i2 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



set to work on a task that was destined to make his name 

 famous in the annals of the flower which he did so much 

 to improve. 



Seedlings were first raised in the Versailles nursery in 

 1843, anc * from that time onward in Versailles and in 

 Hammersmith, where Salter settled on hisreturn to England, 

 his work was attended with wonderful success and the 

 fame of the Chrysanthemums increased every year. Salter 

 retired in 1869. 



Mr. Robert Fortune, the intrepid traveller and plant 

 collector, made his first visit to China in 1843. He sent 

 home two small varieties of Chrysanthemums which may 

 be regarded as the parents of the present race of Pompons. 

 Some seedlings of these were exhibited in 1846 at a meeting 

 of the Horticultural Society, but as English growers were 

 beginning to treat the large-flowered Chinese Chrysan- 

 themum and its seminal varieties in the light of a florist's 

 flower, these miniature Chrysanthemums were not much 

 appreciated. On the other side of the Channel the view 

 was different, and as the new-comers seeded freely the 

 Pompon section soon made rapid strides, and for a time 

 was held in considerable esteem. M. Miellez, M. Lebois, 

 M. Pel6, and others contributed largely to the development 

 of this race. 



It was shortly after the introduction of the first of the 

 Pompons that the early-flowering section made its appear- 

 ance. Although this section was known as early as 1850, 

 it made but little progress until thirty years later. In the 

 olden days the varieties were all of the Pompon type, and 

 it was not until varieties of early -flowering Japanese 

 Chrysanthemums were produced by the French growers 

 that the early section made any definite advance. The 



