286 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
a good variety that passes muster with the market grower. Not only 
must the colour be right for selling, but the habit and cropping 
qualities must be good as well, and the florets of such texture or 
substance that they are not easily damaged in packing, and are still 
fresh after being out of water from twelve to twenty-four hours. The 
last is a severe test, and anything of a soft or flimsy nature is soon cast 
aside, buyers quickly recognizing those that do not give satisfaction. 
In dealing with the cultivation of a plant it is usual to commence 
with the propagation, but before doing so I should make it quite 
clear that Border Chrysanthemums under fair conditions will live 
and flower well for quite a number of years, practically without any 
attention, and the fact of their being left to themselves tends to make 
the plants hardier. The soil which they are in naturally becomes 
poor and the growth less rampant each succeeding year, and so the 
stools get harder and the young growths in the spring less vigorous 
and consequently more likely to come through the spring safely than 
young plants put out in well-prepared ground the previous spring. 
The latter often throw up very vigorous growth from the base during 
November and December, and it is this class of shoot that very quickly 
succumbs to frost. 
Those who are desirous of cultivating the plants on these lines 
would be well advised not to cut back the plants too hard after 
flowering, but rather to let them die back naturally after the flower- 
ing shoots have been cut. If cut down, say, to within six inches of 
the ground while the roots are still active, they are apt to bleed and 
the constitution of such plants is ruined, so when planting to establish 
Border Chrysanthemums permanently — that is without propagating 
each spring — it would be best to plant in soil not too rich, and in select- 
ing the position let it be one that does not lie too wet during the winter. 
A very simple method of propagation, and one best suited to the 
amateur and owners of small gardens without glass accommodation, 
is to lift the plants that have flowered the previous autumn some 
time during April, pull off the young growths, which by this time 
are throwing up well from the base and are usually well rooted, and 
plant them in the borders. They will make good plants by the autumn ; 
five to nine such shoots planted about a foot apart make really effective 
clumps. The only things likely to injure them are slugs, but a slight 
dusting or two of soot in the early stages will invariably ensure them 
against much damage. Any quantity of plants may be raised in 
this way, and for an ordinary display in the borders any other form 
of propagation is really unnecessary. 
Where, however, a speciality is made of Border Chrysanthemums 
or where they are required in quantity for cutting purposes, it is 
usual to propagate them under glass, the date of propagation varying 
from the end of January to March, and except in the case of particular 
varieties there is little to be gained by early propagation. Cuttings 
inserted the first or second week in March make good plants by the 
end of April, which even in a very favourable district is quite early 
