Gardening for Amateurs 



189 



improved by judicious disbudding, and if 

 three or four stems are allowed each plant 

 very large flowers are obtained. 



Exhibition Chrysanthemums, of which 

 the monster blooms are one of the marvi -N 

 of horticultural science, demand more care 

 and study. The subject is a large one, for 

 some varieties require entirely different 

 treatment from others, and the individual 

 plant must always be considered. Some 



and opportune in their arrival they are 

 allowed to come into flower, i.e. they are 

 " taken," but if not they are again rubbed 

 off, one shoot is allowed to grow on from 

 each stem, and " second crown " buds are 

 thus obtained. As a general rule these second 

 crown buds are best, and most often " taken," 

 yet in some cases they are again rubbed off 

 and " terminal " buds allowed to form on 

 the shoots. 



Showing how far apart Peach fruits should be left on the branches. 



A Vine shoot " stopped " at one joint 

 beyond the bunch. 



must be stopped or pinched very early in 

 OI.I.T to make thorn branch ; others grow 

 and form a terminal bud, and then the plant 

 sends out shoots naturally ; the latter 

 I tin -MO tin-noil is called the " natural or first 

 luvaU." The bud is of no value, .mil it i- 

 ne\.r allowed to come into bloom; thn-e 

 or four shoots are allowed to grow on ;md 

 produce further buds. If now these "first 

 " buds, as they are called, are suitable 



Sweet Peas. Disbudding may be 



necessary from the very onset, for often 

 \\lieu the seedlings are raised under glass 

 they fail to branch out until the tip of the 

 plant is cut off. For exhibition purposes, 

 too, only tuo ( ,r three stems arc allov:ed to 

 rise, and all -id.- shoot-, are ruthlessly nipped 

 out to ensure that there are no more than 

 the actual tuo or three -tem- for U-arinu 

 flowers. When the blossom spikes appear 



