HINTS ON EXHIBITING. 
77 
CHAPTER VIII. 
HINTS ON EXHIBITING. 
We will first deal with the early-flowering varieties and the 
methods of exhibiting them. It is interesting to know that 
the exhibition of these comparatively hardy sorts has been 
encouraged from time to time, the National Chrysanthemum 
Society, as becomes its exalted position, being the first to 
take the matter in hand. For something like twenty years 
there have been cases in which the early-flowering varieties 
have been exhibited, and, although in the first instance the 
display was not of a very high order of merit, except in so 
far as regards the Pompon sorts, that always looked well. It 
was certainly encouraging to those who had the best interests 
of this flower at heart to persevere in their efforts, the con- 
summation of which we are now participating in. With the 
advance in the number and quality of the different sorts and 
types the character of the displays has changed, and instead 
of an early September exhibition, as was the custom in the 
earlier days, shows are now more frequently held in the 
closing days of September or during the early days of 
October. 
Exhibiting Border Varieties. — At the present time 
competitions are almost exclusively devoted to flowers cut 
from plants growing in the open border, and the sprays of 
blossoms are not disbudded, but shown in their natural state. 
In this way the charming characteristics and the undoubted 
decorative value of the flower is beautifully exemplified, 
and only those who have grown and exhibited them are 
able to fully appreciate the value of undisbudded sprays for 
decorative uses. 
Some societies stipulate that the flowers shall be exhibited 
