12  JCUR^AL  OF-  HORTroULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  Jartnary  7,  1904. 
Propa^^ating  Chrysanthemums. 
Obtain  the  strong,  sturdy  young  sucker  growths  withoiit  any 
flower  buds,  for  propagating.  Their  length  may  be  about  four 
inches.  Cut  tlie  base  level  just  below  a  joint  and  remove  the' 
bottom  leave.s.  Prepare  som('  sandy,  light  conipostj  consisting 
of  equal  parts  iibrous  loam,  sweet  leaf  Soil,  and  silver  sand,  wliich 
well  mix  and  fill  into  drained  3in  ijots  for  several  cuttings,  or 
into  2.1  in  pots  for  single  cuttings.  Water  after  insertion,  placing 
the  pots  on  a  moist  base  in  a  frame  or  under  handlights.  Keep 
close,  but  take  off  the  handlight  or  open  the  frame  each  day, 
wiping  off  the  condensed  moisture  from  the  glass.  All  the  late 
and  midsea.son  varieties  may  be  inserted  fir.st,  following  with 
October  flowering  and  early  varieties. 
Old  Stock  Chrysanthemums. 
Old  plants  which  have  done  flowering  and  have  been  cut  down 
must  be  placed  in  a  moderately  light  ijosition  in  a  house  safe 
from  frost,  so  that  they  may  have  no  check  in  the  ptroduction 
of  cuttings.  When  sufficient  cuttings  have  been  secured  from 
them  place  the  pots  in  a  cold  frame  or  a  sheltered  place  outdoors, 
if  it  is  intended  to  plant  them  out  in  the  oi^en  eventually.  If 
not  required  for  further  use  turn  out  of  imts  and  pack  the  balls 
of  soil  and  roots  in  a  compact  heai).  The  material,  when  chopped 
down  and  mixed  with  a  little  fresh  soil,  will  come  in  admirably 
for  general  potting  purposes. — K.  I).  S. 
Good  Winter  Chrysanthemums. 
What  a  wealth  of  flowers  caii  be  obtained  at  this  season  to 
what  was  available  to  the  older  school  of  gardeners,  who  could 
count  the  number  of  winter-flowering  subjects  on  the  fingers  of 
one  hand !  The  Chrysanthemum  plays  a  very  important  part  in 
winter  decoration,  there  being  nqw  genuine  winter-flowering 
varieties.  There  is  no  doubt  but  white  is  most  serviceable, 
and  therefore  valuable.  When  calling  on  Mr.  W.  Gibson,  San- 
down,  I.W.,  last  week,  I  was  attracted  by  a  very  fine  batch  of 
the  Godfrey’s  Winter  Queen,  .jii.st  in  their  prime.  There  were 
bOO  plants,  some  carrying  a  dozen  flowers  each  on  long  single 
stems,  of  good  size  and  substance,  and  pure  white  colour.  A 
batch  of  Mrs.  Thom.son  (another  good  late  variety)  was  just 
finished.  Framfield  Pink  looked  pleasing  with  the  other  varieties, 
and  Tuxedo  (bronze  and  yellow)  is  another  variety  that  is  of 
service  to  those  who  require  a  change  in  that  direction. 
— C.  Orchard,  Bembridge,  I.AV. 
The  Chrysanthemum  Analysis. 
I  am  very  pleased  to  see  W.  R.  Church  again  at  the  top 
of  the  poll  this  year.  I  quite  thought  there  would  have  bee;a 
at  least  five  others  with  the  same  number  of  votes — Mrs. 
Barkley,  Mrs.  Mileham,  F.  S.  Vallis,  Bessie  Godfrey,  and  Miss 
E.  Fulton.  I  look  upon  these  us  the  best  and  easiest  “doers” 
of  any,  but  I  guess  the  five  which  are  recorded  to  Pa  incess  Alice 
de  Monaco  are  meant  for  IMiss  E.  Fulton.  And  probably  some 
of  the  eleven  votes  that  are  given  to  Bessie  Godfrey  in  the 
novelties  li.st  would  have  been  given  to  it  in  the  be.st  fifty  had 
it  not  been  taken  for  a  novelty.  It  is  a  great  pity  that 
varieties  get  two  names,  for  they  are  sure  to  become  divided, 
and  thus  lo.se  votes.  I  look  upon  the  various  audits  in  the 
“Journal”  as  the  best  guides  growers  can  have,  for  no  list 
could  possibly  be  fairer  or  more  genuine.  Many  people  wait 
for  its  ijublication  before  sending  in  orders  ;  and  for  myself, 
I  thank  the  compiler  and  the  editor  most  heartily  for  thus 
helping  the  Trade.— W.  Wells. 
Chrysanthemums:  October  to  January. 
As  you  ai’e  aware,  your  paper  is  acknowledged  as  the  be.st 
and  most  up-to-date  by  us  market  men.  We  j'ead  the 
“  .lournal  ”  very  carefully,  hand  it  over  to  the  men,  and 
recommend  them  to  read  it  also.  We  gi'ow  a  few  big  Japanese 
Chrysanthemums,  .show  a  bit  at  times  by  way  of  variety,  and 
so  are  intere.sted  in  the  Chrvsanthemum  analysis.  But  some 
of  our  great  favourites  are  “  dumped  ”  very  low.  When  I  read 
the  result  of  the  analysis  I  wonder  very  .seriously  if  we  are  as. 
up-to-date  as  we  ought  to  be.  We  grow  “  Chry.sanths  ”  by 
the  thousand,  and  very  few  varieties ;  it  is  a  serious  thing  if 
a  man  is  growing  two  thousand  of  one  variety,  and  ihai  not  one 
of  the  be.st.  Now,  sir,  can  you  come  to  the  rescue  of  the 
market  men,  and  put  us  on  an  ep-to-d-ate  footing?  If  IMr. 
iMolyneux  or  .some  other  of  your  numerous  contributors  could 
,  give  us  a  list  of  say  about  thirty  varieties— the  latest,  be.st.  and 
mo.st  up-to-date  kinds— to  keep  us’tn  flo.wei's-  from  October  till 
January,  lie  Avould  be  Jielping  a  large  and  worthy  branch  of 
the  calling— “  the-  market  man.'” — W.  ,D-  Whittaker. 
Gainsborough. 
[Will  ciir  experienced  readers  kindly ,  re.spond  We  might 
this  week  call  our  correspondents’  attention  to  the  rei^ort,  of  the 
R.H.S.  .See  Lady  Plowdeh’s  exhibits— Ed.]  "r 
Vegetable  Notes, 
Propagating  Potatoes. 
The  pre.sent  boom  in  Potatoes  will  undoubtedly  have  the 
effect  of  causing  growers  generally  to  pay  special  attention  to 
rapid  method.s  of  propagation.  When  new  varieties  have  been 
purchased  at  hitherto  unheard-of  prices  there  is  naturally  a 
desire  to  run  them  for  all  they  are  worth  while  the  boom  lasts, 
because  nearly  everybody  who  buys  at  “  fancy  ”  prices  does  so 
with  the  object  of  turning  their  knowledge  and  judgment  to 
monetary  advantage,  and  some  have  already  .succeeded  .splen-. 
didly  in  that  direction. 
in  one  respect  the  present  Potato  mania  is  already  bearing 
fruit,  for  it  is  turning  the  attention  of  thousands  to  some  of  the 
advantages  of  country  pursuits,  and  is  also  .stimulating  the 
workers  in  hosts  of  rural  di.stricts  to  take  the  keenest  possible 
interest  in  Potato  growing  by  adopting  the  mo.st  up-to-date 
methods  of  culture.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  the  .sub.ject  of 
these  notes  will  be  cf  special  interest  to  Journal  readers  at  the 
present  juncture. 
Those  who  have  valuable  varieties  of  Potatoes  in  their  pos¬ 
session  must  regulate  their  method  of  procedure  by  the  con¬ 
veniences  at  command.  If  they  have  no  glass  the  Potatoes 
should  be  .stored  in  a  cool,  dry,  but  frost-proof  place,  so  as  to 
keep  the  eyes  from  starting  as  long  as  possible.  Then,  at 
planting  time  the  sets  should  be  cut  into  as  many  pieces  as  there 
are  eyes,  the  cut  portions  being  dressed  with  finely  powdered 
lime,  and  left  for  twent,y-four  hours  to  dry  thoroughly  before 
planting.  Where,  however,  the  convenience  of  an  intermediate 
or  greenhouse  exists,  more  than  double  the  number  of  plants 
may  be  obtained  from  a  given  quantity  of  tubers. 
A  start  should  be  mado  in  January.  Prepare  as  many 
shallow  boxes  as  are  required  by  placing  in  the  bottom  a  layer 
of  three  parts  cocoa-nut  fibre  and  one  of  sharp  sand,  or  leaf  soil 
which  has  been  charred  to  kill  insect  life  may  be  substituted 
for  the  fibre.  The  Potatoes  should  then  be  cut  into  from  two  to 
six  pieces,  avoiding  the  eyes  in  doing  so;  then  dress  all  the 
cut  .surfaces  with  lime,  and  after  the  wounds  have  become 
tboroughly  dry  press  the  sets  into  the  prepared  material  already 
placed  in  boxes,  allowing  2in  or  Sin  of  space  between  each 
set.  If  the  house  in  which  they  are  started  has  a  bed  with 
bottom  heat,  stand  the  boxes  in  the  bed  in  a  light  position. 
If  there  is  no  bottom  heat,  place  on  the  .stages  over  the  hot- 
water  pipes.  During  bright  weather  syringe  the  sets  lightly 
to  maintain  the  necessary  moisture.  With  this  treatment  young 
sprouts  will  soon  be  sent  out,  and  when  they  are  a  little  more 
than  an  inch  in  length  they  can  bei  easily  pulled  or  twisted  off, 
and  inserted  as  cuttings. 
Before  doing  this  drain  a  number  of  small  pots  with  cinders 
or  charcoal,  fill  them  a  little  more  than  half  their  depth  with 
compost  prepared  as  previously  advised,  and  then  insert  a 
young  sprout  in  the  centre  of  each  pot,  sinking  it  to  a  depth  of 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  If  the  soil  is  fairly  moist,  do  not 
water  for  a  few  days,  but  spray  finely  with  the  syringe. 
Should  the  material,  however,  be  dry,  water  through  a  fine  rose, 
and  until  young  roots  have  been  sent  out  freely  rely  rather  upon 
the  .syringe  than  the  water  pot  to  supply  the  needed  moisture. 
Stand  the  pots  in  position  similar  to  those  occupied  by  the 
boxes. 
The  sets  left  in  the  boxes  must  be  watered  or  syringed  as 
required,  and  the  effect  of  removing  a  shoot  from  the  centre 
of  each  eye  instead  of  cutting  out  the  eye  will  be  that  several 
somewhat  weaker  ‘‘si^routs”  will  be  sent  out  from  each  eye. 
These  also  should  be  inserted  as  .cuttings  when  long  enough. 
A.s  long  as  the  cut  sets  continue  to  send  out  .shoots  keep 
utilising  them  as  cuttings.  The  earlie.st  batch  of  plants  should 
be  shifted  into  larger  pots  when  ready,  and  when  the  tops  are 
fairly  strong  they  also  may  be  inserted  a.s  cuttings.  In  fact, 
propagation  may  go  on  until  it  is  time  to  transfer  the  plants 
to  cold  frames  to  get  them  thoroughh'  hardened  before  iflanting 
in  the  open  air. 
Those  who  have  only  a  frame  may,  by  placing  it  on  a  gentle 
hotbed,  work  on  similar  lines  to^  those  given  above,  with  this 
exception,  viz.,  that  the.y  should  not  start  so  early  by  a  month 
or  six  weeks.  In  the  spring  months  the  windows  of  dwelling- 
houses  (where  not  in  prominent  positions)  might  be  turned  to 
good  account. — H.  1). 
