These are becoming popular autumn attractions. There was a fine one in Philadelphia during the first week in November. Those which obtained the premiums were sold to a leading clothing house, the price paid being the premium money. The same week there was one in New York, the plants afterwards being sold for the benefit of the Horticultural Society. At Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, thousands thronged to see the collection, and people had to stand in long lines in order to get their turn to enter the large building wherein the flowers were.

The Chrysanthemum Show In Philadelphia

The flower-lovers of Philadelphia have reason to be proud of their first attempt to organize an exhibition wholly of chrysanthemums. The huge hall of the Horticultural Society was completely filled with collections, and the mere variety would fill a large catalogue. It was feared that the exhibits would be confined to commercial men, but two of the largest and best exhibits came from private gardeners, Mr. Stewart, gardener to Wistar Morris, Esq., and Mr. Vallandigham, gardener to G. Bullock, Esq. Their plants were near three feet in height, and nearly as much wide, with healthy leaves from the pot upwards, and crowned by hundreds of perfect flowers. Among the commercial growers Mr. W. K. Harris had the most numerous awards.

The exhibition was particularly interesting as showing that skill was being employed to grow these plants. Of late good plant-growing was fast becoming one of the lost arts. Plants are watered and cared for, doing the best they can of their own accord, and if it ever should enter the grower's mind to exhibit, he looks around a few hours in advance to see if he has anything "worth taking." These plants showed deliberate intent to try and see how well a chrysanthemum could be grown. There is yet room for improvement. Some of the exhibits had more stakes than stems. The effort should be to make good plants by pinching and training, with the smallest possible employment of stakes. Some growers had the plants trained to single stems, and in all cases these had much the finest flowers. If close attention be paid to the skillful management of the plant, we fancy the best specimens of growth could be had from this method. It would be well to offer separate premiums for these different methods of growth. One exhibitor had trained some plants to single stems, and then pinched them to form heads like Kilmarnock willows, fans and other fanciful objects.

The flowers were not very good, nor the growth very luxuriant, but the exhibit was very useful and praiseworthy, as showing that much might be done in the way of training when the proper skill shall be brought to play to get the best effects.

A vase of Mr. Evans' "$5,000" rose was exhibited, and proved the rose to be a very meritorious one. It is a tea rose, with all the peculiar merits of General Jacqueminot.

A very fine lot of seedling chrysanthemums from Julius Wolff showed that our own growers are alive to the improvement of the chrysanthemum.