October  14,  1807. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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National  Cheysanthejiuji  Society. 
A  JIEETIXG-  of  the  Floral  Committee  of  this  Society  was  held  on 
Tuesday  last,  iNIr.  T.  Bevan  presiding.  The  following  novelties  were 
awarded  first-class  certiti cates. 
Madame  Geo.  Bi-uant.  -  An  immense  .Japanese,  with  very  long  florets, 
drooping  and  slightly  intermingling ;  colour  pale  rosy  purple,  dark 
towards  the  tips,  centre  lighter  (Messrs.  Pearson  &  Sons). 
Vicomte  Roger  de  Chezelles. — A  large  .lapanese,  centre  florets  incurving, 
golden  yellow,  shaded  bronze,  reverse  silvery  yellow  (Mr.  Godfrey). 
Amhroise  Thomas. — .Japanese,  decorative,  pretty  medium  sized  flower, 
with  pointed  thin  florets  (Mr.  Wells). 
Several  others  were  shown  in  good  form,  Soleil  d’Octobre,  a  pure 
yellow  J  apanese,  being  commended. 
Dundee  Cheysanthemum  Society. 
On  this,  the  Diamond  .Jubilee  of  her  Most  Gracious  ^lajesty  Queen 
Victoria,  the  Society  intends  putting  forth  every  effort  towards  making 
its  annual  exhibition  of  Chrysanthemums  worthy  the  great  event. 
Towards  this  end  it  is  necessary  that  it  receives  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  all  the  growers  in  the  district  of  this  the  queen  of  winter  flowers.  It 
is  felt  that,  were  permission  granted  to  all  gardeners  to  compete  in  any 
of  the  various  classes  that  are  detailed  in  the  Society’s  schedule  of  1897, 
the  result  would  be  a  display  of  this  beautiful  flower  worthy  the  city  and 
district— a  floral  fete  that  would  remain  a  living  memory  and  a  record 
of  great  advancement  in  the  culture  of  the  Chrysanthemum  during  her 
Majesty’s  reign.  The  musical  department  of  the” carnival  will  be  fulfilled 
by  the  engagement  of  a  leading  London  band,  and  it  is  expected  that 
quite  apart  from  the  usual  attractions  of  this  popular  floral  festival,  not 
the  least  attractive  to  lovers  of  music  will  be  the  orchestral  and  instru¬ 
mental  concerts  which  the  Council  has  arranged  for.  The  dates  of  the 
carnival  in  the  Drill  Hall  are  25th,  26th,  and  27th  November.  The 
Secretary  is  Mr.  W.  P.  Laird. 
Oeleans  Cheysanthemum  Coneeeence. 
The  French  National  Chrysanthemum  Society  will  hold  a  Show  and 
Conference  at  Orleans  on  the  6th  to  the  10th  November  uext.  As  an 
instance  of  the  facilities  given  by  the  railway  companies  on  the  occasion 
of  such  gatherings  it  may  be  mentioned  that  all  persons  taking  part  in 
the  Conference  will  have  a  reduction  of  50  per  cent,  off  their  tickets.  The 
programme  is  as  under:  — November  6th,  Meeting  of  the  Floral  Com¬ 
mittee  at  9  A.M. ;  lunch  for  the  .Jury  and  members  of  the  Conference 
at  11.30;  meeting  of  the  Conference  at  2  o'clock  ;  banquet  at  7  o’clock. 
November  7th,  Meeting  of  the  General  Committee  at  10  a.m.;  lunch  at 
noon ;  visit  to  the  various  objects  of  interest  in  the  town  in  the  afternoon. 
Novemlier  8th,  Visits  to  the  leading  nurseries.  If  the  agenda  of  Saturday 
be  not  completed  a  supplementary  meeting  will  be  held  on  the  8th. 
The  subjects  to  be  dealt  with  at  the  Congress  are  -  Fertilisation  of 
Chi'ysanthemums  ;  What  is  the  meaning  of  Paces  of  Chrysanthemums  ? 
The  best  Composts  and  Manures  to  be  used  ;  iMaladies  and  Parasites  ; 
Crown  Bud  and  Terminal  Bud  ;  The  drawing  up  of  a  list  of  varieties  show¬ 
ing  which  of  these  buds  it  is  best  to  take ;  Difficulties  of  Classification  in  the 
Alphabetical  Arrangement  of  the  Names  of  Chrysanthemums  for  catalogue 
purposes  ;  The  voting  of  the  Society's  medal,  and  settling  the  place  where 
the  1898  Conference  shall  be  held. — F. 
A  Lady  Cheysanthemum  Geowee. 
Lady  Chrysanthemum  growers  are  not  to  be  met  with  any  day, 
especially  those  who  accomplish  something  above  the  ordinary  in  the 
successful  culture  of  Japanese  Chrysanthemums.  For  several  years  I 
have  noticed  a  sprightly  and  active  young  lady  carrying  about  pots  of 
Chrysanthemums,  tying,  bud  taking,  disbudding,  and  otherwise  manipu¬ 
lating  her  plants  from  time  to  time. 
From  rooting  the  cuttings  to  cutting  the  blooms  she  takes  considerable 
pride  in  doing  the  work  herself.  Her  plants,  standing  on  the  sides  of 
the  garden  walks,  duly  fixed  on  boards,  and  secured  to  a  wire,  appear  to 
be  in  excellent  health.  The  plants  are  tall,  being  allowed  to  grow 
naturally.  A  fair  number  have  the  crown  buds  taken,  but  the  greater 
part  of  the  buds  are  terminals,  and  will  give  good,  but  late  blooms.  They 
are  not  grown  for  exhibition,  but  for  house  and  church  decoration, 
though  she  has  been  known  to  compete  in  a  lady's  table  decoration  class 
at  a  local  show,  using  some  of  her  most  suitable  blooms,  and  usually 
coming  off  well  in  the  contest. 
I  feel  certain,  too,  that  that  when  her  brother  played  in  an  amateur 
dramatic  representation  of  “  Our  Boys,”  wearing  a  huge  Chrysanthemum 
in  his  coat,  it  was  one  of  her  growing.  She  makes  a  creditable  display  of 
very  fine  flowers  in  November  and  December,  lasting  over  Christmas 
and  into  January.  She  believes  in  something  rich  and  strong  as 
stimulants  at  this  season,  because  the  gardener  who  comes  to  mow  the 
lawn  and  do  other  work  may  be  seen  carrying  on  his  broad  sboulders  a 
pail  of  cow  manure  now  and  then,  also  to  be  heai’d  referring  to  blood 
and  fowl  manure,  not  to  mention  Clay’s,  Pearson’s,  Standen’s,  and 
Thomson’s,  from  which  we  may  judge  one  or  the  other  of  which  are 
employed. — S. 
Eaely  Flowbeing  CnEYSANTiiEMUMy. 
Cheysanthemums  which  flower  freely  in  September  and  October 
come  in  very  useful  indeed  for  the  majority  of  growers  who  re([uire  a 
good  supply  of  flovv'ers  for  various  purposes  during  the  period  named. 
Owing  to  the  popularity  of  the  large  midseason  varieties,  early 
flowering  Chrysanthemums  do  not  receive  that  meed  of  support  and 
attention  which  they  deservedly  merit.  That  they  are  not  more  grown 
is  certainly  remarkable,  seeing  that,  as  a  rule,  they  do  not  require  excep¬ 
tional  skill  in  cultui’e.  Upon  the  whole  they  have  a  style  of  growth  that 
is  free  yet.  capable  of  furnishing  an  abundant  display  of  bloom,  good  in 
(juality. 
^Moreover,  the  blooms,  especially  of  the  smaller  Pompon  varieties,  do 
not  demand  that  persistent  and  careful  disbudding  which  forms  such  an 
important  feature  in  the  cultivation  of  the  prominent  exhibition  and  many 
of  the  ordinary  decorative  varieties. 
Some  of  the  medium  sized  early  Japanese  varieties,  however,  are  much 
improved  by  a  little  disbudding,  in  some  cases  to  one  bloom,  in  others  to 
three  or  four,  forming  a  spray.  A  considerable  amount  of  interest  and 
instruction  may  be  derived  by  testing  the  capabilities  of  the  various  sorts, 
and  ascertaining  which  are  the  best  methods  adapted  to  bring  them  to  a 
maximum  of  effectiveness  at  a  minimum  of  trouble. 
What  are  known  as  September  varieties  do  not  always  bloom  at  the 
time  expected,  but  most  of  them  will  bloom  early  in  October  at  the  latest. 
This  is  a  season  when  they  are  duly  appreciated.  The  waning  glories  of 
the  auturiin  outdoor  flowers  are  fast  departing  in  the  presence  of  wet, 
wind,  and  a  low  temperature,  but  the  Chrysanthemums  are  not  quite  so 
susceptible,  for  they  are  just  approaching  their  full  zenith  of  beauty. 
It  is  desiralde  when  practicable  to  cultivate  the  very  earliest  varieties 
in  a  suitable  position  outdoors.  They  cannot  be  otherwise  than  deco¬ 
rative  if  not  cut,  but  there  is  certain  to  be  a  demand  for  those  that 
are  in  bloom  during  the  time  of  harvest  festivals. 
Some  of  the  eai-ly  flowering  varieties  commence  flowering  in  July, 
more  in  August,  but  the  majority  in  mid-September  to  mid-October. 
The  varieties  which  bloom  at  the  latter  end  of  October  are  known 
chiefly  as  October  flowering,  occupying  a  place  between  the  early  and 
midseason  vaineties. 
Perhaps  the  names  and  descriptions  of  a  few  of  the  best  early 
flowering  varieties  may  prove  of  interest  to  some  not  well  acquainted 
with  this  class. 
Alice  IM.  Love  is  a  comparatively  new  and  moderately  dwarf  growing 
variety,  which  opens  its  first  flowers  when  growing  in  a  suitably  moist 
and  open  position  in  July  and  August.  The  flowers  are  white,  fairly 
large,  and  are  best  on  terminal  buds. 
Flora  is  a  splendid  small  golden  yellow  variety.  It  blooms  eai’ly  and 
freely  and  is  very  dwarf.  The  flowers  are  good  both  on  crown  and 
terminal  buds,  which  is  the  case  with  most  varieties  of  this  size.  It 
commences  to  bloom  in  July  or  early  August,  continuing  until  October. 
Comtesse  Foucher  de  Cariel  is  an  exceedingly  gopd  variety,  though 
not  commencing  to  bloom  quite  so  early  as  the  preceding.  It  is  a 
true  Japanese  flower,  the  florets  being  loose  and  free,  giving  the  blooms 
a  graceful  appearance.  The  colour  is  an  orange  bronze.  The  height 
attained  by  the  plant  is  to  2  feet.  The  blooming  period  is  late 
September  and  early  Octoljer. 
Gustave  Grunerwald  is  dwarf,  reaching  18  inches  to  2  feet.  The 
colour  is  light  pink.  Commences  blooming  in  August,  continuing  to 
Octoner. 
^Madame  C.  Desgranges  occupies  a  leading  position  among  the  early 
flowering  varieties,  not  only  for  its  earliness,  but  for  its  colour,  which  is 
white  with  just  a  tinge  of  yellow  as  the  blooms  are  opening.  "With 
special  cultivation  blooms  may  be  secured  of  large  size  and  abnormal 
earliness.  Some  years  ago  a  leading  firm  exhibited  plants  bearing  several 
excellent  blooms  each  at  the  July  show  of  the  National  Rose  Society. 
No  early  variety  surpasses  this  for  general  usefulness,  hence  its  universal 
popularity.  Plants  may  be  placed  out  in  beds  or  borders,  where  they  will 
furnish  numbers  of  flowers  for  cutting.  For  the  largest  and  finest  blooms 
pot  culture  throughout  the  season  is  the  most  suitable.  The  growths  must 
be  restricted  to  a  few  only  when  large  flowers  are  required,  and  one  bud 
on  a  shoot  should  be  the  rule.  It  is  not  satisfactory  unless  disbudded 
freely. 
G.  Wermig.— Thi.s  variety  may  be  considered  the  same  in  all  respects 
to  Madame  C.  Desgranges  except  colour,  which  is  yellow.  It  affords  a 
fine  contrast  to  the  white  variety,  from  which  it  is  a  sport. 
IMrs.  Burrell  is  another  sport  from  iMadame  C.  Desgranges.  It  is  of  a 
pale  primrose  colour,  and  blooms  about  the  same  time  as  the  type,  forming 
a  compact  plant  2  feet  high. 
Mrs.  Hawkins  is  also  a  sport  of  a  golden  yellow,  similar  in  habit  and 
time  of  flowering,  but  not  so  free-blooming  as  the  type.  It  is  better  for 
outdoors  than  in  pots. 
Lady  Fitzwigram  may  be  termed  a  rival  to  Madame  C.  Desgranges.  It  is 
of  the  same  colour  and  very  free  in  I  dooming.  It  is  not  so  useful  outdoors 
as  the  latter  variety,  but  is  very  satisfactory  in  pots,  attaining  to  its  best 
condition  under  glass.  Plants  2  feet  high  and  well  covered  with  bloom 
are  attractive. 
Madame  iMarie  IMasse  is  a  new  acquisition  and  an  excellent  bloomer. 
The  plants  grow  to  the  height  of  2  feet  6  inches,  and  possess  a  bushy 
habit  of  growth.  It  is  a  .Japanese  variety,  has  rosy  purple  blooms  4  to 
5  inches  in  diameter,  and  makes  an  attractive  s])ecimen. 
Mrs.  Cullingford  is  a  beautiful  white  with  round,  regular  blooms 
produced  freely.  It  is  one  of  the  best  older  varieties. 
Fiberta  ranks  as  a  good-habited  Chrysanthemum  of  the  Pompon 
section,  having  small  but  beautifully  formed  lemon  yellow  blooms. 
