ON CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 1 37 



Late or November=flowering Varieties. 



Cultivation. — Twenty-five years ago even the most enthusiastic 

 admirer of the Chrysanthemum would hardly have ventured to 

 anticipate the popularity this section has' attained, or the 

 enormous number of varieties that have sprung into existence, 

 or yet again the immense improvement which has taken 

 place in the size, form, and ■ colour of the flowers, with a 

 comparatively dwarf habit. Strange to say, however meritorious 

 a variety may prbve when first put on the .market, there 

 seems to be always something better introduced every few 

 years, and consequently old favourites are continually falling out 

 of the ranks and sinking into oblivion. One of the causes of 

 this disappearance is the constant propagation of stock from 

 one's own plants, combined with high feeding to get large size 

 or an abundance of flowers. Several large growers plant out all 

 their varieties with a view to increase or improve their stamina, 

 and thus obtain better cuttings than those taken from pampered 

 pot plants. A still better plan is to procure cuttings from a 

 distance where the conditions, as regards soil and situation, are 

 totally different. Plants raised from these cuttings almost in- 

 variably produce far superior flowers to those obtained from 

 home-grown ones. In all vegetable crops the benefits arising 

 from a change of stock may be noticed, and such changes 

 apply with equal force . to flowering plants. 



When cuttings are received from a long distance they are 

 almost always somewhat limp. In such cases they should be 

 placed in lukewarm water for an hour ; this will freshen them up 

 and make them in good condition for potting. Opinions 

 naturally differ as to how they should be inserted, and also the 

 temperature in which they ought to be placed. Without entering 

 into details of all the various methods adopted in propagating, 

 the following may be quoted as one which has always proved 

 entirely satisfactory. In November, or as early in December as 

 the cuttings become large enough, take those • growths that 

 spring from the soil (not those on the stem, unless the stock is 

 short), selecting those that are short, sturdy, and with good 

 foliage. Carefully cut away the two lower leaves and insert the 

 cuttings at once singly in small "sixties.'' These should be 

 well drained and filled with, a compost of leaf -mould and 

 loam in equal proportions, with sufficient sand added to make 

 the whole porous. Immediately after the cuttings are put in 



