CHINESE ^CHRYSANTHEMUM. 295 



(Enotk&YSi, and other genera, which approach the cha- 

 racter of florists' flowers. To have them in perfection, 

 thej should be kept in beds by themselves ; and we are 

 persuaded that, were a moiety of the care bestowed upon 

 them which is lavished on florists' flowers properly so 

 called, they would amply repay the labor of the culti- 

 vator. 



The Chinese Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum si- 

 nense), from the peculiar culture wbich it now under- 

 goes, may be considered to belong to this department of 

 flowers. It is a native of China, and though introduced 

 many years ago, its ornamental capabilities have only 

 recently been brought into notice. Flowering in No- 

 vember and December, it fills up, with its many-colored 

 blossoms, the blank of a most dreary season, and afi^ords 

 the means of decorating green-houses, conservatories, 

 and dwelling-houses, when almost all other means of 

 embellishment fail. Forty varieties were enumerated 

 by the late Mr Sabine, in the London Horticultural 

 3Ie7noirs; but it is believed that there are several others 

 not yet introduced, flowers of which are represented on 

 Chinese painted screens, in a stifi", but rigidly correct 

 style, and which we may soon expect to receive from 

 China. The Chrysanthemum is hardy enough to live 

 in the open air, but it requires the shelter of a wall, 

 and, from the lateness of its flowering, it is only the 

 early varieties that even in fine seasons are enabled to 

 unfold their blossoms against a south wall in our open 

 borders. It is seen in its beauty only when grown in 

 pots and under glass. Yearly plants are preferred. 

 In the beginning of April, cuttings of the last year's 

 shoots, about three inches long, are put singly into 

 small pots, filled with soil composed of one-half bog- 



