98 Netv Mode of cultivating Chysdtithemum indicum. 



My second set are from cuttings struck about the middle 

 of May, placed singly in pots, and are shifted twice in the 

 season. 



The lowest grade, which form bushy plants, rise from § to 

 18 in. high. To obtain such, I do not keep them down by 

 pruning, as is commonly done, but by layering some of the 

 principal shoots in the following way : — Having some of each 

 variety planted in the spring, on a south border, there they 

 are allowed to remain till the middle of August, at which 

 time they have formed fine bushy heads, and from these are 

 to be produced my dwarf-sizedplants. Previously to layering 

 them, I select and bend down to the surface of the ground as 

 many as are wanted, fixing them there by long hooks, at the 

 place whence I propose the new roots shall proceed. In a 

 few days the shoots regain their natural upright position; 

 they may then be layered in pots placed close thereto, and 

 half-plunged in the soil ; this is easily done without risk 

 of breaking off the points, to which they are liable by a dif- 

 ferent practice. When placed in the pots, fix them there by 

 hooks, which should be long enough to pass through the hole 

 at bottom, and thus keep the whole steady. The layers are 

 assisted by regular watering, and having moss or short grass 

 laid on the surface of each pot ; when sufficiently rooted, they 

 are taken off, and shifted into larger pots, in which they are 

 intended to flower. 



My next object with all these sets of plants, is to train them 

 to the best form: as stage-flowers, they should present their best 

 face to the spectator, every flower should be seen, and they 

 should be as regularly arrayed as possible. To train them to 

 this effect, I place them, as soon as shifted for the last time, 

 against a south wall, allowing them plenty of room from each 

 other, plunging the pots in the ground, and fixing the principal 

 shoot only with a shred to the wall. In this situation, they 

 in a short time acquire the desired form, which they retain 

 throughout the flowering season. The plants are not tied to 

 sticks till the flower buds begin to form ; they are then de- 

 tached from the wall, but still kept as near it as possible. To 

 give the necessary symmetry, a little contrivance must be 

 resorted to ; some of the longest side-branches which are not 

 wanted, or may be spared from the top, are bent spirally 

 downwards behind, and their points protruded through the 

 foliage below, so that flowers may appear regularly over the 

 face of the plant. I use small copper wire lor this purpose, 

 which I find much more suitable than either brass or thread. 



Large flowers are obtained by a judicious thinning of the 

 flower buds. Those sorts which have many secondary buds 



