82 THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



most in connection with it was the resemblance the collec- 

 tions of exhibits 'bore to a tastefully laid out garden. But 

 that is the custom on the other side of the Channel at 

 nearly all chrysanthemum shows. I do not think, how- 

 ever, that I ever saw anything finer than the arrangement 

 at the Paris show referred to. The French exhibit their 

 plants and blooms in a way that gives the visitor the im- 

 pression that they have grown in the beds, cartloads of 

 sand and mould being shot down within the limits of the 

 building where the show is being held, and in this im- 

 provised garden the competitors arrange their specimens. 

 The names of the chrysanthemums are written on labels 

 attached to the stems, and it is therefore difficult when 

 walking through an exhibition to ascertain the names of 

 each flower or plant. In this respect the English practice 

 of exhibiting 'mums on tables and showing the names 

 plainly is to be preferred. 



