DWARFING AND GROUPING CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



179 



quite pays to wire and stake the flowers as recommended for 

 exhibition grouping. Pots of Selaginella denticulata and 

 Maiden-hair Fern should be grown and placed in front of the 

 groups to hide the pots and give a finish to the whole arrange- 

 ment. 



Discussion. 



Mr. Hibberd asked what difference in the time of flowering 

 was caused by the practice of cutting down ? 



Mr. Orchard replied that the flowering was delayed about a 

 fortnight, and one great advantage of the system was, that you 

 could, so to speak, handicap the naturally earlier blooming plants 

 by cutting down the late bloomers first, and the early ones last, 

 and thus bring them all into bloom at the same time. 



GROWING CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR PROFIT. 



By Mr. Charles Pearson, F.R.H.S. 



In treating of the Chrysanthemum from the commercial or 

 money-making point of view, the subject divides itself naturally 

 under two headings, viz., " pot plants " and " cut flowers." I 

 propose to give the second heading the preference, as being much 

 the more important, for while the Chrysanthemum is but indif- 

 ferently adapted to decorative purposes as a pot plant, it lends 

 itself readily to almost every purpose for which cut flowers are 

 used — the flowers having a wide range of colour, lasting well, 

 and looking well under artificial light ; in addition to which they 

 make their appearance in the dreariest season of the year, when 

 other flowers are chiefly conspicuous by their absence. The 

 first point to be observed is to make a selection of varieties which 

 will give you an unbroken succession of bloom through the 

 Chrysanthemum season, and these varieties must be of such 

 colours and form as will suit the popular taste. 



The Chrysanthemum season proper may be said to last from 

 the end of September to the middle of January, and though 

 three or four months may be added to this period by means of 

 summer bloomers, and by artificially retarding some of the later 

 kinds, I think the attempt is rather to be deprecated than en- 

 couraged, as if the public be surfeited with Chrysanthemums 



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