14 
JOURNAL  OF  HOnriCULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
January  1,  1903. 
Chrysanthemum,  Glory  of  Devon. 
1’his  is  a  seedling  from  Madame  Carnot,  and  was  raised  at 
Exmouth.  It  is  more  robust  in  growth  than  the  parent,  and  only  a 
trifle  over  half  the  average  height  of  that  variety.  The  florets  whirl 
into  a  deep  massive  flower.  The  colour  is  amber  yellow,  sliaded  at 
the  base  with  rosy  buff  or  bronze.  It  will  range  among  the  largest. 
Hadame  E.  Roger. 
Who  is  going  to  explain  why  tliis  varietj'  was  so  unsatisfactory 
as  an  exhibition  flower  last  season  I  mean  why  slionld  tli'e 
majority  of  bloom.s  be  so  anxious  to  develop  ten  centres  instead 
of  one,  as  any  well  behaved  bloom  would  do?  I  note  fhe  result 
in  the  analysis  shows  one  solitary  vote  accorded  it.  I  feel  rather 
spiteful  towards  the  eighteen  gentlemen  who'  ignored  it,  and  very 
sympathetic  for  the  voter  who  alone  wrote  down  the  name,  for 
after  all  we  have  seen  good  blooms  of  it  in  the  pa.st,  and  its 
eolo-ur  is  most  telling  on  a  board.  I  find  that,  although  the 
exliibition  flowers  were  decidedly  below  par  this  season,  those 
grown  to  the  terminals,  either  disbudded  or  otherwi.se,  have  been 
<iu’te  sati.‘'faetory. — Mums. 
Chrysanthemum  Mrs.  E.  Thirkell  (or  Thurkell). 
Writing  to  us  on  December  24.  Mr.  W.  Wells  says  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  proper  spelling  of  the  name  of  this  variety,  that  it 
was  named  after  the  wife  of  an  amateur  grower,  who  spells  it 
Mrs.  E.  Thirkell.  Mr.  Wells  also  says: — “Our  ’Mums  are  more 
often  named  by  someone  visiting  our  nurseries,  than  they  are  by 
ourselves.  You  will  see  by  the  supplemental  list  enclosed  that  I 
have  only  named  the  three  with  an  X.  The  others  were  named 
by  visitors  or  their  friends.  “  S.  T.  Wright,”  you  knoA’ ;  W. 
Duckham  was  the  gentleman  who  staged  the  flowers  I  sent  to 
New  York  Show,  so  I  did  him  that  honour.  Respecting  Mr. 
Rockett’s  novelties,  I  get  them  and  try  them,  and  distribute 
those  I  think  good  enough  before  anyone  else  gets  them.  Mr. 
Rockett  names  a  few,  the  others  are  left  entirely  to  me.  Mr. 
Rockett  and  Messrs.  Brunnings  are  almost  neighbours,  and  great 
friends;  so  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Messrs.  Brunnings  get  his 
varieties,  but  not  until  they  have  been  distributed  by  W.  Wells 
and  Co.” 
W.  H.  liincoln  and  L.  Canning. 
These  varieties  have,  and  are,  behaving  themselves  very 
badly  with  me  this  season.  The  former  variety  has  always  a 
way  of  its  own  of  disbudding  itself,  and  gives  little  trouble  as 
a  general  rule,  especially  when  grown  to  the  terminal  buds. 
'I'he  central  bud  develops  well,  while  those  surrounding  do  not 
move  ;  but  this  .season  I  note  that  the’' central  bud  has  not  moved, 
but  instead,  we  get  a  few  of  the  minor  buds  on  each  growth 
swelling.  Now  this  variety  has  never  ser\'cd  me  in  this  way 
before,  therefore  I  do  not  think  it  is  due  to  any  serious  falling 
off  in  their  treatment.  But  I  now  ask  those  of  your  readers  w'ho 
cultivate  it  for  cut  blooms  to  send  up  their  experience  of  it  this 
season,  for  I  do  not  think  1  am  alone  in  this  matter.  Now  with 
regard  to  the  latter  variety.  There  seems  to  be  a  general  opinion 
abroad  during  the  past  few  years  that  it  is  on  the  downward  grade, 
but  I  have  never  failed  with  it  before  this  season,  for  it  has  acted 
precisely  in  the  same  way  as  W.  H.  Lincoln,  only  in  a  greater 
degree,  for  in  this  case  a  great  many  of  the  growths  appear,  and 
are  quite  blind.  I  have  always  been  under  the  impression  that 
this  failing  has  been  due  to  late  rooting  in  the  first  case,  and 
stopping  too  late  in  the  season,  in  the  second  case;  or  failing 
either  of  these  causes,  due  to  bad  treatment.  Now  I  camiot 
attribute  my  failure  to  any  of  these  reasons,  and  I  again  ask 
for  similar  experiences,  or  for  the  views  of  your  readers  as  to  its 
cause  and  avoidance  in  the  future. 
Two  Decorative  Varieties. 
An  insignificant  title  some  may  .say  in  these  times  of  multi¬ 
tudinous  names  as  applied  to  t Jirysantliemums.  The  names  of 
these  two,  however,  are  significant;  one.  Lord  Brooke,  now  better 
known — in  person — as  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  the  other,  Edwin 
Beckett,  two  names  certainly  representing  types  of  nobility  and 
intelligence.  The  former,  once  such  a  popular  show  flower,  has 
almost  lost  itself  in  obscurity  among  the  million,  but  seen  at 
the  end  of  December  there  is  something  dignified  and  striking 
in  its  stately  carriage  and  I'ichly  lined  bronzy  colour.  E.  Beckett, 
has, 'like  his  noble  companion,  lived  through  a  period  of  ever 
changing  fashion. 
A  visit  to  the  gardens  of  Leighton  House,  M’cvvf- 
bury,  Wilts,  brought  me  in  touch  with  these  tvej» 
almost  forgotten  but  deseiwing  varieties  in  splendid 
form,  and  1  felt  at  once  to  be  without  them  was  a  lo^s, 
even  though  so  many  are  available  for  decorative  purpose^. 
They  are  both  varieties  of  rare  substance,  and  furnishing  branches 
of  a  good  length  so  valued  for  house  decoration,  especially  in 
large  rooms.  Mr.  George  Bound  has  done  well  to  .stick  to  these 
old  favourites,  for  they  are  among  the  most  meritorious  I  have 
.seen  this  year  of  their  own  particular  shade.  The  last  named  is 
a  smaller  flower  of  bright  yellow  colour.  Australian  Gold  beside 
it  was  pale,  but  pleasing;  and  Khama  and  Herman  Kloss  both 
of  dark  bronzy  shades,  were  very  fine.  These  are  all  old  kinds; 
newer  ones  have  had  their  day,  served  their  purpose  as  specimen 
blooms,  and  have  departed.  They  were  admired.  These  are 
valued  because  so  fine  and  effective  late  into  the  dull  winter 
months. — W.  S. 
American  Chrysanthemums  in  England.* 
Having  been  invited  to  contribute  a  paper,  to  be  read  at  the  tii  st 
convention  of  tlie  Chrysanthemum  Society  of  America,  on  a  subject 
likely  to  interest  American  growers  of  this  popular  autumn  flower,  it 
seems  that  we  may  usefully  consider  some  of  the  facts  relating  to  the 
almost  utter  extinction  of  Amei’ican  varieties  from  our  English 
exhibitions.  It  is  remarkable  that  while  w'e  had  a  large  ninnbcr  of 
really  meritorious  American  seedlings  annually  exhibited  on  the  show 
beards  of  our  leading  exhibitions  some  few  years  ago,  there  remain 
to-day  scarcely  half  a  dozen  that  continue  to  find  favour  witli  our 
largest  growers.  There  is,  as  most  of  us  are  aware,  no  question  as 
to  the  ability  of  American  seedling  raisers  to  produce  varieties  of 
sterling  merit.  The  fact  has  been  proved  over  and  over  again,  and  is 
beyond  dispute  to  those  of  us  who  have  watched  the  progress  of  tlie 
t  'hrysanthemum  dui-ing  the  past  twenty  years. 
To  go  back  to  the  earliest  attempts  on  the  part  of  our  Americam 
friends  to  supply  European  cultivators  with  novelties,  it  is  necessary  to 
remind  this  meeting  that  one  of  the  first  Chrysanthemum  raisers  iti 
the  States  was  Dr.  Walcott,  of  Boston.  .John  Thorpe,  Mr.  Watorcr 
of  Philadelphia,  and  W.  K.  Hands  were  next  heard  of  here  as  being 
engaged  in  the  woi-k,  and  many  of  their  v'arieties  were  imported  into 
England  about  1884-5. 
I  well  remember  somewhere  about  that  date  visiting  my  old  friend. 
Norman  Davis,  then  of  Camberwell,  and  seeing  for  the  first  time  many 
of  these  American  novelties,  which  he  was  probably  the  first  to 
introduce,  and  the  interest  that  their  appearance  then  caused.  Up  to 
that  time  the  French  growers  had  enjoyed  the  sole  monopoly  for  some 
years  of  raising  new  seedling  Chrysanthemums,  as  they  appear  almost 
to  have  done  during  later  yeai-s.  Many  of  these  early  American 
varieties  being  very  distinctive  in  form,  soon  became  popular  with  our 
growers  and  figured  at  English  exhibitions  in  goodly  numbers. 
A  few  of  them  can  be  readily  recalled  to  memory — viz.,  Bieolor; 
Christmas  Eve,  Fimbriatum,  Gloriosum,  Gorgeous,  .Jessica,  Moonlight, 
Mrs.  C.  W.  JVheeler,  Mrs.  .James  R.  Pitcher,  Mrs.  Vannaman, 
Mrs.  Win.  Meneke,  Sam  Henshaw,  White  Dragon,  and  so  forth.  Of 
course,  I  am  fully  aware  that  some  precise  critics  here  at  home  Avill 
say  that  many  of  the  first  American  novelties  w^ere  really  importations 
from  .Japan,  but  that  has  little  to  .  do  wdtli  our  present  purpose,- 
inasmuch  as  xve  received  them  from  American  sources. 
Interest  having  been  excited  in  these  new  comers,  our  trade 
importers  were  not  slow’  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  to  keep  in  the 
front  they  must  each  lay  in  a  store  of  the  American  novelties  year  by 
3'ear,  and  so  in  due  course  other  Americans  were  brought  into  tlie  line 
of  expansion.  The  novelties  distributed  b^'  such  growers  as  T.  H. 
Spaulding,  Peter  Henderson  and  Son,  Fewkes  and  Son,  E.  G.  Hill, 
Nathan  Smith  and  Son,  Messrs.  Hollis,  Allen,  Surman,  Dorner. 
Pitcher  and  Manda,  .J.  C.  Vaughan,  May,  and,  for  all  I  know,  many 
more  beside  Avere  annually  added  to  the  ex’er  increasing  collections  of 
our  large  trade  grow’ers  and  importers. 
When  one  remembers  the  names  of  these  men  and  the  numerous 
seedlings  that  they  raised  and  distributed,  a  large  proportion  receiving 
recognition  of  their  merits  by  the  awards  of  first-class  certificates 
from  oirr  leading  societies,  it  is  difficult"  to  understand  the  reason  of 
their  present  non-existence  as  show  flowers.  Everyone,  of  course. 
knoAvs  that  improvement  has  been  made,  but  as  time  went  on  Amei'ican 
seedlings  did  not  remain  stationary  any  more  than  did  the  seedlings  of 
their  rivals. 
I.,et  us  recall  a  fcAv  names  extending  over  that  period  and  in  order 
of  their  appearance:  Puritan,  Beauty  of  CastleAVOod,  Coronet,  Miss 
Anna  Hartshoi’ne,  Florence  Percy,  Ifizzie  Caidledge,  Elmer  D.  Smith. 
Eda  Prass,  Col.  W.  B.  Smith,  C.  B.  Whitnall,  Mrs.  E.  D.  Adanis, 
Julius  Roehrs,  Geo.  W.  Childs,  W.  G.  Newitt,  Golding  Wedding,  ( loeal 
Gracious,  Niveus,  Mrs.  E.  G.  Hill,  Eugene  Dailledouze,  Mutual  Friend, 
Mrs.  Henry  Robinson,  Miss  Georgiana  Pitcher,  The  Egyptian,  Modesto, 
Western  King,  and  Simplicity. 
Now,  to  be  properly  understood,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  these 
and  similar  sorts  are  noAvhere  to  be  seen  in  England,  but  1  do  say 
that  these  and  many  other  equally  fine  varieties  have  been  entirely 
*  Paper  by  C.  Harman  Payne,  London,  for  the  Chrysanthemum  Society  of 
America  at  the  Chicago  Convention,  Norember  12  and  13,  190 f. 
