360 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f December 20,1S88. 
■except the Queen family, which require ’more room, and have 9 inches ; 
10 inches for those to be stopped and grown as bushes ; and for forming 
large masses for cutting, 13 inches are employed, putting three plants 
in each. Our soil is turf from a rather light loam (alluvial drift), so 
that little or no sand is required ; it is, however, enriched by the 
addition of manures. We mixed up this year about sixteen cartloads ; 
this contained three good loads of dung, scattered between the layers of 
turf when it was stacked, about three months before wanted, to which 
was added half a load [of wood ashes, 5 cwt. of bone dust, and 0 bushels 
of soot, the whole being turned two or three times to i incorporate it 
thoroughly. In potting the last time the compost is made thoroughly 
.firm, using a wooden rammer for the purpose. 
The next item to be referred to is stopping. In the first place 
■those plants which are required to produce exhibition blooms should 
xiot be stopped, but grown steadily on to their natural height, vary¬ 
ing according to the variety from 4 to 6 and even 8 or 9 feet; those 
for cut bloom and decorative work may be stopped when 5 inches 
high, again after making three or four leaves, and at intervals until 
the end of May, avoiding performing the operation within a few days 
before or after potting. If the aim is to get flowers'iof as nearly full 
size as possible on dwarf plants, the “ cut down ” system, as it is 
called, may be followed ; this consists in letting the young i plant grow 
uninterruptedly until it is established in its 5-inch pot, then cutting it 
off to within 4 to 6 inches of the soil, after which keep somewhat dry 
until the stem has broken ; allow from four to eight growths 'according 
to the kind to grow without further interference, disbudding each to 
the crown bud. The time for cutting down varies with the character of 
the plant operated on. Free growing early varieties as the Bundles may 
be cut as late as the first week in June, but very late sorts as Princess 
Teck, Meg Merrilies, &c., should not be left later than May 1st, the 
Queen family about the second week of May, other kinds between these 
dates. Some varieties do better under this treatment than others, and 
are almost as good as if grown to full height; examples—E. Molyneux, 
the Queen and Beverley families (especially the latter), Meg Merrilies, 
Mr. Garner, <fcc., while others have proved comparative failures under 
it; of these may be mentioned Lord Wolseley, Prince Alfred, Jeanne 
d’Arc, Grandiflorum, Duchess of Albany, Marsa, and all the Anemones. 
Now as to disbudding, which always appears somewhat of a mystery 
to the uninitiated, though very simple when once grasped. A Chrysan¬ 
themum when grown naturally produces three kinds of buds—viz., the 
July, the crown, and the terminal. The July, called so from the general 
date of its appearance, need scarcely be considered practically, as the 
shoot grows past it, and it remains a bud, withering up in time ; 
if the shoot be stopped at this bud when it appears, it will swell and 
grow into a flower, but nearly always a very coarse and deformed one. 
The crown bud is the one formed at the end of each of the three 
branches into which an unstopped plant naturally divides, and appears 
from the beginning of August (except in abnormally early plants) and 
onwards. Soon after the formation of this bud at the end of the branch 
three small shoots may be seen starting from just underneath it, and if 
the crown bud is intended to be retained for a show flower these must 
be removed early, or they will rob it and seriously retard its develop¬ 
ment. The removal of these three shoots to throw all the strength into 
the crown bud is what is technically called “taking” the bud. Most 
growers do this with a knife or pointed stick as soon as they can be 
seen, often injuring the stem, which is very soft at this time, andicausing 
the bloom to come lop-sided. I think a much better way is to wait 
until the shoots are just long enough to get hold of and break them off 
with the thumb and finger. N.B.—The shoots are brittle and break 
■easily in the early morning before the dew dries, when the sun is hot 
they are tougher. If these three shoots above referred to are allowed 
to grow, each forms a bud at its summit called the “terminal,” gene¬ 
rally surrounded by a cluster of smaller ones. 
The great point in disbudding for exhibition is the proper time to 
take the buds ; this varies from the beginning of August for the very 
late kinds to the end of the month for the earlier. As a rule the 
Japanese may be taken before the incurved, which come coarse and out 
of character if taken too early, about the 20th being soon enough for 
them. When the crown bud appears too early, it and two of the shoots 
springing from its base should be removed, leaving the third shoot to 
produce a flower from the terminal ; this, in the case of some incurved 
varieties will, if not quite so large, be much more refined than from the 
crown. By careful disbudding, plants which would naturally flower 
from early November to Christmas may be bloomed all at one time. 
Feeding.— Almost every grower has his nostrum which he swears 
by (or makes a deadly secret, according to his character), but my own 
practice is based on the idea that no one mixture contains every 
necessary ingredient, and that variety of food is most conducive to 
success. I begin with a little weak liquid, containing soot and cow- 
dung, as soon as the pots are full of roots after the last move ; this, 
however, very diluted until the buds begin to form, after which time 
watering is done somewhat as follows :—first time, clear water ; second, 
diluted stable drainage; third, clear; fourth, chemical manure 
(Beeson’s, guano, Pearson’s, &c., in turn) ; fifth,'clear ; sixth, the stable 
drainage again very weak (the tank in which first dose was mixed filled 
up with clear water) ; seventh, clear. 
Other points to be noted with regard to feeding are—always use 
manure water clear, and do not stir up the tank before drawing from it; 
never give a dry plant liquid manure ; too much ammonia (the sheet 
anchor of many growers) spoils the foliage, making it brittle; some 
plants are much more tender at the roots than others, and if watched 
will give warning when you are “ coming it too strong ; ” and, lastly, in 
a sunless season like the past it is easy to over-feed and produce coarse 
wood which cannot be ripened. 
More definite information is still much needed as to the effect of 
different mixtures on the Chrysanthemum. It might be obtained with 
comparative ease if half a dozen good growers would each give their 
recipes, to be placed by the experimenter in as many tubs, each having 
a row of plants attached to it, to be watered from it. A few experiments 
of this kind would elicit much useful knowledge. 
I should also be very pleased if any of our members could explain 
the erratic behaviour of some Chrysanthemums as regards time of flower¬ 
ing and colouration ; as examples, I may say that last year Martha 
Harding flowered after our show was quite over ; this year, grown in two 
or three different ways, it was in each way among the very earliest. 
L’lle des Plaisirs two dr three years since was nearly vermilion, and so 
gorgeous as to puzzle numbers of people as to its identity, since when it 
has been only noticeable from its dinginess ; Tokio also varies almost to 
the same extent. 
Insects and Diseases. —The Chrysanthemum is less affected by 
these than many other of our cultivated plants. The following are, 
nevertheless, troublesome at times :—Green and black fly, earwigs, and 
mildew. The larva of the lady-cow will often keep the first two in 
order through the summer if not disturbed, and the larva of the lace¬ 
wing fly or golden-eye is also a splendid aphis destroyer, but is, unfor¬ 
tunately, rather plain and grubby in appearance, and is, therefore, by 
most gardeners looked upon as a “ groob,” and squashed accordingly. 
If the aphis, in spite of these enemies, increase too fast, they should be 
dusted with tobacco powder on a dewy morning, the best preparation I 
have tried being that called “ Thanatos,” sold by Messrs. Wood & Son. 
This should not be done after the plants are housed, as it gives them a 
filthy appearance when the rain cannot wash it off ; a better plan being 
to give a good fumigating the first quiet night after the plants are inside, 
whether they appear to want it or not ; they will then keep clean until 
after the show is over. For earwigs the only plan is trapping, and the 
best traps pieces of dry beanstalks ; these should be looked over every 
morning and the earwigs blown out into a pan of water. If mildew 
appears while the plants are outside syringe them with the following— 
1 lb. softsoap, l lb. sulphur, and 10 gallons of soft water ; mix with 
boiling water, and add the remaining quantity cold, stir constantly 
while using. This is a perfect cure, and far before any method of dust¬ 
ing sulphur, &c. After the Chrysanthemums are housed, a coat of sulphur 
and linseed oil on the hot-water pipes is a very good preventive. I 
have not seen a speck of mildew in all our large show house this season, 
which I attribute to this precaution. 
One useful wayiof growing the Chrysanthemum has been omitted— 
viz., as a table or decorative plant, for which, of course, as ordinarily 
seen it is entirely unfitted. To this end a few old stumps should be 
saved after the cuttings have been taken, and planted out in a bed as 
soon as sharp frosts are past, where they will require little attention. 
The first week in August cut off the tops 3 or 4 inches long, insert 
as cuttings, six in a pot, in frame behind a north wall, keep close 
and moist until rooted, then plunge in bed, allowing plenty of room to 
prevent drawing until time to house. The bloom being almost formed 
in the shoots before the cuttings are taken, they will not grow more than 
a few inches before flowering. Any good habited free blooming varieties 
will do for this purpose. 
I am afraid, though I have left many details untouched, my paper 
has long surpassed the usual limits, so I will conclude with a few 
remarks on the novelties which have appeared this season. To begin 
with the summer bloomers. 
Mrs. Burrell, sport from G. Wermig, has proved an acquisition, being a 
