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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



been certificated by the National Chrysanthemum Society, and they have 

 even had Awards of Merit from the R.H.S. For these achievements we 

 are very pleased, as it seems to suggest that English raisers will need 

 to apply themselves more thoroughly to the improvement of existing 

 varieties, which must in the end be for the public good. 



The advent of the early single-flowered Chrysanthemums has done 

 much to add zest to the work of raisers. Their arrival has pleased many, 

 and they promise to alter the character of the displays in our gardens 

 outdoors throughout September and October. 



Within a period covered by three years, these single-rlowered Chrysan- 

 themums have been evolved. It is safe to predict that they will be quite 

 as popular as the double-flowered. There are sanguine individuals 

 who prophesy that the early single-flowered chrysanthemums will be 

 even more popular than any of the other early-flowering types ; and I am 

 disposed to support this view. The plants are so easily cultivated and are 

 so pleasingly varied in colour and form, as well as in their habit of growth, 

 that there is nothing to hinder their progress in popular esteem. 



At this point, however, it is necessary to halt. In the zeal that raisers 

 have evinced there is a tendency to forget essentials. Admirers of these 

 autumn flowers are ready to acknowledge what has been achieved in 

 recent years and fully appreciate the progress raisers have made in 

 improving the plant. We have arrived at a period, however, when more 

 discrimination is necessary, otherwise we may have a surfeit of new 

 varieties of which many may be of a mediocre character only and fail to 

 reach the desired standard of quality. Not a season passes without 

 an immense number of new ones being sent up for the recognition of the 

 Floral Committee, and if the best interests of these early-flowering 

 varieties are to be served, it is imperative that a wise discrimination be 

 exhibited by those responsible for adjudication upon their merits. 

 Already the awards that have been made in favour of some new ones 

 have been questioned, although perhaps without justification. Never- 

 theless it must be admitted that the "hall mark" that an Award gives 

 to a new flower should be a protection to those who purchase the novelty 

 on the strength of this recognition. 



There are certain essential factors which should always be embodied 

 in a variety that receives this special recognition. For instance, the plant 

 should be free-flowering and robust, sturdy and branching in its habit 

 of growth, and in the colour of the blossoms distinct and pleasing. A 

 point of considerable importance also is that the individual flowers making 

 the spray should be carried on a useful length of foot stalk. It should 

 be possible for each blossom to develop in good form without unduly 

 crowding its neighbour, and the spray as a whole when at its best should 

 carry each flower disposed in pleasing fashion. We want sprays of 

 blossoms in which not a single flower is wasted. When the individual 

 flowers forming the spray stand out distinctly one from the other, it is 

 possible to use them either individually or as a whole in sprays, for 

 decorative purposes. As a rule sprays of Chrysanthemums, which carry 

 their blossoms in densely-flowered clusters, form a compact head of 

 blossoms, the flower-stems of which are so short that it is impossible to 

 break them out and use them individually. When such sprays are not 



