JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  2,  1899. 
384 
grown;  but  if  such  growth  be  removed  a  few  days  before  the  flower 
is  fully  out  the  top  florets  will  meet,  and  a  perfect  globe  is  formed. 
Ella  Curtis  and  Edwin  Molyneux  are  two  other  well-known  sorts 
which  frequently  produce  this  defect;  yet  in  the  latter  case  a 
magnificent  telling  flower  on  a  stand  may  be  made  by  removing  the 
disc,  and  carefully  placing  the  florets  so  as  to  cover  the  hole  at  the  top. 
Madame  Carnot  and  Viviand  Morel  represent  types  which  can  hardly 
be  improved  by  manipulation. 
In  regard  to  damping  of  the  florets,  this  should  be  guarded 
against  by  ample  shade.  Crimson  coloured  sorts,  and  bronzes  with 
small  florets,  appear  most  affected  by  the  sun,  such  as  William  Seward 
and  Col.  W.  B.  Smith.  These  are  given  as  examples  because  well 
known.  I  would  not  let  the  sun  shine  on  blooms  of  them  at  any 
time.  Scalding,  or  damping  generally,  is  usually  caused  by  the  sun 
catching  the  blooms  in  early  morning,  whilst  the  tender  florets  are 
cold  and  moist  through  passing  the  dark  night ;  shade,  therefore, 
must  be  providtd  quite  early  in  the  day.  It  is  not  wise  to  use 
stimulants  beyond  a  very  weak  strength  lor  the  purpose  of  forcing 
the  blooms  open.  This  is  sometimes  done  by  the  aid  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda.  These  salts  are  powerful,  and  may  kill 
the  roots  instead.  They  are  excellent  if  used  often  at  the  rate  of 
£  oz.  to  2  gallons  of  water. 
Blooms  are  frequently  spoiled  by  the  use  of  too  much  fire  heat  and 
a  close  atmosphere.  Just  enough  of  the  former  to  keep  the  air  of  the 
house  moving,  and  ventilators  never  quite  closed,  will  conduce  to  the 
proper  opening  of  the  flowers.  One  can  tell  at  once  on  entering  a 
structure  if  such  conditions  are  obseived.  Green  fly  and  its  attendant 
evils  certainly  follow  an  over-supply  of  fire  heat,  and  it  also  tends  to 
take  the  substance  from  the  blooms  by  forcing  them  open  too  quickly. 
In  cutting  specimens  for  exhibition,  1  would  urge  beginners 
especially  not  to  Ire  carried  away  unduly  by  mere  size.  Of  course,  if  a 
bloom  is  large,  and  has  the  proper  colour,  is  well  formed  and  fresh,  it 
obtains  an  advantage  over  one  of  medium  size;  but  a  coarse  bloom  of, 
say,  Mrs.  C.  II.  Payne,  although  it  covers  a  big  space  on  a  board,  cannot, 
in  the  eyes  of  any  judge,  be  placed  before  a  well-grown  one  of  Mdlle. 
Thercse  Rey,  which  is  naturally  a  smaller  flower ;  and  a  Madame  Carnot, 
chosen  for  its  lovely  recurving  form,  as  it  comes  from  buds  which 
are  iate  in  formation,  if  rather  small,  is  infinitely  better  than  a  huge 
bloom  from  an  early  bud,  which  gives  a  flower  composed  of  a  mass  of 
ill-formed  quill  florets.  Too  much  pains  cannot  be  taken  in  choosing 
the  blooms  true  to  the  character  of  each  variety.  An  incurved 
Japanese  should  not  be  represented  by  a  specimen  with  perhaps  three 
parts  of  the  petals  of  that  form,  and  the  centre  ones  trying  to  reflex. 
Freshness  is  a  point  of  great  importance,  and  this  quality  is  usually 
found  most  in  medium-sized  blooms.  Each  flower  must  be  shown  to 
give  its  true  character.  That  is.  a  deep  bloom  should  not  be  pushed 
up  to  give 't  extra  width,  and  thus  take  away  from  its  depth.  Judges 
regard  the  latter  a  primary  point. 
Something  may  be  done  in  retarding  early  developed  blooms,  to 
keep  the  same  for  a  particular  date.  They  should  be  allowed  to  fully 
open  under  glass,  ana  then  the  plant  may  be  stood  in  a  dry  shed  or 
outhouse  that  is  naturally  darkened.  It  is  better  to  do  this  than  to 
cut  the  flowers  and  attempt  to  keep  them  in  water.  The  roots  should 
be  on  the  dry  side,  but  if  the  leaves  incline  to  droop,  then  water  ought 
to  be  given.  We  have  thus  exhibited  perfectly  tresh  blooms  after 
being  so  treated  for  ten  days  or  more. — A  Grower  and  Judge. 
CULTIVATION  OF  SINGLE  CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
For  affording  excellent  blooms  for  cutting,  with  a  view  to 
embellishing  vases  and  glasses  indoors  from  October  to  January,  the 
single  Chrysanthemum  claims  some  attention  from  the  numerous 
growers  of  the  Japanese  and  other  sections  of  the  Eastern  flower.  The 
single  form  has  been  greatly  improved  of  late  years  both  in  size  of 
bloom  and  colour.  The  characteristic  of  the  single  varieties  is  that 
they  are  only  furnished  with  a  single  or  double  row  of  ray  florets,  and 
have  short  disc  florets.  In  good  blooms  both  sets  of  florets  must  be 
distinct,  not  growing  one  into  the  other,  and  the  colour  of  the  ray 
florets  should  be  good. 
One  of  the  best,  and  perhaps  the  oldest  of  the  large  single-flower¬ 
ing  varieties  is  Admiral  Sir  T.  Symonds,  yellow,  and  a  tall  grower. 
Other  good  varieties,  and  large,  are  Jane,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Stubbs,  and 
Purity,  white ;  America,  pink  ;  Rev.  W.  E.  Remfrey,  crimson ; 
Charming  and  Golden  Star,  yellow;  D.  Windsor,  chestnut  red;  May 
Teal,  rosy  violet.  There  are  some  excellent  varieties  among  the  small 
single-flowering  varieties,  and  some  of  the  best  are  Mary  Anderson, 
white;  Emily  Wells,  clear  pink;  Mrs.  D.  B.  Crane,  pink;  also  Mrs. 
Langtry,  pink.  Buttercup  and  Miss  Annie  Holden  are  two  fine 
yellows;  Miss  Crissy  is  a  beautiful  brown  or  chocolate  coloured 
variety ;  Scarlet  Gem  is  red  or  bright  scarlet;  The  Echo,  a  terra-cotta 
variety.  Of  the  above  America  is  a  tall  grower,  also  Admiral  Symonds, 
the  rest  being  dwarf  and  of  medium  height. 
Single  varieties  should  be  grown  by  everyone  who  requires  large 
quantities  of  blooms  for  various  purposes  of  decoration,  because  being 
light  and  free  of  habit  they  lend  themselves  to  forming  good  effects 
much  better  than  the  large  and  heavy  blooms  of  other  sections- 
Propagation  may  be  readily  effected  by  cuttings,  which  can  be 
inserted  in  January  and  February.  Cuttings  may  be  purchased  of  all 
the  best  varieties  from  3d.  to  6d.  each,  while  for  the  same  price  plants- 
may  be  obtained  of  the  older  sorts,  the  latter  being  usually  procured 
in  March.  The  single  sorts  may  be  grown  both  in  pots  and 
planted  out,  and  it  is  advisable  to  grow  them  both  ways,  and  in 
addition  to  lift  and  pot  some  of  the  plants  from  the  open  ground. 
Whatever  method  of  culture  is  decided  upon,  cuttings  must  be- 
inserted  from  January  to  March.  The  best  are,  of  course,  the  sucker¬ 
like  growths  winch  spring  through  the  soil  away  from  the  centre  of 
the  plants,  but  good  cuttings  near  the  stem,  if  not  springing  direct 
from  it,  need  not  be  discarded.  Cuttings  of  the  right  character  are 
devoid  of  flower  growths  in  the  centre,  therefore  select  such  for 
propagation.  They  should  be  healthy,  and  about  2  or  3  inches  in 
length.  Remove  the  basal  leaves  and  cut  level  below  a  joint.  Some 
like  sucker  growths  with  roots  attached  when  they  can  secure  them, 
but  there  is  no  particular  virtue  in  the>e;  indeed  it  is  a  question 
whether  a  good  cutting  with  a  firm  green  base  from  which  leaves  have 
to  be  cut  in  order  to  insert  it  in  the  soil,  does  not  make  a  young  plant- 
quicker  than  a  sticker  groivth  with  a  somewhat  stiff, .woody  base  and 
roots  attached.  As  a  rule  the  simple  cutting  is  preferred. 
Having  prepared  the  cuttings,  they  must  be  inserted  round  the 
edges  of  small  pots  in  a  compost  consisting  of  loam,  leaf  soil,  and 
sand.  Also  place  a  layer  of  sand  on  the  surface.  The  cuttings  must 
be  inserted  down  to  the  base  ot  the  hole  made  to  receive  them,  and 
the  soil  closed  in  firmly  round  them.  Water  the  pots  gently  so  that 
the  cuttings  may  be  kept  fresh,  for  when  the  leaves  flag  the  cuttings 
are  longer  in  rooting.  To  obviate  this,  however,  stand  the  pots  in  a 
frame  and  cover  with  glass,  which  will  prevent  evaporation.  Hand- 
lights  are  even  better,  because  they  admit  a  maximum  of  light,  and 
the  pots  may  stand  on  a  moist  base.  Avoid  too  much  heat ;  a 
temperature  higher  than  50°  is  not  necessary.  Shade  the  cuttings 
from  bright  sun,  and  where  moisture  collects  on  the  glass,  as  it  wdl 
do  nearly  every  day,  wipe  it  off  with  a  dry  cloth. 
The  cuttings  may  be  kept  somewhat  close  until  roots  form  and 
growth  commences,  when  air  must  be  given  in  gradually  increasing 
quantity  until  they  will  admit  of  full  exposure.  Then  place  the  pots 
on  a  cool,  light  shelf  in  a  greenhouse,  and  as  soon  as  a  fair  quantity 
of  roots  are  formed,  place  singly  in  small  pots  in  a  similar  compost  to 
that  used  for  the  cuttings.  A  frame  is  then  the  best  place  for  them, 
standing  the  pots  on  a  moist  base  of  ashes  and  near  the  glass,  but  cover 
on  cold  or  frosty  nights.  When  the  plants  have  fairly  started  into 
growth  in  the  single  pots,  it  is  advisable  to  nip  out  the  points  in  order 
to  make  them  bushy.  In  April  give  the  plants  a  further  shift, 
employing  rather  richer  compost.  Fibrous  loam  two  parts,  leaf  soil 
one  part,  half  a  part  decomposed  horse  manure,  and  a  good  admixture 
of  sand  and  a  little  burnt  refuse  ;  mix  all  well  together,  and  when, 
potting  work  the  soil  firmly  about  the  roots.  Stand  the  plants  again 
in  the  frame  and  keep  the  lights  down  close,  syringing  the  plants 
lightly  for  a  few  days  instead  of  watering;  the  roots,  but  in  the  course- 
of  a  wtek  they  will  require  water. 
Air  is  also  an  important  factor,  and  as  soon  as  growth  recom¬ 
mences  some  must  be  admitted  daily,  on  fine  days  removing  the 
lights  entirely.  Attend  well  to  the  watering  from  this  time,  never 
allowing  the  plants  to  suffer  for  an  hour.  In  a  short  time  the  plants 
may  stand  outdoors  constantly,  but  a  sheltered  position  must  be  found 
for  them  where  they  are  protected  from  cutting  winds  and  frost.  Tie 
them  to  neat  stakes,  and  arrange  the  plants  in  rows,  where  they  can 
be  readily  examined  for  water. 
The  final  potting  may  be  carried  out  in  June.  Pots  of  7  or  8-inch 
diameter  are  large  enough  in  most-  cases.  They  should  be  clean  and 
efficiently  drained.  In  preparing  this  compost  the  proportion  of  loam 
must  be  increased,  the  leaf  soil  and  manure  remaining  the  same  as 
recommended  for  the  previous  potting.  In  addition  use  some  crushed 
oystersbells  or  old  mortar,  a  6-inch  potful  of  soot  and  bonemeal,  or 
the  same  of  some  approved  artificial  manure.  Charcoal,  broken  fine, 
and  wood  ashes  will  assist  in  maintaining  the  soil  porous,  and  other¬ 
wise  prove  beneficial.  Mix  thoroughly,  letting  it  lie  for  several 
weeks  before  use,  but  kept  in  an  airy,  dry  position.  The  pots  ought  to 
be  clean,  dry,  and  carefully  crocked,  and  some  pieces  of  fibrous  turf 
laid  over  the  drainage  to  exclude  the  soil. 
The  plants  before  being  placed  in  the  pots  must  be  moist  quite 
through  the  ball  of  soil  and  roots.  The  new  soil  should  be  packed 
round  the  ball  in  layers  and  made  very  firm,  and  when  finished  off 
room  must  be  loft  tor  watering  and  a  top-dressing  in  September. 
Place  stakes  to  the  plants  when  potting,  and  tie  the  growths  to  it. 
Stand  the  plants  closely  together  for  a  time.  For  the  first  few  days 
syringe  the  plants  only ;  afterwards  give  a  needful  supply  to  the  roots, 
and  continue  as  required  by  them  throughout  the  season.  The  best 
flowers  are  produced  on  the  terminal  shoots,  and  to  obtain  good  and 
characteristic  blooms  one  only  is  desirable  on  each  shoot ;  therefore 
remove  the  side  bhds  when  this  can  be  done  readily. 
Feeding  may  be  commenced  when  the  buds  are  set,  giving  weak 
