488 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULTIVATED 

 CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



The develoiiment of the cultivated chrysanthemum 

 furnishes a most remarkable example of the ingenuity 

 and perseverance of the plant hybridist. Although a 

 16-petalled Chrysanthemum is the emblem of Japan 

 and this flower is calle<] the "flower of Japan," all evi- 

 dence goes to show that the Chrysanthemum is indi- 

 genous to China. Later it was imported to Japan, 

 where it achieved a success far exceeding that in its 

 native countrj'. According to Chinese history, the 

 Chrysanthemum was cultivated in China over 2,000 

 years ago. Confucius, who supposedly lived 500 B. C, 

 mentions the flower under the name, "Li-Ki," and 

 some Chinese pottery, now preserved in the British 

 Museum, which dates as earl}- as 1426-1436, bears an 

 exact replica of one of the earlier forms of the Chrys- 

 anthemum. Previous to the importation of the 

 Chrysanthemum into Europe, the Chinese were known 

 to graft certain kinds and cultivate specimens similar 

 to the single-stemmed varieties of the present day. 

 Thev even adopted a style of nomenclature, which 

 bears little resemblance to our modern system ; for 

 instance, one favorite was called "The Drunken Lady," 

 owing to the drooping habit of the flowers during the 

 day. 



The earliest record of the introduction of the Chrys- 

 anthemum into Europe dates from 1688, when it was 

 brought into Holland by Breynius, a merchant of 

 Dantzig, who, in the next year, published his "Pro- 

 dromus Plantarum Rariorum," which contained accur- 

 ate descriptions of the varieties then growing in Hol- 

 land. In spite of its easy cultivation, however, interest 

 in the Chrysanthemum soon died out and the varieties 

 described by Breynius jjassed out of existence in Hol- 

 land. England is the next country to which we have 

 any record of the Chrysanthemum being imported, 

 being brought this time in a dried state from China, 

 in 1698-1703, by James Cunningham, Surgeon to the 

 East India Company in Amoy, China. In 1764 living 

 specimens were introduced into England; these were 

 sent from Ximpu (probably Xin^po), China, and were 

 cultivated by Philip Miller. The plants were also 

 grown in the famous Chelsea Garden, in London, and 

 it was from here that herbarium specimens were col- 

 lected and preserved which are accessible at the pres- 

 ent day. The specimens are labeled Chrysanthemum 

 indicum and show flowers with small double heads, 

 undoubtedly being one of the true "indicum" type. 



The next important step in Chrysanthemum culture 

 was in 1789 when a French merchant, M. Blancard, 

 brought home three varieties from China : one white, 

 one violet, and one purplish. Within three years there 

 was scarcely a garden in Versailles that had not 

 adopted the' Chrysanthemum, the flowers then being 

 about the size of the present-day carnation. M. Blan- 

 card's purple variety was introduced into England in 

 1790. Concerning this introduction, Sabine writes: 

 "This is the purple variety; it had been transmitted 

 to this country from France in 1790, and after its ar- 

 rival here the changeable white was obtained from it 

 by cultivation. Between the years 1798 and 1808, 

 inclusive, eight new varieties were imported from 

 China into England in the following order: the rose 

 and buff together, in 1798; the golden yellow and the 

 quilled yellow together, in 1802 ; the sulphur yellow at 



the latter end of the same year ; the Spanish brown, in 

 1806 ; and the quilled white and large lilac together, in 

 1808. Of these the sulphur yellow was imported for 

 Thomas Evans, Esq., of Stepne}', and the remaining 

 seven sorts for Sir Abraham Hume. Later importa- 

 tions have produced two others, the tasseled wdiite, 

 in 1816, and the superb white in 1817." 



For a considerable time after their introduction the 

 French and English gardeners had been experimenting 

 with the object of raising Chrysanthemums from seed. 

 Success was finally attained by a French officer, M. 

 Bernet. The previous year he had discovered some 

 withered flower heads in which he w'as surprised to 

 find seeds bearing all the signs of perfect maturity. 

 Keeping his discovery a secret he carefully tended the 

 seeds himself, and in the fall of 1827 was rewarded 

 with several fine varieties of plants. 



In 1843 Mr. Robert Fortune- was sent to China by 

 the Royal Horticultural Society of London in search 

 of rare plants. On his return in 1846 he brought, 

 among other curiosities, two small-flowered Chrysan- 

 themums know as the Chusan Daisy and the Chinese 

 Minimum. These, according to James Salter, were 

 probably varieties from the true Chrysanthemum in- 

 dicum of Linnaeus. The plants, however, did not find 

 favor Avith the English growers owing to their small 

 flowers, but they \\ere appreciated by the French and 

 were used for hybridizing. According to several au- 

 thorities, the pompons of the present-day Chrysan- 

 themum originated from these two varieties. The in- 

 troduction of the Japanese specimens into Etirope 

 dates from 1862, when they were brought back by Mr. 

 Fortune from his second trip to China. Salter, in de- 

 scribing these new plants, says : "Some varieties were 

 spotted and striped ; others were fantastic forms called 

 Dragons ; and one noteworthy specimen was a beauti- 

 ful fringed white flower, in appearance more like a 

 Japanese pink than a Chrysanthemum." 



The development of the Chrysanthemum before its 

 introduction into Europe is a mystery. Hemsley states 

 that "it is impossible to determine the parentage of 

 some of the Chinese double Chrysanthemums, and it 

 is highly probable that some of them are of hybrid 

 origin between Chrysanthemum indicum, the small 

 A-ellow, and Chrysanthemum morifolium (sinense). 

 The same may be said with regard to some of the 

 early figures of double varieties of Chrysanthemums, 

 which authors have identified with one or the other 

 of the two adopted species. The slender Chusan Daisy, 

 the parent of all the pom])ons, for example, is prob- 

 ably of mixed origin, though it may be pure C. in- 

 dicum." 



The true Chrysanthemum indicum in its wild state 

 is found from Hongkong to Pekin, the ray- and disk- 

 flowers both being yellow-. Chrysanthemum mori- 

 folium (C. sinense) is found in the Luchu Archipelago 

 and the Chinese central province of Hupeh. It is more 

 robust than C. indicum, the leaves are thicker and to- 

 mentose, and the ray-flowers are a different color from 

 the disk-flowers. — From Missouri Botanical Garden 

 Bulh-tin. 



PREVIOUS TO ELECTION. 



White: \\\\y did you supi)ort Black for re-election 

 to Congress? What has he ever done for his con- 

 stituents to deserve it ? 



Green : Has he not supplied us with free seeds and 

 does he not promise to fight for free implements if 

 re-elected? What more do you want? 



