22 Chrysanthemum Culture for America, 



the culture of the chrysanthemum meets with its due reward. 



In the year 1779 M. Blanchard, a merchant of Marseilles, 

 imported three plants frem China, but out of these three only 

 one a purple flower reached France alive. This is the one 

 of which Ramatuelle published an account, calling it, as pre- 

 viously quoted, Anthemis grandiflora, having satisfied himself 

 and the French botanists that it could not be the C. indicum 

 of Linnaeus. In the following year M. Cels, a Parisian nur- 

 seryman of considerable repute, sent to the Royal Gardens at 

 Kew what was the first large-flowering chrysanthemum in 

 modern times, known either in England or on the continent. 

 In November, 1795, it bloomed at Chelsea, at the nursery of 

 Messrs. Colville, a firm much noted in after years for the 

 beauty of their chrysanthemums. No other variety was known 

 for several years, until 1798, when between that year and 1808, 

 eight new varieties were imported, one by Mr. Thomas Evans 

 of Stepheny, and the remaining seven by Sir Abraham Hume. 

 To these nine varieties a tenth was added, namely the change- 

 able white, a sport from the old purple of 1802. In 1798, the 

 rose and buff were introduced; in 1802, the golden yellow, 

 and the sulphur yellow; in 1806, the Spanish brown ; in 1808, 

 the quilled white and the large lilac. Of these the sulphur 

 yellow was the one imported by Mr. Evans, and the other seven 

 were imported through the agency of Sir A. Hume. 



Between the years 1808 and 1816, there was another sus- 

 pension of importations, but in the latter year and up to 1823 

 there were several new varieties introduced. For the first few 

 decades in the present century there was scarcely any plant 

 half so popular as the Chinese chrysanthemum, and as it had 

 then attracted considerable attention and become a favorite 

 flower it began to sell for a high price. The Messrs. Colville, 

 who were the first to succeed in producing blooms of the pur- 

 ple chrysanthemum which it may be easily imagined have 

 little resemblance to those we see at the present time were 



