100 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 
MISTLETOE CULTURE. 
There is no necessity, in order to the successful 
propagation of this very curious and interesting shrub, 
to make any incision in the bark of the tree to which 
you apply the seed; nothing more is requisite than 
to press the berry firmly to a branch which is not too 
old, and which is free from lichens and mosses, taking 
care to press the berry with sufficient force to break 
the skin. If these directions are followed, the viscous 
juice, which composes the bulk of the berry, will 
cause the seed to adhere so firmly to the bark of the 
branch that, I think, in a day or two it will be found 
that the seed of the mistletoe cannot be removed 
without bringing away with it some of the cuticle of 
the branch to which it has been applied. After some 
time the seed will swell a little and become greenish; it 
will then put out small processes of the length of per¬ 
haps about the eighth of an inch, which will lay hold 
of the bark; and in about six or eight months two 
small leaves of the mistletoe will appear. But what 
is very curious, I have observed that many, I believe 
I may say most, of the seeds will produce two plants, 
and I am not sure that I have not seen a single seed 
produce more than two plants. I suppose, therefore, 
that most of the seeds, perhaps all the seeds, of the 
mistletoe are what may he called double seeds, that is 
to say, each seed contains two radicles and two plu¬ 
mules. 1 speak with confidence upon this subject, 
because I have propagated the mistletoe too exten¬ 
sively and too successfully: I say too extensively and 
too successfully, because my experience will not suffer 
me to agree with you or your correspondent in sup¬ 
posing that it does not injure the tree on which it 
grows I think it injures only that particular branch 
on which it grows, and if that is rather a large one, 
say an inch and a half or two inches in diameter, I 
do not think that it will suffer any serious injury; but 
if the branch is a small one, it will be found that, as 
the mistletoe increases in size, itwill swell verymuch at 
the part on which the mistletoe is fixed; and the upper 
part of the branch, i.e. that part which is further from 
the trunk than the mistletoe, will become sickly. I 
would, notwithstanding this objection, advise your 
readers to cultivate this very interesting, curious, and 
ornamental shrub, taking care not to sow it upon any 
favourite fruit tree; for, in my opinion, the compact 
yet elegant form of the bush, the lively green of the 
leaves, and the delicacy of the pearl-like berries, ren¬ 
der it one of the choicest ornaments of a shrubbery; 
and more especially of a single tree, in the winter and 
the beginning of spring As the mistletoe is a slow 
growing plant, especially while it is very young, I 
think the nurserymen might find it worth their while 
to propagate it by sowing it upon crab trees; they 
would probably have a demand for the trees for the 
sake of the favourite attached to them. There is, how¬ 
ever, one objection to this proposal, viz., that trees 
are usually removed from the nurseries before they 
have attained to such a size as to admit of the mis¬ 
tletoe being grown upon them without danger of 
injuring them. Besides trees of the apple tribe and 
the white thorn, the mistletoe, as you know, and as I 
dare say most of your readers know, thrives upon the 
lime, upon the black Italian poplar (Populus monili- 
fera), and, I conclude, upon other poplars. I have it 
growing on Populus viridis; I have it also on the 
Norway maple; it also grows and, I believe, thrives 
upon other trees; but the apple, the white thorn, the 
lime, and the poplar, appear to be its favourite soil, 
if 1 may use that term. Ornamental as the mistletoe 
is in a shrubbery, it is even more ornamental upon 
single trees in a park or pleasure ground. 1 am 
afraid that some of your cottage readers will hardly 
understand you if you tell them that the mistletoe 
is dioecious ; perhaps they will understand you if 
you tell them that the male flowers, or the flowers 
containing the stamens, and the female flowers, or 
the flowers containing the pistils, grow upon separate 
plants, and that the hemp and the spinach are also 
familiar examples of this arrangement. 
Rev. Edward Simons, 
Ovimjton Rectory, near Watton, Norfolk. 
CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 
Potting Suckers. —The chrysanthemum is an or¬ 
nament with us from about the middle of October 
up to Christmas. I have for some years, either on 
the day after Cliristmas-day, or else on New Year’s- 
day, made it a rule to cut down all my plants, and 
put away all their sticks for another year. Having 
turned out all my plants, and potted off as many 
suckers as I want for the succeeding season, I put 
from two to three suckers into each pot. Whether 
well rooted or not, I pot them all oft', for I find them 
all well rooted by the spring. I pot them into 48- 
sized pots (five-inch diameter) if 1 have enough; if 
not, I make up with the 00-sized (three-inch diameter). 
When all are done I put them into a cold frame, with 
a few coal-aslies to stand the pots upon; give a little 
water, to settle the earth to the roots; put on the 
lights for a week or so; alter this, give them all the 
air I can in all mild weather, and protect them well 
from all severe frosts. I am always on the alert for 
the slugs, as they are very fond of them. 
I have three good reasons for potting my young 
stock at this early season:—1. Because I want my 
large flowering pots for another good purpose, to in¬ 
vert over sea-kale. 2. Because I can put all my 
plants in such a small space, to winter them and to 
look tidy too; as here, if I did not want my pots 
for any other purpose, I could wash them and put 
them all away in the dry for another year. 3. Be¬ 
cause I am more at leisure about Christmas to attend 
to this work, and by potting my suckers then I have 
a nice lot of strong healthy plants in the spring to 
put my hand upon when I want them. 
One thing I always do before I commence potting 
off my new stock: 1 ask my excellent master if he has 
either promised any cuttings or suckers to any friend, 
or if he will want any to give away in the spring: so 
as not to have the trouble with more pots than I 
want. 
The Flowering Pots. —I commence planting my 
plants into their flowering pots about the last week 
in April, and, perhaps, finish by the first of May. 
The soil I use is loam and leaf-mould ; about half 
and half of each, turned over three or four times, and 
broken to pieces well before used, but not sifted. In 
potting, I put about a quart of the freshest horse- 
droppings 1 can get in the bottom of every pot, then 
nearly fill it up with my prepared soil, and put in my 
pot of young plants, leaving it when done about an 
inch below the level of the top of the pot. This 
space is left to receive future top-dressings. When .all 
are potted, I stand my pots of plants upon boards, 
raised upon either one or two bricks high ; this not 
only brings the plants up nearer to my eye, but places 
them out of the way of many vermin, such as worms 
and slugs in particular. 1 always have my plants 
stand clear of each other, so that each plant gets its 
share -of light and air. 
Culture and Training. —About a week after the 
plants are all potted, the earth is stirred with a bit of 
stick ; and, after about another week, the shoots are 
