32 Chrysanthemum Culture for America. 



1810, perhaps earlier ; but at that time it obtained little atten- 

 tion, as its beauties were undeveloped and its praises unsung. 

 Its early history upon our continent is lost, and it is not pos- 

 sible to say with any certainty who first cultivated it in the 

 the new world. 



What little antiquity we have in America in relation to the 

 chrysanthemum clusters around the classic precincts of " The 

 Hub," although if record could be found, the writer is confi- 

 dent that several old North and South Carolina, as well as 

 Virginia gardens, might justly dispute the claim, as we find 

 from < ' the oldest inhabitant ' ' that a variety of the small yellow 

 chrysanthemum was common in each of those places eighty 

 years ago. These points in the history of our favorite flower 

 must long remain a matter of conjecture, but that it has come, 

 and come to stay, is a matter long since past discussion. 

 Being cultivated in England in 1795, not a long period could 

 have elapsed before it became known in America. 



The florists of our large eastern cities were always so active 

 in obtaining novelties from their eastern correspondents, that 

 it was doubtless but a few years from the time of its introduc- 

 tion into England until its roots were firmly planted in Ameri- 

 can soil. 



For many years it obtained much less attention than in the 

 countries of the old world. Within the past twenty years, 

 however, the popularity of the flower has advanced at a steady 

 rate until it is now supreme in the home garden, the exhibi- 

 tion hall and the conservatory. With such a command of 

 climate as the American continent affords, the entire culture 

 has been thoroughly mastered, including the propagation by 

 seed. Its wonderful development in the past ten years, in the 

 hands of American cultivators, is phenemonal for so brief a 

 period. Though beginning so recently, we are rapidly becom- 

 ing rivals of the countries in which it originated. 



Ten years ago but few chrysanthemums were cultivated 



