FEBRUARY. 
27 
grow a little during tlie winter, shift cr pot on as required, until they are in 
the largest it is intended to have them. When they are of the desired height, 
stop them, and allow three or four shoots to grow at the top, keeping the stem 
clear of shoots, but not of leaves, from these downwards, and clearing away 
carefully all suckers or offsets from the roots. When the top shoots have 
grown a few inches, stop them again, and draw them down gently, with 
matting tied either to the pot or to sticks placed in the pot. The stopping 
must proceed as it is found necessary until the beginning of August. This 
would throw them late into bloom, were it not that starting them a little 
earlier, or allowing them to grow during the winter, counteracts it. 
It will be necessary to plunge the pots during dry or hot weather, other¬ 
wise the roots are too readily acted on by the drying influence of the air, 
which is detrimental both to the appearance of the foliage and the rapid growth 
that is desired. If standards are well grown in this way, the ties may be 
removed about the end of August; the weight of the branches will bear them 
down. One straight firm stick should be placed in the centre, and the stock 
securely tied to it; more sticks than this would be undesirable and unornamental. 
The larger sorts of Chrysanthemum more readily furnish good shoots for 
stocks, but being longer-jointed, the heads will not be so compact; but the 
blooms being larger, they will make quite as good an appearance. Sorts of 
the most bushy habit and brightest colours are the best to choose for the pur¬ 
pose, such as Chevalier Domage, Little Harry, Julie Lagravere, Lady 
St. Clair, Progne, Etoile Polaire, &c. These when well grown are very orna¬ 
mental, and fit for public exhibition, being considered of equal merit with 
good dwarf specimens. 
The cultivation of pyramid plants also has its merits as well as uses for 
decorative purposes. To get Chrysanthemums to this form must be more a 
matter of taste than anything else. Growing the plants, as regards root 
treatment, is the same as before described for dwarf specimens or standards; 
but while growing they must be carefully tended, for it is next to impossible 
to get a Chrysanthemum to form a leader and assume the pyramid form like a 
Fir tree. Each plant must undergo a course of training from the first. A 
quick trainer will, however, make no difficulty of it, and can easily keep a 
dozen plants in order. Some few sticks must be used, and these should be deal 
in preference to willow, which would scarcely last. Pyramid plants, whether 
Pompones or large-flowered, are very ornamental to place on broad shelves or 
stages, and are very effective when massed one upon another. 
One of the most useful forms of growing Chrysanthemums I have found 
is to have a quantity of small plants in five or six-inch pots, which for furnish¬ 
ing shelves in a conservatory are more effective than large specimens, admitting, 
as they do, of a greater variety of colour, and are easily moved and changed 
about. 
The mode I have usually adopted in growing these is—take the old plants 
of the preceding year, either in the pots or turned out into a bed. About the 
latter end of May cut off the young tops, and place them thickly under a hand¬ 
glass, or in a frame and shade, as is usual for cuttings; they strike readily. When 
rooted, pinch out the tops or not, according to the form it is desired to have 
them in. The dwarfer they are required, the more they must be stopped. Pot 
them up singly into three-inch pots, and when they require it, into five or six- 
inch pots, and if necessary give them liquid manure when they have filled out 
these pots with roots. If it is desired to have them smaller, they can be struck 
a month or even two months later. If the tops are put in as cuttings, they will 
be sure to flower, even if the buds are showing when struck. They require no 
extra heat to strike them. 
