THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 



selves in fairly good shape if given all the food 

 they need to bring about satisfactory develop- 

 ment. They will make a stronger growth than 

 those kept in pots. But I would not advise 

 this method of summer culture, because we 

 will be obliged to lift and pot the plants before 

 frost comes, and at the very time when buds 

 are forming. No matter how carefully this 

 work is done, the roots of the plants will be 

 disturbed to a considerable extent, and any 

 such disturbance, at so critical a period, will 

 seriously interfere with the satisfactory de- 

 velopment of the flowers. In lifting and pot- 

 ting the plants many of the strongest roots will 

 have to be cut away, and in proportion to the 

 loss of roots we must remove some of the 

 branches. Therefore it will be readily under- 

 stood that we gain nothing, in the long run, 

 by turning our plants out to take care of them- 

 selves during the summer. In reality we lose 

 by it, for we are likely to get a crop of inferior 

 flowers from plants that have been disturbed 

 at the time when everything ought to be made 

 as favorable as possible for them. 



A veranda with an eastern exposure is a 

 good place in which to keep pot-grown Chrys- 

 anthemums during summer. The plant-shed 



186 



