534 



May, 1914 



Types of Chrysanthemums. 



— Hairy Chrysanthemums. — 



X'arieties that may be placed within 

 this category arc few in number, and 

 new sorts are seldom raised. Chry- 

 santhemums ot this description chiefly 

 belong to the Japanese or Japanese in- 

 curved sections, and their chief pe- 

 culiarity consists in a covering of short, 

 glandular hairs on the reverse of the 

 petals. These hirsute appendages are 

 more pronounced in some varieties than 

 in others. The plants are not difficult 

 to grow if second crown buds are re- 

 tained; these are the third series of buds 

 that appear on the plants in the course 

 of a season's growth, and they invariably 

 produce blooms of good colour with the 

 glandular hairs well developed. 



Reflexed Chrysanthemums. 



In this type the flowers are of 

 medium size, more or less spherical in 

 form and notable for their bright 

 colours ; the petals reflex, building a 

 bloom of reflexed or recurving form. 



— Pompon Chrysanthemum. — 



This is a much-neglected type, and 

 embraces what are known as early- 

 flowering Pompons. Pompons and 

 miniature-flowered Pompons. They 

 are all very pretty, developing their 



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flowerl on plants of bushy growth and 

 in the greatest profusion. Their diminu- 

 live character adds to their charms, both 

 as cutflowcrs and as plants. The blooms 

 are either somewhat flat or nearly 

 globular, averaging li inches in dia- 

 meter, neat and compact in form, and 

 formed of short, flat, fluted, or quilled 

 petals ; very pretty when gathered in 

 free-flowering sprays that have had 

 some of the buds thinned out. 



— Miniature-flowered Pompons. — 



These are miniature representatives of 

 the type. Some of the flowers are not 

 more than three-quarters of an inch in 

 diameter, and others, generally speaking, 

 seldom exceed 1 inch in diameter. They 

 are dainty in form and make excellent 

 decorative material when cut in free- 

 flowering sprays. 



— Anemone-flowered Chrysanthemum. — 



These flowers are very quaint, and as 

 plants for decorative uses should be 

 more largely in request. They are 

 divided into three sections, viz., large 

 Anemones, Japanese Anemones, and 

 Pompon Anemones. 



— Large Anemones. — 



Have two distinct sets of florets, one 

 quilled and forming the centre or disc, 

 and the other flat and more or less 

 horizontally arranged, forming the 

 border or ray. 



— Japanese Anemones. — 

 Are noted for their large size and fan- 

 tastic form. The disc is more or less 

 regijlar in outline, the ray or guard 

 florets varying considerably in length 

 and character. In some cases the florets 

 are narrow and prettily twisted, and in 

 others they are broad and curled. In 

 some instances the ray florets droop 

 and form a beautiful fringe or tassel- 

 ling to the flowers. 



■ — Pompon Anemones. — 



These are miniature forms of the 

 large-flowered sorts, and for decora- 

 tive uses arc very beautiful. They are 

 of easy culture and dwarf growth, and 

 have small leaves. 



— Spidery Chrysanthemums. — 



These are flowers with horned, forked, 

 notched,, wire-like or thread-like petals, 

 and embrace .some of the most delight- 

 ful of all the decorative Chrysanthe- 

 mums. With few exceptions the flowers 

 are small and are borne on plants vary- 

 ing between 3 ft. and 4 ft. in height. 

 Another of their characteristics is that 

 the plants are late flowering. 



A New Plant Fertilizer. 



During recent years, owing mainly to 

 the increasing difficulty experienced in 

 obtaining natural manure, scientists 

 have devoted consideralile time and 

 thought to the question of fixing the free 

 nitrogen present in the air so as to ren- 

 der it available for use by green-leaved 

 plants. As any student of botany is 

 aware, many plants belonging to the Pea 

 family, such as Beans, Peas, and Clover, 

 have on their roots little swellings, tech- 

 nically known as nodules, which contain 

 bacteria that are capable of extracting 

 this free nitrogen from the air and so 

 converting it that the plants, and also 

 those that follow them, are able to make 

 use of it. It was argued some years 

 ago that if these bacteria could be arti- 

 ficially added to the soil in sufficiently 

 large quantities, and induced to carry on 

 their work, plant life generally would be 

 considerably benefited thereby. Then 

 came Professor Bottomley, with a cul- 

 ture that he called nitro-bacterine, and 

 for which he claimed that it would, if 

 properly treated, inoculate the soil with 

 sufficient bacteria to render the applica- 

 tion of artificial nitrogen unnecessary. 

 Time has proved that this did not, un- 

 der practical conditions, always do what 

 was claimed for it. Now, says "The 

 Garden," Professor Bottomley comes 

 forward with inoculated peat, and 

 proved beyond all doubt whatever 

 may be the reason, the application of this 

 prepared peat has a very marked effect 

 on vegetation. Briefly, the peat is 

 treated with aerobic bacteria to destroy 

 the injurious humic acid that it con- 

 tains. Next it is sterilised by steam, 

 and finally inoculated with a pure cul- 

 ture of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 



Experiments have been .-onducted in 

 various parts of the country with this 

 inoculated peat, but two instances will 

 suffice for our purpose at present. One 

 experiment— and the most important— 

 has been conducted at Kew. Here the 

 curator, Mr. W. Watson, has personally 

 supervised the work, and those who are 

 privileged to know him are fully aware 

 that he has little faith in s^cientists of 

 any kind, and would be only too glad 

 to be alile to condemn their theories. 

 Two each of plants of widely diverse 

 characters, such, for instance, as Abuti- 

 lons. Fuchsias, Salvias, Hippeastrums, 

 Asparagus plumosus and Maidenhair 

 Ferns, were selected, one of each being 

 grown* in ordinary potting soil and" the 

 other in potting soil to which the pre- 

 pared peat had been added, in propor- 

 tions of one part peat to two of soil, 



