THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 57 



of the cuttings for late blooms should be struck about 

 the first of June, the first or even the fifteenth of July 

 will not be too late to secure good results, if they are 

 properly handled. 



CARE OF THE PLANTS. 



Chrysanthemums are grown by florists, either in 

 beds or benches, when the flowers alone are desired, but 

 are to some extent grown in large pots, both as standard 

 and bush plants, for purposes of decoration and for 

 specimens, and in small pots for sale. The treatment 

 required for each kind of plant is somewhat different. 

 The bench and the bed both have their advocates for 

 growing the flowers, but while some varieties seem to do 

 better in one than in the other, it may, perhaps, be truly 

 claimed that the plants in the benches are least likely to 

 suffer from over-watering, while they will need greater 

 care if they are to escape injury from neglect to water 

 often enough, and good blooms can be obtained in either 

 bench or bed. 



Unless top-dressing and liquid manuring are de- 

 pended on to supply most of the plant food, the soil 

 should be composed of about one part half-rotted cow 

 manure and three parts thick sods, prepared as recom- 

 mended for roses. If the soil is at all stiff, a small 

 amount of sand should be added. At the bottom of the 

 solid beds it is customary with many growers to place a 

 layer of sods, with the grass side down, and cover them 

 with about eight inches of the compost, while the bot- 

 tom of the benches often has an inch of rotten cow 

 manure upon it, with from four to six inches of the pre- 

 pared soil. The same objections hold with this crop as 

 with the rose, as to the excessive use of stable manure, and 

 several growers are even now dispensing with the ma- 

 nure and relying upon commercial fertilizers, prepared 

 after special formulas, for the plant food needed by the 



