189G.] ESSAYS. 99 



another year, this is especially desirable when bench culture of many 

 kinds is adopted, or new ones are on trial. Last winter I made the 

 suggestion to one of, if not the largest growers in this country that 

 he would when sending out new kinds, stale the height they grew, the 

 bud to take, and season of bloom ; in this way he would make his 

 list a veritable guide to Chrysanthemum culture, and it would be in 

 the hands of the cultivator at all seasons. I am glad to say that the 

 suggestion was taken up and has been adopted I hope permanently, 

 not only, with the new kinds but with older ones that we are anxious 

 to tr}' also. Disseminators of new varieties bave in the past thought 

 it enough if they got together a few sets of new kinds and offered 

 them for sale, and that we ought to do the rest iu the shape of paying 

 higii prices for the whole set only to find that if there were one good 

 one it was great results ; we had to do the testing and weeding out, 

 and also find out what were the characteristics of the plants besides 

 the colors ; this detail was the only one they condescended to supply. 

 All this is now a thing of the past, and we wonder now that it was 

 submitted to so long. There is now iu every large centre a committee 

 appointed by the National Society and part of the same, with full 

 authority to pass opinion upon new ones during the flowering season, 

 a standard of rules are drawn up and points named by which they are 

 to be judged, and now it takes a really good flower to pass muster 

 and come out with honors. All this is a distinct step in advance over 

 old methods, and all in favor of the purchaser, for he knows that if 

 a new variety is offered with a certificate attached to it it means some- 

 thing, it means that at least three good judges are of the opinion that 

 this particular variety is a distinct gain to our already long list of gar- 

 den varieties, and also that their reputations as experts are also at stake 

 at the same time ; so I say welcome to the good work that the National 

 Society is doing for us without money and without price ; and if the 

 standard of excellence has been placed rather high as some seem to 

 think, let us reply that there are no kinds in commerce so good that 

 they cannot be equalled ; we want a few more good pink sorts such 

 as V. Morel for early and late season kinds, and a good late white 

 equal to Niveus would find a place, so also would an earl}' yellow 

 to equal Bonnafon, and some more good crimsons that would not 

 burn ; John Shrimpton is the only one we have besides Cullingfordi 

 that will stand the sun without flinching. 



Now a word as to specimen plants in pots. I may say first that we 

 do not grow them now ; they are real white elephants to the gar- 

 dener who has to supply large quantities of flowers and plants all 



