POMPONE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
POMPONE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
CONSIDERABLE advance has already been made in the improvement of this miniature race of 
^ Chrysanthemums. Even now, among the numerous varieties which the last two seasons have 
produced, are some which approach very nearly to the standard of ideal perfection, and in another 
season or two we may almost expect to see it reached. At present, the acquisition of increased firmness 
of texture, and the obliteration of the notches at the end of the petal-like florets, are the points 
at which it is most desirable to aim; fulness and breadth in the florets having been already in great 
measure secured. 
The accompanying plate represents some of the best of the new varieties, for which we are indebted 
to Mr. Salter, of the Versailles Nursery, Hammersmith, and Mr. Henderson, of the Wellington 
Nursery, St. John’s Wood. 
As the Rose is the admitted queen of summer, and the Dahlia the autumn’s king, so may the 
Chrysanthemum be ranked as the king of winter; for, coming into bloom just at the season when the 
autumn monarch succumbs to the terrors of the ice king, it may be said to be the floral connecting 
link between the old and new year, like an oasis in the desert, or a star to cheer the florist when all 
around is drear and dark. Unlike most other plants, the Chrysanthemum seems to delight in smoke- 
pent cities, for within a stone’s throw of Fleet Street, in the Temple Gardens, abutting upon the 
Middlesex side of the river Thames, may be seen every autumn a display of this flower, winch for 
effect rivals the American Nurseries of Bagshot, or the grand display of these plants at Chiswick and 
the Regent’s Park. Our attention was first directed to these gardens one thick November morning, 
when, the fog being of true London character, we landed at Paul’s Wharf, and wended our way west¬ 
ward through Thames Street, Whitefriars, and the Temple, where, through the aid of a sudden gleam 
of sunshine, we descried, amid the yellow mist, a grand display of this splendid flower. At the first 
sight we thought they must have been transplanted from some suburban nursery or garden, but a closer 
inspection satisfied us that they were the veritable productions of the place. In Lincoln’s Inn Fields 
also the Chrysanthemum flourishes, and would do so more fully if more attention was devoted to its 
management; and in most of the squares a few straggling plants may be seen, amply testifying, that, 
if properly managed, they would make London gay even when the country is cheerless, for they are 
less likely to be injured by frost in London than in the suburbs. 
With these facts before us, it is in the nature of things that Chrysanthemums should be rising in 
public favour, and the gorgeous specimens which have been produced not only of plants but of cut 
flowers also, at the Stoke Newington and other exhibitions, prove that the Chrysanthemum, as a 
Florists’ Flower, will become as popular as the Rose, the Dahlia, and the Hollyhock. 
Among the novelties lately brought into notice are the varieties figured upon the annexed plate, 
all of which belong to the class of Pompones, or small varieties which have originated from the Chusan 
Daisy, a variety introduced by Mr. Fortune from China, and the ordinary kinds. These varieties are 
specially remarkable to the hybridizer as having taken on, in crossing, the varied colours of the large 
kinds without increasing in size, for though some of them are larger than the Chusan Daisy, the 
majority scarcely exceed it in size, and some of them are even smaller. In form also several of the 
varieties are nearly perfect, while one of them, called La Nain Bebe, when the flowers are fresh, has 
the scent of \ iolets ! The plants in habit are mostly compact and shrubby, but some of them are 
a little inclined to become tall. Most of the varieties flower very freely, and therefore are likely to 
become very useful plants for bedding out in the flower garden for a winter’s display; hence we shall 
address ourselves to their treatment for that purpose, in the present notice, and leave the subject of 
their cultivation for exhibition till a more suitable time. 
Premising, then, that you have supplied yourself with a stock of plants of each of the varieties 
which you are desirous of getting a quantity of for flower garden purposes, place them at once in a 
waim gieenhouse or pit, at a temperature of 45° to 55°, and as fast as they produce cuttings of sufficient 
