Oriental and European History. 27 



Tycoon. The varieties belonging to this section were in 

 those days rather inclined to be later bloomers than the chrys- 

 anthemums generally grown. By some they were looked 

 upon as likely to be serviceable for conservatory decoration, 

 but fit for nothing else, as their defiance of all canons of good 

 taste placed them quite beyond the pale of .a flower show 

 and there were not a few who regarded them as veritable 

 abominations, judged by the chrysanthemum fancy then in 

 vogue. 



Now that the present generation have become accustomed 

 to the fantastic form of these wonderful floral triumphs, and 

 their brilliancy of color, to which the chrysanthemum owes 

 much of its popularity at the present day, it is amusing to 

 read what was prophesied about them twenty-three years ago. 

 A correspondent in the Florist and Pomologist in 1866 says: 

 " I fear that the new Japanese flowers recently introduced by 

 Mr. Fortune will scarcely become favorites with any of us. 

 They are loose, ungainly looking things, with colors by no 

 means attractive, and the less said about their form the bet- 

 ter. They may possibly be turned by-and-by to account by 

 the hybridizers ; but as a class, unless there can be some very 

 marked improvements in them, they will soon be discarded." 



What has been the result ? Out of the original seven, five 

 have remained in cultivation to the present day, and two of 

 these, Grandiflorum and Golden Dragon, rank among the best 

 that have been produced since. In view of such a revolution 

 as this, prophetic words for the future must be given with a 

 due regard to the fickle tastes of the public. 



In 1866, Mr. George Glenny, writing of form in the chrys- 

 anthemum, says : " The flower ought in form to be one-half or 

 two-thirds of a sphere, the center compact and outline round, 

 the whole face symmetrical and close, and the petals free from 

 notches at the end. The reflexed petal is inferior to the 

 cupped or incurved, but if the flower be of proper form when 



