Recent Chrysanthemums. 241 



inonial of this character, given by the most competent judges, the 

 meritorious varieties should soon close the market against all others, 

 and for this reason those who are successful in producing good new 

 kinds should in future submit them to some member of the society 

 before trying to dispose of them by the ordinary process of com- 

 merce. The present officers of the society are: Mr. E. A. Wood, 

 Denver, Colorado, president; Mr, E. G. Hill, Eichmond, Indiana, 

 vice-president ; Mr. E. D. Smith, Adrian, Michigan, secretary ; Mr. 

 John JS". May, Summit, New Jersey, treasurer. 



Great as are the troubles of nomenclature and misrepresentation, 

 there are others of almost equal importance which the society can 

 not properly regulate, and the undertaking would be much too 

 troublesome for private or commercial growers. Many dealers now 

 issue long annual lists of new kinds from which it is impossible to 

 select the best varieties for local i-equirements. No effort is spared 

 in the most expensive and elaborate system of cultivation, to make 

 these plants produce blooms for the exhibitions of the previous 

 autumn, and the awards then given are at best an im2)erfect guide 

 for the investor. The average florist for obvious reasons can pro- 

 vide only ordinary conditions, and he desires to know if any of these 

 new varieties will prove better than the older and cheaper sorts 

 under his method of cultivation. Again, some varieties produce 

 the choicest blooms from "crown" buds, while "terminal" buds 

 are the best in others ; some bloom late, others early ; some are 

 adapted for specimen plants, others for specimen flowers. Then there 

 are new insects and diseases to deal with, and many minor matters 

 bearing on cultivation, the effects of various fertilizers, etc. Hitherto 

 there has been no one to thoroughly investigate these matters for 

 the benefit of the vast number of people throughout the State and 

 country who are financially and otherwise interested. A work of 

 this character has been recently undertaken by the Horticultural 

 Department of Cornell University, and it is hoped in due time to 

 bring about the desired results. Although late in the season, opera- 

 tions were begun last August, and a record of th'e results so far 

 obtained will be found in these pages. It is due to the public spirit 

 and generosity of Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Messrs. Peter Hender- 

 son & Co., Mr. John N. May, Messrs. ISTathan Smith & Sons, and 

 Messrs. E. G. Hill & Co., that we were enabled to secure for our 

 purposes ample supplies of such of their varieties of 1894 as were in 



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