Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-05-29
THE cHRYsANTHEMUM.
Remarkable Variations of the Different
Types of the Flower.

If the chrysanthemum does not
actually share honors with the rose
it certainly has characteristics and
distinctions that the rose does not
possess. The remarkable variations
of the different types are so conspicu-
Gus as to almost make one believe, In
many instances, that they have no
relation, SO entirely different In
structure is each of the family group.
It matters not, says the Pittsburg
Dispatch, whether we admire the tiny
flowers of the pompons which, indi-
vidually, are not more than quar-
ter of an inch in diameter, yet SO nu-
merous as to cover the entire plant
with solid sheet of bloom, or the
largest japanese varieties with their
grotesquely shaped ragged flowers of
six or more inches, or the Chinese va
rieties with their symmetrical glob-
ular forms, which are often four and
five inches in diameter, the passion
for this flower amounts to almost a
mania
The introduction and history of
the chrysanthemum is one of unusual
interest. It has been known to the
gardens of Europe for two centuries,
and, although native of China, it is
now the national flower of Japan, and
is inseparately associated in our
minds with art of that country Up
to 1913 it was but little known in
England and the flower began to re-
ceive recognition in this country
about 1860.
Of its initial appearance for social
affairs there is very pretty story
told to the effect that in England, in
1913, the daughter of a wealthy bar
onet, whose wedding was fixed for
the last day of November, was very
much chagrined to find on the morn
ing before her wedding that the
roses had been nipped with the frost,
and, Of course, were not available for
the decorations of the church which
were to be arranged that day. The
old gardener came to the rescue, and
having immense quantities of chrys-
anthemum on hand he transformed
the inside of the edifce into verita-
BILE bower
Originating from the form of sim
pie fox-eyed daisy it has been Gull
tured out of all appearance of rela-
tlonship to its origin and one is glad
to see in the single variety which has
recently attracted the attention of
growers a distinct return to the
primitive form.
Time was when we had but one or
two varieties and now they are count
ed by the hundreds. Some of them
are imported from China and Japan,
but for the most part the magnificent
blooms we have to-day are the result
of the care and thought bestowed
upon them by our own gardeners
Each year seems to bring forth larger
and more brilliant ones than the year
preceding Again, the colors are
crossed and they are tended and pet
ted like infants, until they come
forth, clad in a new color that de-
lights the heart and the eye of him
who has watched them tenderly.
Crossed and recrossed they attain a
state of magnificence where one is
inclined to think that at last they
have, reached the state of perfection
where gardeners can do no more, but
the next year shows you that you are
all wrong. The ragged heads are a
little glossier, they are little'larger,
or it is an entirely new shade that the
grower has worked years to bring
forth.
1t is fact that very often a grower
spends five or six years to get Ger
tain color For instance, when the
growers wanted bronze chrysanthe-
mum one gardener kept everlastingly
at his task for seven years, and when
he brought forth the flower that so
many had tired to give to the world he
was as happy as child. This year
green flowers are practically new, and |
while it is a triumph for the gardener,
yet the artistic grower realizes that it
is not an artistic combination; neither
is it combination which Mother Ma
ture would countenance The gray
green leaves relieve the reds, the yell
lows, the pinks and the hybrid, but