710 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



season when it is most difficult to obtain other plants in flower. 

 For this reason it is advisable to grow a good number, in- 

 cluding a variety of sorts, having early, medium, and late 

 blossomers. Excepting when grown for exhibition, their culture 

 is very simple. The large-flowered sorts are best struck in 

 December by cuttings of shoots taken from the base of old 

 plants; but the small-flowered Pompones (Fig. 459) may be left 

 till February. Strike on a hot-bed in a frame, pot into 3in. 

 pots, then shift to 6in., 8in., and finally in June to loin. pots 



to flower. The plants are very 

 gross feeders, requiring a rich 

 compost, which should be in- 

 creased in richness at each shift. 

 It should consist of three parts 



good fibrous loam and one of 



leaf-soil and well-rotted manure 

 to start with, and as the plants 

 are shifted the proportion of 

 manure may be slightly increased 

 at the expense of the leaf-soil, 

 and in the last two shifts soot 

 and bone-meal, at the rate of a 

 3^in. pot full of the first and a 

 5in. of the latter to one bushel 

 of compost. Pot very firmly, 

 being careful to leave plenty of 

 room between the surface of the 

 soil and the rim of the pot for 

 water. Water must be given fre- 

 quently, never allowing the plants 

 to flag, and after the last two 

 shifts, when they have become 

 established, water with manure- 

 water every alternate day. All 

 the shoots must be stopped after 

 each of the first three shifts, if 

 compact bushes are desired ; but 

 if tall plants with only three or 

 four stems are wanted, only stop 

 once when in 6in. pots. Stand 

 out on a hard ash bottom all the 

 summer, and as soon as the weather begins to get cold — but 

 before frost comes — move the early sorts inside, keeping them 

 as cool as possible. The late ones should be kept outside as 

 long as possible, and for this purpose a skeleton house, consisting 

 simply of a frame work, fitted with blinds, and having canvas hung 

 round the sides, is advantageous, as by this means protection can 

 be given at night, the plants being held in check for a long time. 



Fig. 458. — Chrysanthemum 

 siNENSEi Variety. 



