AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
183 
tie else in bloom, will amply repay any per¬ 
son for the care which has been bestowed 
upon them, and any person, by practising the 
above, may calculate on success. 
As soon as the bloom begins to decay, and 
the leaves are turning yellow, less water 
must be applied. Remove them into a frame, 
or, if not convenient, out of doors will suit 
them. As the plants are of a herbaceous 
habit, they require a period of rest. 
■- G. G., Kew. 
[We agree with our correspondent that 
few plants are worse managed generally 
than the Cineraria. We prefer, however, 
growing them entirely in a pit, with a com¬ 
mand of heat, which should only be used in 
case of frost, removing them to the conserv¬ 
atory, or greenhouse, when in bloom. Tie 
the side shoots out, and give the plants plen¬ 
ty of room. This, with cleanliness, will 
make them grow in any soil.— Ed. Florist.] 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Until comparatively lately, few persons 
were aware of the perfection to which this 
plant could be brought by skillful cultivation. 
Being perfectly hardy it has often been per¬ 
mitted to remain in the open ground through¬ 
out the year. This has freqently been a 
cause of failure, amateurs forgetting that 
although the winters of its own climate are 
as cold as our own, yet the summer heat is 
much greater, and consequently the blooming 
season is accelerated. It is one thing to 
grow a plant well, and another to bloom it in 
perfection. In our variable climate it is im¬ 
possible to calculate with any degree of cer¬ 
tainty, upon having fine weather in October 
and November, without which the buds 
formed in September will not attain perfec¬ 
tion, and frequently the early frosts of Oc¬ 
tober cripple them altogether. In order to 
overcome this difficulty, it is necessary to 
place the plants under a glass as soon as the 
flower buds expand, but it must be borne in 
mind that air is as necessary as light or heat. 
By these means the blooming season maybe 
made to last from October till January. The 
chrysanthemum exhibitions at Stoke-New- 
ington and Highbury have done much to 
bring this beautiful autumnal flower into no¬ 
tice ; in fact none but those who attend these 
shows can form any correct idea of the size, 
beauty, or symmetry to which under proper 
treatment it may attain. Such as intend 
growing specimen plants, or cut flowers for 
competition, should very soon now have well 
rooted cuttings. I am aware that many 
strike them much later, but I prefer having 
them early. I plant singly in five-inch pots 
in good rich soil, and plunge in a warm airy 
situation. By the middle or towards the end 
of May I stop them, and shift them into 
larger pots, and to insure dwarf bushy 
plants they should be again stopped in June, 
and then shifted into larger pots to bloom. 
During the summer months they are never 
allowed to flag ; for if this once takes place 
the lower leaves will assuredly fall, and all 
hopes of fine specimens will be destroyed. 
Towards the middle of September the plants 
will have attained their full growth, and it 
will then be proper to put them under glass ; 
but, at the same time, if the weather is fine, 
I give as much air as possible. The buds 
will now begin to show themselves ; not 
move than one or two should be allowed to 
remain on each shoot; liquid manure may 
at this time be applied with advantage. Un¬ 
der such treatment a fine show of blooms 
may be confidently expected even in the 
most unfavorable seasons. Those who do 
not desire specimen plants or cut flowers for 
exhibition, I would recommend to plant 
their cuttings in the open ground now, to 
stop them in May, and again in June. By 
the end of September they will be fine large 
plants, and as the buds begin to swell they 
may behaken up with a good ball of earth and 
planted' in nine or eleven-inch pots, and 
plunged in the open ground for nine or ten 
days, during which time they should be wat¬ 
ered every day, to prevent flagging; after 
that time they may be removed to the green¬ 
house or conservatory, which they will keep 
gay till January.— S. in Gardeners' Chronicle. 
THE MIGNONETTE. 
Common mignonette is so well known 
that it is superfluous to say a word about it. 
It is to the culture of it as standards for the 
winter decoration of the conservatory and 
greenhouse that I would now direct atten¬ 
tion. 
I generally sow in four-inch pots, about 
the end of March or the beginning of April, 
according to the number of standards re¬ 
quired. The soil I use is maiden loam and 
leaf-mold in equal quantities, with a little 
well rotted manure and sand added. I drain 
and fill the pots in the usual way, but do not 
press the soil too firmly ; I smooth the sur¬ 
face and put a pinch of seed in the center of 
each pot. I cover thinly with fine sifted 
soil; water gently ; and remove the pots to 
the stove, or, if that is not available, to a 
hot-bed, and the plants soon make their ap¬ 
pearance. As soon as they have grown a 
little, I pull out three of the strongest near 
the center of the pot. After all danger of 
their damping off has in a great measure 
passed, I remove the two weakest, and tie 
the other to a neat stake. I repot as the 
plants require it, and remove the lateral buds 
as soon as they make their appearance on 
the axils of the leaves, at the same time pre¬ 
serving the leaves on the stem carefully. 
The flower will soon make its appearance on 
the top of the stem; I remove it at once, and 
allow the highest lateral bud to grow to form 
the next leader to be tied to the stake as soon 
as possible; 1 remove the lateral buds as be¬ 
fore, and so on till the stem is the desired 
height. 
When the stem is of the height required, 
I cut off the top, and allow four or five of 
the highest ^lateral buds to grow. As 
soon as they have pushed a little I pinch 
them, leaving only two buds each; I allow 
them to start a little, and then remove the 
plants to a cool greenhouse, where they get 
plenty of air; I continue to pinch regularly 
as the plants grow, till the heads are the de¬ 
sired size (which will be about the end of 
September or the middle of October), when 
they will require their final shift, using eight 
or nine-inch pots according to the size of 
the plants. I procure some iron wire for 
supports, or neat wooden stakes. After be¬ 
ing inserted into the pots they must stand two 
or three inches above the head of the plant, 
to allow all the laterals forming the head to 
be suspended from them with small pieces 
of bast. If they are not tied up carefully 
they will, as they grow, droop down and 
break, as Mignonette is a plant of straggling 
habit. 
Treated in the above way, mignonette will 
flower freely till the time when there is 
plenty to be had out of doors, when the 
plants may be thrown away. I prefer grow¬ 
ing from seed every season. The little extra 
trouble required is amply compensated by 
the neat compact form of the heads of the 
young plants. 
Amateurs will soon find that there is a 
great difference in the habit of individual 
plants of mignonette when growing for 
standards. Some of the heads will as¬ 
sume a neat compact form, with fine broad 
foliage, while others will be of an opposite 
character. Seed should be saved from the 
plants having the best habit for next season’s 
growth. 
I have little doubt that the common mig¬ 
nonette will be superseded, so far as the 
growth of standards is concerned, by the 
new variety, named grandiflora. It appears 
to be a very robust grower, with fine broad 
foliage, and will consequently require time 
in forming a standard.— Alpha, in Gardeners' 
Chronicle. 
ABOUT “ DOMESTICS.” 
One of the most frequent sources of trial 
to an American housekeeper, is the kitchen 
help. Either no help can be obtained, or it 
is of very poor quality. In the country, the 
first of these perhaps is the greater evil, in 
the city, the latter. So long as immigrants 
from other lands continue to swarm to our 
shores, help of some kind will doubtless be 
abundant, but the aversion of foreigners gen¬ 
erally to a farming life, and their desire to 
congregate together, make it difficult to 
place them where most needed—in our small 
villages and rural districts. 
In our treatment of domestics, we should 
be careful not to be too exacting, but re¬ 
member that like yourselves they are liable 
to become weary or ill. 
Do not consider a part of your business to 
find fault with them whenever any occasion 
will warrant. The same principle which 
should govern us in the care of children is 
applicable here—manifest your approbation 
for everything that will bear it, and censure 
as little as possible. Treat them persever- 
ingly as though you supposed they intended 
to do right, even though you know it be not 
the case, and instead of finding fault when a 
thing is done wrong, wait, if possible, till it 
is to be done again, then remind them of 
their previous forgetfulness, and explain 
your wishes anew, and you will be far more 
likely to accomplish a permanent improve¬ 
ment. 
Never raise your voice or speak in an 
angry or excited manner—speak deliberately 
and calmly, however great the annoyance, 
or if you can not control your voice, he silent 
till you can, and you will not only have ob¬ 
tained a great victory over yourself, but 
remedy the evil far more surely. Add praise 
for something well done at the same time 
that you censure, if possible. 
A “ fresh hand ” is often little help to an 
overworked housewife, but exercise patience, 
go about with them, and show them a few 
days if necessary, and under proper manage¬ 
ment even the most stupid will improve. 
Frequent changes are often a. great annoy¬ 
ance, but the privilege of change is as great 
for the housewife as the girl. If they can 
do better elsewhere, they have the same 
right to go that persons employed in any 
other relation have. Always treat them 
kindly and considerately, and do them a favor 
when you can, and they will be less inclined 
to leave.— Ohio Farmer. 
A Formidable Undertaking. —A contem§ 
porary puts the tobacco question into the 
following shape : “ Suppose a tobacco 
chewer is addicted to the habit of chewing 
tobacco fifty years of his life, and that each 
day of that time he consumes two inches of 
solid plug, it amounts to six thousand four 
hundred and seventy-five feet, making near¬ 
ly one mile and a quarter in length of solid 
tobacco, half, an inch thick and two inches 
broad. Now what would the young begin¬ 
ner think if he had the whole amount 
stretched out before him, and were told to 
chew it would be one of the exercises of 
his life, and also that it would tax his in¬ 
come to the amount of two thousand and 
ninety-four dollars V' 
