November  21,  1901.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
465 
the  borders  now — and  it  attracts  the  most  casual  observer — 
is  Salvia  horminum,  the  purplish  blue  tracts  of  this  annual 
being  very  conspicuous. 
But  all  unconsciously  we  have  gabbled  on,  and  garbled  up 
a  strange  mixture,  it  is  feared,  for,  as  an  old  Scotch  friend 
would  say,  there’s  sentiuwnt  intil’t  (too  much  perhaps),  and 
practice  intil’t  (too  little,  we  know),  and  fruit  and  flowers  and 
vegetables  intil’t,  so  no  more  with  apologies  for  it,  such  as  it 
is,  and  that  mostly  Irish. — K.,  Dublin. 
Chrysanthemums  are  one  of  the  most  prominently  specialised 
classes  of  plants  in  the  extensive  nurseries  of  Messrs.  H.  Cannell 
and  Sons,  of  Swanley,  in  Kent.  Each  year  they  are  the  intro¬ 
ducers  of  some  sterling  novelties,  and  from  what  we  saw  on 
Saturday,  the  2nd  inst.,  their  record  for  the  coming  season  will 
be  quite  equal  to  that  of  past  years.  What  they  have  appro¬ 
priately  termed  their  “  thread-petal  led  ”  varieties  do  not  figure 
so  prominently  as  last  year’s  display  led  one  to  expect,  but  we  are 
satisfied  that  they  are  still  under  trial  and  experiment.  The 
section  originated  from  the  Mrs.  Filkins’  seedlings. 
A  word  of  notice  is  due  to  the  evolution  towards  a  stellate 
(star)  type  of  single  Chrysanthemum,  which  Messrs.  Canned,  so 
far,  seem  to  have  the  monopoly  of.  There  have  been  true  star- 
formed  varieties  raised  already,  and  some  of  the  best  of  these 
bear  the  namas  Dorothy,  Edith  Sybfl  (the  latter  a  deep  bright 
yellow  and  very  effective),  Pemie  Roberts  (white  halo  around  the 
yellow  disc,  and  having  pale  mauve  edge),  Don  (a  grand  crimson- 
amaranth),  Dora  (true  star-shaped,  very  delicate  in  its  parts,  and 
coloured  a  pale  tea  tint).  The  pretty  decorative  variety  named 
Ladysmith  (rose-mauve)  is  also  commendable. 
And  now  to  describe  the  season’s  novelties  in  a  few  words. 
The  first  noticed  was  Henry  James,  an  incurving  Japanese  seed¬ 
ling  got  from  the  Antipodes,  and  in  colour  bright  golden.  The 
blooms  are  large  and  massive.  Mark  Jill  is  a  handsome  variety 
with  drooping  petals,  brownish  above  and  overlaid  with  red ;  it 
is  distinct  and  good.  Louis  Fuller  is  one  of  Calvat’s  gifts,  and 
partakes  of  the  colour  and  habit  of  the  La  Triomphante  of  past 
days;  it  is,  however,  a  great  improvement  on  the  old  flower. 
Frank  Hannaford  forms  a  very  massive  flower  of  an  incurved 
habit,  and  coloured  golden-bronze,  slightly  overlaid  with  russet, 
a  colour  difficult  to  dissect  and  describe,  yet  rich  and  grand. 
Mrs.  Harry  Emmerton  furnishes  a  fine  bloom,  and  one  that 
will  almost  certainly  displace  the  Yellow  Carnot.  It  possesses 
a  vigorous  constitution,  and  produces  handsome  blooms  of  a  soft 
canary  yellow,  with  drooping,  slightly  revolute  petals.  It  is 
decidedly  one  of  the  gems  at  Swanley.  Madame  Marie  Liger 
Ligneau  is,  we  believe,  offered  as  a  true  incurved  variety.  In 
colour  and  general  appearance  it  is  not  far  removed  from  that 
fine  Chrysanthemum  bearing  the  title  “  N.C.S.  Jubilee.”  Then 
there  is  Etoile  de  Nord,  also  from  “  our  sweet  enemy,  France.” 
It  presents  a  very  rich  Dandelion  yellow  colour,  has  exceedingly 
broad  petals  somewhat  furcate  at  the  ends,  and  disposed  to  form 
a  very  massive,  though  not  elegant,  flower-head.  M.  Paolo 
Raddaelli  brings  another  Continental  name  forward.  The  bloom 
is  that  of  an  incurving  Jap,  and  is  of  unusual  depth.  The  colour 
is  pleasing ;  very  soft,  pale  creamy- white,  and  shaded  over  with 
lilac-pink.  We  commend  this  variety  to  special  notice.  General 
Hutton,  too,  is  being  sent  out  for  the  first  time.  Growers  may 
rely  on  a  large  flower  from  this  chap,  from  what  we  can  judge 
and  the  disposal  of  the  petals  is  of  that  “  swirly  ”  character  seen 
in  very  few  varieties.  By  “  swirly  ”  we  mean  the  whirlpool  form 
the  petals  bending  rotately  sideways.  Again  we  note  Mrs.  A  C 
Milne  Redhead,  rich  crimson  above,  and  deep  old  gold  on  the 
reverse  of  the  incurving  petals.  There  are  perhaps  too  many  that 
approximate  to  this,  or  this  to  them,  to  allow  doing  more  than 
sajr  that  the  variety  is  attractive  and  will  be  serviceable.  The 
Princess  has  broad  petals,  somewhat  drooping,  and  is  all  but 
pure  white.  Jumbo  is  an  Australian  sort  of  incurving  habit 
having  a  brownish  reverse,  and  is  red  on  the  upper  surface. 
The  next  to  be  described  is  perhaps  more  beautiful  and  valu¬ 
able  than  any  of  the  foregoing,  and  its  name  is  Mrs.  Rumble 
It  is  dwarier  than  is  usual  with  Japs,  standing  2*ft  to  3ft  high 
The  constitution  is  vigorous,  but  the  colour  of  the  flower  is  the 
great  point.  This  is  soft,  satiny  rose-pink  or  rose-peach — some 
might  describe  it  as  a  silvery  apple  blossom  colour.  The  petals 
are  narrow,  slightly  revoluted,  and  droop. 
Gadding  and  Gathering. 
“Here  awa\  There  awa’." 
Notwithstanding  the  extensive  and  careful  trial  of  perennial 
Asters  that  was  made  at  Chiswick  a  few  years  ago,  everyone,  or 
nearly  all,  at  least,  agrees  that  the  nomenclature  of  the  genus  is 
radically  loose  and  unreliable — like  printers’  “  pie.”  One  trade- 
grower — Mr.  H.  J.  Jones,  of  Ryecroft  Nurseries,  Lewisham,  S.E. 
— has  made  a  start  to  grow  and  compare  as  large  a  collection  of 
species  and  varieties  from  all  obtainable  sources  as  can  be  secured, 
and  hopes  within  a  reasonable  space  of  time  to  eliminate  a  host  of 
the  synonymous  varieties  at  present  bearing  distinct  names,  and 
eventually  to  offer  a  stock  true  to  name,  or,  at  least,  as  perfect 
in  this  respect  as  things  mundane  can  be. 
Perennial  Aster*  at  Lewisham. 
By  great  efforts  Mr.  Jones  got  some  270  species  and  varieties.  A 
great  many  of  these  he  has  caused  to  be  grown  in  pots  to  test  their 
adaptability  in  this  respect,  and  to  see  what  they  promise  in  the 
way  of  improvement  under  intense,  or,  let  us  rather  say,  strict 
and  careful  culture  in  all  details.  The  collections  he  exhibited 
at  the  Drill  Hall  meetings  in  September  and  October,  and  which 
were  favourably  commented  on,  gave  hopes  of  our  having  further 
beautiful  and  interesting  displays  in  the  time  to  come. 
After  one  season’s  trial  a  great  deal  has  been  discovered  ;  more 
will  be  learnt  when  Mr.  Jones  has  matured  his  experience  and 
digested  results.  We  hope  he  may  tabulate  every  particular  and 
verify  any  doubts,  and  by  a  process  of  careful  building-up  give  to 
horticulture  and  the  devotees  thereof  the  facts  as  he  finds  them. 
From  what  I  already  have  learnt  it  is  pleasurable  to  report  that 
criticism  and  keen  observation  are,  and  have  been,  at  work. 
Mr.  Jones  has  done  grand  work  with  Chrysanthemums,  and  the 
sub-order,  the  Asteracese,  only  require  the  skilful  attention  of 
a  careful  and  experienced  hybridiser  in  order  to  produce  varieties 
with  the  florists’  desideratums,  which  are  larger  blooms,  more 
brilliant,  deeper,  and  perfectly  decided  colours,  greater  variety 
in  the  shades  of  hue,  and  the  general  qualities  of  floriferousness, 
duration,  and  usefulness  for  all  decorative  purposes. 
As  pot  subjects  they  commend  themselves,  and  the  early 
varieties  of  Aster  acris  can  be  had  by  mid-July,  and  other  species 
will  continue  the  display  till  Christmas,  according  to  the 
clemency  of  the  weather.  The  genera  included  in  Composite 
almost  all  defy  classification,  and  the  principles  put  into  use  in 
obtaining  a  reasonable  amount  of  order  at  Ryecroft  will  follow 
the  broader  and  more  apparent  characteristics  evidenced  by  the 
“  sections  ”  of  the  genus.  Thus  the  cordifolius  section  will  call 
to  mind  the  varieties  with  dark,  wiry  stems,  and  small  flowers 
numerously  borne.  Aster  Amellus  is  characterised  by  the  large 
size  of  the  flowers  and  dwarfness  of  the  plants;  the  Novse-Anglise 
sorts  have  hairy  stems  and  leaves,  and  in  height  range  between 
4ft  and  6ft,  and  so  on.  And  now  to  furnish  a  brief  selection, 
which  I  guarantee  includes  only  the  finest  varieties.  Taking  the 
cordifolius  group  first,  it  includes  Photograph,  with  a  profusion 
of  white  flowers,  and  Diana,  with  myriads  of  lavender  blossoms. 
A.c  elegans  and  A.c.  major  may  also  be  selected.  Of  the  Amellus 
varieties  the  palm  must  be  given  to  cassubicus,  latifolius,  amel- 
loides ;  Onward,  dark  blue ;  bessarabicus,  which  is  wrnll  known 
and  justly  prized;  Framfieldi,  and  Riverslea.  Novi-Belgii 
section  yields  T.  S.  Ware,  with  lavender  flowers  shaded  with  a 
pink  tone  ;  Arcturus,  bright  violet  blue  ;  Calliope,  immense  heads 
of  rich  mauve  flowers;  Harper  Crewe,  white  with  yellow  centre  ; 
Madonna,  large  white;  William  Bowman,  rich  rosy  purple  in 
colour;  Autumn  Glory  and  Apollo,  both  with  blue  flowers; 
Candida,  another  grand  white ;  Fiorina,  medium  height,  white ; 
formosissimus,  one  of  the  best  of  all,  having  enormous  violet- 
coloured  flowers  ;  Purity,  one  of  the  largest  and  best  of  all  whites  ; 
White  Spray,  long  graceful  sprays  of  creamy  flowers ;  William 
Marshall,  pale  blue ;  and  Robert  Parker,  which  is  lilac-purple. 
Theodora  resembles  William  Marshall ;  Mayi  also  approximates, 
but  is  taller.  The  foregoing  are  decidedly  meritorious,  and  there 
are  also  superbus,  Paul  Lyonnaise,  Snowflake,  and  Archer  Hind. 
Novse-Anglim  Diadem  is  a  good  purple ;  Mrs.  J.  F.  Rayner  is  the 
finest  red,  and  is  both  early  and  dwarf.  W.  Bowman,  purple,  is 
excellent,  and  others  of  a  similar  shade  include  prsecox,  Preeocite, 
and  Diadem,  already  named.  N.-A.  ruber  and  roSeus  have  both 
succeeded  admirably  in  pots. 
Other  good  varieties  noted  at  Ryecroft  were  A.  vimineus, 
which  resembles  ericoides,  being  graceful  and  feathery ; 
paniculata  laxis,  also  pretty,  and  elegant  in  form ;  puniceus,  one 
of  the  dwarfest  and  earliest;  ericoides  densiflorus,  dwarf,  dense, 
and  with  white  flowers  ;  and  A.  c.  Clio,  which  is  exceedingly  small 
and  slender.  The  varieties  found  in  greatest  duplication  were 
Perle  Lyonnaise,  Harper  Crewe,  Candida,  and  Purity.  The  diffi¬ 
culty,  of  course,  is  to  decide  which  is  the  true  type  or  variety. 
Among  others  that  were  brought  to  notice,  but  not  placed  in  any 
special  section,  were  the  lovely  new  Coombe  Fishacre,  with  flesh- 
coloured  flowers  very  distinct,  and  certainly  one  of  the  best  Asters 
that  can  be  chosen.  A.  Tradescanti  bears  long  graceful  sprays  of 
small  white  flowers,  and  umbellatus  has  very  large  and  handsome 
heads. — Wandering  Willie. 
