Deeemtei 7, 1676. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



491 



hood of London the Chrysanthemum is held in great repute ; 

 and the provinces are not far behind, for Liverpool, Man- 

 chester, Peterborough, Northampton, Oxford, Maidstone, Dart- 

 ford, Devonport, &o., have their annual shows, and as most of 

 them have fine-foliaged plants and fruits associated with 

 Chrysanthemums, these autumn displays are very attractive. 

 Chrysanthemums are also grown in greater excellence than 

 formerly for home decoration ; iu fact they are becoming more 

 popular every season, for they not only brighten the dullest 

 months of the year, but are adapted to the dry air of heated 

 rooms, in which they remain a long time in a fresh state. The 

 Chrysanthemum is a very accommodating plant, and one which 

 it would be difficult for the novice to kill ; but, on the other 

 hand, both skill and patience are necessary to reach perfection, 

 and for this more time, care, and attention are required than 

 can always b3 bestowed by those who have many garden cares. 



In my remarks on 

 oulture it must be un- 

 derstood that I have 

 in view perfection of 

 bloom and not symme- 

 try of plants. 



When euttings can 

 be readily procured 

 (which is generally as 

 soon as the plants go 

 out of bloom) insert 

 four or five around the 

 sides of a pot, and 

 place them in a cold 

 frame on a layer of coal 

 ashes to prevent worms 

 from entering the pots. 

 Cuttings put-in in this 

 way strike freely aDd 

 remain strong and 

 stooky. As soon as well 

 rooted, which is gene- 

 rally about January or 

 February, pot them 

 Bingly into small potc 

 returning them agaiu 

 to the cold frame and 

 keeping them close for 

 a few days, affording 

 all the air possible, 

 and if this is carried 

 out with judgment the 

 plants grow slowly but 

 robustly. Immediately 

 they have filled these 

 pots with roots and 

 without becoming mat- 

 ted, whioh will be about 

 the month of April, the 



plants will require an- Fig. 73. 



other shift, this time 



into 32's, returning them to the frame until all fear of frost is 

 gone ; if frames cannot be spared the plants may be protected 

 with mats. At this period of their growth the plants are 

 liable to attacks from green fly, whioh must be eradicated 

 either by smoking with tobacco paper, dusting the plants with 

 tobacco powder, or dipping them in tobacco water. 



From the middle to the end of June the plants will require 

 their final shift into 9-inch pots, whioh size I consider large 

 enough for plants that are grown for quality of blooms only. 

 But it too often happens that the gardener is more than 

 usually busy about this time, and the Chrysanthemums do 

 not receive the attention which they require, and consequently 

 the final potting is deferred until the roots beoome matted ; 

 this, I would observe, is a prime cause of stunted plants and 

 loss of foliage, and nothing in plant-growing shows defeotive 

 cultivation so much as plants with long stems devoid of foliage. 

 After receiving their final potting each plant must have a 

 supporting stake, and be placed in a sunny position in the 

 open air ; the sides of a gravel path answer well. I formerly 

 thought that with the pots so exposed the roots were liable 

 to be injured, but further experience inclines me to think that 

 though this way entails more labour in supplying water, yet 

 the wood becomes better ripened, and consequently finer 

 flowers are produced ; for it were useless to expect perfect 

 flowers from nnripened wood. 



The plants must be encouraged to grow on uninterruptedly 

 without stopping them, giving them plenty of clear water 

 until the buds begin forming, when manure water may be 

 given freely up to the time the flowers are almost expanded. 

 To ensure large blooms disbudding must be resorted to, and 

 the middle or crown buds of the four or five whioh appear 

 should be left. The plants require to be supported by strong 

 Btakes, these in turn being secured to a string stretched from 

 stake to stake to prevent the equinoctial gales, whioh often 

 prevail during September, from blowing the plants about and 

 breaking them. 



A compost of sound loam three parts, the other part well 

 decayed manure and a good sprinkling of Bilver sand, well 

 mixed together, is suitable. The pots should be well drained, 

 bones or oyster shells being preferable to common crocks, the 

 boae", &e., affording sustenance as well as drainage. About 



a handful of guano to 

 a can of four gallons 

 of water is an excellent 

 stimulant ; manure 

 water made from cow 

 and horse droppings, 

 and from guano and 

 soot, also afford a bene- 

 fioial change of food. 

 By a judicious use of 

 these stimulants after 

 the flower buds are 

 first discernible, the 

 foliage will change is 

 if by magic to a deep 

 rich green. The Chrj - 

 anthemum is able to 

 absorb stimulants of a 

 strong nature ; but it 

 is not advisable to over- 

 dose the plants, for 

 highly-fed flowers are 

 not lastirjg,and the pre- 

 mature decay, whioh is 

 attributed to damp, is 

 more often the result 

 of overfeeding with 

 liquid manure, and 

 which causeB also the 

 Llooms of Bome varie- 

 ties to be both coarse 

 and rough. 



B. aides as single- 

 stemmed or untrained 

 plants, there are other 

 modes of growing the 

 Chrysanthemum, but 

 wherever the mode dc - 

 Ecribed can be carried 

 out in its entirety, and 

 the plants can be 

 staged olosely together, they form a magnificent bank of flowers. 

 The following of thirty varieties are generally prominent in 

 exhibitions of cut blooms :— Mrs. G. Bundle, Mr. G. Gl6nny, 

 and Mrs. Dixon. All three very good, and most perfect as 

 regards shape, but somewhat small. They are a good trio for 

 the front row for a board of twenty-four. Lady Hardinge, 

 Empress of India, Queen of England, John Salter, Prince 

 Alfred, Isabella Bott, Mrs. Heale, Lord Derby, Jardin des 

 Plantes, Cherub, Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales, Princess 

 of Teck, White Globe, White Beverley, Golden Beverley, Mr. 

 Brunlees, Golden Eagle, Golden Dr. Brock, White Venus, 

 Venus, Eve, Pink Perfection, Antonelli, Lady Slade, Aureum 

 multiflorum, and Gloria Mundi.— J. W. Moobman. 



Specimens. — To produce plants similar to the one in the 

 engraving, I commence operations about the end of Novem- 

 ber or beginning of December, by inserting two good cuttings 

 of each variety I wish to grow in a 60-pot. I place these in 

 a frame or a spent hotbed, and keep them close until they 

 are struck. My object in doing this is to have the cuttings 

 struok as quickly as possible, and not to allow them to become 

 stunted, for if once permitted to get into a hidebound state 

 they never make satisfactory plants. As soon as struok I 

 transfer them to a shelf in a warm greenhouse. About the 

 middle of February they are potted singly into large 60's in 



