THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



89 



Fig. 2738. 



Plant in suitable condition for furnishing cuttings. 

 2. Sample of cutting. 



mum show at Toronto last fall was pro- 

 bably the finest exhibit of its kind that has 

 ever been held in Canada, and excellent 

 smaller shows were held in many towns and 

 villages throughout the province. 



Possibilities of Development. — At each 

 annual exhibition new varieties are being in- 

 troduced, and something new of interest is 

 added to the development of this " Star-eyed 

 Daughter of the Fall." The size has been 

 greatly increased and the variety of shades 



Fig. 2739. A well-rooted cutting. 



of color has been multiplied. The variety 

 which created the greatest sensation at the 

 time of its introduction was the. one named 

 after Mrs. Alpheus Hardy, this being the 

 first of the hairy or ciliated type, which is 

 now represented by many excellent varieties 

 in various shades of color. With all the 

 new shades of color which have appeared, 

 we have still, however, to wait for the much 

 talked of blue chrysanthemum. How long 

 we may have to wait is hard to tell. 



What, to my mind, is most needed now in 

 the way of improvement, is the development 

 of constitution and strength of stem in the 

 plant. Many of our finest varieties, in or- 

 der to show their bloom, have to be sup- 

 ported like cripples on crutches and staked 

 with a forest of props. When these sup- 

 ports can be done away with a considerable 

 step in advance will have been made. 



Methods oe Culture. — Open air culture 

 in the flower border is not altogether satis- 

 factory in this latitude on account of the 

 danger from early frosts, although in the 

 southern part of the province I have fre- 

 quently seen them grown in this way. The 

 Pompon varieties, with their bright colored 

 little button-like flowers, are the hardiest and 

 best adapted for this purpose, as are also 

 some of the early flowering larger varieties. 

 Small plants may be set out as soon as dan- 

 ger of frost is over in the spring. They 

 should be planted from one and a half to 

 two feet apart, in good rich garden loam, 

 kept well cultivated, and watered if neces- 

 sary. The quality and quantity of bloom 

 will be almost in direct proportion to the 

 amount of attention given them. 



Open Ground, Followed by Pot Cul- 

 ture. — This is the method usually followed 

 by amateurs who liave not the time or con- 

 veniences for growing the plants from first 

 to last in pots. About the last of August 

 the plants are lifted from the beds in which 

 they have been growing all summer and are 

 potted in eight or ten-inch pots. This must 



