THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 309 



out the old plants (after undergoing a thorough cleansing pro- 

 cess) into a raised bed, in the month of June. The bed should be 

 composed of one-half leaf-soil, or other vegetable matter, with sharp 

 aand; and if soiled up, pretty close to the collar, abundance of fine 

 young plants will be ready for pots by the early part of August ; 

 they should then be taken up for general potting. They must be 

 shaken entirely apart, and the plants singled out ; those strong, put 

 into three-inch pots ; those weak, into thumbs ; and the very 

 weakest, pricked thickly into stove-pots for the latest spring use. 

 Nothing is necessary but to place them all behind a wall, on the 

 north side, immediately they are potted, and to sprinkle them well. 

 The soil should be equal parts leaf-mould, peat, old cow-dung, char- 

 coal, or wood-ashes, strong loam, and sharp sand, remembering in 

 all these matters to drain the pots completely. These will want 

 nearly the same treatment as the Chinese Primroses, only the latter 

 revel in and enjoy both more light and air than the former. The 

 most forward will require a shift about the first week of September 

 — not later — into their final pots, using the compost in a rougher 

 state. About the same time those in " stores " should be placed in 

 thumbs, to receive their last shift about the end of January, whilst 

 those potted in thumbs in August will want their final shift about 

 the last week of September. By these means a constant bloom may 

 be insured, from the first week of November until the eud of the 

 next May. These plants in the dead of winter like abundance of 

 light and moderate waterings, but with the return of spring they 

 require much water. 



The Chrysanthemum holds a most important place amongst the 

 autumn flowers ; indeed, they may be said to form the great con- 

 necting link between the old year and the new. In endeavouring to 

 simplifv the cultivation of these gaudy flowers, I have found the 

 one best plan to be, transplanting the cuttings when struck in the 

 month of July, into beds in the open ground, placing them about 

 eight inches apart. They remain thus until the middle of August 

 (the grossest shoots being stopped occasionally), when they are 

 potted at once into their final shift, and treated carefully as cuttings 

 for a week or so, when they are inured gradually to the sunshine. 

 It is well, however, to pot all the smallest and weakest plants three 

 - in a five-inch pot, without planting out ; these may have a final shift 

 in the end of August, and will by these means be of a dwarfer 

 habit than the others, and will be found very useful. Early pro- 

 tection, and constantly clear liquid-manure, with abundance of light 

 and air, are all the requisites henceforth, and, with the exception of 

 sticks, they should have one to every main shoot, disposed in a 

 graceful way. These are particularly fond of clear liquid-manure, 

 and should have it abundantly the moment they show the flower- 

 bud. They should constantly have all root-suckers pulled from 

 them, and the shoots thinned judiciously, until the end of August. 

 As a rule three principal shoots may be left to a six-inch pot, four 

 to an eight-inch, and five to a nine-inch pot, and so onwards. The 

 plants should have abundance of light and room in an airy situation, 

 after the month of July, and should be under cover in some light 



October. 



