CHAPTER VI.
THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.
The chrysanthemum is usually regarded as a hardy border flower which may be left to itself to grow as a weed, or at least to have no more aid than an ugly stake to which it is roughly tied to save it from being blown into rags by the gales of autumn. But when carefully cultivated for the decoration of the conservatory it is one of the finest plants in the English garden, and may be employed in a variety of ways at a time when flowers are exceedingly scarce.
In the gloomy months of November and December, when the chrysanthemum is in its prime, gaslight entertainments begin to assume increased importance, and many of these might be considerably enriched by the aid of these noble flowers. The poinsettia and the solanum are charming things for gaslight decoration, but the chrysanthemum affords endless variety at an extravagantly cheap rate; and in a private entrance-hall, a concert-room, a bazaar, or the covered approaches to any place of public resort, a bank of chrysanthemums affords a brilliant welcome and a grand accompaniment to any kind of festivity, because every known variety appears to advantage under gaslight.
The chrysanthemum being strictly herbaceous, properly falls into this place in the order of our work, but its importance entitles it to a separate chapter, and our business will be to provide a comprehensive chapter, for we can afford but little space for a large subject.
The chrysanthemum will grow in any good garden soil, but when grown in pots should have a rich and substantial loamy compost and at every stage the pots must be well drained, for if the soil becomes pasty, the plants will make no progress. When it is intended to grow great exhibition specimens, cuttings must be started in November, but nice plants for the conservatory may be obtained from cuttings started in Feb-
