thickness, and laid in a heap in order to decompose, is, 
perhaps, the pattern diet for the Chrysanthemum. 1 
generally contrive to cut and lay up such material a 
year before I know it will be wanted, so that it will be 
have got thoroughly mellowed by exposure to the sun 
and weather. In laying up the heap of sods, a position 
which catches the sun the whole day is best. Some 
people stow them away in an outbuilding until they 
are wanted, but this plan lias nothing to recommend 
it. There is a chemical action imparted to soil by the 
sun’s rays which no other agency can supply, and 
which many people seem to lose sight of. I invariably 
turn my material over once a fortnight throughout the 
twelve months’ preparation, by which time it is pretty 
certain every portion of it has been exposed to solar in¬ 
fluences. It is not of so much importance what kind 
of soil is used for striking the cuttings in. Any fairly 
light, rich material, mixed with a third of sharp sand, 
is suitable, and even for the first and second shifts the 
same material may be used ; but for the final transfer— 
tnat is, from the 6-in. pot to the 10-in. one—must be 
brought into play the “strong meat.” Up to this 
stage may be viewed as their childhood existence, when 
weaker diet will suffice for all their wants ; but by the 
time of the final potting- they are entering on their 
manhood, and, consequently, must be provided with 
something more substantial. 
In addition to the well-decomposed sods, it is wisdom 
to mix a third or so of thoroughly rotted manure with 
them, that from the cow being best, if it can be had ; 
but it must be so well matured that it will easily rub 
into the finest pieces. New material is of very little, 
if any, service. Old manure from a Cucumber-frame 
is a very good substitute if cow-manure cannot be ob¬ 
tained. Some people also mix along with them a little 
bone-dust, which may answer very well, though I have 
never tried it myself. It is of great importance in the 
final potting to have the drainage perfect; the crocks 
should not be carelessly thrown into the pot without 
any care bestowed on their arrangement, but should be 
placed in such a position as will best tend to drain 
away the water without allowing it to become stagnant; 
a very few crocks, if properly arranged, will drain a 
pot as well as if it were half filled on the haphazard 
principle. It is also well to lay a thin foundation of 
tough vegetable fibre upon the crocks. Any pieces of 
tenacious turf, not too finely broken up, is a capital 
thing, as it prevents the finer soil from becoming 
worked down into the bottom of the pot, and choking 
up the drainage. The Chrysanthemum will take any 
amount of moisture ; but it is imperative that it have 
a ready exit, or it will soon leave unmistakeable traces 
on the foliage. The leaves will begin to assume a 
yellowish, unhealthy hue, especially those on the 
lower part of the stem, and if not attended to it will 
gradually extend to the extremities of the branches, 
and when a plant becomes denuded of its leaves the 
result is not difficult to anticipate. You may, as a 
rule, predict your success at the exhibition table by the 
stamina of your plants during the spring and summer 
months. If the branches are stout, and well covered 
with fine, broad, thick leaves of a deep green, you may 
be pretty certain that your flowers will be noticed on 
the day of exhibition.— Geo. Kidson, Hull. 
( To ba continued.) 
--- 
A CAR OP FLOWERS. 
Californian flowers are rarely seen in New York, 
notwithstanding our express facilities. Yet an entire 
car of floral designs and loose flowers was actually trans¬ 
ported across the continent, a distance of 3,000 miles, to 
decorate the tomb of General Grant at Riverside park, 
New York, on Decoration day. The car, which started 
from Oakland, Cal., in charge of Mr. Sanborn, with 
James Hutchison, a well-known florist of that city, 
contained some thirty designs, some of them very 
elaborate. The most noticeable was a representation 
of General Grant on horseback, larger than life size. 
The horse was almost entirely of Candytuft, with the 
mane and tail of Pampas illumes. The saddle was of 
red Geraniums and the stirrups of Calendulas. The 
face of the rider was made of white Stocks, and the 
underside of the broad-brimmed hat of blue Ageratum, 
while the crown was composed of Roses. The trousers 
were made of Candytuft, and the coat of blue Agera¬ 
tum. The design was shipped in three pieces, being 
too large to go into the ear entire. Other designs were 
a wreath 4 ft. in diameter, a Grand Army badge 4 ft. 
HE GARDENING WORLD. Juiyio, isss. 
by 5 ft., flag 3 ft. by 4 ft., a large “faith, hope, and 
charity,” four large pillows, a broken column, and 
numerous other smaller designs. A very handsome 
design was packed in a large flat box with a glass top. 
it was a sword and scabbard of Immortelles, crossed in 
the centre of a large wreath of Californian Laurel, 
which was embellished with a few sprays of Stephanotis, 
Eucharis and Adiantum Ferns, a bunch of which was 
tied to the wreath with a bow of white satin ribbon. 
Though not showy it was an elegant piece of w’ork.— 
American Florist. 
-- 
CRYSTALLIZED FRUITS. 
The business of preserving fruit by the crystallizing 
process is peculiar to south-eastern France, and is 
practised on a large scale at Apt, in the department 
of Vaucluse, at Clermont, in Auvergne, as well as at 
Marseilles, Grasse, Avignon, and other important 
places. The product is largely imported to England, 
the United States, and various other countries, in¬ 
cluding Algiers, the East and West Indies, and' 
South America Consul Mason, of Marseilles, says 
that the kinds of fruits preserved by this process of 
crystallization, are mainly Pears, Cherries, Apricots, 
Pine Apples, Plums, Figs, Citrons, Oranges, Melons, and 
a kind of dwarf Orange called Chinois, which grows to 
some extent in the district of Nice, but is imported 
mainly from Italy and Corsica. Peaches are used only 
to a limited extent in the region of Marseilles. 
The process of crystallizing is as follows :—The fruit 
is first carefully assorted in respect to size and uniform 
degrees of ripeness. Pears, Pineapples, and Quinces 
are peeled, Citrons are cut into quarters, and soaked 
for a month in sea water, and the stones of Apricots, 
Cherries, and Peaches are carefully removed. This 
preparatory process requires a certain degree of skill, 
since the stone must be removed with as little injury 
as possible to the form and solidity of the fruit. 
This work is performed mainly by women, and is 
paid for at the rate of about 2s. a day. Thus 
prepared, the fruit is immersed in boiling water, 
which quickly penetrates the pulp, dissolving and 
diluting the juice, which is thereby nearly elimi¬ 
nated, when the fruit is subsequently taken from 
the water and drained, leaving only the solid 
portion of the fruit intact. It is necessary that 
this process, which is termed “blanching,” should 
be performed with the very greatest care, the 
period of immersion in the hot water being deter¬ 
mined by the size and ripeness of the fruit. If 
immersed too long, the pulp is either cooked too 
much, or is left too dry and woody. If taken out 
too soon, the juices left in the pulp prevent perfect 
absorption of the sugar afterwards, and, by eventually 
causing fermentation, destroy the value of the pro¬ 
duct. After being scalded, some of the fruits, espe¬ 
cially Apricots, are again assorted into two or three 
classes, according to the degree of softness that has 
been produced, as, if they are kept together, they 
would take up the sugar differently, some losing 
their form entirely, while others would remain in¬ 
sufficiently impregnated. For these different grades, 
sugar syrups of different degrees of density are 
required, the softer the fruit, the stronger the syrup 
required for its preservation. For the same reason, 
each of the different varieties of fruit requires a syrup 
of corresponding strength. Pears, Citrons, and Pine¬ 
apples, which remain hard and firm, take best a 
syrup having a density of from 1S° to 25°, while 
Apricots, Plums, and Figs, are treated with syrups 
which gauge from 30° to 42° by the aerometer. 
The requisite syrup having been prepared by dis¬ 
solving the fruit in pure water, the fruit is immersed 
in it, and left, for a certain period, in large earthen¬ 
ware pans, glazed inside, and having a capacity of 
about eight gallons. The syrup penetrates the pulp, 
and gradually withdraws and replaces the remaining 
fruity juice, which, as it exudes and mingles with the 
transparent liquid, produced a certain filmy or clouded 
appearance, which marks the commencement of fer¬ 
mentation. When this has reached a certain stage, 
the vessel containing the syrup and fruit is placed over 
the fire and heated to 212° Fahrenheit. This corrects 
the fermentation, and raises all impurities to the 
surface, whence they are removed by skimming. 
If the syrup is of proper density, this process of im¬ 
pregnating the fruit with sugar will be complete in 
about six weeks, during which time it is usually 
necessary to perform this heating operation, as above 
described, three times. The impregnation of the 
fruit with sugar being thus complete, it is taken out, 
washed in pure water, to remove the flaky particles 
that adhere, and is then submitted to one or two 
finishing processes as follows :—if the fruit is to be 
“ glaced”—that is, covered with an ice or transparent 
coating—it is dipped in a thick viscid syrup of sugar, 
and left to dry and harden rapidly in the open air. 
If it is to be “ crystalized,” it is dipped into the 
same syrup, but is then cooled and dried slowly in a 
kiln or chamber, warmed to' a temperature of 90° 
Fahrenheit. This slow process of cooling causes the 
thick syrup with which the fruit is covered to crystal¬ 
lize, and assume the usual granulated appearance. 
The operation is then complete. 
It is stated that the fruit thus preserved will bear 
transportation to any climate, and will keep firm and 
unchanged for years. During the process of impreg¬ 
nating the fruit with sugar, the syrup in which it is 
immersed is gradually deteriorated by losing its sugar 
and absorbing the juices of the fruit." It is finally util¬ 
ised in the preparation of confiture di Apt, which is made 
of the soft uncooked and irregular pieces of fruit of all 
kinds, mixed in irregular proportion, and preserved 
in the spent syrup, which is boiled down to the re¬ 
quired consistency. The net cost of preserving fruit 
in France by the crystallizing process varies with the 
price of sugar and labour, but it is estimated that in 
the year 1885 it was at the rate of about Is. the 
pound.— Society of Arts Journal. 
-- 
Scottish Gardening. 
_ 
Seasonable Notes. — Chrysanthemums will 
now be making rapid growth, and it is very necessary 
that they should receive no check for want of water, or 
from being pot-bound. The Chrysanthemum is a gross 
feeding plant, and may be grown very strong in wood 
and foliage, but in late northern parts such bulky 
growth may not always be found consistent with plenty 
of flowers ; dwarf and firm growth with stiff foliage to 
the surface of the pots iswhat the cultivator desiresto see. 
If the pots are not large enough for the rapid increase 
of the plants, and they are full of roots to bursting, 
much may be done to help them by clearing off inert 
surfaces, and giving a good top dressing of turfy loam 
mixed with a portion of Thomson’s Vine Manure; 
stimulants in a liquid form is not be wanted till the 
buds are formed. Staking against windy weather is an 
important matter (such as may have reached others in 
the same manner as it prevailed here of late). Keeping 
the plants in a shady position at this period of their 
growth, is fatal to free-flowering or for a display in 
November. 
Azaleas which are kept pot-bound with the view of 
forcing them into an early flowering condition, may be 
greatly aided by judicious applications of clear liquid 
manure, allowing only a small quantity at every alter¬ 
nate watering. "We believe in homcepathic portions of 
liquid manure for these plants. If tying into form is 
to be done (we do not mean twisting the wood into 
grotesque unnatural shapes) it should have early atten¬ 
tion, so that the growth may turn the flower buds to 
the outside of the plants, and show the flowers well 
when out. Thrips must be kept from them. 
Ericas and Epacris of the autumn and winter- 
flowering class, which have fully developed their, 
growth, and are to be rested, may be put in an open 
space outside, or small plants may remain where they 
can be protected with glass-lights. Abundance of air 
is of great moment to this class of plants. They stand 
a good deal of heat when they are making their wood, 
if shut up with plenty of moisture ; a dry heat is 
very injurious. Heaths in general do well in the 
north, where attention is given to them, but they 
stand no coddling or damp confined air. 
Camellias, which are well forward, with buds plump 
and foliage clean, healthy, and firm-, may be removed 
to a sheltered position out of doors, behind a hedge, 
where the mid-day sun is warded off the plants ; sudden 
transmission from a warm shaded position will do 
much mischief to the foliage. A dull showery day is 
suitable for their removal; and a canopy of scrim cloth or 
some other thin material may be used till the plants 
are gradually innured to their condition. Plants which 
have been in full sun all along require no such care as 
we have described. "We have referred to forced plants. 
Manure water given carefully and free from clotted 
substance, is very serviceable to these plants at this 
season of the year. American bug seems to have 
extended itself widely on collections of Camellia, and 
