See. 
66 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
the middle of March. The suckers are now the best for those who 
omitted to strike the cuttings at the proper time ; for if they are taken 
off properly and potted, they will become established, and be ready 
for shifting into larger pots at the proper time. To separate them 
from the old stool, turn the plants out of the pots, and shake away 
the soil, and with a sharp knife detach them with a small portion of 
root. Put them singly in small pots, and place in a frame where 
they can be kept rather close and warm for a few days, until they 
begin to root freely into the new soil. The suckers that rise from 
near the surface, and are of a medium height, are preferable to those 
having a considerable portion of stem underground. So important 
is it to have well-rooted plants early, that when extra large specimens 
are required, cultivators select in the autumn a sufficient number of 
the medium-sized plants that have not been trained, and after they 
have been cut down, and when the suckers rise freely, they remove 
all but one. They are afterwards taken out of the pots, the soil 
shaken away, the roots trimmed, and then repotted. A fresh com- 
post, and pots of the smallest size into which the roots can be 
put are used. The early part of April may be mentioned as the 
most suitable time for shifting those raised from cuttings and suckers 
into larger pots, but the actual date will depend upon the state of 
the plants, tor they must be shifted when the pots are well filled 
with roots, and not before. For this shift empioy pots six inches in 
diameter, and let them be thoroughly clean and well drained. 
About the middle of March nip out the point of each plant, to 
promote the production of side-shoots, and by the time they are 
ready for repotting they will have commenced to break freely, 
and it may now be said once for all, that at no stage should the 
repotting and the stopping be done at the same time. Until the 
middle of May keep the stock in a cold frame, and maintain a free 
circulation of air amongst the foliage, by tilting the lights at the 
back, and in mild weather in the tront also. Stop the secondary 
shoots once or twice, according to the progress made, but they must 
not be stopped until they are four or five inches in length, for a 
moderate quantity of strong shoots are the most desirable at the 
commencement. 
After the middle of May all danger from frost, so far as the 
chrysanthemums are concerned, will be past, and the whole stock of 
plants may be moved to the open air. A sunny situation must be 
selected, and to prevent injury to them from drought, and also to 
lessen the labour of supplying them with water, plunge the pots in 
a bed of coal-ashes. This must be of a sufficient depth for the 
plants to be stood upon inverted flower-pots, to keep worms out of 
the soil, and to allow the surplus water to drain away quickly, and 
to prevent their rooting through. For this purpose three-inch pots 
will be suitable for standing the plants upon until they are put into 
the pots in which they are to bloom, and then others six inches in 
diameter will be required. 
In the second or third week in June shift into the pots in which 
they are to bloom, and the size of these must be regulated by the 
limit put upon the size of the pot by the rules of the exhibition at 
