the sections. The houses pictured are 
22x140 feet; 674 square yards of cloth 
cover this—sides and top. 
If the plan whereby each bed is 
covered individually were used, 1,008 
square yards of cloth would be neces¬ 
sary for standard mums, for which 
the shade should be five feet high, 
and 720 square yards for pompons, 
which call for shade about three 
feet above the ground level. These fig¬ 
ures are presented to show the actual 
cloth saving in covering the entire 
house when it is not a large one. What¬ 
ever plan is used must be made to fit 
the house. If it is a large one without 
obstructing posts, cloth will be con¬ 
served by covering the entire area in¬ 
side as one large bed. 
We use a black sateen cloth, which 
costs around 15 cents per square yard. 
We find this material will last at least 
three seasons if properly cared for. As 
far as we know, this is the most suit¬ 
able for this purpose. Any opaque ma¬ 
terial will do. 
In the list of shading dates, given 
below, it will be noted that cloth used 
on the earliest-shaded lot of large mums 
will be free to use again on the last lot, 
considerably reducing cloth costs. 
Chrysanthemum Shading Dates. 
Shade Shade In Full 
Varieties Started Removed Crop 
Silver Sheen.Aug. 1 Aug. 20 Sept. 25 
Citronella .Aug. 1 Aug. 20 Oct. 5 
Norma .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Oct. 1C 
Silver Ball .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Sept. 25 
Irene .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Sept. 28 
Adelaide .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Sept. 25 
Pink Dot .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Oct. S 
Dream .Ang. 1 Aug. 25 Oct. fl 
Nuggets .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Sept. 25 
Source d’Or .Aug. 1 Aug. 25 Oct. 7 
Gold Lode.Aug. 1 Aug. 20 Sept. 12 
Friendly Rival... .Aug. 1 Aug. 20 Oct. 8 
Following Are Results of Season ’33. 
Shade * Shade In Full 
Varieties Started Removed Crop 
Ambassador .July 15 Aug. 8 Sept. 10 
Quaker Maid.July 15 Aug. 8 Sept. 10 
Celestra .July 15 Aug. 8 Sept. 12 
Norma .Aug. 22 Sept. 9 Oct. 20 
Citronella .July 15 Aug. 8 Sept. 10 
Citronella .July 25 Aug. 15 Sept. 25 
Mrs. Wilcox 
(Beu) ..Sept. 10 Oct. 7 Nov. 10 
Source d’Or .Aug. 22 Sept. 9 Oct. 20 
Some fairly successful attempts have 
been made the past season in growing 
pompons under black cloth in the open 
without glass shelter, but under the pro¬ 
tection of cheesecloth throughout the 
season. This has raised fears of low- 
priced overproduction. I do not believe 
that clean, long-stemmed flowers will 
be consistently grown in this way 
or that the method will average a 
profit. The effect of exposure to wind 
and rains, especially as the flowers are 
ready to develop, is to mar that finish 
and color that can only be had under 
glass protection. Good buyers quickly 
note the difference. Such second-grade 
stock will doubtless be something of a 
competitive factor affecting the returns 
on good, clean flowers, but with plenty 
of high-grade stock available, secOnd- 
grade flowers are not profitable. 
Perfectly finished flowers are not so 
important in pot plants, which can be 
readily and economically grown in the 
open and shaded for early flowers. In 
fact, more shapely plants are produced 
this way than when grown normally, 
the early flowering leaving them dwarf- 
er—a prime point in a mum pot plant. 
Plenty of well grown pot plants of 
varieties ordinarily not ready until mid- 
October can be sold as the atmosphere 
of fall sets in late in September. 
Disease. 
Chrysanthemums are inherently cool- 
temperature plants and naturally re¬ 
sistant to disease if given a chance to 
be. But I do occasionally—yes, fre¬ 
quently—meet growers with weak, 
“sick” plants who want to know with 
what “disease” the plants are affected. 
The fundamental requirement for a 
successful crop is starting with strong, 
clean young stock; when such plants 
get into clean, well drained soil, are 
not overwatered at any time and are 
kept free of aphis, there will, ordi¬ 
narily, be no disease affecting the 
mums. A careful experienced grower 
can nurse weak young stock along and 
come out all right with it—maybe. But 
as a rule, it will be more profitable, if 
it may be put that way, to leave the 
beds idle than to fill them with such 
a start. 
As has been shown, the profit mar¬ 
gin in this crop is close, and with a 
handicapped start, it easily slips to the 
debit side. I speak from the stand¬ 
point of a market grower. Perhaps the 
more fortunate retail grower feels that 
he does not need to figure so closely. 
That is a mistake. The weak, scrawny 
stock we have all sometimes seen is 
usually due, not to a disease, but to 
poorly drained old soil, which rots 
away all roots the weak plants attempt 
to make. If an example is wanted of 
the value of fresh young stock, just 
divide and plant some old stock plants, 
a thing most of us have tried to do. 
In Open in Summer. 
The practice of using for propagat¬ 
ing stock plants that have been sub¬ 
jected to a hot greenhouse all summer 
is a general one and I feel certain that 
it will slowly but certainly weaken the 
chrysanthemum. This belief is based on 
the fact that all forms of life change 
or adjust themselves to the conditions 
in which they are placed. More nat¬ 
ural treatment, one that will result in 
Enclose Your Mum With Your Seed Order 
.. 22 .. 
