November  27: 1902.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
491 
National  Chrysanthemum  Society  and  its  Management. 
Having  read  the  few  lines  contributed  to  your  valuable 
Journal,  page  432,  of  November  G,  by  “A  Country  Member”  re¬ 
garding  the  Society’s  judges,  I  can,  with  others,  fully  agree  with 
“A.  Country  Member.”  The  management  of  the  N.C.S.  is  far  from 
being  carried  out  in  a  fair  manner.  Being  an  exhibitor  of  cut 
blooms  at  the  Society’s  Show  held  on  November  4,  5,  6,  I  was 
more  than  surprised  at  the  unfair  way  in  which  some  of  the 
exhibitors  are  treated.  Surely  the  committee  can  find,  as  “  A 
Country  Member”  suggests,  competent  judges  outside  of  the 
committee  to  adjudicate  at  what  is  looked  upon  as  the  leading 
Chrysanthemum  exhibition  of  the  country.  Why  does  the  com¬ 
mittee  allow  the  judges  to  view  the  exhibits  and  interview  the 
exhibitors  before  the  time  of  judging?  Many  of  the  members 
of  the  committee  are  exhibitors  at  the  exhibition  of  the  Society. 
They  select  their  own  judges,  and  make  their  own  rules.  Rule  *9, 
page  64,  of  the  N.C.S.  schedule,  reads: — “Exhibitors  must  leave 
that  portion  of  the  building  allotted  to  the  exhibition  at  eleven 
o’clock  unless  officially  retained  by  the  Show  Committee.”  Rule 
8  states  that  all  exhibits  for  competition  must  be  staged  by 
11  a. m. 
Having  staged  my  blooms  in  good  time,  I  had  a  walk  round 
the  Aquarium.  Having  had  a  look  at  Mr.  Godfrey’s  stand  of 
novelties,  I  came  across  one  of  the  decorative  displays  of  the 
fountains,  which  was  awarded  the  third  prize,  so  I  walked  to  the 
other  end  of  the  Aquarium  to  find  the  first  and  second  prize 
winners.  To  my  surprise,  these  first  and  second  exhibits  were 
unfinished,  the  exhibitors  being  still  very  busy  completing  their 
displays,  the  time  then  being  12.30,  so  I  patiently  awaited  until 
12.45,  when  the  judges  made  their  award.  The  first-prize  winner 
was  again  Mr.  Norman  Davis,  who  is  to  be  congratulated  on  his 
grand  display,  also  on  being  the  happy  possessor  of  the  same 
fountain  lie  has  obtained  for  three  years  in  succession,  which  is 
the  best-lighted  position  in  the  Aquarium.  Now  that  the  N.C.S. 
is  seeking  a  fresh  place  of  abode,  let  us  sincerely  hope  there  will 
be  a  change  in  its  management  ,  so  that  exhibitors,  amateurs,  and 
members  of  the  trade,'  mav  each  receive  just  and  fair  awards. 
— F.  W. 
Culinary  Peas. 
The  weather  during  the  past  season  has  been  so  very  trying 
to  most  crops  that  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Peas  have  done 
especially  well;  at  least,  such  is  my  experience  here.  Commenc¬ 
ing  with  the  early  section,  we  made  our  first  sowing  in  turves 
in  the  following  varieties :  — William  Hurst,  Sutton’s  May  Queen 
and  Sutton’s  Little  Marvel,  placing  the  turves  in  a  Peach  house 
(which  bad  just  been  started)  on  February  12.  After  germina¬ 
tion  the  above  were  planted  out  on  a  south  border  on  March  11. 
W  e  commenced  gathering  from  them  on  June  30  ;  William  Hurst 
and  May  Queen  being  ready  a  couple  of  days  in  advance  of  Little 
Marvel.  I  may  mention  that  the  weather  was  very  cold  during 
March,  April,  and  May,  and  we  had  to  cover  the  above  every 
night  with  tiffany. 
Our  second  sowing  was  made  outdoors  on  a  south  border  in 
front  of  a  Peach  house  on  March  3,  the  varieties  being  William 
Hurst  and  Sutton’s  May  Queen.  They  were  ready  for  picking 
only  a  week  later  than  our  first  sowing  in  turves.  Our  next 
sowing  was  made  on  March  29,  on  ground  recently  occupied  by 
Celery,  the  variety  being  Sutton’s  Eaidy  Giant.  They  came  into 
bearing  on  July  6,  and  a  finer  lot  of  Peas  I  have  never  seen.  It 
is  a  very  free  cropper,  the  pods  bearing  on  an  average  ten  peas 
in  each,  while  several  contained  eleven.  The  flavour  is  all  that 
can  be  desired,  and  it  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  finest  Peas 
yet  introduced.  Following  the  above  we  sowed,  for  succession, 
at  periods  varying  from  a  week  to  a  fortnight  between  each, 
these: — Sutton’s  Telephone,  Duke  of  Albany,  Selected  Tele¬ 
graph,  Sutton’s  Invincible  Marrowfat,  Sutton’s  Satisfaction, 
Sutton’s  Dwarf  Marrowfat,  Walker’s  Perpetual  Bearer,  Autocrat, 
Selected  Ne  Plus  Ultra,  and  Sutton’s  Latest  of  All.  The-  last 
three  varieties  were  sown  on  June  27  on  ground  which  had  been 
dug  and  manured  as  for  ordinary  crops,  and  we  have  been  gather¬ 
ing  nice  dishes  from  them  up  to  the  present  month,  our  last 
picking  being  on  the  5th  inst. 
Needless  to  say,  Peas  at  this  time  of  year  are  much  appre¬ 
ciated  by  my  employer,  and  should  frost  not  visit  us  for  another 
week  or  two,  we  shall  be  able  to  gather  a  few  more  dishes.  Among 
two  or  three  varieties  received  for  trial,  Sutton’s  Centenary  turned 
out  the  best,  and  I  shall  certainly  grow  it  again.  From  the  end 
of  June,  when  we  gathered  our  first  Peas,  we  were  able  to  gather 
Peas  every  day  without  a  break  at  the  rate  of  half  a  bushel  a 
day  up  to  the  end  of  September.  Since  then  we  have  been  able 
to  gather  quantities  of  about  one  peck  about  twice  or  thrice  a 
week,  according  to  weather.  Our  soil  is  heavy  and  retentive,  on 
olay.  This,  combined  with  the  satisfactory  behaviour  of  our 
Peas  during  the  past  prolonged  wet  season,  tends  to  prove  that 
abundant  moisture  is  essential  to  successful  Pea  culture.  We 
have  enjoyed  almost  entire  immunity  from  mildew,  our  remaining 
rows  of  Peas  still  retaining  their  healthy  appearance. — Wilmot 
H.  Yates,  Rotherfield  Park,  Alton,  Hants. 
New  Japanese  Varieties. 
Continuing  my  selection  from  p.  448,  I  have  several  more 
to  recommend  which  I  have  quite  recently  had  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  inspecting,  and  for  the  benefit  of  Journal  readers 
give  my  experience. 
Calvat’s  Sun  grows  to  a  large  size,  has  long  drooping 
florets,  which  curl  at  the  tips,  the  weight  of  which  seems  to 
pull  cnem  down  a  trifle  too  much,  so  that  the  eye  is  not 
quite  filled  up.  In  colour  it  is  golden  yellow,  just  the  colour 
to  please. 
Mrs.  W.  Preece  is  of  medium  size,  has  closely  curling 
florets,  which  are  split  at  the  tips,  they  are  also  ribbed  or 
fluted,  which  gives  it  a  striking  appearance.  The  colour  is 
quite  a  deep  yellow. 
Lady  Crawshaw  grows  to  fully  8in  in  diameter,  has 
medium  florets,  which  droop  and  curl  upwards  at  the  tip, 
making  up  a  full,  bold  flower.  In  colour  the  base  is  deep 
pink,  growing  lighter  towards  the  centre. 
Mrs.  S.  Fryett  is  fully  8in  wide,  and  as  much  as  6in 
deep — a  full,  massive  flower.  The  florets  are  broad  and 
sword  shape,  semi-drooping.  The  colour  is  striking — a  rich 
rose  amaranth,  quite  one  of  the  best  of  new  varieties. 
Miss  Elsie  Fulton,  although  not  quite  new,  deserves  to 
be  more  generally  known.  In  the  North  of  England,  and 
especially  in  Scotland,  it  has  been  remarkably  well  shown 
this  season.  It  is  a  typical  incurving  Japanese,  quite  dis¬ 
tinct  from  any  other  variety.  The  florets  are  broad,  curling 
quite  distinctly,  not  too  closely  united.  The  colour  is  the 
purest  white,  and  the  blossoms  full  and  perfect  in  contour. 
I  strongly  recommend  this  variety. 
Princess  de  Brancova,  although  not  quite  new, .deserves 
to  be  better  known  than  it  is  at  present.  In  general  appear¬ 
ance  it  resembles  Mrs.  J.  Lewis,  but  has  much  longer  and  more 
graceful  drooping  florets  of  the  purest  white.  A  bloom  of 
this  variety,  fully  9in  deep,  won  the  premier  award  at  the 
late  Edinburgh  show  for  the  best  Japanese. 
Edith  Shrimpton  in  colour  is  a  soft  pink  at  the  base, 
paling  to  pure  white  in  the  centre.  The  florets  are  broad 
and  long,  and  curl  at  the  tips  after  the  Dragon  style. 
W.  Duckham  is  much  the  best  new  variety  of  the  incurved- 
Japanese  section  seen  for  a  long  time.  The  broad  incurving 
florets  are  deep  rose  pink  in  colour,  of  perfect  form,  and 
“build.”  This  is  an  English  raised  variety  from  Australian 
seed. 
Col.  Weatherall  belongs  to  the  incurving  Japanese 
section,  with  extra  broad  petals,  which  incurve  perfectly. 
The  colour — apricot-bronze — is  pleasing. 
Wilfred  H.  Godfrey  has  flat  reflexing  florets,  rich 
crimson  on  the  surface,  and  a  gold  reverse  ;  quite  a  pro¬ 
mising  novelty. 
Harold  is  another  incurving  Japanese,  with  a  golden 
chestnut  reverse,  and  an  apricot  rose  surface  where  this  can 
be  seen. 
Duke  of  Devonshire  belongs  to  the  giant  class  of 
Japanese  varieties.  The  narrow  florets  have  a  curious  twist. 
In  colour  the  base  is  yellow  with  a  rose  suffusion,  with  a 
golden  centre. 
Ethel  Fitzroy  grows  rather  above  medium  size,  the 
narrow  florets  reflex  and  droop  at  the  tips.  The  flower  is 
especially  well  built  up.  The  colour  is  pleasing,  a  rich 
orange  amber  shaded  with  reddish  crimson. 
Bessie  Godfrey  I  look  upon  as  quite  one  of  the  best  of 
yellow  flowered  Japanese.  The  medium  sized  florets  droop 
slightly,  and  with  a  graceful  curve.  The  blossoms  are 
especially  well  built  up.  The  colour,  clear  yellow,  deepens 
towards  the  centre.  No  matter  how  small  the  collection 
this  variety  should  be  included. 
Guy  Hamilton  may  not  be  quite  new,  but  it  deserves  to 
be  much  better  known  than  it  is  at  present.  Where  a  full 
and  broad  blossom  is  required  for  exhibition  this  variety 
should  be  grown.  The  florets  are  long,  drooping,  and  curl  at 
the  tips.  The  colour  is  pure  white. 
