i6o CHRYSANTHEMUMS [CH. 



from the parent, and potted or planted out in September 

 or October, the choicer sorts potted small and kept 

 in the cold frame for the winter. 



The soil they best like is a good turfy loam as fibrous 

 as may be ; to four parts of this add one part of rotten 

 dung and one of leaf mould, with sharp sand enough to 

 keep it loose : a good sprinkling of old lime-rubbish is a 

 very welcome addition. 



CHAPTER VII 

 CHRYSANTHEMUMS 



Chrysanthemums have two exceptional merits : at a 

 season when Nature has clothed herself in grey, they 

 produce an almost endless variety of colour, and to 

 this may be added a wonderful readiness to adapt them- 

 selves to the most smoky surroundings. Few things are 

 more encouraging in the experience of the owner of a town 

 garden than a visit to the Temple Gardens, in the very 

 heart of London, in the very depth of winter ; many an 

 amateur has gone home after such a visit with the 

 resolution to make this flower a speciality. To be sure, 

 the extent of one's ambition as a Chrysanthemum grower 

 must vary with the opportunities and time at our disposal, 

 but as smoke and soot are not against us, we may well 

 take heart. Those who are really in earnest will be sure 



