December  15,  1898.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
455 
turn  to  the  Cataloguer  and  what  do  we  find  ?— Duchess  of  Fife 
described  as  a  Jap.  and  “white,”  Mrs.  Airdrie  “Jap,  golden  bronze, 
shaded  reddish  gold.”  Some  catalogues  describe  the  latter  as  creamy 
white,  and  “'Duchess  of  Fife  pure  white,  sometimes  flushed  pink.” 
In  the  preface  of  the  Catalogue  we  are  assured  that  “the  Society 
may  justly  feel  proud  at  the  readiness  with  which  its  Catalogue  has 
been  recognised  and  accepted  as  the  standard  work  of  reference  upon 
all  matters  relating  to  nomenclature  and  classification.” 
“A.  D.”  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Floral  Committee  is 
made  to  look  ridiculous  by  the  action  of  the  Classification  Committee; 
but  he  could  have  gone  a  step  further  and  shown  that  the  Catalogue 
'Committee  were  over-ruled  by  the  Floral  Committee,  for  many  varieties 
•classed  as  Japs  by  the  one  committee  are  certificated  as  incurved  by 
the  other.  Then  the  Catalogue  Committee  ignore  entirely  some 
varieties  which  were  certificated  by  the  F.C.  only  the  season  p  eceding 
the  publication  of  the  Catalogue.  If  the  Catalogue  Committee  has 
no  faith,  or  is  not  guided  by  the  certificates,  surely  it  can  hardly  be 
-expected  that  outsiders  will  be. — W.  J.  Godfrey,  Exmouth. 
DATES  OF  SHOWS,  1899. 
In  addition  to  those  fixtures  announced  on  page  416,  the  following 
Societies  have  arranged  the  dates  of  their  meetings  for  the  next  season 
as  follows  : — Portsmouth  and  Penarth,  November  1st.  At  the  latter 
place  a  Society  has  lately  been  formed,  with  Lord  Windsor  as  the 
President,  who  provides  a  challenge  vase,  value  £15  15s.  We  wish 
this  new  Welsh  Society  every  success.  Cardiff  opens  November  8th. 
An  excellent  show  was  made  at  the  latter  place  this  year.  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  culture  has  of  late  years  been  vigorously  taken  up,  some  of 
our  best  exhibitors,  notably  Messrs.  Drake  and  Dumble,  hailing  from 
that  part.  York  is  fixed  for  November  15th,  16th,  and  17th. 
SHOW  CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
It  is  always  interesting,  and  no  doubt  instructive,  to  beginners  in 
’Chrysanthemum  cultivation  to  know  what  varieties  can  be  best 
•depended  upon  to  give  the  most  satisfactory  results  at  show  time. 
In  looking  over  the  records  of  the  recent  shows  it  seems  that  the 
leading  exhibitors  in  the  big  classes  are  largely  dependant  upon  a  very 
limited  number  of  varieties,  most  of  the  collections  containing  almost 
the  same  varieties,  with  here  and  there  an  outsider  or  two  to  make  up 
“the  number.  In  analysing  the  contents  of  the  first  prize  stands  at 
nineteen  of  the  shows  in  which  the  names  of  the  blooms  are  given  in 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture  during  the  past  few  weeks,  about  50  per 
cent,  of  the  total  have  only  been  shown  once  or  twice  each,  while  the 
-other  half  are  those  upon  which  the  exhibitors  seem  to  rely  for  the 
purpose  of  winning  the  big  prizes,  challenge  cups,  and  prizes,  all  over 
the  country. 
It  is  curious  to  note  that  Madame  Carnot  still  remains  at  the  top  of 
the  list,  although  Australie  disputes  the  place  with  her,  and  in  point  of 
beauty  cannot  be  compared  with  the  older  favourite.  Size,  however, 
tells,  and  probably  always  will  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree,  aud  as 
some  of  the  new  colonials  are  remarkable  in  this  respect,  it  would  not  be 
surprising  to  find  them  next  year  very  high  up  in  the  lists.  The 
following  gives  the  number  of  times  each  variety  has  been  shown  at 
the  nineteen  exhibitions  referred  to  : — 
Madame  Carnot  and  Australie,  each  fifteen. 
Madame  Gustave  Henri,  Phoebus,  and  Mrs.  Chenon  de  Leche,  each 
fourteen. 
Mrs.  G.  W.  Palmer,  Mrs.  J.  Lewis,  and  Edith  Tabor,  each  thirteen. 
Edwin  Molyneux,  twelve. 
Mrs.  C.  Harman  Payne,  eleven. 
Simplicity,  Lady  Hanham,  Pride  of  Madford,  and  Viviand  Morel, 
-each  ten. 
Mutual  Friend  and  Mrs.  II.  Weeks,  each  nine. 
Oceana,  G.  J.  Warren,  Ella  Curtis,  and  Pride  of  Exmouth,  each 
eight. 
Lady  Ridgway,  John  Seward,  Mons.  Panckoucke,  and  Chas.  Davis, 
each  seven. 
Madame  G.  Bruant,  G.  C.  Schwabe,  Graphic,  Mrs.  W..  Mease, 
Robert  Powell,  Eva  Knowles,  J.  Bidencope,  Secretaire  Fierens,  and 
Dorothy  Seward,  eaph  six. 
Madame  51.  Ricoud,  M.  Hoste,  Elthorne  Beauty,  T.  Wilkins,  Lady 
Byron,  Mary  Molyneux,  and  N.C.S.  Jubilee,  each  five.  . 
Jos.  Brookes,  Louise,  Elsie  Tcichmann,  President  Nonin,  Austra¬ 
lian  Gold,  Mons.  Gruyer,  and  Nellie  Pockett,  each  four. 
Emily  Silsbury,  International,  J.  Chamberlain,  Col.  W.  B.  Smith, 
Surpasse  Amiral,  Mrs.  W.  Id.  Lees,  and  Mrs.  F.  A.  BevaD,  each  three 
times.— C.  Harman  Payne. 
BIRMINGHAM  CHRYSANTHEMUM  SOCIETY. 
On  Tuesday,  the  6th  inst.,  this  flourishing  Society  held  its  annual 
dinner,  when  about  100  guests  were  present,  and  but  for  the  some¬ 
what  unpropatious  state  of  the  weather  a  larger  gathering  was 
%i  .<•.  J  ^  Hi  ^  v*!  i  -'t  iJt  THiL'S1.  *  'J  l’;  .  \  i  '}*L  A  I-Y 
anticipated.  The  Chairman  of  the  Society  (Mr.  W.  B.  Latham, 
Curator  of  the  Botanic  Gardens,  Edgbaston),  presided.  The  dinner 
being  over,  the  Chairman  rose  to  propose  the  toast  of  “The  Queen,” 
after  which  Mr.  H.  Walker  proposed  “The  Society,”  and  remarked 
that  the  Birmingham  public  especially  had  a  great  deal  to  thank  the 
Society  for,  inasmuch  as,  in  his  opinion,  it  provided  them  with  one  of 
the  most  pleasing  exhibitions  that  took  place  in  the  city.  Mr. 
Litham,  whose  name  was  coupled  with  the  toast,  said  he  could  venture 
to  say  that  this  year  the  Society  would  be  able  to  put  to  their  reservo 
fund  at  least  as  much  as  last  year,  which  would  bring  that  fund  up  to 
about  £330.  That  sum,  however,  was  not  sufficient  to  carry  on  a 
6how  which  cost  the  Societv  £1000  and  upwards,  indeed,  at  the  very 
least  £700  to  £1000  was  required.  Mr.  Walter  Jones  (Treasurer)  gave 
“The  Judges”  in  eulogistic  terms,  remarking  that  at  the  recent 
exhibitions  he  believed  that  entire  satisfaction  had  been  giveu  to  the 
exhibitors,  for  ho  had  not  heard  one  complaint.  Messrs.  Blair  and 
Crump  in  responding  testified  to  the  admirable  arrangements  of  the 
exhibits,  as  well  as  the  keen  competition,  and  the  high  excellence  of 
the  products  generally.  Mr.  Dyer  gave  “  The  Exhibitors,”  a  toast  to 
which  Messrs.  Goodacre  and  Crook  replied.  Mr.  Child  proposed  “  Our 
competitive  exhibitors  and  special  prize  donors,”  and  Messrs.  Pope, 
Herbert,  and  Walton  replied.  Mr.  W.  Spinks  gave  “The  Officers,” 
and  Mr.  Walter  Jones  responded.  “Our  Visitors”  was  given  by  Mr. 
John  Careless,  and  responded  to  by  51  r.  C.  R.  Bick.  The  proceedir  gs 
were  pleasantly  varied  with  songs  and  music. 
THE  SOIL— INFORMATION  WANTED. 
I  think  the  most  valuable  lessons  would  be  derived  by  readers  of 
horticultural  papers  if  all  the  editors  appealed  to  their  contributors  kindly 
to  supply  in  all  reports  in  future,  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  the  following 
information  along  with  the  subject  treated  at  any  breadth,  so  far  as  hardy 
culture  is  concerned  :  — 
1,  Exact  quality  of  soil,  and,  if  possible,  subsoil,  if  different,  within  the 
depth  of  a  couple  of  feet. 
2,  Elevation  over  sea  level. 
3,  Slope  of  area,  if  any,  and  what  aspect  and  how  sheltered. 
4,  Locality  and  county. 
5,  Any  further  item  deemed  notable< 
Especially  in  systematic  accounts  about  fruit  crops  the  information 
would  convey  a  distinct  lesson,  whereas  without,  there  is  little  beyond 
statistical  value.  As  to  fruit,  of  course  several  further  items  would  bo 
also  desirable  concerning  age,  form  of  trees,  stocks,  and  other  influences. 
These  matters  are  frequently  in  my  mind  when  I  turn  disappointed 
from  a  hoped-for  lesson  or  hint  on  reading  the  reports  as  furnished  by 
numerous  contributors  to  the  various  publications.  It  strikes  me  how 
many  of  those  writers  fail  to  remember  that — what  they  know  all  about 
because  under  their  daily  observation— their  readers  are  ignorant  of ;  yet 
these  fundamental  conditions  of  environment,  to  w  hich  the  details  furnished 
of  results  must  refer,  are  mostly  absent  or  insufficient. 
The  tripod  is.  as  it  were,  to  be  made  to  stand  on  two  legs,  if  not  even, 
sometimes,  on  one  leg  only.  Occasionally  the  omission  may  be  trifling, 
and  the  tripod  be  only  waddling  from  the  relative  shortness  of  one  leg. 
This  latter  state  occurs  in  Mr.  R.  P.  Brotherston’s  omission,  on  page  432 
of  your  journal,  to  furnish  clearly  and  distinctly  what  is  the  actual  soil 
under  his  care,  the  results  from  which  he  gives,  although  I  may  grant  he 
allows  it  to  be  inferred,  but  that  suffices  hardly  along  with  scientific  exact¬ 
itude.  He  tells  us  about  fertilisers. under  various  aspects,  and  also  the 
extent  of  watering  done  in  this  last  and  driest  of  summers  viz.,  virtually 
no  watering.  „  ...  . 
We  have  recently  had  the  opportunity  to  listen  to  A.  I),  s  criticism 
of  Mr.  Hall’s  advocacy  of  fertilisers  in  the  lecture  at  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society’s  meeting,  and  were  told  by  5Ir.  Hall,  in  reply,  that 
“A.  D.’s”  quarters  in  sandy  Surrey  were  unfavourable  to  the  realisation 
of  the*  objects  in  view,  especially  in  a  dry  season.  A  difference  on  this 
subject  exists  between  “  A.  D.”  and  Mr.  Brotherston,  the  former 
advocating,  on  page  411  of  your  Journal,  relatively  poor  soils  for  the 
successful  trials  of  fertilisers,  whereas  tho  latter  says,  on  page  432,  that 
working  these  manures  on  poor  soils  in  order  to  test  their  value  is  of  no 
cultural  benefit. 
This  leads  to  my  suggestion  that  Mr.  Hall’s  scheme  of  systematic 
experiments  should  by  all  means  include  analysis  of  the  soil  as  well  as 
the  clearing  up  of  the  difference  here  referred  to  by  me.  5Ir.  Brother¬ 
ston’s  details  are  so  very  copious  and  instructive  that  it  seems  almost 
tm-racious  to  cavil.  But  does  the  condition  of  soil  under  his  care  account 
for°  the  favourable  result  of  fertilisers,  and  what  is  the  exact  conditions 
independently  of  manuring  ? 
I  should  like  to  advise  that  every  enterprising  gardener  should  seek  to 
procure  an  analysis  of  the  soil,  as  from  the  composition  of  the  latter  being 
correctly  judged  will  depend  the  style  of  manuring,  if  to  bo  done  in  the 
most  efficient  way.  Analysis  will  supply  information  so  as  to  deprive 
certain  lengthy  direct  experiments  of  them  unnecessary,  if  not  a  tedious, 
protraction  through  years.  Tho  information  should  become  par 
of  reports  giving  results,  and  thus  constitute  a  valuable  source  of 
information  to  others  having  also  acquired  knowledge  as  to  ana  )  sis  in 
their  lik(j  tQ  repeat  that  for  the  small  amount  of  10s.  tho  Royal 
