this  is  a  correct  view  of  the  case,  though  no  one  has  written  more 
strongly  against  this  evil  practice  than  myself. 
It  arises  from  other  causes.  The  Fancy  and  Border  varieties  are 
showier,  and  under  the  present  system  of  growing  they  afford  a  larger 
number  of  blooms  for  cutting  than  the  Show  varieties.  I  have  seen  stands 
of  these  flowers  which  were  quite  as  much  dressed  as  the  Show  varieties 
used  to  be.  It  is  the  ever-increasing  taste  for  cut  blooms  for  homo 
decoration,  added  to  the  desire  of  not  taking  trouble,  that  has  led  to  the 
change.  The  gardening  fraternity  is  very  much  indebted  to  Mr. 
Martin  R.  Smith  for  the  encouragement  he  has  given  to  these  flowers  by 
his  careful  hybridising  and  cultivation,  so  that  from  packages  of  seed  very 
beautiful  and  varied  flowers  may  bo  obtained,  and  he  has  generously 
distributed  this  seed  to  the  members  of  the  Carnation  and  Picoteo 
Society. 
Gladiolus. 
The  lifting  of  the  conns  of  these  beautiful  autumn  flowers  should  now 
be  completed.  It  is  still,  as  it  has  ever  beeD,  a  perplexing  question  as 
to  why  so  many  perish,  no  matter  what  the  character  of  the  season  may 
be.  The  present  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  most  favourable  one  for 
ripening  the  corms,  as  it  has  also  been  for  the  gathering  of  seeds.  The 
corros  when  lifted  should  be  placed  in  a  cool  greenhouse  and  gradually 
dried  off.  Those  who  wish  to  continue  their  stock  of  named  varieties 
must  bear  in  mind  that  this  can  only  be  done  by  carefully  saving  the 
spawn,  as  it  is  called,  or  young  conns  which  cluster  round  the  base  of 
the  parent.  These  will  some  of  them  flower  next  year,  but  most  of  them 
in  two  years’  time. 
When  the  roots  are  dry  the  old  corm  should  be  separated  from  the 
new  one  which  has  been  formed  this  year  and  thrown  away.  The  small 
