88 THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



dour, Clara Wells, Cbas. Beckett, Donald McLeod, Mor- 

 ton F. Plant, O. H. Broomhead, Col. D. Appleton, W. 

 Wells, W. R. Church, Mrs. S. Shaw (the Bronze Thirkell). 

 The foregoing were really magnificent. It is curious 

 to notice that Purity, The Hon. Mrs. Lopes, Splendour, 

 Master David, Master James, Sir Frank Crisp, and a few 

 other varieties which do well in Great Britain all showed 

 an eye, or had such weak stems that they were barred as 

 general favourites. The Australian varieties, raised by 

 Pockett and distributed by Wells , comprise 70 per cent, of 

 the total number of blooms exhibited at the leading shows. 

 The remaining 30 per cent, are nearly equally American, 

 French and English raised varieties. 



Cultural Method*. 



As regards American cultural methods, the plan generally 

 adopted is to put good cilean sand in a bench, raised a 

 couple of feet above the floor of the propagating house. The 

 sand and soil are packed to a depth of about three inches, 

 and this is kept at a temperature of from 55 to 65 degrees. 

 Steam pipes are run beneath the bench in order to raise 

 the temperature there to about 60 degrees. The cuttings, 

 which are inserted in rows in the sand about one inch apart 

 each way, root very quickly. Great care is taken to shade 

 them from the direct rays of the sun, and watering is 

 performed as often as is necessary to keep them from wilt- 

 ing. As soon as the cuttings have formed roots about an 

 inch Hong, they are placed in thumb pots (2 to 2.\ in.), and 

 when they have become established they are transferred 

 into 5-in. pots. In May or June the plants are shifted 

 into stout iboxes, each of which is capable of accommodat- 

 ing about 12, or else placed in benches raised about six inches 

 above the floor, to admit in either case of free drainage. 

 The plants for exhibition are placed in the beds or boxes 

 at a distance of ten inches or a foot each way. Syringing 

 and spraying are constantly carried out, and every effort is 

 made to maintain the temperature at a comparatively low 

 level in the hot summer. The hose is an indispensable 

 implement in American nurseries and gardens, and 



