SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] MONDAY, MAY 7,1894. THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4712, 7 May 1894, Page 2

SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] MONDAY, MAY 7,1894. THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

A CmuSTOiiURCH paper has i> rapturous article on " the cult of the chrysanthemum." It appears that the civilised world is going off its head about this flower in much the

same nay as a former world went mad about tulips, and a somewhat more limited and select circle grew cranky about orchids, To the onlooker there are no points about chrysanthemums which ought to give them a regal position in the floral world, excepting that they mature at a season when other blooms are scarce : There is a run on thera

because human beings follow their leaders like sheep, and not altogether for the .merits of the flower. Our Obristchurch friend raves about a novelty of novelties, a "green" chrysanthemum, with long curling white petals and delicately tinted green centre, but even this glory is most to be desired, because only one or two people possess it, and the majority of, those who grow

the flower cannot get hold of it. Still, there ib a pleasure in growing anything in which human nature can find an interest. To take a flower like a chrysanthemum, which, in its natural state, may be the size of a button, and to convert it into a bloom as big as n soup-plate, is an achievement dear to tbe successful grower; but it is something more than this, A. man who attempts to improve and develop any species of plant comes into touch with nature and more 'or lees learns her secrets, The boy or girl who catches the chrysanthemum craze and learns to cultivate that flower, finds out to a great extent bow all flowers, fruits, and vegetables can be cultivated and propagated, An i nitiation into nature's laboratory takes place, which becomes a perennial source of interest and delight, People want hobbies for thair leisure hours, and it is a pity that so few of them choose the healthful and exhilarating tasks whioh ,are to be found in the garden or greenhouse, The coarser and lesi refined hobbies are, we fear, most in vogue just now, and a Chrysanthemum Show is not a great attraction, We do not fed ourselres any special interest in this particular flower, but we do admire the patience and perseverance and good taste of those who give time, labour and thought, to increase the size and multiply the hues of any flower, We would sooner see people trying to grow to an exalted size the humblest member of the floral world, than endeavouring, as many of them do now to make the whole of their little wotld tovolve on tho light fantastic toe.