352 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  17,  1901. 
A  Preventive  for  Celery  Maggot. 
Having  suffered  badly  last  season  from  the  attacks  of  the 
Celery  fly,  I  have  this  season  tried  the  effect  of  spraying  the 
foliage  several  times  with  salt  water,  at  the  rate  of  an  ounce  of 
salt  to  1  gallon  of  water,  and  the  result  has  been  the  leaves  have 
been  almost  completely  free  from  the  pests. — Hantshire. 
- - 
Early-flowering  Chrysanthemums. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  Dahlia  is  the  queen  of  autumn 
flowers.  If  that  is  correct  the  Chrysanthemum  is  certainly  a 
princess  among  them.  [The  Chrysanthemum  is  more  generally 
recognised  as  the  “  Autumn  Queen.” — Ed.]  I  recently  had  the 
privilege  of  visiting  a  show  of  early  flowering  Chrysanthemums, 
held  in  the  Town  Hall,  Tamworth,  where  there  was  a  splendid 
display  of  them.  The  exhibits  were  sent  from  London,  Leicester, 
Derby,  Loughborough,  Redhill  (Surrey),  Lewisham,  and  the 
district  of  Tamworth,  the  principal  exhibitors  being  Messrs. 
William  Sydenham,  H.  J.  Jones,  W.  Wells  and  Co.,  D.  B.  Crane, 
Nadin,  Bradshaw,  Pemberton,  Scattergood,  Earp,  and  Prince. 
Mr.  W.  Sydenham  inaugurated  the  exhibition,  and  achieved 
complete  success.  I  subsequently  had  the  pleasure  of  inspecting 
and  noting  the  beautiful  varieties  in  full  flower  in  the  very 
extensive  collection  grown  by  Mr.  Sydenham,  aided  by  his 
pleasant  manager,  Mr.  Allison. 
As  early  flowering  Chrysanthemums  have  come  to  stay  with 
us,  probably  a  few  names  of  the  best  varieties  I  saw  in  Mr. 
Sydenham’s  nursery  may  be  of  service  to  the  readers  of  the 
Journal  who  intend  to  cultivate  this  easily  grown  and  useful, 
as  well  as  beautiful,  flower. 
Pompons. 
Name. 
Colour. 
Hein  Jit. 
Blanche  Colomb 
.  Creamy  white... 
... 
2 
feet 
Flora  . 
.  Golden  yellow 
2 
y  y 
Madame  E.  Lefort  ... 
.  Terra-cotta 
2± 
y  y 
Madame  Jollivart  ... 
.  AVhite . 
... 
14 
y  y 
Madame  Leoni  Lassala 
.  Creamy  white... 
24 
y  y 
Mrs.  E.  Stacy . 
.  Yellow . 
1± 
y  y 
Mr.  Selly  . 
.  Pink  . 
14 
yy 
Little  Bob  . 
.  Crimson  brown 
2 
y  y 
Toreador  . 
.  Orange  red 
... 
2 
y  y 
Large 
Name. 
Flowering  or  Decorative. 
Colour. 
Height. 
Bronze  Prince 
.  Old  gold 
3 
feet 
Crimson  Marie  Masse 
.  Crimson  bronze 
... 
3 
y  j 
Eugfene  Ferez . 
.  Crimson 
3 
y  y 
Eva  Williams . 
.  Terra-cotta 
2i 
y  y 
George  Wermig 
.  Yellow . 
2± 
y ' 
Harvest  Home 
.  Red  . 
3 
?  y 
Lady  Fitzwygram  ... 
.  White . 
2± 
yy 
Madame  C.  Desgrange 
.  White . 
2i 
j  y 
Madame  la  Comtesse  de  Cariel  ...  Terra-cotta 
2 
y  y 
Madame  Marie  Massd 
.  Lilac  mauve  ... 
3 
y  y 
Market  White 
.  White . 
2± 
y  y 
Mdlle.  Guindudeau ... 
.  Deep  pink 
3 
y  y 
Mrs.  Squire  . 
.  AVhite . 
2* 
y  y 
Queen  of  the  Earlies 
.  AVhite . 
3 
y  y 
Ralph  Curtis . 
.  Creamy  white... 
3 
y  y 
White  Grunnerwald 
.  White . 
... 
3 
y  y 
The  foregoing  constitute  the  cream  of  the 
early 
flowering 
varieties;  other  good  varieties  are  later. — James  Udale. 
Notes  on  Early  Dessert  Apples. 
The  warm  sandy  soil  on  the  reclaimed  land  here  suits  Apples 
well.  The  phosphates  it  contains,  and  the  maximum  amount  of 
sunshine  received,  add  materially  to  the  development  of  ripened 
wood  and  highly  coloured  fruit.  The  early  Apples  especially 
come  to  the  highest  perfection.  Beauty  of  Bath  is  a  strong 
grower,  rather  spreading,  and  is  a  shy  bearer  in  a  young  state. 
Fruit  small,  but  very  highly  coloured  and  attractive;  flavour 
third-rate.  August. 
Lady  Sudeley  as  a  pyramidal  tree  is  a  good  grower,  and  fruits 
early.  These  are  large,  highly  coloured,  and  attractive,  that 
sell  well.  They  form  quite  a  picture  on  the  tree,  and  are  of  fairly 
good  flavour.  August. 
Irish  Peach  is  a  fairly  good  grower,  but  shy  bearer.  Fruit 
small,  and  not  so  attractive  as  the  two  preceding  varieties ;  only 
slightly  streaked;  flavour  good.  At  local  shows  thr  variety 
generally  takes  first,  with  Lady  Sudeley,  Red  Quarrenden, 
Morland,  or  Beauty  of  Bath  coming  next. 
Morland  is  a  local  Apple,  largely  grown  in  cottage  gardens, 
coming  in  at  harvest  time,  and  is  very  good  when  picked  from 
the  tree.  It  is  of  medium  size,  greenish  yellow,  and  slightly 
streaked. 
Worcester  Pearmain  is  a  well-known  market  variety,  and  does 
well.  It  matures  early,  and  is  very  prolific.  The  fruit  is  bright 
red,  and  of  good  size,  juicy,  and  of  very  fair  flavour.  End  of 
August. 
Devonshire  Quarrenden  is  a  very  popular  South  of  England 
variety.  As  a  tree  it  is  a  good  grower,  and  very  prolific.  Fruit 
dark  red,  very  firm  flesh,  and  of  good  flavour.  August  and 
September. 
The  reputation  of  this  highly  flavoured  American  dessert 
Apple,  Washington,  reached  me,  and  I  thought  I  would  try  it. 
As  a  pyramid  on  this  warm  soil  the  tree  did  not  make  much 
growth.  It  is  now  about  3ft  high,  with  about  six  branches,  and. 
these  have  borne  about  three  dozen  beautiful  fruit  this  year, 
in  colour  resembling  the  Duchess  of  Oldenburg  ;  but  the  fruits  are 
of  firm,  solid  flesh.  The  two  previous  years  I  secured  a  few.  The 
flavour  is  delicious  ;  in  fact,  is  all  that  can  be  desired  in  an 
Apple,  and  if  it  will  stand  our  ordinary  climate  it  will  be  a 
valuable  addition  to  our  dessert  fruits.  Its  season  is  September 
and  October. — 0.  Orchard,  F.R.H.S.,  Bembridge,  Isle  of  Wight. 
A  Yisit  to  Osborne. 
Nothing  affords  me  greater  pleasure,  living  as  I  do  near  town, 
than  to  run  into  the  country.  An  excursion  ticket  recently  took 
me  to  Cowes,  then  crossing  over  the  floating  bridge,  I  wended 
my  way  to  the  Royal  Gardens,  Osborne.  At  the  entrance  gates 
I  found  Mr  .Nobbs,  the  able  gardener,  who  has  had  charge  of 
the  gardens  some  nine  years.  From  the  main  entrance  there  is 
a  lovely  drive  about  one  mile  in  length,  which  brings  you  to 
the  palace,  where,  at  the  front  entrance,  are  five  specimen 
Cedars.  We  soon  came  to  the  entrance  of  the  fine  walled-in 
kitchen  gardens.  The  wall  fruit  has  been  plentiful,  though 
Apples  and  Pears  were  scarce.  Walking  through  the  stove 
house  some  grand  and  well-coloured  Codiseums  were  observed. 
Palms  from  2ft  to  8ft  were  also  in  good  condition.  Begonia  Gloire 
de  Lorraine  is  specially  well  grown,  and  Orchids  were  all  in  good 
condition. 
Coming  now  to  the  long  lean-to  house  of  Chrysanthemums, 
about  400  are  grown  on  the  single  bud  system.  The  plants  that 
were  struck  in  April  are  about  2ft  6in  high,  and  promise  to 
furnish  good  blooms.  The  foliage  is  stout,  and  clothes  the  stems 
from  the  bottom  of  the  pots;  the  buds  are  all  well  timed.  I 
noticed  the  Japanese  Australie,  M.  L.  Renny,  Mrs.  Coombes, 
Mrs.  W.  Popham,  Mme.  Gustave  Henry,  Countess  of  Ellesmere, 
Lionel  Humphrey,  Nellie  Pockett,  Swanley  Giant,  Oceana,  H.  J. 
Jones,  Miss  A.  Byron,  E.  Molyneux,  Edith  Tabor,  W.  H.  Lees, 
Mrs.  Darby,  Mme.  Von  Andre,  Baden  Powell,  and  Mrs.  G. 
Mileliam,  and  in  the  best  possible  state.  Good  culture  has  left 
its  mark,  and  I  hope  to  see  Mr.  Nobbs  come  to  the  front  at 
Southampton  and  other  great  shows.  Great  credit  is  due  to  him 
for  the  state  the  gardens  now  appear  in.— Balham. 
Acacia  alata. 
This  pretty  Leguminous  plant  is  in  flower  at  the  present 
period,  carrying  upon  its  winged  and  tortuous  green  stems  the 
golden  yellow,  solitary  heads  of  flowers  which  prove  so  very 
attractive.  The  broad  wdngs  of  the  stems  are  distinctly 
characteristic.  As  a  plant  it  grows  with  gratifying  vigour  when 
placed  in  a  peat  and  loam  compost,  which  must  also  be  open,  free, 
and  friable.  The  species  is  probably  better  known  under  the 
name  A.  platyptera,  but  “alata,”  i.e.,  “winged,”  is  the  name 
adopted  by  the  “  Index  Kewensis.”  It  grows  in  bushy  form, 
attaining  a  height  of  2ft,  or  a  little  over.  It  was  introduced 
from  the  Swan  River  region  of  Western  Australia,  to  wdiich 
continent  the  Acacias  belong,  in  the  year  1840.  As  a  greenhouse 
plant  it  might  be  far  more  liberally  cultivated,  for,  as  we  say,  it 
is  both  very  distinctive  and  beautiful,  besides  yielding  flowers  at 
a  most  timely  season. 
- - ■ 
A  Fungus  Foray. 
The  glades  and  copses  of  Epping  Forest  were  invaded  on 
Saturday  by  naturalists  in  search  of  fungus  in  all  its  varieties,  of 
which  they  succeeded  in  discovering  170.  The  Essex  Field  Club, 
with  a  contingent  of  the  Selborne  Society  and  friends  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  raided  the  Forest  near  High  Beech,  and  in 
the  evening  gathered  the  spoil  together  on  many  tables.  Many 
of  the  species  had  not  been  found  in  the  Forest  before,  although 
the  Essex  Club  has  been  searching  for  twenty-one  years.  Dr. 
Cooke,  a  veteran  expert,  Mr.  Massee,  of  Kew,  and  Professor 
Marshall  Ward,  of  Cambridge,  discoursed  on  fungi,  Professor 
Ward  describing  the  methods  adopted  to  cultivate  fungi  in  the 
Cambridge  University  laboratory. 
