556 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  9,  1897. 
tlie  letter  of  “  One  of  the  Executive  ”  (p.  531),  then,  surely,  the  verdict 
must  go  to  “  A.  D.” 
“  One  of  the  Executive”  tells  us  that  “the  public  like  the  arrangement 
of  the  exhibits.”  Save  upon  the  principle  of  the  “  Three  Tailors  of  Tooley 
Street,”  I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  your  correspondent’s  qualification 
for  spe  kiag  lor  the  public.  My  own  experience  is  that  the  immense 
majority  of  people,  exhibitors  and  the  general  public,  strongly  condemn 
an  arrangement  which  deprives  the  show  entirely  of  all  general  effect, 
and  consigns  the  choicest  exhibits  to  positions  where  w'ant  of  sufficient 
light  renders  it  impossible  that  the  judging  can  take  place  under  con¬ 
ditions  fair  to  the  exhibitor.  How  can  “colour”  and  “ freshness ”  be 
adequately  measured  in  the  dark  dens  of  the  Aquarium  galleries  1 
And  we  have  been  going  from  bad  to  worse.  A  few  years  ago  a 
major  portion  of  the  exhibition  was  arranged  in  the  body  of  the  hall,  and 
sometliing  of  a  general  effect  was  thereby  secured.  Now  all  this  is 
changed,  and  permanent  shows  occupy  the  space  once  devoted  to  the 
flowers. 
There  has,  in  my  opinion,  been  but  one  argument  in  favour  of  the 
Royal  A(iuarium,  and  that  has  been  the  difficulty  of  naming  an  alternative 
position,  but  if  things  go  on  in  the  future  as  they  have  recently  gone  on 
in  the  past,  even  this  argument  will  cease  to  be  sufficient  ;  it  will  be 
merged  in  the  general  conclusion  that  if  better  cannot  be  done,  it  will  be 
preferable  that  there  should  be  no  show  at  all. 
On  the  other  aspect  of  the  Aquarium  surroundings  I  will  not  enlarge. 
There  will  always  be  persons  who  like  what  others  do  not,  so  it  must 
come  back  to  the  old  de  gustihus  non  est  disputandurn ;  but  I  must  protest 
against  any  analogy  being  suggested  between  the  “  music  and  singing  ” 
permitted  by  provincial  societies  and  the  “  music-hall  assistance  ” 
furnished  by  the  Royal  Aquarium.  I  thank  “  A.  D.”  for  his  “  annual 
growl.”— SiGiiA.  _ 
It  is  usual  at  this  time  of  the  year  to  find  “A.  D.”  spoiling  paper 
over  the  shows  of  the  N.C.S.  Of  course,  they  are  not  pleasing  to  himself ; 
but  all  the  same,  it  seems  absurd  for  him  and  others  to  rail  at  the  executive 
for  holding  the  shows  in  the  Aquarium  without  giving  the  slightest 
information  or  even  a  suggestion  as  to  where  they  can  be  better  accom¬ 
modated.  It  is  easy  to  grumble,  and  those  who  indulge  in  that  ancient 
exercise  should  surely  try  to  suggest  remedies  for  what  they  assail.  Do 
critics  like  easy  ways  ?  No  great  intellectual  effort  is  displayed  in  naming 
such  places  as  Hull,  Edinburgh,  and  Birmingham  ;  but  where  in  London 
c9n  “  A.  D.’’  find  such  buildings  available  as  in  the  places  named  ? 
Turning  to  “E.  D.  S.,”  if  he  w'ere  to  obtain  information  about  the 
financial  situation  of  the  N.C.S.  he  would  probably  find  some  reason  for 
cutting  up  the  exhibits,  and  arranging  some  on  the  ground  floor  and  others 
elsewhere.  He  evidently  does  not  know  the  exact  position  of  the  Society, 
but  simply  follows  others  in  the  easy  old  way  of  grumbling.  As  a  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  lover  he  is  deserving  of  attention  ;  but  as  a  helper  out  of  what 
he  conceives  to  be  a  wrong  position  lamentably  fails. 
We  all  know  how  the  exhibits  were  cut  up  at  the  last  show,  and  how 
bad  the  light  was  in  certain  portions  of  the  building  ;  what  we  want  to 
know  is  how  to  remedy  existing  grievances.  Give  us  some  practical 
suggestions,  or  sensible  criticisms  tempered  with  feasible  argument  and 
sound  advice  ;  that  is  surely  what  most  readers  look  for,  not  carping 
reflections,  but  so  far  look  in  vain  under  the  signatures  above  cited. — 
An  Impartial  Observer. 
[A  very  close  “  observer  ”  too  in  the  Chrysanthemum  wmrld,  but 
evidently  cannot  see  any  way  of  evading  the  “grievances”  which  he 
admits.  Others  must  try  and  solve  the  problem  — a  task,  we  suspect,  by 
no  means  easy  of  accomplishment.  Both  sides  shall  have  equal  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  fair  discussion,  devoid  of  unpleasant  personal  allusions.  These 
are  the  greatest  of  hindrances  to  the  attainment  of  the  legitimate  objects 
that  controversalists  have  in  view.] 
Hull  and  E.vst  Riding  Chrysanthemum  Society. 
The  Committee  of  this  Society  met  on  30th  ult.,  and  fixed  Wednesday 
and  Thursday,  November  16th  and  17tb,  as  the  dates  of  the  1898  show. 
It  was  resolved  unanimously  to  invite  Messrs.  Geo.  Gordon,  E.  Molyneux, 
J.  W.  Moorman,  and  J.  Wright  to  be  the  judges.  The  amount  awarded 
in  prizes  at  the  recent  show,  it  was  stated,  was  £34  more  than  in  1896, 
and  general  satisfaction  was  expressed  at  the  excellence  of  the  exhibits 
The  Treasurer’s  statement  had  riot  yet  been  made  up,  but  it  was  not 
expected  that  any  profit  would  be  made  ;  the  Society,  having  a  good 
reserve  fund,  prefers  to  increase  the  value  of  the  prizes  instead  of  adding 
to  the  funds.  About  £230  had  been  awarded  in  prizes,  exclusive  of 
challenge  plates,  value  40  guineas. 
The  Society  is  much  handicapped  for  want  of  a  sufficiently  large 
building  in  which  to  hold  the  show,  and  in  consequence  of  the  dangerously 
crowded  state  of  the  hall  in  recent  years  the  Committee  decided  to  raise 
the  price  of  admission  on  the  concluding  evening.  Notwithstanding  this 
drawback  about  9000  persons  visited  the  show,  and  the  receipts  were 
above  the  average. 
Yellow  Charles  Davis. 
Your  correspondent,  “R.  M.”  (page  532),  states  that  he  has  a  sport 
from  Charles  Davis  of  a  soft  yellow  colour,  and  asks  if  anyone  has  seen 
anything  similar  to  it.  I  have  had  several  yellow  Charles  Davis  this 
year,  but  I  did^  not  regard  them  as  sports.  Several  of  my  gardening 
friends,  on  seeing  the  blooms,  exclaimed,  “What  ‘yellow’  have  you 
there  ?  The  variety  in  question  frequently  comes  yellow  when  the  buds 
are  taken  too  early.  If  “  R.  M.’’  had  selected  a  bud  from  the  next  growth 
I  fancy  there  would  not  have  been  much  yellow  about  it.  I  have  also 
had  pure  white  blooms  of  Viviand  Viorel. — J.  FOLKARD,  Sand  Hutton,  York. 
It  may  interest  “  R.  M.”  to  know  that  when  Charles  Davis  received 
its  first  certificate  it  was  for  soft  yellow  blooms,  and  not  the  bronzy  buff 
shade  so  much  appreciated  at  the  present  time.  It  is  quite  easy  to  obtain 
blooms  of  the  colour  described  by  “  R.  ]\I.”  of  this  variety ;  in  fact,  he 
makes  known  the  modus  operandi  when  he  says  the  flower  appeared  on  the 
plant  not  more  than  3  feet  high  and  from  the  first  crown  bud.  I  write 
this  note  for  the  benefit  of  “  R.  M.,”  that  he  may  not  be  disappointed 
eventually  after  taking  the  trouble  to  fix  the  so-called  sport  and  growing 
the  plants  afterwards. — E.  IM. 
Julia  Scaramaxga. 
Though  this  Chrysanthemum  was  seen  once  or  twice  in  the  season 
of  1897,  it  was  not  until  this  autumn  that  it  attained  to  any  peculiar 
prominence.  At  several  shows  it  has  had  a  place  in  the  stands,  and  has 
made  itself  a  very  great  favourite,  eliciting  much  admiration  from  compe¬ 
tent  critics.  It  was  shown  at  the  Drill  Hall  on  November  23rd  by  Sir. 
VY.  AVells,  Earlswood,  receiving  an  award  of  merit,  and  was  also  staged 
by  the  same  grower  at  the  N.C.S.  on  the  22nd  ult.,  when  a  first-class 
certificate  was  given.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Wells,  who  placed  a  photo¬ 
graph  at  our  disposal,  we  are  able  to  give  an  illustration  (fig.  81)  of  the 
variety,  which  was  raised  by  Mr.  Silsbury  as  a  seedling  from  Viviand 
Morel,  and  is  one  of  the  best  growers  in  cultivation.  As  may  be  seen,  it 
builds  up  a  fine  flower,  of  which  the  long,  narrow,  curling,  twisting,  and 
intermingling  florets  are  pale  rosy  bronze,  inclining  to  terra-cotta  in 
colour,  if  it  maintains  its  promise  it  will  become  an  extremely  popular 
variety. 
Chrysanthemums  at  Twerton-on-Avon. 
Among  the  hosts  of  Chrysanthemums  cultivated  there  are  not  many 
varieties,  even  at  the  present  day,  which  suit  the  grower  of  cut  flowers 
for  market  in  every  respect,  and  it  is  especially  at  Christmas  time,  when 
the  demand  is  the  greatest  and  the  supply  the  least  satisfactory. 
As  a  rule,  in  this  neighbourhood  at  least,  all  the  best  free-flowering 
varieties  are  over,  and  this  year,  owing  to  the  continuance  of  remarkably 
mild  weather,  they  are  earlier  than  usual  ;  but  Mr.  M.  Coombe,  Twerton- 
on-Avon,  Bath,  has  managed  by  a  little  scheming  to  have  a  grand  lot, 
which  will  just  be  in  at  the  right  time,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  reap 
a  rich  harvest.  His  nursery  is  considerably  elevated,  and  consequently 
comparatively  cool  for  the  locality.  Besides  this  natural  advantage,  his 
houses  have  their  sides  and  ends  made  up  entirely  with  moveable  boards, 
so  that  in  a  few  minutes  he  can  take  down  or  put  up  a  considerable 
portion  of  them,  according  to  the  state  of  wind  and  weather  ;  and  as, we 
have  had  no  frosts  to  hurt  anything  till  a  day  or  two  ago  the  plants  have 
been  very  much  exposed  to  the  elements,  both  by  night  and  day,  nearly 
all  the  time.  The  result  is  a  batch  of  Niveus,  not  yet  fully  expanded, 
that  is  worth  going  some  miles  to  see. 
Nothing  can  beat  Niveus  for  Christmas  if  you  can  keep  it,  and  Mr. 
Coombe  has  evidently  solved  the  problem.  A  good  few  W.  H.  Lincoln 
are  grown,  and  a  small  quantity  of  Lord  Brooke,  but  Niveus  is  there  in 
thousands.  Another  thing  I  noticed,  there  is  no  leaf  rust.  I  had  begun 
to  think  Niveus  and  leaf  rust  wei’e  inseparable,  but  now  I  know  it  is 
not  so. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  is  in  other  places,  but  in  Bath  if  you  have  a 
dozen  bunches  to  sell  nine  of  them  must  be  white  and  one  or  two  yellow. 
Other  colours  are  not  wanted  in  quantity.  You  may  sell  an  odd  bunch 
of  a  good  bronze,  but  as  a  rule  you  may  keep  the  darker  varieties  and 
undecided  shades  for  your  own  private  use. — Wm.  Taylor. 
Staging  Chrysanthemums  at  Shows. 
“  Sadoc  ”  (page  532)  is  quite  right  in  supposing  that  I  had  not  seen 
the  report  of  the  Edinburgh  Show  when  I  penned  my  previous  article  on 
this  subject  (page  503),  but  wrong  in  thinking  a  perusal  of  that  report 
would  have  caused  me  to  hesitate  before  writing  it.  I  know  that  in 
previous  years  good  prizes  have  been  offered  at  Edinburgh  and  other 
places  for  flowers  shown  on  long  stems,  and  that  those  classes  have  been 
fairly  well  filled  by  growers  from  a  distance. 
Let  me,  however,  point  out  that  there  is  a  wide  difference  between 
giving  a  very  valuable  prize  in  one  class  for  flowers  staged  with  long  stems 
and  stipulating  that  the  flowers  shown  in  all  classes  shall  be  set  up  in 
that  way.  Provided  that  suBnciently  large  prizes  can  be  ofl'ered  to  com¬ 
pensate  growers  from  a  distance  taking  the  large  amount  of  extra 
trouble  entailed,  they  will  always  be  ready  to  put  in  an  appearance  ;  but 
few,  if  any,  societies  can  afford  to  do  this,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
repeating,  that  if  any  society  is  bold  enough  to  try  the  experiment,  it  will 
have  to  depend  upon  local  exhibits,  except  in  those  classes  in  which  they 
offer  very  substantial  prizes. 
At  one  important  show  two  or  three  years  ago  I  counted  twenty-five 
lots  of  Japanese  in  one  class  — that  for  twenty-four  distinct  varieties.  The 
first  prize  was  £10.  Now  let  me  ask  “Sadoc”  if  he  honestly  thinks  as 
many  fine  exhibits  would  have  been  set  up  in  that  class  if  the  schedule 
had  required  the  flowers  to  be  shown  on  long  stems,  the  amount  of  prize 
money  offered  and  the  number  of  varieties  required  being  the  same  ?  If 
he  can  answer  yes,  then  his  argument  may  be  a  strong  one  ;  if  he  cannot, 
then  it  falls  to  the  ground.  I  confess  that  I  like  to  see  blooms  staged 
with  long  stems,  yet  I  think  the  drawbacks  to  the  general  adoption  of  that 
plan  are  too  great  to  be  overcome  under  present  circumstances,  without 
lowering  the  high  standard  of  excellence  at  present  maintained  at  the 
great  shows. — Old  Exhibitor. 
