January  15,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
49 
Williams’  Early  Prolific  Bean. 
To  anyone  requiring  a  good  Bean  for  forcing,  they  cannot  do 
better  than  give  Williams’  Early  Prolific  a  trial.  Having  last 
season  tried  it  for  the  above  purpose,  I  can  strongly  recommend 
it.  It  is  a  heavy  cropper,  and  a  good  grower;  turning  in  very 
«j[uick  from  time  of  sowing.  The  pod  has  a  curious  purple 
mottling ;  but  it  in  no  way  goes  against  it  when  cooked,  as 
might  be  supposed. — T.  W.  C. 
- - 
Lincoln  and  Canning  Chrysantliemums. 
Unlike  your  correspondent,  “  Mums,”  page  14,  I  have  never 
had  or  seen  finer  Lincolns  than  we  have  had  this  season ;  they 
are  exceptionally  good.  We  have  at  present  some  four  dozen 
plants,  carrying  on  an  average  three  dozen  blooms  each ;  the 
cuttings  were  struck  in  early  January,  and  stopped  when  about 
Cin  high,  no  further  stopping  being  done.  L.  Canning  has  also 
done  well,  throwing  but  very  few  blind  buds.  One  other  variety 
worthy  of  note  is  the  single  white  Ewan  Cameron,  dwarf,  and  one 
mass  of  flower,  in  fact,  too  much  so,  from  a  decorator’s  view,  the 
foliage  being  completely  hidden. — T.  W.  C. 
Too -much-alike  Chrysanthemunis. 
I  am  much  obliged  to  your  correspondents  for  their  replies, 
and  I  quite  agree  with  Mr.  Foster  that  Princess  Alice  de  Monaco 
and  Miss  E.  Fulton  are  identical.  But  assuming  that  W.  J. 
Godfrey  and  H.  Shoesmith  are  correct  in  their  judgment,  what 
position  does  their  pronouncements  place  an  exhibitor  in  ?  Would 
he  be  justified  in  showing  the  two  as  distinct  varieties?  It  puts 
those,  who,  like  myself,  live  in  outlying  districts,  in  an  un- 
certaini  position,  for  we  do  not  know  what  we  are  buying,  as 
one  has  to  go  by  catalogues  and  reports,  and  we  are  not  always 
able  to  see  the  flowers  themselves. — R.  Turvey. 
[The  question  of  the  distinctness,  or  of  the  too  great  simi¬ 
larity  of  the  above  named  varieties,  is  for  the  Classification  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  National  Chrysanthemum  Society  to  decide,  as 
being  the  authoritative  body  in  such  matters.  The  fact  of  the 
Floral  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  having 
given  Miss  E.  Fulton  an  Award  of  Merit,  Avould  seem  to  prove 
that  the  majority  of  its  members  recognised  the  variety  to  be 
distinct. — Ed.] 
The  only  appreciable  distinction  I  can  observe  between  Miss 
E.  Fulton  and  Princess  Alice  de  Monaco,  is  that  the  latter  is 
most  prolific  in  producing  cuttings,  Avhereas  the  former  is  most 
shy.  As  a  proof  of  this  statement  quote  any  specialist’s  list,  and 
you  will  find  the  word  “  scarce  ”  attached  to  the  name. — F.  B. 
(one  of  the  voters  in  the  last  audit). 
Persistent  Vitality. 
This  Avas  the  title  of  a  literary  fragment  over  Avhich  I 
stumbled  the  other  day.  It  took  iny  attention  because,  I  sup¬ 
pose,  it  had  a  piquant  flavour  of  the  marA^ellous,  and  a  smacky 
ring  of  the  mysterious.  To  the  honour  or  dishonour  of  the  race, 
it  must  be  said  of  us  that  Ave  more  or  less  incline  to'  be  influenced 
by  both  of  these  agencies.  Egyptian-Mummy-born  stories  exer¬ 
cised  the  attention'  of  everyone  in  the  good  days  of  the  pqst,  and 
noAv  in  this  apathetical,  sceptical  age  in.Avhich  AA*e  live,  little  is 
believed  except  on  the  principle  of  “  Thomas.”  Possibly  a  feAV 
more  Thomases  amongst  us  Avould  conduce  very  materially  to  the 
consolidation  and  .solidity  of  facts  and  truths.  I  shall  at  least 
suppose  that  fcAv  Avill  care  to  involve  their  reputation  by  accept¬ 
ing  the  case  I  am  about  to  giA^e  of  pcrsi.stent  vitality.  Yet,  if 
true  (Avonder.s  never  cease),  it  is  a  marA^ellous  instance  indeed. 
A  tract  of  land  (I  suppo.se  recently)  at  a  place  called  Abbeyville 
(there  is  an  Abbeville  in  Fi-ance,  is  it  the  .same?)  had  for  200 
years  been  submerged  in  Avater,  and  as  soon  as  drained,  and  the 
water  AAas  remoA^ed,  a  young  Avood  of  Alders  sprang  up  and 
coA'ered  the  area.  There  Avere  no  Alders  in  the  district..  The 
seeds  Avere,  presumably,  supposed  to  have  lain  quiescent  in  the 
subaqueous  mud  for  tAvo  centuries.  Alder  seeds  do  not  appear 
as  if  they  could  endure  a  struggle  Avith  the  claims  of  decomposi¬ 
tion  for  such  a  lengthened  period.  Nor  AAas  there  any  evidence 
that  Alder  grcAv  there  previous  to  the  submergence  of  the  land. 
Beautiful  as  the  theory  is,  and  munificent  as  the  Avays  of 
Nature  undoubtedly  are,  AAe  v'ery  often  are  incongruous  in  our 
demands.  In  cases  such  as  the  one  in  point  are  there  not  count¬ 
less  other  more  reasonable  AA'ays  in  AA’hich  the  Alder  seed  could 
find  its  Avay  to  the  place  in  question?  By  the  agency  of  aquatic 
birds,  is  a  very  probable  one,  for  they  pos.sibly  would  resort  to 
the  scene  of  their  former  haunts  long  after  the  water  ceased  to 
exist.  In  any  case  it  is  hard  to  belicA'e  that  the  seed  lay  dormant 
at  the  bottom  of  the  Avater  200  years.  What  .say  my  friends  of  the 
matter?  — Thomas. 
- - 
Chrysanthemum  Madame  Marie  Liger. 
Madame  Marie  Liger  is  classed  in  the  N.C.S.  catalogue  as  an 
Incurved.  On  the  first  croAvns  it  is  a  fair  reflexed  Japanese,  but 
second  croAvn  buds  produce  a  pretty  neat  incurved,  Avhich 
requires  scarcely  any  manipulation  of  the  petals. — F.  B. 
■  »  mtm  I - 
Chrysanthemum  Mrs.  E.  Thirkell. 
I  was  more  than  interested  in  the  note  from  Mr.  Wells  as  to 
this  very  excellent  variety,  and  for  the  benefit  of  those  avIio  wish 
to  keep  their  catalogues  right  I  give  you  the  correct  spelling.  It 
is  named  in  honour  of  the  Avife  of  Mr.  E.  Thirkell,  of  Formby, 
near  LiA'erpool,  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  amateur  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  groAvers  it  has  ever  been  my  pleasure  to  knoAv.  Every 
novelty  Avorth  the  groAving  finds  a  home  Avith  Mr.  Thirkell,  Avhose 
notebook,  specially  arranged  to  his  order,  is  (Avhen  completed)  a 
masterpiece  in  detail,  containing  as  it  does  a  strict  record  of 
every  variety  groAvn  by  him.  A  successful  exhibitor  of  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  in  its  season,  Mr.  Thirkell  shines  out  in  summer  time 
Avith  Pelargoniums  and  Begonias. — R.  P.  R. 
- - 
Reflexing  the  Petals  of  Chrysanthemums. 
-  I  Avas  very  pleased  to  read  on  page  17,  January  1,  Mr.  Jefferies’ 
able  article  on  reflexing  the  petals  of  Japanese  incurved  Chrys¬ 
anthemums,  and  I  quite  agree  Avith  him  that  it  spoils  the  character 
of  the  floAvers.  Besides  those  he  names,  there  are  seveml  others 
that  could  be  mentioned,  aS,  for  instance,  that  splendid  A’ariety 
Mrs.  G.  Milehani.  It  seems  to  me  a  sin  to  do  aAvay  Avith  that 
pretty  curl  in  the  petal,  just  shoAving  the  silvery  reverse.  Why 
groAA'  Japanese  incurveds  at  all  if  they  are  to  be  turned  inside 
out  ?  I,  for  one,  do  not  quite  see  Avhy  they  should  be  called 
“Incurveds”  AA’heii  the  petals  are  all  reflexed.  I  quite  agree 
Avith  Mr.  Jefferies  that  culture  and  bud  selection  have  a  great 
deal  to  do  Avith  the  floAvers  coming  close  or  loose,  and  the  treat¬ 
ment  Avhich  affects  the  one  or  the  other  is  for  the  cultivator  to  find 
out.  I  Avould  like  to  see  more  of  the  readers  of  your  A-aluable 
Journal  take  up  the  matter  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Jeffei'ies,  to  sIioav 
that  he  is  not  alone  in  his  vieAvs,  and  I  think  something  ought 
to  be  done  to  stop  the  practice,  or  the  beauty  of  this  class  of  floAver 
Avill  be  spoilt. — J.  W.  Roberts,  Clonard  Gardens,  HarroAA , 
Weald. 
Book  on  Table  Decorations. 
I  notice  in  the  column  of  “  AnsAA'crs  to  Correspondents,” 
page  591,  of  the  last  volume  cf  the  Journal,  j  ou  state  in  ausAver  to 
“  A.  B.  6.,”  for  book  AA'anted,  that  you  knoAV  of  no  book  in  print 
on  the  subject  of  table  decorations.  As  I  liaA'e  often  seen  the 
same  query  receive  the  same  ansAver,  I  Avould  like  to  inform  you, 
for  the  benefit  of  others,  that  there  is  a  book  entitled  “  Table 
Decoration.^,”  by  Loav.  I  cannot  say  Avho  are  the  publishers,  as 
I  have  forgotten,  but  the  book  in  question  can  be  had  price  6.s.  3d. 
post  free,  from  Mr.  D.  W.  Morgan,  the  Abbey  LibrarJ^  1,  Little 
College  Street,  Westminster.  The  volume  contains  diagrams, 
Ac.,  with  full  descriptions  as  to  the  Avorking  of  designs.  There 
is  also  a  small  primer  entitled  “  Floral  Decorations,”  by  De  Sails, 
price  l.s.  8d.  post  free,  and  can  be  had  through  the  same  agent, 
who  issues  a  catalogue  of  “  Books  on  Gardening,  Botany,  and 
Forestry.”  I  have  often  procured  books  from  Mr.  Morgan,  and 
all  orders  are  promptly  attended  to.  Perhaps  the  book  I  have 
)iamed  first  may  be  of  use  to  your  coiTespondcnt. — George 
Hockney.  , 
[We  are  informed  that  Mr.  D.  W.  Morgan  has  left  the  addr.-  fS 
our  correspondent  giv^es. — Ed.] 
