A light, rich loam is the best soil; if possible it should be quite sandy, so as not to adhere to the roots in hard lumps, but to fall away without taking the roots with it. With a proper soil and a high, open exposure there need be little fear of mildew, the one nearly unconquerable enemy of the chrysanthemum grower.

The plants should be placed in rows, about 2 1/2 or 3 feet apart each way. For each plant a hole about the size of a potato hill is dug and filled with manure, which is well forked into the soil. The plant is placed in the hole, which is then filled up with loam, being careful that the surface is lower than the surrounding ground, so as to retain any water that may be given to the plants.

The plants are to be kept well watered until the roots have taken hold of the soil, after which they receive no water unless the season is dry and they show signs of suffering, when they may have it as often as needed, occasionally substituting liquid manure. Whichever is used should be applied at evening, so as not to be evaporated before it has time to soak into the ground. As soon as the roots begin to take hold of the soil, the plants will push out branches very freely, which should be pinched as soon as they are four inches long, repeating the operation as often as the branches become long enough, and continuing until about the middle of July, after which the plants may be allowed to grow at will, simply cutting back any unshapely branches. The most severe pinching is done while the plants are quite small, so as to secure as many branches near the bottom as possible. These remarks do not apply to varieties that make shapely plants without pinching; such had better be left to themselves.

Soon after setting out, each plant is furnished with a strong stake, and as it increases in size others are added to prevent the branches from being broken by the wind. As the season advances, many branches become so heavy that they are unable to sustain their own weight, and it frequently happens that what has promised to become a fine, shapely plant will be irreparably disfigured by one or more branches lopping off. To prevent this, strings are tied around them from time to time in such positions that one branch sustains another. In this way few branches are lost and much time is saved when the plants are potted.

The worst insect pest is the black aphis, which will cause much trouble if allowed to increase. Dalmatian powder applied with a bellows is an effectual remedy.

About the second or third week in August the plants are lifted, the best time being when the ground is very dry, for the plants will then recover sooner than when it is moist. They are taken up thus early because it is better that they should form their buds after potting, for, if formed before, their potting will cause a severe check which is apt to result in deformed or one-sided flowers.

The plants are lifted with all the roots that can be secured; but in order to get them into reasonable-sized pots considerable of the soil is carefully shaken off, provided it is light enough to fall off easily without breaking into lumps. For potting, soil containing more manure than that for the small plants is used - about two parts of good loam to one of well-rotted stable manure. The pots are selected according to the size of the roots, being careful not to have them too large.

In potting large plants the soil should never reach higher than an inch from the rim of the pot, so as to leave ample room for an abundance of water and liquid manure.

After the plants are potted they are placed under trees where they can have plenty of air, but at the same time be shaded from the hot sun. They remain here about a week or until they seem to have recovered, when they are taken to the ground where they grew and plunged to the rim of the pot in the soil. As they begin to grow they must have plenty of water and never become dry. The young roots soon reach the sides of the pots, after which liquid manure may be freely given as long as the buds are growing.

As cold nights approach, the plants are placed under glass, even before actual frost appears. It is a mistake to try to keep the plants out until the actual appearance of hard frost, for we have many nights not cold enough to freeze, but cold enough to check their growth, and this checking of their growth is an acknowledged cause of mildew wherever it appears.

For a long time after placing them under glass they require no artificial heat, and should be very freely ventilated through the day. In cold cloudy weather it is best to introduce a little heat into the house, if only to dry out the dampness. Soon after they are brought in, the black aphis will appear, and must be persistently fought with tobacco smoke, as long as the plants remain inside.

Those who wish to cultivate chrysanthemums, but have no house, will do best to procure young, healthy plants in May, giving the treatment above advised after that time, until the time for housing, when they may be taken in on cold nights and placed out of doors through the day. As house plants, they should be kept well watered, syringed as often as possible, being careful not to wet the flowers, and kept in the coolest, airiest place to be found. The black aphis, or black fly, is usually found quite troublesome, but can be conquered by persistent application of Dalmatian powder with the bellows.

If it is desirable to keep the old roots over the winter, they should be placed where they will be kept quite cool, and if possible, near a sunny window. Early in the spring they may be divided and planted out in the open ground and receive the same treatment as young plants.

The would-be cultivator must not expect that his plants will always be as large or his flowers as fine as those he sees at our fall exhibitions, for the chrysanthemum requires unremitting care and attention from the beginning of the young plant to the end of the flowering season, and experience is valuable here as elsewhere. But he should not be discouraged, for a fair amount of success is attainable with ordinary cultivation, and he will probably feel repaid for what time and expense he may bestow upon them.