582 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  December  16,  1897. 
Timing  Chrysanthemums. 
May  I  suggest,  for  the  benefit  of  myself,  and  no  doubt  other  readers 
of  the  Journal,  that  Mr.  E.  Molyneux,  or  some  other  experienced  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  grower,  give  a  list  of,  say,  sixty  of  the  best  Japanese  Chrysan¬ 
themums  (old  and  new)  to  grow  for  exhibition  cut  blooms  ;  also  indicate 
any  that  require  stopping  and  when,  and  which  bud  to  retain  ? 
It  is  very  disappointing,  after  having  grown  plants  for  twelve  months, 
to  find  the  season’s  trouble  and  expense  thrown  away  by  not  knowing 
the  exact  treatment  of  certain  varieties.  I  have  mismanaged  old  ones 
this  year.  For  instance,  I  took  some  on  the  crown  bud  that  I  ought  to 
have  taken  on  the  second  crown  ;  and,  again,  I  have  taken  second  crown 
buds  where  I  ought  to  have  taken  crowns. 
Only  being  a  grower  of  200  plants,  and  wishing  to  make  the  best  of 
these,  a  little  advice  as  to  the  selection,  when  to  stop,  and  buds  to  select 
would  be  very  acceptable,  so  as  to  have  them  all  as  near  as  possible  in  full 
bloom  together  by  the  middle  of  November  in  the  West  Riding  of  York¬ 
shire. — William  Bowman. 
Appointments  of  Judges. 
May  I  be  allowed  to  make  a  suggestion  that  I  feel  sure,  if  adopted* 
would  be  of  great  service  to  a  large  section  of  your  readers  who  are 
interested  in  Chrysanthemum  exhibitions  ?  That  is,  to  ask  you  to  devote 
a  space  under  the  “Exhibition  Notices,”  signifying  what  judges  had 
been  appointed  to  adjudicate  at  such  exhibition.  We  know  that,  as  a 
rule,  as  soon  as  the  N.C.S.  date  is  fixed  for  the  principal  November  show, 
the  leading  provincial  societies  follow  on  in  chronological  order,  avoiding 
each  other  if  possible.  But  many  are  obliged  to  clash,  not  being  able  to 
sandwich  themselves  between  others  they  would  like  to  avoid. 
After  the  date  of  the  exhibition  is  fixed,  the  next  important  thing  in 
most  societies  is  to  appoint  judges,  and  it  often  occurs  that  the  persons 
chosen  by  the  committee  have  already  been  engaged  by  another  society, 
and  even  the  reserve  man  has  been  engaged  also.  This  means  much 
correspondence  on  behalf  of  secretaries  and  judges,  and  very  often  delay 
in  publishing  schedules  ;  whereas  if  there  were  some  authority  they 
could  refer  to,  it  would  save  no  end  of  inconvenience  and  time. 
If  it  is  practical  I  should  suggest  something  in  this  order  : — 
Cheys.4xthemi;m  Exhibitions.— Judges  Engaged  in  1898. 
Hull.  Nov.  16th  and  17th.— Messrs.  G.  Gordon,  Ed.  Molyneux,  J.  W. 
Moorman,  and  J.  Wright. 
This  would  facilitate  business,  and  be  of  immense  service  to  those 
directly  interested  in  making  arrangements  for  the  autumn  exhibitions, 
and  their  names  is  now  legion,  so  many  springing  up  in  every  county. 
I  feel  sure  secretaries  and  judges  themselves  would  keep  you  posted  up 
as  soon  as  the  engagements  were  fixed.  I  already  have  had  to  refuse 
engagements  for  next  season  on  account  of  being  engaged  for  the 
dates,  as  have  no  doubt  some  of  my  fellow  judges. — C.  Orchard, 
Bemhridge,  1.  W. 
[We  can  only  publish  such  notifications  as  come  to  hand,  as  in  the 
case  of  Hull.  Our  excellent  correspondent  and  able  chrysanthemumist 
omits  his  own  appointments.  Mr.  Wright  wishes  it  to  be  known  that  he 
does  not  desire  fresh  applications,  though  he  will  endeavour  not  to 
disappoint  the  few  societies  at  whose  shows  he  otficiated  this  year  if  his 
services  should  be  required.] 
Naming  Chrysanthemums  at  Shows -Prize  Cards. 
I  WAS  pleased  to  see  “  E.  M.’’  calling  attention  to  the  laxity  of  naming 
blooms  (page  .557).  It  is  grievous  to  see  the  very  slovenly  way  this  is 
done  at  many  excellent  exhibitions.  The  wrong  or  imperfect  naming 
of  a  variety  does  not  end  at  that  exhibition,  but  is  very  often  perpetuated 
and  carried  on  through  others  by  young  beginners  taking  the  names 
down  and  feeling  safe  in  being  correct  after  passing  the  ordeal  of  the 
keen  eyes  of  judges  at  an  exhibition.  I  remember  once  having  to 
disqualify  a  stand  of  blooms  that  should  have  been  distinct  for  containing 
duplicates.  It  subsequently  turned  out  to  be  that  of  a  “young  beginner,” 
and  he  assured  me  that  he  had  copied  the  names  from  a  prize  stand  at  an 
exhibition  he  had  attended,  and  procured  his  cuttings  from  the  same  source, 
so  he  was  more  to  be  pitied  than  blamed.  I  certainly  think  it  of  very 
great  importance  for  the  Chrysanthemum  world  at  large  to  have  all  the 
varieties  legibly  and  correctly  named. 
There  is  another  reform  that  I  should  like  to  see  at  some  of  our  most 
excellent  and  leading  societies,  that  more  concerns  the  executive  than  the 
exhibitors.  That  is,  the  mode  of  displaying  the  prize  cards.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  the  card  is  pushed  in  between  the  blooms,  or  under  the 
board  in  front,  or  laid  on  the  top  of  perhaps  the  finest  bloom  in  the  stand. 
If  there  should  be  a  prize  for  the  premier  bloom  in  the  show,  the  award 
card  has  either  to  be  placed  immediately  on  the  top  of  the  flower  itself  or 
laid  on  one  near  it,  and  the  general  public  often  wonders  which  it  is 
intended  for.  Although  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  premier  bloom  is 
elevated  a  little  higher  than  the  rest,  the  great  B.P.  does  not  know  what 
the  judges  and  the  committee  know,  so  constant  inquiries  are  solicited,  or 
mistakes  are  made,  or  people  go  away  in  ignorance. 
The  plan  adopted  in  some  societies  and  which  we  used  to  practise  at 
Kingston-on-Thames  was  to  have  the  card  elevated  on  a  wire  support  fixed 
to  the  back  of  each  stand,  so  that  the  names  could  be  very  plainly  seen. 
All  cards  were  so  displayed  whether  the  blooms  were  prizewinners  or 
not,  so  that  it  rnade  it  doubly  interesting  to  the  public  to  see,  not  only 
who  were  the  winners  but  who  were  exhibiting.  Many  excellent  stands 
of  blooms  in  a  strong  competition  contain  flowers  but  very  few  points 
■(removed  from  the  first  prize  lot,  and  of  which  the  exhibitors  not  only  need 
not  be  ashamed,  but  would  like  their  friends  to  notice,  though  very 
often  cannot  because  the  card  was  out  of  sight,  and  they  could  not  observe 
who  was  the  exhibitor. 
If  executives  could  pay  more  attention  to  this  matter  by  making  the 
necessary  arrangements  for  a  person  to  fi<  and  elevate  all  the  cards  by 
following  after  the  judges,  the  show  would  be  doubly  interesting  to  the 
visitors  who  are  immediately  interested  in  the  exhibits,  and  to  the  public  at 
large,  besides  adding  greatly  to  the  effect  of  the  exhibition  as  a  whole. — 
C.  Orchard. 
Single  Chrysanthemums. 
A  VERY  extensive,  as  well  as  successful,  grower  of  these  pretty 
flowers  is  Mr.  Forbes,  gardener  to  Madame  Nichols  of  Surbiton  Park, 
near  Kingston.  Beyond  growing  all  the  best  varieties  in  commerce,  he 
has  succeeded  in  raising  a  fine  collection  from  seed.  Last  winter  he  found 
a  plant  of  Purity  carrying  what  promised  to  be  a  good  cluster  of  seed, 
and  knowing  how  long  a  time  is  required  to  enable  seed  to  mature, 
placed  the  plant  in  a  warmer  house,  and  kept  it  there  till  the  end  of 
January.  By  that  time  the  seed  was  plump  and  ripe.  It  was  then 
gathered,  and  sown  in  a  shallow  box  on  sandy  soil,  and  placed  in  heat. 
Very  soon  the  seeds  germinated,  and  growth  was  excellent.  The  .seedlings 
were  shifted  singly  into  small  pots,  then  into  others  rather  larger,  and  in 
June  w’ere  planted  out  into  a  solid  block,  rather  close  together,  in  a 
sheltered  and  warm  part  of  the  gardens.  Here,  when  in  the  autumn 
they  showed  bloom,  a  rough  cover  was  erected,  over  which  mats  could  be 
thrown  at  night,  and  so  cared  for  the  plants  bloomed  capitally.  Out  of 
the  several  dozen  seedlings  at  least  twelve  have  been  found  so  good 
and  varied  as  to  be  specially  propagated  for  a  further  trial.  It  is  inter¬ 
esting  to  find  that,  although  the  seed  parent  Purity  is  a  pure  white,  and 
there  was  no  effort  at  intercrossing,  several  diverse  hues  of  colour  have 
resulted.  Semi-doubles  are  not  good  singles,  and  these,  it  is  ho'  ed,  will 
soon  be  removed  from  the  lists.  Such  singles  as  Purity,  Earlswood 
Beauty,  Admiral  Symonds,  Captain  Felgate.  Miss  Rose,  and  Duchess 
Elizabeth  are  of  the  most  pleasing  forms. — A.  D. 
Chrysanthemum  Notes. 
“W.  S.”  (page  557)  draws  attention  to  the  value  of  groups  of 
Chrysanthemums  for  providing  interest  and  beauty  in  an  autumn 
exhibition.  Those  opinions  I  cordially  endorse.  Even  at  such  a  fine 
show  as  that  recently  held  in  Edinburgh,  the  remark  of  how  some 
representative  Chrysanthemum  groups  would  have  added  to  the  interest 
and  splendour  of  so  good  an  exhibition  were  frequently  heard.  Of  course 
there  were  groups  of  Chrysanthemums  at  that  particular  show,  but  not 
what  might  be  expected.  Grouping,  no  matter  how  well  done,  cannot  be 
so  popular  among  so  many  growers  as  cut  blooms.  The  cost  of  transit 
is  a  serious  item,  and  it  is  not  every  gardener  who  can  provide  the 
material  at  that  season  of  the  year.  Groups  of  Chrysanthemums  alone 
at  Birmingham,  Ascot,  Winchester,  Kingston,  Windsor,  Brighton,  and 
York,  have  been  so  invariably  of  high  quality  for  3ears,  that  if  no  other 
feature  were  presentable  the  fame  of  the  groups  alone  would  have  made 
a  reputation  for  the  societies  named.  Equally  so  at  Hull,  Lincoln, 
Birmingham.  York,  and  at  the  National  Chrysanthemum  Society’s 
exhibitions  have  the  combined  groups  of  Chrysanthemums  and  foliage 
plants  won  for  the  societies  a  reputation. 
Much  as  I  sympathise  with  the  exhibitor  of  cut  blooms,  it  is  idle  to 
disguise  the  fact  that  the  finest  exhibit  of  cut  blooms  ever  seen  fails  to 
make  a  display  equal  to  that  of  one  of  the  Hull  groups.  Visitors  to  the 
shows  of  the  Chrysanthemum  Society  of  Portsmouth,  held  in  the  huge 
Drill  Hall,  lamented  the  bareness  of  the  walls  created  by  the  paucity  of 
the  groups,  and  instances  might  easily  be  doubled,  if  it  were  necessary,  in 
favour  of  groups  as  a  means  of  embellishing  the  exhibition  buildings.  It 
would  certainly  be  advisable  if  some  societies  were  to  increase  the  value  of 
their  group  prizes,  even  at  the  expense  of  reducing  the  number  of  classes 
of  cut  blooms.  The  continued  repetition  noticeable  in  the  schedules  of 
some  societies  of  twelve  and  six  Japanese  blooms,  only  tends  to  satisfy  the 
cravings  of  exhibitors  without  adding  to  the  beauty  or  interest  of  a  show, 
'"ommittees  would  find,  by  a  judicious  cutting  up  of  these  useless  classes, 
and  a  substitution  of  others,  that  greater  interest  would  be  taken  in  the 
show  annually  by  the  contributing  visitor.  For  the  benefit  of  the  latter 
the  executive  ought  to  have  some  consideration. 
It  may  be  urged  by  those  responsible  that  anything  new  in  the  way  of 
Chrysanthemum  classes  is  difficult  to  suggest.  For  the  last  two  seasons 
the  executive  at  Hull  have  embodied  in  their  schedule  a  class  that  is  quite 
new,  and  one  that  appears  to  be  coming  popular  with  exhibitors  and 
visitors  alike.  I  allude  to  the  following  class — “A  drawing-room  mirror, 
or  panel,  group  of  Chrysanthemum  plants  interspersed  with  loliage  plants 
arranged  for  effect  in  a  space  of  9  square  feet.”  The  Society  provided 
the  mirrors,  which  were  3  feet  wide  and  7  feet  high,  and  also  stipulated 
that  the  decorations  must  in  all  respects  be  carried  out  as  if  in  a  drawing¬ 
room.  As  each  of  the  seven  competitors  arranged  their  groups  in  a 
dissimilar  manner  much  interest  was  created  in  this  one  class. 
“  W.  S.”  also  suggests  special  classes  for  blooms  of  one  colour,  but  in 
variety.  As  the  Editor  remarks,  these  special  classes,  if  I  may’  so  term 
them,  were  effectively  represented  at  AVinchester  as  well  as  at  the  N.C.S. 
November  meeting.  In  Edinburgh  not  only  do  they  have  classes  on 
similar  lines,  but  also  for  special  varieties,  six  of  each.  For  instance, 
Charles  Davis,  E.  Molyneux,  Duchess  of  York,  and  Madame  Carnot  are 
specially  catered  for.  At  Exeter  special  colours  are  provided  for  and 
interesting  results  are  obtained.  Single  varieties  are  referred  to  also  by 
“  W.  S.”  As  plants  they  are  seldom  seen  at  shows,  but  in  a  cut  state 
their  number  is  on  the  increase.  At  the  show  of  the  N.C.S.  held 
