Novemberp29,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
495 
Poiladelphia,  which  has  not  in  general  cultivation  sustained  the 
reputatirr  with  which  it  was  sent  from  America.  At  Finsbury  Park 
the  flowe»...  are  very  charming,  though  not  of  large  size.  Probably 
the  finest  flower  in  the  entire  collection  at  the  time  of  my  visit  was 
an  ideal  example  of  Florence  Molyneux.  It  was  the  only  bloom  on 
the  plant,  ard,  so  far  as  could  be  seen,  the  only  plant  of  the  variety, 
but  it  was  of  exceptional  excellence,  and  would  have  been  a  tour  de 
force  in  many  an  exhibition  stand.  More  numerously  represented  was 
INIrs.  H.  Weeks,  and  practically  the  whole  of  the  flowers  were  of  more 
than  average  merit ;  they  had  shape,  solidity,  depth,  and  broadness  of 
floret.  To  make  a  trio  of  white  varieties  Simplicity  may  be  added ; 
it  was  in  splendid  form.  Other  three  whites  of  conspicuous  merit 
were  Emily  Silsbury,  Lady  Byron,  Madame  Carnot,  which  is  probably 
the  most  popular  Chrysanthemum  of  the  day.  In  addition  to  these, 
and  practically  equal  in  quality  throughout,  were  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  Wellington,  Pride  of  Madford,  Phoebus,  Mr.  T.  Carrington,  N.S.C. 
Jubilee,  W.  H.  Lincoln,  Master  H.  Tucker,  Vicar  of  Leatherhead, 
G.  W.  Childs  (valuable  for  its  colour).  Lady  Hanham,  Etoile  de  Lyon, 
G.  J.  Warren,  Jas.  Bidencope,  Le  Grand  Dragon,  Amos  Perry,  and 
last,  but  by  no  means  least  in  importance  of  the  Japanese,  R.  Hooper 
Pearson. 
More  prominence  is  given  in  the  Finsbury  collection  to  the  incurved 
section  than  is,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  the  case  at  the  other  parks. 
Not  only  do  there  appear  to  be  more  plants,  but  special  attention  is 
evidently  given  them  to  insure  their  being  of  sufficient  merit  to  go 
with  the  excellent  Japanese  that  are  produced.  Some  of  the  best  were 
Cbas.  H.  Curtis,  strikingly  good  in  form,  colour,  and  size  ;  Globe  d’Or, 
Chrysanth^me  Bruant,  Madame  Edmond  Roger,  White  Beverley, 
Prince  Alfred,  Mr.  Bunn,  and  Bonnie  Dundee.  With  Descartes, 
Delaware,  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  grand  condition,  the  reference  to 
the  Chrysanthemums  in  Finsb^ury  Park  must  be  brought  to  a  close 
for  another  season. 
Water  low  Park, 
It  was  the  munificence  of  Sir  Sydney  Waterlow  which  gave  to 
Londoners  this  charming  resort,  and  it  is  pleasing  to  know  that 
during  the  year  it  is  visited  by  many  thousands  ot  the  residents  in 
the  surrounding  districts.  Waterlow  Park,  as  it  was  called  after  the 
donor,  differs  from  the  remainder  of  the  London  Parks  in  having 
within  its  boundaries  considerable  numbers  of  fruit  trees  in  the  open, 
with  Vines  under  glass.  It  has  other  features  distinctly  its  own,  but 
these  can  be  more  fully  treated  of  in  the  spring  and  summer  months. 
At  the  present  moment  we  would  call  attention  to  the  collection  of 
Chrysanthemums,  which  has  been  giving  pleasure  to  thousands  of 
visitors  since  it  was  opened  in  October. 
The  plants  are  arranged  in  a  square  conservatory-like  lofty 
structure,  whence  they  extend  into  two  of  the  vineries ;  and  though 
in  the  latter  the  plants  are  of  necessity  somewhat  crowded,  the  effect 
has  been  most  excellent.  Now  the  best  of  the  flowers  have  gone,  and 
there  only  remain  a  few  to  tell  of  the  beauty  of  the  w'hole.  It  is  very 
apparent  that  the  atmospheric  conditions  that  prevail  on  Highgate 
Hill  are  favourable  to  colour  development,  and  also  to  refinement  of 
floret,  for  both  these  essentials  are  of  excellent  quality.  In  size  the 
flowers  are  a  little  lacking,  but  this  is  not  sufficiently  in  evidence  to 
mar  the  general  beauty  of  the  display  in  the  smallest  degree.  Mr. 
D.  Carson  was  appointed  to  the  post  of  superintendent  in  the  spring 
of  this  year^  and  deserves  hearty  congratulation  upon  the  first 
Chrysanthemum  show  he  has  engineered  for  the  benefit  of  Londoners. 
A  word,  too,  may  be  said  for  Mr.  J.  Webb,  the  grower,  who  is  an 
enthusiast  in  Chrysanthemum  culture,  and  who  kindly  furnished  the 
names  of  a  few  of  the  more  conspicuous  sorts. 
One  has  not  been  long  amidst  the  plants  ere  the  fact  is  borne  home 
that  well  tried  standard  sorts  are  almost  wholly  relied  upon — presum¬ 
ably  the  powers  that  be  prefer  to  allow  other  growers  to  fail  or  succeed 
indifferently  with  some  of  the  newer,  and  in  several  cases,  decidedly 
**  mifl'y  ”  varieties.  In  the  arrangement  the  colours  have  been  capitally 
blended,  and  the  inclusion  of  a  few  incurved,  with  decorative  varieties 
in  the  back  and  foregrounds,  adds  materially  to  the  effect  of  the  picture. 
We  could  not  pretend  to  make  a  note  of  every  variety,  or  even  every 
one  that  was  in  more  than  average  form,  but  the  following  were 
selected  for  general  excellence  in  several  instances  rather  than  for  fine 
quality  in  a  solitary  flower  or  an  individual  plant.  The  well  known 
Anemone  Descartes  had  been  employed  with  judgment  to  lend  variety, 
as  also  had  the  two  excellent  incurved  C.  H.  Curtis  and  Bonnie  Dundee. 
In  the  general  collection  of  Japanese  Mrs.  White  Popham,  Mrs.  G.  W. 
Palmer,  Mons.  Chenon  de  L^chd,  Commandant  Blusset,  W.  Seward, 
Pheebus,  Pride  of  Madford,  Elthorne  Beauty,  Madame  Gustave  Henry, 
Amiral  Avellan,  Mrs.  Trafiford,  Madame  Carnot,  G.  J.  Warren,  Mrs. 
W.  Mease,  Edith  Tabor,  Oceana,  Soleil  d’Oetobre,  Cbas.  Davis,  Lady 
Hanham,  Jas.  Bidencope,  Mrs.  J.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Jas.  Beisant,  and  Le 
Grand  Dragon  were  amongst  the  best  and  most  distinct. 
At  Waterlow  Park,  as  in  tbe  other  parks  where  Chrysanthemums 
are  grown  by  the  London  County  Council,  the  system  of  naming  is  far 
from  perfect,  and  the  educational  value  of  the  displays  would  be  vastly 
improved  if  some  better  method  were  adopted. — Monocle. 
Temporary  Hotbeds. 
These  are  very  useful  for  sheltering  plants  taken  up  from  the 
flower  garden,  for  rooting  late  cuttings,  and  for  forcing  Asparagus, 
Rhubarb,  and  Seakale.  It  is  expensive  to  make  even  a  slight  hotbed 
if  long  litter  must  be  purchased,  but  where  a  little  short  manure  can 
be  obtained,  together  with  mowings  from  the  lawn  and  tree  leaves, 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  finding  sufBcient  material.  A  mixture  of 
grass,  leaves,  and  litter  will  afford  a  good  lasting  heat,  the  grass 
contributing  to  the  regular  slow  decomposition  of  the  straw.  When 
thrown  together  for  a  few  days  I  otten  use  the  mixture  at  once,  and 
just  as  often  after  it  has  had  one  turning  ;  but  in  the  case  of  all  such 
temporary  beds  we  want  to  get  the  heat  under  something,  and  not 
allow  it  to  be  spent  in  heating  the  general  atmosphere.  A  bed  of  the 
above  description  from  18  to  24  inches  deep  would  be  apt  to  kill 
whatever  was  put  on  it  if  growing  freely.  For  many  purposes,  there¬ 
fore,  I  am  quite  satisfied  if  I  can  put  from  15  to  24  inches  of  this 
hot  rank  mixture  near  the  bottom  of  a  bed,  and  above  it  from  6  to 
12  inches  of  the  half-decayed  manure  and  leaves  similar  to  the  above 
at  fiist  before  being  thoroughly  sweetened.  In  this  roots  and  pots 
can  at  once  be  set  with  safety,  and  the  required  amount  of  heat  be 
obtained.  After  the  first  season,  when  one  has  an  old  bed  to  go  to, 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  following  up  this  system.  The  safety  consists 
in  the  surfacing  with  the  half-decomposed  material,  which  heats  and 
retains  the  heat  given  to  it,  whilst  all  unwholesome  steam  is  absorbed 
by  the  under  layers.  For  slight  hotbeds,  if  the  heat  declines,  you 
have  only  to  take  off  the  surface,  stir  up  the  fresh  material,  and 
add  a  little  more  (which  will  act  like  fresh  fuel  in  a  breeze),  and 
cover  again. 
I  have  had  to  make  hotbeds  after  turning  and  re-turning  the 
manure  until  it  became  sweet;  but  then  it  was  much  reduced  in 
bulk.  For  many  years  I  have  wasted  the  fermenting  heat  but  little, 
using  it  even  with  a  fiery  heat,  and  regulating  it  by  a  covering  of 
partly  decomposed  sweet  material  from  an  old  bed.  A  far  more 
continuous  heat  is  secured  in  this  way  than  using  material  turned  and 
decomposed  that  it  sinks  so  firmly  together  that  air  cannot  enter  to 
keep  up  the  combustion,  and  in  fact  if  the  air  could  enter  there  is 
nothing  to  waste — in  other  words,  to  fire  or  give  out  heat.  To  make 
the  most  of  the  heat  from  fermenting  animal  and  vegetable  matter 
there  must  be  a  sufficient  amount  of  moisture  and  air,  as  well  as 
warmth  in  the  air,  to  support  what  we  may  call  a  slow  regular 
combustion,  or  heat  from  decomposition.  For  example,  a  week  or  so 
ago  the  Cucumbers  were  taken  out  from  four  lights  of  framing  over  a 
hotbed  made  in  February  and  the  plants  turned  out  in  March.  The 
sides  of  the  bed  were  well  decayed,  and  perfectly  suitable  for  top¬ 
dressing  Strawberries,  Asparagus,  or  flower  beds.  This  portion  and 
all  the  old  surfacing  were  removed,  but  there  was  a  fine  cone  in  the 
centre  still  retaining  heat,  and  eminently  fitted  for  being  mixed  with 
fresh  material  and  surfacing  beds  to  help  on  late  cuttings. 
This  is  only  one  instance  of  many  in  which  it  may  be  seen  that 
such  a  rough  way  of  making  a  bed  is  not  only  by  far  the  most 
economical  as  regards  material,  but  also  the  best  mode  for  securing  a 
lasting  heat.  When  fermenting  material  was  so  turned  and  decomposed 
before  being  made  into  a  bed,  if  made  in  February  and  taken  out 
in  October,  if  not  lined  would  have  had  but  little  heat  left,  and  could 
have  been  cut  out  with  a  spade  like  so  many  slices  of  cheese.  For 
an  old  bed  a  spade  would  have  been  almost  useless  for  the  centre  ;  a 
fork  was  necessary  to  move  it,  and  a  goodly  portion  therefore,  after  all 
these  months,  was  in  the  best  condition  for  use  again. 
I  have  often  been  vexed  at  the  sight  of  heaps  of  fresh  tree  leaves 
sweetening  until  they  were  halt  decayed  before  being  considered  fit  for 
a  hotbed.  When  placed  in  a  heap  they  soon  heat  if  they  are  moist 
enough,  and  the  vapour  given  off  by  tree  leaves  alone  is  harmless  ; 
hence  their  usefulness  for  mild  hotbeds  when  used  by  themselves,  or 
as  a  surfacing  from  9  to  12  inches  thick  over  other  fermenting  materials 
less  safe  and  sweet  in  the  vapours  they  emit. — F.  R, 
•  ^9m  $ - 
Persian  Cyclamens. — My  seedling  Cyclamen  persioum,  the  seeds 
of  which  were  sown  in  March  and  the  plants  grown  in  a  frame,  have 
done  remarkably  well,  quite  as  well  as  I  have  usually  had  them  from 
autumn  and  early  spring  sowing  and  growing  in  heat  until  midsummer. 
I  have  several  plants  in  flower  of  a  very  serviceable  size  for  decorative 
purposes.  The  old  plants  have  been  kept  in  cold  frames  and  shaded 
from  bright  sun.  They  were  kept  moist  and  were  not  repotted  when 
recommencing  growth,  but  a  little  of  the  surface  soil  was  removed  and 
replaced  with  fresh  turfy  loam  and  cow  manure  (old),  and  the  result  is  a 
great  profusion  of  flower  buds  and  healthy  foliage.  Some  of  the  corms 
are  4  to  5  inches  in  diameter,  and  promise  to  flower  better  than  they 
have  done  in  previous  seasons.  They  will  be  kept  in  a  temperature  of 
40°  to  45°  fire  heat,  and  be  placed  near  the  glass  on  a  cool  moist  bottom, 
for  I  am  convinced  that  the  flower  and  leaf  stems  damp  at  their  base 
from  the  frequency  of  the  watering  necessitated  by  keeping  the  plants 
in  a  dry  place. — A.  G. 
