7 4 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK 



displays of the season, attracting throngs, and showing not 

 only wonderful cut flowers but also magnificent exhibition 

 plants, whose many blossoms are trained into brilliant hem- 

 ispherical masses of glorious bloom. 



The Queen of Autumn is produced in a bewildering variety 

 of forms and shades. As in the case of the dahlia, these are 

 classified under several sections. Incurved chrysanthemums 

 were the popular form years ago, like the Show Dahlia, which 

 they somewhat resemble in their formal character. Their 

 blossoms are regular in structure, the smooth, round- tipped 

 petals curving inward over the flower centre to form a per- 

 fect globe. Reflexed chrysanthemums secure the same 

 globular form in just the reverse way, their flatter petals 

 lying smoothly back from the centre and completing their 

 sphere by meeting about the stem. 



The Japanese class of chrysanthemums, the modern fa- 

 vorite, departs from all regularity of petal or flower form, 

 and appears in a marvellous variety of transformations. It 

 recalls the Cactus Dahlia in its decorative qualities, but ad- 

 mits a far wider list of flower shapes. The Japanese In- 

 curved section is an intermediate class, with incurved petals, 

 yet loose and free in character. Then there are Pompon 

 Chrysanthemums, just as there are Pompon Dahlias. Many 

 of these are hardy, and some have the merest buttons of 

 flowers arranged in attractive sprays. 



Single chrysanthemums are grown, also, even as single 

 dahlias are, and they possess an airy grace and simplicity 

 that give them high value for interior decoration. The 

 Anemone section is an odd intermediate type, with ranks of 

 ray florets surrounding a disk cushioned with short quilled 

 florets. In all these classes there are endless variations of 



