December 29, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
279 
Japanese varieties can be properly brought out. The 
waste is also not so great as it appears at first sight, as 
I have often noticed that perfect flowers, I suppose 
from their greater substance of petal, last much longer 
than ordinary ones. 
The varieties which specially require disbudding are 
the large incurved kinds, as the Queen, Beverley, and 
Bundle families, and the largest Japanese, a list of 
which may be got from the first prize lot at any good 
show. There is a further class, which is utterly useless 
unless well grown and disbudded to the crown bud, 
and which should be avoided by the ordinary gardener 
who does not make Chrysanthemums a specialty and 
study the peculiarities of each variety ; of these are 
Comte de Germiny, Boule d’Or, Grandiflorum, 
Thunberg, Baronne de Prailly, &c. An advantage of 
the mixed system of growing is the possibility of 
making more artistic groups when the plants are of 
varying size and habit, which give more light and 
shade in grouping and avoid the appearance of a gaudy 
carpet, which is attained ,when all the flowers are 
brought into one plane. It follows that to do this 
each variety must be studied separately and notes 
made of its habit, size of bloom, &c. It is not a bad 
plan with a new variety, if the plant be received early 
enough, to take off the top, strike it and run up 
without stopping for one or two good blooms, growing 
the decapitated plant into a bush, thus getting a good 
idea of its capabilities the first season. 
Going back to our cuttings, which were just struck, 
after being taken from the bed and placed in a higher 
position for a few days, they should be transferred into 
small pots, about 2 ins. will do, the soil used being 
decayed turf lightened with sand and leaf-soil ; this 
should not be made too firm the first potting, as the 
young plants recover and begin to grow again much 
more quickly if rather lightly potted. Between now 
and the end of May is a very critical time with Chry¬ 
santhemums, during which numbers are wholly or 
partially ruined, many people having their frames filled 
with bedding plants, &c. During spring the Chry¬ 
santhemums have to put up with a position in the 
greenhouse, yards from the glass, and probably 10° or 
15° too hot. They may remain in the greenhouse if 
cool and airy until the second move into 5-in. pots, 
after which they should certainly go into the cold 
frame, where, as soon as they have recovered from the 
potting, all the air possible should be giving by tilting 
the lights, and, if possible, removing them altogether 
on warm days. The object is to secure a slow, sturdy 
growth as a good foundation for the future specimen. 
If grown too quickly the plants are ready for the final 
potting before the cultivator is, as this cannot be done 
until it is safe to place them outside—at least, by 
anyone with ordinary accommodation. This brings us 
to the most important operation of the series, 
The Final Potting. 
The principal points in this are the size of pot used 
and the character of the soil. The first depends upon 
the class of plant required. I use three sizes—7-in. for 
the plants to be run up with single stems, except the 
Queen family, which require more room, and have 
9-in. ; 10-in. for those to be stopped and grown as 
bushes ; and for forming large masses for cutting, 
13-in. are employed, putting three plants in each. 
Our soil is turf from a rather light loam (alluvial drift), 
so that little or no sand is required : it is, however, 
enriched by the addition of manures. We mixed up 
this year about sixteen cartloads ; this contained three 
good loads of dung, scattered between the layers of turf 
when it was stacked, about three months before wanted, 
to which was added half a load of wood ashes, 5 cwt. of 
bone dust, and 6 bushels of soot, the whole being 
turned two or three times to incorporate it thoroughly. 
In potting the last time the compost is made thoroughly 
firm, using a wooden rammer for the purpose. The 
next item to be referred to is 
Stopping. 
In the first place, those plants which are required to 
produce exhibition blooms should not be stopped, but 
grown steadily on to their natural height, varying 
according to the variety from 4 ft. to 6 ft. and even 
8 ft. or 9 ft. Those for cut bloom and decorative work 
may be stopped when 5 ins. high, again after making 
three or four leaves, and at intervals until the end of 
May, avoiding performing the operation within a few 
days before or after potting. If the aim is to get 
flowers of as nearly full size as possible on dwarf plants, 
the “cut down” system, as it is called, may be 
followed. This consists in letting the young plant 
grow uninterruptedly until it is established in its 5-in. 
pot, then cutting it off to within 4 ins. or 6 ins. of the 
soil, after which keep somewhat dry until the stem has 
broken. Allow from four to eight growths, according 
to the kind, to grow without further interference, dis¬ 
budding each to the crown bud. The time for cutting 
down varies with the character of the plant operated 
upon. Such free-growing early varieties as the Rundles 
may be cut as late as the first week in June ; but very 
late sorts, such as Princess Teck, Meg Merrilies, &c., 
should not be left later than May 1st, the Queen family 
about the second week of May, and other kinds between 
these dates. Some varieties do better under this 
treatment than others, and are almost as good as if 
grown to their full height. Examples : E. Molyneux, the 
Queen and Beverley families (especially the latter), 
Meg Merrilies, Mr. Garner, &c., while others have 
proved comparative failures under it. Of these may be 
mentioned Lord Wolseley, Prince Alfred, Jeanne d’Arc, 
Grandiflorum, Duchess of Albany, Marsa, and all the 
Anemone-flowered section. 
Disbudding. 
Now as to disbudding, which always appears somewhat 
of a mystery to the uninitiated, though very simple 
when once grasped. A Chrysanthemum when grown 
naturally produces three kinds of buds—viz., the July, 
the crown, and the terminal. The July, called so from 
the general date of its appearance, need scarcely be 
considered practically, as the shoot grows past it, and 
it remains a bud, withering up in time ; if the shoot 
be stopped at this bud when it appears, it will swell 
and grow into a flower, but nearly always a very coarse 
and deformed one. The crown bud is the one formed 
at the end of each of the three branches into which an 
unstopped plant naturally divides, and appears from 
the beginning of August (except in abnormally early 
plants) and onwards. Soon after the formation of this 
bud at the end of the branch three small shoots may 
be seen starting from just underneath it, and if the 
crown bud is intended to be retained for a show 
flower these must be removed early, or they will rob it 
and seriously retard its development. The removal of 
these three shoots to throw all the strength into the 
crown bud is what is technically called “taking” the 
bud. Most growers do this with a knife or pointed 
stick as soon as they can be seen, often injuring the 
stem, which is very soft at this time, and causing the 
bloom to come lop-sided. I think a much better way 
is to wait until the shoots are just long enough to get 
hold of and break them off with the thumb and finger. 
N.B.—The shoots are brittle and break easily in the 
early morning before the dew dries ; when the sun is 
hot they are tougher. If these three shoots above 
referred to are allowed to grow, each forms a bud at its 
summit called the “terminal.” generally surrounded 
by a cluster of smaller ones. 
The great point in disbudding for exhibition is the 
proper time to take the buds ; this varies from the 
beginning of August for the very late kinds to the end 
of the month for the earlier. As a rule the Japanese 
may be taken before the incurved, which come coarse 
and out of character if taken too early, about the 
20th being soon enough for them When the crown 
bud appears too early, it and two of the shoots 
springing from its base should bo removed, leaving the 
third shoot to produce a flower from the terminal ; 
this, in the case of some incurved varieties will, if not 
quite so large, be much more refined than from the 
crown. By careful disbudding, plants which would 
naturally flower from early in November to Christmas 
may be bloomed all at one time. 
Feeding. 
Almost every grower has his nostrum which he swears 
by, but my own practice is based on the idea that no 
one mixture contains every necessary ingredient, and 
that variety of food is most conducive to success. I 
begin with a little weak liquid, containing soot and 
cow-dung, as soon as the pots are full of roots after the 
last move ; this, however, much diluted until the buds 
begin to form, after which time watering is done as 
follows:—first time, clear water; second, diluted 
stable drainage; third, clear; fourth, chemical manure 
(Beeson’s, guano, Pearson’s, &c., in turn); fifth, clear; 
sixth, the stable drainage again very weak (the tank in 
which the first dose was mixed being filled up with 
clear water) ; seventh, clear. Other points to be 
noted with regard to feeding are—always use manure- 
water clear, and do not stir up the tank before 
drawing from it ; never give a dry plant liquid manure; 
too much ammonia (the sheet anchor of many growers) 
spoils the foliage, making it brittle ; some plants are 
much more tender at the roots than others, and if 
watched will give warning when you are “ coming it 
too strong ;” and, lastly, in a sunless season like the 
past it is easy to over-feed and produce coarse wood 
which cannot be ripened. 
Insects and Diseases. 
The Chrysanthemum is less affected by these than any 
other of our cultivated plants. The following are, 
nevertheless, troublesome at times : —Green and black 
fly, earwigs, and mildew. The larva of the lady-cow 
will often keep the first two in order through the 
summer if not disturbed, and the larva of the lace¬ 
winged fly or golden-eye is also a splendid aphis 
destroyer, but is, unfortunately, rather plain and 
grubby in appearance, and is, therefore, too often 
regarded as an enemy and squashed accordingly. If 
the aphis, in spite of these enemies, increase too fast, 
dust them with tobacco powder on a dewy morning, 
the best preparation I have tried being that called 
“Thanatos,” sold by Messrs. "Wood & Son. This 
should not be done after the plants are housed, as it 
gives them a filthy appearance when the rain cannot 
wash it off; a much better plan is to give a good 
fumigating the first quiet night after the plants are 
inside, whether they appear to want it or not ; they 
will then keep clean until after the show is over. For 
earwigs the only plan is trapping, and the best traps 
are pieces of dry beanstalks ; these should be looked 
over every morning and the earwigs blown out into a 
pan of water. If mildew appears while the plants are 
outside syringe them with the following : —1 lb. sofc- 
soap, & lb. sulphur, and 10 gallons of soft water; mix 
with boiling water, and add the remaining quantity 
cold, stir constantly while using. This is a perfect 
cure, and far before any method of dusting sulphur, 
&c. After the Chrysanthemums are housed, a coat of 
sulphur and linseed oil on the hot-water pipes is a very 
good preventive. I have not seen a speck of mildew in 
our large show house this season, which I attribute 
to this precaution. 
-- 
Hardening Miscellany. 
G-ishurst Compound. 
I first saw the light in a private garden, but for 
nearly thirty years have been the useful servant and 
friend of gardeners of all classes, and as the advertise¬ 
ment says, have outlived many preparations intended 
to supersede me. My feelings were first hurt when 
sulphides was talked about as something new to cure 
plant plagues ; sulphide has always formed part of my 
constitution. Again, paraffin is spoken of, especially 
for American Blight. I have always been death to this 
plague, and washed the bark besides. I am not proud, 
and am willing to work with paraffin ; I improve the 
emulsion, but cannot take the same responsibility as 
when acting separately. — Gishurst Compound, Belmont, 
Battersea, S. JV. 
Mistleto as a Parasite. 
At p. 257, “ R. D.” says that “ the Mistleto is regarded 
as the only true parasitical plant indigenous to 
Britain.” Such may be the popular estimation, but it 
is none the less a popular error, as we have some species 
of Orobanche and some of Cuscuta (the Dodder), which 
are more strictly parasitical than the Mistleto, and far 
more degraded. They belong to two other natural 
orders, in which the nearest allies belonging to the 
same order-as the Dodder, or to a different order in the 
case of Orobanche, are highly developed plants with 
show}' flowers. The parasites in question live upon the 
roots of various host plants, and are entirely destitute 
of chlorophyll, or only show traces occasionally. The 
roots and leaves of the Dodder are entirely suppressed, 
so that the whole plant is reduced to slender thread or 
cord-like stems, according to the size of the species, 
twining round the stems and leaves of the host plant, 
into which they push sucker-like processes termed 
haustoria, by means of which they derive their 
sustenance entirely from the plant on which they are 
parasitical. They, however, continue to produce flowers 
and seeds by which they perpetuate and disseminate 
themselves. The leaves of Orobanche and Lathnea 
squamaria are reduced to small bracts of various dull 
colours, but are never green. The flowers are brown, 
yellowish, pinkish, or some other colour, generally 
of a livid and uninviting hue. The Mistleto on the 
other hand, although it does not derive any nourish¬ 
ment from the soil or decayed bark, has nevertheless 
well-developed green leaves, which testify to the 
presence of chlorophyll. Physiologists can hardly 
recognise the presence of functionless chlorophyll, and 
therefore do not consider that Mistleto is entirely 
dependent upon the host plant for its sustenance. 
