THE 



VOL. v.] 



MAY, 1882. 



[No. 5. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



The colored plate which adorns the 

 present number will make our readers 

 acquainted with three distinct sections 

 of this showy flower — the Japanese, 

 Pomiwn, and the Chinese. Figures 

 seven and nine indicate the Japanese 

 variety, nine being the large white 

 flower so prominent in the upper part 

 of the group ; one and two are yellow 

 and rose-colored Pompons, and the 

 remainder belong to the Chinese sec- 

 tion. 



In our climate, except in the sections 

 where the autumnal frosts are post- 

 poned quite late by the modifying in- 

 fluences of large bodies of water, the 

 Chrysanthemum needs to be brought 

 into the conservatory or cool greenhouse 

 in order to enjoy their bloom. Their 

 season of flowering is late in the autumn, 

 and on that account an almost indis- 

 pensable plant, making the conservatory 

 gay with its crimson and gold, when 

 there is scarcely any other plant in 

 bloom. 



It is of easy culture, growing readily 

 from cuttings, or suckers, or divisions 

 of the roots, yet it has seemed to the 

 writer that the best results are obtained 

 by growing them from cuttings. These 



may be taken off" in the spring, and as 

 soon as they are rooted put into small 

 pots, from which they should be shifted 

 to larger when their growth requires it. 

 A six inch pot is large enough for the 

 last shift, in which they can remain 

 until they have bloomed. They should 

 never be allowed to flag for want of 

 water, but be plentifully supplied all 

 the time they are growing and blooming. 

 Nor do they thrive as well in great heat 

 as when kept in a cool place where 

 they can have plenty of air. 



After the young plant has got well 

 established in the small pot and has 

 attained a height of five or six inches, 

 the terminal bud or top of the plant 

 should be pinched off*, so as to make the 

 plant throw out branches, and as these 

 branches extend they will also require 

 to be pinched in, so that a bushy and 

 symmetrical form may be secured. By 

 the middle of August this pinching 

 must be relinquisheil, so that the plant 

 may form its flowering buds in season 

 for its autumnal display. 



The soil in which the plants are 

 grown should be well enriched with old 

 and thoroughly rotted manure; that 

 from the cow-stable is usually preferred, 



