18 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  2,  1902. 
Late  dirisanthemums. 
As  you  were  unable  to  give  me  a  call  at  the  Chrysanthemum 
time  lately,  I  have  sent  you  a  i^hotograph  my  son  took  of 
the  same.  They  have  come  out  very  well.  Reading  in  the 
Journal  last  week  the  article  from  “An  Old  Contributor,”  I 
notice  he  mentions  the  different  sorts  of  Chrysanthemums  he  has 
in  bloom  at  the  present  time,  and  he  says  he  has  a  number  that 
will  not  flower  till  January.  Would  he  kindly  oblige  your 
readers  as  to  the  sorts  those  are? — G.  R.  Peerless.  [We  trust 
he  will. — Ed.] 
Rosariaos  v.  Chrysanihemists. 
I  do  not  know  to  wdiom  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of  the 
Journal  of  December  19,  sent  to  me  by  post  to  my ‘old  address  a 
few  days  ago. _  In  it  the  chairman  of  the  dinner  of  the  National 
Rose  Society  is  said  to  have  observed  the  report  of  Mr.  Harman 
Payne’s  speech  in  the  Journal  of  Horficulfurr,  where  he  stated 
that  the  Rose  Society  was  chiefly  composed  of  old  spinsters  and 
country  parsons. 
I  have  referred  to  that  report,  and  find;  as  might  be  expected, 
that  in  the  process  of  necessary  condensation  my  speech  at  the 
N.C.S.  annual  dinner  has  been  shorn  of  its  humour,  and  nothing 
but  a  few  dry  bones  left.  In  two  places  it  is  not  verbally  correct, 
nor  in  the  order  in  which  it  was  delivered.  Perhaps  you  will 
allow  me  to  assure  the  chairman  of  the  N.R.S.  dinner  that  I  never 
mentioned  that  Society  in  my  speech,  and  consequently  never 
said  that  it  was  composed  of  old  spinsters  and  country  clergymen. 
I  know  absolutely  nothing  of  the  composition  of  the  N.R.S. ,  hut 
I  do  know  what  I  said  concerning  the  popularity  of  the  Rose  and 
the  Chrysanthemum.  To  your  correspondent,  who  indulges  in 
personalities  under  the  shelter  of  a  nom  de  plume,  and  who  has 
not  even  inquired  whether  the  person  he  attacks  is  correctly  re¬ 
ported,  I  have  only  to  say  that  it  is  not  usual  to  enter  into  dis¬ 
cussions  in  the  public  jM'ess  with  such  anonymous  correspondents. 
— C.  Harman  Payne. 
[Even  though  condensed,  we  had  thought  enough  of  Mr. 
Payne’s  speech  at  the  N.C.S.  annual  dinner  was  reported  to  con¬ 
vey  the  impression  of  humour  which  is  always  present  with  him. 
Our  reporter  is  assured  of  the  correctness  of  his  report  of  Mr. 
Payne’s  expressed  sentiments,  even  though  the  words  he  used 
were  not  printed  literally  as  spoken.  Furthermore,  at  the 
dinner  of  the  National  Rose  Society  our  reporter’s  statements 
were  corroborated  by  another  gentleman  who  had  tlie  better 
advantage  of  hearing  Mr.  Harman  Payne  by  being  nearer  him. 
We  do  not  necessarily  identify  ourselves  with  (or  against)  the 
opinions  of  the  persons  whose  speeches  we  correctly  report ;  nor 
with  correspondents  who  may  take  exception  to  statements  con¬ 
tained  in  these  speeches. — Ed.] 
Mr.  Wm.  Melville:  An  Appreciation. 
The  brief  paragraph  in  the  Jouimal  of  December  12  regarding 
the  retirement  from  active  duties  of  Mr.  William  Melville,  Glen- 
lee,  awakened  memories  which  had  been  semi-dormant  for  some 
time,  and  I  was  carried  back  in  thought  for  a  period  of  nineteen 
years  to  the  time  I  spent  under  him  in  the  gardens  at  Glenlee. 
Vv  ell  do  I  remember  the  long  drive  up  the  banks  of  Loch  Ken 
from  the  railway  station  that  dark,  cold  November  day,  and  the 
hearty  welcome  and  cheering  cup  with  which  I  was  received. 
The  year  passed  by  quickly  and  uneventfully,  yet  there  w'as 
much  that  happened  in  that  brief  year,  much  that  was  learned 
which  has  proved  helpful  in  my^  career  since.  Thirty- nine  years 
of  faithful  service  is  .somethin'-  to  be  proud  of  and  fain  would  we 
add  qur  little  mite  of  gratitude  to  the  great  total  at  this 
auspicious  time. 
Although  of  late  .years  Mr.  Melville’s  name  has  not  appeared 
amongst  the  champions  at  our  great  shows,  it  was  not  always  so, 
If  we  go-  away  back  into  the  seventies  we  find  his  name  amono^st 
the  most  noted  Grace  growers  of  the  day.  The  Glenlee  Grapes, 
both  for  quality  and  weight  of  bunch,  were  considered  no  mean 
opponents. 
International  Show  held  at  Edinburgh  in  1869 
we  find  Mr.  Melville  taking  his  position  amongst  the  prizewinners. 
notably  for  Black  Alicante  and  heaviest  white,  in  which  latter 
he  occupies  second  place,  the  late  Mr.  James  Dickson,  his  friend 
and  mine,  occupying  the  premier  place.  There  grew  in  the  con¬ 
servatory  at  Glenlee  the  finest  pfant  of  Lapageria  alba  that  it 
has  ever  been  m.y  fortune  to  see.  It  was  planted  by  Mr.  Melville 
some  years  before  I  went,  in  a  carefully  prepared  border,  and  was 
yearly  making  splendid  growths,  which  flowered  most  profusely. 
Another  thing  I  .saw  at  Glenlee  which  I  have  never  come 
across  again  was  a  huge  plant  of  Passiflora  edulisj  which  bore 
abundance  of  its  egg-shaped  fruits,  the  flavour  of  which,  however, 
did  not  suit  my  palate.  Many  other  things  that  little  para¬ 
graph  brought  back  to  my  memory,  especially  three  tricky  boys, 
no  longer  bo.ys  now,  so  the  least  said  on  this  subject  the  better. 
I  trust,  however,  that  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Melville  may  be  long 
sjiared  together  to  enjoy  their  well-earned  rest,  and  pray  that 
the  Giver  of  all  Good  may  bless  the  evening  of  their  days,  and 
that  “  at  evening  time  it  may  be  light,”  is  the  heartfelt  wish  of — 
Albyn. 
“Hardy”  Fruit  Grown  Under  Glass. 
The  above  title,  under  which  Mr.  Thurstan  has  something  to 
say  of  an  exhibit  at  the  recent  Ipswich  horticultural  show,  entices 
me  to  add  a  line  or  two.  Firstly,  the  Ipswich  schedule  says  the 
judging  will  be  according  to  the  1899  Code  of  Rules,  R.H.S., 
which  ought  to  be  plain  enough  to  anyone,  that  indoor-grown 
fruit  would  not  be  allowed.  Secondly,  as  I  had  the  best  dish  of 
kitchen  and  best  dish  of  dessert  Pears  in  the  show,  I  feel  sure 
my  Pears  are  among  those  alluded  to  in  the  paragraph  on  page 
542.  If  so,  the  writer  is  mistaken,  as,  although  I  have  an  orchard 
house,  I  have  not  a  single  Pear  tree  in  a  pot,  and  have  not  grown 
any  in  pots  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  Personally,  I  do  not  believe 
there  was  a  dish  of  Apples  or  Pears  in  the  show  that  had  the 
benefit  of  help  under  glass.  All  the  fruit  I  staged  was  grown  on 
cordons  and  pvramid  trees  outdoors. 
Would  it  not  have  been  better  if  Mr.  Thurstan  had  ascer¬ 
tained  the  facts  before  rushing  into  print  ?  Gossip  may  have  been 
rife,  as  a  local  gardener  congratulated  me  on  my  beautiful  Pears, 
and  said,  “Of  course,  they  were  grown  under  glass,?  ”  He  was 
taken  aback  when  I  told  him  they  were  grown  entirely  outdoors, 
and  he  said  he  had  been  given  to  understand  I  grew  them  in 
potvs  in  an  Orchard  House.  Hence  my  reasons  for  thinking  it 
gossip.  The  fruits  I  exhibited  are  all  used,  or  I  would  have  sent 
you  specimens  of  them  to  show  they  can  be  grown  large  without 
the  aid  of  pots  and  glass — the  pap-boat  I  leave  alone. 
Perhaps  the  disheartened  ones  will  reap  the  benefit  of  that. 
I  am  sending  a  specimen  of  Pear,  Uvedale’s  St.  Germain,  off  a 
cordon  carrying  nineteen  fruits.  The  majority  were  larger  than 
this  specimen,  the  heaviest  being  21b  2oz.  Tlie  other  specimen 
is  of  Beurre  Diel,  off  a  cordon  carrying  twenty-eight  fruits.  So 
much  for  thinning  to  four  fruits  on  a  tree. — F.  H.  Kettle. 
[The  specimen  Pears  sent  by  Mr.  Kenty  were  large  for  their 
kind,  and  altogether  highly  creditable.  Judging  from  their 
appearance,  we  do  not  think  they  had  been  nursed  under  glass. 
The  Beurre  Diel  was  luscious  and  highly  coloured.  The  Ipswich 
men  must  just  cultivate  more  painstakingly,  and  beat  Mr.  Kenty 
on  the  next  occasion.] 
Iris  tectorum. 
A  recent  paragraph  in  the  Journal  regarding  Iris  tectorum, 
as  grown  in  the  United  States,  would  attract  the  attention  of 
some  readers  interested  in  the  family  to  the  possibility  of  grow¬ 
ing  this  very  pretty  Iris  in  this  country.  There  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  be  cultivated,  and,  in  fact,  it  is  grown  here, 
though  only  in  a  few  places.  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  it  was 
offered  in  a  few  catalogues  of  those  who  make  a  speciality  of 
hardy  flowers,  although  it  was  introduced  into  Britain  in  1874. 
It  has  been  in  my  garden  for  several  years  now,  and'  I  think 
that  I  spoke  of  it  once  in  the  course  of  my  “Hardy  Flower  Notes.” 
It  is,  however,  such  a  pretty  Iris  that  it  deserves  another  notice, 
with  some  remarks  upon  its  cultivation,  as  one  has  found  it  here. 
The  plant  itself  has  been  one  for  which  I  have  had  a  special 
fancy  from  having  read  of  the  way  in  which  it  was  grown  on 
the  roofs  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  houses.  I  suppose  that  most 
of  us  thought  that  the  natives  of  these  countries  were  of 
jesthetic  tastes,  and  grew  this  Iris  for  its  beauty  alone.  How¬ 
ever,  if  we  thought  this,  Mr.  Peter  Barr  has  disillusioned  u^, 
far  it  appears  from  what  he  says  that  it  is  principally  for  its 
utilitarian  qualities  that  Iris  tectorum  occupies  such  a  promi¬ 
nent  place  on  the  houses  of  Japan.  It  seems  that  it  helps  to 
bind  the  thatch  of  the  roof  together,  and  to  form  a  firm  and 
permanent  ridging.  Although  this  rather  lowers  our  impression 
of  the  love  for  flowers  of  these  peoples  of  the  East,  it  need  not 
lower  our  opinion  of  the  beauty  of  the  plant  itself,  or  make  us 
