522 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  14,  1899. 
MADAME  R.  CADBURY. 
The  number  of  Chrysanthemums  contributed  to  the  exhibition 
held  in  the  Drill  Hall  on  .Tuesday,  the  5th  inst.,  proved  conclu¬ 
sively  that  the  season  was  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close.  There  was 
one  variety,  however,  shown  by  Mr.  H.  Weeks,  gardener  to  Lady 
Byron,  Thrumpton  Hall,  Derby,  that  stood  conspicuously  as  a  flower 
of  promise.  This  was  named  Madame  R.  Cadbury,  and  received 
from  the  Floral  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  an 
award  of  merit,  and  in  fig.  92  we  give  a  photographic  representation 
of  one  of  the  specimens.  As  can  readily  be  seen  it  has  immense 
breadth  of  floret,  and  is  a  deep,  well  built,  reflexed  Japanese  flower. 
The  colour  is  white,  and  the  variety  is  almost  certain  to  be  wel¬ 
comed,  though  we  have  already  a  considerable  number  of  white 
Chrysanthemums. 
NOTES  ON  CHRYSANTHEMUM  SHOWS. 
A  tour  of  the  principal  autumn  shows  in  England  and  Scotland 
cannot  fail  to  afford  opportunities  for  suggestion  for  use  in  future 
schedule  compiling.  When  we  consider  that  close  on  200  exhibitions 
at  which  Chrysanthemums  play  the  leading  part  are  packed  into  the 
short  space  of  one  month,  what  wonder  if  oue  is  a  stereotyped  example  of 
many  others?  Any  change,  no  matter  how  Bmall  if  practical,  cannot 
fail  to  be  welcome.  I  have  jotted  down  a  few  items  that  may  be 
useful  for  the  coming  season. 
There  is  no  disguising  the  fact  that  two  improvements  have 
abundantly  manifested  themselves  this  season — viz.,  the  method  of 
staging  Japanese  blooms,  and  the  improved  quality  of  the  incurved 
section.  I  suppose  many  persons  will  smile  sceptically  over  the  latter 
remark.  It  is  a  fact,  nevertheless,  that  improvement  has  taken  place 
in  the  quality  of  the  incurved  flowers.  No  matter  how  slight,  it  is  an 
advance  on  last  year,  and  is  pleasing  to  admirers  of  this  section. 
There  is  another  side  to  this  question  though,  which  is  far  from  being 
satisfactory — viz.,  the  inclusion  of  varieties  which  are  distinctly 
Japanese  in  character.  This  fashion,  as  I  term  it,  is  now  largely 
practised  by  leading  cultivators,  who  ought  to  set  up  a  higher 
standard  of  quality,  even  if  only  a^  a  guide  to  others.  The  improve¬ 
ment  I  note  lies  distinctly  in  small  classes,  say  for  twelve  blooms. 
Many  really  good  example  of  culture  and  finish  have  been  seen  this 
season  in  unlooked  for  places. 
The  way  in  which  classes  for  Chrysanthemums  in  vases  have 
increased  is  a  proof  that  Committees  have  become  alive  to  the  value 
of  that  method.  For  instance,  the  new  class  at  the  National 
Society’s  great  show  was  an  undoubted  success,  in  spite  of  the  adverse 
criticism  such  a  class  has  received  since.  Personally  l  had  my  doubts 
as  to  the  inclusion  of  five  blooms  in  each  vase,  and  said  so  more 
than  once.  I  am,  however,  sufficiently  convinced  now  that  my  fears 
were  groundless.  It  was  a  magnificent  display  of  high-class  culture 
and  effect,  creditable  alike  to  the  suggestor  of  such  a  class,  the 
management,  and  the  exhibitors.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
the  premier  collection  was  the  finest  display  of  Japanese  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  ever  seen  ;  the  quality  of  the  blooms  was  remarkable. 
At  Edinburgh  where  the  vase  system  was  first  employed  on  a 
large  scale,  there  was  a  magnificent  display  and  a  splendid  opportunity 
of  comparing  the  methods  adopted  by  individuals  in  arranging  the 
blooms.  In  the  three-bloom  classes  there  was  anything  but  unifor¬ 
mity  in  the  length  of  stem  employed.  Some  were  too  short,  others 
the  reverse ;  more  erred  on  the  side  of  the  latter,  though,  than  the 
former.  By  comparing  the  different  methods  I  conclude  the  happy 
medium  is  that  to  adopt.  For  instance,  a  clear  length  of  9  inches  of  stem 
with  foliage  for  the  front  row,  and  a  foot  for  the  back  row,  gives  the 
best  effect.  It  is  important,  too,  that  good  foliage  be  employed.  How 
much  better  a  bloom  of  Edith  Tabor  or  Phoebus  looks  when  seated,  as 
it  were,  on  dense  green  leaves  instead  of  those  which  are  pale  through 
a  loss  of  chlorophyll.  When  the  leaves  are  massive  they  hide  the,  at 
times,  gaunt  looking  stalks  and  supports  which  are  employed.  Some 
exhibitors  are  not  too  particular  about  the  neatness  of  tying  the  bloom 
stems  to  the  added  leaf  shoots  ;  good  foliage  hides  imperfections  of 
this  kind. 
Handsome  leaves,  too,  may  serve  the  exhibitor  a  good  turn  in 
competition,  as  they  improve  the  general  effect  of  an  exhibit.  Some 
exhibitors  employ  stems  15  and  18  inches  long,  above  the  top  of  the 
vase.  This  is  too  much.  In  the  five-bloom  vase  class  1  foot  of  stem 
for  the  four  blooms  and  an  addition  of  4  inches  for  the  centre  specimen 
is  productive  of  a  fine  effect. 
At  Edinburgh,  too,  good  use  is  made  of  the  vase  classes  in  demon¬ 
strating  the  value  of  single  flowered  varieties  and  those  ordinarily 
termed  decorative  sorts.  For  instance,  Source  d'Or,  Margot,  and 
Mons.  W.  Holmes  are  staged  in  good  sized  bunches  along  with  Ferns, 
grasses,  and  any  other  foliage  which  suggests  itself. 
At  York  perhaps  is  to  be  seen  one  of  the  finest  classes  of  this  kind 
that  it  is  possible.  There  twelve  distinct  varieties  are  required,  three 
sprays  of  each,  not  to  be  disbudded,  to  be  shown  in  vases.  Twelve 
varieties  make  a  grand  display  when  well  done  as  they  usually  are 
there.  Asmanyasten  competitors  are  found.  This  is  a  step  in  the 
right  direction,  and  tests  well  the  value  of  certain  small  flowering 
varieties  that  are  beautiful  in  themselves  but  never  get  an  opportunity 
of  being  placed  on  the  exhibition  table  in  any  other  capacity. 
At  only  one  show  of  my  acquaintance  is  any  attempt  made  to 
stage  incurved  blooms  except  in  the  orthodox  manner — cups,  tubes, 
and  stands.  This  is  at  Hull.  Prizes  are  there  offered  for  the 
Rundle  family,  a  type  of  Chrysanthemum  much  sought  after  at 
one  time,  but  now  almost  obsolete  as  an  exhibition  variety.  The 
class  is  worded  thus,  and  invariably  produces  competition,  “Two 
bunches  of  each  of  the  three  varieties,  three  blooms  to  a  bunch,  and 
with  not  less  than  6  inches  of  stem,  with  foliage  as  grown.”  This  is 
really  a  pretty  type  of  flower,  and  makes  an  interesting  class. 
In  the  plant  section  there  appears  to  be  a  much  more  diverse 
manner  of  presenting  them  than  was  formerly  the  case.  Apart 
from  the  specimen  plants  prizes  are  now  offered  for  groups  of  Chrys¬ 
anthemums,  undisbudded,  intermixed  with  foliage  plants.  At  Chester¬ 
field  a  magnificent  display  was  obtained  by  such  a  class.  Varieties 
like  Source  d’Or,  several  single-flowered  and  Pompon  sorts,  were 
handsomely  flowered  and  arranged  in  mounds,  with  a  well-grown 
Cocos  Weddelliana  surmounting  the  whole ;  here  and  there  a  richly 
coloured  Croton  was  placed,  the  margin  being  effectively  executed  with 
small  plants  and  Ferns. 
At  Winchester  a  grand  feature  is  made  by  offering  prizes  for  six 
white  varieties  suitable  for  conservatory  decoration  in  9-inch  pots.  A 
similar  class  is  provided  for  yellow  flowered  varieties.  The  plants  are 
limited  in  the  number  of  the  blooms  they  carry,  but  the  quality  fully 
compensates  for  fewness. 
The  mention  of  this  Society  reminds  me  of  an  innovation  of  theirs 
put  into  force  at  the  late  show — viz.,  a  clause  in  the  rules  that  the 
cups  when  holding  blooms  staged  shall  not  be  raised  higher  than 
16  inches  from  the  table.  This  is  a  splendid  idea,  and  might  well  be 
copied  by  other  societies  as  a  preventive  of  exhibitors  staging 
their  blooms  at  such  an  abnormal  height  as  to  make  them  look 
distinctly  “  gawky.”  At  Winchester  there  was  a  great  uniformity 
throughout  the  Show  in  this  respect,  and  in  no  case  had  an  exhibitor 
attempted  to  transgress  the  well  meaning  rule. 
To  me  the  granting  of  awards  to  premier  blooms  to  both  incurved 
and  Japanese  varieties  did  not  seem  to  create  any  great  anxiety  or 
enthusiasm  anywhere.  The  novelty  appears  to  be  on  the  wane.  Very 
often  the  difficulty  is  to  find  a  bloom  worthy  of  the  distinction  in  the 
amateur  classes.  As  a  rule  certain  varieties  in  both  sections  secure 
the  coveted  place,  for  instance  some  member  of  the  Carnot  family 
is  generally  in  receip  t  of  the  honour  in  the  Japanese  section,  and 
0.  Curtis  in  the  incurved  division  has  few  rivals.  At  Edinburgh  this 
calculation  was  upset  in  the  Japanese  section,  a  magnificently  coloured 
example  of  Pride  of  Madford  securing  the  honour. 
Here,  again,  the  mention  of  this  variety  being  shown  in  a  reflexed 
character  opens  up  an  interesting  point — whether  varieties  generally 
admitted  to  belong  to  one  section,  ought  to  be  admitted  to  others  and 
recognised  as  leading  examples. — E.  Molyneux. 
THE  CULTURE  OF  CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
The  French  N.C.S.  is  unquestionably  stirring  up  a  considerable 
amount  of  interest  in  the  cultivation  of  the  popular  flower,  aDd  having 
its  head-quarters  at  Lyons,  we  are  not  surprised  at  the  literary  activity 
as  well  as  the  practical.  In  four  years  the  Society  has  gathered 
together  from  France  and  almost  every  country  in  Europe  a  total  of 
595  members,  a  feat  of  which  the  executive  may  feel  justly  proud, 
for  here  in  England,  with  all  our  enthusiasm,  it  took  our  own  leading 
society  upwards  of  forty  years  to  accomplish  the  same  result.  As 
a  horticultural  centre  Lyons  is  unquestionably  a  place  of  great 
importance,  and  indeed,  as  a  city,  it  ranks  next  to  the  capital 
itself. 
Only  a  short  time  since  we  made  a  brief  mention  of  Mr.  Viviand 
Morel’s  new  treatise  on  the  culture  of  the  Chrysanthemum,  and  can 
now  point  to  another  by  two  other  Lyons  horticulturists,  M.M.  Cha- 
banne  and  Choulet,  which  bears  the  title  at  the  head  of  this  notice. 
The  contents  of  this  joint  work  include  propagation,  disbudding, 
potting  in  their  various  phases,  standards,  specimen  plants,  manures, 
fertilisation,  maladies,  and  insect  pests.  A  monthly  calendar  of 
operations  is  given,  and  at  the  end  is  a  somewhat  extensive  list  of 
varieties  suitable  for  cultivation  on  the  big  bloom  method.  Illus¬ 
trations  explanatory  of  the  text  are  given,  and  altogether  the  little 
manual  now  under  notice  ought  to  be  a  welcome  addition  to  the 
literature  of  the  flower  in  France. — P. 
