JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
156 
than the first, for it displays a very careless method of reading what 
those who gave him advice have written on the subject. First he com¬ 
plains that the hints given were not practical—what more practical 
hint or reliable advice could be given him than to substitute rain water 
for hard water for filling his boilers and pipes ? This is the best, 
cheapest, and most effectual method that could be adopted under the 
circumstances. 
Both “Thinker” and myself alluded to petroleum, but we did not 
convey the impression that he was to obtain a long array of empty 
casks to hold 3000 gallons of rain water, but a few full ones, and place 
the oil in the boiler and pipes. Failing the first this was advised, for 
it is believed that the oil would cling to the inner surface of the pipes 
and boiler and prevent the saline matters contained in the hard water 
from becoming deposited, and thus form a thick incrustation. 
Pumping would not be a serious item if he used rain water, for 
breakdowns would be reduced to a minimum ; in fact, they would be 
unknown from a source from which he has had so many. The labour 
for pumping and a few cans of water daily would not be a serious item 
compared with new boilers, patching, and inconvenience which arise 
therefrom. But your correspondent seems to prefer the hard water and 
the breakdown in preference to a little pumping occasionally. There 
certainly would be a little sediment from rain water, but it would not 
prove serious to the boilers. If the pipes were properly arranged this 
could be washed out of the boiler from time to time when it was 
deemed necessary to empty the pipes. However clean the water may be, 
much rust and sediment appear to collect in the pipes and boiler— 
such, however, is our experience.—A. W. 
MOLYNEUX’S “ CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND THEIR 
CULTIVATION”—A CRITIQUE. 
[A paper read at a meeting of the Wakefield Paxton Society by Mr. T. Garnett 1 
(Continued from, page 133.) 
We will now take a representative collection of Chrysanthemums, 
and divide it for convenience sake into four sections. 
Section 1.—The tall-growing varieties. 
Section 2.—The dwarf-growing varieties. 
Section 3.—The intermediate growers, comprising or including the 
early-flowering varieties of the November-flowering sorts. 
Section 4.—The late-flowering varieties, which are usually slow 
growers of luxuriant and succulent habit, as Meg Merrilies, Boule d’Or, 
Grandiflorum, &c., among the Japanese, and Princess of Teck, Hero of 
Stoke Newington, Cherub, Eve, &c., amongst the incurved. 
Intermediate between the sections are varieties which so merge one 
section into the other that any definite division is impossible ; but as 
this is the only way which suggests itself to explain what I desire, I 
shall use these four sections as a sort of “ beacon lights ” to guide us in 
the sea of uncertainty which surrounds the subject. 
The plants we will suppose to be all grown from sucker cuttings and 
subjected to the same treatment, and for convenience of illustration we 
select a plant from each section. The tall variety grows 4 feet before 
it shows its first bud. The dwarf variety grows only 2 feet before it 
shows its first bud, but it will occupy it ten days longer to grow its 
2 feet of wood than it occupied the tall variety to grow 4 feet. After 
each variety has shown its first bud they again start into active growth, 
breaking away into three or more shoots. Each variety will again, if 
the plant has not reached that stage of ripeness to modify the growth, 
produce about the same number of leaves and their internodes before 
they again show the next bud, which is denominated the “ crown bud,” 
and Mr. Molyneux makes no mention of any intermediate “ crowns 
but hereabouts many varieties will show two and some three successive 
crowns before showing the real terminal—that is, of course, if each 
crown bud is removed owing to being too early (excepting the very late 
ones in section 4, from which we are glad of the opportunity to secure 
the first crown). If this is different from Mr. Molyneux’s experience 
we can only assume that his climate, with its earlier spring and longer 
summer, so thoroughly ripens his wood at a very early date, so preparing 
the plant and settling it down to the real object for which it exists. 
Let us now revert to our tall variety at the first crown-bud stage. If 
left to itself it seems undecided whether to keep on growing or to con¬ 
centrate its energies on the production of a flower. If it is at what is 
technically called in a ripe condition, the wood consolidated and stored 
with elaborate secretions, the blooming propensity will preponderate 
over the growing propensity, and a full, rounded, plump bud, decided in 
character, will quickly form, which, with the cultivator’s help by the 
removal of side growths, would eventually develope into a high-class 
flower. On the other hand, if, when the plant arrives at this stage, it 
is still grossly full of crude sap—it may be from over-feeding, and other 
well known causes the bud will be of a very undecided character, and 
the tendency will be in the direction of further growth. If the side 
shoots are removed, and the crude sap diverted into the undecided bud, 
which is the result of this gross growth, the ultimate results are, in 
some cases, malformed buds, in others hen-and-chicken buds, or it may 
be a bud of soft consistency, which ultimately is abortive. We supposed 
our tall vaiiety to have shown its crown bud during the second week 
in August, but if we know from experience that if we take this “ bud ” 
the flower will be too early, what are the results if we discard it ? We 
call upon the plant to make another stage of growth, which occupies 
from thirty to forty days. Some part of this valuable time the plant 
ought to be ripening and consolidating growth already made. At this 
. [ February 24,1887. 
time of the year the days are rapidly shortening, and the humidity of 
the atmosphere increasing towards saturation point, growth made under 
these adverse conditions must result in unsatisfactory flowers. Although 
we have left the question of height a long way back, it is under these 
conditions that increased height is injurious. 
We now revert to the plant which represents the dwarf section, 
where we left it at 2 feet high showing its first bud. We stated that it would 
require ten days more than the tall variety to make its first instalment 
of growth. If we assume that its second instalment of growth occupies 
aother ten days longer than the tall variety to bring it to the first 
“ crown bud” stage, it arrives at that stage twenty days behind the tall 
variety, but we sent the tall variety on another journey, which would 
occupy it from thirty to forty days later before it showed another flower 
bud. If we know from experience that this bud of the dwarf variety 
has shown at a suitable time, we take it, and thus get a clear gain of 
fifteen to twenty days in favour of the dwarf variety, and this at a 
time and under conditions more suitable in every respect to build up 
its flowers, while the tall variety was occupying precious time in grow¬ 
ing when it ought to have been building up its flower buds. 
Coming to section 3 we have intermediate growers and moderately 
early flowerers, such varieties as M. Tarin, Henri Jacotot, J. Salter, 
Elaine, Beverleys, &c. These grow quickly and ripen early, and, as 
a rule, if grown on the non-stopping system they show their first 
crown bud considerably too early for the flowers to be contemporaneous 
with the usual display, but there is no difficulty in obtaining a second, 
and in some cases a third “ crown bud,” before they show the terminal. 
What is of importance for us to ascertain how much of this growth is 
superfluous ? Speaking from experience, I have had the highest class 
flowers from Elaine, J. Salter, Beverley, and others of this type, from 
plants struck the last week in February, once stopped in the middle 
of June, and the first crown bud taken, proving, if we get one whole 
instalment of growth made and thoroughly ripened under the summer 
conditions, when we have the best climatic influences ripening the wood 
as it grows. If this is so, why wait until the plants “ break ” natur¬ 
ally, more particularly if, in our judgment, the plants would not so 
break before the season was too far advanced ? Mr. Molyneux’s argu¬ 
ment in favour of topping “ Eve ” and “ Mabel Ward ” is proof that no 
mischievous effects accrue from this topping if judiciously done. From 
my own observations of dwarf plants producing the unaccountably fine 
flowers to which Mr. Molyneux refers, I have no doubt the secret lies 
in the fact, that either through the complication of the bud stages of 
growth, or it may be that the plant may have been topped or broken 
by some means (which would have the same effect) causing the plant to 
make another instalment of growth just at the time when circumstances 
so favoured the new growth that the bud was formed just at the proper 
time for its full development into a high class flower, at the same time 
showing that such growth is capable of sufficient strength and storage, 
to produce as good flowers as is double the height under other circum¬ 
stances. 
The fourth type is represented by Meg Merrilies, Boule d’Or, Golden 
Dragon, Grandiflorum, &c., in the Japanese, and Princess Teck, Cherub, 
Eve, &c., in the incurved. This class is well known to growers here¬ 
abouts to require special treatment to have them show their buds by the 
first week in August, and have them in flower by the second week in 
November ; but we get no information from Mr. Molyneux on this point, 
with the exception of the topping of Eve and Mabel Ward, all else 
seems to be left to chance. The cuttings are apparently put in without 
distinction from the 12th of December to the 12th January, and no 
division of treatment, and no clue as to how the plants should be treated 
go as to have the buds when they are wanted. We can only come to 
this conclusion, the climate at Swanmore is so good that these varieties 
only cause him ordinary trouble in their cultivation. 
At the risk of treating the subject rather too fully, I have been at 
some pains to endeavour to clear up the complexity of this branch of 
Chrysanthemum culture, I have also dealt with Mr. Molyneux’s argu¬ 
ments where they ran counter to what experience has taught me. 
In the first place we should determine, if possible, which is the bud 
that will yield us the best coloured, broadest petaled, best formed, most 
solid, and highest finished flower. I believe all these properties are per¬ 
fectly compatible. Out of this question arises another. Mr. Molyneux 
having only two buds to choose from, appears to lay more stress on the 
time they are taken. Many Yorkshire growers pin their faith on the 
second crown on stopped plants. Whichever is taken, we must keep the 
issue clear that the plants must be in that degree of ripeness so as to be 
showing the blooming propensity definitely, my opinion being that it is 
on this latter point the question rests more than it does on any particular 
bud. However, in cases where it is determined to select the second bud, 
the topping will require to be done in February, but not in the manner 
which Mr. Molyneux quotes, “ Some growers top the plants when 
8 inches high ” without apparently any regard to the ugliness or lateness 
of the sorts (not much wonder some of them not getting ripened), but 
having regard to their early or late blooming proclivities. If the first 
crown bud is selected the varieties which I mentioned as being the types 
of the early flowerers, section 3, should be selected ; but they need not 
be propagated before the end of February, then grown on until the 
middle of May, when the later sorts of the section may be topped, so 
graduating the operation that the earliest flowerers are not manipulated 
before the middle of June. In regard to the late bloomers, I have 
already stated that I prefer to propagate them in November. These 
varieties are so telling that it will be wise to grow a good proportion of 
them. Then, so as to have more than one string to his bow, he might 
