January  9,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
39 
Correction. 
On  page  18,  last  week,  in  an  editorial  footnote  to  Mr.  Kettle’s 
letter  on  “  ‘  Hardy  ’  Fruit  Grown  under  Glass,”  corrections  were 
not  made  in  the  name  “  Kenty,”  which  was  the  form  we 
deciphered  from  Mr.  Kettle’s  first  letter,  where  his  signature 
was  anything  but  clear  to  read.  One  correction  was  made,  but 
three  were  required. 
Late  Chrysantiiemums. 
Your  correspondent,  Mr.  G.  R.  Peerless,  asks,  on  page  18,  for 
a  list  of  varieties  that  will  flower  during  January.  He  will  find 
that  many  of  the  varieties  mentioned  in  my  previous  notes,  on 
page  557,  last  volume,  will  flower  during  the  present  month.  I 
have  still  in  good  condition,  amongst  others,  Princess  Victoria, 
and  its  yellow  sport;  W.  H.  Whitehouse,  a  beautiful  rosy  purple, 
now  just  opening  in  sprays,  but  it  is  tall ;  Mrs.  J.  Bryant,  deep 
rosy  pink,  in  terminal  sprays;  Madame  Von  Andre,  pale  yellow; 
this  has  to  be  disbudded  to  single  flowers  and  the  number 
limited,  then  it  is  beautiful.  I  have  a  number  of  this  variety 
in  5in-pots,  carrying  six  to  eight  blooms  each.  Le  Moucherotte, 
orange ;  Florence  Molyneux  will  be  beautiful,  too,  throughout 
the  month,  but  it  is  at  least  8ft  high,  and  opening  its  buds  well 
in  sprays.  George  Seward,  bronzy  yellow,  a  good  variety  for  late 
work;  the  stems  will  only  open  one  flower.  Mr.  J.  Cutts,  pink; 
Mrs.  W.  Seward,  reddish  bronze  on  terminals,  single  flowers 
only;  John  Bridgeman,  a  good  pink,  but  tall:  Mrs.  E.  W. 
Clarke,  claret,  will  be  good  for  weeks  yet ;  and  Tuxedo,  orange 
yellow.  All  these  varieties  could,  with  proper  management,  be 
had  to  flower  later  still,  especially  if  grown  in  greenhouses  from 
which  the  frost  is  just  kept  out.  I  must  not  forget  to  mention 
the  Carey  family,  in  white,  pink,  and  yellow.  These  are  not  to 
be  despised  during  January  and  February,  for  although  the 
flowers  are  rather  thin,  when  fully  developed  the  florets  fold 
over  and  cover  the  large  eye,  so  conspicuous  when  they  are  open¬ 
ing.  There  are  many  of  the  other  late  kinds  that  would  be  very 
useful  at  this  season  if  they  were  only  grown  to  the  terminal 
buds,  and  I  have  several  in  mind  for  next  season.— An  Old 
CONTKIBUTOB. 
- - 
American  Chrysanthemums. 
“  A  storm  in  a  teacup  ”  would  best  describe  the  comments  of 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Totty  in  the  American  “  Florists’  Exekange,”  and 
as  quoted  on  page  8  of  the  Journal.  The  Editor  of  one  of  your 
contemporaries  drew  attention  to  two  American  varieties — viz.. 
Col.  D.  Appleton  and  Timothy  Eaton  (yellow  and  white),  as  cham¬ 
pions  not  to  be  beaten  in  their  respective  colours  (in  America), 
and  adding :  “  Have  our  growers  secured  these  varieties  ?  Sys¬ 
tems  of  culture  vary,  and  also  ideas  as  to  what  constitutes  a 
perfect  flower,  but  the  pair  above  mentioned  should  be  worth  a 
trial.  My  reply  was  ‘  that  the  first-named  I  have  grown  for  two 
seasons,  and  it  has  little  to  recommend  it.  A  moderate  sized 
bloom  of  fair  colour,  with  short  petals,  globiflar  in  form,  but 
much  too  stiff  and  lumpy  to  recommend  itself  in  this  country.  I 
do  not  consider  it  worth  cataloguing.’ 
“  Timothy  Eaton  has  only  been  tried  one  season,  but  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  judge  a  variety  grown  from  the  small  plants 
imported.  It  is  of  tall  and  ungainly  growth,  and  from  our  point 
of  excellence  has  little  to  recommend  its  cultivation  in  England. 
Our  cousins  across  the  way  seem  to  be  a  long  way  behind  in 
raising  good  varieties;  not  one  out  of  twenty  is  worth  cata¬ 
loguing.” 
Now,  I  am  sure  that  growers  in  this  country  cannot  be  charged 
with  “  insular  prejudice  ”  in  any  shape  or  form.  I  know  of  no 
one  “who  cares  a  pin”  from  whence  a  variety  is  derived,  so  long 
as  it  is  good.  No  one  has  ever  objected  to  be  supplied  with  a 
variety  because  it  was  American,  or  Continental.  As  a  specialist, 
I  can  only  say  that  I  have  obtained  from  America — giving  the 
most  important  growers  a  free  hand  to  send  whatever  they  con¬ 
sider  the  best — many  more  varieties  than  I  have  ever  sent  to 
that  country ;  and  when  I  had  discovered  a  good  one,  did  my  best 
to  make  it  known  here.  That  popular  variety,  “  Our  Mutual 
Friend,”  although  of  no  account  in  its  native  land,  was  one_  of 
my  first  “  finds  ” ;  and  since  then  I  think  I  can  claiin  for  having 
shown  in  good  form  more  of  the  American  good  varieties  than  any 
other  grower  in  this  country. 
Our  “  cousins’  ”  idea  of  excellence  is  a  flower  of  globular  form, 
with  incurving  florets  (generally),  sitting  with  a  short  neck,  or 
peduncle,  on  good  foliage.  It  must  have  a  short  neck  and  the 
foliage  come  well  up  under  the  bloom,  or  the  best  of  flowers  are 
“  passed.”  Strange  to  tell,  the  Americans  are  now  going  in  for 
exhibiting  on  the  green  board,  in  spit-e  of  the  “  deadly  mono¬ 
tony.”  Would  Mr.  C.  H.  Totty  be  surprised  to  learn  that  of 
the  many  hundreds  of  blooms  I  have  shown  this  season,  not  one 
has  been  staged  on  “boards,”  but  mainly  in  vases? — W.  J. 
Godfrey,  Exmouth. 
- - - 
Reaaing. 
In  your  issue  of  December  26,  last  volume,  a  very  able  article 
appears  under  the  above  heading.  Permit  me  to  add  my  testi¬ 
mony  to  the  value  of  reading,  which,  alas !  does  not  engage  the 
attention  of  many  of  our  young  men  in  gardens  in  these  days. 
As  one  who  spent  a  good  many  years  in  bothies  at  both  sides  of 
St.  George’s  Channel,  I  must  confess  that  too  much  time  is  taken 
up  with  passing  things,  in  some  cases,  as  card  playing  and 
dancing.  Whilst  not  objecting  to  healthy  and  innocent  amuse¬ 
ment,  I  fail  to  see  what  either  of  these  can  do  for  to  help  us  in 
the  battle  of  life.  Are  there  not  many,  amongst  our  young  men, 
who  have  the  Book  of  Books  in  their  box,  placed  there,  perhaps, 
by  the  hands  of  a  loving  mother,  who,  on  parting,  besought  her 
son  te  read  it  daily  ?  Might  I,  as  one  who  can  look  back  on 
many  years  of  my  life  with  regret,  entreat  you  young  men  to 
take  that  Book  from  its  hiding  place,  and  looking  to  the  Great 
Creator  for  guidance,  make  it  your  chief  study  ?  Young  gar¬ 
deners  of  to-day,  who  may  be  the  head  gardeners  of  to-morrow, 
I  ask  you  on  this,  the  beginning  of  another  yeai’,  to  choose  good 
books  as  your  guides.  Those  of  us  who  are  elders,  and  placed  in 
positions  of  trust,  may  we,  both  by  precept  and  example,  guide 
and  encourage  those  who  are  our  assistants.  Many  a  fine  young 
life  is  blighted  from  the  effects  of  a  bad  example.  I  wish  all 
readers  of  the  Journal  a  truly  Happy  New  Year.- — Robert 
Russell,  Marlay,  co.  Dublin. 
L  Dg-lailed  Tits. 
It  was  my  delighted  pleasure  a  few  days  ago  to  watch  some 
long-tailed  tits,  apparently  feeding  on  a  Hawthorn  hedge.  It 
required  great  caution  to  obtain  a  close  inspection,  but  their 
movements  were  so  very  quick  and  eccentric  that  I  really  learned 
notliing  as  to  what  they  were  doing.  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
perhaps  it  was  the  buds  they  were  attacking.  One  bird  was  also 
just  as  busy  as  the  rest,  and  this  one  was  on  an  Elm  of  small 
size.  But  in  endeavouring  to  see  all  to  be  seen  I  made  a  false  step, 
and  they  all  flew  away.  The  birds  are  rather  rare  in  this  part  of 
Kent,  I  think — at  least,  they  are  to  me,  for  I  have  seen  very  few 
of  them,  and  then  it  has  chiefly  been  in  the  winter.  If  I  am  not 
asking  too  much  of  your  generosity,  perhaps,  sir,  you  may  find 
room  in  the  pages  of  “  our  Journal”  to  tell  me  what  these  pretty 
birds  feed  on,  especially  in  the  winter  months. 
I  now  take  the  opportunity  to  thank  you  and  your  correspon¬ 
dents  for  the  useful  and  interesting  information  that  has  been 
collected  concerning  the  question  raised  by  me — i.e.,  “The  rais¬ 
ing  of  Araucaria  imbricata  from  home-saved  seeds.”  Allow  me 
also  to  wish  you  and  the  paper  you  so  ably  manage,  and  all  con¬ 
nected,  a  Happy  and  Prosperous  New  Year,  and  may  ,“  our 
Journal”  long  continue  in  such  able  hands  is  the  sincere  wish  of 
yours  very  truly — H.  R.,  Kent. 
The  Price  of  Grapis. 
It  so  happened  that  the  very  day  on  which  I  read  a  note  on 
the  price  of  Grapes  in  one  of  your  contemporaries,  I  myself  had 
been  studying  the  prices  of  Grapes  in  Covent  Garden  (Central 
Row),  Strand,  and  Regent  Street.  In  the  best  shops  there  I 
found  Alicantes  selling  at  2s.  and  2s.  6d.  per  lb  ;  Gros  Colmans  at 
3s.  per  lb  ;  and  the  best  English  Muscats  were  ticketed  at  7s. 
per  lb.  Black  Hamburghs  of  second  quality  fetched  Is.  a  lb.  The 
writer  of  the  note  I  refer  to,  in  part  of  his  letter,  says .  Irith 
prices  quoted  at  from  9d.  to  Is.  6d.  per  lb,  it  seems  difficult  to 
understand  how  they  [the  growers]  can  make  any  profit.  It 
seems  not  to  be  many  years  since  Grapes  produced  double,  and 
even  treble,  the  prices  now  quoted.  What  causes  l^Ye  led  to  this 
remarkable  reduction?  Is  there  less  demand  for  Gi apes.  Ihat 
hardly  seems  probable.  Are  consumers  less  able  to  purchase 
now  ?  That,  again,  seems  unlikely.  Are  Grapes  produced  in 
greater  abundance  than  seems  requisite  ?  That  is  not  iinprolmble. 
Are  there  too  many  inferior  Grapes  put  into  the  market?  Idat. 
too,  seems  probable.  Very  likely  some  will  attribute  the  lowered 
prices  to  the  vast  importations  of  Spanish  Grapes  seen  on  every 
hand,  and  because  of  the  general  excellence  of  the  samples  fur¬ 
nished  and  their  relative  cheapness.  That  may  be  an  important 
factor  in  the  reduction.  Still,  the  best  of  these,  good  as  they  are, 
cannot  compare  in  excellent  with  moderately  good 
Alicantes  grown  at  home.  There  is  also  to  be  considered  the  wide 
supply  of  various  other  fruits  furnished  in  the  autumn  and 
winter.”  I  venture  to  think  that  the  London  shop  prices  have 
not  been  noted  by  this  writer.  D. 
