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 COFVRICHT DEPOSIT 
 
THE 
 
 FLORISTS' MANUAL 
 
 ...BY. 
 
 WILLIAM scon. f^ 
 
 A 
 
 I^EFERENCE BOOK * 
 
 FOR 
 
 Commercial Florists. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 PRICE, FIVE DOLLARS. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 FLORISTS' PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 1899. 
 
 ' ^' 4 J 
 
 ^" 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year iSqq, by 
 the Florists' Publishing Company, in the Office of the Librar- 
 ian of Congress, at Washington, I). C. 
 
 TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 
 
 ^ 
 
 SECOND COPY, 
 
 
 -^^Sr, OF C07/c?^^ 
 
 ' or Co?i 
 
 i^- 
 
.INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^HE author of the following pages would never have assumed to instruct his brother florists, 
 however limited their experience might be, had not he received many flattering comments 
 on his cultural notes which appeared in the American Florist, and later in the Florists' 
 
 Review. These notes were well received, even by men who were able to teach the author, 
 
 '^ and brought to my busy desk hundreds of inquiries on a wide range of subjects, which I 
 
 found were beginning to be a great tax on my time. 
 
 Being made with that disposition which gratifies itself when any favor can be bestowed, we deter- 
 mined in an unguarded moment to compile our knowledge of commercial plants into a volume, and if 
 those who favor us with a perusal of its pages glean only one hint which may help them in, their busi- 
 ness they will have received value for their money and we shall feel highly gratified aside from any 
 pecuniary reward. We are one of those who esteem the respect and approbation of our fellow men, 
 and particularly those in our own calling, far above riches, but if a substantial reward is sent us for our 
 labors we shall again be grateful. 
 
 A friend of venerable age, with some experience as a writer, a student of horticultural lore, told 
 me last winter that a business man should not attempt to be a literary man. We scarcely even then 
 realized the truth of his words as we have the past three months. We scarcely knew at the start what a 
 task we had undertaken. The writing has been done at odd hours snatched from business cares, and 
 no little midnight oil, or rather gas, has helped the book along. 
 
 It was difiicult to determine the hmit of the book, but as will be apparent few plants are noticed 
 but those of commercial value, and those only in a strictly commercial way. Had we known of any 
 work giving plain cultural directions for our leading plants this book would not have been begun. My 
 own business embraces nearly every branch, from selling a bunch of violets over the counter to planting 
 a tree or seeding a lawn or building a greenhouse, and therefore we have with confidence touched on 
 several features of the business besides the growing. 
 
 This book was never intended for men who have made specialties of a few plants with great 
 success. Being specialists they have reduced their business to a science and make no mistakes, but 
 they are few compared to the great army of florists who grow and retail and have to handle a great 
 variety of plants. Many of these are not graduates of horticultural establishments but have left some 
 other calling to engage in floriculture. Another class is the young man who has been brought up in 
 places where the rose or carnation, or perhaps palms, was the specialty and where the opportunity of 
 observing the care or culture of other plants was limited. To such a one we believe this book will 
 be of service. 
 
 Looking back over thirty years' experience in this country we are amazed and gratified at the 
 enormous strides the business of floriculture has made, and why should the limit be yet reached.' We 
 believe with confidence that the use of flowers and plants'is yet to grow tenfold. They are the hand- 
 maid of refinement, good taste and real gentility, all of which is blessing the mass of the people more 
 and more. We believe that our florist shop keepers and their clerks could imbibe a little more knowl- 
 edge of the plants they handle without any detriment to their health or prosperity. 
 
 We wish to acknowledge to Mr. W. H. Taplin the several valuable articles on choice palms, 
 ferns and cycads which bear his initials. It must be acknowledged that there is no better authority 
 than Mr. Taplin on those special plants. For the very practical chapter on commercial Orchids we 
 are indebted to Mr. Wm. Hewson, who handles a cattleya with the freedom, quickness and success that 
 some men do a geranium. To my good friend John F. Cowell, Director of our Botanic Gardens, I am 
 indebted for access to and hints on his collection of Nepenthes, Bromeliads, etc. The remainder of 
 the pages are my own experience and observation. 
 
 If you think there is sometimes a little extraneous matter that is not connected with the subject, 
 and may be called frivolous, don't blame the author, he could not help it no matter however much he 
 tried to suppress it; occasionally there had to be a slight relief from the dry monotony of the subject. 
 
 And last the author owes much to Mr. G. L. Grant, the publisher, who has so ably put the matter 
 in form and finely illustrated many of the subjects. 
 
 With a fervent wish that with all its imperfections these pages will be appreciated by many, 
 I remain, with some confidence and much hope. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 WILLIAM SCOTT. 
 
Whatevef ability I may possess in the glorious field 
 of horticultufe, although far less than my early oppor- 
 tunities afforded, I inherited from my beloved father, 
 who was a good man and a great gardener, and to whose 
 memory, with reverence, I dedicate these pages. 
 
 WILLIAM SCOTT. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 Abutilon 9 
 
 Acacia 9 
 
 Acalypha 1<> 
 
 Acanthophoenix 10 
 
 Acer japonicum 10 
 
 Achillea 10 
 
 Achimines 11 
 
 Acrophyllum 11 
 
 Adiantum 11 
 
 Agapanthus 14 
 
 Agave 14 
 
 Ageratum 15 
 
 Allamanda 15 
 
 Alocasia 15 
 
 Aloysia citrioclora Ifi 
 
 Alt.ernai)thera IG 
 
 Amaranthus IG 
 
 Amaryllis 1 G 
 
 Ampelopsis 17 
 
 Ananas 17 
 
 Annuals 18 
 
 Anthericura IS 
 
 Anthurium IS 
 
 Antirrhinum IS 
 
 Aponogeton distachyon 18 
 
 Aquatics 19 
 
 Araucaria 20 
 
 j^Ardisia 20 
 
 Aristolochia 21 
 
 Asparagus 21 
 
 Aspidistra 2^ 
 
 Asplenium 22 
 
 Aster 23 
 
 Astilbe japonica 24 
 
 Azalea 25 
 
 Balsam 2R 
 
 Bay Trees 26 
 
 Bedding Plants 27 
 
 Begonia 31 
 
 Bellis 33 
 
 Bottom Heat 34 
 
 Bougainvillea 34 
 
 Bouvardia 35 
 
 Bromeliads 35 
 
 Browallia 35 
 
 Bulbs 35 
 
 Caladium 39 
 
 Calamus 40 
 
 Calceolaria 40 
 
 Camellia 41 
 
 Canna 42 
 
 Carludovica 44 
 
 Carnation 44 
 
 Celosia 53 
 
 Centaurea 54 
 
 Cheiranthus 54 
 
 Chrysanthemum 54 
 
 Cineraria 56 
 
 Clematis 57 
 
 Cobea 59 
 
 Cold-frames 59 
 
 Coleus 60 
 
 Cosmos 61 
 
 Cotyledon 62 
 
 Criniim 62 
 
 Crocus 62 
 
 Croton 63 
 
 Cycas 63 
 
 Cyclamen 64 
 
 Cytisus 65 
 
 Dahlia 65 
 
 Decorations 67 
 
 Decorative Material (Wild) 69 
 
 Decorative Plants 71 
 
 Deutzia 73 
 
 Dianthus 73 
 
 Dracaena 73 
 
 Drainage "5 
 
 Easter Plants ^6 
 
 Epacris 80 
 
 Erica 80 
 
 Eriostemon 81 
 
 Eucharis 81 
 
 Eupatorium .. 83 
 
 Euphorbia ■ ■ ., 83 
 
 Ferns 84 
 
 Fertilizers and Manures 92 
 
 Ficus 94 
 
 Fittonia 95 
 
 Floral Arrangements 95 
 
 Freesia 100 
 
 Fuch.sia 102 
 
 Fungicides and Insecticides 103 
 
 Cardenia lOG 
 
 Gerr«niuni 1 ftG 
 
 Gladiolus 109 
 
 Glazing 110 
 
 Glechoma Ill 
 
 Gloxinia Ill 
 
 Grasses Ill 
 
 Greenhouse Building 112 
 
 Grevillea robusta 120 
 
 Hardy Perennial Plants 120 
 
 Hardy Shrubs 122 
 
 Heating 125 
 
 Hedera (Ivy) 131 
 
 Hedge Plants 131 
 
 Heliotrope 132 
 
 Hibiscus 132 
 
 Hollyhock 133 
 
 Hotbeds 133 
 
 Hoya 134 
 
 Hydrangea 134 
 
 Impatiens Sultani 134 
 
 Iresine (Achyranthes) 134 
 
 Jasminum 135 
 
 Kalmia 135 
 
 Koeniga (Sweet Alyssum) 135 
 
 Lantana 135 
 
 Llapageria 135 
 
 Lawns 136 
 
 Libonia 137 
 
 Liliuni 13S 
 
 T.ily of the Valley 140 
 
 l^inum trigynum 142 
 
 Uibelia 142 
 
 I^ysimachia 142 
 
 Manettia 142 
 
 Maranta 143 
 
 Martinezia 143 
 
 Maurandya 143 
 
 Metrosideros 144 
 
 Mignonette 144 
 
 Mimulus 145 
 
 Moon Flower 145 
 
 Mulching 145 
 
 Musa 146 
 
 Myosotis 146 
 
 Nepenthes 146 
 
 Nierembergia 146 
 
 Oleander 147 
 
 Orchids 149 
 
 Othonna 159 
 
 Oxalis 160 
 
 Packing Flowers 160 
 
 Packing Plants 162 
 
 Paeonia 164 
 
 Palms 165 
 
 Pandanus 174 
 
 Panicum variegatum "6 
 
 Pansy 176 
 
 Pelargonium 178 
 
 Peperoniia 179 
 
 Perilla nankinensis 180 
 
 Petunia 180 
 
 Phlox Drummondii 180 
 
 Phlox (Herbaceous) 180 
 
 Pinks 180 
 
 Poinsettia 181 
 
 Potting 181 
 
 Primula 183 
 
 Rhododendron 184 
 
 Richardia Africana 185 
 
 Ricinus 185 
 
 Roses 185 
 
 Salvia 199 
 
 Santolina 200 
 
 Sedum 200 
 
 Seed Sowing 2O0 
 
 Selaginella 201 
 
 Shading 202 
 
 Skimmia japonica 202 
 
 Smilax 202 
 
 Soils 203 
 
 Solanum 205 
 
 Stephanotis 205 
 
 Stevia 205 
 
 Stocks 205 
 
 Store Management 206 
 
 Swainsona 210 
 
 Sweet Peas 210 
 
 System 213 
 
 Thur.bergia alata 215 
 
 Torenia 215 
 
 Tropaeolum 215 
 
 Tuberose 216 
 
 Vallota purpurea 216 
 
 Vases 217 
 
 Ventilation 218 
 
 Veranda Boxes 219 
 
 Verbena 220 
 
 Vinea 220 
 
 Violet 220 
 
 Watering 222 
 
 Zinnia 224 
 
THE 
 
 Florists' Manual. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 A Reference Book for Commercial Florists, 
 
 ABUTILON. 
 
 Greenhouse shrubs with drooping, 
 bell-shaped flowers, ranging In color 
 from pure white to crimson and 
 purple, mostly erect In growth. A few 
 of the species will endure a few de- 
 grees of frost, but they are best treat- 
 ed as cool greenhouse plants during 
 our winters. The hybrids now both 
 in beauty of leaf and flower far sur- 
 pass the true species. They are 
 largely used in sub-tropical flower 
 gardening, growing very freely in our 
 warm summers and are fine ornamen- 
 tal plants for the conservatory, and 
 can either be grown as specimen plants 
 in pots or trained to pillars or raft- 
 ers. As a commercial plant, except 
 for flower gardening, they are not of 
 great value, being strong growers and 
 occupying too much room for their 
 value. 
 
 They are easiest propagated from 
 the young tender growths. If desira- 
 ble to increase your stock in the fall, 
 September is the best month, keep 
 ing the sand very moist and not al- 
 lowing the cuttings to wilt from the 
 heat or sun. The plants lift from the 
 open ground perfectly in October and 
 if cut back during the winter will give 
 you lots of cuttings which root most 
 easily in the ordinary propagating 
 bed. 
 
 A. vexillarium is a drooping species 
 and used largely in hanging baskets, 
 veranda boxes and carpet bedding. 
 For a drooping plant for a vase they 
 should be propagated in September 
 from the young shoots of plants grow- 
 ing outside. By spring these should 
 be in 3-in. pots and are most useful 
 for the purpose described. 
 
 Abutilons are troubled with few 
 enemies. The hose will keep down 
 mealy bug, and aphis seldom appear. 
 Any soil that water passes freely 
 through will grow abutilons, but much 
 manure should be avoided, as most of 
 the kinds are very free growers. The 
 following varieties are fine decorative 
 plants: Savitzii, green and white fo- 
 liage; Mrs. J. Laing, strong grower, 
 flowers bright rose; Souvenir de Bonn, 
 variegated foliage, orange flowers; 
 Infanta Eulalie, compact grower for 
 pots, flowers pink; Boule de Niege. 
 
 pure white; Thompsoni plena, free 
 blooming double orange. 
 
 ACACIA. 
 
 A very large genus of shrubs or 
 trees. Those of most commercial val- 
 ue are from temperate regions. South 
 Australia and New South Wales. Some 
 of the species, armata, for instance, 
 make neat, compact plants for pot 
 culture, while pubescens, one of the 
 most graceful of all, is splendidly 
 adapted for training on a pillar or 
 wall of a light, cool house. A tem- 
 peratuie of 45 degrees in winter will 
 suit the commercial species, but their 
 flowering can be hastened several 
 weeks by more heat and at all times 
 an abundance of water. They are 
 
 most free flowering and the prevailing 
 colors are lemon and yellow. In a 
 temperature of 45 to 50 degrees most 
 of the species flower from February to 
 May. A good loam with a fourth of 
 leaf-mould or in the absence of the 
 latter, Jadoo, will grow any of the 
 acacias, but the soil should always be 
 in that condition from proper drain- 
 age that water passes freely through 
 it. 
 
 They are propagated from the half 
 ripened wood in May or June, that is, 
 the shoots made the previous spring. 
 Place the cuttings in pans of sand or 
 leaf-mould and sand and place the 
 pans in a cold-frame, which shade on 
 hot days and keep close till growth 
 begins. When rooted, pot off and grow 
 
 
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 Acacia Pubescens. 
 
10 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 on in a cold frame. During the follow- 
 ing winter keep in a cool house and 
 after danger of frost shift into larger 
 pots and plunge outside, where they 
 must be well supplied with water. 
 They should be stopped as soon as 
 they grow in the spring to induce a 
 branching growth. Although their 
 propagation is not difficult, it will be 
 found by the majority of our florists 
 more profitable to import those plants 
 that are wanted for our spring sales, 
 as the price of well grown, compact 
 plants is very low and they endure the 
 passage without the slightest injury. 
 Any plants unsold after flowering 
 
 ACALYPHA. 
 
 A genu.s of tro])ical shrubs that are 
 grown entirely for the attractiveness 
 of the leaves excepting the very re- 
 cent introduction, A. Sanderi, which 
 has long, cylindrical, pendulous 
 flowers and is very ornamental. The 
 acalypha is grown largely in Europe 
 as an ornamental stove plant, but 
 with us its chief value is as a sum- 
 mer bedding plant for mixed borders 
 or sub-tropical beds. As most all the 
 species are from the tropical islands 
 of the Pacific, their requirements can 
 be judged accordingly. 
 
 Acanthophoenix Crinita. 
 
 should be cut back severely, shifted if fp 
 needed, and plunged outside during 
 summer. Few insects of any kind, 
 attack the acacia; plenty of water at 
 all times and syringing except when in 
 flower is what they want. 
 
 A. pubescens is not adapted for pot 
 culture, but is the most graceful of all 
 the genus, and for cutting as sprays is 
 most valuable. It should be planted 
 out either as a standard or against a 
 pillar or wall. The most valuable spe- 
 cies for pot culture for the commercial 
 rtorist is armata, small globular flow- 
 ers which cover the whole plant; deal- 
 bata, strong grower with handsome 
 yellow racemes; Drummondi, a fine 
 compact plant with drooping, cylin- 
 drical lemon colored flowers. There 
 are hundreds of species, most all wor- 
 thy of a place in a conservatory, but 
 the few species mentioned above are 
 the best for commercial use. 
 
 The most economical way to pro- 
 duce plants for spring use is to lift a 
 few old plants before any danger of 
 frost. These could be used for deco- 
 rating till January, then shorten back 
 the shoots, and if the plants are in a 
 strong heat they will soon give you 
 a number of young growths, whicli 
 root readily in the sand in a good 
 bottom heat and by end of May, if 
 kept warm, will be just what you want 
 for planting out in spring. A well en- 
 riched loam is all they want. 
 
 There are half a dozen or more de- 
 sirable species and varieties which 
 give a variety of bronze, brown, green, 
 red, orange and carmine, blotched and 
 variegated, making them very orna- 
 mental for summer gardening. 
 
 ACANTHOPHOENIX. 
 
 A. crinita is a remarkably handsome 
 warm house palm that has been in 
 cultivation for the past thirty years, 
 
 but is still rather an uncommon spe- 
 cies. It has much the habit of growth 
 of an areca, the leaves being pinnate, 
 the leaflets long and drooping, and the 
 plant iu general very graceful in ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 One of the characteristics that dis- 
 tinguish acanthophoenix from areca is 
 very distinct in the species in question, 
 namely, the fact that the former is 
 abundantly supplied with long black- 
 ish spines all along the stems, while 
 no true areca bears spines, and in ad- 
 dition to this the under side of the 
 leaves of A. crinita is silvery white. 
 The latter peculiarity doubtless ac- 
 counted for an erroneous name under 
 which this palm was once introduced, 
 that is. Calamus dealbata. 
 
 Being a native of Seychelles, and 
 probably of low moist land near the 
 coast of that island, we find that this 
 palm is best suited under stove cult- 
 ure, a night temperature of 70 degrees 
 and plenty of water being among the 
 chief essentials to its welfare, while a 
 rather light and well drained soil 
 seems to give the best results. 
 
 In common with palms in general 
 that I'equire warm treatment, there is 
 the ever-present probability of finding 
 some injurious insects on acantho- 
 phoenix, the most likely pests being 
 scale and, unless well syringed, also 
 red spider, but with proper attention 
 these pests may be kept down, and so 
 beautiful a palm is worthy of a little 
 extra attention in the line of cleanli- 
 ness. 
 
 Seeds are the only means of propa- 
 gation for A. crinita, and as the seeds 
 of this species sometimes take over 
 two years to germinate, it is scarcely 
 probable that this palm will become 
 popular for trade purposes. W. H. T. 
 
 ACER JAPONICUM (JAPAN MAPLE.) 
 
 The Japan maples are now grown in 
 pots for conservatory decoration, and 
 many are sold and forced for Easter. 
 They are largely imported, but can 
 also be obtained from American nur- 
 series. Being perfectly hardy they 
 can be procured in the fall and stored 
 away in a cold-pit till they are wanted 
 to pot and force. Give them two 
 months in the house from time of pot- 
 ting till they are wanted in full leaf. 
 If forced rapidly they are more likely 
 to wilt when exposed to cold wind or 
 dryness. 
 
 While I have alluded to these in the 
 article on "Trees and Shrubs" I will 
 add here that they are most beautiful 
 little ornamentals for the lawn, either 
 in groups or singly. They proved dur- 
 ing the last unusually long, cold winter 
 to be entirely hardy, coming through 
 the winter unhurt and without the 
 slightest protection. 
 
 There are several varieties of A. Ja- 
 ponicum, the foliage shaded from yel- 
 low to blood red, and all are worth 
 growing. 
 
 ACHILLEA. 
 
 This is a large genus of hardy peren- 
 nials, many of them suitable for the 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 n 
 
 Vase of Achillea the Pearl. 
 
 border and many are very valuable for 
 the rockvi'ork, but of little use to the 
 florist. The one most useful to the 
 florist and deserving special notice is 
 "The Pearl." This little plant will 
 thrive in any soil, is absolutely hardy, 
 and should be in every florist's gar- 
 den. It flowers in July and August. 
 
 It is most useful as a cut flower, and 
 we have found it of great service in 
 design work when short of carnations. 
 
 The plants spread rapidly and every 
 third or fourth year they should be 
 lifted, divided, and replanted in more 
 compact rows in the garden. This can 
 be done in early spring and you will 
 not lose the following summer's crop 
 of flowers. 
 
 The plant is remarkably free flower- 
 ing, it being just a mass of the small 
 heads of white blooms, but what makes 
 it of more than ordinary value is the 
 good stem you can cut with the flow- 
 ers. 
 
 ACHIMINES. 
 
 Hot-house herbaceous perennial 
 tuberous-rooted plants that are held 
 in high esteem in the gardens of Eu- 
 
 rope but seldom seen here. They are 
 usually grown in pans from 6 to 12 
 inches across and 4 inches deep. They 
 should have drainage and the compost 
 should be a good light loam to which 
 has been added a fourth of leaf-mould 
 and rotted mauure. They like neither 
 a stagnant moisture nor a heavy soil. 
 
 Although not at all likely to become 
 popular as a commercial plant they 
 are by no means difficult to grow. 
 The small soft roots should be planted 
 in the pans about one inch apart in 
 February or March, pressing the roots 
 into the soil half an inch below the 
 surface, and started growing in a 
 temperature of 60 degrees. Later on, 
 as spring advances, any house will do 
 for them. Shade from the hottest 
 suns. As they grow they like an 
 abundance of water, and being sub- 
 ject to greenfly and red spider they 
 must be lightly but regularly fumi- 
 gated, and up to flowering time give 
 them a daily syringing. 
 
 They are, however well grown, en- 
 tirely useless unless each stem is tied 
 to a small stake. They last a long 
 time in flower. 'When flowering is 
 
 done gradually withhold water till 
 the foliage is entirely gone, then store 
 away under a warm, dry bench till the 
 following spring. In starting them in 
 the spring shake out of the old soil 
 entirely. They are propagated by cut- 
 tings, pieces of the stem growing free- 
 ly in the spring with bottom heat; 
 also by seed, sown in early spring. 
 The beginner had. however, lietter 
 buy the roots from a seedsman. 
 
 Although not of commercial value 
 the achimines is a splendid plant for a 
 private greenhouse during the sum- 
 mer months. There is a score of spe- 
 cies, nearly all from tropical America, 
 and from these hundreds of hybrid 
 varieties. And it is the hybrids that 
 are cultivated. 
 
 ACHYRANTHES. 
 
 See Bedding Plants. 
 
 ACROPHYLLUM. 
 
 A small evergreen shrub that is 
 valuable for the private conservatory, 
 flowering freely during the spring 
 months. It is at home in a cool green- 
 house but must not be exposed to frost. 
 In summer it can be plunged outside. 
 They require shifting as they grow, 
 which should be done before they 
 flower in spring. They can he propa- 
 gated from the half-ripened wood in 
 May and June. Like most of the Aus- 
 tralian plants they thrive in a good 
 coarse loam. A. venosum is the only 
 species, which bears dense spikes of 
 pinkish white flowers. 
 
 ADIANTUM. 
 
 For the most useful commercial adi- 
 antums see the article on Ferns, in 
 which all the most important commer- 
 cial ferns are treated collectively. The 
 following adiantum notes are by Mr. 
 W. H. Taplin: 
 
 A. LEGRANDL The maidenhair 
 family includes a wonderful variety in 
 both size and form, and a collection 
 embracing all the distinct forms 
 grown into specimens would occupy a 
 very large house. 
 
 A, Legi-andi belongs to the dwarf 
 section, the stipes or stems being us- 
 ually but a few inches in length and 
 the fronds vei-y compact and closely 
 clothed with small pinnae. In fact the 
 growth in small plants is so close and 
 overlapping that the foliage is quite 
 subject to damping off unless the 
 house in which it is grown is kept well 
 ventilated. 
 
 Regarding the origin of this fern but 
 little is known, and it seems probable 
 that it is a seedling variation from 
 Adiantum Pecottii, which it very much 
 resembles, the chief distinction appar- 
 ently being found in the longer leaf 
 stems of A. Legrandi, while both va- 
 rieties present the same dark green 
 color of the foliage. As a trade fern 
 A. Legrandi has not become promi- 
 nent, and as a matter of fact it is less 
 frequently seen in trade collections 
 now than it was a few years ago, the 
 demand in this line being confined to 
 
12 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 rS-yy^i. 
 
 Adiantum Legrandi. 
 
 ferns that are more sturrtv and less 
 brittle. 
 
 The culture of A. Legrandi presents 
 no special difficulty, apart from the 
 liability to damping that has already 
 been alluded to, and by keeping the 
 water off the foliage and giving free 
 ventilation, the trouble from this 
 cause may be reduced greatly. 
 
 In getting up specimens of these 
 small growing adiantums for exhibi- 
 tion puiposes, it is a good plan to 
 group several young plants in a pan 
 about 10 inches in diameter, and a 
 shapely plant may thus be formed in 
 a few months by treating them in the 
 same manner as one would A. cune- 
 atum for a similar purpose. 
 
 A. MACROPHYLLUM. This is one 
 of the most distinct of the large fam- 
 ily of maidenhair ferns, and as a mat- 
 ' ter of fact to many persons to whom 
 the idea of a maidenhair fern is asso- 
 ciated with the light and airy fronds 
 of A. cuueatum, the rather stiff and 
 heavy looking leaves of this species 
 would seem to belong to an entirely 
 different genus. 
 
 The large pinnated species of adian- 
 tuni, among which we find A. macro- 
 phylluni, A. peruvianum. A. See- 
 mannii and A. Wilsonii. form a very 
 interesting group, and one which adds 
 greatly to the beauty and variety of a 
 collection of ferns. Adiantum macro- 
 phyllum is a moderate growing spe- 
 cies, the fronds being erect, from one 
 to two feet high, simple pinnate, and 
 having stiff black stems. 
 
 bright pink in coloi'. finally changing 
 to deep green. 
 
 The pinnae of the fertile fronds are 
 usuall.v smaller, the spores being found 
 in an almost continuous band around 
 the margin. These spores germinate 
 fairly well if carefully gathered and 
 preserved, and the young plants thus 
 secured are niu<di better than thot-e ob- 
 tained from division of the old crowns, 
 as they grow more freely and in better 
 form. 
 
 No special difficulty is experienced 
 in the culture of A. macrophyllum, 
 the main features being a moderately 
 light soil, good drainage, and the glass 
 shaded throughout the greater portion 
 of the year. In regard to temperature, 
 the same may be given as to A. Far- 
 leyense. namely, from 65 to 70 degrees 
 at night, and also like the latter va- 
 riety it may be said that A. macro- 
 phyllum does not like a strong draught 
 over the young foliage while unfold- 
 ing, else it is likely to be crippled, 
 though after the fronds of this species 
 are fully hardened they will stand 
 quite a good deal of exposure without 
 injury. 
 
 A. macrophyllum is a native of the 
 West Indies and tropical America, and 
 has been in cultivation for a little 
 more than a century, though yet un- 
 common in trade collections. 
 
 A. MUNDULUM. This is one of the 
 many interesting and useful forms of 
 Adiantum cuneatum, and is correctly 
 termed Adiantum cuueatum mundu- 
 
 Adiantum Macrophyllum. 
 
 The pinnae of the barren fronds are 
 very large, being frequently three to 
 four inches long, by about two inches 
 wide, and when first unfolding are 
 
 lum. The varietal name, which signi- 
 fies neat, is well applied in this case, 
 the plant being of dwarf and com- 
 pact habit, and is better adapted for 
 
The Floiusts' manual. 
 
 J3 
 
 small ferneries than as an exhibition 
 plant. 
 
 The fronds of A. c. niundulum are 
 shorter and rather stiffer than those of 
 the parent form, not often more than 
 nine or ten inches long, very dark 
 green, and closely furnished with nar- 
 row, wedge-shaped pinnae. In general 
 outline the fronds are deltoid, and 
 when well matured they possess sufll- 
 cieut substance to be useful in cut 
 flower work, where a small frond is 
 required. 
 
 A. c. mundulum comes true from 
 spores, and also germinates freely, the 
 spores being produced abundantly on 
 old plants, and it flourishes under tlit; 
 same treatment as A. cuneatura. thus 
 being by no means diflticult to man- 
 age. 
 
 Nicely grown plants in 3-iuch pots 
 are very short and bushy, and may be 
 used to advantage where A. cuneatum 
 proves too tall, and if the plants are 
 not soft when used, will possibly last a 
 little longer than the last named fern, 
 under the same conditions. 
 
 A. c. mundulum is of garden origin, 
 and although in cultivation since ISTSt, 
 is not frequently met with in the trade, 
 in fact, seems scarcer now than it wa.s 
 ten years ago, no doubt owing to the 
 greater demand for ferns of more en- 
 durance than is found among the maid- 
 enhairs in general. 
 
 A. TETRAPHYLLUM. Among the 
 less common species of maidenhair 
 ferns, Adiantum tetraphyllum is de- 
 serving of special mention, and some 
 idea of its general outline may be had 
 
 from the illustration which accompa- 
 nies this note. But. unfortunately, an 
 ordinary photograph fails to show us 
 the fine distinctions of coloring that 
 present themselves in the living plant, 
 and in consequence we are compelled 
 to fall back upon cold type for our 
 descriptions. 
 The plant in quej^tion has been found 
 
 in fern collections for many years 
 past, and has produced an occasional 
 variation in form from time to time, 
 though it is not a notably prolific spe- 
 cies, perhaps the best of these varia- 
 tions from the type being that known 
 as A. tetraphyllum gracile, in which 
 the pinnae are rather narrower than 
 those of the original species and the 
 
 Adiantum Mundultim. 
 
 Adiantum Tetraphyllum, 
 
 young fronds show a higher coloring 
 than is found on the type. 
 
 A. tetraphyllum may be classed as 
 a moderate grower, the fronds reach- 
 ing a height of 12 to 15 inches, and are 
 usually four times divided, or rather 
 divided into four segments. While un- 
 folding the young fronds are frequent- 
 ly bright pink, this color gradiially 
 fading as the frond develops, until the 
 mature leaf becomes dark -green. 
 
 This species prefers warm house 
 treatment, is evergreen, and grows 
 best in a rather loose and open com- 
 post. It requires plenty of water at 
 the root, but during the winter espe- 
 cially should not be watered overhead 
 frequently, or the fronds are liable to 
 become rusty. Snails seem to have a 
 special liking for the young foliage of 
 A. tetraphyllum. and close watching 
 is required to get the best of these 
 pests. 
 
 A. WIEGANDII. A few years since 
 a much greater variety of ferns seemed 
 to be grown for florists' use than is 
 now found among the large trade 
 growers. It is evidently a case of the 
 survival of the fittest, or rather of the 
 species and varieties that may be pro- 
 duced in large quantities with a mini- 
 mum expenditure of time and labor. 
 Adiantum Wiegandii is one of those 
 varieties that has almost disappeared 
 within a few years, though it is not a 
 particularly tender fern, or one that is 
 difficult to reproduce. 
 
14 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 We mention it as a variety ratlier 
 tiian a species, because it seems prob- 
 able tliat tliis fern is a form of Adian- 
 tnm capillus-veneris, or else a cross 
 between tliat species and A. cuneatiim, 
 its origin being somewhat obscure. 
 But be this as it may, the fern in ijues- 
 tion is a very attractive plant of dwarf 
 and sturdy growth, the fronds being 
 almost upright, having black stems 
 and rather large pinnae that are in- 
 clined to be cristate. 
 
 A. Wiegandii is compact in habit 
 and in a large plant reaches a height 
 
 AECHMEA. 
 
 See Bromeliads. 
 
 AERIDES. 
 
 See Orchids. 
 
 AGAPANTHUS. 
 
 A genus of strong growing, hand- 
 some greenhouse plants which do well 
 out of doors during summer, and when 
 slightly protected will live through 
 the winter where there is not more 
 than 10 degrees of frost. In the 
 
 Adiantum Wiegandii. 
 
 of 12 to 15 inches, and holds its foliage 
 in good condition during the winter. 
 This fern comes freely from spores, 
 the latter being plentifully borne by 
 plants a year old and upwards, and the 
 seedlings soon become satisfactory 
 plants in 3-ineh pots if treated in the 
 same manner as A, cuneatum, a night 
 temperature of GO degi'ees being a 
 proper mark at which to carry these 
 ferns. 
 
 But little trouble is experienced 
 from "damping" of the foliage with A. 
 Wiegandii during the winter, even 
 when grown quite close together, the 
 regular use of the hose having less ef- 
 fect upon this fern than is often found 
 with adiantums of low and compact 
 habit. Thoroughly matured fronds 
 stand well when cut, and the small 
 plants will last longer than those of A. 
 cuneatum in a fern pan, providing 
 they are not used in too soft a condi- 
 tion. 
 
 south of England A. umbellatus does 
 well planted out of doors, with us it 
 requires large pots or tubs and thrives 
 in a well enriched coarse loam. In 
 summer you cannot well over water 
 them. In winter they can be stored 
 under a bench in a cool house and will 
 then require very little water. But be 
 careful after so keeping them all win- 
 ter not to expose them to a late spring 
 frost or they will suffer and their 
 beauty be marred for the whole sum- 
 mer. They grow very fast and can be 
 rapidly multiplied b.v division. 
 
 The varieties are all from A. um- 
 bellatus, introduced into Europe from 
 South Africa two centuries ago. Its 
 erect stem and showy umbel of bright 
 blue flowers is familiar to all. The 
 best known varieties are albidus, pure 
 white; aureus, leaves striped; varie- 
 gatus, smaller but finely variegated 
 leaves; and maximus, a blue of the 
 largest size, as its name denotes. 
 
 AGAVE. 
 
 This noble genus includes a great 
 number of species, one of them at 
 least being known to every one — the 
 well known "Century Plant." All the 
 species have one characteristic: when 
 fully matured they send up a stately 
 flower spike from the center of the 
 crowu of leaves and then die. This is 
 the case with the great majority, al- 
 though there are a few that continue 
 to flower year after year. They are 
 almost all from Mexico, a few from 
 South America and one or two from 
 our extreme southwestern states. 
 
 There is a widespread fallacy in con- 
 nection with Agave Americana. It is 
 popularly supposed that they live 100 
 years and then flower and die, hence 
 the familiar name. They will not 
 flower till they have made their full 
 growth, but that may be .50 years or 
 TJJ years. We remember a pair of A. 
 Americana that we had watched from 
 infancy, one the plain green and one 
 variegated. They were of immense 
 weight, each weighing a ton or more 
 with the large tub and soil. About 
 1856 they both flowered together and 
 sent their candelabra-like spikes 25 
 feet in the air. It was a remarkable 
 co-incidence that both showed flower 
 the same season as no one knew their 
 ages and the one who had taken them 
 as suckers from the parent plant was 
 long gone from his fleld of labor. 
 
 Within 40 years there have been 
 several distinct and beautiful species 
 discovered in Mexico, some of which 
 have not yet flowered and no knowl- 
 edge of their flower is available. Most 
 of the species are stemless, but not all, 
 their fleshy leaves radiating symmet- 
 rically from near the base of the plant. 
 Nicholson's DictiOiUary of Gardening 
 enumerates nearly one hundred spe- 
 cies and then states there are many 
 more which it is not worth while to de- 
 scribe as there is only one specimen of 
 each in cultivation. They vary in size 
 from IS inches in height and the same 
 in width to the majestic species of 10 
 feet in diameter. 
 
 The smaller species make beautiful 
 plants for the greenhouse or for out- 
 door decoration, and the large species 
 are noble objects for the adornment 
 of large grounds but get very heavy 
 and awkward to handle when of any 
 considerable size. Few plants will put 
 up with the rough treatment that is 
 often given the agave. Their thick, 
 succulent leaves provide them with 
 the means of resisting long periods of 
 drought. 
 
 The same general treatment will 
 suit all the species. A well drained 
 pot or tub, with good turfy loam; add 
 leaf-mould or sand if heavy. They will 
 stand the strongest sun out of doors 
 and should receive plenty of water. 
 In winter, if you wish merely to store 
 them for next season's growth they 
 will do very well in an.v cool house or 
 even shed, but must not freeze, and 
 when the temperature is low they will 
 do without water for weeks. They 
 are easily propagated by suckers. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 15 
 
 which you have only to cut off and 
 pot. 
 
 The rarer species are too expensive 
 for the commercial florist and in too 
 little demand, and the larger species 
 require too much lahor and room to be 
 of any pi-ofit; they are best left in the 
 hands of the private gardener. 
 
 AGERATUM. 
 
 Since the wane of the carpet bedding 
 and the return of the popular flower- 
 ing plants to flower garden favor the 
 ageralum has been in constant demand. 
 A. Mexicanum is the only species in 
 which we are interested. By selec- 
 tion many improvements have been 
 made, a more spreading and dwarf 
 plant has been produced as well as a 
 variation in color. It is well to try 
 the new varieties as they are dissemi- 
 nated as they are very inexpensive 
 and frequently great improvements 
 on existing varieties. 
 
 I have found that when propagated 
 by cuttings for a few years a variety 
 will often lose its character and grad- 
 ually revert back to the original type. 
 If I were asked what was the easiest 
 of all plants to propagate I would say 
 that the ageratum was absolutely the 
 one, and so it is. Nothing but the 
 most willful neglect will cause a batch 
 of cuttings to fail. New varieties are, 
 of course, raised from seed, which can 
 be sown in January and the seedlings 
 will flower freely by the following 
 June. . ^. 
 
 It is by cuttings that our varieties 
 are perpetuated. Lift a few old plants 
 and pot into 5 or 6-vnch pots before 
 frost. Keep them cool and light till 
 after Christmas, when you can begin 
 propagating. It is well, however, not 
 to propagate too early as the plants 
 get stunted when not shifted on and 
 it does not by any means pay to have 
 this cheap bedding plant in larger 
 than 3-inch, or at most 4-inch pots. 
 The cuttings root freely with or with- 
 out bottom heat and the plants grow 
 rapidly in a temperature of 50 degrees. 
 Their only enemy is red spider, which 
 must be kept down by frequent sy- 
 linging and the weekly fumigation. 
 
 New varieties of both the blue and 
 white are being constantly sent out. 
 The dwarf, compact sorts are the most 
 valuable. The variegated variety of 
 Mexicanum is of little value. 
 
 ALLAMANDA. 
 
 Few plants bring back childhood's 
 days more vivdly than the showy al- 
 lamanda. Though not a commercial 
 florist's flower it hardly has a rival as 
 a hot-house climber. The leaves are 
 sharp-pointed, oblong, and come three 
 or four in a whorl. The flowers are 
 funnel shaped, 3 to 5 inches across 
 and rich yellow. Allamandas are usu- 
 ally seen trained near the roof where 
 they do well and add greatly to the 
 beauty of the house. They are also 
 grown as specimens trained to a bal- 
 loon-shaped or flat wire frame 3 or 4 
 feet high. In a competition for a 
 number of flowering stove and green- 
 
 house plants in any horticultural exhi- 
 bition in Europe the allamanda would 
 be sure to be one. The only use the 
 florist could make of the flowers, rich 
 and fine as they are, would be to take 
 sprays of the vine covered with 
 flowers for the decoration of mirrors 
 or chandeliers. For an elaborate 
 golden wedding they would be a glori- 
 ous acquisition. 
 
 Plants covering a large roof space 
 would need a tub, and I have seen 
 them planted in the border at the end 
 of the house. A turfy loam with a 
 sixth of cow manure, adding a tenth of 
 charcoal to the compost, suits them 
 well. They are from Equatorial Amer- 
 ica, so you will know what they want 
 in temperature. Most of the species 
 flower in June and July, but Schottii. 
 one of the finest, flowers in August and 
 September. They are little troubled 
 by insects of any kind, syringing and 
 fumigating keeping them clean with- 
 out any trouble. In the spring and 
 summer they want lots of water; in 
 the darker winter months much less. 
 In our hot summers they require 
 shade from the brightest sun, but only 
 
 or so of the last year's growth will 
 root easily in our ordinary propagat- 
 ing benches where there is a little bot- 
 tom heat, making each cutting with 
 two or three eyes. Remember they are 
 from the tropics and should not be 
 exposed to a lower temperature than 
 60 degrees at any time of the year. 
 
 Of the several species and hybrids 
 the following can be selected as the 
 best: A. Chelsonii, yellow, large, 
 flowers in July; A. grandiflora, pale 
 yellow, large, flowers in June; A. no- 
 bilis, bright yellow, large, flowers in 
 July; A. Schottii, yellow, throat 
 striped with brown, very free bloomer, 
 the best known and best for all pur- 
 poses. 
 
 ALOCASIA. 
 
 These beautiful stove plants are 
 grown entirely for the beauty of their 
 leaves. They delight in our hot sum- 
 mers under glass and must not be al- 
 lowed to go below 60 degrees in the 
 winter months. They require shade 
 in the bright days of spring and sum- 
 mer, and where the house is heavily 
 shaded they will be greatly beneflted 
 
 Alocasia Metallica. 
 
 enough to keen them from burning. 
 They like the light, which they get in 
 abundance when trained to the roof. 
 In the late winter months, before they 
 begin to grow, they should be pruned 
 back as we do our hot-house grape 
 vines, cutting back the previous year's 
 growth to two or three eyes. If you 
 wish to propagate them the last foot 
 
 by a little fire heat at night. In 
 shaded houses during rainy weather 
 and cold nights, even in summer, 
 there is a dampness and stagnation 
 that is very uncongenial to most 
 plants, and exotics in particular 
 should have a little fire heat. 
 
 The compost in which they delight is 
 one-third fibrous peat or Jadoo, one- 
 
16 
 
 third turfy loam in coarse lumps aud 
 one-third chopped sphagnum, to which 
 add some charcoal. Although the roots 
 delight in moisture it must not be 
 stagnant around them, and the pots 
 should be filled within a tew inches of 
 the rim with broken crocks. Keep the 
 roots and the potting material well 
 above the edge of the pot and cover 
 the surface of the compost with live 
 sphagnum, in which the young roots 
 thrive. They must be given an abund- 
 ance of water in summer, but much 
 less in winter. It is not only the water 
 they receive on the surface that bene- 
 nts them, but -they require a humid, 
 warm atmosphere. 
 
 The best time to increase your stock 
 of alocasias is in the spring by divid- 
 ing the stems or rhizomes, which 
 when first taken off and started 
 should have a close, moist and warm 
 temperature and be away from all 
 draughts of air. A Wardian case on 
 the greenhouse bench with some bot- 
 tom heat is the ideal place. 
 
 The leaves are large, from one to 
 two feet in length. All are beautiful, 
 varying in coloring and markings 
 from the well known A. metallica or 
 cuprea, a dark metallic bronze, to A. 
 longiloba, green with silvery markings. 
 Among the best species and hybrids 
 are those above mentioned and A. hy- 
 brida, A. Jenningsii, A. Johnstonii, A. 
 Sedenii, A. Thibautiana. A. variegata. 
 and many others, all beautiful plants 
 for the private collection. 
 
 ALOYSIA CITRIODORA. 
 
 This universally liked plant is com- 
 mercially known the world over as 
 Lemon Verbena. It is classed as a de- 
 ciduous shrub and is the sole repre- 
 sentative of the genus. Where hardy 
 I doubt whether it is quite deciduous. 
 It makes a fine plant when planted 
 against the wall or pillar in the green- 
 house, but it is as a sweet scented 
 plant for our gardens that we most 
 prize it, and every mixed border, and 
 every garden large or small has one or 
 more. The florist finds this a most 
 useful plant for cutting in the summer 
 time, for what can be more welcome 
 in a bunch of flowers than a few sprays 
 of the sweet Lemon Verbena. 
 
 Don't sell out clean in the spring. 
 Save a dozen plants and shift them on, 
 plunging them outside in pots in sum- 
 mer. At the approach of frost bring 
 them in and stand them under your 
 lightest and coolest bench and give 
 them only water enough to keep the 
 wood from shrivelling. In early Feb- 
 ruary we shake them out, shorten back 
 the unripened and weak wood and 
 start them going again in fresh soil 
 and pots, with us a 4-inch, Placed in 
 a temperature of 55 degrees, in a few 
 weeks they are covered with young 
 growths which are .iust the thing for 
 cuttings. They root easily but not 
 nearly so surely as many of the soft- 
 wooded plants. I prefer the sand to 
 be a little warmer than the house. 
 Keep the sand well soaked, twice a day 
 is not too often, and never let the cut- 
 tings wilt from the sun or dryness. 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 In April we shift them from a 2-inch 
 to a 3-inch pot and plunge in a mild 
 hot-bed, where by the middle of May, 
 with one pinching, they will have made 
 fine, bushy plants. They want lots of 
 syringing to prevent red spider, and if 
 the proper fumigation is regularly giv- 
 en they will not be troubled with fly. 
 A florist should always be supplied 
 with them for they are usually difH- 
 cult to procure when wanted. 
 
 ALTERNANTHERA. 
 
 It seems as though it would have 
 been almost impossible to carry out 
 the wonderful designs in carpet bed- 
 ding had we not had these little plants 
 to serve us. Carpet bedding came into 
 its greatest popularity shortly after the 
 introduction of the alternanthera, some 
 30 years ago. It may be that their 
 great fitness for that style of bedding 
 helped to make it popular. Certain it 
 is that alternantheras owe their pop- 
 ularity to carpet bedding. Nothing 
 troubles the alternanthera but cold 
 weather. They are all tropical plants, 
 growing freely in our warm summer 
 months but only just existing in the 
 greenhouse during winter in a tem- 
 perature of 60 degrees. 
 
 They are propagated by divisions or 
 cuttings. In the former method the 
 plants are lifted from the beds after 
 the first slight frost, and after their 
 tops are shortened and trimmed up 
 they are stored away in a few inches 
 of soil in flats. After the first good 
 watering they are best kept rather dry 
 till the following April, when they can 
 be torn to pieces and either potted 
 singly or again planted in fiats and 
 started growing in a warm, light house, 
 or what is better, a hot-bed. Where 
 very large quantities are needed the 
 old plants are generally depended up- 
 on. Where only a few thousand are 
 needed I prefer the cuttings. 
 
 Prepare some flats two inches deep 
 and any convenient size, in which have 
 one inch of light soil and one inch ot 
 sand. Aljout the middle of August 
 take off the cuttings from the plants 
 outside and put them thickly in the 
 sand. In a few days in the greenhouse 
 they will be rooted and can be kept 
 on any bench or stood out of doors till 
 cold weather arrives. In the flats they 
 will winter well and are little trouble. 
 Keep them rather dry during the dark 
 days and away from cold and damp. 
 When potted off in April and placed in 
 a hot-l)ed they make splendid little 
 plants by bedding out time. They root 
 and thrive like the proverbial "weed" 
 if kept warm. 
 
 There is no trouble in wintering any 
 of them except the one that is the most 
 valuable, which is known in many 
 places as A. paronychioirtes major, but 
 which 1 feel sure is A. paronychioides 
 magniflca, which is much the highest 
 colored of all. In elaborate bedding 
 room is found for most of the culti- 
 vated varieties. If you cannot give 
 them a temperature of GO degrees dur- 
 ing winter the next best thing is to 
 give the flats a light, dry position and 
 
 be sparing of water till the warm days 
 of spring arrive. 
 
 The most useful are A. paronychio- 
 ides magniflca. almost scarlet when 
 well colored, but not such a robust 
 grower as the others: A. versicolor, 
 bright rosy pink and bronze green; 
 A. spathulata. reddish pink and brown 
 shaded with bronze and green; A. am- 
 abilis, rose color and orange; A. am- 
 oena, orange red and purple; A. tri- 
 color, dark green edge, center of leaf 
 rose striped with purple veins and or- 
 ange; A. paronychioides aurea nana, 
 the best of the yellow or golden leaved 
 sorts. 
 
 In very warm rainy seasons they 
 grow so fast that the beautiful mark- 
 ings of the leaves do not show at their 
 best. They should never be planted 
 in a very rich soil. Their great adapt- 
 ability for bedding is because they can 
 be sheared to any sharp line and can 
 be kept very dwarf. 
 
 AMARANTHUS. 
 
 Strong gi'owing tropica! annuals 
 having feathery spikes of flowers and 
 highly colored leaves. They are very 
 suitable for the mixed border or for 
 large sub-tropical beds. It is on ac- 
 count of the showy markings of the 
 leaves that they are mostly grown. 
 They should not be planted out till 
 settled warm weather, with us the 1st 
 of June, but they grow very luxuri- 
 antly in the warm months. They re- 
 quire deep, rich soil to obtain the best 
 results. 
 
 Sow the seed the latter part of 
 March in pans in a warm house and 
 transplant when large enough to 
 handle into flats, placing them two 
 or three inches apart. The moist heat 
 of a hot-bed suits them finely. If ex- 
 tra good plants are required they can 
 be shifted from the flats singly into 
 3-inch pots, and nowhere will they do 
 so well as in a hot-bed. 
 
 A few of the handsomest are: bi- 
 color, foliage green and yellow; hypo- 
 chondriacus, large spikes of crimson 
 flowers; salicifolius, narrow drooping 
 leaves, orange, carmine and bronze; 
 sanguineus, blood red leaves: tricolor, 
 a very handsome species with carmine 
 and yellow leaves. 
 
 AMARYLLIS. 
 
 The Belladona Lily is the true ama- 
 ryllis and the fine plants generally 
 known as amaryllis are really hippe- 
 astrums. Several other genera are 
 closely allied and as their cultivation 
 is the same the cultural directions 
 here given will include hippeastrum, 
 crinum and vallota. They are bulbous 
 but not herbaceous although resting 
 partially during winter. 
 
 They seed freely and if sown at once 
 and the young plants grown on in a 
 warm house and rested slightly dur- 
 ing the winter, will flower the third 
 year. They can also be increased by 
 the offsets from the old bulbs. 
 
 If you obtain the dormant bulbs 
 start them in a little bottom heat, 
 keeping the bulb near the surface of 
 the soil. They flower when making 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 J7 
 
 their first leaves but must not be put 
 away and neglected or stood under the 
 bench after the flower is faded for it 
 is then that the plant makes its prin- 
 cipal growth and stores up strength 
 for future flowering. Keep them 
 watered and growing till the winter 
 months, but as they are not decidu- 
 ous, or only partially so. they are best 
 in a light, cool house and with an oc- 
 casional watering. After they require 
 a 7 or 8-inch pot they need not be 
 shifted but can be resurfaced annu- 
 ally. They like a rich, rather heavy 
 loam. Few, if any, of our greenhouse 
 pests trouble them. Being all tropi- 
 cal, when growing they must have a 
 light, warm house and plenty of 
 moisture. 
 
 The amaryllis flowers in .Inly and 
 August, the hippeastrum in April and 
 May. Though hardly a florist's plant 
 they are gorgeous flowers for the con- 
 servatory. 
 
 AMPELOPSIS. 
 
 Although more of a nurseryman's 
 than a florist's plant there is one 
 species of this most useful genus of 
 hardy climbers that enters largely in- 
 to the plant man's trade. We all 
 handle, and some of us largely, that 
 unrivalled climber, A. tricuspidata, so 
 universally known as A. Veitchii. It 
 has many aliases among our patrons, 
 being called "Japan ivy, " "Boston 
 ivy," etc. For the covering of un- 
 sightly walls, stone or brick barns, 
 and on the most costly mansions if 
 the owner chooses, it has no equal, 
 needing no support of an.v kind. When 
 first climbing in its early years it as- 
 sumes most picturesque forms, but 
 whether it is good taste to cover 
 densely the whole front of a fine house 
 is a matter that must be left to the 
 taste of the owner. 
 
 Though making but a moderate 
 growth the first two years it is. when 
 well established, a most vigorous 
 grower and it climbs to the roofs of 
 our loftiest houses. There is a fallacy 
 about its growing only on the south 
 and east aspects, and in one city I 
 heard it stated that it did best on the 
 north side. It will grow on every side 
 of a house, north or south, but should 
 be given a bushel of good soil for a 
 start, and in exposed places some lit- 
 ter over the roots the first year. Mil- 
 lions have been planted in the resi- 
 dence portions of our cities and mil- 
 lions more are yet to be planted as 
 our cities spread out. It is not a suit- 
 aide climber for a frame house for the 
 house must be painted and that set- 
 tles the vine unless you are content 
 to cut it down and begin again from 
 the ground. 
 
 Propagation is by cuttings or seed. 
 The cuttings can be put into flats and 
 should be made in September with 
 two or three eyes of the current year's 
 growth. A light loam is a good com- 
 post for the cuttings and a shaded 
 bench in the greenhouse is the place. 
 Or. the cuttings can be put at once 
 into the ground in a cold-frame. They 
 should be wintered — whether propa- 
 
 gated inside or out — in a cold-frame 
 and planted out the following spring. 
 We have raised them from seed for a 
 number of years and think it the 
 cheapest method. Sow the seed in 
 March thickly in flats, covering a 
 quarter inch deep. In May or .lune 
 pot them off into 2-iuch pots and 
 when there are benches to spare shift 
 into a 4-inch and grow them on all 
 summer inside, giving them an 18- 
 inch stake. In September stand them 
 outside and let them get the fall 
 frosts slowly. I mention this because 
 I have seen them kept indoors till Oc- 
 tober, and then when put out get a 
 severe frost that would kill them to 
 the ground. A deep frame with the 
 pots plunged is the best place to win- 
 ter them, removing the glass covering 
 
 Jamaica and Queen pine-apples, some 
 4.5 years ago, when fruits of either 
 of those fine varieties were worth 
 from $5.00 to $10.00 each. That was 
 in the days when the foreign or trop- 
 ical grown fruit was little larger than 
 a base ball and about as tough. Since 
 then the cultivation of the pine-apple 
 has been skillfully and systematically 
 taken up in several tropical countries, 
 perhaps to the greatest perfection in 
 the Azores, and the fruit being almost 
 equal, both in appearance and flavor, 
 to those grown under glass, the indus- 
 try is no longer profitable and would 
 be out of the province of this chapter 
 if it were. 
 
 The propagation of the pine-apple 
 is by suckers which start freely from 
 the base of the stem. They should 
 be cleaned off and a small portion cut 
 
 Variegated Pineapple. 
 
 (.•\nanas Sativa \'ariegata.) 
 
 in April so that they are in no way 
 forceil. These plants a year old from 
 the seed will be most satisfactory to 
 sell to your customers, and being from 
 pots there is no risk of losing one. 
 Some readers may say you can buy 
 plants cheaper than you can raise 
 them. By the above method you will 
 find Ampelopsis Veitchii a more profit- 
 able plant than many others you grow. 
 It seems to thrive in any soil when 
 once established. When growing it 
 young we use a heavy loam. 
 
 ANANAS. 
 
 The beautiful variegated pine-apple 
 is the variegated form of the pine-ap- 
 ple that is grown for its fruit. Ananas 
 sativa. When well grown there is no 
 variegated ornamental plant surpass- 
 ing it in beauty. 
 
 Pine-apples, when well grown, can 
 l)e fruited in two yeais. They were 
 once a great feature of British gar- 
 dens. The writer has helped or 
 watched the packing of tons of Black 
 
 square off and put into sandy soil in 
 3-inch pots and plunged into a bed 
 where the heat of the house is not less 
 than 60 degrees and the sand or 
 plunging material is 80 degrees. Keep 
 only moderately moist till rooted. The 
 suckers appear at the time the plant 
 is fruiting, and the larger the suckers 
 when severed from the old plant, the 
 better. 
 
 The soil best suited for them is a 
 good, loamy sod, not too finely broken 
 up. If heavy add sand with a fifth or 
 sixth of leaf mould and rotted cow 
 manure in equal parts. They should 
 at all times be firmly potted. To 
 hasten their growth they should be 
 plunged during summer in a light 
 house and shaded only during the very 
 hottest hours of the day. If the g'.ass 
 is plate and theie is no danger of 
 liurning no shade is needed. Plenty 
 of water should be given in summer 
 Init the plants should be kept rather 
 on the dry side in winter. By all 
 means avoid a stagnant, wet soil. 
 
 This plant is beautiful at all stages 
 
18 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 of its gi-owtli, and is particularly at- 
 tractive when in flower and fruit, the 
 latter lasting on the plant several 
 weeks. 
 
 To those growing them largely for 
 the trade I might mention an item in 
 their culture which may or may not 
 he in practice. As it was an excellent 
 plan to produce a plant of the green 
 foliaged fruiting varieties it cannot 
 but be good with the variegated vari- 
 ety. It was to plant out the young 
 rooted suckers from the 3 or 4-inch 
 pots into G inches of good compost un- 
 der glass during summer and lift them 
 in the fall or following spring. Where 
 some bottom heat can be given to the 
 
 raking the surface a few times, stamp- 
 ing down with the rake. 
 
 The commercial man who wants 
 rows of these annuals should always 
 sow in drills. For small seeds the 
 corner of the rake will make a drill 
 Vz to % of an inch deep. After sow- 
 ing, hold the rake in a perpendicular 
 position and as you walk along beat 
 the surface of the drill: that will 
 sutflciently cover the drill. If your 
 ground does not bake after a water- 
 ing you can water the drills. If it 
 does bake, as is usually the case, it is 
 better to trust to the spring rains. 
 
 When any of these summer annuals 
 
 Antluiriuin Flowers. 
 
 A. Crysta 
 
 Anthuriums. 
 
 1)ed they will make as much growth 
 in six months planted out as they will 
 in twelve months grown in pots. 
 
 ANGRAECUM. 
 
 See Orchids. 
 
 ANNUALS. 
 
 The title "Hardy annual" as applied 
 to many of our summer flowering 
 plants is a misnomer, for those that 
 can be sown out of doors and come to 
 perfection before frost touches them 
 are very few. Many plants that are 
 perennials we treat as annuals, grow- 
 ing them but one year and finding it 
 most profitable to raise a new crop 
 from seed each year; primula, cinera- 
 ria, etc. 
 
 The few annuals that can be sown 
 out of doors, such as candytuft, mig- 
 nonette, poppy, eschscholtzia, etc., 
 should be sown as soon as possible 
 after the ground is dry enough to 
 work. For the ornamental garden 
 these are best sown in small patches, 
 say eighteen inches across. Level and 
 make fine the surface of the soil, sow 
 thinly and cover the seed by finely 
 
 are grown for cutting flowers from, 
 always sow in drills 15 or IS inches 
 apart so the hand cultivator can be 
 used, as it saves much labor. 
 
 For the cultivation of all annuals 
 needing the help of the greenhouse or 
 frame, see Aster. 
 
 ANTHERICUM. 
 
 The variegated species, A, varie- 
 gatum, is a very useful plant, used 
 largely for the margins of beds, also 
 for veranda boxes and vases. It stands 
 our hottest suns, and is as well a very 
 desirable plant for the window. 
 
 Plants lifted from the ground and 
 potted can during the winter be di- 
 vided. Or a few plants lifted and al- 
 lowed to send up their long flower 
 spikes will supply any number of 
 young plants which spring from the 
 flower stalk and these can be taken off 
 and put in the sand, soon rooting 
 and making plants. It is a very easy 
 ])lant to grow in any soil, but to have 
 good, useful plants in spring it should 
 have a light house, pot room and 
 plenty of water. 
 
 ANTHURIUM. 
 
 Remarkable plants that are grown 
 for their curious flowers as well as 
 their fine leaves. The flowers are 
 often used in combination with or- 
 chids. Their cultivation is very simi- 
 lar to that of many of the orchids. 
 Whoever grows a few of the lat- 
 ter should grow A. Scherzerianum. 
 The flowers of this well known species 
 last in perfection two or three months. 
 
 They are from the West Indies, 
 Central and South America. A moist, 
 hot atmosphere suits them and they 
 require an abundance of water in 
 spring and summer. In the dark, cold 
 weather less water is needed but the 
 temperature should not go below 65 
 degrees at any time. The compost 
 for potting them should be about like 
 that suited to our terrestrial orchids: 
 equal parts of peat, turfy loam, fresh 
 sphagnum, broken charcoal (not 
 powdered) or broken crocks. Fill the 
 pot one-third full of clean broken 
 crocks and then distribute the roots 
 carefully among the compost, keeping 
 the crown of the plant two or three 
 inches above the rim of the pot, and 
 cover the surface with fresh sphag- 
 num. 
 
 There are a great number of species, 
 all beautiful and curious and worthy 
 of a place in every collection of hot- 
 house plants. A. Andreanum and A. 
 Scherzerianum are grand sorts for 
 cutting. 
 
 ANTIRRHINUM. 
 
 Some very useful strains of the com- 
 mon A. majus (the Snapdragon) are 
 now used for forcing. To get them 
 true to color they must be propagated 
 liy cuttings. Plants struck early in 
 the spring and kept from flowering 
 can be planted out in September on 
 the bench in 5 or 6 inches of good 
 soil. A temperature of 50 degrees at 
 night will suit them very well. They 
 continue to bloom throughout the 
 winter, and as a novelty the flowers 
 are valuable. The white and yellow 
 colors are most in demand. 
 
 As a border plant, see Hardy Peren- 
 nials. 
 
 APONOGETON DISTACHYON. 
 
 A few flowers of this beautiful plant 
 occasionally appear as a novelty in the 
 windows of some of the best flower 
 stores. It is certainly a novelty, too, 
 in the cut flower market, though far 
 otherwise as a cultivated plant, having 
 been in cultivation for more than 100 
 years. It was introduced to Europe 
 from the Cape of Good Hope in the lat- 
 ter part of the last century and has 
 become so completely naturalized 
 upon some lakes and streams as to ap- 
 pear like a native so great is its lux- 
 uriance. 
 
 Doubtless much might be don© with 
 it in American waters in southern lat- 
 itudes, but the present object of this 
 note is to advise those who have the 
 facilities to give it a little attention 
 under glass for winter flowering, and 
 small indeed are its cultural needs. 
 Grown under glass it would be an 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 19 
 
 Aponogcton Distachon. 
 
 ever-blooming plant as in outside wa- 
 ters it flowers persistently till forced 
 to a reluctant rest by the freezing of 
 the water. 
 
 I have gathered flowers of it in mid- 
 winter when that season has been un- 
 usually mild, so that no forcing condi- 
 tions are necessary under glass to en- 
 sure flowers in abundance during win- 
 ter months. Tanks, tubs, or any re- 
 ceptacle of sufficient size and conve- 
 nience could be utilized for its cultiva- 
 tion, placing in the bottom of 
 them about a foot of compost 
 consisting of loam and well rotted 
 cow manure in proportions of about 3 
 to 1. The temperatures at which rose 
 and carnation houses are kept will 
 suit admirably and like these the apo- 
 nogeton will enjoy all the sun it can 
 get. As far as my observation goes of 
 the plant under natural conditions it 
 always appeared to thrive best and 
 flower most abundantly along the mar- 
 gins of running water or in lakes 
 through which there was a constant 
 flow. This would indicate that it 
 likes a change of water more or less 
 frequently, conditions that can be met 
 under cultivation by turning the hose 
 into its tank or tub occasionally. The 
 plant has a fleshy tuberous root, broad 
 and flat at its apex, narrowing to al- 
 most a point at its base and from the 
 crown of this tuber it sends out long 
 roots in the soil surrounding, whilst 
 
 the leaves and flower stalks find their 
 way to the surface, each stalk ter- 
 minated by an oblong leaf that floats 
 on the water. 
 
 The flowers are borne on a forked 
 spike (hence the name distachyon, 
 meaning two spiked), are small and 
 inconspicuous in themselves, but they 
 are disposed in clusters in the axils of 
 large showy white bracts. These bracts 
 give the spike its color attractiveness, 
 but the flowers have also a welcome 
 charm in that they possess a delight- 
 ful fragrance so sweet as to have earn- 
 ed for the plant the name "Water 
 Hawthorn." The Cape Pond weed is 
 another popular name for it and it 
 matters not which is used, either being 
 greatly preferable to its botanical cog- 
 nomen, and should be used by those 
 who would popularize the plant and 
 sell its flowers. 
 
 When once the plant is strongly es- 
 tablished it spreads freely by root in- 
 crease and also reproduces itself from 
 its own self-sown seed. Dry roots are 
 also obtainable at times, these being 
 imported from the Cape. The beginner 
 with dry roots, however, must exer- 
 cise caution in starting his plants, oth- 
 erwise he may lose the lot. When the 
 dormant tubers are potted up they are 
 dry and more or less shrivelled. If 
 then introduced to aquatic conditions 
 there is a risk of the root tissues 
 swelling too rapidly and rotting in 
 
 consequence. It is l)etlPr for a start 
 to treat them as ordinary plants, 
 planting the tuber, with its crown 
 just covered in a pot of soil. It will 
 then absorb moisture gradually, swell 
 normally and when top growth is visi- 
 ble and well under way the plants 
 may be immersed with safety. When 
 new plantations are being established 
 with divisions from growing plants 
 no such precautions are necessary; 
 these can be planted direct into other 
 tubs or tanks. 
 
 AQUATICS. 
 
 These beautiful plants that are 
 grown in the water garden are receiv- 
 ing more attention every year. Those 
 who have never seen the two or three 
 acres of lily ponds at Riverton. N. J., 
 on the banks of the Delaware, in the 
 nurseries of the Henry A. Dreer Com- 
 pany, can have no idea of the beauty 
 of the nymphaea. A few plants of dif- 
 ferent varieties give no idea of their 
 beauty as compared with scores of lit- 
 tle oblong ponds separated by fine 
 walks of grass and each filled with one 
 species or variety of nymphaea. 
 
 In a botanical garden or parii cr 
 private grounds the pond of aquatics 
 will always attract the visitors and re- 
 ceive general attention. Not, I believe, 
 wholly on account of their rarity, but 
 largely for their beauty. And what 
 can be more beautiful and refreshing 
 than the broad leaves so placidly rest- 
 ing on the surface and the pool ligJited 
 up with the exquisite forms and colors 
 of the flowers? Nearly every shade is 
 there, but in no gaudy or blending 
 colors. The yellows and pinks .-md 
 blues and whites are of the purest and 
 most pleasing shades. When the day 
 flowering species want to close their 
 petals (we will suppose in sleep), the 
 evening and night flowering ones take 
 their place. 
 
 Nymphaea. 
 
 Where and when the nymphaeas can 
 be used as cut flower« for a vase or 
 table decoration nothing can surpass 
 them in elegance. The day flowering 
 species are, however, available for use 
 only in the day time, unless some 
 trouble is gone to. Prof. J. F. Cowell 
 of our Buffalo Botanical Garden, in 
 forms me that he is aware of a method 
 liy which the beautiful day flowering 
 N. zanzibarensis and its varieties can 
 be utilized for evening decoration. It 
 may not be generally known, but has 
 been thoroughly tested. Cut the flow- 
 ers in the morning, when at their very 
 best, and put the stems at once in ice 
 water. This seems to arrest their 
 growth and prevent change either way. 
 To use a rather awkward expression, it 
 paralyzes them, and providing you 
 keep the temperature close to the 
 freezing point, the flowers will remain 
 open throughout the night. The first 
 experiment was made by scooping out 
 a hole in a block of ice, within which 
 the stems of the lilies were put with 
 water, and there they remained till 12 
 o'clock at night, fully expanded. 
 
 To those who intend investing large- 
 
20 
 
 T'^E FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 ly in aquatics, especially iiymphaeas. 
 the handsome work hy Mr. William 
 Tricker, "The Water Garden." will be 
 found of great assistance. 
 
 New hybrid nymphaeas are being 
 constantly sint cut. all of great beauty, 
 but those described here will be found, 
 both iu variety of color and in freedom 
 of bloom, to be among the best. 
 
 The same general treatment will suit 
 all. The hardy species can be left out 
 all winter and will take care of them- 
 selves. The tender ones, among which 
 are some of the finest, must be lifted 
 after the first frost and their roots re- 
 moved to the greenhouse. The roots 
 can be placed iu hoxes or pois and 
 covered with loam, which should be 
 kept continually moist: in fact, as near 
 the consistency of mud as possible, f.s 
 that would be their natural state. The 
 roots of all the nymphaeas are tube- 
 rous and they do not easily perish, 
 providing they are not frozen or al- 
 lowed to get too dry. 
 
 The nymphaeas are easily raised 
 from seed, which can be sown in Janu- 
 ary or February in 4-inch pots of loam, 
 keeping the pots a few inches under 
 vs'ater in a tank in the greenhouse. 
 
 The hardy species can be placed in 
 the pond by the middle of May, the 
 tender kinds two weeks later. Those 
 who have not the conveniences for 
 raising the young plants can obtain 
 strong plants for the specialist at a 
 moderate cost. If the pond or pool has 
 a naturally good soil at the bottom, 
 less preparation is needed; but if, as 
 is .often the case, the pool or tank is 
 made of cement or puddled with clay, 
 then eighteen inches of rich soil must 
 be placed over the clay or cement. 
 Three parts good loam and one part 
 cow manure will be a good compost, 
 and you even can with advantage add 
 a pound of Ijone meal to every bushel 
 of compost. They are sometimes grown 
 in large boxes, which are placed in the 
 tank, but this is not the way to get 
 fine flowers. You would not think of 
 growing cannas in pots to produce the 
 finest foliage and flowers, and growing 
 nymphaeas in tubs or boxes is as un- 
 desirable. 
 
 The water need not be over eighteen 
 inches to two feet above the soil, but 
 the hardy species which are to remain 
 out all winter should be sufficiently be- 
 low the surface so that the soil does 
 not freeze. A foot or two of ice can 
 be above the plant, but the soil should 
 not freeze. You will find that many of 
 the hardy kinds seed themselves, and 
 you will have an abundance of stock. 
 No trees or shade of any kind should 
 be allowed, as the nymphaeas delight 
 in the broad sun. Finally, the secret 
 of growing flue plants with an abun- 
 dance of fine flowers is a good depth 
 of loam, to which has been added a 
 liberal allowance of animal manure. 
 
 Those enumerated below are among 
 the finest: 
 
 N. zanzibarensis: Purple, day flow- 
 ering, ten inches in diameter. 
 
 N. zanzibarensis rosea: Rose color, 
 day flowering, ten inches in diameter. 
 
 N. zanzibarensis gigantea: Blue, day 
 flowering, twelve inches in diameter. 
 
 N. Devoniensis: Rosy red. night 
 blooming, eight inches in diameter. 
 
 Of the hardy nymphaeas, among the 
 most useful are: 
 
 N, alba candidissima: White. 
 
 N. Laydekeri rosea: Beautiful rose. 
 
 N. Marliacea chromatella; Yellow, 
 very hardy and free flowering, 
 
 N. Marliacea rosea: Very fine pink. 
 
 N. odorata: White, slightly tinted, 
 very fragrant, 
 
 N. odorata rosea: Beautiful rose; 
 the Cape Cod pink water lily. 
 
 N. tuberosa: Our common western 
 white water lily. 
 
 N. tuberosa rosea: A fine form; one 
 of the best of all. and fragrant. 
 
 Nelumbium. 
 
 This stately aquatic is now general- 
 ly known and largely grown. N. spe- 
 ciosum, often called the Egyptian Lo- 
 tus, will do in any pond where the 
 roots do not freeze and has taken pos- 
 session of some of the smaller lakes of 
 Indiana. The large peltate leaves rise 
 above the surface of the water, and the 
 beautiful rosy pink flowers are borne 
 on long stalks above the leaves. They 
 have the appearance of very large 
 double tulips. 
 
 The plants need the same general 
 treatment as the hardy nymphaeas. 
 and the compost can not be made too 
 rich. One authority says they like to 
 root into a stiff clay. If the bottom 
 of your tank or pond is out of reach of 
 frost, leave them there all winter. If 
 not, lift the roots and keep in moist 
 soil till spring. 
 
 There are now several varieties of N. 
 speciosum. N. luteum is a native of 
 our southern states and has very large 
 yellow flowers. 
 
 Othzr Aquatics. 
 
 To accompany the nymphaeas and 
 nelumbiums in the artificial lake or 
 water garden, and of smaller growth, 
 you can have the following: 
 
 Eichhornia crassipes major: Often 
 called the Water Hyacinth. They 
 spread rapidly and float without the 
 roots being in any soil. Some of them 
 must be removed to tubs of water in 
 the greenhouse during winter to fur- 
 nish a supply for the following season. 
 This curious little auuatic is also 
 known as Pontederia. 
 
 Limnanthemum: In appearance a 
 miniature water lily with a pretty 
 white flower. 
 
 Limnocharis Huiuboldtii: Yellow, 
 l)oppy-like flowers. Good tor the mar- 
 gins of ponds, but inclined to become a 
 weed. 
 
 Papyrus (or Cyperus) alternifolius: 
 This is well known and much culti- 
 vated in our greenhouses. It also 
 makes a good aquatic for small ponds. 
 
 Papyrus antiquorum: The papyrus 
 of the ancients, from which they made 
 their writing paper. It is sometimes 
 called the Egyptian bulrush. It has 
 long, straight stems growing seven or 
 eight feet high and is very striking in 
 
 appearance. Both this and alternifo- 
 lius must be removed to the green- 
 house before danger of frost. 
 
 Acorus japonicus: The variegated 
 sweet flag. 
 
 Pontederia peltandra virginica: 
 Greenish, calla-like flowers; hardy. 
 
 Calla palustris: A native, hardy 
 plant. 
 
 Perhaps none of the above is of com- 
 mercial value, except the nymphaeas, 
 but if asked to stock a lily pond those 
 noted will be foimd to be among the 
 best, easily obtainable and good, free 
 growers. 
 
 ARAUCARIA. 
 
 Of this noble genus of conifers A. 
 excelsa is the only one of commercial 
 value to us. A. imbricata is a hardy 
 tree in" England and when 20 to 30 
 feet high, with branches sweeping the 
 grass, its symmetry is matchless. It 
 is not. however, hardy here and does 
 not make a useful plant for the green- 
 house. 
 
 A. excelsa is called the Norfolk Is- 
 land Pine, being a native of that far- 
 away island. It will endure a very 
 cool temperature, but not freezing. 
 The plants are imported in large quan- 
 tities from Europe. When ordering 
 see that you are promised plants from 
 cuttings. They are readily raised from 
 seed but never make as fine plants as 
 those from cuttings, the lower branch- 
 es being always shorter and weaker, 
 spoiling the symmetry of the plant. 
 They are propagated from the leading 
 shoots of the tops and branches in- 
 serted in sand, kept moderately moist, 
 and covered with a hand-glass or 
 frame till rooted. 
 
 The plants usually arrive in this 
 country in excellent order, soon re- 
 covering from the journey and start- 
 ing to grow. I have had the nest suc- 
 cess importing in the spring, the 
 plants reaching here in May. Yon can 
 then grow them on during summer and 
 have well established plants for winter 
 trade. Any good, fresh loam lightened 
 up with a fifth or sixth of leaf-mould 
 or very rotten manure will suit the 
 araucaria. They will thrive during 
 summer out of doors in the broad sun, 
 but will lose color, and are best under 
 glass with a slight shade and all the 
 ventilation that you can give them. 
 They want a uniform and moderate 
 amount of water the year around. In 
 the winter months 50 degrees is suffi- 
 ciently warm. 
 
 The araucaria is not only the most 
 graceful small tree we have but is 
 very satisfactory for house culture 
 when given a light window. Your 
 customers should be told to keep them 
 as light and cool as possible. 
 
 The forms of A. excelsa known as 
 glauca and compacta are more ex- 
 pensive but are improvements on the 
 type. 
 
 ARDISIA. 
 
 Dwarf, hard-wooded trees that 
 flower and fruit when quite small; 
 the best of the berried plants, surpas- 
 sing the solanums, being more com- 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 21 
 
 ATaucaria Excelsa. 
 
 pact, with better colored leaves, and 
 densely covered with their berries. 
 
 A. crenulata is the best known and 
 most useful. They can be propagated 
 by cuttings of the half-ripened wood 
 in April and May, but are more easily 
 raised from seed. Sow the seed as 
 soon as ripe in a temperature of 60 
 degrees. Be careful in transplanting 
 into pots not to let the plants wilt 
 from drought or sun. Grow them on 
 in a light house and shift as they re- 
 quire it. The following spring they 
 can be given their flowering, or rath- 
 er fruiting, pot. and plunge on a light 
 bench in the greenhouse. 
 
 .June is the flowering time. When 
 the fruit is set they can be plunged 
 out of doors in the summer months. 
 A temperature of 50 degrees at night 
 will suit them very well during winter 
 and the berries will last longer than 
 if kept in a warmer house. When 
 growing they want a warm, moist 
 heat. They are easily kept shapely by 
 pruning before they make their growth 
 in the spring. 
 
 They are particularly valuable as 
 ornamental plants because the pretty 
 red berries are at their best in the 
 winter months and small plants from 
 
 one to two feet, are the most useful. 
 Some growers put the young plants 
 into the open ground from the 2-inch 
 pots in June, and they make larger 
 plants than those kept in pots. 
 
 ARISTOLOCHIA. 
 
 Nearly all hot-house climbers, seve- 
 ral of them having most curious and 
 remarkable flowers. They are best 
 planted out in the houses where they 
 grow freely. They are. however, of lit- 
 tle value commercially, except the 
 hardy species, A. Sipho, the familiar 
 "Dutchman's Pipe," which is one of 
 the handsomest of vines. For cover- 
 ing a veranda, summer house or trel- 
 lis it is admirably suited. Its peculiar- 
 ly formed little flower, from which 
 it takes its familiar name, is incon- 
 spicuous, being overshadowed by its 
 large leaves. 
 
 You are constantly asked for a good 
 hardy vine. Few plants are better 
 than Aristolochia Sipho. It needs some 
 support to twine and twist around. It 
 is easily propagated from cuttings but 
 if you are not in the nursery business 
 you had better leave that to the nur- 
 seryman, who will supply you with 
 
 strong plants at a price that will en- 
 able you to make a good profit. 
 
 A. Sipho thrives in any good garden 
 soil. As a curiosity A. gigas is the 
 most remarkable but it is not hand- 
 some and has anything but a pleasing 
 fragrance. 
 
 ASPARAGUS. 
 
 Of this genus there ai-e three or four 
 species that are very useful and orna- 
 mental plants. The one having the 
 greatest commercial value is A. plu- 
 mosus. There seems to be some con- 
 fusion about the name of this species, 
 or there are two varieties. English 
 catalogues make a distinction and call 
 one variety A. plumosus nanus. With 
 us the one that was actually dwarf has 
 been lost track of and the one that 
 grows twenty feet high is still called 
 nanus. This is evidently a misnomer. 
 
 Seed can be sown at any time. Sow 
 in flats and cover with an eighth of 
 an inch of leaf-mould or sifted Jadoo 
 and keep on a bench where the heat 
 is not less than 60 degrees at night. It 
 is well to be particular as to the 
 source from which you get the seed. 
 Imported seed frequently germinates 
 poorly, but the home grown seed 
 comes freely. We pot the seedlings 
 into 2-inch pots, and if intended to 
 plant in a permanent bed we first 
 shift again into a 4-inch. A good, 
 warm house suits it when young, but 
 not a close, heavily shaded one. 
 
 An asparagus bed for the produc- 
 tion of long strings should be on the 
 ground. My own experience has given 
 me a lesson on this point, and to use 
 the words of Mr. W. H. Elliott, 
 Brighton, Mass., our largest grower of 
 this asparagus, "It should never be 
 divorced from mother earth." One foot 
 of soil on the floor of a lofty house 
 will grow it for many years. Like all 
 its family it flourishes best in rich 
 soil: a good, heavy loam with a fourth 
 or flfth of cow manure is the best 
 compost for it, and in addition put a 
 good dressing on the surface of the 
 bed every midsummeff-. Although the 
 same bed will last indefinitely I think 
 it more profitable to renew the bed 
 every thre'e or four years. The roof 
 of the house should be at least ten 
 feet above the surface of the bed or 
 you will not get the full benefit of the 
 growth. Specialists like Mr. Elliott 
 have houses twice that height. 
 
 It is not only the long strings that 
 are used. The short sprays are in 
 great demand for mixing with cut 
 flowers, particularly bunches of roses. 
 While many short sprays can be cut 
 from the planted beds, many plants 
 are grown on side benches in six 
 inches of soil or in 6 or 8-inch pots 
 with the view of producing sprays 
 only. The plants will, if vigorous, 
 throw up the long running shoots, but 
 by nipping off the tops of the shoots 
 when IS to 24 inches long the produc- 
 tion of branchlets is stimulated. 
 
 We have found small plants of A. 
 plumosus very useful for fern dishes, 
 outlasting any of the ferns. For this 
 purpose the plants are best kept in 
 
22 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 3-inch pots, though for large arrange- 
 ments of flowers and foliage bushy 
 plants in 4-inch pots are most use- 
 ful. 
 
 A. tenuissimus needs precisely the 
 same treatment as A. plumosus, but 
 it Is not such a general favorite. Its 
 very finely divided, graceful branch- 
 lets are, however, preferred by some 
 above A. plumosus. 
 
 A. Sprengeri is a more recent intro- 
 duction and conies from Abyssinia 
 (the other species are from South 
 Africa). It is a strong grower, form- 
 
 little of the grace and fineness of plu- 
 mosus and tenuissimus it is for cer- 
 tain purposes their superior, and 
 when the sprays are matured their 
 lasting qualitie's are equal to the well 
 known durability of plumosus. To 
 grow good sprays (and it can be 
 grown five or six feet, and perhaps 
 longer) you should give it the middle 
 of a house where the winter tempei^a- 
 ture is 55 to 60 degrees. Plant fifteen 
 inches apart in boxes as long as the 
 width of the house between walks. 
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 Asparagus Plumosus. 
 
 ing a large clump of roots and crowns 
 from which it sends out long, strong 
 shoots covered on all sides with fine 
 branchlets. In older plants there is an 
 inclination to run up strong shoots 
 which may climb, but the value and 
 beauty of the plant is in the long, 
 pendent growths. It is a strong feed- 
 er and requires an abundance of water 
 and will grow and keep its color in 
 the full sun; only from our hottest 
 suns should it receive any artificial 
 shading. 
 
 It is easily raised from seed which 
 is be-st sown in early spring. By the 
 following winter the plants will give 
 fine sprays. For hanging baskets it 
 has scarcely a rival, either for the 
 conservatory, the veranda or parlor 
 window. The magnificent baskets that 
 remain in good condition while hang- 
 ing for months in a florist's window 
 are evidence of its great adaptability 
 to unfavorable surroundings. Three 
 small plants put in a 10-inch basket 
 in July or August will make fine orna- 
 mental baskets for winter, most use- 
 ful for decoration or to sell at a good 
 profit. While the Sprengeri lacks a 
 
 and eight inches deep. Raise the 
 boxes three feet from the ground by 
 some convenient means and keep them 
 three feet apart. This will allow the 
 sprays plenty of room to develop with- 
 out getting dirty from the sand or soil 
 of a bench. Small, well grown-plants 
 in 4-inch pots should be always in 
 stock; for mantel decorations they are 
 invaluable. 
 
 None of our well known green- 
 house pests trouble the asparagus if it 
 is given plenty of syringing and water. 
 A rather heavy loam with a liberal ad- 
 dition of animal manure is all it 
 wants. 
 
 ASPIDISTRA. 
 
 The species lurida and its variegat- 
 ed form are known to every cultivator 
 of plants. It will bear more gas, heat 
 and dust than most any other plant 
 we grow. They are invaluable for 
 vases in the cities, not only on the 
 streets in summer time but In the 
 rooms in winter. No one can fail to 
 grow an aspidistra, and a fine speci- 
 men of either the green or the striped, 
 with its leaves occasionally sponged, 
 
 is a handsome object. It thrives in the 
 most sunny and exposed places, or in 
 the shade. The flowers are curious but 
 of no value and in many cases pass 
 unobserved for they are close to the 
 ground at the base of the leaf. 
 
 They are propagated entirely by di- 
 vision, or rather by the young plants 
 that spring from the sides of the older 
 plants. Any good loam with the addi- 
 tion of some rotten manure will grow 
 them, and they should have plenty of 
 water at all times. 
 
 Old and familiar as this plant is 
 there is never an over supply of it for 
 it is not rapidly increased. It is now 
 largely imported from Belgium and 
 the plants are sold by the hundred 
 leaves. 
 
 ASPLENIUM. 
 
 The spleenworts, as the asplenium 
 genus has been termed (from the sup- 
 posed medicinal value that ancient 
 practitioners believed them to pos- 
 sess), form one of the largest fern 
 groups in cultivation, over 300 species 
 having been described, though it is 
 rather doubtful if this whole number Is 
 at the present time in cultivation. 
 
 As may be expected in so large a 
 genus, the aspleniums are very widely 
 distributed, and in consequence we find 
 among them species requiring warm 
 house treatment, others that need com- 
 paratively little beat, and a few that 
 are quite hardy in our northern and 
 eastern states, there being more than 
 half a dozen species that are native 
 here. 
 
 The subject of our illustration, A. 
 bulbiferum, belongs to the second di- 
 vision, or those that require only 
 moderate heat, and though in com- 
 merce for many years, is by no means 
 so plentiful as its merits would jus- 
 tify. A. bulbiferum is an evergreen 
 fern from New Zealand, the home of 
 many of our finest ferns, and has fine- 
 ly divided fronds of nearly triangular 
 outline, these fronds reaching a length 
 of nearly two feet in a good specimen, 
 and being nearly one foot in breadth at 
 the widest part. The plant has a 
 gracefully drooping habit, this being 
 accentuated by the weight of the nu- 
 merous tiny young plants that fre- 
 quently form on the upper side of the 
 fronds. 
 
 This proliferous habit is found in 
 several of the aspleniums, but is per- 
 haps most marked in the species un- 
 der consideration, the fronds often be- 
 ing studded over with young plants 
 that are just showing their first leaf. 
 This peculiarity is often taken advan- 
 tage of in the propagation of A. bul- 
 biferum, a common method being to 
 bend over these proliferous fronds and 
 then peg them down on the surface ot 
 a flat filled with light sandy soil, and 
 the latter being kept moist soon in- 
 duces the young plants to form roots, 
 after which they may be readily de- 
 tached from the parent frond. This 
 operation is, of course, carried out in 
 a shaded fern house, where the atmos- 
 pheric conditions are favorable for the 
 establishment of these young plants. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 23 
 
 Asparagus Sptengeti. 
 
 The aspleniunis in general produce 
 spores quite freely, and A. bulbiferum 
 is no exception to the rule, but as the 
 spores are somewhat slow in germina- 
 tion, the process above described is 
 probably more often used. No special 
 treatment is called for in growing this 
 fern, and young plants grow nicely in 
 company with Adiantum cuneatum 
 and Pteris serrulata, though possibly 
 enjoying a little more shade than is 
 absolutely necessary for those species. 
 
 W. H. T. 
 
 ASTER. 
 
 A large genus, mostly hardy peren- 
 nials, widely spread throughout the 
 world. Many of them belong to North 
 America and are the flowers of our 
 iields, and of these many are worthy a 
 place in the hardy garden. It is in the 
 annual, the chinensis, section that we 
 are interested. 
 
 Of all our so-called hardy annuals 
 the Aster takes the leading place. 
 Most all of our customers want a few. 
 They are planted in the mixed border, 
 or occupy whole beds, and with the 
 commercial florist who grows for cut 
 flowers they are a leading article. To 
 obtain a good strain and cultivate 
 them well is a matter of great import- 
 ance to many of us. From the middle 
 of July till frost cuts them off they 
 are a prominent feature in all our 
 flower stores. 
 
 Twenty years ago the raising of as- 
 ter seed was left largely to the Conti- 
 nental Europeans, but now-a-days as 
 good a strain as exists can be obtain- 
 ed here, and any of us who has the 
 time and industry can save his own 
 aster seed. The finest flowers of the 
 purest colors should be marked and 
 tied and allowed to get thoroughly 
 ripe, when the stalks can be cut and 
 put away in a cool, dry place and the 
 seeds separated at your leisure. 
 
 In the following directions for the 
 raising of the young plants from the 
 seed to planting time I have endeavor- 
 ed to be explicit, as the same rules 
 will apply to the raising of other an- 
 nuals, such as stocks, zinnias, phlox, 
 etc., and to which in their order I 
 shall refer the reader to asters for di- 
 rections for raising the young plants. 
 
 The seed should be last year's crop; 
 older seed may grow but it is not to 
 be depended upon. Successive crops 
 may be wanted, or some early flowers 
 grown under glass, so sowing can be 
 done from middle of February till 
 middle of April and even later. Sow 
 in pans, or, if large quantities are 
 wanted, in flats two inches deep. Al- 
 ways sow in colors. Fill the flats about 
 even full with a light soil to which has 
 been added a fourth of very rotten 
 stable manure or thoroughly rotted 
 leaf-mould, then press down with a 
 piece of board or a block, which will 
 
 carry the soil down half an inch be- 
 low top of flat. Then with a fine rose 
 or sprinkler on the watering pot (or, 
 to save labor we have the sprinkler 
 screwed on the end of a %-inch hose), 
 give the soil in the flats a good water- 
 ing, sufBeient to wet the soil through 
 to the bottom. In half an hour sow 
 the seed. Why we wait is to give the 
 soil time to diy on the surface so that 
 the seed can be lightly pressed into 
 the soil with the board without the 
 soil sticking to it. After we press the 
 seed down we sift over the covering of 
 soil. Whatever soil you use for cover- 
 ing it should not be of a texture that 
 will bake and form a crust. Loam and 
 leaf-mould, half and half, will do for 
 the majority of seeds. Sifted Jadoo Is 
 also excellent but for asters a covering 
 of the same material that the seeds are 
 sown in is good enough. It should be 
 finely and evenly sifted on. 
 
 The question is often discussed as 
 to how deep seeds should be covered. 
 As a rule the covering may be about 
 the thickness of the seed, but we are 
 sure that many seeds sown outside are 
 covered six times their depth. With 
 the aster and similar seeds we sift the 
 compost on till all the seeds are out of 
 sight, and that is sufiicient. Another 
 pressing down of the covering and the 
 least amount of watering will do as 
 you now have only that thin surface 
 covering to wet. The thickness of the 
 seed in the flat or pan must be entirely 
 a matter of judgment, and since it is 
 poor economy to sow very thickly to 
 save space, as the seeds occupy a com- 
 paratively small space. I would say 
 that if with asters every seed had a lit- 
 tle square of one-eighth of an inch to 
 itself it would be about the ideal way 
 of sowing it, but spacing that or any 
 of our seeds is out of the question. 
 You had better err, however, on the 
 safe side and sow thinly, for if crowd- 
 ed at the start it is a poor beginning 
 for the little plant. 
 
 Seed when first sown (contrary to 
 plants, which it does not hurt to let 
 get on the dry side a^d then copiously 
 water) should be kept at an even de- 
 gree of moisture with no extremes. 
 The flats should be kept in a shady 
 place till the seedlings are above 
 ground when they should get the full 
 light and not be allowed to draw up 
 for want of light and ventilation. 
 When well up less watchfulness is ne- 
 cessary. A temperature of 55 degrees 
 at night brings up the seed nicely and 
 keeps the young plants growing till 
 time to transplant into flats or into 
 the hot-bed or bench. 
 
 As soon as they have made the flrst 
 character leaf they should be trans- 
 planted. This is an operation that 
 should be done very quickly but should 
 be well done, which is more essential. 
 While the little plant is held by the 
 tips of the leaves by one hand, a rath- 
 er blunt stick, held in the other, makes 
 a hole in the soil into which let the 
 roots of the plant hang down straight, 
 and then with the stick press the soil 
 around the roots. The plant should be 
 so far in the ground that its seed 
 
24 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 leaves are only just, above the surface, 
 lu pressing the soil around the plant 
 don't make a point of squeezing the 
 soil around the neck of the plant 
 near the surface; that is not the 
 particular place. Put the stick away 
 down by the side so that the soil 
 is firmly pressed around the roots; 
 that is the most important operation. 
 If watered at once, thoroughly water- 
 ed, and shaded for a day or two from 
 the brightest sun. the seedlings scarce- 
 ly feel the transplanting. 
 
 In the flats for plants we intend to 
 sell to our customers middle and end 
 of .June we put the plants about one 
 
 the best and deepest soil we have, and 
 if it is inclined to keep moist so much 
 the better. Plant IS inches between 
 rows ami 8 to 12 inches apart in the 
 rows according to variety. When first 
 planted out the small black jumping 
 fly, often called the turnip fly or Hea. 
 is very troublesome, eating holes in 
 the leaves. A syringing with a solu- 
 tion of paris green and extract of to- 
 bacco will kill the fly. 
 
 Violet growers who do not lift their 
 plants till September can make good 
 use of their benches by devoting them 
 to asters during the summer. If plant- 
 ed end of May they are out of the way 
 
 Asplenium Bulbiferum. 
 
 inch apart. If sown middle of March 
 it is near the middle of April before 
 they are established in the flats after 
 being transplanted, anil they then go 
 into a cold-frame, where in May the 
 glass can be removed. If very large 
 quantities are handled they can be 
 transplanted at once into a cold-frame 
 if the soil is dry and warm. If you 
 have no greenhouse the whole opera- 
 tion can be done by the help of a hot- 
 bed. 
 
 When extra early asters are wanted 
 they can be taken from the flats in 
 which they were transplanted and put 
 into 2y2-inch pots. In this way they 
 will transplant with safety to the open 
 ground. A great many asters are now 
 grown on greenhouse benches. For 
 this purpose sow middle of February. 
 For our general crop we sow middle 
 of March. Some of the varieties grow 
 very tall when flowered under glass 
 and need staking and lots of head 
 room. They pay for the labor because 
 yo\i get flne, long-stemmed, clean 
 flowers. Under glass they must be 
 given plenty of water and frequently 
 syringed— well syringed for red spider 
 and thrips are ever ready to attack 
 them in the hot weather. 
 
 For cuttings we plant our asters in 
 
 during August. We have also thrown 
 out a bed of Daybreak carnations and 
 filled it up with asters. No fresh soil 
 is needed; in fact the asters grow so 
 rampant under glass when well sup- 
 plied with water that too rich a soil is 
 detrimental. But out of doors they 
 want a deep, rich soil. 
 
 There are many strains and varieties 
 of asters. The large, strong growing, 
 branching variety raised by Mr. Sem- 
 ple, of Pittsburg, is excellent tor cut- 
 ing. Vick's Branching is of about the 
 same character. Then there is the 
 Truffauts Paeony-Flowered, very fine 
 if true, and grand colors; Victoria, 
 finely formed; Comet, finely curled 
 petals; .Jewel, very compact, incurved 
 petals; Betteridge's Quilled, a dense 
 mass of short petals with a fringe of 
 larger ones; and many other strains, 
 all good if well grown, but Semple's, 
 though a few weeks later than some 
 others, will be found to be grand. 
 
 Under this heading I have dwelt at 
 some length on the operation of sow- 
 ing seed, for I consider raising many of 
 our plants from seed the most import- 
 ant part of the grower's occupation. 
 It is the most delicate, and if not re- 
 quiring the most skill it certainly tax- 
 es your patience and demands closer 
 
 attention than any other method of 
 propagation. Asters are by no means 
 diflicult to handle (quite the contrary) 
 but all seeds need care. You can put 
 cuttings into the sand very clumsily 
 and if shaded you can trust most any- 
 one to water the bed and count on suc- 
 cess, but there are many things to 
 watch in raising seedlings. They are 
 often unevenly sown, or careless 
 watering will wash most of the seed 
 to one corner of the box. When just 
 germinating, if allowed to get very dry 
 all your work may be in vain, or if 
 not shaded when just peeping through 
 the surface they may be burnt up. 
 Skillful and proper management in 
 sowing is one great part of it and con- 
 stant watchfulness the other. 
 
 I think the plan of roasting or bak- 
 ing the material with which you cover 
 the seed is most excellent, especially 
 for those seeds that take considerable 
 time to germinate, for it kills the seeds 
 and spores of weeds and mosses and 
 other low organisms that so soon take 
 possession of an unoccupied surface. 
 A piece of sheet iron over a brisk fire 
 will enable you to quickly roast suffi- 
 cient soil to cover a great many flats of 
 seed. And if the whole mass of soil 
 in which you sow as well as cover has 
 been baked so much the better. 
 
 ASTILBE JAPONICA. 
 
 This plant was known for years as 
 Spiraea japonica, and by the commer- 
 cial florist is still almost universally 
 called spiraea. It is a perfectly hardy 
 herbaceous plant, and there are few 
 plants so hardy or that will stand 
 more rough usage than this astilbe. 
 On dry sunny borders the feathery 
 spikes are far less beautiful than those 
 we grow under glass, but I have seen 
 some very fine spikes this spring on 
 plants that were in deep, moist sail and 
 partially shaded by trees. It is how- 
 ever, as a pot plant or for cut flowers 
 in early spring that we are most con- 
 cerned with the astilbe. At Easter, 
 though by no means so profitable as 
 many other plants we grow, they seem 
 almost indispensable, and again on 
 Memorial Day they are in good de- 
 mand. When used for cutting v/e find 
 the flower is not the only useful part 
 of the plant, the foliage is always 
 cleanly used up in cheap bunches of 
 flowers. 
 
 The clumps of roots that we force 
 are all imported from the rich, fat 
 lands of Holland, and so long as the 
 Holland growers can supply them so 
 cheaply it will never pay us to bother 
 with their cultivation. They usually 
 arrive about the middle of November 
 and should be unpacked and placed in 
 flats or boxes with an inch or so of 
 soil or litter over them. Then give 
 them a good soaking and place the 
 boxes outside, anywhere. 
 
 The astilbe can be forced into flower 
 in eight weeks by giving it great heat, 
 but I much prefer giving them twelve 
 weeks, and the first three weeks they 
 can be under the bench. It not pre- 
 viously done, when potting them give 
 the roots a good soaking; there is 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 25 
 
 AsUlbe Japonica, 
 
 such a thick mass of roots that the 
 ordinary watering does not thoroughly 
 wet them. They are the simplest of 
 all plants to force. Pot them into 5, 
 C or 7-inch pots, or whatever size will 
 hold the roots. A temperature of 55 
 to (iO degrees at night will suit them 
 better than a higher one. Water is 
 the great essential, for by the flower- 
 ing time the little soil that you give 
 them is one mass of living, hungry 
 loots. It is labor saved and far more 
 satisfactory all around to stand each 
 pot in a 7 or 8-inch saucer, in which 
 Iveep a constant supply of water, and 
 if this is weak liquid manure your 
 plants and plumes of flowers will be 
 much finer. 
 
 The astilbe is not troubled by aphis, 
 spider, thrips, or any other of our 
 pests, but when the growth is young 
 and not matured they are easily burnt 
 by tobacco smoke and that must be 
 avoided, either by covering the as- 
 tilbe, or giving them a good syring- 
 ing, before you fumigate, or best of all 
 don't have them in a house that must 
 be fumigated. 
 
 There is a variety known as com- 
 pacta, which requires two weeks more 
 time to force. Also A. japonica varie- 
 gata, which has the leaves prettily 
 variegated with yellow, and bearing 
 dense panicles, like compacta. But 
 the original species, japonica, is the 
 best of all for commercial purposes, 
 and has the most graceful panicles of 
 flowers. 
 
 Those wanted for Decoration Day 
 
 we keep out of doors till April 1st; 
 they come into flower easily in two 
 months thus late in the season. When 
 sold to a regular customer you will 
 do well to either sell or give with 
 them a 7-inch saucer with instructions 
 to place under the pot and keep water 
 in it. If this is done the astible will 
 be satisfactory, otherwise they will 
 shrivel up. 
 
 AZALEA. 
 
 Of all the species of this beautiful 
 genus, the Indian or Cliinese are the 
 most valuable. The growers of conti- 
 nental Europe have made such a spe- 
 cialty of growing azaleas that it is not 
 likely that we shall for some time look 
 to any other source for our supply. 
 They may have neither soil, climate 
 nor labor more suitable than we have 
 in many parts of this continent, but 
 certain it is that with our present fa- 
 cilities or methods we cannot begin to 
 raise an azalea at anything like the 
 same cost and quality as those import- 
 ed. New varieties are, of course, raised 
 from seed, and at the third season you 
 will be able to see whether you have 
 any improvements on existing varie- 
 ties. 
 
 They can also be propagated from 
 cuttings by inserting the cutting in 
 sand. A cutting of 2% or 3 inches of 
 what is known as half-ripened wood 
 is best; that is, the young growth of 
 spring, not in too green or succulent 
 a state, as you would a verbena, nor 
 too much ripened and hard. A closely 
 
 shaded frame with some heat under 
 the sand, either from pipes or ma- 
 nure, would be the most favorable con- 
 dition. They are slow to root, and in 
 our climate the little plants or cut- 
 tings are so liable to the attacks of 
 thrip and red spider during the sum- 
 mer months, and so difficult to re- 
 move, that propagation by cuttings Is 
 not worthy of consideration, either to 
 produce a fine plant or for profitable 
 operation. All the plants we handle in 
 our business are grafted. Desirable 
 and popular varieties are grafted on 
 stocks raised from the seed of some 
 strong growing varieties. Our chief 
 interest in the azalea is how to han- 
 dle them when they arrive here, and 
 how to care for those unsold, which 
 should make, by good care, a fine plant 
 for the second or third year. 
 
 Soil. 
 
 It is generally acknowledged that a 
 soil containing lime is very unsuit- 
 able for azaleas or any of the order 
 ericaceae, which includes the heaths, 
 rhododendrons, etc. It will be noticed 
 that in some soils the plants imported 
 and potted in October have made 
 scarcely any young roots into the soil 
 we give them. The Belgians grow 
 them in fibrous peat, which in 
 most parts of our country is difficult 
 to obtain. But peat is not entirely 
 essential. Two-thirds of turfy loam, 
 not sifted, but just broken up, and 
 one-third of leaf mould, will make a 
 good compost in which azaleas will 
 thrive. If to the above is added one- 
 tenth of finely sifted decomposed cow 
 or sheep manure, so much the better. 
 
 When unpacked, the roots are often 
 found dry. They have also rooted so 
 freely that to pot them just as re- 
 ceived would want an unwieldy sized 
 pot. The ball of earth can be reduced 
 one-third by shaking off the soil and 
 this appears to do the plant little or 
 no harm. Considerable of the ball can 
 be reduced by slicing off an inch or so 
 with a sharp knife,or hatchet. When 
 the ball is reduced to the required 
 size — and it should only be done when 
 the roots would require a pot out of 
 proportion to the plant— soak the ball 
 of roots in a tub of water for a few 
 seconds. Pot firmly. If the soil is 
 left loose, it will only be a channel for 
 the water to run down and escape the 
 roots that need it. 
 
 For the first two or three weeks 
 after potting, the plants are best in a 
 cool, shady and rather close house or 
 frame; after that, a cool, light house 
 for those you wish to flower the fol- 
 lowing Easter. By cool I mean 40 
 degrees at night is ample, and to re- 
 tard tJhetn stiill more, anyUhiing above 
 the freezing point will do. Some 
 varieties cannot be kept for spring, 
 and it is well to bring early varieties 
 along, so that at all times during win- 
 ter you have some plants in flower. 
 
 At no time should the roots of the 
 azalea be allowed to get extremely 
 dry. They will not bear it; and it may 
 be well to state right here that the 
 many complaints of our customers 
 
26 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 that their azalea "has shriveled up or 
 the flowers are wilted is nothing but 
 the insufficiency of water. Especially 
 is this the case with the plants when 
 sold the winter following their im- 
 portation. When in a temperature of 
 over 50 degrees or when any forcing is 
 attempted, the plants should be well 
 syringed at least once, or better, twice 
 a day. 
 
 Mealy bug oftem attacks azaleas. 
 Plenty of syringing will keep them 
 down. Thrip and red spider are also 
 very bothersome to them, but neither 
 of these would appear if syringing 
 were faithfully observed. They can 
 be removed by a syringing of the to- 
 bacco extract. The Rose Leaf Extract 
 
 previous summer's growth. Place them 
 in a light, warm house, and syringe 
 frequently. When cutting back, see 
 that the soil is in good shape and tlie 
 drainage in order. By the first of June 
 they will have made a good growth; 
 that growth is what gives you the 
 bloom the following winter. From 
 the first to the middle of June plunge 
 them out-of-doors in the broad sun. 
 The pots should be plunged in some 
 material to the rim, but in a place 
 where water won't remain dur- 
 ing 'heavy rains to unduly 
 soak tihe roots. Over the sur- 
 face of the pots spread an inch 
 of rotted refuse hops or rotted stable 
 manure. In this position they will do 
 
 Indian Azalea. 
 
 diluted 50 to 1 will do. It is a general 
 belief that tobacco smoke injures the 
 foliage. It may be so, and it is well 
 to avoid it, but I have seen little evi- 
 dence that it injured the azalea. 
 
 During January, February and 
 March the plants imported the pre- 
 vious autumn have a great inclina- 
 tion to make a growth before they 
 develop their flowers. If thiis growth 
 is not rubbed off the flower will be so 
 weakened by the strong young growth 
 that it will amount to nothing. 
 
 Many growers would rather import 
 every year, and if they had plants left 
 over in the spring, throw them away. 
 To the man who grows but a few 
 dozen this is likely to be the most 
 profitable way of doing business; but 
 where there is enough to warrant sys- 
 tematic care, it should not be done, 
 for the second, third or even tenth 
 year they are a more satisfactory plant 
 to the purchaser than those just im- 
 ported. With good but not necessarily 
 costly care the azalea attains a good 
 size and flourishes for many years. 
 
 Plants of the previous autumn's im- 
 portation that are unsold the next 
 spring, and are frequently in bad 
 shape from neglect in stores, should 
 be cut back quite sevetrely, even to the 
 
 till the end of September, or till there 
 is danger of frost. They want faith- 
 ful attendance in watering, never to 
 be killing dry and in hot weather a 
 daily syringing. 
 
 If it is desired to grow on some 
 plants a number of years to make fine 
 specimens, the above treatment in 
 most respects will do, but there are a 
 few exceptions. Plants established in 
 pots will seldom need those early 
 growths rubbed off, for they have not 
 the inclination to make them; neither 
 will they want the hard cutting back 
 every spring, the growth they make 
 after flowering being sufficient for the 
 next year, and stopping strong 
 growths to keep the plant in good 
 shape is all that is needed. 
 
 Azaleas by training and tying easily 
 conform to almost any shape. They 
 are beautiful if left to grow quite nat- 
 urally. They are easily kept Ijy pinch- 
 ing and stopping in what may be call- 
 ed umbrella form, but are grand when 
 trained in pyramidal form. Few cul- 
 tivated plants can equal a well flow- 
 ered azalea four or five feet in diam- 
 eter at base, tapering to two feet at 
 top and six or seven feet high. 
 
 The Ghent or American azaleas are 
 hardy deciduous shrubs. The flowers 
 
 appear in great abundance before the 
 leaves are developed. They are now 
 imported in large quantities for Easter 
 sales and are very handsome plants. If 
 forced early enough for Easter the 
 flowers are fairly durable, but in the 
 warm days of May they drop quickly. 
 The shades of color are all beautiful 
 and range from pure white to red. 
 Many of the pink and orange varie- 
 ties are grand in color and when dec- 
 orated with suitable ribbon are most 
 attractive in our stores and sell well. 
 The plants arrive with the Indian 
 azaleas and should receive a soaking 
 at the roots and then be potted and 
 stored away in a cold-frame till they 
 are wanted to force. The time needed 
 to bring them into flower will depend 
 upon how early the season is, and 
 more still on the temperature of your 
 house. In a house with a night tem- 
 perature of 55 degrees allow about 
 seven weeks. Any soil will do for 
 them, as it will not pay to carry them 
 over the season unsold. It will be 
 much cheaper to import fresh stock. 
 Our nurserymen recommend them 
 strongly for planting out. and where 
 the rhododendron does well the hardy 
 azalea will also thrive, but in many 
 places they are an entire disappoint- 
 ment and you should be careful about 
 commending them to your patrons.. 
 
 BALSAM. 
 
 In Europe, or the more northern 
 parts of it, the balsams are often seen 
 grown in pots. With us they do so 
 well out of doors that they are not 
 thought of enough importance to culti- 
 vate except for the borders and large 
 beds. Twenty years ago when more 
 flowers were used with short stems 
 the white balsam was largely grown 
 by all of us for use in designs. They 
 were then carefully kept free of side 
 shoots and bore on their main stem 
 fine double flowers. They are seldom 
 grown now for that purpose, but are 
 still favorites wifh many on account 
 of their freedom in flowering, strong 
 growth and gay appearance in the 
 mixed border. In large grounds where 
 to fill up is the chief object the bal- 
 sam is most suitable. 
 
 For cultivation of young plants see 
 Aster, but remember that the balsam 
 is a very tender plant and instead of 
 the cold-frame should have a light, 
 warm house or the hot-bed. They are 
 very strong growing and should have 
 a deep, rich soil, plenty of water, and 
 they deserve a space of at least IS 
 inches each way. The seed is most 
 easily saved and if you select your 
 flowers and save from the finest you 
 will in a few years have as good a 
 strain as can he procured anywhere. 
 
 BAY TREES. 
 
 The Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) has 
 been imported from Belgium to this 
 country in large numbers the past 15 
 or 20 years. Although the rather stiff, 
 formal shapes into which they are 
 trimmedi and to which they so readily 
 conform are entirely inappropriate in 
 the decoration of a drawing room, yet 
 there are many situations where they 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 27 
 
 Columnar Bay Tree. 
 
 have a striking effect and are certain- 
 ly not out of place. A single pair of 
 perfect form could be admitted to any 
 church ceremony or at the decorating 
 of a large hall. In the summer time a 
 handsome pair stand — one on each 
 side of the broad granolithic walk, 
 leading to a stately mansion on one 
 of our fine residence streets, and very 
 fine their appearance is. Too much of 
 it may get tiresome, as clipped and 
 grotesquely-shaped Norway spruces do 
 if overdone, but the chronic grumbler 
 who in his ignorant and prejudiced 
 blindness objects to these handsome 
 Bay trees because "they are not nat- 
 ural" should be confined to the back- 
 woods eternally. Their formality sets 
 off the brighter the natural grace of 
 the birch, the elm, the maple or lin- 
 den and the more or less freedom 
 of the hardy flowering shrubs. 
 
 Another place I found the Bays to 
 be useful was when asked to decorate 
 for a store opening and wagon loads 
 of palms were expected. They are just 
 the thing to fill up, and a fine pair or 
 
 half a dozen of them on the sidewalk 
 is just what Mr. Goldstein wants to 
 attract the attention of every passer 
 by, and what could you put there 
 equal in appearance and withstand 
 the ordeal unharmed? Considering the 
 years they must be grown, the labor 
 entailed and great skill in producing 
 such a large tree in such a compara- 
 tively small tub, their cost to us is, I 
 think, very moderate. 
 
 It is often a surprise to us that such 
 a stout stem and large head of 
 branches and leaves can subsist on 
 such a relatively small quantity of 
 soil. From early spring till fall they 
 want an abundance of water. They 
 are out of doors all summer, or should 
 be, so the hose can play on their 
 heads freely and over watering of the 
 soil is about impossible. From No- 
 vember to April a cold shed will keep 
 them in good order if it is not too 
 (lark and where they won't get more 
 than 10 degrees of frost. A coach 
 house is an excellent place. It is usu- 
 ally light and seldom too cold. Less 
 water will do than in the summer 
 time. 
 
 The Sweet Bay is a native of South- 
 ern Europe. All good boys should have 
 read in the good book that if they are 
 righteous in their lives they will 
 •■flourish like the green bay tree." But 
 they must not become a millionaire by 
 keeping a department store or they 
 will be more like an aged pumpkin, 
 hollow, mushy and slushy inwardly. 
 This fine evergreen grows well and 
 is much planted in the milder parts of 
 the British Isles. I expect that all 
 over Ireland it grows finely and is sel- 
 dom or never injured by frost. In the 
 South of England it grows and flour- 
 ishes for years, but a winter comes 
 occasionally and kills it to the ground. 
 Such a winter was that of '60 and '61. 
 The best time for us to cut back 
 growths or to keep it in that splendid 
 form that they are sent to us, is in the 
 spring just before they start to grow, 
 but if you wished a still more trim 
 appearance you would have to pinch 
 the young growths as they develop. A 
 new tub and more root room is needed 
 every three or four years, but keep 
 them in as small a tub as possible. 
 Liquid manure will help them much 
 in April. May and June. To those who 
 have not made bows of their strong 
 bottom growths or hunted rabbits 
 beneath their branches, they may ap- 
 pear a cumbersome plant to occupy 
 valuable greenhouse room. They don't 
 want it. If never coddled up under 
 glass they will stand 15 degrees of 
 frost without harm, but rather give 
 them a little higher temperature. 
 
 BEDDING PLANTS. 
 
 Although directions for the man- 
 agement of all our familiar bedding 
 plants will be found under their re- 
 spective heads a few words on the 
 general subject is in order. The earli- 
 est bedding that the writer can re- 
 member was not very unlike that of 
 the present day. 
 
 Fifty years ago we had (I am speak- 
 ing now of the gardens of Great Bri- 
 tain, for the American flower garden 
 
 had then scarcely an existence) beds 
 of verbenas edged with a variegated 
 geranium, beds of heliotrope, beds of 
 Tom Thumb geraniums, masses of 
 yellow calceolarias, in fact it was 
 masses of flowering plants, and that 
 is largely the taste of the day, though 
 not exclusively so because we have so 
 many foliage plants now which were 
 not then known and which now make 
 beds equal in color effect to many of 
 the flowers. The coleus and achyran- 
 thes were unknown and most of the 
 small plants that afterwards came into 
 favor for carpet bedding were not in- 
 troduced, or were neglected because of 
 no value in the economy of the flower 
 garden. It seems to me that those 
 gardens of old with their circles and 
 squares and ovals of showy plants, 
 just as well kept as our gardens are 
 to-day. were fully as beautiful as any 
 we now have. 
 
 Then came the ribbon border — long 
 strips of flower garden, perhaps six or 
 seven feet on each side of a path. This 
 often began with the blue lobelia next 
 
 Pyramidal Bay Tree. 
 
28 
 
 The FLORISTS' Maiwal. 
 
 the margin o£ grass or box edging, 
 then a variegated geranium, next Cal- 
 ceolaria annua floribunda, back of 
 that Salvia patens (a most beautiful 
 blue), then a row of dahlias, and, if 
 the border was wide, backed up by a 
 stately line of hollyhocks. The rib- 
 bon border was well done in this 
 country in many places, but as some 
 of the flowering plants could not be 
 depended upon here we had the coleus, 
 which does finely with us and is a 
 poor, stunted, dull coloT'ed plant in 
 the gardens of Great Britain. 
 
 Then twenty-live years ago, or per- 
 haps a little more, the carpet bedding 
 was evolved and was carried out most 
 elaborately in many places, both pri- 
 vate and public. Perhaps in no place 
 in the world was it carried to greater 
 perfection or more ingeniously than 
 
 the leading plants used in carpet bed- 
 ding. They do better in our climate. 
 I cannot believe that the alternanthe- 
 ras would grow there as they do with 
 us, except in the warmer parts of 
 Southern Europe, and if you take the 
 alternantheras out of carpet bedding 
 you leave a large hole. Carpet bedding 
 never was a great item with the com- 
 mercial florist simply because it was 
 too expensive for the great majority 
 of our patrons. A bed that could ba 
 well filled with geraniums or coleus 
 for $1.5.00 would cost $40.00 if well 
 done as a carpet bed. The plants we 
 always had to grow, for there was sure 
 to be a demand from people who 
 wanted to try their hand at a fancy 
 bed. 
 
 The prevailing taste to-day is to use 
 flowering plants as much as possible; 
 
 hot house plants that are bedded or 
 plunged out during the summer 
 months, including crotons, palms, 
 bamboos, etc. They are interesting 
 beds, more interesting than hand- 
 some, but are instructive and to those 
 who love plants are attractive. 
 
 A very simple and well known ar- 
 rangement of a bed that I saw very 
 recently pleased me very much, and 
 still more when the "Missus" of the 
 grounds said; "Mr. S., we are delight- 
 ed with the bed this year. Don't you 
 think it is beautiful?" It was sur- 
 rounded here and there, but not 
 densely with a few trees and the bed 
 was some thirty yards back from the 
 street. It was simply a center (about 
 two dozen) of a tall, narrow leaved, 
 dark — almost blood redi — canna (I 
 wish I could give you its correct 
 
 in the South Park system, of Chicago, 
 under the direction of Mr. Frederick 
 Kanst. It was admired by millions 
 and criticised by a few. The minority 
 are often in the right, but in this case 
 the critics were only wasting their 
 words. It was gratifying to the mil- 
 lions, and harmless surely, and there- 
 fore served its purpose. On a visit to 
 the "Old Country" in 1885 we noticed 
 much less carpet bedding than we ex- 
 pected to see and remember the re- 
 mark of one head-gardener who was 
 lord of a large domain; "No, we have 
 given it up and gone back to the old 
 geraniums and calceolarias." It was 
 then in its greatest popularity with 
 us, but was on the wane across the 
 water. 
 As with the coleus so with some of 
 
 Bedding in a Public Park. 
 
 even the coleus is not as popular as it 
 was a few years since. To be candid 
 the zonale geranium, with its splendid 
 habit and beautiful trusses of floweis 
 of brilliant and pleasing colors, is 
 such a viniversal favorite as was the 
 horse Eclipse in the mythical story; 
 "It is the geranium first, the rest no- 
 where." 
 
 There is, however, another style, or 
 rather another arrangement, of bed- 
 ding that is particularly suited to our 
 climate, and on a lawn that is not 
 wanted for croquet or tennis what can 
 be more cheerful than a bed of can- 
 nas. caladiums and coleus. Perhaps 
 this style of bedding is not worthy the 
 name sub-tropical, perhaps the latter 
 term is more properly applied to a bed 
 that contains a great variety of our 
 
 name) surrounded by Caladium escu- 
 lentum, then two rows of Coleus 
 Verschaffeltii and next the grass a 
 circle of Golden Bedder coleus. This 
 is quite a conventional arrangement 
 with us, but hard to beat and gener- 
 ally pleasing. 
 
 The landscape architect, especially 
 of the most approved style, would, I 
 feel sure, declaim against this bed on 
 the lawn and say it was bad taste, not 
 in harmony with the grass and the 
 shade of elm and maple and linden. 
 The up-to-date landscape artist don't 
 want you to plant a golden elder or 
 variegated cornus or Prunus Pissardii 
 in shrubbery groupings because the 
 coloring is abnormal and not in ac- 
 cordance with nature. What does the 
 proprietor care about such things? He 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 29 
 
 Various Styles of Bedding. 
 
 Combination Canna and Carpet Bed. 
 
30 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 wants to be cheerful. This sticking 
 to nature is carried to excess. To be 
 true to nature we would have to un- 
 dergo a great change. We would not 
 cut our bair or pare our finger nails 
 or use knives and forks and would 
 retrograde to the days of the fig leaf. 
 Our early ancestors when crawling or 
 leaping from limb to limb or wading 
 through bogs when emigrating to the 
 northern regions of the globe found 
 the natural coats of the animals they 
 had slain very comfortable on their 
 own backs, and now clothing has de- 
 veloped into adornment and frills as 
 well as becoming a necessity. 
 
 It is the mission of the florist to 
 suggest the most appropriate style of 
 bedding to his customers where ad- 
 
 your ability to keep a good stock of 
 flower garden plants in a compara- 
 tively small space till after Easter. 
 From fall till after Easter our benches 
 are wanted for successive crops, but 
 Easter sales largely clear them except 
 those planted with roses and carna- 
 tions. Geraniums can be then given 
 their last shift, and so can ageratum, 
 feverfew, heliotrope and salvia. Coleus 
 can be grown from a cutting to a fine 
 bedding plant in eight weeks. Cannas 
 and caladiums can be kept in flats till 
 middle of April and then make fine 
 plants by June 1st. Petunias can l)e 
 pricked out in pans and then in six 
 weeks will make the best of bedding 
 plants. Centaurea, coleus. achyran- 
 thes, verbenas, heliotropes, many of 
 
 must have attention when it is need- 
 ed or it is too late. How often you 
 hear the remark: "No, I am short on 
 this or that. Was too busy and ne- 
 glected them." This attention is not 
 science; it is only close application 
 and good management: and having 
 sufficient help at the right time, ana 
 setting the men at the work most 
 suited to them, is the very best of 
 good management. 
 
 I don't know any business where 
 neglect to do work at the proper time 
 will bring about worse results. A 
 tailor, a jeweler, a printer or a parson 
 can lock his shop or office for weeks: 
 his business may suffer, but his goods 
 will not. Ours must be fed and aired 
 and moved and shifted as they need it. 
 
 vice is asked for, and poor policy to 
 crowd in more than is discreet when 
 it is left to his judgment. In resi- 
 dence streets a flower bed between the 
 house and the street is not good taste 
 and should not be advocated. At the 
 side or slightly to the rear of the 
 house is much better. Houses of a 
 moderate size with verandas at side 
 and front have often a row or two of 
 the flowering cannas in the border 
 surrounding the veranda, and very 
 handsome they look. 
 
 Florists are now divided into sev- 
 eral classes. The strictly store man 
 has no interest in bedding plants, nor 
 has the wholesale grower more than 
 to dispose of them, but the great ma- 
 jority of the florists of the country 
 raise bedding plants for their spring 
 crops and depend upon their sale for 
 a good part of their income. If well 
 and carefully done and a fair and just 
 charge made your customers will be 
 very unlikely to leave you and you 
 can depend on the order from year to 
 year. 
 
 The profit will largely depend upon 
 
 Design Bedding;, 
 
 the geraniums, lobelias, aloysias, and 
 all the carpet bedding plants, are far 
 better in the hot beds than in the 
 greenhouses, giving you plenty of 
 room for the spreading out of your 
 flne zonale geraniums, cannas and 
 caladiums. 
 
 A great mistake made by too many 
 florists, especially by those who have 
 only three or four houses, is to be 
 short of help just at the time it is 
 most needed. For the first two weeks 
 after Easter a man with 20,000 feet of 
 glass occupied by a general run of 
 plants could use twenty men with 
 profit, though during February and 
 March only five men were needed to 
 keep up with the work. I am aware 
 of the fact that you could not get the 
 right kind of men even if you wanted 
 them, but many times you allow a 
 batch of plants to spoil for want of 
 handling when a little more help 
 would have saved them. 
 
 Bedding plants are all soft-wooded 
 and while they rest largely, or can be 
 just kept slowly growing diiring win- 
 ter they feel the suns of spring and 
 
 Half the success with bedding 
 plants depends upon the planting out. 
 We charge nothing for planting if the 
 bed is dug and prepared and the 
 plants to fill it amount to $10.00 or 
 more. If not prepared we charge for 
 labor, manure, etc. We always prefer 
 to plant where there is only a coach- 
 man kept, for then it is properly done. 
 Sufficient plants are put in to make a 
 good appearance. If enough are sent 
 on the wagon there is none left over 
 to call for another day, nor three 
 more to be delivered to. fill up. Nor is 
 four dozen stretched out over a bed 
 where six dozen should be planted. If 
 the bed looks skimpy you don't want 
 it to be known that they were your 
 plants, and you will perhaps get the 
 blame for poor general effect, for 
 there are plenty of unreasonable peo- 
 ple about. 
 
 We insist on our men arranging the 
 plants carefully, just placing them in 
 the holes, but not filling in the soil, 
 and then when all are in place giving 
 each plant a good soaking and in a 
 few minutes filling in with the dry 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 31 
 
 grouiul. That watering is worth ten 
 on the surface. Tell your customers 
 that cannas and caladiums can be 
 soaked every dry evening, but that 
 geraniums and beds of coleus and 
 most everything else should be left 
 alone except in very dry times when 
 a thorough soaking should be given 
 once a week, followed by a hoeing the 
 next morning if the plants are not 
 touching each other. 
 
 In charging for the bedding plants, 
 whether contract or not, you should 
 put down in your day book just how- 
 many plants of each variety it took 
 to fill the different beds. Then, if 
 Mrs. Goodpay orders her large circu- 
 lar bed filled with geraniums again 
 this year you will refer to her charge 
 of last year and find that it took 75 
 Mt. of Snow for a double row on the 
 outside and the center required 140 
 Ernest Lauth. These figures are at 
 random. But whether you plant the 
 same or vary It you will know e.xactly 
 how many is needed. Again you are 
 asked a hundred times this que-tion: 
 "I have a fiower bed eight feet across. 
 How many geraniums will it take to 
 fill it? Or how many coleus will it 
 take?" We reckon ten inches apart 
 for our 4-inch geraniums, about nine 
 inches for coleus, fifteen inches for 
 cannas and caladiums, and some spe- 
 cified distance for all the plants we 
 commonly use. You can have a card 
 with the sizes of the beds and quanti- 
 ties needed all made out so that you 
 can give an answer in a few minutes, 
 whereas, if you had not the thing fig- 
 ured out you would have to begin a 
 sum in mathematics while somebody 
 else is waiting for an interview. 
 
 The bedding plant business is not 
 going to die out and you should cater 
 to it. There is a good profit in it and 
 it does not conflict with other 
 branches of your business. With a 
 clear head you can do it all. 
 
 A Long Geranium Bed. 
 
 BEGONIA. 
 
 There are few more familiar plants 
 than the begonias and few so widely 
 grown. The most popular section — 
 the shrubby sorts — are many of them 
 most excellent house plants. The Rex 
 or stemless section make fine decora- 
 tive plants and the tuberous rooted 
 class are grand bedding plants. There 
 are hundreds of species and numerous 
 hybrids obtained by crossing many of 
 the species, and among the varieties 
 there are some beautiful plants. 
 
 The begonias are all from warm cli- 
 
 mates but do not require a great heat, 
 most of them thriving well in a night 
 temperature of 50 to 60 degrees during 
 the winter months. A good loam with 
 a fourth of leaf-mould and rotten cow 
 manure will grow any of them. If the 
 soil is heavy add some sand, but they 
 are really not very particular as to 
 soil. 
 
 The Shrubby Section. 
 
 The shrubby section is the most 
 popular and the most useful to the 
 florist, the winter flowering kinds be- 
 ing in good demand. They flower for 
 
 Various Styles of Bedding. 
 
32 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 months and the flowers are generally 
 double while the plant is always orna- 
 mental. They are propagated in sand 
 during the winter months, and during 
 April and May, it properly shaded and 
 watered, they root quickly. Any part 
 of the shoot or stem will root except 
 that which is hard or woody. During 
 summer they are best kept under glass 
 but should have an abundance of air 
 and not too dense a shade. A close, 
 damp, dark house will produce a rust 
 on the leaves of many of them, which 
 is hard to overcome, spoiling the leaf 
 as well as flower. 
 
 There are so many species and varie- 
 ties that but a few can be enumerated. 
 
 Fuchsioides: A tall growing, grace- 
 ful species with scarlet flowers. 
 
 ers are of no particular value, not be- 
 ing produced in sutBcient quantity to 
 be profitable. Manicata aurea, is, how- 
 ever, a most desirable plant and I have 
 yet to see any place or firm who have 
 had an over supply. Like most varie- 
 gated plants it is of much slower 
 growth than the type. Few plants are 
 so satisfactory as a window or house 
 plant, the dry air of a room suiting it 
 fully as well as the more moist atmos- 
 phere of the greenhouse. A native of 
 Mexico, it will thrive in a high tempe- 
 rature, but a winter heat of 55 to tiO 
 degrees will keep it in good order. To 
 bring out its rich golden variegation, 
 the leaves being always most irregu- 
 larly marked, it should not have very 
 rich soil. Pot firmly, and except in 
 
 Begonia Manicata Aurea. 
 
 Glorie de Lorraine: A very recent 
 introduction bearing rose colored 
 flowers and blooming the entire win- 
 ter. 
 
 Gracilis: Very fine summer flower- 
 ing sort. 
 
 Incarnata: This name has been dis- 
 puted but I can not find it described 
 under another. It is an erect gi-owing 
 species, flowers most freely and is al- 
 ways in bloom by the holidays, but if 
 not cut then it makes a beautiful plant 
 when its rosy pink flowers are fully 
 developed. The variety incarnata 
 grandiflora is a great improvement on 
 the species. 
 
 Maculata: Spotted leaves and hand- 
 some drooping coral pink flowers. 
 
 Manicata: This has a fine, green 
 leaf, but is of little value to a florist, 
 as it occupies much room and the flow- 
 
 the very hottest months it should have 
 the full light. Its thick, fleshy, crook- 
 ed stems are slow to branch, and pro- 
 pagation by shoots is too slow, but it 
 will propagate from sections of the 
 leaf precisely as do the Rex begonias, 
 either by laying a well developed leaf 
 on the sand and pegging it down, 
 making a cut here and there through 
 the mid-ribs of the leaf, or by cutting 
 up the leaf into small pieces and put- 
 ting them in the sand. When you be- 
 gin steady firing, say in December, 
 is the best time to propagate. 
 
 Metallica: Foliage very handsome. 
 Pink and white flowers. 
 
 Nitida alba: Very pretty white 
 flowers. 
 
 Rubra: Large coral pink. 
 
 Saundersonii: Bright red flowers; 
 a very useful variety for cutting. 
 
 Vernon: A splendid bedding plant. 
 Dwarf, bushy habit and the plant 
 covered with pink and white flowers. 
 This variety does well in the broad 
 sun and we find it one of the best of 
 vase plants. It is easily raised from 
 seed. Sown in October it will make a 
 fine bending plant by the following 
 May. Fifty degrees is warm enough 
 and the plants should have at all times 
 a light bench or shelf. 
 
 Weltoniensis: An old variety that 
 is inclined to be herbaceous. It does 
 well planted out in summer and is 
 largely used in vases and veranda 
 boxes. 
 
 New varieties are being constantly 
 sent out, all worth trying. For the 
 amateur few plants are more easily 
 managed or more interesting than 
 many of the distinct species. 
 
 Tuberous-Rooted Section. 
 
 The tuberous-rooted section comes 
 from the cooler parts of South Ameri- 
 ca and are very distinct from the 
 shrubby sorts. They are entirely de- 
 ciduous. They make flne bedding 
 plants as well as splendid pot plants 
 for the greenhouse from June to Oc- 
 tober. As a window plant they are 
 not to be commended, soon dropping 
 their showy petals. It is as a bedding 
 plant they are chiefly valuable. When 
 I say that I have seen in our city large 
 beds of these begonias surpassing in 
 brilliancy of color, and certainly in 
 variety, any bed of geraniums, it must 
 be recognized as a good bedding plant. 
 The cooler the summer the better they 
 do and in localities where the heat is 
 excessive they may not be desirable. 
 They are easily raised from seed, 
 which should be sown in January or 
 February. The seed of all begonias is 
 very minute and no covering of the 
 seed with soil can be done. Water the 
 soil in the pan well before sowing and 
 then sow on the surface, covering the 
 pan with a pane of glass till the seed 
 germinates. When large enough to 
 handle prick out the seedlings into 
 flats, keeping them on a light shelf, 
 and when grown so as to be nearly 
 touching put into 2-inch pots and grow 
 on. The seedlings hardly make bed- 
 ding plants the first year, but can be 
 planted on a good piece of soil and 
 will make fine bulbs for the succeed- 
 ing year. When the tops are killed, 
 before there is any danger of frost 
 at the root they should be lifted, dried 
 in a sunny place and then stored away 
 in some perfectly dry material Ulry 
 sand will do), till it is time to start 
 them again in the spring. 
 
 For the busy florist it is, however, 
 advisable to leave the raising of seed- 
 lings to the specialist who grows them 
 by the hundred thousand and be con- 
 tent with buying the dormant roots 
 each year. It is cheaper, for the price 
 is now lower than you could afford to 
 raise them for. The double varieties 
 are about twice as costly as the single 
 ones and are no more effective as bed- 
 ding plants. 
 
 The middle of March is early enough 
 to start them, which is best done by 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 33 
 
 Bed of Begonias. 
 
 putting the tubers into flats of sandy 
 soil. Halt leaf-mould and lialf sand is 
 a good mixture and two inches of it in 
 the flats is enough. Place the tubers 
 just below the surface and an inch 
 apart. We place the flats on the hot- 
 water pipes and remove to the bench 
 as soon as the young leaves are show- 
 ing. By middle of April the leaves 
 will be crowding and every tuber will 
 have made a mass of roots. There is 
 now only one place for the plants and 
 that is a mild hot-bed. No great heat 
 is needed. We pot into 4-inc'tt and 
 plunge in the bed. By middle of May 
 the glass can be removed except on 
 cold nights. By this method you will 
 have fine, sturdy plants inured to the 
 weather and broad sun and they will 
 receive no check when bedded out. 
 
 As a bedding plant they need lots of 
 water and for that reason the beds 
 should not be rounded up, but should 
 be flat so that the water will soak in 
 and not run off to the sides to nourish 
 the grass. They should not be water- 
 ed overhead as you would a bed of 
 geraniums, but the hose, running an 
 unobstructed stream, should be guided 
 among the plants. I said unobstructed 
 because the different kinds of sprayers 
 and attachments they have for spray- 
 ing with a hose are an abomination to 
 a gardener. A good light soil into which 
 has been dug a liberal dressing of rot- 
 ten cow manure will suit the begonias. 
 
 Plants grown in pots want a liberal 
 sized pot and plenty of air. and to do 
 them well they should be shaded only 
 from the brightest sun. Few insects 
 trouble the begonias. 
 
 Rex Section. 
 
 Begonia Rex; The Rex or leaf be- 
 gonias were a great and expensive 
 novelty when first introduced some 50 
 years ago, but are now so common 
 they are worth no more than a gerani- 
 um. Occasionally you see one in the 
 window of a humble dwelling, giving 
 the passer-by a full view of its fine 
 leaves, so it can not be a very poor 
 house plant. 
 
 Nicholson's Dictionary says this 
 handsome species of begonia was in- 
 troduced into Europe from Assam in 
 185S. With due respect to that grand 
 work I can swear I saw a small plant 
 Introduced into a private garden from 
 London as early as 1856, at the modest 
 cost of $5.00 a leaf. There were two 
 leaves on the plant. But this is of 
 little consequence. 
 
 Besides being a fine decorative plant 
 for the conservatory it is very effect- 
 ive in vases and veranda boxes where 
 not exposed to the afternoon sun. their 
 large leaves having a striking effect. 
 It is really a tough plant even if it is 
 royal. A good light loam with plenty 
 of leaf-mould and rotten manure will 
 grow it finely. It likes more shade 
 than the shrubby section, in fact will 
 grow in very shady positions, and lux- 
 uriates in a warm, moist atmosphere. 
 It can be syringed daily, contrary to 
 general practice, and delights in it. 
 
 There are two methods of propaga- 
 tion. Either will do. You can cut the 
 leaf (a mature, but by no means an 
 old yellow one) into pieces two or 
 three inches long, cutting the pieces 
 wedge shaped to a mid-rib and putting 
 
 upright half their length in warm 
 sand; or, the entire leaf can be laid 
 right side up on the surface of the 
 sand, pegging the leaf down close to 
 the sand, having previously cut 
 through from the underside at every 
 inch or two the principal nerves or 
 ribs of the leaf. In the last named 
 method the young plants will spring 
 from the ends of the cuts. As with 
 those struck the other way keep well 
 shaded when first potted. If plants 
 are wanted for spring sales the leaves 
 should be put in as soon as firing com- 
 mences, as it will take them all winter 
 to make useful plants by the following 
 May. 
 
 BELLIS. 
 
 The perennial daisy is a favorite 
 garden plant with many and some of 
 the improved varieties are grown 
 under glass, in a cool house, for cut- 
 ting. But we have so many better 
 flowers for all purposes that as cut 
 flowers they are little used. 
 
 We are frequently asked for plants 
 in the early spring as we are for pan- 
 sies. They are easily divided either 
 in spring or fall. The commercial man 
 who has need to grow them had bet- 
 ter divide the roots in September, 
 plant in a cold-frame a few inches 
 apart and cover with glass during the 
 coldest months. 
 
 There are many fine varieties, red, 
 pink and white. 
 
 BILLBERGIA. 
 
 See Bromellads. 
 
34 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 BOSTON IVY. 
 
 See Ampelopsis. 
 
 BOTTLE BRUSH. 
 
 See Metrosideros. 
 
 BOTTOM HEAT. 
 
 In all cultural notes there is more or 
 less occasion to refer to bottom heat. 
 There was a time wheu few cuttings 
 were thought to root well without the 
 aid of bottom heat unless it was the 
 cuttings of the ericas and conifers. 
 Practice has taught us that to have the 
 heat of the sand or propagating ma- 
 terial greater than the temperature of 
 
 well if well laid in cement. Heat and 
 moisture quickly rot wood, so use 
 brick, and a few inches from the top, 
 according to the purpose tor which you 
 want to use the bed, lay in, or rather 
 build in, some strong strips of iron. 
 A strip two inches by half an inch will 
 bear a good weight of sand if the bed 
 is not more than 3 feet wide and will 
 give a good bearing for the slates. If 
 6 feet wide you must have a center 
 support for the irons, and 1-inch gas 
 pipe with 1-inch uprights every 3 feet 
 will do wellfor that. Your cross strips 
 should not be more than a foot apart. 
 If you want bottom heat don't at- 
 tempt to get it through a 1-inch board. 
 
 Bougainvillea Sanderiana. 
 
 the house is with many cuttings en- 
 tirely unnecessary. Ten or fifteen de- 
 grees hotter will certainly hasten the 
 rooting of most of our soft-wooded 
 plants, and with some it is a decided 
 advantage while with others (carna- 
 tions and geraniums for instance) It 
 is not desirable. 
 
 Where bottom heat is essential there 
 is no way so inexpensive or durable 
 as having the hot-water or steam 
 pipes under the benches and inclosed 
 HO that the heat will remain under 
 them. The hot-lied (primitive green- 
 house) is ideal as a means of afford- 
 ing bottom heat, but it is of short du- 
 ration, being available only during 
 the spring and summer months and is 
 always liable to neglect. Years ago 
 in growing plants requiring bottom 
 heat many a day was laboriously spent 
 in carting into the houses tan-bark, 
 leaves and other fermenting material 
 to afford heat to plants. That, how- 
 ever, is past and only the hot-water 
 and steam pipes are now used. 
 
 Whether it be for the propagating 
 bench or for plunging plants that re- 
 quire bottom heat let the walls of the 
 lied or bench be of brick. A 4-inch 
 brick wall back and frout will do very 
 
 Wood is one of the poorest conductors 
 of heat and slate is one of the best. 
 Half-inch .slates (or thicker) in large 
 slabs are very expensive. For a propa- 
 gating bench roofing slate 24x12 will 
 do very well and will last for years if 
 you support it in the middle by having 
 one of the iron strips every toot. 
 
 If all your heating pipes are under 
 the bench it will be necessary to have 
 sliding openings in the wall to let out 
 some heat in very cold weather, but 
 in most hfuises there will lie an inde- 
 pendent pipe with which you regulate 
 the atmospheric temperature. Don't 
 use wood tor these beds. Use brick, 
 iron and slate, and in ten years you 
 will have saved money and much vex- 
 ation. 
 
 BOUGAINVILLEA. 
 
 The most useful species of bougain- 
 villea is the well known glabra, which 
 makes a fine greenhouse climber in 
 any house where the temperature does 
 not go below 50 degrees at night. The 
 flower is inconspicuous; it is the 
 showy rosy purple bracts of the flowers 
 that give the plants such an ornament- 
 al appearance. Long sprays of the 
 bougainvillea covered with these 
 
 showy bracts are of great value for 
 decorations. 
 
 The plant should be in a large pot or 
 tub, or may be planted out in the bor- 
 der, but where it has unlimited root 
 room it grows too freely and does not 
 flower so well. During winter the sup- 
 ply of water can be diminished till the 
 plants start growing again in March, 
 at which time the plants can be cut 
 back to within a few eyes of the previ- 
 ous year's growth. 
 
 The variety of glabra known as 
 Sanderiana begins to flower when very 
 small and is much the best for plants 
 of medium size in pots. We were very 
 successful in flowering plants of this 
 the past spring but are disappointed in 
 it as a house plant. The great majority 
 of our flowering plants are sold to 
 people who want them for their win- 
 dows or rooms and unless a plant has 
 fair keeping qualities under such con- 
 ditions it will never be popular. The 
 bracts of B. Sanderiana, while hang- 
 ing on the plants for months in the 
 greenhouse soon drop with the leaves 
 when removed to the dry heat of the 
 living room. 
 
 The following is our practice and 
 plants of various shapes, averaging 
 two feet above the pot and eighteen 
 inches across were covered with the 
 flowers and bracts. Cuttings made 
 from the young growths strike freely 
 in the sand in January or February. 
 The flrst year they are planted out in 
 light rich soil out of doors, where 
 they make a vigorous growth. They 
 are potted in the fall and kept rather 
 cool and dry the following winter. In 
 the spring they are put into 5 or 6-inch 
 pots and plunged outside where they 
 make a moderate but rather firm 
 growth. Before there is any danger of 
 frost they are removed to the green- 
 house and are kept in a light house 
 with a night temperature of about 50 
 degrees. In January we move them 
 into a warmer house (about 60 de- 
 grees) and begin to syringe them and 
 give more water. The flower should 
 soon appear on the growth of the pre- 
 vious summer. 
 
 When growing or flowering they like 
 an abundance of water and the soil 
 should always be in a condition that 
 will allow the water to pass freely 
 away. Good filirous loam with a little 
 leaf-mould or old decomposed hot-bed 
 material suits them well. 
 
 I will take this opportunity to say 
 that this old hot-bed material is of 
 great service and it is one of the rea- 
 sons we like to put up a few dozen 
 sash each year. There can be little 
 ammonia left in the manure, but the 
 manure with the soil and leaves, and 
 perhaps refuse hops, thoroughly de- 
 composed and well mixed together, is 
 an excellent thing to add to the com- 
 post for nearly all our soft-wooded 
 plants and takes the place of leaf- 
 mould with our hard-wooded ones. It 
 must be the excellent mechanical con- 
 dition more than the fertilizing quali- 
 ties that makes it so valuable an ad- 
 dition to all our soils. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 35 
 
 BOUVARDIA. 
 
 The bouvardia can be classed as al- 
 most a tropical plant, most of the spe- 
 cies coming from Southern Mexico and 
 South America. The hybrids of some 
 of these species are what are of value 
 to the florist. Twenty years ago the 
 bouvardia was one of the most impor- 
 tant of the plants we grew, but iif late 
 years, with the advent of long- 
 stemmed carnations, the wonderful 
 roses, the chrysanthemum and other 
 more durable flowers, the bouvardias 
 have been much less grown, and in 
 commercial places they generally oc- 
 cupy but a small place, if any, notwith- 
 standing they are beautiful and easily 
 grown, and that the flower has grace 
 and refinement. In these days of keen 
 competition, the question is, "Do they 
 pay?" That you must judge by experi- 
 ence in your own locality. 
 
 The best time to begin propagation 
 i.s early March, with the roots of 
 plants that have been grown on a 
 bench for winter flowering. The bou- 
 vardia roots very slowly and unsatis- 
 factorily from the young top growths, 
 and in ordinary practice that is not 
 considered a practical method of pro- 
 pagating this plant. We will begin 
 with the young roots. Don't take the 
 large roots near the base of the plants, 
 nor the thin, thread-like roots of the 
 widest growth. Choose the growths 
 between these. Cut them into pieces 
 about one-half or three-fourths of an 
 inch in length and distribute them on 
 a propagating bench, where you have 
 a good heat, as you would coarse seed, 
 pressing them into the sand. Then 
 cover with at least an eighth of an 
 inch of sand, pressing it down after 
 covering. Water sufficiently to keep 
 moist, about as you would other cut- 
 tings. In three or four weeks young 
 plants will be springing up. When 
 they have made two or three leaves 
 and are an inch high, lift them from 
 the sand and pot into 2-inch pots. 
 
 The bouvardia is a tropical plant 
 and at no stage of its existence should 
 it be exposed to a low temperature. 
 This accounts for the very different 
 treatment we give it from what is 
 considered right in Western Europe. 
 Plant out in the open ground about 
 the first of .June, or earlier, if you are 
 in a latitude where no late frosts ap- 
 pear. A very light, rich soil is much 
 the best adapted to the wants of the 
 bouvardia. Unless there is a very long 
 spell of hot, dry weather, no watering 
 is needed after the first good watering 
 when planted. The growth that has 
 started in the greenhouse will continue 
 to grow out of doors, but that is of 
 little consequence, and can before lift- 
 ing be entirely cut away. It is the 
 strong, vigorous growth that will 
 spring from the roots after being 
 planted out that you will depend on to 
 give you flowers. They want stopping 
 about twice during the summer. 
 
 The lifting time will vary according 
 to where you are. In Buffalo we used 
 to lift about the second week in Sep- 
 tember. If later, and the weather 
 
 should be cold, they are much slower 
 in taking hold of the soil in their new 
 quarters. A very good plan is to do 
 the last pinching a week or so before 
 you lift them. The break from this 
 last stopping will then come in about 
 right for the holidays. Plant in five 
 inches of good loam, and as to dis- 
 tance apart, be guided by size of the 
 plants. A foot apart is little enough 
 for any of them. Anybody, with al- 
 most any temperature, can get the first 
 crop of bouvardia, but to get them to 
 make a growth and a profitable crop 
 of flowers again in March requires 
 heat. Unless they are kept in a night 
 temperature of at least 60 degrees and 
 syringed daily, they will just stand 
 still after their first crop is over. The 
 rampant way they grow and fiower 
 when the warm sun of April comes 
 shows you what they want. 
 
 They can, of course, be grown in 
 pots, but do far better and are more 
 easy to manage planted on a bench in 
 a light warm house. 
 
 If after the end of March you need 
 the bench for some other crop you can 
 cut down the bouvardias to within a 
 few inches of the bench, lift them, 
 shaking off all the soil, and place them 
 close together in flats with three or 
 four inches of moist soil around them 
 and put under a bench where there is 
 not much drip, and they will do there 
 all right till planting out time. The 
 old plants will of course be much lar- 
 ger than those propagated the first 
 year. 
 
 Red spider attacks them, and so does 
 mealy bug, but their presence is in- 
 excusable, for a proper use of the hose 
 will prevent both. Green fly will ap- 
 pear if fumigation is neglected, but be 
 careful to smoke lightly, particularly 
 when the plants are first housed, for 
 they burn readily. 
 
 In lifting, I cannot say as you can 
 about carnations, "let all the soil tum- 
 ble off if it will, so long as I save ev- 
 ery flbre," for they do not lift so well, 
 or rather, do not recuperate so quickly. 
 Lift carefully with a good ball of earth 
 and for the first week shade and sy- 
 ringe frequently. 
 
 BROMELIADS. 
 
 Except the variegated pineapple (see 
 Ananas), there are few or none of 
 these curious plants that are of any 
 commercial value, though among them 
 are some beautiful and interesting 
 plants. The Bufl:'alo Botanical Gardens 
 now possess the very valuable collec- 
 tion brought together by the late firm 
 of Pitcher & Manda, with several ad- 
 ditions, making it the most complete 
 collection in this country, and it is in 
 the finest possible condition. 
 
 Besides the ananas, the most famil- 
 iar genera are the tillandsia and the 
 bromelia. The leaves are stiff, vari- 
 ously colored, and fiuted or concave, 
 always carrying the moisture to the 
 base of the leaf. The flowers are often 
 handsome. They are mostly from 
 tropical America. 
 
 Propagation is by offsets or suckers. 
 
 which, when separated from the old 
 plant, should be potted and plunged in 
 a good heat. They are grown in pots 
 or baskets, which should be drained 
 with a third of crocks, and the com- 
 post should be fern roots and sphag- 
 num. They require heavy shade in the 
 summer and must be frequently 
 syringed. It is the moist atmosphere 
 they delight in. 
 
 By their channeled leaves they accu- 
 mulate water, which remains in quan- 
 tity at the base of the stem, and it 
 should not be disturbed, as it does no 
 harm. In nature the water would 
 surely be there, and in this respect at 
 least we cannot improve on nature. A 
 compost such as described, plenty of 
 moisture, and a minimum winter tem- 
 perature of 70 degrees, is what they 
 want. Following are named some of 
 the most distinct genera and species: 
 
 Tillandsia utriculata and T. fene- 
 stralis. 
 
 Guzmania fragrans and G. tricolor. 
 
 Aechmea fulgens and A. crocophylla. 
 
 Karatis spectabilis and K. Moritzia- 
 num. 
 
 Vriesia musaica and V. splendens. 
 
 Billbergia zebrina. 
 
 F\n- the culture of the variegated 
 pineapple (Ananas sativa variegata), 
 see Ananas. 
 
 BROWALLIA. 
 
 The best known species is elata of 
 which there are two varieties. One has 
 white flowers but the variety grandi- 
 fiora is a fine blue. They are often 
 used as flower garden plants but are 
 more suitable for the mixed border as 
 they are liable to go out of bloom just 
 when their color is most needed. 
 
 For the flower garden sow the seed 
 in March and transplant into flats or 
 small pots and plant after all danger 
 of frost. As a pot plant for winter 
 use (and they will flower during our 
 darkest days) sow in July and August. 
 A pan six or seven inches across and 
 four inches deep with half a dozen 
 plants makes a nice show and many of 
 them could be sold as Christmas 
 plants. When once established in the 
 pans they are better kept out of doors 
 in a frame and given the open air but 
 covered with glass in case of a storm. 
 They must be syringed daily and will 
 need pinching once or twice to induce 
 them to branch. Remove to the green- 
 house before any danger of frost. 
 
 BULBS. 
 
 Under this head, instead of under 
 their respective names, is given the 
 culture of those bulbs that are gen- 
 erally forced, especially those known 
 as Dutch bulbs, and which have been 
 so important an item with us for the 
 past twenty years. 
 
 Roots that are often called bulbs are 
 really corms and not bulbs. The cro- 
 cus, caladium. richardia and gladiolus 
 are corms. The true bulbs are the lily, 
 hyacinth, tulip, etc. It is only of the 
 Dutch bulbs that this article treats. 
 
 The tulip, hyacinth and narcissus all 
 want about the same treatment, with 
 
36 
 
 T'iE FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 some variation, which will lie noted. 
 There is little doubt that the lilies (or 
 what may be called the loose-scaled 
 bulbs) are subject to injury through 
 being long exposed to the air, and they 
 really should not be long in a perfectly 
 dormant state. Notice the Lilium can- 
 didum in our gardens. Soon after the 
 flower stalk is gone the plant begins to 
 throw up a young crop of leaves, show- 
 ing it is but a short time dormant, if at 
 all. Not so with the more fleshy bulbs, 
 like tulips, which remain out of the 
 ground four or five months without the 
 slightest harm. 
 
 bed, as desired. If lifted, the tops 
 should be about ripe before the bulbs 
 are disturbed. If lifted as soon as the 
 flower is faded, you have arrested the 
 formation of the bulb that was stor- 
 ing up its strength for the following 
 year. 
 
 The early tulips and hyacinths liloom 
 with us early in May. As our bedding 
 plants do not go out till nearly or 
 quite June 1, there is nearly time to 
 give the bulbs a chance to mature. 
 Two weeks later, however, would be 
 much better if the welfare of the bulbs 
 was the main consideration. When 
 
 Single Tulips. 
 
 Bulbs for Bedding. 
 
 The hyacinth, tulip and hardy nar- 
 cissus are usually planted in the open 
 ground in October and November. 
 They should always be planted a good 
 si,\ inches deep. The closer together 
 the better the effect. A thinly planted 
 tulip bed looks badly and is not worth 
 doing. I call a foot apart thin. Six 
 inches apart will make a gorgeous bed. 
 Any soil will flower the bulbs one year, 
 for the flower bud is already formed; 
 it merely opens with you. But to grow 
 them so that they will flower again the 
 following, or third or fourth, year, a 
 good, deep, rich soil should be given 
 them. 
 
 The great majority of our bulbs 
 when planted to succeed the flower 
 garden plants are intended to flower 
 only one year, and that suits the florist 
 who supplies the bulbs very well, but 
 that is no reason why the bulbs should 
 be neglected or thrown away. The 
 bulbs may either be lifted or left in the 
 
 first lifted, expose the bulbs and tops 
 to the air till they are ripe and the 
 tops wither away, when the tops can 
 be pulled off, the bulbs cleaned, and 
 stored away in a dry, cool place till 
 fall. I noticed this spring about as 
 good flowers produced by tulips the 
 second year as by those freshly im- 
 ported. The bulbs will do very well 
 if left in the ground, which it is some- 
 times convenient to do, in the mixed 
 border, for instance. If In beds, you 
 can sow some summer annuals over 
 them, such as California poppy, with- 
 out much harm. 
 
 There are always some inquiries as 
 to "When shall I cover my tulip bed?" 
 These and the hyacinths are perfectly 
 hardy and no covering is necessary till 
 Christmas, when two or three inches of 
 stable manure or litter can be put on 
 the bed. It helps not so much to keep 
 fro=t out as to prevent the surface from 
 continuously alternating between a 
 freeze and a thaw, which often occurs 
 in the month of March, 
 
 In planting a bed of bulbs to any set 
 pattern or design, look out for time of 
 flowering of the several sorts. Crocu.^ 
 are always best alone and should not 
 be used with the tulips and hyacinths. 
 Von Sion narcissus is about as early 
 as the hyacinths, which are several 
 days ahead of the earliest tulips, and 
 should not be in the same group. The 
 early single tulips (except Due Van 
 Thol, which should not be usedl all 
 flower about the same day and go well 
 together. The early double tulips are 
 all right with the early single tulips. 
 We noticed La Candeur, the inexpen- 
 sive double white, planted with the 
 early tulips. That was a mistake, as it 
 is ten days later than the early tulips. 
 If a double white is needed with the 
 single varieties, Murillo is the sort; it 
 is early, and a grand flower. Yellow 
 Pi'ince, Chrysolora, La Belle Alliance, 
 all the Pottebakkers, La Reine, Keiz- 
 erskroon, Proserpine, Vermillion Bril- 
 liant, Cottage Maid, Tournesol. in fact, 
 all the early single and double tulips, 
 can be planted in one combination and 
 will make a fine display. The little 
 blue scilla can be planted with the 
 crocus. It blooms with the crocus 
 soon after the snow is gone. 
 
 Bulbs for Forcing. 
 
 Within 25 years, and with many 
 more recentl.v, the forcing of tulips, 
 hyacinths and narcissus has become 
 a most Important part of our winter 
 operations. About 12 years ago it 
 was at its zenith, ' but as the best 
 methods of forcing ''became widely 
 known and in consequence vast quan- 
 tities were imported and the blooms 
 thrown on the market the public be- 
 gan to tire of the flowers till during 
 the last few years they have dropped 
 seriously in price, and duiiug the 
 last winter hundreds of thousands of 
 fine flowers were sold at about the 
 cost of the bulbs. We predict a much 
 smaller importation each year. 
 
 These remarks do not apply to- the 
 good old Dutch hyacinth that we 
 grow in a 4-inch pot. They liave been 
 grown in pots and glasses for a hun- 
 dred years and always will be. There 
 are few sweeter flowers for the price 
 than a nice spike of hyacinth. Peo- 
 ple know them and don't ask "How 
 long will they last?" They think 
 rightly that they have received good 
 value for their money if they have 
 had a pot of hyacinth in their win- 
 dow for ten days. Large quantities 
 of flne hyacinths are also grown for 
 Easter in pans, from three to a dozen 
 in a pan. The latter quantity of some 
 flne distinct variety in a 12-inch pan 
 is a rich affair and generally attracts 
 the purchaser who is looking for 
 something nice to send his or her 
 friend on Easter morn. The Von Sion 
 narcissus, or daffodils as they are 
 familiarly called, make also fine pans. 
 
 Roman hyacinths are still flowered 
 in immense quantities and fashion 
 has not changed the demand. They are 
 graceful, waxy white flowers and can 
 be used in several ways, either by 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 37 
 
 Dutch Hyacinths. 
 
 themselves or In combination with 
 roses, violets or carnations. 
 
 It you want tulips or Von Sions, 
 Paper white narcissus or Roman hya- 
 cinths at the earliest possible date 
 they can be got in flower you should 
 not delay a day in getting a portion 
 'of your shipment into the flats, and 
 they should be well watered and cov- 
 ered at once. The Romans arrive in 
 August, the Paper White a little later 
 and the tulips, hyacinths and Von 
 Sions along in September. As I re- 
 marked about the soil for the beds, 
 the soil, providing it is of a loose tex- 
 ture and easily handled, is of little 
 consequence. Heat and water force 
 out the flower spike and that is the 
 last you care about the bulb. We 
 generally use the soil that has done 
 duty the previous year on the carna- 
 tion benches. 
 
 I found out many years ago that 
 boxes and flats of every size and 
 shape for forcing bulbs was a poor 
 plan, however cheap, and for years 
 have made boxes of one pattern, which 
 is 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and 
 
 3 inches deep, all inside measure. I 
 buy strips 16 feet long (any length 
 will do, but you don't want waste), 3 
 inches wide and half an inch thick, 
 and some strips 3 inches wide and 1 
 inch thick. Four of the thin strips 
 make the bottom with a little space 
 between them, two of them make the 
 sides and the 1 inch thick strips make 
 the ends. They are nailed together 
 with 6-penny nails, and two or three 
 boys will make 150 of them in a few 
 hours. These boxes will last several 
 years if cleaned out and piled with 
 their bottoms up, but not if allowed 
 to lay around the yard half full of 
 soil till the following fall, or run over 
 by the wagon, or when used to carry 
 plants to a bedding job to be left 
 there and not called for. 
 
 Oh, florists, I am not immaculate 
 myself in this respect, but how many 
 dollars you do waste in letting your 
 boxes, pots, flats, tools and imple- 
 ments lie around in disorder. You 
 are about as bad as the slovenly farm- 
 ers in a poor, poverty stricken farm- 
 ing district which is always to be 
 
 found without going very far. It is 
 well known, and admitted by the man- 
 ufacturer, that if the American farmer 
 took good care of his agricultural im- 
 plements and tools half the factories 
 could and would close down. The 
 scythe is hung in the apple tree, the 
 plow is thrown out at the end of tbe 
 last furrow to bleach and rot in the 
 sun and rain, the harrow may be dig- 
 nified by being tilted up against the 
 fence, and the costly reaper lies out 
 in the yard for the children and chick- 
 ens to perch on. There is no time to 
 clean and put things away. The gos- 
 sip of the village smithy or rural 
 post-office must be attended to. The 
 prosperous farmer's place is all con- 
 trary to this, and as the florist is 
 farming on a high grade and costly 
 plan where the outlay and receipts to 
 the acre are enormous, it behooves 
 him to take care of all his implements 
 and have them ship shape and in place 
 where they are always ready to his 
 hand. 
 
 Some men can do twice as much 
 on an acre as another. It is order, 
 system and cleanliness that enables 
 him to do it. ■'Dirt is matter out of 
 place." That is a true definition. I 
 once found fault with a man. who was 
 then a partner, that his rubbish pile 
 contained everything from decent pot- 
 ting soil to broken glass, hoop iron 
 and empty beer bottles. He rather 
 peevishly replied that he had no tim? 
 to spare and was glad to get rid of 
 the stuff out of the greenhouses. That 
 "time" excuse is the worst of all, and 
 the man who lets his wagon stand out 
 in the sun till the hubs are cracked 
 has always the most time to spin a 
 yarn, or see how much old Bill Jones' 
 cows bring at the auction. If my 
 friend had had a pile for stuff that 
 was puiely rubbish and another for 
 old soil and plants and vegetable 
 matter that would come useful some 
 day it would have been much time 
 saved in the end and some money. 
 
 With this diversion we will return 
 to the bulbs. The flats as described 
 will hold 60 Romans. 50 Paper White, 
 and from 60 to 72 tulips, according to 
 the size. Yellow Prince is a large 
 bulb, La Reine is a small one. I be- 
 lieve, as Mr. Ernst Asmus said at Chi- 
 cago years ago. that it makes little 
 difference in the flowering how close 
 the bulbs are. Even if touching they 
 will flower all right, and save room. 
 
 We alwa.vs do our bulb boxing out- 
 side on a temporary bench where the 
 soil can be brought to the men by 
 the cart load. We fill the flats nearly 
 full, very loosely, and squeeze the 
 bulb into the soil till the top of the 
 bulb is even with the edge of the box. 
 A few handfuls of soil fill up between 
 the bulbs and the job is done. All thi's 
 is a very quick operation. A good 
 man will box S.OOO to 10,000 a day if 
 supplied with boxes and soil and an- 
 other man to take the boxes away 
 when filled. 
 
 Bulb houses have been spoken of, 
 but I never saw the need of them. 
 We once tried our earliest tulips un- 
 
38 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 der the bench of a very cool house, 
 covered with an inch of soil. It was 
 an entire failure. There is no better 
 place for the flats when filled than 
 the surface of the open ground. We 
 smooth off a piece of ground and lay 
 out beds six or seven feet wide and 
 any desired length, leaving the same 
 width between beds. We lay down 
 strips of old boards to keep the bot- 
 toms of the flats away from the soil. 
 When one bed is covered with flats 
 we get out the hose and thoroughly 
 water the soil in the boxes. When 
 the water has soaked in we dig up the 
 ground between the beds and cover 
 the bulbs with this soil about three 
 
 In many years we have never had 
 any difliculty in getting them in to 
 force. A mild day is sure to come 
 and you can then get in enough for 
 several weeks, keeping some of them 
 in reserve in a cool shed'. If unpro- 
 tected by snow and the covering of 
 soil is frozen we bring in covering 
 and all and clean them off when 
 thawed out. Out of doors is their 
 natural place and I believe it is better 
 for the bulbs to make their roots there 
 than in any house or cellar you could 
 build. 
 
 Paper White narcissus we do not 
 allow to freeze, giving them the pro- 
 tection of glass in addition to the ma- 
 
 m^ '^"^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 '' ^Wi.- ^ 
 
 ■11 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 f^iHfSft^W 
 
 ^^^^1 
 
 
 
 IT 
 
 ^^H 
 
 H 
 
 Hyacinths in Basket, trimmed with White Ribfcon. 
 
 inches deep. We never cut down the 
 .soil nearer than a foot from the end 
 or side of the boxes because they 
 want to be well protected there. The 
 frost is sure to penetrate into the 
 l)eds from the sides, if anywhere. 
 
 Nothing more is done to the beds 
 for a month or two, or till severe 
 winter weather sets in, excepting it 
 be a very dry time. If it is dry give 
 the beds a thorough watering every 
 week. Remember the bulbs are not 
 as though they were planted out and 
 they get none of the benefit of the 
 moisture arising from the depths of 
 the ground as they would if planted 
 in it, and the bulbs will not make 
 roots unless the soil is kept moist. 
 About the middle of December we 
 throw on about four inches of stable 
 manure. It is just as well to let the 
 soil in the flats be slightly frozen be- 
 fore covering with the manure, as it 
 will stop the bulbs from growing up 
 too long. If too much manure is put 
 on it will encourage the bulbs to draw 
 up to a great length before spring, 
 which will greatly injure their hand- 
 ling. 
 
 nure, but they are mostly into the 
 houses before very hard weather. 
 
 Roman hyacinths will stand as 
 much freezing as the tulips, but must 
 not be handled when frozen. If frozen, 
 bring in the whole covering with 
 them and let them thaw out in a 
 very cool shed. If when frozen they 
 are put suddenly into heat (as you 
 would a tulip) they will be ruined. 
 
 The Dutch hyacinths in pots we 
 stand in a frame on dry ashes, and 
 after covering with soil and litter 
 prefer to cover with shutters or glass 
 to prevent very hard freezing. Freez- 
 ing may not hurt the bulbs, but it 
 breaks the pots and pans. 
 
 Roman hyacinths and Paper White 
 narcissus can be had in bloom from 
 the first of November on. They want 
 the light and no extra heat at any 
 time. Both are better when brought 
 on slowly. The Paper White, if well 
 rooted, should have seven weeks in 
 a light house at a temperature of 60 
 degrees; then it will be in good or- 
 der for Christmas. As the season ad- 
 vances Romans require less and less 
 time under glass. During March and 
 
 April two weeks in any house will 
 bring them into flower. 
 
 The Von Sion narcissus are forced 
 in precisely the same way as the tu- 
 lips. 
 
 For years we struggled to get tulips 
 in flower at Christmas and with the 
 Due Van Thol, and even with some 
 of the finer early tulips, we were suc- 
 cessful. But what is there in it when 
 you have succeeded? There are plenty 
 of other flowere for all purposes, and 
 fancy trying to sell a dozen forced 
 and sickly tulips when a dozen fine 
 carnations can be had. So we have 
 left tulips alone till after New 
 Year's, when, if brought in, they can 
 be had in flne quality by end of Jan- 
 uary or a few days before, and that is 
 as fcoon as they are wanted. 
 
 The earliest tulips want a strong 
 heat; 75 degrees is not too much, with 
 plenty of water, and they need shad- 
 ing with cheese cloth or some such 
 material to produce a good stem. Up 
 to first of March they need heat, with 
 lessening shade, after that they flower 
 on any greenhouse bench, the last 
 ones to flower inside wanting a light 
 house, as they are inclined to have 
 long, weak stems. 
 
 The conditions to produce the early 
 tulips are heat, moisture and shade, 
 but not heat that will burn the roots. 
 On the pipes is no place for them; it 
 is heat around the young growths that 
 is wanted, not at the roots. 
 
 The varieties I mentioned for bed- 
 ding are the very best for forcing. 
 When wanted for any special date, 
 like Easter, and they are a few days 
 too early you can help to keep the 
 tulips in good order by • putting the 
 flats under the bench when the flow- 
 ers are about fully developed and cov- 
 ering with paper, which prevents the 
 opening and closing that takes place 
 on every fine sunny day. 
 
 Hyacinths in pots and pans need 
 no forcing towards spring, coming on 
 very quickly as soon as brought into 
 the greenhouse. It is impossible to 
 give any flxed time to allow for these 
 bulbs to come into flower, as seasons 
 vary so much. 
 
 There is an immense number of 
 species and varieties of narcissus. 
 Trumpet major and the Incomparable 
 type all do well if given the same 
 treatment as the tulips and Von Sion 
 narcissus. The Polyanthus narcissus 
 are beautiful in form and color and 
 are fragrant. They force well, but 
 should not be exposed to frost at any 
 time. They are not profitable for the 
 commercial man, but are beautiful for 
 the private conservatory. The Narcis- 
 sus poeticus, and its fine variety orna- 
 tus, are both hardy and force well, 
 and so do the elegant sweet scented 
 jonquils. 
 
 CACTUS. 
 
 You can walk through many a green- 
 house establishment, large and small, 
 without seeing a specimen of any of 
 these curious plants, and unless you 
 are a specialist you will be wise to 
 leave them alone. The demand for 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 39 
 
 fV^ 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 
 Paper White Narcissus. 
 
 them is altogether too small. You 
 will, however, be often asked: "How 
 shall I make my cactus flower?" etc , 
 and as the florist is supposed to know 
 how to cultivate every green thing 
 it is well to be able to give an intel- 
 ligent answer to the old lady whose 
 uncle sent her the cactus in question 
 many years ago from Mexico. 
 
 Grotesque and peculiar as the 
 growth of many of the cacti is the 
 flowers of some, notably the night- 
 blooming cereus (C. grandiflorus) are 
 most gorgeous. It lasts but one short 
 night, but while open it is almost 
 unrivalled in its magnificent form, 
 lovely colors, the beauty of its sta- 
 mens and general appearance as well 
 as great ti'agrance. 
 
 The mammillarias are the most use- 
 ful for bedding, making a beautiful 
 appearance in a bed of succulents. The 
 United States and Mexican species will 
 winter in a very cool place and need 
 little, if any, water in the dark winter 
 days. All of the tropical kinds will 
 winter very well in a night tempera- 
 ture of 55 degrees, and our summers 
 suit them well. 
 
 They are about as easily grown in 
 a window as they are in the green- 
 house if proper care is used in water- 
 ing. Few if any insects trouble them. 
 Drainage is of first importance, and 
 neither in summer when they are 
 growing nor in winter when they are 
 at rest should the soil ever remain 
 saturated. So whatever the compost 
 be let the pot or tub be filled one- 
 third with broken crocks so that water 
 is sure to pass off quickly. In winter 
 when little growth is being made, es- 
 pecially if you are keeping the plants 
 cool, water sufficient to keep the soil 
 from getting dust dry will do. In April 
 
 and May and through the summer, if 
 the soil is well drained, you can water 
 daily. 
 
 The soil should be a good fibrous 
 loam to which add one-fourth of 
 coarse sand, and if that is not at hand 
 add some powdered bricks or old plas- 
 ter crumbled up. They need little pot 
 room and should not be shifted for 
 several seasons. All of them would 
 do well out of doors in summer time 
 if convenient to put them outside, but 
 look out for heavy rains; for those 
 that are in pots or tubs too much 
 water will rot the roots. 
 
 Some of the genera are hardy in the 
 latitude of New York, but a very se- 
 vere winter will hurt them, and where 
 used for bedding it is better to lift 
 them and place in flats and winter in 
 a cold house or protected frame. 
 
 The most valuable of the cacti 
 grown for their flowers, and which 
 makes a most showy winter flowering 
 plant is Epiphyllum truncatum and 
 its varieties. It does not make a good 
 plant on its own roots, not being 
 strong enough to stand erect, and 
 when a handsome little tree is seen 
 it has been grafted on the pereskia 
 stock. The flowers of the epiphyllum 
 are most numerous and its varieties 
 have colors varying from deep scarlet 
 to almost pure white. The type is a 
 deep rose color. 
 
 Like all the cacti the epiphyllum 
 wants perfect drainage and must not 
 be over-potted. Keep cool in the late 
 fall months till they begin to show 
 flower when they should have more 
 heat till the flowers are fully expand- 
 ed and can then be removed to a cool 
 house which will prolong the life of 
 the flowers. 
 
 The operation of grafting the epi- 
 
 phyllum on the pereskia is very sim- 
 ple. Pieces of the pereskia of any de- 
 sired length will root in moderately 
 moist sand. When potted off and es- 
 tablished in pots the top of the stem 
 Is split for an inch or so, a branch of 
 the epiphyllum inserted, and nothing 
 more is to be done except to tie a 
 piece of raffia around the stem to 
 keep the graft in place, and this must 
 be removed as soon as adhesion takes 
 place, which will be soon if the plants 
 are kept in a warm moist house. 
 
 CALADIUM. 
 
 Most ornamental leaved hot-house 
 plants that are grown entirely for 
 their beautiful leaves, which are of 
 almost every hue. Although strictly 
 a tropical plant they are most useful 
 for decorations in the months of Au- 
 gust and September, after their 
 growth is fully matured. They lose 
 their beautiful leaves in the winter 
 and must rest till the following March 
 or April. 
 
 There are several species, of which 
 we all remember argyrites as one of 
 the oldest and prettiest with its small 
 silveiy marked leaf. The almost in- 
 numerable varieties that are now cul- 
 tivated are hybrids and surpass in 
 beauty the original species. The tu- 
 bers can be bought at a very reason- 
 able price from any good commercial 
 house. 
 
 Their cultivation is easy. The tubers 
 can be placed in 3 or 4-inch pots in 
 March in a temperature of 60 to 65 
 degrees. A little bottom heat will 
 much help their starting. Water 
 sparingly till they begin to root. When 
 a few leaves are made they can be 
 shifted on. A 6-inch pot will grow 
 a fine specimen, but they are seen oc- 
 casionally of immense size in 12-inch 
 pots. Many will remember the dozen 
 or more plants exhibited at the New 
 York convention in 18SS from Woot- 
 ton, Philadelphia. They were grand. 
 
 While growing they should have our 
 hottest houses, a little shade, a moist 
 atmosphere and abundance of water: 
 the pots should be drained so that 
 water passes freely through. Liberal 
 treatment as to size of pot is a re- 
 quirement. The soil can be a good 
 loam, rather coarse, with a fourth of 
 leaf-mould and rotten manure. 
 
 In October they show signs of going 
 to rest and water should then be with- 
 held, but not all at once. Keep the 
 soil moderately moist till the leaves 
 have about gone, when you can lay 
 the pots on their sides under a bench 
 in a warm house. A good many fine 
 caladium Inilbs are lost from keeping 
 them too dry in the winter, and some- 
 times from wintering them too cold; 
 CO degrees is cold enough for them 
 and don't let the soil get dust dry; 
 look at them every two or three weeks 
 and if the soil is very dry give them 
 a watering. In starting, of course 
 you will shake off all the old soil. 
 There is no need of mentioning any of 
 the varieties, for their name is le- 
 gion, and all are beautiful. 
 
40 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 C. Esculentum. 
 
 Caladium esculentum is an impor- 
 tant plant with the florist and it en- 
 ters largely into his spring business. 
 Every one knows this caladium, and 
 some of our customers know it by the 
 descriptive and artistic name of "Ele- 
 phant's Ears." 
 
 They are multiplied by the small 
 tul)ers that are always found on the 
 large ones, but at the low cost of a 
 fuller the size of a base ball (and that 
 is amply large enough) it will never 
 pay a florist to grow his own bulbs. 
 You cannot begin to raise them as 
 
 three inches deep in which the bottom 
 half is sifted decayed manure and the 
 top half sand, pushing the bulb down 
 till its top is little above the rim of 
 flat, and the bulbs almost touching. 
 Give them a watering and place the 
 flats on the hot water pipes. You will 
 save two or three weeks by this meth- 
 od over starting them in the pots on 
 a cold bench and will save much 
 valual>le space. We plant them in 
 the flats in time so they will be ready 
 to pot off just after Easter when the 
 pressure for space has been relieved. 
 When taken out of the flats they 
 have made a growth of five or six 
 
 Calamus Ciliaris. 
 
 cheaply as you can buy them from 
 the man who grows an acre. If you 
 have any plants on your own place 
 and wish to save them, cut the stalk 
 off a foot above the ground after the 
 first frost, dig up, shake off all the 
 soil and lay them on the ground under 
 a rose-house bench, I have found the 
 temperature and humidity of a rose 
 house just right providing the ground 
 is dry. 
 
 When we receive the bulbs in the 
 spring we cut out all the eyes and 
 small tubers because we don't want 
 them, and we cut off the remains of 
 the old tuber close up to the new 
 sound one. We put them in flats 
 
 inches and are a mass of roots. They 
 are then potted into 5-inch pots, or 
 extra strong ones into 6-inch, You 
 do not want them too large when bed- 
 ded out, as the wind breaks them, nor 
 too late or your customers will be 
 disappointed; about eighteen inches 
 high, with three leaves, will do. Any 
 kind of rich soil will do for them in 
 pots, with water ad libitum, and a 
 light, dry house. When you are grow- 
 ing your caladiums all houses are 
 much alike as to temperature. 
 
 To make the best effect in any posi- 
 tion out of doors the ground should 
 be dug deep, with plenty of manure 
 worked in. Here is a plant that the 
 
 coachman can water to his heart's 
 content. I mentioned a bulb the size 
 of a base ball, but that is the largest 
 useful size. Tubers that are 1% to 
 2 inches in diameter are large enough 
 to make fine plants for summer use. 
 
 We hear that the tubers of this cala- 
 dium are cooked and eaten in the 
 south. Its name implies that it is edi- 
 ble, and its other name is Colocasia 
 esculentum. 
 
 CALAMUS 
 
 The rattan palms, or calamus, in- 
 clude twenty or more species of slen- 
 der growing and very graceful palms 
 that are found in a wild state in vari- 
 ous portions of the tropics, chiefly in 
 India or the East Indies. 
 
 Some of the species become climbers 
 in their native country, and are said to 
 attain a length of stem of 200 to 300 
 feet, and to trail over the tops of for- 
 est trees in Java and Borneo, but the 
 subject of our illustration is one of 
 the smaller growing species, and not 
 likely to outgrow its accommodations 
 for a period of several years at least. 
 Calamus ciliaris is a particularly 
 graceful palm in a young state, having 
 a slender, reed-like stem, and finely 
 divided pinnate leaves. The leaves of 
 this species are light green, the pin- 
 nae narrow and arranged very closely 
 on the stem, and the foliage is rather 
 soft to the touch, owing to its being 
 covered with short, hair-like bristles. 
 
 C. ciliaris is essentially a warm 
 house palm, flourishing in a tempera- 
 ture of 70 to 75 degrees, with abun- 
 dant moisture, its tropical jungle habi- 
 tat giving us some idea as to its cul- 
 tural wants. 
 
 The leaves of this species being rath- 
 er thin in texture, it is liable to at- 
 tacks of red spider unless freely 
 syringed and watered, but when well- 
 grown is very attractive, and while 
 not adapted for all trade purposes is 
 a valuable and effective plant for spe- 
 cial occasions, 
 
 C, ciliaris suckers freely around the 
 base, and by careful handling these 
 suckers may be removed and estab- 
 lished, but it is necessary to keep 
 them rather close and warm for a time 
 in order to encourage the new roots, 
 and also to be careful that they are 
 not allowed to get too dry. 
 
 W. H. T. 
 
 CALANTHE. 
 See Orchids. 
 
 CALCEOLARIA. 
 
 There are few more attractive and 
 showy greenhouse flowers than the cal- 
 ceolaria, and although useless as a cut 
 flower it is of great value as a green- 
 house decorative plant, or as a window 
 plant, lasting fully as long as a cine- 
 raria and many other of our popular 
 flowers. There are several species, 
 both of the herbaceous and shrubby 
 sections, nearly all from the west coast 
 of South America and at a good eleva- 
 tion, for calceolarias dislike great 
 heat at any time of their growth. 
 
 Little attention is paid to the spe- 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 41 
 
 cies, the beautiful hybrids of the her- 
 baceous section being what we are 
 interested in. Seed can be obtained of 
 any reliable seedsman that will pro- 
 duce a great variety of beautiful 
 flowers. Sow from June to end of Sep- 
 tember. If wanted in bloom by March 
 the earlier month is the time to sow, 
 but they are difficult to have in bloom 
 that early; if sown in September they 
 can be bloomed the following May, and 
 with less risk of failure than earlier. 
 The seed is most minute and for direc- 
 tions about sowing refer to chapter 
 on that subject. Would say here that 
 it should never be covered, a piece of 
 glass over the seed pan being suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 When the little plants are large 
 enough to handle place them in pans 
 or pots an inch apart. When they are 
 near touching each other put into 3- 
 inch pots. By December they will be 
 large enough to go into 5-inch pots and 
 as they must be wintered cool they will 
 not need another shift till the first of 
 March, when they can go into their 
 flowering pots, a 7 or 8-inch. 
 
 Calceolarias are not so often seen in 
 either the florists' windows or the pri- 
 vate garden as their great beauty 
 should warrant, and the reason is that 
 although they cannot be called a diffi- 
 cult plant to manage, they are easily 
 ruined by neglect or mismanagement. 
 The following conditions if faithfully 
 observed will insure success. 
 
 Watering: At no time must they be 
 allowed to wilt for want of water, and 
 
 of winter 40 degrees at night is plenty 
 warm enough. In Europe they are 
 largely grown in cold-frames. Here 
 that is not as practicable, but from 
 seed sowing till middle of November 
 a cold-frame is much the best for 
 them. Let them at all times be so situ- 
 ated that they can have light, room 
 
 nent one till they are near flowering 
 time. 
 
 Soil: A rather light loam, not chop- 
 ped or sifted too fine, with a fourth or 
 fifth of thoroughly rotted manure, will 
 grow them well. If the soil is heavy, 
 add sand to the manure. I am sure it 
 pays well when they are in the larger 
 
 ^^fcljl^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^M ^'-£^ ^>^ 
 
 
 
 ^^I^V^^s^ 
 
 
 
 Herbaceous Calceolarias. 
 
 like the cineraria must never be over 
 watered or that will kill them: avoid 
 extremes ijoth ways. No syringing is 
 needed. 
 
 to grow, plenty of fresh air and a low 
 temperature. Bright sun coming sud- 
 denly in early spring is liable to burn 
 their leaves, so a temporary shade 
 
 Temperature: In the dull, dark days should be provided, but not a perma- 
 
 pots, the 5-inch and upwards, to drain 
 with a few crocks and a piece of green 
 moss. 
 
 Insects: They are seldom troubled 
 with any but the common greenfly, but 
 to those the calceolaria is a choice 
 morsel, and too often a fine batch of 
 young plants is utterly ruined by 
 them. Don't wait till you see the fly, 
 but smoke mildly every week at least 
 without fail, and till they are taken to 
 the show-house should always have 
 tobacco stems strewn among the pots. 
 There is no feature in the cultivation 
 of the calceolaria so important as this; 
 never let aphis be seen on them. 
 
 The shrubby section of calceolaria is 
 used in Europe largely as a summer 
 flowering garden plant. The writer has 
 tried it here several times, but always 
 with failure, and that I believe is the 
 general verdict; our hot summer is the 
 obstacle. As a flowering plant for the 
 greenhouse they are not nearly as or- 
 namental as the herbaceous varieties. 
 The same cultural directions will ap- 
 ply to them, excepting that they are 
 usually propagated by cuttings, whicli 
 root readily in the fall in a cool, shady 
 frame. 
 
 CAMELLIA. 
 
 This once universally cultivated 
 plant has gone largely out of fashion 
 and for the last twenty years is neith- 
 er seen nor spoken of. The cause is 
 not far to seek. Our largest and best 
 tea roses are as beautiful in form, of 
 
42 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 warmer tints of color and fragrant. 
 Then again all cut flowers must now 
 have their natural stem and that 
 largely bars the camellia. There was 
 a time which all older florists remem- 
 ber in the first days of the use of elab- 
 orate mechanically made designs, 
 when camellias were indispensable, 
 and more than one of us can remem- 
 ber the request or order of our patrons 
 of twenty-flve years ago: "Be sure to 
 put in plenty of Japonicas." 
 
 They are mostly all propagated by 
 grafting the fine varieties on seedling 
 stocks, or stocks raised from cuttings 
 put into sandy soil in July and Au- 
 gust in a cold-frame that can be kept 
 shady and cool. The propagation is 
 better left to the specialist, and the 
 growing of camellias to the private 
 gardener. Not because their cultiva- 
 lion is at all difilcult, but because the 
 
 only way to get them into bloom early 
 is to start them growing in the spring 
 early. At that time they will stand 
 a good heat with plenty of moisture 
 on leaf and root. As soon as they 
 have made their growth and show 
 the small flower bud on the end of 
 the growth they should be kept as 
 cool as possible during the remainder 
 of the summer. The hot summer is 
 what they don't like, and there is no 
 better place in summer than out of 
 doors in the shade of a building, or 
 what is still better a summer house 
 covered with lattice-work, which gives 
 partial shade and coolness. They will 
 do very well in winter in a tempera- 
 ture of 40 degrees at night. 
 
 When I say they are hardy in the 
 south of England and the milder parts 
 of Ireland you can form an idea as to 
 their hardiness. 1 remember about 
 
 CANNA. 
 
 The canua was of old often called 
 "Indian Shot" because the seed is ex- 
 cellent as a charge for the shotgun 
 when a stray dog is the game in view. 
 
 Few plants have undergone such a 
 change and improvement of late years 
 as the canna. Thirty years ago cannas 
 were grown almost exclusively for 
 their handsome tropical foliage, but 
 since M. Crozy introduced his wonder- 
 ful hybrids the flower is of more im- 
 portance than the leaves. Our sum- 
 mers are admirably adapted to the 
 perfect development of the canna, and 
 as a decorative plant for our summer 
 gardens it easily takes the front rank. 
 Gorgeous beds are seen in the parks, 
 cemeteries, private grounds, and even 
 in the humble little garden of the day 
 laliorer. In an S or 9-inch pot they 
 
 demand, both for the plants and flow- 
 ers, is too meager. 
 
 In cool conservatories they make 
 grand bushes planted out in the bor- 
 der. The writer well remembers the 
 day when it was his duty to jar the 
 stem of a large double white camellia 
 every morning when in flower and 
 then rake up from the perfectly kept 
 border hundreds of fallen petals, but 
 that was in a climate more suitable, 
 I think, for the camellia than this 
 one. 
 
 They like a good, strong yellow 
 loam and should not be overpotted. 
 The roots should be moist the year 
 round and in the spring and early 
 summer (their growing time) should 
 have plenty of water and an occasion- 
 al syringing. They can be had in 
 bloom from October til) May, but en- 
 dure no such thing as forcing. The 
 
 Bed of Canuas bordered with Acalyphas. 
 
 Ihe year 1864 a large plant of the 
 "Lady Hume's Blush" that was badly 
 covered with white scale. It was left 
 out of doors all winter with the in- 
 tention of applying the radical treat- 
 ment of kill or cure. The camellia 
 came through the winter unharmed. 
 I forget whether the scale was killed 
 or not. The scale is about the 
 only pest that troubles the camellia, 
 and that can be destroyed by washing 
 with the kerosene emulsion. 
 
 The hybrids that were raised from 
 the several species are the most use- 
 ful if you grow them at all. The sin- 
 gle colored varieties are fine decora- 
 tive flowers. I learn from a Philadel- 
 phia firm that a great many camellias 
 are now sold to go to the southern 
 states. Where planted out they 
 would be very fine. Last winter, how- 
 ever, would about do them up. 
 
 make grand plants for the decoration 
 of a large conservatory, where you 
 can see the fullest perfection of their 
 grand flowers. 
 
 Since the introduction of the Crozy 
 type (or, as they are often called, 
 "Flowering Cannas"), the old species 
 and types whose leaves were the at- 
 traction and flowers small and few, 
 have sunk into desuetude and are 
 rarely cultivated, because the newer 
 varieties have not only splendid spikes 
 of flowers but all the variety in color 
 of foliage also. There is one of the 
 old type still left that for effect of 
 foliage I have never yet seen equalled 
 by any of the large flowering ones. 
 We call, it La Grande Rouge. It grows 
 six feet high in any ordinary soil, has 
 narrow, long, pointed leaves, in color 
 a deep, almost purple, bronze, and 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 43 
 
 Carludovica Atrovirens. (See page 44.) 
 
 very upright habit. For the center of 
 a large bed we don't know its equal. 
 
 Our own American florists have 
 raised many grand varieties, equal to 
 any of the imported ones. The canna 
 seems well adapted to our climate 
 and environment. In the north in 
 winter, outside the greenhouse, our 
 vegetation is largely hibernating. The 
 sombre pines keep green 'tis true, but 
 we are without the broad-leaved ever- 
 greens of the south. Our giants of the 
 forest are bleak and bare and the 
 snow-bird flies noisessly across the 
 waste. Our woods are solemnly still. 
 Our v/ild animals have scattered their 
 seeds and herbaceous plants are cov- 
 ered with their welcome overcoat of 
 snow. Except for man and his neces- 
 sities it would be a quiet scene. The 
 bear slumbers in the hollow tree and 
 dreams of honey: the squirrel stops at 
 home and enjoys the fruits of his 
 frugal care, and the marmot curls up 
 in his deep burrow but peeps out In 
 early March to see how prospects are, 
 and about the time he takes his first 
 peep is the time to sow canna seed. 
 When spring once comes our vegeta- 
 tion awakens and grows apace. Trees 
 leave out it seems in a night, our 
 
 woods and fields are clothed with leaf 
 and blossom, and music is everywhere 
 and free to all from the tireless throat 
 of the frog and the sweet call of the 
 meadow lark (which is not a lark at 
 all, but a starling), and it seems to 
 me that the quick and stately growth 
 of the canna is in keeping with all this, 
 and is our ideal decorative plant. 
 
 Cannas come largely true from seed, 
 and good plants can be raised by sow- 
 ing in February for the following sum- 
 mer's use. The seed is so hard that 
 it is well to not only soak it in a bag 
 suspended in hot water, which you 
 can renew occasionally, but are all the 
 better if you take each seed, held firm- 
 ly by a pair of pincers and slice off a 
 small piece of the hard covering of the 
 seed. Sow in pans in three inches of 
 soil, covering the seed half an inch 
 or more. We place the pans on the 
 hot-water pipes, which quickens the 
 growth of the seed. When the plant 
 is three inches high we remove it and 
 start it growing in a pot; but don't 
 throw away the contents of the pan, 
 for there are always more to come, 
 and they will likely keep straggling 
 along for months. Grow the seedlings 
 along in a light, warm house and by 
 
 June 1st, which is planting time, they 
 should be in 4-inch pots. 
 
 The readiest way, and that by which 
 all fine varieties are propagated, is by 
 cutting up or division of the root. The 
 old stools that have been stored all 
 winter are divided in March. If the 
 piece of root is three or four inches 
 long, with one good eye or bud, it is 
 large enough to make a fine plant. We 
 place the pieces of root in three or 
 four inches of sand and old hot-bed 
 manure in flats about the middle or 
 end of March and place the flcts on 
 the pipes where the heat is not too 
 violent. They start to root and grow 
 immediately. 
 
 By middle of April you have pre- 
 sumably got rid of your lilies, etc., and 
 can find room to pot off the cannas 
 into 4 and 5-inch pots. They should 
 have a light bench in a light house and 
 no shade, but abundance of water, and 
 by the first of June they will be fine 
 plants, many of them sending up their 
 first spike of flowers. 
 
 Any soil that is one-third half rot- 
 ten manure will do for the cannas. 
 You cannot give them too deep or too 
 rich a soil and they require a great 
 abundance of water. They are usually 
 planted 15 to 18 inches apart. 
 
 When the foliage is destroyed by 
 frost the tops are cut down to within 
 six inches of the ground and the 
 clump of roots lifted and removed to 
 beneath a dry bench. On the ground 
 beneath a carnation bench is an ex- 
 cellent place, or anywhere the tempe- 
 rature is between 40 and 50 degrees, 
 but it must not be wet or they will 
 start to grow. Neither must there be 
 a drip; the latter is, I know from ex- 
 perience, very bad for them, as the 
 roots will rot. It is better when plac- 
 ing them under the bench to put 
 boards under them for the moisture of 
 the soil, however dry it may appear, 
 will start them growing. A root-house 
 for the purpose, where dahlias would 
 keep, would be the best place, but few 
 of us have that, and beneath the 
 benches is amply good providing you 
 guard against drip on them. 
 
 We always treat the canna as an her- 
 baceous plant, and it is called so by 
 high authorities, but in their tropical 
 
 One of the larstest Stinh\ of.... 
 
 Cannas 
 
 In AMERICA nlll be round nt the 
 
 COTTAGE GARDENS, 
 
 QUEENS, N. Y. 
 
 ALSO MANY 
 
 0OVELTIES. 
 
 ,.. . In Greenhouse and 
 
 W e have an o j j- ni 
 
 unlimited quantitv Bedding Plants. 
 
 of the very best soil 
 
 for greenhouse work, as well as one of the most 
 complete and best appointed greenhouse plants 
 in existence. 
 
44 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 home they are by no means herba- 
 ceous, spreading and growing and 
 flowering the year round. You can 
 lift, divide and propagate new and 
 lare varieties the year round, and you 
 van lift large clumps before frost has 
 touched them and use them in decora- 
 tions. 
 
 It is difficult to pick out even a doz- 
 en varieties, for new sorts are con- 
 stantly appearing and what is con- 
 sidered the finest this year may be 
 eclipsed by seedlings of next year. 
 Cannas that do not flower abundantly 
 and hold their flowers well will not do 
 for bedding, and those minus these 
 qualities will soon be lost sight of. 
 Italia and Austria, so beautiful as in- 
 dividual flowers, are useless planted 
 out as is most likely all that type. 
 Some of the best bedders, if not new, 
 are: 
 
 Madame Crozy: Vermilion scarlet, 
 bordered with golden yellow. 
 
 Florence Vaughan: Fine yellow, 
 mottled with crimson. 
 
 Paul Marquant: - Salmon. 
 
 Souvenir de Antoine Crozy: A 
 grand variety; an improvement on 
 Mme. Crozy. 
 
 Tarrytown: Rich bright red. 
 
 Trocadero: Deep crimson lake. 
 
 Charles Henderson: Deep crimson. 
 
 Egandale; Soft red; fine dark foli- 
 age. 
 
 President Carnot: Scarlet; dark 
 foliage. 
 
 Chicago: Vermillion scarlet; fine 
 green foliage. 
 
 President Cleveland: Orange scar- 
 let; one of the best. 
 
 Rose Mawr: Rosy pink. 
 
 Klondike: Orange. 
 
 Admiral Avellan: Orange scarlet; 
 fine dark foliage. 
 
 Papa: One of the best reds; im- 
 mense spike. 
 
 Madame Montefiore: A fine yellow, 
 slightly spotted. 
 
 And dozens of others. Test care- 
 fully the new varieties as they appear, 
 unless you have a chance to see a 
 whole bed of them growing. 
 
 CANDYTUFT. 
 
 See Annuals. 
 
 CAPE POND WEED. 
 
 See Aponogeton. 
 
 CARLUDOVICA. 
 
 Though frequently considered among 
 palms and grown with them, yet this 
 handsome foliage plant is not a palm, 
 being more nearly related to the pan- 
 danus family. C. atrovirens has been 
 in cultivation for many years, but does 
 not appear to have become common 
 in the trade on this side of the ocean, 
 and as a matter of tact is seldom met 
 with outside of private collections. 
 
 C atrovirens is a steimless or nearly 
 stemless plant of bushy habit, the 
 leaves of which are bifid, plaited some- 
 what like those of a curculigo, and 
 very dark green, as indicated by the 
 specific name. 
 
 This plant grows freely in a warm 
 house, and is not hard to please in 
 
 the matter of compost, but makes 
 more rapid growth in light, rich soil 
 with good drainage, the latter point 
 being the more necessary from the 
 fact that an abundant supply of water 
 is needed for its welfare. 
 
 Propagation may be effected by seeds 
 when these are obtainable, but more 
 often depends on division, as C. atro- 
 virens produces suckers freely, and by 
 washing out the roots these suckers 
 may be separated from the parent 
 plant without difficulty, and soon be- 
 come established plants. 
 
 The carludovicas are said to be na- 
 tives only of tropical South America, 
 where a number of handsome species 
 have been found, one of which, C. pal- 
 mata, possesses additional interest on 
 account of its leaves furnishing the 
 material for the so-called Panama 
 hats, those luxuries of summer dress 
 that are unfortunately beyond the 
 purse of the average florist. But we 
 may be permitted tO' grow a plant of 
 Carludovica palmata, and by exercis- 
 ing the imagination we may see the 
 patient South American native select- 
 ing one large young leaf, carefully re- 
 moving the stiff veins or ribs from it. 
 then slitting it into narrow strips, and 
 finally plating it into a shapely head 
 cover without separating the strips at 
 the stem end. Such ingenuity de- 
 serves a proper financial reward, but 
 in all probability the larger portion 
 of the profit is secured by the Euro- 
 pean or American hatter, who ulti- 
 mately retails the product. W. H. T. 
 
 CARNATION. 
 
 If not the most important flower we 
 grow, the carnation certainly stands 
 next to the rose, both in area of glass 
 
 devoted to its culture and value of the 
 flowers sold. Of all our commercial 
 flowers the type of carnations we grow 
 are most distinctively American. They 
 are very different from the tree carna- 
 tion of Europe, which had the reputa- 
 tion of being perennial bloomers there, 
 but the flowers were few and far be- 
 tween and had no such stems as our 
 present day carnations. Nor are they 
 like the garden carnations which come 
 with a grand burst of bloom in June 
 and July, but have no tendency to 
 flower again for another year. It is 
 certain that our strain inherits the 
 blood of more than one breed, for 
 seedlings often revert back to varie- 
 ties that produce a strong growth and 
 few flowers, and some again are crop- 
 pers. 
 
 The splendid varieties we have to- 
 day have been produced not suddenly 
 but by the slow operation of the law 
 of evolution, aided by artificial selec- 
 tion. The first carnations that I at- 
 tempted to flower in the winter 
 months were La Purite, carmine, and 
 Edwardsii and President Degraw, both 
 white, all very free bloomers, and the 
 flowers were always used with short 
 stems. If we had disbudded and picked 
 the flowers with long stems I doubt 
 whether they would be as free as many 
 of our present varieties. 
 
 Astoria was a pioneer among carna- 
 tions and a cross between it and Ed- 
 wardsii produced Buttercup, which was 
 a wonderful flower in its day and 
 which for years had no rival. From 
 1S75 to 1885 there were no carnation 
 specialists and the few varieties intro- 
 duced during that time are gone and 
 forgotten. About the latter date ap- 
 peared Grace Wilder, the first of its 
 
 Carnation Mrs. Geo. M. Bradt. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 45 
 
 color (Scott is almost the same shade). 
 Then Mr. Simmons, of Geneva, sent 
 out his famous varieties, several of 
 which were a great advance on exist- 
 ing varieties and some of them are 
 standard sorts today. Silver Spray, J. 
 J. Harrison, Portia, Tidal Wave, and 
 greatest of all — Daybreak — were sent 
 out by him. 
 
 To trace further the subsequent in- 
 troductions would make too long a 
 chapter. It is about ten years since 
 the carnation was taken up and spe- 
 cialized by many of our best horticul- 
 turists with the result that we have 
 attained what ten years ago would 
 have been considered the absolute 
 ideal. But who can tell what Dorner, 
 Hill, May, Nicholson, Fisher, Ward or 
 other enthusiasts will do. Size has 
 been attained almost or quite to the 
 desired point. Jubilee, Pingree and 
 America have a two-foot stem of suf- 
 ficient substance to hold their heads 
 quite erect. 
 
 Fragrance should be an attribute of 
 all varieties. In color we have shades 
 from deep maroon to purest white, and 
 yet perhaps it is in color that the fu- 
 
 ture promises most for the raiser of 
 new varieties. I would say just here 
 that when any good variety does well 
 with you don't discard it till you are 
 sure you can grow a better variety of 
 the same color. 
 
 There are few plants that accommo- 
 date themselves so readily to a great 
 variety of soils. Yet from quality of 
 soils, or more likely methods of hand- 
 ling, good gardeners fail with some 
 varieties while entirely successful with 
 others. 
 
 Whether we have reached the limit 
 in the improvement of the divine 
 flower or not is a question that it is 
 not at all essential to worry over be- 
 cause we shall want the disseminator 
 of new varieties always with us. 
 Whether under our continuous winter 
 culture varieties should gradually lack 
 health and vigor is a question that has 
 led to some controversy. We don't 
 "force" carnations by any means, yet 
 to a great extent we reverse the sea- 
 sons, and propagating by cuttings is 
 not raising a new individual as grow- 
 ing from seed. We are merely divid- 
 
 ing and perpetuating the old original 
 plant. And my experience is that after 
 eight or ten years a variety loses its 
 vigor and Is a prey to all carnation 
 diseases. And even it it did not it 
 would be superseded by improved va- 
 rieties. 
 
 Propagation. 
 
 In cultural hints the proper place to 
 begin is with the cutting. Let me re- 
 peat that the plants from which you 
 take the cuttings have not been forced. 
 They have been subjected to a lower 
 temperature than that in which it 
 would flower in its native habitat. So 
 the plant is not exhausted, and there 
 is no need of having any plants in a 
 cold-frame to propagate from. No bet- 
 ter material can be had than that 
 from your flowering plants. 
 
 Cuttings root readily from Novem- 
 ber 1st to the middle of April, or even 
 earlier or later, but except for special 
 purposes, such as plants to flower in 
 early summer, which can be propa- 
 gated in November, or in case you are 
 very short of a variety, from January 
 1st to March 1st is the best time to 
 
46 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 put the cuttings in the sand. No spe- 
 cial propagating house is needed. An 
 ordinary bench such as you would 
 grow carnations on, is as good as the 
 most expensive arrangements and the 
 temperature of the house can be just 
 the same. Avoid a direct draught, 
 either from a door or ventilator. Car- 
 nations want the light and little shad- 
 ing is needed during January and Feb- 
 ruary. When the sun gets high enough 
 to wilt the cuttings we tack cheese 
 cloth up to the glass. That is far bet- 
 ter than laying on and taking off news- 
 papers. The cloth is heavy enough to 
 shed the rays of the sun at any time 
 and is far enough above the cuttings 
 to give them sufficient light at all 
 times. 
 
 For the cutting bed three inches of 
 coarse clean river or lake sand is suf- 
 ficient. As a consolation to those who 
 do not have lake sand near them I will 
 say that for the past five years I have 
 
 every day. If hot water or steam pipes 
 run beneath the board bench, there is 
 no harm done, but what we know as 
 bottom heat is not at all essential in 
 propagating carnations. 
 
 In the early days of carnation grow- 
 ing, before flowers were picked with 
 long stems, we used for cuttings only 
 the young growths from the bottom, 
 those that would grow up and produce 
 flowers, and I am not sure but what 
 they make the finest plants. They 
 are not, however, the quickest or sur- 
 est to root. The propagator of large 
 quantities, or those wishing to raise 
 the largest possible number of a new 
 variety, may take every green shoot 
 that will make a plant or root. But 
 that is not the way to perpetuate your 
 plants for the best results. Cuttings 
 should be taken only from the health- 
 iest plants, and it will pay to also 
 choose from the plants bearing the 
 largest and best flowers, for like begets 
 
 Bench of Carnation Cuttings. 
 
 propagated in bank sand, containing 
 even some loam in fine particles, and 
 I have not lost on an average 5 per 
 cent, of the cuttings, and in free root- 
 ing varieties, like Scott and Day- 
 break, none. There is little danger of 
 the troublesome fungus among your 
 carnation cuttings because the tem- 
 perature should not be high enough 
 for its vegetation. But as a preventive 
 and for another reason we always 
 water the sand with the ammoniacal 
 solution before each batch of cuttings 
 is put in. 
 
 Watering is a matter of pure sense 
 and judgment. If the glass is covered 
 with snow, or the weather is dull and 
 sunless, we water every three or four 
 days. If the weather is bright and 
 sunny, allowing plenty of ventilation, 
 then every second day. And if you 
 have occasion to propagate late in 
 March the cuttings will take water 
 
 like. The offshoots from the flower- 
 ing stem make fine cuttings, but they 
 should be taken not too low down, 
 where they are hard and woody, nor 
 too near the flower, where they are 
 small and spindling. 
 
 Some growers just tear off the cut- 
 tings and put them in the sand as 
 they are pulled off. I prefer to cut 
 the smallest possible piece off the bot- 
 tom. As to trimming the leaves, gen- 
 erally the two lower ones are best re- 
 moved. Shearing off the tops of the 
 leaves does not hurt the cuttings, nor 
 does it help them to root; it is done 
 merely to allow you to get more cut- 
 tings into the same surface of sand. 
 The distance apart to place the cut- 
 tings in the sand is merely a question 
 of variety. Some need more room than 
 others, but the cuttings should be at 
 least one inch into the sand in straight 
 rows, and the man that cannot draw 
 
 with an old knife a perfectly straight 
 line across three or four feet of propa- 
 gating bed without the aid of a 
 straight edge should be sent back to 
 washing pots. 
 
 In a temperature of 50 degrees at 
 night the cuttings will root in 25 to 
 30 days. They do not all root equally 
 in the same time. Some cuttings (of 
 roses for instance) are best potted up 
 as soon as the roots have started out 
 a fourth of an inch, but a carnation 
 I would rather have with roots an 
 inch long. I have occasion every year 
 to put some in flats in two inches of 
 sand and some in 2%-inch pots, and 
 I see no difference in results in the 
 field. The flats (mine are small, hold- 
 ing only two dozen plants) are much 
 the cheapest, requiring less care and 
 being easier to handle than pots. 
 
 After the first week from the sand 
 they will be well rooted in the pots 
 or flats and should be given full sun- 
 light and plenty of air. As planting 
 out time approaches you will have 
 stopped firing in the houses, so a 
 good light exposure there will do as 
 well for the plants as anywhere, but 
 if crowded for room a cold-frame is 
 quite as good a place and even better 
 as you can remove the sash entirely 
 on mild days and thus prepare in 
 the best way for planting in the field. 
 We always like to have the plants 
 early enough to have pinched or stop- 
 ped them once before planting out 
 time. 
 
 Field Culture. 
 
 Don't put off planting time. The 
 carnation is not a tender plant; it is 
 almost a truly hardy plant. In our 
 latitude the end of April or very early 
 in May is late enough. If you defer 
 planting till end of May you have 
 lost a month's growth. Perhaps no 
 crop should be grown year after year 
 for many years on the same spot. We 
 know this is very wrong tor some, 
 but we have grown carnations three 
 consecutive years on the same ground 
 and have not noticed the slightest ill 
 effects. We use a light dressing of 
 stable manure every spring and plow 
 deep, not less than eight inches. 
 
 We plant 12 inches between plants 
 and 15 inches between rows and leave 
 out every sixth row. Be sure to plant 
 in straight rows both ways; that al- 
 lows you to run your Planet. Jr.. cul- 
 tivator both ways. This little cultiva- 
 tor saves you lots of labor and does 
 about all the work, yet two or three 
 times during the season you must go 
 over them with the hand hoe and 
 loosen up the soil close to the plants. 
 We don't hoe primarily to kill weeds. 
 We hoe or cultivate to keep the soil 
 loose, and incidentally we of course 
 destroy all the weeds. After a heavy 
 rain when the ground is just friable 
 seems the best time of all to hoe. Then 
 the operation is a pleasure and it's a 
 blessing to the plants. You can al- 
 most see them grow. Yet we do not 
 always wait for a rain. In long dry 
 spells in June, July and August we 
 cultivate once a week. 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 47 
 
 The last week in August I would call 
 the ideal time. If it could all be done 
 then so much the better, but the quan- 
 tity handled compels large growers 
 to extend the operation from Aug. 
 15th to the first or second week in 
 September. The question is often 
 asked and discussed — "Is it best to lift 
 carnations with a ball of earth?" It 
 is a foolish question to an old carna- 
 tion grower. If your soil is of a light 
 texture it will be impossible to lift 
 with any ball, and most undesirable if 
 you could. If planted in a clay soil 
 you must wait for a rain or thorough- 
 ly soak the plants before lifting. Clay 
 when wet is as friable as sandy loam 
 and will drop off and leave the roots 
 and fibers intact. We do not want to 
 retain any of the soil that they occu- 
 pied in the field, but we do want all 
 the roots, and to preserve these we 
 raise the plants with the aid of two 
 digging forks, each on opposite sides 
 of the plant and six or seven inches 
 from the plant. It is a job you can 
 work hard at, but it should not be 
 done in a hurry. 
 
 As soon as the plants are lifted and 
 the soil shaken off the roots they are 
 laid in flats and the flats carted to 
 the door of the greenhouse and then 
 carried to the planter so that the roots 
 are exposed very little. It is not un- 
 
 For years I practiced and preai bed 
 watering when the plants were put 
 out. Not surface watering, but a lit- 
 tle water in the hole around the plant 
 and then filling up with dry soil. That 
 is the correct way to plant anything 
 from a geranium to an oak tree; in 
 fact the only way. But for the past 
 two seasons we have not done that 
 with carnations and never will again; 
 there is no need of it. There is plenty 
 of moisture in the ground and rising 
 from its depths to keep the plants in 
 good order till we get a rain. There 
 is another great advantage in getting 
 the plants out early. The weather 
 is cool and you will catch the spring 
 rains. I have always condemned wa- 
 tering during summer under any con- 
 ditions and know that it is unneces- 
 sary and wrong. 
 
 Stopping the plant by pinching out 
 the leading shoots is one of the most 
 important operations connected with 
 carnation culture. If not stopped once 
 before .planting out they will need it 
 very shortly afterward. By stopping 
 the leading shoots the intent is to pro- 
 duce a greater number of growths. A 
 few years ago we discontinued stop- 
 ping the plants early in August and 
 did not lift them till the end of Sep- 
 tember. The plants would then be full 
 of buds and we expected to go right on 
 cutting flowers from the newly lifted 
 plants. Such flowers as we then pro- 
 duced would not sell at any price to- 
 day. With hardly an exception (the 
 Scott may be one) no carnation should 
 show buds at lifting time. All flower 
 bearing shoots should be made in- 
 side, then you will get a fairly good 
 stem and a clean flower. The plant 
 should have its powers taxed as little 
 as possible when undergoing the trans- 
 
 Carnation White Cloud. 
 
 planting from field to bench and the 
 buds and flowers would be the great- 
 est hindrance to a speedy and success- 
 ful start under the new conditions. 
 
 Transplanting. 
 
 Large growers cannot fix any one 
 week as the time for lifting, but have 
 to begin early to get done in time. 
 
 usual for us to just strike a very hot 
 .«pell for this operation. I have been 
 planting carnations more than once 
 in the first week of September when 
 the thermometer under the apple 
 tree's shade was 90 degrees and under 
 glass 110 degrees, but we did not 
 postpone the work "on account of the 
 inclemency of the weather." Oh, no. 
 
48 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 we kept right on, and I don't remem- 
 ber of losing or injuring any plants by 
 so doing. 
 
 At the risk of being thought ego- 
 tistical I will say that we do not lose 
 any plants through transplanting. I 
 have time and again noticed that in 
 houses holding aljout 2,500 plants we 
 have lost none up to the following 
 May: in others, perhaps one plant. I 
 
 I have had to listen more than once 
 to an ex-farmer carnation grower who 
 would inform me with pride and pleas- 
 antry that his boy could plant four 
 carnations to my one. The best an- 
 swer to that is: "You don't say so!" 
 with pleasure and surprise on your 
 features. When you notice in a 
 month's time that half of those "My 
 boy planted" are dead or dying you 
 
 A Bunch of White Carnations. 
 
 have read of growers who thought 
 they had fair success if they did not 
 lose more than 10 per cent. A loss of 
 5 per cent would worry us. When we 
 consider the crude and ungardener- 
 like way in which transplanting is 
 done by some of the smaller growers, 
 or men who have perhaps taken to the 
 business after a failure at many other 
 callings, it is no wonder that the loss- 
 es are 10, or even 20 per cent. The 
 great evil in this simple but impor- 
 tant operation is that the beginner 
 who is without a gardener's education 
 attempts to attain speed before he has 
 gained the knowledge "How to do it." 
 
 are reconciled to your old slow ways. 
 I am not by any means encouraging 
 slowness (far from it), but learn to 
 plant and pot and shift and tie prop- 
 erly first, and then when performing 
 any of these operations speed will 
 never interfere with the quality of 
 the work. 
 
 The distance between plants on the 
 bench will vary some with the varie- 
 ties and also with the size of the 
 plants. McGowan used to do with 
 eight inches between the plants and 
 ten inches between the rows. Scott 
 and Daybreak, when fine plants, 
 should be ten inches apart and twelve 
 
 inches between rows. Two years ago 
 it was very rainy and our carnation 
 plants grew so fast during July and 
 August that both the last mentioned 
 varieties needed 14 inches between 
 rows and by Christmas were quite as 
 thick as health would allow. Your 
 good sense must guide you in this. To 
 plant too far apart is not economical, 
 but it is better to err in this direc- 
 tion than to crowd them overmuch, 
 for that means mildew and rotting of 
 the lower growths, a weakening of the 
 whole plant and poor, weak flowers. 
 I have seen them so closely packed in 
 (because the owner had more than he 
 needed and hated to see any perish 
 in the field) that half the plants rot- 
 ted and the rest were useless. . Air 
 and daylight should have access to the 
 plant on each side if you expect good 
 flowers, and only fine flowers will re- 
 turn a profit now-a-days. 
 
 Twenty years ago we used six inches 
 of soil in the bench and later five 
 inches was found to be enough. I be- 
 lieve that four inches is ample to 
 grow any carnation, and some of the 
 finest flowers we see at exhibitions 
 are grown in less, but I would say 
 four inches is about right. 
 
 Carnations seem to do fairly well 
 in a great variety of soils. Such 
 sandy loam as they have on Long 
 Island is undoubtedly the ideal for 
 most of the varieties, but if properly 
 handled a varied texture of soil suits 
 them. Mr. W. N. Rudd, of Mt. Green- 
 wood, 111., grows prize-takers in the 
 fat prairie land of his state, and my 
 neighbors, W. J. Palmer & Son, grow 
 magnificent Daybreaks and several 
 others in a stiff loam that is almost 
 a clay. At the organization of the 
 American Carnation Society in Phila- 
 delphia there was a discussion as to 
 renewing the soil annually in the 
 benches. I was surprised to hear any 
 one say that they grew them several 
 years in the same old soil. We had 
 never dreamed of such a thing, but 
 always renewed the soil every sum- 
 mer. Now that we have come down to 
 only four inches of soil I would cer- 
 tainly advocate a change of every par- 
 ticle of soil annually. 
 
 Our method is to plow up a piece of 
 clover sod towards the end of May 
 when the clover has made a good 
 growth. We plow five inches deep 
 and plow and cultivate this piece fre- 
 quently during summer, and early in 
 July spread the manure on the surface 
 and plow it in, and then add the bone 
 flour and harrow it in. We will most 
 likely have had a rain before hauling 
 in the soil and if so it may need an- 
 other run over with the cultivator, 
 which helps to distribute the manure 
 and bone. It is then hauled to the 
 door of the house and wheeled on to 
 the benches or got in by the most 
 expeditious method that you can de- 
 vise. It should, however, be a wheel- 
 barrow or small tramway and truck: 
 the old hand-barrow is killing, and 
 not fit work for bipeds, black or white, 
 male or female. 
 
 We try to get about a sixth or sev- 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 49 
 
 enth of the well rotted stable manure 
 into the soil. The horse manure is 
 much preferable to that from; the cow 
 stable. The bone should be of the best 
 quality and very finely ground. What 
 we know as bone meal is often too 
 coarse and it does not dissolve in 
 time for the plants to have received 
 the full benefit of it. so we get the 
 bone flour. A 5-inch pot of bone flour 
 to an ordinary wheelbarrow of soil is 
 not too much, but less may be needed. 
 You can find out how much this is. to 
 the square yard or rod. 
 
 It is a fact that occasionally the fin- 
 est of carnations are grown without 
 the aid of any manures, either artifi- 
 cial or animal; it has happened so 
 with me. Last year, running short of 
 bone, we used a grade of superphos- 
 phate known as potato phosphate and 
 the result was quite equal to that 
 from the bone and it was much less 
 expensive. Bone black is also excel- 
 lent, and many gi'owers highly prize 
 wood ashes. If I were unable to pro- 
 cure both bone meal and the stable 
 manure I would much rather depend 
 on the bone meal or superphosphate 
 and dispense with the animal manure, 
 too much, of which produces a strong, 
 but soft growth. For the different 
 composts and their ingredients I must 
 refer you to the reports of Professors 
 Taft, Arthur and Bailey, or to our ex- 
 pert growers like Dorner & Sons. 
 
 To return to the planting. If the 
 
 House of Armarindy Carnations. 
 
 soil is very dry when put on the 
 bench I prefer to give it a thorough 
 soaking a day or two before planting. 
 Make a wide hole with the trowel (but 
 your hand is the best trowel) and 
 spread the roots out in a natural way. 
 Push in the soil on the roots, and I 
 like to press the soil firmly around 
 the roots, and be sure not to put the 
 plant any deeper than it was growing 
 in the field. Deep planting has killed 
 lots of carnations. While you are mak- 
 ing the hole, arranging the roots and 
 filling in the soil with the right hand, 
 the plant is firmly grasped, with its 
 growth inside your fingers, by the left 
 hand, so you can see that the plant 
 is at the right depth, place and posi- 
 tion, and is finished off neatly in every 
 way. An earnest workman will do 
 all this well and neatly much quicker 
 than I can describe it. Some may 
 ask what may be considered a good 
 day's work for a man planting, sup- 
 posing the plants are delivered right 
 to his hand and other hands water 
 them. I would be quite satisfied with 
 1.500 in ten hours' work. Any f2ister 
 than this would raise doubts as to the 
 quality of the work. Soil, however, 
 makes a difference, and an upright 
 grower (like Scott) is quicker to han- 
 dle than Daybreak, which is spread- 
 ing. 
 
 House Culture. 
 
 The first week in the houses is the 
 most critical time with the carnations. 
 
 If you get them well established it 
 will take a lot of brutal treatment to 
 kill them, although continued skillful 
 management is needed to insure best 
 results. I am very particular about 
 the first watering. It should be suffi- 
 cient to thoroughly wet every particle 
 of soil on the bench, and I am not 
 satisfied till I see it dripping through 
 the bottom of the bench. The quantity 
 of water will depend upon the dryness 
 of your soil when planting. We shade 
 the first week after planting (and I 
 think that is of great benefit) by sim- 
 ply throwing some muddy water on 
 the glass. A lump of stiff blue clay 
 dissolved in a tub of water and the 
 water thrown on by a tin dipper will 
 answer every purpose. The rain soon 
 washes it off and if you don't get a 
 rain the hose will do it with little 
 trouble. In a week, or at least in ten 
 days, the new roots will be active in 
 the benches and no more shade is 
 wanted till the following May or 
 June. 
 
 If the weather is hot and windy I 
 prefer to let the houses be hot rather 
 than draughty. A cutting wind is bad 
 for any plant when its roots are inact- 
 ive, so keep the ventilators almost 
 closed for the first few days, and if 
 the nights are still give all the ventila- 
 tion you possibly can then. You will 
 see the carnations stand up in the 
 morning as if they had grown there 
 all summer. The cool night air is 
 
50 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 their salvation and the hot, dry air of 
 daytime, is their severe ordeal. We 
 throw water around the house and 
 liglitly spray the plants for the first 
 few days, and we believe (contrary to 
 scientific exponents) that the plants 
 are greatly benefited by so doing. 
 After the first week, and the plants 
 have taken hold, we ventilate all we 
 possibly can day and night and entire- 
 ly discontinue all syringing. 
 No part of my endeavor to impart 
 
 you can, day and night, till winter sets 
 in. There are thousands of carnation 
 houses throughout the country most 
 inadequately furnished with ventila- 
 tion. Get them altered, or grow some- 
 thing else. 
 
 In a week or ten days the second 
 watering of the beds is needed, but no 
 subsequent watering should be so copi- 
 ous as the first one. To attempt to 
 tell you how often a bed needed water- 
 ing would be preposterous. If you 
 
 Plant of Carnation Jubilee. 
 
 my simple knowledge to the reader is 
 done more earnestly than that regard- 
 ing this fall management of the car- 
 nation. It is during the months of 
 September, October and November 
 that so many promising houses of car- 
 nations are ruined, and there are lots 
 of them that have too little ventilation 
 supplied them, and many growers don't 
 avail themselves of the means of ven- 
 tilation that they have. A strong, 
 sturdy, healthy plant in the latter part 
 of November will endure a lot of mis- 
 management for the next three 
 months, but a forced up, weak plant 
 at that date will never repay you when 
 the dark days come. Give all the air 
 
 can't tell by sight or touch when the 
 )ieds are dry and will take a watering, 
 I might as well try to describe by 
 words a sharp or a flat in music to an 
 ear that cannot observe it when heard. 
 You should not attempt to keep a bed 
 or potted plant always at one degree of 
 moisture. Extremes are bad, but it 
 does not hurt to let them get slightly 
 on the dry side or in that healthy state 
 when a watering will be greatly ap- 
 Iireciated by the plant. We try to keep 
 the surface of the beds slightly loosen- 
 ed up and entirely free of weeds at all 
 times. 
 
 Some growers tell us to keep the 
 Ijeds free of weeds and "dry leaves, 
 
 which should be removed." I am 
 happy to state that we have not had 
 occasion to remove any dry leaves 
 for some years, and there is no oc- 
 casion to have any if the plants are 
 properly treated during the first month 
 on the bench, particularly the first 
 week. Some of our best growers clean 
 the surface of the beds thoroughly in 
 October and November and then put 
 on a half or three-quarters of an inch 
 of mulch, which feeds surface roots, 
 prevents the drying out of the beds 
 and the necessity of continually stir- 
 ring the surface of the soil. It is an 
 excellent plan. We prefer to do it, 
 however, in February, as with our 
 frequent snows and dark weather the 
 beds dry out slowly. For the mulch 
 we use rotten manure and loam, half 
 and half, and before putting it on the 
 bed we stir the surface and sprinkle 
 on a good dusting of bone flour, cover- 
 ing the bone with the mulch. If you 
 are going to carry your carnations 
 on into June or July this mulching will 
 be of the greatest benefit. 
 
 I don't think I have yet said any- 
 thing about temperature. If a house is 
 very light the day temperature is not 
 of great importance providing it is 
 high enough. It is certain that some 
 varieties do better in lower tempera- 
 ture than others. Daybreak flowers 
 freely in a night temperature of 45 
 degrees. Jubilee wants 55 degrees at 
 night, or does very well at that, but 
 50 degrees at night will be found to 
 suit the great majority of varieties 
 very well, and is high enough for any 
 if first class flowers and a continuous 
 supply is expected. All of them should 
 go up to C5 degrees in the daytime, 
 unless the weather is very cold and it 
 is all fire heat; then stop at CO degrees. 
 If the sun is shining let the house go 
 up to 70 degrees; that is only the car- 
 nation's natural temperature. Some 
 growers attribute bursting of the calyx 
 largely to a very uneven temperature; 
 that is, letting the house get down 
 some nights as low as 40 degrees or 
 less. But this may be tbeory only. 
 The nearer you can keep the house 
 to 50 degrees at night and to 65 to 70 
 degrees in the daytime, or noon, the 
 better success you will have. A little 
 ventilation should be given for a short 
 time every day except in the very se- 
 verest weather. On cloudy days when 
 the outside temperature is perhaps 35 
 to 40 degrees it is economy to fire up 
 and give ventilation. 
 
 Disbudding. 
 
 Disbudding, which was practiced by 
 few ten years ago, is now universally 
 done by all growers. It seems a great 
 labor, but when the expense is spread 
 over every hundred carnations you 
 pick, the cost is extremely small, and 
 more than that, it is now an absolute 
 necessity. Disbudding should be done 
 every week. The buds develop very 
 quickly, and thej' should be rubbed off 
 when quite small, not left on till they 
 are almost showing color, or disbud- 
 ding will be of little avail. The object 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 51 
 
 of disbudding is to have only one bud 
 receive the whole strength of the 
 shoot. If you allow two or three buds 
 to share its strength till they are 
 nearly full size you have done little 
 good. 
 
 Tying. 
 
 The matter of tying is of the great- 
 est importance and a considerable part 
 of the expense of growing carnations. 
 Thirty years ago and for many years 
 thereafter nothing better was thought 
 of than the primitive straight stick, 
 and in the days of short-stemmed, or 
 really stemless, flowers, it did very 
 well. Now-a-days it is useless, and 
 the advent of the long-stemmed flower 
 has compelled us to use some better 
 method. 
 
 A great many devices have been 
 thBught of and many arrangements 
 in the shape of wire supports invented, 
 mostly all useless. There is, however, 
 one device of wire that seems pre-emi- 
 nently ahead of anything yet invent- 
 ed, and which it seems to me is about 
 perfect. I do not say this to favor any 
 manufacturer, but in justice to my 
 readers must say that the support 
 known as the "Model," made in 
 Brooklyn, is about perfection. The 
 immense quantities used by our larg- 
 est growers is evidence of this. The 
 straight, simple stake, the large stilt 
 
 each row of plants crosswise two 
 strings are needed, one against each 
 row. The common white string used 
 by grocers, which is very inexpensive, 
 is good enough for this purpose. 
 
 Each plant is then confined in a 
 square made by the wire and string. 
 
 its cost spread over three years would 
 make it the cheapest of all methods. 
 
 Insects and Diseases. 
 
 Kor many years we had no pests to 
 contend with except our common ene- 
 mies, the aphis and red spider. A few 
 
 Mr. DornerVMethod of Tyin^. 
 
 wire, bent into a gigantic hairpin, the 
 wire netting and many other schemes 
 are good. 
 
 The plan used first by Mr. Dorner, 
 and now generally adopted, is very 
 good, and with many varieties answers 
 the purpose well. It is to stretch a 
 strong wire (No. 14 or 16 j along both 
 sides of the bench about six inches 
 above the soil, and between each row. 
 lengthwise of the bed, a lighter wire. 
 Then from the two outside wires a 
 string is run across the bed and near 
 the plants, carrying the string around 
 each wire as it is passed. Between 
 
 To keep the wires from sagging you 
 will want a lath across the bed at 
 intervals, and strong wooden supports 
 to fasten the wires to at each end of 
 the bed. Another tier of this arrange- 
 ment must be added as the plants 
 grow, and with some varieties even 
 a third will be needed IS inches above 
 the soil. This plan answers every 
 purpose, is very inexpensive, is quick- 
 ly applied and altogether satisfactory, 
 but it is not nearly equal in neatness, 
 convenience, or for the growth of the 
 plants as the "Model" support, whose 
 only defect now is its first cost. But 
 
 years ago the "Rust" was imported 
 and became a great scare. Several 
 other diseases were lectured upon, and 
 the disease and its causes illustrated 
 till we thought the cultivation of the 
 carnation was doomed. 
 
 Tobacco smoke destroys the aphis 
 and a light fumigation should be often 
 given. The fly is often very trouble- 
 some to the buds. We have not seen 
 red spider for several seasons, al- 
 though never syringing. More air, 
 more room, and perhaps the sulphur 
 which is put on the heating pipes ev- 
 ery fall, may have helped to prevent 
 the spider from flourishing. If it does 
 appear in May, syringing is the best 
 cure, but it is difBcult to dislodge. 
 
 The rust was a few years ago most 
 discouraging. There are few varieties 
 that it does not attack, but there are 
 some; Flora Hill and Scott are two 
 that I have never yet seen troubled 
 with it. There have been many mix- 
 tures advocated for its cure or preven- 
 tion, chief of which is the Bordeaux 
 mixture with which we sprayed the 
 plants. Little heed is now given to 
 any cure for the rust, many believing 
 that the cure was as bad as the disease, 
 yet the rust is disappearing, and 
 troubles us little; not because we have 
 killed the disease or its spores, but 
 because we have better understanding 
 of the conditions least favorable to the 
 rust's existence, chief of which are ab- 
 sence of moisture on the leaf, air and 
 light between the plants, more and 
 better ventilation, earlier planting and 
 more vigor of growth. 
 
 With the exception of dipping the 
 cuttings before and after being in the 
 sand we leave fungicides alone. We 
 
52 
 
 T'-E FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 use the ammoniacal mixture for the 
 purpose, but if you prefer the Bordeaux 
 mixture you can obtain it in pulp form 
 and dilute it as you need it. Benj. 
 Hammond, Fishkill-on-Hudson. N. Y., 
 prepares the pulp in convenient sized 
 cans and saves you the trouble of mak- 
 ing it. I believe that one pipe on each 
 side of the house painted with sulphur 
 is of great assistance in keeping down 
 both red spider and rust. I saw this 
 demonstrated in the case of a house of 
 Daybreaks in my neighborhood. They 
 were in a house formerly used for 
 roses and overhead was a 3-inch flow 
 pipe, which had been about covered 
 with sulphur for the benefit of the 
 roses. While several establishments 
 on every side of this house had their 
 Daybreaks black with rust not a grain 
 of it appeared in this house, and this 
 was for the three years during which 
 the rust was most troublesome. No 
 other preventive than this unconscious 
 one was used. 
 
 Varieties. 
 
 It would be futile to mention or re- 
 commend any particular varieties. 
 Grow what you can grow best and that 
 suit your soil best. Flora Hill and 
 White Cloud are grand whites: G. H. 
 Crane and Jubilee are fine scarlets; 
 Mayor Pingree and Gold . Nugget are 
 great yellows; Mrs. Geo. M. Bradt is 
 a wonderful variegated flower, and so 
 is Helen Keller when well grown; old 
 Wm. Scott and Daybreak are still 
 standards in many places. In pinks 
 there is a host of new aspirants for 
 favor and the most promising of all I 
 have seen grown and flower and sell is 
 The Marquis. In every shade, from 
 the dark Gen. Gomez to the beautifully 
 tinted J. AVhitcomb Riley we will have 
 a chance to please our patron's fancy. 
 
 An Exhibition of the American Carnation Society. 
 
 Sub-Watering. 
 
 Sub-watering, by Prof. Arthur's 
 plan, with the watertight bench and 
 bricks on edge is yet in the experi- 
 mental stage. It seems to me almost 
 impossible that saturated bricks can 
 impart to the soil sufficient moisture. 
 We must wait for further trials before 
 going to any great expense in this di- 
 rection. 
 
 The method of sub- watering adopted 
 and explained by Prof. Taft, of the 
 Michigan Agricultural College, has 
 proven a great success. He makes his 
 bench nearly water tight by nailing 
 sound boards or planks as tightly to- 
 gether as possible and runs cement 
 over the benches and between joints. 
 In a .5 or 6-inch width of bench he lays 
 two runs of common 2-inch drain tile. 
 The last tile at the end is raised to 
 
 Carnation Gold Nugget, 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 53 
 
 Model Extension 
 Carnation Support 
 
 Now regarded as the Standard 
 Support, and by far the best yet 
 offered. 
 
 It is only necessary to give a few 
 of many testimonials from some of 
 our best growers. 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 Buffalo. N. Y., Jan. 13, 1899. 
 Theron Parker. 
 
 Dear Sir: Your Model Carnation 
 Support 13 the best thing I have yet 
 tried. In fact, it is about ideal. I used 
 it this winter onScotts. Flora Hill, Mrs. 
 Bradt and Genesee. The principle is 
 perfect but experience may teach us 
 that in some varieties, for instance 
 Daybreak, the lower ring might with 
 advantage be two inches lower. If i 
 could afford the first cost, at once, I 
 would not think of using anything but 
 the " Model." 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 William Scott. 
 
 A lower 3d circle 
 can be supplied 
 for bushy plants. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 W. HoBOKEN, N. J., Feb. 18. 1897. 
 Theron Parker, 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 Dear Sir: It gives me much pleas- 
 ure to congratulate you upon your success in getting up 
 Carnation Supports. I think that those I have had from 
 you are about as perfect as anybody will be able to 
 make them. They certainly fill my bill for an ideal car- 
 nation support, a thing I have been looking for for a long 
 lime. Wishing you every success in the sale of them, I am, 
 Yours truly 
 
 E. AsMUS. 
 
 ? 9 
 
 The MODEL Rose Stake 
 
 is new and regarded by all who 
 have Seen it as a decided improve- 
 ment on the straight steel stake 
 (We supply either.) It is so con- , 
 
 structed as not to be dangerous in working among 
 them, being looped at the top and pointed at the bot- 
 tom. When supported by overhead wire this wire is 
 passed through the loop and they do not require tying. 
 
 The MODEL Plant Support 
 
 is new and designed to supplant the old wooden stake, 
 being superior in every respect. A firm anchor, neat, 
 even ornamental, durable, cheap. (Patented.) 
 
 The MODEL Extension Circle 
 
 for Christmas Wreaths It is 
 
 crimped and facilitates firm tying. 
 Is quickly reduced from 16 inches 
 in diameter to any smaller size 
 needed. Is neat and cheap as one 
 could wish. 
 
 Model 
 Extension Circle, 
 
 Model Model 
 
 Rose Stake. Plant Support. 
 
 In offering our products to the trade, we are convinced that there is noth- 
 ing yet produced to equal them, or likely to be, and shall be pleased to receive 
 correspondence in regard to them. Samples forwarded free to all who wil) 
 pay express charges, and will deduct this on first order, 
 
 THE MODEL PLANT STAKE CO. 
 
 THERON PARKER, Mgr., Inventor and Patentee. Nin'th'iireet. BROOKLYN, N. Y 
 
 the surface so that the hose can be 
 put in when watering is needed. The 
 water runs through pipes and out at 
 every joint, thoroughly wetting the 
 soil. This is real sub-watering. 
 
 Every 50 feet there should be the 
 means of supplying the drain tile with 
 water, and do not expect the water to 
 run too far, as you might overwater 
 near the inlet and leave the further 
 end on the dry side. This plan has 
 given the best results, and its advant- 
 age in spring and summer can be easily 
 seen, as then is the time the rcots want 
 a soaking, and for applying liquid 
 manure it is excellent. There is no 
 wetting of the foliage nor baking of 
 the surface by heavy overhead water- 
 ing. This plan of sub-watering is 
 worthy of trial by all of us. 
 
 Houses. 
 
 When the carnation first became an 
 important flower with \is any house 
 was used to grow them in. Now thou- 
 sands of houses are built expressly for 
 the purpose. There is none better than 
 a 22 foot house (22 feet from outside 
 to outside of posts). This will give you 
 three benches, each 5 feet wide and 
 four paths, each 1% feet wide, with 
 heating pipes on the side wall where 
 there is no contact with the plants. 
 The ridge should rUn east and west, or 
 better still, northeast and southwest. 
 Ample ventilation should be given by 
 continuous ventilating sash on the 
 south side of ridge and in both walls. 
 
 CARNATIONS 
 
 FIELD-GROWN PLANTS 
 
 Are one of our specialties. 
 Send for price list. 
 
 J. L. DILLON, Bloomsburg, Pa. 
 
 This side ventilation will be of the 
 greatest benefit in fall and spring. 
 
 Some growers prefer to plant in solid 
 beds on the ground. It may save ma- 
 terial, and in late spring they don't 
 dry out so fast, but the benches pro- 
 duce quite as fine fiowers and are 
 much more convenient to work. And 
 liquid manure can be applied to the 
 benches easier and with better results 
 than to the solid beds. 
 
 CELOSIA. 
 
 Celosia cristata (the cockscomb) is 
 not as often or generally seen as its 
 striking and novel appearance de- 
 serves. It is seldom seen in our 
 greenhouses, perhaps because when at 
 its best the glass structure is a hot, 
 sweltering place, August and Septem- 
 ber being its usual time of flowering. 
 Our hot summers suit the cockscomb 
 as it does all of the celosias, for they 
 like heat. Last year we saw a large 
 oval bed, the surface of which was 
 covered with Tom Thumb sweet 
 alyssum, and every two feet was dot- 
 
 THE COTTAGE GARDENS, 
 
 QIEENS, N. Y. 
 
 (LONG ISUNDi, 
 
 carry at all times the finest and most 
 select line of Seedling 
 
 Carnations 
 
 in the world. Rooted Cuttings and Field 
 Grown Plants of the best standard sorts. 
 
 Strong, Vigorous, 
 
 Well Grown Stock. 
 
 AMERICAN ROSE CO. 
 
 SPECIALISTS IN 
 
 Carnation Seeds and Plants, 
 
 CONTRACTS Solicited for 
 
 PEDIGREE SEEDS. 
 
 WASHINGTON. D. C. 
 
 iv!^. Hybrid Carnations, 
 
 Crossings between Remontant and Marguerite 
 varieties. They are what we can recommend 
 as truly summer tiowering varieties. Offered 
 for the tirst time. For particulars address 
 
 C. EISELE, 
 
 nth and Jefferson Sts.. PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
54 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 ted in a cockscomb. It was a "pin 
 cusliion" bed, and very striking and 
 pleasing it was. 
 
 When to be used as a bedding plant, 
 sow seed of this celosia in March, and 
 as soon as the little plants can be 
 handled transplant into flats one inch 
 apart. When still larger they should 
 be shifted into 3-inch pots, from which 
 they can be bedded out. 
 
 If grown as a pot plant, shift from 
 the 3-inch to a 5-inch pot, which is as 
 large as they should have, or a 6-inch 
 at most. In growing a specimen in a 
 pot, the prime object is to get a fine, 
 broad head on a very dwarf plant, and 
 it is almost impossible to attain per- 
 fection unless they are grown in hot- 
 
 pots, but here our summers suit them 
 finely out of doors. They can be plant- 
 ed out in the border after all danger 
 of frost has passed. 
 
 Celosia pyramidalis makes- a fine 
 plant. It grows 18 inches to 2 feet 
 high and should not be planted closer 
 than 1-5 inches apart. 
 
 C. Huttonii has very beautiful red 
 spikes of flowers and crimson foliage. 
 It is worth lifting and growing in 
 pots. 
 
 CENTAUREA. 
 
 The plants the florist grows under 
 this name are both white and silvery 
 leaved plants. 
 
 C. candidissima (this I think should 
 
 Cockscomb (Celosia Cristata.) 
 
 beds, with their heads near the glass. 
 When the heat of the bed is entirely 
 gone, shift and remove to a fresh one. 
 They like heat at the roots as well as 
 at the top. When growing freely, and 
 particularly when forming their im- 
 mense "combs," they must never be 
 stunted from lack of water; and from 
 the time they are in 3-inch pots, to 
 insure a more even moisture at the 
 roots the pots should be plunged. They 
 want little shade, and that not till the 
 end of May; then it should be only 
 during the hottest hours of the day. 
 Their successful culture can be sum- 
 med up thus: A very rich soil, abun- 
 dance of water, perfect light, and a 
 warm, humid atmosphere. 
 
 Pew insects trouble them. If aphis 
 appears, manage to give them a mild 
 smoking, even if they are in a frame. 
 A cockscomb poorly grown is a very 
 commonplace plant, but when done to 
 perfection it is a wonder. 
 
 Besides C. cristata there are other 
 celosias that are very handsome for 
 the mixed border. In Europe they 
 are grown for indoor decoration in 
 
 be ragusina) is a very fine, silvery 
 leaved plant and was once more large- 
 ly grown than at present. Its fine 
 entire leaf was grand for the edge 
 of beds or long ribbon borders. 
 
 It is an almost hardy plant and ex- 
 cept when being propagated requires 
 but little heat in the winter time. One 
 reason why this good bedding plant is 
 not more often grown is that it has 
 the bad habit of rotting off in summer 
 and leaving an unsightly gap in the 
 bed or border. 
 
 If raised from seed sow not later 
 than September and grow along on a 
 light, cool shelf all winter. By bed- 
 ding out time you will have a plant 
 in a 3-inch pot, which is none too 
 large. If propagated by cuttings lift 
 a number of old plants in October. A 
 good many of the old leaves can be 
 shortened or cut away. During winter 
 cut up the old plant, from which you 
 will get a number of cuttings. They 
 are really more nearly divisions or 
 offshoots. They root with ordinary 
 care in the sand, and must be grown 
 on cool and light. 
 
 C. gymnocarpa, the kind with divid- 
 ed, feathery leaves, is not as clear 
 and distinct a bedding plant, ibut is 
 more generally useful. It is used large- 
 ly in our vases and veranda boxes as 
 well as for the edging of large beds. 
 
 It is always raised from seed, which 
 sow in flats in ,Ianuary. They should 
 be grown on light and cool, but not 
 starved for want of pot room. A hot- 
 bed makes them jump, but produces 
 too rank a growth. By middle of April 
 they should go into a 3 or 3V2-inch 
 pot and be plunged in a cold frame 
 where they will make sturdy, useful 
 plants. 
 
 CHEIRANTHUS (WaU Flower.) 
 
 If it were not for seeing a plant of 
 this old favorite perennial occasional- 
 ly in our public markets we would 
 forget them entirely. The Germans 
 have raised; some fine strains of these 
 most fragrant flowers and their peo- 
 ple are always fond of them. 
 
 If you buy seed of the best double- 
 flowered strain you will be sure to 
 get some singles among them. The 
 prevailing colors are red, brown and 
 .yellow. Were it not for its odor the 
 flower would not be highly prized, birt 
 few flowers have a fragrance that 
 pleases everybody as does the wall 
 fiower. 
 
 For the border the seed can be sown 
 in August and the seedlings planted 
 out in a cold-frame, protected during 
 winter and transplanted to their per- 
 manent quarters when the ground is 
 dry. 
 
 For raising in pots sow in April and 
 May and plant out in the open ground 
 in .June. Lift in October and winter 
 them in a well protected cold-frame, 
 or better yet, in a very cool house, 
 where they will throw up their spikes 
 of flowers in May or earlier. 
 
 CHRYSANTHEMUM. 
 
 For a hundred years the chrysan- 
 themums have had periods of great 
 popularity and then of neglect. Per- 
 haps it would be safe to say that with 
 the American public the tide of pres- 
 ent popularity is now just at the fiood 
 and the craze of 10 years ago has 
 slightly subsided, yet not to any great 
 extent. There is no longer a dozen 
 firms each sending out a new set an- 
 nually at Klondike prices, for which 
 We must be devoutly thankful. An 
 aspirant for public favor now must be 
 about perfect and a slight advance on 
 preceding kinds. A few new ones 
 each year is an abundance and even 
 those are offered at a price that allows 
 us to give them a trial. We do not be- 
 lieve that chrysanthemums will ever 
 drop from public favor, as say for in- 
 stance the camellia, for it has many 
 noble attributes to make it annually 
 welcome. The perfection to which they 
 are now grown is something former 
 generations knew nothing of and the 
 flower-buying public of 30 years ago 
 was so insignificant compared with to- 
 day that it could be truthfully said to 
 be non-existent. 
 
 The commercial florist is interested 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 55 
 
 Exhibition Chrysanthemum Plants. 
 
 mostly in the cut blooms and in a 
 much smaller extent in a medium sized 
 plant in a pot. Cultural directions for 
 both will be found below. The stand- 
 ards and large specimens are left to 
 the private gardener who has time, 
 money and space. 
 
 A Commercial Flower. 
 
 Take note during flowering season 
 of varieties wanted for your next sea- 
 son's crop and remember that if few 
 varieties are grown it simplifies labor 
 and expense, and there are so many to 
 choose from that color, form and sea- 
 son can be all covered by varieties 
 that you have found easy to grow. 
 Select plants for future stock that 
 have produced the best flowers, mark- 
 ing them before the flowers are cut. 
 Lift sufficient plants and place them 
 in flats, keeping them after first water- 
 ing rather on the dry side in a cool 
 house until time to start them grow- 
 ing to produce cuttings. Do not use 
 any weak shoots for cuttings. Throw 
 them away, it will afford room for 
 the stronger to develop. Chrysanthe- 
 mums root readily in sand or finely 
 sifted coal ashes in an ordinary pro- 
 pagating bed until end of May or early 
 June. After that date you will be 
 more successful with a bed in a cold 
 frame, shaded with cloth, lath or shad- 
 ed glass, tilted back and front to in- 
 sure a free circulation of air: and the 
 bed must be kept copiously watered; 
 this is very important. You often see 
 chrysanthemum cuttings drying and 
 wilting in June and July. They have 
 been allowed to get dry or the sun has 
 been shining on them, so water copi- 
 ously twice a day in fine weather. 
 
 The best time to propagate varies 
 with the different varieties and the 
 
 size of flowers wanted. For large long 
 stemmed flowers of early varieties, 
 such as Ivoiry, Bergmann, Bonnaffom 
 (Bonnaffon can be grown early) and 
 other dwarf sorts, February is not too 
 early to put in the first batch. From 
 that time on propagating can be con- 
 tinued until August. For late flowers, 
 many of the free growing varieties do 
 well and produce fine flowers on side 
 benches from late cuttings. Those 
 propagated as late as August can be 
 planted on the benches direct from 
 propagating bed without any potting, 
 and will grow from the start it kept 
 sprinkled and shaded for a few days 
 during the hottest hours of the day. 
 Earlier rooted cuttings that have to 
 be potted will want a 2 or 2io-inch pot. 
 Let them be well rooted before pot- 
 ting. Use a moderately heavy soil and 
 not too rich. When well hold of the 
 soil in the pots a side bench of a car- 
 nation or violet house will suit the 
 young plants of most varieties finely, 
 always giving them as much air as 
 possible and room to grow without 
 drawing up. The earliest struck batch- 
 es will require a 3 or 3%-inch pot be- 
 fore planting out time. Some of our 
 finest varieties which have a tendency 
 to produce a flower larger than the 
 stem can hold erect will be greatly 
 benefited by having three or four 
 weeks out of doors before planting on 
 the bench. Such varieties which are 
 weak necked should be grown slow 
 and hard wooded and should never 
 from the time they are rooted be al- 
 lowed to attain a soft, rank growth. 
 
 The early varieties should be plant- 
 ed on benches in four inches of soil: 
 raised benches with good drainage will 
 enable you to control the growth and 
 ripening of the wood. The late varie- 
 ties are all right in solid beds, provid- 
 
 ing the texture of the soil and drain- 
 age is right. 
 
 A heavy, free loam that the water 
 will pass through freely, with the ad- 
 dition of one-fifth of rotted cow ma- 
 nure and a liberal sprinkling of pure 
 bone flour will be an excellent com- 
 post. A "liberal sprinkling" is rather 
 indefinite, so I will say one pint to a 
 bushel of soil can be used safely. If it 
 were mixed with the soil a month or 
 two months before planting, so much 
 the better. The chrysanthemum is 
 called a free and even rank grower, 
 but over rich soil produces very large 
 soft flowers. The flowers produced 
 on a soft forced growth are in poor 
 condition to withstand the handling 
 they have to undergo before they 
 reach the retail counter and to pro- 
 duce durable, firm flowers a well ma- 
 tured growth of the wood is as neces- ' 
 sary as is a good, dry house and abun- 
 dance of fresh air. 
 
 This unnaturally stimulated growth 
 may not be the whole cause of the 
 rust, which is fatal to some of our best 
 varieties, but it is certain that it puts 
 the plant in an excellent condition to 
 be attacked by the disease. The rust 
 usually appears in September and lat- 
 er when there is promise of great 
 flower buds. It is then that we are 
 subject to great changes of tempera- 
 ture. It the growth is soft it is due to 
 either too rich a soil or toO' much 
 water at the roots or even too much 
 moisture in the house, produced by 
 water not draining off freely under the 
 paths and benches. 
 
 That grand variety Golden Wedding 
 has been grown in the neighborhood 
 of Buffalo since its introduction. We 
 hear of its failure in many places, but 
 where there is no stagnant water in 
 the house, and the roots have received 
 it sparingly, and planted in a soil that 
 water passes freely through, I have 
 not seen a vestige of disease on it. 
 This grand golden yellow will hold its 
 own with any new varieties, particu- 
 larly when the grower will learn to 
 withhold water. It cannot be done 
 right in a soil that the water does not 
 pass freely through. 
 
 To sum up this particular point, en- 
 courage a free growth till buds are 
 selected, then gradually withhold wa- 
 ter which matures the wood and as- 
 sists bud formation. To the inexpe- 
 rienced let me say that no serious 
 check in growth must be given but 
 merely less water than formerly, 
 which will firm the growth. 
 
 For early varieties, where crown 
 buds are used, care must be taken not 
 to resume free watering until the buds 
 are well formed, otherwise we will not 
 get perfect flowers, but many unsala- 
 ble ones. After the buds are well form- 
 ed the judicious use of animal manure, 
 either in the shape of a mulch or li- 
 quid, is safe and beneficial. I prefer 
 to apply in a liquid form, as we can 
 keep better track of the condition of 
 the soil. 
 
 While a free circulation is at all 
 times necessary as well as keeping the 
 
56 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 house dry, from the time the buds 
 show color till the flowers are cut, a 
 gentle fire heat should also be put on 
 as soon as we get cool, damp weather 
 and the ventilators kept open day and 
 night as long as possible. A sprink- 
 ling o£ air slaked lime at intervals 
 through the growing season under the 
 benches and walks will keep the at- 
 mosphere sweet and help the plants. 
 
 The chrysanthemum is afflicted with 
 most of the plant enemies we have to 
 contend with. The black, yellow and 
 green aphis can be kept down with a 
 moderate but regular smoking, but 
 make sure to clear them of all aphis 
 before the buds are far advanced. 
 Thrip and red spider sometimes make 
 their attacks during hot spells, but 
 can be kept down by a proper use of 
 the hose. 
 
 When the young plants are set in 
 the soil of the bench give them a thor- 
 ough watering to settle the soil around 
 the roots. Plant all varieties firmly. 
 For tall growing sorts Inclined to 
 weak stems, a uniform pounding of the 
 soil after the plants have made new 
 roots will make the root action slower 
 and stronger and the stem will be 
 correspondingly stronger and shorter 
 jointed. 
 
 Be always very careful when water- 
 ing, particularly with the early varie- 
 ties, and a good look over the bench 
 before you begin will make you aware 
 of spots in the bed that may go an- 
 other day or two. I have often no- 
 ticed that where all parts of the bench 
 were watered alike, the outside rows 
 came into flower considerably, earlier 
 than the interior plants. The outside 
 rows getting more light and air dry 
 out quicker, thus hastening bud forma- 
 tion. By care in keeping the bench 
 at an even degree of moisture you can 
 bring in a crop evenly, which is a 
 consideration both as to price you get 
 for your flowers and your ability to 
 clean up the bench for succeeding 
 crops. Syringe during the growing 
 season once or twice a day, as the 
 weather may require, but always al- 
 low the foliage to dry before night. 
 
 In using liquid manure do not apply 
 when the soil is very dry- If applied 
 after a moderate watering there is less 
 danger of over feeding and feeding 
 should be discontinued entirely after 
 the flowers show color. In concluding 
 these rather lengthy remarks on wa- 
 tering I will say when you do water 
 be sure that it is enough to wet the 
 soil clear through to the boards of the 
 bench or bottom of the pot as the case 
 may be. When you have acquired the 
 science of watering and practice it 
 carefully, wisely and faithfully you 
 will have gained about 17 points out 
 of 20 towards being a good gardener. 
 
 August the 10th is as early as it is 
 generally advisable to take the buds of 
 the earliest varieties and those will be 
 "crowns." In taking or selecting buds 
 the side growths must be taken out as 
 soon as large enough to rub off with 
 the thumb and the plants kept quiet 
 until the buds are well formed. The 
 crown being an unnatural bud re- 
 
 quires considerable care to insure its 
 producing a perfect bloom. Terminal 
 buds are the safest and in most varie- 
 ties produce the best flowers, while 
 crowns are earliest and should be used 
 for that purpose, if properly under- 
 stood. 
 
 All flowers should be cut and placed 
 in water at least 18 hours before being 
 put on the counter or shipped to the 
 retailer. Varieties that easily drop 
 their petals, as some of the most beau- 
 tiful do, and yet desirable, should be 
 in water 36 hours. This will harden 
 the flowers and hold the petals. If the 
 flowers are to be shipped it is time 
 well spent to pack with the greatest 
 care so they arrive at their destina- 
 tion as perfect as when they were cut. 
 
 I know of no better way to tie or 
 support the stems of chrysanthemums 
 than by running wire across the bench 
 near every row and a corresponding 
 wire above the plants, keeping the up- 
 per wire well up. From the wire on the 
 bench to the one above run a string 
 for every plant. The cheapest string 
 you can buy is good enough. This is 
 easily disposed of when the crop is cut. 
 You may throw away the bottom wire 
 but the upper one is not likely to be 
 in your way and will do duty for sev- 
 eral years. Anyone adopting this plan 
 will never again resort to stakes of 
 any kind, unless it is for late struck 
 batches on side benches. 
 
 Chrysanthemums can be planted 
 much closer than they often are, but 
 that will depend on how many flow- 
 ers you intend to grow to each plant, 
 and that again is controlled by what 
 your trade demands. Three at the 
 most is all you should expect from any 
 plant, and I believe it most satisfac- 
 tory all 'round to grow but one stem 
 and one flower on any plant, and then 
 plant thickly. The rows S inches apart 
 and the plants 6 inches apart in the 
 rows will do for all the moderate-sized 
 flowers; for very large specimen flow- 
 ers, 10x8 would be better. 
 
 Pot Chrysanthemums. 
 
 For several years the demand for 
 these has not been at all satisfactory. 
 I believe there is only one way to 
 profitably grow a moderate-sized, 
 healthy pot plant, that will keep its 
 foliage and really be respectable in 
 November. Choose healthy, young 
 plants, that have been propagated in 
 April. If they have been stopped once 
 and are in 3-inch pots, so much the 
 better. By the middle of June you will 
 have some vacant benches to spare 
 by the clearing of bedding plants, or 
 you may throw away a bench of car- 
 nations. Five or six inches of soil on 
 the bench will do. and even if it has 
 grown carnations the previous winter, 
 is good enough, with the addition of 
 bone flour and a little rotted manure. 
 
 Plant 15 to 18 inches apart. They will 
 make a fine growth during summer 
 and should have all their growths 
 stopped at least twice before lifting. 
 You have them under perfect control 
 by this method, and can keep them 
 
 watered and syringed, as well as keep- 
 ing the aphis subdued. The first of 
 September, neither three days before 
 nor after, is the time to lift them, 
 which should be done with a digging 
 fork, and by getting the fork down flat 
 on bottom of bench you need not lose 
 a fiber. These plants grow a great deal 
 after lifting, so don't crowd them into 
 too small a pot. We find a 6, 7 and 8- 
 inch suits the different varieties. A 
 few days of shading and a frequent 
 syringing and they will have taken 
 hold of the new soil, when you must 
 give them a light, airy house. 
 
 These plants on an average have 12 
 to 20 buds, each branch disbudded to 
 one flower. Most of them can be tied by 
 one stake in the center and thread or 
 raffia leading to each branch; larger 
 plants, such as Lincoln always makes, 
 will require several stakes; but let 
 them be always small and inconspicu- 
 ous. Only a few varieties are adapted 
 to this purpose. The short jointed, 
 dwarf varieties are the ones, and of 
 all varieties that I have tried. Ivory 
 and Lincoln are the ideals. Maud 
 Dean is pretty fair, and so is Bonnat- 
 fon. 
 
 CINERARIA. 
 
 What florists understand when we 
 speak of cinerarias are those which 
 have originated from C. cruenta. The 
 hardy species, although acceptable 
 plants for the herbaceous border, 
 where hardy, are not of much value to 
 the florist. Since the introduction of 
 the cineraria, or rather since its com- 
 mon use as an ornamental plant in our 
 greenhouses, a wonderful improve- 
 ment has been made in size, color and 
 form of flower as well as in the habit 
 of the plant. They are of easy culture 
 and it may be said that any glass 
 structure, where it does not actually 
 freeze, will grow cinerarias. But like 
 many other of these soft wooded 
 plants which can be called "a cheap 
 plant and easy to raise" a slight mis- 
 take or neglect will ruin the whole 
 lot. A palm or an orchid will be much 
 less liable to permanent injury by ne- 
 glect or mismanagement, for what is 
 a cineraria but an abomination unless 
 it has broad, stiff, healthy leaves, and 
 if it has those it will be sure to have 
 a handsome head of flowers. 
 
 It is quite possible that some choice 
 varieties are still perpetuated by cut- 
 tings, as they commonly were years 
 ago. but that with the American glow- 
 er is never thought of, neither is it at 
 all necessary, for a fine strain is 
 readily produced from seed supplied 
 by our leading house.s. Double varie- 
 ties were also a novelty a few years 
 ago and supposed to be a great ac- 
 quisition, but the cineraria, like some 
 other florist's flowers, is not in the v 
 slightest degree enhanced in beauty, 
 either as an individual flower or as a 
 decorative plant by its being double. 
 It is simply a monstrosity and the 
 craze for the double varieties has van- 
 ished. 
 If flowering plants are wanted by 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 57 
 
 FINE STRONG YOUNG 
 
 Plants of all the leading 
 Novelties in 
 
 Chrysanthemums 
 
 as well as the best standard va- 
 rieties, can always be obtained 
 
 in season at 
 
 THE COTTAGE GARDENS, 
 QUEENS, N. Y. 
 
 We grow florists' plants in large 
 quantities, and grow them well. 
 
 C hrysanthemum ^ 
 
 OF EVERY DESCRIPTION 
 
 Disseminators of 
 Choice Seedlings 
 and Importers of 
 the best European 
 Novelties 
 
 Catalogue Free on Appllcalloii. 
 
 NATHAN SMITH & SON 
 
 ADRIAN, MICH. 
 
 November and the holidays, you must 
 sow at end of May or early in June. 
 Except on private places this is not to 
 IjB recommended. For the commercial 
 tlorist they would not be very profit- 
 able for they are a troublesome plant 
 to carry through the hot months and 
 the bulk of your customers are not 
 ready for them till February, March 
 and April. It is well to make two sow- 
 ings, the first early in August, the lat- 
 ter the middle of September; the last 
 sown will usually come in right for 
 Easter. The seed is not so small but 
 what it can have a slight covering; 
 finely sifted leaf mould or sand will 
 do, and keep uniformly moist till the 
 seeds are up. 
 
 When they have made a small char- 
 acter leaf, transplant into a flat or 2- 
 inch pots. From this time on they 
 must be shifted on as they need it. 
 uever by any means allowing them to 
 become stunted for want of larger 
 pots. After they leave a 3-inch pot the. 
 soil should not be sifted. If it is a 
 little rough or lumpy so much the bet- 
 ter. I have seen hundreds of cinerari- 
 as in 4 and 5-inch pots die, not with a 
 slow death but suddenly droop and 
 die. and the cause was a close adhesive 
 soil through which the water did not 
 pass freely. They may not be a. profit- 
 able plant, but if worth growing at all 
 will surely pay to grow well. They 
 must have room to spread their leaves, 
 and until flowering time 40 degrees at 
 night will suit them better than a 
 higher temperature. You will often 
 
 hear instructions given to "keep plants 
 near the glass," in other words this 
 means light. They must have light, 
 room to spread out, a cool tempera- 
 ture, and although a stagnant state of 
 the soil is fatal to them should never 
 be allowed to wilt from dryness or 
 they will lose some of their best 
 leaves. After light, air and a low tem- 
 perature, the remaining great object 
 to watch in their successful culture is 
 never let a greenfly be seen on them. 
 Fumigate regularly and faithfully. 
 
 Those that are summered over do 
 much the best in a pit or cold-frame, 
 but it should be deep enough so that 
 when ventilation from the raised 
 sashes is given it should pass over 
 their tops and not be playing too free- 
 ly on their soft leaves. Specimens can 
 be given an S or 9-inch pot. but the 
 commercial florist will find that a 6- 
 
 the root of any strong growing vari- 
 ety. The florist buys his clematis and 
 is more interested in knowing how to 
 make them grow satisfactorily than 
 how to propagate them. Very strong 
 plants of Jackmanii and other large 
 flowering varieties are imported every 
 fall, arriving here early in November 
 or perhaps a little earlier. They have 
 usually a good growth with a great 
 bunch of roots. Thousands of these 
 are sold and thousands die, and pro- 
 vokingly after living one or two or 
 more years. 
 
 We spread out the roots and lay 
 them in trenches in the qold-frame 
 during winter and in severe weather 
 cover with glass, removing it before 
 they get anyway forced by the suns of 
 March. We believe they are more 
 satisfactory to our customers planted 
 this way than potted and given any 
 
 Cineraria. 
 
 inch will flower them sufficiently well. 
 I have seen some growers pinch out 
 the leading flower shoot to induce a 
 broader head of bloom. If grown cool 
 and light this is entirely unnecessary. 
 It is seldom that cinerarias are 
 troubled with thrips or red spider, but 
 a dusting of water in summer and fall 
 is beneficial to them. 
 
 CLEMATIS. 
 
 Although more properly belonging 
 to the nurseryman than the florist we 
 are continually asked to supply plants 
 of several varieties and species of 
 these free flowering hardy climbers. 
 
 Some of the species are readily in- 
 creased by cuttings. The paniculata 
 type root freely from pieces of the 
 young growth and there is no better 
 place than the gentle heat of a hot- 
 bed. They all are, however, bought 
 very cheaply from the nurseryman. 
 The large flowered Jackmanii type are 
 usually grafted on the roots of C. 
 flammula, the common European, or 
 
 time in the greenhouse. The potted 
 plants look well when sold, but are 
 more liable to suffer from neglect after 
 planting. In very strong plants there 
 is such a mass of roots that it is im- 
 possible to spread them sufliciently 
 for all to get some earth around them, 
 so we cut out about half the roots, 
 which enables us to get some soil 
 among them. 
 
 You dare not guarantee the clematis. 
 If you do you will have to make good 
 your losses on some other article. But 
 you can plant them with care and 
 give good advice as to the attention 
 they need. They are nearly always 
 planted against a veranda, whose over- 
 hanging roof often keeps the rain 
 away, or they may be on the side of 
 the house or an aspect from which the 
 prevailing rains are infrequent. They 
 should during summer receive copious 
 waterings. When planting out each 
 clematis should receive a barrow load 
 of good, rich soil and not be put into 
 a small hole and have clay or brick 
 
58 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 Various Types of Chrysanthemums. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 59 
 
 bats to feed on, which is often the re- 
 sult of the grading and sodding that 
 is done around a pretty house. 
 
 In milder countries the gorgeous 
 Jackmanii and its kindred varieties 
 may retain their stems through the 
 winter; with us they do not, but when 
 well established the roots have such 
 vigor that the young shoots spring 
 from the ground in a very few weeks, 
 and by end of June are a gorgeous 
 mass of bloom 7, 8 and 9 feet high, and 
 5 or 6 feet across. All these flower 
 from the growth of the same year. 
 The past severe winter has injured 
 a few, but the majority of the clematis 
 have come through none the worse. 
 
 Plants of Jackmanii, Henryii or any 
 of that type make splendid decorative 
 plants grown on a balloon or flat 
 trellis in large pots. For this purpose 
 they should not be cut down, as the 
 frost does our outside ones, but win- 
 tered in some very cool house and 
 merely thinned out and tied in spring 
 before starting into heat. 
 
 There is a great number of species 
 and some of them are very distinct. 
 A few of them are natives of North 
 America and make splendid plants for 
 covering fences, railings, etc. 
 
 C. paniculata is very hardy and is 
 covered from July on with its white, 
 finely divided flowers, resembling al- 
 most balls of cotton. 
 
 C. coccinea is a very distinct species 
 with yellow and vermillion flowers of 
 an odd shape; fine for verandas. 
 
 C. flammula has white flowers, is 
 very hardy and one of the strongest 
 growers. 
 
 C. Fortune!: small, white, fragrant; 
 fine hardy climber. 
 
 C. virginiana: a very strong grow- 
 ing climber with small white fragrant 
 flowers. 
 
 The five species last mentioned do 
 not require any special care and when 
 once established live for years. It is 
 what is known as the Jackmanii type, 
 one of the first hybrids of which has 
 immortalized the name of the raiser, 
 Mr. Jackman, of Surrey, England, that 
 need the best of attention in planting, 
 etc., and which are to many people 
 the only clematis. An old species 
 from China with pale lavender flowers 
 five or six inches in diameter must be 
 one of the parents of Jackmanii. Of 
 this beautiful type there is a number 
 of varieties and among the best are: 
 
 Jackmanii: Still one of the very 
 best color; a rich purple. 
 
 Jackmanii superba: Violet purple. 
 
 Star of India: Reddish plum color. 
 
 Sieboldii: Lavender. 
 
 Henryii: The best white; very large. 
 
 Mme. Edouard Andre: A very dis- 
 tinct variety, approaching a bright 
 red. 
 
 Miss Bateman: An attractive vari- 
 ety; white flowers with dark anthers; 
 medium flower, dense grower and free 
 bloomer, but not continuous. 
 
 COBEA. 
 
 The species best known and most 
 useful is C. scandens and plants are 
 annually raised in large quantities to 
 
 be used as out door climbers. It is 
 a perennial, but it is much better for 
 us to treat it as an annual. As a 
 quick growing plant of flne appearance 
 to cover verandas, summer houses and 
 stumps of trees it has scarcely an 
 equal. It flowers profusely in August 
 and September, but the large, bell- 
 shaped flower is not conspicuous as in 
 color it is of little contrast to the 
 leaves. Where people want permanent 
 vines such as honeysuckles, bignonias, 
 etc., and are impatient of results we 
 recommend the cobea for immediate 
 effect, or till the hardy vines make 
 a show. When this is done be care- 
 ful not to let the cobeas smother the 
 permanent vines when young. 
 
 er and it would be impossible to get 
 them apart. There are few of our cus- 
 tomers that don't know the cobea and 
 a few hundred are asked for every 
 spring. And when you have to buy it 
 is one of those things difficult to get 
 in satisfactory shape. 
 
 COLD-FRAMES. 
 
 What we call a cold-frame (low 
 walls of wood or brick supporting 
 some glazed sash) is a miniature 
 greenhouse without any artiflcial heat. 
 Every grower should know the great 
 value of them and how much they add 
 to his capacity for raising many plants 
 and temporarily increase the area of 
 
 Clematis of Jackmanii Type. 
 
 The variegated form of Cobea scan- 
 dens is a beautiful plant and makes a 
 fine greenhouse climber, but is not of 
 value outside. The variegated sort is 
 always propagated by cuttings which 
 strike root in the sand at any time 
 you have good young shoots ready. 
 
 Cobea scandens is always raised 
 from seed. We sow in March in flats 
 containing two inches of light sandy 
 soil, and keep in a temperature of 60 
 degrees. Press the soil down evenly 
 and moderately firm, and press the 
 seeds into the soil, always on edge. No 
 covering is needed; the upper edge of 
 the seed can be even with the surface 
 of the soil. Give them a good water- 
 ing and keep moist till the young 
 plants are up an inch or two when 
 they should have plenty of light and 
 be soon potted off singly in small pots. 
 
 They grow rapidly, and when flve or 
 six inches high we shift them into a 
 4-inch pot and put a stake two feet 
 long to each one. If not staked and 
 tied they get entangled with each oth- 
 
 his glass. There are times, especially 
 with the man who raises bedding 
 plants, when his place is fearfully con- 
 gested and the addition of another 
 thousand feet of bench room is the 
 greatest relief. 
 
 Cold-frames are used for many pur- 
 poses. In the fall and winter for pan- 
 sies, to store away hybrid perpetual 
 roses, to winter pot carnations that 
 are wanted for next summer's bloom, 
 to winter many herbaceous plants that 
 have been raised from seed the pre- 
 vious August, to protect Roman hya- 
 cinths, and also the Dutch hyacinths 
 are as well under glass where they 
 don't get so wet, and the severe frost 
 does not crack the pots. 
 
 Some of our common little vase 
 plants we winter in cold-frames, viz.: 
 the sedums, lysimachia (money vine) 
 and the variegated glechoma. In the 
 spring these frames are of still great- 
 er use; not only do they relieve our 
 crowded benches, but many plants do 
 far better in them than in a green- 
 
60 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 house. In the frames you have per- 
 fect light, an abundance of air, and 
 on fine warm days the sashes can be 
 removed when full exposure to sun- 
 light and air can be given. 
 
 Carnation growers can put their 
 young plants into the cold-frames 
 about April the first and a few weeks 
 in them will condition the plants for 
 the open field much better than a 
 lofty hot house. By the middle of 
 April all the annuals in flats or plant- 
 ed can go into the cold-frames, and 
 many of our bedding plants will be 
 greatly benefited by a few weeks in 
 the cold-frames. H is a far better 
 place for geraniums than a shaded 
 house without fire heat. 
 
 In the summer, without the sash, we 
 find great use for the frames for 
 plunging out our azaleas, acacias, 
 hardy roses and many plants that are 
 kept in pots during summer. Boards 
 fastened up to keep your plunging ma- 
 terial in place may do as well, but the 
 frame is all ready to hand. 
 
 I had forgotten one very important 
 use and that is for the longiflorum 
 lilies in the fall. Both the Bermuda 
 and the .Japan grown are potted and 
 placed in the cold-frames, and in case 
 of very heavy rains are much better 
 covered with the sash. Those you keep 
 for Easter and later flowering must 
 be kept in the frame till New Year's 
 or later, and there is where your cold- 
 frame will come in right, in fact is a 
 necessity. 
 
 The ground on which these frames 
 are stood should never be in a place 
 where surface water will stand, even 
 if only during heavy rains. If it is not 
 a naturally dry position make provi- 
 sion to carry off the rains from the 
 surrounding surface. Where a large 
 lot of sash is used for this purpose 
 some of the frames at least ean be per- 
 manent. By that I mean they can be 
 built of cedar or cypress posts (4x4 is 
 a good size) driven into the ground 
 every 8 feet for the back and front 
 line "of the frame, which can be any 
 desired length. I have one of 30 sash 
 in length devoted to violets. Where 
 they are built to fixed posts in this 
 way it is best to use 2-inch plank for 
 the walls. Where the frame is mov- 
 able and is made in length to fit three 
 or four sash, one inch lumber will do. 
 The sashes are made of various sizes, 
 but it is wrong to have them an awk- 
 ward size; 6 feet long by 3 feet 6 
 inches wide is large enough, and some 
 prefer 3 feet wide. 
 
 For a great majority of our frames, 
 whether permanent or portable, the 
 height at back is 18 inches and the 
 front 12 inches, giving the sash a slope 
 of 6 inches to the sun; that is plenty. 
 For a few larger plants we have some 
 frames that are 2 feet at back and IS 
 inches in front. I prefer the cypress 
 sash, butting the glass. Always use 
 double thick glass; these sash get a 
 good deal of handling and occasionally 
 one blows off in a gale. They run 
 risks of breakage far more than a 
 fixed roof; they are moved repeatedly 
 10 ventilate and are raised to enable 
 
 you to water, so the double thick glass 
 will save the extra price in glass in 
 one year. 
 
 Always have a rafter for every sash 
 to rest on and slide on. They are 
 very simply made by nailing a piece 
 of pine 2x1 on to another piece of pine 
 4x1, and have a hook and eye for 
 every sash, to keep them from blow- 
 ing off in a storm. There are always 
 enough spare sash in the dark winter 
 days so that you can overhaul the 
 whole lot, mend them where needed 
 and give them a coat of paint. And 
 then when you put on the sash over a 
 young batch of carnations there won't 
 be a glass out in each sash, which you 
 often see decorated with a piece of 
 board, and which blows off to make a 
 hole in the next sash, to chill or drown 
 out the plants beneath, to disseminate 
 profanity and vex all around. Some 
 men may take all the little accidents 
 that ensue from neglect quite placidly, 
 but depend upon it when they do they 
 are s.uggish, good natured fellows that 
 won't get far ahead. 
 
 A hail storm that knocks out all 
 your glass is no cause to get irritable. 
 The writer has been through it and 
 knows how it feels. It can't be help- 
 ed, no power could hinder it, and 
 therefore you should be cheerful and 
 clean up and find out the best place 
 to buy glass as quick as possible. But 
 these so-called accidents which are 
 purely neglect are what vex a man. 
 
 A good part of your frames should be 
 made to take four sash, because they 
 are what are used on the hotbeds. 
 You seldom need those deeper than IS 
 inches by 1 foot and the ends should 
 be fastened to a 2x4 post in the four 
 corners. All sash should have a strip 
 of iron running across the middle on 
 the under.side, to which each bar 
 should be fastened with a screw. It 
 helps greatly to strengthen the sash 
 and keep it from winding. The strip 
 of iron can be %xVi inch. In summer 
 when of little use see that the sash 
 are laid or stood on timbers, off the 
 ground, not winding, and that a door 
 or some such thing be stood up and 
 tacked to the last one covering the 
 glass, so that your sons or sons' 
 friends when showing you how they 
 can curve a ball will be satisfied to 
 break the windows in your barn and 
 not go through three or four depths of 
 sash. 
 
 COLEUS. 
 
 For the past thirty years, and still 
 is, and perhaps always will be grown 
 an immense quantity of small plants 
 of coleus for our flower gardens. 
 Verschaffeltii is a variety raised from 
 Blumei, which species is also the pa- 
 rent of the thousands of varieties that 
 have been raised, disseminated, and 
 many now forgotten. The coleus as 
 a bedding plant is finely suited to our 
 warm summers and those that have 
 not seen it struggling along, dwarf 
 and scrubby looking, in the gardens of 
 North Britain, don't realize what a 
 grand plant we have in this tropical 
 herb. 
 
 in climates where they make but a 
 poor growth out of doors they are ap- 
 preciated as decorative pot plants for 
 which they make fine specimens. They 
 can be pinched and tied to most sym- 
 metrical forms and for pure beauty 
 of form and color are as handsome as 
 any plant. But here, where we see 
 them growing so luxuriantly outside 
 they are not appreciated as pot plants 
 unless it be for filling up in the sum- 
 mer and fall. It would not be at all 
 difficult to start with a 4-inch plant 
 in February and by the following Oc- 
 tober-have a plant 6 feet across and 
 as even in outline as an umbrella, birt 
 fe^v would stop to admire it. They 
 would only remark or refiect: "How 
 long it must have taken John Smith 
 to grow that plant!" The plant is 
 not wortli the pains. 
 
 To digress a moment. To me it is 
 no pleasure (simply a bore in factj 
 to see an elephant on a tub, a horse 
 waltzing, or a dog walking on his hind 
 legs. I feel very tired if it lasts long 
 and instead of being amused by such 
 monstrosities am continually thinking 
 how many weary days and weeks it 
 must have taken to teach these lower 
 animals the tricks. That's all there is 
 in it; it shows the patience and untir- 
 ing perseverance of some men, the re- 
 sult is nothing when attained. I will 
 go a long ways to see a. dog chasing 
 a rabbit or a fox, a horse's neck 
 stretched out to pass the winning post 
 first, or an elephant i;ull a ten-ton 
 cannon and show his majestic strength 
 and it's about the same with these 
 specimen coleus. It only shows the 
 patience and skill of the workman; 
 the result is meager after all the la- 
 bor and cost. 
 
 To obtain a good stock of coleus for 
 bedding purposes it is better to carry 
 over a few each of the leading varie- 
 ties in pots during summer, say in 5 
 or 6-inch pots. If you should have a 
 cool spell in October and November, 
 when firing but little, the fair sized 
 plants can stand it, but small plants 
 in 2-inch pots cannot. By starting 
 these plants in good, strong heat after 
 New Year's you will soon get^ plenty 
 of cuttings. As is known to every 
 florist the coleus roots most easily in 
 sand the year around, and in the 
 months of March and April when you 
 are doing your heaviest propagating 
 a bottom heat will save several days. 
 
 Coleus are sold cheap and must be 
 raised expeditiously or there will be 
 no profit. We endeavor to have sev- 
 eral sizes. The largest are in 4-inch 
 pots. Perhaps these have been stop- 
 ped at least twice, their cuttings hav- 
 ing been used for propagation. The 
 ;i-inch pot plants were stopped once 
 and the smaller plants in 2%-inch had 
 the top pinched out. We find custom- 
 ers want different sizes. Some are 
 willing and able to pay for the largest 
 plants: others think the smallest plant 
 just as good; "They grow very fast 
 you know." We keep on propagating 
 to the middle of May. 
 
 I have seen, in fact I have had, a 
 poor lot of coleus, for sale at the end 
 of May, just when they should be 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 61 
 
 Clematis Paniculata. 
 
 looking fine, and the reason was I 
 thought it a saving to buy no more 
 fuel after the end of April or first of 
 May, and perhaps to add to the trou- 
 ble had some whitewash on the house. 
 A sudden drop in temperature with 
 a cool damp house is the very worst 
 thing for coleus. They lose their 
 leaves, grow decidedly smaller, and 
 instead of showing their fine colors, 
 all assume a brown paper appearance. 
 Full sunlight and heat is what they 
 want and must have. 
 
 I must refer once more to the hot- 
 beds. There is no place like them to 
 grow good bedding coleus. They need 
 not be built up as if you were grow- 
 ing cucumbers in the month of March, 
 but one foot of solid stable manure 
 with four or five inches of loam or 
 
 refuse hops on top and some clean 
 glass over them will produce in three 
 weeks a bettejj bedding plant than you 
 can make in ten weeks inside. Have a 
 big batch of cuttings so that they are 
 ready to pot off middle of April. By 
 first of May they can go into the hot- 
 bed in 3-inch pots, and that is their 
 finish. One more great advantage is 
 that on warm days toward bedding out 
 time you can remove the sash, which 
 finely prepares these tropical plants 
 tor their next and last move. 
 
 We use coleus of several varieties 
 for veranda boxes and vases. They 
 always do well. The only trouble with 
 them is that they grow so freely that 
 if allowed they will smother the gera- 
 niums, the flowers of which are alway.-; 
 looked for. 
 
 Any light loam with a third of sift- 
 ed rotten manure will grow coleus, and 
 if we wish to hurry them along we 
 add a quart of bone flour to every 
 bushel of compost. 
 
 Mealy bug is about the only green- 
 house pest that troubles the coleus. 
 and if it has been a gardener that had 
 charge of the hose, that would not 
 be seen. A proper use of the hose will 
 keep them down; if it does not, use 
 the kerosene emulsion in the mildest 
 form, and if your plants are very bad 
 throw them away and start with a 
 clean lot. 
 
 Verschaffeltii I can remember very 
 well watering as a rather choice ex- 
 otic about the year 1863. It is by 
 long odds still the best of them all, 
 and Golden Bedder is such a fine gol- 
 den yellow that nothing is equal to it 
 in its color. If you grew 3,000 coleus 
 for bedding plants, 2,500 should be 
 Verschaffeltii, 2,000 Golden Bedder. 
 and the rest your own fancy. For 
 vases, etc., the fancy sorts are useful. 
 Klondike is a yellow with a few dark 
 markings, a very strong and useful 
 variety. We have long since neglected 
 to keep record of the names of the 
 fancy coleus, and grow only half a 
 dozen that are most distinct and keep 
 their color and markings outside in 
 the broad sun. 
 
 COSMOS. 
 
 The annual varieties are now great 
 favorites, not only for the flower bor- 
 der but more especially for cutting. 
 Its finely divided foliage and handsome 
 flowers are now produced of various 
 shades, there being now crimson, pink, 
 white, and last a yellow. The only 
 drawback to the cosmos was its late 
 flowering habit, early frosts in our 
 northern gardens coming before it had 
 scarcely bloomed. 
 
 By selection an earlier breed will 
 soon be produced, some seedsmen now 
 advertising a strain that will begin 
 to flower in June and be in full bloom 
 in August. We have noticed cosmos 
 in bloom this year by middle of July. 
 While a tendency to early flowering is 
 produced, the later strains are also 
 more compact in growth; that, how- 
 ever, to the florist who grows for cut 
 flowers is not so important, as it is in 
 the long sprays that it is particularly 
 graceful, and for decorations few flow- 
 ers surpass it in light, airy beauty. 
 
 Only moderately rich soil should b(? 
 given it or it would grow too strong. 
 Plants that have many blooms yet to 
 open can be lifted and planted in 
 boxes and placed in a light position at 
 the end of a carnation house, and will 
 be greatly appreciated after all outside 
 flowers are killed. Grown in a posi- 
 tion where a deep cold-frame could be 
 put over them in fall to protect them 
 from the first severe frost will well 
 repay the trouble. 
 
 They are best sown end of February, 
 and transplanted into flats and kept 
 in cold frame and planted out middle 
 to end of May. 
 
62 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 COTYLEDON. 
 
 These now include what we have so 
 long known as the echeveria and sem- 
 pervivum. They are dwar£ succulents, 
 a few of them forming stems, mostly 
 perennials. Very few are of any value 
 as flowering plants. Many of them 
 are indispensable for carpet bedding. 
 In fact, the rage for carpet bedding of 
 twenty-five years ago brought several 
 species of the echeveria into great 
 prominence and millions were grown. 
 They will always be most interesting 
 plants for the rockery. 
 
 They are of the easiest culture, all 
 the useful species sending out a num- 
 ber of offsets which can be removed 
 from the parent plant in fall and 
 planted into sandy loam thickly in 
 flats. If you wish them to grow during 
 winter you can give them a tempera- 
 ture of 55 to 60 degrees, with perfect 
 light, and keep moderately moist. But 
 for wintering most of them a much 
 lower temperature will do; and give 
 them little water during the dark 
 months. The echeveria section should 
 not be exposed to any frost. 
 
 While propagation by offsets is much 
 the easiest plan, they can all be raised 
 from seed, which is best sown in very 
 early spring. The following list in- 
 cludes the most useful as well as 
 handsome species: 
 
 C. sempervivum: House leek; per- 
 fectly hardy. 
 
 C. Gibbiflora metallica: Fine for 
 center of carpet beds, or worthy of pot 
 culture; broad thick leaves of a me- 
 tallic hue. 
 
 C. agavoides: Beautiful form, re- 
 sembling an agave, with sharp points 
 to the leaves; one of the handsomest. 
 
 C. calif ornica: Fine form; good for 
 carpet bedding. 
 
 C. glauca: Leaves form a dense ro- 
 sette; largely used. 
 
 C. secunda glauca: This is the one 
 most in use; does well in any soil, is 
 easily and rapidly propagated and for 
 carpet bedding is unequalled; there are 
 several varieties, all useful. 
 
 C. Peacockii: This is perhaps the 
 most ornamental of all, and much less 
 common than most others. 
 
 C. Ruthenicum: Good for rockery; 
 quite hardy. 
 
 C. Verlottii: A pretty species, and 
 hardy. 
 
 C. rosea: A fine form; suitable for 
 large designs in carpet bedding. 
 
 C. retusa: This is the only one we 
 have grown as a flowering plant for 
 fall and winter sales. It sends up sev- 
 eral flowering stems thickly covered 
 with very pretty flowers. Being a suc- 
 culent it is a most satisfactory house 
 plant, and twenty years ago we grew 
 it largely. It is well worth growing. 
 Plants that have flowered should be 
 cut down within a few inches of the 
 ground and from the stem you will 
 get several cuttings, which will root 
 quickly in the sand and can be potted, 
 and when there is no longer danger of 
 frost planted out of doors a foot apart 
 in good rich earth. You want these 
 plants to grow, unlike those you have 
 
 crowded into the carpet beds. They 
 will grow fast, and if inclined to flower 
 too early pinch out the flowering stem 
 till September. They lift, of course, 
 with the greatest ease. We like to put 
 them into a 5-inch pot. For inside ar- 
 rangements of plants such as are often 
 seen in the dining rooms of hotels this 
 plant is of especial value, and the spe- 
 cies metallica would also be for its 
 grand leaves. A cold dampness is all 
 that will hurt them. 
 
 Some of the species do not make off- 
 shoots, or not in quantity enough to 
 propagate sufficiently fast. The leaves 
 can be pulled off when perfectly ma- 
 ture and very slightly inserted in sand 
 and kept dry; on the ends or base of 
 the leaf small plants will form, which 
 when of sufficient size can be potted 
 and started growing. 
 
 You frequently see the bedding spe- 
 cies used in frames or on the margins 
 of beds where the edge of the bed is 
 nearly perpendicular. Ordinary soil 
 would wash down at the first rain. 
 For these positions a mixture of clay 
 and cow manure is used, and the 
 plants put in when it is moist, the 
 compost afterwards hardening as the 
 fresh moulded brick does when ex- 
 posed to the sun, and the cow manure 
 binds it. 
 
 CRINUM. 
 
 Evergreen bulbs which send up a 
 handsome mass or flower in a more or 
 less showy umbel. The prevailing 
 color is white. They are not of any 
 commercial value, but are handsome 
 plants for the private conservatory. 
 They make strong, fleshy roots and to 
 do well should be given plenty of pot 
 room. 
 
 They require good drainage and a 
 mixture of rather rough, turfy loam 
 and decayed manure. If the pots are 
 
 full of roots and you cannot shift 
 them give them a top dressing of ma- 
 nure in the spring. When making 
 their growth in the spring they re- 
 quire lots of water and syringing to 
 keep down thrip and spider. Though 
 not so much water is needed in win- 
 ter, they want a moderately warm 
 place and must by no means be dried 
 off. 
 
 Seed is easily saved from the flow- 
 ers and should be sown singly in small 
 pots and shifted and grown on. They 
 also can be propagated by off-shoots, 
 which can be taken off when small. 
 
 The handsomest are nearly all trop- 
 ical and flower during the summer 
 months. 
 
 CROCUS. 
 
 This pretty little flower is alluded 
 to in the article on bulbs. It is not 
 really a bulb; it is a corm, but we al- 
 ways class it among the Dutch bulbs. 
 We have never forced them profitably, 
 but they are of course the most easy 
 of any of the bulbs to force. In 
 small pans they are the most salable; 
 the demand for them, however, is very 
 small and not worth bothering about. 
 A great many crocus are sold every 
 fall for planting in cemeteries, where 
 they are dropped into holes four or five 
 inches below the surface and will grow 
 and flower every spring for years. 
 They are not suitable for grouping 
 with the tulips and hyacinths, being 
 much too early. In fact, they appear 
 as soon as the snow disappears and 
 are often caught in a snow storm after 
 thej' are in bloom. 
 
 They will thrive in any soil that is 
 not too retentive of moisture. Dotted 
 into the grass or in beds under the 
 wall of a house they brighten up the 
 first days of spring. Annuals can be 
 grown over them during summer with- 
 
 Croton Reidii, 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 63 
 
 Cycas Revoluta. 
 
 out any harm it you don't disturb the 
 soil too deep. There is no need of 
 transplanting them; they will take 
 care of themselves for years. 
 
 The varieties which we grow are 
 named, but the color is sufficient, and 
 of that we have yellow, purple, blue, 
 white and striped. 
 
 CROTON. 
 
 These highly ornamental leaved 
 plants can best be described by calling 
 them hot house evergreen shrubs or 
 trees, which they really are. As large 
 decorative plants for the conservatory 
 they have few equals. In the latitude 
 of Philadelphia and southward they 
 make beautiful beds out of doors, or 
 add greatly to the appearance of the 
 sub-tropical or mixed bed, but even 
 in that latitude they should be in pro- 
 tected situations. 
 
 For decorations they are valuable, 
 but not in cold weather, for a chill 
 (even a low temperature) soon takes 
 oft their beauty, and a croton must be 
 in perfect condition or it is useless. 
 They also dislike to have their roots 
 chilled with cold water, and repeated 
 doses of cold water will soon show by 
 a drooping of the foliage. 
 
 They are rapidly propagated from 
 the tips of the young growths in warm 
 sand in March and April. The sand 
 must be kept moist and sun and 
 draughts kept from the cuttings. 
 Growers of large quantities plant out 
 on a bench in five or six inches of good 
 rich soil, the young plants in a light 
 house, where during the summer 
 months they make a fine quick growth 
 and in the fall they are lifted and pot- 
 ted, and when established are ready 
 for sale. 
 
 Where expense is of little moment 
 they make splendid plants for the 
 mixed baskets of flowers and plants 
 
 now sold in our largest cities. To grow 
 crotons at their best they should not 
 go below 70 degrees at night at any 
 time of the year, but for a short time 
 will endure 20 degrees lower than that. 
 Unlike a palm or dracaena, however, 
 anything near the freezing point for 
 an hour or two will greatly damage 
 them. 
 
 They are subject to the ravages of 
 the mealy bug, red spider and thrip, 
 but there is no excuse for either, as 
 they delight in syringing; the proper 
 use of the hose should banish their 
 pests, or rather they should never ap- 
 pear. 
 
 For soil they like a strong, turfy 
 loam with a fifth or sixth of rotten 
 cow manure, and should be firmly pot- 
 ted, and when the water passes prop- 
 erly through the soil, which it always 
 should, they want lots of it. Bone 
 meal has been added to the compost 
 (about one pound to a bushel of soil) 
 with the very best results. 
 
 The following will be found very 
 handsome and satisfactory varieties, 
 and without describing each variety, 
 they can be depended on to furnish 
 both variety and form, habit and color 
 of the leaf: 
 
 Aurea picta, acubaefolia. Baron 
 Rothschild, Day Spring, contorta. 
 Challenger, Disraeli, elegantissimus, 
 .lohannis, Mortii, Langii, Ruberrinum, 
 Sunbeam, Reidii, gloriosum. Lady 
 Zetland, voluta. 
 
 Picta is remembered as one of the 
 oldest and is probably the parent of 
 most of the present varieties. 
 
 These plants are so universally 
 known as crotons (and probably will 
 be for a long time to come) that it is 
 not worth while naming them any- 
 thing else here. Yet modern horticul- 
 tural dictionaries say that they are 
 not crotons but codiaeums, , 
 
 CYCAS. 
 
 There is one species of this hand- 
 some palm-like plant that is known to 
 all florists, the C. revoluta. It is not 
 only one of the finest of our decora- 
 tive plants, but its handsome leaves 
 are largely used simply tied together 
 or with the addition of roses, etc.. for 
 funeral designs. Cycas leaves of all 
 sizes and perfect in outline and color 
 are now imported either from China or 
 climes where this plant grows freely 
 out of doors the year round. Although 
 they are beautifully preserved and put 
 into fine artistic forms, they are not 
 quite the thing with all our customers 
 and do not entirely take the place o' 
 the home grown, naturally colored 
 leaves. 
 
 The cycas is quite a tough plant. I 
 mean by that that it withstands a good 
 deal of rough usage. I have seen it do 
 well the year round in a light room 
 where gas was used, and if you have 
 no better place it will thrive in a tem- 
 perature of 50 degrees all winter, but 
 that is not the way to produce fine 
 leaves. It will burn under the focus of 
 glass, but will stand out of doors un- 
 harmed in the broadest and hottest 
 suns if plentifully supplied with wa- 
 ter. It makes a grand specimen for a 
 lawn during the summer months. 
 
 They should not have a larger pot 
 or tub than is necessary, but must 
 have a shift every two years if they 
 are making a strong growth. The soil 
 should be a strong turfy loam, light- 
 ened up with leaf-mould and sand, or 
 a fifth or sixth of well rotted cow ma- 
 nure. In the spring if you have no 
 occasion to shift them give them a 
 mulch of not over decayed manure. 
 When in good health they will always 
 make one whorl of leaves every spring. 
 If water passes freely through the soil 
 you cannot very well overwater them, 
 and they like syringing at all times. 
 
 Their greatest enemy is the brown 
 scale, and to remove this (or rather 
 prevent it) they must be sponged with 
 the kerosene emulsion. Mealy bug 
 will attack them, but there is no ex- 
 cuse for that, as the hose should keep 
 them down. A temperature of 60 de- 
 grees will do very well in winter and 
 as hot as you like in spring and sum- 
 mer. When cutting the leaves for use 
 never cut very close to the stem; leave 
 three inches of the stem of the leaf on 
 the main trunk. 
 
 There is no need of discussing the 
 method of propagation of the cycas, 
 as the young plants or stems in a 
 dormant state are now imported b.v 
 the ton and sold by weight. When 
 first received they should be put into 
 pots not much larger than the diame- 
 ter of stem and plunged into bottom 
 heat. They will in course of time 
 throw out a small whorl of leaves, but 
 their root action is slow. At this stage 
 they are easily hurt, and although not 
 wanting bottom heat after a few 
 months, the plants should not be put 
 out of doors or used for decoration, or 
 by any means sold to a customer till 
 they have made a good growth of 
 
64 
 
 The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 ¥-..*- 
 
 Cyclamen, in basket dressed with ribton. 
 
 roots, which will be two years from 
 the time they are started. 
 
 We often get an old cycas on our 
 hands that has been abused and lost 
 Its leaves. By shaking off the soil and 
 potting in small pots and treating as 
 you do the imported stems you will in 
 time get a good plant. 
 
 C. revoluta is by far the most valu- 
 able to the florist for all purposes. Of 
 the other species for private collec- 
 tions, media and circinalis are fine 
 plants. 
 
 CYCLAMEN. 
 
 Of all the winter blooming green- 
 house plants as well as a plant for a 
 customer a well grown cyclamen takes 
 the first rank. It is second to none. 
 It is so pretty in leaf and beautiful in 
 Hower that few of our customers can 
 resist buying one, and when to that 
 is added its good qualities as a house 
 plant it is worthy of our greatest care 
 and attention. There are several spe- 
 cies of cyclamen, but only one that is 
 
 of importance to the florist. We often 
 hear people from Central Europe (not 
 gardeners) when they see the cj^la- 
 men persicum in our greenhouses say 
 that they grow wild in Europe, and 
 they call them the Alp violet. It is 
 Cyclamen neapolitanum they have 
 seen, a native of that country. All the 
 beautiful varieties we grow are from 
 C. persicum. 
 
 The writer can remember when 
 these plants were coddled up, starved 
 largely and kept from year to year. 
 That day is past, and they are now 
 rarely kept over, but are grown annu- 
 ally from seed. Anyone having a good 
 strain should save his own seed; it is 
 best fresh. It will be ripe in May and 
 .lune and should be sown in September. 
 If you don't save the seed, get the 
 best strain. The form that is known 
 as giganteum is not as good for the 
 florist as the type known as C. P. 
 grandiflora. 
 
 Sow in light soil and press the seeds 
 into the soil and then cover slightly 
 
 Keep moderately moist and they will 
 germinate in three or four weeks. 
 When the small leaves are up you 
 .should give the pan or flat plenty of 
 light in a temperature of about 55 de- 
 grees. When the little bulbs (as we wi^l 
 call them) are the size of a small pea 
 they should be transplanted into pans 
 .•)r can go singly into 2-inch pots. If 
 kept light and healthy they will need 
 a 3-inch pot by middle of April, and 
 the best place of all for them is a niilo 
 hot-bed. The manure should be well 
 firmed into the frame and on it place 
 four or five inches of soil or ashes, in- 
 to which plunge the pots close to the 
 glass. 
 
 A permanent shade is very bad for 
 cyclamen, as they only want a shade 
 which can be applied by throwing over 
 a thin cloth in the hottest hour^v of the 
 day. Never let them suffer for want 
 of water. A slight syringing every 
 lu'ight morning is necessary. If aphis 
 appears and fumigating is not prac- 
 tical, syringe with one of ths tobacco 
 extracts. By middle of June they will 
 want another shift, and a slight bot- 
 tom heat will still help them very 
 much. They should be raised in the 
 idunging material till the rims of the 
 pots are even with the top of frame, 
 so that they can be syringed thorough- 
 ly. They will now be in 4 and 5-inch 
 pots. 
 
 By the middle of August they should 
 have their last shift, a 6 or 7. or even 
 an S-inch pot, if large enough. They 
 should never be crowded in the frame, 
 never neglected for water and syring- 
 ing and never shaded except in the 
 hottest hours. Some narrow strips can 
 be run along the frames above the 
 plants and on these some lattice shad- 
 ing or cheese cloth can be rolled on 
 and off. The full exposure to the air 
 except during the brightest hours 
 (from 10 to 4) is what they want. If 
 wanted early some can be "loved to 
 the greenhouse middle of September, 
 others can remain a month or six 
 weeks later. 
 
 The cyclamen is by no means a ten- 
 der plant, but it is not well to expose 
 them to frost. 
 
 I have spoken before about what 
 I consider good rdainage. For cy- 
 clamen in the last shift I would say 
 a good handful of broken crocks cov- 
 ered with a layer of green wood moss. 
 In the greenhouse, as at all times 
 I hey should have the fullest light. Hor- 
 ticultural writers use the phrase con- 
 tinuously "near the glass." v.-hich is 
 equivalent to saying "perfect light." 
 but plants that are near the glass of- 
 ten get a better circulation of air 
 around them (a great advantage) than 
 (hose near the floor. 
 
 If well drained the cyclamen is not 
 very particular about soil. A good 
 yellow loam, with a fourth of well de- 
 cayed cow manure and a fourth of 
 leaf-mould, rather firmly potted, will 
 grow them well. Some growers mix 
 a little broken lime rubbish with good 
 effect. Sometimes the beginner is 
 puzzled to know how deep to put the 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 65 
 
 Small Plant of Cytisus in a Basket. 
 
 bulb or eoim. When shifting yoii 
 can keep the top of bulb about ev^n 
 with or a little above the surface of 
 soil. With the watJiing and growth 
 the bulb will soon elevate itself to 
 the surface. 
 
 It syringing is properly attended to 
 the thrip and spider are seldom troub- 
 lesome, but the aphis is a jjorsistent 
 enemy of this beauLifui plant, getting 
 down among the young leaves and 
 Hower buds. A faithful weekly fumi 
 gating must be followed up. I tried 
 one winter an experiment on the best 
 temperature to flower them: 4-j deg>.e!-'=; 
 at night was too cool and 55 was too 
 hot: 50 degrees seemed to be just 
 right, opening the flowers fast enough 
 without drawing them up. If once 
 clean of aphis when brouglit into^the 
 house a good plan is to stand every 
 pot on an inverted 6-inch pot and place 
 three or four inches of loose tobacco 
 stems between the pots. This will 
 keep down the Hy. but it should be re- 
 newed every three or four weeks. 
 
 Plants are seldom carried over the 
 second year. If you wish to, lessen the 
 supply of water after the flowers are 
 gone and keep cool till May, when the 
 pots can be placed outside, in July 
 shake off the old soil and start grow- 
 ing in smaller pots and shift again as 
 required. Old plants, if well managed, 
 give an enormous lot of flowers that 
 are usually not as fine as those on the 
 year-old plants, and the plants are not 
 as perfect. If a plant can in fifteen 
 months be grown in an 8-inch pot, the 
 foliage 15 to 18 inches across, v.'ith 100 
 fine flowers, what better is needed? 
 
 In Europe they use the soot of bitu- 
 minous coal as an ingredient of the 
 compost; it adds to the size and color 
 of the leaves. A liquid application of 
 nitrate of soda would possibly have a 
 similar result. Yo\i can buy cyclamen 
 
 seed in dstinct colois. and whMe 
 laigfly grown should do so. The 
 mixed strains, where only a few hun- 
 dred are needed, will give you a fire 
 variety. Seed can be sown as late as 
 .January with good results, and if 
 grown cool in winter can be had in 
 bloom for April and May. 
 
 The cre.sted and so-called double 
 forms are curious, but no improve- 
 ment in beauty over the older form- 
 The double is in fact a monstrosity 
 without beauty. The colors range 
 from deepest crimson to purest white 
 and in many the colors are finely 
 blended. 
 
 Finally, what is true of most soft- 
 wooded plants is more particularly 
 true in the cultivation of the cycla- 
 men; they should have no check, no 
 setback of any kind from tiie tiin^ 
 the seed germinates till they are in 
 bloom, but should be continually 
 growing. 
 
 CYTISUS. 
 
 Tliese are often called genista. Ijiil 
 cytisus is the correct name, of which 
 the beautiful tree or shrub Laburnum 
 is one. They are profuse blooming, 
 branching evergreens. Small plants 
 in 4 and 5-inch pots are most useful, 
 but a limited number of the larger 
 plants are very fine for decoration. 
 Their bright yellow color, the plants 
 covered with flowers, makes them 
 very attractive, but we do not con- 
 sider them at all a good house plant, 
 the leaves and flowers soon dropping, 
 and the reason must be the dry air 
 of the room. 
 
 Any ordinary loam with a little rot- 
 ten manure will grow them. They are 
 sometimes troubled with red spider 
 but never when they are kept syringed 
 during the summer. 
 
 They root readily from the young 
 
 growths in February and are pinched 
 and grown on by shifting during sum- 
 mer. We never plant them out be- 
 cause they lift badly. Keep them 
 under glass and keep them plunged on 
 a bench where there is very little 
 shade. To make compact little plants 
 they want their strongest shoots often 
 stopped, the last stopping or clipping 
 should not be later than December. In 
 winter they can be kept in a very cool 
 house: 40 t'egrees at night will b- 
 plenty. 
 
 They are of most use as an Easter 
 plant and if not kept very cool will 
 lie too early for Easier unles.s that 
 festival comes on an early date. Un- 
 sold plants can be sheared off and if 
 kept warm and tyringed will soon 
 make a fine growth, and when shifter! 
 they can be plunged outside in sum- 
 mer and will want at intervals an oc- 
 c-asional clipping. They can be made 
 very round, compact, handsome bush- 
 es or allowed to grow more freely if 
 you wish. 
 
 Canariensis is a trifle darker than 
 racemosus but the latter is the best 
 grower and best plant. 
 
 DAHLIA. 
 
 These magnificent herbaceous plants 
 have long been favorites of the garden 
 and were, I think, once more frequent- 
 ly seen than at present. They do not 
 reward you with their grand flowers it 
 just shoved into the groui!d as the use- 
 ful geranium does. They want culti- 
 vation and they are well worth it. Ex- 
 cepting as to odor what flower is more 
 pet feet than a dahlia? 
 
 There are several classes: The Show 
 Uahlia is the large double flower. The 
 Fancies are identical excepting in the 
 markings of the flower. The Pompon 
 are perfect little double flowers, not 
 more than one-half or one-third the 
 size ot the Show flower. The single 
 iection are very handsome and are 
 used more for bedding. Some twenty 
 years ago they were very much in 
 fashion. 
 
 With the exception of the single 
 class, or in case you want to raise new 
 varieties of the double ones, the dah- 
 lias are easily raised from cuttings. 
 The clump of roots which has been 
 resting all winter should be placed on 
 a bench in February or March on an 
 inch or so of soil. If there is heat 
 under the bench so much the better. 
 The house can be about 60 degrees. 
 Scatter some light soil among the 
 roots, just sufficient to cover them and 
 keep moist. From the crown of the 
 roots will spring a number of cuttings 
 which when two or three eyes long 
 can be cut off and put into the sand: 
 or you can put each cutting in a 2-inch 
 ])ot. with a little soil at bottom and 
 sand on top: the latter plan will save 
 disturbing the roots. Always make the 
 cuttings at a joint. This may be of 
 little consequence with the majority 
 of, plants but is important with dah- 
 lias. 
 
 When well rooted in the small pot.s 
 shift into a 4-inch pot and give plenty 
 of light and air, and as planting time 
 
66 
 
 T'-IE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Single Dahlia. 
 
 approaches they should be in a cold- 
 frame, where they can be hardened 
 off. The planting time will depend on 
 when you are sure o£ no more frosts. 
 The dahlia is a cold blooded plant 
 yet it can't endure the slightest frost. 
 The first frost of fall kills our dahlias, 
 so a late frost in spring would put you 
 back with the plants for weeks or kill 
 them. 
 
 If it is a bed you are going to plant 
 then the whole ground should be deep- 
 ly dug. and a fourth of its bulk of ma- 
 nure added. The single varieties can 
 be planted 2 ft. apart, the Pompons 
 2 ft. 6 in., and the Show and Fancy 
 kinds to do them real well should have 
 4 ft. All should have stakes to sup- 
 port them and in a dry time an abund- 
 ance of water at least twice a week — 
 not a sprinkling, but a soaking. Grow- 
 ers of good dahlias pinch out the earli- 
 est flowers and all lateral growths till 
 the plant is 3 or 4 ft. high. 
 
 The single varieties are easily raised 
 from seed sown in February or March. 
 When well up pot into 2-inch pots and 
 shift on, giving all the light and air 
 you can as planting time approaches. 
 
 Being assistant to a good Scotch 
 dahlia grower (the late Wm. Vair) in 
 Toronto some 30 years ago, I have not 
 forgotten his method and from plants 
 l)ropagated in March he showed and 
 won a prize the following July 1st for 
 the "best 12 flowers of Show dahlias." 
 By the end of May the young plants 
 were 15 to 18 inches high in 4-inch 
 pots. For every plant on a long border 
 (.5 feet between plants) he dug a hole 
 18 inches in diameter and 15 inches 
 deep, working in a third of manure. 
 The surplus soil was spread on the 
 border. Near the center of the hole 
 he drove down a stout stake which 
 
 was left 4 ft. above the ground and 
 close to that the plant was set. The 
 surface of the soil was left in such 
 shape that when watered the water 
 would run to the plant, not away from 
 it. I think it was the 20th of May 
 they were planted. Frequently they 
 
 were watered and you could almost^ 
 see them grow. July the 1st is ex- 
 tremely early to cut dahlias but there 
 was a flower or two on several of the 
 plants and after that they were a gor- 
 geous sight. 
 
 Jt is my good fortune to see and fre- 
 quently to judge the wonderful dahlias 
 shown at Toronto's great fair in Sep- 
 tember: no better can be seen any- 
 where and for years the superb flowers 
 of Grainger Bros., Toronto, have been 
 exhibited faultless in shape and color. 
 
 It would be useless to give a list of 
 varieties. The catalogues of our lead- 
 ing florists and nurserymen describe 
 them all and the varieties are in- 
 numerable. The Show varieties have 
 the magnificent self colors of crimson, 
 red. yellow and white and inter- 
 mediate shades. The Fancy flowers 
 are most beautifully blotched, spotted 
 and striped. The pretty little Pompons 
 are all colors; some of the pink shades 
 among them are fine for florists use 
 and the singles are of every color. For 
 cut flowers the Pompon class are the 
 most useful. 
 
 Anything but a very stiff clay will 
 do for soil. The best I ever saw were 
 grown in a sandy loam with a third of 
 good manure added. Deep soil, plenty 
 of manure and abundance of water are 
 the three essentials. 
 
 When the tops are destroyed by 
 frost cut down to within six inches of 
 the soil, shake or pick off all soil when 
 lifting the roots and store in a cool, 
 dry cellar or under a bench. Where 
 
 Vase of Double Dahlias, 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 t- 
 
 -mm' 
 
 ^B tPS^WSHI 
 
 A- 
 
 i - ^ . 
 
 
 L A \ r - 
 
 iO 
 
 
 -« 
 
 ■^i^^^ att^'"'' - 
 
 w^^^^^ 
 
 y—v ) 
 
 h 
 
 
 
 -mi^^^^ - S 
 
 ^^^^" 
 
 - ^""■^■w^. 1 
 
 Dwarf Dahlias in Pofs. 
 
 potatoes will keep so will dahlias; 
 cool as you like but no frost. 
 
 If the amateur has no means of 
 propagating, the old root can be plant- 
 ed or divided, leaving an eye or two to 
 each division, and placed in the ground 
 by middle of May; but look out for 
 late frosts if the top has started. 
 
 ONLY A SELECT LIST ^eVt"' 
 FLORISTS' 
 
 Dahlias 
 
 Are grown by us. 
 
 Remember that in ordering from us you have 
 the advantage of selecting from a stock which has 
 been thoroughly culled: consequently vou buv 
 ^ood varieties as well as g-ood plants. 
 
 THE COTTAGE GARDENS, 
 QUEENS, N. Y. 
 
 DECORATIONS. 
 
 Keeping step with our business in 
 other lines, the decoration of the 
 house, the hall and the church has 
 evolved apace and is with many a 
 florist a leading feature of his trade, 
 booking back twenty-five or thirty 
 years we can hardly imagine what 
 material we then had with which to 
 till an order when we were favored 
 with a decoration. Smilax we had, 
 and some flowering plants of very 
 common sorts. With the e.\ception of 
 the chandelier the decorations must 
 have been of cut flowers, and they 
 were hardly worth calling cut flowers 
 for all were short stemmed and jam- 
 med into frames and designs in a 
 very conventional way. 
 
 We can all remember (at least all 
 those whose hair is grey) that at a 
 wedding or reception the chief deco- 
 ration was the banking of the mantel- 
 pieces with cut flowers, and I think I 
 have seen such a bank of flowers, 6 
 feet by 2 feet, that contained as many 
 orders, genera, species and varieties 
 as are usually found in a botanical 
 garden. Of palms there were scarcely 
 any. A few old latanias and occasion- 
 ally a shop worn Seaforthia elegans 
 comprised the stock in trade. Of the 
 ornamental kentias and arecas there 
 were none, and it would not be far 
 wrong to say that with the great ma- 
 jority of those who undertook a deco- 
 ration, of palms or decorative plants 
 there were none at all. 
 
 To trace the progress and improve- 
 ment in our style of decoration would 
 be of no avail. What it is today and 
 what we can look for in the future is 
 what we are after. The basket fllled 
 with moss and stuffed full of a variety 
 of flowers on toothpicks is gone for- 
 ever, and so is the bank of moss (often 
 made on a board to fit the mantel- 
 piece) gone never to return. The pass- 
 ing away of that style, as well as the 
 bouquet described in Peter Hender- 
 son's fine little work, "Practical Flori- 
 culture," is not a change of fashion; 
 not at all. It is the awakening and the 
 throwing off of a crude, semi-barbaric 
 education in that particular line. And 
 as pronounced traits of barbarism are 
 occasionally cropping out among the 
 most refined and polished peoples you 
 occasionally see a bouquet that in 
 form and make up reminds you of the 
 dark ages. 
 
 It is a question what brings about 
 these great changes. Was it the sup- 
 ply of better material that suggested 
 a more natural and refined style of 
 decoration, or was it the good taste 
 of our patrons that stimulated the 
 
 laste and originality of the florist? 
 We think decidedly it was the latter, 
 for material of some kinds we always 
 bad, and flowers too, but a knowledge 
 of their proper use came by education 
 and it came slowly. Did it ever occur 
 to you how much we are all imitator's? 
 There are in our line only a few men 
 of bright and original ideas in the 
 whole country and I am without the 
 postoffice address of those few, but al 
 the risk of offending some mighty 
 good people I believe these few bright 
 lights lived (and I trust yet live) in 
 New York and Boston. 
 
 All reformers are abused and re- 
 viled, or considered cranks by the com- 
 mon herd. All discoverers and demon- 
 strators of everlasting truths are held 
 in contempt and spoken of by fossilized 
 brains and robed hypocrites as enemies 
 of mankind. Saints never lived; they 
 are saints when they die. Linnaeus, the 
 colossal brained Swede who demon- 
 strated and published the facts about 
 the sexes in plants, had to eat his 
 words at the command of the church. 
 .Tust fancy; he had to deny a great 
 truth in nature which is today taught 
 to every student at a high school. 
 Happy is the man (for his mind is his 
 great consolation) who will grasp the 
 truth as great minds reveal it. Let 
 him be penniless, he is yet rich, and 
 a king compared to ignorant affluence, 
 who, ostrich-like, hides its head to all 
 true knowledge except that of acquir- 
 ing wealth far beyond its necessities. 
 
 This is a deviation from floral dec- 
 orations, but I will apply the argu- 
 ment to show that reformers in our 
 line, men who were not afraid to step 
 out of the beaten track, have likely 
 been sneered at by hundreds of fogies 
 who perhaps had nothing to say in ar- 
 gument against a new idea only that 
 the author was "getting gay," or 
 "thinks he's smart." Every time some 
 man of bright ideas bring out an ar- 
 tistic move we ought to be thankful, 
 tor by slow degrees our ideas of the 
 artistic part of our business have been 
 moved upward and onward. A move 
 in the wrong direction will soon die 
 out, for upward and onward and prog- 
 ress are as sure to come as that we 
 have progressed from the savage, and 
 have lots of room for improvement yet. 
 
 The last twenty years have given us 
 material that was not dreamed of in 
 the early days. We had smilax, but 
 we did not have Asparagus plumosus. 
 We had, but did not then avail our- 
 selves of the Magnolia grandiflora 
 sprays, the Mountain Laurel (kalmia). 
 Holly was scarcely ever seen. Lycopo- 
 dium (ground pine) was little used. 
 Leucothoe sprays were unknown; also 
 the southern wild smilax. Adiantum 
 cuneatum was used, but in no such 
 quantities as now. And in cut flowers 
 we did not have our long-stemmed 
 carnations, or our magnificent Ameri- 
 can Beauty rose. And the glorious 
 buds of Mermet and Perle or Cornelia 
 Cook were very scarce twenty-five 
 years ago. We had to be content with 
 Safrano, Isabella Sprunt and Bon Si- 
 lene. As for palms, the use of them 
 
68 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 with the majority of florists began 
 about twenty years ago and has yearly 
 increased till it would be safe to say 
 that compared with twenty-five years 
 ago palms are bought up and sold or 
 used up at the rate of at least ten 
 thousand to one. 
 
 The rather stringent times of I he 
 past five or six years araoug many 
 wealthy people has cut down the price 
 iif decorations and no great advance 
 in .^tyle has been made. And the pre- 
 vailing style is a very natural and sim- 
 ple one. but good amounts can be ob- 
 tained for good jobs. It is quality 
 lunrt- than ruianlity that is asked for. 
 
 Wedding Decorations. 
 
 At a we(Uling decoration there is 
 often some particular color that we 
 have to follow, and while in details we 
 must use our taste and skill, in the 
 general plan we must follow the wishes 
 of our patrons, if they command. At 
 a home wedding there is usually an 
 opportunity for the florist to show his 
 skill in arranging a fine bank of palms 
 as a background to the happy pair. 
 This should be high and broad and 
 light and giaceful. not thick and 
 dense. If the chandeliers and mirrors 
 are ornamented with greenery, aspar- 
 agus should always be used and no at- 
 tempt be made to follow the out:in£s 
 of the chandelier, but thrown on very 
 loosely. Instead of clearing off all the 
 costly and beautiful ornaments from 
 the mantel piece, as we us3d to, and 
 l)utting on a slab of flowers, they are 
 now decorated with two or three vasss 
 of the finest long-stemmed flowers, 
 such as roses, carnations or chrysan- 
 themums. All flowers are wanted on 
 long stems, and all can be so supplied 
 with one important exception, i. e.. 
 orchids; and orchids will be asked for 
 in increased quantities, depend upon 
 it, and if you can't supply them your 
 customers will go to some one who 
 can. 
 
 Orchids are so desirable when cut, 
 and it being impossible to cut any 
 stem with some of them, cattleyas par- 
 ticularly, that wherever there is an 
 arrangement of them they are used in 
 baskets or some low arrangement, and 
 nothing accompanies tbem better than 
 maiden-hair ferns. 
 
 Instead of banks of palms, except 
 when occasion demands such, the 
 plant decorations are made by stand- 
 ing singly in every available spot a 
 perfect specimen of palm or dracaena 
 or croton. No such thing as a flower 
 pot, however clean, should be exposed. 
 The florist should have on hand hand- 
 some jars in which the single speci- 
 mens should stand. And in the 
 groups, if the pots are not hidden by 
 the smaller plants, then small plants 
 of the Boston fern, or better still, As- 
 paragus Sprengeri, must flnish the bot- 
 tom edge of the bank. 
 
 In regard to the vases of flowers. 
 You are often asked to furnish vases, 
 and you should always be able to sup 
 ply them. 
 
 None will differ with me when I as- 
 
 sert that nothing embellishes a flower 
 like its own foliage. Rose.s should 
 have nothing more, nor lily of the val- 
 ley, tulips or any of the bulbous stuff, 
 or chrysantheniums. If your chrjsrn- 
 themum foliage is not good cut some 
 that is. Anything else would be ridic- 
 ttlous. But carnations are weak in 
 foliage and spr-ays of Asparagus 
 Sprengeri go well with them. 
 
 Christmas Decorations. 
 
 Christmas decorations are of many 
 kinds. Many good society people pre- 
 fer to rent a public hall or assembly 
 I'oom when they are going to give a 
 ilance to .500 peop'.e. rather than turn 
 their home upside down for a week. 
 Perhaps the "old man" kicks. I don't 
 blame him. If well heeled I should 
 say. "Go and have your fun: all you 
 want; but don't disturb my easy. chair. 
 I will pay the bills, but be careful, my 
 dear wife and daughter." 
 
 At these events the florist has a 
 great chance to display his skill and 
 taste, and his work shows to the great- 
 est advantage, as the halls are genei- 
 ally bare of any permanent decoiation 
 and well repay the florist's work. 
 Here is where your wreathing of laurel 
 the best of all comes in. Pillows and 
 balconies are draped with wild smilax 
 chandeliers and gas jets are adorned 
 with holly bi-anches. the mistletoe 
 bough hangs in some convenient nook 
 and the evening has all the features of 
 old England (except the accent of the 
 people) a hundred years ago, Christ- 
 mas, once so (oolly kept in this coun- 
 try, is now the gi'eat festival of the 
 year with Jew and Gentile alike. We 
 often hear from our patrons when we 
 are taking an order: "We want it to 
 look and feel real Christmassy, you 
 know." They hardly know themselves 
 what that is, but the feeling runs in 
 song and legend, and that Christmas 
 is associated with hol'y and red ber- 
 ries, "The mistletoe hung in the cas- 
 tle hall, the holly branch hung on the 
 castle wall." 
 
 Laurel and leucotboe are always 
 used in wreathing and are very effec- 
 tive, looking much richer than wreath- 
 ing of ground pine. The magnol'a 
 spi-ays are fine on panels or walls and 
 should not be crowded, but should 
 show their fine outlines. 
 
 Holly is prettiest in branches and 
 sprays, and there are lots of places to 
 use it. 
 
 The wild smilax is the greatest ac- 
 quisition of all. .lust wound around 
 pillai's. covering ceilings, or on the 
 outlines of arches, it is grand and be- 
 coming. 
 
 There is usually a stage in the hall 
 and there is a place to make a palm 
 display of the finest kind. If flowering 
 plants are used they are usually col- 
 ored azaleas and poinsettias. The lat- 
 ter is now a standard decor-attve plant 
 in many cities, and always wanted in 
 decorations around the holidays. It is 
 associated with ChrMstmas as much as 
 the holly berries, and with us is 
 known as the Christmas flower. 
 
 Church Decorations. 
 
 Church decorations are sometimes 
 very elaboi-ate, palms being of the 
 greatest service, and many times the 
 flowers used must be only white. 
 There is where our Lilium Harrisii 
 and L. longiflomtm are of so great a 
 value, and early white chrysanthe- 
 mums in the fall. In addition to the 
 palms, some perfectly fresh, clean, 
 handsome bay trees, both the standar.l 
 and pyramidal, can be used with great 
 effect, their formal .'■hape, that might 
 look stiff and awkward in a drawing 
 room, is in keeping with the solemn 
 tone and architectui-e of a church. 
 
 Easter decoi'ations have undergone 
 a great change, and it has been largely 
 l)y the will of the pastors. In addition 
 to their sacred ideas they have also 
 secular notions, and among them is 
 one that it is a waste of money for the 
 congregation to donate a hundred dol- 
 lars, more or le-s, for flowers; they 
 believe it would be better added to 
 their salary or given to the poor, as if 
 the florist was not poor enough. So 
 many a church decoration no longer 
 exi.sts among our regular orders, but 
 there ar-e just as many plants sold 
 which are sent as offerings to the 
 church, and "the ladies of the congre- 
 gation, assisted by the deacons, ar- 
 range the douatiuus," and then tn« 
 Monday morning paper says: "The in- 
 terior of beautiful St. William's was a 
 Ijower of beauty, blending its incense 
 with the heavenly music so ably ren- 
 dered by the efficient choir under the 
 ilirection of Prof. Plat." 
 
 Some churches still give you a flxed 
 sum and ask you to make as good a 
 show as you can for the money. And 
 as no flowering plants should ever be 
 loaned they ask that the plants be 
 those that can be given to the poor 
 and sick of the parish after the festi- 
 val is over. A very beautiful pr-actice. 
 You have given joy to the poor who re- 
 ceived them and helped the poor who 
 grew them. 
 
 Designs as memorials to tho=e who 
 have gone before are now entirely out 
 of fashion. Even the Easter cross, 
 once so universally used on this occa- 
 sion, is now not asked for, as the altar 
 is furnished with a gold or silver cross 
 presented by some wealthy member of 
 the congregation. With all this our 
 churches are beautiful with flowers 
 sent by members of the church, and 
 what is good and sensible about it is 
 that it is not confined to any one or- 
 two denominations, but Episcopal and 
 Methodist, Presbyterian and Unita- 
 rian celebr-ate with flowers and music. 
 This is right. If it is a glad day for 
 (me sect it must be for all. 
 
 Other Decorations. 
 
 I have made luention of the leading 
 events at which the florist and his 
 material is called for to make the 
 home, the hall or the church rad'ant 
 with flowers and foliage. Any little 
 social event, from a progressive euchre 
 party to a grand reception, wants 
 some little decoration, even if it Is 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 69 
 
 only a bunch of flowers. The use of 
 palms, however, is getting to be al- 
 most overdone. At the most common- 
 place dance they want palms for the 
 stage. That is all right. And in the 
 house of mourning or the room where 
 the departed rests a few palms stood 
 around cannot be bad taste, but for 
 every grammar school commence- 
 ment, every political meeting, a few 
 palms are wanted, and the first thing 
 you know there will be a group of 
 palms in Sharkey and McCoy's corner. 
 Even this would be good taste above 
 that of giving a half dead six day 
 bicycle rider a basket of flowers, or 
 presenting Mike McSluggum with a 
 bouquet when he goes to bat. When 
 that occurs and I am in the grand 
 
 add to the beauty of the home, the 
 church, the hall, and to the enjoy- 
 ment of all, but when shabby and 
 shoddy they are an abomination. There 
 is nothing so beautiful as a flower, ana 
 it is more beautiful on the plant than 
 anywhere else. A faded flower can b" 
 cherished only for some sentiment and 
 is kept in the leaves of the book you 
 refer to when receiving a curtain lec- 
 ture from your second wife. 
 
 You will expect me to say some- 
 thing about prices, but it is impossi- 
 ble. Seasons alter prices. There is. 
 ihoweiveir, one thing we should ob- 
 serve. The charge for loaning palms 
 in January should be double that in 
 June. You may think it all right to 
 cut down your neighbor's price on 
 
 Copyright 1»W by H. F. Kelsey. 
 Galax Leaves. 
 
 siand I am ashamed of my calling and 
 wish I was a walking delegate. 
 
 The basket of flowers for M.Uer ami 
 the bouquet for Mike are always paid 
 for, and generally at a good price, but 
 there are scores of times when our 
 dozens of palms are not paid for. The 
 public seems to think the cost noth- 
 ing, nor the carting either. We must 
 close down on it. If they paid $3 or $4 
 for the loan of a dozen palms it would 
 stop them, and it would be just as well 
 if it did. The common use of these 
 ornamental plants will turn our 
 wealthier people against -them. 
 
 Decorations of any kind, plants or 
 flowers, great or little, when well done, 
 
 palms and so get the job by a lower 
 figure. You will find it is not all 
 profit. Every time your palms go out 
 they are of less value, however well 
 you protect and guard them. 
 
 One other thing. Get a reputation 
 for having clean, healthy, perfect 
 palms, and above all have a reputa- 
 tion for having the job done at the 
 hour you agree to. If the wedding is 
 at 6 p. m., say to the lady of the 
 house: "Madam, I will be out of your 
 house at 4 p. m., all cleared up, and 
 you will have no occasion to worry." 
 See that you keep your word and you 
 will feel as good as I do at finishing 
 this rather long chapter. 
 
 DECORATIVE MATERIAL (WILD.) 
 
 The great use of our wild or native 
 plants for decorations dates from 
 about twenty years ago and is ever on 
 the increase. An incentive to it wa-; 
 the much greater obssrvance of Chri:t- 
 niRs day as a church festival and our 
 greatest and most joyous holiday. The 
 hundreds of car loads of holly used in 
 our nortbern cities today had a very 
 small beginning. It is just twenty 
 two years ago that a patron of mine, 
 a lovely woman, one of those who 
 make you glad you live and contented 
 with your lot, sent me a holly wreath 
 on Christmas eve. She had brought it 
 from New York City, and thought it 
 would be a novelty and a pleasure to 
 rae. It was both. It brought vividly 
 to mind the days of "auld lang syne" 
 and the mother country, which, how- 
 ever true and loyal is your allegiance 
 to your adopted country, must and 
 .should forever remain a warm spot in 
 the heart of every man worthy of the 
 name. 
 
 For a few years the use of holly in- 
 ci-eased slowly, but for several years 
 past immense quantities have been 
 sent north, and it must grow in unlim- 
 ited areas to stand the annual drain of 
 our holiday wants. Most florists who 
 grow and retail have to handle these 
 native decorative materials, and how 
 to preserve them in good order is of 
 chief importance. 
 
 Holly arrives from beginning to en I 
 of December. It is made into wreath- 
 ing, but much larger quantities are 
 used as sprays and branches. Holly 
 wreaths, either all holly, or ground 
 pine and holly, are made and sold in 
 enormous quantities. The large 
 wreaths of holly, two and three feet in 
 diameter, are handsome and look well 
 in large decoi-ations. It should whe:i 
 received be kept in the cases and they 
 should be stored in a cold shed, but 
 not where they will get zero weather. 
 When frozen so hard the berries drop 
 off when thawed out. Cool but not too 
 cold is right. I have never found a 
 better place for the wreaths when 
 made than a cold, dark cellar, but in 
 the absence of that a cold frame with 
 some coarse paper to lay them on, and 
 not more than three or four deep will 
 do, and cover the glass with mats or 
 boards to keep out the light and exces- 
 sive cold. You can't make these 
 wreaths all on Christmas eve, and 
 have to begin making up a week or 
 more ahead. 
 
 Ground pine or lycopodium, which 
 .\lr. and Mrs. Poor Lo and family 
 gather in the woods of Wisconsin, Is 
 easily kept. It comes in crates and 
 should be always kept outside, but 
 covered with a cloth of some kind, or 
 the exposed parts quickly get browned. 
 It will keep a long time, fresh and 
 green in the ci'ates or made into 
 wreaths or wreathing, if kept cool and 
 dark; beneath a bench in a cool house 
 or in the cold frame will do. When 
 we bring in the bundles to prepare for 
 making up, dip each bunch in water 
 for a minute or two; it will make It 
 
70 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Coii> right 1S1« by H. P. KelSL-y. 
 Leucothoe Sprays. 
 
 more pliable and easier to work up, 
 but don't leave it in the tub over night 
 or it will turn black after you have 
 made it into the wreaths. 
 
 Mistletoe is imported from France. 
 We have the southern mistletoe, but 
 it is not the kind the Druids worshiped 
 and has no such associations, and al- 
 though it may answer the purpose 
 (the pleasant purpo.;e) of kissing your 
 wife's sister beneath, it is not the real 
 thing. It seemed in better demand 
 than ever last year, and as its privi- 
 lege powers are better known it will 
 be a favorite with young and old of 
 both sexes. I think last Christmas 
 was the first season that we had any 
 more than realized the cost of it. It 
 had been in other years mauled about 
 in a dry store for a few days till there 
 was nothing but the bare twigs left. 
 We placed it in a cool, moist, dark 
 cellar, and handled it just as little as 
 possible, only to sort it over into 25 
 cent, 50 cent, $1, $2 or $3 sprays, and 
 in that way were not only able to fur- 
 nish nice berried pieces, but made a 
 little money besides. It's not a large 
 commercial transaction, but you may 
 as well do it right. 
 
 Laurel, so called (Kalmia latifolia), 
 is the finest material for wreathing, 
 and thousands of yards are used for 
 many and various kinds of decora- 
 tions. It lasts a long time in good ap- 
 pearance, fresh and no dropping of 
 leaves. It Is clean and pleasant to 
 handle. Though not so cheap as the 
 ground pine wreathing, it is a hun- 
 dred times richer in effect. Laurel is 
 procured from the Allegheny moun- 
 tains at any time and is widely distrib- 
 uted. It will keep after cutting a long 
 time in any cool place. 
 
 The branches of the noble Magnolia 
 grandiflora, which grows in latitudes 
 
 where the thermometer does not go 
 below 15 degrees ot frost, makes a 
 fine decoration, and should always be 
 used in spiays or branches. The fine, 
 bright glossy green of the leaf is seen 
 to great advantage contrasting with 
 the bronze old gold color of the 
 underside of the leaf. The branches 
 when received should be kept cool and 
 moist and not exposed to hard freez- 
 ing or allowed to shrivel from dry- 
 ness. 
 
 The leucothoe sprays are a more re- 
 cent introduction and are very orna- 
 mental. They make magnificent 
 wreaths or wreathing, being excep- 
 tionally easy to handle for this pur- 
 pose. Their u.<=e is not confined to the 
 •holidays; like the laurel, they are 
 used thoughout the winter months. 
 Keep cool and moist. 
 
 Though small in bulk, the greatest 
 in value of all the wild plants is the 
 galax, the leaves of which are ii«ed 
 for wreaths, panels, all designs em- 
 
 blematic and of good luck. It is, how- 
 ever, for funeral designs that the 
 greatest quantity is used. They have 
 grown steadily in favor till last year 
 an aggregate of twelve millions were 
 sent north. The small, green leaves 
 are now largely used to encircle a 
 bunch of violets. They have one groat 
 quality, for whatever purpose used 
 they are most lasting, and when a de- 
 sign has to be sent away a few hun- 
 dred miles they are often chosen for 
 that excellent quality. 
 
 Mr. Harlan P. Kelsey, of Boston, 
 who introduced the galax leaves to 
 our northern market in 1890, says the 
 sale has steadily increased till last year 
 he alone handled some seven millions, 
 while the price has come down from 
 $3 per 1,000 to $1 to the retail florist, 
 and inferior leaves much below that 
 even. There has been a considerable 
 lot exported to Europe the past two_ 
 .seasons, and Mr. K'elsey says Ger- 
 many takes the bulk of them. 
 
 Florists who have not the conven- 
 iences for keeping them over winter 
 in large quantities had better get 
 them in moderate quantities occasion- 
 ally from those who understand keep- 
 ing them in cold storage. We saw a 
 case of twenty thousand put down in 
 a warm cellar last November, just as 
 they arrived in the box, and we saw 
 'mi^st of those come up the cellar 
 stairs again at intervals this winter 
 and spring heated and useless. If they 
 had been unpacked, the bunches laid 
 out and a little damp sphagnum laid 
 between each layer, this careless and 
 ignorant mistake would not have oc- 
 curred, but the cooler the cellar the 
 better. 
 
 This instance of how not to keep 
 galax leaves was not an accident; it 
 was neglect, for which in the old 
 harsh days men used to lose their 
 jobs; but since store clerks (alias 
 shopmen) wear five-inch stiff collars 
 and part their hair in the middle, it 
 hurts their feelings to instruct them. 
 
 There are besides the southern 
 material, evergreens from our north- 
 ern woods that we use for different 
 decorations. The common hemlock 
 (Abies canadensis) is quite graceful in 
 wreathing, and the American arbor- 
 
 Kelsey's Southern 
 (ialax Leaves and Leucothoe Sprays 
 
 Write the iiitro(iucer for latest prices and infurinatioii. 
 
 Brilliant Green and Bronze. 
 
 Long Wiry Stems. Packed in Original Cases. 
 
 Only the Richest Colored 
 Firm Leaves sent out. 
 
 Ir^li »LD direct ur Jrop a postal a 
 Wj sale florist handling my su 
 ' ' vou. Vou will save disapp 
 
 I and tiienanu'of the whole- 
 
 superior stock will be sent 
 
 _. ___ _. _ ..appointment by insisting on 
 
 having my stock. Most of the "cheap" leaves ottered are 
 
 my discarded "culls." Always address 
 
 A large stock of finest Galax and Sprays always kept in 
 cold storage in Boston for shipment during the summer. 
 
 HARLAN P. KELSEY, 
 
 IIOGTremontBldg., BOSTON, MASS. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 7i 
 
 vitae, often called white cedar, is use- 
 ful. A drive of a few miles to tlie 
 music of sleigh bells and frozen toe^ 
 brings us to the home of our ever- 
 greens, and the white spruce, so much 
 used for Christmas trees, is also founJ. 
 although the well-grown Norway 
 spruce makes the ideal Christmas tree. 
 Fancy what beautiful Christmas trees 
 they get in Leadville, Col., where the 
 beautiful Colorado blue spruce grows 
 on the mountain side, and with us it 
 is about $2.00 a foot. Wei will not be 
 jealous of their noble conifers, for 
 perhaps their rocky slopes are not 
 covered with golden rod as are our 
 fields and lanes just now, and how 
 beautiful. 
 
 DECORATIVE PLANTS. 
 
 Besides the plants that are grown 
 and kept for decorative purposes for 
 special occasions, much of our glass, 
 and acres of glass in large establish- 
 ments, are devoted to the growing of 
 idants used in a decorative way, either 
 as permanent adornments of the housa 
 or (or the florist's use when filling an 
 order. 
 
 Exhibition Group of Decorative Plants. 
 
 Generally when plants are known as 
 decorative it is meant those whose 
 foliage is ornamental rather than 
 their flowers, and my remarks under 
 this head will be confined mostly to 
 those of the former class. 
 
 Palms. 
 
 Palms are pre-eminently ahead of 
 all others for this purpose. Of the 
 species or varieties adapted to the 
 purpose there is at present not a great 
 number. They must be of fairly quick 
 growth, not easily hurt by a low tem- 
 perature and able to stand a good deal 
 of rough handling. 
 
 The Areca lutescens I place ahead of 
 all as the handsomest. It Is light and 
 gi-aceful. Next the Kentias Porster- 
 iana and Belmoreana. These, like the 
 areca, are fine in effect whether used 
 singly or in a group. The Phoenix, es- 
 pecially rupic'ola, comes next, although 
 these do not blend in a group and are 
 best as small or medium sized speci- 
 mens, where they can show off their 
 graceful outlines. The Latania bor- 
 bonica is flne where you can find a 
 suitable place. We are sometimes (in 
 
 fact often) asked to place a palm in 
 a fire-place, and there is the spot for a 
 latania. Like the phoenix, its spread- 
 ing growth makes it not so well suited 
 for mixing in with the tall growing 
 palms, however handsome it is indi- 
 vidually. The graceful little Cocos 
 Weddeliana is very valuable on many 
 occasions. When two or thi-ee feet 
 high and in good order, there is noth- 
 ing more beautiful. 
 
 There are many other palms that 
 are just as ornamental as the well- 
 known kinds mentioned, but their 
 variety and value foi-bid their use. 
 And again, the kentias and arecas 
 have entirely displaced such quick- 
 growing but soft kinds as seaforthia. 
 
 Cycas revoluta makes a grand orna- 
 ment where it can be used in a, very 
 large plant vase, perhaps at the end 
 of a room or hall, but should be so 
 placed that its perfect outline can be 
 seen or it will not be appreciated. 
 
 As to the hardiness or ability to 
 stand rough usage, of these palms I 
 think there is not the slightest doubt 
 that the phoenix are the best. We 
 have a pair of P. rupicola that in the 
 
72 
 
 course of Ave or six years must have 
 heard the congratulations of the 
 bride's friends, or endured the orches- 
 tra's strains, the Easter and Christ- 
 mas sermons, the orator's eloquence, 
 and the chilly ride to and fro, a thou- 
 sand times, and still they come up 
 smiling. There is nothing like the 
 phoenix in this respect. 
 
 The kentias come next tor keeping 
 iu fair order, but kentias, grand house 
 plants as they are, do not like the 
 slightest frost. 1 have noticed that 
 where latanias and arecas have been 
 (■arelesslv exposed to a degree of frost 
 they will recover, butnot so with the 
 kentias. The arecas will answer the 
 purpose for a long time if the leaves 
 are carefully tied when they go out. 
 and this care should also be given the 
 kentias. The latanias suffer most, not 
 because they are more tender, but 
 their broad leaves get more easily 
 broken and become unsightly. 
 
 I remarked under the head of deco- 
 rations that the charge should be 
 about twice as much in January as in 
 June This is quite true, after May 1st 
 till November 1st it does little harm 
 to palms to give them a day and a 
 night or more in a hall or room, and 
 if the leaves are drawn up and care- 
 fully tied with rafha they can be sent 
 out" in an open wagon. When the 
 thermometer is 10 degrees below zero 
 it is very different. In addition to the 
 wagon that is heated you have to tie 
 up each plant and cover with paper or 
 a bag, for the distance from the curb- 
 stone to the door 'of the house is fie- 
 (lueiitly enough to ruin your palms it 
 not protected. Others use long boxes, 
 each holding a halt dozen plants. As 
 these are packed in the warm shed 
 and the tight cover put on. and the 
 box carried into a warm hall or vesti- 
 Inilp before they are unpacked, the 
 palms seldom get injured by cold, but 
 careful and thorough tying up of the 
 leaves is more of a necessity even 
 than when sent in a heated wagon. 
 Never scrimp the time in tying up the 
 palms. If you do you will soon have 
 to buy more, because yours will be 
 shabby, and the price of one good areca 
 or kentia six or seven feet high will 
 pay for many hours' labor on the 
 palms. 
 
 Dracaenas. 
 Next to the palms the dracaenas are 
 most useful and effective. On mantels, 
 side-boards or tables, perfect speci- 
 mens of D. terminalis stricta, D. ama- 
 bilis, or any of the beautiful hybrids, 
 can't be equaled. And for situations 
 wanting larger plants well-grown 
 .specimens of D. nova-caledonica. D. 
 fragrans and D. Lindenii are superb, 
 and they should always be so situatci; 
 that the entire plant can be seen. I), 
 indivisa is, of cours;, very common, 
 but it is so hardy and tough that it is 
 for many places one of the very best 
 decorative plants we have. Dracaenas 
 of the terminalis and fragrans type 
 want no exposure to the cold, but they 
 are easily packed and their leaves can 
 be brought up and tied close to the 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 stem with strips of tissue paper with- 
 out doing any harm. , 
 
 Crotons. 
 
 On all occasions except during cold 
 weather crotons are gorgeous and 
 grand plants for decorations, but they 
 must not be chilled. My experience is 
 that if a croton is exposed to a tem- 
 perature of 40 degrees tor an hour it 
 will drop its handsome leaves, and in 
 the winter we sometimes expose our 
 palms and dracaenas to a lower tem- 
 perature than that without much or 
 any damage. So large plants of cro- 
 tons had better be kept at home. 
 
 Small plants of crotons are now 
 raised and sold almost as cheaply as 
 fuchsias or geraniums, and if you do 
 lose them you have possibly charged 
 enough for the job to consider it no 
 loss. For a mantel decoiation with 
 vases of flowers, or for plants for a 
 banquet table nothing can be finer 
 than the many grand varieties of cro- 
 tons. 
 
 Adiantums. 
 
 Several species of ferns are among 
 the leading articles of our decorative 
 stuff. It must depend upon how elab- 
 orate and expensive the decoration is 
 whether you can use the very choicest 
 ferns. Sometimes at the bottom of a 
 mirror a bank of Adiantum Farleyen.se 
 is made as a background to a display 
 of orchids, and what could be finer? 
 Adiantum cuneatum, besides its great 
 usefulness in supplying cat fronds, is 
 many times used as a ffiiigs or bank, 
 and if the fronds are well matured 
 will keep pretty well, but if young 
 growth they will soon snrivcl up in a 
 warm, dry room. 
 
 Asparagus. 
 
 The Asparagus Sprengeri is a gr.:at 
 acquisition, and is and will be largely 
 used. Its pendent growths make it 
 just the plant to hang from mantels or 
 book cases, or to cover unsightly pots. 
 Some plants in four and live inch 
 pots, with a good growtii, should al- 
 ways be on hand, and so shoull bas- 
 kets of this useful plan'.. There is 
 scarcely a plant that so r.3ir.'.'y adapts 
 itself to the very unnatural condi- 
 tions of a hanging basket. Its great 
 freedom of growth and hardiness un- 
 der neglect and abuse may make it too 
 common, but not just yet. It is un- 
 necessairy to say that this plant 
 thrives under the most unfavorable 
 conditions— sun or shade, wet or dry. 
 I have tried it in many pluces f.nd 
 find it endures the gas, the wild exag- 
 gerations, the anecdotes and clas.sicai 
 quotations of a suburban barber shop; 
 and the aspidistra is the only other 
 plant that is known to have lived 
 through that oideal. The Ficus elas- 
 tica has been tried in tonsorial envi- 
 ronments, but says: "I have got some 
 credit as a stretcher, but that last 
 yarn kills me." 
 
 Nephrolepis. 
 
 Most of our ornameu'ai terns are 
 too tender for decorative purposes 
 
 except that splendid genus, the ne- 
 phrolepis. N. tuberosa is now super- 
 seded for indoor use by N. exaltata 
 and Bostoniensis. The latter is one of 
 the greatest acquisitions that we have 
 had for years. Whether in a mass or 
 a large specimen, or in a large hang- 
 ing basket. It is most ornamental, and 
 receives not the slightest harm Ironi 
 an occasional trip to a party or ball- 
 room. It is in fact a first-class house 
 plant, so it must be valuable as a dec- 
 orator. 
 
 Flowering Plants. 
 Unless you are well paid for the dec- 
 oration you cannot afford to loan 
 many flowering plants. For a church 
 decoration we are never asked, but tor 
 a private function we have to, and 
 must make out our bill or estimate 
 accordingly. 
 
 - Beginning in the fall the chrysan- 
 themums are most in favor. Groups of 
 yellow or pink or white varieties are 
 often called for. However good the 
 fare given these plants they 'are 
 shaky after a night in a room where 
 there has been a strong glare of gas 
 and a crowd of people. 
 
 Here will be a good place to men- 
 tion that the cause of carnations (and 
 perhaps other llovr-ers) closing up iu 
 one night in a room or hall that has 
 been crowded with people is the fact 
 that there has been such a crowd of 
 people. We have noticed this in both 
 large and small rooms, and it was a'.sj 
 noticed in one of the plant houses at 
 Schenley Park in Pittsburg, where 
 many thousands of people pass 3d 
 through in one day. The carnations 
 collapsed, other flowers did not. But 
 if it has this effect on carnations the 
 breath of the multitude in one room 
 can't be good for any flowers. And as 
 a rule when a plant goes to a decora- 
 tion we expect it to return much the 
 worse tor wear. 
 
 Azaleas, from December to May. are 
 the finest of our decorative plants, and 
 after a few days for recuperation are 
 again of service. 
 
 At the holidays the poinsettia is 
 with us a leading article and is now 
 closely associated with Christmas 
 They droop quickly if they receive 
 anything like a chill. 
 
 From November on the Liliums 
 Harrisii and longiflorum are always 
 in demand. 
 
 Spiraea wilts worse than any other 
 plant, and should receive an extra 
 soaking of water before going out. 
 
 Plants of lilac, deutzia, Ghent azalea 
 and cytisus are used largely in the late 
 winter and spring months. 
 
 Whole flats of tulips, narcissi and 
 hyacinths are often used, with ribbons 
 to match the colors of the flowers. 
 There is no variety of tulip so fine for 
 decorating, either in pans or flats, as 
 the double Murillo, almost pure white 
 when first opening, but assuming on 
 its velvety petals the finest shade of 
 blush pink, and so large. 
 Conclusion. 
 I can't be expected to exhaust the 
 full list of the many plants, both 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 n 
 
 Plant of Deotzia Gracilis, trimmed with ribbon. 
 
 foliage and flowering, that are useful 
 in decorating. There are few plants 
 but what have a distinct beauty if 
 well grown. And you will have many 
 tastes and many grades of purses to 
 accommodate. 
 
 No plants should go to a decoration 
 unless they are clean and in good or- 
 der. No dirty pots should ever go. 
 never mind whether they are to be 
 hidden or not. It's enough to turn 
 the hostess against you when she sees 
 them enter her door. 
 
 One very important thing is this: 
 All plants that are taken out and ex- 
 pected to keep their heads up and look 
 well all the afternoon and evening 
 should be well watered an hour or two 
 before they are packed for their dress 
 parade, which the entertainment is to 
 them. 
 
 We find it unwise to mix up the 
 palms and dracaenas that we use for 
 decorations with the stock that is 
 kept for sale. However careful you 
 are some little marring will be sure 
 to occur, and it you are not careful ycu 
 will have your whole collection, per- 
 haps a fine one to look at in the aggre- 
 gate, but when you want a perfect 
 kentia, green to the very tips, you 
 won't find it among those that have 
 been out visiting. 
 
 Let the line be drawn between those 
 you loan and those you want to sell, 
 
 and if you do much decorating you 
 will want every summer a good house 
 cleaning. Give your worn-out palms 
 to the nearest botanical garden, or to 
 the rubbish pile when beyond a certain 
 degree of shabbiness. It is most un- 
 profitable to occupy space with use- 
 less old runts. 
 
 DEUTZIA. 
 
 Several of the species are among our 
 earliest and best known flowering 
 shrubs, and gracilis, the smaller grow- 
 ing pure white species, is largely forced 
 as an Easter plant. It is sold in pots 
 or used for decorations, or the cut 
 sprays are used. There is a new form 
 of gracilis called Lemoineii, quite 
 double, a beautiful flower and more 
 lasting than the single. The double 
 form is not yet quite so common and 
 consequently is more expensive, but it 
 will soon be grown as plentifully as 
 gracilis. Plants for forcing of any size 
 can be imported so cheaply and so 
 well and compactly grown that it is 
 useless to attempt to grow plants for 
 forcing; they would cost you far more. 
 
 Those wanting to grow them to raise 
 in the nursery for flowering shrubs 
 :an root them most easily from the 
 young tender shoots taken from forced 
 plants in February or March and put 
 into the ordinary propagating bed or 
 
 from outside cuttings in June put into 
 sand in a hot-bed. 
 
 When you receive the deutzias in 
 the month of November don't expose 
 them to zero weather. They are a 
 hardy plant, but after their sea voy- 
 age are poorly prepared for a hard 
 freeze. The stems are studded to their 
 tips with their flowering buds, so they 
 svant no pruning or you will get no 
 flowers. Keep them protected by a 
 cold-frame and their roots covered till 
 you pot them up for forcing. They 
 should have about seven weeks under 
 glass in a night temperature of 50 de- 
 grees, then they will be nicely out and 
 not unduly forced. 
 
 For forcing we prefer to buy every 
 year, but unsold plants if planted out 
 make good bushes for selling with 
 ither hardy shrubs. 
 
 DIANTHUS, 
 
 To this genus belongs our Divine 
 flower the carnation, which has been 
 treated at length as its value deserves. 
 D. barbatus is the well known Sweet 
 William, a splendid border plant while 
 in bloom but not of any commercial 
 value. Perhaps because seen too often 
 in the humblest gardens, or for some 
 reason not apparent, it is not a flower 
 that can be used in the commonest 
 bouquet, though in June and July it 
 makes a splendid show of bloom of the 
 richest tints and markings. 
 
 The seed of the Sweet Williams can 
 be sown in May in a. cold-frame and 
 when the plants are large enough 
 transplanted into flats or placed at 
 once in the borders where they are to 
 flower. They will make fine spread- 
 ing plants, and being entirely hardy 
 will send up a mass of bloom the fol- 
 lowing spring. They are biennials, 
 but a few straggling plants and flow- 
 ers are often seen to survive two or 
 three years. 
 
 The Dianthus chinensis and its 
 splendid varieties, Heddewigii and its 
 many forms, are the most useful to 
 the florist. They also are biennials 
 but are invariably treated as annuals 
 and sown every spring. For their 
 culture follow instructions given un- 
 der the heading Aster and you will 
 have no trouble. They look well in 
 either the mixed border or in a solid 
 bed. 
 
 DRACAENA. 
 
 In garden nomenclature the names 
 Dracaena and Cordyline are inter- 
 changeable, but I prefer to call them 
 dracaenas, by which name they are 
 commonly known, although botanical 
 authorities class some of our dracae- 
 nas as cordylines. 
 
 The dracaenas are noble, erect grow- 
 ing foliage plants, grown entirely for 
 the beauty of their leaves and stately 
 habit, for the flower is small and in- 
 conspicuous compared to the plant. 
 They do not usually flower till they 
 attain considerable size, although oc- 
 casionally they flower when quite 
 young, possibly through some check to 
 the vigor of the plant. 
 
74 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 Though not of equal commercial 
 value to the palms as greenhouse and 
 hot house decorative plants, they cer- 
 tainly rank very high. Some of them 
 are excellent plants for the house. I 
 have in mind a plant of D. fragrans 
 Lindenii some 3 feet high in a 9-inch 
 pot, furnished to the pot with its 
 beautiful leaves, that has stood sev- 
 eral feet from a window in a sitting 
 room for the past six months, and is 
 to all appearance in perfect health. 
 Pandanus utilis, the ideal house plant, 
 could not beat this. 
 
 Some of the species may grow 6 
 feet or 30 feet in their native habitat, 
 and with age have bare stems 
 crowned with a tuft of leaves, but our 
 object in growing them as small or 
 
 Except in the darkest days of win- 
 ter dracaenas should have a thorough 
 daily syringing. By thorough is meant 
 that every particle of the underside of 
 the leaf should receive a good force 
 from the syringe or hose. This ne- 
 cessitates a good condition of the soil 
 that the water will pass freely 
 through. The moisture arising from 
 the syringing is conducive to growth, 
 but a necessity as well to keep down 
 thrip and red spider, which are very 
 fond of dracaenas, especially the ter- 
 minalis type, and will soon ruin the 
 appearance of the leaf if allowed to 
 commence their work. 
 
 Propagation in nearly all species is 
 by cuttings, which grow from the ri- 
 pened stems. The leading shoot will 
 
 Dracaena Lindenii. 
 
 medium sized decorative plants is to 
 preserve the leaves to the very bottom 
 of the stem and with the best cultiva- 
 tion they will carry their bottom 
 leaves for some years. 
 
 It is noticeable that the fragrans 
 type (tropical Africa) will bear and 
 require 10 degrees more heat in the 
 winter time than the terminalis and 
 the high colored varieties. The ter- 
 minalis type will do very well in a 
 minimum winter temperature of 55 to 
 60 degrees, while fragrans and its va- 
 rieties and Goldieana require 10 de- 
 grees higher. Fragrans also wants a 
 good shade in the ' summer months, 
 while the varieties of terminalis need 
 shade only from the brightest rays of 
 the sun. 
 
 root freely but this would be a very 
 slow process, so stems are imported, 
 or the ripened stems of old plants are 
 used. They can be cut up into pieces 
 one to tW'O inches long, or the whole 
 length of the stem can be laid in the 
 propagating bed. A good mixture for 
 the propagating bed is coarse sand 
 and chopped sphagnum in equal parts, 
 and the heat of the bed should be 80 
 degrees. Let the stem be even with 
 surface of bed. From the eyes or 
 joints will spring young shoots which 
 when two or three inches long can be 
 cut from the stems, and they quickly 
 root in warm sand and are soon on 
 the road to make young plants. 
 
 The soil for dracaenas should be a 
 good loam, not too finely broken up. 
 
 and a fourth of leaf-mould, and the 
 plants potted moderately firm. The 
 pots, which should never be larger 
 than necessary, should have an inch of 
 broken, crocks covered with a layer 
 of green moss; this is as near good 
 drainage as you can get. 
 
 Some of the species are very beauti- 
 ful, but more suitable for the private 
 collection than for the commercial 
 man. 
 
 D. Draco: Very suitable for sub- 
 tropical gardening or for vases. 
 
 D. Goldieana; Beautifully marked 
 with dark green and silvery grey. 
 
 D. fragrans: This is one of the fin- 
 est species, requiring a good heat in 
 winter and shade in summer. 
 
 D. fragrans Lindenii: Same habit 
 as fragrans but the leaf has a series of 
 stripes of creamy white or yellow on 
 each side of the green center. 
 
 D. Massangeana; Another variegat- 
 ed form of D. fragrans, the chief dis- 
 tinction from Lindenii being that the 
 variegation appears in a broad band 
 of yellow or cream color throughout 
 the center of the leaf. 
 
 D. australis: A fine plant for out- 
 side decoration. 
 
 D. Novo-Caledonica: A fine bold 
 species with large bronze leaves. 
 
 D. Sanderiana: An upright striped 
 green and white species of recent in- 
 troduction which has proved very 
 good for the center of large ferneries, 
 and which stands the dry air of rooms 
 admirably. 
 
 D. terminalis: Green or bronze when 
 young. With age the leaves assume 
 fine shades of scarlet or crimson. Most 
 generally cultivated of all dracaenas 
 and the parent of scores of the finest 
 varieties. The following will be found 
 to be beautiful and distinct sorts: 
 Metallica. dark purplish bronze; ama- 
 bilis, fine habit, glossy green suffused 
 with pink and white; Baptistii, green 
 margined with yellow and pink; im- 
 perialis, broad deep green leaves, the 
 younger leaves crimson and pink; ter- 
 minalis stricta grandis, the most 
 highly colored and best of the ter- 
 minalis form: Youugii, bright green 
 streaked with deep red; and Lord 
 Wolsley, Gladstoneii, Rel5ecca, Bella, 
 Scottii, and Annerleyense, are all 
 beautiful varieties. 
 
 D. indivisa: A distinct species from 
 New Zealand. It will thrive in a 
 much lower temperature than any of 
 the others except Draco. There are 
 several varieties of indivisa, the best 
 of which are Veitchii and lineata. Un- 
 like the other dracaenas this one is 
 easily and quickly raised from seed. 
 If it were propagated only by cuttings 
 how highly prized it would be, for no 
 dracaena has more grace. What makes 
 it most valuable to the commercial 
 florist is its ability to withstand the 
 sun and drought to which it is ex- 
 posed throughout the summer in our 
 cemetery vases. It not only lives un- 
 der these unfavorable conditions but 
 flourishes. When three or four feet 
 high if in good order it makes a splen- 
 did decorative plant that will endure 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 75 
 
 any amount of hard usage, in fact 
 anything but freezing, and we know 
 that it even comes out of a slight frost 
 unhurt. The seed, which is very 
 cheap, should be sown in flats in win- 
 ter or spring. We prefer to grow 
 them the first year under glass, and 
 the second spring plant them out in 
 some good light, rich soil. The fol- 
 lowing fall they are lifted and potted 
 in 4 or 5-inch pots and used largely 
 the following spring for our vases and 
 veranda boxes. I know of no plant 
 of its value that is so easy to grow 
 and of so great a use to the florist. 
 If short of room we have stood the 
 small plants under a light bench in 
 a cool house and kept them rather 
 dry, where they have done well, but 
 if you want them to grow during win- 
 ter they should have 50 degrees at 
 night, plenty of sjTinging with the 
 hose, and they are troubled with noth- 
 ing. In a few hundred seedlings you 
 will see quite a variation of character: 
 some with leaves almost a bronze red. 
 They should be put aside and grown 
 on with care; they may turn out to be 
 of great beauty and value. 
 
 DRAINAGE. 
 
 There is nothing much more puzzl- 
 ing to the beginner in floriculture than 
 the word "drainage" when applied to 
 
 Dracaena Fragrans. 
 
 Dracacni Massangeana. 
 
 potted plants, especially as some 
 authors of recent years have ignored 
 the theory of drainage entirely and 
 pronounced it wrong in theory and a 
 waste of money and time in practice. 
 There are few farmers, nurserymen or 
 market gardeners who do not believe 
 
 in the practice of draining. Some land 
 may need it more than others but all 
 are benefited by a system of drainage 
 except it be a good loam lying on a 
 gravel. 
 
 I am not going into the art of drain- 
 ing land but the principle, if right 
 
 with land is right in our flower pots. 
 Year's ago it was carried out to an ab- 
 surdity. A piece of crock in the bot- 
 tom of a 4-inch geranium or canna is 
 absurd and no one does such a thing 
 now. If a plant is going to stop in a 
 pot but a few weeks or even a few 
 months and is necessarily a quick and 
 strong rooter like a lily there is no 
 need of any drainage. In the case of 
 plants that may stop a year, or per- 
 haps two or three years, in the same 
 pot, if you were sure that the water 
 was always going to pass freely away 
 as it does at the first month or two, 
 there would be no need of drainage, 
 but worms get in and work the soil 
 into a putty state, or the soil gets so 
 packed at the bottom of the pot that 
 water does not pass away frefely. 
 
 Much as plants enjoy the watering 
 when in need of it, terrestrial plants 
 don't exactly feed on it. The water 
 passes away, leaves the soil moist 
 and full of moist air spaces, which the 
 roots are continually absorbing till it 
 is gone and they want more. See how 
 easy it is to kill most any plant when 
 the water remains in the pot and 
 keeps the soil for a few days saturated. 
 So plants want water to pass through 
 the soil but not remain there, and 
 with all plants that are going to re- 
 main any time in the same pot (aza- 
 leas are a good example) they should 
 have what we call drainage. 
 
 With pots not over five inches in di- 
 ameter a broad crock at the bottom 
 covered with a piece of green moss, 
 and with larger pots in addition to 
 the piece of crock covering the hole 
 an inch or so of broken crocks and the 
 moss. The green wood moss is much 
 better for the purpose than sphagnum 
 
76 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 because the sphagnum soon rots and 
 the compost gets down among the 
 crocks. You will sometimes see the 
 healthiest and strongest roots of a 
 plant down among the crocks. I be- 
 lieve it is because they find there the 
 conditions to suit them best — perfect 
 drainage. 
 
 How particular we are that the 
 benches of our carnations aud roses 
 are drained by simply keeping the 
 boards V2 or % inch apart, so that 
 if watered heavily it can pass quickly 
 away. And so long as our flower pots 
 are made with that one small hole we 
 will have to make provisions to let 
 water escape freely. The author who 
 30 years ago laughed at the "old fogy" 
 notion of draining a flower pot lived 
 to alter his opinion and freely ack- 
 nowledged it. 
 
 just in perfection, so much as at 
 Easter. Nine-tenths of all the plants 
 are delivered on the Friday and Sat- 
 urday, and must be at their best on 
 Easter morning. If a batch of flower- 
 ing plants are at their best one week 
 ahead of time, they will be very un- 
 satisfactory to your customers, and if 
 a few days too late it Is often nearly a 
 total loss. Many of us can remember 
 having some hundreds of lilies that 
 would have sold for one dollar each 
 on Easter morning, or rather the day 
 before, had they each two or three 
 flowers open, but were sold the fol- 
 lowing week at 10 cents a stalk, and 
 the same with other plants. The quan- 
 tity grown for Easter, if attractive, 
 would bring a good price, but if late 
 the supply is ten times in excess of 
 the demand, the day is over, and they 
 
 many more will be added to the calen- 
 dar. 
 
 Life is a continuous holiday to some 
 and endless and hopeless drudgery to 
 others. This is all wrong and was 
 never ordained so. We have only re- 
 cently (for five centuries is but a 
 speck in the history of man) emerged 
 from the feudal system, and but yes- 
 terday emancipated millions of slaves. 
 Hopeless starvation wages is also 
 slavery with a tincture of uncertainty 
 added to its bitterness. The "white 
 man's burden" is not so much the 
 care of millions of a race or races 
 who never yet have evolved to a high 
 state of civilization and are still happy 
 in their primitive life. The great bur- 
 den of all of us is to bring about a 
 better and happier condition of the 
 fellow being whom we meet and see 
 
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 I^^^H^^^ktf M'-./^^^.'^^^HH 
 
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 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^L ^\'m ^iJ^^^^^^^B 
 
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 Lilies, in celluloid basket trimmed with white ribbon. 
 
 Hydrangea, trimmed with crepe paper. 
 
 EASTER PLANTS. 
 
 Easter day is undoubtedly the great- 
 est floral festival of the entire year. 
 For many years it has been the cus- 
 tom to trim and decorate our churches 
 of all denominations with plants and 
 flowers, but, apart from that, it is the 
 custom now to give and receive from 
 friends a pretty plant or box of flow- 
 ers. The Easter card is gone and a 
 plant has taken its place. It is the 
 day on which thousands visit the 
 cemeteries, perhaps the flrst visit of 
 the spring to the resting place of the 
 departed, that for months has been 
 covered with snow. So several causes 
 tend to make this a busy time with 
 the florist, but the most commendable 
 fashion of remembering friends near 
 and even distant with a pretty flower- 
 ing plant and Easter greeting sur- 
 passes all other demands for flowers 
 and plants, and I see no reason why 
 this virtuous practice should ever 
 drop from public favor. 
 
 There is no other occasion when 
 plants and flowers must be just right, 
 
 are given away. Another feature of 
 the Easter trade is the fact that it is a 
 movable festival and occurs any time 
 during the month of April, and we 
 have seen Easter Sunday a day of ice 
 and snow, and again on the 25th of 
 April I remember having nights of 70 
 degrees and fanning ourselves on the 
 veranda. 
 
 To digress a moment. Why can't 
 Easter Sunday be fixed for a certain 
 date, say the second Sunday in April? 
 In these davs of common sense this 
 ought to be straightened out. Easter 
 Sunday and the days preceding it are 
 supposed to commemorate events of 
 solemn moment to sincere Christians, 
 but as the moon, or the tide, or some- 
 thing else, dodges these anniversaries 
 all over the month of April, how can 
 they have any significance? We be- 
 lieve that ages after the events that 
 gave rise to Easter and Good Friday 
 are lost in oblivion, there will still 
 be holidays kept, and let us hope that 
 in the coming century the date will 
 be fixed for that holiday and that 
 
 every day. Although in a wretchedly 
 imperfect state as yet, a better time 
 on earth for every man, woman and 
 child must surely come. And then 
 there will be more holidays for all. 
 "Man's inhumanity to man makes 
 countless thousands mourn," but ev- 
 ery age brings more humanity, and 
 justice and right will follow and 
 equality for all must come. 
 
 I consider the ability to get in crops 
 just when the market is ready tor 
 them quite equal to that which pro- 
 duces the plants and flowers, and at 
 Easter time is when you want to 
 exercise that particular line of ability 
 to the greatest extent. It will tax 
 your knowledge and experience, how- 
 ever great they are. Not only is the 
 day of the month variable by two or 
 three weeks, but the weather also iss 
 never two seasons alike. It is a ques- 
 tion whether it is better to be what is 
 called on the safe side — that is, have 
 your plants a little eai'ly, or have 
 them rather backward, so that they 
 will improve from the day they are 
 delivered. Of course, the ideal is to 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 77 
 
 havH them in their best appearance 
 on Easter Sunday. If people wanted 
 these plants for their own conserva- 
 tory or house, then a lily with one 
 flower open and four or Ave buds 
 would suit the great majority. They 
 ask for a lily or azalea "not so much 
 blowed out." But 90 per cent of all 
 the plants bought are sent as pres- 
 ents, and a good showy appearance is 
 demanded, and for church decorations 
 it is entirely appearance and effect 
 that is wanted; however well grown 
 a plant may be, it is not wanted un- 
 less well in flower. I may add here 
 that flowering plants greatly predomi- 
 nate at Easter. Occasionally Mr. 
 Goodman buys a seven or ten-dollar 
 palm for his dear, plump little ducky, 
 Ijut that .stops in the family, and the 
 vast majority of plants sent as pres- 
 ents must be flowering. It is a cheer- 
 ful morning with all Christendom and 
 flowers are the thing to add to its 
 joys. 
 
 We flnd a novelty goes well to a 
 limited extent, but they must have 
 some good merit to take well, and 
 you had better try them in moderate 
 quantity the first year. Wealthy com- 
 munities in our very large cities will 
 purchase a basket or collection of 
 plants put up in a fancy basket and 
 decorated with ribbon. In this ar- 
 rangement there would be no end to 
 the varied combinations to tempt the 
 corpulent purse. These baskets of 
 plants are sold for ten, fifteen or even 
 twenty-five dollars, and are works' of 
 art, but they have not yet reached the 
 general trade. We find a few custom- 
 ers willing to spend ten or fifteen 
 dollars on a single plant, a great 
 many willing to purchase a five-dollar 
 azalea, but a far grea'ter number 
 whose limit is two dollars. Then there 
 is the school child, or the poor per- 
 son, who want to make their window 
 bright and who can hardly afford 
 twenty-five cents for a hyacinth. Our 
 trade is made up of all these classes, 
 and if you do a general retail trade, 
 you must cater to all of them, and be 
 just as pleasant and attentive to the 
 delegation of little girls who have 
 clubbed together to buy tueir school 
 teacher a fifty-cent plant as to the 
 millionaire who orders a dozen Beau- 
 ties at eighteen dollars per dozen. A 
 little different manner, you know, but 
 just as attentive. 
 
 The delivery of plants at Easter, 
 should the weather be cold, as it too 
 often is, makes it the most trying day 
 of the whole year. At Christmas we 
 are prepared for cold weather and ex- 
 pect it, and most of the trade then is 
 cut flowers, which are easily and safe- 
 ly delivered in boxes, and the plants 
 are carefully and securely wrapped: 
 but we never know til! dawn breaks 
 what kind of a day it is going to be 
 on the Friday or Saturday before 
 Easter. A cold Saturday is a great 
 loss to our trade, not only in the 
 great expense of wrapping and deliv- 
 ery, and breakage of our plants, but 
 "we miss hundreds of sales that never 
 come again. A. man may put off buy- 
 
 Easter Lilies, dressed with pink ribbon and Asparagus. 
 
 lug a hat or gloves this Saturday, but 
 he will get them sure soon, because 
 he needs them: but if his coat is 
 turned up and fingers cold, he is think- 
 ing more about a cocktail and forgets 
 that his wife told him to buy a plant 
 and send to her friend, Mrs. Expect- 
 ant. In many ways a cold time at 
 Easter is a calamity to us. 
 
 Great rush as it is, much can be 
 done by organizing your force. Men 
 or women that make sales should not 
 be expected to wrap up the plant. If 
 the address and card is handed to the 
 delivery department, that's all that 
 should be expected of the salesman, 
 and the cash or charge handed to the 
 gentleman who presides at the desk. 
 The man who makes change and slaps 
 the charges on file is not so busy but 
 what he can keep an eye on what is 
 going on; like a man who looks on at 
 a game of cards, he can see the right 
 card to play better than the partici- 
 pant, and he can notice whether a 
 clerk by mistake (?) drops $1.75 into 
 his own pocket instead of the till, or 
 whether that azalea that Mrs. Smith 
 
 so kindly said she would carry out to 
 her carriage herself was paid for or 
 charged. If we had an Easter Satur- 
 day every week, we should be able to 
 keep trained help to manage it, but 
 we have not, and it is a trying time, 
 and a time above all to keep cool. It 
 is a busy time, and your customers 
 see, and all sensible ones will make 
 allowance for a short but civil an- 
 swer, and it is all they can get. Woe 
 betide the fool of a man or woman 
 clerk who wants to chin and chat and 
 be funny and extra affable to the cus- 
 tomers on these crowded, busy days; 
 turn the hose on them if practicable. 
 We have found that in the green- 
 house, where many of us do our big- 
 gest Easter trade, much confusion can 
 be saved by devoting a good big bench 
 in a house adjacent to the door where 
 the wagons are loaded to the plants 
 that are bought ahead of time, as 
 many are. We make room on the 
 bench and cover it with strong, thick 
 paper so that the pots when washed 
 won't get mussed up again with sand 
 or ashes, Thursday begins the deliv- 
 
78 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 ering. Customers often say when buy- 
 ing a plant: "You can send it home 
 Thursday or Friday," or another will 
 say: "Saturday or Sunday morning, 
 whichever you choose." Always choose 
 the earliest moment they allow. You 
 are sure to have plenty for the last. 
 So on that part of the bench nearest 
 the door is all of Thursday's deliver- 
 ies, the card of the donor fastened on 
 with baby ribbon and the address very 
 lightly fastened on with wire. It is 
 not safe to fasten that address card on 
 securely till you see the weather, as 
 
 know the city well and also know a 
 great many of the residents. Never 
 send a load of twenty or thirty differ- 
 ent deliveries with one man. It is 
 waste of time. The driver knows the 
 route to save time, and the house in 
 most cases, and tells his helper that, 
 "Here is Mrs. Brown's, who gets that 
 lily and that deutzia," and while the 
 less valuable man is waiting for Mary 
 Ann or Kate to receive the plants the 
 driver is studying out his next call. 
 Drivers or delivery men are Just like 
 those of any other calling; there are 
 
 Azalea, dressed with crepe paper and lace ribbon. 
 
 it may have to be pinned on to the 
 wrapping paper that protects the plant 
 from chilly blasts. When Thursday 
 night comes all of Thursday's deliver- 
 ies should he gone, the space devoted 
 to Thursday should be clear, and so 
 with the other days. Friday's orders 
 should be looked out and got ready 
 on Thursday and what is sold on Fri- 
 day to be delivered that day should 
 be put on the table to go out with the 
 next load. As long as plants are on 
 that Friday bench your wagons have 
 not done for the day. 
 
 The delivery man is a very impor- 
 tant personage these days. He should 
 
 good and bad, but a good one is a 
 jewel. Only smile at calamities that 
 can't be helped, such as hailstorms or 
 cyclones, but swear to your heart's 
 content at the lubber who comes home 
 with damaged plants and says. "The 
 lilies blowed over and I let that big 
 azalea fall." 
 
 There is always a great number of 
 plants that you are reasonably sure 
 you will sell, and these should all have 
 their pots washed a day or two ahead. 
 Nothing can be more disgusting than 
 a greasy, dirty pot, and no plant 
 should be delivered, however cheap, or 
 
 warm the weather, without some wrap- 
 ping paper around the pot. 
 
 The lily certainly occupies the most 
 important place among Easter plants. 
 The Bermuda grown longiflorum is 
 the favorite; a single plant in a 5 or 
 6-inch pot or three plants in an 8- 
 inch. It is seldom that the longiflo- 
 rums are too early, and should they 
 be a week or ten days ahead of time 
 they keep finely in a cool, shaded 
 house, but should not be put there till 
 at least one flower is open or the 
 whole plant and buds will get stunted. 
 
 Azaleas are next in importance and 
 perhaps in value of plants sold equal 
 the lilies. There is no excuse for hav- 
 ing the azaleas out of date because 
 they can be kept almost to the fresz- 
 ing point during winter and open 
 quickly when put into a heat of 60 
 degrees at night. There is always a 
 good demand for azaleas from Christ- 
 mas on, but don't have many left 
 after Easter, for people have seen so 
 many then that they are tired of them. 
 
 Rhododendrons are seldom too early 
 and you do not want many of them. 
 A warm house with abundance of 
 tyringiug will bring their fine flowers 
 out. 
 
 The Ghent or hardy deciduous aza- 
 l?as want seven or eight weeks in a 
 moderately warm house. They are 
 very attractive and do not drop their 
 flowers at Easter as they do later in 
 warmer weather, and the colors are 
 such beautiful shades of yellow, or- 
 ange, red and pink that when deco- 
 rated with suitable crepe paper they 
 sold well last year. 
 
 Lil'acs need about four weeks in the 
 greenhouse and always sell well, and 
 are so good for cutting if not sold. 
 
 Metrosideros (bottle bnish) is very 
 odd and finds favor with a few, but 
 the sale is limited. It should be al- 
 ways grown one year with us before 
 being sold. 
 
 Acacia armata, called often Mimosa 
 paradoxa, is a beautiful plant, but 
 should not be offered for sale the sea- 
 son that it is imported. Cut down 
 and grown in pots during the summer 
 it makes a beautiful plant the follow- 
 ing winter or spring. It will be too 
 early for Easter unless kept very cool. 
 A. Drummondii is also very pretty and 
 can be treated the same way. 
 
 Deutzia gracilis is most easy to 
 force and should be given seven to 
 eight weeks in the greenhouse. 
 
 Cytisus, although a poor house 
 plant, is so floriferous and makes such 
 a compact, pretty plant that it is al- 
 ways worth growing. Keep very cool 
 or they will be over too early. 
 
 Spiraea (astilbe) is always wanted 
 for church decoration, and when peo- 
 ple learn that a spiraea should always 
 136 stood in a saucer with an inch of 
 water in it, they will find it a long- 
 lasting house plant. 
 
 Mignonette in 4 and 5-inch pots sell 
 well and should command a good 
 price, as it takes six or seven months 
 to grow a good pot. They can't be 
 forced; they must come along slowly 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 79 
 
 with a strong, sturdy growth in a 
 cool house. 
 
 Lily of the valley in pots and pans 
 sells well. 
 
 If made up out of a bed when in 
 full bloom they are just as lasting as 
 if grown in the rot and a mvich finer 
 show can be made. It is just water 
 they live on. 
 
 The old Dutch hyacinth always will 
 be a favorite with many people. We 
 lielieve only good bulbs should be 
 used for this purpose. They are grown 
 singly in a 4-inch pot. and in groups 
 of three or more. A 10 or 12-inch pan 
 containing a dozen grand spikes of 
 one variety of hyacinths and trimmed 
 with the right shade of paper is a 
 rich affair and attracts the well-to-do. 
 
 Tulips and daffodils are grown in 6, 
 7 and 8-inch pans and find a ready 
 sale because they are inexpensive. 
 
 Roses there is always a demand for, 
 especially hybrid perpetuals. Plants 
 that are lifted from your own grounds 
 after the wood is ripe and carefully 
 and gradually brought along, need 
 from ten to twelve weeks in the green- 
 house. The best pot roses I have ever 
 seen of this class were a lot of Amer- 
 ican Beauty that had grown on a 
 bench the previous summer, slightly 
 dried off during October and lifted 
 during November, potted into 6-inch 
 
 Easter Plant Arrangements. 
 
 pots and kept in a cold pit away from 
 severe freezing till middle of January, 
 when they were brought in and start- 
 ed very cool. By Easter, which was 
 then in about eleven weeks, they were 
 a great sight: Five or six good 
 blooms on 18-inch stems, with lots of 
 buds to come. They outsold anything 
 we had and would have been a splen- 
 did paying crop had we not cut a rose 
 the previous summer. 
 
 The Crimson Rambler is. and per- 
 haps the other ramblers will become, 
 a standard Easter plant. Our experi- 
 ence is that if the plants are lifted 
 from the ground the previous fall they 
 must be brought along very carefully 
 and slowly, so you must allow thir- 
 teen or fourteen weeks under glass, 
 the first half of which they must be 
 cool. If the plants have made their 
 growth the f.revious summer in pots 
 the wood will be better ripejied and 
 the roots not being disturbed they can 
 be given more heat at the start so 
 that ten weeks in the houses will do. 
 
 The white Marguerite, if well 
 pinched in the field and kept cool 
 during winter, makes a grand plant 
 for church decorations. It is truly 
 decorative and is one of the very best 
 house plants known, blooming and 
 flourishing in the dry air of a room for 
 weeks. 
 
 Hard.v shrubs of many kinds are oc- 
 casionally tried as Easter plants, the 
 snowball (viburnum) particularly, but 
 we have not found people willing to 
 pay for cost of room they have occu- 
 pied. 
 
 Don't forget the 25 and 50-cent cus- 
 tomers. A good 4-inch zonal gera- 
 nium, a hyacinth or a 6-inch pan of 
 pansies fills the bill. 
 
 There is a small and select demand 
 for a pot of violets. If the spring is 
 mild and early you can get them from 
 the cold-frame two or three weeks be- 
 fore selling time, but if the season is 
 backward lift from the beds the plants 
 that show the most buds and only lift 
 them a week or two before you want 
 them, I may have missed some plants 
 that many readers grow in their lo- 
 cality, but remember that if I have 
 failed to notice them here I have un- 
 der their alphabetical order given 
 them due notice if in my opinion they 
 are worth growing especially as an 
 Easter plant. 
 
 It is always well to be supplied with 
 a stock of moderate sized palms, pan- 
 danus, ficus, dracaenas, ferns and 
 ferneries, but these plants are of value 
 the year round and do not need any 
 special mention here. 
 
 Don't think you can bring in a lot 
 of lilies or azaleas in the fall and by 
 
80 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Easter Plants. 
 
 giving them a certain temperature 
 have them in good order for Easter. 
 Plants in the same batch treated just 
 the same will ba a month later or 
 earlier than others. They must be 
 nioved as their condition requires. I 
 think one winter some years ago that 
 I moved my Harrisii at least six 
 times, every plant, and many of them 
 a dozen times, but it paid, for out of 
 1,500 plants I don't believe there were 
 ten that did not open precisely a few 
 days before Easter. It can be done, 
 but not without thought, earnest 
 thought, and active work. 
 
 EPACRIS. 
 
 These beautiful heath-like plants 
 are not much seen in our green- 
 houses, although much grown as a 
 winter and spring fiowering plant in 
 the gardens of Europe. The same 
 general treatment as that given the 
 ericas will suit them. Good peat (not 
 fern root) if it can be procured is 
 what they like. In its absence halt 
 turfy loam and half leaf-mould will 
 do. For propagation refer to Erica. 
 
 Most of the species are from Aus- 
 tralia and New Zealand, but the hy- 
 brids from these species are the most 
 valuable. The colors are mostly 
 white, pink and red of many shades. 
 
 Plants that have iiowered should 
 have the last year's growth cut down 
 to within a few inches of the older 
 wood, and till the young growth gets 
 a good start the plants should be kept 
 syringed and away from draughts. 
 They make a growth of several stems 
 on^ to two feet long, which give you 
 the flowers the following winter. 
 When the growth is matured the 
 plants can be plunged outside for a 
 
 month or two, but are best in partial 
 shade. 
 
 Till flowering time a temperature 
 of 40 to 45 degrees at night will do 
 very well. Like the heaths they dis- 
 like extremes of moisture, but if prop- 
 erly drained will take plenty of water, 
 and must at no time be allowed to get 
 very dry. 
 
 Although not often seen the epacris 
 is a beautiful and aristocratic green- 
 house plant and whoever can grow 
 heaths should grow epacris. They are 
 seldom troubled with any of our 
 greenhouse pests of any kind. 
 
 ERICA. 
 
 This is a large genus of hard-wooded 
 evergreen shrubs, often called Cape 
 Heaths because they are largely from 
 the Cape of Good Hope. Few green- 
 house plants are finer as specimens 
 than a hard-wooded heath. A plant of 
 E. Cavendishianum, covered with its 
 large, waxy, yellow flowers, the plant 
 tied out most neatly, I can remember 
 to this day, although many years since 
 I had the honor to paint the hand- 
 made wooden labels for naming some 
 of the plants in the heath house. 
 
 Heaths have small leaves and are 
 slow growers. The flowers are some- 
 times terminal and sometimes axil- 
 lary. The hard-wood section is sel- 
 dom seen except in a private co'lec- 
 tion. They want most skillful water- 
 ing the year round, good drainage and 
 nothing like a sodden soil, but must 
 never be very dry. They do not like 
 fire heat, and a greenhouse where the 
 night temperature is not over 40 de- 
 grees will do very well. 
 
 After they have made their growth 
 in the spring they would be best out of 
 doors, but shaded with lattice work 
 from the strongest sun. A good peat 
 and loam compost suits them best, 
 and they should be potted firmly. But 
 in the absence of peat a good fibrous 
 loam with a third of leaf mould and 
 some sand will do very well. The 
 hard-wooded, slow-growing hraths are 
 never likely to become of importance 
 with the commercial florist. They are 
 troubled with none of our greenhouse 
 pests. 
 
 The soft-wooded, quicker growing 
 section is now largely grown as a mar- 
 ket plant for our eastern cities, and 
 large quantit'es are raised on Long 
 Island, where the fine loam found in 
 many parts of the island suits it finely. 
 It is generally believed that the order 
 Ericacea, which includes the azaleas, 
 
 J 
 
 ^M 
 
 
 
 
 "'V 
 
 
 Erica and Epacris, in fancy basket and silver jardioieres. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 8} 
 
 Erica, in celluloid basket dressed with red ribbon. 
 
 rhododendrons and kalmias. is much 
 averse to lime In either the soil or 
 water, and this should be remembered. 
 
 They are propagated by cuttings 
 from the tips of the young growths in 
 •spring. They do not want bottom 
 heat, but should be put in well-drained 
 fiats or pans with a layer of light loam 
 and leaf-mould, and on the surface an 
 inch of clean sand. They should be 
 kept rather close, away from draughts 
 or too much ventilation. Give them a 
 good soaking when first put in. If the 
 cuttings are 1 or 1% inches long of the 
 young, tender growth stripped of the 
 bottom leaves they will root in seven 
 or eight weeks. As they show signs of 
 growth give them more air. Don't pot 
 oif till they are well rooted, and keep 
 them only just moist till they are 
 rooted. 
 
 The young plants will do very well 
 in a cold-frame during the fall months 
 and in a cool, dry house during win- 
 ter. In May they can he planted out in 
 the open ground, where they will make 
 
 a good growth, and must be lifted in 
 September or October. When first lift- 
 ed and potted be careful not to let 
 them wilt. Careful lifting, to get all 
 their roots and fibres, is the essential 
 object. They will do finely in a tem- 
 perature of 40 degrees, but will do 
 with more heat as their flowering time 
 approaches. 
 
 Two-year-old plants that are unsold 
 should be cut down to within a few 
 inches of the pot after flowering and 
 again planted out. The young plants 
 will need stopping when they first be- 
 gin to root, and perhaps again when 
 planted out, but not after that. 
 
 Some of the best ericas for fiorists 
 are E. caffra (small fiower, but very 
 free), E. gracilis, E. hybrida, E. hyem- 
 alis (a beautiful pink that flowers in 
 early spring; one of the best), E. mel- 
 anthera (flowers in winter), E. perso- 
 luta (May), E. ventricosa, E. Wil- 
 moreana (spring; a grand hybrid). All 
 of these are fine commercial kinds. 
 
 ERIOSTEMON. 
 
 This beautiful plant belongs to that, 
 class of Australian shrubs that for 
 years were called New Holland plants, 
 of which the pimelia is another well- 
 known member, and there are many 
 more. With us they are seldom seen 
 in commercial places, but they are 
 fine, interesting plants and are not dif- 
 ficult to gi'ow. In Europe the long 
 sprays of eriostemon are much valued 
 for cut flowers, but with us that would 
 not pay. 
 
 The leaves are small, and the flow- 
 ers, which are mostly white and pink, 
 are borne in gi"eat profusion. All the 
 species flower in March, April, May or 
 June. As small plants they are not 
 atttractive, but when of a good size, 
 and slightly trained to stakes, they are 
 fine ornamental plantsij_ Like most 
 hard-wooded shrubs, they root freely 
 from the young growths in spring. 
 
 Though coming from Australia these' 
 shrubs want by no means a tropical 
 temperature. They are much the best 
 plunged out of doors in summer, and 
 in the winter 40 to 45 degrees will suit 
 them. As with the acacia, metrosid- 
 pros, pimelia and all that class, a 
 good turfy loam with some rotten 
 manure or leaf-mould will gi'ow them. 
 As they will remain several years in 
 the same pot they sihiould be well 
 drained. 
 
 There are many species, and Nicho"- 
 son selects the following as being the 
 most desirable: E. buxifolius, pink. 
 April to June; E. intermedins, white 
 and pink, April; E. neriifolius, rose, 
 April; E. salicifolius. pink, June; E. 
 scaber, white tinged pink, April and 
 May. 
 
 EUCHARIS. 
 
 Hot-house evergreen bulbs bearing 
 beautiful, fragrant fiowers, which 
 either cut as stalks bearing four or 
 five flowers or as single flowers, ai-e 
 invaluable to the fiorist. Their white, 
 star-shaped, elegant flowers are ad- 
 mired by all, but are not seen in quan- 
 tity, as they should be. In Europe 
 they figure mo.^t prominently in all the 
 cut flower markets, but in this country 
 I have not heard of their being grown 
 .systematically in large quantities any- 
 
 H. D. DARLINGTON, 
 
 FLUSHllsa.N. Y. 
 The largest grower of 
 
 ERICAS In America. 
 
 Varieties— Gracilis, Melauthera, Persoluta, 
 Wilmoreana, Mediterranea, Beserminans, 
 etc. In Bud or Flower. Prices reason- 
 able. Satisfaction g^uaranteed. 
 
 3, 4, 5, «, 7, 8 and 10-iach pots. 
 
 We also grow an abundance of hard-wooded 
 stock, including EpacriSt Boronias, Dios- 
 mas and Acacias. 
 
 Cg^ Write us for particulars. _ 
 
82 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 where, and I believe there is a great 
 opportunity for their cultivation, for 
 as long as designs of flowers are used 
 (and they will always be to some ex- 
 tent) there is no flower more beautiful 
 for the purpose than the eucharis. 
 There is scarcely a plant grown of 
 
 needed at all times; 60 to 65 degrees is 
 the lowest they should be at any time. 
 Disturbing of the bulbs and roots must 
 be avoided or you will not get flowers. 
 If established in a pot, from 8 to 12- 
 inch, or on a bench in 6 inches of 
 good soil, feed them when maning 
 
 which you hear so often the same re- 
 mark made, and it is this: "Yes, a 
 grand plant. I wish I knew how to 
 make it flower." Or, "I don't have any 
 luck with It. It grows, but don't 
 flower." 
 
 There are several species, all want- 
 ing the same treatment. E. grandi- 
 flora. so generally called amazonica. is 
 the fine species we all know, bearing 
 an umbel of four to six flowers four 
 to five inches across on stout, erect 
 stems eighteen inches to two feet high. 
 E. Sanderiana is somewhat smaller 
 and the throat or tube of the flower is 
 yellow. E. Candida is also pure white, 
 bearing seven to ten flowers on one 
 stalk, but not as large a flower as 
 amazonica. I would advise the begin- 
 ner to try the cultivation of the latter, 
 as it is the handsomest of all. 
 
 Good authorities say the euCharis 
 should have an abundance of water at 
 all times. South American travelers 
 and collectors have also told me that 
 they have wa'ked over arid plains in 
 the dry season with scarcely a sign of 
 vegetation and returned in six months 
 over the sams ground and found it 
 covered with the leaves and flowers of 
 eucharis, a gorgeous sight. This does 
 not agree, and we have seen the bulbs 
 dried off considerably, and when pot- 
 ted up send up flower stalks. But 
 drying off as you would a hyacinth or 
 tulip is certainly not advisable or any- 
 thing approaching it. 
 
 The bulbs multiply readily by send- 
 ing out offshoots, and when once you 
 have a few health,v plants your stock 
 is easily increased. As the p'.ant is 
 from New Granada, a warm house is 
 
 cow manure. As the soil is to remain 
 undisturbed for several years, add a 
 tenth of broken up charcoal to the 
 compost; it will help to keep the soil 
 porous. If you receive the bulbs dor- 
 mant, plant tnree in an 8-inch pot or 
 five in a 10-inch, the top of bulb two 
 inches below the surface. If on a 
 bench, plant six inches apart in tne 
 row and the rows eight inches apart. 
 
 The principal object to observe is 
 this: Supposing an established plant 
 has been growing freely for two 
 months and making a fine lot of 
 leaves. If you continue giving it water 
 free'y it will continue to make its 
 handsome leaves and no flowers, but 
 if you shorten up the supply of water 
 and keep the plants rather dry (not by 
 any means dry enough to show any 
 effects on the leaf), then flower lead? 
 will be formed in the bulb instead of 
 leaves, and after a rest of two months 
 apply again an abundance of water 
 and up will come the flower stalks. 
 After flowering give them only a very 
 short rest and top dress and start 
 again for another two or three 
 months' growth. Remember that in 
 cultivation, whatever their native con- 
 ditions may be, a rest is only a lessen- 
 ing of the water, not a drying off, and 
 their foliage should not suffer at any 
 time. 
 
 We have all heard English garden- 
 ers say that they could produce three 
 
 A Florist's Display at Easter. 
 
 their growtn of leaves, but don't dis- 
 turb the roots for four or five years. 
 At most times of the year they un- 
 doubtedly want lots of water, so drain- 
 age in the pot. and opportunity on the 
 bench for water to pass freely away, is 
 of great importance. 
 
 The soil should be a good rough 
 loam with one-fifth of well decayed 
 
 crops of flowers in twelve months. 
 Possibly so. Two crops will do very 
 well. I will just add that two years 
 ago I saw exhibited at Toronto's great 
 fair in September a plant of B. ama- 
 zonica in an S-inch pot that had nine 
 flower stalks bearing a total of thirty- 
 three flowers and buds, so it can be 
 done. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 83 
 
 Easter Basket of Lilies, Azaleas, Hyacinths and Ferns. 
 
 Mealy bug often bothers the leaves. 
 As the plants want and thrive with 
 any amount of syringing, there is little 
 excuse for that. Here is a plant that, 
 when growing, should never be wa- 
 tered with our hydrant water, which is 
 too often near ice water. The water in 
 winter should be 60 degrees always. 
 This, I believe, is a valuable point in 
 their culture. 
 
 EUPATORIUM. 
 
 A large genus of herbaceous or 
 shrubby plants. A few of them are 
 native, hardy plants, but not of any 
 value to the flori.st. although some 
 years ago. in the absence of better 
 flowers some of the species were large- 
 ly grown to supply white material for 
 designs, etc. 
 
 The species riparium is the most 
 valuable for the florist, but the quality 
 and value of its flowers are not sufli- 
 cient to pay for the trouble and the 
 space under glass. 
 
 After flowering in March, cut back 
 the stems and from the young growths 
 make cuttings, which root most eas- 
 ily. After frost is gone plant out 18 
 inches apart. Pinch the shoots as they 
 grow during summer. They grow free- 
 ly in any soil. In early October, or be- 
 
 fore frost appears, lift with a ball of 
 earth and plant on the bench in six 
 inches of soil. 
 
 As before stated, the panicles of pure 
 white flowers would be useful if we 
 did not have other flowers of more 
 beauty. It has not the beauty or fin- 
 ish of the bouvardia, and occupies the 
 benches a long time. 
 
 EUPHORBIA. 
 
 In almost every private collection of 
 greenhouse plants of years ago you 
 would be sure to see a plant of E. 
 splendens and E. fulgens, generally 
 known as B. Jaquinlaeflora. The poin- 
 settia also belongs to the euphorbias, 
 but it is so generally known as poin- 
 settia that under that name I have de- 
 scribed it. 
 
 The peculiarity of the euphorbias, at 
 least those we grow, is that the flower 
 proper is very inconspicuous, but the 
 bracts, scarcely noticeable in many 
 flowers, are in the euphorbias highly 
 developed both in size and co'or, and 
 by a casual observer the bracts are 
 mistaken for petals. 
 
 E. splendens can be dismissed by 
 saying that it is of no value to the 
 commercial man. It is easily grown, 
 rather slow of growth, should be 
 stood out of doors in the hottest 
 months, and needs a warm tempera- 
 ture in winter. The stems are covered 
 with sharp thorns. The plant needs 
 training on stakes or a trellis. When 
 in flower its bright red clustered bracts 
 make the plant very showy. But leave 
 it to the private estab.ishment. 
 
 E. fulgens is a beautiful plant and 
 twenty years ago was one of our 
 standard winter flowering plants, 
 thought then to be indispensable. 
 When baskets were made of a variety 
 of flowers, it was a favorite with us 
 for an edging, and It is a rich looking, 
 graceful flower wherever you use it. 
 They make annually long growths, and 
 the flowers, which are orange scarlet, 
 are placed close to the stem, forming 
 long, handsome wreath-like flowers. 
 Plants that have flowered during win- 
 ter can be cut up into cuttings. Any- 
 thing but the old, hard wood will root. 
 If cut back in April, young shoots will 
 start, which, of course, root the quick- 
 est. April and May are good months 
 to put in the cuttings, and keep them 
 wet and shaded. Be careful when pot- 
 ting off to not let them wilt from sun 
 or dryness. 
 
 Grow on in a warm, light house, and 
 
 Bench of Eucharis Grandiflora. 
 
84 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 in July plant them on the bench in 
 four or five inches of good, rich soil, 
 six to eight inches apart. In a warm, 
 unshaded hou.se they will make a good 
 growth during summer, and should be 
 stopped two or three times to produce 
 more shoots. They should not have a 
 less temperature than 60 degrees at 
 night at any time. If the sprays are 
 cut at Christinas they will break and 
 give another growth and flowers in 
 March and April. 
 
 Like the poinsettia, they do not like 
 their roots disturbed. If grown in pots 
 they can be plunged outside in sum- 
 mer, but never allowed to get too 
 much of a soaking of water. No in- 
 sects trouble them. Unlike the poin- 
 settia, the plants that are two and 
 three years old are the most valuable. 
 After the flower is cut they can be 
 lifted and stored away in dry soil un- 
 der a bench and started growing again 
 
 Japan, Persia and Syria, the Polyne- 
 sian Islands, Cape of Good Hope, Na- 
 tal, Abyssinia, Mascerene Islands, Ne- 
 pal, Simla, Assam, and 6.000 feet up 
 on the Himalaya mountains, in Thi- 
 bet and Afghanistan; in the United 
 States it grows in North Carolina and 
 westward to Arizona, and in the Ama- 
 zon valley and in the Cape de Verde 
 Islands, as well as the Azore.s, Ma- 
 deira, Teneritfe — in tact, throughout 
 the world, except Australia and New 
 Zealand. Many others have almost as 
 wide a distribution. 
 
 Those people who may wonder and 
 conjecture at the closely allied species 
 of animal life existing in countries far 
 removed from one another, and be- 
 tween which till a very recent date 
 communication was impossible, need 
 not wonder at finding the same species 
 of ferns in many parts, because it 
 would be quite possible for the spore.? 
 
 
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 Prize-winning Group of Ferns. 
 
 in May or June. Any good loam with 
 a fourth of manure will grow them, 
 but it should be of that texture that 
 water will pass freely through. The 
 essentials are light, heat, plenty of 
 water when growing, and when in leaf 
 no disturbance of the roots. 
 
 FERNS. 
 
 This large and ancient order of 
 plants is known botanically as Filices. 
 They are found throughout the globe 
 in every land, and what is remarkable 
 is that not only is a single genus 
 widely spread in many parts of the 
 world, but a single species is found on 
 every continent and island of the sea. 
 One instance will suffice. The well 
 known Adiantum Capillus- Veneris, the 
 British Maiden Hair fern, is found in 
 the warm parts of England and Ire- 
 land, and so it is a native of Central 
 and Southern Europe. In China and 
 
 to travel hundreds, perhaps thousands, 
 of miles by currents of air. Ferns 
 have no flowers, and that is their great 
 distinguishing mark from all other 
 plants that are perennial, evergreen, or 
 arborescent. The order includes the 
 lowly, creeping selaginella to the ma- 
 jestic giant, the Dicksonia and also- 
 phila of the Australian forest. Ferns 
 are first of all the most graceful of 
 plants. A few may be called more 
 curious than beautiful, such as the 
 platycerium (.stag's horn fern), but all 
 are handsome and interesting, and 
 many so graceful that both as orna- 
 mental plants and cut fronds they are 
 now indispensable, and hundreds of 
 thousands of feet of glass are devoted 
 to their culture alone. This is a branch 
 of our business which cannot change 
 except to increase. The graceful ferns 
 we must have, whatever flowers we 
 use. The native ferns of our latitude 
 
 are mostly all deciduous, but they 
 make handsome plants for the rock 
 work or against walls or fences. 
 
 The collection and storing for win- 
 ter use of the fronds of a few species 
 of our native ferns is now quite an 
 industry, and many millions of fronds 
 are preserved for our winter demands. 
 
 In Europe the hardy fernery is us- 
 ually a part of every well regulated 
 garden, and a most interesting place it 
 is for those who have a cultivated 
 taste for these beautiful plants. It is 
 not hazardous to say that it is supe- 
 rior minds that have a taste or make 
 a hobby of ferns or any other class of 
 plants. Retiring people, and perhaps 
 considered cranks they may be, per- 
 haps poor hands at swapping horses or 
 even making money, careless in fash- 
 ion and not up in golf and poor in 
 politics, yet superior minds far above 
 the common herd. Not those who keep 
 an expensive gardener and pride them- 
 selves on having the finest garden to 
 please their friends or surpass their 
 neighbor, but the man or woman who 
 knows their pets, their wants, and 
 when they are flourishing and happy, 
 there is where you will find the intel- 
 ligent, honest ;ind contented individ- 
 ual. 
 
 A hardy fernery in our latitude 
 would have to be conflned largely to 
 our northern species: still, for six or 
 seven months it would be highly in- 
 teresting. They are best shaded by 
 lofty trees and sunk some few feet 
 below the surface, and cut out with 
 winding paths, with rocks and mounds 
 for the ferns. The cool as well as the 
 tropical ferrery is usually found in all 
 fine gardens of Great Britain, 'mere 
 may be some here, but as yet they 
 are not common, although there is 
 nothing to prevent their perfect suc- 
 cess. They are usually sunk a few 
 feet below the surface of the surround- 
 ing ground, simply to insure a more 
 uniform temperature. With a nropev 
 selection and planting these ferneries 
 are most beautiful and interesting. 
 When planted cut where the roots en- 
 joy a uniform degree of moisture, 
 many species tiisplay a beauty that it 
 is impossible lo produce in a pot. 
 
 All students of ferns or those inter- 
 ested in their culture, whether for 
 pleasure or profit, should most as- 
 suredly avail themselves of that grand 
 work, "The Book of Choice Ferns," 
 published by tlje same firm as Nichol- 
 son's Dictionary of Gardening, J. Ar- 
 not Penman. New York, agent. It is 
 in seven handsome volumes, most 
 comprehensive, and in paper, type and 
 illustrations magnificent. To it I must 
 often refer, for no better authority ex- 
 ists. The author makes a classifica- 
 tion of ferns for "decorative purposes" 
 which is a guide to those who are 
 seeking species for any particular pur- 
 pose. 
 
 He classes them as follows: I, Tree 
 ferns: 2, gigantic, non-aborescent; 3. 
 small growing: 4, ferns with colored 
 or tinted fronds: 5, variegated and 
 crested; 6, gold and silver; 7, climb- 
 ing, trailing and drooping; 8, filmy or 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 85 
 
 Adiantum Farleyense. 
 
 transparent; 9, viviparous or bulbil 
 bearing; 10, curious ferns. 
 
 A selection of a few from each class 
 of the more familiar kinds will illus- 
 trate the wisdom of the classification. 
 
 No. J. Tree Ferns. 
 
 Alsophila australis, Cyathea deal- 
 bata, Dicksonia antarctica, Lomaria 
 Gibba. Of these, Dicksonia antarctica 
 is the best known and easiest to man- 
 age. Cyathea dealbata is a magnifi- 
 cent tree fern, large spreading head, 
 and under side of the fronds silvery. 
 Lomaria is seldom seen of any great 
 size, and alsophila, although a grace- 
 ful, quick growing fern, is very soft 
 and entirely unfit for commercial use, 
 as it suffers much in a dry heat and 
 from neglect in watering. They can 
 all be grown in large pots or tubs, or 
 planted out, where the dicksonia and 
 alsophila attain a great size. Any of 
 these will thrive in winter, when the 
 temperature dues not go below 50 de- 
 grees, and a few nights lower will do 
 no harm. None of the tree ferns could 
 be called commercial plants, except 
 for large and costly decorations, where 
 they would be grand objects. 
 
 No. 2. Gigantic Non-Arborescent Ferns. 
 
 This includas many of the ferns that 
 are most useful to the commercial flor- 
 ist. Though many ferns of this class 
 are classed as tropical, there are only 
 a few that will not thrive in a mini- 
 mum temperature of 55 degrees. 
 
 A few of the most familiar are: 
 Acrostichum aureum, Adiantum trape- 
 ziforme, Asplenium caudatum, Blech- 
 num brasiliense, Davallia divaricata, 
 Nephrodium macrophyllum. Nephro- 
 lepis daval!ioides,Nephrolepis exaltata, 
 Polypodium aureum, Pteris tremula. 
 Woodwardia orientalis, and hundreds 
 of others, both genera and species. In 
 that class are our large decorative 
 plants of pteris, nephrolepis and poly- 
 podium. 
 
 No. 3. Small Growing Ferns. 
 
 As the larger growing ferns are 
 mostly from the tropics, so the dwarf- 
 er, more compact growing ones are na- 
 tives of colder or more temperate 
 zones. There are not many commer- 
 cial ferns taken from this class and, 
 except to the student of ferns, they are 
 less familiar. A few examples are 
 several forms of Adiantum cuneatum, 
 Asplenium formosum, Asplenium fla- 
 bellifolium, Cheilanthes fragrans, sev- 
 eral davallias and many other genera. 
 Some of the tropical species of these 
 smaller ferns make excellent material 
 for our fern pans. A list of the most 
 desirable for this purpose will be given 
 later on. 
 
 No. 4. Ferns with Colored or Tinted 
 Fronds. 
 
 As is obvious from the above de- 
 scription, these form one of the most 
 ornamental class, and in classifying 
 no regard to size has been considered. 
 
 All are acquainted with the exquisite 
 tints of Adiantum Farleyense, the blu- 
 ish tint of Polypodium aureum, the 
 variegated Nephrodium (Lastrea) 
 opaca, and the beautifully colored 
 fronds of Pteris tricolor. Several of 
 the selaginellas have a most beautiful 
 bronze and metallic hue, and S. rubella 
 has a golden form that is much valued. 
 Many genera have species in this class, 
 among them the adiantum, blechnum, 
 davallia, doodia, nephrodium, pellaea, 
 polypodium, pteris and selaginella. 
 
 No. 5. Variegated and Crested Ferns. 
 
 Here the author of the "Book of 
 Ferns" remarks that "If we consider 
 the many crested, variegated, congest- 
 ed, truncate, depauperated, revolute, 
 cornute, marginate and other forms 
 found in many genera, we feel bound 
 to acknowledge that there is little, if 
 any, doubt that ferns are as much ad- 
 dicted to variation as any other mem- 
 bers of the vegetable kingdom." We 
 readily believe this, for in this city 
 there lived an old Englishman, a shoe- 
 maker, we believe, who, when emigrat- 
 ing, had brought with him from the 
 Cumberland hills his beloved ferns, 
 and had in cultivation alone fifty dif- 
 ferent forms or varieties of the very 
 common British fern, Scolopendrium 
 vulgare, the hart's tongue fern of 
 every English roadside. Several of 
 these forms the old gentleman claimed 
 to have discovered and named, and we 
 believed him. He found the public 
 were not craving for distinct and odd 
 forms of his scolopendriums, and be- 
 ing withal too honest for this country,' 
 returned to his native land. 
 
 Just here an innocent little story 
 occurs to me in connection with these 
 formidable names for so innocent a 
 plant. A gentleman with a taste for 
 hardy ferns was annoyed with tramps 
 and beggars intruding on his grounds, 
 so he set up a sign which read, "Beg- 
 gars Beware! Polypodiums and Scolo- 
 pendriums Set Here!" It was the sim- 
 ple truth and had the desired effect. 
 
 The author above quoted goes on to 
 say: "The creation of new species, 
 especially amongst ferns, is mostly the 
 result of a slow process of evolution, 
 by which nature produces new types 
 inheriting more or less of the parental 
 characters. To these same variations 
 or freaks of nature we are indebted 
 for the majority of our decorative 
 trees and shrubs, as also for a goodly 
 number of flowering and foliage plants 
 of an herbaceous nature." Just so; 
 that is plain, truthful language, and 
 had the author been writing on zoo- 
 logy he would most likely have said 
 the same about the variations in the 
 species of animals, and back of species 
 have not genera been evolved in the 
 same way, but not with animals as 
 freaks of nature or ornament to the 
 individual, as by their development in 
 some direction that best suited them 
 to their environment, and which comes 
 back exactly to that great truth, "the 
 survival of the fittest." 
 
 The variegated ferns exist in a num- 
 
86 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 her of genera. Perhaps the most fa- 
 miliar to us is Pteris argyrea, a fine 
 free growing fern. The variegated 
 form of Adiantum cuneatum is onl.v 
 interesting to the specialist. Variega- 
 tion is found among adiantums, aspi- 
 diums, aspleniums. nephrodiums, poly- 
 podiums, pteris, scolopendriums and 
 others. 
 
 Crested Ferns. 
 
 While variegation is found mostly 
 among ferns belonging to the tropics, 
 cristation, as this form is known, is 
 largely confined to the European or 
 cooler species. Cristation consists in 
 the subdivision of the extremities of 
 the frond, forming a tassel, sometimes 
 
 which is covered with a thick coating 
 of powder, giving the plant a marvel- 
 lously rich appearance. 
 
 In cheilanthes the silvery appear- 
 ance is produced by scales or hairs 
 evenly and thickly distributed over 
 the under surface of the fronds, and 
 in the noble Cyathea dealbata the un- 
 der side of the fronds have the ap- 
 pearance of being painted. Of all this 
 Class, the gymnogrammes are the best 
 known and most useful, and if I could 
 only grow two of them it would be 
 G. chrysophylla, a perfect cloth of 
 gold, and G. c. peruviana, with grand 
 silvery fronds. Other handsome ferns 
 of this clags will be found among the 
 
 Adiantum Decorum. 
 
 grotesque and sometimes very orna- 
 mental. And sometimes the tips or 
 outline of the whole frond are divided 
 and multiplied. It has been noticed 
 that when these forms or monstrosi- 
 ties occur they reproduce themselves 
 by spores vi'ith little variation. The 
 most familiar forms we know are the 
 crested pteris, cretica and serrulata; 
 Adiantum cuneatum has several forms, 
 and the grand Nephrolepis daval- 
 lioides furcans. Among other genera 
 that give us crested forms are aspi- 
 dium, asplenium, davallia, gymno- 
 gramme, polypodium, woodwardia, etc. 
 
 No. 6. Gold and Silver Ferns. 
 
 Although occurring in fewer genera, 
 the gold and silver ferns embrace 
 some of the most beautiful plants, and 
 are easy of culture. They are all of 
 exotic origin, but will thrive very well 
 in a winter night temperature of 55 
 degrees. The very attractive golden 
 and silvery gymnogrammes owe their 
 heauty to the under side of the frond. 
 
 cheilanthes, gleichenia and notho- 
 chlaena. 
 
 No. 7. Climbing, Trailing and Drooping 
 Ferns. 
 
 In this large class will be found 
 'many of our most useful decorative 
 ferns. We use them for cutting, in 
 veranda boxes, as window plants, and 
 for the hanging baskets. Many of 
 these have been mentioned in other 
 classes, because their use is varied. 
 Some years ago at Kew Garden we 
 remember seeing baskets of adiantum 
 and davallia three feet in diameter. 
 They were covered on all sides, a per- 
 fect ball, and we have all seen mag- 
 nificent baskets of Nephrolepis exal- 
 tata and N. e. Bostoniensis. There are 
 at present several hanging baskets of 
 the latter as well as of old N. tube- 
 rosum at our botanic garden that are 
 at least eight feet in diameter; they 
 are grand objects for large conserva- 
 tories. 
 
 The truly climbing species, which 
 climbs as perfectly as smilax, is Lygo- 
 dium scandens (Japonicum). This was 
 largely grown about twenty years ago 
 as a decorative plant, and was used 
 as we now use Asparagus plumosus. 
 It is now little heard of; possibly the 
 latter beautiful and useful plant has 
 displaced it in public favor. There 
 are several species of lygodium and 
 an interesting item appears in the 
 "Book of Ferns," which says that our 
 native Lygodium palmatum, which 
 grows from Massachusetts southward, 
 was likely to become extinct in the 
 state of Connecticut, and was pro- 
 tected by a law passed by the state 
 legislature forbidding its being gath- 
 ered, under a penalty of $11)0. It 
 would be interesting to know whether 
 that was a law made to be kept, or, 
 like most of our laws, made to be 
 broken. 
 
 The trailing ferns are of the great- 
 est use to the amateur who has a 
 fernery as well as to the commercial 
 man for baskets, etc. They cover 
 walls, trunks of large ferns and rocks. 
 
 The davallias are bsst known and 
 are grand for .-lis purpose, spreading 
 out into large masses. Their rhizomes 
 (or creeping stems) creep on the sur- 
 face and are ornamental as well as 
 the fronds. Many of the beautiful spe- 
 cies are from warm countries, but will 
 thrive wherever 50 degrees is kept in 
 winter. Little soil but thorough drain- 
 age is the great requisite. Their sur- 
 face rhizomes when growing should al- 
 ways be kept moist, and when parti- 
 ally resting in water never allowed to 
 get dry. 
 
 Some of the finest of this beautiful 
 genus are: D. eanariensis, D. bullata, 
 D. Tyermanni, D. dissecta, D. immer- 
 sa, D. Mariesii, D. Novae-Zelandiae, 
 D. pentaphylla. The last six species 
 are especially adapted for hanging 
 baskets. Their curious and hairy 
 rhizomes, resembling tlie paw of some 
 small animal, gives rise to their popu- 
 lar name of hare's foot, squirrel's foot, 
 etc., although Polypodium aureum is 
 often called the hare's foot. 
 
 The nephrolepis need more soil for 
 their roots and are not so truly trail- 
 ers as the davallias. They are so well 
 known little need be said here. They 
 multiply fast, and if given surface 
 room soon form large masses. Their 
 stolons, or what we would call in a 
 strawberry a runner, spreauing out in 
 all directions, sometimes above and 
 sometimes below tlie surface, but from 
 them there spring up a few fronds, 
 which are most easily taken off to 
 form another plant, or left to add to 
 the size of tue parent stock. 
 
 The gleichenia is another beautiful 
 genus that spreads by rhizomes, and 
 for the private fernery is among ..je 
 handsomest but not so easily managed 
 as the devallia. Gleichenia Boryi, G. 
 circinati, G. dicarpa, G. polypoides, G. 
 rupestris. and varieties of these are 
 mentioned as fine trailing ferns, as are 
 many of the polypodiums, and of easy 
 management. P. aureum, P. Bil- 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 87 
 
 Polypodium Subaoriculatum in a hanging basket. 
 
 lartlieri, P. Paradiseae. P. repens, P. 
 sororium and P. veri'ucosum are high- 
 ly commended for any place where 
 ferns of a creeping or trailing habit 
 are desired. 
 
 The drooping ferns are those having 
 drooping or pendulous fronds and are 
 more valuable for hanging baskets 
 than any other class, and none are 
 better known or better for the purpose 
 than the splendid genus nephrolepis. 
 By their stolonlferous habit young 
 plants soon emerge from the outside 
 of the baskets in all directions. Sev- 
 eral forms or variations in the well 
 known N. exaltata have appeared late- 
 ly and the variety known as Bostoni- 
 ensis is a wonderful acquisition. It 
 is unequalled as a basket plant, makes 
 a grand specimen in a pot or tub, with- 
 stands the dry heat of a sitting room 
 remarkably well, equal to a kentia 
 palm, and does fairly well in the broad 
 sun if well provided with water. 
 
 The best known and most desirable 
 of the nephrolepis are N. exaltata and 
 its grand variety Bostoniensis, N. 
 cordifolia, known among florists gen- 
 erally as tuberosa because the under- 
 ground stolons bear tubers. This spe- 
 
 cies', although from tropical America, 
 lives and grows in our cool house and 
 for vases and veranda boxes is the 
 hardiest of all: N. davalMoidss, and its 
 beautiful form, furcans. Then there 
 are several species or varieties, one 
 known among us as cordata compacta, 
 shorter in the frond but making a very 
 compact, dark green, handsome plant. 
 A new variety has lately appeared, 
 called Washingtoniensis, of which we 
 have heard unfavorable reports. 
 
 Several of the adiantums have a 
 drooping form and for private collec- 
 tions are beautiful, but not florists' 
 plants. A. concinnum is a beautiful 
 species, and with it are recommended 
 for baskets caudatum, digitatum, lunu- 
 latum, Moorei and others. 
 
 Class 8. Filmy or Transparent Ferns. 
 
 To embrace all the classes it is nec- 
 essary not to neglect the above, al- 
 though even if of interest to the flor- 
 ist they cannot be any source of profit. 
 Yet they are considered the gems of 
 the whole family of ferns. There are 
 only three genera: hymenophyllum, 
 trichomanes and todea. These three 
 genera have numerous representatives 
 
 in many parts of the world. The same 
 difficulty would be met with in their 
 cultivation here as occurs with Odon- 
 toglossum crispum among orchids: 
 our hot. dry summers and the neces- 
 sity of fire heat in winter. To this 
 class belongs the world famous Kil- 
 larney fern, which grew, and if Van- 
 dals have not destroyed it, yet grows 
 among the shady nooks and rocks 
 about the Lakes of Killarney. What 
 a pity travelers do not search for a 
 section of the vertebra of some ex- 
 tinct saint, of which that island has 
 been so prolific, and leave the gem Tri- 
 chomanes radicans in peace. 
 
 Some forty years ago, in fact, ex- 
 actly that, the writer had charge of a 
 cool conservatory. In that house on 
 the south side of the north path, about 
 half way between the east and ths 
 west paths, and partly shaded by the 
 fine heads of a Dicksonia antarctica 
 and a Cyathea dealbata, one on either 
 side, was a small case, perhaps about 
 five feet long and two feet wide, with 
 a hinged glass roof; and in this case 
 some eighteen inches below the glass 
 were several clumps of the Killarney 
 fern (Trichomanes radicans) and the 
 other British filmy f?rn, Hymenophyl- 
 lum Tunbridgense. I have been pai- 
 ticular in locating this little green- 
 house within a greenhouse because I 
 can see the Killarnsy fern now, al- 
 though I have not seen one since it was 
 my duty to lift up the lid and let in 
 a little air if there was too great a 
 degree of moisture on ths delicate 
 fronds. There was an older and wiser 
 mind than mine who inspected these 
 plants daily, and when I now read to- 
 day of the most approved methods of 
 culture of these wonderful ferns I can 
 see that the house of forty years ago 
 and their treatment was about right. 
 
 They are now seldom grown, but an 
 ardent lover of ferns would surely like 
 to have them under his care. Briefly 
 then, the principal fact to realize is 
 that wherever found their surround- 
 ings are charged with moisture: Light 
 they have, but never the direct rays 
 of the sun. Most of them have sur- 
 face rhizomes and they need little 
 soil, which can be broken up peat, 
 chopped sphagnum and pounded up 
 bricks or broken crocks. Moisture at 
 the roots they want at all times and 
 an atmosphere charged with moisture, 
 but no syringing overhead. A dry, 
 cutting draught, even in the green- 
 house, would soon destroy them. The 
 British species will withstand a tem- 
 perature far below freezing, and the 
 species from India and the West In- 
 dies, as well as those from China, Tas- 
 mania and New Zealand, are found at 
 high elevations. The hymenophyllums 
 '■forming a green matting over con- 
 stantly wet rocks." 
 
 A low temperature, shade and moist- 
 ure are the essentials to success with 
 these beautiful ferns, which the com- 
 mercial florist will let severely alone. 
 
 Class 9. 'Viviparous and Proliferous Ferns. 
 
 This peculiar class includes many 
 species of many different genera. 
 
88 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 Nephrolepis Exaltata Bostoniensis. 
 
 Willie in some genera o£ this class 
 only two or three species are repre- 
 sented, in others they predominate. 
 The large genus asplenium is of the 
 latter. This class is known from 
 their curious way of multiplying or 
 reproducing their species. 
 
 They are again divided into classes 
 from the manner or disposition of the 
 bulbils. Two of the best known ferns 
 that are viviparous are Asplenium 
 bulbiferum and Aspidium angulare 
 proliferum. We constantly see these 
 in every place where ferns are grown. 
 These have the bulbils or little plants 
 scattered over the upper surface of the 
 leaf, and are most readily increased by 
 detaching the young plant and potting 
 or laying the whole leaf on the surface 
 of some pan of suitable soil where the 
 young plants soon root and can be aft- 
 erwards potted. 
 
 Another class has this proliferous 
 character extending only to the stalk 
 of the frond. Another class has but 
 a single bulbil growing at the tip or 
 end of the frond. And there is yet an- 
 other which is classed as proliferous, 
 but in a very different way from the 
 other three. This includes the inval- 
 uable genus nephrolepis, and its pro- 
 liferous character enables us to propa- 
 gate it with such ease, and is also the 
 cause of its being such a splendid bas- 
 ket fern. The nephrolepis have long, 
 wiry stolons or underground rhizomes 
 provided with latent buds which are 
 constantly sending up fronds and 
 forming young plants. As we all 
 know, to sever this wiry rhizome or 
 stolon from the parent plant is not 
 felt by either, so our stock of the Bos- 
 ton fern and other nephrolepis is most 
 rapidly increased by planting out me- 
 dium sized plants in four or five inch- 
 es of soil during summer. Besides 
 those mentioned there are a number of 
 
 viviparous or proliferous ferns, many 
 of them highly interesting and hand- 
 some, but not desirable to the plant 
 grower. These are adiantum, gymno- 
 gramme, marattia, nephrodium, platy- 
 cerium, polypodium, pteris, scolopen- 
 drium, woodwardia and others; all 
 have several representatives in this 
 curious hen and chickens-like class. 
 
 Class 10. Curious Ferns. 
 
 This last division includes only what 
 is strange, striking, peculiar, or a spe- 
 cies that is very unlike the great ma- 
 jority of ferns, but the author I have 
 so liberally quoted does not include 
 any of the crested, or what he calls 
 mal-formed, varieties of originally ele- 
 gant species. The species he selects for 
 this class are so unlike ferns in ap- 
 pearance that they are not readily 
 taken for ferns. The Lygodium scan- 
 dens would hardly be thought a fern, 
 and Platycerium alcicorne. the well- 
 known stag's horn fern, differs widely 
 from our usual idea of ferns. The 
 Acrostichum crinitum of the West In- 
 dies must be a remarkable looking 
 plant, for its shape and texture gives 
 it the name of the elephant's ear. 
 There are some species that, but for 
 their so-called fruit, bear no resem- 
 blance to the ferns or entitle them to 
 rank with the order. 
 
 As curious objects for the fernery or 
 conservatory, they have their place, 
 but that is not in the precincts of the 
 commercial man. But think of the 
 thousands of forms we have that are 
 strange, grotesque, beautiful, graceful, 
 some creeping on wet, cold rocks like 
 a tracery of fine lace, and some of the 
 family rearing their plumed heads 100 
 feet high in the tropical forest, inhabi- 
 tants of the earth in the dark ages of 
 the dim past, contemporaries, perhaps, 
 of the giant horse tails that formed 
 our coal, surviving the glacial period. 
 
 Nephrolepis Rufescens Tripinnatifidi. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 89 
 
 All kindred because the reproduction 
 of the species is the same in all. 
 
 Propagation. 
 
 Those that have surface rhizomes, 
 such as the davallias and some of the 
 adiantums (CapiUus- Veneris is one), 
 are easily and quickly divided. A 
 rhizome that has run out and thrown 
 up a few fronds will have aho made 
 some roots and can be severed from 
 the parent plant and potted. Never 
 over-pot ferns. It is true that some 
 of the stronger growing kinds, espe- 
 cially the pteris, soon get root-bound 
 and then want larger pots, but the 
 great majority of ferns do not need 
 so much pot room, but they always 
 want good drainage, so that water 
 can pass freely through. 
 
 Those that have stolons or under- 
 ground rhizomes, such as the nephro- 
 lepis, are most easy of all to multi- 
 ply, young plants often coming up at 
 the side of the pot and on the aerial 
 roots, the young plants appearing at 
 intervals. In June, when your bed- 
 ding plants are gone, select a bench 
 that will let the water through freely. 
 and in five or six inches of soil plant 
 out young plants from 3 or 4-inch pots. 
 They will by September or October 
 have made fine plants and have sent 
 out such an abundance of stolons that 
 at intervals, or when you lift, you 
 will get a number of young plants, 
 which can be potted up, or if a larger 
 stock is needed, replanted. Tuere is 
 no doubt a much larger plant of any 
 of the nephrolepis can be obtained in a 
 short time by planting out than if 
 grown in a pot, and they lift with a 
 mass of roots, perfectly, without los- 
 ing a single frond. 
 
 Few of the commercial sorts are 
 proliferous on the leafy frond, but 
 those that are lend themselves to 
 
 Nephrolepis Davallioides Koreans. 
 
 propagation most easily, as described 
 in the remarks on that class. 
 
 Some species that grow in tufts, 
 such as Adiantum cuneatum, the com- 
 mon Maiden Hair, can be divided. The 
 crown should oe cut carefully and then 
 the roots pulled apart. Cuneatum, or 
 any particular form of it, is often in- 
 creased by division, and sterile species, 
 of which the most beautiful of all, A. 
 Farleyense is one, can only be propa- 
 gated by division. This should be 
 done in early spring, when the plants 
 are in most cases resting and before 
 
 Pteris Tremola Smithae. 
 
 the young growth is made, but can by 
 care be done at any season. 
 
 Just here it is worthy of mention 
 that this beautiful fern, A. Farleyense, 
 is usually thought to be a sterile form 
 of A. tenerum, but there is no definite 
 knowledge about it, and the millions 
 of plants now existing, or that have 
 existed, all came from one plant found 
 growing on Farley Hills, in the Island 
 of Barbadoes, the thickest populated 
 island of the world, where the chil- 
 dren's stomachs are distended like bal- 
 loons by an unchanged diet of sugar 
 cane. 
 
 Nearly all the useful species can be 
 readily raised from spores, which is 
 the natural way, and has the advan- 
 tage of producing possibly either an 
 improved form or variation from the 
 parent which by division, or by pro- 
 liferous stolons, or divisions of the 
 rhizomes, never happens. The raising 
 of seedling ferns from spores is a 
 very delicate operation and with the 
 beginner not always a success. You 
 will likely get several species which 
 you never believed you sowed and tew 
 of those that you thought were sown. 
 We all know how ferns spring up in 
 the pots or on the bench if left undis- 
 turbed for a few months, if there aie 
 any spore-bearing ferns in the house. 
 .\diantum cuneatum I have seen vege- 
 tate on a slimy, dirty brick wall by 
 the tens of thousands and had to 
 scrape them off for the sake of clean- 
 liness. 
 
 Before giving any directions for 
 sowing, just a word about these 
 spores. The whole order of ferns have 
 no flowers, consequently no sexual or- 
 gans, and from the spore to the young 
 perfect fern frond like its parent is a 
 profound, complicated and mysterious 
 phenomenon. When the spore vege- 
 
90 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 Pteris Victoriae. 
 
 tales it forms cells, which are called 
 the prothallus, and is only an increase 
 of cells. On the under side of the 
 prothallus ( which resembles the Liver- 
 wort so often seen on the surface of 
 our soil with plants making a slow or 
 stagnant growth) develop the organs 
 of both sexes, which have the same 
 function as the more conspicuous or- 
 gans in the flowering plants. To de- 
 scribe the complicated and marvellous 
 process of fertilization would require 
 a chapter, had I time or space to quote 
 it. From the prothallus finally springs 
 (varying in time with the species) the 
 young true frond. Any cross fertiliza- 
 tion of species, as we do with flower- 
 ing plants, is therefore impossible, but 
 by sowing the spores of different spe- 
 cies in one pan there is assurance that 
 hybrids hava been produced, and this 
 is getting deep into science. 
 
 One word as to the fertility or 
 fecundity of ferns. Mr. Charles T. 
 Druery, who is quoted in the "Book 
 of Choice Ferns," says: "We have es- 
 timated the spores upon a single frond 
 of our native (British) Polypodiuni 
 vulgare (a frond not over a foot long 
 by three inches wide), and found that 
 one of the sub-divisions of the same 
 size taken from a tree fern would yield 
 plants sufficient to form a wood as 
 large as Epping Forest. Every frond 
 would bear hundreds of such sub-di- 
 visions and the tree fern would prob- 
 ably bear thirty or forty fronds every 
 season. A little calculation, therefore. 
 will show that inconceivable numbers 
 have to be -tlealt with." Truly incon- 
 ceivable; countless millions on every 
 frond. Another illustration by the 
 same author was the shaking of the 
 
 spores of an asplenium out and col- 
 lecting them, about filling a teaspoon, 
 in which he estimates he had eighty 
 million spores. So it one in ten thou- 
 sand of the spores we sow vegetate, 
 we are doing well, and the surface of 
 our pan will be covered with the 
 moss-like prothalli. 
 
 The spores should be gathered, or 
 rather the frond cut before the spore 
 
 of broken crocks, should be baked to 
 destroy all germs of weeds or moss or 
 eggs of insects. If not baked, water 
 with scalding water. Make the sur- 
 face smooth and scatter the spores. 
 No careless watering must be given, 
 but let it flow over the surface slowly. 
 
 If covered with glass, which it 
 should be, the soil will not need much 
 watering till the prothalli appear in 
 the way above described. When this 
 about covers the surface of the pan 
 they should be divided by taking 
 small patches, say 1-4 inch square, and 
 placing them on the surface of other 
 pans or flats. Soon the true fern leaf 
 will appear, when in time the lime 
 plants can be pricked out singly in 
 small pots. or. what is still better, in 
 flats, till they are larger and need a 
 pot for themselves. 
 
 If a few large plants of the leading 
 sorts are kept in a house and allowed 
 to shed their spores, they will be car- 
 ried to every corner of the house, and 
 if some plants (like large palms) are in 
 the house that are not often shifted, 
 you will be sure to have an abundance 
 of young ferns. I have noticed fre- 
 quently the young plants of Adiantum 
 cuneatum growing on the sphagnum 
 in the cattleya baskets. 
 
 Cultivation. 
 
 It would be impossible to give any 
 special instructions for any particular 
 class of ferns, and there is no need of 
 it. Those that make strong roots, 
 such as the pteris, want root room and 
 must be well drained. Those making 
 surface rhizomes, as the davallias, do 
 not want much depth of soil, but need 
 surface room if large specimens are 
 wanted. 
 
 It is generally conceded that in soil 
 ferns are not at all particular. At- 
 
 Cyrtomium Falcatum. 
 
 cases have burst, and if not conve- 
 nient to sow at once, put them away 
 in paper bags. The soil or material 
 you sow on, which can be a light, 
 sandy loam, covering an inch or so 
 
 mospheric conditions are of far more 
 consequence. A good fllirous loam, 
 with a third of leaf-mould, will suit 
 any of them. Bone meal will help ferns 
 if soil is thoroughly watersd after re- 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 91 
 
 Gymnogfimme Decornposita . 
 
 potting. Some growers of Adiantum 
 cuneatuni add about one-sixth of well 
 rotted and sifted cow manure to their 
 tompost. Pot firmly but not too solid. 
 
 As before mentioned about tempera- 
 ture, few plants will thrive in a lower 
 temperature than that of their native 
 habitat so well as ferns. Species from 
 the tropics, where in some localities 
 the temperature would hardly ever be 
 below 7" degrees, will do very well in 
 our houses if not below 55 degrees. 
 Growers of Adiantum cuneatum or A. 
 decorum, who grow houses of them for 
 the market, sometimes as pot plants, 
 but more often for the cut fronds, will. 
 I am aware, keep them higher than 
 55 degrees. Cuneatum will pay best 
 when grown in a high temperature, 
 but should be well matured before sold 
 or it will soon wilt. 
 
 Watering ferns does not need any 
 great skill. All evergreen ferns, and 
 we grow only those, require plenty of 
 water at all times, but less in winter, 
 when afi ferns take a partial rest. We 
 have had young men tell us that at 
 "their establishment," where the A. 
 Farleyense was well grown, they have 
 seen repeatedly Jack Jones standing 
 with the hose and giving the Farley- 
 ense a good syringing. It must have 
 
 been on the morning of bright summer 
 days. 
 
 Almost all terns are found as under- 
 growth in forests and woods, and- are 
 shaded by the trees above. Ferns want 
 subdued light, but not a heavy shade. 
 The ideal conditions for all the ferns 
 we grow would be a house that could 
 be shaded, say, by 9 a. m.. and the 
 shade removed at 5 p. m., but that 
 great and most desirable convenience 
 the commercial man has not yet ob- 
 tained. Next to that is a north house, 
 where light comes in, but not wie 
 direct ra.vs of the sun. As we perhaps 
 have neither of the above, then shade 
 by degrees till midsummer, and re- 
 move gradually as winter approaches. 
 Ferns will grow fast enough in a very 
 ."hady house, but the fronds are weak 
 and straggling. Plenty of water at 
 the roots, plenty of moisture in the 
 house, is needed, but do little wetting 
 of the fronds; they don't need it. 
 
 One of the most important points to 
 observe is to give the ferns a coo! bot- 
 tom, A bench with three or four 4-inch 
 pipes under it is the worst possible 
 place. A solid bed covered with ashes 
 will suit them far better. If growing 
 adiantum on a bench, let it be a deep 
 one and well drained, and no steam or 
 hot water pipes near it. Let the pipes 
 
 be on the side, where they can have no 
 influence on the soil. The bottom heat 
 that is so congenial to most of our 
 soft wooded plants is misery to the 
 ferns. 
 
 The healthiest lot of ferns I ever 
 saw under glass was in the fernery at 
 the Manchester (England) Botanic 
 Gardens. Cool and moist, with water 
 trickling over rocks, with the dick- 
 sonias in the center and their great 
 stems covered with platyceriums, you 
 could fancy you were transported to a 
 rocky dell of New Zealand. The most 
 luxuriant ferns growing naturally 
 were on the banks of the small river 
 or inlet to Lake Chautauqua, N, Y., 
 where the osmunda grew to the wa- 
 ters edge in rank profusion, shaded 
 by the overhanging forest. 
 
 Few insects trouble our commercial 
 ferns. Scale is often troublesome to 
 large ferns. Old fronds, if badly af- 
 fected, are best cut off and destroyed, 
 and washing the others with soap and 
 Nikoteen is all you can do. Thrip will 
 succumb to the fumes of tobacco, but 
 ferns don't like tobacco smoke, and it 
 is much better to vaporize with the 
 Kose Leaf extract of tobacco or Niko- 
 teen. Do this at least once a week; it 
 will also keep down aphis, which 
 sometimes infests the young fronds of 
 the adiantums and will do the ferns 
 i.o harm. Wood lice, which often aid 
 known by that awful name of sow 
 bugs, eat the tender shoots. A hol- 
 lowed-out potato in which they will 
 go to roost will catch thousands, or a 
 mixture of paris green and powdered 
 sugar placed along the edge of the 
 bench will destroy them. 
 
 The small white slugs are the worst 
 enemy of ferns, and the adiantums 
 seem selected as their own especial 
 diet. The old remedy of placing cab- 
 bage or lettuce leaves on the bench or 
 pots is sure to catch many of them, 
 but they should be examined early 
 every morning. The slugs are said to 
 be very fond of bran, and if small 
 patches are put on the bench here and 
 there the slugs will revel in it and can 
 be caught. Large growers o» the 
 Maiden Hair find that a light dusting 
 of air slacked lime on the plants and 
 soil about once a month is sufficient to 
 dispel any visitation of the slugs. 
 
 Ferneries. 
 
 The filling of small ferneries for the 
 table is now an important branch of 
 business. We should endeavor to 
 make these as .satisfactory as possible, 
 for they are short lived at best. We 
 get them returned in the condition of 
 mud and' again as dry as a rock. It 
 will not pay us all to be raising our 
 young ferns, and unless you are in it 
 with all facilities, leave it to the spe- 
 cialist. Ferns that are small, compact 
 growing, would be too slow in grow- 
 ing to be profitable, so it is small 
 plants of quick growing, larger kinds 
 that are mostly used for this purpose. 
 The spores are sown in winter or early 
 spring and the plants delivered to us 
 from 2-inch pots in the fall months. 
 
 A night temperature of 60 degrees. 
 
92 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Microlepia Hirta Cristata. 
 
 with a cool bottom and partial shade, 
 is the place to grow on the young 
 terns. You don't want them to grow 
 fast, but to fill up and be strong and 
 robust. An eastern firm who rai.se 
 several hundred thousand young ferns 
 for this purpose gave me the following 
 list as those best suited for the pur- 
 pose, the first four being most useful 
 in the center: Pteris cretica magnifica, 
 Pteris cretica albo-lineata, Pteris Vic- 
 toriae (variegated), Pteris argyraea, 
 Cyrtomium falcatum, Aspidium angu- 
 lare, Blechnum occidentale, Blechnum 
 braziliense, Davallia stricta, Lomaria 
 ciliata, Lomaria Gibba, Lastrea opaca, 
 Lastrea chrysoloba, Lastrea artistata 
 variegata, Nephrodium hertypes, Ony- 
 chium japonicum, Polystichum cori- 
 anum, Polystichum setosum, Poly- 
 stichum pubescens, Pteris biaurita ar- 
 gentea, Pteris serrulata, Pteris cris- 
 tata, Pteris nana compacta, Pteris 
 voluta, Pteris cretica Mayii (varie- 
 gated), Selaginella Emiliana (for edg- 
 ing). 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 With the exception of the list last 
 quoted, in which the names of some 
 varieties may not be correct, but by 
 which they are best known, I have 
 followed out the nomenclature of 
 Hooker and Baker, as used in the 
 ■■Book of Choice Ferns," as those 
 names will eventually prevail. In do- 
 ing so, however, I found with my lim- 
 ited knowledge of ferns that names 
 have been much changed in forty 
 years. What we knew as Lastrea 
 felix-mas is now Nephrodium felix- 
 mas, and many less familiar cases. 
 
 In conclusion, if you are not brought 
 in contact with any class of plants 
 you cannot quickly memorize their 
 "names, but all plants under your care 
 
 or that you handle you should know 
 correctly. To ask the name in a 
 botanic garden or at your neighbor's 
 and forget it the next moment is waste 
 of time and an annoyance. "Let me 
 see; what is that fern? I forget." The 
 professor says, "That is Onychium 
 japonicum." "Oh, yes, yes, yes, of 
 course; and what's that?" And before 
 you have got to the door you have for- 
 gotten the very sound of the name. 
 
 To be reminiscent once more. Some- 
 where about the year '60 of this cen- 
 tury the writer had the first serious 
 attack of the "tender passion." The 
 cause of the attack and outoreak was 
 much his senior, and having no funds 
 to buy an album or a volume of By- 
 ron, he made a collection of British 
 ferns, dried them in a book, and pre- 
 sented them, named, and the collec- 
 tion without varieties was almost 
 complete with the exception, perhaps, 
 of ten species. Now, I have forgotten 
 what size glove that young woman 
 wore, or whether her hair was in curls 
 or brushed back a la the Empress Eu- 
 genie, but I will never forget how to 
 write Asplenium Ruta-muraria. al- 
 though I have not seen Ruta-muraria 
 or the old woman nigh on to forty 
 years. Look at a plant and write it 
 down; once written and spelt correct- 
 ly, you will never forget. The writer 
 has a fair memory for anecdotes, be- 
 cause they can be filled in as you go 
 along, but no good for names unless 
 he writes them down; then they stick 
 in that laboratory which is a mystery 
 to all of us. 
 
 FERTILIZERS AND MANURES. 
 
 As we use the words in gardening 
 operations, they include any sub- 
 stance, animal or mineral, that will 
 add quantity, weight, vigor and size 
 to our crops. I shall not attempt to 
 give you any learned discourse on 
 chemical manures, because, first, I am 
 not able, and, secondly, you can easily 
 obtain a report from the many state 
 agricultural and horticultural stations 
 giving the analyses of the several ma- 
 nures and the quantities used, as well 
 as their effect on diiTerent soils and 
 plants. 
 
 Platycerium Alcicorne. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 93 
 
 Plalycerium Grande. 
 
 The paper read at the Clevelanil 
 convention of the S. A. F.. in August, 
 1896, by Prof. K. C. Ketlzie. M. A., of 
 the Michigan Agricultural College, 
 was very instructive. He said "Potas- 
 sium, phosphorus and nitrogen are of 
 the highest importance to florists for 
 four reasons: First, they are abso- 
 lutely indispensable to vegetable life, 
 because no plant can grow in the ab- 
 sence of any one of them; second, be- 
 cause in available form they are found 
 in smaller amounts than other food 
 elements; third, because they are 
 soonest exhausted by cultivation; 
 fourth, because they are especially 
 concerned in the early growth of 
 plants up to and including the period 
 of flowering." For their great value, 
 not only to the farmer, but to the 
 gardener, the professor called them 
 "The Chemical Tripod in Floricult- 
 ure." 
 
 The fertilizer that is a favorite with 
 all florists is what we call bone dust 
 or flour. There is sometimes confusion 
 about the names of these grades. With 
 us the bone dust is ground up about 
 as fine as Scotch oatmeal, but ttiere 
 are too many coarse pieces in it to be 
 available to the plants in one season. 
 It the plants were to grow two or 
 three years in the same pot or bench, 
 then the coarser particles would i-ie 
 all right, because the coarser particles 
 would be gradually dissolving and 
 giving benefit to the soil and plants; 
 but if not dissolved, then you have 
 thrown out a costly fertilizer and had 
 no benefit. So when we want "bone" 
 for roses or carnations, or to mix with 
 our potting soil in early spring, to 
 give our soft-wooded plant.s a jump, 
 we order the bone "flour," which is 
 really as fine as flour. 
 
 Bone is the most complete manure 
 we can use, because it contains both 
 
 phosphate and nitrogen. The quan- 
 tity you can use is often questioned. 
 I have heard one professor say he 
 "thought you could not overdo it if 
 the soil was not allowed to get dry." 
 We have used on carnations 200 
 pounds on a bench with five inches of 
 
 Platycerium Willinckii. 
 
 soil, 200 feet long and 6 feet wide, 
 and seen only the best results. For 
 potting soil we have used a 6-inch pot 
 . full to an ordinary wheelbarrow of 
 soil. Perhaps much more could be 
 added with safety, but we don't think 
 it advisable. 
 
 Phosphates produce flowers and ni- 
 trates produce a strong leaf growth, 
 giving a rich green to the foliage. 
 Here it may be as well to say that all 
 manures reach the roots of plants 
 more completely and perfectly when 
 applied in a liquid form than in the 
 dry state, but not all of us have the 
 facilities for so applying them. 
 
 Last year, being short of ground 
 bone, we used on carnations in the 
 same quantities as bone a superphos- 
 phate of a fine grade that was sold 
 under the name of "potato phos- 
 phate, ' simply being of a better qual- 
 ity than that usually sold to farmers 
 for their wheat, etc. 
 
 Nitrate of soda (Chili saltpeter) is 
 valuable tor its available nitrogen and 
 we have tried it on several plants, one 
 pound dissolved in fifty gallons of 
 water. It produces a rich growth of 
 leaf and stem, but does not induce 
 flowers (in fact, the contrary), but in 
 the early stages of plants, young 
 roses, for instance, where growth and 
 size of plant is wanted, not flower, it 
 can be used to advantage. My experi- 
 ence with it iti mineral form was very 
 disastrous. I sowed it on a bench of 
 carnations and then stirred it in be- 
 fore the carnations were planted, 
 about two pounds on a space 8x7 feet. 
 It killed almost every carnation. A 
 smaller quantity might have had a 
 different effect, but don't use it except 
 in solution. English farmers sow it 
 broadcast on their grain crops in early 
 spring, but on the surface and out of 
 doors is no guide to us. In solution 
 and the proportion named above (one 
 pound in fifty gallons of water) it is 
 a valuable stimulant to violets, pro- 
 ducing a larger and deeper blue 
 flower; and as we usually get plenty 
 of violet flowers too often lacking in 
 quality, there is where the nitrate of 
 soda is very valuable. 
 
 Prof. Kedzie places a very high 
 value on wood ashes, in tact places 
 them first, and to quote him, he says; 
 "These contain all the mineral matter 
 of plant growth, and so far as min- 
 erals are concerned are an all round 
 manure. Without this mineral mat- 
 ter in some form plants cannot grow." 
 We have many of us a good opportu- 
 nity to obtain this valuable fertilizer 
 very near home, but do not avail our- 
 selves of it. They can be used with 
 ordinary animal manure. About one 
 peck to a yard or load of soil will be 
 found a sate quantity. As the ashes 
 of wood contain the elements that the 
 mature plant contained, they must 
 furnish the elements for a full and 
 rapid growth. 
 
 The way we use our chemical fer- 
 tilizers is not similar to that followed 
 on the farm or market garden, where 
 a change of manure may be desirable 
 on any one piece of gro\iud. With a 
 
94 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 bench of roses or carnations ii Is a 
 new lot of plants and new soil every 
 year, and if bone meal is a perfect 
 manure there can be no harm in using 
 it year after year. 
 
 Guano was largely in use thirty 
 years ago when the supply was great- 
 er. It is the excrement of sea birds, 
 found on the islands off the coast of 
 Peru. It is difficult now to obtain and 
 what would be sold to you for Pe- 
 ruvian guano would be most likely an 
 imitation. The pure guano was one 
 of the most wonderful of manures. 
 We have used a 2-inch pot of guano 
 in four gallons of water and the ef- 
 fect of an occasional watering on soft- 
 wooded plants was marvelous. If 
 procurable it would, however, be too 
 expensive and not as complete a ma- 
 nure as bone meal. 
 
 Of the animal manures the one 
 mostly in use by florists is that of 
 the cow stable. Why, I do not know, 
 as horse manure is richer in ammo- 
 nia. One of the best rose growers we 
 know, on being asked what manure 
 he used, answered, "Any I can get." 
 A few years ago my neighbor, Mr. W. 
 J. Palmer, showed me two houses of 
 Daybreak carnations that were for 
 general vigor, stout stem and large 
 flowers much superior to other houses 
 of the same variety. On being asked 
 to account for it, Mr. Palmer said he 
 could not, except that the best lot 
 had manure from his horse stable 
 while the poorer ones had only cow 
 manure. We believe that the cause 
 was explained. 
 
 While certain animal m;inures may 
 have special fertilizing properties, for 
 our crops of roses and carnations it 
 would be perfectly safe, and 1 believe 
 beneficial, to use them mixed. There 
 is no doulit there is a difference in 
 the qualities of manure by the differ- 
 ence in the food of the animals. Ani- 
 mal or farm-yard manure should not 
 be allowed to lie in a great heap and 
 violently ferment, or much of its value 
 will be destroyed. 
 
 With our roses there is a difference 
 of opinion as to quantity to use. Too 
 much manure in the soil for carna- 
 tions produces a rank, soft growth, 
 and if bone meal or superphosphate is 
 used a tenth of animal manure is suf- 
 ficient. With roses a sixth or seventh 
 is sometimes used, and more often 
 less. Sheep manure is much stronger 
 and a twentieth is as strong as it 
 should be used. In making up our 
 compost pile in the summer time for 
 use in the following winter and spring 
 we have often added a fourth of horse 
 or cow manure, and when chopped 
 down and thoroughly mixed with soil 
 it was not more than was beneficial to 
 our usual run of soft-wooded plants, 
 such as geraniums, coleus, cannas, etc. 
 
 There is not any doubt that our ani- 
 mal manures, besides imparting ferti- 
 lizing properties to the soil, are often 
 of a mechanical benefit, making the 
 soil more porous and friable. 
 
 We should remember, in discussing 
 the quantities and qualities of ma- 
 nures, that there is such a wide dif- 
 
 ference, not only in the chemical prop- 
 erties of soils in different localities, 
 but in the condition of soils of the 
 same qualities. A meadow that has 
 been used as a pasture for ten or fif- 
 teen years will give you a sod that 
 must be rich in plant food over that 
 which has been laid down but two 
 years and previously was cropped year 
 after year. Or again, the soil of a 
 market garden that has annually re- 
 ceived a heavy dressing of manure 
 will grow any of our greenhouse crops, 
 while a worn-out garden, however 
 good naturally the texture of the soil, 
 will grow nothing without the aid of 
 some quick acting fertilizer. 
 
 In concluding this chapter I would 
 remind you that soot (bituminou.s 
 only) is very largely used by the plant 
 growers of Europe, and Nicho'.son 
 says: "It has the advantage over oth- 
 er manures that it can hardly be mis- 
 appled." No soot is wasted in the 
 cities of Great Britain; it is all so'.d 
 to the farmer and gardener. It is not. 
 however, a flower producer, but adds 
 size and lustre to the leaf and flower. 
 It is used by all cyclamen growers, 
 mixed with the soil, and as a liquid. 
 And by chrysanthemum growers it is 
 highly valued. A peck of it is put 
 into a bag and placed in fifty gallons 
 of water, and the effect on the leaf and 
 color of the flower is most marked. 
 
 Animal or organic manures can^ be 
 misapplied or used to excess in the 
 greenhouse, but in the field seldom 
 are. and it is generally a sign of a 
 
 thrifty florist or gardener when you 
 see his place adorned with manure 
 piles: it is money well laid out; it is 
 an investment that with ordinary 
 management is sure to come back with 
 great interest. Millions of acres in 
 our eastern states are crying for ma- 
 nure to replace the properties of the 
 toil that lazy and careless tillage has 
 year after year taken from it. 
 
 FICUS. 
 
 A large genus of trees or shrubs 
 cultivated for their ornamental leaves, 
 F. elastica, familiarly known as the 
 rubber tree, is the species we are in- 
 terested in above all others, although 
 for private collections and botanical 
 gardens several others are noble 
 plants. F. repens ( properly F. stipu- 
 lata) is a small-leaved, very useful 
 climbing plant, growing and adhering 
 closely to the walls of greenhouses, 
 making a very pretty appearance, and 
 will withstand a few degrees of frost. 
 
 F. Parcelli has a very prettily vari- 
 egated leaf. It is very unlike elastica, 
 the plant being more branching and 
 slow growing. The leaves are sharp 
 pointed, three or four inches long and 
 very irregularly blotched. It is hand- 
 some when well grown; but is most 
 horribly addicted to thrip and red 
 spider. 
 
 F. elastica is now a plant of the first 
 importance with all commercial plant 
 men. Tens of thousands are annually 
 sold. The "rubber" is known to all 
 as one of the very best house plants. 
 
 Ficus Elastica. 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 95 
 
 We have all seen it thriving in a dark 
 hall, and with (air treatment there are 
 tew plants that will endure unfavor- 
 able conditions as well. We get. how- 
 ever, lots ot complaints. "My rubber 
 is losing its leaves, etc." 
 
 I tell my customers to sponge tha 
 leaves occasionally and if the water 
 passes through the soil freely to water 
 twice a day in summer and once every 
 day in winter. 
 
 They stand out in pots and tubs dur- 
 ing summer in the broad sun and they 
 want plenty of water. I have never 
 seen their fine leaves burned or in- 
 jured by the sun when out ot doors, 
 but they easily burn under glass in 
 the bright days of spring before wa 
 are shaded. 
 
 The following is not quoted for my 
 readers to follow, but the most shiny 
 leaves and greasiest soil I ever saw 
 was on a plant brought to me two 
 years ago. I think the little lady 
 brought it for my inspection because 
 she was proud ot it. It looked bright 
 and well and its introduction to me 
 was as follows: "What do you think 
 of my rubber. Mr. S.? I oiled its 
 leaves yesterday with olive on and 
 last week a friend told me she thought 
 it was troubled with worms, so I gave 
 it two tablespoonfuls of castor oil and 
 two worms came out." 
 
 Perhaps to Mr. Wm. K. Harris, of 
 Philadelphia, belongs the credit of 
 growing the finest specimen rubbers 
 in one year of any man in the world, 
 producing branching plants 6 feet high 
 and 4 feet through, and furnished with 
 leaves to the pot. I do not pretend 
 to tell you how to emulate Mr. Harris, 
 but young plants that are wanted to 
 branch should not be allowed to grow 
 3 feet high and then cut down to the 
 hard wood. They will break, but slow- 
 ly. If wanted branched pinch the top 
 out of the strongest young plants 
 when not over 15 inches high. 
 
 F. elastica is a tropical tree, but will 
 exist in our greenhouses in winter at 
 a temperature of 50 degrees or even 
 lower, but when rapid growth is want- 
 ed 70 degrees at night is the tempera- 
 ture, and when growing those speci- 
 mens spoken of above it is never less 
 than that and possibly 100 in the day 
 time. 
 
 The rubbers thrive in a comparative- 
 ly small pot and for our sales should 
 not be overpotted. A good, open, turfy 
 loam, with a fifth or sixth of manure, 
 and to this compost add one quart of 
 bone meal to every bushel. 
 
 Propagation is by two methods — 
 cuttings and what is generally known 
 as "mossing." The latter is much the 
 surest way. Sometimes cuttings root 
 very well, and, again under the same 
 conditions they don't. Cuttings seven 
 or eight inches long, with several 
 leaves, always the latest growths, and 
 cut just below a joint, inserted in a 
 2-inch pot of sand and loam, the end 
 of the cutting well down to bottom of 
 pot and the pot plunged in some mate- 
 rial where the bottom heat is 80 de- 
 grees, will usually meet with success. 
 Keep the cuttings after the first water- 
 
 A Wreath of Roses. 
 
 ing only moderately moist. As the 
 leaves are much in the way a small 
 stick is inserted in the pot to which 
 the leaves are drawn up. If this were 
 not done they would take up a great 
 deal ot room and be inconvenient to 
 water. They should be well rooted in 
 the small pots before being shifted. 
 Late spring is a good time to propa- 
 gate by cuttings. 
 
 By the mossing system failure is a'.- 
 most Impossible. August and Septem- 
 ber are favorable months for the oper- 
 ation because the wood is about right 
 then, but it can be done at any time. 
 The tops of young plants can be taken, 
 although large branching trees are 
 usually kept where they are propa- 
 gated in any quantity. Nine or ten 
 inches from the tip of the shoot, where 
 the wood is not too green nor too hard, 
 a cut is made in the wood upwards 
 about an inch and a half long from the 
 bark to about halt way through the 
 shoot. Sphagnum moss is inserted to 
 keep the cut open and more moss 
 wrapped round to entirely envelop the 
 stem where the cut has been made. It 
 the moss when tied on is as large as a 
 hen's egg you have enough on. Keep 
 the moss syringed daily. 
 
 In five or six weeks you will see 
 roots protruding through the moss. 
 Let them get well rooted and then 
 sever from the plant just below the 
 moss, and pot. The young plants 
 should be kept from sun and draught 
 till they take hold of the new soil. 
 
 Most florists are pleased to inform 
 their customers that this is the plant 
 that produces the rubber of commerce, 
 and a slight scratch on a shoot will 
 soon show the milky sap, but they are 
 
 mistaken. Ficus elastica is a native 
 of the East Indies, and our rubber 
 comes from Brazil and from a tree that 
 is very unlike Ficus elastica. 
 
 nTTONIA. 
 
 Very pretty little trailing plants that 
 require a good heat at all times. They 
 are easily propagated in the spring in 
 warm sand. A few plants in a 6 or 8- 
 inch pan will soon cover it and make 
 very ornamental pans tor the table. 
 For large ferneries they are very use- 
 ful. They like shade and plenty of 
 water during summer when growing. 
 
 F. gigantea is somewhat erect, with 
 pale red flowers and finely veined 
 leaves. 
 
 F. Verschaffeltii and its varieties, 
 argyroneura and Pearcei, arejKthe 
 kinds useful to the florist, being dwarf, 
 spreading and compact, entirely cover- 
 ing the pot or pan with their very or- 
 namental foliage. The leaves of the 
 former are bright green, with a trac- 
 ing ot pure white. Tj^ latter is also 
 green, with veins of bright carmine. 
 
 FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 Within twenty years there has been 
 a great change in our floral arrange- 
 ments and designs. This has been 
 partly brought about by the innova- 
 tions ot the more enlightened florist 
 and partly by the more refined taste 
 of our customers who have rebelled 
 against the same old conventional ar- 
 rangements. Time was when the cen- 
 ter-piece of the table was an elaborate 
 lofty affair, very complicated in de- 
 sign and three or four feet high, and 
 it the host at the head of the table 
 
96 
 
 T'iE FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 A Vase of Roses. 
 
 wished to see those at the other eud 
 he or she had to lean over at a tilting 
 angle. Reason has abolished all this 
 and whatever flowers are used now are 
 in low baskets or trays or vases with 
 flowers on their natural stems. This 
 wiping out of these very artificial ar- 
 rangements may be a loss to some 
 [•lasses of florists, but who can regret 
 the more natural and beautiful use of 
 flowers which prevails today. 
 
 Basinets or trays are still used for 
 liolding the roses, carnations, violets 
 or orchids, but we expect to see these 
 go soon and all flowers used in vases 
 of some kind for all decorations. They 
 last better, they look better, it is bet- 
 ter taste and more comfort to the 
 guest to look upon a vase of roses 
 whose petals and leaves are plump and 
 fresh than upon those whose heads 
 begin to droop, for you will be of a 
 strange build yourself if you do not 
 feel a wilting come over your spirits 
 in a more or less degree when you 
 look upon a wilted arrangement of 
 flowers. The wilted diule rolled in the 
 gutter over night is not a more piti- 
 able sight than a basket of roses that 
 have collapsed. And the less our cus- 
 tomers see of these wilted flowers the 
 better. 
 
 At smaller dinner parties Maiden- 
 hair fern or Farleyense or asparagus 
 sprays are strewn on the table and 
 here and there some flowers of the 
 choicest kinds, rose buds, orchids or 
 lily of the valley. This is a beautiful 
 arrangement and most pleasing to the 
 guest if not overdone. Very seldom 
 now that any design of flowers, wheth- 
 er for the table or a gift, is made of 
 more than one or two varieties of 
 
 
 A Vase of Carnations. 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 97 
 
 flowers, and more often, with the ex- 
 ception of orchids, it is only one va- 
 riety. It is a basinet of pink and white 
 roses, or all Meteor or Ijiberty roses, or 
 American Beauties, all lily of the val- 
 ley, or valley and violets. Perhaps 
 all violets and perhaps violets and Ro- 
 man hyacinths. It is almost impos- 
 sible to make an ugly combination of 
 carnations, they blend so finely, yet 
 they are most often chosen in one col- 
 or or at most one or two shades. Tulips 
 and narcissus are scarcely ever used 
 except in one color. 
 
 Orchids are of such a fantastic shape 
 and pleasing colors that a variety is 
 prettier tlian a mass of one sort. A 
 basket of all CatUeya Trianae would 
 be very rich, almost too lieavy, and the 
 addition of cypripcdiiims and onci- 
 diums would be an improvement and 
 entirely in keeping with the nature of 
 the flowers. The orchids are from the 
 tropics where the vegetable kingdom is 
 all jumbled up and thousands of spe- 
 cies to the acre, while the natives of 
 a cooler clime, our roses and carna- 
 tions and vioiets, grow in colonies as 
 do the wild flowers of the northern 
 temperate zone. 
 
 It is ditlicult to foresee any great im- 
 provement in the arrangement of our 
 flowers for decorations over the pre- 
 vailing taste and customs of the pres- 
 ent day. There need not be less used 
 because the arrangement is simple. 
 Flowers on their own stems is the or- 
 der of the day and the longer the 
 flowers last in their beauty the more 
 there will be wanted, for in many 
 homes now and in the future, in every 
 home, liunible as well as palatial, some 
 flower will be considered not a luxury 
 but an essential and comfort. 
 
 A great many florists in this coun- 
 try, especially sliop or store Iveepers, 
 depend very largely on the funeral 
 orders for their living. If the prevail- 
 ing fashion of sending flowers, par- 
 ticularly designs, to the family of the 
 bereaved were suddenly to become un- 
 fashionable with all classes of society 
 there are several thousand flower 
 stores throughout the land that would 
 be to rent for some other class of busi- 
 ness. It is not likely to go so sud- 
 denly out of fashion but it will 
 change; and the change has already 
 tome with many people. A large num- 
 ber of citizens recently banded them- 
 selves together in Cleveland and in my 
 city and perhaps others, to protect 
 themselves against "The enormous and 
 extravagant expense of funerals, the 
 outlay and display made at the funeral 
 of the dead often leaving the survivors 
 in hopeless debt." 
 
 Carriages and flowers of course come 
 in for a good part of these worthy peo- 
 ple's condemnation. There is no 
 doubt that the expense of many fune- 
 rals is out of all proportion to the 
 means of the family; it is ridiculous 
 and almost criminal to see such osten- 
 tation, and we often suffer from it. 
 An instance occurred the other day. 
 Forty dollars' worth of flowers were 
 ordered and delivered, and a month or 
 so afterwards the collector was told 
 
 Wreath of Ivy Leaves and Orchids. 
 
 A Plain Crescent Wreath. 
 
98 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 
 
 
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 A Shower Bouquet of Lily of the Valley and Cypripediums. 
 
 by the poor widow that. "The children 
 had gone too far in ordering, and ad- 
 ded that her husband had led a double 
 life, having a wife in St. Louis as well 
 as here in Buffalo, and instead of hav- 
 ing ten thousand dollars lite insurance, 
 as she supposed, he had none, and she 
 was penniless. And there are lots of 
 such cases. 
 
 In those times of distress and excite- 
 ment people are often careless about 
 expenses. You can't very well ask for 
 payment before the articles are deliv- 
 ered and it's hard hearted to send an 
 order C. O. D. or to call around the 
 next day with your bill. Looking at it 
 in a business way. without sympathy, 
 when you know the family is quite 
 poor, persuade them that very little is 
 necessary. When a number of friends 
 are uniting together to send a deceased 
 friend a design, get all you possibly 
 can. They won't miss it and it's a 
 worthy way to distribute wealth, and 
 distributed it is. as is the outlay for 
 all luxuries as well as necessities. 
 
 No association or legislation or ad- 
 vice or admonition from pastor or 
 
 A Simple Form of Broken Column. 
 
 A Small Pillow. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 99 
 
 bishop can stop or abolish the use ot 
 flowers at funerals; for there is noth- 
 ing else you can do. In no other way 
 can you show your sympathy. With 
 some people the use of flowers at the 
 grave is as old as history and will con- 
 tinue. But fashion and a more refined 
 taste will modify and change the man- 
 ner of their use. 
 
 We read constantly of the obsequies 
 of some illustrious personage in Eu- 
 rope and the flowers used are invaria- 
 bly in the shape of a wreath. You 
 would think they knew of nothing 
 else but a wreath, for it is a wreath 
 from the emperor of Germany or 
 Queen Victoria or the "Honorable 
 Guild of Candlestick Makers of the 
 Ancient City of London." They never 
 rise above or below a wreath, and 
 when you read of carloads of wreaths, 
 or that it took one hundred men to 
 carry the wreaths, as it did at the fu- 
 neral of the late president of France. 
 you feel nauseated, as if you had sat 
 down to a dinner of fourteen courses, 
 but every course was the same old 
 thing. I may be mistaken, but I don't 
 think they stick to this very ancient 
 but still most beautiful design be- 
 cause they haven't heard of any other; 
 it is solely because it is simple and 
 chaste, and they don't want any other. 
 Yet it seems that a bunch or loose ar- 
 rangement of roses or carnations or 
 orchids would be a relief and change 
 from the everlasting wreath. 
 
 Our best people (by that I don't 
 mean necessarily the most virtuous, 
 but the people of wealth and refine- 
 ment and the taste and education 
 which wealth affords) have almost en- 
 tirely set their faces against the elab- 
 orate designs that were used by all 
 classes twenty years ago. Gates ajar 
 and broken columns and scrolls, and 
 even crosses and anchors are never 
 seen or ordered by that class who lead 
 in fashion, and depend upon it the 
 other strata of society will copy and 
 emulate the well-to-do as they do in 
 every particular where their means 
 can possibly reach. 
 
 Floral arrangements for the more 
 refined are almost entirely now limited 
 to loose arrangements. Cycas leaves, 
 two or three dozen roses, lily of the 
 valley, a bunch of Roman hyacinths. 
 A wreath is often used, but it is usual- 
 ly some distinct design. Ivy leaves 
 with lily of the valley or all valley. 
 orchids, or all roses, or valley and vio 
 lets, or all violets. And in many cases 
 the above flowers are bought and sent 
 to the house of mourning simply with 
 a card and loosely in a box. 
 
 It would be absurd for the florist to 
 discourage the use of large designs 
 where they are wanted, and in case of 
 societies who wish to send a design to 
 a late brother or sister there is noth- 
 ing but a large design to send, and the 
 catering to this class ot business is 
 quite lucrative with many. Where the 
 design is a pillow, broken column, an- 
 chor or scroll, there is rrom for a dis- 
 play of skill and art, but where the de- 
 sign represents the calling of the de- 
 parted there is no art, it is merely 
 
 Lo-w Basket of Violets and Small Ferns. 
 
JOO 
 
 The FLORISTS' MAISfUAL. 
 
 A Laurel Wreath with Cycas Leaves. 
 
 longer do we see the solemn whiteness 
 in bunches or designs, or any arrange- 
 ments. Why should we? I think the 
 fashion of white flowers is as absurd 
 as the deep mourning assumed by 
 many. A long black veil only attracts 
 notice and attention, and surely the 
 broken-hearted and sincere mourner 
 does not want to attract attention. 
 
 The crowding of flowers in a design 
 is no longer permissible. Every flower 
 should if possible show its individual- 
 ity. The whole should blend and every 
 flower and leaf should be fresh and 
 spotlessly clean. And let me add in 
 conclusion that when you take an or- 
 der for a design and promise it at a 
 certain hour see that it is delivered on 
 time. Punctuality gets a large credit 
 mark in the public favor. 
 
 FREESIA. 
 
 These graceful, fragrant flowers are 
 of the easiest culture. The bulbs are 
 now sold remarkably cheap, cheaper 
 in fact than you can save them. The 
 species called refracta and refracta 
 alba are mostly grown. The latter is 
 pure white, witbout the yellovJ blotch 
 in the throat. We too often plant a 
 large lot of freesia bulbs at one time, 
 thus having more than our demand 
 makes profitable. You receive the 
 bulbs in July, and every two or three 
 weeks a few hundred can be started. 
 
 Their treatment is entirely different 
 from the so-called Dutch Ijulbs, and 
 sometimes mistakes are made. We 
 usually plant seven to nine bulbs in a 
 .5-inch pot. Put the bulb a little under 
 the surface and place the pots in a 
 cold-frame. Later batches you will 
 start inside. The pots want no cover- 
 ing of any kind, as the top and roots 
 start together. Water moderately till 
 the foliage is well developed. When 
 the pots are full of roots they should 
 not suffer for water. They like a tem- 
 perature of about 50 degrees at night 
 and should always have the fullest 
 light. 
 
 A good loam with some well rotted 
 manure or leaf-mold will grow them; 
 
 mechanical, bad taste and bound to 
 sink into disuse. It is impossible to 
 make beautiful such a thing as a fire- 
 man's hat, a locomotive, a safe, a gun, 
 a desk; or in case of a brewer, a quar- 
 ter barrel keg. There is no skill in 
 making those designs; the wire work- 
 er is the only man who exercised any 
 skill; putting the flowers into the mon- 
 strosities is no more than putting on 
 an overcoat; the tailor is the man 
 who had the skill; if you depart from 
 the lines laid down by the frame you 
 spoil the imitation. 
 
 There is a wonderful change in the 
 material used since the days of bal- 
 sams and hollyhocks, when a design 
 resembled a clipped sheep, with a Saf- 
 rano bud here and there raised above 
 the surface a fraction over the rest; 
 and tuberoses were a very important 
 flower. Funeral designs are now made 
 with great taste. Fine flowers are 
 used and color is not forbidden. No 
 
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 Hamper filled with Violets, Heath and Adiantum Ferns. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 lOl 
 
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 ■ ^■"■*' ■ Write for prices. 
 
 FINE LAUREL FESTOONING, $:, per lOJ yards. 
 
 FINE LAUREL WREATHS. PRINCESS PINE 
 WREATHS, for Xmas and Decorations. 
 FIiOWERIKG I.AUREI., MIc per buncli, extra 
 nice. Galax Iieaves, Mosses, Etc., £tc. 
 
 CROWL FERN CO., Millington, Mass. 
 
 Telegraph office, New Salem, ftlass. 
 
 CUT 
 
 1 
 
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 ROSES, CARNATIONS. 
 
 LILIES, SMILAX, ETC. 
 
 Always fresh of our own growing. 
 Send for cut flower price list. 
 
 J. L. DILLON, BLOOMSBURG, PA. 
 
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 WHOLESALE FLORIST. 
 
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 hand. Write for catalogue and prices. 
 
 1122 PINE STREET, - ST. LOUIS. MO. 
 
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 ANYTHING IN FLOWERS.... 
 H. G. BERNING, 
 
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 FLORISTS' 
 
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 DESIGNS 
 
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 FLORISTS' PUB. CO.. 
 
 Caxton Building. CHICAGO. 
 
 ijiit(tjtttii(t((itii(tii((ii(^i(aiit(MM 
 
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 For weekly hints on the latest in the arrangement of 
 Flowers, consult the ^'Retail Florist*^ department in the Flor- 
 ists^ Review, issued weekly at $1.00 a year, by the 
 
 Florists' Publishing Company, 
 
 520-535 Caxton Building. CHICAGO. 
 
J02 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 do not give them poor, worn-out soil 
 as you can a tulip. 
 
 Pots that have flowered can be stored 
 away after the foliage is ripe and the 
 bulbs shaken out and started again the 
 following fall, but as stated above the 
 bulbs are now produced so fine and 
 cheap that it is better to buy every 
 year. Freesias will endure a few de- 
 grees of frost without any harm, but 
 don't let the dry bulbs freeze when 
 out of the ground. 
 
 FUCHSIA. 
 
 Plants that have been grown in 
 greenhouses for more than a century, 
 and a favorite with all. There are a 
 great many species, mostly all from 
 South America, but the true species 
 are now seldom seen. The hybrid va- 
 rieties are those of the commercial 
 florists, and firms that make a special - 
 t.v of soft-wooded plants are con- 
 tinually sending out new varieties. 
 Many of my readers will remember old 
 Fuchsia fulgens. with its clustered ra- 
 ceme of fiowers at the end of the 
 shoots; and many are also acquainted 
 with F. macrostema; both true spe- 
 cies, but very unlike. 
 
 In the milder parts of Great Britain 
 you will see such varieties as Rose of 
 Castile trained up the front of veran- 
 das as we do clematis, showing that 
 they withstand a good freezing, and 
 many of the species are treated as 
 hardy shrubs, the winter killing the 
 tops, but the plant makes a strong 
 growth again in the spring, just as 
 our basket willows are cut down and 
 an annual growth is made. Where the 
 thermometer does not go below 15 de- 
 grees these species will winter very 
 well. We treat the fuchsia as a very 
 short-lived plant, seldom growing the 
 plant more than one year, but in its 
 native Andes it is a shrub, or even 
 small tree. 
 
 With us fuchsias are often used for 
 summer bedding, but they never can 
 be any part of a formal flower garden 
 because they would conform with no 
 other beds. Nor will they thrive in 
 the broad sun. Behind buildings or 
 hedges or where they will get only the 
 morning sun, and where they are no 
 part of any design, they make very 
 pleasing beds. The soil should be 
 deep and rich and where the hose can 
 reach them a number of varieties can 
 be used: one-year-old plants are al- 
 ways better for this purpose than the 
 spring struck plants. Plants that have 
 been wintered almost dormant and 
 bedded out in early May before they 
 are started will be much surer of suc- 
 cess than plants out of a warm green- 
 house. 
 
 Thousands of fuchsias are sold in 
 our cities during April and May and 
 used up among the class of people 
 who want a few plants for their win- 
 dow. The latest arrivals from Europe 
 are the largest consumers of fuchsia" 
 Plants should be selected or obtained 
 in the spring, not later than May, and 
 grown on carefully. By July they 
 should be at their best. In July these 
 plants should be plunged outside in 
 
 
 !^^\>4 
 
 Wreath of Laurel with Lilacs and Cycas Leaves. 
 
 the sun, or only partial shade. They 
 will grow very little more, but will 
 ripen their wood. Leave them out of 
 doors till after the first very slight 
 frost. By that time (say middle of Oc- 
 tober) the shoots will be ripe and the 
 leaves off. Bring them in and for two 
 weeks they can stand in a cool shed, 
 or be laid under a bench. 
 
 By November 1st shorten back the 
 lateral growths to firm, ripe wood and 
 start them in a house at -55 to 60 de- 
 grees. Syringe daily. Soon you will 
 see signs of new growth, when they 
 should be shaken out and repotted in 
 fresh soil and in two or three weeks 
 you will get your first batch of cut- 
 tings, and successive lots to the fol- 
 lowing February. That is as late as 
 you can propagate fuchsias and make 
 plants that are any gon.d that summer. 
 Few cuttings root more freely than 
 fuchsias. With the sand at 70 and the 
 atmosphere at 55 you will root just 
 five-score for every 100 cuttings you 
 put in. 
 
 Fuchsias when giown in pots want 
 a very rich soil; two parts loam, one 
 part rotten manure and one part leaf- 
 mold will grow them finely. Pot fair- 
 ly firm, but not as solid as you would 
 
 with geraniums. Fifty to fifty-five de- 
 grees at night is about right. An abun- 
 dance of water, daily syringing and a 
 shade from the hottest suns in April 
 and May is the treatment. 
 
 Most of our fuchsias are sold in 4 
 and 5-inch pots. From the cutting bed 
 to a 2%-inch and from that to a 4-inch 
 and from that to a 5-inch. With some 
 varieties (such a one was old Elm 
 City) they were allowed to go straight 
 up and the plant formed a most sym- 
 metrical pyramid shape, but few of 
 the varieties will do that, and they are 
 generally pinched when a few inches 
 high, which gives them two or three 
 leading shoots and makes a more com- 
 pact plant. Some varieties can be 
 stopped the second time, which makes 
 them fine little bushes. 
 
 In selecting varieties see that they 
 are good growers and of a good habit; 
 that is everything. Raisers of new 
 varieties have produced some enor- 
 mous double fiowers, both white and 
 purple or red corollas, but the plants 
 are not good. Broadly it may be said 
 that in producing the double corolla 
 you have added nothing to the beauty 
 of the fuchsia. Many of the single 
 varieties have the most grace and 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 103 
 
 White corolla, scarle; 
 Mauve corolla, crim- 
 
 beauty and are usually the finest grow- 
 ers. 
 
 Plants that are wanted tor outside 
 beds should be wintered over in pots 
 in a very cool, light cellar or cool 
 house and given only water enough to 
 keep them from shriveling. Large 
 specimens that are wanted for summer 
 use are also wintered very cool, short- 
 ened back in the spring, mulched or 
 shifted and started growing slowly. 
 Our hot summers are against fuchsias. 
 
 Varieties are innumerable. Mr. E. G. 
 Hill, of Richmond. Ind.. and others im- 
 port yearly all the newer varieties and 
 test their merits for our climate. 
 
 A leading establishment describes 
 the following: 
 
 Double Varieties. 
 
 Cervantes: Purple corolla, crimson 
 sepals. 
 
 Phenominal: Dark plum color, great 
 size. 
 
 Mme. Thibaut: White corolla, crim- 
 son sepals. 
 
 Molesworth: White corolla, crimson 
 sepals. 
 
 Storm King: 
 sepals. 
 
 Pres. Carnot 
 son sepals. 
 
 Single Varieties. 
 
 Annie Earle: Carmine corolla, white 
 sepals. 
 
 Beacon: Carmine corolla, scarlet se- 
 pals. 
 
 Brilliant: Scarlet corolla, white se- 
 pals. 
 
 Earl of Beaconsfield: Orange corol 
 la and sepals. 
 
 Mrs. Marshall: Carmine corolla, 
 white sepals. 
 
 Speciosa: Orange scarlet corolla, 
 white sepals; an old but standard vari- 
 ety and one of the very best for use in 
 veranda boxes or beds. 
 
 Black Prince: Corolla and sepals 
 carmine. This is a grand market vari- 
 ety; the best of growers, fine habit, 
 and a profuse bloomer. 
 
 Fuchsias should be used in vases 
 and veranda boxes only where the su:i 
 reaches them for but a few hours dur- 
 ing the day. They may look attractive 
 when first put in a vase, but are soon 
 leafless stalks without shade and plen- 
 ty of water. 
 
 FUNGICIDES AND INSECTICIDES. 
 
 If it were not for our enemies the 
 aphides, spider, thrip, mealy bug and 
 many other minute animals, with the 
 low plant organisms, the mildews, 
 rusts, etc.. our calling would be com- 
 paratively easy, and we are not the 
 only ones. The fruit grower, market 
 gardener and farmer all have their 
 foes, compelling us to keep up a con- 
 tinual watch and fight against their at- 
 tacks. 
 
 It is really half the battle to keep 
 our minute enemies at bay, but think 
 what would be the consequence if 
 there were no greenfly or red spider, 
 no mildew or rust. What would be 
 the profits of flower growing? It 
 would be small, for every careless fel- 
 
 low would have what is called "Good 
 luck." As it is it is not good luck but 
 good reward for continual care, watch- 
 fulness and industry. Perhaps it is 
 just as well as it is. for although you 
 can scarcely imagine in a past or fu- 
 ture paradise that white scale will 
 trouble the orange trees, or some fu- 
 ture Eve will have to apply kerosene 
 emulsion for mealy bug, the present 
 time is one that rewards the gardener 
 tor his industry and faithfulness to his 
 duty, and no little part of his thoughts 
 are taken up repelling the attacks of 
 the many afflictions he is heir to in 
 the fungoid and insect line. 
 
 Peter Henderson wrote more than 
 thirty years ago that the least excus- 
 able of the gardener's failings was al- 
 lowing his plants to become infested 
 with aphis, because it was easily reme- 
 died. Quite right. Yet you see men 
 today walk through their carnation 
 houses where every shoot is covered 
 with aphis. If any remark is made the 
 reply is usually: "Yes. I must smoke." 
 Or: "I am all out of stems. I must 
 get some." Alas, the greenfly is the 
 least to be dreaded. It succumbs to 
 tobacco in several forms. Not so with 
 all our insects and as for the mildews 
 
 and rusts it is more the condition of 
 the plant that we must improve than 
 to combat the diseases. Keep the plant 
 vigorous and its environments right 
 and the mildew and rust will not ap- 
 pear. 
 
 Some years ago I attempted to grow 
 Mermet roses in a house that could not 
 on cold nights be kept at over 50 de- 
 grees, and very cold nights perhaps not 
 over 47 degrees. I did not pick many 
 roses, but the plants looked healthy. 
 One morning I discovered the end ven- 
 tilator open six inches and the ther- 
 mometer down to 10 degrees outside. 
 I thought to myself frost inside sure, 
 if not, then a good dose of mildew. It 
 was nearly a frost, but not a sign of 
 mildew appeared. The plants were 
 making a slow, firm growth and could 
 stand the chill they got. If the house 
 had been kept steadily at 58 or 60 de- 
 grees mildew would have appeared for 
 certain. The above is not quoted to 
 instruct you in rose growing by any 
 means. 
 
 Man and other animals hate a 
 draught and so do plants. Man can 
 stand for a while in a gale of wind 
 and the mercury at zero with no more 
 damage than cold fingers and chilled 
 
 Cross of Eucharis Flowers. 
 
104 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 nose, but let him sit in a warm room 
 with a draught of cold air on him, 
 even If it is only a few degrees cooler 
 than the room, and the result is often 
 pneumonia. And so, I believe, it is 
 with plants, and why not? 
 
 In no part of the exercise of our 
 business is the old adage, "Prevention 
 is better than cure," so true as it is 
 with our minute enemies. With the 
 fungoids that come because the vital- 
 ity of the plant is checked, guard 
 against any neglect, day and night, 
 and with the insects that will attack 
 our plants even in the best of health 
 apply your remedies regularly, not to 
 cure but to prevent. 
 
 The formulas tor several of the fol- 
 lowing solutions and fungicides are 
 copied from the bulletin issued by the 
 Cornell Agricultural Experiment Sta- 
 tion by E. G. Lodeman, February. 
 1895', a copy of which all growers 
 should avail themselves of. 
 
 Bordeaux Mixture. 
 
 Copper sulphate, 6 lbs. 
 
 Quicklime, 4 lbs. 
 
 Water, 40 to 50 gallons. 
 
 Dissolve the copper sulphate by put- 
 ting it in a bag or coarse cloth and 
 hanging this in a vessel holding at 
 least four gallons, so that it is just 
 covered by the water. Use an earthen 
 or wooden vessel. Slake the lime in an 
 equal quantity of water, then mix the 
 two and add water enough to make 40 
 gallons. It is then ready for immedi- 
 ate use, but will keep indefinitely. If 
 to be used on young, tender leaves, it 
 is advisable to add an extra pound of 
 lime to the formula. When applied to 
 such plants as carnations it will ad- 
 here better to the leaves it about one 
 pound of hard soap is dissolved and 
 added to the mixture. 
 
 The above is for rots, moulds, mil- 
 dews and fungous diseases. 
 
 Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate. 
 
 Copper carbonate, 1 oz. 
 
 Ammonia enough to dissolve the 
 copper. 
 
 Water. 9 gallons. 
 
 The copper carbonate is best dis- 
 solved in large bottles, when it will 
 keep indefinitely, and diluted with 
 water as required. Used for the same 
 purpose as Bordeaux mixture. 
 Copper Sulphate Solution. 
 
 Copper sulphate, 1 lb. 
 
 Water, 15 gallons. 
 
 Dissolve the copper in the water, 
 when it is ready for use. This should 
 not be used on any foliage, but can be 
 used on the wood of trees and shrubs 
 before the buds start. 
 
 Paris Green. 
 
 Paris green, 1 lb. 
 
 Water, 200 gallons. 
 
 This will do for poisoning all insects 
 that chew, such as caterpillars and 
 worms. We have found that in apply- 
 ing the parts green it was necessary 
 to add something to make the solution 
 stick to the leaves, and you can use 
 with the above quantities two or three 
 
 pounds of hard soap, dissolved, or add 
 two quarts of the Rose Leaf extract of 
 tobacco, which is of a sticky nature. 
 
 London Purple. 
 
 This can be used in the same pro- 
 portion as parts green. To make this 
 safer to use on the foliage of chrysan- 
 themums add one pound of slaked 
 lime. This also is for insects that 
 chew. 
 
 Florists do not always remember the 
 distinction between the chewers and 
 suckers. The aphides bore into the 
 tissue of plants and suck the juices, 
 and although they may be drenched 
 with the parts green solution would 
 feel no ill effects from it. The worms 
 and caterpillars eat the surface of the 
 leaves and must consequently get the 
 poison into their stomachs. 
 
 Hellebore. 
 
 Fresh white hellebore, 1 ounce. 
 
 Water, 3 gallons. 
 
 Apply when thoroughly mixed. This 
 poison is not so energetic as arsenites 
 and may be used on the more tender 
 growths for insects that chew. 
 
 Kerosene Emulsion. 
 
 Hard soap, Vz lb. 
 
 Boiling water, 1 gallon. 
 
 Kerosene, 2 gallons. 
 
 Dissolve the soap in the water by 
 cutting into thin slices; add the kero- 
 sene and agitate with a syringe till 
 thoroughly mixed. In this condition, 
 when cool, it will become of the con- 
 sistency of sour milk and may be kept 
 indefinitely. Dilute twenty to thirty 
 times with water when applying. I'se 
 strong emulsion for all scale insects. 
 
 This is used for all insects that suck, 
 as green, black and yellow fly (the lat- 
 ter the most troublesome on chrysan- 
 themums), mealy bugs, red spider, 
 thrips, and all worms with soft bodies 
 will succumb to this. 
 
 It should, however, be always used 
 with caution. It is best to try the 
 weakest emulsion first. 
 
 Hydrocyanic Acid Gas, 
 
 Water, 1 quart. 
 
 Sulphuric acid, 1 quart. 
 
 Cyanide of potash, 5 oz. 
 
 The above quantities are right for 
 l.OOO cubic feet of air space in your 
 houses, and measurements and quan- 
 tities must be accurate. As many 
 thousand cubic feet of air as your 
 house contains, so many vessels you 
 must have. Butter jars are the best 
 for the purpose and they should be 
 placed on the floor of the house, not 
 among or near the plants. The house 
 must be shut down closely and mu-t 
 be opened again in half an hour. 
 
 As this gas is very deadly you must 
 contrive to let the cyanide down 
 through a small hole in the glass, or 
 through a crack in the ventilator. As 
 the 5 oz. parcel is a small affair a very 
 thin piece of string attached will do. 
 We suspend the cyanide to the end of 
 the string, as many as required, and 
 divided equally in the house. Beneath 
 place the jars, each containing 1 quart 
 
 of the acid; then add 1 quart of water, 
 and when each jar is ready the cyanide 
 of potash is lowered into the jars. An 
 explosion, as it may be called, imme- 
 diately follows, the gas is generated in- 
 stantly, and that is why you would 
 not dare to be in the house, for you 
 would stop breathing in an instant. 
 This gas is death to every insect that 
 breathes, and does not hurt the most 
 tender foliage. 
 
 Mr. Saltford. of Poughkeepsie, who 
 gave me the formula, showed me a 
 Maidenhair fern that was in perfect 
 health that had frequently been ex- 
 posed to the gas. I used the gas sev- 
 eral times last winter on violets with 
 the best results. 
 
 As compared with tobacco smoke it 
 is quite expensive and same trouble to 
 apply, but if it saves a crop of violets 
 from the ravages of that minute fly 
 that punctures the leaf, laying an egg 
 which destroys the tissue of the leaf 
 and produces what we call curl leaf, 
 it is certainly worth ten times the cost 
 and labor. It is applied principally to 
 destroy the almost invisiljle insects so 
 injurious to violets, but while doing 
 that it utterly destroys green fly, red 
 spider, centipedes and all else that 
 breathes. It leaves no objectionable 
 odor. 
 
 Have the jar in which you generate 
 the gas four times as large as the mix- 
 ture of water and acid, and when pur- 
 chasing the cyanide of potash have 
 each 5 oz. package well wrapped in 
 double paper. 
 
 Sulphur. 
 
 Sulphur in different forms is the 
 great antidote for fungus, and our 
 chief rose enemy, the mildew, is a 
 fungus. The flour of sulphur is often 
 dusted on the plants. This is perhaps 
 the least useful method, and sulphur 
 should never be allowed to reach the 
 soil. It is sometimes sprinkled on the 
 pipes, and sometimes placed in shallow 
 pans and placed where the rays of the 
 sun will strike it, as when at a high 
 temperature it gives oft its fumes that 
 destroy the spores of the fungus. 
 
 I think it is most beneficial, most 
 easily applied, and the least harmful 
 to the plants when it is mixed with 
 linseed oil and painted on the pipes. 
 Don't overdo it. Where there are eight 
 or ten hot water pipes, or twenty 
 small steam pipes, paint the upper 
 surface of one pipe; that will be suffi- 
 cient. We think the oil does some 
 good with the sulphur. This is an ex- 
 cellent preventive of mildew. 
 
 Sulphur is sometimes burnt on hot 
 liricks or an old shovel made red hot. 
 I have done it and it is of course a 
 very effective way of applying the 
 deadly fumes, but you must be very 
 (areful and directly the odor of sul- 
 phur is plainly noted you must move 
 on a few yards. When the carnation 
 rust was at its worst a few years ago 
 we burnt a great deal of sulphur in 
 the houses when they were entirely 
 empty in the month of August. We 
 made it strong enough to kill a Kil- 
 kenny cat and trust it killed all the 
 
The Rorists' Mapwal. 
 
 JOS 
 
 stores and germs of the rust and other 
 fungous diseases. 
 
 Sulphide of potassium, Ivuown as 
 "liver ot sulphur," is a good prevent- 
 ive and possibly a cure for mildew. I 
 have used it dissolved in water and 
 then mixed with clay till it was the 
 consistency of molasses, and on the 
 pipes put a dab of the paint here and 
 there, say every three feet. " It is 
 stronger than the common sulphur. Or 
 the roses can be syringed with it; 1 
 lb. in 50 gallons of water. 
 
 Tobacco. 
 
 What could we do in the absence of 
 this wonderful weed? As a luxury it 
 is possibly dispensable, and so are tea 
 and coffee, but as an insecticide it is 
 a great essential. Till we iind some- 
 thing better it is the great cure-all 
 ot many a florist's establishment. 
 Where fumigation is not possible or 
 permissible, as in conservatories at- 
 tached to dwelling houses, it is used 
 as dust or in the liquid form, but 
 "smoking," as the gardener calls it, 
 is the way it is universally applied; 
 most effective and cheapest. 
 
 Most florists in or near a large town 
 get their stems from the cigarmaker 
 and pay for them with a plant occa- 
 sionally sent to Mrs. Havana Filler. 
 If you have to purchase the stems they 
 cost little. Every florist knows his 
 own way of fumigating. I for one don't 
 believe in placing it on the floor to 
 burn itself out. I prefer it in an iron 
 or galvanized iron vessel that can be 
 moved along. If you can't stand the 
 smoke, learn to; go to a New York 
 Florists' "smoker," and after that you 
 will survive not only tobacco smoke 
 but the fumes of sulphur. Tobacco 
 stems get very dry in our sheds and 
 are apt to flare if not moistened. The 
 stems should be shaken out a few 
 hours before you intend to smoke and 
 sprinkled. They will then be moist, 
 without being wet. 
 
 How thick or dense tobacco smoke 
 should be is a matter of experience. It 
 is experience that allows us to endure 
 it when it is so thick you can scarcely 
 see your hand before you, and would 
 quickly suffocate the tenderfoot. Light- ' 
 !y and often is the motto always to 
 follow. This has been often preached 
 before, yet how true and wise it is. 
 Don't wait to see three generations of 
 green fly sucking the life blood out of 
 your plants, but have a day to smoke 
 and remember that day, or rather 
 night, to keep it smoky. 
 
 There are a few plants that are eas- 
 ily injured by tobacco smoke, and 
 plants having flowers with thin single 
 petals should not be exposed to fumi- 
 gation when in flower. Those plants 
 that are hurt by tobacco smoke will 
 be noted in their respective cultural 
 directions. 
 
 I never noticed that it was any in- 
 jury to carnations except that it de- 
 stroyed their odor and left in its place 
 that of stale tobacco, which will last 
 on the flowers for twenty-four hours. 
 There is a difference of opinion about 
 its effect on roses that are producing 
 
 buds. Some large growers say they 
 fumigate and see no harm, but the 
 majority of good rose growers keep 
 down the aphis by other methods, and 
 the writer sides with the latter. I have 
 on many occasions seen the petals of 
 our best tea roses. Brides and Brides- 
 maids, malformed and discolored from 
 no cause but tobacco smoke. 
 
 Rose growers who use steam have 
 tin vessels which hold one or two bush- 
 els of tobacco stems,which are chopped 
 up as a hay cutter would cut them. 
 Into the bottom of this tin vessel 
 runs a half-inch steam pipe. You can 
 have as many of them as your house 
 requires. When the steam is turned 
 on a dense vapor fills the house, which 
 of course contains nicotine. This is 
 an effectual way of killing the fly, but 
 is objected to by some as producing a 
 soft growth on the roses, and vaporiz- 
 ing the extracts of tobacco is preferred 
 by many. 
 
 Some growers profess to keep down 
 the aphis by strewing the stems on the 
 pipes and paths, or laying them be- 
 tween the plants in bunches. This will 
 keep down the aphis if you start per- 
 fectly clean and change the stems 
 every two weeks, but it will not kill 
 the fly if they once have a start. 
 
 Although tobacco contains the nico- 
 tine which is so useful yet a deadly 
 poison, the stems when rotten are not 
 in the least injurious to the soil. I 
 have seen tons of decayed tobacco 
 stems plowed into the land which pro- 
 duced fine crops. 
 
 Tobacco Extracts. 
 
 The Rose Leaf extract is now largely 
 used and saves the florist the trouble 
 of making his own solution out of the 
 stems, and it is doubtless better. It 
 can be used diluted 75 times and will 
 rid plants of aphis, red spider and 
 thrip. Rose growers who heat with 
 hot water and can't vaporize as de- 
 scribed above can use this extract to 
 great advantage. In a 20 or 22-foot 
 house, at every thirty feet, you can 
 place a pie dish, say 12x6 inches and 6 
 inches deep. Dilute some extract in 
 ten parts of water and pour into the 
 dishes to the depth of one inch. Have 
 some old pieces of iron, 8x4 inches and 
 2 or 3 inches thick. We use pieces of 
 old railroad iron of the old style, cut 
 into 8 or 9-inch lengths. These are 
 made red hot in the^ flre and carried 
 with the help of a 'coal scuttle and 
 tongs to the dishes on the walk, and 
 when one is dropped into the tobacco 
 extract there is directly a cloud of 
 vapor which is very effectual in killing 
 the aphis, and of no possible harm to 
 the roses unless it be the softening of 
 the growth. 
 
 The vaporizing of the extract by di- 
 luting it in ten parts of water and 
 placing in small tin troughs that are 
 made to lay on the upper pipe of a 
 steam coil is a method used by many 
 growers and answers the purpose well. 
 The tins are replenished frequently 
 and while you have steam in the pipes 
 evaporation is continuous. It is too 
 
 NIKOTEEN 
 
 MAM- 
 FACIURED 
 BY 
 THE 
 
 A LIQUID 
 INSECTICIDE. 
 
 J 50 Pounds Tobacco in 
 One Pint. 
 
 Used for Fumigating or 
 
 Spraying Indoors 
 
 and Out. 
 
 Will not injure the most 
 Sensitive Blooms. 
 
 Cost Four Cents for each 
 600 feet floor space. 
 
 Used by the most suc- 
 cessful gro'wers 
 everywhere. 
 
 All Seedsmen Sell it. 
 
 SKABCIRA DIP 
 COMPANY, 
 
 CHICAGO and 
 ST. LOUIS. 
 
 "NICOMITE" 
 
 (PATENT) 
 
 VAPOR INSECTICIDE. 
 
 No labor required. 
 Harmless to bloom and foliage. 
 A certain killer of 
 RED SPIDER. - GREEN FLY, 
 
 and all other Insect Pests. 
 SOLD BY SEEDSMEN. 
 
 THE TOBACCO WAREHOUSING 
 AND TRADING COMPANY, 
 
 LOUISVILLE, KY. 
 
 slight to any more than just notice, 
 but so continuous that the aphis gets 
 no chance to thrive. 
 
 The extract that is known as Niko- 
 teen answers every purpose of the 
 Rose Leaf extract. It is more expen- 
 sive by the gallon, but it has four 
 times the strength and must be diluted 
 four times as much. For syringing 
 for spider and thrip it should be di- 
 luted with water at least 200 to 1. It 
 is cleaner and better to handle than 
 the Rose Leaf. 
 
 Fir Tree Ofl. 
 
 This is an article largely used to 
 kill the brown and white scale. The 
 latter is much the worst to contend 
 with. To ten gallons of water add a 
 half pint of the oil. If the water is at 
 
106 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 a temperature of 100 degrees, so much 
 the better. Large palms and other 
 plants can be syringed and in half an 
 hour be given a good syringing of 
 clear water, when most of the scale 
 will be destroyed. Small palms can 
 be dipped or immersed entirely in the 
 water, excepting, of course, the ball 
 of earth, and shortly afterwards syr- 
 inged with clear water. That is doing 
 it most effectually. 
 
 Palms received from Europe are 
 often infested with this white scale 
 and should be thoroughly cleaned be- 
 fore placing among your other stock. 
 
 Water. 
 
 There are many compounds and 
 mixtures advertised and sold for fungi- 
 cides and insecticides, but those quot- 
 ed will about fill the bill. And finally 
 there is plain pure water, properly ap- 
 plied. The use of the syringe or hose 
 will save much labor and expense with 
 insecticides if properly applied. Red 
 spider, thrip or mealy bug should 
 never be seen and never would be if a 
 good gardener handled the hose. 
 
 All the patent sprayers and hose at- 
 tachments are not worth one cent. The 
 forefinger of either hand is a marvel- 
 ous attachment and can guide and di- 
 vide the stream of water in any form 
 or direction you choose. You can't 
 talk to a fellow workman and intelli- 
 gently and faithfully water a lot of 
 plants in pots, much less syringe them. 
 Your work needs all your thought and 
 attention, and I will conclude this 
 chapter by saying that a man who 
 chatters or smokes at his work is of 
 little use. Work in work hours, give 
 all your mind to your work, and when 
 the noon and evening hour comes you 
 will enjoy the rest far better than if 
 you had been discussing your mother- 
 in-law or last employer. 
 
 GARDENIA. 
 
 In the days when short stemmed 
 flowers were used the flowers of Gar- 
 denia florida were much prized. 
 Flowers are often sent from the 
 southern states, but by the time they 
 reach our northern cities they are 
 much the worse for the journey and 
 useless. They would not pay a florist 
 to grow, but they are so deliciously 
 fragrant that well grown plants are 
 desirable for private conservatories. 
 
 The gardenia is a dwarf evergreen 
 shrub. The double form of G. florida, 
 called the Cape Jessamine, resembles 
 the flower of a small camellia. They 
 are propagated from sideshoots of the 
 half ripened wood in early spring in 
 a strong bottom heat. Grow the plants 
 on as quickly as possible, with plenty 
 of heat and light. A good, fibrous, 
 open loam with a fifth or sixth of rot- 
 ten cow manure and leaf mould will 
 do. Let the drainage be perfect, for 
 they want a liberal allowance of 
 water, especially when growing, and 
 should be daily well syringed to keep 
 down mealy bug and red spider. 
 
 In California young plants are plant- 
 ed on the benches under glass, each 
 
 plant having a little mound to itself 
 to insure perfect drainage, and that is 
 necessary where so much syringing is 
 resorted to. If grown commercially 
 young plants are preferred, but large 
 plants can be grown on. 
 
 GERANIUM. 
 
 All the geraniums that are so popu- 
 lar with us — the show, fancy, ivy leaf, 
 tricolor, zonal, etc., are botanically 
 known as pelargoniums, but the name 
 geranium is so firmly and popularly 
 associated with our favorite bedding 
 plants that it would be absurd for me 
 to write of them under the much less 
 familiar name of pelargonium. The 
 show and fancy pelargoniums that so 
 strangely are known to some people as 
 "Lady" and "Martha Washingtons," I 
 will treat under their proper name. 
 
 The geranium needs no introduction, 
 for if there is a plant known univer- 
 sally by everyone it is the geranium. 
 Within thirty years an immense im- 
 provement has taken place, both in 
 the habit of the plant and the grand 
 form and color of the flower. The 
 earliest double ones were a curiosity 
 when flrst they came out, but they 
 were so double that they were of little 
 use, and now a form called semi-double 
 has entirely displaced them. The semi- 
 doubles have one advantage, the petals 
 are not knocked oft" by a rain storm, 
 and they have also a disadvantage. 
 Some of the varieties, although excel- 
 lent growers and remarkably free 
 flowering, become unsightly by the in- 
 ner florets losing color or decaying 
 before the outside florets have opened. 
 
 The single varieties are still most 
 useful for bedding. The ivy leaf sec- 
 tion have been improved as much as 
 the zonals, having beautiful semi- 
 double flowers, and now we have 
 double flowers on the bronze and varie- 
 gated type. Some of the variegated 
 kinds, such as the useful "Mountain of 
 Snow," are as vigorous as the zonals. 
 and so are the yellow and bronze varie- 
 ties, but the tricolor type are less ro- 
 bust. 
 
 When Peter Greive some forty years 
 ago raised the lovely "Mrs. Pollock" it , 
 was a great departure from any other 
 geranium. I have seen great beds of 
 it, or rather edgings of beds. It likes 
 a rich soil and a slight shade. It will 
 burn up and grow less in our hot suns 
 with the ordinary treatment we give 
 the flowering zonals. 
 
 Mme. Salleroi is a type of itself, 
 forming no stems, but a mass of short 
 shoots spring from the crown and the 
 plant makes a compact little clump, 
 very suitable for edging. 
 
 Propagation. 
 
 When planting out for your own 
 stock give the plants plenty of room 
 to grow and do not crowd or the 
 growths will be soft and unsuitable 
 for cuttings. Unless the season is very 
 dry geraniums seldom want water, and 
 if you must water give them a thor- 
 ough soaking and then hoe before the 
 ground bakes. That is pretty good ad- 
 
 vice to apply to a whole lot of things. 
 Keep all flowers picked off as soon as 
 they are fully developed; it will en- 
 courage the plants to grow. 
 
 About September 1st take off your 
 first batch of cuttings and pot firmly 
 in 2y4-inch pots. A cold-frame will do 
 for the cuttings, but an ordinary bench 
 is just as good and less liable to neg- 
 lect. They should be shaded during 
 the hottest hours of the day only, and 
 that can be done with newspapers, 
 which is better than any fixed shading 
 because on dull days a shading would 
 be injurious. 
 
 Potting firmly with a good sifted 
 loam is an important point. Don't 
 thumb the top of the soil, but get 
 your finger and thumb down by the 
 side of the cutting like a wedge and 
 make the soil around the base of the 
 cutting firm. The watering will take 
 care of the surface without your wast- 
 ing any time with your thumbs. 
 
 They want a good, thorough water- 
 ing when first potted; after that only 
 when they are decidedly on the dry 
 side. There are more geraniums go 
 off black and rotten through the heat 
 and moisture than there are from dry- 
 ness. In a month most of them will 
 be rooted, and when they commence to 
 make new leaves they should be stood 
 over, dry leaves rubbed off and the 
 surface of the soil stirred. From now 
 on you will have to treat them bar- 
 barously to keep them from thriving. 
 
 Why you should wait till September 
 1st or about that time before propa- 
 gating is because earlier propagation 
 in a hot spell in August is not safe. I 
 have seen 75 per cent, of fine cuttings 
 turn black in a tew days when we had 
 very warm weather. Any kind that 
 you were very short of can be propa- 
 gated earlier, but it would be safer to 
 put them in the sand. 
 
 By taking off all the leading shoots 
 thus early you will usually by middle 
 of October get another good lot of cut- 
 tings, which root still more certainly. 
 If you don't have time for another 
 batch these plants are in excellent 
 shape to lift and pot and propagate 
 during winter. 
 
 Florists that grow a variety of 
 plants had better do their operations 
 by a system, and our system is to get 
 all our geraniums propagated in the 
 fall without need of lifting old plants. 
 A light house should be given to gera- 
 niums; it cannot be too light and dry 
 and airy. A night temperature of 45 
 degrees will bring them along fast 
 enough. 
 
 After our holiday trade there is room 
 to spread out, and then our geraniums 
 get a shift into a 3-inch pot. It is not 
 much of a shift, but it makes a great 
 difference to the plants. About Feb- 
 ruary 1st they have made good roots 
 in the new pots and then we stand 
 them over, taking off all the tops that 
 will make a cutting, and those that 
 are not long enough we just pinch out 
 the center. The cuttings from the 
 tops of these 3-inch plants will root 
 most easily at this time of year; pot- 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 107 
 
 ted in 2-inch you will not lose one in 
 a thousand. 
 
 Pot Culture. 
 
 An early Easter is always a bless- 
 ing to a man who grows bedding 
 plants, for just before Easter he is 
 fearfully crowded and has to exercise 
 all his wits to keep things from spoil- 
 ing, and one of the principal crops 
 that needs attention is the geraniums. 
 Then they are shifted into the 4-inch 
 pots, from which they are bedded out. 
 The February struck plants get a 3- 
 inch as soon after the others as possi- 
 ble, and make good bedding plants 
 that sell to late customers, and if you 
 get 50 cents per dozen less than you 
 do for your fine 4-inch plants they 
 pay well. 
 
 We are always successful in getting 
 our geraniums in full bloom from the 
 15th of May to June 1st, and believe 
 that geraniums are grown nowhere 
 finer and better than they are in this 
 city. We believe this is largely be- 
 cause we use a rather heavy loam. The 
 only fertilizer is about a fifth of sifted 
 hot-bed manure. In which there can 
 be little ammonia, but it keeps the 
 
 Bench of Bruant Geraniums. 
 
 soil open. We pot firmly, as firmly 
 as we can, ram the soil down with our 
 fingers, and this, we believe, is an im- 
 portant point in getting them to 
 flower. 
 
 If you are a market grower, and your 
 customers will forget where they pur- 
 chased their geraniums, you can add 
 a 5-inch pot of bone flour to every 
 wheelbarrow load of compost. It will 
 make the geraniums jump. But if you 
 fill flower beds year after year for a 
 good customer, don't use the bone 
 flour; there is no need of it and plants 
 thus stimulated will not do so well 
 when bedded out as those grown with- 
 out this fertilizer. 
 
 The treatment described above will 
 do for all the geraniums of the zonal, 
 rose leaf, variegated and bronze sec- 
 tions. The tricolor and more slow- 
 growing varieties of the variegated 
 and smaller scented kinds we prefer to 
 put in the sand and give them five de- 
 grees more heat during winter and a 
 richer and lighter compost. 
 
 Speaking of composts, we used to 
 have occasion to buy some geraniums 
 to fill late orders, and the compost 
 they were in looked like black rappee 
 
 snuff, a light sand and at least half 
 old rotten manure; loosely potted, 
 loose at the neck, almost needing a 
 stake; this is the very reverse of what 
 is right. There would surely be plenty 
 of leaves on such plants, but a poor 
 flower, and such stuff makes poor bed- 
 ding plants. 
 
 Mme. Salleroi is so distinct in its 
 habit that it would be waste of room 
 to propagate it in the way we do the 
 strong growing zonals. We lift be- 
 fore frost as many plants from the 
 ground as our needs demand and pot 
 in 4 or 5-inch pots just as they are 
 lifted, and store away in some light, 
 cool house. In January we cut them 
 up and every shoot is" a cutting which 
 roots most easily in the sand. In the 
 crowded state of our houses before the 
 bedding out begins we put the varie- 
 gated zonal, bronze, sweet scented and 
 Salleroi sections into a mild hot-bed. 
 Put into the beds by middle of April 
 they make fine plants by bedding time. 
 In these varieties it is leaf growth you 
 want, and they are greatly benefited by 
 the action of the ammonia on their 
 leaves. 
 
 The ivy leaf section used so largely 
 
108 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 in our baskets, vases and veranda 
 boxes we treat entirely different. We 
 leave them out of doors as long as 
 safe from frost, and even if you should 
 feel that a frost is coming it is no 
 great job to cover them or to pull the 
 plants up and take them into the shed 
 to be made ready for the cutting bed 
 next day. A few dozen old plants will 
 give you an immense lot of cuttings 
 and always put them in the sand, 
 which by this time of year is probably 
 a little warm with fire heat. 
 
 We keep them in 2-inch pots till 
 New Year's, then shift into a 3-inch; 
 and the demand for these beautiful 
 plants is so great for our veranda 
 boxes that we have to shift many of 
 them again into a"4-inch. Their droop- 
 ing habit makes them awkward to 
 grow on a bench when of any size, so 
 we have to put them on 10-inch 
 shelves, a row hanging over on each 
 side. 
 
 The ivy leaf section are beautiful 
 plants and when their roots are con- 
 fined they continue to flower a long 
 time, but when planted out in good 
 soil they grow so freely that blooming 
 ceases. 
 
 In winter you are seldom asked for 
 geranium flowers, or not enough to 
 warrant your devoting any bench room 
 to them, but you are frequently called 
 upon for a geranium plant in flower, 
 and it is just as well to have some. 
 Should you not sell them they will 
 make a fine lot of cuttings in Febru- 
 ary. 
 
 Select a few hundred healthy young 
 plants in May of the free blooming 
 varieties and put them aside as sold. 
 When the rush is over shift into 5- 
 inch and grow along in a light house, 
 with the pots plunged in some materi- 
 al to keep them from continually dry- 
 ing out; here is where the portable 
 shading would come in so good. A 
 cold-frame would do as well with the 
 glass tilted up back and front, and 
 then you can shade from 10 till 4 
 o'clock. 
 
 Keep the buds always picked off 
 these geraniums during summer, and 
 in August, if they are worth it, shift 
 again, into a 6-inch pot. If you allow 
 the buds to come up after middle of 
 September you will have some very 
 cheerful, bright plants that are very 
 attractive. These plants if wanted to 
 flower freely should have a night tem- 
 perature of 55 degrees, and the light- 
 est bench you have. 
 
 There is a lesson to be observed 
 about these common geraniums. If 
 we give them more than 45 degrees at 
 night and 55 to 60 degrees at day with 
 our imperfect light and want of venti- 
 lation, for we can only give air to a 
 limited extent, the plants will run up 
 to leggy, useless plants, but out of 
 doors in a night temperature of 70, 
 and during the day perhaps to 90 de- 
 grees, they do not run up, they grow 
 into sturdy, stout plants. So the nearer 
 we can come to perfect light and air 
 with those plants (roses, carnations, 
 etc.) that we ask to flower in the 
 
 winter instead of resting, the greater 
 success we shall have. 
 
 There are scarcely any insects that 
 trouble geraniums, and it is a great 
 thing in their favor. Tobacco smoke 
 does not hurt any of them and only 
 the scented leaved section is ever 
 troubled with aphis. Too close prox- 
 imity to hot water pipes will some- 
 times produce red spider, but that 
 should not occur. It is a great treat 
 to me to water a batch of geraniums 
 that are on the dry side, and they 
 should be allowed to get so. Then 
 they seem to relish the soaking they 
 get. 
 
 Specialists who grow to supply the 
 trade with young stock propagate 
 from stock plants the season through 
 if possible, but their stock is not what 
 we want to make our fine bedding 
 plants. However, it is on such men as 
 C. W. Ward, of The Cottage Gardens, 
 and E. G. Hill & Co., of Richmond, 
 Ind., that we must rely for new varie- 
 ties, for these gentlemen import at 
 great expense all the new varieties, 
 many of which, perhaps, they do not 
 deem worthy of sending out to the flor- 
 ist who deals directly with the public. 
 
 It would be useless to publish a list 
 of varieties as sorts wear out and new 
 ones are constantly taking their places. 
 Neither am I acquainted with a long 
 list of varieties. It is very unwise to 
 grow a great variety. A dozen of the 
 best semi-doubles, half a dozen single, 
 half a dozen of the ivy leaf section, 
 and a few of the standard variegated 
 and bronze, will fill the bill for the 
 man who has flower beds to fill. Last 
 year the demand for geraniums was 
 larger than ever and although we had 
 double the quantity of S. A. Nutt over 
 any other, we were sold out of it long 
 before the rest, showing that you want 
 a large quantity of the very few lead- 
 ing varieties, and proportionately 
 smaller quantities of the rest. We find 
 at present that the following sorts suit 
 our business best: 
 
 Semi-Double Zonal Varieties. 
 
 S. A. Nutt: Crimson. 
 
 Alphonse Riccard: Orange scarlet. 
 
 J. J. Harrison: Fine scarlet. 
 
 W. P. Simmons: Orange scaidet. 
 
 Tower Eiffel: Bright scarlet. 
 
 Beaute Poitevine: Clear salmon. 
 
 Emile de Girardin: Fine pink. 
 
 Francis Perkins: Clear pure pink; 
 the best pink we know; grand habit. 
 
 Prokop Daubeck: Light scarlet; 
 best variety for vases. 
 
 Ernest Lauth: Rich shade of red; 
 extra good. 
 
 La Favorite: Pure white. 
 
 Single Zonals. 
 
 Queen of the West: Fine red. 
 
 Athlete: Bright scarlet. 
 
 General Grant: Bright scarlet; one 
 of the very best for large beds. 
 
 Mrs. E. G. Hill: Salmon; a grand 
 truss. 
 
 Rev. W. Atkinson: Deep, bright 
 scarlet. 
 
 Mme. Lavalle: Rosy salmon. 
 
 John Salter: White and light sal- 
 mon. 
 
 J. P. Cleary: Vivid dark scarlet; 
 one of the best bedding geraniums. 
 
 Mrs. A. Blanc: Magnificent variety; 
 shaded apricot red. 
 
 Ivy Geraniums. 
 
 Souv. de Charles Turner: Deep 
 pink; fine grower. 
 
 Jeanne d'Arc: Fine double white. 
 
 Pere Crozy: Scarlet; erect in habit. 
 
 Then we have a double as well as 
 semi-double pale pink, most useful. 
 
 Scented Geraniums. 
 
 Rose Leaf: Indispensable for cut- 
 ting. 
 
 Lady Plymouth: Variegated rose 
 leaf, and a few each of the nutmeg and 
 lemon scented. 
 
 Variegated, Bronze and Tricolor. 
 
 Mountain of Snow: Pure white and 
 green leaf; a most desirable plant. 
 
 Mme. Salleroi: Compact variegated 
 plant; excellent for an edging. 
 
 Happy Thought: Very attractive; 
 dark green, white center. 
 
 Mrs. Parker: Variegated foliage; 
 double pink flower. 
 
 Marshal McMahon: Fine bronze, 
 with distinct dark zone. 
 
 Golden Bedder; Rich, golden leaved. 
 
 Mrs. Pollock: Beautiful tricolor leaf; 
 best of its class. 
 
 Dwarf Geraniums. 
 
 We have in Mars a distinct type of 
 geranium, very dwarf and compact, 
 the flowers of a pleasing salmon shade. 
 It makes a very neat pot plant, or edg- 
 ing to a flower bed, and is a wonder- 
 fully free bloomer. 
 
 It costs little to try a few of any of 
 the newer varieties sent out by reliable 
 houses, and if they do well in your 
 soil and locality increase your stock. 
 There was a time, about twenty years 
 ago, when the writer could pick out 
 forty varieties of double and single 
 zonal geraniums by their leaves. Any- 
 one can do it by the flower, but the 
 leaf is different. Times have changed, 
 and although we can pick out many 
 other things now, we have lost track 
 of the varieties of geraniums, but I 
 trust not how to grow them with profit 
 
 THE COTTAGE GARDENS, 
 
 QUEENS, N. Y. 
 
 Carry a full line of all the latest 
 
 ....NOVELTIES.... 
 
 as well as the best standard 
 
 varieties of 
 
 Geraniums. 
 
 We have 15,000 feet of glass devoted ex- 
 clusively to geranium culture, and carry 
 the largest and most select line of gera- 
 niums in America. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 109 
 
 Well Bloomed Dwarf Geranium. 
 
 to ourselves and pleasure to our cus- 
 tomers. 
 
 This would be a good place to say- 
 something about a geranium cutting. 
 It is remarkable to see the poor judg- 
 ment (or is it carelessness?) of some 
 men in such a simple thing as making 
 cuttings. We have been told that cut- 
 ting at a joint was not at all essential; 
 don't believe it. Cuttings will root, of 
 many kinds of plants, an inch below a 
 joint, but not as surely. At a joint is 
 where the wood is most firm, and it 
 you left a piece of sappy, succulent 
 stem an inch long below a joint it is 
 more likely to get overcharged with 
 moisture, the walls of the cells are 
 ruptured, decay commences and the 
 stem turns black. It cut at a joint 
 this is not so likely to occur. When I 
 say at a joint I mean an eighth to a 
 fourth of an inch below. 
 
 Then again you will see men denude 
 .a cutting of all the leaves except the 
 small, undeveloped ones, and others 
 will leave three or four large leaves, 
 «o that if put into the sand or potted 
 they would be just a mass of leaves un- 
 less you placed them far apart. These 
 mistakes are not always by the boys 
 or beginners, but by men who ought to 
 know better. It is carelessness, want 
 of brains and want of thought. 
 
 Now, this pleasant little operation of 
 making cuttings should go quickly. 
 They should pass through your hands 
 as quickly as the half-dollars drop into 
 the ticket office of Forepaugh's circus, 
 but be properly done, withal. The 
 cutting exists largely on what the leaf 
 absorbs from the atmosphere and sends 
 down material to form the root. (These 
 remarks of course apply to soft- 
 wooded cuttings that are iji active 
 
 growth.) So do not pull off all the 
 geranium leaves. Leave one perfect 
 leaf and one half developed; that will 
 allow you to stand the small pots close 
 together. 
 
 If it was any sacrifice of material to 
 cut just below a joint there would be 
 some reason for not doing it, but there 
 is none. Neither the piece above the 
 joint you leave on the parent plant or 
 the piece you leave below the joint of 
 the cutting is any good, and whoever 
 thinks it takes longer to cut in the 
 proper place is mistaken; a practiced 
 eye and hand fixes on the proper spot 
 in a moment. 
 
 We are well aware that tea roses 
 root very well an inch or two below a 
 joint, but no better, and they are hard- 
 ly soft-wooded plants. 
 
 While I have stated just how I 
 would trim a geranium cutting, that is 
 no guide to the hundreds of other soft- 
 wooded plants we grow. With many 
 of the smaller leaved kinds a number 
 of leaves can be left on, perhaps the 
 more the better for the rooting pro- 
 cess, but if too many leaves were al- 
 lowed you would soon fill up your 
 propagating bed, and to crowd the 
 cuttings, covering the sand densely, is 
 just the way to produce fungus on the 
 surface of the sand, which is a calam- 
 ity and often results in serious loss. 
 
 With the great majority of the soft- 
 wooded plants we propagate during 
 winter and spring. The heliotrope, 
 ageratum, fuchsia, etc., the verbena, 
 for example, root quicker and surer 
 when the cutting is quick grown, suc- 
 culent and brittle. I have endeavored 
 to mention the condition of cutting 
 best suited for propagation with every 
 
 plant for which I have given cultural 
 directions. 
 
 GLADIOLUS. 
 
 The varieties we grow are hybrids 
 from some of the many species of 
 which the large genus is composed. 
 The handsome spikes of the gladiolus 
 are known to all, and for the flower 
 border the gladiolus is one of the most 
 handsome of summer flowers, but 
 grown with such ease by everyone that 
 the price of the spikes is now very 
 low. 
 
 They can be readily raised from seed 
 and will flower the second year. That, 
 of course, is the only way to produce 
 varieties, of which now there are le- 
 gions. 
 
 They are often grown by florists on 
 their benches among other crops to 
 produce flowers in May and June be- 
 fore those outside are in bloom. They 
 will not flower, however, till we get 
 the warm days of spring, and no mat- 
 ter how early you may plant the bulbs 
 they will in a carnation temperature 
 grow very slowly. I have never seen 
 that they injured the carnations if not 
 put in too thickly. 
 
 Plant the bulb on the bench in Feb- 
 ruary among the carnations by just 
 squeezing it into the soil. It needs no 
 covering and the watering you give the 
 carnations will suit the gladiolus. A 
 rose bench would suit them much bet- 
 ter, but it would be hardly fair to the 
 roses. 
 
 Out of doors the cultivation is very 
 simple. The better the ground the finer 
 the spikes, and in very dry weath- 
 er they should get an occasional soak- 
 ing with water. Very large growers 
 must necessarily use only plow and 
 cultivator. The commercial man 
 should plant the corms (for they are 
 not bulbs at all) in rows two feet apart, 
 so that the horse cultivator can be 
 run between them, and six to eight 
 inches in the rows. Five to six inches 
 deep is about right. When as deep as 
 that they are not in our dry summers 
 so likely to suffer for want of water. 
 
 The corms increase rapidly and you 
 will frequently find two fine ones in 
 place of the old one planted in the 
 spring. If a succession of flowers is 
 desired, make plantings at intervals of 
 two weeks, but remember that you will 
 get no more flowers after the first 
 frost. Before there is any danger of 
 frost reaching the bulb, dig them up 
 and let them lie in the sun for a day 
 or two with the tops cut off a foot or 
 so above the corms. When the stalk 
 is dry cut it off within an inch of the 
 corm, and if they are not wet with 
 .'ain or dew store them away in flat 
 trays anywhere out of the reach of 
 frost. 
 
 Any place that will keep potatoes 
 will keep gladiolus bulbs. There is us- 
 ually such a place in the greenhouse 
 sheds. They are the easiest possible 
 bulbs to keep; only keep them from 
 frost. We once had a lot dug up and 
 lying on the groung to ripen the tops 
 when over night down came a frost, 
 about three degrees. I thought our 
 
no 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 gladiolus had escaped, but every bulb 
 was destroyed. 
 
 The white and light varieties are 
 much the most valuable to the florist. 
 There are now pure white varieties 
 and of every other conceivalile shade 
 except blue. In buying bulbs remem- 
 ber that 7.5 per cent should be white 
 or very light shades. 
 
 It is impossible to give a list of 
 names. There are too many, and few 
 Horists grow them under name. The 
 Lemoine strain are very handsome and 
 distinct and differ from the ordinary 
 gladiolus by being finely spotted and 
 marked, and some of them have fine 
 shades of orange and yellow. 
 
 GLAZING. 
 
 A most important part of green- 
 house construction. Poor putty, if the 
 glass is lapped and poorly laid, is a 
 source of constant annoyance, waste 
 of coal and injury to the plants. When 
 the glass is butted, unless the house is 
 well and truly built, it will be a botch 
 and failure and will bring censure on 
 this excellent method, which under 
 most circumstances is the way to glaze 
 a commercial house. Some critics may 
 say if good for the commercial man 
 why not for all glass structures? The 
 lapped method is more expensive, but 
 if well and properly laid is undoubted- 
 ly a good job, but the butted plan is 
 quicker to lay, easier to repair, much 
 less expensive, and if you ever want to 
 alter or move your houses or wish to 
 remove the glass you can do so with 
 perfect ease. As to tightness for mak- 
 ing a warm house both methods when 
 thoroughly done will do that, with a 
 preference toward the butted system. 
 
 Lapped or Puttied. 
 
 Where the modern iron frame houses 
 are built the bar used is usually very 
 light, but well supported by a num- 
 ber of purlins. On these houses the 
 glass is usually lapped and there are 
 only one or two points to observe. The 
 putty should be of good quality and to 
 it should be added one-fifth of white 
 lead. The glass should be pressed down 
 till the putty is spread out evenly and 
 over the entire surface of the shoul- 
 der of the bar; this will save much 
 labor when you take off the back put- 
 ty, as there will be no holes to fill up. 
 
 In old style glazing you saw laps of 
 all sizes from a sixteenth of an inch to 
 one inch. The longer the lap the 
 more place for dust and dirt to lodge 
 with no means or chance to clean it 
 out, so you have a dark strip across at 
 the junction of every light. One-eighth 
 of an inch is the ideal length of a lap 
 for any size glass and it makes just as 
 warm a house as a lap of two inches. 
 
 The best thing I have found to hold 
 the glass down as well as to hold it 
 from slipT)ing down is the Van Reyper 
 glazing point. It is a small double 
 staple which has a shoulder in the top 
 or end that both holds down the glass 
 and at the same time prevents its slip- 
 ping. 
 
 Houses that are glazed with putty 
 should have a coat of paint after the 
 glass is in, regardless of how many 
 
 coats the bars have had before they 
 were put up. One-eighth of an inch is 
 usually allowed between the bars; this 
 allows only one-sixteenth of an inch 
 on each side between the glass and the 
 wood. 
 
 Butted Glass. 
 
 The unfavorable reports and con- 
 demnation of this system are largely 
 from two sources, mostly by men who 
 never tried in the right way, or per- 
 haps tried it on an old house that was 
 formerly glazed with putty, and the 
 other people whose houses were not 
 built correct enough and made straight 
 and true. Square cut glass will not fit 
 crooked, plate and bars. 
 
 In the first place you must use the 
 cypress cap and bar that is especially 
 made for the purpose and your bars 
 must be put on true and parallel. One- 
 sixteenth of an inch is all you want 
 for play between bars. It should be 
 just that and nothing more or less; 
 this is very particular. Some carpen- 
 ters mark out on the ridge and plate 
 the place for the bars, others will cut 
 a strip of hardwood, one to be used at 
 ridge and one at plate. If the strip is 
 one-sixteenth inch longer than width 
 of glass and the bar is nailed up to the 
 stick carefully every time, top and 
 bottom, you can't go very far wrong; 
 yet every ten bars or so you should 
 prove by a rod that you are keeping 
 the bar at top and bottom parallel. 
 You can make up any discrepancy with 
 putty. Putty, like charity, covers a 
 multitude of sins. With butted glass 
 you must be correct, and it is just as 
 easy to be so. 
 
 Don't trust to any carpenter, ho^v- 
 ever many houses he has built; prove 
 for yourself that he is right. When 
 the bar is nailed to the plate see that 
 the face of the bar on which the glass 
 rests and the slope of the plate are ex- 
 actly flush. If the bar is a trifle below 
 the plate it is ditflcult to remedy. If 
 it is a trifle above it can easily be 
 taken off with a chisel. The bar can 
 always be straightened on the purlin 
 when you lay the glass, or straightened 
 by a straight-edge and fastened in 
 place before you begin to lay the glass. 
 
 The glass should not be lapped on 
 the plate more than half an inch; the 
 less glass there is resting on the wood 
 the less likelihood of breakage by ice. 
 The glass should always without fail 
 be laid with the rounding part up; all 
 glass is more or less convex and con- 
 cave. The thin edge of the glass (if 
 there is a choice) should always lead 
 up the bar. If you were to put the 
 thick edge up and it butted against a 
 thin one there would be a small space 
 for the water to lodge. The man who 
 lays the glass, if he has any brains at 
 all, will be able tO' see these points at 
 a glance and lay it about as quick as 
 a boy can hand it to him. Remember 
 that is all he has to do; there Is no 
 putty and no brads, no squeezing and 
 thumbing, no squinting and swearing, 
 it is only to lay the glass in, and bo 
 you go on to the top. 
 
 In laying out the length of the bar 
 we try to make it so that a certain 
 
 number of lights just fill up from 
 plate to ridge. If that is not conve- 
 nient you can always make it so that 
 a half light will finish at the top. 
 When you know exactly what sized 
 fraction of a light you need (if any) 
 you will have them all cut ready; it 
 is just as well to use the small piece 
 at the bottom. 
 
 Before we lay any glass we drive in 
 two wire six-penny nails, half an inch 
 below edge of plate, but only drive 
 them in a small depth, just enough to 
 hold the lights while you are laying 
 them. This can be done before you be- 
 gin to glaze and by a man standing on 
 the ground. When the whole run of 
 glass is in and before you screw down 
 the cap the man nearest the bottom, 
 with the end of his chisel handle, gives 
 the glass a good push up. closing up 
 any space, however small, and then 
 drives in his bottom nails. They should 
 be driven close down to the glass or 
 they will impede snow and ice slipping 
 off. Now this effectually prevents the 
 glass from slipping, and if the bottom 
 light does not how can the others? 
 
 One inch round-headed screws are 
 used to screw down the cap, the first 
 screw two inches from the bottom and 
 one exactly at every joint or butt. A 
 boy can get these caps ready because 
 you will have one cap as a pattern, and 
 with a ratchet drill the caps can be 
 ready with the screws already lightly 
 tapped in, and when the two men lay- 
 ing the glass call for the cap up it goes 
 and the men who have ratchet screw- 
 drivers soon have the screws down in 
 their place. Don't screw down too 
 tightly, just firm and solid is enough. 
 You will, of course, need one screw 
 within an inch or so of the ridge. 
 
 Be sure to have the ventilators made 
 the same way with cap and bar, and to 
 take the same size glass. Have but 
 one size glass on the place if possible, 
 and as little cutting as possible. I do 
 not like to disparage any device that 
 is made and sent abroad in good faith 
 by a fellow florist, but in, justice to 
 those who will follow my advice I 
 must candidly say the zinc strips that 
 are made to go between glass when 
 butted are a miserable failure and a 
 nuisance. You want nothing between 
 them or under them; simply the cap. 
 
 Any size glass can be butted. We 
 
 TRY LUCAS 
 TRY LUCAS 
 TRY LUCAS 
 
 FOR 
 PUTTY 
 
 FOR 
 PAINT 
 
 FOR 
 GLASS 
 
 Quality the Best. 
 
 Prices the Lowest. 
 
 John Lucas &, Co. 
 
 PHILADELPHia, 
 NEW VORK and CHICKCO. 
 
 S«nd lor Sample Cards and Prices. 
 
THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 in 
 
 have it on 12, 14 and 16 inch square 
 and always double thick. We prefer to 
 use glass that is square, that is, 14x14 
 or 16x16. Then you have the choice of 
 two edges, and if one is a little rough 
 you can use the other. If glass is laid 
 as described above it will save you 
 many dollars. It is a smooth, fine 
 roof, more air tight than lapped glass. 
 The drip is nothing, absolutely noth- 
 ing, if well and properly laid; if there 
 should be a trifle it is always at the 
 bottom, which in commercial houses 
 would fall in the path. And if a little 
 dust creeps in, and it will creep in 
 where water- won't, it can be washed 
 annually as clean as the day you put 
 it up. 
 
 Fancy the luxury of painting such a 
 house. Remove the glass, thoroughly 
 paint and relay again. If you were 
 visited by a hailstorm you have only 
 to break out the shattered lights, shove 
 up the sound, and before night you are 
 whole. 
 
 Without considering these contin- 
 gencies, it is the ideal way for a com- 
 mercial man to build. I have ten 
 houses glazed with butted glass. I 
 had no one to tell me how, but I per- 
 severed, and when I had built five or 
 six I had it down fine and have given 
 you the mature fruits of my experi- 
 ence. 
 
 GLECHOMA (NEPETA GLECHOMA). 
 
 The species that is useful to the 
 ^lorist is called by many names. 
 'Ground Ivy" is one. and the Germans 
 apply the elegant name of "Louse 
 Krout." The variegated form of this 
 little weed is one of our best basket 
 plants. It starts to grow so well and 
 makes such a fine appearance in a 
 vase or basket that, weed as it may be, 
 it is well worth growing. 
 
 The ends of the growths, a few 
 inches long, should be put Into 2-lnch 
 pots in September, three or four in 
 each pot, and placed in a cold-frame. 
 Kept shaded and moist they will soon 
 be rooted, and then the glass should 
 be removed till severe weather arrives, 
 ■when the glass should again go on. 
 Leave them in the frame till end of 
 March, when they should be got out 
 and shifted into 3-inch pots and start- 
 ;d growing in the greenhouse. We 
 place them along the edges of benches 
 or shelves where their quick growing 
 shoots can hang down. 
 
 Few plants will make such a veil of 
 growth to cover the woodwork of our 
 rustic baskets or the moss of our hang- 
 ing baskets as this little "creeping 
 Jenny," but do not attempt to keep it 
 in the greenhouse all winter or it will 
 be useless. 
 
 GLOXINIA, 
 
 These tropical American plants are 
 well adapted to house culture. I have 
 seen plants with fifteen perfect flowers 
 in the window of a humble cottage. 
 We seldom get complaints about their 
 failure. They are essentially summer 
 flowering. 
 
 Gloxinias are raised in large quanti- 
 ties from seed by specialists, but the 
 
 florist who grows only a few hundred 
 ivill do much better to obtain his sup- 
 ply of corms (usually called bulbs) 
 from some firm that raises them in 
 large quantities. The price of the 
 bulbs is now very low. Seed is usually 
 sown in February. Sow on a wet sur- 
 face and don't cover the seed; it is too 
 small. Cover the pan with a light of 
 glass till the seeds are up. A warm 
 house is needed and the pans should 
 be kept away from the direct rays of 
 the sun. 
 
 As soon as the seedlings can be 
 handled, transplant them two inches 
 apart in flats in two or three inches 
 of loam and leaf-mould. In June plant 
 them in four inches of soil in a cold- 
 frame, or better still, a hot-bed that 
 has lost its violent heat. When grow- 
 
 in the morning. I have had the best 
 success with gloxinias when the 
 plants stood on inverted 5 or 6-inch 
 pots on the bench; you can syringe 
 the under side of the leaves better and 
 the plants seem to thrive much better 
 with the increased circulation of the 
 air they get in this position. 
 
 Shading is the most particular part 
 of their cultivation. They don't like 
 the dense shade that whitewash af- 
 fords, neither do they want the bright 
 sun, or their beautiful flowers will wilt 
 and droop. A light shade, or best of 
 all, one that could be applied only in 
 the hottest hours, would be ideal. 
 Never let them get dry or you will 
 lose their flowers. This is a plant 
 that in watering I should resort to 
 the old watering pot, unless you have 
 
 Gloxinias. 
 
 ing they like plenty of water and 
 should be shaded on all bright days. 
 Many of these seedlings will flower 
 the same summer and will make good 
 bulbs for growing in pots the next 
 season. 
 
 In September water should be grad- 
 ually withhheld till the foliage has 
 dried up, when the bulbs should be 
 lifted and stored away in dry sand or 
 soil during winter. As previously said, 
 for a few hundred you cannot begin to 
 raise seedlings at the price you can 
 buy good flowering bulbs from the spe- 
 cialist. 
 
 February to March is the best time 
 to start the bulbs. We put them first 
 in 4-inch pots, just covering the bulbs. 
 One watering is suflicient till the 
 leaves begin to start. A good loam 
 with a third of its bulk composed of 
 leaf-mould and well rotted cow ma- 
 nure will grow them finely. The house 
 you start them in should not be less 
 at night than 60 degrees, but as the 
 season advances they delight in our 
 warmest weather. When the leaves 
 extend over the pots they should be 
 shifted into their flowering pot, a 
 6-inch, and well drained. 
 
 Gloxinias really want a warm, moist 
 temperature without any water ly- 
 ing on their leaves, although before 
 flowering they should be daily 
 syringed, which should always be done 
 
 a very slow stream running from the 
 hose and your mind intently on your 
 work. 
 
 The fine leaves of the gloxinia are 
 very brittle and easily broken, and 
 when shifting or handling must re- 
 ceive good care or your plant will be 
 spoiled. ■ 
 
 When out of flower, if you wish to 
 keep over the old corms, lay the pots 
 on their side under a warm, dry bench 
 and leave them undisturbed till you 
 want to shake them out and start 
 again in the spring. 
 
 There are now grand strains of most 
 beautiful rich shades of color and the 
 upright or erect flowering are the best. 
 
 GRASSES. 
 
 Several grasses should be promi- 
 nent in all mixed borders of hardy 
 plants, or make beautiful clumps on 
 the lawn, either singly or in groups. 
 They will thrive in any ordinarily 
 good soil and those named are perfect- 
 ly hardy. They are propagated by di- 
 vision and rapidly increase in size. 
 
 The finest and most ornamental of 
 all, the Pampas grass, is unfortunately 
 not hardy enough to withstand our 
 northern winters. Where the tempera- 
 ture does not drop more than 15 de- 
 grees below the freezing point it will 
 do finely. The Pampas grass (Gyne- 
 rium argenteum) is a native of the Ax- 
 
112 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Border of Pennisetum Longistylum around a bed of Cannas. 
 
 gentines and temperate South Amer- 
 ica, thriving grandly in California, 
 from whence we get our plumes. It 
 seems as though with the protection of 
 a stout box filled in with dry leaves 
 and with a movable cover, this orna- 
 mental plant could be wintered safely, 
 and in the decoration of fine grounds 
 well repay the labor. We assuredly 
 go to greater expense in preserving 
 some plants that are not of so much 
 value. 
 
 Arundo Donax: This is the noblest 
 of the hardy grasses, growing in one 
 summer eight to ten feet in height. It 
 needs no protection. In the . spring 
 cut off close to the ground the last 
 year's canes and mulch with a few 
 inches of manure. 
 
 A. Donax versicolor or variegata is 
 not quite so hardy, but is much more 
 ornamental. It should be protected in 
 the winter months with a covering of 
 six inches of litter over the crowns. 
 It is identical in every respect with 
 the type except that its leaves are 
 beautifully variegated. 
 
 Eulalias are the most useful grasses 
 and are so hardy they need no pro- 
 tection. The tops are usually left 
 standing during winter and removed 
 by cutting or burning off in the spring. 
 
 Eulalia japonica: The flower is or- 
 namental but it is the long, narrow, 
 4-foot leaves that make this grass 
 such an acquisition to the garden. 
 
 E. j. zebrina: The leaves are very 
 handsome, having bars of yellow 
 across them. 
 
 E. j. foliis striatis: In this sort the 
 creamy band runs lengthwise of the 
 leaf. 
 
 E- }. gracillima univittata: Thig is 
 
 the narrowest leaved and most grace- 
 ful of all, but not such a robust grower 
 as the others, and is more suitable for 
 a choice place in the border than to 
 form a mass on the lawn. 
 
 Erianthus Ravennae: This might 
 be called a small Pampas grass, throw- 
 ing up handsome plumes. It is quite 
 hardy. 
 
 Arundinaria tecla: A very orna- 
 mental grass, but should be planted in 
 moist ground or given water very 
 freely. It does well on the margins of 
 lakes. 
 
 Pennisetum japonicum: Well worthy 
 a place in the mixed border and per- 
 fectly hardy. 
 
 Pennisetum longistylum: This pret- 
 ty plumed grass is very effectively 
 used in bedding. It can be grown 
 from seed, but is usually propagated 
 by division. Take up several clumps 
 in the fall, trim off the foliage, place 
 in a box and set under a bench in a 
 house with a temperature of 40 to 4.5 
 degrees. In March shake out the soil, 
 tear the clump to pieces and pot two 
 or three runners in a 3 or 4-inch pot. 
 Place in a house with a temperature 
 of 60 degrees. They make plants in a 
 short time and may be bedded out the 
 latter part of May or early in June. 
 The accompanying engraving shows a 
 border of this pennisetum around a 
 bed of cannas. 
 
 GREENHOUSE BUILDING. 
 
 In step with the growth of our busi- 
 ness, the demand for flowers and their 
 rapid production, and the high quality 
 now demanded, the science of building 
 our greenhouse structures has kept 
 well to the front. When we see the old 
 
 dark structures of twenty-five years 
 ago, with their heavy wood work, 8x10 
 glass, and 4-inch cast iron pipe, we 
 feel a chill, especially it we own them. 
 We believe it would be almost impos- 
 sible to produce the roses and carna- 
 tions of to-day in the quantity and 
 quality they are, had not our flower 
 growers the modern houses of to-day. 
 
 Houses for the private establishment 
 I shall not mention. They can be built 
 with all the ornamentation as well as 
 substantial and u.seful appointments 
 that the owner desires, and should be 
 always in keeping with the grounds 
 and mansion with which they are as- 
 sociated. I will say this much: That 
 whenever a range of glass is to be 
 erected, let it be a costly and extensive 
 range or but one small conservatory, 
 it is far cheaper in the end and a hun- 
 dred times more satisfactory, to have 
 them built by horticultural builders, 
 whose specialty it is, and who have 
 made a life study of the business, con- 
 stantly devising new and better meth- 
 ods, employing expert workmen, who 
 know accurately every detail of the 
 structure. 
 
 Building a greenhouse or conserva- 
 tory is as distinct a business from the 
 ordinary house building as is ship 
 building, and the local carpenter, glaz- 
 er and steam fitter are the most unfit 
 people to employ. I have had local 
 painters put a piece of tin against the 
 bar when painting the roof, "to keep 
 the paint off of the glass," thereby 
 entirely neglecting the one important 
 place for paint, the space between the 
 glass and wood occupied with putty. 
 The local steam fitter is learning some 
 thing about steam, but his knowledge 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
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 RANGE FOR 
 SMALL PRIVATE 
 PLACE, CONSISTING OF 
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 Horticultural Architects and Builders 
 
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 THREE- 
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 ■ 1 GROWING 
 
 HOUSE FOR ROSES, 
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 HOT-BED OR COLD 
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 SOUTH SIDE. 
 
 See page 127 
 
 for our Cireen- 
 
 house Heating 
 
 Advertisement . 
 
n4 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 of hot water circulation is yet awfully 
 crude, and the carpenter, who is per- 
 haps capable of building a winding 
 stair case, is a failure at greenhouse 
 building unless you are able to tell 
 him "just how you want it." So the 
 amateur or man of wealth should al- 
 ways employ one of those firms who 
 make a business of glass structures. 
 Perhaps there are many such firms. 
 Of my acquaintances, who are masters 
 of their business as well as honorable 
 men- that are bound to perform all they 
 agree, there are Lord & Burnham Co., 
 of Irvington-on-the-Hudson, N. Y.; 
 Hitchings & Co., and Thomas W. 
 Weathered's Sons, of New York. All 
 of these firms are constantly building, 
 not only private establishments, but 
 commercial houses all over the coun- 
 try. 
 
 Shape and Aspect. 
 
 Plant houses, i. e., houses for raising 
 palms, pandanus or ferns, or fiowering 
 lilies and azaleas, or growing the bulk 
 of our bedding plants, in fact for any 
 purpose except for roses and carna- 
 tions, can run north and south. A 
 house with its ridge running north and 
 south with good sized glass will give 
 you all the light that these plants 
 need, and in the summer when too 
 much sun is the trouble they are not 
 so hot. 
 
 There is no doubt that houses that 
 are built communicating, or simp'.y a 
 partition wall between them, are a 
 great saving in fuel, and in latitudes 
 where we get great snows, and often 
 weeks of zero weather, it is most ad- 
 visable that blocks of houses be built 
 together with only two outside walls 
 providing you are sure you will not 
 want to change your business and con- 
 vert them into rose or carnation hous- 
 es; for this purpose they would be 
 very unsuitable. 
 
 The conventional house of this kind 
 IS usually 20 ft. wide, with a middle 
 bench of 6 ft. 6 in., and two side 
 benches of 3 ft. 6in, each, allowing 2 
 ft. for each path and keeping the 
 benches away from posts 2 or 3 inches 
 on each side to avoid any drip on the 
 plants. Whenever I speak of the width 
 of a house as 20 or 22 ft.. I always 
 mean the dimensions to be from out- 
 side to outside of posts if detached or 
 from center to center of posts if 'at- 
 tached. For the general run of our 
 plant houses the top of the posts from 
 outside grade of ground is usually for 
 these equal span houses 4 ft 6 in 
 with the plate on top of post and the 
 bar about 11 ft. 6 in.; this gives you 
 nice head room for the paths. 
 
 The middle bench is used for tall 
 growmg plants and the side benches 
 for the dwarfer ones. Often the space 
 that would be occupied by the bench 
 IS used by standing the plants on the 
 floor or planting them out, as you do 
 with smilax, etc. If tour or five houses 
 are used for the same kind of plants, 
 for instance chrysanthemums, ferns! 
 lilies, then geraniums, or maybe all 
 palms, then there is no need of a par- 
 tition wall, but unless you are in a 
 big way of business you will find it 
 
 much safer to have a partition between 
 them. You so often want to keep one 
 house a little warmer or cooler than 
 others, or in fumigating you may find 
 it very inconvenient to have to fill 
 the whole lot with smoke when there 
 were plants in some that you did not 
 want to smoke. 
 
 Another style of house for general 
 plant growing that is, I think, more 
 economical to build and easier to work, 
 is one of 22 ft. This will allow an 
 IS-inch path against each wall, three 
 benches a little short of 5 ft. 6 in. 
 each and two more paths of 1 ft. 6in. 
 each. The heating would be but a 
 trifle more, the first cost of glass and 
 bars but a fraction, and the walls and 
 the gutters no' more. In these houses 
 the heating pipes, whether of steam or 
 hot water, are against the walls, 
 away from the plants, where there is 
 no danger of encouraging red spider. 
 Where the houses are built in this 
 way the posts should be 5 ft., so as to 
 give head room in the outside paths. 
 The henches in these houses could be 
 any height to suit your plants. 
 
 Benches. 
 
 I will say here about benches, that 
 it is often thought necessary to raise 
 them up, sometimes to an awkward 
 height, with the view of getting more 
 light. "Keep plants near the glass," 
 is an old maxim oft repeated. What is 
 intended by this advice is give them 
 light. In our modern houses where 
 the glass is never less than 12 inches 
 wide, and the light is unobstructed, 
 the plants receive as much light eight 
 feet from the glass as they do two feet 
 from it. Years ago violets were always 
 grown in a pit near the glass. They 
 are gi-own as well today 10 feet from 
 the glass. 
 
 Board benches are continually wear- 
 ing out; even if made of 2-inch plank 
 their life is short. For roses and car- 
 nations there is perhaps no substitute 
 for wood as when their roots touch the 
 moist wood it is congenial to them, 
 which slate and cement are not, but 
 plants in pots are quite different, as 
 they are seldom stood on the bare 
 boards but usually stand on a layer of 
 ashes or sand. Heavy slate is too ex- 
 pensive for the commercial man and 
 roofing slate would need so much sup- 
 porting. 
 
 We saw at the South Park, Chicago, 
 an excellent device for the plant ta- 
 bles, the invention of Mr. Kanst, we 
 think. The frame of the tables was 
 angle and T iron. For the floor of the 
 bench he had a composition flagging. 
 They were about two feet square and 
 if I remember correctly one inch thick. 
 It is obvious they could be made any 
 reasonable length and breadth, and 
 thicker if desired. It would be only a 
 matter of making a mould. A frame of 
 inch strips of wood was made, or a 
 number of them, the frames were set 
 on a surface of boards and a mixture 
 of fine gravel and cement thrown 
 in and struck oft with a straight-edge. 
 After the concrete, as we will call it. 
 bad set. which cement quickly does, 
 the frame and bottom boards were re- 
 
 moved. I am not certain that I am 
 exactly clear how the boards and 
 frame were removed, but that is a tri- 
 fling part of it, and will quickly occur 
 to any ingenious workman. 
 
 When dry there was a lot of ever- 
 lasting material for the plant tables, 
 and as most of the tables were so con- 
 structed with the iron supports and 
 concrete flooring they were practically 
 indestructible. And to show us that 
 a large plant would not break these 
 slabs of cement and gravel Mr. Kanst 
 jumped on the middle of one about two 
 feet square and gave us one step of 
 the Highland fling. These tables can- 
 not be expensive and where the mate- 
 rial is near by cannot exceed the cost 
 of a 2-inch plank of pine or hemlock, 
 and would in ten years be much the 
 cheapest. 
 
 Often, though, we have not the time 
 to do these things and turn to the 
 readiest and quickest methods, so we 
 resort to the same old boards. The 
 uprights should be 2x6 and the cross 
 pieces of the same (Timensions. I think 
 it cheaper in the end to use for the 
 surface of the table 2-inch plank. The 
 pulling out and rebuilding is half the 
 cost, and that you certainly save. We 
 mix up a pail of hydraulic cement, 
 which with us is called water lime, 
 and with a whitewash brush give the 
 top of planks or boards a thorough 
 coat of the cement, and on top of the 
 cross pieces and top of uprights, in 
 fact wherever wood is laid on wood, 
 for that is where we find decay first 
 begins. 
 
 Wooden benches are supported on 
 iron frames made of gas pipe. They 
 are most easily put up, look neat and 
 are of course long lasting. It would 
 take too long to describe here, and 
 unnecessary, as you have only to send 
 to the .lennings Bros., Olney. Philadel- 
 phia, for their illustrated circular 
 which shows you the whole thing. 
 
 Where the bench is not over eigh- 
 teen inches from the ground we believe 
 the bench should be solid, that is walls 
 built up with 4-inch brick walls laid in 
 cement or concrete walls, and filled 
 in with stones or ashes, and surfaced 
 with any material you choose. It is 
 easier for the workman to handle the 
 plants when the benches are about 
 three feet high, but no better for the 
 plants, and saves much repairing and 
 "fixing" of benches; and what a fine 
 bench for palms, azaleas, lilies and 
 later for cannas, in fact for anything. 
 
 Ventilation. 
 
 The ventilation of these houses, or 
 any house, should be ample always. 
 You may not need it except in sum- 
 mer, but you want the means for the 
 largest amount of ventilation that is 
 of benefit to the plants in the hottest 
 weather. Our prevailing winds are 
 from the west, and a large proportion 
 of the country is the same. So we 
 ventilate on the east side. There is 
 also another advantage in ventilating 
 on the east side. In February and 
 March particularly, the thermometer 
 may indicate 15 degrees of frost, yet 
 the sun be very bright, compelling us 
 
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116 
 
 to put on a crack of air by 9 or 10 
 o'clock. The ventilators, if on the 
 west side, would be frozen and could 
 be lifted only with great trouble, while 
 the sun has thawed the ice on the east 
 side. We do not think that ventilation 
 on both sides is necessary if ample is 
 given on the east side. 
 
 The dimensions for ventilators on a 
 20 or 22-foot house should be 2 ft. 6 in. 
 deep from ridge to bottom of ventila- 
 tor, and continuous the whole way 
 along the roof. It is plain to everyone 
 that a 3-inch opening the whole way is 
 far better than a 6-inch opening for the 
 length of four feet and then a space 
 of five or six feet with no opening. We 
 have seen some very clearly defined 
 cases of failure of late that were un- 
 mistakably traceable to very inade- 
 quate ventilation. It costs no more in 
 glass and little more for the machines 
 that operate the sash. 
 
 In rose houses the best method is 
 doubtless that where the ventilator 
 opens at the ridge, and with plants of 
 a tropical nature, like our palms, dra- 
 caenas, orchids, ferns, etc., it must 
 also be the best system. For carnations 
 and the more cold blooded plants, such 
 as azaleas, lilies, and our geraniums, 
 the ventilators hinged at the ridge will 
 do, but if all the ventilators open at 
 the ridge for every house you won't 
 be far wrong. 
 
 I cannot see any use in cutting off 
 the bars where the headers go in for 
 the ventilators to be hinged on or it 
 may be close, on. Let all the bars run 
 up to the ridge: you will get as much 
 ventilation, the bars will be stronger, 
 you will have a straighter roof, and 
 the labor is only a trifle more, if any. 
 
 Usually these plant houses lead 
 out from a continuous shed, which is 
 of course on the north end of them, so 
 that there is not a square foot of bench 
 room that has not the full light; more 
 particularly is this true of the 22-ft. 
 houses, where the benches are removed 
 from the walls. 
 
 Where several of these houses are 
 built parallel and attached, only the 
 two outside ones can spread, and this 
 brings us to the question of 
 
 Posts. 
 
 Some men with sufficient capital can 
 afford to build brick walls on stone 
 foundations, and when the stone work 
 is 2 ft. 6 in. or 3 ft. in the ground and 
 dry work to near the surface of the 
 ground it makes an excellent drain, 
 keeping the surface of the house dry, 
 which is an excellent state of affairs. I 
 doubt whether an 8-inch brick wall 
 i.s much warmer than two thicknesses 
 of boards, and a 12-inch wall is quite 
 expensive. However, with those that 
 can afford it it is certainly to be com- 
 mended. Wooden posts will for a long 
 time be used, and if of the right mate- 
 rial outlast any other portion of the 
 house. 
 
 Locust is the nearest to cast iron of 
 any wood we know of, but good locust 
 posts are difficult to obtain and very 
 hard to work. Red cedar is most dur- 
 able, light to handle and easy and 
 pleasant to work. Next in quality 
 
 T.^-iE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 comes cypress, which, when of good 
 quality will last in the ground many 
 years, and the only other wood I know 
 of suitable for posts is what is gen- 
 erally known as white or yellow cedar, 
 which for the purpose is far inferior 
 to the red cedar, although one-half the 
 cost of the latter. 
 
 A post that is dressed 5x5 or 6x4 is 
 large enough for ordinary houses. It 
 is well to have all parts set firmly in 
 the ground, especially the outside ones, 
 although the posts must not be trust- 
 ed to keep the walls plumb, however 
 well set. If the post hole is dug a few 
 inches on all sides larger than the post 
 and when the posts are set perfectly 
 true and straight by the aid of two 
 lines, one near the top and one near 
 the bottom, and the excavation filled 
 in with concrete, gravel and cement, 
 which should be carried above the sur- 
 face as high as possible, you have 
 fastened the posts as firmly as it is 
 possible to do. 
 
 The tops of the posts should be cut 
 off square. Now, how do you get this 
 line so that the plate shall be a per- 
 fect line? Not with a swinging line, 
 surely, for you can never get a perfect 
 line by any cord, however taut. With 
 a 10-ft. straight-edge and level you 
 first get a level on the two end posts, 
 the two extreme ends, then if you wish 
 to drop two or three inches to the 
 shed, or the same from the shed, you 
 measure down the number of inches 
 on the end that you wish to drop, tack 
 on a strip of wood a few inches Ijroad 
 with a straight top edge, and when it 
 is nailed on the post temporarily let it 
 project a foot or so outside the line of 
 posts and perfectly level. Nail a simi- 
 lar piece on the post at the other end 
 and the height you have decided on, 
 dab a little black paint on one of the 
 strips and on the other some white 
 paint. 
 
 Then a man (two men are better) 
 with a 2-ft. spirit level held to the side 
 of all the intermediate posts will give 
 you an exact line. One man should 
 hold the spirit level, level and raise 
 or lower by order of the boss, who is 
 sighting over one of the end strips. 
 When the top of the level is exactly 
 even or in a line with the tops of the 
 strips make a pencil mark on the post 
 and move to another. You will have 
 a line when your posts are cut off 
 that is not pretty near a line, but cor- 
 rect to a hair. Why the strips of wood 
 should be white and black is to help 
 you sight, and it would be difficult to 
 sight truly if it were just the ordinary 
 planed pine. 
 
 I have described this operation 
 seemingly at some length, but twenty 
 posts are marked quicker than I have 
 described it. It is the only way to .get 
 a true line, and when established it is 
 a guide for your pipes and benches, 
 or you can level across to another run 
 of posts if need be, although your cor- 
 ner posts once correct this sighted line 
 is much truer than any straight edge. 
 The top of post should be cut off 
 square and on it spiked the plate, 
 which should be broad enough to pro- 
 
 ject an inch over the post on the in- 
 side and four inches outside of the 
 posts, then when the matched board- 
 ing and novelty siding is nailed on 
 there is still a projection of two inches. 
 
 The plate should be beveled both 
 ways and the heel of the bar being cut 
 to the bevel it affords good solid nail- 
 ing. The outside bevel should be the 
 same as that of the slope of your roof. 
 Posts that support a gutter should 
 never be more than four feet from 
 center to center. For outside posts we 
 have got along very well with posts 
 eight feet apart. There is no great 
 weight on the outside plate and the 
 two thicknesses of siding help sup- 
 port it. 
 
 The posts for partitions, or that will 
 support the gutter, should be sawed 
 at the same level as the corresponding 
 posts outside, and the gutter plate 
 project equally on either side. If the 
 center posts are of red cedar 6x3 is 
 just as good as square. 
 
 Gutters. 
 
 Many a good dollar has been thrown 
 away in the days gone by in the won- 
 derful construction of the gutter. Good 
 pine boards nailed in all sorts of com- 
 plicated ways and then covered with 
 zinc, tin or galvanized iron, only put 
 up to rot. The gutter now is a sim- 
 ple affair and promises to last as long 
 as the ridge. It is simply a plank of 
 the clearest and soundest cypress and 
 V\i inches thick when dressed, and 
 either eight inches or twelve inches 
 wide. If eight inches then the gutter 
 pieces which the bars butt against and 
 are nailed, are screwed on the side of 
 the gutter plate, thus: 
 
 SINCtlES' 
 
 Or if a foot wide then the pieces are 
 nailed on top of the gutter, as below: 
 
 12 INCHES 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 117 
 
 i prefer the latter plan, and after 
 six years' trial of It have no fault or 
 failure in the least. You should have 
 at least a clear eight Inches in width 
 of gutter, and the side pieces, whether 
 nailed on the side or on top, should 
 not be less than 2% inches above gut- 
 ter before the bevel begins. The plan 
 for joining the gutter plates, explained 
 and illustrated in the work "How to 
 Grow Flowers," by the late Myron A. 
 Hunt, is excellent, and again I say, 
 after some years of adoption, I can see 
 no better way. 
 
 A coarse saw groove is made in the 
 center of the thickness of the plate 
 three inches deep and one-eighth or a 
 trifle less wide. Both planks where 
 they will butt will be sawed, then get 
 a piece of sheet iron six inches broad 
 and the length of the breadth of the 
 gutter plate and the thickness of the 
 saw cuts, and after smearing it with 
 white lead drive it home in the saw 
 groove of one plate that is already in 
 place, and when the next plate is laid 
 that is also driven home. If the planks 
 have been sawed perfectly square, this 
 is an absolutely tight joint. We never 
 look for these joints to be over a post, 
 as the joint is as strong as any part of 
 the gutter. 
 
 The Ridge. 
 
 The ridge is 8x1% dressed. This al- 
 lows ample face for the bevel of the 
 bar, the groove for the glass to enter, 
 and three inches above the bar for the 
 ventilator if hinged at ridge, or bevel 
 of ventilator to close against if open- 
 ing at the ridge. 
 
 The main support to keep a house 
 rigid and perfectly straight and true, 
 as long as it will stand, and that is. we 
 trust, a long time, is a H4-inch iron 
 pipe straight under the ridge. It the 
 ridge is thus supported the whole 
 weight is really, taken off the walls. 
 In wind storms the roofs of our green- 
 houses are severely tested, and this 
 center support should be screwed into 
 1 fitting which has a shoulder that fits 
 under and screws on to side of the 
 ridge. 
 
 At the bottom or floor this should be 
 screwed into a circular plate which 
 should be screwed into a short post 
 securely set into the ground a couple 
 of feet. Some only rest the bottom of 
 this iron pipe on a stone. That is good 
 enough for all weight from above, but 
 in case of great wind storms, when a 
 vacuum is formed in the house, I have 
 seen the iron supports lifted clear off 
 the stone, which is a wrenching of the 
 roof and conducive to cracked glass. 
 
 In houses such as we have endeav- 
 ored to describe, intended for plants 
 in pots, if planted out to smilax or as- 
 
 paragus they would be on the ground, 
 and wheeling on the benches would 
 not be necessary. 
 
 The neatest way to support the pur- 
 lins is by getting the fittings made by 
 Jennings Bros., of Philadelphia. They 
 are made to go over a lV4-inch pipe 
 with a branch, one in each side, with 
 a socket for a 1-inch pipe. They are 
 fastened at any height on the center 
 lV4-inch pipe by a set screw and have 
 knuckle joints so that the 1-inch pipe 
 leading from them can be set at any 
 angle. 
 
 It will be readily seen that the 
 weight from the purlins pressing to a 
 common center must be the best of 
 support. The purlins, one on each side 
 of the ridge, should be situated about 
 half way between ridge and gutter or 
 plate; or if you use a heavy bar let it 
 be a little nearer the ridge than the 
 gutter, because it will keep the bars 
 more rigid near the ventilators. There 
 should be 1-inch gas pipe set every 
 eight feet (same distance apart as the 
 center posts). You must put in a T 
 into which will screw the 1-inch pipe 
 that leads from the fitting on center 
 post. 
 
 The bars are fastened to the purlins 
 neatly and quickly by a steam fitter's 
 galvanized iron clip, which you buy 
 by the weight. The clip is screwed 
 into the bar with a %-inch screw and 
 
 holds the bar firmly, but not so 
 firmly but what a rap with the 
 hammer will move it either way 
 when you are glazing. Be sure 
 that you get the pattern for the 
 bar the exact bevel both for the ridge 
 and plate. Nothing looks worse than 
 an ill fitting open joint at the heel of 
 the bar on the plate. Once get your 
 pattern correct and the mitre box laid 
 out right and you will have every 
 joint correct. 
 
 When putting on the bars we put up 
 the ridge the whole length, nailing up 
 i bar on each side every five or six 
 feet, but only temporarily, and then 
 the iron work is put up. By sighting 
 ilong the bars the fitting that controls 
 the purlins can be raised or lowered 
 till you can get an exactly straight 
 roof. 
 
 Glazing has been dealt with in an- 
 other chapter. 
 
 Cypfess. 
 
 It is a great pleasure to build houses 
 nowadays. You know you are putting 
 them up to stay. It is quickly done 
 and much of the pleasure arises from 
 the fact that you are building with a 
 material that is well nigh indestructi- 
 ble, and that is cypress lumber. Cy- 
 press can be procured in any lumber 
 market, but for greenhouse building 
 we should be afraid to trust it, and 
 we prefer to get our supply from firms 
 who make a specialty of greenhouse 
 material and have the facilities for 
 getting out material of any dimensions 
 you wish. 
 
 In the material furnished for ten 
 houses during the past seven years 
 by the Lockland Lumber Co., we have 
 yet to discover a single knot; and 
 what is more, neither in gutter plate, 
 wall plate, ends of bars or any part 
 or piece of the material have we seen 
 decay, even to the depth of a sixteenth 
 of an inch. 
 
 Painting. 
 
 When you contemplate building get 
 the wood work on the ground at the 
 earliest possible moment, and get a 
 priming coat of paint, mostly linseed 
 oil, applied at once. And as soon as 
 the plates, ridge and bars are cut to 
 their lengths, another two coats 
 should be given. You can paint on 
 the ground just ten times as fast as 
 you can on the roof. 
 
 As we butt our glass, there is no 
 need of any painting after the roof is 
 up and the glass in. The ends of the 
 bars are always given an extra dab of 
 thick paint just before they are nailed 
 up, and this should be done by a boy 
 • who hands them up to the carpenter. 
 
 I will mention here that no part ot 
 the wood work where moisture can lie 
 should be flat. All parts should have 
 a bevel either in or out. 
 
 General Notes. 
 
 The length of a house is largely 
 your own choice. If for plants there 
 is a continual running backwards and 
 forwards to a shed at the end, carry- 
 ing often heavy flats of plants, and I 
 think 150 feet is long enough, and 125 
 feet is better. 
 
 The soil or site on which green- 
 houses are built differs widely. I have 
 some covering a light loam and the 
 subsoil is gravel and shale. If a hose 
 were left running a whole night on 
 the floor of these houses the water 
 would have entirely disappeared a few 
 minutes after the faucet was shut off. 
 I have other houses where if the faucet 
 only leaks a trifle there is a pool of 
 water for hours. For several reasons 
 I think it very injurious to have the 
 surface of the green house a wet, damp 
 soil, retentive of moisture. This may 
 be all right for orchids, but for the 
 great majority of our plants, especially 
 roses, carnations, violets, and the great 
 bulk of our plants, a stagnant mois- 
 ture is just what we don't want. 
 
 If your soil is a retentive clay, there 
 should be provision for draining it be- 
 fore you put up any structure. Dig a 
 
m 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 trench two feet deep and at its bottom 
 put in a 3-inch drain tile, and instead 
 of filling in the trench again with the 
 clay, as you would in draining a field, 
 fill up to the surface if possible with 
 stones, clinkers and coarse gravel. You 
 will find this money well spent. You 
 can always find some outlet for the 
 pipes at one end, running them all In- 
 to one cross drain and dropping into 
 the stoke hole if you have no other 
 system. 
 
 Just a word here about houses that 
 are connected and form what are 
 known by builders as valleys. Some 
 may say they are bad for the snows. 
 Now, the writer certainly lives in a 
 district where the supply of "the beau- 
 tiful'" is most bountiful, and we have 
 noticed year after year that we are no 
 more troubled with snow in the valleys 
 than we are on the outside roofs. It 
 seems to melt quicker in the valleys 
 and the gutter than it does on the out- 
 side plates, and runs and melts as 
 quickly off the glass unless it be on the 
 almost perpendicular face of the short 
 span to the south, which, of course, is 
 always clear. Ordinary snows (a tall 
 of five or si.x inches) don't bother any 
 houses on any kind of roof, but when 
 we get four feet in twenty-four hours, 
 as we did last December, or the visita- 
 tion to the eastern cities in February 
 last that upsets all calculations, and 
 it is a case of dig out, front, back and 
 middle. 
 
 The worst condition is where one ot 
 the avalanche-like falls have come 
 suddenly The heat of the glass will 
 melt the snow some five or six inches 
 from the glass and then its power is 
 lost and there hangs a covering ot 
 snow a foot deep. This we found as 
 troublesome on the outside slope of' 
 the roofs as in the valleys, and with 
 our modern wooden gutters it is eas- 
 ily broken up, and when once dis- 
 turbed soon goes. 
 
 I never could see any use in outside 
 gutters unless you wanted to save the 
 water from the roofs. If made of 
 metal they are continually breaking 
 down with the ice and had better be 
 made of wood. The ground surround- 
 ing houses should always be so graded 
 that surface water will flow off where 
 it will do no harm. It the water ot 
 the gutters is saved be sure to tap 
 your gutter plate two feet from the 
 farther end, if the houses grade that 
 way. A conductor of any sort on the 
 end and outside of a house is a big 
 failure and is the winter long a fantas- 
 tic and ornamental miniature iceberg. 
 
 ■Where the water is not used the 
 houses will of course drop two or three 
 inches from the shed to the farther 
 end We let the gutter plate project 
 six inches beyond the house, and mak- 
 ing a saw groove an inch or two deep 
 in it insert a piece of tin a few Inches 
 broad This throws the water clear 
 of the house and provision is made by 
 the outside grade to carry it away 
 from the buildings. 
 
 Under the head of painting we 
 meant to say a word about painting 
 the iron work. We have just had 
 
 some experience with some li,4-inch 
 pipe supporting the roof that ran 
 through the benches on which we have 
 frequently used coal ashes to stand 
 the plants on. They have only been 
 up six years. The pipes began to cor- 
 rode and scale oft and this summer are 
 rusted clear through, not in holes, but 
 an inch or two of the pipes are clear 
 gone. We have often used coal ashes 
 on the floor and believe they should be 
 kept clear of all wrought iron pipes. 
 We also believe that all our iron sup- 
 ports, ventilating shafts, heating pipes 
 and all pipes of every description 
 should be well painted with white lead 
 and oil. 
 
 As for any porousness of our pipes, 
 that is perfect nonsense. A friend re- 
 marked on seeing 2-inch heating pipes 
 painted that it would prevent radia- 
 tion. Nonsense; it will help it. A 
 smooth surface is always a better con- 
 ductor of heat than a rough one. Paint 
 all your pipes everywhere. It will 
 save them and it will help to give 
 lightness to the house, and light means 
 health and life. If painted in the sum- 
 mer time there will be no possible 
 .odor from the lead, and the slight 
 fumes of the linseed oil are more a 
 benefit than otherwise. 
 
 Gi eznhouses for Producing Flowers. 
 
 I have at some length given the di- 
 rections for building, and the same 
 will apply precisely to houses that are 
 built to grow roses and carnations, 
 except the shape, size and aspect. The 
 object sought in these houses is to get 
 every possible ray of sunshine, and 
 besides direct sunshine, light; for 
 there are many days, yes, and weeks, 
 in the dead of winter in our northern 
 clime when we don't see the sun at 
 all. 
 
 There are three styles of these 
 houses and all have theii* champions. 
 They are the long-span-to-the-south, 
 the equal or nearly equal span, and 
 the short-span-to-the-south. Twenty 
 years ago and less the long-span-to- 
 the-south house was considered by 
 many as the only house for winter 
 roses. Then came the very reverse of 
 that, the short-span-to-the-south, and 
 within seven or eight years many good 
 growers have gone back to the simple 
 equal span, and from results believe 
 that it is as good a house as any. 
 
 All of these styles when built for 
 fiower producing face to the south, or 
 what is still better, facing a few points 
 to the east of that. The ridge is run- 
 ning east and west, or a few points 
 north of east, and south of west. It 
 is obvious that only one style of these 
 three can have a range of glass at- 
 tached, and that is, of course, the 
 short-span-to-the-south. If attached 
 the equal span would shade the house 
 to the north of it, making one-fourth 
 at least of the north house useless, 
 and the long-span-to-the-south con- 
 nected would be still worse and out 
 of the question. 
 
 So excepting the short-span-to-the- 
 south the other two styles are always 
 built with their walls some 18 to 20 
 
 feet removed from another structure. 
 Where land is cheap, and most large 
 establishments are so situated, this is 
 no great consideration; and if it takes 
 more heat, but the results are suffi- 
 ciently better, that also is not an ob- 
 jection. The long-span-to-the-south 
 doubtless predominates throughout 
 the country, but that does not confirm 
 it as the best, because florists, like all 
 other classes, are great copyists, and 
 if one or two leaders said so the rest 
 would follow sheep-like, notwithstand- 
 ing the fact that millions of fine roses 
 have been produced for years in the 
 long-span-to-the-south houses. 
 
 I see nothing about them in any re- 
 spect to warrant their being called 
 the best houses for the purpose. If 
 there is any merit, and there un\loubt- 
 edly is, in the short-span-to-the-south, 
 then the others must be entirely 
 wrong. They are expensive to build, 
 awkward and costly to arrange the 
 benching in, more laborious to attend 
 to, and do not get the direct rays of 
 the sun to the same extent as do the 
 equal span or short-span-to-the-south. 
 
 The front wall is usually 4 feet 6 
 Inches (and 18 inches or 2 feet of it 
 glass), the back wall 8 feet, the back 
 or short rafter 8 feet and the long 
 south rafter IS feet. These are the 
 dimensions for a house 19 feet wide; 
 if 22 feet wide the long rafter is 18 
 feet and the short one 9 feet. An up- 
 right 1%-inch pipe supports them un- 
 der the ridge with a branch holding a 
 1-inch purlin a foot below the ventila- 
 tor headers, and another upright sup- 
 porting another 1-inch purlin is need- 
 ed half way between the plate and 
 ventilator purlin. The ventilators of 
 these houses are always on the south 
 side of the ridge and open at the 
 ridge; and as ventilation should be 
 afforded to the fullest extent, it should 
 be continuous and deep. 
 
 It is thought necessary to raise the 
 benches so that the plants should be 
 at about an equal distance from the 
 glass, and the benches are arranged in 
 a 19-foot house as follows: The south 
 bench 3 feet and path 18 inches or 2 
 feet. The middle bench 6 feet and the 
 back or north bench 3 feet. If the 
 house is 22 feet the front bench is 3 
 feet and the back bench 3 feet and 
 two middle benches of 5 feet each, 
 with three paths, each path and bench 
 being raised a foot or so till the back 
 or north path is 4 feet from the 
 ground. If heated with hot water the 
 pipes are mostly under the benches. 
 If steam is used the flow is most likely 
 raised above the plants and the re- 
 turns under the bench. It is as well 
 to add, because it is the truth, that 
 these houses, while getting the sun's 
 rays in winter very obliquely, get it 
 broadside in the summer, making 
 them terribly hot houses in the sum- 
 mer months. 
 
 The short-slope-to-the-south is also 
 built sometimes 19 feet wide and some- 
 times 22 feet. The walls are of equal 
 height, usually five feet. There is a 
 path against the north and south 
 walls and one dividing the two bench- 
 
The Rorists' Manual. 
 
 n9 
 
 es, which are about 6 feet 6 inches 
 each. The paths being removed from 
 the walls gives you the ideal place to 
 hang your pipes, whether steam or hot 
 water. 
 
 An improvement over the house just 
 described, and one that is giving the 
 owner the greatest satisfaction (after 
 a trial of several of them he has added 
 some more of the dimensions of 400x 
 22 feet), is 22 feet from outside to out- 
 side of posts. The south or short bar 
 is 9 feet, the long or north bar is 18 
 feet, and the walls 5 feet high. On 
 the south side there is a path next the 
 wall, then a 6-foot bench, then an- 
 other 6-foot bench, then again a path, 
 and against the north wall a 3-foot 
 bench. There is a 1%-inch pipe un- 
 der the ridge with a branch from that 
 supporting a purlin near ventilator 
 headers, and another row of li/4-inch 
 pipe supporting a purlin three feet 
 lower down the roof on the north side. 
 The ventilation in these south-span- 
 to-the-south houses is always on the 
 north side and open at the ridge. 
 
 Now, happening to know several of 
 these houses, I can vouch for the very 
 excellent quality of the flowers that 
 are grown in them, and having two 
 of them myself, I am ready to accord 
 to them the several advantages and 
 merits they possess. They are easy 
 and cheap to build, much more so than 
 the long-span-to-the-south. They are 
 cheaply heated; less pipe will heat 
 them than either of the other two 
 styles. When there is any sun in our 
 dreary winter you must get the direct 
 rays, for the face of the south slope 
 is about at right angles with the rays 
 of the sun in our shortest days. They 
 are most decidedly the coolest houses 
 in summer, which Is a decided advan- 
 tage, and last they can be built at- 
 tached with gutter and walls only 
 separating them. 
 
 The front or south bench being 
 some two feet from the wall there is 
 not the slightest shade from the ridge 
 of the house on the south. The fact 
 of these houses being in a block, and 
 the roof of one largely breaking the 
 force of the wind to the north, is a 
 great saving of fuel. I can only say 
 that some of the best rose growei-s 
 of the country, having adopted this 
 style of house seven or eight years 
 ago, are highly satisfied with them and 
 are still building more, and the quality 
 of their product is evidence of their 
 not being far wrong. 
 
 The equal span house is to me about 
 the ideal. It may take more heat, but 
 it gives the best distribution of light. 
 An equal span of 22 ft. should always 
 be removed from another like house 20 
 ft. The walls should be 5 ft., a path 
 against each wall, and two more sep- 
 arating the benches, and three benches 
 each 5 ft. wide. This house would 
 take a 14 ft. bar, and in addition to the 
 main support in the center would need 
 a purlin on each side. 
 
 Ample ventilation should be sup- 
 plied on the south side of the ridge 
 and opening at the ridge. Ventilation 
 could be put into the walls of this 
 
 Every 
 Description 
 
 JOHN Q) - utL^^H^^t^iiKjn 
 
 JflONINGER^S' NAWTHORNEAv^/rW(7(5 
 
 house, but you would not use it for 
 roses, and for carnations if shading is 
 attended to, I am convinced it is not 
 necessary, as carnations in our equal 
 span houses with only top ventilation 
 are often so vigorous and thriving at 
 the end of August that it seems a sac- 
 rifice to throw them away. 
 
 We have on these equal span houses 
 some large ventilators on the north 
 side that are not worked by any ap- 
 paratus, and not used till settled warm 
 weather, when they are raised up a 
 foot or so on stout blocks, fastened 
 down with wire and left open till 
 planting time, or in some cases till 
 there is danger of the houses getting 
 too cold. I am sure that in carnation 
 houses these ventilators to be used on- 
 ly in our hot weather are of great use. 
 
 Why a steep roof always makes a 
 lighter house than a flat roof is not 
 easy to explain, but it is so, and un- 
 mistakably so. Many times have I 
 compared the light in the three dif- 
 ferent styles of houses on the same 
 day and the equal span at an angle of 
 about 45 degrees is much the lightest 
 appearing house, and I believe al- 
 though the short-span-to-the-south has 
 many advantages, particularly on the 
 score of economy of heat and space, 
 that the equal span, using the same 
 glass and bar, has the most perfect 
 diffusion of light and comes nearer 
 the ideal for producing high class flow- 
 ers. 
 
 A violet house should run north and 
 south. You get all the light you wanf 
 in the winter and you would get too 
 much sun in the early spring if the 
 house faced south. Under the head of 
 violets I will give you my idea of a 
 violet house. 
 
 In conclusion all I have said about 
 any of these houses, both for plants 
 and flowers, applies only to those that 
 you are going to build under your own 
 supervision. If you have no mechan- 
 ical genius at all, engage a horticul- 
 tural builder. Some men have the 
 bump of destruction and some of con- 
 struction. The writer wishes no great- 
 er pleasure in this world than bossing 
 the erection of glass structures. Poor 
 fare and short hours in bed will do 
 him then if he can only squint over 
 those pieces of wood by which we get 
 a line on the posts or hangers for the 
 pipes. 
 
 Florists' 
 Supplies 
 
 AT.... 
 
 HALF PRICE. 
 
 Write for our Catalogue No. 51, 
 quotinK low prices on 
 
 PIPE, WIRE, 
 HOSE, BOILERS 
 and Supplies 
 
 of all kinds. 
 
 We have BOILER TUBES or 
 
 FliUES of a second-hand nature, which 
 we guarantee in first-class condition. 
 They are used extensively by Green- 
 liou.senien as maius for"liot water 
 heating' and for sundry other purposes. 
 
 Chicago 
 
 House Wrecking 
 
 Company, 
 
 W. 35tli & Iron Sts. Chicago, ill. 
 
 Expert Advice... 
 
 On All Matters Pertaining to 
 
 Greenhouse Building. 
 
 HENRY W. GIBBONS, 
 
 Greenhouse Architect and Builder, 
 
 136 Iiiberty St., NEW TOSK, N. Y. 
 
 Catalogues, Four Cents. 
 
 The well known firms I mentioned 
 in my opening remarks in this chapter 
 will put you up most excellent com- 
 mercial houses and make them any 
 shape or design you wish. What I 
 have tried to convey is the method by 
 which you can erect with the help of 
 one good carpenter and his tools sub- 
 stantial lasting houses that will grew 
 
120 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 flowers and plants equal to the best. 
 And if you are a builder yourself, not 
 necessarily able to handle a jack 
 plane, but to boss the job, you can 
 build first class houses at least 50 per 
 cent cheaper than the iron frame 
 houses of the horticultural builder, 
 and 20O per cent cheaper and better 
 than the local carpenter, glazier and 
 steam fitter. 
 
 It will be asked why don't I say 
 what would be the cost per lineal foot 
 of a house about 20 ft. wide. As near 
 as I could keep a record of the last 
 house I built, 19 ft. wide, heated for 
 carnations by hot water, using double 
 thick glass, the Challenge ventilator, 
 the best clear cypress lumber, red 
 cedar posts and wooden benches, they 
 cost about |8 per lineal foot. This was 
 a year ago before the high tariff had 
 had a chance to shed its beneficent 
 blessings on the florists' calling. 
 
 Possibly at present prices of pipe 
 and glass the same houses could not 
 be built for less than $12 per lineal 
 foot, but as glass is principally made 
 of sand and fire and wind, with which 
 we are well supplied, and there is iron 
 
 enough in our mountains to last the 
 world ten thousand years, neither the 
 folly of alleged statesmanship nor the 
 greed of corporations can long keep 
 those commodities up to these arti- 
 ficial and preposterous prices. 
 
 We trust lumber will not go up in 
 sympathy with the manufactured ar- 
 ticles. There are broad miles (and I 
 hope thousands of miles) yet in the 
 southern states of cypress, and its 
 great value seems only within this 20 
 years to have become widely known. 
 
 The Canadians use the wood of the 
 Larch (Tamarax) for benches, and a 
 most excellent wood it is for the pur- 
 pose, possessing largely the good qual- 
 ities of the cypress. They are both 
 deciduous conifers. The tamarax is 
 the larch of our northern swamps, and 
 the southern cypress is a beautiful 
 tree, Taxodium distichum. 
 
 GREVILLEA ROBUST A. 
 
 There are many species of these 
 small trees or shrubs, some of them 
 very ornamental, but G. robusta is the 
 easiest to grow and most useful to the 
 florist. It is often called the Austra- 
 
 Aquilegia Chrysantha. 
 
 lian silk oak. We use it in vases and 
 veranda boxes, and plants a foot to 
 two feet high make very useful plants 
 for winter decoration. It withstands a 
 good deal of rough treatment and does 
 very well in winter in a cool green- 
 house, subject to no insects and thriv- 
 ing in any soil. 
 
 It is always raised from seed, which 
 should be sown in flats in March or 
 April, and shifted along as required. 
 Keep them in doors on the benches if 
 you can afford the room, and give 
 them little or no shade and they will 
 make useful plants the following 
 spring. It is best to sow seeds every 
 spring, as the plants when over three 
 feet high lose their value as decorative 
 plants, or rather there are other plants 
 occupying no more room that are bet- 
 ter for the purpose. Avoid getting 
 them into large pots, a 5-inch pot will 
 do very well for a plant two to three 
 feet high, and that is a great advant- 
 age when you are using decorative 
 plants. 
 
 HARDY PERENNIAL PLANTS. 
 
 This term is usually meant to apply 
 to our long list of herbaceous plants, 
 a few of which are useful to the florist 
 as cut flowers. The demand of late 
 has greatly increased for hardy plants, 
 and where the florist has some good 
 land at his disposal he should be sup- 
 plied with a collection of the lead- 
 ing kinds so that he can supply the 
 demands of his customers. 
 
 The increased demand for this class 
 of plants is to be attributed to so 
 many of our people of means having 
 summer homes in the country. They 
 have usually more land than they can 
 take care of, and not wishing to go 
 deeply into the formal flower garden 
 with our tender plants they turn to 
 the hardy herbaceous perennial kinds 
 to fill up the beds and borders. 
 
 In preparing ground to receive these 
 perennial plants, either to produce 
 flowers for your own cutting or for 
 your customer, remember you cannot 
 very well dig too deeply or manure too 
 heavily, and with the great majority 
 it should be well drained and dry. You 
 can top dress and manure annually, 
 but you can never recover by subse- 
 quent cultivation the mistake of plant- 
 ing in shallow, poor soil. 
 
 Although called perennials they 
 wear out and most of them are greatly 
 benefited by lifting and dividing every 
 four or five years. There are so many 
 species cultivated of this class for the 
 herbaceous border, and they differ so 
 widely, that no rule for their propa- 
 gation and treatment will do for all. 
 It is generally conceded that early fall, 
 as soon as the foliage or stems are 
 about dried up, is the best time to 
 transplant, and hence it is the best 
 time to fill your customers' orders. 
 
 If you cultivate a row or two of the 
 leading kinds, keep them in straight 
 lines and far enough apart to run the 
 horse cultivator between them. Many 
 thousand plants will go on one acre, 
 but they want keeping clean and must 
 be constantly hoed, and should be al- 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 121 
 
 Double Delphiniums. 
 
 ways plainly labeled as they are often 
 moved before their growth appears. 
 One more important thing is when you 
 plant dormant crowns of paeonies, 
 phlox, etc., keep them two or three 
 inches below the surface; the winter 
 will be sure to raise them up. 
 
 Herbaceous plants are always bene- 
 fited by some stable manure scattered 
 between the rows and over the crowns. 
 In their natural state they would at 
 least get the benefit of their own 
 withered tops, while most of them 
 would get a covering of leaves from 
 the trees whose branches covered 
 them. For appearance sake we rob 
 them of their natural covering. 
 
 Those most useful to the florist and 
 which have not received notice in their 
 alphabetical order are as follows: 
 
 ACHIL/LEA. Several species, good 
 for rockwork, easily divided in fall or 
 early spring. 
 
 ANEMONE japonica alba. This is a 
 florist's flower, and a beautiful fall 
 blooming plant. Division. 
 
 AQUILEGIA. The beautiful colum- 
 bine. There are several magnificent 
 species that should be in every garden. 
 Seed. 
 
 CAMPANULA. Several species. 
 Carpathica, the Canterbury Bell, is 
 popular with all. Not a florist's flower, 
 but fine for the border. liaised from 
 seed, sown in August in cold-frame 
 and transplanted later a few inches 
 
 apart in good soil in cold-frame, where 
 they can be protected during winter 
 and plant out in permanent bed or 
 nursery row as soon as ground is dry 
 in the spring. In other varieties when 
 stated that they can be raised from 
 seed the above directions will suit 
 them all. 
 
 COREOPSIS. The best of the spe- 
 cies for the fiorist is lanceolata. Grace- 
 ful and beautiful yellow flowers. Seed. 
 
 DELPHINIUMS. Most every one 
 knows the D. formosum, which is 
 often called larkspur. The improved 
 varieties are among the handsomest 
 of our hardy flowers, and are decidedly 
 of value to the florist. Their handsome 
 spikes, from the lightest shades of 
 blue to indigo, and even to bronze, are 
 grand ornaments for our stores, even 
 if they do not sell; but invariably 
 those who see them want a plant. 
 They flower a long time, should the 
 weather not be too dry, and last a 
 long while in water when cut. Seed, 
 or divisions or cuttings. 
 
 Cuttings of herbaceous plants should 
 always be made from the young shoots 
 of early spring, wiien only a few inches 
 above ground. The heat in our propa- 
 gating houses then, which is early 
 May, is often about gone, as firing is 
 only then very moderate. 
 
 Where a considerable number of 
 these cuttings are to be put in, such as 
 delphiniums, phlox or pyrethrum. 
 there is no place so well adapted as 
 
 a hot-bed. Eighteen inches of manure 
 well and evenly trodden down, with a 
 few inches of soil and then two inches 
 of sand, will root any of these plants. 
 Give air carefully, shade from sun and 
 keep watered. When rooted give 
 plenty of air till potted off and then 
 grow on in cold-frame all summer. 
 These will be good plants in 3 or 
 4-inch pots, either to sell or to plant 
 out in September or October. 
 
 DIELYTRA (Bleeding Heart). Of- 
 ten forced, but beautiful and graceful 
 as D. spectabilis is, it takes up too 
 much room. A very handsome, hardy 
 plant. Division. 
 
 DIGITALIS. White and purple and 
 yellow; the well known foxglove. 
 Stately spikes of flowers. Seed. 
 
 r" 
 
 Helianthus Orgyilis. 
 
 8 
 
J 22 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 DORONICUM. Of service to the 
 florist lieoause its bright yellow flowers 
 are among the first to open after the 
 snow is gone. Division. 
 
 FUNKIA. The Day lily. There are 
 several species of them, all handsome 
 leaved plants. Division. 
 
 GAILLARDIA grandiflora. Showy 
 bright flowers. Seed. 
 
 HELIANTHUS. There are now a 
 number of these fall growing peren- 
 nial sunflowers, many of them very 
 useful to the florist. The variety known 
 as multiflorus flore plena became so 
 common that it is no longer acceptable 
 even in the cheapest bunches of 
 
 MONARDA didyma. A native north- 
 ern plant, though not common. A flne 
 herbaceous plant. Division. 
 
 PAEONTEiS. See in their alphabeti- 
 cal order. 
 
 PHLOX. There are several species 
 of hardy phlox, but it is the hybrids 
 and varieties of P. decussata that are 
 most desirable for the border and for 
 the florist. We have found where they 
 can be freshly cut and used they are 
 most desirable, but will not travel 
 well, dropping their florets badly. The 
 many varieties are of beautiful shades 
 and the phlox thrives in any soil. 
 Cuttings or division, and for new va- 
 rieties easily by seed. 
 
 Hclianthus Multitlora Flore Plena. 
 
 flowers, but the single species are very 
 fine. Seed, division or cuttings. 
 
 HEMEROCATjLIS. Several species, 
 mostly yellow and orange flowers. 
 Showy for the border, but not a flor- 
 ist's flower. Seed or division. 
 
 HIBISCUS. Californicus and others. 
 Fine showy flowers. Seed. 
 
 IRIS. These have such a fine spike 
 and curious but beautiful flower that 
 they are most desirable for the florist, 
 and are wanted by every amateur. 
 They do best in a rather moist soil and 
 I'oot so freely that every third year 
 they should be lifted and divided. 
 There are now many varieties. The 
 Japanese have immense flov/ers, and 
 the I. gerraanica, or German iris, in- 
 cludes now many beautiful varieties. 
 Division, 
 
 LOBELIA cardinalis. Not a Horist's 
 flower, but most showy for the border. 
 Division or seed. 
 
 PYRETHRUM roseum. This is not 
 truly herbaceous but is so hardy we 
 will include it in this <diapter. The 
 improved varieties, both double and 
 single flowers, of this species are now 
 iruly a florist's flower. They are seen 
 in our store windows in May and June 
 and are bought in preference to carna- 
 tions. They are sometimes difficult to 
 divide and make thrive, and cuttings 
 as described above are best to increase 
 your stock. Few border plants are so 
 well worthy of cultivation. 
 
 RUDBECKIA. The single flowered 
 species, maxima and fulgida, are 
 showy flowers, yellow with dark disk, 
 and are sometimes useful to us as well 
 as very fine border plants. But there 
 is now a double form known as "Gold- 
 en Glow," which is undoubtedly one 
 of our finest hardy summer flowers. 
 It is of a rich yellow. It is much su- 
 perior to the dwarf double helianthus. 
 Seed or division. 
 
 To describe the many desirable 
 
 hardy herbaceous plants would re- 
 quire a good sized catalogue, and 1 
 have mentioned but a few of those 
 kinds which every florist should grow. 
 
 HARDY SHRUBS. 
 
 Some years ago I was asked to reply 
 at one of our annual conventions to 
 the query, "Is it advisable for the flor- 
 i.^t to be in a position to supply to his 
 customers hardy shrubs and trees?" 
 The question was not probably just 
 that but the sense was that. My an- 
 swer was brief, and certainly not, with 
 the knowledge of the business I have 
 today, or to be more modest, which 
 experience has compelled me to ab- 
 sorb. Division of labor is most truly 
 the order of the day, as much in our 
 trade as in others, but circumstances 
 alter cases. 
 
 It would be absurd to think of Mr. 
 Kift or Mr. Wienhoeber, or Mr. Thor- 
 ley talking about the best hedge to 
 plant, or a specialist like Charles D. 
 Ball, or .John Burton, or Dailledouze 
 Bros., going out to plant a group of 
 shrubs. Their specialty is all they can 
 do, or all they need do. But in smaller 
 cities, among the men who grow and 
 retail and plant flower gardens, there 
 is a growing demand from their cus- 
 tomers that they supply them with 
 hardy roses, hardy vines, hedge plants, 
 and shrubs, and if with shrubs why 
 not with ornamental trees. 
 
 Perhaps there is no local nursery- 
 man, and if thei'e is he is too busy a 
 man in his shipping season to l)other 
 about retail orders. So who is there 
 to supply the local trade? The tree 
 Iieddler is fast losing ground, his won- 
 derful pictures and himself are now 
 discredited, and the local florist is 
 called, for he is responsible, A tree 
 peddler who still hangs out in the 
 same neighborhood for ten years past, 
 once told me that "he did not reckon 
 to make a second sale to the same 
 person," Fancy that, and we expect to 
 make sales to the same people as long 
 as they and we live. 'We will make 
 our sales of shrubs or vines satisfac- 
 tory. If failure occurs the first time 
 we try again. 
 
 In our growing suburbs and on our 
 residence streets there is an increasin;; 
 and continuous demand for handsome 
 shrubs and ornamental trees, and it 
 you have the knowledge what to buy 
 and how and when to plant you are 
 throwing away a great chance if you 
 neglect this substantial part of the 
 horticultural profession. If you can't 
 show your men how to prune and 
 plant a shrub get a foreman that can, 
 but it is an enormous advantage if 
 your early education embraced the 
 spade as well as the pen. 
 
 We used to deplore the absence in 
 our northern clime of what are known 
 as the broad leaved evergreens, such 
 as the Sweet Bay, arbutus, aucuba and 
 laurestinus that form the shrubberies 
 of temperate Europe, but we believe 
 now that our vegetation in this line 
 is just right as it is, and with our 
 snowed up winter the true evergreen 
 would look too sombre. How beauti- 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 123 
 
 A Field of Japanese Iris. 
 
 fill and inspiring in tlie warm days of 
 spring, after the liibernating days of 
 winter, to see willows blossom, and 
 later the gay scarlet flowers of Pyrus 
 japonica and the yellow wreathing of 
 forsythia. And then the many tinted 
 leaves of the hardy shrubs. It is an 
 awakening, an annual treat and pleas- 
 ure to the senses that the monotonous 
 sombre evergreen cannot give. So 
 everything is right as it is. And Ja- 
 pan has to be thanked for contributing 
 a whole host of our best hardy shrubs. 
 
 Shrubs, so called, are always more 
 safely transplanted than trees for two 
 reasons. They are seldom in the nurs- 
 ery more than two or three years, and 
 even the neglect of transplanting, of 
 which our American nurserymen are 
 woefully guilty, should they be left 
 Ave or six years in one spot, does not 
 prevent them from making a mass of 
 roots, most of which can be lifted. So 
 the percentage of loss in transplanting 
 shrubs with any ordinary care is very 
 low. 
 
 The time of transplanting varies a 
 week or so with the season. With a 
 dry season and early frosts you can 
 plant from middle of October till late 
 in November. If you start early in the 
 fall and the leaves have not fallen oft' 
 the shrubs, pull or rather rub them 
 olT. If they come off easily no harm is 
 done. In spring the transition from 
 winter to summer or- hot weather is 
 sometimes very short and affords the 
 planter but a very brief time. Had we 
 a month of cool, moist weather be- 
 tween frost and the bursting of the 
 buds into leaf, I should say that April 
 
 and even May was the best time of all 
 to move shrubs. 
 
 If the buds are breaking and the 
 leaves showing, then the shrubs must 
 be severely cut back. Even if you 
 plant them in the most favorable time 
 and in the best condition, it is neces- 
 sary to shorten back the shoots. The 
 larger and taller the shrub the more 
 in proportion should it be cut back. 
 Don't think, and don't let your cus- 
 tomer think, there is going to be any 
 eventual loss of growth or size on ac- 
 count of this cutting back. The roots 
 are disturbed, the fine fibrous roots 
 that are the feeders and nourishers of 
 the plant are gone or inactive, the 
 shortened supply of sap goes to the 
 extremities of the shoots and a feeble 
 break or growth occurs at the end of 
 the shoots, and the lower buds perish, 
 and then you have bare stems. In- 
 sist on it that transplanted shrubs and 
 trees must be pruned more or less ac- 
 cording to the loss of roots. 
 
 A word here about future pruning. 
 No shrubbery is planted for all time. 
 Perhaps where they do well a mixed 
 belt of shrubs never looks better than 
 from six to ten years after they are 
 planted. Then they crowd each other. 
 Some grow tall and lose their beauty, 
 so a shrubbery is never finished; it is 
 a continual thinning out and replen- 
 ishing. 
 
 In pruning distinguish the differ- 
 ence between those that set their 
 flower buds in the fall and those that 
 floorer on the growths of the current 
 year. The lilac is a good type of the 
 former, and if you prune severely in 
 
 winter and spring you must cut away 
 the flower buds. You will readily dis- 
 tinguish the difference in these shrubs, 
 and if they are to be pruned, a good 
 time is just after they have done 
 flowering, when they have time to 
 make more growth and set more 
 flower buds. The latter type is well 
 represented by our hardy roses and the 
 Hydrangea paniculata. The harder 
 back this class of shrubs is pruned the 
 larger and better the flowers. 
 
 To revert once more to plant- 
 ing. Many of our hardy shrubs will 
 exist in any soil, but a quick and 
 thrifty growth is what our customers 
 want and expect, and when planting 
 a group or bed of shrubs the soil 
 should be dug a foot deep. Not mak- 
 ing small holes for each plant, but the 
 whole space dug deeply, and to it add 
 plenty of animal manure. Don't be- 
 lieve for a moment that shrubs don't 
 like manure. It is just what will make 
 them jump and grow. 
 
 When singly on the lawn, let it be 
 either a shrub, tree or any of the ever- 
 greens, it is not depth that is needed. 
 The hole to receive the shrub or tree 
 need be only sufficient to let the plant 
 dow-n to the same depth it stood in the 
 nursery, an inch or so lower won't 
 hurt many of the shrubs but with the 
 trees and the evergreens this is very 
 particular. When the ground is set- 
 tled round them let it be just about as 
 high on the stem as it was before mov- 
 ing. 
 
 It is width of hole you want, aijd if 
 a. stiff clay, not only should width of 
 excavation be large enough to enable 
 
124 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 you to spread the roots out without 
 any bending or crowding, but every 
 foot in diameter you go beyond this 
 and fill in with good soil will much as- 
 sist the growth and thrittiness of your 
 tree. 
 
 It matters not whether it is fall or 
 spring there is only one way to plant 
 a shrub or tree and that is to give its 
 roots plenty of room in width, putting 
 on suthcient soil to cover the roots, 
 and by shaking the tree or shrub see 
 that the soil Is well distributed among 
 the roots. Firm the soil with your 
 feet and then give it a thorough soak- 
 ing. After the water has soaked in, 
 wetting root and fiber, fill in with 
 more soil to the grade of your bed or 
 border. This first watering is worth ten 
 on the surface. If planting has been 
 done in the spring and we have a very 
 dry summer, they will need a soaking 
 every week, and if the surface is cov- 
 ered with a mulch of two inches of 
 stable manure it will add ten fold to 
 the benefits of the watering. 
 
 As 1 cannot afford a separate chapter 
 on our evergreens, so called, or more 
 properly our coniferous trees, I would 
 say that the time of transplanting 
 them differs much from the deciduous 
 shrubs and trees. 
 
 Evergreen conifers, such as the 
 pines and spruces, and all of them, 
 are best moved in the spring just as 
 the young growths start, which is 
 often the middle or end of May. This 
 is a month later than the shrub plant- 
 ing time. The next best time is the 
 last week in August or first week in 
 September. After middle of Septem- 
 ber don't attempt to move evergreens. 
 There is often a great disappoint- 
 ment in planting spruce, pines, etc. It 
 is not the fault of the plants, although 
 in some cases it is often too crudely 
 done. It is in most cases the fault of 
 the nurseryman. Our American nur- 
 serymen plant a Norway spruce or 
 Australian pine from six to ten inches 
 high and without even transplanting 
 let some of them grow to 4, 5 or 6 ft., 
 and then sell them. 
 
 Whether they expect them to grow I 
 don't know. They sell them and thus 
 is their chief object attained. I saw 
 this summer, every few days, several 
 hundred nice symmetrical Australian 
 pines, 3 to 4 ft. They looked well 
 when planted this spring, but our 
 summer has killed 90 per cent. These 
 fine little trees had never been trans- 
 planted in the nursery since they were 
 ten inches high. And how many of 
 their working roots had been saved 
 when dug and sold, think you? 
 Scarcely any. 
 
 There is, I am glad to say, a school 
 of young nurserymen coming to the 
 front who are alive to this crude and 
 almost dishonest way of growing ever- 
 greens, and soon in every part of the 
 land you will be able to buy a pine 
 or thuya or abies or spruce and plant 
 it with the same confidence that we 
 plant the geranium in the beds, be- 
 cause every two years they have had 
 a move in the nursery. 
 A local "Farmer-fruit grower-nurs- 
 
 eryman," a long title but a correct one, 
 said the public would not pay 25 cents 
 for a transplanted Norway spruce 
 when they could get one that looked as 
 good for 10 cents. He is entirely 
 wrong. We are all looking for the 
 transplanted tree that won't disap- 
 point us and our customers. I find 
 the man of wealth, or even moderate 
 means, anxious to pay for the best. 
 It is quite different from their canna 
 or geranium bed, which they know is 
 for one short season. Their trees and 
 shrubs are for the permanent improve- 
 ment of their grounds. 
 
 The evergreens like good rotten ani- 
 mal manure just as much as the deci- 
 duous shrubs, but unless well rotted 
 don't put it in contact with the roots 
 when planting. A little experience of 
 mine of twenty-five years ago will be 
 Instructive. On both sides of a Nor- 
 way spruce hedge, as near as I could 
 get to the stems, I forked in at least 
 two inches of rotten stable manure. 
 It was done in May. The trees made 
 a fine growth and in attempting to 
 lightly fork up the surface the follow- 
 ing spring I found on both sides at 
 least three feet from the stem, that 
 the roots were just a mat close to the 
 surface, and you might as well have 
 tried to fork up a wire spring mat- 
 tress. 
 
 You should acquaint yourself with 
 the many varieties of flowering shrubs 
 and their habits and heights and time 
 of flowering, so that they can be ar- 
 ranged properly. The tallest growing 
 in the background, etc. Some of them 
 make fine groups or beds when jjlanted 
 of just one kind. . This is decidedly 
 triie of the favorite Hydrangea pani- 
 culata, which makes a fine bed of a 
 dozen or more plants, or even a single 
 specimen on a lawn. 
 
 A bed of shrubs that pleased me 
 very much this summer was very gay 
 near the entrance of our Forest Lawn 
 Cemetery. The center was the com- 
 mon purple barberry with an edging 
 of the golden philadelphus. Another 
 bed was Prunus Pissardii surrounded 
 with the variegated cornus. In large 
 grounds masses of one species are of- 
 ten planted, but in private grounds 
 the mixed collection of shrubs is most 
 desirable, for with a proper selection 
 there are always some in flower. But 
 the flower is only a part of their beau- 
 ty. I cannot afford space to give more 
 than a list of the very best shrubs, in 
 recommending any of which you will 
 not go wrong, and here they are: 
 
 Althea in several varieties. 
 
 Berberis vulgaris and Thunbergii. 
 
 CalycanthuK floridus. 
 
 Corchorus japonica. 
 
 Cornus (Dogwood). Several species. 
 The variegated cornus is one of the 
 best of all variegated shrubs. 
 
 Cydonia (Pyrus) japonica. 
 
 Deutzia crenata, gracilis and scabra. 
 
 Exochorda grandiflora. 
 
 Forsythia. several species; the ear- 
 liest shrub in flower. 
 
 Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora. 
 There are two or three new species of 
 this type, all fine. 
 
 I>lgustrum (Privet). The Californian 
 ovalifolium is most desirable. 
 
 Lonicera tartarica. Tartarian hon- 
 eysuckle. 
 
 Magnolias. These are dwarf trees 
 and deserve a place on the lawn alone, 
 where they can show off their great 
 beauty; several species. 
 
 Philadelphus grandiflora. The mock 
 orange. 
 
 Rhus cotinus. Purple fringe. 
 
 Rhus glabra laciniata. The cut 
 leaved sumach. A most beautiful 
 shrub or dwarf tree. 
 
 Sambucus aurea. Golden elder. 
 Most showy in early summer. 
 
 Spiraea. This large genus has given 
 us some of our finest flowering shrubs. 
 Billardii. bumalda. Douglasii, pruni- 
 folia, Reevesii. Thunbergii and Van 
 Houttei are all grand, splendid shrubs. 
 
 Staphylea colchica. The bladder nut. 
 
 Symphoricarpus. The snowberry. 
 Several species. 
 
 Syringa. The well known lilac. 
 Several species and varieties, and now 
 some fine double forms. 
 
 Viburnum. The snowball. Plica- 
 tum and opulis. 
 
 Weiglia. Many varieties. Rose, red 
 and white flowers and variegated fo- 
 liage. 
 
 The above is not a collection but 
 merely a selection. Many desirable 
 kinds could be added. I have not in- 
 cluded any of the broad leaved ever- 
 green shrubs, as there are so few. 
 Daphne cneorum does deserve a place 
 in every garden. Euonymus radicans 
 variegata is used for the margins of 
 shrubberies. Mahonia aquitolia. with 
 its racemes of yellow flowers and pur- 
 ple fruit, is a beautiful hoUy-leaved 
 like shrub, but unless shaded from the 
 March suns it burns badly. 
 
 Neither have I said anything about 
 the rhododendrons, kalmias. or hardy 
 azaleas. Where these American plants 
 do well cultivated, as they do so flnely 
 at Wellesley, Mass., and doubtless 
 many other places, they are beautiful 
 and desirable, but in a limestone dis- 
 trict, without a great labor of trans- 
 porting suitable soil, and again with 
 our zero nights and bright days, they 
 are useless, and to plant them is a 
 fraud. They are a fit article for the 
 tree peddler who never goes back af- 
 ter the bill is collected, and who is 
 usually nomadic in his habits, like the 
 Parthians of old. 
 
 We have not such a long list of 
 evergreens or conifers and our win- 
 ters bar us from planting many of 
 great beauty that thrive in the British 
 Isles, but we have yet a good variety. 
 You are usually advised to plant small. 
 
 EVERGREENS and 
 HARDY SHRUBS 
 
 FOR FLORISTS. 
 
 DL'Scriptive Catalogue Free. 
 
 SAMUEL C. MOON, - - Morrlsville. Pa. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 125 
 
 Good advice, so long as nurserymen 
 won't furnish you a tree that has been 
 transplanted and furnished with a 
 compact ball of roots. 
 
 You must remember that many of 
 the evergreens that are hardy In the 
 vicinity of New York and Boston are 
 useless in land in the latitude of Chi- 
 cago, and many are catalogued as 
 hardy, such as Cedrus deodara and Cu- 
 pressus Lawsoniana. They are use- 
 less in our vicinity. It is not only 
 the low temperature but some other 
 climatic influence that kills them or 
 leaves them stunted, crippled objects. 
 
 Several of the abies are fine, includ- 
 ing alba, white spruce; canadensis, 
 hemlock spruce, and excelsa, Norway 
 spruce, many forms of it. Several 
 junipers, the Irish. Swedish and our 
 own red cedar. J. virginiana. Picea 
 pungens. the Colorado blue spruce, is 
 the most beautiful of our conifers, and 
 P. balsamea. P. concolor and P. Nord- 
 maniana. are fine trees. The pines are 
 the noblest of the conifers. The Aus- 
 trian is one of our hardiest trees, and 
 so is P. sylvestris, the Scotch pine. 
 P. strobus. our native white pine, and 
 P. cembra. the stone pine. 
 
 The retinosporas are dense growing, 
 compact evergreens, and are good and 
 hardy. The Thuyas ( arbor- vitae) 
 make handsome trees. T. occidentalis 
 is our yellow or white cedar, and T. 
 orientalis is the Siberian or Chinese 
 arbor-vitae. a very compact, hardy ev- 
 ergreen. Taxodium distichum. the 
 southern cypress, though deciduous, 
 
 Garden of Hardy Plants in a Public Park. 
 
 like our American larch, is a conifer 
 and makes a splendid specimen for our 
 lawns, and the giants of the south 
 provide us with its invaluable timber. 
 For dwarf evergreens the taxus (yew) 
 are unequaled. They are hardy and 
 have several ornamental forms. 
 
 It is characteristic of many of the 
 conifers that they vary much in form 
 and color, hence the many varieties 
 that are now known, and to this varia- 
 tion we owe the several golden forms 
 we have in the thuyas, taxus and reti- 
 nosporas. 
 
 I have said nothing about propaga- 
 tion of the shrubs because that is 
 a nurseryman's business, and unless 
 you are in the business to some ex- 
 tent you had better buy the shrubs 
 from reputable nurserymen. Even 
 they depend largely on importing 
 small plants from Prance from spe- 
 cialists who raise millions of the lead- 
 ing varieties and supply them at a 
 seemingly very low cost. If you have 
 a few acres of good light soil, easy 
 to work, it would be a good invest- 
 ment to buy a thousand or so of small 
 plants of the leading kinds and in 
 two years you will have shrubs that 
 you can sell your customers with the 
 greatest confidence. 
 
 The long list of noble trees I can- 
 not enter on. Nur.se ry men publish de- 
 scriptive catalogues of all desirable 
 kinds. I am not in favor of trans- 
 planting large trees from the woods of 
 our native elms and maples. They 
 survive a few years, but generally col- 
 lapse in three or four. 
 
 HEATING. 
 
 There are only two recognized meth- 
 ods of heating our glass structures, 
 steam and hot water. Brick flues have 
 gone and electricity has not come, 
 but it may. Some fifteen years ago 
 heating greenhouses by steam came 
 with a rush, although it had long been 
 used as a means of heating dwellings 
 and large buildings. Men who had 
 been at first most sanguine about its 
 superiority over water began to hesi- 
 tate and consider whether after all 
 hot water had not the most advan- 
 tages. A patriarch of the business, 
 Mr. Peter Henderson, being asked by 
 the writer in 1889 which was the best 
 way to heat, inquired what system I 
 was then using. On being told "hot 
 water." the reply came quick and 
 brief. "Keep on with the hot water." 
 
 But after all this ebb and flow of 
 popular favor it is now well estab- 
 lished that with an improved system 
 of piping, steam tor many establish- 
 ments is the cheapest and best, and 
 although by no means claiming to 
 know of steam what I do of the circu- 
 lation of water, we will flrst consider 
 
 Steam Heating. 
 
 Steam as applied to heating green- 
 houses has several advantages over 
 water. Heat is quickly produced by 
 steam and sent through the houses 
 in case of a quick fall of the outside 
 temperature. It is also quickly re- 
 duced or entirely absent in the pipes 
 should you see in the early morning 
 
126 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 that it is going to be a briglit. waini 
 (lay and no steam heat will be need- 
 ed. This I consider one of its very 
 best features, for we all know how we 
 have suffered with over heated houses 
 when the water in the pipes would not 
 cool. ■ 
 
 With a number of pipes and a valve 
 at each, a house with steam and prop- 
 er attention can be kept at almost 
 the desired degree. It is cheaper to 
 put in a steam plant. The piping is 
 much cheaper, sufficiently less to off- 
 set the larger cost of boiler. 
 
 Steam is undoubtedly the best sys- 
 tem when a block of houses is devoted 
 to one purpose, but where two rose 
 houses and two carnation houses are 
 heated by one boiler it would not be 
 so economical, because a month or 
 more after no heat was needed in the 
 carnation houses you would have to 
 still make steam for the rose houses. 
 
 Where a dozen houses are used for 
 many different plants water is to be 
 preferred. Water can be heated to a 
 temperature of say 140 degrees, just 
 sufficient to take the chill off the 
 house; a very slow burning tire will 
 do this. With steam you must have 
 sufficient fire to make steam or you 
 may as well have no fire at all. It 
 you wish only to fill one 1-inch pipe 
 the boiler must be full of steam or 
 none will pass into the pipe. Steam 
 is most convenient for evaporating to- 
 bacco. Altogether steam is the plan 
 for large establishments, whei-e four 
 or five houses will want heat at the 
 same time, and water is the best for 
 houses where less quantities but great- 
 er variety is grown. 
 
 Cast iron boilers of several makes 
 are used by greenhouse men to gener- 
 ate steam, but whei'ever there is much 
 work to be done a steel tubular boiler 
 is the best. If for locomotives, steam- 
 ships and factories the tubular boiler 
 is the best, why is it not the best for 
 the greenhouse with some modifica- 
 tion of the way the fire is applied. 
 
 I have seen some greenhouse boilers 
 where the fire or heat from it first 
 passed under the whole length of the 
 boiler, then returned to the front by 
 half of the flues and again returned 
 to the rear by the other half of the 
 flues. We believe that was overdoing 
 it. On returning the third time the 
 smoke would be so cool that it could 
 not help in making steam, therefore 
 it was no help. It the draught is 
 carried through one set of tubes and 
 back by another you will have all out 
 of the fuel that can be got towards 
 making steam. 
 
 Many prefer to use old marine boil- 
 ers that have been condemned for use 
 where high pressure was needed. They 
 may last a long time, but as in every- 
 thing else a new boiler made for you 
 is the cheapest in the end. 
 
 It is of the greatest importance that 
 the boiler should be well down under 
 its work. The working of a steam 
 boiler when well down will be so much 
 more satisfactory over one that has to 
 return the condensed steam by an au- 
 tomatic pump or trap, that any ex- 
 pense In the way of excavation nr 
 
 sewer is warranted. Keep the boiler 
 down so that there is a perfect and 
 unobstructed return to the boiler. It 
 the top of the boiler is two feet lower 
 than your return pipes in the house 
 you are all right, but it convenient 
 lower still is better. 
 
 The size of pipe that you lead out of 
 the boiler and the branches attached 
 leading to the different houses will 
 depend on the number and size of the 
 houses. To illustrate. If you were 
 heating six rose houses from one boil- 
 ery. or battery of boilers, you woulil 
 start with a 6-inch; the first two hous- 
 es would be tapped from the G-inch. 
 after which the main could be reduced 
 to a 4-inch and from it feed two more 
 houses. Then the main pipe could be 
 reduced to a 3-inch ami supply one 
 more house; and reducing the main to 
 a 2-inch would be enough for the sixtli 
 house. But be on the safe side and 
 have good sized pipes for supply. 1 
 may have given even a smaller sized 
 pipe for the supply than is judiciou.-^. 
 
 The arrangement of steam pipes is 
 very like the modern way of arrang- 
 ing pipes for hot water. They are us- 
 ually carried up in the shed above the 
 doorways for convenience sake. Just 
 here let me say that all the steam 
 pipes should be well covered with 
 asbestos, mineral wool, or some such 
 material; if exposed much condensa- 
 tion would occur. 
 
 When steam was first used in gi'een- 
 houses, and maybe in some places yet. 
 the main pipe or flow, a 2% or 3-inch, 
 was carried along a foot or two from 
 the roof, and at the end dropped into 
 manifolds and returned in a number 
 of 1-inch pipes, either on the side or 
 under the benches. That is a very 
 poor way to heat. Your hottest pipe 
 was where it was of little benefit and 
 if it had a long way to travel and a 
 low pressure the steam would be con- 
 densed before it reached the small 
 pipes on which you depended mostly 
 for your heat. 
 
 On entering the house run your 2- 
 inch pipe into a manifold and from 
 that carry along your small pipes; 1- 
 inch is considered the most economi- 
 cal for steam. The pipes can be on 
 the side wall, the best place of all. or 
 under the benches. From the shed or 
 boiler end drop the pipes slightly (two 
 inches in a hundred feet is enough) 
 and return the same way. Drop 
 enough back to the boiler to empty 
 the pipes is enough. For a return a 
 1-inch will do for five flows. On reach- 
 ing the shed let all the returns enter 
 one 2-inch pipe and when convenient 
 drop into the bottom of the boiler. 
 The arrangement of steam pipes is 
 more simple than hot water. You can 
 drive steam but water will only flow 
 by a natural law. 
 
 I cannot give any quantities of pipe 
 for a given house better than one I 
 saw working last winter. It was at 
 Mr. John H. Dunlop's. of Toronto. 
 Canada, remember. The house (a 
 rose house, short-span-to-the-southl. 
 was 22 ft. wide and 200 ft. long. The 
 pipes were 1-inch on the side wall, and 
 two IVi-inch about eight inches from 
 
 the roof, several feet apart. All these 
 pipes were filled direct from the main 
 supply (not running 2tl0 feet and used 
 as returns). On the two side walls 
 there were five 1-inch on each only. 
 There was a 1-inch return for each 
 side, and that for the five 1-inch flows 
 was ample. 
 
 Tliis seemed to me remarkably little 
 l)ipe. and Mr. Dunlop assured me that 
 at 10 below zero they could keep 56 
 degrees with ease with about 10 lbs. 
 of steam, and very seldom used the 
 entire five pipes. He attached great 
 importance to the 1^4-inch pipes near 
 the roof in extremely cold weather, al- 
 though in ordinary times they were 
 not used. The pipes near the glass 
 seemed to prevent that cold wave 
 which in the best of houses seems to 
 strike you on very cold nights and 
 which is of course the air when sud- 
 denly cooled dropping rapidly to the 
 lowest point in the house. This is 
 about half the surface of pipe that 
 would be required with hot water, 
 however well heated. Near the man- 
 ifold, where the supply enters the 
 house, every pipe should have a valve, 
 so that you can use just as many of 
 as few as weather compels. 
 
 It is usual where a large amount of 
 steam is used that two or more boilers 
 are required. Perhaps you will use 
 only one a great part of the season, 
 and in several months your whole 
 power, but one boiler should never be 
 de])ended on. In case of a breakdown 
 you may lose more in one night than 
 two or three boilers would cost, and 
 it is both in hot water and steam poor 
 economy to have boilers that are just 
 able to keep your houses comfortable 
 in ordinary cold weather, for when ex- 
 tremes come, having no reserve power, 
 you will suffer. 
 
 If your boiler is not big enough or 
 you are deficient in pipes on these oc- 
 casions you will be sepding fuel up 
 the chimney in vain, besides the in- 
 jury to your crops. Put up your boil- 
 er and pipes with the understanding 
 that you want a certain heat in your 
 houses when the wind is blowing forty 
 miles an hour and zero outside. Then 
 when it is 20 degrees of frost and a 
 clear, still night you will be in clover. 
 In fact you will have "coal to burn." 
 Not only on the small heating pipes 
 should you have valves, but on all 
 the main pipes leading to each house. 
 I have found repeatedly that in hot 
 water heating with small pipes it is 
 wise economy to put in a valve where- 
 ever. there is a possibility of your 
 wanting to make an alteration or ad- 
 dition, or shut off one house while 
 using others. Don't spare the valves, 
 you can hardly tell when their need 
 will occur. 
 
 Steam boilers with a good draught 
 will burn a much inferior grade of 
 coal than a cast iron hot water heat- 
 er, and seldom that anthracite coal is 
 used. The cheaper the fuel, however, 
 the more of it. and more attention 
 is needed. 
 
 Where steam is used a night fire- 
 man is a necessity, and one should be 
 on the place at all hours of the night. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 127 
 
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128 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Heating by steam is very simple and 
 if tlie water gauge is watctied lias no 
 possil)le danger. Rise to a conven- 
 ient heiglit witli your main pipe, drop 
 from tliat to tiie time ttie condensed 
 steam enters bottom of boiler again. 
 Keep the boilers well down, and with 
 four or five pounds of steam you will 
 heat a large establishment with less 
 fuel and less labor than by any other 
 method. 
 
 Heating by Hot Water. 
 
 I beg most humbly to submit that 
 using small wrought iron pipe in hot 
 water heating is as much in advance 
 over the old cast iron 4-inch pipe as 
 the 4-inch pipe was over the brick 
 flues. The 4-inch cast iron pipe will 
 heat a house very well, and so did the 
 stage coach take an emigrant from 
 New York to Buffalo, but not as 
 quickly or as cheaply. It seems al- 
 most irresistible now we are out of it, 
 to smile and partly shudder at the 
 cumbersome old pipe associated with 
 hands covered with red lead or iron 
 borings. Portland cement, etc., lying 
 on your back at some difficult joint, 
 fingers hammered up, in fact a week 
 or two of a miserable time. 
 
 It would be useless to speak of the 
 disadvantages of the large cast iron 
 pipes. Just one feature, an alteration 
 or addition to the piping, was a dread- 
 ful affair. The general use now, at 
 least among the commercial men, of 
 the wrought iron pipe has made that 
 important^ part of greenhouse con- 
 struction an easy job, in fact a pleas- 
 ure. Two years ago I remember as- 
 sisting at piping a violet house 125 ft. 
 long and 20 ft. wide. At each side 
 hung on the posts we put three 2-inch 
 pipes. The pipes had been resting un- 
 der an apple tree for several weeks and 
 when the man hollered out that the 
 brackets for holding the pipe were on 
 the posts it was perhaps two hours' 
 work for one man. Four of us lifted 
 the pipes, put them in place and 
 screwed them together in just two 
 hours. Of course there was work left 
 around the heater and a few small fit- 
 tings at the end. but fancy the differ- 
 ence between putting up those six 
 runs of 2-inch pipe and say four runs 
 of cast iron 4-inch, with brick piers, 
 etc. And how could you have got the 
 4-inch cast iron pipes a foot above the 
 violets, the best place for them? I 
 will give it up, as it would be a conun- 
 drum of which a solution is not a ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 A 4-inch pipe holds 16 times as much 
 water as a 1-inch, but its radiating 
 surface is only four times as much. So 
 you have to heat four times as much 
 water in a 4-inch pipe as in a 1-inch 
 pipe, for the same amount of radia- 
 tion. That is on the face of it over- 
 whelming evidence in favor of the 
 smaller pipe, but there may be some 
 slight influences that bring these 
 great advantages a trifle low- 
 er than odds of four to one. 
 Friction retarding circulation, you 
 will be told, is an objec- 
 tion to small pipe. I don't attach 
 much importance to it, if the pipes are 
 
 laid to a true grade. Then, they will 
 tell you that smaller pipe radiates so 
 fast that the heat goes out of the wat- 
 er too quickly. So it does, but in ra- 
 diating you get the heat into the 
 house, which is just what you are af- 
 ter, and with much diminished volume 
 of water you can make it hotter with 
 less fire. 
 
 Supposing we acknowledge that 
 there is some truth about the greater 
 friction and the rapid cooling. If 
 there were not, you have a superior 
 system over the large 4-inch as four 
 is to one. We will take off one-fourth 
 and still the smaller pipe has a su- 
 periority of three to one. Tremendous 
 odds. To illustrate the difference I 
 have taken 1-inch pipe, but that is 
 rather small. The smallest we use is 
 1 1-4-inch, and 150 feet is as far from 
 the boiler as you should expect these 
 small pipes to do good service. 
 
 One more comparison. I have sev- 
 eral carnation houses which are heat- 
 ed with wrought iron pipe. Take one 
 19 ft. wide. On each side on the post 
 a few inches under the plate there is a 
 2-inch flow running to the farther end 
 and returning with five 1 1-4-inch 
 pipes. They are attached to a very 
 competent heater, and during the 
 worst weather that house has not been 
 below 45 ■ degrees. It would take at 
 least three 4-inch pipes on each side 
 to keep that house at 45 degrees oc 
 the coldest nights. Let us see the 
 comparative water and radiation be- 
 tween the large and small pipes. In 
 the large pipes, in round figures, I 
 have about 72 inches of radiation, or 
 864 inches to every lineal foot of .pip- 
 ing. While in the smaller I have 
 about 720 ft. of radiation for every 
 lineal foot. Not quite so much, you 
 see. But against that I have to heat 
 in the big pipes about 720 cubic inches 
 of water to every foot of piping and in 
 the smaller pipes less than 250 cubic 
 inches. 
 
 Now, don't you think that with less 
 fuel I can heat that much smaller body 
 of water to a far greater heat? I am 
 sure I can, and do do it, and if the 
 water comes back cooled it accelerates 
 circulation. I will assert that by this 
 system the pipes at 125 feet from the 
 boiler are just about as hot as steam; 
 perhaps it is within a degree or two. 
 There has been a most terrible lot of 
 rubbish and theories ventilated about 
 hot water heating within tw-enty 
 years, mostly by men who never saw 
 a good system put up or ever studied 
 the law by which hot water circulates. 
 Telling people that you can place a 
 hot water heater on the surface of 
 the ground and get good results is 
 wild talk, and the overhead heating 
 craze would have been laughable if 
 it had not misled some. people. One 
 scientist said overhead heating was 
 right because our natural heat came 
 from above. On that theory the gen- 
 tleman should have taken w-hen chilly 
 a seat on Pike's Peak with an icicle 
 for a cushion, for he would have been 
 nearer the source of heat. 
 Some forty-five years ago, perhaps 
 
 before, there was published in London 
 by Hood a volume on hot water. 
 There has never been a better work on 
 the same subject since. We may have 
 found out better and cheaper modes 
 of applying it than prevailed in his 
 day, but all the laws of circulation 
 which he demonstrates so finely are 
 just the same today and always will 
 be, for they are natural laws, and can 
 never be altered. Hood says that the 
 circulation of hot water was well 
 known by the Romans, and used for 
 heating their baths, so this wonder- 
 fully useful method of warming our 
 houses did not originate in London, 
 New York or Kalamazoo, 
 
 Why the hot water goes out of the 
 flow pipe and the cold water enters is 
 illustrated by Hood by two vessels, 
 each holding a few gallons of water, 
 say two 6-inch pipes, each three feet 
 high, with a 1-inch pipe and valve 
 connecting them at the bottom. Fill 
 one of the pipes with water the tem- 
 perature of 50 degrees and the other 
 at a temperature of 150 degrees, filling 
 both to exactly the same level. Open 
 the valve and the hot water will im- 
 mediately rise to a higher level than 
 the cold, because the cold is of greater 
 specific gravity than the hot, and has 
 forced it to a higher level. 
 
 Now this illustrates the motive pow- 
 er that first starts the circulation of 
 hot water. It is the difference be- 
 tween the weight of the water in the 
 return pipe and that in the boiler. 
 The water in the boiler being made 
 lighter by the fire, the colder and 
 heavier water forces it up and is re- 
 placed with cold water, so it must fol- 
 low that the higher, and consequently 
 heavier, the column of water in the 
 return pipe the faster will be your 
 circulation. And it follows again that 
 the faster the circulation the hotter 
 will your pipes be, for the water re- 
 t\n-ning quickly to the fire has not 
 time to get cool. When your return 
 pipe near the boiler is nearly as hot 
 as the flow where it leaves the boiler 
 your circulation is perfect. All of 
 which goes to prove that the lower 
 the boiler the better the apparatus 
 will work. 
 
 Reserve all your drop till you get 
 near the boiler and then drop per- 
 pendicularly down. This talk about 
 giving the pipes a rise of a foot in one 
 hundred, or the same drop, is all bosh. 
 If the pipes were a dead level in the 
 house it would be perfect, but it is 
 better to have a rise or fall of two 
 inches in a hundred feet because you 
 want when emptying the pipes to have 
 a drain out. Providing your boiler is 
 well down, and that is the very es- 
 sence of the whole job. it makes no 
 difference whether you have a slight 
 rise in the flow pipes in the house or a 
 slight fall. But for several reasons, 
 matters of simplicity and convenience, 
 I prefer after having at once raised to 
 the highest point over the boiler that 
 from there on there shall be a con- 
 tinual fall. Don't forget that one inch 
 in a hundred feet, if truly laid, is far 
 better than two feet, because you re- 
 serve all your drop till you get to the 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 129 
 
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130 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 boiler. This is the most important 
 point ot all. 
 
 All kinds of boilers are used, in fact 
 half the florists in the country have 
 invented one of their own. and it 
 looked a few years ago as if it was a 
 case of "every man his own boiler 
 maker." There are any amount in the 
 market, some most excellent and some 
 I have that cost a good deal of money, 
 that as soon as I can afford it will 
 be broken up and sold to "Isaac" for 
 junk before they have a chance to 
 cripple me by cracking on a cold 
 night. 
 
 Some people praise or condemn a 
 boiler without a fair test of what work 
 it is doing, and unless they have houses 
 of the same dimensions and piped alike 
 they can't compare one with the other. 
 Now, I happen to have four houses, 
 each 19x125, built exactly to an inch 
 alike and piped to one inch the same. 
 One pair of houses leads out of the 
 shed to the west, and the other pair to 
 the east. As before stated everything 
 is identical about the two pair of hous- 
 es except the heaters. They are of a 
 different make. I notice the boys at- 
 tend to one twice as often as the other. 
 I also have noticed that a third more 
 ashes are taken from that one than 
 the other. The damper of the first one 
 is frequently wide open -while of the 
 other it is never more than half out. 
 And it is also well known to my son 
 that the one that takes the least fuel 
 (hard coke, not gas house coke) will 
 keep the houses five degrees higher 
 than the extravagant one. And re- 
 markable to say, but absolutely true, 
 the economical one had a small violet 
 house 125x11 tacked on to it three 
 years ago, which is finely heated by 
 six runs of 1 1-4 inch pipe and the fol- 
 lowing winter it took actually less fuel 
 than it did the previous winter. That, 
 of course, was on account ot its being 
 a mild winter. 
 
 Now here is a test. I can speak of 
 the relative merits of these two boilers 
 with some authority, and it is only 
 fair as I am writing for the benefit of 
 my brother florists, to say that this 
 most excellent cast iron sectional boil- 
 er is "The Royal," made by Hart & 
 Crouse, of tUica. N. Y. For that kind 
 of lioiler it is about ideal, and the one 
 tested with it is bv no means the one I 
 am going to sell for $1.75. 
 
 If I describe how the houses are piped 
 it will be a better means of conveying 
 my ideas than any instructions. Th" 
 top of the boiler is about two feet be- 
 low the floor of the greenhouse. It 
 would have been lower could I have 
 got sewerage. The flow pipe, a 3-inch 
 (there is one on each side of boiler 
 but that makes no difference), rises up 
 straight to about 8 feet above floor of 
 shed. There is an elbow on top with 
 a piece of 3-inch pipe leading over 
 close to wall ot greenhouse, and then 
 a T with 2-inch openings from which 
 a pipe leads to right and left, running 
 over the door ways. 
 
 Now the elbow on top of the upright 
 3-inch pipe is the highest point in the 
 whole system, and from that elbow 
 there is" a very slight drop till the 2- 
 
 inch pipes enter the house, one on 
 each side, where they drop 4 or 5 ft. 
 
 In the elbow is drilled in a 
 
 %-inch 
 
 THE 
 
 pipe which runs up 20 feet or a few 
 inches above a large tank which sup- 
 plies the houses with water. The top 
 of the pipe is bent over merely so that 
 any drip from it would drop in the 
 tank. From the bottom of this 150- 
 barrel tank a 1 1-2-inch pipe leads 
 down and enters the return pipe close 
 to the boiler. Now. of course, the 
 water in the %-inch pipe, which we 
 will call the air pipe, is always on a 
 level with the water in the large tank, 
 and I think I have made out that 1 
 have about 7 lbs. pressure from that 
 cause. 
 
 Remember it is height of water that 
 makes pressure, not volume. There 
 would be no more pressure at the bot- 
 tom of a funnel ten feet high that was 
 three feet wide at the top and one 
 inch at the bottom than there would 
 be at the bottom of an upright 1-inch 
 pipe of the same length as the spread- 
 ing funnel. How much importance to 
 attach to this little pressure I don't 
 know, but I am safe in allowing none. 
 The 2-inch pipe passes through the 
 shed wall and runs along the wall of 
 the house about eight inches below the 
 glass. The houses have a gradual but 
 true down grade of two inches in their 
 length and the flow pipe runs parallel 
 with the plate. At the further end the 
 pipe goes into a 2-inch manifold with 
 Ave 1 1-4-inch openings from which 
 drops a 1 1-4-inch pipe with elbows 
 which start the five 1 1-4-inch returns 
 on their Journey back. And they have 
 a drop back to the shed of two inches, 
 going into a 2-inch manifold again and 
 joining the return pipe from the other 
 side of the house go through the wall 
 about, even, or just below, level of the 
 walks, and then drop perpendicularly 
 to bottom of boiler. So you can call 
 this the down hill plan if you like, tor 
 after leaving the first 3-inch elbow at 
 the highest point it is one continuous 
 drop, although for 125 feet the drop is 
 not perceptible. 
 
 \Wiy this is better than having a 
 rise in the pipes to the further end 
 is because you would have to put 
 cocks at the highest point to let out 
 air. or open stand pipes, or a small 
 pipe tapped in and running up higher 
 than the tank which supplied the 
 heater. In the way I have described 
 there are no air valves to watch, no 
 feeding cistern to fill, no thumping or 
 cracking of pipes. It works smoothly 
 and perfectly and as long as yo>i have 
 water in the tank your pipes are full. 
 The big tank is no advantage and a 
 barrel holding a few gallons, raised 
 above the highest point in your sy.5- 
 
 EXPERT ADVICE 
 
 On All Matters Pertaining to 
 
 Greenhouse Heating. 
 
 HENRY W. GIBBONS, 
 
 steam and Hot Water Heating Engineer, 
 136 Liberty St.. NEW YORK. N. Y. 
 
 C.NT.^LOGCE'.. Four Cents. 
 
 SCOLLAY 
 
 HOT WATER 
 
 AND 
 STEAM BOILER 
 
 ... FOR.... 
 
 Greenhouses, Conservatories, Dwellings, Etc. 
 
 INVINCIBLE. 
 
 HEATING 
 
 PIPES, 
 
 FITTINGS, 
 VALVES, 
 
 TANKS, ETC. 
 
 Plans and 
 Estimates Given. 
 
 Send Stamp for Catalogue. 
 
 41 SIZES 
 
 AND 
 
 5 STYLES 
 
 OF 
 
 BOILERS. 
 
 John A. Scollay, 
 
 74 and 76 
 
 Myrtle Avenue BROOKLYN, N. Y. 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 m 
 
 tern, would be just as well if you kept 
 it full. 
 
 This plan can l)e extended to any 
 dimensions, providing you do not vio- 
 late any of the principles. Always re- 
 member that hot water when circulat- 
 ing will never go down hill if there 
 is any chance for it to go up. So let 
 all tees and manifolds be laid hori- 
 zontally, so that where the water has 
 to be spread out into several pipes 
 there is as much inclination for it to 
 flow into one as another. 
 
 Mke the main supply pipes in steam 
 heating if you heat many pipes from 
 one or two outlets only, you must 
 start off with a 6 or 8-inch pipe and 
 reduce by degrees as the main pipe 
 has less water to supply. The 2-inch 
 flows supply the five 1 1-4-ineh quot- 
 ed in excellent shape, but for a rose 
 house thnt would take at least eight 
 1 1-4-inch on each side, a 3-inch flow 
 would be small enough. 
 
 Where it is not convenient to carry 
 the flow pipe up over the doors, but 
 enter the house perhaps level with the 
 floor and then rise up to the plate, or 
 even continue along under the bench, 
 the flow pipe would have a rise of an 
 inch or two to the farther end and a 
 corresponding drop back in the re- 
 turns. At the highest point farthest 
 from the boiler tap in a 1-2 or -U-inch 
 pipe and let it run up to the roof any- 
 where out of the way. This is much 
 better than pet cocks, which are so 
 easily forgotten, and the automatic air 
 valves get out of order. The feeding 
 cistern to supply the boiler can be in 
 the shed and should of course be a lit- 
 tle lower than the top of the sma'.l 
 pipe, which is called the air pipe, at 
 the farther end. Now, if the boiler is 
 low enough this system will work ad- 
 mirably and would be perhaps more 
 suited for a private greenhouse or 
 show house than the first system de- 
 scribed. 
 
 I have never had much experience 
 with water under pressure, unless the 
 pressure of our city mains constitutes 
 that system. Our city water has a 
 pressure of about 3.^ lbs. to the squaie 
 inch, and my experience with it is a 
 very cheap heating system for a store 
 or office. Wishing to heat a flower 
 store in this city, which is some 19 ft. 
 by 80, I put a small heater in the cel- 
 lar. It is simply .three lengths of 3- 
 inch pipe, each about three feet long, 
 and run into a manifold at both ends. 
 The coil is resting on two 4-inch brick 
 walls about two feet from the floor 
 and is bricked over top, sides and ends. 
 One end of this coil is raised about 
 three inches and from it rising to the 
 ceiling is the 1 1-4-inch flow, which 
 leads off, and by the help of some tees 
 connects with three radiators on floor 
 of store, and from the other end of the 
 radiators the returns drop to the lower 
 end of the coil. There are two natural 
 gas burners under this very simple 
 heater, which in the coldest weather 
 has never been turned on more than 
 one-third its force. 
 
 A 1-inch pipe from the city water is 
 connected with the lowest part of the 
 coil and the valve is never closed, so 
 
 there is always a pressure of 3.5 lbs. 
 on the pipe and radiators. The high- 
 est part of the system is the top of the 
 radiators, and in them is a pet cock 
 which should be opened every day to 
 let out air, but often is not for weeks, 
 and in a radiator it is not of so much 
 consequence. 
 
 There is nothing more about it, only 
 the radiators can be made red hot; a 
 great success. If a strong fire should 
 expand the water in the heater it has 
 to find room by driving the water 
 back into the mains. The whole thing 
 cost less than $50, and $5 worth of 
 gas was consumed in the coldest 
 month. Now this system could be used 
 with great success wherever you have 
 a boiler that would stand the pressure. 
 You could use it on either the uphill 
 or downhill systems, but you could not 
 have any open air vents, and unless 
 you trusted to the automatic air valves 
 ,you would have to daily open the pet 
 cocks at the highest point. 
 
 I have seen pipes arranged in many 
 ways, including the old 4-inch pipe 
 system, put up by the experts of New 
 York, and well they do their work, but 
 of the various systems the one first de- 
 scribed is the most satisfactory in ev- 
 ery way. 
 
 Where a considerable range is heat- 
 ed with one boiler, although some of 
 the cast iron boilers are excellent 
 there is nothing better than a tubular 
 boiler, such as you would use for mak- 
 ing steam, only that you do not want 
 the large space left that is occupied 
 with steam. You want it all tubes to 
 the top or it would hold too much 
 water. 
 
 I have said very little about ar- 
 rangement of the pipes. Where the 
 benches are away from the walls there 
 is no place so good for the pipes as 
 to be hung on the wall. The heat 
 strikes the glass quickly just where it 
 is needed. There is no strong heat 
 near the plants, and there is a free 
 ladiation not hindered by benches. 
 Sometimes this is not possible, then 
 the pipes can be laid under the bench- 
 es, but it will much simplify matters if 
 you can always let the flow be on the 
 wall near the glass. 
 
 I think overhead heating, so called, 
 unless to a very limited extent, a great 
 mistake. I have tried it to my loss 
 and pulled it down. In the most se- 
 vere weather you may get the benefit 
 of the pipes over head, but in ordi- 
 nary winter weather much of your 
 heat is thrown away, and why have 
 any there? Heat rises quickly enough, 
 and if your pipes are hot the heat will 
 soon reach all parts of the house, es- 
 pecially the top. 
 
 HEDERA (IVY). 
 
 Till the intrtiduction of the galax 
 leaves the ivy was of much importance 
 to us and a large quantity is still 
 used and possibly always will be. H. 
 Helix is the common ivy and it has 
 innumerable varieties and forms. 
 Some of the variegated varieties make 
 most beautiful pot plants, and if they 
 could be prodviced cheaply enough 
 
 w-ould make the best of basket and 
 vase plants. 
 
 The common ivy is not a success 
 here out of doors. They will do fairly 
 well on a north wall for some years 
 and then we get a winter that kills. 
 In Europe, dead trees, and live ones, 
 too, and on ruined towers and old 
 l)uildings you see the ivy climbing 
 everywhere. "Creeping where no life 
 is seen, a rare old plant is the ivy 
 green." And Gray says: "Save that 
 from yonder ivy mantled tower, t)he 
 moping owl does to the moon com- 
 plain." So the ivy must have crept its 
 way to the top of the lofty tower, for 
 it mantled it. 
 
 The ivy roots easily during spring, 
 and if planted out early in good soil 
 will make fine plants by following Oc- 
 tober, when they should be lifted and 
 potted in 4-ineh pots. One advantage 
 of the ivy is they will winter under 
 a bench in a cool house about as well 
 as on the bench. We use them largely 
 in vases and veranda boxes and they 
 suffer neither from heat, drought nor 
 wind. 
 
 To produce leaves for designs I have 
 not found them a great success be- 
 neath a bench. Although I planted a 
 lot beneath a carnation bench in good 
 soil, I prefer a wall where they will 
 get the daylight, and such is generally 
 to be found, somewhere on the place. 
 
 HEDGE PLANTS. 
 
 If you supply shrubs you will be sure 
 to be asked to plant hedges. Some of 
 our American cities have distinctly 
 beautiful residence streets and the un- 
 common feature always noticeable to 
 Rudyard Kipling and less illustrious 
 "Outlanders" is the absence of fences 
 or hedges. There is nothing but the 
 well kept lawn, the group of shrubs 
 and tree.-i. or perhaps a flower bed, be- 
 tween the sidewalk and the residence. 
 There Is no finer specimen of this 
 beautiful style of street in America 
 than our own Delaware avenue, Buf- 
 falo, N. Y. We would never be guilty 
 of advocating any other style, but 
 whether we would cr not there is a fast 
 growing tendency to put up iron 
 fences, or plant hedges, and when they 
 are asked for we must be ready. 
 
 We will say in defense of a hedg? 
 that where an iron fence is used we 
 think a well kept hedge behind it is 
 an improvement. Or where there is a 
 retaining wall a small hedge on the 
 bank is a finish to it. Or where the 
 lot finishes on the street with a ter- 
 race we think a hedge is in place. And 
 a well kept hedge can hardly be out of 
 place anywhere near the street. But 
 it is all in the quality of the hedge. 
 We trust for the credit of our city and 
 its pride, the residence streets, that 
 stone walls or Norway spruce hedges 
 will never be built to prevent the 
 passer-by from admiring the trees and 
 well kept lawns and flower gardens 
 of our wealthy citizens. A good and 
 happy life on the avenue is not fos- 
 tered by admiring your own lot alone. 
 You see in a month more of your 
 neighbor's than you do of your own, 
 
J 32 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 and a resident keeps his grounds neat 
 and trim and beautiful because oth- 
 ers shall admire them, the knowledge 
 of which gratifies the owner. It re- 
 solves itself, like many other good 
 deeds, into a species of selfishness; by 
 doing good to others you have tickled 
 and pleased your own self.. 
 
 But let us get back to the hedge. 
 There are mighty few hedges seen in 
 our cities that are properly kept, eith- 
 er of the evergreen or deciduous kind. 
 The best specimens of hedges I have 
 seen in this country were at Newport, 
 mo-stly privet. And the finest ever- 
 green hedges I have seen are in To- 
 ronto, of Norway spruce. But the 
 perfection of a hedge in every feature 
 was a hemlock hedge (Abies canaden- 
 sis) in the nurseries of George Leslie 
 it Son. Hemlock is without doubt the 
 finest and most perfect in form of all 
 evergreen hedges. There are some 
 terrible specimens of privet hedges 
 scattered over our city and others. Be- 
 fore they are three feet high a west- 
 ern hog could run through them with- 
 out disturbing many of their twigs. 
 When like this they are simply an 
 abomination. The fault is mostly with 
 the proprietor, who insists on imme- 
 diate effect and says "no, no. don't cut 
 it down; I want some show for my 
 money; leave it alone, we will trust 
 to its filling out." Which it never 
 does. And a privet hedge is allowed 
 to run up two feet the first season and 
 then be just topped an inch or so. 
 
 Another reason for the poor hedges 
 you see is that they are seldom 
 trimmed properly. Let it be an ever- 
 green or a deciduous hedge it should 
 not be cut up square, and sometimes 
 you see them worse than that, even 
 broader at the top than the bottom. 
 If they run up square how are the 
 lower branches going to get equal 
 light or rains? They soon begin ta 
 lose their lower branches and then 
 they are ruined. I would call a fine 
 privet hedge one that was three feet 
 at the base with the sides sloping in 
 till the rounded top was not more 
 than 18 inches through, and the hedge 
 not over 4 1-2 or 5 feet high. The 
 same with the evergreen hedges, when 
 broad at the base and narrowing to 
 the top they can be kept for years in 
 perfect health and green to the bot- 
 tom. Midsummer is the best time to 
 prune evergreen hedges and they look 
 much better cut with a knife than the 
 shears. Hedges of deciduous shrubs 
 like privet are best and quickest 
 sheared, which can be done in early 
 spring before growth and again in 
 midsummer. 
 
 In planting evergreen hedges you 
 must begin with small, compact, per- 
 fect trees; if you don't start right you 
 never will have a hedge. The best 
 evergreen for the purpose is first of 
 all the hemlock spruce; it has a grace 
 and droop to it tliat no other ever- 
 green hedge has. Next the Norway 
 spruce, and then the American and 
 Chinese arbor-vitae. 
 
 The deciduous hedges will always be 
 moVe planted in city lots, and for this 
 purpose are certainly to be preferred. 
 
 The finest for most purposes is the 
 Californian and English privet (Ligus- 
 trum ovalifolium and L. vulgaris). The 
 Californian was considerably killed 
 this past winter. If a fine, dense hedge 
 is wanted, a double row of the privet 
 should be always planted, the rows 
 one foot apart and the plants nine or 
 ten inches in the row. For several 
 seasons they should be cut back to 
 within six inches of the previous sea- 
 son's growth, then you will have a 
 solid hedge that a eat would have 
 diflicuUy in squeezing through. 
 
 Berberis Thunbergii makes a mag- 
 nificent hedge. Its habit is spreadirg 
 and the worst treatment will not pre- 
 vent it becoming dense and bushy. It 
 can be either trimmed in formal shape 
 or left to grow naturally, when it is 
 one of the handsomest of shrubs. Its 
 small leaves are always handsome, col- 
 oring to beautiful tints in tb; autumn, 
 and covered with its fruit. It is a mo-st 
 hardy, easily transplanted shrub. 
 
 There is a hedge of Pyrus (Cydonia) 
 japouica here and there throughout 
 the country. One I have in mind is 
 on a retaining wall near the home of 
 the late Mr. Parkman, the Indian his- 
 torian, in the suburbs of Boston. It 
 was in flower when I was escorted that 
 way, and it was gorgeous. It is an 
 admirable hedge shrub, can be cut 
 after blooming to any dimensions, and 
 is simply gorgeous in the early spring, 
 and very hardy. 
 
 Other tiees and shrubs can be used 
 for the purpose. I have only made a 
 selection and my chief object was to 
 tell you that a hedge cannot be mads 
 in one year, and will not do unless all 
 parts of the hedge get a share of sun 
 and rain. 
 
 HELIOTROPE. 
 
 This old favorite has possibly been 
 grown as long as there has been any 
 greenhouse to protect it in winter. 
 All we grow are varieties of H. peru- 
 vianum. It always was a favorite for 
 our summer fiower garden, either in 
 beds or in the mixed border. As a cut 
 flower it has its delicious fragrance to 
 commend it, but it wilts rather quickly 
 when cut. 
 
 Vou can neither lift old plants with 
 success nor root the cuttings that you 
 take from the plants grown outside, 
 so you should always grow a few 
 plants over summer in pots, and move 
 them to the greenhouse before frost, 
 when if the shoots are shortened back 
 you will get young, tender cuttings 
 that root quickly where there is some 
 bottom heat. No cuttings root more 
 quickly or surely than heliotrope in 
 January, February and March, and 
 your stock can be then increased to 
 any extent. Young plants soon spoil 
 if stunted in small pots, and to keep 
 them thrifty they must be shifted on 
 and occasionally pinched. For this 
 reason you don't want a large stock 
 too early in the winter. This is a 
 plant that does finely in a mild toot- 
 bed after middle of April. Thousands 
 are sold in our markets every spring. 
 
 You often see a plant of heliotrope 
 
 planted out at the end of a green- 
 house covering a large space. Such a 
 one I have. It gets cut back to the 
 main shoots every September, and dur- 
 ing winter yields bushels of flowers, 
 which are occasionally asked for. It 
 also provides me with an abundance 
 of cuttings at any time during winter 
 that I may need them. 
 
 Heliotropes are often grown as 
 standards and are used as conserva- 
 tory plants or plunged out in the 
 flower garden. They certainly make a 
 fine appearance. Say a bed of helio- 
 trope of the ordinary sized plants, into 
 which plunge a dozen of the 3-foot 
 standards; or any other dwarf flower- 
 ing plant could be the groundwork. 
 They are easily grown. 
 
 Choose a strong, healthy young 
 plant, and without any pinching en- 
 courage it to run up 3 feet, and then 
 stop it, keeping all lateral growths 
 pinched off except a few near the top. 
 You can let these plants rest in a cool 
 house with little water during winter 
 and start growing again in March. 
 The head can be left to grow naturally 
 as you would a standard rose, but they 
 look much better tied to a wire frame 
 as we do standard chrysanthemums. I 
 can't say that the standard heliotrope 
 is a good investment tor the florist, 
 but when time and space allows they 
 are a great ornament to our flower 
 gardens. 
 
 Heliotrope is popularly supposed to 
 be easily injured by tobacco smoke. If 
 a strong dose is first given it does in- 
 jure it, but after a few fumigations it 
 does not notice it more than a gera- 
 nium. Why should it not get inured to 
 it? I have noticed frequently that it 
 does, although it does not need any 
 smoke. 
 
 A rust is its worst enemy, which 
 will not attack it unless it gets root 
 bound and stunted. The heliotrope 
 grows finely in a temperature of 50 
 degrees, but will not endure the slight- 
 est frost. There are constantly new 
 varieties being sent out, a few good 
 ones are: 
 
 LE CID: Semi-dwarf, robust, large 
 panicles, mauve, with clear white eye. 
 
 LE POITEVINE: Great size, mauve, 
 violet and azure; very free and con- 
 tinuous in bloom. 
 
 THE GIANT: Enormous panicle of 
 bloom, color a rosy violet, white eye. 
 
 CAMELEON: Bright blue, large 
 panicles and florets. 
 
 ALBERT DELAUX: Pretty varie- 
 gated foliage, purple flowers. 
 
 WHITE LADY: The best of the 
 white or light varieties. 
 
 HIBISCUS. 
 
 The species we see in the green- 
 houses is H. rosa-sinensis and its vari- 
 eties. They are hardly a florist's 
 plant, yet their bright, shining leaves 
 and showy, brilliant flowers make 
 them desirable for the private conserv- 
 atory. 
 
 They thrive in any good, coarse 
 loam, with some well rotted manurs 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 J33 
 
 added. They soon make large plants 
 and need a liberal sized pot, and plen- 
 ty of water and syringing when grow- 
 ing. Their brilliant flowers come on 
 the young growths. In winter they 
 will do in a temperature of 50 de- 
 grees, and keep on the dry side. When 
 starting them into more growth in 
 April, shorten back the shoots: the 
 young growths will be all the stronger. 
 The flowers are of various colors and 
 are both single and double. 
 
 The young growths root readily in 
 April in some warm sand, but should 
 not be exposed to the sun or too much 
 air. 
 
 HOLLYHOCK. 
 
 This state'.y plant is seen in the 
 large grounds of the millionaire and 
 in the small piece of garden that the 
 farmer or his wife devotes to "posies." 
 It is handsome anywhere, and it is 
 particularly suitable for a border 
 whose background is a hedge or belt 
 of trees. There appears to be an in- 
 creased call for them of late. Some 
 years ago the hollyhock disease dis- 
 couraged many would-be growers of 
 this old favorite, but little is now 
 heard of the disease, and we have seen 
 no trouble from it in several years. 
 
 Hollyhocks are of very easy culture 
 and few plants will pay for the labor 
 with an equal amount of flowers and 
 fine effect. If they required the same 
 care and labor that a dahlia does, 
 there would be less excuse for not 
 growing them, but they do not. When 
 once planted out, they will take care 
 of themselves, only requiring one stout 
 stake to support their main stem and 
 tying as they grow. 
 
 The best strain if allowed to remain 
 without transplanting for fou.r or five 
 years will deteriorate in quality and 
 revert back to the single-flowered 
 form. Little regard is now paid to 
 named varieties, because the best 
 strains give you all the desirable col- 
 ors and the finest flowers; in fact, 
 plants less than one year old give the 
 finest flowers. Plants that have flow- 
 ered and are carried over winter are 
 hardy in our ordinary winters, but 
 should be protected by some litter 
 placed around the plant and a few 
 evergreen boughs over them. 
 
 Where the winters are not so severe 
 seed is sown in May or June out of 
 doors and the young plants trans- 
 planted into beds, where they remain 
 all winter in the open ground, and 
 are planted out and sold the following 
 spring. This is all right for the man 
 with a catalogue trade, but is not the 
 way to produce the finest plants and 
 flowers. 
 
 Sow in flats or in the cold-frame in 
 early August. If you have no other 
 accommodation, you can transplant 
 four or flve inches apart in the frames, 
 and in the three or four months of 
 severest winter weather protect with 
 glass, and transplant to their perma- 
 nent position as soon as the ground is 
 dry in the spring. Still better, trans- 
 plant from the seed beds into flats or 
 
 2-inch pots and in October shift into 
 4-inch pots, keeping them plunged in 
 the cold-frame till very cold weather, 
 and then winter them in a very cool 
 house. A violet temperature, or less, 
 will do. Don't defer planting till you 
 put out your tropical bedding plants, 
 but get them into the border as soon 
 as you can work the ground. The 
 latter method is the one I have seen 
 followed with the very grandest re- 
 sults. 
 
 Hollyhocks like a heavy soil, dug 
 deeply and with plenty of animal ma- 
 nure worked in. If the spring is dry, 
 they should receive a soaking twice a 
 week. As fine hollyhocks as I have 
 ever seen were planted in a stiff clay, 
 into which was dug a lot of cow ma- 
 nure. They want a good stout stake 
 to keep the wind from blowing them 
 over, and sometimes when the side 
 shoots are loaded with flowers they 
 will want supporting to the main 
 stem. 
 
 Chafer's strain was for years the 
 best obtainable, and is, I think, still 
 offered by some of the leading seeds- 
 men. 
 
 When the plants are small, as a pre- 
 ventive of fungous diseases they can 
 be dipped into a pail of the ammonia- 
 cal solution. 
 
 The best strains now embrace colors 
 from the darkest maroon (almost 
 black) through beautiful shades of red 
 and pink, yellow and pale straw, to 
 pure white. Three feet apart is close 
 enough to plant them, and if strong 
 plants, more room is better. 
 
 HOTBEDS. 
 
 These primitive gresnhouses may 
 never be seen at many establishments, 
 and where only cut flowers are grown 
 there is no occasion for them, but to 
 the florist who grows an assortment of 
 bedding plants they are of the greatest 
 assistance. As is well known there is 
 a number of our soft-wooded plants 
 that grow much faster and thriftier in 
 a hotbed than in the best greenhouse 
 that you can possibly give them. 
 
 The vegetable grower starts prepara- 
 tions for his hotbeds in February, but 
 tlie florist does not need to. and in our 
 latitude the hotbed is of most use from 
 early April on to end of May, and oc- 
 casionally during summer, where 
 plants like cyclamen want a little bot- 
 tom heat. 
 
 The frames are usually 18 inches at 
 back and 12 inches in front, and for 
 convenience made to fit thre? or four 
 sash of 6 feet by 3 feet 6 inches each. 
 When botbeds are used on a large scale 
 and where drainage is good the earth 
 is excavated to a depth of 18 inches to 
 2 feet, and either boarded or bricked 
 up to a foot above the surface. There 
 is an advantage in this because the 
 late frost does not cool the fermenting 
 material. Wherever you have them 
 let them be all together, for the larg?r 
 the mass of manure the slower it will 
 cool. 
 
 The first requisite is some good, 
 fresh straw manure, and sometimes 
 that alone is used. If you have some 
 
 dry leaves of the previous fall you can 
 mix in a third of those, and if you are 
 on good terms with the local brewer 
 the spent hops of the brewery is a 
 splendid material for the purpose. 
 Hops heat violently, and should not be 
 used alone, or the heat will be too vio- 
 lent for a time, and will too quickly 
 subside. I would call one-halt stable 
 manure, one-fourth leaves and one- 
 fourth fresh hops a fine mixture. 
 
 You can not get all your material in 
 one day, but when you have collected 
 enough to begin operations the whole 
 mass, whatever it is. should be turned 
 over once into a big pile and thor- 
 oughly shaken out, mixing the long 
 with the short. When the pile begins 
 to show signs of heating, then form 
 your hotbeds. Lay out a space 18 
 inches larger and broader than the 
 frame or frames, and allow for an 18- 
 inch path between the frames, but 
 path and all to be built up with the 
 manure. 
 
 Build the sides up square and when 
 making the beds one man should 
 throw on the manure and another be 
 shaking and spreading it evenly and 
 continually tramping on it, so that 
 when it sinks, which it will do as it 
 ferments, it will sink evenly. If the 
 material is dry, have the hose near at 
 hand and every layer of three or four 
 inches give the surface a good sprink- 
 ling. It will prevent the heat being so 
 violent, but will make it last longer. 
 
 When the bed or material has 
 reached a height of 2 feet put on your 
 frames and see that they are straight 
 and square or the sash won't fit, and 
 above all see that the frames are not 
 "winding." If you sight across the 
 top edges back and front and they line 
 with each other, then they are not 
 winding. Continue to build up with 
 the material till you are nearly to the 
 top of the frame. Then throw in four 
 or five inches of the plunging mate- 
 rial. This could be sawdust, tan bark, 
 or even sifted ashes, but for the sake 
 of the hotbed material for after use, 
 which is invaluable to the plant man, 
 we prefer to put on four or five inches 
 of some light soil that we have used 
 for some other crop. 
 
 Don't plunge any plants in the soil 
 for five or six days, or till the most 
 violent heat has passed, and keep a lit- 
 tle ventilation on to allow the vapor to 
 escape. When the violent heat has sub- 
 sided get in your plants and the 
 growth they will make will be remark- 
 able. And so will the growth of weeds 
 from the soil. But weeding must be 
 attended to as all other duties. 
 
 Only "the man who never forgets" 
 should have the care of the hotbeds. A 
 cold night is often followed by a 
 bright, sunny day. and the sun seems 
 to accelerate the heat of the bed, and 
 if they ar£ neglected till, say 11 a. m., 
 you run a good chance of having your 
 whole crop burnt up, which has hap- 
 pened occasionally to most of us. A 
 little ventilation at first, and a little 
 more in an hour, is the way to care for 
 a hotbed. And close down early in 
 the afternoon. With the uniform 
 
J 34 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 moisture and Jieat at the roots and 
 the ammonia charged atmosphere, the 
 growth of many plants is prodigious. 
 
 When hotbeds are started early, say 
 1st of April, yon should always cover 
 them nightly with mats or shutters, 
 the former much preferred both for 
 warmth and convenience. You must 
 not trust to the bare glass on nights 
 of sharp frost. The surface of the soil 
 gets quickly cool and then .lack Frost 
 touches the plants, whose tops are 
 very near the glass. 
 
 The hotbeds are a great relief to us 
 iu our crowded state in April and May. 
 And more than that when the bi?ds are 
 emptied the material is tossed up on a 
 pile and chopped down once or twice 
 (luring fall, and there you have an ex- 
 cellent substitute for leaf-mould, with 
 some ammonia in it. If not, its me- 
 chanical conditior is what you want 
 for all of your soft-wooded, and many 
 of the hard-wooded, plants. 
 
 HOY A. 
 
 These hot-house climbers are seldom 
 seen now. The days of short-stemmed 
 tlowers are gon?, and hoyas are only 
 found in the private collection. H. car- 
 nosa was once a very common plant in 
 our greenhouses, and w^ have all 
 heard the dear old lady tell us hun- 
 dreds of times that her "wax plant did 
 not flower," 
 
 H. carnosa and H. bella are the two 
 best known. The latter is a beautiful 
 but more delicate plant. They loot 
 easily in the spring from the tops of 
 the growths. If a specimen is wanted 
 they should bs trained on a wire 
 frame. They like plenty of sun and 
 ventilation in summer time, and in 
 winter should be given a rest by keep- 
 ing rather dry and in a house at about 
 50 degrees. 
 
 Their waxy flowers, in fine umbels, 
 are very pretty, but they are not a 
 florist's flower. 
 
 See Bul1)S. 
 
 HYACINTH. 
 HYDRANGEA. 
 
 These are among the most impor- 
 tant of our decorative flowering 
 plants. Large quantities are sold ten- 
 Easter church decorations, and later 
 on large plants are in demand for out- 
 side decoration. The hardy Hydran- 
 gea paniculata grandiflora is one of 
 the finest of our hardy shrubs. 
 
 H. hortensis and its variety Otaksa 
 is the common hydrangea of our 
 greenhouses. The flowers of Otaksa 
 are nearly always sterile, and from 
 that fact arise their fine, showy heads 
 of bloom. The normal color of Otaksa 
 is a beautiful flesh pink, but it vaiies 
 with certain soil, and in some parts 
 they assume a beautiful blue color. 
 Iron dust or filings in the soil is said 
 to produce this. It so, it cannot be 
 done with one season's treatment, but 
 must be followed up from the time the 
 plant is first rooted, 'When Otaksa is 
 well colored its beautiful shade of pink 
 can scarcely be improved by changing 
 to a blue. 
 
 All the hydrangeas can be readily 
 rooted from the young growths in 
 February and March, Old plants that 
 are given a little heat in the winter 
 will give you fine cuttings, and they 
 should be short, stout pieces of tlw 
 very latest growth, which root quickly 
 in the sand. For early spring use the 
 cuttings should be propagated in Feb- 
 ruary, potted on till .lune and have the 
 tops pinched out, when they can go 
 into a 5-inch pot and b? plunged out- 
 side on a dry bottom, giving them 
 plenly of room between the plants. If 
 they grow freely give them a 6-inch in 
 August. 
 
 After the first few mild frosts, which 
 does them no harm, take them into a 
 light house. By this time you have 
 some chrysanthemum benches empty 
 and can give the hydrangeas a good 
 bench. Till the New Year they do not 
 want any forcing, but after that if they 
 are wanted for Easter they must get 
 55 degrees at night, and increase it if 
 you see they are going to be lati?. 
 Plants that are not wanted for Easter 
 can rest in a very cool house, in fact 
 under a bench till February, and hs 
 given enough water to kejp them from 
 shriveling, after which they can be 
 cleaned up, shifted, if necessary, and 
 started growing. These will be in good 
 flower about the end of May, when 
 there is a good demand for them. 
 
 I failed to mention that the earlier 
 forced plants should also be given a 
 shift into a t> or 7-inch pot when they 
 start to grow at New Year's. Otaksa is 
 about hardy in the milder parts of 
 Europe, so it does not want anything 
 but a cool greenhouse except when 
 forced. 
 
 Hydrangeas, especially the hortensis 
 type, are great feeders, and should 
 have a rather heavy but good, fresh 
 loam with a fourth of decayed manure, 
 and some bone flour added at the last 
 shift will help them. Water they want 
 in great abundance when growing and 
 flowering, and if allowed to suffer for 
 it they soon show it, and will show it 
 later by yellow leaves. 
 
 There is little tronble with hydran- 
 geas from insects. You can fumigate 
 them should fly trouble them, and al- 
 though red spider will attack the 
 flowers it should never be allowed as a 
 daily syringing should be given them. 
 
 Plants that have not sold should 
 have the flowers removed by cutting 
 back the stem to within a few eyas of 
 the pot. Remove some of the soil and 
 give fnem a shift and plunge outside 
 for the summer. They will make fine 
 plants for another spring. The prin- 
 cipal object to attain with any of these 
 plants is a strong growth in summer, 
 and well ripened wood in the fall. So 
 bright sun, cool nights, and a lessen- 
 ing of the supply of water, are the 
 requisites. 
 
 When hydrangeas get into lU and 
 12-inch pots they take up too much 
 room unless you are assured of a good 
 sale. They make magnificent plants in 
 tubs for the lawn, but those that have 
 . developed their flowers under glass are 
 not valuable for this purpose, as they 
 
 soon lose the beauty of their flowers. 
 The best plants for this purpose that 
 I have seen were wintered for several 
 years in the basement of a. coach 
 house. There was no artificial heat. 
 It was not too dark, and with an occa- 
 sional watering the plants remained 
 dormant till it was time to return 
 them to the lawn, when they came 
 along naturally about the same as the 
 hardy shrubs, and the flowers lasted 
 the greater part of the summer. 
 
 Some such place as this should be 
 jirovided for large plants, as the green- 
 house, however cool, will bring them 
 on too fast. 
 
 Some growers adopt a different plan 
 with the young plants. Instead of 
 growing them on in pots they plant 
 them out in good, deep, rich soil, and 
 lift and pot in September or October. 
 I have often done this, and for late 
 spring sales it is a good plan, but for 
 the Easter lot I prefer to grow them in 
 pots all summer. 
 
 The kinds forced include Thomas 
 Hogg, a pure white variety of horten- 
 sis, Paniculata is also forced in some 
 places, but we think we have better 
 plants. There is a finer variety with 
 purplish red stems and highly colored 
 pink flowers, rather a tall growth but 
 very handnome. H. hortensis Otaksa 
 is the finest variety, giving the largest 
 head of bloom, and forcing well. 
 
 IMPATIENS SULTANI. 
 
 This little perennial flowering bal- 
 sam is not so much seen as it was a 
 dozen years ago. Nearly all the year 
 it is covered with bright scarlet 
 flowers and is chiefly valuable as a 
 bright flower for the greenhouse in 
 summer when most of our flowering 
 plants are done. It roots readily from 
 cuttings iu warm sand, or can be 
 raised from seed. A rather rich, open 
 soil suits it, with plenty of water. 
 Plants in 4 and 5-ineh pots ar? most 
 useful. 
 
 Being from tropical Africa it should 
 not be kept lower than 55 degrees in 
 the winter, but any greenhouse does it 
 well in summer, and it does not want 
 much shade. 
 
 When plants get shabby from the 
 want of a shift it is cheaper and better 
 to throw them away, as young and 
 thrifty plants are so easily raised. 
 
 IRESINE (ACHYRANTHES.) 
 
 These are known almost entirely 
 under the name of achyranthes, but 
 iresine is correct. They, with the co- 
 leus, are the principal plants iLsed to 
 furnish color to the tropical and foli- 
 age beds. 
 
 Their culture is so well known and 
 so simple that little need be said. They 
 thrive in any ordinary good soil. They 
 have an advantage over the coleus in 
 that they are not nearly so tender and 
 will grow during winter when the co- 
 leus would starve. Outside, though in- 
 jured by the first frost, they will not 
 drop their leaves when the thermome- 
 ter gets down to 4U degrees, as do 
 many coleus. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 135 
 
 Vv'e grow them uot only as a Ijedding 
 plant, but for our vases and vei-anda 
 lioxes they are most useful, and do not 
 monopolize the whole space to the sac- 
 rifice of other plants, as do the strong- 
 er growing coleus. 
 
 Green fly attacks them if smoking is 
 neglected, and mealy bugs like them, 
 but that can be thoroughly cleaned off 
 when you start a new batch of cut- 
 lings. 
 
 Nothing can possibly root better 
 than iresine at all times of the year. 
 We select a few cuttings from outsid? 
 that are clean and healthy in Septem- 
 ber, and from a few dozen of each 
 kind a large lot can be produced bj' 
 bedding time. A hotbed grows tlL?m 
 thrifty and quickly and gives you a 
 chance to harden them off. To grow 
 fast for cuttings they should have a 
 temperature of GO degrees, but will 
 thrive finely in 10 degrees less. 
 
 I. Herbstii is the useful sort we 
 know as Verschaffeltii; finely colored, 
 babit spreading and free. 
 
 1. Herbstii aurea reticulata is the 
 variegated form. 
 
 1. Liudenii is more erect; narrow 
 leaves, deep, rich color; a fine bedding 
 plant. 
 
 There is also another variety, or I 
 believe a species (the connect name I 
 cannot find) with smaller, rounded 
 leaf, of a fine "bottle green" color; 
 in contrast with a lighter foMage 
 plant this is the best of all. 
 
 JASMINUM. 
 
 Of the several species of these sweet 
 scented shrubs there is only one that 
 florists cultivate, and that now is mos-t 
 often conspicuous by its absence. But 
 we all know J. grandiflorum. A plant 
 that 1 can remember as long ago as I 
 can think of any plant was a large 
 bush of J. revolutum. which for the 
 larger part of the summer was covered 
 with its sweet yellow blossoms. But 
 that was in the temperate climate of 
 the south coast of England. Here it 
 is not hard.v. 
 
 .1. grandiliorum needs a temperature 
 of 50 degrees during winter. The 
 young growths root readily in the 
 spring, and if planted out after frost 
 is gone aud kept pinched they make 
 fine bushy little plants and can be 
 lifted and potted, and will flower in 
 October and November. They can not 
 be called a showy plant and would re- 
 ceive no attention if it were not for 
 their delicious fragrance. 
 
 The jasmine is no more a climber 
 than a heliotrope, but if you want the 
 flowers the best way is to plant one 
 out at the end of a carnation house 
 aud in the spring prime it back, and 
 during summer keep it pinched so that 
 the flowering is retarded to late fall, 
 when for weddings there is often a 
 rail for it. 
 
 I'nfortunately when asked for jas- 
 mine for a bride's bouquet the sweet 
 flower is gone, and again when the 
 flower is ready the bride is not. 
 
 Any good loam will grow the jas- 
 minum. 
 
 KALMIA. 
 
 This is known among us as the 
 "Alountain Laurel," and is the plant 
 that furnishes the fine glossy sprays 
 that make such admirable wreathing 
 for our winter festivities. This is a 
 truly broad leaved evergreen, but as I 
 had occasion to remark under the head 
 of "Hardy Shrubs," it is in most soils 
 and localities very disappointing when 
 transported away from its native 
 mountains. Those who have never 
 seen a mountain side covered with the 
 pinkish white flowers of the kalmia 
 have little idea what a lovely shrub it 
 is on its native Alleghanies. It Is 
 widely distributed. 
 
 For an early June wedding (about 
 the time it is usually in full flower) 
 we have tried it in wreathing. Its ap- 
 pearance is tine, but the waxy florets 
 never cease dropping, which precludes 
 its use when in flower. 
 
 Neat little plants, well set with buds, 
 are now imported from Europe suit- 
 able for forcing. They can be potted 
 and kept in cold-frame till time to 
 start them in the houses. If wanted for 
 Easter, give them six weeks in a tem- 
 perature of 50 degrees, and near 
 flowering time a little more. Though 
 very beautiful when in full flower we 
 do not attach much value to them, 
 and nine customers out of ten would 
 in preference buy an Indian azalea. 
 
 KOENIGA (SWEET ALYSSUM.) 
 
 The double form of this little plant 
 is quite important to the florist whose 
 business includes flower gardening, 
 and particularly for the edges of ve- 
 randa boxes aud vases. Sprays of its 
 small white flowers were formerly 
 much in demand for funeral designs, 
 and plants were often grown on the 
 edges of carnation beds where the 
 flowers could hang over the walks, and 
 I have seen whole benches devoted to 
 its cultivation. As a cut flower it is 
 not now so much in favor, but as a 
 flower garden plant it is most useful. 
 
 We lift a few old plants in Septem- 
 ber, cutting them back, and from the 
 young tender growths get lots of cut- 
 tings, or young, suitable growths from 
 outside will give you stock. During 
 winter you can multiply it by cuttings 
 ad libitum. 
 
 Here is another plant that we flnd 
 the mild hotbed suits finely. You 
 should have a large lot in 2-inch pots 
 early in April, when if shifted into 3- 
 inch and put in the hotbed they make 
 fine plants for use in boxes and vases 
 end of May. 
 
 The large double flowering is the 
 most useful. The single or true spe- 
 cies is always raised from seed which 
 is sown out of doors in spring with 
 the summer annuals. 
 
 Tom Thumb is a very dwarf, com- 
 pact form and is used for carpet bed- 
 ding. Raised from seed sown in Feb- 
 ruary. 
 
 LAN TANA, 
 A ganus of tropical evergreen shrubs 
 having very pretty flowers, mostly 
 white, pink and orange. They are 
 
 sometimes used as greenhouse plants 
 for summer decoration, but it is as 
 flower garden plants that we use them. 
 Our summer climate suits them finely 
 and they grow very freely. They 
 cannot be used for any set design, but 
 for the mixed border, or even in a 
 mass, they are very effective. The odor 
 of the leaf is not at all agreeable and 
 ihe flower for cutting useless, but for 
 all that it is a very desirable, free 
 growing and flowering summer plant. 
 It is troubled with no insects or dis- 
 eases and thrives in any ordinary 
 compost. Grow a plant or two of eacii 
 of the most desirable varieties in 4 or 
 5-inch i>ots over summer plunged out- 
 sir'.e, and at the a:.iproach of frost b.-ing 
 them in and store in any house where 
 the temperature does not go below 50 
 degrees. After New Year's cut thes.e 
 plants back a little and start in a 
 warmer house, and keep syringed. You 
 will soon have a number of young 
 shoots, which root readily in our ordi- 
 nary propagating bed. From the time 
 you bring in the plants in the fall ti.l 
 you start them growing, keep them 
 rather dry. We sell Ihem in 3-incli 
 pots, which is large enough, as they 
 grow very fast when planted out. 
 
 LAPAGERIA. 
 
 This is one of the very handsomest 
 greenhouse climbers. The pendent 
 flowers are so rich looking that when 
 a long spray of the plant is cut with 
 its flowers attached nothing can sur- 
 pass it in beauty. Such sprays wer-; 
 seen at the Boston convention in 1890, 
 being part of the decoration of the 
 exhibit that received the first pre- 
 mium for wedding arrangement. The 
 flowers are three or four inches long. 
 resembling a miniature inverted wine 
 glass, and of great substance. They 
 appears at the axils of the leaves. The 
 leaf is rather small, dark green, and 
 the stems long and wiry. 
 
 They want a cool, shaded house in 
 summer and will thrive in a very cool 
 house in winter. A magnificent plant 
 of the variety alba covers tlie roof (or 
 did) in the glazed corridor at the en- 
 trance to Veitch's nursery, Chelsea, 
 England, and I was informed it had 
 many times had to endure several de- 
 grees of frost. It was then (August i 
 covered with its magnificent flowers. 
 Unfortunately, cut close to the stem 
 the single flower would be of little use 
 to us, and you would have to possess 
 a fine plant to afford the cutting of 
 flowering sprays. 
 
 It is often grown in large pots and 
 trained on a wire trellis. It is, how- 
 ever, much better planted out in the 
 boi-der of a house with a limit to the 
 amount of room the roots can spread, 
 I have tried it here and find it does 
 not like our hot summers, so it should 
 be in a position w^here you can shade 
 during summer and give plenty of air. 
 A thorough good drainage to the bor- 
 der or tub in which it is planted is of 
 first importance. A good compost 
 would be coarse fibrous loam with a 
 tenth of decayed cow manure, and to 
 
136 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 that add another tenth of old broken 
 up mortar or crushed cha,reoal. 
 
 They are propagated by Uiyaring the 
 ends of strong shoots or from seed. 
 Young plants were once very expen- 
 sive. They are now obtainable at a 
 moderate cost. When raised from 
 seed they vary both in size and color, 
 so fine varieties are increased by 
 layers. 
 
 Slugs will eat the tops of the young 
 asparagus-like shoots, but cotton bat- 
 ting will stop them. Tobacco smok? 
 will keep down fly and thrip, and syr- 
 inging, which the plant delights in 
 throughout the spring and summer, 
 will prevent red spider and mealy bug. 
 
 There is only one species (Lapa- 
 geria rosea), but there is a pure white 
 form and from seedlings have been 
 produced intermediate colors. It i5 
 not a florist's plant, but yet one that 
 any gardener should be proud to grow 
 well for its aristocratic beauty. 
 
 LAWNS MAKING AND THEIR 
 CARE. 
 
 A fine, well kept lawn is a source of 
 pleasure and pride to the owner, and 
 how unseemly it would be to see a 
 fifty thousand dollar mansion sur- 
 rounded by a weedy, ill kept lawn. I 
 have remarked some years ago, per- 
 haps only to myself, that the lawns of 
 the temperate and moist parts of Eu- 
 rope (such as Great Britain) were 
 made to walk on; ours are made to 
 look at. "Keep off the grass" is as- 
 suredly more frequently seen here than, 
 there. "The Emerald Isle" gets its 
 poetic designation because the grass is 
 green the year 'round. Ours in sum- 
 mer, such as this of 1899, is brown in 
 color, and for months in winter an 
 "invisible green." So we prize our 
 lawns, spend money on them, and pay 
 large water bills for the privilege of 
 frequently spoiling them, but withal 
 I must say that for trimness and neat- 
 ness and greenness in our cities our 
 lawns will compare most favorably 
 with those I saw in England fourteen 
 yealrs ago. In fact, the latter were a 
 disappointment, and badly needed the 
 water cart or hose. 
 
 Whether you use sod or seed to 
 make a lawn, the ground should be 
 dug or plowed a good eight or nine 
 inches deep; the deeper the roots can 
 go down in the soil, the less your grass 
 will dry out in summer. If you can- 
 not afford that amount of good top 
 soil you should at least have the soil 
 dug that deep, and into it work a good 
 lot of well rotted manure. Break it 
 up with plow or spade, so that the 
 roots will go down into it. If for sod- 
 ding, you should have at least two 
 inches of good surface loam, so that 
 the roots will quickly take hold. 
 
 In grading a piece of ground you 
 may have had depressions to fill up in 
 some spots several feet deep. In other 
 places you have had to take off the 
 surface, leaving that part very solid. 
 The filled up portion will be sure to 
 sink, so it should be got down to its 
 permanent grade either by ramming or 
 by water. In small areas, such as 
 
 where excavations have been made for 
 sewers, there is no rammer equal to 
 the hose. Flood it with water, if prac- 
 ticable, and that will take it down 
 solid. This is particularly true of clay. 
 Obtain the best and cleanest sod you 
 can, and here is a chance for you to 
 pull out the dandelion and plantain; 
 their roots are severed in cutting the 
 sod, and it takes little time to pull out 
 the tops with the short pieces of root. 
 It is seldom we get sod that is evenly 
 cut, but if the ground has been nicely 
 graded and the soil not too solid, you 
 can overcome that, and a good heavy 
 roller will flatten down small inequali- 
 ties. There is nothing more to do but 
 give the sod a good soaking of water. 
 In a few days pass the mowing ma- 
 chine over it and you have a lawn 
 pleasing to the eye. and if you are a 
 reasonable person your eye will not 
 see it as it is today, but will picture it 
 after a month's growth and several 
 cuttings, and your prophetic vision 
 will be looking on something like the 
 surface of a billiard table. 
 . Where there is any quantity of lawn 
 to make or renew, seeding is always 
 preferable to sodding. Not alone does 
 it make a better looking lawn, better 
 grass and better quality all round, but 
 it is far cheaper. The same care in 
 digging deep and manuring is essen- 
 tial, and the top two inches of surface 
 should be of good, friable soil, that the 
 delicate little plants may get a good 
 start. 
 
 You can, when preparing for seed, 
 put on an absolutely perfect grade, 
 whether it be for a bowling green, 
 which is level, or a gradual fall to any 
 point, or a pleasing slope in any di- 
 rection. When I say you can, I mean 
 you can if you have an eye and know 
 bow to handle the rake, and you are 
 not supposed to be leveling or grad- 
 ing if you can't. Some men have a 
 great gift at this kind of work and 
 some are created to play "Golf" 
 "Gaawf." 
 
 In small, defined areas, when seed- 
 ing it is a good plan to lay a strip of 
 sod around the margin. Sometimes a 
 bed for flowers or shrubs is laid out 
 on the lawns. If a strip of sod, say a 
 foot wide, is laid around these at a 
 correct grade, they are a good guide 
 when leveling, or what may be called 
 "putting on the finishing touch" for 
 intervening spaces. 
 
 I may have rather an elaborate way 
 of sowing grass seed, but it answers 
 well. When you have finished raking 
 and have the surface as nearly perfect 
 as your eye tells you, give the whole a 
 light rolling. You will see much plain- 
 er then any little inequalities than 
 when the ground was left rough by 
 the rake. Mend an.v imperfections and 
 roll those places again where you dis- 
 turb the soil. Then sow the seed on 
 the smooth surface. Next pass over 
 the surface with a rake, not raking as 
 if you had stones and rubbish to rake 
 or leveling to do, but let the teeth of 
 the rake pass backwards and forwards 
 lightly over the surface. This will 
 Just work in the seeds, or enough of 
 
 them, for if one in a hundred grows 
 you have enough. After that light 
 raking pass over again with a light 
 roller. 
 
 Just one digression. How pleasant 
 it is to see a man with his back bent 
 (or your own) and handling the rake 
 as an expert, for expertness can be ex- 
 ercised with a rake as well as with a 
 bat, a ball, or a billiard cue. Don't 
 handle the rake like the interesting 
 school marm -among the hay fields of 
 her country cousins during vacation. 
 Men that are expert with these simple 
 tools and keep sober are never out of 
 employment. ^ 
 
 Sodding is done as soon after frost 
 as the ground is dry till first of June, 
 and again in the fall if the weather is 
 not too dry to cut it. Seeding is also 
 done in early spring, but not safe to 
 do after end of May, as we frequently 
 get a dry spell, and unless you can 
 reach it with the hose it may be a 
 failure. The very best time of the 
 whole year to seed a lawn is from the 
 last of August to middle of September; 
 even a little earlier in August is all 
 right. We are almost sure to get some 
 showers the end of August, and if 
 within reach .of the hose you are not 
 dependent on showers, and if sown 
 end of August or very early September 
 yon have a lawn well established be- 
 fore winter sets in. 
 
 In fall sowing, which is the best, 
 there is no need of sowing anything 
 with the grass seeds. Sometimes in 
 spring sowing a sprinkling of oats or 
 rye is sown, which germinates quickly, 
 and by its growth shades and protects 
 the little grass spears till they are up 
 a few inches. In a few weeks the oats 
 are mowed off with a scythe and the 
 grass takes care of itself. This, of 
 course, is quite unnecessary where 
 you sprinkle occasionally. Our climate 
 is uncertain — no two seasons alike — 
 but although I have seen many acres 
 sown for a lawn in August which was 
 a disappointment because there were 
 no rains, yet it is by far the surest and 
 best time to sow. 
 
 There are many seedsmen, leading 
 firms, who give great attention to the 
 preparation of lawn grass seed, and 
 when ordering you should say whether 
 the soil is a clay loam or sandy, 
 whether it is boggy or moist, or high 
 and dry. Some grasses are more suit- 
 able for shade than others. Most of 
 the reputable firms charge a good 
 round sum for their "extra superfine 
 lawn grass mixture." Possibly it is 
 not the seed that costs so much as the 
 "extra superfine." for which you al- 
 ways have to pay high, whether it be 
 in a coat or cod liver oil. 
 
 If I am asked to lay down a lawn, I 
 just buy a good clean sample of Red 
 Top (Agrostis vulgaris), and add a 
 few pounds of White Clover, which is 
 best sown separately, as the little 
 weighty seed will find its way to the 
 bottom of your bag or box and not be 
 distributed evenly with the grass. The 
 fine mixtures of the seedsman are all 
 right and a few dollars is of little con- 
 sequence in such an important and 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 J 37 
 
 permanent undertaking as making a 
 lawn. 
 
 Most of the grass seeds are very 
 light and will fly in every direction, 
 much preferring the openings in your 
 face to the ground. When there is a 
 very gentle breeze blowing steadily in 
 one direction is a good time to sow. 
 You will soon find out then where your 
 seed is settling and gauge your dis- 
 tance accordingly. About 30 to 40 
 pounds of grass seed is usually sown 
 to the acre and 5 or (5 pounds of White 
 Clover. If a small plot of ground, it 
 is easy to know when you have sown 
 enough. In most cases you will sow 
 far too thickly. Neither in spring nor 
 fall is it advisable to keep the newly 
 made lawns mowed closely, so you 
 
 idea of nourishing the roots you are 
 mistaken. The fertilizing properties 
 of the manure have passed through 
 the soil while the roots were inactive 
 and have not benefited the plant. 
 With excessive watering the roots are 
 often brought near the surface and 
 at the same time continually sprink- 
 ling impoverishes the surface soil. 
 
 So one inch of good loam to which 
 has been added V2 lb. of bone meal to 
 the bushel, and this soil thrown on 
 the surface of the lawn and worked 
 in by the back of the rake just before 
 rolling, or even after, will do more 
 good than all the manure you can 
 put on. Then you have given the 
 grass something to feed on and you 
 
 A well-kept Lawn. 
 
 must waive appearance for the benefit 
 of the grass, at least for the first sea- 
 son. 
 
 The care of lawns is something I 
 have thought and talked about for 
 years, for I am convinced that in two 
 features our city and suburban lawns 
 are greatly mismanaged. The only 
 time our lawns want rolling is in the 
 spring. Then they certainly need it. 
 M^inter and heavy frosts have heaved 
 up places here and there, and more 
 than that, have heaved up the roots of 
 the grass, much of which perishes if 
 not pressed back by the roller. Roll- 
 ing (and this time it should be done 
 with a good heavy one) must be done 
 when the ground is drying after the 
 frost has left it; when it is soft and 
 pliable but not wet and sticky. The 
 mowing machine will do the rest for 
 the remainder of the season. Rolling 
 is all righ«, and if you have time roll 
 often: no harm done. 
 
 The practice of strewing stable 
 manure on the grass in November 
 with the idea of protecting it is all 
 nonsense. It brings you a great crop 
 of all kinds of weeds, and that's about 
 all it does. If you put it on with the 
 
 will see great results in a few weeks. 
 Although an inch over the whole sur- 
 face may seem burying the grass; it 
 will soon disappear when moved 
 about by the back of the rake, and 
 after the first good rain you will not 
 notice it. 
 
 The other feature I object to is this 
 continual sprinkling, and many of 
 our citizens who have grass surround- 
 ing their houses are insane over the 
 matter. "Henry, you had better put 
 the sprinkler on the front lawn." I 
 have seen this done while yet the 
 rainbow was in the sky, the effect of 
 a receding storm that had an hour be- 
 fore poured out its liquid gifts in co- 
 pious quantities. 
 
 The grass that suffers most with 
 this idiotic treatment is that beneath 
 the shade of trees and buildings. We 
 know scores of places that are resod- 
 ded or seeded every season, or at most 
 every alternate year, and simply be- 
 cause it is drowned out. "I can't get 
 the grass to grow under the trees" is 
 the continual plaint. It grows under 
 the shade of trees in our orchards and 
 so it does in our large cemeteries and 
 
 public parks, and greener than it does 
 in the sun, simply because the farmer 
 and the park and cemetery superin- 
 tendents do not water it. He has not 
 time, and would not if he could. 
 
 This continued watering brings the 
 roots to the surface only to perish. It 
 produces a weak, forced growth of the 
 grass. What better combination could 
 you have to wear out a lawn than 
 keeping up a continual forcing of 
 growth by water and then clipping it 
 off short with the mowing machine. 
 
 You will ask "What better can you 
 tell us to do, for we are determined 
 to have a green lawn?" First, if your 
 la'wn has been sodded on a hard clay 
 or sown on an inch or two of poor 
 sandy soil, dig it up and dig deep, 
 and put in lots of manure. If you 
 can't do that and your lawn turns 
 brown with a week of hot weather in 
 June, then water thoroughly once a 
 week and then let it alone. Once a 
 week is often enough for any lawn if 
 thoroughly done. And under the shade 
 of trees remember that much less is 
 needed. 
 
 If a very dry summer a good soak- 
 ing once in two weeks is ample for 
 grass that is heavily shaded with 
 trees. Unfortunately this, in many 
 cases, is near the sidewalk where 
 your man or yourself delight to stand 
 hose in hand in your shirt sleeves 
 and nightly pour ice water (for cold 
 it often is) on the tender grass in 
 hot evenings of June, remarking to 
 every acquaintance- who passes: "Hot 
 enough for you?" The struggling 
 blade of grass would say, could it 
 make you sensible of its desires, 
 "Shut up and shut off and let me 
 breathe in the warm night air; I am 
 shivering with the cold and my feet 
 are wet." In protracted periods of 
 'drought, such as many parts have 
 suffered with this summer of 1899, 
 grass will turn brown. The poorer 
 the soil the browner the grass, but it 
 can be green and fresh looking with 
 an occasional watering. And leave 
 alone this everlasting and daily 
 sprinkling. 
 
 I should say in conclusion that all 
 lawns, big or little, should be under- 
 drained with tile or some other 
 means as good. You can get on the 
 lawn earlier in the spring and later 
 in the fall, but more Important than 
 that, it is better for the roots of the 
 grass than land that is boggy and 
 saturated with moisture. All lawns 
 may not need it. but most do. 
 
 The mowing machine keeps down 
 all troublesome weeds except dande- 
 lion and plantain. The latter perishes 
 if the lawn is cut an inch below the 
 surface. For dandelion I know no 
 cure and there is a rich prize for the 
 man who will discover some effectual 
 method for its extermination. 
 
 LBONIA. 
 
 This is a very pretty little free 
 flowering plant that has been largely 
 crowded out by other perhaps more 
 showy plants. It makes in one sea- 
 
 9 
 
138 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 son a compact little plant from eight 
 inches to a toot in height, with small 
 shining leaves and profusely covered 
 with small tubular scarlet, yellow tip- 
 ped flowers. We used to grow it for 
 selling in pots, but many a hundred 
 we cut up and used in baskets and 
 cut flowers. A greenhouse temperature 
 of about 50 degrees suits it well. 
 
 The terminal growths or the young 
 breaks of the cut down plants root 
 readily in winter and when planted 
 out end of May in good, light loam. 
 grow nicely during summer. It needs 
 little pinching, as its growth is 
 branching. They lift well in Septem- 
 ber and by the holidays are in full 
 flower. They are so easily raised 
 from cuttings that plants are not 
 worth keeping the second year. 
 
 L. floribunda is the species we grew 
 for years, but a great improvement 
 on that is L. Penrhosiensis. 
 
 LILIUM. 
 
 This large and handsome gerais of 
 bulbous plants give us a few species 
 that are of first importance to the 
 florist. All are beautiful and where 
 there is an opportunity tor their cul- 
 tivation in the garden few flowering 
 plants can be of more interest. They 
 are widely scattered over the North- 
 ern Hemisphere and the majority of 
 them are hardy in our northern clime. 
 The mo.=;t important species to the 
 florist is b. longiflorum. I will say 
 here that there are several varieties 
 of some species. The variated char- 
 acter is principally difference of co'-or 
 or markings of the flower. The lily 
 that is known as L. Harrisii, or the 
 Bermuda lily, must be a variety of 
 longiflorum which the mild climate 
 of Bermuda has through years of cul- 
 tivation produced. There are certain- 
 ly characteristics possessed by it suf- 
 ficient to make it a distinct variety. 
 The leaves are thinner and less glau- 
 cous, the petals lack the substance of 
 longiflorum, the flower is larger, and 
 it is more easily forced into flower. 
 Briefly, the plant has not the sub- 
 stance of the true longiflorum. All of 
 these traits are what could be ex- 
 pected after years of cultivation in a 
 semi-tropical climate, for excspt in 
 coloring what is it that produces va- 
 riations but environment? 
 
 The following cultural directions 
 are suitable for the Harrisii. Bermuda 
 grown longiflorum and Japan longi- 
 florum. except some slight differences 
 which will be noticed. At present the 
 Harrisii and what we know as Bermu- 
 da longiflorum (the latter is the true 
 longiflorum taken to Bermuda and 
 grown a few years) are all imported 
 from the Bermuda Islands and what 
 with the disease and the tariff the 
 bulbs within three years have about 
 doubled in cost to us. Doubtless there 
 are experiments going on and surely 
 somewhere in our southern states in 
 the broad millions of square miles we 
 have, some place will b° found wh?re 
 the longiflorum can be grown and 
 
 ripened early enough to give us bulbs 
 for Easter forcing. 
 
 As soon as you receive the bulbs get 
 them potted without delay. The bulbs 
 are loose scaled, quite different from 
 a tulip, and must be injured, by lay- 
 ing around exposed to the air. We 
 once tried (as a means of saving la- 
 bor) to force our 5 to 7 inch bulbs in 
 square boxes holding a dozen plants 
 and about five inches of soil. It was 
 by no means a success. They were 
 very awkward to handle and tor soma 
 reason not accounted for a large per- 
 centage came blind. . 
 
 We put the .5 to 7 bulbs in 5-inch 
 pots, leaving the top of bulb about 
 even with surface of soil. For those 
 we want early, say for December cut- 
 ting, we put at once on the bench in 
 a shady house and after one watering 
 cover the pots lightly with excelsior. 
 It keeps them from drying out and 
 does not prevent the lily from push- 
 ing up. Remove it as soon as the 
 growth is up an inch. Water sparing- 
 ly till the growth starts. As there are 
 few roots they don't want much water. 
 Later batches of this size we put out- 
 side in frames and there the few 
 inches of covering is of still greater 
 service, as the sun would daily diy 
 out and bake the soil. Be sure that 
 the frames you stand them in have a 
 dry bottom and that water does not 
 remain under the pots. 
 
 I like to have the lilies in frames 
 because if we get several days of co- 
 pious rain, say in October, it would 
 be altogether too much for them. 
 And there you have at hand the means 
 of covering them with glass. 
 
 The 7 to 9 bulbs we put into 4-inch 
 and treat the same. We were told by 
 a neighbor that he had found that 
 starting the bulbs In a 4-inch and 
 after a time giving them a shift, re- 
 tarded them two weeks, or made 
 them later by two weeks than those 
 put at once into their flowering pot, a 
 t;-inch. We have not found it so and 
 shall continue to put the large bulbs 
 of Harrisii and the Bermuda grown 
 longiflorum first into the 4-incb and 
 after a growth of four or five inches 
 shift them into a 6-inch, or the strong- 
 est into a 7-inch. 
 
 We find the smaller bulbs (5 to 7) 
 the best to grow for cutting, for the 
 reason that you can make a better 
 bunch or vase of flowers with stems 
 of two or three flowers and a bud 
 than you can a stalk of say four flow- 
 ers and three buds to open. 
 
 The Bermuda grown longiflorum is 
 now the favorite lily for Easter. It 
 makes a flner plant and a better, and 
 grows with ordinary care about the 
 most desirable height, two to three 
 feet. But it is well for church deco- 
 rations- to have some of the Harrisii. 
 for if they are six feet high many 
 people will think them of great merit. 
 It is not only at Easter or Christ- 
 mas or Decoration Day that we want 
 the lilies. From November on till 
 June there is use for them. At wed- 
 
 dings they are often a leading feature 
 and at funerals they are in constant 
 use. 
 
 Although desirable to have a con- 
 tinuous supply, Easter is the time 
 when your main crop will be wanted, 
 and every effort should be made to 
 get them right to the day. Though 
 the great majority of plants are sold 
 singly in 5, 6 or 7-inch pots, there is 
 always a good sale for a number of 
 large pots, about a 9-inch, with three 
 plants of Bermuda longiflorum. For 
 this purpose we would only use those 
 bulbs. Here is where the advantage 
 of starting them in the 4-inch is ap- 
 parent. You can select three plants 
 that are all about the same size and 
 degree of earliness, and it carefully 
 handled in shifting they will be all 
 three in bloom at the same time. You 
 may have another pot with three 
 plants not so forward, but they also 
 will be in flower at Easter because 
 the heat you give them afterwards will 
 regulate that. 
 
 If let alone in one house at one 
 temperature a batch of lilies would 
 vary in time of flowering a month or 
 six weeks. It is entirely by moving 
 them about into different degrees of 
 temperature that you can get, say 90O 
 out of a thousand lilies to be in flower 
 the same week. 
 
 We will go back to the 7 to 9 bulbs 
 we left in the frame in 4-inch pots. If 
 you leave th?m there till middle of 
 December, which for want of room 
 you may have to do, don't let a sud- 
 den hard frost sweep down on them. 
 Though almost or quite a hardy plant 
 they have been grown somewhat ar- 
 tificially and ten to fifteen degrees of 
 frost without any covering will hurt 
 the foliage and greatly disfigure them. 
 I can speak from experience on this 
 and would rather the lilies had little 
 or no frost. 
 
 If Easter is early you will want to 
 bring them in by the first of Novem- 
 ber. If three or four inches above the 
 pot we then shift into the flowering 
 pot and this enables us to fill around 
 the stem an inch or less with soil, 
 which is a help to the roots, which 
 often come out above the bulb. 
 
 We start in with a night tempera- 
 ture of 45 to 50 degrees and increase 
 to 60 later. I think a night heat of 60 
 in a light house — and this is what 
 lilies should always have till they 
 open their flowers — grows them nice- 
 ly, and can't be called heavy forcing. 
 There are times frequently when to 
 get the backward plants in bloom we 
 have to give them 70 at night and 85 
 to 90 in day time. Beyond that de- 
 gree of heat it is not safe, for I have 
 seen the young buds when an inch or 
 so long just dry up. 
 
 You cannot get your Easter crop ot 
 lilies in without a great deal of labor 
 in moving them around, and with the 
 experience of years you will yet be 
 anxious as to getting all at the right 
 time. No possible rule can be laid 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 139 
 
 down, as Easter is a changeable date. 
 It is sure that if Easter is in the last 
 days of March you will have to force 
 much more than if it were the 24th 
 of April. Be in time and before you 
 move lilies into a cool house let them 
 be opening the flowers. I have no- 
 ticed that when moved, say from a 
 night temperature of 60 degrees to one 
 of 4.5 degrees, when the buds were not 
 fully developed, they would stand 
 about still. It is too great a check 
 at a time when they need heat, but 
 when just expanding, they can be put 
 in a very cool house and if shaded will 
 keep for two weeks after being open. 
 
 When the lilies are a foot above the 
 pots the.v want a stake or they swing 
 about and often get loose and fre- 
 quently break at the neck of the 
 bulb. 
 
 The soil we use for lilies is a good 
 loam, to which has been added a fifth 
 of old hot-bed manure, and we pot 
 rather firmly. For the 5 to 7 bulbs 
 which are cut during winter and are 
 flowered in 6-inch pots we do not 
 trouble to put any drainage in the 
 pots, but with the 6-inch and larger 
 we always use a crock and a thin 
 piece of green moss. Lilies have to 
 stand on all kinds of material and 
 when this little precaution is taken 
 they are less likely to get stuffed up. 
 
 We frequently notice the tips of the 
 leaves of the Harrisii. and sometimes 
 of the longiflorum. turn brown for 
 half an inch or so. Many times every 
 leaf is so affected. The cause of it we 
 don't know unless it be the effect of 
 
 A Field of Lilium Harrisii in Bermuda. 
 
 fumigating, which the. lilies need so 
 much. Therefore we think it safest 
 to evaporate some of the tobacco ex- 
 tracts rather than burn it. The vapor 
 cannot possibly harm anything, and 
 it penetrates into the thick rosette of 
 leaves which is formed just before the 
 buds are seen. 
 
 Lilies are much troubled with aphis, 
 in fact against them it is a continual 
 fight, sitill if the house is vaporized 
 once a week regularly, it will save you 
 much annoyance. The fly is always 
 deep down among the small and ten- 
 der flower buds, and if undisturbed 
 will puncture the small bud, which 
 causes that deformed and twisted 
 flower. So in addition to tobacco 
 fumes or vapor you should go over 
 the crowns of the plants occasionally 
 and in the center of them with a rub- 
 ber plant sprinkler squirt in some 
 "Nikoteen" diluted 200 times. This 
 may seem tedious, but it need not cost 
 a quarter of a cent a plant and will 
 surely pay at that price. 
 
 The Bermuda grown Harrisii wants 
 a little more heat to bring it in early 
 than the Harrisii. We never try to 
 get the longiflorum in flower till 
 Easter. 
 
 The Japan grown longiflorum are 
 now imported in large quantities. 
 They arrive much later than the Ber- 
 muda grown bulbs and it would be 
 hard to get them in flower any time 
 in April. They make good flowers for 
 later use and if kept well protected in 
 a cold frame are fine for Decoration 
 Day. Last year we had two thousand 
 
 in 3-inch pots in a very cool house tiil 
 end of February, when they were 
 shifted into 5-inch and still brought 
 along very slowly, and by keeping 
 plenty of ventilation on in the cool 
 nights of April and May they were 
 exactly right for the 30th of May, 
 Out of the lot there was not a diseased 
 plant So the Bermuda disease is not 
 bad in the land of the Mikado. 
 
 The longiflorum in good, well drain- 
 ed loam is hardy in this latitude, but 
 would be benefited by a covering of lit- 
 ter every fall after the stems are dry. 
 We have frequently planted out the 
 plants of Harrisii that had been 
 grown and cut at Easter. It a good 
 piece of stem is left, so much tha bet- 
 ter. Many of them will send up a 
 flower stalk from which you will get 
 a few flowers in July and August. This 
 is all the use you can make of them. 
 To force any of them again is out of 
 the question. 
 
 I know no cure for. or any means of 
 detecting, a diseased bulb. It is to be 
 hoped with a change of soil and care 
 in discarding diseased plants and bulbs 
 that our Bermuda friends will in fut- 
 ure supply us with a higher grade of 
 bulbs. One of the advantages I in- 
 tended to mention in starting the large 
 bulbs in small pots was that by shift- 
 ing time you will be able to discover 
 most of the diseased plants, and will 
 not have wasted space, labor and soil 
 on them nearly so much as you would 
 in 6 or 7-inch. 
 
 Lilium lancifolium (which correctly 
 is L. speciosum) is next to the longi- 
 florum most valuable to the florist; al- 
 
140 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 bum roseum and rubrum. They are all 
 about identical in growth. They are 
 not forced for winter or spring, but 
 are very acceptable in July and Au- 
 gust, when we are often short of flow- 
 ers. With a covering of leaves over 
 the ground during winter, they are 
 quite hardy with us. 
 
 We receive the bulbs (from Japan) 
 in late fall and winter, and they are 
 well packed, losing little of their 
 strength in the long journey. We used 
 to try these in cold-frames during win- 
 ter, but it was not a success, and now 
 we never fail by potting them in 7 
 and 8-inch pots, three bulbs in a pot. 
 Put them in dry loam a trifle below the 
 surface, but do not water them, and 
 place the pots beneath your coolest 
 bench, where there is the least drip. 
 It the soil is moderately moist the 
 bulbs will remain seven or eight weeks 
 without starting or making any 
 growth. When they do start and 
 have grown a few inches they must be 
 given the light and grown on, but 
 coolly. 
 
 Any of the lilies, either of the longi- 
 floruni or lancifolium, want little wa- 
 ter till they have made good roots, but 
 after starting they soon fill the pots 
 with roots, and from then on they 
 want an abundance of water. 
 
 When the lancifolium lilies are in 
 flower, and before they are in flower, 
 they should be given the coolest house, 
 with all the ventilation possible. It is 
 midsummer when these lilies are in. 
 flower, so if kept cool and shaded the 
 plants will be stronger, the floweis 
 larger and they will last longer. Out of 
 doors in a sheltered and shady place 
 will do for the lancifolium type very 
 well for the last month. 
 
 These lilies are much troubled with 
 green fly and need fumigating occa- 
 sionally. They have a most delightful 
 odor, agreeable to all. 
 
 The bulbs of Lilium lancifolium 
 need not be thrown away. They are 
 worth planting out in some good soil 
 and will grow for years. We have also 
 forced them the second year with good 
 success. If you intend to do this, don't 
 throw the bulbs under the bench as 
 soon as the flower is cut, but stand 
 them out of doors and keep watered 
 till the foliage is gone and the stems 
 are dry, when they can be cut oft and 
 the pots stored under a very cool 
 bench during winter. In February 
 shake them out and repot and treat as 
 those first imported. If bulbs are not 
 received till March, then they can be 
 given a bench at once, but little water 
 till they start. 
 
 Lilium aurcrtum, most gorgeous of 
 all the family, has flowers sometimes 
 a foot across,' with broad bands of yel- 
 low and beautifully spotted, which 
 gave it the name of ''the golden rayed 
 lily of Japan." It grows from two to 
 three feet and strong, healthy bulbs 
 frequently bear fifteen to twenty flow- 
 ers. We can very well remember the 
 introduction of this magnificent lily 
 and the sensation it created when first 
 flowered. It has long, narrow leaves. 
 I have never seen it here out of doors 
 where it has been treated as a hardy 
 
 lily, but with good care and in well 
 drained soil it may be quite hardy, as 
 large masses of it are perfectly hardy 
 in Scotland: and plantings of several 
 hundred bulbs are a rich sight. We 
 treat it precisely as we do the lanci- 
 folium section. It has a powerful 
 odor, too much for most people, and 
 this forbids its use as a decorative 
 plant or as a cut flower in designs. Un- 
 fortunately many imported bulbs make 
 but a poor growth. 
 
 Before the splendid forcing qualities 
 of the L. Harrisii were known, and 
 when the growing of the bulbs in Ber- 
 muda was not an industry as it now is, 
 we used to grow and force the beauti- 
 ful Lilium candidum. Its delightful, 
 pure pearl white spikes were in great 
 demand for cutting, as well as for 
 Easter plants. It would be useless to 
 describe our manner of forcing (al- 
 though it differed little from that of 
 the longiflorum), because it is entire- 
 ly superseded. It should be always 
 grown wherever you have ground to 
 grow it. It does well in rather a 
 heavy soil and should not be disturbed 
 for several years. Its beautiful flowers 
 are always in demand when in season, 
 with us end of June and July. 
 
 There are no other lilies grown in 
 pots for commercial use. Many spe- 
 cies doubtless could be, but would not 
 be profitable. Beds of L. longiflorum 
 and candidum should be on every flor- 
 ist's place. And if you have the room 
 many other species are beautiful 
 plants for the border. The principal 
 thing to observe with the lilies in the 
 ground in winter is that it is a well 
 drained soil. A good loam overlying 
 a gravel would be perfection, but any 
 soil that is drained will do. In the 
 absence of peat, which many like, dig 
 in a few inches of very rotten manure • 
 or rotten leaf-mould from the woods, 
 and plant the bulbs when perfectly 
 dormant. August is a good month. 
 Plant six inches deep. 
 
 In addition to the longiflorum and 
 lancifolium type, these will be found 
 perfectly hardy: 
 
 L. canadense. orange, finely spotted, 
 two to three feet. 
 
 L. croceum, yellow, four to five feet. 
 
 L. excelsum or testaceum, yellow 
 tinged with red, tour to five feet. 
 
 L, Hansonii, reddish orange, three to 
 four feet. 
 
 L. Humboldti, orange, very fine, four 
 to five feet. 
 
 L. paradalinum, orange with purple 
 spots, five to six feet; of this there are 
 several fine varieties. 
 
 L. pomponium, bright red, two to 
 three feet. 
 
 L. rubescens, or Washingtonianum, 
 white tinged with purple, four to five 
 feet. 
 
 L. superbum, orange red, spotted, 
 four to five feet. 
 
 L. tenuifolium, scarlet, dwarf and 
 slender, but handsome, one foot. 
 
 L. Thunbergianum, red, two to three 
 feet. 
 
 L. tigrinum, the well known tiger 
 lily, deep orange, purple spots, very 
 hardy, two to three feet. 
 
 And several others, both species and 
 varieties. 
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY (CONVAL- 
 LARIA MAJALIS). 
 
 We can remember pots of lily of the 
 valley being grown in our green- 
 houses in March and April many 
 years ago. These pots (a 5 or C-inch) 
 contained a solid mass of roots and 
 were not disturbed or shifted for sev- 
 eral years. After flowering they were 
 stood outside and kept watered till 
 fall, when they were plunged in coal 
 ashes and a few inches of the same 
 material thrown over them. This was 
 growing them in a natural way, and 
 a very great addition they were to the 
 attractiveness of the conservatory. As 
 a pot plant they are of little consid- 
 eration. Within twenty-five years the 
 flower must now be supplied the year 
 around. 
 
 When first lily of the valley was 
 produced in the summer and fall 
 months it commanded a most lucra- 
 tive price, but nowadays at the close 
 margin at which it is sold you must 
 be successful or you had far Ijetter not 
 attempt it: rather leave the growing 
 to the specialist and buy your flowers 
 from the grower or commission man. 
 
 A few years ago in the columns of 
 the "American Florist" appeared sev- 
 eral articles from the pen of Mr. R. 
 Simpson, who can not only write 
 plainly and explicitly convey his 
 knowledge to us, but has been one of 
 the largest and most successful grow- 
 ers of this dainty little flower, and 
 though not copying him verbatim I 
 acknowledge to him many of the im- 
 portant details on growing now given 
 in this article, and particularly the 
 care of the pips in cold storage, for it 
 must be remembered that while the 
 winter is the natural cold storage for 
 the pips that give us the flowers from 
 middle of January to possibly end of 
 May, the other seven or eight months 
 we must depend on those whose 
 growth has been arrested by cold 
 storage. 
 
 I never did believe that to put the 
 original cases into cold storage and 
 expect them to come out in seven or 
 eight months and give good results 
 was at all the reasonable or proper 
 plan. When flrst received, which is 
 usually in November, unpack at once. 
 Large growers place them in trenches 
 in cold-frames and between each row 
 of trenches put some sandy soil or 
 finely sifted coal ashes, and over the 
 tops of the pips two inches of the 
 same material. Small growers will 
 find boxes holding conveniently the 
 quantity they want to force weekly or 
 bi-weekly more convenient than the 
 first plan, because you can easily 
 bring in the box containing just the 
 quantity you want. When putting 
 them outside the smallest and weak- 
 est pips should be put by themselves 
 and labeled and reserved for the latest 
 spring forcing, but with those that 
 are to go into cold storage it is just 
 the reverse, and those which are to 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 141 
 
 be retarded longest should be the 
 strongest. 
 
 Sometimes we find the roots very 
 dry. I prefer to dip the roots for a 
 few moments in a tub of water before 
 putting outside. Let a frost come, a 
 good, hard one, so that the covering 
 is frozen, and no harm if the roots 
 are, then put a foot of hay or excel- 
 sior over them and cover with shut- 
 ters to keep off rain. It is not well 
 for the roots to be too wet. Glass sash 
 would keep off the rain, but it would 
 also raise the temperature on bright 
 days during a thaw, and that is just 
 what you don't want. These condi- 
 tions will do for all the pips that you 
 force during winter and up to the time 
 that we get the flowers outside. But 
 long before this you must have re- 
 moved to the coid storage the roots 
 that are wanted for summer and au- 
 tumn. 
 
 The time to put them in cold stor- 
 age may vary by a mouth because 
 the weather varies. They must be 
 absolutely dormant when removed to 
 the cold storage, and that must be 
 closely watched. We have tried re- 
 peatedly to store away a few thou- 
 sand in our local cold storage ware- 
 houses, and if we could be always suc- 
 cessful with them it would be a great 
 convenience and cheaper than build- 
 ing one of your own. But it is very 
 uncertain work and w'e have often 
 blamed ourselves when perhaps it was 
 the cold storage management that was 
 at fault. 
 
 Mr. Simpson at some length gives 
 instructions how to build a cold stor- 
 age house, but were I to repeat it I 
 am sure you could not build one by 
 it without visiting some one who has 
 one and seeing for yourself "how to 
 do it." The most comforting part of 
 it is that Mr. S. says a cold storage 
 house that will hold 400.000 valley 
 roots can be built for $600. The in- 
 terest on that sum seems very trifling 
 when the success of even a quarter of 
 the above number is grown. Whether 
 you have your own cold storage or 
 hire it, the conditions which you 
 should try and preserve are these: 
 
 Get convenient sized boxes, six or 
 seven inches deep, line them with 
 moist sphagnum moss and between 
 the bunches of roots put moist sand, 
 not saturated, and cover pips with an 
 inch or two of sphagnum. To occupy 
 little space you will have to put slats 
 or boards on top of each box, so that 
 they can be piled up one above the 
 other. In renting space in cold stor- 
 age this would be a great considera- 
 tion. When flrst put in give them 10 
 degrees of frost and in a few days 
 let the temperature go up to 28 or 29 
 degrees and remain at that. 
 
 In large cold storage houses they 
 have rooms at all temperatures and 
 will ask you what degree you want, 
 so the same plan can be carried out 
 by moving the boxes. If when re- 
 moving the roots from the frame to 
 cold storage they appeared dry, give 
 the whole box a watering before put- 
 ting it away, but it is not well for the 
 
 sand to be too wet or the roots may 
 rot. Those small growers who hire 
 the local cold storage for their arrest- 
 ed lilies may as well put them in suit- 
 able boxes when first receiving them 
 in the fall; then with the addition of 
 some moisit sphagnum over the pips 
 
 Flower Spray of Lily of the Valley. 
 
 they can be easily removed at short 
 notice to their cold surroundings. 
 
 There have been many ways of forc- 
 ing the pip into flower. The English 
 growers use ordinary loam as we use 
 sand, and Mr. Simpson asserts that 
 they (the English) produce larger 
 spikes and finer flowers than are 
 grown here, but does not attribute 
 that to cultivation so much as obtain- 
 ing a uniformly high grade of roots 
 and being very particular that they 
 
 are flrst class. A firm that grows 
 annually six millions of pips, as does 
 Thomas Rochford, near London, de- 
 serves certainly to get the best there 
 is in the market. Germany supplies 
 them and is likely to supply them for 
 a long time. 
 
 In obtaining the pips get the very 
 best you can. Don't be guided by any 
 tacked on, absurd title, but find out a 
 good source or good man and when 
 you are well treated stick to that man. 
 Unless you get a well developed crown 
 that contains a good spike of flowers 
 in an embryonic size your most skill- 
 ful and faithful care will not produce 
 a good flower. 
 
 When brought in to foi'ce the tips of 
 the roots are chopped off. They make 
 no fibrous root while growing, but I 
 don't believe the roots should be 
 chopped off too short. So the boxes, 
 if you use boxes, should be five inches 
 deep, leaving the pips just above the 
 surface of the sand. You can place 
 the roots as close as they will con- 
 veniently go in the trench of sand and 
 three inches between the rows. Some 
 growers place an inch of sphagnum 
 between the pips on the surface of 
 the box and when the boxes are going 
 on the pipes I think it a good plan. 
 Large growers who use beds of sand 
 do not bother with moss, and under 
 the conditions it is not necessary. 
 
 I have gi'own fairly good valley in 
 boxes placed on the pipes. Raise the 
 boxes a few inches from the pipes by 
 strips of wood. The first ten days we 
 place over pipes that have a good, 
 strong heat, then remove for a few 
 days to over some pipes that are not 
 so warm and a little more light, and 
 when color begins to show remove 
 them to top of bench, but still shaded 
 from the sun. Always avoid wetting 
 the bells after showing color, but be- 
 fore that syringe frequently and water 
 the sand daily. When lily of the val- 
 ley is about fully expanded (that is, 
 the top bells) it can be cut and placed 
 in water in bunches for twenty-four 
 hours. They travel and keep better 
 than those freshly cut, as do most all 
 flowers. 
 
 Large growers (and this plan is bet- 
 ter far than the boxes with those that 
 want, say, from one to two thousand 
 a week) is to put the roots at once 
 into six inches of sand in the bed. A 
 small, narrow house, with a northern 
 aspect, such as you often see on the 
 north side of an old-fashioned three- 
 quarter span house, would be an ex- 
 cellent place to grow the valley. Top, 
 or atmospheric, heat is not of conse- 
 quence, but one or two pipes on side 
 of wall or path is advisable to be used 
 in very severe weather. The bench 
 should be boarded up back and front. 
 If you don't have any pipes except 
 under the bench have one of the front 
 boards hinged so that it can be opened 
 in very severe weather to warm the 
 air of the house, tor in those times 
 when you are firing so hard you can 
 spare the heat from beneath the bench. 
 In a section of bench in an ordinary 
 house this is not needed because the 
 house is always warm enough. 
 
142 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 The bench should be of roofing slate 
 over which you spread half an inch of 
 cement, all of which is a good con- 
 ductor of heat. Mr. Simpson says that 
 under the bench should be four 2-inch 
 pipes or three 4-iuch. If steam, that 
 would do, but better have five 2-inch 
 hot water pipes and four 4-inch. There 
 should be a 12-inch board above the 
 bench, back and fi-ont, the front one 
 movable for convenience in planting, 
 cutting, etc. These boards should be 
 high enough so that when the shading 
 is put on it would be four or five 
 inches above the tops of the fully de- 
 veloped flowers. It is bottom heat 
 tlyit is the great requisite, as we all 
 know, and the earliest forced bulbs 
 want about S.5 degrees, gradually less- 
 ening the heat till in April, near their 
 natural time of growing, 65 to 70 is 
 enough. 
 
 For the first few days, or till the 
 pips have grown three or four inches, 
 they are covered with wooden shut- 
 ters which almost entirely exclude the 
 light, then these are replaced by cloth 
 shutters: cheese cloth oiled and fast- 
 ened on frames will do nicely and the 
 last few days these are removed and 
 they are given full light, but no direct 
 sunlight. I have often noticed in hand- 
 ling valley that was in boxes that 
 even if fully developed they quickly 
 wilt if exposed to any draught. 
 
 This same place will do for th? sum- 
 mer and fall growing, but little bot- 
 tom heat is needed, though shade and 
 watering are the same. In summer in 
 addition to the portable shading over 
 the plants the house should be shaded 
 and made as cool as possible. 
 
 We always handle a good deal of 
 the flowers during the short week they 
 are in bloom out of doors, and very 
 poor stuff it often is. A heavy shower 
 will quickly ruin it. Every florist who 
 has the ground should have some beds 
 outside, planted with good pips. The 
 beds will last for years. They should 
 be made the size of your frames or 
 planted in permanent frames. Then 
 when winter was over you could put 
 on the sash and with water and shade 
 produce some very fine flowers and 
 foliage several days ahead of the com- 
 mon, unprotected stuff. 
 
 It would be also possible with the 
 aid of some ice and shade to retard 
 your crop a week or ten days after 
 the outside flowers were gone, all of 
 which would be much cheaper than 
 the most ready way of forcing the im- 
 ported pips. 
 
 Lily of the valley can never recede 
 in public favor. It has all the attri- 
 butes that appeal to the most refined 
 and delicate senses. Its grace and 
 simple beauty is unsurpassed and its 
 delicate odor is loved by all. Even 
 supposing you don't get more than 75 
 per cent, of good flowers, then it is a 
 more profltable flower to the grower 
 and retailer than almost anything you 
 handle, and there is no greenhouse 
 where provision could not be made for 
 its successful culture. 
 
 Pans and pots of it sell at Christ- 
 mas and Easter. They can b? treated 
 
 just as described above, but a better 
 way is to select roots with some per- 
 fect flowers and foliage and put them 
 into the pans when in full bloom. 
 There is no fraud about this as if kept 
 moist they last just as long as those 
 grown in the pans from the start and 
 win have a better appearance. I have 
 never had any satisfaction from the 
 imported clumps and would not ad- 
 vise anyone to bother with them. 
 
 LINUM TRIGYNUM. 
 
 Some of the species of this genus are 
 used in flower gardening. L. grandi- 
 florum is a pretty, deep rose-colored 
 summer annual. L. trigynum is the 
 species that is sold for a winter bloom- 
 ing plant. It is not likely to become 
 very popular as a house plant on ac- 
 count of its dropping its petals so 
 quickly, although for the conserva- 
 tory it is a most showy plant and is 
 always in the best of order about 
 Christmas time. When supplied with 
 pot room and plenty of water it makes 
 a shapely, rounded plant, covered with 
 its bright yellow flowers. It is often 
 attacked by red spider and needs daily 
 syringing when in the greenhouse. A 
 night temperature of 50 degrees does 
 it well. 
 
 It roots freely from the young 
 growths in March and should be plant- 
 ed out of doors in a light soil end of 
 May. It will need constant pinching 
 to keep it compact, and lifts with the 
 greatest ease in September, Its flow- 
 ers come in clusters at the axil of the 
 leaf and although a flower lasts but a 
 few days there is such an abundance 
 to take its place that the plants for a 
 month or mor; are extremely showy. 
 
 LOBELIA. 
 
 This extensive genus includes some 
 very handsome hardy perennial plants. 
 L. cardinalis, the Cardinal Flower, is 
 one. They are best raised from seed 
 sown in Augus^ and wintered in a 
 cold-frame and placed in their perma- 
 nent position early in the spring. This 
 method is suited to a great many of 
 our best hardy perennial plants that 
 do not divide easily. 
 
 The dwarf tender sp'ecies of lobelias 
 are of most interest to us, although 
 they are not of such value here as a 
 flower garden plant as they are in the 
 cooler summers of Northern Europe. 
 In Great Britain some of the best 
 flower garden effects are produced by 
 the blue lobelia, where they can be de- 
 pended on to flower all summer. Here 
 they are very gay out of doors till per- 
 haps the middle of July, when they 
 will go entirely out of flower and your 
 design is left with a streak of dark 
 green in place of the brightest of 
 blues. 
 
 For hanging baskets, vases and ve- 
 randa boxes they are to us indispensa- 
 ble, and if not lasting all summer 
 they add greatly in color when first 
 used, and are not so much missed 
 later as stronger growing droopers 
 take their place, 
 
 Select a tew of the best plants in 
 September, cut them back a trifle, and 
 before a hard frost dig up and pot and 
 give them a light, cool place. With a 
 little more heat they will give plenty 
 of cuttings, and both from the old 
 plants and the young ones you will 
 get all the cuttings you want, wliich 
 root like the proverbial weed. 
 
 We like to grow them on hanging 
 shelves, as it affords room to let them 
 droop. We endeavor to be well sup- 
 plied with plenty of lobelias in 3-inch 
 pots with a thick growth eight or ten 
 inches long and just ready to flower 
 about middle to end of May, and this 
 you can do from cuttings struck in 
 February if pinched once or twice and 
 given a good light shelf. 
 
 L. Erinus and its varieties is the 
 one most useful to us, the variet.v 
 called speciosa being most in use. If 
 seed is sown of speciosa you will get 
 a number of varied forms, and some of 
 those grown by us have originated lo- 
 cally. A good, free growth and a fins 
 blue flower is what we select in spe- 
 ciosa. 
 
 Paxtoniana is another variety of 
 Erinus which is still more straggling 
 in growth, with light blue flowers 
 with white throat. 
 
 The dwarf compact form of Erinus, 
 "compacta," which is so largely used 
 in Europe, would be the best of all for 
 bedding, but it is not to be depended 
 upon here and is not of any other use. 
 
 Seed of the varieties of Erinus can 
 be sown in January and by the help 
 of a hot-bed in April and May would 
 be large enough for bedding plants, 
 but to have them in good order for 
 our vases, etc., cuttings are much bet- 
 ter. 
 
 LYSIMACHIA.. 
 
 There is one species, Nummularia, 
 the creeping, little, yellow-tlowered 
 "Money Vine," or moneywort, that be- 
 sides being one of our best hardy rock- 
 work plants is with us a standard so- 
 called vine for baskets and vases. Its 
 long, pendant growth is just what we 
 want for that purpose. For cultivation 
 see Glechoma. 
 
 Don't attempt to take it into the 
 greenhouse in any shape in the fall, or 
 it will get rusty and be useless. To 
 thrive it must have its freeze-up dur- 
 ing the few hard winter months. 
 
 MANETTIA. 
 
 All the species are climbers, and 
 used on trellises they make good 
 summer vines in situaTions that have 
 a sheltered, sunny exposure. They are 
 not a prominent commercial plant, but 
 we occasionally are asked for them. 
 They root very easily during winter 
 from tender tips of the growth, and 
 will grow in any good loam. The 
 flowers are tubular, freely produced 
 and attractive. 
 
 The species are: M. bicolor, scarlet 
 with yellow tip: M. coccinea, white 
 tube spotted with red, yellow throat; 
 M. cordifolia, scarlet; M. micans, or- 
 ange; this species is more suited for 
 inside, 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 143 
 
 Martinezia Ca'-yc.taefolia. 
 
 MARANTA. 
 
 These very ornamental leaved hot- 
 house plants are now known botanic- 
 ally as calathea, but it is not likely 
 that we shall ever know them com- 
 mercially as anything but marantas. 
 There are many species, all from trop- 
 ical America, entirely grown for their 
 handsome leaves. They have creep- 
 ing rliizomes and when shaken out the 
 roots can be readily divided. June' 
 and July is a good time for this oper- 
 ation. Some of the smaller growing 
 species mak? beautiful phants for table 
 decoration or for the larger ferneries, 
 but they do not thrive long in the dry 
 air of a living room. It is as fine plants 
 for the hot-house that they are chief- 
 ly cultivated. 
 
 The essential to grow a fine plant is 
 a good coarse loam, to which can be 
 added a fifth of well decayed manure, 
 and some sand to keep the soil open. 
 As when growing thej' want abun- 
 dance of water and syringing there 
 should be ample drainage to let water 
 pass freely through. In a shaded, 
 sheltered place they will do out of 
 doors, but are far better suited in a 
 shaded house where there is abun- 
 dance of moisture. In winter they 
 will do in a temperature of 60 degrees, 
 but as they are evergreen they must 
 not get dry, only a less quantity of 
 water. For a full development of their 
 velvety leaves they should every two 
 or three years be. shaken out and di- 
 
 vided or their roots and crowns get 
 very crowded. 
 
 There are so many species that it is 
 unnecessary to single out any of them. 
 All are handsome and there is a range 
 in size from the diminutive M. micans, 
 with glittering leaves two to three 
 inches long, to M. zebrina, with leaves 
 three feet long and eight inches broad. 
 Every gardener will remember this old 
 species, probably one of the first intro- 
 duced. Here is a description of M. 
 Veitchii, from Nicholson's Dictionary 
 of Gardening: 
 
 "Leaves large, ovate elliptic, over 
 one foot long, very rich, glossy green, 
 marked along each side the mid-rib 
 with crescent-shaped blotches of yel- 
 low, softened by shades of green and 
 white: under surface light purple. 
 Height of plant three feet. Introduced 
 in ISGG from west tropical America. 
 Probably the handsomest of the ge- 
 nus." 
 
 But there are any number of other 
 species with various beautiful mark- 
 ings, and none difficult to grow where 
 heat, moisture, a porous soil and 
 shade in summer can be given. 
 
 MARTINEZIA. 
 
 M. caryotaefolia, a young plant of 
 which is illustrated, is one of a small 
 family of rather slender growing 
 South American palms, the species in 
 question having been found in parts of 
 Peru and also New Granada. Though 
 
 this species has been in cultivation 
 since 1845, it is not now largely grown, 
 but few seeds being offered in the 
 market. 
 
 The martinezia also possesses a dis- 
 advantage in being so abundantly pro- 
 vided with long and sharp spines, not 
 only the stems, but also the backs of 
 the leaves being armed with these 
 needlelike protectors, and nearly all 
 plants having this characteristic re- 
 ceive but scanty attention from the 
 general public, and especially so if the 
 price is held above the average. 
 
 Martinezia caryotaefolia may be de- 
 scribed in a general way as bearing 
 some resemblance to Caryota urens, 
 except that the latter is without 
 spines, but the peculiarly wedge- 
 shaped pinnae of the martinezia are 
 arranged in irregular groups along the 
 leaf stem, there being frequently from 
 six to ten inches of bare stem between 
 these groups of pinnae on a large 
 leaf. The general color of the leaves 
 is deep green, and the habit of the 
 plant very graceful. 
 
 This palm is not specially subject to 
 the attacks of insects, but if scale in- 
 sects are allowed to infest it they are 
 likely to fix themselves along the 
 stems among the thorns, where it is 
 very difficult to dislodge them. In fact, 
 with any of the very spiny palms it 
 becomes a severe test of patience to 
 eradicate scale, and the use of strong 
 insecticides can hardly be recom- 
 mended in such a case, an experience 
 with kerosene emulsion some years 
 ago on both martinezias and daemono- 
 rops having proved disastrous. 
 
 Regarding the cultural requirements 
 of martinezias it may be said that they _ 
 belong among the warm house palms, ' 
 and will flourish under saitable con- 
 ditions for Areca lutescens, that is, 
 temperature of 05 to 70 degrees, mod- 
 erate shading and abundant moisture. 
 
 M. caryotaefolia is said to bear ex- 
 posure very well as a plant for house 
 decoration, but I have not seen it 
 tested tor such use, though a good 
 sized plant of this species would un- 
 doubtedly be a very effective single 
 specimen to be placed on a pedestal, 
 where its spines would be out of reach 
 of the passer-by. W. H. T. 
 
 MAURANDYA. 
 
 These are useful to us for summer 
 climbers and thrive in our hottest 
 suns. M. Barclayana is best sown in 
 early March in a heat of about 55 to 
 60 degrees. When large enough to 
 handle pot into 2-inch. In this size 
 they are large enough for our baskets, ,. 
 but if wanted for outside climbing can. ,,^ 
 be shifted into 3-inch and must have,.,. 
 a small stake or they get sadly tan-,,,, 
 gled up. They make a very quick ,. 
 growth and cover quickly a small trel-. 
 lis. The flower is not conspicuous, 
 being of a greenish color, about two 
 inches long. 
 
 M. scandens. often called Lopho- 
 spermum scandens, is a larger leaved, 
 stronger growing climber, and one of 
 the very best vines for our vases. The 
 flowers are pinkish violet, This can 
 
144 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 be raised from seed precisely as we 
 do M. Barclayana, but we prefer to 
 take a few cuttings from outside plants 
 in the fall and grow on during win- 
 ter. It roots easily from any part of 
 the growth and by this means we get 
 much more serviceable plants for use 
 in large vases and veranda boxes. 
 They winter very well in 50 degrees, 
 but grow faster, when you want to 
 propagate, in 60 degrees. 
 
 METROSIDEROS (BOTTLE BRUSH 
 PLANT). 
 
 This is one of the many hard-wood- 
 ed evergreen shrubs that we get from 
 the Southern Pacific islands. The spe- 
 cies we import is M. robusta, and its 
 peculiar, terminal, densely flowered 
 
 tractive, and a limited number find a 
 ready sale. 
 
 When they arrive soak the ball and 
 then pot firmly and put in a house at 
 about 4.5 degrees. To bring them in 
 for Easter you must watch them and 
 gradually give them more heat, but 
 not suddenly. Freshly imported 
 plants if forced in much heat, as you 
 can an azalea, will shed their flowers. 
 
 Plants unsold the first spring will 
 be much better and more satisfactory 
 the second year. End of April cut 
 them back to within an inch or two 
 of the old growth and put them into 
 a good heat and keep syringed. They 
 will make a bushy growth with a num- 
 ber of shoots. Early in June plunge 
 them out in the broad sun, well cov- 
 ering their pots, and in the hot weath- 
 
 Bottle Brush ( Mctrosider os ) trimmed with crimson ribbon, in celluloid basket. 
 
 spike is so like in form to a bottle 
 brush that the popular name is often 
 suggested by people who have never 
 heard it. It has been for many years 
 grown as a cool greenhouse plant, but 
 only within a dozen years have the 
 Europeans been sending us the little, 
 compact bushes that now arrive with 
 our azaleas. The Belgians grow it in 
 peat as they do most hard-wooded 
 plants, but it does very well in good 
 turfy loam with a fourth of leaf-mold. 
 It will root from the young growths 
 in early spring, which can be planted 
 out in good soil end of May. But with 
 tariff included we can get fine plants 
 landed here at a cost that it would be 
 impossible to grow them as good for 
 the same money. 
 
 You don't want a great many of 
 them; about one to every ten Azalea 
 indica you grow. Plants in 6-inch 
 pots, well flowered and fixed up with 
 a red ribbon, do look novel and at- 
 
 er don't let them suffer for water. In 
 July or earlier mulch the surface of 
 the pots with an inch of half decom- 
 posed cow manure: this will add 
 greatly to their robustness. Bring in 
 before any danger of frost and keep 
 in a temperature of 4.5 degrees; warm- 
 er if you want them earlier than East- 
 er. These will be far better plants 
 and be much more satisfactory to the 
 purchaser than the newly imported. 
 
 MIGNONETTE (RESEDA 
 ODORATA). 
 
 It is doubtful if there is any plant 
 so universally known or better liked 
 than the mignonette. 
 
 The florist sows it in his garden as 
 soon as the ground is dry, and makes 
 another sowing later, in shallow drills 
 in deep, rich soil. If continuous cut- 
 ting is expected the plants should be 
 thinned out to a few Inches apart and 
 watered in dry weather. 
 
 As a cut flower in winter it is a 
 staple article and for that purpose is 
 grown, good, bad and indifferent. To 
 obtain fine spikes that sell by the 
 dozen or hundred it must have a suit- 
 able place and room to grow. 
 
 A solid bed in a light house would 
 without doubt be the best place, but 
 it can be grown on a bench in five or 
 six inches of soil, very well. The soil 
 should be a heavy loam with a fourth 
 of rotten cow manure. A bench where 
 the heat of the pipes would be felt 
 would not be good as the roots like a 
 cool bottom. 
 
 Sow early in August. We put a few- 
 seeds in a spot, about one foot apart, 
 and when an inch high thin out to the 
 strongest plant. When a few inches 
 high they will branch from the bot- 
 tom and four or five of the strongest 
 side shoots can be selected; after that 
 keep lateral growths off both the main 
 spike and the side growths, If grown 
 cool it will not want any staking, but 
 if it should it is easily done, as one 
 small stake would support several 
 spikes. 
 
 This mignonette, whether grown for 
 cutting or for pots, must have the 
 fullest possible light and air on all 
 permissible occasions. Light and air 
 and a cool temperature will just make 
 the difference between stout, heavy 
 spikes and thin, spindling ones. You 
 ought to get a good cutting at the 
 holidays and another at Easter. In 
 fact after Christmas you can always 
 cut good spikes. The night tempera- 
 ture should never be over 50 degrees, 
 and I should prefer it when heavy fir- 
 ing is going on to be only 45 degrees. 
 
 There are few plants that will fill 
 the bill more acceptably for an inex- 
 pensive Easter gift than a well grown 
 mignonette. A 4-inch pot will grow 
 a nice plant, but a 5-inch is much bet- 
 ter. For this purpose sow not later 
 than end of August, Sow in the same 
 pots that they are to be sold in. I 
 have been quite successful shifting 
 them from a small pot, and also un- 
 successful. The former is much the 
 safest plan. 
 
 Put a crock and a piece of green 
 moss in the bottom of the pot and fill 
 up solidly with good, fresh loam with 
 a fourth of cow manure; make the 
 soil quite solid. Sow a number of 
 seeds on the surface and cover light- 
 ly. When well up thin out to three 
 strong plants equal distances apart. 
 We pinch the leading shoot out of 
 these plants, which will give you nine 
 or ten nice spikes, which is better 
 than three or four large ones. Keep 
 them in just such a house as you do 
 those growing for cutting and if any 
 preference keep in the coolest end. 
 
 If showing fiower too soon stop 
 them, but they should not be pinched 
 for twelve weeks before you want to 
 sell them. A neat stake would be 
 needed for these pots, and perhaps 
 three small stakes is better, just to 
 hold the branches from breaking. 
 Don't attempt to grow mignonette in 
 a dark, ill ventilated house; you will 
 only get weak, spindling stuff. Like 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 U5 
 
 Bench of Mignonette. 
 
 many other plants the more perfect 
 the light and the more you can give 
 air the less you will hurt with a high- 
 er temperature. 
 
 Mignonette does not like transplant- 
 ing; that is why they are sown on 
 the bench where they are to grow, and 
 in pots in wliich they are to flower. 
 
 Simple as this plant is to sow out- 
 side as a hardy annual, we always sell 
 a good many plants with other sum- 
 mer flowering plants. For this pur- 
 pose we sow a number of seeds in 3- 
 inch pots on some liglit bench in early 
 March. Later we thin out to three or 
 four of the strongest and in April 
 plunge them in a mild hot-bed, where 
 by middle of May they are strong, 
 thrifty plants. 
 
 When the mignonette plants are 
 quite small you must watch out for 
 slugs and wood-lice, both of which 
 relish them as fine salad. If you see 
 the small yellow butterfly in your 
 mignonette house in August or Sep- 
 tember get your double-barreled, ham- 
 merless Parker shotgun, or your hat, 
 and annihilate him, or rather her. She 
 flits over the plants depositing a small 
 green egg, which quickly evolves into 
 the green worm, the cabbage worm, 
 which will, if unmolested, soon chew 
 up your young mignonette. 
 
 I have never noticed that tobacco 
 smoke did any harm to the mignon- 
 ette, nor does it need it much. If it 
 gets over the slugs, wood-lice and 
 worms there is no trouble ahead. 
 
 You ought to select the finest spikes 
 and save your own seed. The strain 
 we grow was obtained from Mr. John 
 N. May some years ago, and by selec- 
 tion it is better than when first ob- 
 tained. But mignonette is very like 
 asparagus; it is the growing and rich, 
 heavy soil that makes the giant or 
 colossal qualities; any of the strains 
 are good when well grown. Besides 
 new advertised strains, some standard 
 
 ones are; Bird's Mammoth, Miles' Hy- 
 brid Spiral, Machet, Golden Queen and 
 Machet's Perfection. 
 
 MIMULUS. 
 
 As a boy we thought there were very 
 few plants so beautiful as M. luteus 
 (Monkey Flower). We don't think so 
 now, but its yellow and spotted flower 
 is very attractive. Our hot summers 
 do not suit it planted out. It is often 
 treated as an annual and can be raised 
 from seed sown in early spring. Or it 
 can be kept over winter and propa- 
 gated by cuttings. In a shaded, moist 
 place it will do well planted out, and 
 in a liberal sized pot in a cool house it 
 would thrive, and when well grown its 
 showy flowers will sell it. 
 
 M. moschatus is the common musk 
 plant, which in some cities is a great 
 market plant, but in many of our cities 
 is scarcely ever seen. It also likes to 
 be away from the hot sun. Good light 
 soil and partial shade and moisture 
 suit it well. It can be raised from 
 seed, which is very small and needs no 
 covering, but it is a perennial, and if 
 you have a few plants carried over 
 winter as dormant roots you can 
 shake them out in early March and 
 start growing in a warm greenhouse. 
 As they grow- small pieces can be 
 taken and two or three of them put 
 round the edge of a three or four-inch 
 pot, which they will soon cover with 
 their fast creeping growth. In this 
 way you can rapidly make any number 
 of salable pots. They never want the 
 cutting bed. 
 
 MOON FLOWER (IPOMOEA BONA 
 NOX OR NOCTIFLORA). 
 
 This is one of the many evergreen 
 ipomaeas that make us a splendid 
 summer climber. We have seen pic- 
 tures of windmills in Georgia where 
 
 the moon flower had grown to a height 
 of 75 feet. There are many of these 
 ipomaeas that make fine climbers for 
 the conservatory and hothouse, and 
 doubtless could be used out of doors in 
 our summers, but the moon flower is 
 known by all. 
 
 There is the grandiflora type of 
 moon flower with blossoms six to 
 seven inches across, and an improved 
 kind with small flowers, but flowering 
 earlier in the summer. They should 
 not be planted out till danger of frost 
 is past, but as they are always against 
 a fence or trellis can be easily pro- 
 tected from late frosts. 
 
 They are easily raised from seed 
 sown in the greenhouse in March, but 
 a few cuttings can be taken from the 
 small side shoots in September, which 
 root readily. When rooted don't try 
 to grow them fast till early spring, 
 when with more heat they will quick- 
 ly grow and can be increased by cut- 
 tings. 
 
 There is nothing that surpasses the 
 moon flower for rapidity of growth. 
 It makes a perfectly dense screen, and 
 in the evening and until 10 or 11 
 o'clock in the morning is studded with 
 its noble flowers. 
 
 MULCHING. 
 
 This garden term may be new to 
 some beginners, but it represents 
 some very important operations in our 
 business. 
 
 In plants in pots it means with 
 those plunged outside in summer, 
 such as azaleas, acacias, hardy roses, 
 etc., that an inch or less of manure 
 and soil, or all manure, is put on the 
 surface of the pot. Sometimes chem- 
 ical fertilizers are added to the com- 
 post. Its purpose is two-fold. It feeds 
 the roots and encourages them to 
 come to the surface, which they do, 
 feeding on the mulch which is ap- 
 plied, and it prevents the hot sun from 
 parching the soil, which necessitates 
 such frequent watering. The good ef- 
 fects of an inch of cow manure ap- 
 plied to azaleas this past July 
 plunged in the broad sun have been 
 most marked. It is sometimes done 
 inside, where plants cannot be shifted, 
 but when the roots need more nour- 
 ishment. 
 
 On plants in beds, such as roses and 
 carnations, it is a most important op- 
 eration. The soil is shallow and the 
 application of half an inch of manure 
 or a rich compost containing bone dust 
 or sheep manure is the greatest help 
 to them. And in spring the mulching 
 on our beds has the same effect as 
 that on the pots in summer; it pre- 
 vents evaporation. 
 
 Not so much to encourage growth as 
 to save the lives of trees and shrubs 
 that are recently planted, mulching is 
 of the greatest benefit to all trees and' 
 shrubs that are planted the previous 
 fall or present spring. It has saved 
 the lives of millions of young trees. 
 In dry weather a freshly planted tree 
 needs water, however scientifically you 
 have planted it, and to water on the 
 
146 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 surface tends only to aggravate its 
 condition, as the ground soon becomes 
 parched. By laying two or three 
 inches of stable litter on the surface 
 of the ground for a distance extending 
 farther than the roots of the tree you 
 will prevent evaporation from the 
 ground. It will keep the ground cool 
 and moist, and when you do water no 
 baking of the ground will ensue: the 
 tree or shrub will get the benefit of 
 the watering for many days. This 
 mulching of newly-planted trees is of 
 the utmost importance. Many a young 
 . tree, evergreen or deciduous, shrubs 
 and fruit trees, all alike, are saved 
 from death by the simple and inex- 
 pensive operation of mulching. 
 
 It is also the only way we can fer- 
 tilize our hardy herbaceous plants. An 
 inch or two of manure laid between 
 the rows in early spring prevents dry- 
 ing out, feeds the roots, and can, 
 later in the fall, be lightly cultivated 
 into the soil. 
 
 MUSA. 
 
 The banana plant is of the easiest 
 possible culture; a rough, rich loam, 
 an abundance of water, heat and room 
 to grow, are all that is required. Occa- 
 sionally we see a bunch of M. Caven- 
 dishii in our northern hot-houses, and 
 if I had the chance of some million- 
 aires I would raise my own bananas. 
 That would be as reasonable as Levi 
 P. Morton producing his own cream, 
 which costs him the same price as his 
 champagne. 
 
 To those who have only tasted the 
 bananas picked green in the West In- 
 dies and ripened in the hold of a ves- 
 sel or heated warehouse and finished 
 off in the sleeping apartment of Giu- 
 seppe Garibaldi, the fresh yellow fruit 
 ripened on the plant is as Mr. Mor- 
 ton's Jersey cream to a very thin 
 sample of skim milk. You are not, 
 however, likely to embark in the ba- 
 nana industry, and as our government 
 will soon own a large part of the world 
 suitable to their culture we will leave 
 that to the new office which will be 
 known as "Secretary of the Tropical 
 Fruit and Tattooing Department." 
 
 Musa ensete, from Abyssinia, and 
 M. superba, from the East Indies, 
 make very ornamental plants for the 
 sub-tropical garden and for specimens 
 on the lawn. You can raise them from 
 seed, or buy young plants at a very 
 low cost. They should always be 
 planted out where a good, fast growth 
 is wanted. 
 
 Though a tropical plant you can 
 store them during winter in a cool 
 house with little water, or they can 
 be lifted, the ground shaken off the 
 roots and laid under a bench, or they 
 will keep in a root-house or cellar 
 when not below 40 degrees, but 50 de- 
 grees is better. 
 
 In sheltered places they make fine 
 specimens on a lawn with their broad, 
 tropical leaves, especially M. ensete, 
 but in windy places their leaves rip 
 and tear, giving the plant a very rag- 
 ged appearance. 
 
 MYOSOTIS. 
 
 We are always asked for some 
 plants of these in early spring. They 
 do not last long in our hot, dry sum- 
 mers. M. alpestris makes a compact 
 little tuft, full of flowers in the 
 spring. 
 
 You can sow the seed in August and 
 plant in cold-frames, where they will 
 winter all right, but if you have any 
 stock it can be divided quite easily 
 and planted in cold-frame in Septem- 
 ber, a few inches apart. 
 
 For years we grew a very useful 
 species of myosotis for cutting in win- 
 ter. It was planted in fall along the 
 edge of the carnation benches, and 
 as it grew entirely outwards and hung 
 over the sides of the bench it did no 
 harm to the carnations except what 
 strength it took from the soil, and 
 that we could afford. We propagated 
 a few dozen by cuttings in late spring. 
 
 bon borders, but are more valuable as 
 a vase plant, for which their graceful 
 but free growth and free flowering 
 qualities are well adapted. They can- 
 not be called a drooping plant, yet 
 their slender but wiry growths have 
 a fine effect in the edge of a vase or 
 veranda box. 
 
 Any good loam will grow them. Lift 
 a few plants in fall and cut back hard, 
 and keep in a cool, light house. In 
 January start with a little heat and 
 you will get plenty of cuttings. Or 
 if you prefer, take off some cuttings 
 in the fall, but th?y don't root freely 
 unless the cuttings are of recent 
 growth. 
 
 NEPENTHES. 
 
 These remarkable plants are little 
 handled by the commercial florist, but 
 are so striking and curious that all are 
 interestJd in a knowledge of them. 
 
 Nepenthes. 
 
 kept them in 3-inch pots during sum- 
 mer, and after the carnations were 
 planied we put in a plant of myosotis, 
 not too thickly, one about every three 
 feet. From them we picked sprays of 
 their beautiful flowers all winter. I 
 am not positive, but the species was, 
 I feel sure, M. azorica. M. dissitiflora 
 has large, deep blue flowers, fine for 
 borders, but not as good for cutting 
 as azorica. 
 
 NASTURTIUM. 
 See Tropaeolum. 
 
 NIEREMBERGIA. 
 
 The species of most use to the florist 
 is gracilis, which has slender growth 
 with pretty white and light purple 
 flowers. They were formerly used 
 sometimes for flower beds or long rib- 
 
 They are an important genus in that 
 family of plants which are now known 
 as insectivorous and to which the 
 great Darwin devoted a volume as the 
 result of his marvelous research. The 
 Dionaea muscipula (Venus' fly trap), 
 from Carolina, is the most familiar of 
 the insectivorous plants. Others are 
 its close relation, the drosera, of our 
 northern swamps, and again the fa- 
 miliar sarracenia. 
 
 The nepenthes are called ••Pitch3r 
 plants," because the extension of the 
 leaf terminates in the perfect form of 
 a pitcher, lid and all. If they were 
 not called pitcher plants they would 
 lemind you much of the large Ger- 
 man pipes, five or six inches in the 
 bowl, which usually have a cover. 
 What part the pitcher bears to the 
 economy of the plant is not fully de- 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 147 
 
 termined, but the fluid held in the 
 pitcher contains bacteria which is ca- 
 pable of digesting nitrogenous mat- 
 ter. If an insect, a fly or bee once 
 explores the depths of the pitcher he 
 is gone. They are incapable of climb- 
 ing up by the interior walls of the 
 pitchers and are finally drowned, to 
 their discomfiture, but probably to the 
 benefit of the plant, hence they are 
 called insectivorous, or insect-eating 
 plants. 
 
 They are nearly all the most trop- 
 ical of tropical plants, found in Bor- 
 neo, Madagascar, Ceylon and pretty 
 close to the equator. The pitchers 
 hang on for months in perfect condi- 
 tion if not accidentally or purposely 
 emptied of their fluid, which they 
 never should be, or they will shrivel 
 up. 
 
 Although plants requiring a very 
 high temperature they are not at all 
 difficult to grow providing you have 
 heat and moisture. I have enumer- 
 ated several of the finest and best 
 known, but there are many hybrids of 
 great beauty. 
 
 Propagation. They are not difficult 
 to propagate by cuttings, which should 
 be three or four eyes of the tip of a 
 shoot, placed in sand and kept moist. 
 The cuttings should be in a propagat- 
 ing case in a warm house and the sand 
 should be 10 to 15 degrees warmer 
 than the house, or about 80 to 85 de- 
 grees. May and June are good months 
 to propagate and the cuttings will 
 root in three or four weeks. 
 
 Rooted plants should be grown in 
 hanging wooden baskets. Shade in 
 the summer is necessary. Our sum- 
 mer nights are often too cool to do 
 the nepenthes well and a gentle fire 
 heat is essential the year round. The 
 lowest night temperature in winter 
 should not be less than 70 degrees. 
 The baskets should be filled one-third 
 their depth with clean crocks and 
 then the roots of the nepenthes should 
 be filled in with equal parts of f?rn 
 roots and good sphagnum moss, round- 
 ing up the surface of the basket with 
 good live sphagnum. 
 
 The daily spraying will be suflicient 
 without water, and in summer spray 
 them twice a day. What they want is 
 an atmosphere fairly reeking with 
 moisture. The more moist your at- 
 mosphere the more your pitcher 
 plants will thrive. 
 
 The following all have grand pitch- 
 ers: N. Dominiana. Mastersiana, Mor- 
 ganiae, Rafl^esiana, Veitchii, Wil- 
 liamsii, madagascariensis. As the 
 names of the above will denote, some 
 of them are garden hybrids. 
 
 The lamented Mr. Court, who repre- 
 sented Messrs. Veitch, of London, and 
 who made many trips to this country, 
 was an enthusiast on these curious 
 plants, and whoever saw the collec- 
 tion of nepenthes at Chelsea, as the 
 writer did in 1885, could not fail to 
 see that this wonderful collection of 
 grotesque exotics were perfectly at 
 home. One of the handsomest hybrids 
 raised by Mr. Court bears his name. 
 The pitchers on some of the largest 
 
 Otiheite Orange, in gilt basket, tied with ribbon. 
 
 are eight inches long by three inches 
 in width. 
 
 OLEANDER (NERIUM). 
 
 There is a marked inclination 
 among our patrons the past year or 
 two to decorate their grounds, par- 
 ticularly where the grounds are con- 
 fined to a city lot, with palms, sweet 
 bays, tubs of hydrangeas and other 
 plants, and the well known oleander 
 may yet come into favor; in fact, we 
 have of late had calls for large plants 
 of it. 
 
 Our acquaintance with this fins 
 shrub is too often an unpleasant one. 
 Some worthy matron may possess an 
 oleander too large for her window, and 
 she enquires how much we will charge 
 to store it for the winter. You ar? 
 bound to charge about as much as the 
 plant is worth, so the deal is off. Still, 
 where you have a house entirely de- 
 
 voted to the care of such winter 
 boarders, you must take the oleander 
 as well as other plants, only be sure 
 you get enough for your space and la- 
 bor. It is no more reasonable that we 
 should take in a palm or sweet bay or 
 an oleander for little recompsnse than 
 that a livery stable should board a 
 horse all winter for little or nothing. 
 
 With all their familiarity, oleanders 
 are beautiful shrubs. We all hear so 
 often about the hedges of them in 
 Bermuda. In the cooler parts of Eu- 
 rope they are almost entirely a green- 
 house plant. With us they are chiefly 
 used for summer decoration outside, 
 and our warm, bright summer suits 
 them finely if well supplied with 
 water. 
 
 They root easily from young growths 
 in spring, and with occasional pinch- 
 ing and shifting on as required soon 
 make large plants. It is with the care 
 
148 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 of large plants that we are most con- 
 cerned, and to obtain a fine lot of 
 flowers in the summer, and I might 
 just mention that this summer of 1S99 
 the oleanders have been unusually fine. 
 
 The flower conies on the matured 
 wood of the spring growth or previous 
 fall, so the ideal treatment would be 
 to store them in October, after flower- 
 ing, in a ver.v cool house, or a light 
 shed will do. but no frost must touch 
 them. In early April prune back the 
 growths that have borne flowers, and 
 with more heat and more water en- 
 courage them to make their growth, 
 which by June will be fairly matured, 
 and they will then soon flower. Dur- 
 ing the winter months they will do 
 with very little water unless kept in 
 a warm greenhouse, when, naturally, 
 they want more. 
 
 The correct name of our common 
 oleander is Nerium Oleander, and sev- 
 eral handsome varieties exist: Album 
 plenum, double white; Henri Mares, 
 pink, double; Madonna grandiflorum. 
 creamy white, large and double; Pro- 
 fessor Durand. pale yellow, free; Rose 
 Double, bright rose; splendens, bright 
 red, double and several others. 
 
 The oleander is pestered with mealy 
 bug, and much more by a white scale. 
 There is no excuse for the bug on a 
 plant that will enjoy the hose as does 
 the oleander. When you see the signs 
 of scale, sponge the whole plant with 
 kerosense emulsion. 
 
 ORANGE. 
 
 The writer's first experience in gar- 
 dening, or that for which there was 
 any pay, was in an old fashioned con- 
 servatory in the curious roof of which 
 there was enough lead to make "sink- 
 ers" for all the fishermen of the great 
 lakes. It was very dark at all times, 
 and more than one winter can I re- 
 member that the old heating flues 
 which ran beneath the white and spot- 
 less paths were never lighted. Such is. 
 or was, the climate of the south coast 
 of England. The frost never entered 
 this house, for a venerable heliotrope 
 grew against the south wall, a beautiful 
 plant of Acacia pubescens flourished 
 at the east end, a Phormium tenax 
 grew strong and bushy in the north- 
 east corner, close by a veteran Fuchsia 
 fulgens; opposite them were two 
 bushes of the tea tree, and not far off 
 a beautiful tree of the Norfolk Island 
 pine (Araucaria excelsa) that had to be 
 sunk in the border to keep its top from 
 the roof, and there were huge camellia 
 trees that bore thousands of blossoms, 
 the single red a more beautiful tree 
 than any of fhera. 
 
 But the chief feature of this old 
 house, that was torn down about forty 
 years ago, was the large orange trees 
 which were planted out in the borders. 
 There were flowers or oranges in some 
 degree of ripeness all the year round, 
 and there were several varieties. Per- 
 haps it was the cool, dark house that 
 was accountable for the flavor and 
 texture of these oranges, for I must 
 say that inferior as most tropical fruit 
 is when picked green and sent to us, 
 
 that the oranges we bought in the 
 shops were much superior to those that 
 ripened on those old trees. Quantity 
 there was by the bushel, but the qual- 
 ity was not tempting, and the writer 
 was at that age when anything good 
 to eat was tempting. An accidentaU ?) 
 shake of a tree would always bring 
 a few of the big yellow fellows to the 
 ground, but they suffered less from the 
 omnivorous appetite of a 15-year-old 
 than the peaches and nectarines in the 
 same garden. Yet we hear travelers 
 and residents of our orange-growing 
 states declare that the ripe fruit, 
 freshly picked, is far superior to those 
 picked prematurely and sent to our 
 northern markets. This little diver- 
 sion on oranges is not what we are 
 after, and we must cease. 
 
 Small dwarf oranges in pots have 
 lieen grown for several years past, and 
 are now seen in all the florists' stores 
 at Christmas. A plant in an eight- 
 inch pot and two feet high, well cov- 
 ered with fruit, is very attractive, 
 and many people want one. We have 
 not found them to hold their foliage 
 as could be wished in a parlor or sit- 
 ting-room, but the golden fruit hangs 
 on. It is surprising to how many peo- 
 ple the orange tree is yet a stranger. 
 The majority of our people don't 
 know whether they grow like a musk- 
 melon or a chestnut. 
 
 The varieties of the orange are said 
 to be almost as numerous as those of 
 the apple, and the large, fine flavored 
 kinds, such as the Navel, would not be 
 precocious and free fruiting enough 
 to make very small specimens in pots 
 bearing two or three dozen fruits. The 
 variety or species grown for this pur- 
 pose is. I believe, the Otaheite, which 
 flowers and fruits very young. As 
 
 might be expected, the fruit is small, 
 but none the less ornamental on that 
 account. 
 
 You had much better leave the grow- 
 ing of the plant to a specialist, who 
 will or can supply you with small 
 plants in pots and with fruit about 
 ready to color or colored, from one 
 foot to thirty inches high, and per- 
 haps larger. I shall merely attempt to 
 tell you how to produce another crop 
 of fruit for the following winter on 
 any that you may happen to have left 
 over. 
 
 You can keep them anywhere in a 
 cool house till the first of March, then 
 cut them back a few inches and put 
 into more heat. Keep them syringed 
 and in the full light. They will soon 
 make a good growth and in May will 
 flower. Give air without a cold draft, 
 and be careful not to let their hand- 
 some leaves burn. The fruit will soon 
 set, and from that on they want a 
 light, airy house, plenty of water and 
 only shade enough to keep the leaves 
 from burning. In September or Oc- 
 tober the fruit will begin to color, and 
 from that on they can be kept in a 
 temperature of 50 to 55 degrees. 
 
 The greatest enemy to oranges is . 
 the white scale, and when plants are 
 badly infested with it, especially little 
 plants, it is as well to destroy them, 
 scale and all. If a larger plant in a 
 tub that you value, cut it back in the 
 spring and give the bark two or three 
 spongings with kerosene emulsion. 
 
 Large oranges in tubs are used 
 largely in some parts of Europe for 
 ornamental gardening. We have not 
 yet reached that, and I trust never 
 will, for a large orange tree in a tub 
 is a kind of white elephant to all con- 
 cerned. 
 
 Calanthe Veitchii, 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 149 
 
 ORCHIDS. 
 
 There is no class of plants at which 
 the great majority of our commercial 
 men look with greater apprehension 
 than the orchids. To grow them suc- 
 cessfully is something they may dream 
 of but never achieve, so they think; 
 but, fortunately, much of this mystery 
 regarding their culture is rapidly pass- 
 ing away. Special houses are no longer 
 deemed essential for the successful 
 cultivation of orchids. It would be 
 rash to say that orchids are among 
 the easiest of plants to grow, because 
 there is a wide difference between 
 keeping them alive only and growing 
 them to perfection, or as near perfec- 
 tion as we can with our artificial con- 
 ditions. Yet it is the truth to say that 
 no plant we grow will stand as much 
 abuse or is more difficult to kill, pro- 
 viding the neglect is not too prolonged. 
 A commercial firm whom I have every 
 reason to believe thoroughly under- 
 stand the most enlightened culture of 
 orchids have adopted in their practice 
 what may be called the board system 
 of cultivation. For those growing large 
 quantities for the cut blooms, the plan 
 is doubtless admirable, and does not 
 
 Cattleya Labiata. 
 
 conflict with any cultural directions 
 that will follow. 
 
 In these introductory remarks a few 
 words on the popularity and probable 
 future popularity and profitableness of 
 orchids will not be out of place. It is 
 true that ten years ago, through the 
 efforts of one American firm, there 
 were many small collections dissemi- 
 nated throughout the country, and 
 many of them were not the easiest 
 species to grow, or even good commer- 
 cial kinds. Disappointment occurred 
 in hundreds of cases, and for several 
 years you have heard less said of or- 
 chids, at any rate, less favorable men- 
 tion. But another change is about us. 
 Many of our enterprising commercial 
 men realize that orchid flowers are 
 going to be in demand, whether they 
 grow them or not, and many of them 
 are going into orchids in a business- 
 like way, and giving them a portion of 
 their skill and ability, as they have for 
 years given the rose, the carnation, or 
 the violet. And to keep pace with this 
 we now have firms, both at home and 
 abroad, ready to supply us at moderate 
 cost with the most desirable and valu- 
 able commercial species and varieties. 
 
 The writer cannot conceive that 
 
 there can be a doubt of the ever in- 
 creasing admiration and fondness for 
 these flowers, so beautiful, both in 
 form and color, and so long lasting. 
 Admiration they receive now by all, 
 but there is neither supply nor demand 
 as yet for the orchids to amount to 
 much in the aggregate of our flower 
 sales for the year. I am far from 
 wishing to see the profit, or even lib- 
 eral profit, of the present few orchid 
 growers cut down, and believe that 
 when the price of a cattleya flower is 
 more in sympathy with the pocket of 
 the average flower buyer the demand 
 will so enormously increase that the 
 immense quantities which will in a 
 few years be sold will be a far better 
 business than the relatively few high- 
 priced flowers sold today. If any peo- 
 ple under the sun like and crave for 
 "a change," it is our own; flowers are 
 no exception, and what a delightful 
 change from the morning, noon and 
 night everlasting Bridesmaid rose is a 
 bunch of cattleyas or many other gor- 
 geous orchids. In Covent Garden, the 
 great flower market of London, there 
 are possibly as many orchids sold as 
 rosebuds; but that is not difficult to 
 understand; their orchids are grand 
 
J 50 
 
 The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 in quality and moderate in price, while 
 their rosebuds are rubbish. 
 
 The genera o£ which cultural direc- 
 tions follow embrace all the orchids 
 that are desirat)le or essential for the 
 commercial man to handle. All can be 
 grown easily and profitably, and the 
 different genera, species and occasion- 
 ally a variety, cover the entire season, 
 giving you every form, color and shad- 
 ing of this gorgeous family, which 
 may be called the birds of paradise of 
 I lora's Kingdom. The student or spe- 
 cialist in orchids wishing to learn of 
 every known species and variety 
 should obtain the volume on orchids 
 
 written some years ago by Benj. S. 
 Williams, London, Eng. 
 
 The "peat" so often mentioned in the 
 following directions is not the same 
 material which is found in many parts 
 of Europe. That "peat" is the surface 
 soil, where some of the ericas are or 
 have been growing, and after the vege- 
 table matter has been shaken out it is 
 merely a lump of fibrous roots of no 
 fertilizing benefit, but merely a me- 
 chanical medium. Tujs quality of peat 
 is seldom found here, but a very good 
 substitute is found in the chopped-up 
 fibrous roots of our strong growing 
 native ferns, a good quality of which 
 
 Mass of Cattleya Trianae, grown on wooden block. 
 
 is sold by several firms, and this is the 
 "peat" referred to below. 
 
 I trust the would-be grower of or- 
 chids will dispel from his mind the 
 idea that there is any secret or mys- 
 tery in growing orchids. The cardinal 
 qualities that will grow a house of 
 roses will grow orchids — attention to 
 the requirements of the plants, clean- 
 liness, air, light, moisture, but above 
 all. with orchids study the time and 
 length of time the plants need resting. 
 The latter is the most essential part of 
 orchid culture. 
 
 The following cultural directions 
 have been prepared and written by Mr. 
 Wm. Hewson, whom I now have the 
 honor to employ. He began his orchid 
 experience with the fine collection at 
 Goodwood, the grand home of the 
 Duke of Richmond, afterwards being 
 constantly associated with orchid cul- 
 ture in several places in the vicinity of 
 London. After arriving in this coun- 
 try he was the practical cultivator of 
 the wonderful collection of Mrs. Mor- 
 gan, of New York, during the last 
 three years of its existence. Since 
 that time and always he has been an 
 orchid enthusiast, and they have never 
 been absent from his charge. What 
 he says about them is plain and to 
 the point, and can be understood by 
 all. and I have proof, and with the 
 utmost confidence say, that every word 
 of his can be confidently relied upon 
 and followed. WM. SCOTT. 
 
 Best Orchids for Commercial Purposes. 
 
 All baskets or racks should be made 
 of red cedar, or harawood, and should 
 be put together with copper wire or 
 copper nails, to prevent rusting. 
 
 AERIDES.— This beautiful genus is 
 a native of India and the Indian archi- 
 pelago, and requires a rather high 
 temperature. They can be successfully 
 grown suspended from the roof of a 
 palm house, where a temperature of 
 60 to 65 degrees can be maintained 
 during the winter months. Their rest- 
 ing season is from about November to 
 March, after which period the tem- 
 perature can rise 10 or 15 degrees as 
 the growing season advances. They 
 can be grown in either pots or bas- 
 kets, but I prefer the latter. Fill the 
 pots or baskets two - thirds full of 
 clean broken potsherus or charcoal; 
 place your plant well up and finish off 
 with a good top dressing of live, clean 
 sphagnum moss. Care should be tak- 
 en to keep the plants clean; remove all 
 decayed matter from their roots and 
 replace with fresh when occasion re- 
 quires. Give a liberal supply of water 
 during their growing season; in fact, 
 they should never be allowed to be- 
 come dry, or the leaves will shrivel. 
 The white and brown scale are deadly 
 enemies to this class of plants, and 
 should be watched for, or the plants 
 will soon become useless. 
 
 Aerides Fieldingii, a very free flow- 
 ering species with bright, rose colored 
 spikes, commonly called the fox-brush 
 orchid'. It generally blooms during 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 m 
 
 June and July and lasts about three 
 weeks in perfection. 
 
 Aerides crispum, another beautiful 
 species, a tree bloomer and of easy 
 culture. This variety grows best in a 
 basket suspended from the roof, 
 blooms in summer, and the flowers 
 have a very pleasing odor. 
 
 Aerides Lobbii. a dwarf growing 
 species, does well in a basket, blooms 
 during June and July, the spikes of 
 pink flowers from 12 to 18 inches long 
 and perfectly round. This is a grand 
 variety. 
 
 Aerides odoratum majus, a grand 
 old variety, very free bloomer, beauti- 
 ful, aromatic odor, flowers in summer, 
 lasting about two weeks in perfection; 
 should find a place in every collec- 
 tion. 
 
 ANGRAKCUM.— 1 his peculiar genus 
 requires the same treatment as aerides, 
 only they all grow best in pots and 
 require abundance of drainage and 
 plenty of moisture during their grow- 
 ing season, which is about the same as 
 that of the aerides. A little good 
 fibrous peat can be used with the 
 sphagnum for potting. They are most- 
 ly natives of Madagascar. The follow- 
 ing I consider the best varieties for 
 commercial purposes: 
 
 Angraecum eburneum, greenish- 
 white flowers, very sweet and very 
 large, strong spikes; blooms during 
 the winter months. 
 
 Angraecum sesquipedale. This spe- 
 cies I consider tne best of the genus. 
 It is a good grower and has large, 
 peculiarly-formed flowers, with long 
 white tails of ivory whiteness, and 
 
 House of Cattleya Trianae. 
 
 Ca'.tleya Mossiae. 
 
 very fragrant. I have seen these tails 
 from 10 to 15 inches long. It blooms 
 in winter. 
 
 Angraecum Ellisii, another fine spe- 
 cies, with immense flower spikes of 
 pure white color, lip a cinnamon 
 brown; very sweet scented. 
 
 CALANTHB.— A terrestrial orchid, 
 and many are also deciduous. They are 
 best grown in pots, well drained, and 
 the bulbs well elevated. Pot in a com- 
 post of good fibrous loam, some well 
 rotted cow manure, a little good, sharp 
 sand, and some broken charcoal, well 
 mixed. Pot in March for flowering in 
 December and January. They require 
 a brisk heat and plenty of water in 
 their growing season. An occasional 
 watering with good liquid manure is 
 very helpful to them. Place the plants 
 in a cool house a few days before cut- 
 ting the flowers for market, as ■•ais 
 greatly adds to their strength and 
 color. They should be rested in the 
 same temperature as they were grown, 
 but withhold water altogether until 
 you wish to start them growing again. 
 This variety is subject to thrip and 
 should therefore be watched. 
 
 Calanthe Veitcnii, a beautiful sort, 
 with large, branching spikes of flowers 
 of a fine rosy pink color. 
 
 Calanthe vestita rubro-oculata. This 
 variety has flowers the same as the 
 
152 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 Cattleyas Mounted in Various Ways. 
 
 preceding, only differing in color, 
 wliicli is wliite, with crimson eye. 
 
 Calanthe Intea, a beautiful variety, 
 with fine spikes of white and lemon 
 colored flowers. 
 
 CATTLEYA. — This genus is un- 
 doubtedly one of the best for commer- 
 cial purposes, on account of its easy 
 culture and the varied and extreme 
 beauty of its flowers, which are pro- 
 duced at all times of the year and al- 
 ways find a ready sale in the large 
 cities. Most of the species can be suc- 
 cessfully grown where a temperature 
 of 55 to 60 degrees can be maintained 
 during winter. They can be grown in 
 either pots or baskets, and many will 
 do well on blocks of wood suspended 
 from the roof, if the room is limited. 
 All cattleyaa like a strong light and 
 should be grown as near the glass as 
 possible, with but little shading and a 
 
 moderate supply of water, even in 
 their growing season. By keeping 
 them a little on the dry side, you in- 
 sure stronger growth and better flow- 
 ers. Have plenty of air and moisture 
 around them and you will seldom if 
 ever fail to be satisfied with the re- 
 sults. Pot in a well drained pot or 
 basket in good, fibrous peat, with all 
 the decayed vegetable matter removed, 
 and some clean, live sphagnum moss. 
 For blocks use a little peat at the back 
 and fasten firmly with copper wire. 
 Of course, plants grown in this way 
 must be watched, that they do not 
 suffer from lack of water, as they dry 
 out much quicker than when in pots or 
 baskets. The resting season of a cat- 
 tleya commences as soon as they have 
 finished their growth, when water 
 must be withheld enough to just keep 
 the plant from shriveling. The white 
 scale is an enemy of the plants, and if 
 
 allowed to accumulate, will soon de- 
 stroy the best of specimens. 
 
 Cattleya gigas, one of the finest spe- 
 cies, from New Granada, has fine, bold 
 spikes of beautifully marked flowers, 
 pale rose and crimson, and yellow 
 blotched throat. Blooms in April or 
 May. 
 
 Cattleya labiata, one of the very 
 best, from Brazil, with beautiful rose 
 and crimson fiowers, which come in 
 November and December. This variety 
 grows best in a pot. 
 
 Cattleya Mendelii, a beautiful species 
 from South America, fiowers in April 
 or May. Color white and crimson; 
 will do well in a basket, and on no 
 account over-pot this variety. 
 
 Cattleya Mossiae. This fine, old spe- 
 cies is perhaps the best known of this 
 genus, and should be in every collec- 
 tion. It blooms in early spring and 
 lasts a long time in perfection if kept 
 cool and dry. It will do well on a 
 block if room is limited, and, suspend- 
 ed among the palms, will grow finely. 
 
 Cattleya Trianae. This is one of the 
 most extensively grown species of the 
 genus. Flowering as it does during 
 the autumn and winter months, it Is a 
 general favorite with all; can be 
 grown on a block. 
 
 Cattleya Percivaliana is a fine win- 
 ter flowering variety from South 
 America, grows best in a basket or 
 pot, profuse bloomer under proper 
 treatment; should be in every collec- 
 tion. 
 
 Cattleya Bowringiana, a magnificent 
 species, producing on one spike as 
 many as twelve or fifteen blooms or 
 rosk pink color, with crimson lip. It 
 should be grown in a pot with plenty 
 of room, as it is a very strong grower. 
 
 Cattleya crispa, a fine species, very 
 free flowering, producing fine spikes 
 of beautiful, pure white flowers, with 
 crimson lip and throat. Blooms in 
 July or August, and will grow well in 
 a basket suspended from the roof. 
 
 OOEiLOGYNE.— This genus has many 
 species and varieties, though very few 
 are of much value to the commercial 
 florist. The most useful is the beauti- 
 ful 
 
 Coelogyne cristata grandiflora, which 
 produces its graceful racemes of white 
 flowers with yellow blotches on throat 
 in early spring. This plant is of com- 
 paratively easy culture. It likes abun- 
 dance of water during its growing sea- 
 son, which lasts till the bulbs have 
 matured, when water should be with- 
 held until the flower spikes are well 
 advanced; otherwise they will start 
 growing again instead of blooming. 
 This species grows best in pots or 
 pans, giving the plants plenty of room 
 and good drainage. Elevate the bulbs 
 on a compost of good fibrous peat, 
 broken charcoal, or potsherds about 
 the size of hazel nuts, and sphagnum 
 moss, and finish off with live sphag- 
 num as a top dressing. Potting should 
 be done as soon as the fiowering sea- 
 son is over. This plant will do well 
 in a night temperature of 50 to 55 
 degrees in winter. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 153 
 
 CYPRIPEDIUM— This peculiarly in- 
 teresting genus is of easy culture. 
 They may be grown in either pots or 
 pans, in equal parts of good, fibrous 
 peat and live sphagnum; a little brok- 
 en charcoal is beneficial, as it pre- 
 vents the compost from becoming 
 sour. You can feed liquid manure to 
 the strong growing varieties and it 
 will materially help them if they are 
 well rooted. They like plenty of wa- 
 ter during summer, their growing sea- 
 son, and being evergreen and having 
 no bulbs to feed from, should never 
 be allowed to suffer from lack of it. 
 Do not overshade cypripediums, as 
 they delight in a strong light. Most 
 all varieties require a warm tempera- 
 ture. The following are the best for 
 commercial purposes: 
 
 Cypripedium insigne is a cool house 
 species, but can be grown in a warm 
 house. It is a profuse bloomer if well 
 cared for, flowers in winter, and lasts 
 a long time in perfection. It is very 
 beneficial to put it outside for three 
 months in summer, slightly shaded 
 and well watered. 
 
 (.^ypripedium Harrisianum, a fine 
 hybrid, often flowering twice a year, 
 is a fine bloomer and stronger grower 
 than most cypripediums, therefore re- 
 quires plenty of pot room and should 
 be grown in a warm house. 
 
 Cypripedium Lawrenceanum, an- 
 other species requiring a warm, moist 
 atmosphere, is a good bloomer, with 
 bold, straight stems and beautifully 
 marked flower. Blooms in summer 
 and autumn; do not over-pot it. 
 
 Cypripedium Spieerianum, which I 
 consider the queen of the genus, is a 
 very free grower and good bloomer, 
 and is a great favorite in the cut- 
 flower market. It requires a warm 
 
 Cattleya Percivaliana. 
 
 Coelogyne Cristata. 
 
 temperature, flowers in early spring, 
 and lasts a long time. 
 
 Cypripedium villosum, a grand spe- 
 cies from India; similar In color to 
 Insigne, but ilie flowers are much 
 larger, and have the appearance of 
 being varnished. This is a very use- 
 ful sort, as it will thrive in either a 
 cool or warm house, and should be in 
 every collection. It is a very strong 
 grower, requiring plenty of pot-room. 
 
 DENDROBIUM. — The members of 
 this genus are almost numberless, and 
 include some of the most beautiful, as 
 well as the most useful, orchids for 
 the cut - flower trade. They can be 
 grown in pots or baskets, with plenty 
 of drainage and a compost of good, 
 fibrous peat and live sphagnum, with 
 some broken charcoal or potsherds 
 mixed with it. They require a warm 
 temperature during their growing sea- 
 son, with plenty of water, but several 
 species, such as Wardianum, nobile, 
 Devonianum, etc., should be moved to 
 a cool house as soon as they have 
 stopped growing, and left there until 
 their flower buds are well advanced, 
 when they may go into a little warm- 
 er house to flower. If this treatment 
 is followed up you will be seldom, if 
 ever, disappointed in the results of 
 your labors. Watch for the thrip on 
 
 10 
 
154 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Cypripedium Insigne. 
 
 but by following the above directions 
 you can grow it just as well as Wardi- 
 anum. It flowers in May or June, and 
 they last about two weeks in perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 Dendrobium densiflorum is another 
 erect-growing species from India, and 
 grows best in a pot, but can be grown 
 in a basket in good fibrous peat and 
 but little sphagnum. It blooms in 
 April or May, the large clusters of 
 beautiful yellow flowers being in form 
 like a bunch of grapes. This species 
 requires a long rest after the bulbs 
 are grown, but do not allow the plant 
 to shrivel. The flowers last about a 
 week in perfection. 
 
 LABLIA.^Of this genus only two 
 species are useful to the commercial 
 grower. 
 
 Laelia anceps. This can be well 
 grown on a block of hard wood with 
 a little fibrous peat fastened at the 
 back of the plant, which should be 
 firmly nxed on with copper wire. It 
 can also be grown in a suspended bas- 
 ket. Use a compost of good, clean 
 peat, charcoal, and live sphagnum 
 moss, and keep well drained. This is 
 a grand species, with long flower 
 spikes, which last a month if kept in 
 a cool house. Give pienty of water 
 during the growing season, which is 
 from about April to November. It is 
 a free bloomer and blooms in January 
 and February. It will grow well in a 
 cattleya house, but can be grown con- 
 siderably cooler. 
 
 these plants, as they soon destroy 
 them if allowed to remain. 
 
 Dendrobium Wardianum, a beautiful 
 species from Assam, is perhaps the 
 best. It is a very strong grower and 
 good bloomer if above instructions are 
 followed, but be sure you do not oyer- 
 pot this species, as nothing is more 
 injurious to it. It blooms in early 
 spring and lasts a long time if kept 
 cool and dry. It should be grown in 
 a basket, suspended. 
 
 Dendrobium nobile Is a well known 
 old species from India, requiring the 
 same treatment as Wardianum, but 
 can, it necessity requires, be grown 
 cooler and kept back, or forced into 
 flower, as desired by the grower, at 
 any time from December to May. 
 
 Dendrobium formosum giganteum, a 
 beautiful variety, differs somewhat 
 from the preceding, as it is evergreen 
 and produces its beautiful, large flow- 
 ers of pure white, with yellow blotched 
 lip on the top of the stems, from two 
 to five flowers on a spike. This va- 
 riety needs but little rest and should 
 certainly be grown in a basket and 
 suspended in the warmest house. This 
 is another sort that should never be 
 over-potted, and must always be well 
 drained. 
 
 Dendrobium Devonianum is a mag- 
 nificent species, and is best grown in a 
 basket. Give abundance of water in 
 the growing season and freely syringe 
 the foliage at least once a day in hot 
 weather, to keep down the thrip, which 
 is particularly partial to this sort. It 
 is by many considered hard to grow. 
 
 Cypripedium Leucochilum Godseffianum. 
 
The Rorists' Manual. 
 
 155 
 
 ccAOD^ron 
 
 Some Types of Cypripediums. 
 
156 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Laelia purpurata, a magnificent spe- 
 cies from Brazil, in form resembles a 
 cattleya, and requires about the same 
 treatment. It can be grown in either 
 pot or basliet, has a grand spike of 
 beautifully marked flowers, with crim- 
 son purple lip. Do not over-pot it and 
 watch out for white scale. This spe- 
 cies should be in every collection. 
 
 LYCASTE.— This genus is of easy 
 culture and can be grown best in a 
 cool or intermediate house. Pot in a 
 compost of good, fibrous peat and a 
 little sphagnum and broken charcoal. 
 Give abundance of water during their 
 growing season; in ; fact, this plant 
 should never be allowed to become too 
 
 ODONTOGLOSSUM.— This is a grand 
 genus of orchids, probably the most 
 interesting of all. They can all be 
 grown in pots, with plenty of drainage 
 and abundance of water during their 
 growing season; in fact, they should 
 never be allowed to become dry enough 
 to allow the sphagnum to lose Its 
 beautiful, fresh green color, even in 
 winter. They grow well potted in good 
 fibrous" peat, with a liberal top dress- 
 ing of good, green sphagnum, which 
 should be removed as soon as decayed 
 and replaced by fresh; this sometimes 
 has to be done twice a year. They de- 
 light in a cool, moist atmosphere, and 
 plenty of air in summer, and in win- 
 
 Freshly Iinported Cattlcyas. 
 
 dry at the roots, even during their sea- 
 son of rest. The growing season is 
 from about April to October. 
 
 i^ycaste Skinnerii, a native of Guate- 
 mala, is undoubtedly the best species, 
 blooming freely, as it does, during the 
 winter months, with fine, erect, beau- 
 tifully marked fiowers of white, rose 
 colored, and crimson, anu they last a 
 long time in perfection. Care should 
 be taken to keep the flowers free from 
 damp or they will soon become discol- 
 ored or uestroyed. 
 
 Lycaste cruenta is a very free flow- 
 ering species from Guatemala, blooms 
 about April, and has a very pleasing, 
 aromatic odor. It requires the same 
 treatment as the preceding. 
 
 .. ter, when possible. A northern aspect 
 .-• suits many of them, as they do not 
 , likesthe sun, and should in any case 
 -•*b6sshaded from its direct rays. A good 
 syringing with a fine rose twice a day 
 in summer and once a day in winter 
 on all bright days is very beneficial 
 to them. A temperature of 45 to 50 
 degrees in winter suits them admir- 
 ably, with but few exceptions. They 
 should on no account be over-potted, 
 and must be always well drained. They 
 all flower from the side of the bulb. 
 Watch for slugs and snails, as they 
 eat the tender flower spike very often. 
 Cotton batting placed about the flower 
 spike is a good preventive. They are 
 
 also subject to thrip if allowed to get 
 dry. 
 
 Odontoglossum xiiexandrae (crisp- 
 um), a most beautiful variety from 
 Bogota, one of the best cool house 
 orchids, has a very graceful spike of 
 pure white flowers, blotched with ir- 
 regular cinnamon spots. The plant 
 blooms in fall and early winter. 
 
 Odontoglossum vexillarium (some- 
 times called Miltonia vexillarium). 
 This grand species grows best in the 
 cattleya house, but should have the 
 direct rays of the sun kept from it. 
 Elevate the plant well on the pot and 
 use only the best fibrous peat and 
 good, clean sphagnum, and plenty of 
 drainage. This species comes from 
 Brazil and blooms freely during sum- 
 mer and autumn under proper treat- 
 ment. The flowers are large, rosy 
 pink, and very distinct. They last a 
 long time if kept free from damp. 
 
 Odontoglossum cirrhosum, a mag- 
 nificent species, that is a native of 
 Ecuador, and produces a very fine 
 spike from 12 to 18 inches long of 
 beautifully marked Cowers, pure 
 white, with heavy cinnamon spots. It 
 grows best in a cool house and should 
 surely be in every collection. 
 
 Odontoglossum citrosmum, a truly 
 beautiful species that comes from 
 Guatemala, and differs materially from 
 the preceding. It is best grown in a 
 basket, suspended in the cattleya 
 house, as it produces long, drooping 
 flower spikes of pure white ground, 
 with almost invisible lavender spots; 
 blooms in June or July. 
 
 Odontoglossum maculatum, a charm- 
 ing species that also comes from 
 Guatemala, and produces its beautiful, 
 erect spikes of yellow and crimson 
 flowers during the winter. Grow in a 
 pot in the cool house. 
 
 Odontoglossum Phalaenopsis, one of 
 the best of the genus if properly 
 grown, and should be in every collec- 
 tion. It grows best in the cattleya 
 house and should be grown in a pot 
 well drained. This is a very distinct 
 species, with very large, perfectly flat 
 white and crimson flowers, which are 
 produced during the autumn months. 
 Odontoglossum grande, a beautiful, 
 free flowering species, that comes from 
 Guatemala and is commonly known as 
 the "Baby Orchid." It grows best in 
 a pot, blooms in autumn and winter, 
 the flowers lasting a very long time. 
 It produces an upright, stiff stem, with 
 from three to flve large tiger-striped 
 yellow and brown flowers. It is sub- 
 ject to thrip if allowed to become dry. 
 Should be grown in the cool house. 
 
 Odontoglossum Rossii majus, a sweet 
 little variety from Mexico. It grows 
 best on a block, with a little flbrous 
 peat and abundance of water. It is a 
 very free bloomer, with short spikes 
 of two or three beautifully marked 
 crimson and white flowers. A very 
 suitable variety for boutonnieres. It 
 deserves a place in every collection. 
 
 ONCIDIUM.— This interesting genus 
 is perhaps the most useful commer- 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 157 
 
 cially of any for its gracefully delicate 
 spikes of beautifully marked flowers, 
 some of which caa be had at all times 
 of the year under proper cultivation. 
 Most of them like the temperature of 
 the cattleya house, but can be grown 
 in cooler quarters if care is observed 
 in watering. Oncidiums do not like 
 much water on the foliage, but require 
 plenty of moisture in the atmosphere 
 as well as free veiitilation. Many sorts 
 grow well on blocks, with sphagnum 
 moss or good, fibrous peat at the back 
 of them, and firmly fastened with 
 strong copper wire. All varieties de- 
 light to be suspended as near the 
 glass as practicable, but must be 
 shaded lightly. They like plenty of 
 water at their roots in their growing 
 season, and those grown in pots or 
 baskets require an abundance of drain- 
 age. They can be grown in either peat 
 or sphagnum, or both, but I prefer the 
 latter for most sorts, with some brok- 
 en charcoal. During their resting sea- 
 son water very carefully, but on no 
 account allow them to suffer for want 
 of it. Most species are subject to the 
 white scale and should therefore be 
 watched. Slugs are very partial to 
 the young, tender flower spikes, and a 
 small piece of cotton batting should 
 be tied around them to save them from 
 the depredations of these pests. 
 
 Oncidium ampliatum majus is, I 
 think, a native of Guatemala, and pro- 
 duces its large, branching spikes of 
 beautiful yellow flowers in spring, and 
 continues blooming for at least six 
 weeks if in robust health. It grows 
 best in a pot or basket, but can be 
 grown on a block if plenty of water is 
 given. 
 
 Laelia Anceps. 
 
 Odontoglossum Rossii Majus. 
 
 Oncidium incurvum, a pretty Mexi- 
 can species, blooming very freely in 
 winter, has long spikes of white and 
 brown flowers. Grows best in a pot, 
 with the same treatment as the above. 
 
 Oncidium crispum, a grand dwarf 
 species from Brazil, grows best on a 
 block with a little sphagnum or fibrous 
 peat, loves moisture and does well in 
 the cattleya house or any house main- 
 taining a night temperature of 55 to 
 60 degrees; blooms generally in sum- 
 mer; has a large, branching spike of 
 yellowish copper color; is very at- 
 tractive and lasts about three or four 
 weeks. 
 
 Oncidium reflexum, a fine old species 
 from Mexico, produces numerous 
 spikes of beautiful yellow flowers dur- 
 ing autumn. It is a general favorite 
 with both grower and purchaser and 
 should be grown by all orchid grow- 
 ers. 
 
 Oncidium varicosum is a good spe- 
 cies for all to grow, as it is a very 
 free grower and good bloomer. Grows 
 best in a flat pot or basket, in a warm 
 house, suspended; has a fine spike of 
 canary yellow flowers; very imposing 
 in appearance; is a native of Brazil; 
 blooms In summer and lasts a long 
 time in perfection. 
 
 Oncidium varicosum Rogersii, one of 
 the very best of the genus, similar to 
 the above in habit and color, but 
 
158 
 
 THE FTLORISIS' MANUAL. 
 
 Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. 
 
 grows stronger and has much larger 
 spikes; a very valuable variety for 
 commercial purposes, both as a pot 
 plant or cut flower. I have grown this 
 beautiful plant myself with more than 
 100 blooms on a spike. It blooms in 
 autumn and in early winter months 
 and lasts a long time in perfection. 
 
 Oncidium tigrinum Is another fine 
 species from Mexico, with a large, 
 branching spike of beautifully marked 
 yellow and brown flowers, produced In 
 winter; Is a free bloomer and lasts a 
 long time in perfection. Grows best In 
 a pot. 
 
 Oncidium Cavendishianum Is a beau- 
 tiful species, having large, heavy, 
 fleshy leaves, and is therefore best 
 grown in a pot. It produces during 
 winter enormous spikes of beautiful 
 yellow flowers, and they last six to 
 eight weeks in perfection. It is a na- 
 tive of Guatemala. Although when 
 in good health it produces very large 
 foliage, I do not think it needs a pot 
 or pan in proportion to its size, as 
 nothing is more injurious to it than 
 being over-potted. It requires careful 
 watering during the dull months of 
 winter, which is its resting season. 
 
 PHALAENOPSIS.— There are many 
 species of this genus, all beautiful, 
 though many are not productive 
 enough to warrant them a place in 
 the commercial list. They all require 
 a high temperature, not less than 65 
 degrees during winter, but 70 degrees 
 is even better. They delight in light, 
 heat, and moisture, and should be 
 lightly sprayed once a day during hot 
 weather; ventilate freely when it Is 
 possible, as they delight In pure air. 
 but by no means place them in a 
 draught. They grow best in perfo- 
 rated pots, or baskets, well drained 
 with good, clean potsherds or broken 
 charcoal, or both, with a liberal top 
 dressing of good, live sphagnum. 
 
 which should be removed as soon as 
 decay begins and replaced by fresh. 
 As phalaenopsis delight in cleanliness, 
 great care is necessary in potting this 
 genus, particularly Schilleriana and 
 amabilis, as they root freely and cling 
 firmly to the pot or basket in which 
 they are grown, and cannot be re- 
 moved without the aid of a knife, and 
 this is a very delicate operation, often 
 resulting in serious injury to the 
 plants. A good plan is to place the 
 plant, pot and all, into larger size and 
 fill up with charcoal and fresh sphag- 
 num, and not disturb tne roots at all. 
 These plants should be suspended, if 
 possible, as they love the light, but 
 must be shaded from the direct sun, 
 or the leaves will burn; and never al- 
 low them to suffer for want of water. 
 
 Phalaenopsis Schilleriana is a mag- 
 nificent species from Manila, has large 
 branching spikes during winter and 
 spring of beautiful mauve flowers 
 edged with white, with reddish brown 
 spotted lip. 
 
 Phalaenopsis amabilis, a beautiful 
 species also from Manila, is certainly 
 the queen of this genus; blooms at all 
 times of the year and lasts a long time 
 in perfection. It has long, graceful 
 spikes of pure white flowers, lip spot- 
 
 Orchids growing in hanging pots. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 J59 
 
 ted with pink. This is one of the best 
 for marl?et purposes and requires the 
 same treatment as above. 
 
 Phalaenopsis grandiflora, a beautiful 
 species, that comes from Java and re- 
 sembles amabilis in every way except 
 that the lip of the flower is marked 
 with lemon yellow instead of pink. 
 This plant grows well on a rack with 
 sphagnum moss at the back and is a 
 very prolific bloomer. 
 
 VANDA.^This beautiful genus re- 
 quires a temperature of 60 to 65 de- 
 grees at night and delights in the 
 sun, unless very strong, and then a 
 light shading for an hour or two will 
 be sufficient. All the species will 
 grow in pots, well drained, and potted 
 in clean, fresh sphagnum and broken 
 charcoal, with plenty of moisture 
 about them, and lots of water at the 
 roots in summer, but be very careful 
 . in winter, unless the pot is very full 
 of roots and growing freely. Give a 
 little air when possible in winter and 
 plenty in summer. Some species bloom 
 twice and even three times a year. 
 The flowers have a delightful odor and 
 last about a month if kept dry. All 
 vandas are subject to scale, and should 
 be kept free from these pests, or the 
 plant will soon be ruined. 
 
 Vanda caerulea, the beautiful blue 
 orchid, should be in every collection. 
 
 Group of Vanda Caerulea. 
 
 Vanda Suavis. 
 
 It is of easy culture and a very free 
 bloomer. A temperature of 55 degrees 
 at night suits it well, as the flowers 
 are a much better color than those 
 grown in a higher temperature. It is 
 a native of northern India and blooms 
 in autumn. Do not over-pot this plant 
 and suspend as near the glass as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 Vanda Insignis, a grand old sort 
 from the Malayan islands, blooms in 
 May or June. It has large spikes of 
 flowers of a magnificent combination 
 of colors, is of easy culture and a 
 very free bloomer. 
 
 Vanda suavis. One can hardly say 
 enough about this old favorite from 
 Java, blooming at all times of the 
 
 year, large spikes of beautiful white 
 flowers spotted with crimson. I have 
 seen this plant in bloom ten months 
 out of the year. 
 
 Vanda tricolor is similar to suavis, 
 of the same habit, and requires the 
 same treatment, only the flowers are 
 lemon yellow, with crimson spots, 
 purple and white lip, and last a very 
 long time. It also is a native of Java. 
 
 MEXICAN ORCHIDS 
 
 Leading species of Oncidiums, Lselias 
 
 and Odontoglols for florists Will 
 
 send collection of Vi plants, parcel 
 postpaid, for $5.00. 
 
 J. A. McDowell, 
 
 Apartado167. CITY OF MEXICO 
 
 OTHONNA. 
 
 The species crassifolia is worthy of 
 notice. Because of its succulent, fleshy 
 leaves it is one of our very best bas- 
 ket plants. It withstands the heat and 
 drying-out process which our hanging 
 baskets undergo better than almost 
 any of the plants we use for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 It is most easily increased by cut- 
 tings at any time of the year. A 
 rather light, sandy soil suits it best, 
 and when its pendant growth is any 
 length you should find some place for 
 it on a shelf. Don't give it a cold, 
 damp place in the greenhouse, but 
 keep it warm and growing, and you 
 can multiply it indefinitely, as the 
 small pieces of the stem will root any- 
 where. 
 
160 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 OXALIS. 
 
 A very large genus, of which a 
 few are very familiar plants. O. 
 rosea (floribuntla) and 0. lutea (yel- 
 low) are grown as pot plants and sold 
 in the spring, and they make excellent 
 basket plants, but not mixed with 
 other plants. They do much better 
 and have a finer effect when in a mass 
 by themselves. An earthen basket or 
 suspended pan is better for the oxalis 
 than a wire basket, but either will do. 
 
 They divide readily, which is best 
 done in winter when the plants are 
 partly dormant. The.v dislike a wet, 
 heavy soil, and need a good, light 
 loam, well drained, and an airy, sunny 
 exposure. In the fall give them less 
 water, and for December , January and 
 February they could rest under a dry 
 bench in a cool house with very little 
 water. In March start them growing 
 and divide if you wish. 
 
 They can also be raised from seed. 
 There are a great many species, hav- 
 ing yellow, white, pink and violet 
 flowers, all greenhouse perennials, be- 
 sides a few that are annuals. The two 
 well kndwn species mentioned are 
 easy to grow and very free blooming. 
 
 PACKING FLOWERS. 
 
 The author might have called upon 
 one whose business it was to daily, 
 and perhaps all day, pack flowers, but 
 since he received a letter from Chi- 
 cago a year or so ago which ac- 
 knowledged the receipt of a box of or- 
 chid flowers which conveyed the pleas- 
 ant tidings, "The coelogyne flowers ar- 
 rived in the most perfect order; they 
 were finely packed," and as no one 
 but myself had a hand in it, I feel com- 
 petent not only to pack flowers, but to 
 tell others how to do it. 
 
 This is an opportune time to repeat 
 a short story of that great man, Hor- 
 ace Greeley, who embittered and 
 shortened his days by accepting the 
 nomination for president. In his 
 young days he edited an agricultural 
 paper somewhere in our state, and a 
 delegation of western farmers called 
 on him. After a pleasant chat in his 
 office the leader of the party said: 
 "Now, Mr. Greeley, we should like to 
 see your farm." "H — 1; farm! Gen- 
 tlemen, you don't expect a man to 
 write and farm too." was the forceful 
 rejoinder. So it's not necessary for a 
 man to be continually at the calling 
 to be able to write about it. In fact, 
 if he is too well posted on a specialty 
 his brain is liable to be clouded. 
 
 In no part of the business (for this 
 part is purely a business, unlike the 
 cultivating, which is a profession) is 
 there more need of good sense and 
 judgment, which with constant prac- 
 tice makes an expert packer of flow- 
 ers. In the first place, some men have 
 a knack or gift of handling cut fiow- 
 ers different from others. Some men 
 will take up a few dozen roses from 
 the counter and move them or show 
 them off to a customer as quickly but 
 as gently as a mother handles a two- 
 months-old baby, while I have often 
 been annoyed to see others slap them 
 
 down as if they were a bundle of salt 
 codfish. Every time the soft petals of 
 a rose get a knock there is a bruise 
 that does not show at once, but does 
 in a few hours. 
 
 It is not the distance they travel; 
 the quick ride in the express car can 
 do but little harm; but they get jarred 
 about many times before they are 
 placed on the retailer's counter. The 
 grower may handle them roughly; 
 they get a bump at the local station, 
 and another when thrown into the ex- 
 press car; another jar or two before 
 they get into the express wagon to be 
 delivered at the stores, and if they are 
 going to the commission man their 
 troubles have only begun. 
 
 There are, broadly, two rules to ob- 
 serve. Flowers should never be put 
 into a box crowded so that they are 
 actually squeezed, and, what is quite 
 as bad. so loosely that they can shake 
 or move about. 
 
 Roses should not be packed more 
 than one layer deep. Their flowers 
 should be sufficiently far from the end 
 of the box that there is no possibility 
 of their petals being jammed against 
 the end. It they have any distance to 
 go there should be a layer of tissue 
 paper between every row of buds, and 
 in warm weather, with varieties like 
 American Beauty and Ulrich Brunner, 
 every rose should be wrapped in tis- 
 sue. The box should be long enough 
 to take the stems at full length. 
 
 Small and tight buds may have an- 
 other layer of buds on top. but with 
 the choicest flowers one layer deep is 
 enough. A great many buds will go 
 into a shallow box because the flow- 
 ers lie close behind each other. Some 
 tissue paper over the lot and news- 
 paper to keep them firmly in place, 
 and then the lid. Flowers going by 
 express, particularly where (as often 
 there is) a change of cars on the road, 
 should be packed so that no harm 
 comes to them whether the bo^ is 
 standing on its side, bottom or upon 
 end (which it frequently does). 
 
 Carnations don't bruise sO' much as 
 roses, but their petals get crushed if 
 crowded in and they have to remain 
 hours in cellar or ice box before they 
 get their perfect shape restored. 
 What a change in the box suitable for 
 carnations. Thirty years ago we 
 thought a cigar box was handy to 
 carry a few short-stemmed carnations 
 in. A few years ago we had wooden 
 boxes made, thirty inches long, and 
 now we want a box five feet long, if 
 it is to hold any quantity. 
 
 The best flowers of carnations 
 should be laid in flat boxes, one row 
 of flowers behind the others, as you do 
 roses, but they need no tissue paper 
 between them. If you can give the 
 flowers a few hours in a cool cellar 
 before offering them for sale then you 
 can lay them in the box in bunches of 
 25. but the less weight you have on the 
 flowers the better for their petals. 
 
 ■Violets are easy to pack and are 
 usually sent in bunches of 2,5 and 50. 
 all tied by the grower ready to retail. 
 They are often huddled into a box a 
 
 foot deep. That may do for some 
 grades, but the finest should have a 
 box some six or seven inches deep and 
 the bunches placed one behind the 
 other and each bunch wrapped in tis- 
 sue paper. 
 
 Lily of the valley is easily handled, 
 and if each bunch is wrapped you can 
 pack quite closely, but let each bunch 
 be reclining on the other and only one 
 layer deep. It is weight that express- 
 men charge for and not space, so when 
 supplied with suitable boxes it is use- 
 less to crowd and spoil flowers for the 
 sake of another box. 
 
 Orchids are not packed every day. 
 except by a few specialists, but laid 
 on a bed of cotton batting, with the 
 same material put between the flow- 
 ers and sufficient covering to keep 
 them from shaking, they travel all 
 right. Cypripediums will, of course, 
 travel with less care than the softer 
 flowers of cattleya. odontoglossum and 
 coelogyne, but with plenty of batting 
 they travel well and two days' journey 
 to them is the same as two hours. 
 
 The Liliums Harrisii and longiflorum 
 are the most troublesome flowers to 
 pack and have arrive without a grum- 
 ble. If you let them rest on tissue 
 paper their own weight will break 
 their petals, and even if every flower 
 was stuffed full of batting and every 
 flower surrounded with it, there would 
 be a great many damaged flowers. We 
 have found the best plan is to get a 
 box of sufficient depth and across it, 
 say a foot from the bottom and the 
 same from the end, fasten a strip of 
 wood fan inch square will do). Then 
 take half a dozen spikes of lilies and 
 bunch them up with their flowers fit- 
 ting in among each other and fasten 
 that bunch on to the strip of wood a 
 few inches behind the flowers. See 
 that the flowers do not touch bottom, 
 sides or any part of the box. or an- 
 other bunch of flowers. The lily flow- 
 ers will swing, but move all together, 
 and not be bruising each other. 
 
 This principle we found a good plan 
 when carrying lilies to town at Easter 
 time. If you loaded up a hundred 
 plants in the wagon and let them 
 stand up singly, however mild and 
 quiet the day. they would swing into 
 each other and many would be brok- 
 en; but if half a dozen are tied to- 
 gether and cannot swing into another 
 bunch, they will travel perfectly. 
 
 In packing the cut stalks in a box 
 you can put as many bunches as you 
 choose, but never let one bunch touch 
 another, or any chance to do so. 
 , Bulbous stuff does not travel well 
 wlien uuexpanded. You should not at- 
 tempt to pack them more than one 
 layer deep, and lightly covered with 
 tissue, but a great many can be put in 
 a box, as they do not hurt in the 
 least to be packed tightly together. 
 
 We do not have any more camellia 
 or gardenia packing, and there is a 
 vast army of young florists who per- 
 haps never handled one. The slight- 
 est touch of your flngers on the petals 
 of a camellia would leave a mark. 
 You had to handle them from the un- 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 161 
 
 der side ot petals and in traveling 
 eacli one had to lay on a bed ot bat- 
 ting and be covered with a layer of 
 the same. And the same care must 
 be taken with gardenias or their pet- 
 als will soon be a dirty yellow. 
 
 Eucharis flowers should also be 
 packed in batting or their beautiful 
 flowers are easily bruised. 
 
 I don't know that there is any spe- 
 cial method for the other flowers we 
 use. Common sense will suggest the 
 right plan. As before stated, the main 
 point is not to crush with over crowd- 
 ing, and don't leave room at ends, 
 sides or top of box for any shaking 
 or moving. 
 
 A few months in the autumn and 
 again in the spring are the easiest and 
 safest times to send flowers on any 
 journey. The temperature is just 
 right, no fear of frost and no need of 
 ice, and during the cool days of Octo- 
 ber and November is when our chrys- 
 anthemums are mostly handled. Fine 
 flowers of these, like the good roses 
 and carnations, should be laid out in 
 rows with tissue paper between their 
 fine heads, and they are so heavy that 
 one layer of them is always enough. 
 In saying one layer it is always under- 
 stood that when you commence with 
 the first row of flowers, whatever they 
 are, that you have a roll of tissue 
 paper, or a roll of excelsior wrapped 
 around with tissue paper, and that 
 the first row of flowers rests against, 
 which brings them up as high in the 
 box as the last row put in. each suc- 
 ceeding row laying just behind tha 
 other, separated or not by a strip of 
 tissue. 
 
 In the hot summer months there are 
 not many flowers going long distances. 
 When roses are sent a journey and 
 the thermometer is 85 or 90 degrees, 
 lumps of ice are distributed among 
 the stems or placed in the bottom ot 
 the box; but if much is used it should 
 be fastened so that it does not roll 
 around. It is surprising how few 
 flowers we get frozen when the weath- 
 er is considered, but when going a 
 journey by rail in the winter months 
 always pack tor zero weather. You 
 can't tell how long they may be on 
 the expressman's wagon, and there is 
 where we get the trouble, if any. 
 
 There are other boxes besides pine 
 now used for transporting flowers, but 
 for very severe weather half-inch pine 
 boxes are the best. Paper seems to 
 be the best medium to resist the cold. 
 a number of sheets inside and plenty 
 more outside. Paper, if only common 
 newspaper, which is so inexpensive, is 
 excellent for the purpose. We all 
 know, or ought to know, that a news- 
 paper of a few thicknesses on our 
 chest will in a cold time keep off the 
 wintry blasts far better than the 
 heaviest undershirt (you may as well 
 have the undershirt, too). Paper is, al- 
 though thin, airtight, and a number 
 of layers will resist the coldest weath- 
 er for a long time. So either in cold 
 or hot weather plenty of it should be 
 used, and it should be always dry. If 
 wet it would be a conductor of cold. 
 
 The above remarks have been most- 
 ly suitable for shipping flowers some 
 distance. The grower, and there are 
 many such, whose houses are only a 
 few miles in the country, who sees his 
 boxes aboard the train, and Fritz, the 
 express driver at the city end, knows 
 them and shoves them on his wagon 
 and soon delivers them, has not all 
 this care and trouble. We know from 
 experience that when we are quite 
 sure our boxes will be carefully han- 
 dled and promptly delivered, our car- 
 nations and roses and violets, mums 
 or gladiolus or asters, can be just laid 
 in the box, giving them lots of room, 
 and they will arrive at our store in an 
 
 Roses are cut several times a day 
 when they are fit and should be in 
 water a few hours before ship- 
 ping. Once a day is enough to cut 
 carnations, which should be always 
 fully expanded. We prefer to cut (or 
 as some say, "pull" them) in the 
 morning and ship to town In the even- 
 ing. Violets we like to pick towards 
 evening and put their stems in wa- 
 ter, but not in a cellar; under a rose 
 or carnation bench is best; if kept on 
 ice or in a very cool cellar they lose 
 all their odor. Lily of the valley 
 should also be cut and bunched and 
 stood in water in the cool for twenty- 
 four hours before using. The stems 
 
 Plants Prepared for Packing. 
 
 hour or so just as they left the houses. 
 But very different would it be had 
 they to go into strangers' hands and 
 journey 400 miles. 
 
 The cutting of flowers is hardly 
 within the scope of this article, but 
 here is an opportunity to say that our 
 leading flowers should not be cut and 
 at once packed. If you do, they are 
 unfit for sale in the store for ten 
 hours. A cool cellar is a great boon 
 to a florist, where he can store his 
 flowers a day or a night before ship- 
 ping. I may differ with some, but if 
 the cellar is moist as well as cool, 
 none the worse; for roses I am sin-e it 
 is better to be moist; for carnations, 
 perhaps not. 
 
 get charged with water and last long- 
 er and are stitfer. Chrysanthemum, 
 can be cut a day or several days ahead, 
 just before they are fully developeii. 
 Here again my experience tells me 
 that if the cellar is moist as well as 
 cold it will keep the mums in fine or- 
 der. Cut all bulbous flowers a day 
 before you want to use them and then 
 they won't wilt. 
 
 We are often sorely vexed at some 
 miserable breakdown in the very last 
 part of the packing or care of flowers, 
 and this is more than annoying. . If 
 your crop had failed at the start you 
 could have perhaps replaced it. but 
 carelessness or "thickheadedness" in 
 the handling of flowers at the last mo- 
 
162 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 ment is heartbreaking. You have built 
 the houses, watched and labored at 
 the crops; perhaps through the curl- 
 ing smoke of a 10-cent domestic you 
 have viewed your Flora Hill carna- 
 tions or Marie Louise violets and 
 through a hazy but pleasant day- 
 dream figured on the proceeds, pencil- 
 ling on the nearest plate or rafter so 
 many thousand at so much per hun- 
 dred, and all this is wrecked by some 
 poor or careless handling at the last 
 moment. 
 
 We are often called upon to send 
 designs away bv I'ail. There i.-^ onlv 
 
 store, when frozen, they would be use- 
 less. 
 
 PACKING PLANTS. 
 
 Among the large commercial houses 
 of this country the packing of plants 
 of every kind and at all seasons is 
 reduced to a science and most admira- 
 bly done; and still better, the pur- 
 chaser has nothing to pay for their 
 expeditious work and material. The 
 Belgians are excellent packers, but 
 we have to pay for their old boxes. 
 The English are clumsy, old fashion- 
 ed anil antediluvian packers, but one 
 
 Plants in Pots Prepared for Packing. 
 
 one way; they must be so fastened 
 to the box. bottom and sides, by wire 
 that they cannot move, and lightly 
 covered with tissue paper and pro- 
 tected from frost. If any considerable 
 amount and the distance is not too 
 far, it is always more satisfactory to 
 send a competent man with the flow- 
 ers, to unpack and fix any little dam- 
 age done in transit. 
 
 When receiving a box of floweVs that 
 you think are frozen, put the box 
 without unpacking in a cool cellar, 
 that the frost may come out very 
 gradually. Many flowers are not much 
 the worse for a degree or two of frost, 
 but if suddenly unpacked in a warm 
 
 part of their packing is not obsolete 
 and that is the charge for boxes, 
 hampers and mats, which are always 
 charged at full price. Strange that 
 a people so great in horticulture are 
 so old-fashioned in packing a few 
 plants. Possibly it's because the Eng- 
 lish houses do not export so much as 
 the Continental. 
 
 To this day when two dozen gera- 
 niums or calceolarias or a few bed- 
 ding plants (if it was epacrls or heath 
 there would be more reason for it) is 
 sent thirty miles to the Rev. Arch- 
 deacon Slowpay, D. D., The Frogs, 
 Frogingham, Slopshire, they are sent 
 in a large, round hamper that would 
 hold five bushels of corn in the ear. 
 
 Then there are from eight to fifteen 
 stout hazel stakes rammed in around 
 the edge and brought to a point at the 
 top, the whole enveloped by a Russian 
 mat or mats which with a large sail 
 needle is carefully sewed to the 
 basket and stakes to prevent a cy- 
 clone from removing it. The whole 
 when completed would make a most 
 comfortable dog house or council 
 chamber for a Lilliputian king and 
 his caliinet. We must make one ex- 
 ception to these rather sweeping re- 
 marks. The English firms who send 
 out orchids know how to pack them 
 to perfection. 
 
 Good as our shipping firms are at 
 packing, the general florist is not 
 called upon to pack often enough to 
 keep an expert for that branch of the 
 business and sometimes the wrapping 
 and boxing of plants is crudely done. 
 
 Small plants, such as small ferns 
 or palms or asparagus, or the general 
 run of bedding plants that are not 
 wanted for immediate effect, are very 
 easily handled. One plant, or in case 
 they are from 2-inch pots, three or 
 four plants, are wrapped lightly in 
 paper (a tough but light and pliable 
 quality of brown paper is best), a 
 plant or bundle of plants is laid flat 
 in the box with the roots against end 
 of box. The next row is reversed so 
 that the papers that protect the tops 
 overlap each other and so you pro- 
 ceed till you have the bottom of the 
 box covered. If you think the plants 
 are heavy put in an inch or so of 
 marsh hay or excelsior before you 
 begin another layer, but if there is 
 not much top to the plants, as in young 
 carnations, then a sheet or two of 
 brown paper is enough between the 
 tiers of plants. Always fill the box, 
 if not with plants, then with dry moss 
 or papers, so that the plants cannot 
 move. This way of packing small or 
 medium sized plants where the bloom 
 is not considered is entirely satisfac- 
 tory with the lid of the box tightly 
 nailed down. 
 
 In summer the sides and top of box 
 can have spaces left between boards 
 and in winter the box must not only 
 be tightly made but well lined with 
 several sheets of paper. This plan is 
 quick, safe and inexpensive when the 
 plants are going by express or freight 
 and will be sure to arrive at their 
 destination in a weelv or less, but it 
 would never do to send plants this 
 way in the hold of a vessel across the 
 Atlantic, for they would rot. 
 
 Small plants that are wanted for im- 
 mediate use in tlie spring, such as 
 geraniums, coleus or cannas, should 
 be stood up straiglit in a box, the ball 
 and plant always wrapped, and you 
 can generally squeeze in another plant 
 on the ball of the lower plants, thus 
 almost doubling your capacity, and 
 doing no liarm to the plants These 
 boxes, howe-er mild the weather, 
 should be covered lightly but strongly 
 a few inches above the tops of the 
 flowers or leaves, or the express 
 charge on them will be just double, 
 and the freight house will refuse them 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 163 
 
 System of "slatted" packing, first layer. 
 
 altogether if unprotected. When the 
 express people see that they are grow- 
 ing plants they won't dare not to 
 handle them properly. 
 
 A lighter and better thing for send- 
 ing these plants out in spring is a 
 crate, which is much handier than a 
 box. Make two frames, say 18 in.x2 ft. 
 of 2x1 pine, strongly nailed; these are 
 the ends and to the bottom and sides 
 of these nail 6-in. boards, any length, 
 and when packing is done two or 
 three of them on top. Except for the 
 bottom to carry the weight of plants 
 half-inch stuff is plenty strong enough 
 for sides and top. 
 
 Flowering plants, such as azaleas, 
 can be sent away the same way. pro- 
 viding the weather is not cold. If it 
 is, close packing is necessary, and 
 then the ball or pot must be secured 
 by strips so that if the box should 
 get a turn on its side, which all closed 
 boxes are liable to, the plants will 
 still remain in position. 
 
 Palms and draeaenas of all kinds 
 are easy to pack and very seldom can 
 we make a complaint that any leaves 
 are bruised or broken. It the weather 
 is warm these plants can be safely 
 sent by a fast freight line, which 
 
 saves the high charges of the express 
 company, but whatever time of year 
 it is the leaves should be brought up 
 close to a stake, if stake is needed, 
 and each leaf carefully tied in. Then 
 they can be stood upright in boxes, 
 with or without pots, and a frame 
 work built around them. In cold 
 weather or at least when there is dan- 
 ger of a hard frost, these plants 
 should always go by express. The 
 price of one palm may pay for the 
 charge on the lot. 
 
 If only a few they can be laid in a 
 l)OX, well wrapped in paper, and any 
 moving prevented by plenty of pack- 
 ing material, but when a considerable 
 number they are batter packed in the 
 same way that we receive our azaleas, 
 acacias, etc., so excellently packed, 
 from Belgium, with this difference, 
 that while the imported stuff have 
 their roots wrapped around with moss 
 and their tops entirely open and free, 
 the palms should have their leaves 
 well wrapped in paper, and paper will 
 do tor the roots, no need of any moss. 
 The first plant is laid against the end 
 of the box and when the row of plants 
 is laid across the end, another row is 
 laid at the other end with the tops 
 overlapping. Then a stout strip of 
 wood an inch square is nailed across 
 the inside of the box and firmly 
 against the ball of earth near the 
 stem. Then some more packing mate- 
 rial, paper, excelsior or dry moss, and 
 another layer of plants, and another 
 cross strip, till the box is full. No 
 plant can move from its position if 
 this is properly carried out and there 
 is not the slightest crowding of the 
 leaves. 
 
 The azaleas, which sometimes are 
 twenty days from time of packing till 
 they are potted with us, usually 
 reach us in fine order, and so do 
 palms, rhododendrons and other 
 plants fi-om Belgium. They wrap well 
 in moss, which is tied on securely cm 
 the ball, but the heads of the hard 
 wooded plants are left uncovered, and 
 doubtless for the long journey it is 
 right. Air they want, and for that 
 reason in a large box of plants cross- 
 ing the Atlantic several holes a few 
 inches square are cut in the sides and 
 top of box to let there be a circulation 
 of air; without it the plants would 
 lose their leaves. It is mighty im- 
 portant that these holes be covered 
 with a piece of wire netting to keep 
 out the ship rats. On one occasion 
 this was not done with a box of aza- 
 leas we received and a ship rodent 
 had made a state room of our box, 
 and from the twigs, and mince meat 
 he had made of many of the plants 
 he doubtless considered himself a first 
 class saloon passenger. With our 
 boxes of plants going by express a 
 thousand miles there is no need of any 
 air holes, in fact weather would not 
 permit. 
 
 Whenever plants are going away, 
 summer or winter, they should be wa- 
 tered, not a few minutes, but an hour 
 or two before they are packed, and 
 when wrapped in either paper or moss 
 
 they will remain several days quite 
 moist. The material used for wrap- 
 ping or packing should always be 
 dry; the ball of the plant only should 
 be wet. 
 
 Firms like Veitch, and Low, of Lon- 
 don, take great pains in packing or- 
 chids. With cattleyas they put sev- 
 eral small stakes around the edge of 
 the pot and a stout one in the cen- 
 ter, and every leaf and bulb is secure- 
 ly tied with cotton batting and raffia; 
 a plant from J. Veitch & Son of Vanda 
 Lowii 10 ft. high arriving in New York 
 with scarcely the moss on the basket 
 disturbed is pretty good evidence of 
 the great care and pains that are used 
 in packing these valuable plants. 
 
 Although our firms do not charge 
 for boxes or packing, in some cases 
 it would be quite proper were they to 
 do so. The representative of a north 
 of England orchid firm was assailed 
 with the charge that the English 
 firms charged too much tor packing 
 and we charged nothing. This was in 
 Toronto in the Queens Hotel in 1891. 
 He very naturally replied, not in 
 
 Finished for closing up. 
 
164 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 System of upright packing, ready for "closing in." 
 
 coarse horse trading Yorkshire, but 
 iu genteel English: "Yes. I know, but 
 your folks put the charge on to the 
 plants, don't you know?" Now this 
 is the natural and reasonable supposi- 
 tion, but yet largely it is erroneous, 
 and in the great majority of cases 
 nothing is tacked on for compensa- 
 tion. Packing cases and boxes that 
 answer the purpose cost us very little, 
 far less than the same box would in 
 England or on the Continent, but our 
 labor, even if it is most expeditiously 
 done, is higher than on the other side. 
 
 If you buy a good bill of palms or 
 large ferns or any of those decorative 
 plants that are easily packed, there is 
 no need of any charge for packing, 
 and if a man buys 100 geraniums of 
 us in the spring, we are pleased 
 eno\igh to put them in a box and put 
 a few slats over them. We get the 
 4-inch pots and that will about pay 
 for packing. We would have to cart 
 them off somewhere anyway. 
 
 But when you sell lilies or azaleas 
 in full bloom, particularly the former, 
 you ought to get more for them, for 
 they take a heap of trouble and time 
 to pack properly. Perhaps we will 
 never make a specific charge for our 
 packing, but there should be an un- 
 derstanding that to the man who sends 
 his wagon and carts them away a lily 
 is worth say 10 cents per bud and 
 
 flower, and when packed to travel 40 
 miles by rail it should be 12 cents per 
 bud and flower. That is what we do 
 every spring and it about pays for 
 the extra labor of packing, and other 
 plants in proportion where much ty- 
 ing and labor is needed. 
 
 This question will of course always 
 
 be one to be decided by ourselves, alid 
 without any agreement must be left, 
 like prices, to the discretion of the 
 seller. The man who today advertised 
 "cases and packing charged at cost," 
 would get a severe blackeye, figura- 
 tively speaking. 
 
 PAEONIA. 
 
 We sometimes laugh at our old- 
 fashioned friends for calling these 
 handsome perennials "Pinies," but old- 
 fashioned catalogues sometimes spell 
 the name "Piony," and that comes 
 pretty near it. 
 
 The cultivation of the herbaceous 
 section is too well known to need any 
 iengthy remarks. They should have a 
 deep, rich soil; you cannot overdo it 
 on either point. If planted for com- 
 mercial use, four feet apart is as close 
 as they should be placed. They will 
 flourish for a number of years undis- 
 turbed, but every fall a good sprink- 
 ling of manure over the surface and 
 forked or cultivated in the spring, will 
 help them retain their vigor. 
 
 The flowers of the paeonia are in 
 good demand every season and if you 
 have plenty of room a few hundred 
 plants will be quite profitable. The 
 white and different shades of pink are 
 the favorites. There are hundreds of 
 varieties, and many beautiful ones 
 that are called single, some being quite 
 single and others having a small dou- 
 ble center with an exterior row of 
 large petals; these are very beautiful 
 and can be called the anemone sec- 
 tion. 
 
 The herbaceous paeonias are the 
 hardiest of hardy plants. The best 
 time to divide and transplant to in- 
 crease the stock is in October and 
 November, or very early in the spring, 
 as soon as the frost is out of the 
 ground. A small section of root with 
 an eye or bud w'ill in three years make 
 a large clump. When planting small 
 pieces in the fall, be sure to get them 
 well down in the soil; let the bud be 
 
 'Closed in." 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 165 
 
 Tree Paeonia Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 an inch below the surface, for the 
 frosts will be sure to raise them up. 
 
 Paeonias seed freely and it the seed 
 is sown as soon as ripe and the little 
 plants kept in a cold frame the fol- 
 lowing winter and planted out in the 
 spring, they will flower the second 
 year. For the commercial florist it is, 
 however, much better to buy roots of 
 both these and the tree section. 
 
 The Tree Paeonia, as its name im- 
 plies, more nearly resembles a shrub 
 and the flowers surpass in beauty 
 those of the herbaceous section, but 
 are not so useful to the florist. They 
 make beautiful specimens for the lawn, 
 either singly or in groups. They are 
 largely used to force for conservatory 
 decoration, and are a valuable addi- 
 tion to our Easter plants, though they 
 can be forced as early as January. 
 For forcing, good plants should be 
 selected in the early spring and pot- 
 ted into good sized pots or tubs and 
 grown the following summer; then 
 they will force with ease and satisfac- 
 tion the coming winter. 
 
 You cannot divide the tree paeonia 
 at the root as you can those of the 
 herbaceous section, they being grafted, 
 an operation you bad better leave to 
 the specialist. 
 
 PALMS. 
 
 These are our chief ornaments in 
 the conservatory of the wealthy, or 
 the room or veranda of the more hum- 
 ble home. As fine ornamental plants 
 they stand pre-eminently at the head. 
 For many years they have been grown 
 in hot-houses and conservatories, but 
 it is only within thirty years that they 
 became the plant for the million. In 
 Europe hundreds of acres of glass is 
 devoted to their culture and a very 
 large area of glass in this country is 
 
 now occupied with the raising of hun- 
 dreds of thousands of small palms for 
 the commercial trade. The writer is 
 one who has never seen the palms 
 flourish in the tropics, but I have seen 
 many species in the Botanic Garden 
 of Kew, where you have to ascend a 
 
 with dark skins, a hot climate, croco- 
 diles and poisonous insects, and the 
 resident Caucasian among them would 
 doubtless often sigh for his native ma- 
 ple, pine, oak or hickory, or a handful 
 of his childhood's flowers, the prim- 
 rose, heather, golden rod, or trillium. 
 
 A palm of medium size, say a kentia 
 with a stem of three or four feet and 
 perfect leaves, or a latania with a 
 spread of ten feet and perfect, is much 
 handsomer to me than the large but 
 well kept specimens at Kew. L,arge 
 specimens of the cocoanut palm, 
 Phoenix dactylifera, Caryota urens, 
 Latania borbonica, and others, we can 
 remember as long as we can tops and 
 marbles, but there are several of our 
 most useful palms that were not then 
 introduced. 
 
 As a small ornamental plant to 
 adorn the living room, there is noth- 
 ing, either in beauty or hardiness, that 
 compares with the palm, and it is 
 these qualities that make it so uni- 
 versally popular, and it is a popular- 
 ity that there is not the slightest fear 
 will ever recede. Years ago fine speci- 
 mens were grown to be looked at, ad- 
 mired and discussed, and rarely seen 
 in small, uesful sizes. Now they are 
 used everywhere and on all occasions. 
 Besides the universal use of them to 
 adorn the lawn and veranda in sum- 
 mer and t'he drawing room and parlor 
 in winter, they are now seen at every 
 social function, marriages and funer- 
 als, receptions, dances, orations and 
 commencements, store openings, dog 
 
 A 
 
 
 ^Ij/ 
 
 / 
 
 Fa 
 
 
 
 w^ ' /IbBH \'^fcvv 
 
 if 
 
 
 
 / m| 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 Latania Borbonica. 
 
 spiral staircase to get a good view of 
 these giants of the tropics. 
 
 Grand and noble they may be with 
 their gigantic leaves and plumed 
 heads towering up 80 or 100 feet high, 
 and novel and majestic they must first 
 appear to the traveler from the tem- 
 perate zones, but they are associated 
 
 .'ihows, and Midway plaisances; some 
 of the performances in the latter re- 
 sorts being peculiarly Oriental, the 
 palm is a most appropriate adjunct to 
 the tropical dance, etc. 
 
 Palms are widely distributed over 
 the warmer parts of the globe, and 
 the natives of these regions have 
 
i6b 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 found a use for their fruit. The Date 
 Palm (Phoenix dactylitera) is the 
 chief sustenance of millions. The 
 milk and pulp of the coeoanut are a 
 leading article of diet in all tropical 
 countries. The leaves are used as 
 thatch to cover huts, and the hard 
 stem is utilized for building and in 
 many other ways. 
 
 Many palms do well planted out in 
 the mild states of our Union. We are 
 continually told by tourists of the fine 
 chaniaerops and braheas that are seen 
 in California, and that most splendid 
 palm. Latania borbonica. thrives in 
 the Channel Island, where only a few 
 
 It would be quite interesting if some 
 statistician could trace the annual in- 
 crease in the output of the palms for 
 the past thirty years. In this country 
 at least it would (please excuse the 
 simile) be not unlike the career of the 
 bicycle: At first rare, and, when seen, 
 stared at by multitudes. Soon those 
 that could afford them purchased one. 
 then as prices became more popular 
 the majority had one, or, for a va- 
 riety, two or three. Then, when the 
 best patterns or varieties came on the 
 market and manufacturers and grow- 
 ers turned out so cheaply the best 
 kinds, warranted not to break at the 
 
 Kcntia Belmoreana. 
 
 degrees of frost occurs. It is this abil- 
 ity to endure a low temperature (but 
 only a limited number will stand a 
 frost) that makes them of such great 
 value to us as decorative plants, and 
 again, being natives of some of the 
 warmest parts of the globe, palms like 
 the kentia will thrive under the great 
 changes of temperature that frequently 
 occur in a living room, hot to suffoca- 
 tion if baby is cold, and down to 40 
 degrees if John lets the furnace get 
 low. This is not the way to grow 
 them, but it is their nature to survive 
 these changes and makes them our un- 
 equaled house plants. 
 
 forks or turn brown on the tips, our 
 errand boy takes home to his washer- 
 woman mother a Kentia Belmoreana 
 mounted on a $20 "Rolling Ranger" 
 paid for at One dollar per week, install- 
 ment plan. 
 
 The raising of palms in this country, 
 of the useful commercial kinds, is a 
 large part of the business of a few of 
 our largest firms. Formerly many 
 thousands were imported, particularly 
 kentias, but that is fast dropping off. 
 for prodigious quantities are now 
 grown here annually. Arecas are much 
 better grown here, and so I think are 
 all useful species. We may have a cold- 
 
 er climate to contend with in winter, a 
 matter of trifiing consequence in a 
 house or acre of palms, and surely 
 with proper care and management we 
 have the right summers. We never see 
 such short, sturdy, finely developed 
 kentias or latanias imported as those 
 grown here by some of our own firms, 
 but not by all. The latanias we see 
 from Belgium are handsome In ap- 
 pearance, but drawn, long leaf stalks, 
 and are only fit to put in a palm house 
 and grow a year to accustom them to 
 the treatment that we expect our 
 palms to endure and come up smiling. 
 
 The general florist who buys his 
 young palms from some of the home 
 firms and wants them to retail or use 
 at once, as do all storekeepers who 
 have no greenhouse, and the very 
 great majority of greenhouse men as 
 well, will find out (if that is not al- 
 ready discovered) that there are palm 
 growers and palm growers, and a vast 
 difference there is in the quality of 
 plants they send out. In very large 
 establishments, where house after 
 house is palms, they are manufactured 
 quickly, and quality is entirely sub- 
 servient to quantity. They are stood 
 very close together, kept very warm 
 summer and winter, altogether inade- 
 quate ventilation is given, and the 
 shade is of the permanent kind, if not 
 kept on all the year, then at least nine 
 months of the twelve. The difference 
 between these* palms and those grown 
 with plenty of room, abundance of 
 fresh air, and shade only from the di- 
 rect rays of the sun, is very marked. 
 The former are run up with long leaf 
 stalks, the growth is soft, and the color 
 is a dull green. The properly grown 
 plants, even if the temperature has 
 been high, are quite different. They 
 are shorter, stouter, giving the plant 
 the appearance of having far more 
 leaves: they are a bright shining green 
 and are altogether more satisfactory 
 to the purchaser, wherever you put 
 them. 
 
 These remarks cover a good deal of 
 the ground relative to the culture of 
 most palms. For the commercial men 
 they must be grown without excessive 
 heat: this is particularly true of 
 arecas. They must have had plenty of 
 ventilation whenever it was possible, 
 room to develop their handsome leaves, 
 and not made soft by a heavy shade. I 
 can only see one use for these un- 
 naturally grown tall kentias or lata- 
 nias: they make an effective appear- 
 ance at a decoration, but are so soft 
 that a few journeys to "society" soon 
 deprives them of their beauty. 
 
 There is some difference of opinion 
 about the advisability of standing 
 palms in the broad sun. In the tropics, 
 as most all of our commercial palms 
 in a natural state rear their plumed 
 crowns to the tropical suns, there can 
 be little fear of their burning if their 
 roots are in the proper condition, and 
 I have proved time and again that if 
 their roots are not too crowded and 
 they are regularly supplied with water 
 that the kentias, latanias, chamaerops 
 and phoenix receive not the slightest 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 J 67 
 
 Areca Lutescens. 
 
 injury in tlie broad sun. If allowed to 
 get dry in 10 or 12-incli pots, tiiey will 
 burn, and so will a geranium in a pot 
 with its roots parched. The arecas, 
 the most decorative of all palms, do 
 not burn, but they lose the color so 
 much that it is not Tvell to put them 
 out in the sun. They are better al- 
 ways under glass. The phoenix are 
 the least susceptible to any harm from 
 wind or rain; in fact, they are grand 
 plants for a vase or center of a tropi- 
 cal bed. 
 
 Temperature. 
 
 All the palms we grow, either for 
 sale or for decorative purposes, are 
 natives of a warm climate, and al- 
 though submitting for weeks to a 
 lower temperature than they would 
 ever be subject to in their native cli- 
 mate, yet that is not what they should 
 be grown in. Men who raise thou- 
 sands of young plants to sell to the 
 trade must, to make it profitable, give 
 them a good, high temperature, par- 
 ticularly in summer, although a slow 
 grown palm is much better than one 
 quickly grown. A good temperature 
 for the florist who grows or keeps a 
 stock of palms for sale would be 60 to 
 65 degrees at night, with a rise of 15 
 degrees in the day time during the 
 dark days of winter, and in spring and 
 summer 70 to 75 degrees at night and 
 as warm as you like in the day time, 
 providing you have plenty of air. 
 
 Large palms that you keep for deco- 
 rations solely are better kept not high- 
 er than 55 degrees during winter. You 
 don't want them to make young leaves 
 
 while you are using them, which 
 would likely be injured by a chill in 
 transit in cold weather. 
 
 Watering and Syringing. 
 
 This same old advice must be given 
 with emphasis about drainage. A 
 crock and piece of green moss is 
 enough for plants in a 5 or 6-inch pot, 
 but when in larger, and more especial- 
 ly when in very large pots or tubs 
 and boxes, which they may remain in 
 for four or five years, they should have 
 two or three inches of drainage. If 
 water passes quickly through the soil, 
 whether the plant is in a 4 or 14-ineh, 
 then the drainage is all right. If it 
 does not, and it is slow in disappear- 
 ing from the surface, then it is all 
 wrong. In spring and summer, when 
 making leaves fast, they want copious 
 watering, but usually when thorough- 
 ly watered, once a day is enough. In 
 winter, with a lower temperature, 
 darker days and slower growth, less 
 water is needed. A gardener knows at 
 a glance whether they are dry or not. 
 Palms in winter want as regular wa- 
 tering as in summer, but with the 
 difference that after a watering they 
 may remain moist for two days, while 
 in summer, with the pots full of roots, 
 they want a watering twice a day. 
 
 Syringing is most essential to all 
 palms. First it creates that moisture 
 in the atmosphere so congenial to 
 
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 Kentia Forsteriana. 
 
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 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 their gi-owth, and then again it cleans 
 their foliage of insects, more especial- 
 ly that nuisance, the mealy bug. It 
 the house is pavetl with stone or ce- 
 ment, you should syringe at least 
 twice a day in summer, and frequently 
 throw water about the paths and 
 benches. If the floor is gravel or 
 earth, there is always more or less 
 moisture arising, but syringe every 
 day, and when you do syringe, don't 
 hold and direct the hose as if you 
 were watering a bed of radishes, but 
 direct your fine but strong stream up- 
 wards at the underside of the leaf. 
 Constant syringing on euch palms as 
 
 ing retailer? We don"t believe it is a 
 good plan and would not buy such 
 plants if we were aware of it. 
 
 Producing a large, showy palm is 
 not the only object. People who give 
 three or four dollars for a 6-inch ken- 
 tia or latania expect them to thrive in 
 the house a few weeks at least, and 
 the plaintive cry of "My palm is turn- 
 ing yellow" has robbed us of most of 
 our hair, and we don't want to hear it. 
 They must die sometime, it's true, 
 when growing or existing in the house, 
 but let them pass gradually away, 
 fading away slowly, and then their 
 demise will be taken by all hands as 
 
 Phoenix Rupicola. 
 
 latanias, kentias and arecas is an- 
 other reason why the soil should be in 
 good condition to let the water pass 
 through. In winter syringe occasion- 
 ally in the morning, and when firing 
 hard damp down the houses, but less 
 moisture is needed in winter, as the 
 plants are in less active growth. 
 
 Soil and Potting. 
 
 I have within a few years heard of 
 several of our leading palms being 
 planted out in spring on a bench in 
 six inches of soil and grown there dur- 
 ing the summer and lifted in the fall. 
 You can doubtless with great heat and 
 moisture produce a latania or a kentia 
 much larger in the same space of time 
 that you would be growing it in a pot, 
 but would it be as serviceable a plant 
 in the fall? Would you not have to 
 lift it early and get it well established 
 before you sent it out to the confid- 
 
 complacently as the departure of an 
 elderly wealthy aunt. 
 
 Palms thrive in a small pot com- 
 pared to the size of plant, and should 
 not be given a large shift at once. 
 Growers of large quantities shift on 
 as the plants need it at any time of 
 year, but the fiorist who keeps only a 
 few hundred had better do his shifting 
 in the months of March and April, 
 when there is a constantly increasing 
 temperature. Always pot firmly. Up 
 to a 5 or 6-inch size this can be done 
 l)y squeezing the soil with your fin- 
 gers, but in large size, and particu- 
 larly if the shift is small, a blunt stick 
 will help very much to firm the soil. 
 Some writers say that roots never 
 should be cut. Perhaps there is no 
 need of it, but I have seen the roots 
 of latanias and old seaforthias chopped 
 off without doing any harm. 
 
 Never pot too deep. The base of the 
 stem from where the roots begin is 
 
 easily defined, and they should not be 
 potted below that. Some species, ken- 
 tia for one, raises the stem by Its 
 strong roots. When shifting, lower the 
 plant to the base of stem, but not 
 lower. It is never advisable to shift 
 a plant, say from a 6 to an 8-inch, just 
 before selling it to your customer; far 
 better let it go in the smaller pot and 
 tell them it will do very well in that 
 pot till spring, but give it plenty of 
 water. 
 
 Palms do not seem particular about 
 soil, and the mica so often seen in the 
 potting soil used about Philadelphia 
 appears to agree with them very well. 
 I would consider the ideal soil or com- 
 post for palms to be a rather stiff 
 yellow loam sod, cut and laid up in 
 summer, and between every foot of 
 the sod a layer of two inches of cow 
 manure. When this was thoroughly 
 soaked, and after a month or so, cut it 
 down and chop over, and in a few 
 weeks give it another turn. By that 
 time the manure will have about dis- 
 appeared, and the compost will grow 
 any palm. A good supply of this 
 should be under cover during winter 
 for early spring use. If you cannot 
 make these preparations, get a fresh 
 loam and add a sixth of well decayed 
 manure. Bone meal is often used with 
 palms, and if a quick growth is desired 
 it can be added to the compost at the 
 rate of one pound to a bushel. 
 
 Insects' 
 
 If a proper degree of moisture is 
 maintained and syringing properly 
 done, red spider and thrip is seldom 
 seen. If thrip is very persistent, then 
 vaporize with tobacco several succes- 
 sive nights. Mealy bug is sometimes 
 very troublesome and more often when 
 the plants are crowded. If not re- 
 moved by ordinary syringing, then 
 have the plants brought to some near- 
 by place, where water runs off quick- 
 ly, and by laying the plant down and 
 turning it on all sides with a sharp, 
 strong stream they can be washed 
 clean off. 
 
 Scale is the worst enemy we have to 
 contend with, and the common brown 
 scale is much easier removed than the 
 white. I mention these two. for that 
 is sufficient here, because the remedy 
 would be the same were there twenty 
 species of these insects on our palms; 
 and there are not only twenty, but per- 
 haps twenty hundred species known 
 to entomologists. It appears they do 
 not multiply with anything like the 
 rapidity of the aphides. That is a con- 
 solation. And they breed and lay a 
 crop of eggs but once a year. So if 
 the palms are thoroughly cleaned, say 
 in August, you should see no more of 
 them for another six months. It is 
 often supposed that they are without 
 the power of locomotion, but when 
 very young in the larval state they 
 creep about till they find a comfortable 
 spot, then Insert their beak into the 
 leaf or bark, and that is their resi- 
 dence for life. Entomologists say that 
 the ants which feed on the excretion 
 of the scales take the young insects 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual 
 
 169 
 
 Livistona Rotundilolia. 
 
 stock over and above what has been 
 ordered, much to the detriment of the 
 stock as well as the senders. 
 
 "The florist who would have clean 
 stock must in the first place keep all 
 his own plants pei'fectly free from 
 these pests, and whenever a new con- 
 signment of plants is received take 
 such measures with them as will in- 
 sure their being thoroughly clean be- 
 fore introducing them among those al- 
 ready In his possession. As a preven- 
 tive against introducing foreign-bred 
 scale or mealy bug into houses, we 
 would suggest the following method: 
 If the plants are not more than two 
 or three feet in height, have a suitable 
 sized vessel filled with luke-warm wa- 
 ter, to which has been added fir tree 
 oil in the proportion of one-half pint 
 to ten gallons of water. As the plants 
 are unpacked and before they are pot- 
 ted dip them thoroughly overhead in 
 the mixture (excepting the ball, of 
 course), being sure to immerse the 
 plant right down to the neck. Plants 
 too large for this treatment may be 
 .■-■ponged or syringed thoroughly with 
 the same concoction, After this treat- 
 ment pot them up, syringe with clear 
 v.'ater, giving them an isolated posi- 
 tion — quarantining them. So to speak — 
 until one is satisfied that they are per- 
 fectly clean. If after a few days live 
 scales are still observed and the plants 
 are in too large numbers to go over 
 them by hand, take five gallons of 
 
 and plant them on different parts of 
 the leaves of palms and ferns. If this 
 is so, then we should get rid of the 
 ants. 
 
 There are several means of remov- 
 ing the scales by washing with some 
 insecticide, and when you wash the 
 leaves, see that every part is thor- 
 oughly cleaned. You can see the large 
 scales, but the very small might elude 
 you. Sponge with warm water, to 
 which has been added two ounces of 
 whale oil soap in two gallons of water. 
 
 A solution of two ounces of kerosene 
 emulsion in five gallons of water. 
 Sponge. 
 
 Water to which has been added a 
 hundredth of its bulk of "Nikoteen." 
 
 A weak solution of fir tree oil is 
 also recommended by some. 
 
 Yon cannot with any effect syringe 
 these solutions on the plants. They 
 must be sponged; and remember that 
 the very young leaves will not endure 
 as strong a mixture as the matured 
 leaf, and the leaf stalks are uninjured 
 by a still stronger solution. 
 
 The following appeared in a recent 
 number of a horticultural journal, and 
 is, I think, worth insertion here. The 
 white scale we get from Europe on 
 imported plants is certainly a very bad 
 species, and although a free trader, I 
 would put a very high tariff on him: 
 
 "The sending out of palms and ferns 
 afflicted either with mealy bug or 
 scale is much to be deplored, but the 
 number of complaints that reach us 
 from time to time would indicate that 
 some houses continue to supply their 
 customers with a quantity of live 
 
 Latania Rubra. 
 
 11 
 
170 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 luke-warm water, add one-half pint of 
 fir tree oil and syringe again; or make 
 up a less quantity and sponge them 
 with it. By treating infested plants 
 when they first arrive, it will be found 
 that the pests can be combated much 
 easier than if the work is deterred, 
 while at the same time the danger of 
 the insects spreading to other stock is 
 greatly minimized." 
 
 Propagation. 
 
 Palms are always raised from seed. 
 Of our commercial species the cham- 
 aerops and rhapis can be propagated 
 by suckers, but all our leading palms 
 grow easily from seed, which is now 
 imported in large quantities, and it 
 must be quite an industry, the gather- 
 ing of the seed where the several spe- 
 cies flourish. The seeds, which are 
 large (the kentia as big as the com- 
 mon, acorn, and the cocoanut will fill 
 out a vest pocket) are sown in any 
 light soil in flats or pans. A mixture 
 of leaf mould, sand and loam in equal 
 parts will do finely. Just cover the 
 seeds, and place the pans over some 
 heat. If the compost is at a temper- 
 ature of 75 to 80 degrees, the seeds 
 will germinate much quicker than at 
 60 degrees. Keep them moist but not 
 saturated. 
 
 When they have made one or two 
 
 leaves at most, pot off singly in 2 or 
 2%-inch pots. Don't pot them too 
 deep; just to the base of the young 
 plant. Keep close and warm till they 
 get started in their new surroundings. 
 Young palms for the first few months 
 take up little room, as they can stand 
 close together, and I should have add- 
 ed that the seed can be sown very 
 thickly, as the young growths go 
 straight up and do not interfere with 
 each other at all. 
 
 For the first year young palms will 
 grow slowly if kept in a shaded house 
 without fire heat during summer, for 
 these houses get very dull and cool. 
 The cool nights lower the tempera- 
 ture and the heavy shade prevents 
 the sun from raising it in the day 
 time. A hot-bed with the sash shaded 
 will bring them along fast in the sum- 
 mer months, but I would prefer a little 
 fire heat in the palm house every 
 night in the year. Having a few palms 
 and orchids that I wished to treat 
 properly this summer I have never 
 been a night without fire heat, and I 
 am sure it pays. This is not forcing 
 them because we also have the ven- 
 tilators up. It is giving them only a 
 genial heat and good circulation of 
 air. Young palms that are expected 
 to grow should have fire heat every 
 night in the year and ventilation too. 
 
 Kentia Dumoineana. 
 
 Not as I have seen in some plant man- 
 ufacturing establishments, fire heat 
 with ventilators shut, 75 degrees out- 
 side and 110 degrees inside. 
 
 Shading. 
 
 In this place I might say what I 
 should have done sooner, a few words 
 about shading. I believe Mr. W. K. 
 Harris tried French plate glass, and 
 with clear glass the sun did not burn 
 the palms. We are not likely to adopt 
 that quality of glass, as it is too ex- 
 pensive. Ordinary window glass is out 
 of our reach at present. Our double 
 thick glass which is commonly used 
 will burn our palms and some shade 
 is necessary. I should really think 
 that with those firms who make a spe- 
 cialty of palms by the tens of thou- 
 sands that some portable or adjusta- 
 ble shading could be used; perhaps 
 it is by some. We all know the great 
 advantages of it. But if it can't be 
 used then be careful and don't put on 
 too heavy a coat of paint early in the 
 season. A very thin coat of naphtha 
 and white lead will do, and thicker 
 can be added in May. 
 
 I often think we are very careless 
 about leaving our summer shade on 
 till late in the fall. If storms have not 
 washed it off you will see frequently 
 the glass very opaque till early No- 
 vember. Now, did you ever think how 
 the first of November corresponded 
 for strength of sun with the spring 
 days? The sun on November first 
 would be the same as it would Febru- 
 ary the 10th. Who would think of 
 shading on the latter date? And then 
 again the plants are better prepared 
 to endure the sun's rays in autumn 
 than in spring. So early in September 
 brush or scrub off part of your shad- 
 ing, and by end of the month have it 
 all off, particularly over your palms, 
 and I can't think of anything that 
 then needs shade unless it be orchids 
 in bloom or your cutting bed. 
 
 Varieties. 
 
 To attempt to give a long list of 
 palms is quite unnecessary. There are 
 so many genera and species that even 
 encyclopedias don't attempt to name 
 them. The commercial kinds are 
 rather limited and familiar to most of 
 my readers, but how few these are 
 when you consider the hundreds of 
 species of this noble family, many of 
 which are worthy a place in. any col- 
 lection. In mentioning some of the 
 leading palms it is not easy to decide 
 which to place first, for the graceful 
 and finest decorative palm is not al- 
 ways the hardiest or best house plant, 
 the latter a most important question 
 with us. Nearly every florist has had 
 some experience with a few palms 
 and has decided for himself which 
 suits him or his trade best. 
 
 The names I have used are those by 
 which we familiarly know them, and 
 it would be little use to call Latania 
 borbonica "Livistona chinensis," for 
 our customers know it as latania and 
 they don't care about a lesson in long, 
 crooked names. Call it the Chinese 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 171 
 
 Kentia Canterburyana. 
 
 fan palm and they would remember it. 
 People who don't know Begonia Rex 
 by name know it very well as the 
 "beefsteak geranium." That must 
 have originated in the packing house 
 district of Chicago, but It's about as 
 elegant as that invented by an ex- 
 horse car driver, a young Irishman 
 whom I set to moving some begonias, 
 and in an hour or so he informed me 
 he had "got through with the big- 
 onions." 
 
 The leading commercial palms are 
 Kentia Belmoreana and K. Forsteri- 
 ana. These well known palms are de- 
 s?rvedly the most popular of all. 
 Quick growing, splendid plants for 
 the house, beautiful either when one 
 foot high or twenty feet. Behnoreana 
 is dwarfer and more compact than 
 Forsteriana and has graceful recurved 
 leaves when well grown. This plant 
 with light and room to spread is the 
 very perfection of form. Forsteriana 
 is more erect, but similar in all other 
 respects, and makes a fine palm for 
 large decorations. Both endure the 
 extremes of temperature, but no frost, 
 and all other unfavorable conditions 
 better than any other palms, the 
 phoenix alone excepted. Other spe- 
 cies not so valuable commercially, but 
 making fine specimens are, K. Baueri, 
 K. Canterburyana, K. Lindenii, K. 
 
 McArthurii, K. Mooreana, K. 'Wend- 
 laudiana. 
 
 Areca lutescens. This magnificent 
 palm is unrivalled as a decorative 
 plant. It has bright, shining golden 
 stems, with feathery and most grace- 
 ful leaves. It grows quickly and soon 
 makes plants of a fine decorative size. 
 They are often planted three or four 
 in a pot, but even without that the 
 plant has the habit of sending outside 
 shoots from base of stem and large 
 plants are soon thick masses of foliage 
 crowned with the most graceful of 
 curving fronds. It is not quite equal 
 as a house plant to the kentias. Other 
 species are A. alba, A. rubra, A. sapida. 
 A. Verschaffeltii. All fine, graceful 
 palms. 
 
 Latania borbonica (Livistona chi- 
 nensis). This palm had been in com- 
 merce many years, before the kentia 
 and areca were known, and is familiar 
 to all. Its broad, bright shining 
 leaves suggest the use that is made of 
 the leaf. It is the Chinese fan palm. 
 It withstands heat or cold, even a 
 few degrees of frost. It has always 
 been a standard decorative plant as 
 well as a favorite palm for the living 
 room. Perfect specimens make fine 
 objects in decorating, especially when 
 placed in a vase or where the whole 
 
 outline and expanse of the plant can 
 be seen. 
 
 There is a form of this with light 
 yellow stems and leaves, a beautiful 
 palm known as L. borbonica aurea. 
 
 Phoenix. These are not considered 
 as fine decorative plants as the arecas 
 and kentias, although as small speci- 
 mens they are most beautiful. Yet 
 they are the hardiest of all palms. 
 They will thrive in a vase or jar or 
 tropical bed in the broad sun without 
 losing a particle of color, and as a 
 house plant, among palms, they are 
 unequalled. They also seem to bear 
 the tying and untying and the crowd- 
 ing and wear and tear of a decoration 
 better than any other palms we have 
 ever handled. For any unfavorable 
 situation that a palm can be expected 
 to thrive at all recommend a phoenix. 
 Some beautiful species are not com- 
 mon among us, iDut they should be. 
 The principal species are: 
 
 P. rupicola. Wide spreading, weep- 
 ing leaf stems, with finely divided 
 leaves. A rapid grower, most grace- 
 ful and most durable. A pair of these 
 we have in mind have within the past 
 six years been 500 times packed and 
 unpacked and withstood heat and cold, 
 gas and dust, and still stand today in 
 the broad sun with their arching 
 fronds perfect. 
 
 P. leonensis, or spinosa. Habit 
 slightly stiffer than rupicola, very 
 handsome, with dark shining color of 
 leaf. This is a species we do not see 
 often enough. As a small plant it is 
 most ornamental. 
 
 P. dactylifera. The date palm. Not 
 quite so graceful but strong, robust, 
 dark shiny foliage; splendid for large 
 decorations or for summer ornament 
 in any position outside. 
 
 Other species of useful phoenix are 
 P. pumila, P. canariensis, P. tenuis, 
 P. farinifera. 
 
 Cocos Weddeliana. ^This little gem 
 of a palm, for such it is, is now raised 
 in immense quantities. It has when 
 but six or eight inches high all the 
 grace and beauty of a plant three feet 
 high, and for that reason it is held in 
 the highest esteem for the center of 
 small ferneries. When these dinner 
 table decorations are returned with 
 the ferns dried and dead the cocos 
 still looks perfect. Larger specimens 
 
 Established 1857. 
 
 Pbone Lake View 136 
 
 GROWER AND IMPORTER 
 
 GEO. WinBOLD, 
 
 D IMPORTER 
 
 Palms 
 Ferns 
 
 and 
 
 Largest Stock oi 
 Tropical Plaats 
 in the West. 
 
 OFFICE .-VND S.\LESROOM, 
 
 1708 North Halsted Street, - CHICAGO. 
 
 Write for our Price List. 
 
 Address all communication^; to 
 
 i70» North Halsted Street. 
 
172 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 make fine decorative plants aad they 
 thrive admirably in the dry air of a 
 living room. 
 
 Livistona rotundifolia. This neat 
 little palm could be called a miniature 
 Latania borbonica. It makes a dwarf, 
 rounded plant, most charming for its 
 neatness. Small plants but eight or 
 nine inches high have a great number 
 of short, rounded leaves. This little 
 palm makes a splendid table plant, 
 and in many other positions in deco- 
 
 fine decorative appearance ani are 
 not easily hurt by the vicissitudes of 
 our treatment, and are all good house 
 plants. 
 
 Other genera that are well known, 
 handsome palms ^nd not scarce, are: 
 
 Acanthophoenix crinita. Tall, spread- 
 ing, handsome fronds. The stems are 
 densely armed with black needle- 
 shaped spines. 
 
 Astrocaryum. A genus from tropical 
 South America, There are several spe- 
 
 Phoenix Pumila. 
 
 rations it can be used with good ef- 
 fect. 
 
 The above palms include the prin- 
 cipal species recommended to our 
 patrons for conservatory or house cul- 
 ture and used in decorating. There 
 may be other palms equalling them 
 in beauty and grandeur (Pritchardia 
 grandis is one of the most striking 
 and noblest of palms), but these spe- 
 cies have been selected and grown in 
 such enormous quantities because they 
 have the necessary qualities. Th3y 
 are easily and quickly raised, have a 
 
 cies. The Muru-Muru palm Is best 
 known. They attain a height of forty 
 feet. The leaves are dark green above 
 and silvery white below. A. argen- 
 teum is described as one of the best 
 silvery palms. 
 
 Carludovica. This is a useful genus. 
 Several of the species are used for 
 sub-tropical gardening. The fronds are 
 erect and stiff and the plant has the 
 appearance of a small latania. Two 
 fine species are C. palmata and C. atro- 
 virens. 
 
 Caryota. This is a fine, noble genus. 
 
 They would not add to our list of deco- 
 rative palms, but should be in every 
 collection. They have large, much di- 
 vided fronds, the leaves having their 
 ends resembling a fish's tail. Two fine 
 species easily procured are C. soboli- 
 fera and C. urens. 
 
 Ceroxylon niveum. Often called the 
 Wax Palm. From the Andes. Hand- 
 some for sub-tropical gardening, and 
 thrives in a cool greenhouse in winter. 
 
 Chamaerops. Low growing, com- 
 pact palms. C. humilis is one of the 
 very few palms found in Europe. It 
 has short stems, with a much divided 
 leaf, which is long, narrow and erect. 
 The whole bush, as it appears, makes 
 it splendid for a vase in a conspicuous 
 place, or the very ideal plant when 
 two or three feet high and as much 
 through, for a tropical bed. C. macro- 
 carpa is a very robust species, fine for 
 any purpose where humilis is useful. 
 C. excelsa is a grand, hardy palm. 
 
 Cocos nucifera is the cocoanut palm. 
 It has fine fronds of a bright, glossy 
 green, but would be useful only as an 
 ornament to the palm house. Aus- 
 tralis and fiexuosa are two ornamental 
 species. The handsome little Wed- 
 deliana has received notice. 
 
 Corypha australis. A low growing, 
 compact, hardy palm. Makes a fine 
 plant. 
 
 Euterpe. Tall growing, graceful 
 palms. Would not be as useful as the 
 kentias for decoration, E. edulis and 
 E. montana are the best. 
 
 Geonoma. A very large genus of 
 low growing hot house palms. All the 
 species are handsome, but not to be 
 recommended as house plants. The 
 species gracilis has handsome slender 
 fronds, resembling those of Cocos 
 Weddeliana. 
 
 Martinezia. Medium growing palms, 
 the segments of the leaf resembling 
 those of the caryota or fish tail palms. 
 Caryotaefolia and erosa are two of the 
 most useful species. 
 
 Oreodoxa regia. From Cuba. Tall, 
 rather slender stem, with large spread- 
 ing fronds. Before the introduction of 
 the kentias this palm was in great 
 esteem. Useful in sheltered places for 
 tropical gardening. O. oleracea is the 
 cabbage palm of the West Indies, and 
 there are several other species. 
 
 Phoenicophorium sechellarum or 
 Stevensonia grandifolia. This hand- 
 some palm is from the island of Mau- 
 ritius and should be always warm; it 
 thrives in a moisture charged atmos- 
 phere. It would not be either a house 
 or a decorative plant, but where there 
 are the proper conditions for its 
 growth it is one of the most handsome 
 of all. H. Siebrecht & Son say of it: 
 "It has grand dark green fluted foliage 
 of immense size, exceedingly glossy, 
 and dotted with many minute orange 
 colored spangles. The stems also are 
 of orange color and covered with long 
 black spines. Justly considered one of 
 the handsomest and most imposing of 
 the whole race." 
 
 Pritchardia. This is a most impos- 
 ing genus, but should always be kept 
 in the palm house. The leaves are 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 J 73 
 
 large and broad, fluted, and a deep 
 green. The leaves ot P. grandis when 
 well grown are five feet across. They 
 make but a short stem or trunk, but 
 send out many ot their remarkable 
 leaves. P. grandis (or Licuala gran- 
 dis) is the finest. P. pacifica. Dark 
 green leaves, covered with a white 
 down when young; a fine species. Sev- 
 eral other species are in commerce. 
 
 Ptychosperma Alexandrae and P. 
 Cunninghamiana, These are known as 
 the Australian feather palms. Tall 
 palms of rapid growth, with fine arch- 
 ing fronds. In general appearance they 
 resemble the kentias, but they are 
 coarser in growth and much softer, 
 and will not endure the rough treat- 
 ment that the kentia will, which for all 
 commercial purposes is much superior. 
 But for tall palm houses the ptycho- 
 spermas soon make fine specimens. P. 
 Cunninghamiana was for years known 
 as Seaforthia elegans, and was twenty 
 years ago our main decorative palm, 
 but is entirely superseded by the ken- 
 tias. 
 
 Rhapis. A useful genus of but a 
 very few species. The plants spread 
 and send up several straight, erect 
 stems, large plants forming clumps, 
 which can be divided, or the young 
 plants taken off as they appear. The 
 stems from near the ground are 
 clothed with leaves, giving the plant a 
 thick, bushy appearance. The rhapis 
 are very hardy and useful for decorat- 
 ing, and can be used on the lawn or in 
 
 Areca Baueri. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Verschaffeltia Splendida. 
 
 the tropical garden in summer. Rhapis 
 ' fiabelliformis is the most useful. R. 
 humilis is almost identical, but small- 
 er. 
 
 Sabal. This is our native palmetto 
 palm, which grows so abundantly in 
 our southern states. When growing at 
 its best it has a trunk of thirty to 
 forty feet, and leaves six to eight feet 
 long. There are several species, na^ 
 lives of Central and South America, 
 but they are not of any special value 
 to the commercial florist. 
 
 I have never mentioned the flower 
 of the palm, that feature by which 
 botanists classify them into genera, 
 because we don't cultivate palms all 
 our lives, and grow them to be large 
 plants without ever seeing a palm in 
 flower. Most species attain a great 
 size and are many years old before 
 they flower, but true flowers they do 
 have, we know, for we eat the fruit of 
 the phoenix (the date) and the seed ot 
 the cocos (the cocoanut), and the seed 
 or nut of many others are edible. 
 
 In conclusion, let me give my opin- 
 ion that the use of palms, great as it is 
 at present, is yet to be largely in- 
 creased. The supply of the useful kinds 
 has barely kept up with the demand. 
 
 The return to the greenhouse of a 
 scrubby palm to be doctored or recu- 
 perated is one of the disagreeable feat- 
 ures of our business, and must be left 
 entirely to the discretion of yourself. 
 You don't like to offend, but you must 
 be firm in this case. If a plant is in 
 fair order and the customer wants you 
 to keep it while they are away, that 
 
174 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 is all right, if you charge for it by the 
 month, as we do. But when a kentia 
 or latania is brought home with two 
 small leaves and a diseased center, 
 write immediately to the owners and 
 tell them that it would take Tour years 
 to make a respectable looking plant of 
 their palm, and the charge wou'.d be 
 three times the cost of a healthy plant 
 of the same size. By that plain but 
 truthful and respectful information you 
 will usually get a telephone order to 
 
 We have noticed ourselves plants of 
 utilis in rooms far away from the light 
 of the windows doing well if kept very 
 dry. When growing fast they want 
 plenty of water, but if you have to 
 winter them in a cool greenhouse, say 
 below 60 degrees, then be very sparing 
 of water during the dark months. 
 
 They are undoubtedly two of the 
 most satisfactory plants we can sell 
 our customers. 
 
 From the fact that the pandanus are 
 
 Cocos Weddeliana. 
 
 "do what you like with it," which 
 means throw it away. If not, and you 
 must attempt to make a plant ^f it, 
 the least you can charge would be one 
 dollar per square foot of bench room 
 per annum that its spread of leaves 
 occupied. But let us hope you will 
 have very little of it, for the sight of 
 a lot of scrubby, half dead palms is 
 most depressing, and the occup.nion of 
 janitor of a pesthouse would bo pre- 
 ferred to their care. 
 
 PANDANUS. 
 
 For many years past some few spe- 
 cies of pandanus have occupied quite 
 a prominent place among decorative 
 plants, and this is deservedly so from 
 the fact that the members of this 
 genus in general are not difficuH to 
 manage, and are also quite rapid grow- 
 ers under favorable conditions. 
 
 The well known P. Veitchii and P. 
 utilis are two of our very best house 
 plants. The late Peter Henderson on 
 passing a plant of the P. utilis in the 
 hall of his residence, remarked: "The 
 best house plant I know of," and Mr. 
 W. K. Harris observed to the writer a 
 few years ago: "Yes, the best house 
 plant there is, both of them if they 
 get water once a month only." "You 
 mean once a week, Mr. H." "No, I 
 don't. I mean once a month." 
 
 natives of the tropics, a rather n'gh 
 temperature is required to secure the 
 best results, a night temperature of 
 05 to 70 degrees being best adapted 
 to their needs, and during the winter 
 months little or no shading is needed, 
 especially for the variegated species. 
 
 A good loam enriched with old m.i 
 nure forms a satisfactory soil, and as 
 the plants make many coarse roots it 
 is foimd best not to pot them too firm 
 ly, and during the summer to give an 
 ■abundance of water. If grown in a 
 moist atmosphere there is but little 
 need for syringing overhead, and p ir- 
 ticularly during the winter an excess 
 of water may lead to an attack cf 
 "spot," if coupled with an accidental 
 low temperature at the same period. 
 
 Propagation is effected by means of 
 cuttings of those species that sucker 
 freely, and also by seeds. Where side 
 shoots or suckers can be obtainsd 
 there is but little difficulty in rooting 
 them at any season, this operation be- 
 ing quickened (as in the case of a 
 pine-apple) by keeping the cutl;ini;s 
 rather on the side of dryness until 
 they are calloused, and by giving them 
 a fair amount of bottom heat. 
 
 Seeds should be planted in light soil, 
 and placed in a warm house, and the 
 seeds should preferably be set with the 
 bottom end up, this being the end 
 
 from which the germs emerge. These 
 seeds are somewhat peculiar, being 
 closely set in a more or less globular 
 mass that hangs down on a stout stem, 
 while the individual seeds, or rather 
 fruits, are compound, and often con- 
 tain 8 or 10 germs, the latter being en- 
 closed in cells of a tough, horny sub- 
 stance within the body of the fruit. 
 Soaking of the seeds is sometimes re- 
 sorted to prior to planting them, but 1 
 have not found any gain in rapidity of 
 germination after soaking seeds of P. 
 utilis for 48 hours in tepid water. 
 
 The most useful and most widely 
 known species in cultivation at the 
 present time are doubtless P. Veitchii 
 and P. utilis, the first named being un- 
 questionably among the best varie- 
 gated plants for decorative purposes, 
 while its endurance as a house plant 
 depends largely on the conditions un- 
 der which it has been grown, tor soft 
 and sappy specimens have an unfortu- 
 nate habit of rotting off at times. 
 
 P. Veitchii has been in cultivation 
 for the past thirty years, and has 
 proved itself one of the most satisfac- 
 tory introductions among fo'.iage 
 plants of the famous London firm 
 whose name it bears. 
 
 The second species in importance in 
 the trade is P. utilis, a species that has 
 been in cultivation longer than the 
 preceding, and is usually to be had in 
 much greater quantities owing to the 
 readiness with which seeds may be ob- 
 tained and germinated. This species, 
 like P. Veitchii. is native in some of 
 the South Sea islands, notably Mada- 
 gascar and the island of Bourbon, and 
 on the latter island P. utilis is said to 
 reach a height of 60 feet, forming a 
 much branched tree. 
 
 The specific name of this pandanus, 
 utilis, which signifies useful, seems to 
 be especially applicable to the plant in 
 Mauritius, where it is cultivated for 
 its leaves, these being used in weaving 
 the coarse matting from which sugar- 
 bags are made. 
 
 As a florist's plant P. utilis is most 
 useful in small sizes, for example in 
 pots of 4-inch to 8-inch sizes, there be- 
 ing but a limited demand for plants 
 larger than these. 
 
 This species is a rapid grower, and 
 requires generous treatment in regard 
 to soil and watering, and gives but lit- 
 tle trouble in Its management, unless 
 it may be in those cases where an out- 
 break of "spot" is developed. The lat- 
 ter trouble is caused by the burrowing 
 of a minute insect in the tissues of the 
 leaf, and its progress seems to be fav- 
 ored by overwatering. If plants become 
 badly affected with this disease it is 
 most profitable to throw them away at 
 once, as they are likely to be perma- 
 nently disfigured by it, but light at- 
 tacks may be satisfactorily treated by 
 keeping the plants somewhat drier and 
 dosing them with sulphur. 
 
 P. candelabrum variegatum. perhaps 
 more readily recognized under the 
 name of P. Javanicus var.. is another 
 handsome variegated form, and a 
 more recent introduction than P. Veit- 
 chii, having been introduced from Java 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 175 
 
 in 1875. Our illustration indicates the 
 very graceful habit of this plant, the 
 leaves of which are narrow and pen- 
 dulous, and grow to a length of 3 to 
 6 feet, the white variegation being 
 very clear and sharply defined on the 
 dark green ground color. Unfortunate- 
 ly this plant is very thoroughly armed, 
 the leaves being edged with sharp 
 spines, while the midrib possesses an- 
 other line of spines which are turned 
 the reverse way to those on the edges, 
 thus making it almost impossible to 
 handle the plant without getting 
 caught. 
 
 P. candelabrum var. forms side 
 growths freely even in a young state, 
 and cuttings made from these growths 
 root readily, but owing to its abund- 
 ance of spines it has never become a 
 very popular plant in the trade. 
 
 P. graminifolius is one of the small 
 growing pandanus that has been 
 found useful to a limited extent in the 
 trade, being at its best in a 4-inch or 
 5-inch pot, and only reaching a height 
 of 2 to 3 feet when fully developed. 
 This species is of tufted habit, being 
 much branched, and having dark 
 green leaves about halt an inch wide, 
 not so stiff as those of most of the 
 species of pandanus and armed with 
 short whitish spines. 
 
 P. graminifolius is readily increased 
 by means of cuttings, and iu small 
 plants may be considered among avail- 
 able stock for the centers of fern pans. 
 The illustration has been prepared 
 from a good photograph of this plant, 
 and gives an excellent idea of its gen- 
 eral character. 
 
 this species is lighter in color and 
 slightly glaucous, a well grown plant 
 forming a noble specimen. 
 
 P. heterocarpus is rather susceptible 
 to overwatering during the winter, 
 and in that case may develop "spcit," 
 
 five of the Philippine Islands, from 
 whence it was introduced about 1866. 
 P. reilexus is another notably hand- 
 some species, and though one of the 
 oldest in cultivation is by no means 
 common. This species produces very 
 
 Pandanus Utilis. 
 
 Pandanus Veitchii. 
 
 P. heterocarpus, also known as P. 
 ornatus, is one of the handsomest of 
 the green leaved pandanus, being a 
 strong growing species with broad, 
 dark green foliage, edged with whitish 
 spines. The under side of the leaves of 
 
 but with a little caution in that partic- 
 ular there is no special difficulty in its 
 culture. I have never seen this species 
 produce suckers, and it seems probable 
 that the only means of increase is 
 from seeds. P. heterocarpus is a na- 
 
 long and pendulous leaves, in a large 
 specimen often growing 5 to 6 feet in 
 length, dark green and shining and 
 profusely armed with strong spines, 
 those on the under side of the midrib 
 being turned the opposite direction to 
 those on the edges of the leaves, simi- 
 larly to the arrangement of spines on 
 P. candelabrum. 
 
 The leaves of P. reflexus are so much 
 recurved that they frequently hide the 
 pot in a well-grown plant, and really 
 have a very graceful effect, as will be 
 readily seen from our illustration, but 
 owing to its ever-ready armor of 
 spines this plant is a most unpleasant 
 one to handle, and is consequently not 
 likely to become a popular one. 
 
 P. Vandermeechii is a comparative- 
 ly rare species that would probably be 
 useful in the trade if grown in quan- 
 tity, being of somewhat similar char- 
 acter to P. utilis, but stouter in growth 
 and usually more upright. The leaves 
 of P. Vandermeechii are broad and 
 stiff, dark green and slightly glaucous, 
 the edges of the leaves and also the 
 
 John Welsh Young, 
 
 Wholesale Grower of 
 
 PANDANUS VEITCHII. 
 
 Upsal Station, 
 Penna. R, R. 
 
 Germantown, 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA 
 
176 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 spines being dark red, and the same 
 color appearing to some extent about 
 the base of the leaves. 
 
 This species forms a very effective 
 specimen, but does not appear to pro- 
 duce any suckers, and propagation 
 must therefore depend on seeds. P. 
 Vandermeechii was introduced from 
 the island of Bourbon, and is said to 
 be peculiar to that island, though 
 quite plentiful there. 
 
 Among novelties of the pandanus 
 family that have been grown to some 
 extent of late years are P. Baptistii 
 
 pointed leaves. It requires heat in 
 winter and does not like the hot suns 
 of summer, or anything like dryness. 
 Warmth and moisture are conditions 
 that suit it. It makes a very pretty 
 basket plant for a shaded house in 
 summer, either entirely filling the bas- 
 ket, or with other plants. Its varie- 
 gation is very pretty. 
 
 Its cultivation is of the simplest kind 
 as it roots from cuttings most easily, 
 eitlier in the sand or a few pieces put 
 around the edge of a small pot in any 
 ordinary soil. Excepting as a conser- 
 
 Pandanus Candelabrum Var. (Javanicus Var. ) 
 
 and P. caricosus, but while both these 
 species are attractive, neither is of 
 much value commercially. 
 
 P. Baptistii is a rapid growing plant, 
 the leaves of which are striped with 
 yellowish variegation, and in some 
 measure resembling the foliage of 
 Phormium tenax var., but without the 
 toughness of that plant. 
 
 P. caricosus is more dwarf in habit 
 than the preceding, and has narrow 
 green leaves that are but little armed 
 with spines. It branches freely, and 
 might be briefly described as a very 
 strong P. graminifolius. though per- 
 haps less useful than the latter for 
 trade purposes. 
 
 PANICUM VARIEGATUM. 
 
 A very pretty free growing, creeping 
 plant with white and pink striped 
 
 vatory basket plant, or for planting 
 in borders among palms and ferns in 
 a permanent border under glass, it has 
 no special value to the florist. 
 
 There are several other species of 
 panicum. ornamental, and useful to the 
 private gardener. 
 
 PANSY (VIOLA TRICOLOR). 
 
 Next to the geranium perhaps the 
 pansy is more universally known 
 among rich and poor than any flower 
 we grow. It is a favorite with all 
 children. "My little boy wants some 
 pansies," we hear continually every 
 spring. And the old boy and girl must 
 be made of queer stuff if they are not 
 fascinated with the pretty faces of the 
 "Heartsease." An M. D. of our city 
 has written some very pretty verses 
 in which he claims that in the varied 
 
 markings of the pansy he sees the 
 faces of the German, French, English, 
 Scotch, Irish, and Italian girl, and oth- 
 er nationalities which I forget. He fail- 
 ed to find one that reflected the bronzy 
 features of our Pocahontas-like Indian 
 maiden, the real American girl, al- 
 though there is every shade of flower 
 and girl from white to sooty black. 
 His verses were too early for him to 
 include the latest American beauties, 
 the Filipino and the brown senorita 
 of the Gem of the Antilles. As there 
 are several types of our American 
 girls he has taken a large pale blue to 
 impersonate the Boston type, and a 
 large ragged edged yellow with a 
 black eye for Chicago. 
 
 Poets have attended to the pansy 
 thousands of times, and the modern 
 sentimental song writer says: "Only 
 a pansy blossom, only a faded flower." 
 I think this song has something in al- 
 lusion to a lamented maternal parent. 
 Now did you ever notice, good reader, 
 that the youth who never or seldom 
 works but who holds down a chair in 
 some third class drinking place all day 
 where a stray treat or two falls to his 
 lot, and towards closing time a suffi- 
 cient number of treats has excited his 
 vocal powers and then with a squeak, 
 or a rasp, with sloppy eyes and ex- 
 pression we are edified with a few 
 verses, and it is not a song for the oc- 
 casion, such as "We won't go home 
 'till morning," or something appro- 
 priate, but it is sure to be something 
 about "dear mother." The gist of the 
 song is sure to be how he loves and 
 cherishes and works for mother, and 
 admonishes all to do likewise. Nothing 
 is said about father, but the motto of 
 the house that this young man stag- 
 gers home to is: "Do not worry father; 
 mother's working." 
 
 The pansy has been cultivated in the 
 gardens of Europe for ages. If its ex- 
 pressive features could speak it could 
 tell you that its ancestors saw the 
 dreadful deeds of the dark ages, the 
 chivalry but barbarism of the feudal 
 system, the oppression and torture of 
 bigotry, the fight for liberty, the eman- 
 cipation by education of the masses, 
 and now at the close of this 19th cen- 
 tury, in this "age of reason'' and hu- 
 manity, you see the humble but free 
 citizen taking home his basket of pan- 
 sies to make his little garden prettier 
 and to please the children. 
 
 The cooler climate of northern 
 Europe is much more favorable for 
 pansies in the summer months than 
 our hot and often dry summers. But 
 I have seen beds of pansies here on the 
 north side of buildings, with the seed 
 pods picked off and an occasional good 
 watering, look fine the entire summer. 
 Whether they last longer than July or 
 not there will always be a demand for 
 them, not only in the cities, but the 
 farmers and residents of our villages 
 buy them for their door yards and 
 there is where you often see them well 
 taken care of. I have frequently heard 
 Mrs. Buckwheat exclaim, "I guess, 
 Mariah, you didn't wet them 'ere pan- 
 sies last night. I see they be a drupen." 
 
The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 177 
 
 They are raised in very large quan- 
 tities by some farmer-gardeners and 
 sent to our cities in small baskets 
 holding one dozen plants, and usually 
 sold at the popular price of 25 cents 
 per dozen. 
 
 For this purpose the seed is sown in 
 beds out of doors the end of July. 
 Kept watered they come along all 
 right and make showy little plants. 
 End of August or early September 
 they are transplanted into beds four or 
 five feet across and as long as you like, 
 and the plants three or four inches 
 apart. Usually with plenty of snow 
 during our coldest months these strong 
 plants (for they are strong plants in 
 flower before winter comes) come 
 through all right, and a warm rain or 
 two and a few fine days in April and 
 they are gay again and quickly start 
 to grow, and are mostly sold in May. 
 
 Last winter was a scorcher, and 
 when you get two weeks zero and be- 
 low on bare ground it goes hard with 
 these little plants: thousands perished. 
 Some straw, very thinly laid between 
 the plants will help a great deal. It 
 will catch the fast driving, drifting 
 snow that otherwise would fly along 
 to join the other particles at the fence 
 row. Hemlock boughs with their 
 arching stems upwards is an excellent 
 covering, it does not lie heavily on the 
 plants. Whatever you use don't put it 
 on early; there is never any harm 
 done till middle of November. 
 
 Florists who have a demand tor 
 some good pansies by end of April, 
 
 Pandanus Reflexus. 
 
 either tor those who have the good 
 sense to plant early or for vases in our 
 cemeteries, should sow not later than 
 middle of August. You can sow in 
 cold-frame and shade the seed bed, but 
 uncover as soon as well up or the little 
 plants will be drawn. 
 
 Middle of September transplant into 
 a cold-frame four or five inches apart, 
 and after one good watering seldom 
 anything more is needed till first of 
 December, or even later if winter keeps 
 off. Then cover with glazed sash, and 
 on mild days in winter, which we do 
 occasionally get, give ventilation. Be 
 sure in March to give air on sunny 
 days or your pansies will draw up and 
 be useless. In fact on mild sunny days 
 it is better to remove the sash, and as 
 soon as frost is out of the ground re- 
 move the sash entirely. 
 
 The frosts of winter have usually 
 heaved the plants out some so the first 
 job in spring is to go over the beds 
 and press them back. These plants 
 will be large and give fine, perfect 
 flowers, and you will get at least 50 
 cents a dozen for them and should get 
 more. When Mr. Pumpkin brings in 
 his wagonloads and sells at 25 cents a 
 dozen, and every grocer handles them, 
 you are out of it. 
 
 If you have forgotten to sow in the 
 fall you can make a sowing in the 
 greenhouse in flats in January or Feb- 
 ruary, and by pricking out in other 
 flats and giving them the coolest, light- 
 est bench you have, and putting the 
 flats into a cold-frame early in April, 
 
178 
 
 you will have plants to sell that for 
 continuous summer blooming. It cared 
 for. will be more satisfactory than 
 either your own cold-frame or the 
 farmer's field grown plants. 
 
 Pansy flowers are a favorite with 
 many in the winter months. In some 
 floral designs the blues and purples or 
 white and yellow look very rich, and 
 when grown for cut flowers you should 
 sow in distinct varieties. For this pur- 
 pose sow early in August and then se- 
 lect the strongest, healthiest seedlings 
 and plant on the bench in September, 
 giving them all the sun and air you 
 can. They are often disappointing in 
 not flowering. They must have a light 
 house and need every ray of sun you 
 can get between snow storms. Anxious 
 as they are to flower when March 
 comes, they don't want to send up their 
 buds in the dead of winter. 
 
 About 4.5 degrees at night will do. 
 and 60 degrees in day time it the 
 weather is bright, if cloudy, less, but 
 unless you can give them a light house 
 don't try it. The greenfly troubles 
 them in winter, so smoke. Out of 
 doors nothing troubles except the hot 
 weather. 
 
 In Europe where they g've the pansy 
 great attention and select the finest 
 flowers and name them Captain Drey- 
 fus. Paul Kruger, Aguinaldo or Wm. J. 
 Bryan, etc., they perpetuate these fine 
 varieties by cuttings, which root easily 
 from side shoots in a shaded cold- 
 frame in September. Here I have 
 never heard of that being done. We 
 depend entirely on seedlings and they 
 are certainly as we often say in the 
 vernacular, "good enough." 
 
 For large quantities the seed can be 
 sown broadcast on a finely raked sur- 
 face and the seed just covered and 
 pressed slightly firm. With expensive 
 seed in small quantities I prefer to 
 sow in shallow drills two inches apart 
 and scatter the seed thinly in the 
 drills and then just cover. You can 
 quickly make the drill by having a 
 rod an inch square and pressing one 
 anerle of it into the ground. 
 
 The pansy is a cold blooded little 
 plant of the northern temperate zone, 
 and it likes water. And above all, to 
 nroduce fine flowers and a good plant 
 it takes an abundance of manure. A 
 p-ood frinble loam is the thing, with 
 the addition of a third of decayed cow 
 manure, or if that is not to be had, 
 plenty of old hotbed manure will do. 
 If you try to grow them all summer 
 don't be sprinkling every night but 
 give them a soaking twice a week and 
 be sure and pick off all withered 
 flowers. It is not the flower that ex- 
 
 Roemer's Giant Five 
 Spotted Pansy. ;» na- 
 tural size. 
 
 ROEMER'S SUPERB 
 PRIZE PANSIES, 
 
 The finest strain of 
 Pansifs in the world. 
 Intrnducer and Grower of 
 All the Leading Novelties. 
 
 Hitrhest award Tntemational 
 
 Exhibition, Haniburg;, i8q7. 
 
 Catalogue free'oniapplicalion 
 
 'FRED. ROEMER. 
 
 5eed Grower, 
 
 Qiiedllnburg, Germany." 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 hausts the plant, it is the function of 
 bearing seed. 
 
 There have been innumerable strains 
 of pansies, and no two people fancy 
 the same flower. A first class mixture 
 suits the florist best, but be sure you 
 get plenty of yellow and purple; they 
 are always fancied, and a large flower 
 will always be preferred. One of the 
 best strains I ever grew came from Mr. 
 James Fleming more than 2.5 years 
 ago, when the firm was Peter Hender- 
 son and James Fleming. On inquiry 
 I found that Mr. Fleming had been 
 hunting over the markets of New 
 York, selecting a fine flower here and 
 there wherever he saw one, and had 
 in that way obtained a fine strain, and 
 that yon can do yourself. The best of 
 everything is either nature's or man's 
 selection. 
 
 The Giant Trimardeau is a large, 
 finely marked pansy, but not of great 
 substance. Butterfly pansies are 
 beautifully marked. Other well known 
 strains are the Odier, very rich in col- 
 or; Bugnot's Parisian strain, Belgian, 
 German and English strains. Several 
 of our own florists have selected the 
 finest flowers from these and have now 
 a strain that I prefer to any of them. 
 
 PELARGONIUM. 
 
 All the familiar plants we know as 
 geraniums are pelargoniums, but they 
 have been treated under the name by 
 which they are so well known. Under 
 Pelargonium we include only the show 
 and fancy section, which is strangely 
 so often called Lady or Martha Wash- 
 ington. Possibly one of these pretty 
 plants suffered with the cherry tree 
 by that famous little hatchet. 
 
 In Europe the Show Pelargonium 
 has long been a standard decorative 
 plant, and considering the ease and 
 short time it requires to grow, and 
 their rich, handsome effect, they de- 
 serve all the popularity that is theirs. 
 Magnificent plants for exhibition, pur- 
 poses were grown by several of the 
 English firms, chief among which was 
 the firm of Charles Turner, of Slough. 
 Plants six or seven feet aci-oss, not 
 over three feet high, and as perfect in 
 outline as a well grown azalea, are a 
 gorgeous sight and are surpassed in 
 showy effectiveness only by an azalea. 
 Millions are grown in 5 and 6-inch 
 pots for the European markets and 
 some are grown for our own, but not 
 in such quantities. 
 
 Great as their beauty is, they have 
 these defects or shortcomings com- 
 pared to the semi-double geraniums. 
 Th? pelargoniums are much more 
 troubled with aphis: in damp weather 
 in spring without fire heat they drop 
 their petals, and their season of fiow- 
 ering is not continuous. Two, or at 
 most three, months of spring and 
 early summer is their period of flower- 
 ing; after that the plant makes a 
 strong growth without flower. 
 
 As a bedding or vase plant they are 
 useless and to use them for such a 
 purpose is a fraud on your customers. 
 With all their lack of the ever-bloom- 
 
 ing qualities of the zonal geraniums, 
 they are far superior as a decorative 
 flowering plant and they are frequent- 
 ly seen in the windows of the dwelling 
 house, growing and flowering as it 
 they had found the very spot that 
 suited them, and if not too warm the 
 perfectly dry air of a living room is, I 
 believe, most congenial to them. 
 
 Propagation. 
 End of August or early September 
 is the best time for this -country. The 
 cuttings should be from plants that 
 flowered the previous spring, and if 
 the plants had been kept the previous 
 two weeks rather dry so much the 
 better. When you cut the plant down 
 for cuttings don't be afraid; cut it 
 down to within three inches of the pot. 
 Don't look for eyes, as you would on 
 a zonal; there will be any number of 
 eyes break from the stems that you 
 saw no signs of. Any part of the 
 wood will root; the young, tender tops 
 or the firmer parts. Make the cut- 
 tings with two eyes, one above and 
 one below the sand. They will root 
 in soil readily, as we do our gera- 
 niums, but I prefer to put them in 
 sand, either in the bed or in flats. 
 Keep only moderately moist, and after 
 the first few days very little or no 
 shade is needed. 
 
 In five or six weeks they will be 
 ready to put into 2y2-inch pots and 
 should be grown on in a very light, 
 airy house. From the time they start 
 to grow in the small pots they should 
 be encouraged by a light, warm, but 
 well ventilated house, to grow as fast 
 as possible. They will soon take a 
 4-inch, previous to which Uvey should 
 have liad their top pinched out. This 
 pinching, or stopping, after they have 
 made about three or four eyes of 
 growth above the cutting is enough. 
 If a larger plant is wanted they can 
 be pinched again in January or Feb- 
 ruary, but they will be later in flower. 
 I shall pause here to say that this 
 fall treatment is the most important. 
 We leave our zonal geraniums in 2- 
 inch pots till after New Year's, and 
 if they get hard and somewhat stunt- 
 ed no matter, but the show pelargo- 
 niums want the opposite treatment; 
 grow them on as fast as you can with- 
 out forcing in a moist heat. 
 
 I do not like to advocate anything 
 so antiquated as a shelf, but neverthe- 
 less it is a fact that pelargoniums will 
 make a better, stouter, more thrifty 
 growth during winter on a shelf near 
 the glass than on any bench I have 
 ever seen them grown on. By Janu- 
 ary they will be stout plants with sev- 
 eral side shoots, and before the end 
 of the month should be shifted into 
 their flowering pot, a 5 or 6-inch; no 
 more is needed. During spring they 
 will grow very fast. 
 
 In watering they are like the gera- 
 niums; during dark, cloudy, cold 
 weather they need very little water, 
 but in the bright and warmer days of 
 spring they will take plenty. Avoid 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 179 
 
 wetting the leaves if the weather is 
 damp and cool. 
 
 The soil should be a good coarse, 
 turfy loam, with a fourth or fifth of 
 decayed manure, and when they are 
 in 5 or 6-inch pots, or larger, give 
 them a crock and piece of moss tor 
 drainage, as they never want a wet, 
 soggy soil. From a 4-inch to their 
 flowering pot tiiey should be always 
 potted quite firmly; this is a matter 
 of great importance. 
 
 Pelargoniums will thrive in a very 
 cool house during winter. I would 
 
 quite small, say in three weeljs from 
 time you cut them down, shake off all 
 the soil, shorten back the long roots, 
 and repot in a size smaller pot than 
 they were growing in, and start grow- 
 ing with the same treatment as you 
 give the young plants. These old 
 plants need not be stopped or pinched 
 at all, and if kept growing in a light, 
 warm house, can be had in flower by 
 April 1st. They can be used as one 
 of our Easter plants, although there 
 are many other plants that are pre- 
 ferred. 
 
 Peperomta Saundefsii (P. arifolia argyreia). 
 
 say that from middle of November to 
 first of March 45 degrees at night was 
 just what suited them, and 50 degrees 
 at night by flre heat is enough at any 
 time. The principal thing to avoid 
 Is dampness, and in May, when in 
 bloom, if we get a cold, wet spell, es- 
 pecially if there is a shade on the 
 house, you must drive out the damp- 
 ness by fire heat or you will lose the 
 blooms. 
 
 There is nothing troubles them but 
 aphis, but unlike the common gera- 
 niums they are much troubled with it 
 and must be constantly and regularly 
 fumigated. Tobacco does not hurt 
 them in the least, so there is no ex- 
 cuse for their being injured by green 
 fly. 
 
 The old plants that were cut down 
 in August or September should be 
 kept in the full light but quite dry 
 for two or three weeks; by that time 
 they will have made a great many 
 small shoots or breaks from the 
 ripened wood. When the growth is 
 
 Pelargoniums can bs rooted during 
 winter most easily, but except where 
 you are short of some variety there is 
 no need of it, as you get plenty of 
 stock when cutting down the plants in 
 August. 
 
 There has been a great improvement 
 in the pelargonium the past thirty 
 years, and what is known as the Regal 
 type, almost a semi-double with 
 fringed petals, is very handsome, but 
 not so easily grown and flowered as 
 the older type. 
 
 It is diflicult to find a list of varie- 
 ties published in any of our florists' 
 catalogues, showing that these plants 
 have been supplanted in popular favor 
 by many less worthy of a fine name 
 and long description; and it is the 
 great beauty and grand qualities of 
 the zonal geraniums that have done 
 this. 
 
 Of the Show flowers we recall: 
 Crimson King, an early red; Gen. 
 Taylor, same color, but brighter and 
 an improvement; Desdemona, an 
 
 early free flowering white; Lord Clyde, 
 scarlet, with maroon blotch; Retreat, 
 rose, white center. 
 
 Of the semi-double flowers some of 
 the best known are: Capt. Raikes, 
 bright crimson; Dr. Masters, dark ma- 
 roon; Maid of Kent, white, spotted 
 rose; Queen Victoria, orange carmine, 
 white edges; Madame Thibaut, white 
 ground, richly marbled with rose, a 
 very free and beautiful variety; Mrs. 
 Sandiford is identical in habit, but a 
 fine semi-double white. 
 
 The fancy pelargoniums have small- 
 er leaves and smaller flowers, but 
 borne in the greatest profusion. The 
 plant has a neat, compact habit, and 
 we have found them to be a grand 
 window plant. They want a little 
 higher temperature than the Show 
 section. The best time to propagate 
 them is in January or February from 
 the young growths, when they root 
 most easily and will make small flow- 
 ering plants the same summer. They 
 want less drying off when cutting 
 back in August, and don't cut them as 
 severely as the larger growing kinds. 
 The Fancy section has a longer period 
 of flowering. They are a most desir- 
 able plant and there is of late a re- 
 turning taste for them. 
 
 There are innumerable varieties, 
 but I am not acquainted with the 
 newer ones except the grand variety 
 Bridesmaid, which with many is called 
 the Pansy Geranium; upper petals lav- 
 ender, lower white. It is a most beau- 
 tiful plant and we frequently see them 
 in the windows of the village home 
 flowering for months. Any of the 
 Fancy flowers are fine and the few 
 varieties of the other sections men- 
 tioned are merely what I remember; 
 there are hundreds of varieties. 
 
 As a bedding plant the pelargonium 
 is of no use, but as a market plant, to 
 be sold to those whose gardening is 
 confined to the window, it must again 
 come into popular favor. 
 
 PEPEROMIA. 
 
 This is a very large genus contain- 
 ing hundreds of species. Those best 
 known and most useful to the florist 
 are P. maculosa, P. marmorata, P. 
 pubifolia and P. Saundersii (often 
 known as P. arifolia argyreia). They 
 are from tropical South America, 
 which stamps them as plants that like 
 heat, but they endure a greenhouse 
 temperature for weeks without any ap- 
 parent harm. A pan of these beautiful 
 little plants is very attractive and their 
 fleshy, succulent leaves enable them to 
 withstand the dry air of a living room 
 better than the vast majority of our 
 plants. 
 
 They need shade in the summer but 
 none in the winter and should never 
 be kept too wet. A lumpy loose soil 
 with a mixture of broken charcoal, or 
 even broken crocks, will suit them 
 well, and a pan three or four inches 
 deep is better for them than a deep 
 pot. The best specimen of P. maculosa 
 I ever saw was growing on a rock- 
 
180 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 ■work at the side of the path in a palm 
 house where it received plenty of 
 moisture but no superfluous water at 
 the roots. 
 
 They are easily propagated in sand 
 or sandy soil in a bottom heat of 75 
 degrees, either by the leaf, as you do 
 Begonia Rex, or with an inch or so of 
 the stem attached. Early spring is 
 the best time to propagate. 
 
 The flowers of all are inconspicuous; 
 it is the ornamental leaves that make 
 the plant valuable. P. pubifolia is 
 well adapted for a hanging basket. P. 
 maculosa makes a fine subject for a 
 pan, and the beautiful species illus- 
 trated herewith makes a compact plant 
 of great beauty. All the species that 
 are desirable for the commercial florist 
 can be said to be of easy culture. 
 
 PERILLA NANKINENSIS. 
 
 This strong growing foliage plant is 
 useful for sub-tropical flower garden- 
 ing. It has very dark bronzy leaves 
 and will grow fast in a lower tempera- 
 ture than the coleus, which makes it 
 useful in cooler summers than ours. 
 
 It is raised easily from seed sown in 
 March and grown on in 3-inch pots till 
 bedding out time. Like our free grow- 
 ing coleus it should be pinched to 
 make it spread. 
 
 PETUNIA. 
 
 These are very popular plants. In 
 flower gardening they are one of the 
 leading flowers. It appears that the 
 garden varieties are raised from the 
 species P. nyctaginiflora and P. viola- 
 cea, a white and a violet species, but 
 in the varieties now raised by selec- 
 tion and culture we have a great vari- 
 ety of color, both double and single 
 flowers. 
 
 In large beds where there is much 
 flower gardening to do and not a great 
 facility for raising the plants, or where 
 expense has to be studied, the petunia 
 is one of our most serviceable plants, 
 and for a flower bed the single is more 
 eft'ective than the double. We also 
 find great use for them in veranda 
 boxes and vases. We have seen the 
 double white used as a cut flower, but 
 that day is past. 
 
 Any fine double varieties that you 
 wish to perpetuate must be raised 
 from cuttings, and the plants seen in 
 early spring in 4-inch pots are from 
 cuttings, but for bedding it pays much 
 better to raise them from si?ed. Ob- 
 tain the best strain you possibly can. 
 I have received seeds from a flrm that 
 were splendid, hardly two flowers iden- 
 tical in a thousand plants, and the 
 next year from the same source they 
 were nearly all that washed out purple 
 that nobody wants. 
 
 Buy seed that is sold for double al- 
 ways. You will only get about 40 per 
 cent, double flowei-s, and that will 
 leave you plenty of single. There are 
 some distinct strains that come true 
 in form and color. Peter Henderson 
 Co. advertise a strain called "Adonis," 
 valuable for bedding, medium sized 
 
 flowers of a carmine color. The Cali- 
 fornia strain of doubles is magnifi- 
 cent. The "Dwarf Inimitable" is also 
 a fine single strain, of a cherry red 
 color, with white throat. There are 
 also many fine double varieties that 
 are named, but the great majority of 
 us depend on a good strain of seed, as 
 they make a better bedding plant 
 than those grown from cuttings, and 
 every desirable color can be olitained. 
 For most places a variety of color 
 in the same bed is preferred when filled 
 with petunias, and they should always 
 be given a bed to themselves, as they 
 would give no other plants a fair show. 
 When choice double varieties are 
 kept over you should select the young, 
 fresh growths and propagate in sand 
 before a hard frost has touched them. 
 When rooted they should be grown on 
 a light bench in a temperature of 50 
 degrees. If not allowed to get stunted 
 these plants will give you more cut- 
 tings, which root very easily in winter 
 when there is heat in the propagating 
 bench. By pinching once and potting 
 into a 4-inch you can have nice plants 
 in flower in early May. They need a 
 small stake to support them. Many 
 such plants are sold in our markets. 
 
 Seedlings are the cheapest and most 
 satisfactory. The seed of the petunia 
 is very small. Sow in early March on 
 a well watered fine surface, and no cov- 
 ering of soil is needed. Just press the 
 surface lightly with the bottom of a 
 clean pot. We usually cover the seed 
 pan or flat with a piece of damp cheese 
 cloth till the seed begins to germinate, 
 but it should be removed directly you 
 see the seed starting. For a few day.s 
 be careful not to let the minute seed- 
 lings get parched. Neither must you 
 let them draw up with too much shade 
 and heat. 
 
 As soon as the small seed leaves are 
 developed they should be near the 
 light, and ,45 to 50 degrees at night will 
 do very well. When large enough to 
 handle we put six or seven around the 
 edge of a 3-inch pot and two or three 
 in the center. I like this better than 
 putting them in flats. About end of 
 April we give each plant a 2i/4-inch pot 
 and place on any light bench. There 
 should be a full exposure tO' the sun 
 and abundance of ventilation. They 
 are often put into hotbeds, Init I don't 
 approve of that, as they make too rank 
 a growth. In a cool, light house they 
 grow fast enough and make strong, 
 stout plants in fine condition for bed- 
 ding out. 
 
 Aphis troubles petunias, so they 
 should be fumigated with the many 
 other plants that need it. 
 
 A good sifted loam with a third of 
 old hotbed manure is what they like, 
 and if you wish them to jump along 
 quickly in May add a 6-inch pot of 
 bone meal to every barrow load of soil. 
 Although the parents of our petunias 
 are from southern Brazil and the Ar- 
 gentine, it must be the high eleva- 
 tions, for th«y want a high tempera- 
 ture at no time and grow and flower 
 
 weeks after many of our bedding 
 plants are killed. 
 
 PHLOX DRUMMONDII. 
 
 This is one of the very best of our 
 summer annuals. There are now mag- 
 nificent strains of distinct colors, and 
 where large masses of brilliant color 
 are desired there are few plants equal 
 to this dwarf phlox. In very di-y sum- 
 mers they go out of fiower, so they 
 should be within reach of the hose; 
 and the dead flower heads should be 
 picked oft. 
 
 For culture see Aster. In making a 
 flower bed put the plants flve or six 
 inches apart as soon as frosts are gone. 
 
 PHLOX (HERBACEOUS). 
 
 These have been included under 
 herbaceous plants, but they are worthy 
 of special mention, for tlrey are among 
 the best of our hardy border plants. 
 These flne varieties are obtained from 
 several species: P. suffruticosa, P. 
 maculata and P. paniculata. They are 
 not of great value as a cut flower, but 
 you will never make a mistake in I'ec- 
 ommending them wherever a hardy 
 border flower is wanted. New varie- 
 ties are of course raised from seed. 
 
 The young shoots root freely in May, 
 or as soon as you can get them after 
 the plants start to grow, and can be 
 grown in pots and planted out in Sep- 
 tember. They also divide with the 
 greatest ease, either before they start 
 to grow in spring, or in October and 
 November. No plant is hardier. There 
 are so many flne varieties that there is 
 no excuse for growing poor ones. 
 
 PINKS. 
 
 We are often asked for the hardy 
 garden pinks and are often unable to 
 supply them. There is now a great vari- 
 ety of almost all shades of color, and 
 their flowers are as large as our carna- 
 tions were twenty years ago. They 
 may not be all quite hardy, but our 
 carnation is almost hardy, and these 
 pinks with their spreading, free flower- 
 ing habit, deserve more attention and 
 more care than they get. 
 
 There are dozens of named varieties, 
 Imt without going into them, we can 
 grow a good assortment of colors and 
 the hardy clove pink is a favorite with 
 all. Her Majesty is a splendid white, 
 and Abbottsford is an equally flne 
 pink. 
 
 With our continuous blooming car- 
 nation they would not be of value to 
 force, but are most useful to pick in 
 the summer months. They can be 
 propagated from cuttings, as you do 
 carnations, and either kept in the flats 
 in which they were rooted or potted 
 off into 2-inch pots, but they must, 
 when rooted, be kept in a very cool 
 house or cold-frame during winter. 
 Carnations root readily in sand in Oc- 
 tober, and so will the young growths 
 of these pinks. Planted out in early 
 spring they soon make bushy clumps. 
 Our garden pinks are supposed to be 
 the offspring of Dianthus plumarius. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 181 
 
 POINSETTIA. 
 
 The showy Poinsettia pulcherrima 
 is now botanically classed with the 
 euphorbias, but is still far better 
 known to the trade as poinsettia. It 
 is a native of Mexico and that infers 
 that at no time should it be subject to 
 a low temperature. Since its introduc- 
 tion it has been a favorite in all col- 
 lections of hot house niants, its bril- 
 liant scarlet bracts making it un- 
 equaled as a decorrative plant in the 
 very darkest days of winter. Of late 
 years it has grown greatly in popular 
 favor with our flower-buying patrons 
 and as the lily is now known as the 
 Easter flower, the poinsettia may and 
 is known as the Christmas flower. 
 
 They are often used for decorations 
 when cut with two or three feet of 
 stem, but are more satisfactory in 
 every way when it is possible to use 
 them in pots. Although their fine 
 leaves soon drop in a dry room, the 
 showy bracts remain on for several 
 weeks, always giving the purchaser 
 good value, and as it is one of those 
 plants which we never get returned 
 "to keep for another season" it is 
 satisfactory and profitable to grow, 
 more so than the majority of plants 
 we handle. 
 
 Old plants that have rested from 
 January to April or May should be 
 shaken out clean of any old soil, pot- 
 ted into 4, 5 or 6-inch pots as their 
 size may require, the shoot or shoots 
 shortened back only to the sound 
 wood. Place in a warm, light house 
 and syringe daily. In four or five 
 weeks there will be a crop of cuttings. 
 In taking off the cuttings leave one 
 young eye at the old stem so that an- 
 other break will give you another lot 
 of cuttings. As most of your cuttings 
 will go into the sand after you have 
 discontinued firing, there will be no 
 bottom heat; so the cuttings want 
 shade and the sand must have a thor- 
 ough soaking twice a day in warm 
 weather. In about three weeks the 
 cuttings will be rooted. Lift carefully 
 from the sand and pot into 2% or 3- 
 inch pots. For the first few days, or 
 till the young plants begin to make 
 roots in the soil, keep shaded and 
 moist by frequent syringing. When 
 once they have got hold of the soil 
 they -want the fullest light, and in the 
 warm months the greatest possible 
 amount of fresh air. 
 
 The old plants that you are propa- 
 gating from can after June 1st be 
 plunged outside, and cuttings taken 
 from outside growth make better 
 plants than those grown inside. You 
 can propagate at intervals till the mid- 
 dle of August, the last struck making 
 fine dwarf plants. We seldom make 
 use of the old plants, but shifted on in 
 September and given plenty of heat 
 and light they will give you a number 
 of medium sized flowers. 
 
 The main object in the cultivation of 
 the poinsettia is to obtain a stocky, 
 sturdy plant, retaining all its fine foli- 
 age, as dwarf as possible, but crowned 
 
 with a fine head of what the public call 
 the bloom. Two shifts are enough; 
 from the 2i/^ to a 4-inch, and from that 
 to their flowering pot, a 6-inch or in 
 later struck plants a 5-inch. Batches of 
 cuttings can be taken off at intervals 
 from May 1 to end of August, the very 
 latest propagation often making most 
 useful little plants. 
 
 The poinsettia is very unsightly 
 without its large handsome leaves, and 
 these are too often seen drooping and 
 yellow or entirely absent at Christmas 
 time just when the plant should be at 
 its best. There are three causes for 
 this: First, a low temperature (60 de- 
 grees at night is the lowest they 
 should ever be); second, starvation at 
 the roots, either through an impover- 
 ished soil or insufficient root room, 
 and thirdly, as common a cause as 
 any, their roots being disturbed after 
 they begin to form their bracts. A 
 very important point to remember is 
 that they should have their last shift 
 never later than the middle of Octo- 
 ber and two weeks earlier is better. 
 They cannot endure having their 
 roots disturbed in the least when near 
 their flowering period. 
 
 The best soil for them is two-thirds 
 of rather heavy turfy loam, with one- 
 third of well rotted cow manure, and 
 at the last shift add one pint of bone 
 flour to one bushel of compost. They 
 are very liable to be troubled with 
 mealy bug. which infests their flower 
 umbel proper, but if syringed daily as 
 they should be they are easily kept 
 down. Greenfly also attacks them if 
 regular fumigation is neglected. 
 
 If very large bracts on 5 to 6-foot 
 stems are desired, you can plant out in 
 6 inches of rich soil some thrifty 
 young plants in August. In this way 
 you can get bracts 20 to 24 inches 
 across. 
 
 Plants unsold, or those you cut for 
 the flower, should be stored away in 
 January either in a warm shed or be- 
 neath a bench where not a drop of 
 water will touch them, and allowed to 
 rest perfectly dry till started again the 
 following May. 
 
 There is a so-called white variety 
 seen occasionally which is certainly 
 not worth growing, and there is a va- 
 riety called P. p. plenissima, or com- 
 monly called the double. It is with 
 me about ten days later than the type, 
 but it is very intense in color, stands 
 travel and handling better and al- 
 though not making such a wide stretch 
 of bracts is most desirable in every 
 way. 
 
 POTTING. 
 
 There is no chapter in this book that 
 I have started into with such a relish 
 as this one. It is a treat. It is better 
 than falling off a log. It is an ice- 
 cream soda and a 15-cent cigar. It is 
 more than equal to seeing the High- 
 land fling danced for the three thou- 
 sand eight hundred and flfty-sixth 
 time. 
 
 There is a good display of egotism 
 in it, because the writer thinks he 
 
 knows how to pot, and he has seen a 
 great many that did not and never 
 seem to learn. Some will say: "There 
 is a man who thinks nobody can do a 
 thing right but himself." I beg your 
 pardon; that is not so, for I "have 
 seen many young men who began to 
 pot and shift plants when they were 
 1.5 years old and made experts at it, 
 but when over 20 they seldom learn 
 to perform this important operation 
 properly, which must combine both 
 speed and proficiency. 
 
 Our business is both mental and me- 
 chanical, and a good mingling of the 
 two. It is the mental that S3es at a 
 glance that a plant needs shifting and 
 the size shift or pot it wants. It is the 
 mechanical that expertly shifts the 
 plant from the 3 to the 4-inch, because 
 he has learned it, and it is not the 
 slightest effort of the brain to do it 
 right. It would be an effort to do it 
 any other way.. 
 
 It must be admitted that potting and 
 shifting is the most important mechan- 
 ical operation in our commercial 
 houses, and any young man who is 
 really a quick and good hand at it can 
 always get a job, but how few there 
 are when you want them. A Jaggs or 
 a Baggs or a Raggs, if known to be an 
 expert at this operation, would often 
 get a favorable answer to his question, 
 "Have ye got a job, sir?" instead of an 
 evasive answer, even if he were known 
 to have laudable loving for exploring 
 all horticultural centers. We must put 
 up with a slow gait sometimes, but I 
 have suffered more than once by right 
 down bad and careless potting; care- 
 lessness is not the word, it is right 
 down stupidness, thick-headedness, 
 with awkward handedness. 
 
 It is no good telling you how not to 
 do it, but still I can convey some 
 points by describing what I have often 
 seen in the shape of potting, which 
 causes itching of the skin and the 
 mastication of a large lump of profan- 
 ity that has to be swallowed instead 
 of coloring the atmosphere. 
 
 You will see a man take hold of a 
 cutting between his finger and thumb 
 by the top of the shoot, and suspend 
 it in the little pot, then fill up the pot 
 heaping full and then begin to thumb 
 all around on the surface. Then the 
 same man or his class will take a 
 plant that has come out of a 3-inch and 
 after putting half an inch of soil in 
 the bottom of a 4-inch, set the plant 
 in with the old ball one inch down the 
 new pot, then a big handful of soil is 
 thrown on the top and the thumbing 
 commences again with several revolu- 
 tions of the pot and a few extra pres- 
 sures of the thumb. 
 
 If you will knock out the 2-inch first 
 described you will find that near the 
 bottom, where the soil should be com- 
 pact around the roots, it is loose, but 
 firm on the surface, where you don't 
 want it so. And if you will knock out 
 the 4-inch you will find the first inch 
 quite solid, but lower down where the 
 roots are you will find spaces between 
 
182 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 the old ball and the pot, which I have 
 learned to call, when exhibiting them 
 to a workman, "mouse's nests," for I 
 have found the cavities large enough 
 to domicile a little rodent. 
 
 When potting see that your soil is 
 in just the right consistency. It should 
 never be too dry. and to be wet and 
 sticky would be ruination. Som« one, 
 perhaps Mr. Henderson, described it 
 admirably when he said it should be 
 in such condition that you could 
 squeeze up a handful and it would ad- 
 here in a lump, but when thrown on 
 the bench it would crumble to pieces. 
 That is just about the same condition 
 so dear to the eye and heart of a farm- 
 er when plowing his clay loam in the 
 spring, when it falls back from the 
 plowshare in flaky particles. 
 
 In the old country, so called (this 
 is the oldest, geologically, by some odd 
 billions of years) we were taught to 
 sprinkle the new pots before using 
 them, and although it is disregarded 
 in our hurry, it is, I am sure, an ex- 
 cellent plan to dip all new pots a mo- 
 ment or two. We are also taught in 
 Europe to wash all pots before being 
 used again. This is a good thing to do 
 when you have the time, but we never 
 seem to have the time, so we put them 
 out of doors in summer when out of 
 use. If you have a field and can 
 spread them out the rains will do much 
 to wash the outsides, but if the cows 
 walk over them or children play ball 
 with them it is somewhat expensive. 
 Piled up in neat rows with somie 
 boards for a foundation does us very 
 well, for then they get thoroughly dry, 
 and when wanted for use a coarse wad 
 of cloth will give them what Nicholas 
 Nickleby had to put up with the morn- 
 ing after his arrival at Dotheboy's 
 Hall, "a dry rub." This dry rub will 
 clean them inside near enough for most 
 all of our common plants. 
 
 The very worst place for storing 
 pots is under a wet bench, where they 
 get so saturated that they must be in 
 poor condition, for although the water 
 we give our plants does not all go out 
 through the porous pots, as somelx)dy 
 said it did, yet it is well to have as 
 much of the porous quality as we can 
 get. There is considerable humbug 
 about" porous pots, however, and we 
 do not attach much importance to it 
 because we see plants thriving in a 
 grean painted pine tub, which is no 
 more porous than our neighbors' pie 
 crust. 
 
 It is a great benefit to have our flower 
 pots and pans all of one standard 
 make, and, better still, to have one 
 maker's make. The breakage of pots 
 in the old days of hand made pots was 
 terrific, and we should squeal awfully 
 had we the same amount to lay out for 
 good potting soil. 
 
 It is difficult to attempt to give any 
 instructions on how to pot or shift a 
 plant, but a few hints will suffice. 
 
 To begin with a rooted cutting. If 
 the roots are small the pot can be 
 filled to overflowing with soil and one 
 
 dab of the forefinger makes a hole big 
 enough to put in the plant; or if the 
 roots are too long for that, hold the 
 plant with the two first fingers and 
 thumb and fill up with one handful of 
 soil, then with the thumb and first 
 finger of the left hand and first finger 
 of the right hand run into the soil per- 
 pendicularly on three sides of the 
 plant, you have well firmed the soil 
 around the roots, where it ought to be 
 firm, and as you pass the plant into a 
 flat a rap will settle the soil and the 
 first watering will do yie rest. 
 
 You ought to learn to seize the plant 
 with one hand and the pot with' the 
 other. A good hand at this light job 
 with cuttings that are easy to handle, 
 and has his pots and plants brought to 
 him and carried away, ought to pot 
 easily 500 an hour. 
 
 When it comes to shifting a 2-inch 
 to a 3-inch, or a 3-inch to a 4-inch, 
 you should hold the plant by the stem, 
 letting your little finger rest a momient 
 on the edge of the pot. fill the pot 
 nearly a third full, and then lean the 
 plant towards you and put in some 
 soil, give the pot jusu one half turn 
 and lean the plant again towards you 
 and fill up the other side, and then 
 squeeze the ball hard down; another 
 rap. and the shift is done. Now. by 
 this method you have gotten the soil 
 solid all around the ball, firmer near 
 the bottom, becausi= you wedged the 
 plant into the soil. 
 
 Up to 6-inch pots this method will 
 do, with perhaps the addition of get- 
 ting your fingers down the sides as a 
 rammer. With all shifts of plants over 
 6-inch, especially with those that get 
 a small shift, say 6 to 8 or 10 to 12, 
 .vou cannot get the soil, which in these 
 sizes should never be sifted, down 
 compact without the aid of a stick an 
 inch or two wide and one-half or three- 
 quarters inch thick. All hard-wooded 
 plants, like azaleas, want to be firmly 
 potted; and some of our soft- wooded 
 plants, geraniums for instance, want 
 hard potting. As a rule, plants are 
 potted too loosely. 
 
 It would be a dirty job to b3 shift- 
 ing plants within a few minutes of 
 their being watered, but it would be 
 tar worse for the plant to shift it when 
 it was quite dry, or in that condition 
 that it needed watering, and the larger 
 the plant the worse it would be, be- 
 cause the water would largely pass 
 down through the new soil and the old 
 ball would remain dry till the plant 
 was thoroughly soaked, which all 
 plants won't stand. 
 
 We are able to shift a plant from a 
 4 to a 6-inch or 6 to 8 with absolute 
 safety at any time, because wh?n prop- 
 erly done the plant does not lose a 
 fiber, but many of our soft-wooded 
 plants soon recover from a little dis- 
 turbance of the roots and with many 
 of our common plants you can always 
 rub off half an inch of the surface of 
 the old ball, which enables you to give 
 them more new soil. 
 
 Many of the soft-wooded plants that 
 
 make a stem, such as geraniums, fuch- 
 sias, heliotrope, etc., do not hurt any 
 if the old ball is down an inch under 
 the new soil, but in hard-wooded 
 plants they should be kept very near 
 the same height. This is particular in 
 palms; they should never be pot- 
 ted below the base of the stems. Many 
 palms will raise themselves several 
 inches above the ground b.v the roots. 
 Lower them down when shifting, but 
 not below bottom of stem. 
 
 The best work of potting I ever kept 
 the watch on was done by an expert at 
 any greenhouse work. It was very 
 common stuff; Centaurea gymnocarpa 
 from 2-inch to 3-inch. He did not have 
 to knock out his plants, but merely 
 shifted them and did it well, and in 
 just twenty-five minutes he had rattled 
 off 500. That was too fast to last all 
 day, but It was not day, it was night, 
 by lamp light. For the first week or 
 two after Easter we frequently have 
 to put in some "bees," and during sev- 
 eral evenings last spring, two men in 
 three hours, with plenty of help, shift- 
 ed 2,500 geraniums from 3 to 4-inch. 
 
 I have spoken of rapid potting, which 
 most of our bedding plants must get 
 or it would not pay, but the man who 
 can pot well and fast can also slacken 
 down his speed and pot carefully when 
 occasion requires, and where care is 
 needed it pays. He could not handle 
 cyclamen or cinerarias, or above all 
 herbaceous calceolarias as he could a 
 geranium or a canna. or you would 
 break and smash the leaves, but ex- 
 pertness and smartness will apply to 
 all of them. 
 
 I have seen some men take hold of a 
 dormant cattleya and hold it up and 
 look at it and twist it around as if it 
 were a new and unknown reptilian fos- 
 sil, and then fuss with moss and crocks 
 as long as it would take to visit the 
 dentist and have a tooth out, and then 
 from want of knowledge the poor 
 plant pined and died; while I know 
 another who fixes them up as fast as I 
 would shift a cytisns, and this man 
 makes them grow. 
 
 Don't think for a minute, young 
 man, that you are an expert potter of 
 plants unless a superior expert told 
 you so and watched you. I have no- 
 ticed some young men in very large 
 establishments who were poor hands 
 at potting because perhaps they never 
 had a good lesson, or perhaps they 
 were of that conceited build that they 
 would not learn. I noticed in one place 
 where a rapid potter had been at 
 work on a lot of rose cuttings that 
 were calloused but had lost their 
 leaves, and quite a number were up- 
 side down. Perhaps some will say 
 that in our common plants in spring- 
 time anything will do. It may do, but 
 in the aggregate the difference in the 
 result between the right and the wrong 
 way will be considerable. 
 
 Just a word about a potting bench. 
 It should always be of 2-inch plank, 
 resting on cross-pieces not over two 
 feet apart, so that it is solid, with no 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 183 
 
 Pyrimidal Flowering Chinese Primulas. 
 
 spring to it. And it sliould be higli 
 enough so that a man can work his 
 hands conveniently without bending 
 his back. It is the bending over that 
 tires. You can't raise a low bench up 
 to suit a tall workman, but you can 
 raise the short workman up to suit 
 the bench. 
 
 PRIMULA. 
 
 A very large genus of pretty dwarf 
 stemless plants that are all from tem- 
 perate climates or high elevations. 
 Those of us who crossed the Atlantic 
 will remember the fields and banks 
 and hedge rows where the primrose 
 covered the ground. The cowslip (P. 
 officinalis) was not so common and 
 was generally found in a colony in a 
 pasture and the oslip (P. elatior) was 
 still less common. 
 
 Many primroses are hardy with us, 
 but our severe winter, and often hot, 
 dry summer, is not nearly so favorable 
 to them as the more temperate parts 
 of Europe. The polyanthus, similar to 
 the cowslip except in color, is the 
 leading flower in thousands of cottage 
 gardens, and with it the old woman's 
 story that if you plant a cowslip or 
 common primrose upside down it will 
 come red, double, etc. This strange 
 phenomenon never occurred in the 
 garden that you are visiting, but it did 
 happen, because our Aunt Jane or old 
 Bill Jones did it many times. 
 
 The polyanthus is sometimes ssen 
 doing very well here, and where it 
 can be shaded, but not a wet soil, and 
 protected in winter, it is a most charm- 
 ing hardy spring flower. 
 
 The old double white form of P. sin- 
 ensis was once a most important plant 
 with every florist. Its flowers were 
 used in immense quantities for making 
 designs, but we have gotten over that, 
 and although we had no difficulty in 
 cutting up the large plants with a 
 sharp knife and making each section 
 into a cutting which rooted slowly but 
 surely, we no longer bother with that 
 method of propagation. We have now 
 
 a double white equal to the old vari- 
 ety from seed and we have every 
 shade, double and single, from pure 
 white to crimson. The varieties of P. 
 sinensis come true from seed and it is 
 upon such we depend for our fall, win- 
 ter and spring flowering plants, and 
 they are now one of our most impor- 
 tant plants. 
 
 Besides P. sinensis we have P. ob- 
 conica and P. Forbesii, the "baby 
 primrose." For some years we did not 
 realize the great beauty and useful- 
 ness of P. obconica. It is a most 
 charming and useful plant, and the 
 baby primrose sells at sight. They 
 are so profuse in bloom and have the 
 great good quality that they are flne 
 
 window plants, and being easily raised 
 can be sold at a very moderate price. 
 Other species may be found very at- 
 tractive for the private collection, but 
 the three mentioned are the leading 
 commercial plants, and all want about 
 the same treatment. 
 
 Always obtain the best strain of 
 seed. It takes time and tedious care 
 to save primula seed, so don't be- 
 grudge paying for a good strain. The 
 foliage as well as flowers of the P. 
 sinensis are handsome. We have fern- 
 leaved, parsley-leaved, curl-leaved, 
 and in flowers most baautiful colors 
 and markings. The flowers of obcon- 
 ica have been greatly improved of late 
 and doubtless in both that and 
 Forbesii great improvements will be 
 made. 
 
 The primulas are the least troubled 
 with any of our greenhouse pests of 
 any cultivated plants. The principal 
 thing to remember is that they do not 
 like much heat. After they have left 
 the seed pan they need a good open 
 soil; two parts loam, one part sifted 
 cow manure, and one part leaf-mold 
 will do them finely, potted only mod- 
 erately firm. 
 
 The leaves, or rather, leaf stems, 
 break easily and here is where care- 
 ful and skillful potting comes in. I 
 frequently see people, when asked to 
 "knock out those plants," take hold 
 of the top of the plant as they would 
 a cat's tail if they wanted to draw 
 pussy from her retreat. Get the base 
 of the plant in the fork between your 
 fingere, and you can protect every leaf. 
 I noticed .some years ago that the Eng- 
 lish florist had small sticks pushed 
 down on three sides of the stem of the 
 
 Primula Obconica. 
 
184 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 primula just after shifting.to keep them 
 from wobbling about, as they were 
 potted what we would call "high." We 
 never found any necessity for that, for 
 they can be potted with care just right, 
 sufficiently deep to hold them firmly 
 upright, but not by any means to bui-y 
 their crowns. This is particular; don't 
 get them too low. but just so that they 
 set firmly on the soil. 
 
 If you wish to have primroses by Oc- 
 tober you should sow in April, and if 
 you wish to have them in spring you 
 should sow again end of August. You 
 can with care sow any time from 
 March to September. We usually sow 
 about first of May, which gives us 
 flowering plants from November on to 
 March, after which we think there are 
 
 pots. I have found these little plants 
 do finely on a shelf in a house that 
 had a good shade. In another five or 
 six weeks they will go into a 3-inch 
 pot. If you don't have a cold-frame 
 then give them a bench where it is 
 shaded overhead, and they can get 
 plenty of air. End of August or early 
 September they should be shifted into 
 their flowering pot. We sell most of 
 them in 4-inch pots, and the great ma- 
 jority go as soon as one fine truss is 
 developed, but to grow a fine plant 
 the.v should have a 5-inch. 
 
 After the heat of summer is gone we 
 try to keep them at about 50 degrees at 
 night, but less won't hurt them in the 
 least. And don't crowd them at any 
 time; they must have full room for 
 
 some large, healthy plants, but in this 
 immediate neighborhood they are a 
 failure. Thousands of dollars have 
 been spent for their purchase and care, 
 but in a few years they are gone. We 
 have pulled up this spring the remains 
 of rhododendrons and kalmias (and re- 
 placed with hardy deciduous shrubs) 
 which the confiding owner had pur- 
 chased from the agent, who showed 
 him the gorgeous picture of a rhodo- 
 dendron warranted (till the bill was 
 paid) to grow and blos.som even more 
 beautifully than the colored plate. So 
 be careful, and unless you are sure that 
 these plants thrive in your neighbor- 
 hood don't sell them. There is any 
 number of good, honest hardy shrubs. 
 It is said that the rhododendron, or 
 
 many other plants, not better, but the 
 people want a change, and for an 
 Easter plant we do not prize them. It 
 is in early winter that they are such 
 favorites with everybody. 
 
 The cold-frame is an excellent place 
 to summer over the primroses. With 
 the glass shaded and the sash raised 
 back and front, it is cool, and if you 
 will not neglect them there is no place 
 in the greenhouse where they can be 
 grown so well. If the frame is in the 
 shade of trees so much the better. It 
 is coolness you want. 
 
 Sow on some light loam and leaf- 
 mold that has been previously well 
 watered. Just press in the seed and 
 cover with more leaf-mold very light- 
 ly; when the seed is out of sight it is 
 covering enough. Place a pane of glass 
 over the flat or pan and don't let the 
 soil get parched. When the little 
 plants are up_ keep the pan in the 
 coolest place you have. 
 
 In five or six weeks they can be pot- 
 ted singly in 2-inch pots, using clean 
 
 Specimen Greenhouse Rhododendrons. 
 
 the spread of their pretty leaves^ or 
 they are useless. They need little syr- 
 inging, and none when in flower, but 
 when growing during summer a fine 
 sprinkling does them good. They wilt 
 quickly when allowed to suffer for 
 want of water and need plenty of 
 water from seed pan to flowering. The 
 soil should be always in that condi- 
 tion that it will take plenty of water. 
 If you flower them as late as March 
 or April their flowers will need shad- 
 ing. 
 
 RHODODENDRON. 
 
 Where these broad-leaved evergreen 
 shrubs will flourish out of doors there 
 is no hardy shrub that equals them for 
 color and massive beauty. We have 
 seen acres of them grooving as freely 
 as a weigelia or philadelphus, and in 
 many parts of Great Britain they are 
 planted for game covers, but that is 
 on the other side of the Atlantic. In 
 the vicinity of Boston they appear to 
 do well, and nearer home I have seen 
 
 any of the Ericaceae order, will not 
 thrive where the soil is impregnated 
 with lime. So there cannot be lime in 
 some parts of the Alleghany mountains, 
 for there the kalmias cover the mount- 
 ain side. R. catawbiensis is widely dis- 
 tributed through our eastern states, 
 and is quite hardy. There are other 
 causes than the lime that make the 
 rhododendron an undesirable plant for 
 our northern states. It gets burnt 
 with the bright suns of March when 
 the leaves are frozen hard. The past 
 winter has destroyed many. 
 
 It is as a forcing plant that we are 
 chiefly interested, and strange to say, 
 beautiful as they are when well flow- 
 ered, they do not sell readily. They 
 take up much room and we have sev- 
 eral times declared we would leave 
 them alone, but as the drummer pays 
 his annual visit we relent and say, 
 "Well, we will just try a few." And it 
 is only a few you want in the commer- 
 cial greenhouse; and the best time to 
 have them is at Easter. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 J 85 
 
 The rhododendrons that you see 
 planted by the landscape gardenerC es- 
 pecially if he is from a distance) and 
 those we buy to force are varieties of 
 R. ponticum. They are propagated 
 from seed, by cuttings of the half- 
 ripened wood, and by layers and by 
 grafting. The latter method is the 
 usual one to increase the fine named 
 varieties. The business of propagat- 
 ing and growing the rhotlodendron is 
 a specialty with those that have the 
 suitable soil, such as the fine peat of 
 Surrey, England, or the black peaty 
 soil of Holland and Belgium. 
 
 If I attempted to grow on over sum- 
 mer any rhododendrons I would use 
 two-thirds of turfy loam and one-third 
 well rotted leaves. You could not 
 however, begin to grow them a season 
 as cheaply as you can purchase fins 
 young plants well set with buds thai 
 only need a few months' care, like our 
 newly imported azaleas, with this dif- 
 ference, that you must expect to sell 
 or give away all your rhododendrons, 
 while your unsold azal?as are, with 
 proper treatment, much better plants 
 the second year. 
 
 When potting the newly imported 
 plants see that the ball is not too dry. 
 It is better to make sure by dipping it 
 in a tub of water. Pack the soil firm- 
 ly around the old ball and store them 
 away in the coolest house or frame you 
 have. At New Year's, bring them into 
 more heat. We failed several years 
 to get them into flower, thinking that 
 like the azalea they would come along 
 in a cool house. They won't do it: 
 you must give them 60 to 65 degrees at 
 night and syringe them daily; in fact 
 it is heat and moisture that bring them 
 out. They may not need three months 
 to force them out, but it is well to be 
 in time, and be sure to give the roots 
 plenty of water, particularly when in 
 flower. The flowers wilt easily in the 
 sun if the roots are dry. 
 
 There are countless varieties, but 
 some of the handsomest do not force 
 well; so in ordering see that the varie- 
 ties are suitable. Desirable forcing 
 varieties are now largely grown for 
 that purpose. 
 
 There are now beautiful hybrid rho- 
 dodendrons, the offspring of several 
 species, which make fine conservatory 
 plants. They should be managed as 
 we do azaleas, without the severe 
 pruning. After flowering they make 
 their growth and should be encouraged 
 to grow by a good heat and moisture. 
 When you see the buds set you can 
 plunge them out of doors for the sum- 
 mer and remove to- a cool house wh?n 
 you do the Indian azaleas. 
 
 RICHARDIA AFRICANA. 
 
 This plant Is often called Arum lily, 
 but with us is universally called the 
 Calla lily. For many years it was a 
 most important plant with us and to- 
 day there are a number of people who 
 prefer them to the true lilies. They 
 are of the easiest growth, if you re- 
 member one important thing, and that 
 
 is that the calla comes from Northern 
 Africa and does not want to be starved 
 in a cool greenhouse. 
 
 There are several ways of growing 
 them. To begin with, they propagate 
 easily from offsets, which you can take 
 off when repotting the plants in the 
 fall. Some plant them out, but if they 
 have much root room they grow too 
 rampant and the flowers are too large 
 to be useful. 
 
 In early May our houses are too 
 crowded to keep the callas on the 
 bench and they are taken outside and 
 laid down where they can be covered 
 in case of a sharp frost. The top with- 
 ers away and for a few months the 
 root is dry. In August we shake off 
 all the soil and start them growing 
 again in 5 or 6-inch pots, keeping them 
 in a frame as long as there is no dan- 
 ger of frost, and in winter give them a 
 light house where it is not less than 
 60 degrees at night. Although almost 
 an aquatic the soil should be in such 
 condition that water passes through it 
 freely. For soil use three-fourths of 
 coarse loam and one-fourth of decom- 
 posed cow manure. They want lots of 
 syringing and fumigating, for thrip 
 and red spider trouble the leaves. 
 
 If you want to raise some specimens 
 that will require a 9 or 10-inch pot and 
 bear three or four flowsrs at one time, 
 select some of your strongest plants in 
 May and plant them out two or three 
 feet apart in a deep, rich soil, where 
 you can water them copiously in dry 
 times. They lift easily end of Septem- 
 ber and will make great plants. 
 
 The small offsets or bulblets that 
 come off the corm in August can be 
 potted in 2-inch pots and grown on, 
 giving them a shift into a 5-inch and 
 plunge out of doors, and if given plen- 
 ty of water these plants will be in 
 good flowering condition by October. 
 Roots are now sent from California 
 very cheaply. 
 
 Richardia albo-maculata has a small, 
 greenish-white flower and a prettily 
 spotted leaf, which we used to use in 
 our veranda boxes. It rests in winter 
 and the corm should be started grow- 
 ing in February. To increase your 
 stock of this the corm can be cut in 
 two or three pieces and started grow- 
 ing in February. Keep rather dry till 
 leaf growth begins. In .June plant them 
 out and lift in fall and store in dry 
 soil till time to start again. 
 
 There is a magnificent yellow calla; 
 of its correct name I am not certain, 
 but think it is R. Elliottiana. In size 
 and form it is like the common calla, 
 but the leaves are spotted and not so 
 thick in texture. The flower is simply 
 grand. I don't know when I have seen 
 a flower that pleased me so much. 
 Fancy a dozen or more of these flowers 
 in a vase; what can be richer? It is 
 not yet common or we would see and 
 hear more of it. but every florist should 
 obtain a stock of it. 
 
 A single corm was given to me two 
 years ago by the late George Savage, of 
 Rochester, with the advice to start it 
 
 in sand and give little water till 
 growth began. This was good advice, 
 for the following .June it threw up a 
 gorgeous bloom. They should be dor- 
 mant in the soil during winter and 
 shaken out and started in early spring. 
 We divided this corm into four or five 
 pieces with success, one of which flow- 
 ered this spring. This is such a mag- 
 nificent flower I cannot praise it too 
 highly. 
 
 RICINUS (CASTOR BEAN). 
 
 Our warm summers suit this tropical 
 plant well, and in very large beds or 
 borders where a tropical effect is want- 
 ed it has a flne appearance. It is easily 
 raised by sowing the seeds in March, 
 either singly in small pots or in a flat 
 and afterwards potted off singly in 3 
 or 4-inch pots. 
 
 There are now several varieties, 
 those with the bronze colored leaves 
 being very handsome. To get a good 
 growth of the ricinus the soil of the 
 bed should be deep and rich. 
 
 ROSES. 
 
 Volumes have been devoted to the 
 rose. It is known as the Queen of 
 Flowers. Whole books have dealt 
 with merely the diseases of the rose. 
 A great church dignitary of England 
 gives all his leisure time to telling 
 funny stories and studying his favo- 
 rite love, the rose. In this country 
 Mr. H. B. Ellwanger, of Rochester, 
 has published a volume on the rose. 
 And for centuries the literature of the 
 rose has been pouring out in a steady 
 stream. 
 
 The production of the plants and 
 flowers has made a fortune for a few, 
 a competency for hundreds and daily 
 bread for thousands. There is no long- 
 er a sanguinary war between the roses 
 of York and Lancaster in which thou- 
 sands perished and a fair i-sland was 
 laid waste, but strange to say in one 
 city, most famous for peace and broth- 
 erly love, there still exists a Duke of 
 York whose pride it is not to exter- 
 minate his countryman who grows 
 white roses, but to produce such grand 
 red roses with stems of such a length 
 as his Lordship the Earl of Lancaster 
 never dreamed of. 
 
 The rose is not only Queen to all 
 those who admire a beautiful flower — 
 and they are low in the animal scale 
 who do not — ^but is the most impor- 
 tant by far in our commercial horticul- 
 ture. If we happen not to be exten- 
 sive growers then 75- per cent o£ our 
 bills with the commission man ia for 
 roses. Although I believe the orchids 
 are bound to become great favorites 
 with the wealthier flower buyers, yet 
 they nor any other flowers can displace 
 the rose as Queen of all of Flora's 
 gifts. It is the perfection and grace 
 of form, the beautiful leaves, the fine 
 stem and the sweetness of the flower 
 that places it pre-eminently above all 
 other flowers. 
 
 In Europe the rose has been fostered 
 by any number of rose societies, and 
 we have a rose society here, an auxili- 
 
186 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 ary of our national S. A. F. So far it 
 lias been a rose society only in name, 
 but at Detroit it took a new lease of 
 life and now bids fair to start off with 
 the enthusiasm that belongs to the 
 carnation society. It is sincerely wish- 
 ed that It may and if so what magni- 
 ficent displays may we expect at its 
 annual conventions and exhibitions? 
 
 Space forbids me to more than men- 
 tion the literature of the rose. Among 
 the books devoted to the rose may be 
 mentioned Shirley Hibbard's "Rose 
 Book for Amateurs," and "A Book 
 About Roses," by Rev. Dean S. R. 
 Hole. Both of these gentlemen are 
 charming writers and ardent students 
 of the rose. There you will find the 
 history of the rose, almost from the 
 dawn of our own history, as well as 
 its present day beauties and associa- 
 tions. A far more edifying literature 
 than campaign speeches, murders, 
 shipwrecks, or the latest movements 
 of the popular vaudeville actresses. 
 
 Of American authors, besides Mr. 
 Ellwanger's book, we have "Parsons 
 on the Rose," by S. B. Parsons, a noted 
 horticulturist; and "The Secrets of 
 Rose Culture," by W. J. Hatton, a 
 practical florist. One more foreign 
 l>ook is that by Wm. Paul, "The Rose 
 
 could have improved on that myster- 
 ious and ambiguous story of the Gar- 
 den of Eden had I been the learned 
 Israelite or syndicate of Israelites who 
 by tradition handed down or scratched 
 on tablets of stone or burnt clay the 
 stories of their forefathers whose 
 dreams included serpents, fig leaves, 
 forbidden fruit and murder. Strange 
 that these evil agencies surround us 
 yet, and encompass a man most fatally 
 if he steps far off the virtuous path. 
 I hope I won't be considered presump- 
 tuous but I would have made Miss 
 Innocent Eve tempt Mr. Frank Adam 
 to present her with a moss rose bud. 
 The roses were growing in Asia Minor, 
 but no one knows what kind of fruit 
 the forbidden species was. If Eve was 
 a dark-skinned damsel we would say 
 it was a watermelon. The moss rose 
 bud would be far more poetical and 
 has a meaning, for at 15 years of age 
 we learned that a moss rose bud was 
 an expression of true love, or at 
 least the first true, but in poor Eve's 
 case it would have been a case of force. 
 It was first, last and only love. No 
 flirting, no jealousies nor need of 
 western divorce courts, where the sign 
 hangs out:- "Divorces granted while 
 you wait." 
 
 Basket of Roses. 
 
 Garden." It is an expensive but mag- 
 nificently illustrated volume, and Mr. 
 Paul, as a raiser and cultivator is per- 
 haps the foremost rosarian of the 
 world. 
 
 The rose has been emblematic of no 
 end of things and I will conclude my 
 preliminary remarks by saying that 
 I have thought many times that I 
 
 If you were to ask an American 
 which was the most important class of 
 roses he would probably say the Teas. 
 If you asked an Englishman he would 
 say undoubtedly that the so-called 
 Hybrid Perpetual class was much the 
 most important. The more temperate 
 climate of Western Europe is very 
 favorable to the rose, and in Great 
 
 Britain the Tea and Noisette roses are 
 hardy out of doors. In our Northern 
 States the Hybrid Perpetuals, while 
 being quite entitled to be called hardy, 
 are often injured by the severe winters, 
 and the Tea and Noisette sections, un- 
 le.ss most thoroughly protected, are en- 
 tirely unfitted for our winters. 
 
 There is nothing that our people 
 crave to have in their garden, let it be 
 in the few acres of the millionaire or 
 the small garden plot of the mechanic, 
 so much as a rose, and in nothing is 
 there so much disappointment. With 
 our detached residences, both big and 
 little, there is always some garden, and 
 too frequently the attempt to grow 
 roses in them is a failure The soil 
 is often worn out and there is not fresh 
 air enough. The budded stock is pur- 
 chased from the tree peddler, and in a 
 few years there is a strong growth of 
 the Manetti stock. "But the roses don't 
 flower." The rose is long since dead 
 and only the suckers of the Manetti 
 exist. 
 
 I believe that where there is a good 
 expanse of lawni and' the soil is fresh 
 and good the best results can be ob- 
 tained by planting annually young 
 plants of the Tea and Hybrid Tea vari- 
 eties. Years ago where now stand 
 buildings we used to plant out every 
 May 3 or 4-inch pot plants of the old 
 Bon Silene. Safrano, Isabella Sprunt 
 and Duchess de Brabant, and from 
 .lune on till middle of November we 
 cut thousands of handsome buds, 
 which I know would more than gratify 
 any of our customers. For such is 
 the love for and pride to produce roses 
 that occasionally we have the busy 
 business man call in during fall just 
 to say that he "cut one fine rose this 
 morning." and he is as proud of it 
 as if it was a baby arrived during the 
 wee sma' hours, the unearthly time at 
 which Providence has ordained these 
 interesting domestic events to usually 
 occur. 
 
 This summer in an open field far re- 
 moved from the refreshing influence 
 of the hose and also the "madding 
 (Jrowd," on a piece of good light loam. 
 we have had a row of Perle des Jar- 
 dins. President Carnot and La France. 
 They have flowered continually and 
 will till 10 degrees of frost destroys 
 their tender growth. 
 
 Before I enter on the two classes of 
 roses that are the main objects of this 
 article, as well as the plants of great- 
 est importance to the florist. I want to 
 say a word about the uses of some 
 other classes that we occasionally 
 have to supply. 
 
 The rose is spread over the entire 
 northern temperate regions of the 
 world, not so numerous in species in 
 North America as in Asia and Europe. 
 In this country they are found as far 
 south as Mexico. Over 20(i species of 
 roses have been described, but there 
 are probably 50 species well defined, 
 and of varieties and hybrids of these 
 many species there are thousands. The 
 cultivator has done marvelous things 
 witlv the rose, and some of our culti- 
 vated varieties are as far removed 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 187 
 
 View through a Range of Connected Rose Houses, with Raised Benches. 
 
 from the original type as any devia- 
 tion from nature in the vegetable 
 kingdom. Yet, a few of the original 
 species are in cultivation and are most 
 useful plants. 
 
 Noisette Rosfs. 
 
 These were much ottener seen in 
 our northern greenhouses thirty years 
 ago. Since the introduction of the 
 Ijeautiful Tea varieties little attention 
 is paid to them, but in the private 
 conservatory they are fine plants for 
 pillars and rafters. ,They are useless 
 to us outside but Avhere they do not 
 get more than 15 degrees of frost they 
 must be grand plantsi as they are in 
 our southern states. A well known 
 nurseryman, Mr. Smith, of Geneva, N. 
 Y., who knows what a rose is, and 
 does not talk wildly, as many tourists 
 do, told me that he believed Northern 
 Texas was the most favored locality 
 on this continent for the rose, and 
 that the Tea, Bourbon, and Noisette 
 classes grew there to the greatest per- 
 fection. ' 
 
 The Noisette roses are easily propa- 
 gated by cuttings from the half ripened 
 wood at, any time of year, either .July 
 or .lanuary. They should be always 
 planted out in a well drained border, 
 for you don't get their real beauty 
 and worth till they are a few years 
 odd. After making a strong growth 
 they should be rested by less water 
 and less syringing, and before starting 
 up again have the weak shoots cut off 
 and the side shoots of the leading 
 stems cut back to two or three eyes. 
 Winter, of course, would be the natural 
 time for them to rest, but by starting 
 
 into growth early in spring and resting 
 in August and September you can get 
 flowers during winter. Keeping these 
 roses clean of aphis and red spider by 
 syringing is the principal care. 
 
 Well known varieties of this class 
 are Marechal Niel, the magnificent 
 golden yellow rose; Solfaterre, a grand 
 sulphur yellow: Ophirie, a fine copper 
 yellow: Gloire de Dijon, a beautiful 
 creamy amber; and old La Marque, the 
 old white rose that came in clusters 
 with such luxuriant dark green foliage. 
 Where these beautiful plants will do 
 out of doors there are many fine vari- 
 eties. 
 
 Moss Roses. 
 
 Everyone is fond of a Moss rose. 
 There are now many fine varieties, 
 and being hardy they will thrive 
 wherever the Hybrid Perpetual class 
 will do well. For propagation refer to 
 the Hybrid Perpetuals, 
 
 Lord Petuance's Sweet Briars. 
 
 This is a new section, but they have 
 proved themselves the past winter per- 
 fectly hardy. They are as sweet scent- 
 ed as the old English Sweet Briar and 
 showy fiowers. They are a great ad- 
 dition to our hardy flowering shrubs, 
 and will doubtless be much planted. 
 Like the H. P's. they can be propa- 
 gated from the half ripened wood in 
 sand, or from the matured wood in 
 autumn and winter. 
 
 Rosa Rugosa. 
 
 Rosa Rugosa is a distinct species 
 (from Japan) that is perfectly hardy. 
 They have thick wrinkled or curly 
 
 foliage, very distinct, with large showy 
 single flowers of white and pink, and 
 are covered in the autumn with large 
 conspicuous red fruit. Inimense masses 
 of these are now planted and they 
 make splendid low plantations to the 
 margins of taller shrubberies. Easily 
 propagated from young or matured 
 wood. 
 
 Hardy Climbing Rose-s. 
 
 While in the more temperate parts 
 of our country the Noisette roses can 
 be planted, we must confine ourselves 
 to the hardy varieties. They are too 
 well known to need any comment. 
 They, propagate easily, and when 
 planting them out they should be pro- 
 tected for the first few years or till 
 they get a good start. 
 
 Some of the best of them are: Balti- 
 more Belle, blush white; Bennett's 
 Seedling, pure white; Gem of the 
 Prairies, rosy carmine; Dundee Ram- 
 bler, pure white; Allister Stella Gray, 
 orange; and several others. 
 
 For this purpose too we have the 
 magnificent Ramblers, of which the 
 Crimson Rambler was the forerunner. 
 There are now yellow, pink and white 
 forms of it, and as hardy climbing 
 roses they are unequalled. 
 
 The hardy climbers have a fine burst 
 of bloom in June, but do not flower 
 again that season. 
 
 Wichuraiana Roses. 
 
 This is a very new and distinct 
 strain, and produced by crossing the 
 Wichuraiana with many of our culti- 
 vated rovses, including some of the well 
 known Teas. Some of them will take 
 
188 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 high rank as climbers, and some being 
 creeping or low growing will be 
 adapted for covering rock work and 
 for cemetery use. Some have their 
 flowers distributed along the stem, 
 which gives them a handsome wreath- 
 like appearance, and others flower in 
 clusters like Crimson Rambler. Others 
 have the fragrance of the Sweet Briar, 
 BO their pedigree is of various sources. 
 I cannot speak from experience, but 
 some of them are said to be valuable 
 plants for forcing in pots. Mr. W. A. 
 
 green character of the latter, and if 
 they prove hardy and inherit the ever- 
 blooming qualities of the Tea roses 
 they must prove a great acquisition 
 to our gardens. 
 
 Other Classes. 
 
 The Austrian Briar roses are a 
 small class with bright yellow flowers, 
 which cover the bush when in bloom. 
 They don't last long but are very gay 
 and beautiful, and the plant is per- 
 fectly hardy. 
 
 ■4^ 
 
 #«^ 
 
 
 'C 
 
 ■^/■'.^ "^ 
 
 Crimson Rambler Rose and Genista in a basket. 
 
 Manda, of South Orange, New .Jersey, 
 has sent out many fine varieties of 
 these roses, among others: Universal 
 Favorite large double flower of a soft 
 light pink; South Orange Perfection, 
 blush changing to white; Manda's Tri- 
 umph a splendid climber, bearing 
 large clusters of flowers. Those crossed 
 with) the Tea varieties have the ever- 
 
 There is a small class of roses that 
 are truly monthly or continuoii^j 
 blooming and yet perfectly hardy. 
 Hermosa is a good type of this class, 
 which botanically may belong to sev- 
 eral classes, but for our purpose we 
 will treat them all as monthly. Agrip- 
 pina is another, and the Polyantha 
 rose, Clothilde Soupert requires the 
 
 same treatment. Young plants set out 
 in early May will continue to bloom 
 till hard frost sets in. Some protec- 
 tion, should he given them in wintei-. 
 
 These can be propagated during win- 
 ter if you have a few plants growing 
 under glass, or in October you can 
 take the cuttings from outside and 
 root them in the propagating bed. 
 
 Many of the Hermosa and Soupert 
 type are forced in pots for spring sales. 
 For this purpose plant out strong 
 young plants in spring, and encourage 
 them to grow till fall. Don't lift them 
 till we have had some good sharp 
 frosts. Then pot them and cut down to 
 five or six good eyes and plunge in a 
 cold-frame and be sure not to leave 
 them without ventilation on a bright, 
 sunny day or the buds may start, which 
 would hurt them very much if a very 
 cold spell again caught them before 
 they were brought in. When you bring 
 them in start slowly and increase the 
 heat as flowering time approaches. Of 
 the Soupert type there are varieties in 
 white, pink and yellow. 
 
 We grew years ago a fine Bourbon 
 rose called Appolina, a large pink 
 flower, as good as many of the Hybrid 
 Perpetuals, and a continuous bloomer. 
 For the amateur this is a grand rose. 
 
 The Madame Plantier type are com- 
 pact growing plants that come with 
 a grand burst of bloom and are soon 
 over, but not more sO' than most of 
 our hardy shrubs, and as they are per- 
 fectly hardy they are splendid plants 
 for a group.: a hedge, or a single speci- 
 men. 
 
 Bedding Roses. 
 
 Where a bed. or border of roses is 
 wanted by our customers,' and the sit- 
 uation gets light and air, and the soil 
 is not a worn-out garden (if it is you 
 must supply good fresh loam and 
 manure) then I believe in and do 
 recommend the Hybrid Tea and com- 
 mon Tea roses, knowing that they will 
 give the greatest satisfaction. We 
 know they will grow and bloom con- 
 tinuously weeks after our tender 
 plants are killed by frost, and months 
 after the green worm and aphis has 
 ceased to bother the roses. I reason 
 with our patrons that strong young 
 plants in 4-inch pots cost little if any 
 more than their geraniums and can- 
 nas, and if they get killed, which they 
 expect, theiy have lost no more than 
 they have in their ordinary bedding 
 plants. 
 
 In this class we have a great variety. 
 Not all the Teas are good for this 
 purpose, but many are, and the Hybrid 
 Teas are splendid, and with a slight 
 protection they will come through the 
 winter without any harm. 
 
 For a summer bed of roses you have 
 many to choose from, and the follow- 
 ing are good Hybrid Teas: La France, 
 President Carnot. Kaiserin Augusta 
 Victoria, Pierre Guillot^ Mme. Schwal- 
 ler. Crimson Bedder. Mme. Pernet- 
 Duoher. Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, 
 Countess of Pembroke, and others. 
 
 Among the Tea scented there is a 
 still greater variety for this purpose. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 189 
 
 Those I have proved as most satisfac- 
 tory for sumnier bedding are: Bon 
 Silene, Isabella Sprunt. Satrano, Du- 
 chess de Brabant, Coquette de Lyon, 
 Perle des Jardins, La Sylphide, Mme. 
 Caroline Kuster, Marie Guillot. Souv. 
 d'un Ami, Mme. Falcot, Mme. Welche. 
 Goubault, Mme. Bravy, Mme. de 
 Watteville, Sombreuil, and others. 
 Some of the above are very old 
 varieties, and you would not think 
 of growing them during winter for 
 cut flowers, but they are beautiful and 
 free flowering out of doors. Our Queen 
 of Queens, Catherine Mermet and its 
 fine sports were not satisfactory bed- 
 ded out in summer. 
 
 Hybrid Perpetuals. 
 
 These are the roses that are mostly 
 planted to make a permanent bed. 
 Many thousand of the budded stock 
 are annually sold. Our department 
 stores are now selling the imported 
 stock at 10 plants for one dollar. There 
 can't be a great margin for the de- 
 
 Iron Frame Rose House with Solid Beds. 
 
 partment store or a great profit to 
 the grower, but the popular price 
 catches the man or woman who is 
 looking for a bargain, and they are 
 numerous. They get well dried out be- 
 fore they get into the purchaser's gar- 
 den, and we haven't heard how they 
 thrive. It is to be hoped they give 
 one final "department" flower and 
 then die, which the majority must. 
 
 Whenever you can get roses on their 
 own roots do so. They will be far 
 more satisfactory to your customers. 
 But some olj the finest sorts, the Bar- 
 oness Rothschild typa for one, do not 
 grow well on their own roots, and of 
 those you must rely on the budded 
 plants. If you import the budded stock 
 it should be unpacked and laid in 
 trenches in a cold-frame during winter, 
 and when filling your orders in the 
 spring see that they are carefully 
 planted and insist on their being cut 
 down to within six inches of the 
 ground. 
 
 If you handle but a few hundred 
 
 they can be potted when received in 
 the tall, a pot that will just hold the 
 roots is large enough, and after cut- 
 ting down to a few strong eyes plunge 
 them in a frame and cover with glass. 
 Never let them get too warm. These 
 plants will come along slowly in April 
 and be well rooted by first of May, 
 and if lots of ventilation has been 
 given, or better still the sash removed, 
 they must be satisfactory to your cus- 
 tomers as you should not lose one. 
 But you want more than the depart- 
 ment store price for them; you should 
 get at least $6.00 per dozen. 
 
 If you have land of your own you 
 should propagate during fall and win- 
 ter all the Hybrid Perpetual roses that 
 do well on their own roots. Small 
 plants put out in May will be most 
 satisfactory plants for your customers 
 by the following spring, or even the 
 first fall if they have had good soil, 
 but it is safer to plant in the spring. 
 Tell your customers about the Manetti 
 stock, and teach them to distinguish 
 
190 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 between the suckers of the stock and 
 the rose. But when on their own roots 
 danger of that trouble is impossible. 
 
 The so-called tree roses are not to 
 be recommended for our climate. They 
 are called standard roses in Great 
 Britain, and in that form countless 
 thousands are grown. Here they look 
 very charming the first season per- 
 haps, and perhaps the next, but the 
 third usually finishes them. They are 
 budded on the -ivild briar. The briar 
 stalks are collected from the hedge- 
 rows and thickets, and are sold to the 
 nurseryman tied up in bundles like an 
 English tourist transports his walking 
 sticks; and there is little more ap- 
 parent life about them than a bundle 
 of golf sticks, yet they grow, and on a 
 side shoot near the top the bud is 
 inserted the following ,June or July 
 and in another year they are sold. 
 But don't buy them it you live north 
 o-f Washington. D. C. unless you live 
 in the Northern Pacific States, where 
 many plants flourish that won't in our 
 eastern states. The dwarf or bush 
 roses are much better for us. 
 
 After a rose is well established there 
 is not much use in strawing up the 
 tops (you need to cut them quite 
 severely every year If you want good 
 flowers), but four or five inches of 
 stable manure laid around the roots 
 is a great help to them, and it need 
 not be done till end of November. 
 
 Among the Hybrid Perpetual roses 
 that do well on their own roots are: 
 
 Gen, Jacqueminot, crimson; Ulrich 
 Brunner, deep pink; Mme. Laffay, red; 
 Alfred Colomb, cherry red; Anna 
 Alexieft, rose; Baron de Bonstettin, 
 very dark crimson; Clio, blush; Coun- 
 tess of Oxford, carmine: Duke of Ed- 
 inburgh, crimson maroon: John Hop- 
 per, bright rose: Mme. Gabriel Luizet. 
 fine pink; Marshall P. Wilder, cherry 
 rose: Mrs. Laxton, velvety red: Presi- 
 dent Thiers, large red; Roger Lambe- 
 lin, crimson, edges of petals white; 
 Sir Garnet Wolsley, bright red. There 
 are many other fine varieties but the 
 above list contains some splendid 
 sorts. 
 
 Among the finest of those that do 
 better when budded on the Manetti or 
 Briar stocks are: Baroness Rothschild, 
 a beautiful light pink; Captain Christy, 
 llesh pink; Fisher Holmes, dark crim- 
 son: Mabel Morrison, fine white; Mar- 
 garet Dickson, white with pale pink 
 center: Marie Baumann, crimson: 
 Magna Charta. dark pink, very fine; 
 Paul Neyron, dark pink, immense size; 
 Prince Camille de Rohan, crimson 
 maroon. In this short list will be 
 found some of the finest roses in culti- 
 vation. 
 
 Hybrid Perpetual roses can be pro- 
 pagated as follows, and this includes 
 the hardy climbers or any of the de- 
 ciduous kinds. When the current year's 
 growth is about in that condition that 
 the flower is fully developed it is called 
 about half ripe. This is usually about 
 middle of June. Prepare a frame in 
 
 which you have trod in eighteen inches 
 or two feet of stable manure; in fact 
 make a mild hotbed with the slope 
 facing north. Put three inches of soil 
 on the manure and on that two inches 
 of sand, and insert ,vour cuttings. Two 
 ryes are enough, one above and one 
 below the surface of the sand. Keep 
 the sand moist and as cool as possible 
 by shading, letting in only air enough 
 to prevent too much moisture. By 
 degrees they will endure more air, 
 and in three or four weeks will be well 
 rooted and can be soon potted into 
 2 1-2 or 3-inch pots and stood in a cold- 
 frame, but theiy must be carefully 
 watered and shaded till they get hold 
 of the soil. These plants could be 
 planted out the following October, but 
 1 would prefer to keep them plunged 
 in a cold-frame and planted out the 
 following April, when they will make 
 fine plants. 
 
 Another plan is by using the dor- 
 mant wood in the fall. Before very 
 hard frost, say middle of November, 
 cut off the well ripened growths of 
 ♦he previous summer and cut them in- 
 to lengths of two or three eyes. Tie 
 them in bunches of 2.5 or 50. and wrap 
 some moist sphagnum around the ends, 
 and store these bunches away in flats 
 under a bench in a cool house. In two 
 months the ends will be well calloused 
 and then they can be placed in a few 
 inches of sand that is a little warmer 
 than the house, and .50 degrees for the 
 house will do well. They will soon 
 
 House of Young American Beauty Roses, 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 J9I 
 
 House of American Beauty Roses in Full Bearing. 
 
 root and can be potted off and grown 
 on to be planted out in April or May. 
 Always remember that although these 
 roses are hardy any growth that is 
 made under glass is tender and will 
 not stand a frost, so they should not 
 go out till danger of frost is past. 
 Tills is the simplest and surest way 
 of propagating any of the deciduous 
 roses. 
 
 Forcing Hybrid Perpetuals, 
 
 Since the American Beauty has been 
 grown in such quantity there are much 
 fewer of the H. P. roses grown for 
 their flowers, but they are wanted in 
 pots, and such sorts as .Jacqueminot. 
 Brunner. Magna Charta. Anna de 
 Diesbach and Mme. Gabriel I^uizet 
 force well, and if properly prepared 
 make fine pot plants, or their blooms 
 can be cut. The fall importations of 
 these roses are not satisfactory for 
 this purpose. The long journey and 
 the length of time is a poor prepara- 
 tion for spring forcing, so strong 
 plants with good stems should be ob- 
 tained of our American nurserymen. 
 
 The wood should be well ripened be- 
 fore lifting and they should be potted 
 as soon as possible and the stems cut 
 down to three good eyes on each stem. 
 The fewer shoots you have the finer 
 they will be, and the more you have 
 the poorer they will be, K the wood 
 
 of these roses has been well ripened, 
 there is no good in letting hard frost 
 touch them again, but they should be 
 in a cold-frame till at least New Year's 
 and then removed to a house where it 
 if not over 40 degrees at night. They 
 will endure nothing like forcing for 
 the first six weeks after being brought 
 in. 
 
 The idea is to begin as low as pos- 
 sible with fire heat and slowly increase, 
 which at flowering time, which may 
 be the 1st to 15th of April, ihey will 
 want 5.5 to 60 degrees at night. If you 
 cion't want them as earl.v as April then 
 leave them longer in the frame and 
 they will come on all the better. It 
 is useless to try and force these roses 
 too fast because they have no working 
 roots, but will make roots as top 
 growth develops. 
 
 If you want any of these roses as 
 early as January you must use plants 
 that are in quite a different condition. 
 For those it is best to lift in the fall, 
 i..r purchase, and pot and treat as you 
 do those abov'e described, only they 
 should be left out till March and then 
 brought in and started growing. They 
 should be encouraged to make a strong 
 healthy growth. Thin out the shoots 
 to four of five of the strongest. By 
 ,)uly they will have made some long 
 stout shoots which should not have 
 been cut off with the flowers; it would 
 
 be better to pinch olf the flowers and 
 let the strength go into wood. 
 
 In July they can be placed outside 
 and plunged and mulched, but not over 
 wateired or the eyes may break and 
 grow, and that is what you don't want. 
 By end of August lay them on their 
 sides so that they don't get the rain, 
 and endeavor to dry them off, but not 
 too rapidly or the wood will shrivel. 
 Till the first of October the best place 
 would be in a frame where you could 
 cover them in case of rains. After the 
 first frost or two there is no danger of 
 their buds starting. 
 
 Now, these roses are in a fit state 
 to 'be forced at any time and could if 
 wanted be had in flower by the holi- 
 days. They will not want any shifting, 
 but as the growth starts and the roots 
 are feeding they can be mulched and 
 surfaced with loam and cow manure. 
 The forcing of these plants is much 
 easier than those lifted the same fall. 
 The pots are full of roots ready to 
 begin active growth directly the top 
 starts. It is not advisable to start 
 them too warm at first or yon will get 
 a weak growth, but they are much 
 less liable to injury than the others. 
 
 I did not mention it, but of course 
 when starting into heat you must 
 again shorten back the shoots to two 
 or three stout eyes. These roses are 
 sometimes forced for several years. 
 
192 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 The principal object is to get a good 
 strong growth in the summer and 
 ripen it in the fall. Over potting should 
 be avoided, and with surfacing and 
 liquid manure you can grow them for 
 three or four years in the same pot. 
 A good strong plant that started off 
 well in the spring should need when 
 lifted from the ground a 6-inch pot. 
 
 .Jacqueminot, Bruuner and other Hy- 
 brid Perpetuals that are planted on 
 a bench are put in four or five inches 
 of soil in March or April. They should 
 be good, strong plants when first 
 benched. If budded plants, they 
 should be cut down to a few eyes. If 
 plants propagated that spring, they 
 will need one stopping. They must be 
 encouraged to make a strong growth 
 that summer and in September be 
 gradually dried off to ripen their 
 growth. This is the most particular 
 period of their time and they must 
 not be dried off too quickly. Let in all 
 
 I intended to remark at the opening 
 of these notes on the so-called Hybrid 
 Perpetual roses that the term is high- 
 ly misleading. They are not perpetual 
 at all. Perhaps with a cool, wet sum- 
 mer you may get a few scattering 
 flowers, and we usually do get an odd 
 one here and there in September or 
 October, but beautiful as is this most 
 important class of roses In color, form 
 and fragrance, it is all wrong to call 
 them perpetual. So you see that a 
 man who devotes nearly a year, and in 
 case of solid beds, the whole year to 
 one crop of flowers, must not only be 
 sure of success but must realize a high 
 price from his blooms or he is a loser. 
 
 The American Beauty is a true Hy- 
 brid Perpetual, for with proper man- 
 agement it blooms from August till 
 the following May; not profusely, or 
 they would not command the high 
 winter price they do; still they keep 
 sending up flowering shoots. In an- 
 
 and put away In a cold-frame, but kept 
 from very hard freezing. 
 
 After New Year's they are brought 
 in and slowly brought along. Until I 
 tried this plan I had no idea that the 
 Beauty was such a grand rose for the 
 purpose. The year I alluded to we 
 had several hundred plants for Easter 
 that would average six open flowers 
 and six buds, with stems twelve to fif- 
 teen inches long. Nothing sells like 
 them, and we easily got $2.50 and $3.00 
 each for them. When first they break 
 you would think they were going to 
 be all blind, but they soon deceive you. 
 Don't attempt to keep any unsold 
 plants over; far better raise a new lot 
 every year. 
 
 The Crimson Rambler (and we are 
 trying the Yellow, which will doubtless 
 force as well) has become a standard 
 Easter plant with all of us. You can 
 obtain strong field grown plants in 
 November, and if their shoots are six 
 
 the cold air you can and if some frost 
 is inside, so mnch the better. It is 
 much better to ripen the wood by air 
 and cold than by drying at the root. 
 
 The time of starting will depend on 
 the time you want the flowers, and 
 the earlier you want them the longer 
 time you must give. Cut them close if 
 you expect fine flowers. Mulch the 
 bed and begin firing slowly, with plen- 
 ty of syringing. If you get over the 
 first few weeks without losing any 
 plants, you are all right. The process 
 from now on is plenty of water and 
 syringing, with a gradual rise of tem- 
 perature till flowering time. 
 
 These forcing hybrids are some- 
 times planted out in solid beds and 
 forced year after year. It is precisely 
 the same process. A growth in sum- 
 mer, a ripening in fall and pruning 
 back and starting with heat again at 
 whatever time you want your crop. 
 
 Range of Short-span-to-the-Sooth Rose Houses. 
 
 other place I intend to say something 
 about this wonderful variety as grown 
 for cut flowers, but here I wish to say 
 that although I have never seen it 
 satisfactory when planted out of doors, 
 it has been to me the most profitable 
 of pot roses. 
 
 For this purpose we plant out a few 
 hundred in a light house in four or 
 five inches of soil as soon as our lilies 
 are gone, in April. The best lot that 
 I ever raised were planted on April 
 1st, Easter being on March the 25th 
 of that year. The flowers you get that 
 summer and fall will pay you for bench 
 room and labor far better than chry- 
 santhemums. In November we dry 
 them off some, having previously put 
 in a lot of cuttings in the sand. The 
 old plants are lifted and cut down to 
 seven or eight inches of the pot. Not 
 so short as we would the Hybrid Per- 
 petuals, for the eyes near the base are 
 not as good. They are then matured 
 
 or seven feet long shorten them back 
 to three and four feet. They require 
 a 7 or 8-inch pot. Pot them and keep 
 very cool for the first month, but if 
 Easter is early you want to begin early 
 to start them growing. The success 
 will all depend on starting slowly, but 
 twelve to fourteen weeks is none too 
 much to allow them in the houses. 
 You can tie them in any shape, but the 
 canes should not he allowed to run 
 up straight. You will get a more even 
 break if they are wound around a few 
 stakes. 
 
 Another plan, entailing more time 
 and labor but a surer way to get 
 flowers in abundance and requiring 
 less time in winter to force, is to pot 
 some strong plants in April and put 
 them in 7 or 8-inch pots and start 
 growing in the coolest house you have. 
 In fact, under a bench would do till 
 they break; then give them a light 
 bench and some long wires to support 
 
THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 193 
 
 them, and by midsummer you will iiave 
 five or six strong, long growths. Other 
 growths should he rubbed off. If you 
 have too many caues you will get a 
 weaker growth. Put them out of doors 
 in July and by end of August try and 
 shorten up on water and the wood will 
 ripen. As cold weather comes they 
 will want little water and will lose 
 Iheir foliage. 
 
 These plants can be forced at any 
 time, and although the canes are not 
 quite as strong as the field grown 
 ones, every eye gives us a cluster of 
 bloom. After a few frosts we lay the 
 plants down in a cold-frame and cover 
 with boards, and a little hay or straw 
 on the plants, where they can remain 
 till you want to bring them in. 
 
 All the Ramblers we get are budded 
 on the briar, hence their wonderful 
 vigorous growth. And as long as we 
 can buy of our nurserymen fine plants 
 at such a low cost it would never pay 
 us to bother about either budding them 
 or propagating from cuttings. 
 
 Tea Roses. 
 
 This is far and away the most im- 
 portant section to the commercial 
 fiorist. They are everything to him. 
 They are used on all and every occa- 
 sion and every day in the year. And 
 what an improvement in them in 25 
 years I And the method of growing 
 them has kept pace with th? improved 
 varieties. It is to the Frenchmen we 
 are mostly indebted tor the finest Tea 
 Roses. Perhaps that will not always 
 be so. Our American nurserymen and 
 florists are doing a great deal in hy- 
 bridizing and raising seedlings. Mr. 
 E. G. Hill told me this summer that 
 he had, I am afraid to say how many 
 thousand, but I am sure it was 5,000, 
 young seedlings of ev^ry conceivable 
 cross. Surely we shall have some 
 young Hoosiers that will startle the 
 rose world. L3t them come! We can 
 stand several more shades. 
 
 Is it not remarkable that with the 
 hundreds of fine Teas our demand 
 seems filled with so limited a number 
 of varieties? It is almost, or perhaps 
 quite, correct to say that of all the 
 millions of roses cut and sold, four 
 varieties would cover 75 per cent of 
 them, and one of them is not a Tea, 
 the American Beauty. The remaining 
 three are the two glorious sports of 
 Catherine Mermet. Bridesmaid and the 
 Bride, and the crimson Meteor. New 
 varieties come and go, their advent 
 heralded with shouts of praise and 
 loud advertising, and their exit is a 
 quiet retreat. They have answered 
 two purposes: they have made money 
 for the raiser and introducer and given 
 us a little more experience. What a 
 lot of experience we do get as we pass 
 along. 
 
 A good place to- begin with the Tea 
 roses will be at the propagation. They 
 root most easily anywhere from No- 
 vember till .\pril. and both earlier and 
 later, but slower and not so surely. 
 We feel as much certainty that the 
 rose cuttings will root as we do when 
 we put in a batch of salvia. With the 
 
 sand at 65 degrees and the house from 
 50 to 55 degrees you cannot fail if you 
 keep the sand moist. I never owned a 
 north side propagating bench, and 
 there is no need of it. Any bench will 
 do if shade is supplied for the first few 
 days. 
 
 Pot off as soon as the roots are 
 started and shade again till the plants 
 have started to grow, and then they 
 want the full light, as they do every 
 minute for the remainder of their ex- 
 istence. 
 
 The usual time to propagate, and the 
 best time, is in January and February. 
 Then you have time to get the young 
 plants into a 3-inch pot for a couple of 
 months before plantieg time. One au- 
 thor says the cutting should be of 
 only one eye and another says it should 
 be from only flowering wood. I would 
 much rather have the cutting of two 
 eyes, one below and one above th? 
 surface of the sand, leaving a leaf or 
 part of the leaf on the upper eye. If 
 the wood is of any size, not too spind- 
 ling and weak, it makes no difference 
 to the future plant whether it is blind 
 or flowering. That I have proved, and 
 although I am by no means an exten- 
 sive rose grower, the most vigorous 
 young plants I ever grew were from 
 cuttings of blind wood, and rather 
 small and hard at that. 
 
 Large rose growers can't plant all 
 their houses in a week, so they begin 
 end of May and keep on till July. 
 Those planted end of June should be 
 in good bearing by middle of October, 
 and many buds could have been cut 
 before that if it wen? wise to let them 
 fiowtr, which it is not On raised 
 benches four inches of soil is consid- 
 ered ample, and some growers plant 
 in three inches, allowing for future 
 mulching to add another half or three- 
 quarters of an inch. The rows on the 
 bench fifteen inches apart and the 
 plants one foot apart, is as close as you 
 can plant them. 
 
 The bottom of the benches should be 
 of 2x4 scantling, or not wiiler than 2x6, 
 and between such board or scantling 
 leave a space of three-fourths of an 
 inch when building. When the boards 
 swell with the wet soil thev will only 
 be half an inch apart. Perfect drainage 
 is of the utmost importance. Unless 
 the superfluous water passes freely 
 through you will have no success. 
 When the soil gets into that condition 
 that the bed does not want water in a 
 month there is something wrong, and 
 most likely your rose leaves will be 
 largely off by that time. 
 
 The soil of the bed should be quite 
 firm, not beaten down as you would 
 a mushroom bed, but good and solid. 
 Plant very little below the surface, 
 and firm the soil around the ball: un- 
 less the soil of the bed is very dry 
 only water at the plant. In a few days, 
 when the plants want it again, the 
 whole bed can be watered. 
 
 If there is any excuse for shading it 
 is just now in the hottest days, for the 
 sake of the men who have to work in 
 120 degrees or more and the young 
 plants that may have had their roots 
 
 Field -Grown 
 
 ..ROSES.. 
 
 Two years old 
 On their own roots 
 Northern-grown 
 Bench-rooted 
 Full Assortment. 
 
 We are 
 ^ Headquarters 
 for them. 
 
 JACKSON & PERKINS GO. 
 
 (Wholesale only ) NEWARK. NEW YORK. 
 
 USE 
 LUCAS 
 
 USE 
 LUCAS 
 
 USE 
 LUCAS 
 
 PAINT 
 
 PUTTY 
 
 JOHN LUCAS & CO., 
 
 New York. Philadelphia. Chicago. 
 
 Send for Sample Cards and Prices, 
 
 J. L, DILLON 
 
 Makes a Specialty of 
 
 ForcingRoses 
 
 Grafted and on Their Own Roots. 
 SEND FOR CrRCULAR. BLOOMSBIRG, PA. 
 
 Hardy Roses 
 
 If in need of strong, two-year field grown 
 Hardy Roses, please bear in mind that we 
 are the largest growers of this class in 
 America. Write us for prices. 
 
 THE STORRS & HARRISON CO., 
 
 PAINESVILLE, OHIO. 
 
 AMERICAN ROSE CO. 
 
 We Test New Forcing 
 Roses. 
 
 WASHINGTON. P. C. 
 
 ROSES AND ROSES 
 
 Small Roses by the thousand and hundred thousand, 
 also large size two-year-old Roses in season. 
 
 Catalogue men will do well to figure with us befurt: 
 placing their orders. We grow all the best standard 
 and the best of the new kinds. We make a specialty 
 of large contract orders. We grow Cieraniums and Chrys- 
 antliemums and the usual Tine and varieties of other 
 greenhouse plants. We will be glad to hear from you. 
 Kindly state your wants when you write. Address 
 THE C. A. BEESEB CO., UILBAHA. Ohio. 
 
194 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 very slightly distinbeil Ijy planting. 
 If yon shade let it be only a very tem- 
 porary kind. A Inmp of clay dissolved 
 in a pail of water and thrown on with 
 a dipper will do very well. It will 
 wash off at the first rain, and then you 
 want it off. 
 
 Weeds grow apace in thi.s tropical 
 heat and It's a poor soil that won't 
 grow weeds: they should be kept 
 pulled, not only now but should never 
 be seen. There is no harm in a 
 scratching over of the surface for a 
 month or so after planting, but later 
 the surface should not be disturbed: 
 hand weeding should do it all. 
 
 The young plants will grow fast, and 
 there will be no trouble with mildew 
 till the end of September, but from that 
 time till steady firing begins is the 
 most critical time, when we have slight 
 frosts at night or a rainy cold day and 
 night and the next week a warm sunny 
 time with the thermometer at SO de- 
 grees in the shade. Just such a time 
 as I have described we have lately ex- 
 perienced, and it is 80 degrees at noon 
 to-day and no wind to fill out the flap- 
 ping sails. 
 
 From the time the I'oses are planted 
 till frosts occur they can't possibly 
 have too much ventilation. To digress 
 a moment. We noticed in Philadelphia 
 that they leave the end door open on 
 a warm day in October, and we hear 
 sometimes of side ventilation on roses. 
 It may do in some localities but it will 
 never do with us. Bottom or side ven- 
 tilation or an open door for any length 
 of time would be fatal because the 
 draught would produce mildew pro- 
 duce it to a certainty. 
 
 When the nights get down to .50 
 degrees outside you should have a little 
 fire heat. Here is the advantage of 
 steam, as you can let it in through one 
 pipe: leave air on at night when this 
 gentle fire heat is going. You don't 
 want a high temperature luit yon 
 want a dry, healthy atmosplwie. All 
 along about this time when using any 
 artificial heat try to keep the house 
 down to 55 degrees, and just about this 
 time put a dab of liver of sulphur on 
 the pipes. 
 
 There are times when from various 
 causes you may not be able to fire till 
 end of Octoher, and have been with- 
 out fire on chilly nights. By shutting 
 up the rose houses tight "on these 
 nights you will notice in the morning 
 the dewdrops in tiny beads on the 
 edges of the pretty little leaves. If 
 that continues for three or four nights 
 you will have an attack of a fungus 
 that is much worse than our common 
 mildew, I have seen it take every 
 young leaf off in a few days, and actu- 
 ally kill the young red growth. You 
 can easily distinguish it from mildew 
 for it shows on the young, tender 
 leaves as distinct silver threads. A 
 little fire and air would have effectually 
 prevented this, but if you can't fire 
 then leave on air. Far better have 
 the house cool and dry, than cool, close 
 and damp. I have learnt what this 
 fungus will do years ago, and have not 
 
 Vase of Tea Roses. 
 
 forgotten it, for it touches our most 
 sensitive organ, the pocket. 
 
 When steady firing commences the 
 night temperature should be kept as 
 near as possible to the right mark, 
 as to which there is not much differ- 
 ence of opinion. Some growers liT^e 
 to keep higher than others. A reason- 
 abl.v low temperature means fewer 
 buds and higher quality, and a higher 
 temperature means more buds and 
 poorer quality. From 54 to 5S degrees 
 at night for all the ordinary Teas 
 seems to be agreed upon, and I incline 
 to the lowest mark, believing that 
 quality is better than quantity. Amer- 
 ican Beauty should have 6(> degrees, 
 and the useful crimson Meteor should 
 have from 65 to tiS degrees. Without 
 a high temperature the Meteor is use- 
 less in the coldest months. 
 
 This fall at Mr. John H. Dunlop's. 
 of Toronto, I saw some grand houses of 
 roses ventilated by a thermostat 
 which was controlled by water pres- 
 sure. He was delighted with it. and 
 if it works perfectly it must be the 
 thing, for it never forgets. You can. 
 of course, set them to any degree. I 
 
 will have more to say about ventila- 
 tion in another chapter, but must say 
 here, that it is one of the most im- 
 portant parts of rose growing. Seventy 
 at day would be a good temperature: 
 when any above that ventilation should 
 lie given, and where the ventilators are 
 continuous and open at the ridge it is 
 much safer given than with a ventila- 
 tor here and there that lets the cold 
 wind in. 
 
 There may be days when there is a 
 cold, cutting wind, and the sun will 
 raise the temperature of the house to 
 75 degrees, and it will be better to let 
 it remain so than let in such a chilly 
 blast. Again there may be dull, damp, 
 mild days when it is better and proper 
 to fire briskly and give air. An exper- 
 ienced gardener can tell directly 
 whether a house is too chilly or too 
 hot: whether the sashes are up too high 
 or whether the atmosphere is too close. 
 You ought to be a living, breathing 
 thermostat, but if you were you 
 could not divide yourself into twenty 
 sections, and those gardening attri- 
 butes are no more transmitted than 
 the art of music or poetry or telling a 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 J95 
 
 story. So you mvisf lay down a rule 
 and your men must follow it to the 
 best of their ability. 
 
 Young roses of all the kinds we 
 grow very quickly throw up buds 
 which you must pick oft. As the plants 
 grow along in August and September 
 they will continue to form buds, and 
 instead of picking the buds off as soon 
 as they form let them grow somewhat 
 larger. There is little weakening of 
 the plant going on by forming petals 
 (it is seed bearing that weakens), and 
 then cut the bud off with two or three 
 eyes of the growth: you will get a bet- 
 ter break from the remaining eyes. 
 
 When cutting the fully developed 
 buds after you are letting the plants 
 flower you should cut back to three 
 eyes. If very strong and the buds are 
 numerous you may leave only two 
 eyes, but three is better. 
 
 The neatest and best support for 
 roses is a straight wire stake, one for 
 each plant, and they are held in place 
 at top by some lighter wire running 
 over each row of plants three or tour 
 feet above the plants, and to which 
 the upright wire stake is fastened by 
 a string or a piece of fine wire. 
 
 One large grower I know, and a 
 good one. runs stove pipe wire across 
 the surface of the bench, or an inch 
 above it. near the plant, and a similar 
 wire five or six feet above the plant, 
 and from the bottom wire to top one 
 r\ms at each plant a strong but cheap 
 string. This answers the purpose just 
 as well, but the strings are thrown 
 away every year and the bottom wire 
 has to be removed, so- it costs .some- 
 thing, while the stout wire stake once 
 bought will last indefinitely or till the 
 end of the Philippine war. 
 
 I have said nothing yet about water- 
 ing, and it is the hardest part to 
 descibe. To a gardener it should be 
 only necessary to say, "water when 
 the.v want it." Texture of soil and 
 health and vigor of plant will make a 
 difference. Sometimes you will have 
 a big cut all in one week, especially 
 is this true of the first and second 
 cuttings. Be careful then not to over- 
 water, for the plants have lost a great 
 deal of their foliage and don't need 
 so much. Let the beds get very 
 slightly on the dry side and then 
 water. Don't let the hose run or; the 
 beds in a hard stream. A coarse rose 
 is a good thing; it will leave the sur- 
 face of the bed in a moi-e friable state, 
 and you should only give water enough 
 to wet through to the boards. A soak- 
 ing that drenches the bed and runs 
 out through the boards must carry 
 with it lots of the fertilizing proper- 
 ties of the soil and manure. 
 
 In sunny weather the surface of the 
 bed will often appear dry when an inch 
 down it is abundantly moist. If we are 
 strangers to the texture of soil we are 
 watering, then sight is not an in- 
 fallible guide, but with the addition of 
 a touch you are dull indeed if you 
 don't know when a plant or bed needs 
 watering. 
 
 We syringe for two purposes. When 
 using the word "syringing" it may 
 
 lead our brother craftsmen across the 
 Atlantic to believe that we use a brass 
 syringe. "Why. bless your dear heart, 
 don't you know, old fellow," our boys 
 would get so laz.v with a hand syringe 
 that they would never keep down the 
 red spider, and fancy a man, or two 
 men. syringing a house 600 feet long 
 and 22 feet wide! They would have to 
 begin on the 4th of July to get them 
 syringed by Thanksgiving. The 3-4 
 or 1-2-inch hose will not only syringe 
 them as well but much better, for you 
 will do it thoroughly with that beau- 
 tiful "upper-cut" so dear to a real 
 gardener. 
 
 Syringing is done on bright mornings 
 throughout the season, to produce a 
 genial healthy moisture that is relished 
 by the leaves, and it is also done to 
 prevent the lodgment of red spider 
 on the under side of the leaf (and the 
 spider is ever ready to locate on the 
 fine leaves). If you are free of the 
 spider then don't syringe on wet. 
 damp days or very cold, stormy days; 
 no harm at all in missing a day but 
 when firing very hard, damp down the 
 paths, tmder the benches, etc. 
 
 The greatest scourge to the rose 
 grower is the mildew, the minute fun- 
 gus that lays hold and soon covers 
 every leaf. It cripples the petals, ruins 
 the leaves and stunts the plants. A 
 dose of it in winter is a calamity, but 
 prevalent as it is our largest and best 
 growers never fear it and seldom have 
 it. for they know its causes and never 
 give it a chance to get a start. Mildew 
 is caused by any check to the vitality 
 of the plant, which shrinks up the 
 cellular tissue and renders the leaves 
 susceptible to the resting spores, whit h 
 must be ever fioating around. Per- 
 fectly healthy leaves resist it, as do 
 healthy lungs resist the germs of tu- 
 berculosis, while weak ones succumb, 
 for consumption is contagious or in- 
 fectious and not hereditary, as for- 
 merly supposed; only in certain fami- 
 lies there is a predisposition, and in 
 certain plants there is most truly a 
 predisposition for mildew. Catherine 
 Mermet is always ready on the slight- 
 est excuse to be host to this trouble- 
 some fungus, but as once said before 
 in these pages, these things are all 
 right as they are, and if there was no 
 reward for watchfulness, care and 
 brains, there would be nothing in it 
 and the wise man would be no bett?r 
 than the fool man, which would be 
 very annoying in this world, however 
 great equality is to be carried out in 
 the next, 
 
 A ventilator left open too late, a 
 draught from an open door, v?ntilation 
 forgotten till too late in the day, or a 
 sudden drop at night from say 56 de- 
 grees, their usual temperature, to 46 
 degrees or less. Any of these causes 
 will produce mildew, and all must bs 
 guarded against. 
 
 There are several ways of applying 
 the best remedy, sulphur. Mix it with 
 linseed oil and paint one steam or hot 
 water pipe. Sulphide of potassium dis- 
 solved and mixed with clay can be 
 painted on the pipe, but do not put 
 
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196 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 too much on. Flour of sulphur thrown 
 on the plants does not do much good, 
 as it is not the sulphur itself but the 
 fumes you want. Sulphur put in shal- 
 low pans or on bricks and placed 
 where the sun will strike them will 
 emit quite a little of the fumes. All 
 of these can he used as preventives or 
 as cures. 
 
 For aphis smoking is not advisable. 
 I am certain I have seen its ill effects. 
 Vaporizing, as described in chapter on 
 Insecticides, is best, and the plan of 
 putting a hot (but not red hot) piece 
 of iron into an iron vessel containing 
 either the Rose Leaf extract, diluted 
 ten to one, or the Nikoteen, reduced 
 twenty to one, will do first rate. See 
 that the dish or iron pan is deep 
 enough so that the liquid does not boil 
 over and waste when the iron is drop- 
 ped into it. 
 
 Those whose water supply comes 
 from river, lake or reservoir should 
 have some means of warming it in 
 winter and early spring. When steam 
 IS used this is easily done by letting 
 the three-quarter or 1-inch water pipe 
 run through a larger steam pipe, but 
 when hot water is used there is no 
 chance to do this, and it is better to 
 have large barrels elevated in your 
 shed that can be filled a dav aliead 
 and when used the water is about the 
 same temperature as your shed. Those 
 who are away from the cities and 
 towns have usually their water tanks 
 under cover of their sheds with the 
 means of warming the water with a 
 steam or hot water pipe. 
 
 The water does not need to be warm, 
 but when it comes out of our city 
 mains it is little over freezing, and 
 to water a rose bed with water at that 
 temperature in January can't be good. 
 If you can raise the water to 50 de- 
 grees that would be much better and 
 high enough. 
 
 Soils of different textures grow good 
 roses. Wm. Paul & Son, some years 
 ago in an advertisement and descrip- 
 tion of their place, said: "At one nur- 
 sery we have a clay suitable for the 
 Hybrid Perpetuals, and at another a 
 light loam suitable for the Tea Roses," 
 Those were not just the words, but 
 near enough. We have observed roses 
 growing finely in many different kinds 
 and textures of soil, but I must say 
 that the tallest, strongest and most 
 vigorous Brides and Mermets I have 
 ever seen were in five inches of clay 
 that needed a hammer to break it up, 
 and that was at the end of December 
 and under the care of a man who had 
 never tried his hand at the business 
 till that year. 
 
 It is useless to comment on the dif- 
 ferent soils that have grown good 
 roses. What we want to know is 
 which is the best when it can be had. 
 Then I would prefer above all the 
 top three, or perhaps four, inches of 
 a rather heavy loam pasture. Not the 
 pasture from an orchard that had been 
 laid down forty years and was moss 
 grown and the surface containing the 
 deposit of rotten leaves, but a good 
 fresh pasture that the cows had been 
 
 grazing on for a few years. If it's still 
 more on the heavy side, no harm. The 
 poorest soil of all would be a fiberless 
 sand. 
 
 On asking one very large and suc- 
 cessful rose grower what manure he 
 used, he replied "any he could get," 
 and a mixture of animal manures is 
 more likely to supply what is needed 
 for the rose than the use of one would 
 be. But pure sheep manure must be 
 used cautiously, and a proportion of 
 one to twenty of soil is enough. Soil 
 is often mixed haphazard, one por- 
 tion getting more manure or bone meal 
 than another. 
 
 Pillar Rose. 
 
 A prudent grower cuts his soil in 
 October or November and piles it up 
 under an open shed, and a long shed 
 it is. It is not put under the shed to 
 keep the rain from it, but being dry 
 it can be worked over earlier in the 
 spring, and the men can work at if 
 rain or shine. This is a valuable point. 
 He has a frame made without bottom, 
 with handles extending at both ends. 
 The frame is nine feet long by three 
 feet wide and one foot deep. That is 
 just one cubic yard. As the soil is 
 chopped down it is thrown into this 
 box and when it is even full a certain 
 portion of manure is thrown on top. 
 and then a portion of bone dust, 
 spreading manure and bone dust over 
 
 the surface. The frame is then lifted 
 up and that lot is shoveled away into 
 a pile. By this means there is no 
 guess work, all parts of the bench 
 have the same quality. 
 
 The quantity of manure (cow ma- 
 nure is most often used) is a matter 
 of opinion. One-sixth the bulk of the 
 soil is quite enough, and one peck of 
 bone dust to one yard will be a good 
 but safe allowance. Don't get the bone 
 dust or meal too coarse, or it will be 
 thrown out before you get the benefit 
 of it. In placing the soil on the bench 
 I have heard it asked. How do you 
 keep the soil from running through the 
 crack between the boards? There 
 should always be coarse pieces enough 
 of the soil to place over the spaces. 
 If not, some well rotted stable manure 
 will answer the purpose. 
 
 In shallow beds, such as all roses 
 are mostly grown in, they want sev- 
 eral mulchings. If they have grown 
 fast and vigorous they will need the 
 mulching all the more. If planted in 
 June they can be mulched in August 
 and again in October. It is better to 
 mulch lightly and often. A good mulch 
 would be well rotted cow manure, to 
 which add one quart of bone meal to 
 a bushel of the manure and one-third 
 of loam, and put on only half an inch 
 each time. About first of February 
 mulch again and again in April. This 
 last mulch will be not only for manur- 
 ing the plants but will prevent their 
 drying out so fast and can be a little 
 heavier than the others. 
 
 I have had no experience with liquid 
 manure except in applying it by water- 
 ing can, .which is too laborious a job 
 for a rose or carnation house. Where it 
 can be pumped through the pipes or 
 run through by gravitation its appli- 
 cation must be very beneficial, par- 
 ticularly when the bed is full of roots. 
 Be sure not to overdo it in strength. 
 A liquid made from animal manures 
 would be the safest. Here is a chemi- 
 cal liquid, published some time ago 
 and said to be excellent for roses, car- 
 nations or chrysanthemums. It is a 
 formula puldished by Prof. Paul Wag- 
 ner, of Darmstadt, and republished 
 here by Prof. W. E. Britton. Quanti- 
 ties can of course be increased to any 
 dimensions: 
 
 Phosphate of ammonia oz. 1 
 
 Nitrate of soda oz. 1% 
 
 Nitrate of potash oz. 1% 
 
 Sulphate of ammonia oz. 1% 
 
 Water gal. 50 
 
 Although the American Beauty is a 
 widely different rose from the Tea sec- 
 tion, yet its growing for winter flow- 
 ers is the same, and I will say that in 
 propagating it I have never found the 
 slightest difficulty at any time from 
 Noveifiber to April, or even May. 
 Choose wood that is medium in 
 strength, and don't use either the 
 green top or the hard base. When pot- 
 ting them off I have lost quite a num- 
 lier by their being left exposed to a 
 bright sun. Be careful to shade and 
 keep moist for a few days. Let there 
 be always two eyes to the cutting. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 197 
 
 House of Meteor Roses. 
 
 In growing them on into 3. or pos- 
 sibly 4-inch pots, gTVe them all the 
 light and air you can till planting time, 
 as you do the Tea varieties. The 
 Beauties want to flower early, but the 
 buds should be picked oft till end of 
 August. From then, till first o£ Nov- 
 ember you 'Will get a good many nice 
 buds with 18 to 30-inch stems, and 
 the stems will break again and usually 
 send up another flowering stem, but 
 as soon as the dark weather sets in 
 the break from a strong cut down 
 shoot will be blind, or practically 
 blind, for it may grow ten feet long 
 before it flowers. So, after the first 
 of November if you are looking for 
 flowers at the holidays, when they are 
 worth $1..50 each, you must let the 
 Hower fully expand and then cut it 
 off at the neck and sacrifice it. You 
 will notice that at the axil of the leaf 
 just below the flower there is already 
 a young growth. That growth will 
 give a flower six weeks later, and you 
 will be getting a dollar for your flower 
 instead of twenty-five ceijts, or less. 
 
 American Beauties are very liable to 
 be troubled with red spider, and should 
 be thoroughly syringed, but never on 
 damp, cloudy days or late in the day. 
 
 iSome growers carry over for the 
 second winter their beds of roses, 
 both on benches and in solid beds. I 
 have never seen a bed of this kind 
 equal to a young well managed lot, 
 but they occasionally do very well up 
 to about February. When intended to 
 
 be grown on for a second winter they 
 should have a little light shade in 
 June, July and August, or they get so 
 terribly exhausted. Plants in four or 
 five inches of soil will not bear to be 
 dried out but very slightly, and that 
 better be done in July. All the pruning 
 they need is just the blind and weak 
 and worn out wood cut out. The young 
 vigorous growth should be left un- 
 touched. 
 
 Those in solid beds, say a toot of 
 soil, can be dried off considerably 
 more and can also be much harder cut 
 back. In a foot of strong, heavy loam 
 we had a bed of old Safrano, Isabella 
 Sprunt and Bon Silene years ago, and 
 we used to let the bed get hard and 
 cracked. About the first week in 
 August we pruned them back to bare 
 wood, gave them a heavy mulch of cow 
 manure and started again, and I have 
 never seen more roses, to the square 
 foot than those plants produced for 
 several years. 
 
 The plan of running hot water or 
 steam pipes through rubble stone with 
 a foot of soil or less on top, is I believe 
 abandoned. It is certainly nonsense 
 to think that roses want bottom heat, 
 and no pipes are run under a bench. 
 Mr. Gasser, of Cleveland, who grows 
 roses largely, is a strong advocate of 
 a bench on, or a few inches above the 
 surface, of the ground, on which he 
 puts 2-inch drain tiles close together. I 
 cannot see any advantage in this plan, 
 excepting that it affords a most ex- 
 
 cellent drainage and would be a fine 
 bottom to any solid bed. 
 
 Roses for summer blooming are not 
 given the attention that they deserve. 
 In June, July and August we frequent- 
 ly have a difficulty in getting large, 
 clean flowers. Houses for this pur- 
 pose should run north and south, be- 
 cause they would be the coolest. The 
 beds should be well drained, solid beds 
 affording plenty of head room, for 
 these plants will be kept in the borders 
 for several years and will be a con- 
 siderable size before outgrowing their 
 usefulness. You must begin in the 
 early spring with planting and will 
 cut a very paying crop the following 
 summer and fall. 
 
 In October all possible ventilation 
 should be given and less water ffnd 
 syringing. With a lower tsmperature 
 growth will cease and in December 
 and January and February if you just 
 keep the house above the freezing 
 point it is enough. A few degrees of 
 frost will do no harm, but don't for- 
 get your water pipes if you let the 
 frost in. 
 
 Early in March start them up again. 
 As the wood is flrm and ripe and the 
 roots inactive these roses can be 
 pi-uned hard when starting them in 
 spring, and will bear a good heavy 
 mulch of cow manure. Don't start 
 vrith too much heat at once, but as 
 the roots are undisturbed they will 
 break immediately and can soon be 
 given the usual rose house treatment. 
 
198 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 As all the varieties you would grow 
 for this purpose belong to the Tea or 
 Hybrid Tea class you can make the 
 season of rest still shorter and pick 
 good flowers up to the middle of No- 
 vember, and merely lower the temper- 
 ature down to 35 or 40 degrees till end 
 of January, when you can lightly 
 prune and start growing again. 
 
 For this purpose there is no finer 
 white than the grand Kaiserin Augusta 
 Victoria. Perle des Jardins is the best 
 yellow and comes fine in the warm 
 weather. President Carnot. the blush 
 white and pink is splendid for the pur- 
 pose, and for a red Meteor delights 
 in the summer heat. Old X^a France 
 will flower to perfection with this 
 treatment. 
 
 In our largest cities the summer rose 
 does not receive much attention, for 
 society is largely absent. In our 
 salubrious climate people stop here, 
 and besides that roses are wanted 
 every day in the year. 
 
 My readers will know more about 
 the varieties of the Tea roses to grow 
 than I can tell them, for they are 
 familiar to all. The American Beauty 
 stands first, if not in quantity most 
 assuredly in high quality, and there 
 is nothing in sight to depose it. Bride 
 for white, and Bridesmaid for a clear 
 pink, stand unrivalled, and their 
 parent, C. Mermet. is still a most beau- 
 tiful pink. Meteor is the standard red 
 or crimson, but the beautiful Liberty 
 is likely to depose it. If I>iberty proves 
 
 to mention them may be misleading, 
 as they have not yet been proved as all 
 round worthy candidates to displace 
 well known kinds. There will be no 
 lack of advertising if they prove them- 
 selves desirable varieties. 
 
 Within the past two or three years 
 there has been adopted by many rose 
 growers a new method of propagat- 
 ing, viz.: grafting. The necessity for 
 this is because some of our standard 
 varieties, like Bride and Bridesmaid, 
 are showing lack of vigor, and when 
 grafted on the Manetti stock they 
 grow much stronger and better. There 
 is no doubt the stronger and more 
 vigorous Manetti stock must induce a 
 heavier growth to the rose. Unless 
 .vou are in a large way of business you 
 had better buy your grafted stock if 
 you are not satisfied with the way your 
 own stock grows. For a full and com- 
 plete description of the operation of 
 grafting refer to any of the trade pa- 
 pers containing Mr. Robert Craig's pa- 
 per on that subjact. read to the Omaha 
 convention, or to a report of the soci- 
 ety's meeting. You should be a mem- 
 ber of the Society of American Flor- 
 ists; if not. you deserve to remain in 
 the dark. Briefly the operation is this: 
 The Manetti stocks are imported from 
 Europe at a very low cost. In the fall 
 they can be heeled in in a cold frame 
 till winter. In January or February or 
 later pot them in 214-inch pots, and 
 stand on any bench in about 50 de- 
 grees. As soon as you see root action 
 
 ing of the stem is where the sap flows, 
 and there is where adhesion will first 
 take place. Match the stock and scion 
 as neatly as you can and then tie 
 round the splice with raffia that has 
 been made soft and pliable by wetting. 
 Place the pots immediately in a frame 
 on a bench where the pots can be 
 plunged in a heat of 65 to 70 degrees, 
 and the tops kept close by the glass 
 covering. It is well to have partitions 
 in the frame for each batch, so they 
 can be aired when needed. In two 
 weeks adhesion will have taken place 
 and then some ventilation can be giv- 
 en, and in four or five weeks the 
 plants can be removed to an ordinary 
 bench. But be careful not to let too 
 much sun or draught be upon them 
 for another two or three we?ks. For 
 the first two weeks in the frame the 
 air must be kept moist, but very lit- 
 tle water will be needed at the roots. 
 There is very little evaporation going 
 on and the stock has been so mutilat- 
 ed that there is little for its roots to 
 do. 
 
 Now this seems an elaborate per- 
 formance compared to sticking cut- 
 tings in the bed, but it is not. Like all 
 new jobs, it may be tedious at first, 
 but when once familiar with the opera- 
 tion it is quite simple. 
 
 In conclusion I will say that in my 
 humble opinion there would be no 
 need of this more expensive method of 
 renewing our rose stock if we were to 
 treat our plants more rationally. I 
 
 to be a good winter bloomer the fate 
 of Meteor is sealed, for it is a far bet- 
 ter flower, a true Jacqueminot color, 
 bright and rich, and it does not have 
 the bad fault of Meteor in winter. 
 Pei-le des Jardins has no rival in yel- 
 low. Sunset, its sport, is a fine orange 
 yellow. 
 
 The above will cover 90 per cent of 
 all the roses grown for cut flowers, 
 hut many fine varieties find favor in 
 some localities. Mme. Hoste. Mme. de 
 ■Watteville. Belle Siebrecht. Mrs. J. 
 Pierpont Morgan. Mme. C. Testout. 
 Papa Gontier, Mrs. R. Garrett, and 
 others, are grown. Several new vari- 
 eties are coming out this winter, but 
 
 Display of Tea Roses. 
 
 has commenced, and consequently sap 
 rising, prepare for grafting. Choose 
 such wood from the roses as you would 
 for cuttings, good healthy shoots and 
 about as firm as when the bud is de- 
 veloped. Th? graft (called scion) 
 make three inches long, or a little less, 
 with an eye and leaf on top. Cut the 
 Manetti stock down to two inches of 
 the pot and cut both stock and scion 
 obliquely, so that they will about fit 
 together. It is not likely that the 
 scion will be as thick as the stock, 
 which is not of any consequence, but it 
 is of utmost importance that one side 
 of stock and scion should fit exactly, 
 for just below the bark or outer cover- 
 
 am well aware it is not a "new and 
 original" idea with me, but I have 
 thought of it very much of late and 
 can recall a few instances where cir- 
 cumstances would lead me to believe 
 that we are asking too much of our 
 Tea roses. It can't be denied that we 
 keep our stock of roses up to concert 
 pitch the whole time, perhaps for seven 
 or eight years, or until some new vari- 
 ety replaces an older one. 
 
 A cutting, as before said in these 
 pages, is not a new individual; it is 
 merely the perpetuation of the old. 
 and without a natural rest it must get 
 exhausted. The Tea rose is an ever- 
 green, or nearly so, and a continuous 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 199 
 
 House of Tea Ros:s. 
 
 bloomer, or we make it so, but its 
 parent or parents had a period of rest 
 at some time of tlie year, that is sure. 
 But we give none. Our cuttings are 
 taken off when the plant is in most 
 active growth, the cutting is grown 
 along as quickly as possible and made 
 into a vigorous young plant, and set 
 out in June and forced along in growth 
 and it continues to grow until pro- 
 pagating time again. Not a day of ac- 
 tual rest, and so the cycle revolves, 
 but no rest for the roses. Now, the 
 instances I remember was, first, a lot 
 of young stock coming from a nursery 
 firm in Pennsylvania who make a spe- 
 cialty of roses. They arrived in April, 
 the cuttings had been strong shoots 
 taken oft the previous fall and the 
 plants had been wintered a little if 
 any above freezing. They were what 
 we would say of a tramp, "hard look- 
 ing citizens." Scrubby looking leaves. 
 They were put into 3-inch pots and 
 began to grow immediately, and when 
 planted out in end of June grew most 
 vigorously, far surpassing some much 
 better looking plants that had been 
 propagated that spring in the usual 
 way. Those plants had had a winter's 
 rest. 
 
 The other case was on my own 
 place. Some plants left over from 
 planting in July were knocking about 
 the frames the following fall and win- 
 ter, and in the spring stood under the 
 wall of a shed, and occasionally when 
 it rained stood with their pots full of 
 
 water; in fact, abused. Being short 
 of fifty plants when planting in Juno 
 or July we put in these "runts" and 
 they simply started off and grew pro- 
 digiously, far outstripping the good 
 looking young plants by their side. 
 
 I believe and feel sure that were we 
 able to propagate in late spring or 
 early fall and winter the plants in a 
 very cold house, or in milder parts 
 in a cold-frame, and bring them along 
 slowly to planting time, we should not 
 be obliged to have recourse to the 
 fussy job of grafting. 
 
 One word as a final. When you want 
 to buy don't send to the man who 
 raises hundreds of thousands of young 
 plants for sale. Send to the good 
 grower of flowers who has a few thou- 
 sand surplus of his own stock, and 
 never study the price of two cents on 
 a plant. It is the height of folly and 
 extravagance to buy poor stock. One 
 single bud will more than pay for the 
 plant. 
 
 r^ SALVIA. 
 
 A large genus of plants of which 
 few are used by the florist. S. splen- 
 dens is one of our showiest flowering 
 plants. There are now several vari- 
 eties or forms of it. It is used as a 
 mass where brilliant colors are want- 
 ed. They are often rather late in 
 flowering, especially in wet seasons, 
 and should not be planted in too rich 
 a soil or you will get a large growth 
 with late flowering, so procure a strain 
 
 that grows compact and is early to 
 flower. 
 
 Lifted before frost and potted they 
 make showy plantrs for a month or 
 two, and we often find their flowers 
 useful. 
 
 They are easily raised from seed, 
 and there is now a hybrid strain that 
 contains various colors, and is' said 
 to be early and free flowering. 
 
 A few plants lifted, and cut back 
 after New Year's, will give you an 
 abundance of cuttings that will make 
 fine plants for bedding out. The salvia 
 is troubled with aphis and if in a 
 warm, dry house and not syringed will 
 soon become attacked by red spider. 
 They should never be kept over .50 
 degrees. They grow so fast and strong 
 that it is best to put off propagating 
 till March. 
 
 S. patens we have not seen gi-own 
 here, but in the gardens of Europe it 
 is much used. It has very much the 
 same habit as splendens, with erect 
 spike and the flower is somew^hat 
 larger: the color is of the most beau- 
 tiful blue of any flower that grows. 
 Propagate by cuttings same as S. 
 splendens. 
 
 . Salvia officinalis, the variegated 
 form of this, the common sage, is used 
 in carpet and other flower garden de- 
 signs. The coloring is not bright, but 
 very pleasing. Lift a few plants when 
 the fiower garden is dismantled and 
 in January shorten back the shoots. 
 You will soon get any amount of cut- 
 
200 
 
 T^iE FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 tings that root most easily. And when 
 in 2 or 2 1-2-inch pots there is no 
 place to malce nios little plants like 
 the hotbed. It is almost or quite 
 hardy. 
 
 SANTOLINA INCANA. 
 
 This almost hardy little herb is of 
 great importance in the flower garden. 
 It can be clipped and cut to any form 
 or line. To design patterns in carpet 
 bedding or as an edging it is invalu- 
 able. Its small, dense foliage has a 
 grey or frosted appearance. Occasion- 
 ally, when covered with snow, it 
 comes through ths winter unharmed, 
 but such plants would not be useful 
 for our flower gardening purposes. 
 
 Lift some plants and pot, or put 
 them in a flat in a few inches of soil. 
 In February cut off two or three inches 
 of the tops and they will send out 
 numerous growths that root rapidly. 
 This again is a plant that quickly 
 
 thawed in the spring they should be 
 lifted and potted, when they will 
 make their growth, the appearance of 
 which is so useful in hanging baskets 
 or veranda boxes. 
 
 Pew plants will stand the hot sun, 
 dryness and neglect so well as the 
 sedums. For a border or rockery 
 there is of course no need of cold- 
 frame or pots. They can be divided 
 and planted at once in their perma- 
 nent position. 
 
 S. speciosum, rose pink, good for 
 rockery, border or florist's use; S. 
 Sieboldii, pink, very good basket 
 plant; S. pulchellum, pink, dwarf, 
 fine for borders; S. Rhodiola, pink, 
 dwarf, fine for borders; S. ternatum, 
 white, vases or baskets; S. kamtscha- 
 ticum, yellow, yery fine spscies for 
 baskets or rockery; S. Maximowiczii. 
 yellow, handsome, fine stems with 
 greenish purple leaves. 
 
 There are many species, but the 
 above can be relied on as some of the 
 best. 
 
 in pairs, charging for boxes or baskets 
 and using bell glasses belong to 
 another continent and past age. But 
 this is about seeds and not cuttings. 
 
 In the article on Asters I give in 
 detail a method of sowing them or 
 any other seeds of considerable size. 
 We are asked repeatedly how deep to 
 sow seeds. There is no rule, and out 
 of doors in the garden you would 
 cover much deeper than you would, in 
 the greenhouse. A very good rule 
 would be to cover the seeds their own 
 thickness, which would be with an 
 aster seed just out of sight, and with 
 a gloxinia so little that it would be 
 impossible to measure it or apply it. 
 Still, we are sure that a grain of wheat 
 or oats will struggle to the surface 
 when buried six inches, and a cabbage 
 se-fd will send up its leaves to the 
 light when covered an inch. And these 
 depths are one hundred times the 
 diameters of the seed. 
 
 However, we are not considering the 
 seeds in the garden but how to raise 
 
 makes a nice, compact and quick 
 growth in a mild hotbed far better 
 than on a greenhouse bench. 
 
 SEDUM. 
 
 These pretty little, hardy peren- 
 nials are known to all. But a few of 
 the species are useful to the florist. 
 and they are not cultivated as much 
 as they should be. Many of the species 
 make good plants for the hardy 
 border. Some are the very best of 
 rock plants. And a few are valuable 
 to the florist for vases and baskets. 
 
 They are of the easiest possible cul- 
 ture, thriving in any soil and needing 
 little of it. They are propagated from 
 seeds, or by pulling the plant to 
 pieces and replanting in early spring, 
 but for the florist's use are best propa- 
 gated bv cuttings in May. If wanted 
 in quantity the cuttings can be put 
 in the coid-frame in May in the 
 ground, and when root&d remove the 
 sash and leave the plants to grow all 
 summer, protecting them with sash 
 in winter. As soon as the ground is 
 
 A Range of Connected Rose Houses. 
 
 SEED SOWING. 
 
 By sowing seed is the only method 
 that we can get a new individual. A 
 cutting or layer is only a division of 
 the plant, and a graft and bud is not 
 a new plant, it is still the perpetua- 
 tion of the same individual with the 
 help of another plant's vigor and 
 strength. Still, cuttings are the Only 
 way generally, that we can increase 
 a hybrid or variety, and far more stock 
 is increased by cuttings than by seeds. 
 
 I consider raising plants by seeds 
 a far more delicate and particular un- 
 dertaking than our usual method with 
 the cuttings and propagating bed. And 
 just let me say here that within thirty 
 or forty years we have wonderfully 
 simplified the cutting bed. There may 
 be, and is occasionally, the need of a 
 closed case or bell glass for propa- 
 gating some of the hard wooded plants, 
 but I can remember, and sO' can thous- 
 ands of gardeners, when verbenas and 
 petunias were put under a bell glass. 
 Just fancy how we have progressed 
 in this line. Selling carnation pjants 
 
 them without failure under glass. The 
 great Prof. Lindley in his "Introduc- 
 tion to Botany," says; "It is well 
 known seeds will not germinate in 
 the light." That we know to be per- 
 fect nonsense, for we have all seen 
 many kinds of seeds grow in the light. 
 The old seedsman's way of testing 
 seeds was to wrap a piece of wet flan- 
 nel round a bottle and sticking the 
 seeds in the flannel and keeping the 
 bottle full of hot water. Mustard seed 
 will grow in the light and so will an 
 acorn. 
 
 ■With seeds larger than those of the 
 aster or verbena there is very little 
 need of failure, and no need of cover- 
 ing them more than their depth be- 
 cause our seedlings are soon to be 
 handled. But with begonias, calceo- 
 larias, gloxinias and other very min- 
 ute seeds the operation is one of great 
 care. Mr. Fred L. Atkins gives the 
 correct method in an article on glox- 
 inias in The Florist's Review, March 
 3. 1898, page 569, all of which is ex- 
 cellent. 
 
 The soil should be well baked or 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 201 
 
 scalded with boiling water to destroy 
 the seeds or spores of any other vege- 
 table growth. The pan or pot should 
 be filled to within an inch of the fine 
 soil with crocks and moss. The sur- 
 face should be of sifted soil, which 
 should be a soft loam and leaf.-mould. 
 The surface should be smooth and 
 even, and to thoroughly wet this be- 
 fore sowing you should stand the pan 
 in water. In a few moments the water 
 will soak up to the surface. Then sow 
 the seeds. 
 
 You are so liable to sow these seeds 
 too thickly that great care must he 
 exercised. The smallest pinch between 
 your finger and thumb and a very 
 slight movement of the same will with 
 care drop the seeds equally distribu- 
 ted. Then the smallest quantity of 
 clean sand distributed over the sur- 
 face, not enough to hide the color of 
 the soil but just a sprinkle. Then 
 press lightly the surface with the bot- 
 tom of a clean pot. Let the surface of 
 the soil be an inch below the top of 
 the pan. 
 
 Mr. Atkins recommends covering 
 the surface with green moist moss 
 and then over it a sheet of glass. We 
 sometimes use a piece of wet cheese 
 cloth instead of the moss, which can 
 be dampened with the Scollay sprink- 
 ler, and as there is so little evapora- 
 tion there will be little need of water, 
 but the glass and moss, or cloth, 
 should be removed once a day to see if 
 they are dry in any spot. 
 
 Directly you notice the seeds germin- 
 ating remove the covering and tilt up 
 one side of the glass, and as the little 
 plants get stronger remove the glass 
 entirely. The Scollay sprinkler will 
 water the surface while the plants are 
 very young, and when stronger you 
 can dip the pans in water and let it 
 quietly run over the surface; that is 
 better than a coarser sprinkling. When 
 the seeds are well up, and by careful 
 handling they should never be allowed 
 to draw up, the seed pans should be 
 given the fullest light, but never al- 
 lowed to get parched by the sun. 
 
 However grown, plants may relish 
 to be occasionally on the dry side and 
 then soaked. Small seedlings, par- 
 ticularly at the critical time of ger- 
 mination, should be kept at a uni- 
 form moisture. Seed pans can be kept 
 in a house 5 or 10 degrees warmer 
 than you would grow the plants, but 
 as soon as well up should be placed 
 In the temperature most suited to the 
 plant when growing. 
 
 All seedlings, with hardly an excep- 
 tion, should be transplanted into other 
 pans or flats as soon as they can be 
 handled: particularly is this the case 
 with those that you have sown thickly. 
 A sudden drying will often wilt and 
 destroy many young seedlings, and 
 forgetfulness to shade is often disas- 
 trous. At the same time it is most es- 
 sential that the little plants should 
 have the fullest light, for if you start 
 off with a drawn, spindling plant you 
 have seriously handicapped your fu- 
 ture success. 
 
 Now, all the points related above 
 
 are easy to follow, but the great thing 
 is to follow them faithfully. A watch- 
 maker can throw down his tools and 
 leave his watch for a week and re- 
 turn and take up his task with the 
 loss only of time, but you can't leave 
 a week or a day, or hardly an hour. 
 It is the care and watchfulness and 
 everlasting attention and thoughtful- 
 nees that makes the gai-dener, far more 
 than scientific action, either mental or 
 physical. 
 
 Don't blame the seedsman always. 
 I must at the cost of being thought 
 egotistical say that for years I never 
 blamed a seedsman when perhaps I 
 had a reason. I blamed my own 
 clumsiness and carelessness. 
 
 The man who has charge of the 
 seeds should be given plenty of time, 
 for he needs it. 
 
 among foliage plants in a veranda box, 
 the branches of this plant often reach- 
 ing a height of eighteen inches or 
 more. 
 
 S. Martensii is another well-known 
 and deserving species, the flat branch- 
 lets of which are quite effective among 
 the plants in a table fernery. This 
 species is very easy to increase by 
 means of cuttings, these being potted 
 up at once in light sandy soil without 
 the preliminary treatment of the cut- 
 ting bed, and only require to be kept 
 moist and sheltered from too much 
 sun and air until they take root. 
 
 This species has also provided us 
 with one of the best variegated forms 
 found among the selaginellas, namely, 
 S. Martensii var., the branchlets of 
 which are variably marked with white. 
 S. Martensii var. also roots readily 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 nBMf^^^^^^lHHGi^^^tt^ 
 
 ^'^'^^PBM^^S 
 
 mm ,^ 
 
 
 IM:;^'^ 4JI 
 
 Selaginella Cuspidata. 
 
 SELAGINELLA. 
 
 Among the large number of species 
 (over 300 in all) of the selaginellas 
 there are comparatively few that are 
 used in the trade, notwithstanding the 
 fact that there are several of the spe- 
 cies easily procurable and readily 
 grown into very attractive pot plants. 
 It is true that selaginellas in general 
 prefer moisture and shade, and in con- 
 sequence are somewhat tender in fo- 
 liage, but this rule does not hold good 
 in all cases, some of the species bear- 
 ing exposure fully as well as many of 
 the commercial species of ferns. 
 
 An example of this is found in S. 
 Braunii, a Chinese species that has 
 been long in cultivation, and that is 
 frequently, though incorrectly labelled 
 S. Willdenovi. The branches of this 
 species are very tough and wiry, the 
 leaves small and deep green in color, 
 and it not only forms a very pretty 
 plant in a 4 or 5-inch pot, but is also 
 well adapted for growing into a large 
 exhibition specimen, or to be used 
 
 from cuttings, it being necessary, how- 
 ever, to select well-variegated pieces 
 in order to perpetuate the variegation. 
 
 The freak of variegation is not con- 
 fined to S. Martensii, for it also ap- 
 pears in the common S. Kraussiana 
 var., and also in S. involvens, the lat- 
 ter being quite prolific in singular 
 forms, 
 
 S. Kraussiana, also known as S. den- 
 ticulata, is perhaps the most familiar 
 example of this interesting family, 
 and is one of the most useful plants 
 we have for carpeting the surface of 
 the soil beneath other plants, or for 
 beautifying otherwise bare spaces be- 
 neath the benches of a conservatory. 
 
 S. cuspidata is another useful spe- 
 cies, a plant of which is illustrated 
 herewith. It will be readily noted that 
 this illustration bears some resem- 
 blance to S. Emiliana, a variety that 
 has been very largely grown for a few 
 years past for filling table ferneries, 
 and the explanation of this is found 
 in the fact that S. EJmiliana is simply 
 a form of S. cuspidata. Cuttings of 
 
 IS 
 
202 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 this species soou take root in sand or 
 sandy soil, and become compact, tuft- 
 ed little plants in a few months when 
 grown in an ordinary fern house. 
 
 S. viticulosa illustrates another form 
 of growth that we find in this diverse 
 family, this species being better 
 adapted for use as a pot plant than 
 to be mingled in a fernery, its branch- 
 lets being large and standing up like 
 the fronds of a fern. These branchlets 
 are thrown up from creeping stems, 
 and do not root readily, consequently 
 the propagation of this plant usually 
 depends upon division, or from spores. 
 A good idea of this handsome species 
 may be had from the accompanying 
 photograph. 
 
 S. serpens is a singular member of 
 this family that is quite common in 
 gardens and forms a dense mat of 
 closely rooting branchlets on the sur- 
 face of the soil. The great peculiarity 
 of this species isi found in its changes 
 of color during the day, the foliage be- 
 ing bright green in the morning, but 
 gradually becomes much paler, as 
 though bleached by the light, finally 
 resuming its lively green hue at night. 
 
 Of the selaginellas that are especial- 
 ly valuable for private collections or 
 for exhibition purposes a long list 
 might easily be made, and prominent 
 among them should be mentioned such 
 beautiful species as S. Wallichii, S. 
 Vogelii, S. Lyallii, S. Wildenovii, that 
 very strong growing scandent species 
 with the strong metallic tints on its 
 foliage, a species that has been tossed 
 about on the waves of nomenclature, 
 being sometimes S. caesia arborea, 
 again S. laevigata, and finally S. Wil- 
 denovii. Also S. haematodes, S. atro- 
 virides, and S. rubricaulis, all of which 
 are worthy of more extended cultiva- 
 tion, though not all are quite so easy 
 to manage as the few we have special- 
 ly referred to for commercial purposes. 
 
 W. H. T. 
 
 SHADING. 
 
 I have had occasion to nwntion 
 shading many times in reference to 
 plants that need it under glass. We 
 are as yet without any portable shad- 
 ing that can be adjusted to our com- 
 mercial greenhouses. The wooden slat 
 shading applied' to some private con- 
 servatories is out of the question for 
 the commercial man, and if expense 
 did' not forbid, it is too dense. 
 
 Many of our plants that thrive in 
 the broad sun will burn up under 
 unshaded glass. This last July having 
 occasion to remove the glass in a 
 house to paint and reglaze, we left 
 many plants standing on the benches 
 fully exposed to sun and air. Among 
 them I noticed Primula obconica and 
 P. Forbesii and several kinds of flow- 
 ering begonias. Before the glass was 
 put on again, perhaps three weeks, the 
 plants had made a great improvement 
 in their growth, strong and robust. 
 If the glass had been on without shad- 
 ing it would have been a different 
 story. 
 
 We can at least use a light cloth 
 on our frames over such plants as 
 
 cyclamen and others that are much 
 the best in frames dui'ing summer. 
 A stout pole a little longer than the 
 width of the frame with cheese cloth 
 tacked to it is easily and quickly un- 
 rolled or rolled up. 
 
 We frequently are tardy in putting 
 on shading and then daub on a heavy 
 coat. Put on a thin coat where needed 
 and add another when tlie sun is 
 stronger, and if you will go to the 
 trouble of plunging many of our com- 
 mon plants in refuse hops or decayed 
 leaves you will find th?ir growth much 
 better, and you can delay or dispense 
 with shading entirely. 
 
 Supposing you have a house full of 
 geraniums or cannas which, as soon 
 as sold, say end of May or early June, 
 will be filled with chrysanthemums. 
 It you shade for these plants you must 
 
 well supplied with its bright red ber- 
 ries. Its leaves are bright green, 
 holly-like, and the plant has a fine, 
 compact habit. Small plants not over 
 one foot in height are of most use. 
 
 It can be raised easily from seed or 
 cuttings in the usual way, made from 
 the young growths in spring. Cut back 
 the shoots slightly in February and 
 give it a good light house and warmth 
 and moisture. After flowering and 
 the berries are set they can be plunged 
 in a frame out of doors and removed 
 to a cool greenhouse before frost. 
 
 S. ohlata is said to be still more 
 handsome and needs the same treat- 
 ment. 
 
 Any good loam will grow them, and 
 except when growing in the spring 
 they thrive in a cool house. 
 
 J-- 
 
 Selaginella Viticulosa. 
 
 certainly brus^h it off again for the 
 mums for they don't want and must 
 not have any shade. Quite as impor- 
 tant as putting it on early with such 
 plants as palms and ferns is taking 
 it off in good time. Begin end of 
 August to remove the shade and by 
 middle of October have it all oft. 
 
 We are frequently asked what is 
 the best material? We have tried 
 many mixtures, and best of all like 
 naphtha and white lead without any 
 oil. We tried common coal oil in- 
 stead of naphtha, but it is too greasy. 
 Try the mixture before you settle on 
 the thickness of it. 
 
 We have also tried applying it with 
 a syringe, and are entirely opposed to 
 it. It saves labor but you will use 
 more material than will twice pay 
 ■ for the labor, and when put on with 
 a long handled brush it is properly 
 done. This mixture rubs off easily 
 when dry and the hose makes a clean 
 job of it. 
 
 SKIMMIA JAPONICA. 
 This is a greenhouse shrub from 
 Japan and is very ornamental when 
 
 SMIL AX (MYRSIPHYLLUM ASPAR- 
 AGOIDES), 
 
 This useful climber and twiner 
 seems to have been grown here com- 
 mercially long before its great use- 
 fulness was appreciated in Europe. 
 Though the more graceful looking as- 
 paragus has superseded it in our deco- 
 rations it is still a standard article 
 with all commercial florists, and in fu- 
 neral decorations there is no equal to 
 it. 
 
 One author says it is propagated 
 by "seeds, cuttings and divisions." I 
 have never heard of its being rooted 
 from cuttings, and to divide it would 
 be absurd as it is so easily raised from 
 seed. 
 
 Seed should be sown in flats and 
 covered an eighth of an inch, in Feb- 
 ruary. Good fresh soil is now always 
 supplied. When two or three inches 
 high pot off into 2-inch pots and 
 keep in a temperature anywhere above 
 50 degrees. If you expect the best re- 
 sults from your n«wly planted bed 
 you ought by. middle of May to give 
 these little plants another shift into 
 
The Florists' manual. 
 
 203 
 
 a 3-inch. Getting strong plants to 
 plant out in June will give you an 
 extra crop over small, weak plants. 
 And although you often see them 
 standing under a bench in May and 
 June that is not the way to produce 
 well rooted, strong plants. 
 
 Make your Smilax bed in the center 
 of the house on the ground with seven 
 or eight feet of head room; and more 
 is better. If the floor of the house is 
 naturally dry you want no prepara- 
 tion, but make the bed seven or eight 
 inches above the surface and confined 
 with a brick or plank wall. 
 
 I have tried several kinds of soil. 
 The worst smilax I ever grew was in 
 a light sand, and the best was in a 
 stiff loam, such a soil as roses like, 
 with the addition of one-fourth of rot- 
 ten cow manure. Plant at end of June 
 or very early in July. 
 
 If you intend to renew the bed every 
 year, which I strongly advocate, then 
 plant ten inches between the rows and 
 six or seven inches between the plants. 
 Run a wire across the bed just be- 
 himl the row of plants, and a corre- 
 sponding wire near the roof, and at 
 each plant run up a string of silkaline. 
 It is invisible when cut and saves you 
 much bother when using the smilax 
 because there is no need of pulling it 
 out. 
 
 Keep down weeds from the start 
 and frequently teach the little growths 
 that they are to climb up the strings. 
 When once started they are no trouble, 
 and when a crop is cut and a new 
 growth is starting replace the strings 
 at once. We are guilty of neglect and 
 I have seen days of labor spent over 
 a smilax bed that was allowed to grow 
 without strings a few weeks and had 
 to be unravelled and started up the 
 strings much to the harm of the 
 growths. 
 
 When growing fast smilax likes and 
 must have an abundance of water and 
 should be daily syringed to keep down 
 red spider. It should be also fumiga- 
 ted, but not heavily or it will turn the 
 tips of the leaves. Vaporizing with 
 tobacco extract would avoid that, but 
 with proper care we have no trouble 
 with the smoke. 
 
 When a crop is fit to cut or your 
 business demands that you cut it, be- 
 gin at one end and clear it as you go. 
 When the plant is denuded of its entire, 
 growth, as it is when you cut the 
 strings, it does not want water till 
 it begins to send up more growth. I 
 have seen the roots rotted by a heavy 
 watering Just after cutting oft the 
 strings, and when the thick, fleshy 
 roots rot they raise a bad smell, very 
 similar to decayed Solanum tuberosum, 
 alias potato. 
 
 When cutting the strings don't let 
 a crude hand ruthlessly chop off all 
 the growth. There may be several 
 strong young shoots a foot or eighteen 
 inches high that will quickly make 
 another string. 
 
 By planting last of June you ought 
 to get four crops before planting time 
 again, and will if the temperature of 
 the house is kept never less than 60 
 
 degrees at night throughout the win- 
 ter, and if it is 65 degrees so much the 
 better; contrary to what would be the 
 case with most plants the warmer you 
 grow it the harder it is providing It is 
 matured when cut. Being naturally 
 a twiner among trees it likes the 
 shade, and is best shaded in summer 
 and early spring. 
 
 I am sure it is wisest to plant every 
 year. You get more strings; they are 
 a more useful size, and easier man- 
 aged. After the second crop is cut, 
 about New Year's, the bed will be 
 greatly benefited by a top dressing of 
 an inch of loam and cow manure. 
 Their strong asparagus-like crown of 
 roots soon works to the surface and 
 need this mulching. The smilax is a 
 heavy feeder, so a strong soil, plenty 
 of water when growing, and a good 
 heat, suits it. 
 
 SOILS. 
 
 Although various soils have been 
 often alluded to as most suitable for 
 different plants I cannot impress on 
 you too much the importance of being 
 always well supplied with this most 
 necessary article of our business. 
 We too frequently are careless and 
 often falsely economical in not buying 
 a good pile of soil. Greenhouse estab- 
 lishments in or near cities, or where 
 by its growth has surrounded them, 
 have often a difficulty in getting a 
 good supply, and it is too often a case 
 of get what you can. I have learnt 
 lately that when a teamster asks, "do 
 you want twenty loads of good earth?" 
 you had better investigate at once, and 
 if it is good buy it; you don't know 
 when you will get the next. 
 
 We pay out without a murmur thou- 
 sands of dollars for fuel, but squirm a 
 good deal over one-quarter the amount 
 for soil and manure. And if by these 
 words I have made you think seriously 
 how important a matter is good soil 
 I will have done you some good. 
 
 Those having five or six acres, or 
 better, fifteen acres, can help them- 
 selves off their own place, and they 
 should take care and husband their 
 land or they will find that with broad 
 acres they can soon use it up and have 
 little in the right condition. No one 
 nowadays thinks of using soil for roses 
 or carnations or violets the second 
 year, and these crops take a great deal 
 of soil. 
 
 When an acre is what we call 
 "skinned," three, four or five inches 
 deep, it should be restored as soon as 
 possible with the soil that comes out 
 of the benches. P<t as much back as 
 you took away, and what you put 
 back will be good soil, for while in 
 use in the greenhouse you added ani- 
 mal manure, bone-meal and other fer- 
 tilizers. You can grow a crop of pota- 
 toes on it the first summer, or use it 
 for your planted out crops for a coup'.e 
 of years, or better still, after the po- 
 tatoes lay it down to winter wheat and 
 sow clover in the spring and in two 
 years plow the clover under, and you 
 have a grand field for your carna- 
 tions. 
 
 I have proved within a few years, 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1802 
 
 'S 
 
 SEEDS 
 
 Flower Seeds lor Florists, 
 
 Special Price List ready 1st Jan'y. 
 
 BILBS FOR FORCING, 
 
 Catalogue ready in June. 
 
 Fresh Palm Seeds 
 
 ARRIVE FROM TIME TO TIME. 
 Prices on application. 
 
 J.M.THORBURN&CO. 
 
 (late of IS John Street) 
 
 36 CORTLANDT STREET. NEW YORK 
 
 CLEARY & CO., 
 
 ORTICULTURAL 
 
 AUCTIONEERS. 
 
 Sales every Tuesday and Friday during Spring 
 and Autumn Seasons. 
 Finest stock from the finest growers. 
 
 H 
 
 60 Vesey Street, 
 
 NEW YOflK. 
 
 f Brookly 
 
 MICHEL PLANT 
 AND BULB CO. 
 
 PLANTS FOR THE TRADE. 
 ST. LOUIS, MO. 
 
 The Weekly 
 
 FLORISTS' 
 
 EVIEW 
 
 Will Keep You 
 Up-to-Date. 
 
 Publistied every Thur.sday at 
 $1.00 a year, by the 
 
 FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 Caxtou Building', CHICAGO. 
 
204 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 what, not being a farmer I only knew 
 by report, that a growth of a foot of 
 clover plowed under is a wonderful 
 agency in mellowing and fertilizing 
 any land unless it be a black muck. 
 Farmers consider red clover a foot 
 high plowed in for wheat equal to an 
 ordinary dressing of farm yard 
 manure. Other pieces of your farm 
 should be after a year's tillage laid 
 down with timothy or red top, and in 
 two or three years you have again a 
 sod for your roses. Even in country 
 villages you cannot always buy good 
 soil. The thrifty farmer does not 
 want to skin his land at any price, and 
 the indigent farmer, who is sure to 
 have a good sized mortgage on it, dare 
 not or Mr. Mortgageholder will step 
 in and forbid, and quite right he 
 should. The majority of unthinking 
 men are very glad to get the loan 
 on their property but when interest 
 comes due turn round and abuse the 
 loaner for a Shylock. 
 
 There is often a very poor provision 
 made for keeping soil over winter. 
 Flower growers who have large places 
 in the country don't feel this so much, 
 but even they need a shed where the 
 soil can be hauled under when it is dry 
 and in good condition. In the fall it is 
 a great help. If taken under cover in 
 October and no rain or snow falls on 
 it during winter it can be brought in 
 even if frozen at any time, and when 
 it thaws it will fall to pieces and be 
 mellow and be usable in a short time, 
 but if in the open and saturated with 
 water when frozen and brought in in 
 frozen chunks it will be days and per- 
 haps weeks before it can be used. How 
 long it takes in winter in our sheds to 
 dry out. 
 
 The plant man uses the great bulk 
 of his soil from March 1st to middle 
 of April, and it is very seldom that 
 even at the latter late date our outside 
 soil heap is dry enough to handle, so 
 you should either have a shed with a 
 big supply, which can be got at during 
 any weather, or else an ample supply 
 stored in your potting sheds in fall, 
 enough to last you till the first of May. 
 We speak from experience and know 
 what it is to be running round in April 
 for a few loads of soil and offering 
 as much for a load as would have pur- 
 chased ten in September. I don't like 
 soil under the benches if it can be 
 helped. 
 
 Soil is much better mixed with 
 manure several months before using 
 than mixing on the potting bench just 
 IjCfore potting. A good pile of soil 
 (sod if possible) should be piled up in 
 .luly or August with a layer of manure 
 every six inches, about a fifth or sixth 
 of its bulk, built up square, three or 
 four feet high, and then thoroughly 
 soaked. And in tour or five weeks 
 chopped down and thrown in a long 
 ridge to shed the rain. If you have 
 time another turn over will be all the 
 better and in a dry time in October a 
 good supply of this should be stored in 
 your potting shed or some place under 
 cover. 
 
 I make no pretense to any know- 
 
 ledge of the chemical ingredients of 
 soil, and however desirable it would 
 be that all gardeners did have that 
 knowledge, it is not necessary to a 
 practical acquaintance and use of sol's. 
 Soils all the world over have very 
 much the same properties. 
 
 Broadly, they consist of two kinds, 
 that made or deposited from vegetable 
 matter, like peat or what you will find 
 on the surface of clays a few inches 
 of vegetable deposit which is the de- 
 posit of centuries of forest leaves; and 
 the others, clays and sands or loams, 
 is the grinding up of surface rocks 
 which have been largely distributed 
 and deposited during the glacial 
 period. 
 
 Peat, such as you hear of in Europe, 
 and especially in Ireland, is largely 
 the growth of water mosses, perhaps 
 the growth of thousands of years. The 
 remains of the moss can be plainly 
 seen near the surface, but a few feet 
 down it is so decomposed that it is 
 not discernible. The German peat 
 moss imported largely to this country 
 from Silesia for horse bedding is 
 sphagnum, hardly old enough to call 
 peat, for you can plainly see the re- 
 mains of the moss in it. Jadoo is 
 simply that with some chemical fer- 
 tilizer injected into it. 
 
 Plants of the Heath family like this 
 peat because their fine roots work 
 easily in it and it retains moisture, 
 but it is not always an infallible guide 
 that nature can not be improved on, 
 and because you find a plant strug- 
 gling along in a certain soil in a state 
 of nature is no proof that with a 
 richer and better soil it will not im- 
 prove. 
 
 There are extensive sphagnum bogs 
 scattered over this country, and it is 
 likely there are some that if drained 
 would afford us the same excellent 
 material that is found in Europe, and 
 notably in Bagshot, Surrey, where the 
 rhododendrons are cultivated by the 
 hundreds of acres in such excellence 
 and profusion. 
 
 The bulb fields of Holland are a 
 black peat or muck. Perhaps that 
 country and Belgium, called the low 
 countries because most parts are many 
 feet below the level of the sea, was 
 fifty thousand years ago one vast moss 
 bog. and most likely it was. for there 
 are the remains of ancient primitive 
 man who built his hut on stilts and 
 lived on the shallow lakes and sub- 
 sisted on Crustacea, for there are the 
 remains of his kitchen refuse. The 
 Hollander and Belgian would not raise 
 such crops were he not to saturate the 
 soil with manure every third year. 
 This peat is useful, and we see by the 
 splendid azaleas, etc.. that they grow 
 that it suits them, but it is not indis- 
 pensable and our most important 
 plants can be grown without it. 
 
 Where our soil is sand or clay we do 
 not avail ourselves of what we might, 
 and that is leaf-mould. Hundreds of 
 us see thousands of loads of leaves of 
 maple, oak, and elm burnt up every 
 autumn when if they were collected 
 and mixed or covered with sufficient 
 
 earth or manure to keep them from 
 blowing away they would be invalu- 
 able for many of our plants. Roses 
 and carnations do not need them but 
 all our hard wooded plants that like 
 peat, and our begonias, fuchsias, ferns, 
 in fact any of the soft wooded plants, 
 would be benefited by their usie. It 
 is a tedious job raking them up. but in 
 many of our streets and parks and 
 cemeteries they are raked up for you. 
 In the country you can alwaysi find 
 in some hardwood forest places where 
 the wind has laid up for years de- 
 posits of these leaves, and you should 
 always have a good supply on hand. 
 
 When leaves are collected the same 
 fall that they drop it will tak© two 
 years before they are fit to use, and 
 more than that, unless they get fre- 
 quent turning. I would consider a 
 heap of maple leaves well rotted by 
 frequent turnings and to which had 
 been added when first collected a third 
 or fourth of their weight of cow 
 manure, a regular heap of gold dust 
 for adding to your loam for "cycla- 
 men, or most any other plant. 
 
 Refuse hops turned frequently make 
 a good substitute for leaf-mould, and 
 I have even used it on carnation 
 benches in the old days of La Purite 
 and Edwardsii with the very best re- 
 sults. 
 
 We value the hotbeds not only for 
 their use in raising plants cheaply and 
 well in the spring but the "by- 
 product." the old bed put up in a pile 
 and the following spring and summer 
 turned over and chopped down once 
 or twice, makes the most useful in- 
 gredient for our potting soil. In fact, 
 tor geraniums, coleus, cannas and 
 most bedding plants it is all you want 
 added to your loam if you are minus 
 that good pile that I first spol« of. 
 
 There are great growing qualities 
 in clay soils, even in clay taken a foot 
 below the surface, as we have often 
 seen proved by rose growers, but it 
 should, if necessity compels its use, 
 be exposed a winter to the frosts, and 
 when used must needs have consider- 
 able manure to make it mechanically 
 right. Clay alone will go down too 
 solid and be too retentive of moisture, 
 and for our plants in pots would be 
 not at all desirable. 
 
 The worst of all soils is a gritty 
 sand, and you sometimes find this on 
 the surface. Our cuttings grow in 
 sand for a short while but soon show 
 the need of something better. When 
 sampling soil if it feels gritty to the 
 hand don't have anything to do with 
 it; it is mostly particles of sand what- 
 ever its appearance. If a soil feels 
 smooth, or as it is technically called, 
 "silky," you have the right stuff. 
 
 Som^etimes we have to avail our- 
 selves of soil that has been cultivated 
 as a garden for years. If you know 
 that it has been well supplied with 
 manure it will grow most of your 
 plants, for it is rich. But there is 
 something about sod that has been cut 
 a few months that is not equalled by 
 any soil that has been tilled, however 
 much manure has been used. The 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 205 
 
 roots of the grass keep it open and in 
 a good mechanical condition however 
 firm you make it, and there may be 
 something more; in decaying the roots 
 and fibres may emit bacteria that are 
 of great usefulness to the roots. As 
 we depend on a bacteria to do our 
 digesting, and possibly another one to 
 do our thinking, it is quite likely that 
 in the process of decomposition this 
 vegetable matter generates or emits 
 a valued species. Certain it is that a 
 good fibrous loam is the sheet anchor 
 of our soils. More important than any 
 fine qualit.v or mixture of soil is to 
 have plenty of it available at all times. 
 Up to a 3-inch pot you have to sift 
 through a half or thwe-quarter inch 
 mesh, after that we never sift soils ex- 
 cept for seeds. Prom a 3 to a 4-inch 
 and upwards we only chop the soil. 
 This is most important. Somebody. I 
 forget who. cursed the sieve, and he 
 was right. Use it as little as possible. 
 Chop your soil or break it up with a 
 digging fork, but don't sift it. 
 
 SOLANUM. 
 
 This grand genus (for a genus that 
 gives us the potato must be grand) 
 contains some species that are used as 
 ornamental plants. 
 
 I wonder why the universally used 
 tuber is called the Irish potato. Per- 
 haps it is because its jacket comes off 
 so easy when it's hot, or perhaps Sir 
 Walter Raleigh first introduced it at 
 Cork. If he had overlooked it John 
 Smith would have taken it to Europe, 
 and if Sir Walter had gons exclusively 
 into the potato business on his return 
 and not aspired to the hand of old 
 Queen Elizabeth he might have saved 
 his head. But his head was of little 
 consequence to future generations, and 
 we have the potato that has sustained 
 life among thousands. 
 
 In some rural districts they have po- 
 tatoes as a steady diet, mostly with 
 salt, and for a change without salt. I 
 once took supper with a rural florist 
 and the solid edildes consisted solely 
 of fried potatoes and a blessing. The 
 latter lighter commodity came first, S3 
 its inappropriateness was not so ap- 
 parent. And with pleasure we lo:k 
 back at the evening and hope we may 
 never want for a fine dish of potatoes, 
 A volume could be written on t' e 
 many ways of cooking potatoes in this 
 its native land, but at a cheap board- 
 ing house of our first experience we 
 do not think there was so much vari- 
 ation in the method of cooking as in 
 the varieties of grease used. 
 
 The Jerusalem cherry. S. Capsicas- 
 trum. is very ornamental when well 
 grown. Select seeds from a compact 
 growing plant, sow in February or 
 March in a good heat and grow in 2- 
 inch pots till frost is gone. Plant out 
 on a light and rather poor soil. You 
 don't want a vigorous growth, but 
 want a dwarf, compact plant and plen- 
 ty of flowers. If the fruit is set before 
 you lift them, so much the better. 
 They must have no frost. They come 
 in finely for the holidays and will do 
 in any greenhouse; when well berried 
 
 they are very attractive and sell well, 
 and can be sold cheaply, as they have 
 occupied room on the benches but a 
 short time. Pinch them when first 
 planting out and again if they are 
 growing straggling. 
 
 STEPHANOTIS FLORIBUNDA. 
 
 This beautiful flower was once much 
 used for the choicest bouquets and de- 
 signs, but since the advent of the long- 
 stemmed flowers there is not the same 
 use for it. Its fine, pure white, waxy 
 flowers of delicous fragrance commend 
 it to all who have a warm house. It 
 
 STEVIA. 
 
 The only species we grow and find 
 profitable is what we know as serrati- 
 folia, or sweet stevia. It is an easily 
 grown plant, but the flower is light 
 and feathery, so that we value it high- 
 ly at the holidays, and common as it 
 may be we should miss it very much. 
 
 After flowering cut down the plants 
 to within six inches of the pots and 
 stand them in some cool, light house. 
 You will get a great many cuttings 
 from a few plants. Propagate in Feb- 
 ruary or March, and plant out end cf 
 
 
 Bunch of Stevia. 
 
 is a true climber and should be planted 
 out in a well drained border of coarse 
 loam, but its roots are best confined so 
 that they don't ramble too far. It is 
 also grown in large pots and trained to 
 a wire frame. Mealy bug is its worst 
 enemy, but it will endure any amount 
 of syringing. 
 
 A piece of the stem of the previous 
 year's growth will root freely, but pro- 
 pagation is not of consequence; one or 
 two plants is all you want. A plant I 
 remember very well was trained along 
 the roof of a small propagating house. 
 It was in a 12-inch pot, but its roots 
 had long ago passed through the pot 
 into a bed of coal ashes, and every 
 spring it bore hundreds of its lovely 
 umbels of flowers. 
 
 That was an object lesson of the 
 virtue of coal ashes; but it has been 
 long known and frequently demonstrat- 
 ed in our houses that coal ashes will 
 suit many plants. A neighbor of mine 
 uses them entirely in place of sand 
 for his propagating houses and suc- 
 ceeds quite equal to those using sand. 
 
 May. Any garden soil will do. They 
 should be at least two feet apart. Stop 
 them frequently till end of August. 
 
 Before any danger of frost lift and 
 pot into 6 or 7-inch, but let the plants 
 stand outside as long as you can. 
 When you have to take them in give 
 them the coolest (but light) bench you 
 have. You want them at the holidays, 
 and if kept light and very cool they 
 will be robust and stout and give you 
 fine spikes. Never let frost touch 
 them, but they will thrive in a very 
 low temperature. 
 
 STOCKS. 
 
 The Ten Week stocks arc beautiful 
 summer flowers, favorites with all. 
 Their cultivation is very simple and 
 for sowing seed and after care see As- 
 ter. The.v embrace many and varied 
 colors, from crimson to purest white. 
 
 We grew for many years a pure 
 white train of the Ten Week which 
 made a handsome dwarf pot plant, as 
 well as being useful for the flowers, 
 liut there is not now the same use for 
 it. 
 
206 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 The Intermediate and East Lothian 
 Stock is mucli raised in Europe for 
 winter blooming. Sow in August and 
 September and as soon as the seed 
 leaves are formed put into 2-inch and 
 shift on and flower in 5-inch, and if 
 wanted for spring use keep in cold- 
 frame. 
 
 The Brompton Stock is the most 
 handsome of all, and where it does not 
 freeze more than 15 degrees in winter 
 it is a grand flower. I have seen spikes 
 of the Brompton that I am sure were 
 more than a foot long and three inches 
 in diameter, and in a cottage garden. 
 They are a biennial, and if attempted 
 here should be sown in August, win- 
 tered in a cold-frame and planted out 
 in spring. In a more temperate cli- 
 mate they should be planted in the 
 border in October. 
 
 STORE MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The evolution of the florist's store 
 from its beginning, with most of us 
 twenty-five years ago and with the 
 oldest not more than forty years, is 
 remarkable. It has kept pace with the 
 enormous increase in the use of floweis 
 and perhaps has be?n no little incen- 
 tive to our patrons in the laudable lux- 
 uury of the use of flowers. 
 
 We can all remember when the 
 seedsman in many of our cities com- 
 bined cut flowers and plants with his 
 business. Now the line is as distinctly 
 drawn between the seed store and the 
 flower store as between a bank and a 
 liarber shop, although I have heard 
 with surprise and regret that one of 
 our most widely known New York 
 wholesale and retail seed, bulb and 
 requisite houses has recently opened 
 
 Bed of Ten- Week Stocks. 
 
 a cut flower department. This is to be 
 regretted; it is a step towards the de- 
 partment store and is to be con- 
 demned, in our line particularly and 
 on principle generally. We all re- 
 member exhibitions called florists' 
 stores. 
 
 When the florist first essayed to rent 
 a store and make it his exclusive busi- 
 ness, the window decorations consisted 
 in the main of straw baskets, a stuffed 
 dove and some beautiful designs in 
 wheat, all suggestive of the inevitable, 
 but nothing to gladden the eye or 
 heart. The gradual transition to the 
 modern, first class store of today would 
 bs interesting to note were it any ben- 
 efit, and what will be the appearance, 
 appointments and tempting luxuries of- 
 fered to the public by the florist of a 
 future generation would be highly in- 
 teresting could we foresee the higher 
 development of our busin3ss. Prom a 
 basement or a narrow, cheap store the 
 florist now demands the best stores iu 
 our very best streets. 
 
 Before I attempt to say what a high 
 class retail store should be it is quite 
 pertinent to mention a few things that 
 it should not be. The florists and 
 their clerks (or more properly shop- 
 men) must have the reputation for 
 good temper, civility and a most pa- 
 tient and obliging disposition, for the 
 florist is asked more questions and 
 more little favors than any other class 
 of shopkeepers. If a lady faints ia 
 the street car she is carried into the 
 florist's store. If a glass of water is 
 wanted by a temperance man, if your 
 neighbor wants to use the telephone, 
 if a stranger wants to know where Mr. 
 Tile, the hatter, is, or even when one 
 lady will meet another, it is all at Mr. 
 
 Bud's, the florist, that they come in. A 
 civil, polite answer should be gi'ven to 
 all. Perhaps by discreet affability you 
 have made a friend. 
 
 You store should never be known as 
 a place where other florists congre- 
 gate. If they have any business with 
 you. let them do it quickly and get out. 
 No loungers of any kind, friends of 
 your own or of your employees, male 
 or female, should be tolerated dur- 
 ing business hours. Book agents, and 
 what we are fearfully pestered with, 
 advertising agents, should receive a 
 civil but short answer. Drummers of 
 all kinds should be put in a back room 
 to wait your convenience, or if that is 
 not agreeable to them then told to 
 come around, if you need them, after 
 business is over. Be sure and avoid 
 having a group of three or four grow- 
 ers in the rear of your store discuss- 
 ing with animation the merits of the 
 new carnations. If you are a grower 
 yourself break up the meeting by lead- 
 ing them around the corner; it is 
 cheaper and there they can argue with 
 lubricated energy while you step back 
 to attend to your business, for in these 
 days of keen competition and all try- 
 ing to excel, nothing but the closest 
 attention to all departments o t your 
 business will bring even moderate suc- 
 cess. 
 
 To be known as a reliable and 
 prompt business man among your pa- 
 trons is a blessing. To have the repu- 
 tation of a good-natured, jolly fellow 
 among your brother florists is a mis- 
 fortune. You can be good, you can be 
 jolly, even a philanthropist, but in 
 self-defense and self-preservation sub- 
 ordinate the effervescence of your good 
 nature till the appropriate occasions 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL, 
 
 View from the Front. 
 
 View (rom tile Kear. 
 
 A Well Appointed Florist's Store, 
 
208 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 arrive. Your lady customers notice 
 loungers and it maizes an unfavorable 
 impression, deeper and more lasting 
 than their pleasant features indicate. 
 
 Every wide-awake man will know 
 what locality is best suited to his busi- 
 ness in his own city. Where business 
 men pass to and fro is the best of all 
 locations, for with due respect to the 
 gentler sex the men are our best cus- 
 tomers. The ladies may be the inspira- 
 tion by which they buy, but through 
 the men come our best sales. They buy 
 quicker, larger and want the best re- 
 gardless of cost. The fashionable 
 shopping district of our cities is the 
 place for a florist's store, and I think 
 I have seen some cities where with ad- 
 vantage a good store could be opened 
 a long way from the business center of 
 the city but in the residential part of 
 the town. 
 
 Yo\ir store should be always clean, 
 neat and attractive. Your window is 
 the chief advertisement of your busi- 
 ness and that should never be two 
 days alike. Some men may have a 
 large stock of flowers and place a large 
 quantity in their window; yet they 
 were put in, or rather jammed in, re- 
 gardless of color or taste and were no 
 attraction to the cultivated taste of 
 the passer-by. Y'ou may not be able 
 to have 360 varieties in one year, but 
 you can always change it sufficiently 
 so as to appear to the public fr-?sh and 
 new each day. and let there be some 
 distinctive feature each day. A very 
 first class florist in one of our large 
 western cities who keeps six or seven 
 yo\ing men in the store allots to each 
 one in turn the duty of arranging the 
 window display. 
 
 Some may say many flowers can be 
 used up and wasted in these window 
 
 Corner in a Florist's Store in November. 
 
 decorations. There need be little waste 
 if properly managed, for it is not the 
 quantity but the taste displaysd that 
 makes an attractive window, and if it 
 does cost something in sacrifice of 
 flowers it is far cheaper than any othor 
 kind of advertising. On a recent win- 
 ter visit to Philadelphia, in a fine win- 
 dow of the leading florist of Chestnut 
 street the window decoration was a 
 heavy branch of an elm tree, estend- 
 
 A Florbt's Store at Easter. 
 
 ing the whole width of the window 
 and on it at intervals were tied sprays 
 of Cattleya Trianae. Thousands weie 
 stopping to admire it. This is the 
 idea, and whether it be orchids or 
 only a vase of coreopsis it should be 
 clean, neat, fresh, distinct and a gem 
 if possible. 
 
 As in poetry so in flowers; it is not 
 volubility that is highly appreciated, it 
 is the clear cut gems that immortalize 
 their authors. Longfellow's "Villag? 
 Blacksmith" is worth a whole library 
 of gush and slush which often passes 
 for poetry. 
 
 The interior of your store should be 
 also attractive. Where a rushing 
 business is done there must be some 
 little confusion, hut the making up or 
 boxing of flowers can be done in the 
 rear and not at the counter where saks 
 are made. The ice-box is a great fea- 
 ture of the present flower store. Next 
 to the window it is the principal at- 
 traction and should not be in a remote 
 corner but should be conspicuous to 
 every one who enters the store. If a 
 man enters the store to purchase a 
 .5-cent carnation for his buttonhole he 
 may be attracted by the beautiful 
 flowers in the glass case, and if they 
 have not tempted him sufficiently to 
 affect his pocket they have made a 
 favorable impression, and it is by a 
 succession of favorable impressions 
 followed by good and prompt service 
 that fortunes are made, not by sudden 
 leaps into popularity. 
 
 The salesmen, and sometimes they 
 are women, should be as neat, clean 
 and. if possible, as attractive as their 
 surroundings. The young men should 
 neither chew tobacco nor the girls 
 gum, eat onions, drink beer or any- 
 thing stronger during business hours. 
 
The FLORISTS' MAlNfUAL. 
 
 209 
 
 The ability or genius to make a sales- 
 man is a gift with birth. Ability cau 
 be greatly improved by study and ex- 
 perience and an earnest endeavor to 
 reach the ideal, but a thoroughly ac- 
 complished salesman is as much a 
 genius as a great painter or sculptor. 
 
 I am by no means one of those who 
 believe that genius is the steady ap- 
 plication and industry devoted to a 
 certain object. Such is ths definition 
 liy some modern philosopher (Carlyle, 
 I think) of genius. My humble opin- 
 ion is that genius is inherited from an 
 ancestor or ancestors, immediate or re- 
 mote, and improved and glorified by 
 the chance of environment. So if you 
 have not the gifts that make a good 
 salesman seek other departments of 
 the liusiness. If a man has no faculty 
 behind the counter he may be a good 
 decorator, or in the packing and dis- 
 patch of orders he may show great ex- 
 ecutive ability. 
 
 A little book was handed me many 
 years ago by my brother. Its title 
 was, "How to Make Money and How 
 to Keep It." As the book came from 
 a fine public lil)rary I devoured it with 
 eagerness, confident I had struck a 
 jewel. The first part of the book was 
 devoted to advice in the various mer- 
 
 Two Views in a Florist's Store. 
 
 cantile walks of life and every chap- 
 ter finished off strongly and impressed 
 on the reader "to be polite." Over 
 and over again was the simple instruc- 
 tion. "Be polite." The latter part of 
 the book could be summed up in a 
 few words, which are simply this: 
 After you have acquired a competence 
 in some pursuit you understand, don't 
 go into a business or enterprise you do 
 not understand. 
 Undoubtedly politeness is a greai 
 
 factor to success, and cannot possib'.y 
 be out of place with every class of your 
 customers. The quantity and quality 
 of the affability shown your customer.^ 
 is pui'e tact, and too much suavity in- 
 discreetly applied is as bad as none at 
 all. This is the part of the salesman's 
 ability that is a natural gift and so 
 hard to acquire. The hurried man of 
 business, often our most liberal buyers, 
 wants no superfluous chat of any kind. 
 Neither does the aristocratic lady who 
 
 forgets her grandfather carried a hod. 
 The motherly matron may want to 
 tell you about her sick husband or her 
 injured limb caused by the runaway 
 of her team. For her you have an at- 
 tentive ear and sympathy, and so you 
 should for the worthy but poor people 
 who want some flowers for a bereave- 
 ment. To accommodate them with 
 their wants to match their purse is 
 tact. We can no more have all pleas- 
 ant people to purchase our goods than 
 we can expect all church members to 
 be virtuous people. We must adapt 
 ourselves to our customers' tempera- 
 ment as far as possible without losing 
 self-respect. This is not hypocrisy, 
 it is fitting ourselves to the require- 
 ments of our business. 
 
 All articles should be just what they 
 are represented or promised. A bunch 
 of roses that will fall to pieces when 
 taken from the box. violets that have 
 been twenty-four hours' in the ice-box, 
 or carnations about to close their pet- 
 als in slumber, will be very disappoint- 
 ing and leave with your patron an 
 impression that takes a lot of good be- 
 havior to efface. 
 
 There are too many retailers that 
 have only one price, and supposedly 
 only one quality of flowers. If you are 
 only going to keep one quality then it 
 should be the best, and some very high 
 class stores may find it unprofitable 
 to do otherwise, but the great major- 
 ity of florists have, and want to have, 
 several grades of flowers in the lead- 
 ing articles. Take carnations, for in- 
 stance, we have been too much on the 
 one price system. "What do you cliarga 
 for your carnations?" "Fifty cents a 
 dozen," or some price, according to 
 season, is the same old answer. It 
 should be more in this style: "These 
 are Sl.oO per dozen, these $1.00, these 
 75 cents, and we have some not so fine 
 
210 
 
 The FlORiSTS' Manual. 
 
 worth 50 cents." The same with- roses 
 and violets and all other flowers. It is 
 the same witli all other businesses, 
 and why not with ours, where quality 
 varies so greatly? 
 
 The most important feature in our 
 business next to quality of goods and 
 polite attention to customers, is 
 promptness. Many an elderly man is 
 worrying to get his orders off prompt- 
 ly on the time promised and agreed for 
 their delivery, while his shopmen are 
 lolling around with the serene manner 
 and thought that the old man need not 
 fret himself, the wedding is not till .7 
 o'clock, or the party till 3 p. m., or the 
 funeral till tomorrow. When these 
 events occur is no business of yours; 
 you have promised the order at a cer- 
 tain hour and you should never fail to 
 keep your promise. There may be sev- 
 eral reasons why the order was wanted 
 at a certain hour, of which you were 
 entirely unaware. No part of the busi- 
 ness is more important than prompt- 
 ness, and in no nart do I notice a 
 greater inclination to ignore it. A 
 reputation for a late and disappointing 
 delivery is a deplorable handicap to 
 success. 
 
 Finally the three great requisites lo 
 success are to keep and supply a good 
 article, be prompt and deliver all or- 
 ders how, when and where you prom- 
 ised, and treat your customers with 
 polite deference and respect. If yovi 
 are asked for an article which you d:i 
 
 one grown by the commercial florist. 
 The young shoots root readily in an 
 ordinary propagating bed. They grow 
 quickly and if given much root room 
 will not flower for a long time. They 
 are hardly of consequence enough to 
 
 SWEET PEAS. 
 
 Of late years the greatly improved 
 varieties and beautiful colors of the 
 sweet peas have brought them up to 
 be one of our most important spring 
 
 Two Views of a Store Interior. 
 
 not have, procure it if possible to 
 olilige, but never promise what you are 
 afraid you cannot supply. You will 
 never seriously offend a customer by 
 declining an order, but you will have 
 given great offense by promising and 
 not fulfilling. 
 
 SWAINSONA GALEGIFOLIA. 
 
 There are red, pink and white forms 
 of this plant and the latter is the only 
 
 occupy bench room, but where you 
 have a chance to plant them out in a 
 box or confined space at the end of a 
 house the flowers will be at times very 
 useful. 
 
 Pot very firmly in some good, coarse 
 sod. They can be thinned out and cut 
 back in the spring. A carnation house 
 temperature will suit them very well. 
 I know of no use that we can make of 
 them as small plants. 
 
 flowers. And what can be more truly 
 springlike, for these you cannot have 
 any day in the year as we do now have 
 many of our other flowers. Early 
 April is as soon as sweet peas are seen 
 in any quantity, and they are then a 
 luxury, but middle to end of June they 
 are everybody's flower, and as long 
 as they last are favorites with all. We 
 have seen cool, moist summers when 
 the peas lasted till cut off liy frost, but 
 usually our hot, dry August winds 
 them up. 
 
 For forcing under glass they can be 
 sown in early September. If you de- 
 vote a whole bench to them the rows 
 ought to run north and south and be 
 2 feet 6 inches apart. Sow thinly and 
 support with chicken netting. My ex- 
 perience is that in a solid, deep bed 
 under glass they grow too strong and 
 do not flower freely, so I would rather 
 give them six inches of soil, rather 
 heavy and firm, with little if any ma- 
 nure. The first bed we tried under 
 glass in a fine, light house was a fail- 
 ure because the roots had too much 
 room and too good a soil. 
 
 We sow a few seeds by the iron sup- 
 ports in our carnation houses on the 
 north side of a middle bench. They 
 
 LONG'S 
 
 FI.OBISTS' FHOTOOBAPHS. 
 
 7I.ORAI. ART CATAI.OGUE. 
 
 Blank Order Sheets, Stationery, 
 Stock Booklets and Folders, 
 Florists' Printing to order. Lists and Samples free. 
 Write to DAN'L B. LONG, Publisher, Buffalo, N.Y. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 2n 
 
 Interior and Exterior Views of a New York Store. 
 
212 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 take up little room till February and 
 as they grow the light is growing 
 stronger every day. They certainly do 
 impair the growth of one or two car- 
 nation plants, but you will get ten 
 times the money from these sweet 
 peas that you would from the plant or 
 two of carnations. Two or three 
 
 rows. It will help keep the ground moist 
 and be of the greatest benefit whf?u 
 you water. Unless we get a rainy sea- 
 son you must water. Give the ground 
 not only close to the plants but all the 
 surface a thorough soaking twice a 
 wo?k if you want your crop to last. An- 
 other important thing to observe is to 
 
 days is of great importance in the 
 sweet pea market in spring. 
 
 Within a few years the varieties of 
 sweet peas have become very numer- 
 ous, and many of them of great beauty. 
 Mr. Eckford has been largely instru- 
 mental in this. Mr. Eckford first bs- 
 came an enthusiast on the verbena 
 and later turned his attention to sweet 
 peas. Mr. E. has probably never heard 
 of the writer, but when I was 10 years 
 old I knew him, when he first went 
 to be head gardener to Dr. Martin, of 
 Purbrook, Hants, England. Dr. Mar- 
 tin was one of the pioneers of dentist- 
 ry, who charged $10 to look in your 
 moutii, $10 more to pull a toothy and 
 $50 more for a new one. But as he 
 spent his leisure time and moni3y in 
 gardening his extravagant charges 
 were most commendable. 
 
 Some of the finest sweet peas are a.s 
 follows: Mrs. J. Chamberlain, white 
 stripsd rose; Lovely, beautiful pink; 
 America, white striped red; Stanley, 
 deep maroon: Raraona, pale pink; 
 Maid of Honor, white tipped lilac; 
 Golden Gleam, primrose yellow: Mars, 
 bright crimson; Countess of Radnor 
 Improved, fine lavender; Royal Rose, 
 very fine rose; Lady Penzance, orange 
 tinted carmine: Blanche Ferry, extra, 
 white and pink; Blanche Burpee, best 
 white; Catherine Tracy, daybreak 
 
 strings are run up by the side of the 
 post for the peas to climb on, and an 
 occasional tie is needed to keep them 
 within bounds. Two strong plants are 
 plenty at each post, but sow enough 
 seed so that you can thin out. If not 
 convenient to sow the seed on the bed 
 then sow in 3-inch pots and later trans- 
 plant. They do not make much growth 
 in the dark days of winter, and 50 de- 
 grees is about as high as they should 
 be kept in winter. 
 
 For outside they should be the very 
 first thing sown in the spring, the mo- 
 ment the ground is dry enough to plow 
 or spade, or better still, it can be dug 
 up rough in the fall, and will need no 
 digging in the spring. Draw tr?nches 
 three or four inches broad and the 
 same in depth, three feet apart, sow 
 thinly and cover with an inch of soil. 
 If you think it's going to be dry pour 
 some water on top of the seed before 
 you covar in with earth; it will hasten 
 the growth. At the first hoeing you 
 can let the earth be drawn in a little 
 higher around the stems, but if the 
 trench is somewhat l)elow the lev^l all 
 the better for future waterings. 
 
 The soil for peas out of doors should 
 be deep and rich. There is nothing 
 equal to brush to support them, which 
 should always be placed with a line of 
 it on each side, when the growth is 
 only two or three inches high, not 
 waiting till the peas are up a foot and 
 have fallen over to one side. We 
 don't suffer with drought usually up 
 to fiowering time, but a short whils be- 
 fore you begin to pick you should 
 spread 2 or 3 inches of stable litter en- 
 tirely over the ground between the 
 
 Some New York Stores at Christmas. 
 
 pick all the fiowers. If they escape 
 you they will quickly go to seed and 
 then your plant gets exha\isted. 
 
 Some growers sow in October and by 
 this means I have seen flowers picked 
 ten days earlier than those sown on 
 the same ground in April. You must 
 judge for yourself the best week to 
 sow, according to the weather. You 
 don't want them to make any growth 
 above the ground, just sprouting near 
 the surface is enough, but sow four 
 inches deep. For this purpose choose 
 a rather high part of your ground 
 where surface water will not lie. Ten 
 
 pink; Little Dorrit, fine pink; Aurora, 
 striped orange and white; Her Majes- 
 ty, rose and carmine: Gray Friar, white 
 clouded with lilac; Emily Henderson, 
 a standard white; King of the Blues, a 
 handsome purplish blue. 
 
 Perhaps many of these fine varieties 
 will soon be superseded. It would be 
 inadvisable to grow too many kinds 
 under glass, and less will do. If limited 
 to five kinds I would say the best for 
 forcing are: Emily Henderson, white; 
 Blanche Ferry, pink and white; Count- 
 ess of Radnor, lavender; Golden Gleam, 
 yellow; Catherine Tracy, light pink. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 2i3 
 
 Some New York Stores at Christmas. 
 
 SYSTEM. 
 
 This is a plant that wants cultivat- 
 ing in a good many smaller establish- 
 ments, and its introduction into some 
 large ones would not be amiss. 
 
 I think it is a great advantage to 
 a gardener when he has been educated 
 where neatness and cleanliness were 
 strictly enforced, even if it were a pri- 
 vate garden. The worst cases of disor- 
 der we see are where a man has left 
 the shoemaker's bench or the machine 
 shop or the ofBce, and we have even 
 known where they have left the pulpit 
 for the pulpit's good and m.^ide horri- 
 bly bad florists. When a young man i.^ 
 wavering between the church and the 
 greenhouse always take to the church. 
 
 There is less dirt and more spirtuality 
 about the church, and you would not 
 be always thinking about what you 
 might have been if you became a flor- 
 ist. While looking for your salary In 
 the church will always prevent your 
 pining after the greenhouse. 
 
 I must admit though that there are 
 instances in this country of young men 
 total strangers to the business who 
 have entered it and made a marked 
 success of it, setting us all a bright ex- 
 ample by their systematic manage- 
 ment and orderly and business-like 
 methods. Their places are models of 
 neatness. But they are the great ex- 
 ception and those I refer to are bright, 
 intelligent men whom nature blessed 
 
 with brains, and they would shine in 
 any business. 
 
 If order is the first law of nature, it 
 ought most assuredly to be carried 
 into the greenhouse, for outs are most 
 perishable goods and disorder is not 
 only unsightly but a great pecuniary 
 loss. These remarks are not intended 
 for the bright, well trained greenhouse 
 man, for he knows the value of order 
 and system, but there are hundreds 
 who keep their places in a dirty mud- 
 dle from one year's end to the other. 
 I have no patience with the man who 
 lets his place get fearfully untidy and 
 dirty and then has a grand clean up. 
 People will form an impression of 
 your place as they usually see it and 
 perhaps won't see it just aftsr you have 
 had the great house cleaning. 
 
 Untidiness is not accident or press 
 of business, it is pure carelessness. 
 Fifty dead or cut down plants standing 
 on the edge of tha path is too much 
 for you to carry back to the shed at 
 one time, but if the workman who put 
 the first one or half dozen there had 
 carried them back and dumped them 
 and put the pots away then? would 
 have been none there. Untidiness does 
 not arise from want of time, not in the 
 least; it is solely the habit of not put- 
 ting things in their right places at the 
 right time. Some men don't know the 
 difference between a heap of old soil 
 that is sure to come in handy for some 
 purpose and a heap composed of bro- 
 ken glass, wood, old plants and dead 
 cats. It's all alike to them, and is 
 thrown out with the indifference that 
 you see the refuse of the tenement 
 house go out of the back window. 
 
 How much time is lost in the mislay- 
 ing of tools, or worse still, loaning 
 them. Neither borrow nor loan tools 
 unless it be something like a steam- 
 roller that you are not warranted in 
 buying. Borrow nor loan no tools. 
 They are far worse in the country at 
 borrowing than in the cities; and they 
 don't say, "Could I have the loan of 
 your post auger?" but "I come up for 
 that post auger I saw you use t'other 
 day." Another sample of waste of 
 time is when Jack says, "Where's the 
 monkey wrench, Bill?" Bill says, "I 
 guess you'll find it in the stoke hole. 
 Bob was fixin' the boiler yesterday." 
 And so it goes. 
 
 Keap your tools where they belong. 
 Keep your flats piled up neatly. Let 
 your sash be in use or properly stood 
 up against a wall or fence. Let your 
 compost piles be neat and in order. 
 Have a proper place for your watering 
 cans. And above all have your pots al- 
 ways in their sizes in neat rows, not 
 under a bench in many different sizes 
 all mixed up. Some men like to buy 
 pots before they have half used up 
 what they already have. 
 
 Here is a sample where disorder 
 comes in. The driver from a store or 
 the delivery man brings home an aza- 
 lea out of bloom and two or three 
 other flowering plants that are past, 
 or perhaps a fiat half full of gera- 
 niums that were not used at the fiower 
 gardening job. He jumps off the wag- 
 on, slings the flat and its contents on 
 
214 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 the ground by the shed wall, and then 
 asks for another job. The n?xt man 
 that wants a flat in a hurry throws out 
 the plants and runs off on his errand. 
 A pot or two is broken, or the plants 
 are run over, all because the driver did 
 not take a minute's time to dump the 
 useless plant and put the oth?rs in the 
 shed where they would be attended to. 
 
 are not quite good enough or not in 
 flower don't leave them standing out 
 alone to dry out; bunch them up with 
 the lot. Your precious tinne will not 
 be missed, for it will only lake a sec- 
 ond and will be better for the plants, 
 better in appearance, and much better 
 for the man who waters. And so with 
 all your plants. 
 
 running a greenhouse, but do let it be 
 clean, neat and orderly, and it will 
 cover many other deficiencies. Never 
 scruple or sigh at having to throw 
 away any plants that you see there is 
 no sale for. If you made a mistake 
 the quickest way to recover is to out 
 with them. The ability to discard use- 
 less stock is only second to the abil- 
 ity to grow good plants. 
 
 Having everything in at the right 
 time it is wanted is one of the great- 
 est accomplishments of a good florist, 
 and next is having your stock well 
 balanced, not propagating or growing 
 twice as much as you can dispose of 
 of any article. You have your past 
 experience to guide you and should 
 know the probable demand for tho 
 next. You can't grow everything and 
 what you don't succeed with, buy if 
 you must have It. The man who tries 
 to grow everything he is asked for 
 will never succeed. 
 
 You must never b? bothered with the 
 best of meaning people who bring you 
 seeds or plants for you to grow be- 
 cause they are curiosities, and Gen. 
 Candl)eef sent the seeds to her from 
 Cuba, or Lieut. Floater brought them 
 from Manila. The plants of the whole 
 world are pretty well known now and 
 they will be nothing desirable for you. 
 Tell the kind person that you are 
 afraid they would not get attention 
 among your men, who only have a 
 knowledge of common commercial 
 plants, but you are sure Mr. Private 
 Gardener, your neighbor, or the Bot- 
 
 AU that may be a trifle, but a lot of 
 such performances creates great con- 
 fusion. You can do your work quick- 
 er, better, and feel more comfortable 
 and happy all around when things are 
 in order. And depend upon it orderly 
 places are the prosperous ones. 
 
 In the greenhouse among the plants 
 is still more need of system and order. 
 The old-fashioned way of years ago of 
 having a bench all mixed up with flfty 
 species of plants like a fourth class 
 botanic garden is played out. We 
 knew greenhouses, some not so long 
 ago, that always looked alike the year 
 round. A cactus and sanchezia and Be- 
 gonia Rex and Hoya carnosa beautiful- 
 ly (?) arranged. A show house is all 
 right, where a few of the brightest 
 and best of all you have should be 
 shown off, and that should be changed 
 as often as possible. Let your show 
 house undergo a transformation scene 
 very frequently, as your store window 
 does daily. 
 
 In other houses everything should be 
 in blocks. They are better cared for 
 in every way and look better; it is the 
 only way. Stand over your plants fre- 
 quently, small, fast growing plants es- 
 pecially, and it is much easier to throw 
 your leaves and rubbish into a bushel 
 basket than it is to throw them on 
 the path and then have to sweep them 
 up. 
 
 We frequently have hot words in the 
 spring with the men when picking out 
 plants or filling orders. If a hundred 
 geraniums are wanted of one kind take 
 them as they come. If two or three 
 
 'Views in Two Stores. 
 
 Stand all rows of plants straight 
 across the bench, and neVer crowd for 
 want of room, nor spread them out for 
 appearance sake. There is a right dis- 
 tance for the plants and they should 
 have it, neither more nor less. 
 
 anic Gardens would be delighted with 
 them. 
 
 Division of labor is a great thing. 
 The operations in a greenhouse are 
 very diverse. Put men at what they 
 can do well and quickly. And there is 
 
 I cannot mention all the details of no labor, either in potting, watering, 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual 
 
 2i5 
 
 Window Display Symbolizing the Pan-American Exposition. 
 
 tying or setting over plants, but what 
 sliould be done quickly and with a 
 rush. When men get accustomed to 
 work quickly at these light jobs it is 
 no effort to keep it up and it must be 
 done quickly or it won't pay. When 
 you set a man to turn over fifty loads 
 of earth don't expect big shovels and 
 quick work all the time. Have mercy; 
 you shoveled once yourself and may 
 again. 
 
 THUNBERGIA ALATA. 
 
 There are few prettier basket plants 
 than the above, and its variety T. 
 aurantiaca. Their flower resembles a 
 miniature convolvulus. They are an- 
 nuals and easily raised from seed sown 
 in March. Being true climbers they 
 are most suitable for our hanging 
 baskets. 
 
 Sow the seed, which is quite large, in 
 light soil and keep in good heat. When 
 well up pot into 2%-inch pots; why I 
 say 2%-inch is to give them room to 
 grow, for if stunted early they soon 
 get infested with red spider, in fact 
 they are very badly addicted to it, and 
 that is their chief defect. 
 
 When put into a basket they grow 
 quickly and soon wind up the wires or 
 hang over the sides. They should not 
 be at a lower temperature than 60 de- 
 grees at any time, and are not suited 
 for a basket in a windy situation. 
 
 TORENIA. 
 
 These pretty plants are grown for 
 conservatory decoration, T. Fournierii 
 being one of the prettiest species, but 
 would not be a florist's flower. T. asi- 
 atica is often used with us as a bed- 
 ding plant, being a fine plant for an 
 edging. Its blue and violet flowers are 
 very pretty and a change from the 
 prevalent reds of our flower gardens. 
 
 It can be raised from seed sown in 
 February and afterwards grown on in 
 flats or put into small pots and plant- 
 ed out when settled warm weather ar- 
 rives. 
 
 It can also be carried over winter by 
 putting in cuttings in August and fur- 
 ther propagated during winter ami 
 spring. Any good ordinary soil will 
 grow it. Fumigate, for it is troubled 
 with greenfly and it requires a high 
 temperature at all times. In the 
 
 flower garden it should have a rich 
 soil, and it thrives well in partial 
 shade. 
 
 TROPAEOLUM (NASTURTIUM). 
 
 This useful genus is very familiar 
 to all. The tall nasturtium is one of 
 the best plants for covering fences or 
 walls when given some strings or 
 brush to climb on. The dwarf nastur- 
 tium is used as a bedding plant and in 
 mixed borders its round, compact 
 clumps have a fine appearance. They 
 are always treated as annuals and al- 
 though growing most freely in our 
 summers they will not endure the 
 slightest frost. 
 
 The dwarf varieties of the nastur- 
 tium are not always a success as a 
 bedding plant because they are planted 
 in too rich a soil and the leaves hide 
 the flower-s. Plant in rather poor soil 
 in the full sun, and you will have bet- 
 ter results. The double forms of the 
 nasturtium were formerly used as a 
 bedding plant, but we have many bet- 
 ter plants for the purpose. A dark scar- 
 let variety of the tall form is often 
 grown in an 8 or 10-inch pot and 
 
216 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 trained up a rafter where it will give 
 mahy flowers in any greenhouse where 
 the temperature is not under 50 de- 
 grees. 
 
 Both the tall and dwarf forms are too 
 easily raised from seed for us to think 
 of them as bedding plants, but as a 
 plant for our veranda boxes they are 
 of consequence, their fine, bright green 
 leaves and showy flowers being always 
 liked by our patrons and soon filling 
 up and making a fine show. We never 
 remember having any left when trade 
 was over by middle of June. 
 
 Obtain the best strain you can of 
 
 strain for bedding you can buy any 
 variety true to color and some of the 
 foliage of these is very distinct. 
 
 Varieties of T. Lobbianum grow a=; 
 finely as the common nasturtium. The 
 foliage is somewhat smaller, but they 
 flower in gi'eat profusion. 
 
 TUBEROSE (POLIANTHES TUBE- 
 ROSA). 
 
 We can remember in another coun- 
 try when, if asked to deliver a dozen 
 tuberose bulbs to a customer, they 
 were as much trouble to procure as it 
 
 A Florist's Uniformed Driver and Messengers. 
 
 the tall growing kinds, and sow middle 
 of March, As soon as they have formed 
 their seed leaves pot into 2%-inch and 
 keep them in a temperature of 50 da- 
 grees. They will grow very fast and in 
 any soil. If grown on the bench they 
 will quickly become unmanageable, so 
 we put them on a hanging shelf where 
 they will get air and light and occa- 
 sionally short of water, which does not 
 hurt them at all. but induces them to 
 fiower. Their roots when put into the 
 basket or vase have not much room to 
 spread and they flower freely. 
 
 There are many named varieties of 
 the tall growing nasturtiums, but we 
 find a good mixture answers every 
 purpose. In the dwarf or Tom Thumb 
 
 would be now to get a young kangaroo 
 from Tasmania. And we can also re- 
 member when they were used here 
 with us to such an extent that the peo- 
 ple utterly tired of them, or fashion 
 said so. Twenty-five years ago they 
 were a flower of the first importance. 
 But how have the mighty fallen! To 
 put in cheap cut flowers is about all 
 you can do with them. Nevertheless 
 it is a beautiful sweet flower. 
 
 The bulbs are now offered so cheap- 
 ly that the cost is of no consideration 
 if you have the room to grow them. 
 The raising of bulbs is done by plant- 
 ing the young offshoots in the spring 
 in good, rich land and in favorable 
 seasons they will make a flowering 
 bulb by the following fall. But that 
 
 better be left to those who have a suit- 
 able soil, a genial climate and cheap 
 help, although as far north as Ohio 
 good bulbs are raised. 
 
 Tuberose bulbs should never be sent 
 by rail during a cold spell. A slight 
 frost will destroy them and a low tem- 
 perature for a few days will much in- 
 jure them. When unpacked keep them 
 in fiats in a shed which is never below 
 50 degrees. We pull off all offshoots 
 and scrape off all signs of any side 
 growth and cut square off the hard root 
 growth below the bulb. Fill some 
 flats, such flats as we use for tulips, 
 with a mixture of sand and loam, about 
 half and half, and plant the bulbs about 
 two inches apart, putting bottom of 
 biilb an inch into the soil. If kept 
 moist with the flats placed on or just 
 over some hot water pipes growth will 
 soon begin and in two or three weeks 
 we pot them into 4-inch and place them 
 in a mild hot-bed. This gives us good, 
 strong plants by starting them in 
 March to sell at bedding time. 
 
 For your own use you can start them 
 still later in the same way. Where you 
 have good light, warm soil you can 
 plant them out, but they come cleaner 
 and finer when grown in pots under 
 glass, and you have usually plenty of 
 bench room in the summer months. 
 They make many roots and when 
 growing want lots of water. 
 
 The spikes are now sold very cheap- 
 ly, but you should always raise a thou- 
 sand or more, for you can raise them 
 very cheaply and although there is or 
 was a foolish prejudice against them 
 they are a sweet and most beautiful 
 flower and will come very useful on 
 many occasions. 
 
 VALLOTA PURPUREA. 
 
 This is generally called amaryllis. 
 but is botanically a genus of its own, 
 and one of the most beatuiful of its 
 class. Having seen some plants of 
 these very recently grown in 8-in. pots 
 with nine to twelve spikes and thirty 
 flowers, under the care of a matron 
 who had nothing but a cottage win- 
 dow, it seems worthy of some notice. 
 It flowers during summer. 
 
 Three bulbs in an S-inch pot will 
 make a fine display when they are well 
 established. Dry bulbs can be bought 
 in the spring, but it should be treated 
 as an evergreen bulb, and during win- 
 ter they should be kept cool with less 
 water, but not dust dry or be disturbed. 
 Plant the bulbs tour inches below the 
 surface. They may not flower the first 
 year, but will in a year or two get well 
 established, and in June or July send 
 up a number of spikes with their 
 handsome red and pink flowers. 
 
 V. purpurea is the species, and V. p. 
 fximia is a grand variety. To grow 
 them well they should be given a cool 
 but light bench in winter and be kept 
 moderately dry. In May when they 
 begin to grow give them plenty of 
 water. Drain the pot when starting 
 new bulbs, and use good fibrous loam 
 with a fourth of decayed manure. 
 
The Rorists' Manual 
 
 2J7 
 
 A Corner in a Florist's Store. 
 
 VASES. 
 
 The florist adjacent to or in a town 
 or city and who does a general retail 
 business will have many vases to fill, 
 and if his establishment is near a lead- 
 ing cemetery it will be one of the prin- 
 cipal features of his trade. I know 
 several who consider it their most im- 
 portant business. 
 
 Filling vases for cemeteries in some 
 cities is at a price very close t(j any 
 profitable margin, and if one or two 
 set the price low the rest have to fol- 
 low, for few people will pay more than 
 their neighbor does. In some cemeter- 
 ies the florist agrees to fill and water 
 the vase for the season, and although 
 the price charged for the watering, 
 $2.00 to $2.50, for watering a vase from 
 June 1st to the time frost kills the 
 plants, does not seem much to charge 
 it is by far the most profitable part of 
 the business if you have two or three 
 hundred of them. 
 
 I know some florists who have al- 
 most a "corner" on certain cemeteries, 
 and there they charge a good price for 
 filling, including a coat of paint. We 
 are so situated we cannot do that. We 
 charge 50 cents for one coat of paint 
 and 75 cents for two coats. 
 
 Our best cemeteries are now kept in 
 the most perfect shape, walks, drives 
 and grass kept as trim as in the private 
 grounds of the wealthy, and with shade 
 trees scattered here and there in judi- 
 cious groupings, the pleasant surround- 
 ings marred only by the over-use of 
 monuments and statuary which in their 
 
 glaring whiteness dispel at once any 
 comfortable or cheerful feeling that 
 might otherwise be associated with a 
 cemetery. And the innumerable white 
 iron vases only still further add to the 
 cold dismalness of the scene. Why 
 should it be so? 
 
 Some day a better and more ad- 
 vanced idea of our final resting place 
 will be shown by subduing the osten- 
 tatious display of wealth and marble. 
 Graves will be leveled and a small 
 marker will denote the spot where the 
 departed lies, and the whole cemetery 
 will be a beautiful garden with its 
 necessary features reduced to incon- 
 spicuousness. Monuments are not by 
 their size and cost the slightest indi- 
 cation of the worth or genius of the 
 person gone before. The most common- 
 place man lies at the foot of an impos- 
 ing column, while the remains of a 
 President of the United States rests 
 near a humble stone. But this lavish 
 display is good in one way, it distrib- 
 utes wealth and the greatest good a 
 wealthy man can do with his money 
 is to spend it. Work is the best of all 
 charities. We can help some by telling 
 our customers to have their iron vases 
 painted dark green or drab; a few are, 
 laut not enough. 
 
 Most of our vases, whether for the 
 grounds or cemeteries, are iron, stone, 
 or rustic wood work. The stone vases 
 are usually large, are costly but much 
 superior to any in appearance. I have 
 never noticed any difference in the 
 health of the plants in either of these 
 
 styles. Sometimes the handsome, 
 massive stone vases are left without 
 any outlet for the water to escape; al- 
 ways see tO' that if you are consulted. 
 If a long dry spell occurs they do very 
 well, but if we get a week's rain in 
 July the consequence is disastrous. 
 
 The wooden vases, or baskets as they 
 should be called, are lined with green 
 moss, before the soil is filled in. Plants 
 always do well in them but as the 
 drainage is most perfect they take an 
 awful lot of water in August and Sep- 
 tember to keep them green. 
 
 Plants do excellently in iron vases. 
 The great majority of the iron vases 
 are now what is called of the reservoir 
 pattern. There is an iron basin which 
 holds three inches of water immediate- 
 ly below the roots separated from the 
 earth by the casting but connected with 
 the water in the center by a funnel of 
 two inches in diameter which dips into 
 the water and which we fill with sphag- 
 num. The inventor meant it to be 
 filled with a sponge so that the soil 
 would be always soaking up the water 
 by capillary attraction. This also 
 works well in dry seasons but in wet 
 times when the reservoir is always 
 full the soil gets saturated and the 
 plants die, and we frequently have to 
 lift off the top of the vase and empty 
 out the reservoir. This is a case of 
 sub-watering to excess. I prefer the 
 vases without reservoir. They look all 
 right on theory but in practice are 
 often more harm than good. 
 
 When the frosts have killed the 
 plants in the vases we empty them. 
 The wooden baskets are stored in our 
 sheds. The tops of the iron vases are 
 turned upside down and the soil taken 
 out of the stone vases, or as is often 
 done with the large vases we fill them 
 with some neat evergreens for the 
 winter; the Chinese arbor vitae and 
 retinospora are good for the purpose. 
 We make no charge for emptying the 
 vases. They are mostly steady custom- 
 ers and if they are not we do it for 
 our satisfaction, for what would look 
 worse than withered plants where all 
 else was neat and trim. It is no longer 
 as it was when Gray wrote: 
 
 Perhaps in this negrlected spot is laid 
 Some heart once pregnant with celes- 
 tial fire; 
 Hands that the rod ot empire might 
 ha\^ swayed, 
 Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre. 
 
 All now is neat and cared for. Even 
 rural cemeteries are now well kept. 
 Before I leave the precincts of what 
 should be a most pleasant and beauti- 
 ful spot, and as far as care goes is, 
 I must say that the abolishing of 
 fences and the care and control of the 
 whole grounds by the cemetery authori- 
 ties, who treat all alike and study gen- 
 eral appearance and not individual, is 
 a vast improvement over those ceme- 
 teries where the lot owners pay some 
 outside party for its care. It is the 
 whole locality or section that should 
 be pleasing and beautiful, not one lot 
 scrupulously cared for and the next 
 one neglected. The man or woman 
 who would delight in their lot being 
 mowed and clipped and decorated and 
 
 14 
 
218 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 contented to see their neighbor's in 
 weeds would be narrow minded indeed. 
 There are various ways of filling 
 vases, but where there are thousands 
 in one cemetery and perhaps two or 
 three hundred on one "section" alone, 
 there must be a good deal of sameness. 
 Some few have one palm alone. Many 
 are filled with one color of geraniums 
 with or without any drooping plant for 
 an edge. A few are filled with cannas 
 or caladiums. Some contain a mass of 
 one variety of coleus with a distinct 
 edge, but more than half of the whole 
 are filled with a variety of plants with 
 some drooping plants to hang over the 
 edge. If in a windy place the so-called 
 "vines" or droopers have a hard time 
 of it, and are little ornament. 
 
 Nearly everyone wants his or her 
 vase to look just perfection the day it 
 is put out and expect it to continue to 
 keep looking so till October, the unrea- 
 sonableness of which we have to strive 
 with and do our best to please. Water- 
 ing is not the only thing a vase wants 
 in summer. Much can be done and 
 must be done by keeping off withered 
 flowers, yellow leaves and pinching 
 out the stronger growing plants, of 
 which the coleus is the worst to crowd 
 out the rest. Cleaning the vases, as 
 we call it, should be attended to at 
 least once a week. 
 
 In palms or that style of plant, a 
 Chamaerops humilis, any of the phoe- 
 nix or Dracaena indivisa can be used 
 in the broad sun. It is impossible to 
 give water enough to keep the lata- 
 nias or kentias from burning, but if 
 in the shade of trees then any of the 
 handsome palms can be used. Any of 
 the foliage plants such as coleus, 
 achyranthes or acalypha have a good 
 appearance if nicely pinched and in 
 order. 
 
 It is undeniable that the geranium is 
 unequaled as a vase plant if flower 
 and color is wanted, but they should 
 be in the full sun. The varieties 
 should be not only good bloomers but 
 strong, vigorous kinds that will keep 
 their foliage as well as flower. The 
 single, for this purpose, are of little 
 use. Of those we have tried for the 
 purpose the best are Prokop Daubeck, 
 a very robust, large, double red; there 
 is hardly a variety as good; Ernest 
 Lauth, fine for the purpose; Alphonse 
 Ricard, orange scarlet; S. A. Nutt, 
 crimson; Tower Eiffel, bright scarlet; 
 Emile de Gerardin, pink, but now su- 
 perseded by F. Perkins, a pink un- 
 equaled; Beaute Poitevine, salmon; 
 La Favorite, double white. The silver 
 leaved Mountain of Snow is most use- 
 ful as an edge, and so is the compact 
 Mme. Salleroi. Sometimes the gera- 
 nium vases have only one of the varie- 
 gated geraniums for an edging, and 
 sometimes some drooper, but when the 
 latter only one kind should be used. 
 Vinca, glechoma or the ivy geranium 
 are very suitable. A favorite vase 
 with hundreds Is pink geraniums with 
 the pink ivy leaf for an edging. 
 
 The mixed vases are in the majority 
 and are the least profitable to the flor- 
 ist and the least satisfactory. In the 
 
 center we use a small phoenix or a 
 dwarf canna, but nearly all ask and 
 opect us to use a Dracaena indivisa. 
 This wonderfully useful plant not only 
 thrives under the worst kind of treat- 
 ment but actually improves every day 
 till fall, and near the end of summer 
 is the redeeming feature of many a 
 vase. When using mixed plants there 
 is quite a variety. Dwarf flowering 
 cannas; Grevillea robusta, which gives 
 a light, feathery effect; all the gera- 
 niums mentioned; coleus, in great va- 
 riety; three kinds of achyranthes, Be- 
 gonia Vernon, and some other flower- 
 ing kinds; Abutilon Souv. de Bonn 
 (and we think Savitzii will be a great 
 addition to our vase plants), antheri- 
 cum, Centaurea gymnocarpa, aspidis- 
 tra; fuchsias, but these should only be 
 used in partial shade, and Black 
 Prince and old speciosa are the two 
 best for the purpose; variegated 
 euonymus; and perhaps a few more 
 can be added to the list. The coarse 
 monster Caladium esculentum should 
 not be used with other plants, for it 
 entirely exhausts the soil. 
 
 For droopers we have a variety to 
 choose from. The weaker kinds get 
 crushed out, but look pretty for the 
 first month. We use first the varie- 
 gated and green trailing vincas. We 
 consider this the most important of 
 all our vase droopers. Several varie- 
 ties of the ivy geranium, English ivy, 
 gramanthea (a small creeping succu- 
 lent), glechoma (variegated), the so- 
 called German ivy (senecio). lysi- 
 machia, double sweet alyssum, lobelia, 
 nasturtium, Abutilon vexillarium, 
 lopospermum, Solanum jasminioides, 
 Pilogyne suavis, nierembergia, petu- 
 nias, Kenilworth ivy, etc. 
 
 The prettiest vase in our cemetery 
 this entire summer is a vase of tuber- 
 ous-rooted begonias. It is grand, but 
 it is in the shade of trees. Where this 
 is the case it makes a splendid plant. 
 Asparagus Sprengeri seed is yet a lit- 
 tle expensive; when as cheap as smilax 
 seed we believe this asparagus will be 
 one of our finest drooping vase plants, 
 and particularly for our veranda boxes. 
 In a warmer section of the country the 
 crotons make splendid vase plants. Do 
 not put in plants that are showy, but 
 that you know will quickly go out of 
 flower and flower no more that season; 
 such plants as our Show pelargoniums 
 and pyrethrums. 
 
 As the soil you use is to support as 
 many plants in a 2-foot vase as would 
 properly fill a 6-foot flower bed, you 
 must use the richest soil. In addition 
 to one-third of rotten manure added 
 to your loam, add a 6-inch pot of bone 
 flour to every barrow-load. Keep the 
 plants pretty well up on the surface, 
 but see that the soil is firmly packed 
 around every plant. We find work- 
 )nen very guilty of neglecting that 
 part of it. and we find when three or 
 four hundred vases have to be filled in 
 a week that there has to be some sys- 
 tem about it. 
 
 First a list is given the boss of the 
 gang, of the names of the owners which 
 reads like this: "Mrs. Particular, one 
 
 iron vase. Fill good mixed, only light 
 colored geraniums." Or "Mrs. Usual, 
 one iron vase. All pink geraniums and 
 pink ivy leaf." And every vase has 
 the name of owner attached. With a 
 man to place the plants in, another to 
 fill in solid, another to moss and water 
 and another to keep the supply of 
 plants on hand, a great many vases 
 can be filled in a day. 
 
 I had almost forgotten the impor- 
 tant item of moss. We cover the sur- 
 face of the soil, or at least four inches 
 all around from the edge, with green 
 wood moss. We used to load up wag- 
 ens and drive to the country with 
 plants and soil, but find a much better 
 plan is to bring home the top or bowl 
 of the vase, fill it and return it the 
 same or next day. People ask you to 
 get their vase started in the green- 
 house. We should want a circus tent 
 to hold them all, and they are none 
 the better for getting the tender 
 growth of the greenhouse. Fill them 
 up and away with them. 
 
 Decoration Day, or about that time, 
 is the only week of the year that we 
 are truly miserable, but with all the 
 hurry and vexation we survive, or have 
 up to date. 
 
 VENTILATION. 
 
 Ventilation is primarily afforded to 
 keep down temperature when the sun's 
 rays have heated up the houses, but to 
 give and afford a free circulation of 
 fresh air to the plants is quite as 
 much a reason for ventilation. Our 
 large glass of the present day quickly 
 runs up the temperature with the sun 
 shining, and if ventilation is not faith- 
 fully attended to at the proper time 
 great harm is done, and in the case of 
 roses months of hard and faithful la- 
 bor can be ruined. 
 
 The necessity and benefit of ventila- 
 tion is too well known to need any 
 lengthy remarks. It is the mental side 
 of the business. It wants watching 
 like the water gauge of a steam en- 
 gine, but more scientific. It is the 
 same sort of science that is brought 
 into use by Mary Murphy when she 
 knows the potatoes are just done, and 
 cooking is a science. You can lay down 
 rules that this or that house should be 
 ventilated when the thermometer reg- 
 isters a certain degree, but to that 
 f-hould be added some knowledge and 
 judgment. In rose growing it is per- 
 haps the most particular of all work 
 connected with them, and if a man has 
 charge of three or four houses it will 
 almost keep him busy in the spring 
 and fall months running from one to 
 the other regulating the ventilation. 
 
 A man should be able to tell with- 
 out even looking at the thermometer 
 whethei- the sashes are too much or 
 not enough open. The thermometer is 
 of course an infallible guide and au- 
 thority, but there are times when even 
 a few degrees higher is of less injury 
 to the plant than a keen, cutting 
 draught of air. Often the ?ashes are 
 opened six inches when two inches 
 would be plenty. There is one good 
 rule and that is to begin ventilating 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 219 
 
 A Rustic Vase. 
 
 early and take it off early. Too many 
 are yet guilty of waiting till perhaps 
 10 o'clock on a bright morning and 
 then opening up wide; first subjecting 
 the plants to an enervating heat and 
 then giving them a sudden chill. By 
 shutting up early in the afternoon you 
 have utilized the sun heat and saved 
 roal, and sun heat is always better for 
 the plants than fire heat. There are 
 thousands of houses throughout the 
 country that are sadly inadequate in 
 ventilation, and in such houses roses, 
 carnations and all our flowering plants 
 will draw up weak. 
 
 What we are most concerned about 
 Is not the mistakes that have been 
 made, but to prevent any more. In 
 houses that are attached it is obvious 
 that side ventilation can only be given 
 tm the two exterior walls, and in any 
 rose house we would not have any 
 ventilation in the side wall or glass, 
 even it it cost nothing, because we 
 could not use it. In plant houses or 
 in carnation houses side ventilation is 
 perhaps desirable, but I think not at 
 all necessary if ample ventilation is 
 given at the ridge. 
 
 In equal span carnation houses we 
 have in addition to the ordinary venti- 
 lating sash on the south side a large 
 sash about 5x3 hinged on the north 
 side, 8 feet between sash. We have no 
 ventilating gear attached, but after 
 settled warm weather, or when there 
 is no longer danger of weather that 
 would hurt carnations, we raise these 
 sash eight or nine inches on blocks 
 of wood, and then tie them securely 
 down, leaving them so till first of Oc- 
 
 tober. Believing that if ample venti- 
 lation is provided on one side of the 
 ridge is enough, arid we do believe it 
 from experience and observation of 
 other people's houses and crops, then 
 it is useless to discuss the matter fur- 
 ther. 
 
 Ventilation should be provided the 
 whole length of a house. If it is want- 
 ed at all in one place in the roof then 
 it is wanted the entire length, and it 
 must be better to give three inches all 
 along than six inches only in spots. 
 And this will apply not only to a rose 
 house but any greenhouse for whatso- 
 ever use intended. Though you may 
 need but one inch of ventilation 
 throughout the whole month of Janu- 
 ary, in June our climate demands the 
 utmost you can give. It takes no more 
 glass to have continuous ventilation, 
 no more in cost of apparatus except a 
 few arms, and only a few dollars more 
 in extra ventilators. 
 
 In the long-span-to-the-south the 
 ventilation is always on the south side 
 of the ridge, and the same in equal 
 span houses whose ridge runs east and 
 west. In the short-span-to-the-south 
 the ventilation is on the north side of 
 the ridge. In houses where the ridge 
 runs north and 'south, always equal 
 ?pan, the ventilation should be on the 
 cast side. You can open them earlier 
 and our prevailing winds are from the 
 west. We are often able to give an 
 inch of air at the ridge when cold out- 
 side without feeling any draught 
 whereas if the ventilators were hinged 
 at the ridge and opened two feet down 
 the sash we should feel a draught And 
 
 if it is good for one house or one kind 
 of plants It certainly is for all. So 
 that is the way to hang your ventila- 
 tors; let them all open at the ridge. 
 
 While you are having sash made 
 have them large enough. If the 
 house Is from 19 to 23 ft. wide, the 
 ventilators should be from 30 to 36 
 inches deep and continuous. The 
 length of each section should be not 
 over 5 ft. or the sash will be too 
 heavy to lift easily, but there is not 
 nearly so much weight to lift when 
 they open at the ridge as when hinged 
 at the ridge. The ventilator man will 
 tell you how many machines you need. 
 
 No one would think in this day of 
 ventilating without the use of one of 
 the machines which do their work so 
 admirably. They will pay for them- 
 selves easily in labor saving in one 
 5'ear, and without them I can't see 
 how you could manage. Yet some 
 struggle on without them. It is not 
 the labor saving alone, it is the plants 
 that suffer when the sash are moved 
 by ropes or rods or sticks. To raise 
 or lower a lot of sash by those crude 
 methods is quite a chore and too often 
 if you are busy and you think actual 
 necessity does not compel, you are too 
 apt to say, "It's pretty warm, but I 
 guess it won't hurt." You are shirk- 
 ing the job, but how easy to say, "Jim, 
 put on a crack of air," and Jim turns 
 the handle and up goes a hundred feet 
 of sash in a moment, and only fun to 
 do it. There are several good appli- 
 ances. I have five different makes, 
 and like best the "Challenge" ventila- 
 tor. 
 
 VERANDA BOXES. 
 
 This style of ornamental gardening 
 is very much in vogue in some cities. 
 In none I think more than the fine 
 residence city of Buffalo. They are an 
 evolution from the more humble win- 
 dow box which I noticed was very 
 much in use in humble dwellings of 
 European cities, where the yellow Cal- 
 ceolaria aurea floribunda was one of 
 the most useful and gaudy plants, and 
 with the blue lobelia made a most 
 striking show. The calceolaria is use- 
 less here. 
 
 Veranda boxes are not suitable in 
 connection with a brown stone castle, 
 and they don't have anything as com- 
 mon as a veranda, but in many of our 
 beautiful homes where part or the 
 front or side of the house is a veranda 
 they are most appropriate. They are 
 seldom on the top of the rail, but 
 usually on the level of the floor of the 
 veranda, and the tops of the plants 
 reach up to the rail. 
 
 If asked to furnish the box you 
 should be able to do it and have some 
 planing mill man of your acquaintance 
 know how to put them together. Have 
 them made of cypress and well painted 
 to suit the color or the wood of the 
 veranda. A very good size is 6 inches 
 deep, 9 inches wide at top and 8 inches 
 at bottom, all inside measure. We fill 
 many larger, but they should not be 
 smaller for plants to do well. Holes 
 are bored in the bottom to afford 
 
220 
 
 drainage. If they are made in sec- 
 tions ot 6 feet they are easy to handle 
 and can be taken to the greenhouse to 
 fill, but if very large we cart the soil 
 and plants to the lawn. Such a bos as 
 I have given the size for is worth to 
 mako of cypress and painted 75 cents 
 per lineal foot and you should get the 
 same price per foot for filling it. Like 
 the vases a good appearance is expect- 
 ed from the very start. 
 
 If in the afternoon sun the same 
 plants are used as those mentioned for 
 vasei, but more cannas can be used in 
 the back of the box. and don't use too 
 many coleus or they will smother the 
 geraniums. The drooping vines will 
 be the chief beauty of these boxes and 
 it matters not how common they are 
 if they grow freely. The pilogyne and 
 lophospermum are two splendid droop- 
 ers for this purpose. Mignonette and 
 lemon verbena can be used for their 
 sweet odor. 
 
 If the boxes get only the morning 
 sun, or very little at all, the gera- 
 niums will not flower, but you can use 
 several plants that you could not in 
 the sunny bleak exposures of the 
 cemetery. Begonia Rex looks well. 
 Fuchsias will thrive and flower if not 
 too crowded, and small plants of lata- 
 nia and kentia, and better for fine ef- 
 fect thau all is the beautiful nephro- 
 lepis, both the Boston form and tuber- 
 osa. Nothing is equal to these ferns 
 and if kept watered they stand the sun 
 finely. 
 
 Veranda boxes are nearly always 
 satisfactory. They are more or less 
 sheltered and get plenty of water. In- 
 struct your patrons that the soil be- 
 ing crowded with roots they want a 
 good soaking every evening and tell 
 them that when the coachman or they 
 themselves handle the hose not to 
 stand and let drive at them as if they 
 were putting out a fire, but let the hose 
 run in on the soil till they are well 
 wet. 
 
 VERBENA. 
 
 The garden variety of these well 
 known plants are probably hybrids. 
 They have been decidedly deposed 
 from their former popularity by the 
 carpet and sub-tropical bedding, but 
 of late we see many more verbena 
 beds, and few plants can be prettier. 
 The varieties we get from seed are 
 now so good that little attention is 
 paid to named sorts and the trouble 
 of keeping them over winter is dis- 
 pensed with. 
 
 If you wish to propagate fine va- 
 rieties thev should be shortened back 
 about the "first of September and kept 
 watered. By the end of the month 
 there will be plenty of nice, fresh cut- 
 tines and only a quick, tender growth 
 sho^uld be used. Put the cuttings in 
 the propagating house, or what is as 
 oood in flats with some soil m bottom 
 and sand on surface. Keep the flats m 
 a cold frame and keep moist and shad- 
 ed from the sun. They will take a co- 
 pious watering every day. 
 
 Verbenas will stand quite a fiost, 
 but it is not well to let tie cuttings 
 
 The FLORISTS' manual. 
 
 freeze. When rooted they can be kept 
 in a cool but light house and be kept 
 iu the flats till after New Year's, when 
 they can be potted off into 2y2-inch 
 pots and kept in a temperature of 50 
 degrees. You will soon get plenty of 
 (uttings which root very freely, and 
 before spring you can have a large 
 stock. Plants propagated from cut- 
 tings want to "flower early and those 
 propagated in February and March 
 will want at least one pinching. 
 
 Seed is now used by most florists 
 for their stock of verbenas. It has the 
 advantage of producing good, healthy 
 plants free of all disease, and when 
 planted out they are sure to do well 
 and make a most satisfactory flower 
 bed. Sow the seed in February, and 
 pot into 2-inch pots as soon as up an 
 inch. You can usually get a cutting 
 from an early sowing if you wish. If 
 not just pinch out the tip of the plant. 
 A temperature of 45 to 50 degrees will 
 answer these seedlings, but they 
 should be given full light. 
 
 There is no place equal to a mild 
 hot bed for the verbenas, so about the 
 middle of April plunge the small pots 
 in a few inches of soil in a mild bed. 
 They will grow very fast and quickly 
 gel rooted in the soil of the bed which 
 will delay their flowering, particularly 
 the seedlings, and for that reason they 
 should be lifted, the roots rubbed off 
 and put back in the same spot. That 
 will check their growth and induce 
 them to flower. Most of our customers 
 want to see the colors, so it is impor- 
 tant to get them into flower. 
 
 Verbenas are much troubled with 
 green fly, and they should be perfectly 
 clean when they go into the hot-bed. 
 If affected with the rust so trouble- 
 some to the verbena when we grew 
 named varieties, throw them away; it 
 is much cheaper to buy clean stock. 
 
 Verbena venosa is a true species and 
 always raised from seed. It can be 
 sown in February and, grown along in 
 flats. Its beautiful and abundant blue 
 flowers make a fine bed either alone 
 or in combination with a silver leaf 
 geranium. 
 
 Verbenas can be planted out early 
 in May. A slight frost will do them 
 no harm, but our customers seldom 
 look for them till end of May. 
 
 VINCA. 
 
 The trailing V. major, and its varie- 
 gated form, is one of our most useful 
 trailing or drooping plants. The long 
 drooping growths seldom flower, but 
 the short, erect growths do. The flow- 
 er is, however, of little consequence. 
 Plant out a suflicient stock of young 
 
 erbenas... 
 
 ., SEND FOR PRICES. 
 
 Are grown by the 
 
 Hundreds of Thousands by 
 
 J. L. DILLON, ....Bloomsbur^. Pa. 
 
 plants in the spring. They make a 
 great growth in any good soil. 
 
 Put in cuttings in September. The 
 cuttings should not be made of the 
 hardest part of the stems, and should 
 always be of two eyes, as we depend 
 on growths from the bottom eye. We 
 like the propagating bed for these cut- 
 tings. They root rather slowly, but 
 surely. Keep in 2-inch pots till Janu- 
 ary in any cool house and then shift 
 into 3-inch. As they grow they will 
 need the edge of the bench, or the 
 edge of a rose or carnation bench, so 
 that their long growths can hang 
 down. 
 
 Some growers lift up the plants 
 fiom the field in October and stand on 
 the edge of the benches. They make 
 fine decorative plants for some occa- 
 sions, as their numerous growths will 
 be several feet long. In February 
 they divide the large plants and pot 
 into .3 or 4-inch pots. 
 
 The young growths are troubled 
 with green fly. Any soil and any cool 
 house will grow them, and they need 
 little light till they begin to make 
 their growth in early spring. Use 
 good rich soil when shifting from 2 
 to 3-inch, as you want them to grow 
 fast. 
 
 Vinca minor, often strangely called 
 myrtle by our people, is perfectly 
 hardy. Where grass won't grow in 
 shady city lots it covers the ground 
 finely. It can be divided and planted 
 either in spring or fall and will quick- 
 ly cover the ground. 
 " Vinca rosea is a very different plant 
 and requires a warm house in winter. 
 It makes a pretty greenhouse plant, 
 but its chief use with us is in the flow- 
 er garden, where it makes a very pret- 
 ty bed, and a change from the high 
 colored geraniums. It can be easily 
 raised from seed sown in January and 
 <;;rown on in a light, warm house, and 
 needs an occasional pinching to make 
 the plants bushy. 
 
 Plants can also be lifted and after 
 New Year's cut back, when you will 
 get young growths which root freely. 
 Don't plant out till frost is surely 
 past. 
 
 VIOLET. 
 
 The violets we grow are varieties ot 
 V odorata. There is ever an increas- 
 ng love of the violet, and it seems 
 that the past three or four years the 
 luantity grown and sold is enormous. 
 Violets are rather a precarious crop 
 here; if you fail you fail entirely. In 
 milder climates where only the pro- 
 tection of a cold-frame is needed there 
 is not so much fear of failure. South 
 ot Baltimore violets are grown in cold- 
 frames and covered with mats in cold 
 weather. That would not do for us, 
 although with careful attention you 
 can have a lot in the cold-frames that 
 will give you flowers sometimes till 
 Christmas, and again in April, and for 
 later they are better than those grown 
 all winter inside. 
 
 Fine crops of violets have been 
 grown by several methods. And many 
 vet adhere to the plan of planting out 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 221 
 
 the young stock in May and lifting in 
 September, and planting in six inches 
 of soil on a bench. If you are success- 
 ful that way keep on. I, however, have 
 seen many failures that way, and be- 
 lieve in and practice a method that is 
 I think more natural to the plant, and 
 by which method I have for several 
 seasons now been entirely successful. 
 Without mentioning the methods of 
 other people or what I don't practice 
 I will at once give my plan and expe- 
 rience. 
 
 I have repeatedly tried both the run- 
 ners and division of the old plant, and 
 have decidedly the best results with 
 the runners, cut off in February and 
 put In the sand as we do other cut- 
 tings. As we use no bottom heat for 
 them flats with two inches of sand 
 will do just as well. When well root- 
 ed we pot into 2%-inch pots and keep 
 for a few weeks in a carnation house 
 temperature, and give them the full 
 light. By middle to end of April we 
 put them into a cold-frame and by 
 middle of May remove the sash entire- 
 ly. There they will grow stout and 
 strong. Early in June we plant them 
 about ten inches apart on the benches. 
 
 I will stop here to say that a violet 
 house should be equal span, running 
 north and south, with solid beds. The 
 walls need not be over 2 feet high 
 and the paths can be dug out 1 foot, 
 which leaves the surface of the beds 
 at a convenient height to work; 19 
 feet is a good width, with two side 
 benches, two paths and a 6-foot 6-in. 
 middle bed. Although the plants in 
 the middle of the center bench are ten 
 feet from the glass they are just as 
 
 Bed of Vinca Rosea.. 
 
 good as those on the side bench that 
 are only two feet from the glass. The 
 pipes are hung on the side walls a 
 foot above the plants; no heat 
 descends to cause red spider. Three 
 2-inch hot water pipes on each side 
 will heat this house very nicely. A 
 small house will do as well, but it Is 
 much cheaper to build the larger 
 house than two small ones. 
 
 The beds being solid, we remove the 
 top six inches of soil and fork in some 
 bone dust another six inches deep, 
 then put on our new soil. A rather 
 heavy loam suits them best, but not at 
 all stiff. Violets don't like fresh ani- 
 mal manure and if the compost is put 
 up the fall previous it will be to ad- 
 vantage. It need not be turfy soil 
 such as you would look for in rose 
 growing. We have used the top five 
 inches of a clover sod and found it ex- 
 cellent. When piling it up add an 
 eighth of well rotted cow manure, and 
 when chopping over in spring for use 
 add half a peck of bone flour to every 
 cubic -yard. Make the bed only moder- 
 ately flrm. 
 
 For two seasons we removed the 
 glass entirely. This you can do if your 
 root is sash, or better still, butted 
 glass, but on building a larger house 
 we rather begrudged the labor and re- 
 moved only every third run of glass. 
 As the sun moves, or rather we do. 
 the same plants do not get the sun for 
 very long and when it rains those im- 
 mediately below get the beneflt of the 
 rain, but that is easily regulated- in 
 watering. The remainder of the glass 
 is shaded. This plan gives a perfect 
 circulation of air and keeps the house 
 
 cool. If I could not remove the glass 
 then I would have a continuous foot of 
 ventilation in both side walls. 
 
 The violets soon begin to grow and 
 need plenty of water during all times. 
 Up to New Year's you should keep the 
 runners cut off. Not the stout little 
 off shoots that are near the original 
 crown, let them remain, but the real 
 runners that make a gi'owth of three 
 or four inches. During summer and 
 at all times violets must be kept 
 scrupulously clean. There is work 
 about them and so there is about any- 
 thing that there is an honest dollar in. 
 You must go over them repeatedly and 
 clean off imperfect flowers, yellow 
 leaves, etc. 
 
 During July, August and September 
 the violets must be frequently syring- 
 ed to keep down red spider. Don't 
 sprinkle them just to make them 
 moist, but let them have a sharp, fine 
 stream with the hose every two or 
 three days, and remember the spider 
 is on the underside of the leaf. If you 
 let red spider get a foothold in August 
 you will have a great job to get rid of 
 them by October, when too much sy- 
 ringing would not be good, but syring- 
 ing in the hot months is beneficial. If 
 your violets are clean of spider by end 
 of September there is little fear of 
 your being troubled with them after 
 that. During winter they do not want 
 any syringing, but want plenty of 
 water at the roots, which can be given 
 copiously without wetting the leaves. 
 We put our glass in towards end of 
 September. Top ventilation is then 
 plenty. 
 
 Firing should be put off till there i^ 
 
222 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 danger ot the houses going below 40 
 degrees at night, but a little fire with 
 the ventilators open will do good in 
 a wet, cool time. By fire heat we like 
 to keep the houses about 40 to 42 de- 
 grees at night and 55 degrees in day 
 time. If sun heat goes up to 60 or 65 
 degrees no harm is done. Green fly 
 does not trouble the violets in summer 
 but appears often in September or Oc- 
 tober. For that we vaporize with to- 
 bacco extract, being careful not to 
 make it too strong. 
 
 End of October we clean the beds 
 carefully, sprinkle on some bone flour 
 and stir it into the soil, and then put 
 on half an inch of rotten leaves or 
 very rotten manure. 
 
 The chief trouble with the violet is 
 the spot, which is probably a mould or 
 fungus, and has been proved to be 
 spread by syringing. I know of noth- 
 
 lly that punctures the leaf and lays an 
 egg that destroys the tissue. We have 
 seen the fly. Tobacco in any form has 
 no effect on it. As a preventive we 
 have used the hydrocyanic acid gas, 
 and it had nothing but the very best 
 results on violets. And it destroys all 
 liinds of aphis or anything that has 
 lungs. 
 
 A little experience with this deadly 
 gas very recently may be of interest. 
 We generated the gas to kill the black 
 fly on chrysanthemums, but brought 
 into the house a plant each of Adian- 
 tums cuneatum and Farleyense, both 
 ot which had young, tender fronds. 
 After the operation we found that a 
 few of the very tips of the chrysan- 
 themums were touched, mostly near 
 where the jars stood, but the ferns the 
 next day or since have not shown the 
 slightest effects from it. The formula 
 
 The California does not want its run- 
 ners cut off after November, as from 
 the runners you soon get flowers. A 
 few plants should always be grown 
 for their leaves, which are always in 
 abundance, and fine, small green galax 
 leaves are much used with the double 
 violet; it is better than robbing our 
 plants of their leaves. 
 
 WATERING. 
 
 No subject connected with horticul- 
 ture is more difficult to handle than 
 this. You cannot give any specific di- 
 rections; you can only give general 
 ideas. Watering occupies much of the 
 labor of a florist and its proper execu- 
 tion is of the greatest importance. 
 Plants in the ground are assisted occa- 
 sionally by artificial watering, but 
 with our entirely artificial way of 
 growing them on benches and in pots 
 
 ing else but picking off the affected 
 leaf the moment you see it. It ap- 
 pears first as a little black speck and 
 then radiates out, killing the tissue. 
 Some application of sulphur or Bor- 
 deaux mixture might destroy it, but 
 either will destroy every leaf of the 
 violet. We have tried the Bordeaux 
 mixture and had a most convincing 
 experiment. We do not consider the 
 spot at all dangerous if you keep your 
 foliage dry and maintain a genial dry 
 atmosphere, and destroy the leaves 
 whenever you discover it. 
 
 The violet is subject to a small 
 green slug which appears in the au- 
 tumn. Perhaps this small half-inch 
 long worm is the larva of some beetle. 
 It riddles the leaves sadly. I have 
 never been troubled with it, but have 
 frequently seen it, and saw it destroy- 
 ed by an application of flour and paris 
 green dusted thoroughly among the 
 leaves. 
 
 What we most dread is what we call 
 "curled leaf," when the yoimg leaves 
 curl and wrinkle up. An authority in- 
 forms me that it is caused by a minute 
 
 House of Violets. 
 
 for this gas is in article on Fungicides 
 and Insecticides. 
 
 We are often asked for pots of vio- 
 lets, and it is quite an Easter plant. 
 They would not last long in a living 
 room, however well established, and 
 we cannot grow a plant so satisfacto- 
 rily as by lifting a few of the best 
 budded a week or ten days before they 
 are wanted. 
 
 There are several varieties of this 
 sweet flower, but we cannot find one 
 to suit the public, or so satisfactory 
 to grow and flower, as Marie Louise, 
 the beautiful blue with more or less 
 white eye; the better grown the less 
 eye. Farquahar is no improvement. 
 The old Neapolitan is a beautiful vio- 
 let and is still grown by some, but its 
 color is not liked by the many. You 
 don't want many white violets; about 
 a tenth of your stock. All of the above 
 want the same treatment. 
 
 The strong growing single flowered 
 California can be grown in the same 
 way", or it does very well planted out 
 and lifted in September. They sell 
 very well, but not equal to the double. 
 
 and tubs they are entirely dependent 
 on our attendance to their most im- 
 portant element, water. 
 
 I remarked some years ago that 
 good waterers, like poets, are born not 
 made. Here again is the most truly 
 mental part of our business. The me- 
 chanical application is considerable, 
 but not near as important as the 
 knowledge and judgment required to 
 know just when to water. A gentle- 
 man at the Canadian Horticultural 
 convention, lately assembled at Ot- 
 tawa, expressed his admiration for the 
 exclusive use of the watering pot in 
 the European gardens. 
 
 The writer has had a good deal of 
 practice with the watering can, both 
 here and in Great Britain, and has 
 not the slightest veneration for the 
 w-atering pot or its use. We don't be- 
 lieve that the production of fine plants 
 has anything to do with the use of 
 them and believe the hose has many 
 advantages and no disadvantages that 
 we can see. It is simply a matter ot 
 who is handling it. The hose in the 
 hands of a careless man may be dan- 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 223 
 
 gerous to the plants from over water- 
 ing, while if the same man had to 
 carry water in cans he would be prob- 
 ably too lazy and the plants would suf- 
 fer for want of water. The watering 
 can is laborious, slow, and expensive. 
 The hose is one-tenth the labor; no 
 excuse for scrimping the plants, the 
 water can be applied at any degree of 
 speed, and the hose can be used as a 
 syringe to perfection. 
 
 You can soak a carnation bed in the 
 month of May in one-twentieth of the 
 time you could with a can. You can 
 run a stream among violets in No- 
 vember without wetting their leaves 
 far better than you can with a water- 
 ing pot. You can water a bench of 
 geraniums in the month of May with 
 pleasure and do it thoroughly. You 
 can with a very slow stream look over 
 all your palms at any season. You can 
 water a 7-foot bench of lilies perfectly 
 when they are standing pretty close 
 together, which you could hardly do at 
 all with a watering pot. You can with 
 a fine rose attached moisten the most 
 particular orchid, or water a propagat- 
 ing bed, or even a flat of seeds if you 
 know how to handle the hose. In fact, 
 you can do anything and everything 
 with a hose connected with watering 
 or syringing plants, and to go back to 
 the old watering pot would be as bad 
 as a Manitoba wheat farmer discarding 
 the gang plow and adopting the pecu- 
 liar method described by Dean Swift's 
 Gulliver who dropped on a race of peo- 
 ple who plowed their land by burying 
 in their fields acorns and then drove 
 the pigs in which hunting with their 
 noses for the acorns, disturbed the 
 soil. And the handling of 4-gallon 
 watering cans at a tender age used to 
 produce a corn on our palms. 
 
 It is merely the science of handling 
 the hose. A man to be a first class hand 
 at watering in plant houses should 
 have perfect sight. We had a man for 
 several years who in other respects 
 was a zealous worker, but would miss 
 plants here and there and leave plants 
 that were very dry without a drop of 
 water. When he left us he donned spec- 
 tacles. He was very short sighted and 
 had always been so but did not want 
 us to know it. 
 
 We have read in a very good little 
 volume on floriculture that a man 
 watered a house in a very few minutes 
 by spraying the whole lot. We don't 
 of course believe in any such work. 
 Pouring a stream of water over a mixed 
 lot of plants would be absurd. The 
 houses that contain only one kind of 
 plants are much more simple to water 
 than a house or bench containing seve- 
 ral, or perhaps twenty, but as we have 
 all plants standing in blocks, each sort 
 by themselves, it is yet simple to dis- 
 tinguish whether this batch wants it or 
 whether it would bs better left till to- 
 morrow. 
 
 We don't all have whole houses or 
 benches of one plant. Just now, Oc- 
 tober, a very particular month for 
 watering, you may have on a bench a 
 few ericas, next azaleas, next some 
 Harrisii lilies, next pot chrysanthe- 
 
 mums, next acacias, next cyclamen, 
 next some flowering geraniums. Some 
 may want water and some are much 
 better left to the following morning, 
 and if your hose is running slowly 
 how easy to pass on to the next batch. 
 Some men have to be told repeatedly 
 that- they do not get through watering 
 any faster by letting such a strong 
 steam run, and do not do the work so 
 well. Whatever judgment is required 
 about quantity for a bench, there is 
 very little about watering plants in 
 pots. If they want watering they want 
 it, and that means that the space be- 
 tween the soil and rim of pot is filled 
 with water; that is a watering, and 
 that is what we tell our customers 
 when they ask the question, "How 
 much water shall I give it?" 
 
 Now, if the stream is moderately 
 slow the water you pour on will re- 
 main and fill up, but if a strong stream 
 it will dash off onto the bench and 
 leave the plant deficient of water. In 
 April and May and the summer 
 months a less experienced hand can 
 water many things for there is less 
 danger of overwatering, and if the 
 benches and paths receive a lot of 
 overflow no harm is done, for you 
 want to damp down as it is, when 
 evaporation is great. 
 
 It is quite different in October and 
 November when there is little fire heat 
 and superfluous moisture would be in- 
 jurious. As you pass along with the 
 hose you water the flowering geranium 
 without any syringing, and you come 
 to 500 achyranthes that want not only 
 watering but a good syringing too. The 
 cinerarias won't want syringing but 
 the cytisus will. And there you have 
 with your hose and your forefinger a 
 watering can and syringe in one. 
 
 After middle of May watering in 
 plant houses can be done in the after- 
 noon. In fall, winter and early spring 
 it should be done in the morning. Per- 
 haps it is the color of the soil, perhaps 
 it is instinct or long practice that en- 
 ables us to see at a glance when a 
 plant or batch of plants needs water. 
 A practiced hand will know that the 
 plants along the back of the bench 
 where the heat of the pipes may bs 
 coming up, or the front row where the 
 sun and air gets more play at them, 
 may want water while the rest do not. 
 So he will run his hose along those 
 rows and say to himself if he is think- 
 ing of his business and not of his best 
 girl, "Tomorrow the whole lot will 
 take it." 
 
 The quantity of water that a plant 
 in pot needs, as before said, is not a 
 question; it wants water or it does not. 
 It never wants a little. With a bench 
 of carnations or roses it is different. 
 I believe except in hot weather in 
 spring that no more should be given a 
 bench than will go thoroughly to the 
 bottom, and no more, but be sure you 
 give it enough to do that. This is not 
 so easy to determine, but practice and 
 observation with one or two waterings, 
 will soon teach you about how much 
 will be proper, and it should be ap- 
 plied softly, either with a rose attach- 
 
 ed to the hose, which is quickly un- 
 screwed when you want to begin to sy- 
 ringe, or with a piece of flattened tin 
 attached to hose, off which it passes in 
 a gentle stream. 
 
 Some authors say a plant should be 
 allowed to ^et rather on the dry side 
 and then be given water. Plants going 
 to partial or entire rest in the fall will 
 of course want to be allowed to get 
 more and more often dry, but it is not 
 so with our roses, carnations, violets, 
 or our lilies or cyclamen or geraniums, 
 or any plants that are growing fast, 
 especially in spring. 
 
 Have you ever noticed that a batch 
 of plants, let it be fuchsias or gerani- 
 ums or roses in pots, or anything else 
 that is growing fast, that are plunged 
 to their rims in refuse hops, ashes or 
 tanbark, will far outstrip a batch of 
 the same sort with the pots bare. There 
 is no evaporation from the sides of the 
 plunged pot and consequently a more 
 uniform moisture, and that is the sole 
 reason. This is very marked and a 
 good lesson for us. Letting plants 
 whose roots are active get repeatedly 
 on the dry side day after day will tell 
 on them and stunt their gi'owth com- 
 pared with those that are kept at a 
 more uniform moisture. This may be 
 of no detriment to our bedding ge- 
 raniums or eoleus or cannas, but it is 
 to the plants that we want to make a 
 fine growth or produce fine flowers. 
 
 Some may say, look at the plants in 
 the fleld. "My carnations have not had 
 a drop of water or rain in six weeks, 
 but they are growing." They are un- 
 der entirely different conditions. We 
 hoe the surface, or ought to. Evapo- 
 ration from the ground is continually 
 going on, and the looser we keep the 
 surface the faster will be evaporation, 
 and the more evaporation from the 
 surface the more moisture rises to the 
 surface from the depths of the, ground 
 to nourish the roots. This is called 
 
 RUBBER HOSE 
 
 For Florists, Seedsmen, 
 Nurserymen, Gardeners, Etc. 
 
 K-inchlO-ply $20.00 per 100 feet 
 
 Ji-mch 7-ply 15.00 " " 
 
 Ji-inch 5-ply 12.50 " " 
 
 l4-\nch 7-ply 12.50 " " 
 
 ii-'mch 4-pIy 10.00 " " 
 
 'A-mch 4-ply and 5-ply 10.00 " " 
 
 Made in 25 ft. or 50 ft. lengths, couplings attached. 
 
 The K-inch 10-ply hose is absolutely best quality 
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 MANUFACTURERS' RUBBER GO. 
 
 45 Vesey Street, NEW TOBK CITY. 
 
 IF YOU WANT.... 
 
 A GOOD 
 GREENHOUSE HOSE 
 
 that will wear, write 
 
 J. G. & A. ESLER, Saddle River, N. J. 
 
224 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 capillary attraction. Hence it follows 
 that the deeper we have plowed or 
 dug, or the more we have broken up 
 the subsoil, the better will the law of 
 capillary attraction benefit the plant. 
 So there is a more uniform moisture 
 at the root than you think, even in 
 the dryest time. 
 
 All this benefit is of course cut off 
 entirely in cultivating in pots and on 
 bench. 
 
 Have you ever noticed where a drain 
 or sewer was laid four feet deep in a 
 stiff clay the grass for years over the 
 drain will be green in the dryest time, 
 becaiise by the disturbance and break- 
 ing up of the soil capillary attraction 
 is helped? 
 
 The sub-watering experiments on 
 our benches is yet too new for me to 
 enter into, and our trade papers have 
 given full accounts of the methods. 
 Something practical may be yet evolv- 
 ed by our learned professors. 
 
 In conclusion you should keep one 
 man watering one house. He may 
 water half a dozen, but if it is the 
 same man and he is a gardener he 
 will remember the condition that he 
 left the plants on the previous day, 
 
 Zinnias. 
 
 and will know just about what will 
 v/ant it the next. A good, intelligent, 
 faithful waterer is as valuable a man 
 as you have on your place. 
 
 ZINNIA. 
 
 The annual zinnias are the only ones 
 in which the florist is interested. With 
 selection and culture, they are now 
 among the handsomest of our annuals 
 for the border, and in certain places 
 a whole bed of them, in many shades, 
 ic very striking. 
 
 They are very easy to grow and need 
 only the ordinary treatment given 
 many other annuals, except that no 
 frost must ever touch them while in a 
 cold-frame. Sow from the middle to 
 the end of March, and when an inch 
 high transplant into fiats two inches 
 apart. By the middle of April a cold- 
 frame is the right place for them. 
 Plant in beds or borders after there is 
 no danger of frost. 
 
 They are strong, rampant growers, 
 and should have plenty of room; 
 eighteen inches to two feet apart is 
 close enough. They should have a well 
 tilled piece of ground and will then 
 
 stand our hot, and often dry, sum- 
 mers better than most of our summer 
 flowering plants. 
 
 While the zinnia well deserves a 
 place in the flower garden, it is the 
 most unpopular of all flowers for even 
 the cheapest sort of a bouquet. The 
 poorest purchaser does not want them 
 at any price. We have noticed this so 
 often that we never cut them, however 
 short of cheap flowers we may be. 
 This proves that there is an uncon- 
 scious taste for the artistic, even 
 among the most lowly. The zinnia is 
 so absolutely regular in form, stiff and 
 formal, one flower being exactly like 
 another, that the eye rebels against 
 il. In a bunch of roses, carnations, or 
 almost any other flower, no two are 
 precisely alike, but the zinnias look as 
 though they all came out of one 
 mould. Then again, the stem is so 
 rigid that while it is all right on the 
 plant, it detracts from the flower when 
 cut. 
 
 Grow zinnias to make your border 
 gay, but don't offer the cut flowers to 
 your customers. We raise quantities 
 every year and sell the young plants 
 from the flats at 25 cents per dozen. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 225 
 
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 t 
 
 35 and 37 Cortlandt St., NEW YORK. 
 
 Stumpp & Walter Co. 
 
 HIGH GRADE 
 
 SEEDS and BILBS. 
 50 Barclay St., NEW YORK. 
 
 Bobbink & Atkins, 
 
 RUTHERFORD, N. J. 
 
 RHODODENRONS, HARDY AZALEAS, 
 
 H. P. ROSES, CLEMATIS, MAGNOLIAS, Etc 
 
 FANCY EVERGREENS, INDIAN AZALEAS, 
 TUBEROUS BEGONIAS, GLOXINL\S, Etc 
 
 Dutch Bulbs, Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocus, Etc. 
 
 FRENCH SEEDLINGS AND 
 ORNAMENTAL NURSERY STOCK. 
 
 
 i 
 
 9 in trade 
 
 fis open for all ^ 
 j(j: competitors, ^ 
 
 9 and the Fastest wins. If you have never tried our goods 
 i give us a chance, and we assure you our goods cannot ^ 
 ^ but help you make money. ^ 
 
 * WRITE FOR CATALOaUE. £ 
 
 I W. Elliott& Sons, ^ 
 
 I SEEDSMEN, 
 
 I 54 & 56 Dey St., NEW YORK. | 
 
 ? TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS. ^ 
 
 H. H. BERGER & CO. 
 
 47 BARCLAY STREET. - - NEW YORK. 
 
 Established 1878, 
 
 Have for over twenty years supplied the Trade with Bulbs. Seeds and Plants 
 Were the first tirra in the United States making large imports from 
 lapan. Recommend themselves for 
 
 III. Harrlsll, lonKllloruni, Auralum. Riihrum, Album, 
 etc. Tuberoses, BesoDlns, Gloslnlas, Callus, Vy- 
 elanien, Vallej, etc. 
 
 I 
 
 BULBS. 
 
 CPPnQ \ll Palm Seeds, espertally Kentia, Aspara;:us P. N. 
 WbbUwa and Sprengerll. Flower iieeds of all kinds, 
 
 Bl A MT6 Cjeas Revoluia stems. Fern Balls, Asiildlstra, 
 p tftPI I Oa Azaleas, Roses, DIematIs, etr. 
 
 Address all communications as above. .•\ny information or estimates 
 cheerfully given. 
 
 HAGEMANN & MEYER, f 
 
 Wholesale 
 Importers of 
 
 I gULBS, PLANTS 
 
 AND IMMORTELLES. | 
 
 NEW YORK: CHICAGO: | 
 
 55 Dey Street. 21 Randolph Street 
 
 Largest Importers of 
 «; LILY OF THE VALLEY PIPS. 
 
 ^ Address all correspondence to New York Office. £ 
 
 I 
 
226 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiim^ 
 
 JJILIIS ROEHRSj 
 
 I CARLTON HILL, N. J. j 
 
 g Headquarters for M 
 
 i Orchids, i 
 I Large Palms,! 
 j Bay Trees, j 
 
 g And all varieties and sizes of S 
 
 I Commercial Decorative Plants. I 
 
 75 MODERN GREENHOUSES. 
 
 I Business Established since 1870. | 
 
 J.K.ALLEN, 
 
 57 West 28th Street. 
 
 THE OLDEST 
 
 I ClT Flower Establishment I 
 
 IN NEW YORK. 
 
 Handles all Varieties on Consignment. 
 
 Telephone and Telegraph Orders given immedi- 
 j^^ ate attention. ,«: 
 
 $ 
 
 VJIuX4.J.X***J>.*J.J.4.*4.XJ^U>.*X4.J.J.J.X4.**A Xa.4.*A**4.^ 
 
 Robert Craig & Son, 
 
 49th and Market Sts., 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 Palms, Ferns 
 
 and Decorative 
 Plants 
 
 Meritorious New Plants. 
 
 CARNATIONS A SPECIALTY. 
 
 Collection 
 
 0. CROTONS 
 
 America. 
 
 FOR ANYTHING 
 
 • IN THE CUT FLOWER LINE 
 
 GO TO 
 
 Walter F. Sheridan, 
 
 WHOLESA'.E 
 
 COMMISSION Dealer 
 
 ..IN .. 
 
 CUT Flowers. 
 39 West 28th St., NEW YORK. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. 
 
 I PURDY AND BLAUVELT, t 
 
 WHOLESALE 
 CUT FLOWERS, 
 
 I, 
 
 {■ 57 West 30th Street, NEW YORK. t> 
 
 '<^ ■? 
 
 ((c One of the oldest and most reliable f> 
 
 " Commission Houses in America. ^ 
 
 t - * 
 
 •fe»)'4Sr»S'^r»i'^r»)'^r»)"45r*)' 
 
 $, 
 
 SHIPPING FACILITIES UNEQUALLED 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 227 
 
 Ax ale a indicai 
 
 ""the INDIAN AZALEA NURSERIES. 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1842. 
 
 The Best Place in Europe to send your orders for Azalea Indica, 
 
 |^|g\j||.j|5i*^;.-ii; 
 
 THOSE 
 
 WISHING 
 
 CERTAIN 
 
 QUANTITIES 
 
 OF SPECL\L 
 
 KINDS WILL DO 
 
 WELL 
 
 TO SEND IN 
 
 THEIR ORDERS 
 
 VERY EARLY 
 
 IN THE 
 
 SEASON. 
 
 C C C- (t- CC-'C' *:€'«.•*: fc'C'f: 
 
 OF 
 
 85,750 PLANTS 
 
 OF DIFFERENT 
 
 SIZES 
 
 SOLD IN 
 
 1898, 
 
 36,200 WENT 
 
 TO FLORISTS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNITED 
 
 STATES AND 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 iiiiiiii 
 
 The stock grown on the extensive grounds of the Indian Azalea Nurseries, at 
 Swynaerde, Ghent, Belgium (the largest establishment of its kind in Europe), is nicely 
 shaped, well budded and the assortment is of the best and most salable varieties. 
 
 Choice of assortment, provided orders reach us in good time. The stock on hand 
 is very large and nice, especially in the 10 to 18-inch crowns. 
 
 Catalogue free on application. For full particulars write to 
 
 EUG. VERVAET de VOS, 
 
 Proprietor of the Indian Azalea Nurseries, Swynaerdc, Ghent, Belgium. 
 
228 
 
 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 ss 
 
 Trees 
 
 Shrubs and 
 Roses 
 
 for public and private grounds, as well as for the 
 orchard, farm, garden or city lot. Our General 
 Catalogue and Planter's Guide is beautifully 
 illustrated, contains accurate, trustworthy descrip- 
 tions of the most valuable varieties, and is replete 
 with prartical hints and suggestions indispensable to 
 planters. It is the most complete published, and will 
 be mailed free on application. 
 
 CHOICE SELECTIONS. BEST GOODS. 
 PRICES REASONABLE. 
 
 ELLWANGER & BARRY, 
 
 Ml. Uope Nurseri.,, ROCHESTER, ^. Y. 
 
 ESTABLISHED UPWARDS OF SIXTY VEARS. 
 
 P^ 
 
 gURPEE'S "BLUE LIST" 
 
 Our Wholesale Price List of 
 Seeds in larger quantities, 
 
 is mailed on application to MARKET GARDENERS. 
 
 IF YOU PLANT FOR PROFIT 
 
 you sliould write at once for tins Wholesale Iiist, BUT we cannot send 
 It to private planters, even il reciuested to do so. 
 
 A NEW FEATURE FOR 1899 
 
 in Burpee's "BLUE I^IST" that will be o( special interest to growers 
 who plant for profit, is the "Plain Talks" wegive this year for the tirst time, 
 in every department, as to just the best varieties tor different purposes. 
 
 W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., 
 
 SEED GROWERS. PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS for 
 
 Florists' Supplies.... 
 
 FANCY BASKETS, 
 WHEAT SHEAVES (unexcelled), 
 PLANT STANDS, POT COVERS, 
 CYCAS LEAVES (best prepared). 
 
 Immortelles, Doves, 
 
 Cape Flowers, Chenille, 
 
 Metallic Designs, Letters, 
 Foil, etc., etc. 
 
 Catalogue sent (to Florists only) for the asking. 
 
 M. Rice & Co. 
 
 Importers 
 
 and Manufacturers of 
 
 FLORISTS' SUPPLIES, 
 
 918 Filbert St. Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 CIT STRINGS OF. 
 
 Asparagus 
 Plumosus Nanus. 
 
 EIGHT TO TEN FEET LONG, 50 CENTS. 
 ALL THE YEAR ROUND. 
 
 SHIPPED TO ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 W.H. Elliott, Brighton, Mass. 
 
 («^.'*^'<^.'*S.<*^.(«^.*=?f.<«^.^^.*^.*«^.i«^.i*"ft^''S.'<Ji*.»<*^.'*<^.(*Ta.^^.i;«-^^ 
 
 I 
 
 The Weekly Florists' Review 
 
 Will keep you up to date in Commercial Floriculture, as well as 
 giving you all the news of the Trade. Issued every Thursday. 
 Subscription price $1.00 a year. Published by 
 
 THE FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO., 
 
 CAXTON BUILDING, CHICAGO. 
 
 <je 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 '^:9i'U^-U^'^^:9^'U:^-^c9iUr9i''&9>U^<*^:U^'<di9i'y,-^'ik*>^c9i9-i!k9i-ik9^''&^-^:^ 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 229 
 
 piiiiniiiniiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 
 
 Wc have the best of shipping facilities. 
 
 Telegraph and telephone connections day and night. 
 
 Choice Cut Flowers of all sorts. 
 
 BEST 
 
 STANDARD 
 VARIETIES 
 OF.... 
 
 Sq. Feet of Glass for 
 
 LONG 
 DISTANCE 
 DHONE 99. 
 
 Koscs, Carnations, 
 Cannas, Geraniums, 
 Chrysanthemums and 
 General Florists' Stock. 
 
 Flowers and Vegetables j 
 
 SEND US YOUR ORDERS. 
 
 WE CAN PLEASE YOU. 
 
 J. F. WILCOX, 
 
 I 521 Broadway.. 
 
 COLNCIL BLIFFS, lA. | 
 
 lilllliillWlliJilllli;illllllli!lllliiiiiili!:!illliuilIii:iillliii:iilllii^'iilliiiiiiiliiii3illin^ 
 
 Dreer's Specialties 
 
 PALMS, FERNS, 
 DECORATIVE PLANTS, 
 
 NEW AND RARE AQUATICS. 
 
 Nymphaeas, Nelumbiums, Victorias, Etc. 
 
 HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 
 
 A large collection of all the desirable species. 
 
 NOVELTIES. 
 
 All the latest introductions. 
 
 Wholesale Trade Price Itlst, issued quarterly, offers and describes 
 everything required by the trade in Seeds, Plants, Bulbs and Sup- 
 plies. Sent free to florists. 
 
 HENRY A. DREER, 7I4 Chestnut St., PHIUDELPHIA. 
 
 »A&« 
 
 '—» 
 
 Henry Eichholz, 
 
 Geranium 
 Hybridiser and Specialist. 
 
 MARS 
 
 AND THEIR 
 SEEDLINGS 
 
 AMERICA 
 
 ?.<*^(«^i*^ (*^^^'*^(*^.< 
 
 E. G. HILL &, CO. I 
 
 I 
 
 All Foreign Novelties of Merit. 
 
 PRICES ON APPLICATION. 
 
 HENRY EICHHOLZ, Waynesboro, ^rn,"" Pa. 
 
 RICHMOND INDIANA. 
 
 Fine Novelties and Best Standard 
 Varieties in 
 
 ROSES, CARNATIOIMS, j 
 
 CHRYSANTHEMUMS, | 
 
 GERANIUMS, f 
 
 And General £ 
 
 Florists' Stock. | 
 
 E. G. HILL & CO. I 
 
 piiiSiiSniiiiii^ 
 
 ! McFadden's SPECIALTIES. | 
 
 1 PALMS. Trade sizes. S 
 
 g BOSTON FERNS. .Ml sizes. Finest stock in the country, g 
 
 I ADIANTUM FARLEYENSE, g 
 
 ^ SMAIiIi FEBITS. Fern Spores in variety. a 
 
 g ASPABAQVS FI.TJMOSUS ITAITUS and SPBENOEBI. I 
 
 B Cut .Asparagus Pluinosus Nanus and Sprengeri in any .juan- b 
 
 g tity at all seasons. W 
 
 M iSS^VIe grow for tlie trade only. Write for Wholesale Price Lists S 
 
 I EMERSON C. McFADDEN, | 
 
 g UNITED STATES EXOTIC NUBSEBIES, g 
 
 = (Formerly Pitcher & Manda.i = 
 
 B Telephone 10 B, Mllburn. SHORT HII,I,S, S. J. B 
 
 liii jiniii:jiiiiiiiiiiii: iiiiin:iiiiiii'«iiiiiiiiiii;iiinii!'iiiiii;iiiii:«iii:iiiii' »w 
 
230 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 C. C. POLLWORTH CO., M 
 
 AS YOU 
 CONSULT THIS 
 BOOK FOR 
 REFERENCE, 
 LIKEWISE 
 CONSULT US 
 FOR YOUR 
 SUPPLIES. 
 
 GOOD STOCK IS 
 ESSENTIAL 
 TO GOOD 
 GROWING 
 
 iLWAUKEE, Wis. 
 
 H. W. BICKBEE, 
 
 AND PLANT 
 
 SPECIALIST. 
 
 Rockfortl Seed Farms, D^^lyf^-^ III 
 Forest City Oreeuhouses, iXOCKTOrU, III* 
 
 r 
 
 ALL FLORISTS' NEEDS IN= 
 
 Iiock Box No. 911. 
 
 WHOLESALE TRADE PRICE LIST 
 sent free to the TRADE upon application. 
 
 Seeds, Bulbs, 
 Plants 
 
 (?■ 
 
 for the 
 
 rUORISTS.... 
 
 e make a specialty of supplying the bCSC that can be grown. 
 
 If vou do not receive our catalogue, write for it ; 
 also our Spedul Florists* list. 
 
 W. W. RAWSON & CO. 
 
 12 & 13 Fuueuil Hall Square, 
 
 BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 3 
 Cut nowers, | 
 
 Seeds and Supplies • 
 
 CAN BE OBTAINED OF \ 
 
 4 
 
 E. H. HINT, WabaVh^Ave. CHICAGO, ILL. J 
 
 We issue every Spring and Fall a Trade Price List of every- | 
 
 tiling needed by the trade Mailed free to florists only. ^ 
 
 Herr's Pansies. 
 
 The best in the country. 
 Tlie best fiorisis will tell you so. 
 A little better each season but 
 always the same price. 
 
 75 cents per hundred; $4.00 per thousand. 
 
 Herr's Srailax. 
 
 A marvel of cheapness and good 
 
 quality combined. 
 •iO.OfJO sold in "99" without a 
 
 single complaint, 
 
 Pot Plants at $1.50 per hundred; $15.00 per thousand. 
 
 Herr's Carnations. 
 
 raatioD on varieties and prices. 
 
 Rooted Cuttings with 
 roots and selected with 
 an eye to their making 
 good plants for my cus- 
 tomers. Write for infor- 
 
 ALBERT M. HERR, 
 
 LANCASTER, PA. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 231 
 
 
 -^ 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 
 Simplicity in Greenhouse Construction. 
 
 During our long experience we have not only made many im- 
 provements in greenhouses, but we have so simplified the con- 
 struction that building a greenhouse is no longer a matter so full 
 of complications as to tax the patience and the ingenuity of even 
 the most intelligent mechanic. Our 
 
 Clear Cypress Building Material 
 
 IS worked out in the best manner ready to be put up, and we 
 furnish our customers such complete detail drawings that any 
 workman of only ordinary capabilities can put it up correctly. 
 
 WRITE FOR CIRCULARS OR ESTIMATES. 
 
 ^ 
 
 LOCKLAND LUMBER CO., Lockland, Ohio. 
 
 M 
 
 )P 
 )P 
 
 f 
 W 
 
 If 
 )P 
 
 
 
 i^-' 
 
 'Hi-' 
 
 THE QUDDIN.... 
 
 Adjustable 
 Flower and 
 Plant Stand 
 
 Each stand ad- 
 justable 9 inches 
 from floor to 30 
 inches in height 
 or more if re- 
 quired. 
 
 THE 
 MOST ISEFIL 
 PLANT 
 STAND 
 KNOWN. 
 
 Enameled in 
 White. Green. 
 Ruby Red and 
 Blue, or any col- 
 or desired 
 
 MANUFACTURED BY 
 
 i THE LINCOLN COMPANY, 
 
 L 
 
 54-70 Arch Street, HARTFORD. CONN. 
 
 Vredenburg & Co., 
 
 ROCHESTER, N. Y., 
 
 pi73LISMe:rs of 
 
 \A^L^ 
 
 Fruit and Flower Plates 
 
 IX AX-t, PKOCESSES. 
 
 Over 3,000 varieties constantly in stock. 
 
 Engraving to order and Stock Cuts of all 
 kinds for sale. 
 
 Seed Packets and Other Printed or Lithographed Supplibs. 
 
 Artisticallv Arranged and Printed Catalogues a Specialty. 
 twrixe por quotations. 
 
232 
 
 The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 .Established 1765. 
 
 A. H. HEWS & CO. 
 
 NORTH CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 
 
 The Largest 
 Manufacturers 
 in the World of 
 
 Flower Pots 
 
 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE ON APPLICATION. 
 
 Fern Pans.... 
 
 No. 388. 
 
 SOMETHING NEW IN FERN PANS 
 AND SAUCERS. 
 These Pans are made thin and strong, and 
 the Saucers very shallow. They are very popu- 
 lar, and are made in eight sizes, to be sold with 
 or without saucers. 
 
 The Pans are especially adapted for linings 
 to porcelain and Silver Fern pans. 
 
 Saucers for No. 388. 
 
 Hammond's Paint ar" 
 
 For 20 years many florists throughout the United States have used this paint. The 
 purest and most durable that can be made. At prices to the craft that will pay to use it. 
 EVERY GREENHOUSE MAN SHOULD TRY THIS PAINT. 
 
 Ty-^- 
 
 TWEMLOW'S OLD ENGLISH GLAZING PUTTY 
 
 SEMI -LIQUID. USED IN BULB OR MACHINE. 
 
 In Gallon Cans and Larger Packages. It has no equal probably for Greenhouse work. 
 
 B. HAMMOND, PAINT AND SLUG SHOT WORKS, Fishkill-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 Have You Ised the Perfect Flower Pot 
 
 Handle and Hanger? 
 
 It is just the thing to display your plants 
 bv hanging them on walls, etc.. especially 
 when you are crowded for room. 
 
 Also for lifting plants out of Jardinieres. Will 
 sustain a weight of 100 IbS, 
 
 No. 1 Will fit from 2 to f-inch pots, per doz., 30c 
 No. 2 *' " 5 to 8 " " 40c 
 
 No, 3 " " 8 to 12 " " 50c 
 
 By mail, Kc extra per doz. 
 Sample pair, 10c postpaid. 
 
 For Sale by all Florists' Supply Dealers. 
 
 W. C. KRICK, 
 
 1287 Broadway, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 
 
 W. C. KRICK'S 
 
 FLORISTS' 
 IMMORTELLE 
 LETTERS, Etc. 
 
 Medal awarded at 
 th.:- World's Fair and 
 hitihest award wher- 
 i:\er exhibited. 
 
 Tliese Letters and 
 Tttisigns are made of 
 tlie best Immortelles 
 wired on wood or me- 
 tal frames, having 
 holes drilled in them 
 til insert toothpicks, 
 by which they are fas- 
 tened in the design. 
 ( live them a tnal. 
 Vou will hnd these 
 Kuods to be superior 
 tu any in the market 
 2-in. Letters. S2.50 
 ' I^er 100. Postage 15 
 cents per 100. 
 
 For other styles of Letters, Emblems and Designs, 
 send for catalogue. Before purchasing send for free 
 Sample and catalogue, and compare with any other 
 letter on the market. 
 
The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 233 
 
 ^r^'^'|rrl?^r|?'|?4'»i:»'|r'|?4»»l:»'l:'i?i:»'l:'i:»i:»'l:»i? 
 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 -^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 -^ 
 ^ 
 •^ 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 -^ 
 
 ROYAL BOILERS 
 
 STEAM 
 
 WATER 
 
 Hart & Grouse Co., Utica, N. Y. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 4 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 t COLIMBIS, 0. CHICAGO. ST. LOUS. NEW YORK. 
 
 SAVE REPAIR 
 
 AND PUT IN 
 
 IRON BENCHES WITH 
 
 Jennings' Fittings 
 
 Easily and quickly put together. No threads, no angle 
 irons, no nails. Specially designed for the construction of 
 iron bench frames and roof supports in greenhouses, con- 
 servatories, etc. With these fittings the cost and labor of 
 erecting iron benches is brought down to a minimum. Also 
 "Jennings' fmproved Vaporizing Pans." Send fur catalogue 
 and price list. JENNrNGS BROS., OIney, Phila., Pa. 
 
 100% PROFIT 
 FOR YOU 
 
 And Entire 8atlsraelion to .vnur 
 Cnstonicrs. \Miat more does 
 anybody uant 
 
 WALKER'S EXCELSIOR 
 FLOWER FOOD 
 
 Is odorless and soluble and an Ideal 
 
 food for liouse plants. Send for free 
 literature and price list. When you 
 want anytfiing vou want the best. 
 
 We also furnisli the plant food in 
 bulk for Horists" use. 
 
 FLOWER CITY PLANT FOOD CO., 
 
 ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
 
 Gulf Cypress Greenhouse Material. 
 
 Greenhouse Glass ^ ^ 
 
 LINSEED OIL, PUTTY. MASTICA, WHITE LEAD, Etc., Etc. 
 GLAZIERS' AND FLORISTS' DUHOND GUSS- CUnERS. 
 VAN REYPER'S GLAZING POINTS. 
 
 GET OUR PRICES BEFORE BUYING. 
 
 S. Jacobs & Sons, 
 
 Office: 406 West 13th St., NEW YORK. 
 
 FACTORY STOBEHOtrSE : 
 Flushing' and Metropolitan Aves., Borongh of Qneens, N. T. 
 
 V J|.XJ|.4..<.J.J».J.AJ.AAJLJ.4.J. A .«.Ji.A*J.J.XA4lJ.AAJ. J.JLJ .4.XJULJ. ^ 
 
 FLORISTS' BOXES and 
 
 MAILING PACKAGES, i 
 
 Write for samples and prices. 
 
 I The Dayton Paper Novelty Co., Oayton/Oiiio. | 
 
234 
 
 The FLORISTS' MANUAL. 
 
 Thos. W. Weathered's Sons, 
 
 ESTABI.ISri2:D 1859. 
 
 Horticultural Architects and Builders 
 
 ....AND MANUFACTURERS OF.... 
 
 GREENHOUSE HEATING AND VENTILATING APPARATUS. 
 
 Winners of the Highest Award.... 
 
 AT THE WORLD'S FAIR ; 
 
 THE DEAN GOLD MEDAL, JIADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 
 
 FOR BEST AMATEUR GREENHOUSE; 
 CERTIFICATE OF MERIT, SOCIETY AMERICAN 
 
 FLORISTS, and the 
 SILVER MEDAL FOR 1898 of the N. Y. FLORISTS' CLUB. 
 
 REPORT OF judges: 
 
 Model of Iron Frame Greenhouse combining many 
 good qualities, and the Committee consider same worthy 
 of special mention. Points awarded: 
 
 Utility 30 
 
 Simplicity 25 
 
 Desirability... 20 
 
 Cheapness 15 
 
 CONSERVATORIES, GREENHOUSES, Etc., ^'T.f^T.'nl'Tron 
 
 Frame Construction, or uf Wood and Iron combined, or of Wood 
 alone. Hot-Bed Sash, Frames, etc. 
 
 Self=Feeding Hot Water Boilers.... 
 
 90 
 
 (Signed) JOHN N. MAY, Chairman, 
 lULIUS ROEHRS, 
 LAWRENCE HAFNER, 
 A, S. BURNS, 
 
 [ Judges, 
 
 THE WEATHERED 
 PATENT IMPROVED SECTIONAL BOILER 
 
 For Small Greenhouses and 
 Conservatories. 
 
 1899 
 MODEL. 
 
 TWO SIZES. 
 
 Also 
 
 CONICAL 
 BOILERS 
 
 FIVE SIZES. 
 
 COPYRIGHTED 1B89. 
 
 SECTIONAL VIEW. 
 
 A Few Points Claimed for this Boiler: 
 
 Simplicity of construction. 
 Sectional headers. 
 Sectional ash-pit. 
 Maximum vertical circulation. 
 Minimum friction. 
 Direct or indirect draft. 
 Smoke-box on front or back. 
 Rapidity of water circulation. 
 Easily cleaned in every part. 
 Grates on level with tire-door opening. 
 Greatest amount of boiler surface exposed to radienl heat. 
 Heating surfaces so arranged in fire-box that the hot gases must 
 stride every part before entering combustion chamber. 
 
 Send four cents for catalogue. Greenhouse Construction or Greenhouse Heating. 
 
 _,__^ ,,, ■■■■-aw|i|-tipn9^ Onkie FACTORY, 196 to 240 Orient Ave., Jersey City, N.J. 
 
 THOS. W. WEATHEntP 5 OlINb, office, 46and48MarionSt.(NewElmSt.). New York. 
 
The FLORISTS' Manual. 
 
 235 
 
 Capable ami experienced specialists, give close and personal attention to all matters, so that liigh class service alone is obtainable ^^ 
 
 at moderate charges. Results demonstrate our policy to be a wise one. ^^ 
 
 National Florists' Board of Trade. | 
 
 (INCORPORATED.) 
 IT DOES PROTECT NURSERYMEN, SEEDSMEN AND FLORISTS AND KINDRED INTERESTS. 
 (Rooms 54, 55, 56) National Shoe and Leather Bank Building, |^ ■ b^s m m %#^^ W^ M^ ^\ 
 
 271 BROADWAY, Comer chambers street,) IN t- W YUKl\. T 
 
 We can assist you 
 in many ways. 
 
 Note "Our Specialties" 
 and "Our Policy." 
 
 Write 
 
 Cornelius S. Loder, Sec'y, 
 
 for full information. 
 
 European and American 
 references, covering 
 every branch of the 
 Horticultural business 
 to be had on application. 
 
 OIR SPECIALTIES: 
 Collections everywhere. 
 Credit reports furnished. 
 Publishers of the credit 
 
 information and black 
 
 lists. 
 Transportation losses 
 
 adjusted. 
 Partnerships organized 
 
 and Companies 
 
 incorporated. 
 Commercial and Corpo- 
 ration Law attended 
 
 to by Counsel. 
 
 ANY MEMBER OF THE TRADE IS INVITED TO ACCEPT THE HOSPITALITIES OF OUR OFFICE WHEN IN NEW YORK. 
 
 rif'f^fT^'l^fTf l^ffl'MfTf l^fT' 
 
 ^fTffTfn^f^ 
 
 Allen. J. K 22G 
 
 American Rose Co 53, 193 
 
 Bassett & Washburn 101 
 
 Berning, H. G 101 
 
 Benthey & Co 101 
 
 Berger, H. H. & Co 225 
 
 Bobbink & Atkins 225 
 
 Buckbee, H. W 230 
 
 Burpee, W. Atlee & Co 228 
 
 Chicago House Wrecking Co 119 
 
 Cleary & Co 203 
 
 Cottage Gardens 45,53,57,67,108 
 
 Craig. Robt. & Son 226 
 
 Crowl Fern Co 101 
 
 Darlington, H. D 81 
 
 Dayton Paper Novelty Co 233 
 
 Dillon, J. L 53, 101, 193, 220 
 
 Dreer, Henry A 229 
 
 Elchholz, Henry 229 
 
 Eisele, C 53 
 
 Elliott, W. H 228 
 
 Elliott, W. & Sons 225 
 
 EUwanger & Barry 228 
 
 Esler, J. G. & A 223 
 
 Florists' Publishing Co. . . .101, 203, 228 
 
 Flower City Plant Food Co 233 
 
 Gibbons, H. W 119,130 
 
 Good & Reese Co. . ? 195 
 
 Hagemann & Meyer 225 
 
 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS. 
 
 Hammond, B 232 
 
 Hart & Crouse Co 233 
 
 Henderson, Peter & Co 225 
 
 Herr, Albert M 230 
 
 Hews, A. H. & Co 232 
 
 Hill, E. G. & Co 229 
 
 Hitchings & Co 113, 127 
 
 Hunt, B. H 230 
 
 Jackson & Perkins Co 193 
 
 Jacobs, S. & Sons 233 
 
 Jennings Bros 233 
 
 Joosten, C. H 195 
 
 Kasting, Wm. F 101 
 
 Kelsey, Harlan P 70 
 
 Krick, W. C 232 
 
 Kuehn, C. A .-101 
 
 Kuhl, Geo. A 101 
 
 Langjahr, Alfred H 203 
 
 Lincoln Co., The 231 
 
 Lockland Lumber Co 231 
 
 Long, Daniel B 195, 210 
 
 Lord & Burnham Co 115, 129 
 
 Lucas, John & Co 110, 193 
 
 McDowell, J. A 159 
 
 McFadden, Emerson C 229 
 
 McKellar & Winterson 101 
 
 McManus, James 226 
 
 Manufacturers' Rubber Co 223 
 
 Michel Plant and Bulb Co 203 
 
 Model Plant Stake Co 53 
 
 Moninger Co., John C 119 
 
 Moon, Samuel C .'...124 
 
 National Florists' Board of Trade. 235 
 
 Ouwerkerk, P. 195 
 
 PoUworth, C. C. Co 230 
 
 Purdy & Blauvelt 226 
 
 Rawson, W. W. & Co 230 
 
 Resser, C. A. Co 193 
 
 Rice. M. & Co 228 
 
 Roehrs, Julius 226 
 
 Roemer, Fred 178 
 
 Scollay, John A 130 
 
 Sheridan, Walter F 226 
 
 Skabcura Dip Co 105 
 
 Smith, Nathan & Son 57 
 
 Steffens, Emil ...'. 101 
 
 Storrs & Harrison Co 193 
 
 Stumpp & Walter Co 225 
 
 Thorburn, J. M. & Co 203 
 
 Tobacco Warehousing Co 105 
 
 Vervaet de Vos, Bug 227 
 
 Vredenburg & Co 231 
 
 Weathered's Sons, Thos. W 234 
 
 Wilcox, J. F 229 
 
 Wittbold. Geo 171 
 
 Young, John Welsh 175 
 
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