CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 7^ 



For the former be should begin planting his cuttings in December, 

 and he lua}- continue until April. It is difficult to keep foliage on 

 the lower part of early plants, and they do not come up to the 

 ideals of the awarding committees. Plants raised from cuttings 

 taken off and planted in March, and at the proper time transferred 

 to the open ground, make vigorous plants. It is not a difficult 

 matter to take up the plants ; the speaker likes to have the ground 

 dry, so that all the earth can be shaken from the roots, and the 

 suckers among them can be removed, which should be done care- 

 fully and thoroughly. Pinching is generally desirable, but some 

 varieties make perfect plants without ; Mr. Astie is one of these ; 

 the speaker had never nipped one. It is a free-flowering variety. 

 He stops pinching about the 25th of July. 



The market is flooded with new varieties, which are very easily 

 raised, though formerly it was thought impossible to do it here. 

 Mv. "Wood ^^had a plant of Citronella, one of the pompon class, 

 which was placed in the store of a druggist, who watered it for 

 two weeks, until the flowers dried up, when he ceased watering. 

 Watering was afterwards resumed, but the roots of the plant were 

 dead. The seed ripened and fell to the surface of the earth in the 

 pot and grew there, so that one hundred seedlings were potted 

 from it, and this was only a quarter part of the whole number. 

 If plants are hybridized while in bloom and then put in a dry 

 place they will ripen plenty of seed.- If the seed is sown in 

 January the seedling plants will afford good cuttings in March, 

 from which plants can be grown to flower well in November. 

 You must grow a hundred seedlings to get one that you would 

 want to grow a second year. Mrs. Wheeler forms a handsome 

 plant and has fine flowers, but is very difficult to grow. Mrs. 

 Alpheus Hardy is also difficult to grow. 



Joseph H. Woodford spoke of a gardener who took cuttings 

 the last of May, which he stuck six inches apart all over the sur- 

 face of a spent hot-bed. The cuttings all rooted, and at the 

 approach of frost boards were added to the frame of the bed and 

 sash placed thereon. The plants were quite vigorous, and each 

 produced one or two blooms of splendid size and quality — in fact, 

 the best flowers of all his plants. 



Joseph Clark agreed with Mr. Wood that it is important to 

 have the soil dry when the plants are taken up, so that the soil 

 can be shaken out and the white suckers removed. 



