DECEMBER. 



375 



are then supplied freely and often, but not strong ; cow, sheep, horse, 

 rabbits', or fowls' dung are the principal manures. In October the 

 plants are taken into houses or placed under canvas to keep the cold 

 winds and wet off them. As the blooms begin to expand, they use 

 tweezers to take out any deformed petals, and extract all florets between 

 each petal ; if the bloom is too crowded the short petals are removed 

 by the tweezers to allow the others to strengthen and grow much longer. 

 If seediness shows in the centre it is eased by carefully taking out the 

 florets a little from the inside of the inner petals, but not touching the 

 centre, as that would be detected and called " taking out the eye." 

 When the blooms are nearly expanded they are turned down and the 

 wet kept from them; this preserves the outer petals, and keeps them 

 incurved, otherwise they would reflex with their own weight and length. 

 They are then cut and drawn tight into various sized wooden tubes and 

 placed on the show board, with a slight dressing of such petals as are 

 out of their places. 



The varieties that are mostly grown for this purpose are the following, 

 viz., Themis, Nonpareil, Vesta, Anaxo, Beauty, Plutus, Yellow Perfec- 

 tion, Novelty, Arthur Wortley, Dupont de l'Eure, Golden Queen of 

 England, Queen of England, Alfred Salter, Stellaris globosa, Marshal 

 Duroc, Christopher Colomb, Goliath, Leon Leguay, Madame Audry, 

 White and Yellow Formosum, Cassy, Albin, Rosamystica, Etoile Polaire, 

 Hermione, Aimee Ferriere, and Phidias. 



Large specimens in 11 -inch pots grown on one stem are started as 

 soon as possible ; they are put in 48-sized pots, and the leader taken 

 out when six inches high, to get six or seven breaks or laterals ; they 

 are kept in cold frames, repotted, tied out, and stopped up to the middle 

 of July* liquid manure is used three times a week through the 

 summer, and the shoots regularly tied out. The buds when formed are 

 thinned ont to obtain well-formed blooms, the foliage kept well sprinkled 

 in hot weather with water, and the soil watered occasionally with a 

 little soot mixed in the water to keep a fine dark leaf. They are housed 

 the first week in October or put under canvas. 



The varieties grown are Annie Salter, Chevalier Domage, Queen of 

 England, Mount Etna, Hermione, Plutus, Pilot, General Havelock, 

 Vesta, Defiance, Dr. Maclean, Madame Camerson, Progne, Alfred 

 Salter, Christine, Auguste Mie, and Golden Clustered Yellow. 



Pompones are grown in the same manner, and started immediately 

 suckers can be got long enough for potting. The only difference is, 

 many growers peg down instead of tying out; they stop them three 

 times, and in general repot at the same time ; they leave off stopping 

 the first week in August, and put them under cover the first week in 

 October, and carefully tie out and place every shoot in its blooming 

 place a month before exhibition. The centre bloom is usually taken 

 out to allow the later ones to come out altogether, as the centre bloom 

 often comes a week earlier than the later ones, and takes the strength 

 from the others. Great care should be exercised in using liquid manure, 

 as they often go off by employing it too strong when forming flower 

 buds, this being the critical time. 



