6 BOOK OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 



day he is considered by many in France the father ot 

 the Chrysanthemum, as he continued the work of 

 hybridising and raising in after years. His portrait was 

 painted in oils and hung in the local hall, in recognition 

 of his services. England soon followed his example, 

 and in 1832 a Mr Wheeler of Oxford raised some 

 seedlings and exhibited them before a meeting of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society at the end of that year, 

 when he received a Silver Medal from the Society in 

 recognition of his efforts. 



Other growers in England followed him and an 

 incurved variety named Nonpareil, even said to be met 

 with at the present day, was raised by a Mr Freestone 

 of Norfolk soon after. Then in the year 18333 German 

 horticulturist published the first known treatise on the 

 history and culture of the flower. 



In 183/1 fifty-three distinct varieties were supposed to 

 be grown, and this number, with so many enthusiasts in 

 the field, was soon largely increased. 



The following year we hear of Mr Chandler, a 

 nurseryman of Vauxhall, who by the way made 

 Chrysanthemums a speciality, obtaining some good forms 

 of the incurved type from an amateur grower who had 

 raised them in Jersey. 



The two first Chrysanthemum shows recorded in 

 the country took place at Swansea and Birmingham 

 respectively, in the same month and year, December 

 1836. 



The next event of importance in the annals of the 

 flower is in the year 1838 when Mr John Salter went 

 to reside at Versailles in France, with the purpose of 

 raising new varieties, chiefly the incurved type. The 

 reason of his going to France was without a doubt the 

 suitability of the climate for the hybridising and ripening 

 of the seed, as compared with our own indifferent and 

 variable weather. In that he succeeded beyond, perhaps, 



