CULTURE OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR EXHIBITION. 



289 



Clay's Fertiliser or any other 

 approved plant food. Water- 

 ing must be done with the 

 greatest care now, and exces- 

 sive moisture on the floor 

 mopped up. Give free venti- 

 lation, both door and windows 

 being kept open on fine days. 

 As the days get shorter, the 

 air colder, and fogs and damp 

 prevail, the hot -water pipes 

 should be kept warm, and the 

 temperature maintained at 

 about 5odeg. Less ventilation 

 will be required at this time. 



It is advisable to place 

 incurved varieties in a house 

 by themselves in w hich cooler 

 atmospheric conditions pre- 

 vail. Plenty of room should 

 be given to each plant, as 

 ties are often removed from 

 the long growths, and the 

 fast-developing blooms allowed 

 to hang head downwards. In 

 this way a good globular form 

 is promoted, and the art of 

 "dressing" to a large extent 

 dispensed with. It is the 

 older type of the flower which needs dressing, those of recent introduction developing 

 naturally in perfect form. To "dress" an incurved bloom the petals have to be arranged 

 regularly all round the flower. 



Badly-formed, irregular, and quilled florets are removed by forceps specially made for 

 this purpose. The dressing is carried out with neat little tweezers, beautifully finished for 

 this particular work. Japanese sorts rarely need any dressing beyond removing a badly- 

 formed or decaying floret which probably interferes with the even development of the 

 flowers. 



Anemone flowers are sometimes improved by removing a few stray petals from 

 the cushion -like disc in the centre, and also by arranging the guard florets, as these set 

 off this type of the flower to conspicuous advantage. This dressing of the exhibition 

 flowers should be accomplished on the plants, as far as possible, during development. 

 No trace of manipulation can afterwards be seen. Shading the unfolding blooms from bright 

 sunshine is a matter of importance, more especially in the case of the deeper and richer 

 coloured varieties. When exposed to the sun they are apt to get blistered and scalded, and 

 consequently useless for exhibition or any other purpose. The best way is to run tiffany or 

 muslin on lines through rings on the inside of the greenhouse roof. This may be drawn 

 across at will, and has many advantages over permanent shadings. The flowers for exhibition 

 are arranged on green painted boards of various sizes to show six or a dozen blooms on 

 each. Cups and tubes of various patterns for the different types of the flowers are used, 

 all these things being obtained either from a Chrysanthemum specialist or vendor of 

 horticultural sundries. 



