THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 65 



Cbiysanthemam season far into the winter ; in fact it is now not 

 unusual to see them at Ctiristmas. We find the following 

 valuable in this way : — 



Bicolor, orange and yellow. 



Ceres, pink and white. 



Ethel, white. 



Gloire de Toulouse, amaranth crimson. 



Grandiflorum, bright yellow. 



Mrs. Charles Carey, white. 



Snowstorm, white. 



Thunberg, yellow. 



And the new variety Le Surprenant,* crimson and yellow. 



Cultivation. — With us the cultivation of the Chrysanthemum 

 really begins as soon as the plant is through flowering ; for it is in 

 a great measure upon the good health of the cutting, taken from 

 this old plant, that future success in cultivation depends. 



Many growers, as soon as the plant is through flowering, cut it 

 down to the pot, but this we consider a very hazardous thing to 

 do ; as many varieties seem naturally to have weak constitutions 

 and these will sometimes refuse to start into growth if the old tops 

 are cut oflT too soon. We usually cut the branches back quite 

 severely at first, but the plant is never cut down to the pot until 

 the shoots have begun to start quite freely from the roots. 



The plants should receive as good cultivation after they have 

 bloomed as the}' do before ; for it is useless to expect a good 

 healthy plant from an unhealthy cutting. From carelessness in 

 this matter or from want of room, the old plants are very often 

 packed awa}^ under the benches, or in some equally unwholesome 

 place ; and the consequence is that the shoots which start from the 

 roots (from which the cuttings are usually made) will be very soft 

 and weak, and one might say totally unfit for the purpose. Such 

 cuttings should never be used when by any possible means better 

 ones can be obtained. To mismanagement in this alone I attrib- 

 ute fully half the failures so common in chrysanthemum growing. 

 , The chrysanthemum is essentially a sun-loving plant, and an}' 

 encroachment upon its rights receives a sure penalty in sickly 

 looking plants and blooms devoid of that exquisite coloring which 

 makes this flower so charmins. 



♦Specimens of this variety were shown by the essayist. 

 5 



