56 Chrysanthemum Culture for America. 



oyster shells or mortar rubbish, half a part of dissolved bones 

 and the same quantity of soot as advised for the heavier soil. 

 Thoroughly incorporate the various parts, using all as rough 

 as possible. The action of mixing reduces the parts consid- 

 erably ; therefore if the turfy loam and other ingredients be 

 chopped small at first, the mass becomes too fine by frequent 

 turning. When the collection of plants to be potted is large, 

 and a greater quantity of soil is required, it is well to mix the 

 compost at once for the whole, choosing a fine day, so that the 

 soil may not get wet in mixing. There may be many growers 

 who cannot conveniently procure all the ingredients for these 

 two composts, especially in the case of amateurs who do not 

 wish the trouble of securing the different articles for the sake 

 of the few plants which they cultivate. 



We give one more simple but good compost, which nearly 

 all can procure from the material they have at hand, and which 

 will be found to answer admirably under most circumstances. 

 Three parts rotted sod, and one part rotted manure, adding 

 a six-inch pot full of bone dust to each wheelbarrow-full of 

 the mixture. With good care in other respects, this will pro- 

 duce excellent plants. Those who cannot get all the material 

 described need have no fear that they cannot achieve success, 

 for an ordinary soil, with close attention to watering and fre- 

 quent applications of liquid manure, will produce far better 

 results than the most thorough preparation of compost, fol- 

 lowed by neglect of the plant, in their subsequent culture. 

 We have seen equally as fine chrysanthemums grown in the 

 light sandy soil of Connecticut, in the black peaty soil of Illi- 

 nois, and in the red clay of Tennessee. 



When cultivated in the ground all summer and taken up 

 and potted in the fall for house or conservatory decoration, 

 the time of transferring them is a critical period, and the pot- 

 ting is most safely done by the middle of August or first of 

 September, if the weather is cloudy and favorable, as it allows 



