October  26,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
363 
It  was  announced  that  the  prize  money  awarded  at  the  October 
Show  amounted  to  £45  11s.  6d.,  and  the  list  of  medals  to  various 
exhibitors  was  duly  passed.  The  dates  of  the  shows  for  next  year 
were  then  considered  and  finally  settled — viz.,  October  9th,  10th,  and 
11th  ;  November  6ih,  7t'n,  and  8th  ;  and  December  4th,  5th,  and  6th. 
The  election  of  fifteen  members  brought  the  proceedings  to  a  close. 
WOLVERHAMPTON  SHOW. 
Mr.  J.  PI.  Wheeler  writes,  “Referring  to  the  paragraph  on 
page  339,  re  the  coming  Chrysanthemum  show,  I  find  on  reading  the 
schedule  that  the  omission  mentioned  is  a  printer's  error  Certainly 
as  the  matter  now  stands,  it  does  appear  ‘something  of  a  novelty.’ 
The  second,  third,  and  fourth  prizes  in  this  class  are  £3  second  prize, 
£2  for  third,  £1  for  fourth  prize,  according  to  corrected  schedule 
herewith.” 
A  BATTLE  WITH  THE  RUST  FUNGUS. 
Some  of  my  Chrysanthemums  in  pots  have  been  attacked  very 
badly  by  rust.  There  was  a  little  on  the  cuttings,  which  I  dressed 
with  antiblight  powder,  and  the  plants  appeared  quite  clean  when  put 
out  of  doors.  I  also  dressed  all  the  pots  (48’s)  with  Veltha, 
according  to  the  directions,  but  about  two  months  ago  I  found  some 
rust  on  a  few  varieties,  immediately  syringing  them  with  a 
mixture  of  softsoap,  soda,  paraffin,  and  sulphur  of  varying  strengths 
up  to  |  pint  of  petroleum  to  2  gallons  of  water.  I  syringed  them  at 
first  as  they  stood  in  the  rows,  then  laid  them  all  on  a  table,  wetting 
every  part  of  the  plants  before  housing.  I  am  now  going  over  them 
all  in  the  same  way  again,  but  beyond  washing  off  the  dust  or  spores, 
I  seem  to  make  no  progress.  Can  you  suggest  anything  farther?  I 
have  tried  Fostite,  but  that  has  no  effect.  Having  over  5000  plants, 
for  any  suggestions  to  prevent  the  infestation  going  further,  so  that  I 
can  secure  the  blooms,  I  shall  be  greatly  obliged.  Mr.  R.  Fenn 
swears  by  powder,  but  I  fear  the  fungus  has  too  much  hold  for  that 
to  be  effectual  in  my  case.  Would  Bordeaux  mixture  be  of  any  use  ? 
—X.  Y.  Z. 
[We  publish  the  above  letter  in  case  any  readers  can  be 
helpful  to  our  correspondent  and  others  whose  plants  may  be  similarly 
infested  with  the  destructive  fungus.  The  difficulty  is  in  its  having 
“got  too  much  hold”  to  be  easily  exterminated,  as  the  mycelial 
growths  have  taken  possession  of  the  cells  and  tissues.  Fungicides, 
whether  in  liquid  or  powder  form,  are  not  recommended  by  authorities 
as  curatives,  but  preventives.  On  this  principle  Mr.  Fenn  and  others 
who  succeed  in  keeping  the  enemy  at  bay  act.  “  X.  Y.  Z.”  would 
have  acted  wisely  in  burning  the  “  few  ”  first  infested  plants. 
Bordeaux  mixture  would  act  as  a  preventive  of  the  present  clean 
leaves  being  taken  possession  of  by  the  enemy.  Mr.  Cousins,  of  Wye, 
has  found  the  following  mixture  better  than  the  ordinary  “  Bordeaux  ”  : 
Dissolve  i  lb.  of  copper  sulphate  (bluestone)  in  5  gallons  of  water;  boil 
£  lb.  each  of  newly  slaked  lime  and  agricultural  treacle  with  a  quart  of 
water  for  half  an  hour.  When  this  is  fairly  cool  and  the  bluestone 
dissolved,  mix  the  whole  and  stir  well. — (“  Chemistry  of  the  Garden,” 
page  111). 
Just  as  we  are  writing  we  receive  from  a  correspondent  the  details 
of  a  preparation  communicated  to  the  “  Irish  Gardener  ”  by  Mr. 
Baker,  gardener  to  George  Mitchell,  Esq.,  Blackrock.  Here  is  the 
formula  :  “  2  lbs.  of  fresh  lime,  2  lbs.  of  sulphur,  1  lb.  of  washing  soda 
and  1  pint  of  paraffin  oil,  added  to  six  gallons  of  water  and  boiled 
together  for  half  an  hour.  After  boiling,  add  4  ozs.  of  carbonate  of 
ammonia,  2  ozs.  of  sulphide  of  potassium,  and  2  ozs.  of  sulphate  of 
copper,  the  mixture  to  be  strained  and  kept  in  a  corked  jar  until 
required.  One  pint  of  the  mixture  to  four  gallons  of  water  Mr. 
Baker  guarantees  will  kill  every  spore  or  germ  and  completely  clean 
the  plants  of  rust  or  other  fuugoid  diseases  without  injury  to  the 
foliage.” 
Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  will  try  it  experimentally,  and  report 
the  results.  Syringing  as  ordinarily  practised  is  alike  more  wasteful 
of  material,  and  less  effectual  than  spraying.  A  beautiful  spray  is 
produced  by  one  of  the  nozzles  of  the  Abol  syringe,  which  has  been 
advertised  in  our  columns.] 
AUSTRALIE. 
As  a  coloured  variety  of  the  section  known  as  incurved  Japanese, 
Australie  occupies  a  leading  position  amongst  exhibitors.  To  grow  it 
well  and  have  it  in  perfection  in  October  strong  cuttings  should  be 
inserted  singly  in  small  pots  under  hand-lights,  and  induced  to  root 
quickly  by  preventing  the  leaves  from  flagging.  When  the  pots  are 
filled  with  roots  remove  into  larger  sizes,  using  a  tolerably  rich 
compost  until  the  plants  are  in  8-inch  pots.  Two  blooms  on  a  plant 
is  sufficient  for  this  variety  to  finish  well  and  early. 
The  bud3  which  produce  good  blooms  are  early  crowns.  To  obtain 
these  pinch  the  point  out  of  the  plant  about  the  middle  of  April. 
Select  the  two  strongest  shoots  following  the  pinching,  and  confine  the 
growth  to  this  number,  removing  all  side  shoots  immediately  they 
appear.  Encourage  freedom  in  growth  by  attending  carefully  to 
watering,  and  syringe  the  foliage  in  the  evening  after  a  hot  day.  Give 
them  an  open  position,  where  all  sunlight  can  be  obtained. 
When  the  pots  in  which  the  plants  are  to  flower  are  full  of  roots 
supply  them  regularly  with  liquid  manure  or  some  other  stinulant  to 
induce  freedom  of  growth.  When  the  first  flower  buds  form,  early  in 
August,  restrict  the  energy  of  the  plants  to  the  development  of  the 
two  buds  upon  each  by  removing  all  shoots,  and  buds  afterwards. 
Early  in  September  the  plants  should  be  placed  under  cover  in  a  cool 
house,  giving  abundance  of  light  and  air.  As  the  blooms  develop 
give  shade  to  them  duriug  the  hottest  part  of  the  day. — E.  Molyneux. 
R.  HOOPER  PEARSON. 
This  variety  was  introduced  in  spring,  at  a  price  that  prevented  its 
general  culture  perhaps,  but  no  one  can  afford  to  miss  it  another 
season.  The  build  of  the  flower  is  not  unlike  that  of  Mutual  Friend. 
Its  florets  are  much  thicker,  however,  these  being  of  rare  substance. 
The  colour  is  a  rich  deep  golden  yellow,  glossy  in  look.  The  plant 
grown  for  show  blooms  is  not  more  than  4  feet  high,  with  ample  well- 
formed  foliage.  It  is  easy  of  culture,  and  would  form  a  good  bush 
plant.  Altogether  it  is  a  variety  which  marks  a  distinct  improvement 
among  Chrysanthemums. — S. 
HOME-RAISED  CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Somehow  the  large  majority  of  seedling  Chrysanthemums  raised 
by  persons  in  these  isles  have  not  hitherto  improved  on  acquaintance, 
notwithstanding  that  they  are  first  exhibited  in  excellent  form ; 
certainly  few  have  become  standard  varieties.  This  comparative 
failure  appears  to  me  caused  by  the  fact  that  until  recently  cross 
fertilising  Chrysanthemums  has  been  somewhat  indifferently  under¬ 
stood  in  a  climate  not  so  favourable  to  the  work  as  some  others.  It 
has  been  a  slow  process,  and  those  attempting  it  have  been  content 
with  crossing  varieties — not  the  best  types,  but  those  which  produce 
seeds  the  more  readily. 
One  can  imagine  the  variety,  pretty  well  known  a  few  years  back, 
Mrs.  Falconer  Jameson,  has  been  the  stock  parent  in  too  many  cases, 
and  a  race  of  varieties  have  followed  even  more  uncertain  than  the 
type.  Dorothy  Seward,  Richard  Dean,  General  Roberts,  Milano, 
Matthew  Hodgson,  John  Neville,  Mrs.  J.  Shrimpton,  Col.  Bourne, 
Royal  Standard  all  bear  a  familv  likeness  in  growth,  and  differ 
principally  in  shades  of  colour.  They  are  like  others  that  I  shall 
name — varieties  fine  when  caught  right,  but  useless  for  general 
cultivation  or  exhibition  whilst  we  have  more  oonstant  sorts  to  select 
from.  William  Seward  and  John  Shrimpton  are  excellent  because  of 
their  rich  shades,  although  they  may  not  be  large  enough  for  present 
day  show  purposes;  but  Geo.  Seward,  Joseph  Brooks,  John  Seward, 
Mrs.  H.  Kloss,  Julia  Scaramanga,  Lady  Isabel,  and  many  others  are 
not  worth  the  disappointment  they  so  often  bring  in  trying  to  obtain 
a  good  specimen. 
Who  that  remembers  the  furore  caused  by  a  wonderful  bloom  of 
the  variety  Robert  Owen  a  few  years  back,  would  have  thought  it 
was  so  soon  destined  for  the  rubbish  heap  ?  The  variety  Mrs.  C.  E. 
Shea  won  a  reputation  from  one  flower  and  disgusted  many  a  grower 
afterwards.  Mary  Molyneux  is  a  sort  which  is  not  only  ungainly  in 
growth,  but  its  uncertainty  is  causing  most  people  to  discard  it.  Cecil 
Wray,  Col.  Chase,  and  Violetta,  three  varieties  that  were  well  grown 
once  to  obtain  certificates,  seldom  appeared  in  a  similar  form  after¬ 
wards,  and  Beauty  of  Exmouth  was  only  grown  a  season  or  two. 
Standard  Chrysanthemums  of  British  origin  are  few  indeed.  They 
are  mostly  “  sports  ”  which  is  well  known  may  appear  anywhere. 
Edith  Tabor  was  a  chance  seedliug.  I  am  not  sure  of  the  origin  of 
that  magnificent  new  yellow  variety  R„  Hooper  Pearson,  yet,  I  think 
it  not  far  wrong  to  state  that  it  was  not  obtained  by  cross-fertilistion 
in  England  ;  neither  was  Chas.  PI.  Curtis  nor  Duchess  of  Fife,  those 
beautiful  incurved  varieties.  Miss  Elsie  Teichman  is  the  only  one 
of  rich  qualities  from  many  of  the  same  seed-bed.  And  so  one  might 
go  on  in  reference  to  seedlings  of  the  past. 
The  future,  however,  in  the  matter  of  home-raised  Chrys¬ 
anthemums,  is  likely  to  be  very  different,  and  to  no  one  are  lovers  of 
this  flower  more  indebted  than  to  quite  a  young  man — namely, 
Mr.  H.  Weeks  of  Derby.  He  seems  to  have  struck  out  in  quite 
another  groove,  and  produces  improvements  at  will.  Lady  Byron 
and  Mrs.  H.  Weeks  were  the  varieties  resulting  from  first  attempts. 
The  first  is  a  good  early  white,  and  the  other  most  magnificent, 
but  difficult  of  culture,  inasmuch  as  it  requires  a  very  long  period  of 
time  to  develop  its  bloom  buds  to  the  dimensions  of  a  show  flower. 
J.  Chamberlain,  a  fine  dark  coloured  variety,  was  the  next  from  this 
source.  Then  came  a  host,  many  of  which  are  on  trial  this  year. 
They  are  certainly  a  remarkable  stock  of  fine  varieties.  Mrs.  Coombes, 
Henry  Weeks,  Emily  Towers,  Annie  Prevost,  W.  Cursham,  Lady 
Crawshaw — in  fact,  some  twelve  sorts — are  most  promising,  and  are 
desirable  acquisitions.  Not  only  in  size  of  bloom  and  colour  do  they 
excel,  but  in  their  dwarfness  of  habit  and  good  foliage  they  appear  a 
break  in  the  right  direction. 
The  appearance  of  a  white  bloom  (Madamo  Cadman)  late  last 
