94 PLANT CULTURE 



put in position it is made firm by tramping, or, in the case of side 

 benches, by pounding with a brick. If the soil is dry, give a good 

 watering a day or two before planting. Syringing should be prac- 

 ticed several times daUy while the plants are growing; this, together 

 with fuU ventilation, will provide perfect atmospheric conditions. 

 Watering should not be overdone at any time ; the condition of the 

 surface soil will readily suggest when the operation is necessary. 



Ventilation. This is a very essential item in the cultivation 

 of the Chrysanthemum indoors. To one unacquainted with the 

 exact atmospheric conditions under which the best flowers are grown 

 in a greenhouse, it would seem somewhat strange that a hardy her- 

 baceous plant should be cooped up in a hothouse all Summer; but 

 this is far from being the case, because with abundant ventilation 

 top and bottom, and frequent syringing, the house is kept in a 

 more favorable state for their growth than one would imagine; and 

 in the absence of sun the conditions are much more favorable than 

 outdoors. If there are no means of side ventilation provided, panes 

 of glass above the footpaths should be removed to let in all the air 

 possible. The doors should also be kept open. 



Selecting the Bud. There are two kinds of buds, known as 

 "crown" and "terminal." The crown bud appears directly on the 

 end of the shoot, and is naturally the first seen. In some varieties, 

 particularly the early ones, this is the proper bud to select to de- 

 velop into a flower, but in some well-known kinds growers do not 

 agree as to which is the proper bud to select. There is no doubt, 

 however, that with some soils, also under certain cultural methods, 

 the proper bud to "take" under those conditions would be the 

 wrong one under others. The terminal bud shoots are usually three 

 in number and develop from the axils of the leaves below the crown 

 bud. One of these bud shoots is allowed to remain when a terminal 

 bud is selected, and the other two pinched off together with the 

 crown bud. The terminal bud is the one selected in the large 

 majority of varieties; it consists of the end bud, or that which ter- 

 minates the selected lateral shoot. Other buds will, in course of 

 time, appear in the axils of the leaves of this shoot; these must also 

 be removed. 



Late Flowering Plants. To extend the season of some of the 

 latest flowering varieties tiU Christmas the cuttings should be taken 

 late, and as soon as rooted kept in a growing condition to pre- 

 vent the wood getting hard. Growing points of previously potted 

 cuttings make good wood, if they can be kept from wilting during 



