JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  7,  1899. 
500 
N.C.S.  FLORAL  COMMITTEE. 
On  Tuesday  the  Floral  Committee  of  the  above  Society  held  the 
last  of  its  meetings  for  the  present  season  at  the  Royal  Aquarium, 
Mr.  Thomas  Bevan  presiding.  Exhibits  were  not  numerous,  and  only 
two  certificates  were  awarded — viz.,  to 
J.  R.  Upton. — A  Japanese  of  very  large  size,  with  long  medium 
sized  florets,  which  droop  and  are  curly  at  the  tips.  The  colour  is 
deep  golden  yellow,  being  deeper  on  the  inside.  Shown  by  Mr.  J.  R. 
Kenyon. 
Edith. — A  single  variety  of  good  size,  having  rather  broad  flat 
florets,  stiff  stems,  and  a  useful  looking  variety.  The  colour  is  deep 
rosy  pink.  Shown  by  Mr.  Pagram. 
N.C.S.  ANNUAL  DINNER. 
The  annual  dinner  of  the  above  Society  was  held  on  Wednesday* 
the  29th  ult.,  at  the  Holborn  Restaurant,  Mr.  Percy  Waterer 
presiding.  There  was  a  large  attendance  of  members  and  friends, 
many  of  whom  were  ladies.  The  time  for  speechmaking  having 
arrived,  it  follows  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  usual  loyal  toasts 
w<re  duly  honoured,  and  then  the  Chairman  arose  to  give  “The 
National  Chrysanthemum  Society.”  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  the 
Chairman  alluded  to  the  excellent  relations  that  existed  between 
the  N.C.S.  and  other  kindred  associations  abroad,  and  deplored  the 
death  of  one  of  the  Society’s  most  distinguished  Honorary  Fellows, 
M.  Henry  de  Yilmorin.  He  also  reminded  them  of  the  forthcoming 
Chrysanthemum  Show  in  Paris  next  year,  when  delegates  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  would  be  invited,  and  hoped  the  N.C.S.  would  not 
fail  to  be  represented.  Referring  to  the  new  medal,  he  said  that  after 
form  and  colour,  gardeners  appreciated  weight,  and  they  would  have 
no  cause  to  complain  on  this  score,  for  he  thought  the  new  design  a 
great  improvement  on  the  last.  He  also  alluded  to  the  vase  class  as  a 
step  in  the  right  direction.  He  thought,  too,  that  amateurs  mostly 
began  at  the  wrong  end,  and  that  they  would  do  well  to  begin  by 
growing  decorative  plants,  for  which  he  intended  to  offer  a  cup,  to  be 
competed  for  by  amateurs  who  did  not  employ  a  gardener ;  and  as  the 
wives  often  helped  their  husbands  by  looking  after  the  plants  during 
the  daytime,  he  would  also  offer  one  for  competition  by  the  amateurs’ 
wives  and  sisters. 
Mr.  Fife  proposed  “  The  Donors  of  Special  Prizes.”  An  interest¬ 
ing  part  of  the  proceedings  was  the  presentation  of  the  National 
challenge  trophy  to  Mr.  W.  H.  Berry,  representing  the  Portsmouth 
Society.  The  Chairman  reminded  the  company  that  on  a  former 
occasion  Mr.  Berry  had  been  chaffed,  and  that  had  drawn  from  him  a 
promise  that-  the  Portsmouth  Society  would  be  to  the  front  again,  and 
he  was  pleased  to  find  he  had  kept  his  word.  Other  cups  and  medals 
were  presented  to  various  leading  prizewinners. 
Mr.  H.  J.  Jones  replied  on  behalf  of  himself  and  other  donors  of 
special  prizes,  and  again  offered  to  provide  the  same  prize  next  year 
for  the  vase  class,  which  was  enthusiastically  received. 
Mr.  Berry  replied  on  behalf  of  the  Portsmouth  Society,  and 
suggested  that  now  that  the  medallions  were  all  filled  up  that  the 
whole  of  ihe  winning  societies  should  have  one  grand  competition  next 
year  for  the  final  possession  of  the  shield. 
Alter  other  toasts  were  disposed  of,  and  just  before  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  the  Chairman  announced  that  at  the  recent  November  show 
there  were  3309  cut  blooms  staged  in  the  various  cut-bloom  classes, 
which  total  was  arrived  at  as  under  : — 2241  Japanese,  618  incurved, 
240  Anemone,  48  bunches  Anemone  Pompons,  84  bunches  Pompons, 
36  reflexed  and  42  bunches  singles  (each  bunch  is  counted  as  one 
variety). 
SYNONYMOUS  CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Now  that  the  season  is  well  advanced,  and  the  Chrysanthemum 
shows  of  1899  are  only  pleasurable  memories  (or  otherwise),  it  would 
not,  I  think,  be  out  of  place  to  test  the  feeling  of  growers  generally 
as  to  the  merits  of  the  last  list  of  synonymous  varieties  published  by 
our  National  Chrysanthemum  Society  respecting  T.  Carrington  and 
Australie,  and  Pride  of  Stokell  and  Mabel  Kerslake. 
After  carefully  watching  T.  Carrington  and  Australie  at  every 
stage,  the  conclusion  is  forced  upon  me  that  an  erroiyhas  been  made. 
The  growth  of  T.  Carrington  is  quite  distinct  from  Australie,  and  the 
blooms  themselves  are  far  more  distinct  than  many  varieties  that  are 
not  honoured  by  the  attentions  of  the  N.C.S.  The  guard  petals  of 
T.  Carrington  come  tubular  in  first  and  second  crown  blooms  which 
alone  should  be  sufficient  to  distinguish  it  from  Australie,  all  the 
petals  of  which  are  flat,  and  more  inclined  to  whorl  than  those  of 
T.  Carrington. 
Mabel  Kerslake  is  much  brighter  in  colour  than  Pride  of  Stokell. 
I  have  been  eagerly  looking  for  someone  to  take  up  this  matter. 
Perhaps  what  is  everyone’s  business  is  nobody’s  in  particular. — H.  A.  A. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM  CULTURE  FOR  BEGINNERS. 
(< Continued  from  page  477.) 
In  May  fully  expose  the  plants  to  the  open,  selecting  a  sheltered 
corner  where  the  cold  easterly  winds  do  not  trouble  them  seriously. 
Watering  must  be  strictly  attended  to,  as  the  plants  rapidly  dry  under 
the  influence  of  sun  and  wind.  Neat  stakes  must  be  placed  to  the 
plants  at  the  time  of  potting,  as  upright  growth  is  important  in 
maintaining  a  good  habit.  The  compost  may  be  the  same  as  at  the 
last  potting,  with  the  addition  of  a  small  portion  of  decayed  manure. 
The  final  potting  is  the  next  stage,  and  should  be  carried  out  in 
June.  The  most  suitable  sized  pots  are,  as  a  rule.  8  to  10  inches  in 
diameter.  They  must  be  clean,  dry  and  well  drained,  placing  one 
large  crock  over  the  hole  at  the  base  and  a  few  of  lesser  size  upon  it, 
finishing  with  a  layer  of  fibrous  turf,  and  upon  this  a  sprinkling  of 
soot.  The  compost  is  best  prepared  some  weeks  prior  to  use,  and  it 
should  consist  largely  of  fibrous  turfy  loam,  but  very  little  leaf  soil. 
Four  parts  of  old  turves  chopped  up  to  one  of  leaf  soil  and  the  same 
quantity  of  horse  manure  with  sand  and  wood  ashes  makes  excellent 
potting  material.  To  each  bushel  add  a  6-inch  potful  of  soot  and  the 
same  of  bonemeal.  The  whole  ought  to  be  well  mixed  and  kept 
from  being  saturated  with  rain,  but  it  must  be  moist  when  used  for 
potting. 
The  plants  require  to  be  quite  moist  a*  the  roots  at  the  time  of 
potting,  but  not  wet.  This  is  an  important  matter.  If  the  ball  of 
soil  and  roots  is  very  dry  it  is  evident  that  when  potted,  water  applied 
will  pass  through  the  new  soil  only,  leaving  that  fully  occupied  with 
roots  as  dry  as  before.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  an  error  to  have  the 
soil  too  wet,  but  if  the  plants  are  watered  the  evening  previously  they 
will  be  in  condition  for  potting  next  day.  If  properly  moist  the  plants 
turn  out  readily  from  clean  pots.  Remove  the  drainage,  place  some 
compost  in  the  pot,  making  it  firm,  on  this  fix  the  ball  and  spread  out 
the  loose  roots.  Introduce  the  soil  in  layers  and  make  it  firm  with 
a  potting  stick  until  the  ball  is  just  covered,  leaving,  however, 
sufficient  room  for  watering.  At  this  potting  it  is  best  to  fix  the 
stakes  to  the  plants  at  such  a  length  as  they  are  likely  to  be  required 
by  the  variety,  tying  the  main  stem  to  it. 
The  plants  must  have  an  open,  Bunny  position  for  the  summer,  and 
should  be  arranged  on  an  ash  bed,  or  stood  on  boards  by  the  side  of  a 
walk  where  they  can  be  conveniently  attended  to.  If  the  weather  is 
not  too  hot  and  drying  water  ought  not  to  be  needed  for  several  days, 
but  the  plants  may  be  syringed  daily.  After  the  plants  have  recom¬ 
menced  growth  regular  supplies  must  be  given.  In  the  course  of  the 
summer  a  wire  ought  to  be  fixed  along  the  rows  of  plants  and  secured 
to  a  stake  at  each  end.  Tie  the  stakes  attached  to  each  plant  to  the 
wire,  and  this  will  prevent  the  plants  being  blown  over  by  strong 
winds. 
Chrysanthemums  grow  to  a  single  stem  only  during  the  early 
stages,  but  a  check  to  this  main  growth  occurs  between  May  and  J uly. 
Some  varieties  do  it  earlier  than  others.  The  check  to  growth  is  in 
the  shape  of  a  bud  appearing  at  the  growing  point,  and  this  is  known 
as  the  natural  break.  This  bud  is  never  of  any  use,  and  would  not 
produce  a  good  flower,  hence  it  is  discarded,  and  from  the  axils  of  the 
leaves  below,  growths  push  and  increase  the  number  of  shoots. 
Growers  usually  allow  three  or  four  of  these  shoots  to  extend,  and  about 
August  or  early  September  each  of  them  will  form  a  crown  bud  which 
gives  a  good  bloom.  If  this  bud  is  discarded,  as  it  may  be,  the 
growths  which  proceed  from  below  it  extend  and  eventually  form 
second  crowns.  Further  extension  leads  to  terminal  buds,  which  are 
known  by  having  other  flower  buds  round  them,  and  no  further  stem 
growth  is  made. 
When  a  good  second  crown  bud  is  wanted  to  produce  the  flower 
the  bud  is  watched  for,  and  immediately  it  can  be  found  the  growths 
surrounding  it  and  below  it  are  gradually  rubbed  out,  until  the  bud 
itself  only  remains.  This  process  is  termed  “taking”  or  “securing” 
the  buds.  The  terminal  buds  are  also  relieved  of  the  smaller  buds 
around  them  as  soon  as  they  can  be  conveniently,  and  without  injury 
to  the  central  bud,  rubbed  out. 
Having  secured  the  buds,  the  next  important  point  is  to  preserve 
them  from  injury.  Earwigs  will  spoil  them  as  soon  as  anything,  and 
if  they  are  numerous  about  the  plants  traps  must  be  laid  to  catch 
them.  Lengths  of  hollow  bean  sticks,  or  small  pots  inverted  over  the 
top  of  the  sticks,  placing  in  each  a  little  moss  or  hay,  are  good  traps 
for  the  pests. 
When  the  buds  are  secured  a  little  stimulant  may  be  given  the 
plants,  affording  it  in  a  weak  state  and  of  a  varied  character.  Never 
give  stimulants,  however,  when  the  plants  are  very  dry.  They  must 
first  be  moistened  with  clear  water.  All  growths  below  the  flower 
buds,  whether  side  growths  or  flower  buds,  should  be  rubbed  out  as 
they  appear. 
Towards  the  end  of  September,  or  early  in  October,  the  general 
