December  23,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
51)1 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
If  you  wish  to  know  which  are  the  best  NOVELTIES 
for  1898,  write  for  Catalogue  to 
J.  R.  PEARSON  &  SONS, 
CHILWELL  NURSERIES,  NOTTS. 
ALL  THE  LEADING  VARIETIES  IN 
Standards,  Half-Standards,  Dwarfs,  Climbers, 
ALSO  IN  POTS. 
OF  SVF&RX.ATXVE  QVAX.ZTXES. 
Priced  Catalogues  Post  Free. 
DICKSONS  Nurseries,  CHESTE!l 
CLEAN  HEALTHY  PLANTS  AT  LOW  PRICES. 
Always  worth  a  visit  of  inspection.  Kindly  send  for  Catalogue. 
Exotic  Nurseries,  CHELTENHAM. 
Malmaison  Carnation. 
Thousamls  of  plants  in  the  finest  health  and  vigour 
possible,  in  4-inch  pots,  6/-  per  dozen. 
W.  HARDY  &  SONS,  HOLMES  CHAPEL,  CHESHIRE. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS! 
All  the  New  and  Choicest  Varieties. 
C  AX.  VAT’S  M-OVEXiTISS  FOR  1897, 
YEI.X.OW  IMCARalVIE  C  ARirOT,  &.C. 
Strong  Plants  and  Cuttings  at  moderate  prices.  Full 
Catalogue  Post  Free. 
^KUR.SER  r!  "  IPSWICH. 
R.  C.  NOTCDTT, 
“FINEST  APPLE  CN  EARTH.” 
Do  you  want  the  Finest  Marketins*  and 
Culinary  Apple  in  Cultivation  ? 
TRY  MERRYWEATHER, 
And  write  for  his  “  Remark.s  on  Profitable  Emit  Growing,  ” 
containing  account  of  the  “Finest  Apple  on  Earth,” 
“BRAMLEY’S  SEEDLING,” 
Which  has  Rivals,  hut  no  Equal.  Same  price  as  inferior 
kinds,  hearing  no  comparison  for  weight  of  fruit  or  quality. 
SEND  FOE  MY  FULL  DESCRIPTIVE  LIST. 
Also  of  Herbaceous  Plants,  Ro.se  Trees,  Emit  Trees, 
Shrubs,  &c. ,  forwarded  free  on  application  to 
HENRY  MERRYWEATHER, 
Tbe  Iffurserles,  SOVTHWEX.X.,  XTOTTS. 
Greenhouse  sale.- Half  Price.  Ofe  Season. 
7  by  5,  28/6,  38/6  ;  10  bv  6,  42/-,  50/- ;  14  by  6,  62/6,  65/-; 
10  by  8,  52/6,  58/6  ;  14  by  10,  75/-,  87/6  ;  20  by  10,  95/-,  £5  10/-. 
Frames,  8/9,  i4/6,  22/6.  Fowl  House.s,  8/9,  10/9,  i4/6. 
Approval.— HYPOLITE,  DEPTFORD. 
PURE  WOOD  CHARCOAL,  Specially  Prepared 
for  Horticultural  use.  Extract  from  the  Jourtial  of 
Horticulture :  “  Charcoal  is  invaluable  as  a  manurial  agent ; 
each  little  piece  is  a  pantry  full  of  the  good  things  of  this 
life.  There  is  no  cultivated  plant  which  is  not  benetited  by 
having  Charcoal  applied  to  the  .soil  in  which  it  is  rooted.  ” 
Apply  for  Pamphlet  and  Prices  to  the  ]Mannfact\irer.s — 
HIRST,  BROOKE  &  HIRST,  Ltd.,  Leeds. 
PROFITABLE  FRUIT  GROWING  FOR 
COTTAGERS  and  SMALL  HOLDERS  of  LAND. 
The  Gold  Medal  Prize  Essay.  By  J.  IVright.  IVritten 
for  the  Worshipful  Company  of  'Fruiterers.  Demy  8vo, 
price  1/- ;  free  by  post,  1/3. 
.Journal  of  Horticulture  Office,  171,  Fleet  Street,  E.C. 
Greenhouses  from  £3  s/-,  vineries, 
CONSERVATORIES,  well-made  FRAMES,  painte(l 
or  glazed,  from  21/-.  Illustrated  Price  Lists  free.  Maker 
TO  H.M.  the  Queen  and  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
POTTER,  HAWTHORN  &  CO.,  Manufacturers, 
London  IVoRKS,  Reading.  (Name  Paper.) 
No.  913.— VoL.  XXXV.,  Third  Series. 
Hanual  of  • 
Horticulture 
For  1L&&&9 
200  eOARTO  PAGES,  ILLOSTRATED, 
Should  be  possessed  by  every  Amateur 
and  Gardener  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
Containing  tte  lowest  prices  and  full  descriptive 
details  of  nearly  every  Plant,  Seed,  or  Bulb 
desirable  for  the  Garden,  with  most  carefully 
compiled  Cultural  Information,  and  a  particularly 
full  account  of  the  best  Hardy  Perennial  Plants, 
with  particulars  of 
THE  KELIAY  MEDALS 
FOR 
HARDY  PERENNIALS 
Which  are  to  be  offered  in  1898. 
STRONG  PLANTS  are  being  supplied  at  greatly 
reduced  prices  under  new  and  advantageous 
conditions. 
THE  MANUAL  is  free  to  Customers,  1/-  (which 
does  not  cover  the  cost  or  represent  its  value) 
to  others  i  the  Shilling  refunded  on  an  order 
resulting. 
Write  at  once  to  secure  a  Copy,  as  the 
1897  Edition  was  quickly  exhausted. 
KELWAY  &  SON, 
The  Royal  Seed  and  Plant  Establishment, 
LANGPORT,  SOMERSET. 
Jaui|ii;il  of  ^oifmtttiii|C. 
THURSDAY,  DECEMBER  23,  1897. 
THE  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  can  be  obtained 
from  the  Offiee,  171,  Fleet  St.,  London,  post  free  for  a 
Quarter,  3/9.  Editorial  communications  must  be 
addressed  to  8,  Rose  Hill  Rd.,  Wandsworth,  S.W. 
CHRISTMAS  THOUGHTS  AND 
I  S  II  E  S. 
WHEN  these  lines  appear  in  print  the  grand 
old  season  of  Christmas  will  be  close  upon 
us — a  time  Avhen  old  and  young  alike  shake  off,  as 
best  they  can,  the  cares  of  daily  life,  and  join  each 
other  in  such  mirth  as  inclination  or  surround¬ 
ing  circumstances  allow.  Friends  arid  relatives 
from  far  and  near  will  gather  once  more  around 
tlie  festive  board  to  enjoy  tlie  good  things  of  the 
world,  to  crack  their  jokes,  to  talk  of  days  that  are 
gone,  of  Ilians  and  prospects  for  the  future,  and  in 
some  cases  to  note  with  sadness  the  “  vacant  chair,” 
which  will  ne’er  again  be  filled  with  the  old 
familiar  face  and  form. 
Gardeners  are  a  social  class,  and  enjoy  as  well  as 
any  the  pleasures  we  all  look  for  at  Cliri^tmastide, 
and  when  a  few  “  choice  spirits  ” — who  practise 
the  “  gen'le  art”  — happen  to  meet  iu  a  promiscuous 
wiy,  for  hearty  gi’C' tings  and  harmless  joviality,  I 
would  fearlessly  pit  them  against  the  “best”  that 
any  other  calling  can  ])roduce.  Ganleneis  in  re- 
spon-ible  positions  are  not  as  a  rule  given  to 
wandering  lar  fur  the  sake  of  nuTO  pleasme;  their 
work  may  iu  a  sense  he  said  to  occupy  their  whole 
life,  inasmuch  as  their  thoughts  are  seldom  sepa¬ 
rated  from  it  for  any  hmgth  of  time.  We  all  know 
it  has  become  a  proverb  that  a  gardener’s  idea  of  a 
holiday  is  to  go  and  see  the  garden  of  some 
brother  of  the  craft — as  long  as  it  entails  a  fair 
amount  of  travelling.  In  truth,  there  are  many 
reasons  why  a  gardener  should  never  he  happier 
than  Avhen  in  a  garden ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  good 
for  all  to  sometimes  have  a  change,  if  only  to  help 
them  to  appreciate  more  fully  the  pleasures  of  their 
home  life  when  they  return  to  it. 
The  competition  of  modern  times  has  been  felt 
by  gardeners  as  much  as  by  any  class,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  it  becomes  each  year  more 
and  more  a  matter  of  the  “  survival  of  the  fittest,” 
which  shows  the  absolute  necessity  of  being  well 
equipped  with  a  sound  technical  as  well  as  practical 
knowledge.  The  great  facilities  for  obtaining  such 
knowledge  at  the  present  time  are  so  pronounced, 
that  no  one  can  be  excused  for  not  taking  advantage 
of  them.  The  various  horticultural  journals  each 
week  supply  a  mass  of  information,  which  deals 
No.  -2569.— VOL.  XCYII.,  Old  Serie.s. 
