84 
January  23,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Ctiiysantheraums  from  Australia. 
To  judge  from  varieties  now  blossoming  for  the  first  time  in 
this  country,  our  kinsmen  “  down  under  ”  appear  to  be  those  the 
most  likely  to  effect  improvements  in  our  favoured  autumn 
flower.  A  few  years  back  the  finest  of  the  novelties  came  from 
France;  then  home-raised  seedlings  partially  ousted  those  from 
that  source.  Now,  in  my  opinion,  Australie  is  a  long  way  first ; 
and  this  owing  principally  to  the  remarkable  success  of  Mr.  T.  W. 
Pockett  as  a  raiser.  This  gentleman  was  recently  in  England. 
Whether  or  not  he  saw  finer  developments  than  in  Australia  I 
hope  he  will  state,  but  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  grander  varie¬ 
ties  will  anywhere  be  found  than  his  own,  which  flower  at  the 
Earlswood  Nursery,  Redhill.  Mr.  Pockett  must  possess  remark¬ 
able  skill  as  a  hybridist,  or  the  conditions  of  Australian  weather 
are  specially  suitable  to  this  flower. 
Not  so  long  as  four  years  back  Mr.  Wells  desired  his  friend  to 
“  send  over  some  dark  ones,”  and  truly  they  are  here.  One  kind 
is  almost  black  in  its  intensity  of  maroon;  another  quite  a  blue 
shade  of  plum  colour.  The  “  Blue  Chrysanthemum,”  therefore, 
may  not  be  a  myth  so  very  long,  with  a  climate  and  a  raiser  who 
can  together  manipulate  the  shades  of  colour  so  well.  I  hope  to 
make  more  than  this  passing  reference  to  the  deep-coloured 
novelties  later  on  in  the  year,  when  they  are  tested.  At 
present  they  bear  only  marks  which  are  hardly  intelligible  to  the 
reader.  One  sort,  however,  is  named  ;  this  is  a  yellow 
Mrs.  T.  W.  Pockett, 
a  flower  of  exceptional  beauty.  The  colour  is  a  soft  and  pleasing 
shade,  the  form  most  handsome.  It  has  long  drooping  florets,  not 
unlike  those  of  the  Carnot  family.  These  build  up  a  flower 
of  extra  depth  and  width,  and  with  a  superb  -finish.  The  habit  of 
the  plant  is  dwarf,  with  leafage  like  a  well  known  kind,  Nellie 
Pockett,  and  every  bloom  opens  well.  ..The  finest  examples,  how¬ 
ever,  are  from  second  crown  buds.  This  sort  all  exhibitors  must 
have  if  they  wish  to  obtain  the  prize  for  the  premier  flower  of 
the  show.  Amateurs,  too,  must  possess  it.  because  it  is  easy  to 
grow.  Phyllis  is  another  magnificent  show  flower.  Those  who 
remember  the  variety  Robert  Owen  can  form  an  idea  what  the 
new  one  is  like  if  they  imagine  a  bloom  of  similar  incurving  shape 
and  shade  of  colour,  but  double  the  size.  The  habit  is  robust. 
This  is  from  another  Australian  raiser,  Mr.  Brunning. 
W.  R.  Church 
is  a  very  fine  variety  of  massive  and  graceful  build.  The  florets 
are  broad  and  long  and  inclined  to  reflex.  It  is  not  wanting  in 
substance,  and  it  is  of  easy  culture.  The  colour  is  rosy  crimson 
with  bronze  reverse.  It  is  dwarf,  with  capital  foliage.  Among 
the  largest  is  Matthew  Smith,  one  flower  of  which  measured  lOin 
across  as  it  was  opening  on  the  plant.  It  is  a  bronzy-yellow 
bloom,  recurving  in  shape.  This,  too,  is  easy  to  grow,  and  every 
bloom  opens  well.  C.  J.  Salter  is  a  light  yellow  of  gigantic  pro¬ 
portions,  and  a  rare  one  to  last.  Its  flowers  contain  numberless 
florets,  which  when  opening  look  like  quills,  but  they  finish  a 
bloom  of  double  form,  incurving  in  the  centre,  with  a  long,  loose 
outer  fringe,  which  hangs  down.  Nellie  Pockett  is  a  creamy 
white  bloom,  and  is  a  sort  now  well  known  and  deservedly 
popular.  So,  too,  is  Australie,  but  sports  from  the  last-named 
demand  attention,  although  Australia  cannot  claim  them ;  one, 
a  white,  having  originated  in  France,  another,,  a  pearl-pink,  being 
obtained  at  home.  The  first, 
Madame  Herrewege, 
is  very  fine,  as  the  florets  droop  considerably  more  than  they  do 
in  the  type.  This  makes  the  flowers  remarkable  in  depth.  There 
is  just  a  shade  of  green  in  the  white.  Mrs.  J.  Cleeve,  the  other 
sport  like  the  type,  is  incurving,  and  as  the  colour  is  pearl  pink 
instead  of  lilac,  as  in  Australie,  this  may  be  termed  a  decided 
gain  as  an  exhibition  flower.  The  variety  Lord  Ludlow  is  very 
fine.  It  has  every  quality  a  cultivator  could  ,  wish.  The  colour 
is  rich,  and  the  form  of  the  flower  handsome.  It  is  large,  and 
the  plant  of  first  rate  growth.  For  late-struck  cuttings  and  one 
bloom  on  a  ijlant  this  sort  is  well  adapted.  By  this  means  one  may 
obtain  magnificent  specimens.  J.  R.  Epton  is  a  valuable  kind, 
bearing  bright  yellow  flowers.  These  are  extra  large  and  grace¬ 
fully  formed,  its  only  fault  being  that  it  is  a  trifle  late  for  early 
shows.  In  the  early  stages  the  plants  are  rather  weakly,  but  as 
the  season  goes  on  they  gain  in  strength,  and  become  among  the 
strongest.  This  sort  is  now  fairly  well  known.  Oceana,  once  a 
favourite,  is  still  fine,  but  not  often  seen  at  its  be.st.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  another  old  Australian  variety.  Pride  of  Madfqrd. 
Others,  like  Ernest  Bettisworth,  C.I.V.,  rich  rosy  purple;  Milli- 
cent  Richardson,  purple  with  lilac  reverse,  are  huge  flowers  which 
will  sure  to  be  seen  in  good  condition  later.  Lady  Roberts, 
again,  is  a  variety  with  a  great  reputation.  It  is  now  only  in  its 
early  stages  of  openins,  but  the  colours,  crimson  and  yellow,  are 
especially  rich. — H.  S.,  Woking.  [These  notes  w'ere  written 
early  in  the  Chrysanthemum  season.  What  has  “  H.  S.”  to  say 
of  this  season’s  English-raised  seedlings? — Ed.] 
Godfrey’s  Winter  Queen. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  on 
Tuesday,  the  14th  inst.,  Mr.  W.  J.  Godfrey,  Exmouth  Nurseries, 
Devon,  staged  a  group  of  cut  blooms  of  this  new  Chry-santhemuiUj 
which  was  honoured  with  a  Silver  Banksian  Medal.  The  collec¬ 
tion  included  some  200  handsome  blooms,  very  large  for  so  late 
in  the  season,  full,  .solid,  fresh,  and  nearly  white.  There  is 
just  the  suspicion  of  cream  shade,  or  of  that  delightful  tint 
found  in  Mrs.  Mease  variety,  which,  by  the  way.  Winter  Queen 
resembles  in  many  points.  The  petals  have  that  graceful  curling 
form  and  droop  seen  in  Mrs.  Mease.  The  variety  is  a  seedling, 
and  comes  into  flower  about  Christmas,  remaining  good,  wdie-n 
properly  treated,  till  the  present  date.  We  can  predict  a  future 
for  it  as  a  bush  variety  for  market  growers,  and  for  private 
gardens  as  being  most  useful  in  producing  late  blooms. 
Notes  Regarding  Tuberoses. 
The  proper  name  of  this,  the  most  fragrant  of  flowers,  is 
Polianthes  tuberosa ;  but  we  must  not  confound  the  first  name 
with  our  common  Polyanthus  in  the  borders,  although  the  one 
will  readily  put  us  in  mind  of  the  other.  Whenever  you  see  anthes 
or  anthus  at  the  and  of  a  name  of  this  sort  it  means  a  flower,  and 
is  taken  from  anthe,  the  Greek  word  for  flower ;  poly  is  also  a 
Greek  word  signifying  many,  so  that  the  two  words  put  together 
will  mean — manyflowered.  But  the  fir,st  name  of  the  Tuberose  is 
spelt  differently,  and  has  a  widely  different  meaning.  It  is 
from  polls,  the  Greek  for  a  city,  and  anthe,  that  is,  “  the  city 
flower  ”  ;  because,  as  I  suppose,  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  city 
ought  to  grow'  it  every  year  for  their  tall  windows  and  staircases ! 
And.  surely,  if  they  can  manage  that  in  the  city,  we  ought  to  be 
able  to  do  it  wdiere  the  air  is  more  pure  and  healthy. 
The  first  Tuberose  that  came  to  Europe  was  a  single  flower 
from  some  of  the  more  temperate  regions  in  India ;  and  the 
double  one,  wdiich  we  now  grow'  so  extensively,  was  first  raised 
from  seeds  in  Holland — that  land  of  bulbs;  and  to  show  you  one 
of  the  great  changes  which  civilisation  brought  about,  I  may  men¬ 
tion  that  the  heavy  Dutchman  who  first  raised  this  double  Tube¬ 
rose,  was  so  selfish,  that  he  wmuld  not  part  with  any  of  the  roots 
for  many  years — not  even  after  he  had  propagated  them  in  such 
numbers  as  to  have  more  than  he  could  plant.  He  is  said  to 
have  destroyed  his  overstock  of  them,  that  he  might  have  the 
vanity  to  boast  of  being  the  only  person  in  Europe  who  was  pos¬ 
sessed  of  such  treasures!  I  would  mention  his  name,  were  I  not 
afraid  that  some  of  his  descendants  might  hear  of  the  sad  legacy 
he  thus  left  them.  Let  us,  therefore,  turn  to  a  more  pleasant 
theme. 
The  Tuberose  never  flowers  but  once  from  the  same  root,  and ' 
if  it  shoots  up  a  flow'er  stem  without  producing  any" 
flowers  at  all  it  is  just  the  same  as  if  it  had  produced 
flowers,  and  it  will  not  even  shoot  up  a  flow'er  stem  again  next 
year ; '  neither  will  the  offsets,  bulbs,  or  tubers  wdiich  are 
numerously  produced  round  the  old  root,  do  any  good  with  us  in' 
pots;  but  the  whole  must  be  thrown  away  at  the  end  of  the 
season,  and  a  fresh  lot  bought'  in  every  spring.  A  person  curious 
for  experiments,  however,  might  grow'  the  roots  in  this  country' 
so  as  to  flower  them  after  the  second  year,  as  strong  as  the  Italian 
roots — for  they  are  all  imported  annually  from  America  or 
Italy.  The  thing  has  been  done  successfully  in  England  a' 
hundred  yeai’s  since,  but  they  are  now  so  cheap  that  w'e  never 
think  of  reaidng  them  for  ourselves.  Tlie  w'ay  they  used  to  nurse  •’ 
them  in  England' w'as  by  picking  off  the  strongest  of  the  offsets 
from  the  flowering  roots  about  'the  time  of  potting  in  the  spring  ■ 
and  planting  them  bin  or  6in  apart  every  way,  on  a  slight  hotbed, 
in  light  rich  mould.  Those  wdio  had  a  Cucumber  light  to  spare, 
would,  of  course,  place  it  over  the  young  Tuberoses,  till  the  May 
frosts  W'ere  over ;  and  those  who  had  not  that  convenience  would  . 
hoop  over  the  bed  with  slender  rods,  and  cover  them  at  night' 
