November  11,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
457 
Rochers,  the  Sunflowers,  the - .  But  enough  ;  let  those  who  have  not 
been  and  can,  go  to  Battersea,  and  see  for  themselves  to  what  perfection 
Chrysanthemums  may  be  grown — a  place  that  is  low  and  damp,  overhung 
by  splendid  trees,  and  being  within  the  valley  of  Father  Thames,  in  the 
track  of  London's  best  and  densest  fogs.  They  will,  one  and  all,  be 
delighted  with  what  is  to  be  seen,  and  will  acknowledge  what  skill  and 
attention  must  have  been  devoted  to  the  plants  to  secure  such  flne  results. 
Then  there  are  other  displays  for  dwellers  in  the  various  parts  of  the 
metropolis.  Everyone  who  knows  Chrysanthemums  has  heard  of  Mr. 
Moorman,  for  he  has  been  amongst  them  for  very  many  years.  He  has  a 
grand  show  at  'Victoria  Park,  as  have  Mr.  Melville  at  Finsbury,  and 
Mr.  Curie  at  Southwark.  All  these  I  know  are  good.  'What  Mr. 
Pallett  has  at  Waterlow  I  do  not  know,  but  perhaps  some  resident  will 
send  notes  to  the  .Journal,  so  that,  if  there  be  a  good  show,  “  honour  may 
be  given  to  whom  honour  is  due.” — South  Londoner. 
Ryecroft  Chrysantpiemum  Shoav. 
This  exhibition  is  now  being  held  in  the  Ryecroft  Nurseries,  and 
differs  material  from  most  other  shows.  Of  this  one  no  schedule  is  issued, 
there  are  no  classes,  there  is  only  one  competitor,  and,  moreover,  there 
i  s  no  charge  for  admission.  I'lveryone  is  welcome  vho  cares  to  go,  an  1 
each  is  asked  in  return,  not,  as  might  be  expected,  to  purchase  plants,  but 
to  give  a  trifle  in  aid  of  the  funds  of  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. 
Surely  no  one  after  a  free  Chrysanthemum  feast  would  not  respond  to 
such  an  appeal !  Hundreds,  probably  thousands,  of  people  go,  so  that 
the  takings  in  the  boxes  ought  to  amount  to  something  substantial. 
Besides  this  suggestion  there  is  one  regulation,  and  that  is  that 
visitors  must  not  touch  the  Howers.  They  may  go  as  often  as  they  like, 
and  stay  any  length  of  time  provided  they  do  not  want  to  twist  the  blooms 
about  for  closer  inspection.  A  modest  rule  this  to  govern  an  exhibition 
which  comprises  something  over  7000  plants  of  all  sizes  and  varieties. 
Is  there  anyone  who  does  not  know  the  owner,  manager,  and  sole  exhi¬ 
bitor  at  this  annual  display  ?  Not  one  ;  for  there  cannot  be  a  chrys- 
anthemumist  in  the  United  Kingdom  with  whom  Mr.  H.  J.  .Tones  is  not 
familiar  in  name,  if  not  in  person. 
No  one  must  expect,  when  they  make  the  journey  to  Ryecroft,  to  find 
the  .Japanese  section  in  one  place,  the  incurved  in  another,  the  Anemones 
in  a  third,  and  so  on  through  all  the  stages  of  the  Eastern  flower.  Nothing 
of  this  nature  is  attempted,  the  whole  being  grouped  with  a  view  to 
insuring  the  best  effect,  which  would  not  be  if  the  sections  were  kept  to 
themselves.  In  one  particular  the  very  greatest  care  is  exercised,  and  that 
is  in  the  placing  of  the  several  colours.  The  most  strenuous  endeavour  is 
made  to  so  dispose  the  plants,  that  while  each  flower  stands  out  strongly 
and  effectively,  it,  at  the  same  time,  assists  in  emphasising  the  best  points 
of  its  neighbours. 
As  a  whole  the  collection  is  a  splendid  one,  and  comprises  representa¬ 
tives  of  almost  all  the  known  varieties.  The  flowers  generally  are  just 
below  average  size,  and  the  colours  are  not  of  the  cleanest.  These  two 
facts  are  easily  accounted  for  by  the  wretched  atmosphere  in  which  they 
are  grown.  It  does  not  militate  in  the  least  against  the  production  of 
stock,  or  affect  the  health  of  this  in  the  least ;  but  its  effects  are  seen  on 
every  hand  amidst  the  flowers.  Each  year  the  task  of  producing  blooms 
of  the  highest  quality  becomes  more  and  more  difficult,  and  the  results 
achieved  are  in  all  respects  praiseworthy,  all  things  considered. 
The  provincial  grower  has  much  in  his  favour  in  the  purer  atmosphere, 
whose  l^eneficent  influence  on  the  flowers  can  never  be  overstated.  But 
Mr.  .Jones  is  enterprising,  and  we  shall  probably  be  hearing  that  he  has 
“  flitted  ”  from  the  region  of  bricks  and  mortar  to  the  land  of  green  fields 
and  waving  pastures.  Let  us  hope  if  this  supposition  become  a  reality  he 
will  still  maintain  the  glories  of  Ryecroft  unaltered,  and  only  utilise  the 
country  place  for  insuring  the  most  perfect  blooms  for  exhibitions  away 
from  borne.  Others  besides  the  people  of  J.,ewisham  could  not  easily 
forego  the  pleasure  of  their  annual  visit  to  Ryecroft  show. 
How  is  it  possible  for  anyone  to  make  a  selection  from  such  a  vast 
array  of  beauty?  Here  are  Ryecroft  seedlings,  there  other  English 
products,  while  yonder  may  be  seen  the  results  of  the  foreigner's  labour. 
Some  are  excellent,  others  good,  while  there  are  a  few  from  the  Continent 
that  are  most  hopelessly  bad.  They  have  no  quality  in  their  flowers, 
either  of  colour,  form,  or  substance.  Their  destination  is  the  rubbish 
heap,  and  they  are  not  fit  even  to  adorn  this.  But  the  good  ones  are 
good  and  the  excellent  ones  are  excellent,  whether  they  be  English  or 
French,  and  these  compensate  for  the  deficiencies  of  their  neighbours. 
Of  course  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  every  writer  to  name  a  few  as 
being  of  superlative  merit,  and  so  a  start  must  be  made  at  once,  and  as  it 
is  new  we  will  commence  with  Mrs.  A.  Cross.  This  is  a  charming  bronze 
yellow  incurved  Jap  of  splendid  form  and  substance.  A  very  full  flower 
of  a  soft  primrose  hue  is  Mrs.  L.  Humphrey,  while  the  immense  yellow- 
floretted  Ella  (^urtis  are  now  comparatively  well  known.  Mrs.  S.  "W. 
Palmer,  the  sport  from  Mrs.  C.  Harman  Payne,  seems  free  from  that 
coarseness  for  which  the  latter  is  so  renowned.  A  lovely  flower  is  Mrs. 
Coleworth  Bond.  The  colour  is  soft  flesh  pink,  and  the  bloom  is  of  good 
size,  frown  of  Gold,  a  yellow  incurved  .Japanese  of  great  promise. 
Hairy  Wonder  and  one  or  two  other  hirsute  varieties  are  in  grand  form. 
Then  there  are  Madame  Cordery,  Master  H.  Tucker,  Iving  of  Buffs,  J^ady 
Hanham,  Simplicity,  Mrs.  Richard  .Jones,  President  Nonin,  Western  King, 
Robert  Powell,  Vicar  of  Bray,  N.C.S.  .Jubilee,  Mr.  Hugh  Crawford 
(lovely  delicate  yellow  bronze  incurved  .Jap),  Mons.  Panckoircke,  white 
and  yellow  Carnots,  with  Pride  of  Ryecroft,  a  primrose  sport  from  Niveus 
that  will  in  all  probability  make  itself  known  for  market  purpose.  It  is 
wonderfully  free  flowering,  and  the  shade  is  one  that  is  always  popular. 
This  is  not  all,  for  there  are  incurved  and  several  others,  but  as  the 
.Japanese  are  the  most  sought  for  we  will  confine  our  selection  to  them. 
If  anyone  wish  more  names  let  him  make  the  journey  for  himself,  for  a 
personal  examination  and  selection  must  obviously  be  better  than  one 
made  by  proxy. — JAP. 
Grantully,  West  Hartlepool. 
The  following  notes  from  Mr.  T.  Smith,  Secretary  to  the  Hartlepool 
Gardeners’  ?klutual  Improvement  Society,  are  interesting,  and  will  prove 
of  service  to  growers  in  similar  late  districts.  The  disastrous  gale  in 
June  appears  to  have  made  its  effects  felt  over  a  wide  area  in  the  North 
of  England.  Mr.  Smith  states  :  “  Personally  I  suffered  a  great  deal  from 
the  disastrous  gale  on  the  14th  of  June.  I  had  the  majority  of  my 
plants  in  their  permanent  places,  and  a  great  many  had  not  a  leaf  left  on 
them,  besides  losing  their  tops.  Then  the  long  spell  of  dry  weather  set 
in,  and  in  spite  of  copious  syringing  twice  a  day,  they  made  growth  very 
slowly.  About  the  middle  of  August  we  had  three  weeks  of  wet  weather, 
which  rushed  a  lot  of  them  into  growth,  with  the  result  that  many  are 
late  (notably  the  Queens),  with  soft,  sappy  tojis,  and  I  am  very  much  afraid 
the  flowers  will  be  poor — in  fact,  all  my  Queens  are  terminal  buds,  which 
is  not  much  use  in  this  district. 
“  To  come  to  the  new  varieties,  the  most  promising  are  ^Irs.  .1.  Lewis, 
(second  natural  crown).  Pride  of  iMadford,  Australie  (very  tall),  Mrs.  ,1. 
Shrimpton  (stopped  March  15th),  .John  Seward,  Phoebus,  alovely  va.riety. 
On  the  other  hand,  Baron  Ad.  de  Rothschild  is  a  complete  failure  : 
Modesto,  too  late.  With  Australian  Gold  I  am  completely  puzzled.  I 
had  nine  beautiful  clean  second  crown  buds  on  three  plants,  and  I  have 
not  a  bloom  larger  than  a  cricket  ball.  Mrs.  H.  Weeks,  stopped  March 
10th,  I  did  not  take  the  bud  until  the  25t.h  of  September,  but  they  have 
done  very  well  since  I  took  them  indoors,  and  are  now  showing  colour. 
“  Of  the  new  incurved.  Duchess  of  Fife,  stopped  15th  March  for  second 
crown,  I  have  not  got  it  taken  yet  (29th  October).  !Mrs.  I.  Hepper  is 
too  late,  but  Bonnie  Dundee  is  all  right.  Perle  Dauphinoise  and  Ala 
Perfection  I  can  form  no  opinion  of  as  yet.  J.  Agate  and  C.  H.  Curtis 
are  promising,  so  are  the  Princess  of  Wales  group  ;  also  the  Tecks.  For 
the  late  district  we  have  here  I  enclose  a  few  dates  for  stopping  for  second 
crown  buds.  Tecks,  1st  March;  also  C.  H.  Curtis  and  J.  Agate.  Queens, 
15th  March.  Princesses  are  best  rooted  in  November,  and  grow  for  first 
the  Japanese  section  a  very  good  guide  is  to  stop  a  month 
before  the  date  given  by  the  southern  growers.  For  instance,  Madame 
Carnot,  middle  of  April  is  the  time  generally  given.  I  stop  it  the  middle 
of  March.  It  is  a  variety  that  does  not  do  well  here.  I  have  six  plants, 
but  the  most  promising  are  on  the  second  natural  crown. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS  IN  THE  NORTH. 
I  AM  again  indebted  to  Mr.  R.  M.  MTntosh  for  an  interesting  report 
in  the  Chrysanthemums  around  this  important  centre,  w'hich  states  that 
;he  season  has  been  a  trying  one  in  that  neighbourhood.  The  extreme 
ind  prolonged  drought  in  the  early  stage  necessitated  close  attention  to 
ivringing  and  watering,  and  great  mischief  resulted  from  the  effects  of 
he  never-to-be-forgotten  hurricane  in  June.  The  second  growth  v\as, 
lowever  formed  under  more  favourable  conditions;  but  since  the  buds 
vere  taken  a  second  spell  of  drought  probably  accounts  for  a  large  per- 
;enta«^e  of  hard  buds.  There  are  several  establishments  in  the  vicinity 
vhere  eood  collections  are  grown  for  home  display  and  not  for  com- 
letition"  and  will  prove  well  worthy  of  inspection,  notably  the  following 
Escrick  Park,  Heslington  Hall,  Lincroft,  Deighton  Grove,  and  The  Retreat, 
rhe  following  growers  represent  the  exhibitors: 
Elm  Bank. 
Mr.  Dickinson,  gardener  to  W.  B.  Richardson,  Esq.,  has  a  very  fin« 
'ollection  of  about  600  plants,  and  doubtless  will  have  some  excellerit 
Dlooms  by  the  middle  of  November.  Mutual  Friend  is  r^lly  s^endid. 
VIdlle  T.  Rey,  F.  Wells,  Hairy  Wonder,  President  Borel,  Yrefet  Robert, 
Mr  W.  H.  Lees,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Payne,  Sunflower,  Major  Bonnaffon,  Madame 
E.  Capitant,  Mons.  Demay-Taillandier,  Viviand  Alorel,  C.  Dayis,  Madame 
\I  Hoste,  International,  C.  Shrimpton,  Avalanche,  Colonel  Y  .  B  Smith 
ind  H.  L.  Sunderbruch  are  fine;  C.  H.  Curtis  and  Mons.  Bahuant 
very  eood,  as  are  most  of  the  incurved.  Australian  Gold  seems  to  be 
hstidious  in  bud-taking,  for  those  taken  at  the  beginning  of  August  are 
;oo  hard  to  open  well  ;  others  taken  three  weeks  later  seem  too  late. 
TAiVkiVsnn  thinks  it  is  too  Dale  in  colour  to  become  popular. 
Holgate  Lodge, 
Mr.  Everard,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Gutch,  suffered  severely  from  the 
torm,  but  has  done  all  that  can  be  done  to  enco^age  the  plants  to 
ecover  from  its  effects.  Amongst  the  new  varieties  Western  King  looks 
ery  promising,  as  do  Eltham-Beauty,  a  pretty  rose  colour  ;  Phabiis, 
ladame  E.  Capitant,  Mons.  Chenon  de  Leche,  Boule  d  Or  (CaWat), 
Ions.  PanckoucL,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Lees,  Mdlle.  T.  Rey,  Madame  Carnot, 
liss  M.  Blenkiron,  and  Viviand  Morel.  Amongst  the  incurved  R.  C. 
ungston  is  very  fine.  All  the  Queen  family  seem  right  to  time,  while 
he  Princess  of  Wales  section  are  rather  late.  Mr.  Everard  is  always  well 
0  the  front  with  specimen  plants.  This  year  his  collection  is  specially 
iteresting,  containing  very  fine  specimens  of  C.  H.  Curtis  and  J.  Agate 
arrying  fifty  blooms  each. 
OUSECLIPPE. 
Mr.  R.  Dobson,  gardener  to  R,  Lawson,  Esq.,  has  most  of  the  a^iroved 
inds.  Those  conspicuous  are  Louise,  Mons.  Demay-Taillanmer,  Cmonel 
k  C.  Bourne,  Mons.  Ohas.  Molin,  Mutual  Friend,  Mrs.  Chas.  Blick,  Pride 
