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rag of bloom! Another had plants in a window-box, and they 



looked perfectly happy. Others, and these the majority, had their 



plants in borders beside the party fences. The point is that the 



people were trying, and by no means without success, to grow 



Chrysanthemums. 



Now, what will thrive in London may be expected to thrive in 

 most towns. The fact is, the sulphur in the atmosphere, and the 

 smuts, which are so bad for most plants, have but a slightly dele- 

 terious effect on Chrysanthemums. Even fog is not fatal, except 

 from the exhibitor's point of view. It does not kill the plants ; it 

 does not really destroy the flowers. What it does is to cause 

 "damping" of large blooms. They contract, droop, and lose their 

 fresh colours. In the same house with large Japanese show flowers 

 that have been spoiled by damping there may be plants of Singles 

 carrying charming vase flowers. 



The reference to plants in London gardens may raise an old 

 question: Is the Chrysanthemum hardy? Inherently it is, cer- 

 tainly. It is true that if plants which have been raised from 

 stock under glass, and succulently grown in pots, were left out of 

 doors when cold weather came on they would probably be badly 

 damaged by the first severe frost. The flowers would be spoiled, 

 and the foliage would be discoloured. But that the Chrysanthe- 

 mum is really a hardy plant is conclusively proved by the evidence 

 of thousands of plants which have lived for years out of doors, 

 passing unscathed through severe winters. The truth is that the 

 Chrysanthemum is hardy or not according to the conditions under 

 which it is grown. It is always well worth while to grow a 

 collection in the garden, for late as well as for early blooming. 

 Severe early frosts sometimes mar the flowers, but in most years 

 no harm is done. If gardeners in Great Britain always hesitated 

 because they were uncertain what the weather was going to be, 

 we should not get half the fruit and flowers that we do now. 

 We must trust to the law of averages. 



