1884 :] 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 
CULTIVATION OF OHETSANTHEMUMS. 
No class of plants thi'ives so woll with as 
little care as the Chrysanthemum, and as 
a town-plant it has no equal. It seems to 
thrive equally well in the smoke and dust of 
largo cities as in the open country, requiring 
only sun a few hoiu-s eacli day, rich soil, and 
occasional watormg. 
Small plants may be planted as early as 
the lii*st of April,—but any time to the mid¬ 
dle of May will be soon enough,—about as 
far apart as to allow from two and a half to 
three feet for each plant. This may easily 
be done wliere a 
border can bo de¬ 
voted to them 
alone ; but when 
grown in a mixed 
border, where other 
plants are growing, 
a space of two feet 
should be allowed 
for the Chrysanthe¬ 
mum. The soil must 
be made rich with 
manime, and kept 
clean. 
About the first 
week in June each 
plant should have 
the center of the 
shoot pinched out, 
which operation is 
known as stopping. 
A strong stick 
should be placed 
by the side of each 
plant, to which it 
should be loosely 
tied. In a few 
weeks there will 
have grown four 
to six more shoots 
four or five inches 
long. These must 
again be stopped, 
by continuing the 
process imtil the 
first of August; 
after which time 
every shoot should 
be allowed to grow, 
and not stopped 
any more. Keep 
the plant tied, ^ so 
as to prevent its 
being broken by 
the wind. 
By the first week 
in September many 
buds will be formed, 
and, if vei-y largo 
flowers are desired, 
one-third or more 
of the buds should 
be taken off. Some 
weak liquid manure should be given about 
the first of October. 
K the plants are required for decorations 
in the house or greenhouse, they may, be 
easily dug up, potted into different sized 
pots, according to the plants, and set in the 
shade a few days. They .must be well 
watered, after which they may bo placed in 
the sun until there is danger of fi’ost, when 
they should be moved into a cool joom or 
greenhouse, but not subjected to fire-heat 
more thau to keep out frost. This is a very 
simple and satisfactory course of treatment, 
and can bo carriod out successfully by the 
merest tyro. Bor very largo specimens, and 
for cultivation in pots, more time and atten¬ 
tion are required, costing, of course, more to 
accomplish.— Thorpe, before the X. r. 
Horticulturcd Societij. 
SPEING FLOWEEING BULBS. 
Tulips, Hyacinths, and Crocus bulbs 
should bo taken up dining this month, if 
they are in beds of mixed pi,ants; but do 
not cut off their leaves, as it is the leaves 
types of chrysanthemums. 
which assist the maturing of the bulb, 
and the stalk must wither in order to ripen 
the bulb thoroughly. Let them lie in the 
sun a day to dry, and pack away in paper 
bags until September, when they should be 
replanted. If they have to be taken up 
before the leaves are entirely di’y, place 
them close together in a dry spot, and cover 
with an inch or two of soil. In two or three 
weeks they will have ripened completely, 
and may be stowed away. 
But, if they have not been planted three 
years, they need not be disturbed, and as 
: their foliage withers completely it can be 
, cut off, ;and the bulb left to repose. Coleus, 
or any kind of bedding-out plants, may be 
put into the same beds without injiuy to the 
bulbs. Mignonette and Sweet Alyssum seeds 
can aWo be sown around the edges of these 
bods even as late in the season as June, and 
the plants will make a fine show and perfume 
the air by the last of August. 
In planting out bedders it is well to bear in 
mind that, in a couple of months, they will 
have become six times as large as when 
planted, and will, therefore, crowd each other 
sadly unless plenty 
of room is given 
to them. It is the 
fashion now to peg 
down the shoots of 
variegated plants, 
and hair-pins are 
excellent for this 
pmpose. Plants 
that break off easily 
are better protect¬ 
ed from wind and 
thunder - storms if 
they are thus ar¬ 
ranged, and, when 
the first frost 
comes, thej"^ are 
also more easily 
covered. 
Daisy Etebeight. 
SWEET PEAS FOE 
CUTTING. 
Select a good 
deep soil in the 
kitchen garden, and 
take out a trench as 
if for Celery; digin 
a quantity of rot¬ 
ten manure at the 
bottom, and then 
fill in the soil near¬ 
ly level vrilth the 
siu'face; scatter the 
seeds thinly, and 
cover them with 
about one inch of 
soil. The young 
plants will soon 
appear, when some 
coal ashes should 
be scattered over 
them. Put stout 
branched sticks on 
each side of the 
row, and if cold 
winds prevail, a 
few evergreen 
branches will prove 
a great protection, 
but they must be 
removed.before the 
vines grow. 
The plants grow rapidly, and will soon 
come into flower; then is the time to apply 
a good coating of rotten manure at least two 
feet wide on each side of the row, and if dry 
weather prevails give copious supplies of 
water, and liquid manure at intervals of a 
fortnight. 
Gather the fully expanded blooms before 
they fade, as if allowed to seed they soon 
check the successive formation of flowers. 
For cutting, a good mixed packet of seed will 
produce nearly all colors, but they may all 
be obtained separately .—London Garden. 
