60 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



Cluster? nearly as large as those of the snowball 



The accompanying- photograph of a single plant will show 

 what can be accomplished in this direction. This specimen 

 was more than five feet high and bore several hundred blossoms 

 in clusters nearly as large as those of the snowball ( Jlbunium) . 

 The stalk of this plant was an inch and a half in diameter at 

 the base. For an annual this is doing pretty well. 



It is said that the blossoms can be made light and delicate 

 in color in one plant and deep and dark in another by withhold- 

 ing or adding iron to the soil. If other than its natiu'al form is 

 desired, the shoots for some distance from the base may be 

 pulled off as soon as they appear, leaving the flowers to come 

 out at the top of the stem in bouquet shape. Following the 

 methods of the chrysanthemum grower, extremely large clus- 

 ters of bloom may be had if too many blossoms are not allowed 

 to develop. 



