vii.] COMPOST-POTTINGFEEDINGBUDS 163 



to cover them at each side with coal ashes, so that they 

 may not be parched with the hot sun, and require watering 

 half a dozen times in a day. 



The treatment of the buds and feeding with stimulants 

 are arts in themselves, not very easy to explain on paper 

 (see note). Enough to say that they must be learned, and 

 practised during the months of August, September, and 

 October if satisfactory blooms are to be looked for. Till 

 then, however, the more urgent work is the pressing on 

 the growth, and when dwarf and bushy plants are wanted, 

 they should be cut down before Midsummer Day to 

 within 4, 6, 8, or 12 inches of the soil; they will not 

 then need much moisture at the roots for a while, only 

 a syringing once a day to help the buds to start into 

 growth. Without cutting back, however, the plants will 

 break of themselves later on and bloom some weeks the 

 sooner. 



Any surplus plants and those of last year, if they 

 remain, may be planted out in the borders, and, if not 

 spoilt by autumn frosts, they are sure to be treasures of 

 beauty unfailing stores for cut flowers. 



The early autumn flowering sorts of the Madame 

 Desgrange type should certainly be distributed through 

 the garden, as they will bloom all through September. 



Let me therefore impress upon my readers the ad- 

 vantage of securing in early spring, and growing on 

 vigorously through summer, strong young plants of the 

 earlier and hardier sorts of Chrysanthemums, some of 

 which have been already given in a previous chapter. 



