COMPANION TO THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
27 
to take ?” showing that they enter into the cultivation of their favourite 
with a spirit that surmounts all difficulties. 
I am, however, somewhat digressing from my subject, and will now 
begin my course of cultivation, which should commence as soon as possi¬ 
ble after the exhibitions are over. Early in December take off promis¬ 
ing young shoots from the old stools, if with a little root all the better; 
place these, two in a sixty-sized pot, in some light sandy soil, and stand 
in a cold frame, keep close till the cuttings get rooted, then give a little 
air daily, for a week or ten days, and afterwards all the air possible, 
having the lights off on every favourable opportunity; if once the 
plants get weakly or drawn, your blooms will be small; protect care¬ 
fully from frost, they should never be frozen, or you lose the point 
of the shoot, the most important part to keep intact. If properly at¬ 
tended to, the first week in April you will have some nice strong plants, 
fit for repotting into thirty-two-sized pots, which should be done as early 
in x\pril as possible, using a compost of half turfy loam, half rotten 
manure, and a little silver sand to keep it porous; it would be well to get 
your stock of soil prepared the previous autumn, and turned two or three 
times during the winter, so that the manure and loam should be thoroughly 
incorporated : this same compost, without the sand, will be required to 
pot them in when shifted to their blooming-pots. After being potted into 
32’s they should have all the air possible, only be careful to protect from 
wet, cold showers, and frost, as the Chrysanthemum is impatient of wet 
and cold in the early part of the season, and should never at any time 
be over-watered, although during the summer months it will require to 
be kept sufficiently moist to enable it to grow on vigorously. By the mid¬ 
dle of June they will require to be shifted into their blooming-pots; the 
usual practice is to put two plants into a No. 12 pot, or one into a 
No. 16 pot; either is a very good plan, I have no choice between the two : 
use the compost before recommended, but be careful to have the pots 
thoroughly drained, and when the plants have begun to get well esta¬ 
blished, use liquid manure in a weak state frequently; take off all side 
shoots, allowing only the centre one to grow. About the first or second 
week in July, the main shoot will break into three shoots at top, and thes’e 
should be allowed to grow, taking off every lateral from these as from the 
first stem. If properly looked after, by the second week in August you 
will have stout strong plants and many will begin to show their buds : this 
is an exciting period for the grower, for on the judicious taking of the buds 
depends whether his care for the last nine months will be of sendee to 
him or not. Staking and carefully tying should be attended to in all 
stages of their growth. Many growers are over-anxious and take the 
bud, as it is termed, too early, and frequeutlv injure the one they leave 
to flower; the best way is to allow it to grow until you can get the point 
of a penknife between the centre bud and the buds at the side; if the 
centre bud is round and plump, take all the others away, and throw the 
