20 THE FLORAL WOULD AISD GARDEN GUIDE. 



upon plants the growth of which is pinched hack several times 

 during the season to keep them dwarf. Where, however, the con- 

 servatory is of the usual height, and the plants have to be placed 

 on stages several feet above the ground level, it is necessary to stop 

 the shoots once or twice, or the flowers will be too far from the eye 

 to admit of their being seen with any degree of comfort. Early 

 propagation is only necessary when exhibition specimens are 

 required, and the first week in March is quite early enough to com- 

 mence ; but the work must not be delayed after that period. When 

 the cuttings are put in previous to that date, a gentle bottom-heat 

 is necessary, and the plants also become somewhat " leggy " and 

 leafless by the time they come into flower. When, however, they 

 are struck in March, the shelter of a cold frame is all that is neces- 

 sary in the way of shelter ; and if the plants are not neglected 

 during the summer, they will be furnished with leaves down to the 

 rim of the pot. Select healthy cuttings of about three inches in 

 length, remove the two lower pair of leaves, and insert them in three- 

 inch pots, three or four in each. Place the pots in a cold frame, and 

 shade during bright sunshine to prevent the sun burning them ; 

 sprinkle them lightly once a day, if required, to prevent the leaves 

 flagging, and they will soon strike and be ready for potting off. A 

 little air must be admitted during warm, sunny weather, after the 

 first few days, to maintain a sweet atmosphere, and the cuttings 

 must not be overwatered, or a large proportion will damp off. Pot 

 the cuttings off singly into three-inch pots immediately they are well 

 rooted, and before they become pot-bound ; for when the roots are 

 allowed to run together before the plants are separated, the young 

 and tender fibres are broken about, and the plants receive a severe 

 check in consequence. They should be kept in a cold frame, or be 

 placed so that a mat can be thrown over them during frosty weather. 

 But during their stay in the frame they must be freely exposed to 

 the air to prevent the possibility of the growth becoming drawn up 

 weakly. Nine and ten-inch pots are the most suitable sizes for flower- 

 ing them in, and until they are put in these sizes they must not on 

 any account be allowed to become pot-bound. Frequent shifts are 

 not however required, and for all ordinary purposes the plants 

 should be shifted into six-inch pots, and from thence into the size in 

 which they are to flower. The pots must be clean, and sufficient 

 crocks, with a layer of rough turfy soil over them, placed in the 

 bottom to carry off the water quickly, and prevent the soil becoming 

 sour through remaining in a saturated condition for a considerable 

 length of time. Chrysanthemums are not very particular with 

 respect to the sort of soil they are grown in, provided it does not run 

 together ; but the compost which suits them best is one consisting 

 of turfy loam that has been stacked in a heap for a few months, two 

 parts, and incorporated with one part of well-decayed stable or hotbed 

 manure. When they are removed to the open, place the pots upon a 

 bed of coal-ashes to keep the worms out of them ; and to make the 

 work of watering them as light as possible, fill the space between the 

 pots with cocoa-nut fibre refuse, or partly-decayed leaves. At no 

 stage of their growth must they be allowed to suffer from drought ; 



