114 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICE.—FRENCH DAISY CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
) 
at all seasons special care must be taken to have the pots properly drained. Train to neat 
trellises as the plants progress in growth, and stop the strong shoots occasionally to equalise 
the distribution of the sap, and consequently the growth. Tor covering trellises in the con¬ 
servatory or greenhouse, when planted out, this will be found a very useful plant; and the 
only precaution necessary at the time of planting is to give plenty of drainage. All who like 
the Pergularia odoratissima will like this plant: it is to the greenhouse and conservatory 
what the Pergularia is to the plant-stove.—A. 
®i3nllmtratra ffatm. 
Caprification .—The Academy of Naples has received various Memoirs in reply to the programme it put forth on 
the subject of Caprification. Some of the facts stated in these Memoirs have been summed up in Professor Link’s 
Report on Physiological Botany, as published in the Ray Reports; from which source the following facts are 
gleaned:—Mem. No. 1 denies the influence of caprification in fertilization: female flowers are always found in 
the flowers, hut no males; and the impregnation of the Figs remains a mystery. The author does not recommend 
caprification. Mem. No. 3 arrives at the following conclusions:—1. The wild Fig is not the male of the cultivated 
Fig, as it has been considered. 2. Inasmuch as the structure of the flower and the seeds, in the varieties of the 
cultivated Fig, are exactly the same, there appears no reason why caprification should he requisite in some varieties 
and not in others. 3. The insect does not hasten the ripening, neither does it contribute to the setting of the 
fruit, any more than it does to its impregnation. 4. The falling off of the fruit of the wild Fig, which contains no 
larvae, proves nothing; for when many fruits have set upon the tree, they still fall off, even when larvae are 
present. 5. The cause of the falling off must he sought in other circumstances—in the climate, changes of the 
weather, &c. 6. Caprification is perfectly useless, either for ripening or setting the fruits. Mem. No. 5 contains 
the conclusion: that the action of the cynips upon the cultivated Fig is entirely mechanical, and merely serves, 
like any other irritant, to accellerate somewhat the ripening of the fruit. Hence, when this is not requisite, 
caprification is perfectly useless, nay, even injurious to the perfect maturation of the fruit. Mem. No. 6 considers 
caprification requisite, hut only in the case of abortive Figs. One Mem. only considers it necessary for fructifica¬ 
tion. In my early days I had an opportunity of observing caprification in Portugal, and I have stated, that it 
exerts no influence upon impregnation. However, many varieties become larger and more beautiful when they 
are pierced by this minute cynips. 
FRENCH DAISY CHRYSANTHEMUMS* 
By M. HEPJNCQ. 
7T|HE Indian Chrysanthemum is one of the most beautiful flowers of autumn. People were 
A accustomed to admire them delineated on the China porcelain, and in their ignorance of the 
marvels of the Celestial empire, to qualify them as ideal flowers. An irresistible penchant leads the 
admiration of the Chinese to this plant. With it they decorate their houses, and their tables on the 
fete days, while it is painted on all their porcelain vases. In this country the merits of the Chrysan¬ 
themum are already appreciated, and for some years it has acquired considerable repute, which is 
chiefly owing to the facility with which it doubles its capitules, and modifies the colours of its flowers* 
At the present day a great number of varieties are in cultivation, some of them with flowers dark 
purple, nearly black, rose, white, orange, yellow; sometimes we find a single capitule or head with two 
different colours; other varieties are distinguished by the form of their flowers, which constitute rayed 
capitules, partly or entirely ligulate ; and partly or entirely tubular. 
Horticulture has been latterly enriched with a new species, which is perhaps only a simple type 
of the old form : this is known in the trade under the name of Chrysanthemum matricarioides, and 
very often under the less pretending title of Chusan daisy. This new type, sent from China by Mr. 
Fortune, in 1846, has already produced numerous charming miniature varieties, having nevertheless 
the most perfect and elegant forms. 
The Pompon de Chine. as they are sometimes called, by their dwarf habit, their handsome form, 
their dense foliage, and their elegant small capitules of flowers of the most striking colours, are well 
fitted to occupy a void in the decoration, not only of our gardens and greenhouses, but even of the 
flower-stands and baskets of our parlours and drawing-rooms. Of those which have been lately added 
to our collections the following are particularly deserving of notice :— 
Bernetianum .—The colour of an Amaranth on a white ground. 
* From the Revue Horticole, 
