1871.] ABOUT, THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 135 



standing the arguments of some, that the plants not plunged are more 

 ea^ly watered for the inexperienced. I think this a very weak point. 

 I never saw an established Chrysanthemum plant killed with water in 

 the summer months : they delight in moisture ; more plants are killed 

 for want of it than with it. When the plants are ready to be turned 

 out of doors, decide upon a south aspect. All gardeners believe in 

 well - matured wood and a stubby growth, and the plunged plants 

 in a good position reap a decided advantage. " Teetotaller " also says 

 the flowers of the large-flowering section rival that of the Dahlia. I 

 should like to see the plants which produce these monster blooms, I 

 am informed on credible authority that the plants which produce 

 these blooms are grown solely for exhibition purposes, perhaps from 

 two to three blooms on the plant, sometimes grown in a cool house 

 and strongly fed. 



I had the pleasure of being present at the Liverpool Chrysanthemum 

 Show a few weeks ago, and I presume the Liverpool growers are in 

 advance of any in England. The cut blooms exhibited there were 

 enormous — perfect models, in fact; but I am inclined to think the 

 plants from which they were cut would prove no acquisition to a 

 show-room. The specimens, too, were something splendid. I had never 

 expected to see the Chrysanthemum cultivated to such a degree of 

 perfection : the specimens, though confined to 3 feet in diameter, were 

 so neatly trained, so compact, and so tastefully staged, that the naked 

 eye could discover nothing but the results of the most careful atten- 

 tion. " Teetotaller " also says his confreres in Scotland don't give the 

 Chrysanthemum the attention it deserves. Granting this to be a fact, 

 do the same inducements present themselves to the Scotch growers'? 

 There is no Chrysanthemum show held in Scotland, and I think I am 

 justified in saying that competition leads to efficiency. The Scotch 

 growers, as a rule, grow their plants for usefulness. Eew gardeners can 

 afford to grow plants for the sake of two or three blooms, nor even to 

 train their plants as practised by exhibitors. As regards dates for 

 shifting, I think they are entirely out of place ; circumstances differ 

 so widely that it is next to useless to attempt giving them. 



Every gardener should know his own circumstances best, whether 

 he grows his plants for a show to be held on such a day in November, 

 for the family may arrive home at the time when he wishes his best 

 display. The Chrysanthemum needs no date for shifting more than 

 other plants, and the gardener must humour their culture according 

 to the time he requires them in flower. Next, as to " Teetotaller's " 

 system of feeding, I should throw dates out of the scales altogether, and 

 apply liquid manure w^hen the buds are set; there is then no danger 

 of encouraging over-luxuriant growth, as is too often the case if we 



