The Chrysanthemum show lately held in New York was a grand affair, and visitors could not fail to be both instructed and delighted with the number and variety of plants and flowers there displayed. Taken as a whole the exhibition was most creditable, and outside of all pecuniary considerations the exhibitors might well be satisfied with the unstinted praise bestowed upon them, both by the critical few and the general public.

Those who remember what the Chrysanthemum was forty years ago, and compare the few then in existence with the great number of varieties brought together on that and similar occasions, must be convinced that in the hands of intelligent cultivators it has been most accommodating to their wishes. And considering the state of perfection now reached it would be premature to predict very rapid improvement in the future. If we take the Dahlia as an example as to what is likely to prove true in this case, much improvement may yet be expected, but the chances are it will be slow in comparison to what it has been. There may be no end to the number of varieties produced, but the great bulk of them may fall short of a high standard of excellence. Some even now that are highly spoken of in catalogues are unworthy a place in any good collection. That this should be so is remarkable, seeing that in the several sections there are varieties which might be accepted as models in almost every particular. In the Chinese division we have Lady St. Clair, alias Empress of India, which although well out of her teens is more highly gifted with beautiful features than many of her juniors.

In the same class we have Mrs. Mary Morgan and Mrs. George Rundell, both of which in form and delicacy of texture approach nearer to perfection than the most we have seen. In the Japanese section Golden Dragon is hardly surpassed in elegance of form, smoothness of petal, and beauty of color by any variety new or old; unless perhaps by Grand-iflorum, which may have greater substance of petal and a more brilliant shade of color.

Of course we do not mean to convey the idea that all exertion should cease in endeavoring after new and more beautiful forms, but we do say that too many varieties have already found their way into the market which serve no other purpose than to swell the catalogues of salesmen. If means, therefore, could be devised to at least measurably prevent this in the future, much satisfaction would be felt by a large number of the patrons of this fine flower. But how to reach this object may not be easy, as any efforts made in this direction might be regarded as clashing with individual interests. Nevertheless, it seems within the scope of such a society as that of the American Florists to formulate and publish a standard embodying the chief elements of beauty in this flower, for the benefit of the members and of all whom it may concern. Such a criterion would be a guide for judges at exhibitions and helpful to those who interest themselves in raising varieties from seed.

The New York Horticultural Society have sets of rules by which to judge plants and cut flowers of the Chrysanthemum at exhibitions. In each case five properties are given as embracing the sum total of excellence, each of these representing a given number of points, in the aggregate 100. But as these rules apply to plants and flowers tabled for competition they are of comparatively little value in testing the merits of individual flowers under all circumstances. To more fully meet the case the following rules for estimating the points of excellence in flowers might be worthy of consideration: First, form; second, size and substance; third, smoothness; fourth, color; fifth, harmony - each of these representing five points, total 25 - a sufficient number to test the merits of every flower which can come under consideration. Purity is an essential element of beauty, but as it may be regarded as the outgrowth of substance, smoothness and color, it is not overlooked in this enumeration.

It is admitted these rules do not apply alike to all the classes into which Chrysanthemums are grouped. Size must be ruled out in judging the Pompon varieties. Form, or rather the form most admired in the Chinese section, is different from that in the Japanese whose manifold methods of curvature and arrangement rejoice in a freedom which sets rigid rules at defiance. Nevertheless several of these rules apply to them as well as to others. As for the Anemone flowered varieties, it may be as well to leave them out for the present, as they seem to be in a rather active state of transition from the single to the double form. At least we have seen several with stray disc florets ligulate, and not a few that were perfectly double. New Haven, Conn.