550 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



APRIL 5, 1900. 



the alocasias. The result was that the 

 cyperus overgrew and nearly smoth- 

 ered the alocasias. and he had two mag- 

 nificent beds of cyperus though rather 

 rough on the alocasias. He will have 

 beds of the cyperus again this year but 

 they will he planted by themselves and 

 strong plants will be placed about 

 three feet apart in the bed. 



His new stock is from seed sown last 

 December and the little plants are now 



in 214-inch pots, about ready to shift 

 into 3% or 4 inch from which they 

 will be planted out early in .lune. It 

 is an easy plant to handle and when 

 bedded out makes a big show at small 

 expense. 



Florists wishing to offer something 

 new in foliage effects to their custom- 

 ers would find this a very satisfactory 

 plant for the purpose. It is often listed 

 as Papyrus antiquorum. 



THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



[Paper read before the Tarrvtown Horticultural 

 Society, March 29, IflOO, bv las'. T. Scott, House ot 

 Refuge. Randall's Island, N. V.l 



In considering the chrysanthemum 

 it would be well for us to carry our 

 fancies back to the autumn, to the time 

 of their perfection. This is the par- 

 ticular season that the chrysanthemum 

 student balances his notes, compares 

 theories with results or vice versa, 

 stores up for himself new ideas, rear- 

 ranges his next year's lists and culls 

 out the weaklings. The survival of the 

 fittest is inevitable. There is no use 

 growing a host of synonyms. Better 

 grow say two or three dozen of one 

 or two varieties than have fifty to one 

 hundred varieties with the half of them 

 poor. 



The autumn is a good time for the 

 beginner to arm himself with a note 

 book, if he be alert he will find enough 

 at one or two chrysanthemum exhibi- 

 tions to supply the necessary informa- 

 tion regarding varieties. The old hand 

 ought to know the capacity of his 

 place, know at this time the number of 

 plants he will grow again, and while 

 the actual demonstration is before his 

 eyes he ought to make a memorandum 

 of the number of each variety that he 

 intends to grow next year. 



I once heard a gardener .say "That 

 the man who introduced the chrysan- 

 themum ought to be stoned." for. he 

 said, "They are a whole year's trou- 

 ble." We do not all think with that 

 poor mortal, yet his remark suggests 

 a truth, i. e., that we must give to 

 them a whole year's care. Do not get 

 disgusted when you have cut your flow- 

 ers, think of the old stools and your 

 next year's stock. Keep your old plants 

 in a cool place and give them plenty of 

 light; by a cool place I do not mean 

 to put them in cold storage, or a place 

 that is continually below the freezing 

 point, although five or six degrees of 

 frost occasionally will do them no 

 harm. A dormant grapery, a peach 

 house, or violet house, any place where 

 the temperature averages from forty 

 to thirty-two degrees. Give them an 

 occasional hosing over head, and do 

 not let them suffer for want of water. 



For cuttings use medium wood. Very 



thick pithy wood is not always satis- 

 factory, and by no means use weak, 

 spindly material. Chrysanthemums 

 root readily in the ordinary propagat- 

 ing bed, or in small pots. Propagation 

 may commence in January and con- 

 tinue on till May, according to the 

 system of culture to be practiced. Jan- 

 uary, and even earlier, is a good time 

 to propagate for bush plants, but for 

 bench culture May is time enough. 

 There are many opinions as to the best 

 time to propagate the general collec- 

 tion. I have tried (and have seen 

 tried) several dates, but all through 

 would recommend the latter part of 

 March or the beginning of April. 



When well rooted the young plants 

 may be potted in 2i^-inch pots, in a 

 moderately heavy soil, not too rich, 

 and placed on the side benches of a 

 violet or carnation house, or any place 

 in fact where they are near the glass, 

 get plenty of air, and are kept at a 

 moderate temperature. 



I have found it a .good plan about the 

 month of April, after the first and sec- 

 ond potting, to put the young plants 

 in a cold frame (being always careful 

 to exclude frost, but give abundance of 

 air all day and when the nights grow 

 warmer at night also). I have also 

 found it good to have about two inch- 

 es of fresh horse manure put in the 

 bottom of the frames, and about two 

 inches of coal ashes on the top of it. 

 This insures good drainage, and the lit- 

 tle ammonia arising from the manure 

 gives the leaves a healthy green color. 

 The main point at this time, however, 

 is not to rush growth, either by feed- 

 ing or high temperature. Keep your 

 plants stubby and short. 



About the middle or first week of 

 May we always make a point of cutting 

 back the general collection. In cut- 

 ting back never make a rule of cutting 

 so many inches from the pot. It is 

 never advisable to cut back to hard 

 wood, if this be done the plants usually 

 break weak. The points you cut off 

 if put in the sand bed make excellent 

 material for benches. 



After cutting back, the plant will not 

 require so much water for a few days, 

 so be sure and pay particular attention 

 to this. If the plants are syringed 



overhead in the afternoon, and the 

 frame kept somewhat closer, the break- 

 ing away w^l be considerably helped. 



Each plant will break away, making 

 perhaps four to six shoots, and now 

 is the time to determine how many 

 flowers are to be grown upon each 

 plant. I leave the commercial man to 

 answer this for himself, he knows the 

 quality that suits his trade best, and 

 the price he is likely to receive, but 

 for private gardeners where competi- 

 tion or a home display is aimed, I 

 should advise only two shoots to a 7 

 or 8 inch pot, and one for a 6-inch 

 pot. 



Now as to the final potting; I believe 

 that more depends upon the physical 

 nature of the soil than upon anything 

 else. Many believe in adding so many 

 bones, so much fish manure or guano, 

 and so on. This is all rubbish — see to 

 your soil's friability, or tenacity first, 

 then look after the chemical constitu- 

 ents; chrysanthemums require a mod- 

 erately heavy soil, and great judgment 

 must be exercised. 



In preparing a compost get at it 

 early. The fall of the year is the ideal 

 time, but if not done get at it right 

 away. It is perhaps superfluous to 

 say get your turf from as old a pasture 

 as you have at hand. If your turf be 

 of a heavy clay nature do as follows: 

 lay down one layer of turf, grassy side 

 under, spread on that a small quantity 

 of horse manure, some lione meal and a 

 few handfuls of air slacked lime. If 

 your turf be of a gritty or sandy na- 

 ture use cow's manure, say one part 

 manure to five or six of turf, add some 

 bone meal and a very little lime. Con- 

 jure up in your mind's eye an ideal 

 soil, i. e., physically, and if you cannot 

 get it ready made endeavor by every 

 means to make it. 



After such a compost has lain tor 

 two or three months it ought to be 

 ready for use. Commence at one end 

 and cut down the pile with a sharp 

 spade, but by no means make it too 

 fine. The idea of sifting soil for pot- 

 ting purposes is too old fashioned to 

 need condemnation, but let me em- 

 phasize the fact that roots need air, 

 or in other words oxygen, in large 

 quantities. When a soil is too fine it 

 is impossible for such to permeate 

 freely. The old fashioned idea of add- 

 ing leaf mould to all composts so far 

 conteracted this evil but leaf mould is 

 unnecessary provided your compost be 

 rightly constituted. 



The plants ought to be ready for 

 their final shift about the end of May 

 or beginning of June. Drain your pots 

 well, and ram the soil firm: it is im- 

 l)Ortant that chrysanthemums be firmly 

 I)Otted, Otherwise the growth will be 

 soft and pithy. Large pots are an en- 

 cumbrance and unnecessary, 8-inch 

 pots are big enough for exhibition 

 blooms done as I have stated and (>- 

 inch pots grown to single stem and 

 bloom usually give excellent results. 



Another important matter. Are your 

 plants to be grown indoors all summer 

 or outside? There are many who lack 

 facilities for indoor culture. Many 



