ON THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 291 



flower. I have placed sticks around the sides of the pot, and so tied 

 the shoots as to have flowers and foliage quite down to the rim of the 

 pot ; but though the plants so arranged have a very neat and pretty 

 appearance, they do not flower either so abundantly or fine as when 

 the stems are trained upright. By the middle of October most of the 

 sorts are showing colour, when they are taken up, giving them a twist 

 round to separate the roots that have protruded, and placed in the 

 greenhouse. The late blooming sorts are left out another week or 

 two, or until there is a danger of their being injured by frost. 

 Although when taken out of the ground the largest portion of their 

 roots are without the pot, they seem not to suffer the least check, but 

 when placed in the greenhouse go on expanding their flowers as 

 though they had never been disturbed. By the above mode of treat- 

 ment the dwarf sorts grow from a foot and a half to two feet, and the 

 taller sorts average about three feet six inches in height, well fur- 

 nished with branches, and mostly clothed with foliage nearly to the 

 rim of the pot, and exhibiting throughout November and the first 

 half of December an assemblage of beauty not to be surpassed by any 

 tribe of plants whatever. So much do I admire this tribe of plants, 

 that I have often said if I must confine my attention solely to one 

 class of plants, it should be the Chrysanthemum. And certainly in 

 the varied forms, from the modest appearance of the tassel-flowered 

 varieties to the bold fronts presented by Princess Maria, and similar 

 flowers, and in the exquisite colouring, from the purest white to the 

 richest purple and crimson, there is sufficient to command the 

 admiration of every lover of flowers. Would it not contribute to the 

 extended culture of these plants if greater encouragement was held 

 out by the Horticultural Societies for their exhibition. They are 

 most commonly exhibited as cut flowers, but if they were to be shown 

 as Pelargoniums and Calceolarias; for instance, in pots 12 to the cast, 

 or 24 to the cast, or what not, a sufficient number of competitors 

 would be forthcoming to render a floral exhibition in November or 

 December as interesting and attractive as at Midsummer. I hope the 

 above remarks will be useful ; if the process be practised I am confi- 

 dent the results will prove satisfactory. 



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