CHRYSANTHEMUM. 101 



brilliant blue flowers in July and August. Propagated from 

 seed and by parting the roots. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



Chinese Chrysanthemum. 



This is one of the handsomest autumnal flowers, and easily 

 cultivated in almost any soil. It stands the winter without 

 covering, but is best cultivated in pots, where it can receive 

 protection when in bloom, in severe weather in autumn. In 

 warm seasons, it flowers well in October and November, in a 

 sheltered place, in the open ground. The plants may be culti- 

 vated in the garden till they are in bud, when they may be 

 safely transferred to pots ; but it would be better to commence 

 their cultivation from the slip or cutting, in the spring, and 

 sink the pots into the ground, in a shady place, until the time 

 of taking up, The varieties are endless, early and late, tassel- 

 flowered, quilled, flat-petalled, &c., with every shade of light 

 purple, yellow, white, lilac, blush brown, red brown, &c. 



For common culture, divide the roots in the spring, and 

 plant them out, where they are to stand, in a warm exposure, 

 in good rich loam. As they are coming into bud, give them 

 occasional waterings with liquid manure. 



To produce handsome, dwarf, bushy plants, the following 

 course may be adopted, as practised by Youell & Co., Eng- 

 land, which course, they say, "if carried out, will ensure 

 dwarf plants from one and a half to two feet high, covered with 

 rich dark-green foliage, and carrying blooms from five to seven 

 inches in diameter. In the last week in May we select the 

 tops of the strongest shoots for cuttings, putting four or five 

 round the edge of a three-inch pot, and placing them in a 

 gentle warmth. When rooted, they are potted singly in the 

 same sized pot, and kept in a close frame, for a few days, until 

 they have become established. The tops may then be pinched 

 out, leaving five or six joints to remain for lateral shoots 

 9* 



