THE CHRYSANTHEMUM, AND ITS CULTURE. 
first time as late as the end of August, they 
cannot draw up much, but they ought to have 
all the air that can be given in mild weather, 
and only be closed in cold winds, and of even- 
ings towards the middle or end of September ; 
after this period they will show their bloom- 
buds, and when these once appear the plants 
do not grow materially. If fine flowers are 
the object, they must not be checked with 
cold, and many persons make up a house full 
of them, and regulate the temperature with 
great exactness. It will, however, always be 
found that the less artificial heat they have, 
the better will be the colour of the flowers 
and foliage, and the latter will be retained 
best on the stems ; which, in spite of the best 
management, will shrivel, turn yellow, or fall off 
altogether, when the plant is attempted to be 
forced, or, by the neglect of the watering, gets 
starved. It has been the custom of many 
nurserymen to take off cuttings as soon as 
they were strong enough ; but the great object 
of taking cuttings is lost under this treatment. 
The plants run up nearly as tall as if they 
were not taken off at all, but were left to grow 
their full height ; whereas, when their growth 
is half made, or even more than half, the tops 
have so much less to do, that they form really 
dwarf specimens when of the tallest kinds. 
Some, who appear to lose sight of the object 
in view, or, perhaps, never thought of it 
seriously, recommend cuttings to be taken in 
April, fancying, perhaps, they have made a 
great discovery, when they find that April 
cuttings strike more freely ; but they answer 
no purpose, because in April they are scarcely 
any length, while the June, July, and August 
cuttings are taken from the top of shoots two 
feet long. Now, we will not say that the top 
of a shoot two feet long, that would only grow 
to three feet if left on, would only grow the 
other foot, because fresh impulse gives vigorous 
growth ; but they will not grow one-half the 
length that April cuttings would, nor be half 
the trouble. The flowers as they advance and 
begin to open, become still more susceptible 
of damage by frost, and the prevention of this 
is the only care required at this late period of 
their cultivation. The nurserymen put them 
in houses, and give them a little heat, but the 
object is to bring them into flower earlier than 
they would come otherwise, and not with any 
hope of bringing them finer. Those in 
houses will commence flowering in October 
and November, and continue until some un- 
lucky frost gets to them, or they may be 
removed from time to time into the places 
their flowers may be wanted in. But the 
culture of Chrysanthemums may be considered 
complete, up to the period when the huds 
swell, and the flowers are opening ; the plants 
seldom grow much after that, unless they are 
in heat, and shaded, and this should always be 
avoided as much as possible, for the stems by 
elongating throw the leaves farther apart, 
and destroy the shrubby habit, which is, whe- 
ther natural or artificially produced, essential 
to the beauty of the plant. 
INCREASING THE BUSHY HABIT. 
Although we may obtain from cuttings 
much more free growth and larger flowers, 
and by taking them late keep the plants very 
dwarf without topping, they may also be 
dwarfed a good deal more by topping the 
strong shoots, and encouraging laterals. This 
is resorted to chiefly for large specimens, but 
the small potted plants that we have been 
treating of may be topped as soon as they are 
fairly established, and the side branches grow 
more numerous, and get forwarder than they 
would otherwise. The plant becomes more 
bushy, but the foliage and flowers come 
smaller. In short, we obtain more branches 
and bloom, but we sacrifice size to number, 
and sometimes it will be found necessary to 
top the laterals as well, for they would grow 
nearly as long as the original shoot would, 
and we have known plants so managed diffi- 
cult to bloom at all until very late in the 
winter. The way to manage these with the 
best chance of success, is to take one of the 
plants from the July cuttings, and as soon as 
it is planted out from the cutting-pot, and well 
established again, take off the top, leaving 
three inches, or if the plant be as short as that, 
merely pinch out the heart : as the laterals 
come out to the same length as theohdplantwas, 
they require to be stopped in the same manner, 
and in their turn will give out their laterals ; 
and where these cross one another, or are in 
the way of each other, or are too thick for 
their general appearance, they should be re- 
moved entirely ; but this may be continued 
so as to prevent flowering altogether, so that 
when the plant has become moderately bushy, 
all the shoots should be allowed to go up to 
bloom, and that without forcing, or heat of 
any kind, but merely protected from the 
weather by a frame and glass, and allowed all 
the air. 
DWARFING LARGE SPECIMENS WITHOUT 
STRIKING. 
We cannot prevent large plants from grow- 
ing to a considerable height, but we can at least 
check them a third of the elevation they 
would acquire in an ordinary way. The pots 
which have contained the plants of last year 
are at the close of the bloom placed in winter 
quarters, and the plants are cut down to 
within a little of the soil. In the spring, 
when these begin to grow, they should be 
turned out of these pots, trimmed, the top 
