MAIN LIBRARY THE FLORISTS' MANUAL .-.BY.... WILLIAM SCOTT. REFERENCE BOOK FOR COMMERCIAL FLORISTS. SECOND EDITION. COPYRIGHT, 1906. ILLUSTRATED. PRICE, FIVE DOLLARS. CHICAGO: FLORISTS' PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1906. ; IA Afiric. Dept Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1899, by the FLORISTS' PUBLISHING COMPANY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1906, by the FLORISTS' PUBLISHING COMPANY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. .....INTRODUCTION..... 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 determined 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 business 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 difficult to determine the limit of the book, but as will be apparent few plants are noticed but those of com mercial 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 oppor tunity 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 handmaid 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 shopkeepers and their clerks could imbibe a little more knowledge 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 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 their imperfections these pages will be appreciated by many, I remain, with some confidence and much hope. Yours very sincerely, WILLIAM SCOTT. Buffalo. 1899. ^...INTRODUCTION TO SECOND EDITION..... The author has little to add and nothing to erase from the above. The reason and cause of my presuming t° write this simple volume holds good today. It was well received, and what was gratifying was the fact that as time went on the demand for the book increased. The first edition has long since been exhausted and hundreds of orders have since that been received and now await fulfilment, so I think that is a just encouragement to write a second edition. No doubt all trades and professions consider their special calling has advanced at a wonderful rate, and in most cases this is doubtless true, but surely few professions have advanced with greater strides than the glorious field of horticulture with all its intellectuality. With new and improved varieties of florists' flowers have come better methods of cultivation. In fact we owe to rational and improved methods of culture the marvelous improvement in our leading florists' flowers more than to the introduction of new varieties, although great has been the painstaking work of hybridists. We honestly hope and believe that we have kept in touch with the work and achievements of our most progres sive men, and have taken sincere pleasure in imparting to our readers all knowledge we consider of value -which -we possessed. This edition has been written with greater effort than the first because of poor health, yet many happy hours have been spent in its composition. With much gratitude for the many kind words expressed regarding the first edition, and hoping that the second will be found up-to-date on most leading subjects, I am. Your respectful friend, WILLIAM SCOTT. Buffalo, March 10, 1906. Whatever ability I may possess in the glorious field of horticulture, 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 10 Ai-antiiophomix 10 Acer Japonicum 11 A'-liillea 11 Acliiinines 11 Adiyranthes 11 Ai-rophyllum 11 Ailiantum 11 15 15 Ageratuni : 15 Allamanda 15 Alocasia 16 Aloysia Citriodora 16 Alternanthera 17 Amaranthus 17 Amaryllis 17 \mpelopsis 18 Ananas 18 Annuals 18 Anlhrricum 19 Anthurium 19 Antirrhinum 19 Aponogeton Distachyon 19 Aquatics 20 Araucaria 21 Ardisia 22 Aristolochia 22 Asparagus 22 Aspidistra 24 Asplonium 24 Aster 24 Astilbe Japonica 26 Azalea 26 Balsam 28 Basket Plants 29 Bay Trees 29 Bedding Plants 30 Begonia 33 Bellis 36 Boston Ivy 36 Bottle Brush 36 Bottom Heat 36 Bougainvillea 37 Bouvardia 38 Bromeliads 39 Browallia 40 Bulbs 40 i 'actus 43 ' '.-thulium 44 ' ":i lamus ; . 45 1 'alct'olaria 45 "'Mine-Ilia 46 " anna 46 Candytuft 48 < 'arludovica 48 Carnation 48 • 'Hosia 56 ' ''-ntaurea 56 Cheiranthus 57 Chorizema 57 Chrysanthemum 57 ( 'ineraria 61 Clematis 61 Cobsea 62 1 I'lilt'rames 63 1 'olfiig 63 1 '(ismos .64 < 'otyledon 64 1 Vinum 65 Crocus ,65 Croton ......'.'..'.'. 65 1 'yeas 66 'yclameo 66 Cytisoa ] 68 Dahlia 68 Decorations 69 Decorative Material (Wild) 73 Decorative Plants 74 Deutzia 77 Dianthus 77 Dracaena 78 Drainage 79 r Easter Plants 80 Epacris 84 Epiphyllum Truncatum 84 Erica 85 Eriostemon 86 Eucharis 86 Eupatorium 87 Euphorbia 87 Ferns 88 Fertilizers and Manures 97 Ficus 99 Fittonia 100 Floral Arrangements 100 Freesia J04 Fuchsia 104 Fungicides and Insecticides 106 Gardenia 110 Geranium 110 Gesnera 114 Gladiolus 114 Glazing 114 Glechoma 116 Gloxinia 116 Grasses 117 Greenhouse Building 117 Grevillea Kobusta 125 Gypsophila Paniculata 1^5 Hardy Climbers 1 25 Hardy Perennial Plants 126 Hardy Shrubs 128 Heating 132 Hedera (Ivy) 136 Hedge Plants 136 Heliotrope 137 Hibiscus 138 Hollyhock 138 Hotbeds 138 Hoya 139 Hyacinth 139 Hydrangea 139 Impatiens Sultani 140 Insecticides ^ 140 Iresine (Achyranthes) 140 Jasminum 140 Kalmia 140 Koeniga (Sweet Alyssum) 141 Lantana J41 Lapageria 141 Lawns 141 Libonia 143 Lilium 143 Lily of the Valley 147 Linum Trigynum 149 Lobelia 150 Lysimachia 150 Manettia 150 Marauta 150 Martinezia 151 Maurandya 151 Metrosideros 151 Miynonette 152 Mimulus . .152 Moon flower 153 .Mulching 153 AT lisa '. 153 Mushrooms 153 Myosotis 155 Narcissus 155 Nasturtium 155 Nierembergia 155 Nepenthes 156 Oleander 156 Orange 157 Orchids 158 Othonna 166 Oxalis 166 Packing Flowers .' 167 Packing Plants 169 Palms 172 Pancratium 181 Pandanus 181 Panicum Variegatum 183 Pansy 184 Pelargonium 185 Pennisetum 187 Peonies 187 Peperomia 188 Perilla Nankinensis 189 Petunia 189 Phlox Drummondii 189 Phlox (Herbaceous) 190 Pinks 190 Poinsettia 190 Potting 191 Primula 193 Pronouncing Dictionary 240 Rhododendron 194 Eichardia Af ricana 195 Eicinus 195 Boses 196 Salvia 211 Santolina 211 Sedum 211 Seed Sowing 212 Selaginella 213 Shading 213 Skimmia Japonica 214 Smilax 214 Soils 215 Solanum 218 Stephanotis 218 Stevia 219 Stocks 219 Store Management *. 219 Swainsona 221 Sweet Peas 221 System 223 Thunbergia Alata 225 Torenia 225 Tropsnolum 225 Tuberose 226 Vallota Purpurea 226 Vases 227 Ventilation 229 Veranda-boxes 230 Verbena 230 Vinca 231 Violet 231 Watering 236 Zinnia 238 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. ILLUSTRATED. A Reference Book for Commercial Florists. ABUTILON. Greenhouse shrubs with drooping, bell- shape^ I flowers, ranging in color from pure white to crimson and purple, most ly erect in growth. A few of the species will endure a few degrees of frost, but they are best treated as cool greenhouse plants during our winters. The hybrids now both in beauty of leaf and flower far surpass the true species. They are largely used in subtropical flower gar dening, growing very freely in our warm summers and are fine ornamental plants for the conservatory, and can either be grown as specimen plants in pots or trained to pillars or rafters. As a com mercial plant, except for flower garden ing, they are not of great value, being strong growers and occupying too much room for their value. They propagate easily any time dur ing winter or early spring by cuttings from young tender growths. A. Savitzii is the most useful of all the varieties to the florist. Perfect in variegation and neat and compact in growth it is particularly valuable for edging to subtropical beds. Lift and pot some plants before frost and prop agate during winter. Put cuttings in early as a good sized plant is desirable for bedding. 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-inch 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 appears. 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: Souvenir de Bonn, variegated foliage, orange flowers; Bosaeflora, deep coppery rose ; Snowstorm, large white ; Splendens, deep red; Pink Perfection, fine bright pink. 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 Ithe most graceful of all, is splendidly adapted for training on a pillar or wall of a light, cool house. A tem perature 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 not too finely broken up and a fourth of leaf -mold will suit the acacias in pots. If planted out permanently in a border then it must be well drained; and some charcoal mixed with the soil will greatly help to keep it in good condition. They are propagated from the half ripened wood in May or June, that is from the shoots made the previous spring. Place the cuttings in pans of sand or leaf-mold and sand and place the pans in a coldframe, which shade on hot days and keep close till growth begins. When rooted, pot off and grow on in a coldframe. 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 branch ing growth. Although their propaga tion is not difficult, it will be found Acacia Pubescens. THE FLORIST MANUAL. 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 s'hould be cut back about half the previous summer's growth, shifted if needed, and plunged outside during summer. This applies especially to A. armata, so largely grown for Easter. 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 florist is armata, small globular flow ers which cover the whole plant; deal- bata, strong grower with handsome yellow racemes ; Drummondii, 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. Acack Armata as an Easter Plant. ACALYPHA. A genus of tropical shrubs that are grown entirely for the attractiveness of the leaves excepting A. Sanderi, which has long, cylindrical,, pendulous flowers and is very ornamental. The acalypha is grown largely in Europe as an orna mental stove plant, but with us its chief value is as a summer bedding plant for mixed borders or subtropical beds. As most all the species are from the tropical islands of the Pacific, their requirements can be judged accordingly. The most economical way to produce plants for spring use is to lift a few old plants before any danger of frost. These could be used for decorating 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, which 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 enriched loam is all they want. A few of the most desirable varieties for subtropical bedding are: Triumphans, light red shaded darker; Bicolor compacta, bright green margined and blotched with yellow; Marginata, dark olive and rose; Miltoniana, bright green edged white. Sanderi is the species grown both for a bedding plant and for conservatory decoration. When in fine condition its long, pendant, rope-like, bright red flow ers make it a most unique and attractive plant. For pot culture it must be kept shifted or it will soon become shabby. Propagate this species from half ripened wood during winter. 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 in 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 culture 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 require warm treatment, there is the ever-present probability of finding some injurious insects on acantho phoenix, the most likely pests being THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 prob able that this palm will become popular for trade purposes. W. H. T. ACER JAPONICUM. 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 nurseries. Being perfectly hardy they can be pro cured 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 potting 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 an unusualy long, cold winter to be entirely hard}', 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 border and many are very valuable for the rockwork, 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 garden. 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 flowers. ACHIMINES. Hothouse herbaceous summer flower ing plants growing from loose rhizomes held in high esteem in the gardens of Europe but seldom seen here. They are usually grown in pans from six to twelve inches across and six inches deep. They should have drainage and" the com post should be a good light loam to which has been added a fourth of leaf- Acanthophoenix Crinita. mold and rotted manure. 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 two inches 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 subject to greenfly and red spider they must be lightly but regularly fumigated, 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, better buy the roots from a seedsman. Although not of commercial value the achimines is a splendid plant for a private greenhouse during the summer months. There are a score of species, 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 be 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 commercial ferns are treated collectively. The fol lowing adiantum notes are by Mr. W. H. Taplin: A. LEGRANDI. The maidenhair fam ily 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. Legrandi belongs to the dwarf section, the stipes or stems being us ually but a few inches in length and the fronds very compact and closely clothed with small pinnae. In fact the growth in small plants is so close and overlapping that the foliage is quite sub- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Adiantum Farleyense. wide, and when first unfolding are bright pink in color, finally changing to deep green. The pinnffi of the fertile fronds are usually 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 much better than those ob tained from division of 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 any danger of injury. ject to damping off unless the house in which it is grown is kept well ventilated. Begarding 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 varieties present the same dark green color of the foliage. As a trade fern A. Legrandi has not become prominent, and as a matter of fact it is less frequently seen in trade collections now than it was a few years ago, the de mand in this line being confined to ferns that are more sturdy 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 exhibition pur poses, it is a good plan to group sev eral young plants in a pan about ten 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. cuneatum 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. cuneatum, the rather stitf and heavy looking leaves of this species would seem to belong to an entirely different genus. The large pinnated species of adian- tum, among which we find A. macro phyllum, A. Peruvianum, A. Seemannii and A. Wilsonii, form a very interesting Adiantum Tetraphyllum. group, and one which adds greatly to tne beauty and variety of a collection of ferns. Adiantum macrophyllum is a moderate growing species, the fronds being erect, from one to two feet high, simple pinnate, and having stiff black stems. The pinnae of the barren fronds are very large, being frequently three to four inches long, by about two inches 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 cuneatum mundu- lum. The varietal name, which signi- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 13 Adiantum Mondulum. ties neat, is well applied in this case, the plant being of dwarf and com pact habit, and is better adapted for small ferneries than as an exhibition plant. The fronds of A. cuneatum mundulum 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 narrow, wedge-shaped pinnae. In general out line the fronds are deltoid, and when well matured they possess sufficient sub stance to be useful in cut flower work, where a small frond is required. A. cuneatum mundulum comes true from spores, and also germinates freely, the spores being produced abundantly on old plants, and it flourishes under the same treatment as A. cuneatum, thus being by no means difficult to manage. Nicely grown plants in 3-inch 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. cuneatum muudulum is of garden origin, and although in cultivation since 1879, is not frequently met with in the trade, in fact, seems scarcer now than it was ten years ago, no doubt owing to the greater demand for ferns of more endurance than is found among the maidenhairs in general. A. TETRAPHYLLUM. Among the less common species of maidenhair ferns, Adiantum tetraphyllum is deserv ing of special mention, and some idea of its general outline may be had from the illustration which accompanies 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 question has been found in fern collections for many years past, and has produced an occasional varia tion in form from time to time, though it is not a notably prolific species, per haps the best of these variations from the type being that known as A. tetra phyllum gracile, in which the pinnae are rather narrower than those of the orig inal species and the young fronds show a higher coloring than is found on the type. A. tetraphyllum may be classed as a moderate grower, the fronds reaching a height of twelve to fifteen inches, and are usually four times divided, or rather divided into four segments. While un folding the young fronds are frequently bright pink, this color gradually fading as the frond develops, until the mature leaf becomes dark green. This species prefers warm house treat ment, is evergreen, and grows best in a rather loose and open compost. It requires plenty of water at the root, but during the winter especially 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 have almost disappeared within a few years, though it is not a particularly tender fern, or one that is difficult to reproduce. We mention it as a variety rather than a species, because it seems prob able that this fern is a form of Adian tum Capillus-Veneris, or else a cross between that species and A. cuneatum, its origin being somewhat obscure. But be this as it may, the fern in ques tion is a very attractive plant of dwarf and sturdy growth, the fronds being almost upright, having black stems and Adiantum Macrophyllum. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Adiaotum Wiegandii. rather large pinna; that are inclined to be cristate. A. Wiegandii is compact in habit and in a large plant reaches a height of twelve to fifteen 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-inch pots if treated in the same manner as A. cuneatum, a night temperature of 60 degrees being a proper mark at which to carry these ferns. But little trouble is experienced from the damping of the foliage with A. Wiegandii during the winter, even when grown quite close together, the regular use of the hose having less effect upon this fern than is often found with adian- tums of low and compact habit. Thor oughly 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 condition. Tn addition to the fine species de scribed above and many others, all of which make fine specimen plants, the valuable, in fact indispensable, adian- tuni is the cuneatum type, so generally known as the maidenhair fern. Of these the best known is A. cuneatum. Within a few years another species or variety has appeared which originated with Mr. Crowe, of Utica, now sold under the name of A. Croweanum. Some experts have pronounced this a variety of cuneatum, yet there is specific difference, for cuneatum is one of the most pro lific with fertile spores, while Crowe anum is always sterile and can only be increased by divisions of older plants. It has also longer stems and larger fronds tha*j cuneatum. O'Brianii is an other species, resembling Capillus- Veneris but not as graceful or useful as cuneatum, yet useful to those who do not succeed with the latter, of very free and strong growth. It must be very noticeable to all travelers in the British Isles that A. cuneatum grows with great luxuriance there and under conditions that it does not thrive in here, which simply means it likes the more humid atmosphere found there. Some years ago A. cuneatum was grown almost entirely in pots. It is now, wherever largely grown for cutting, planted out on benches in five or six inches of good soil. These same cultural directions will also apply to A. Croweanum. Many growers have recom mended for soil a fibrous loam, peat and leaf-mold. The finest bench of Crowe anum we ever saw growing was planted in a rather heavy turfy loam and cow manure, in fact, an ideal rose soil. It was on a middle bench with very little heat beneath the bench and this I think a valuable point. Ferns don't want bottom heat, it is quite contrary to their natural environments. Shaded from the bright summer suns, a brisk atmospheric heat of 65 degrees is all they need, with liquid manure frequently applied as soon as roots have well spread through the soil. Air-slaked lime was copiously scattered over fronds and crowns of Adiantum Legrandi. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J5 plants and the successful grower re marked that the lime not only kept down slugs and snails, but was he be lieved a stimulant to the plants, and that I believe we proved is ail there is in growing cuneatum or Croweanum. 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 south of Eng land 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 overwater 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 winter 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 by 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. Prop agated by division of the roots. 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 ma tured they send up a stately flower spike from the center of the crown of leaves and then die. This is the case with the great majority, although 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 fifty years or seventy-five 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 twenty- five 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 field of labor. Within forty 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 Dictionary of Gardening enumerates nearly a hundred species and then states there are many more which it is not worth while to describe as there is only one specimen of each in cultivation. They vary in size from eighteen inches in height and the same Agave Americana in Flower. in width to the majestic species of ten 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 Mill suit all the species. A well drained pot or tub, with good turfy loam; add leaf- mold or sand if heavy. They will stand the strongest sun out of doors and should receive plenty of water. In win ter, if you wish merely to store them for next season 's growth they will do very well in any cool house or even shed, but must not freeze, and when the tempera ture is low they will do without water for weeks. They are easily propagated by suckers, 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 labor and room to be of any profit; 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 ageratum has been in constant demand. A. Mexicanum is the only species in which we are interested. By selection 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 disseminated, as they are very inexpensive and frequently great improvements on existing varie ties. 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 wailful neglect will cause a batch of cut tings 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-inch or 6-inch 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 the most in 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 syring ing 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 vividly than the showy al- lamanda. Though not a commercial florist's flower it hardly has a rival as a hothouse climber. The leaves are sharp-pointed, oblong, and come three or four in a whorl. The flowers are THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. funnel shaped, three to five 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 balloon- shaped or flat wire frame three or four feet high. In a competition for a num ber of flowering stove and greenhouse plants in any horticultural exhibition 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 glorious 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 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 hothouse grape vines, cutting back the previous year's growth to two or three eyes. If you wish to propagate them the last foot or so of the last year's growth Avill 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, flow ers in July; A. grandiflora, pale yellow, large, flowers in June; A. nobilis, bright yellow, large, flowers in July; A. Schottii, yellow, throat striped with brown, very free bloomer, the best known and best for all purposes. Alocasia Metallica. from equatorial America, 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 keep ing them clean without any trouble. In the spring and summer they want lots of water; in the darker winter months much less. In our hot summers they re quire shade from the brightest sun, but only enough to keep them from burning. They like the light, which they get in 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 summer, and where the house is heavily shaded they Avill be greatly benefited 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, one-third turfy loam in coarse lumps and 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 few 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 abundance of water in sum mer, but much less in winter. It is not only the water they receive on the surface that benefits them, but they require a humid, warm atmosphere. The above applies to the evergreen species such as metallica, regina and others. 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 bottom heat is the ideal place. The herbaceous species do very well in good fibrous loam with a fourth of de cayed cow manure. As winter ap proaches the evergreen species should be given less water and the herbaceous sorts gradually let go dry till the fol lowing March. The leaves are large, from one to two feet in length. All are beautiful, vary ing 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. hybrida, 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 deciduous shrub and is the sole representative 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 greenhouse, but it is as a sweet scented plant for our gardens that we most prize it, and every mixed bor der, 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 wel come 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 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. \i them going again in fresh soil and pots, with us a 4-inch. Placed in a tempera ture of 55 degrees, in a few weeks they are covered with young growths which are just the thing for cuttings. They root easily but not nearly so surely as many of the soft-wooded plants. I pre fer 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 cuttings wilt from the sun or dryness. In April we shift them from a 2-inch to a 3-inch pot and plunge in a mild hotbed, 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 given they will not be troubled with fly. A florist should always be supplied with them, for they are usually difficult to procure when wanted. ALTERNANTHERA. It seems as though it would have been almost impossible to carry out the won derful designs in carpet bedding had we not had these little plants to serve us. Carpet bedding came into its greatest popularity shortly after the in troduction of the alternanthera, some thirty 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 popu larity to carpet bedding. Nothing troubles the alternantheras 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 tempera ture 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 flats and started grow ing in a warm, light house, or what is better, a hotbed. Where very large quantities are needed the old plants are generally depended upon. 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 of sand. About 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 root ed 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 hotbed 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. paronychioides major, but which I feel sure is A. paronychioides magnifica, which is much -the highest colored of all. In elaborate bedding room is found for most of the cultivated varieties. If you cannot give them a temperature of 60 degrees during the 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. paronychioides finely. If extra 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 hotbed. A few of the handsomest are: Bi- color, foliage green and yellow; hypo- chondriacus, large spikes of crimson flowers; salieifolius, narrow drooping leaves, orange, carmine and bronze; sanguineus, blood red leaves; tricolor, a very handsome species with carmine and yellow leaves. A Corner of the Amaryllis Show at Lincoln Park, Chicago. magnifica, almost scarlet when well col ored, 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. amabilis, rose color and orange; A. amoena, orange red and purple; A. tricolor, dark green edge, center of leaf rose striped with purple veins and orange; A. paronychioides au- rea nana, the best of the yellow or golden leaved sorts. In very warm rainy seasons they grow so fast that the beautiful markings of the leaves do not show at their best. They should never be planted in a very rich soil. Their great adaptability for carpet bedding is because they can be sheared to any sharp line and can be kept very dwarf. AMARANTHUS. Strong growing tropical annuals hav ing feathery spikes of flowers and highly colored leaves. They are very suitable for the mixed border or for large subtropical beds. It is on account 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 first part of June, but they grow very luxuriantly in the warm months. They require 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 hotbed suits them AMARYLLIS. The Belladonna 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 during the winter, will flower the third year. They can also be increased by the off sets 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 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 principal growth and stores up strength for future flowering. Keep them watered and growing till the win ter 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-inch or 8-inch pot they need not be shifted, but can be resurfaced annually. They like a rich, rather heavy loam. Few, if any, of our greenhouse pests trouble them. Being all tropical, when growing they must have a light, warm house and plenty of moisture. The offsets can be removed from the THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. old bulbs just after the flowering or when you start the bulbs into active growth; the former is the better plan. The amaryllis flowers in July and Au gust, the hippeastrum in April and May. Though hardly a florist 's plant they are gorgeous flowers for the conservatory. 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 into the plantsman's trade. We all handle, and some of us largely, that unrivalled climber, A. tricuspidata, so universally known as A. Veitehii. It has many aliases among our patrons, being called the Japanese ivy, Boston ivy, etc. For the covering of unsightly walls, stone or brick barns, and on the most costly man sions if the owner chooses, it has no equal, needing no support of any kind. When first climbing in its early years it assumes 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 not a suitable climber for a frame house, for the house must be painted and that settles 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 coldfraiie. They should be wintered — whether propagated inside or out — in a coldframe and planted out the following spring. Two-year and three-year-old plants from cuttings when planted permanently start off with a vigorous growth. We have raised many thousands from seed. Sow in flats, in February or March. Pot singly in S^-inch pots and later into 4-inch. If you have vacant benches in July, Au gust and September, with a stake to sup port them, you can have nice plants by fall. Put them out into coldframes early, so that they can ripen their growth. These plants should be pro tected in coldframes and can be per manently planted the following spring. These seedlings, however, will be much slower for the first two years than the stronger plants from cuttings. ANANAS. The beautiful variegated pineapple is Ananas Saliva Varicgata. 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 litter over the roots the first year. Millions have been plant ed in the residence portions of our cities and millions more are yet to be planted as our cities spread out. It is a variegated form of the pineapple that is grown for its fruit, Ananas sativa. When well grown there is no variegated ornamental plant surpassing it in beauty. Pineapples, when well grown, can be fruited in two years. They were once a great feature of British gardens. The writer has helped or \vat«-hed the packing of tons of Black Jamaica and Quee;i pineapples, some forty-five years ago. when fruits of either of those fine vari eties were worth from $5.00 to $10.00 each. That was in the days when the foreign or tropical grown fruit was little larger than a baseball and about as tough. Since then the cultivation of the pineapple has been skillfully and systematically taken up in several tropi cal countries, perhaps to the greatest per fection in the Azores, and the fruit being almost equal, both in appearance and flavor, to those grown under glass, the industry is no longer profitable and would be out of the province of this chapter if it were. The propagation of the pineapple is by suckers, which start freely from the base of the stem, and from the leafy crown on the fruit. They should be cleaned off and a small portion of the base of the sucker cut squarely off. Pot firmly into 3 or 4-inch pots and plunge into bottom heat of 75 to 80 degrees. Keep only moderately moist until 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-mold 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. Plenty of water should be given in summer, but 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 of its growth, 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 be 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 variety. It was to plant out the young rooted suckers from the 3-inch or 4-inch pots into six inches of good compost under glass during sum mer and lift them in the fall or follow ing sprirg. Where some bottom heat can be given to the bed they will make as much growth in six months planted out as they will in twelve months grown in pots. 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 perfec tion before frost touches them are very few. Many plants that are perennials we treat as annuals, growing them but one year and finding it more profitable to raise a new crop from seed each year; primula, cineraria, etc. The few annuals that can be sown out of doors, such as candytuft, migno nette, poppy, eschscholzia, etc., should be sown as soon as possible after the THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 raking the surface a few times, stamping 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 one-half to three-quarters of an inch deep. After sowing, hold the rake in a perpendicular position and as you walk along beat the surface of the drill; that will suf ficiently cover the drill. If your ground does not bake after a watering you can Avater 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 are grown for cutting flowers from, al ways sow in drills fifteen or eighteen 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. variegatum, 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 divided. Or a few plants lifted and allowed 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 plant 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. Eemarkable plants that are grown for their curious flowers as well as their fine leaves. The flowers are often used in combination with orchids. Their cul tivation is very similar to that of many of the orchids. Whoever grows a few of the latter should grow A. Scherzerianum. The flowers of this well known species last in perfection two or three months. They are from the West Indies, Cen tral 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 : eqrnl 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. Anareanum and A. Scherzerianum are grand sorts for cut ting. ANTIRRHINUM. Fine colors and forms of these well known garden perennials are now an important plant with the florist for cut years. It was introduced to Europe from the Cape of Good Hope in the lat ter part of the eighteenth century and has become so completely naturalized upon some lakes and streams as to ap pear like a native, so great is its luxuri ance. Doubtless much might be done with it in American waters in southern lat itudes, but the present object of this note is to advise those who have the Antirrhinum Cut with Four-foot Stems. flowers during winter. They are all varieties of A. majus, the old-fashioned snapdragon. If a particular variety is desired it must be propagated by cut tings in late spring, kept over summer in pots and planted in five inches of soil on the benches in September or October. Fine strains are more often raised from seed, which can be sown in April and kept in pots during summer till put on the benches in September. If sowrn in the fall they are slow in coming into flower. Of course, either from cuttings or seeds, they must be kept from flowering during summer. Such soil as you would use for your carnations and a night* temperature of 45 to 50 degrees will suit them. Give them the fullest light and ventilation on all favorable occasions. As a border plant see Hardy Perennials. 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 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 ever- blooming plant as in outside waters 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 in sure flowers in abundance during win ter months. Tanks, tubs, or any re ceptacle of sufficient size and con venience could be utilized for its culti vation, placing in the bottom of them about a foot of compost consisting of loam and well rotted cow manure in proportions of about three to one-. The temperatures at which rose and carna tion houses are kept will suit admirably and like these the aponogeton will en joy 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 abun dantly along the margins of running water or in lakes through which there was a constant flow. This would indi cate that it likes a change of water 20 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. more or less frequently, conditions that can be met under cultivation by turn ing the hose into its tank or tub oc casionally. The plant has a fleshy tuberous root, broad and flat at its apex, narrowing to almost a point at its base, and from the crown of this tuber it sends out long roots in the soil sur rounding, while the leaves and flower stalks find their way to the surface, each stalk terminated by an oblong leaf that floats on the water. The flowers are borne on a forked spike (hence the name distachyon, mean ing two-spiked), are small and incon spicuous in themselves, but they are dis posed 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 delightful fragrance so sweet as to have earned for the plant the name of 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 cognomen, and should be used by those who would popularize the plant and sell its flowers. When once the -plant is strongly estab lished it spreads freely by root increase and also reproduces itself from its own self-sown seed. Dry roots are also ob tainable at times, these being imported from the Cape. The beginner with dry roots, however, must exercise caution in starting his plants, otherwise 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 better 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 nor mally and when top growth is visible and well under way the plants may be im mersed with safety. When new planta tions are being established with divi sions from growing plants no such pre cautions 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 Eiverton, 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 botanic garden, or in a park or 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 resting on the surface and the pool lighted 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 and blues and whites are of the purest and most pleasing shades. When the day flowering species want to close their petals (we will sup pose in sleep), the evening and night flowering ones take their place. Nymphaea. Where and when the nymphaeas can be used as cut flowers 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 Botanic Garden, informs me that he is aware of a method by which the beautiful day flowering N. Zanzi- bariensis and its varieties can be utilized for evening decoration. It may not be generally known, but has been thorough ly tested. Cut the flowers in the morn ing, when at their very best, and put the stems at once in ice water. This seems to arrest their growth and prevents change either way. To use a rather awk ward 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 largely in aquatics, especially nymphaeas, the handsome work by Mr. William Tricker, "The Water Garden," will be found of great assistance. New hybrid nymphaeas are being con stantly sent out, all of great beauty, but those described here will be found, both in 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 in boxes or pots and cov ered with loam, which should be kept continually moist; in fact, as near the consistency of mud as possible, as that would be their natural state. The roots of all the nymphaeas are tuberous and they do not easily perish, provided they are not frozen or allowed to get too dry. The nymphaeas are easily raised from seed, which can be sown in January or February in 4-inch pots of loam, keep ing tlie pots a few inches under water 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 of 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, the 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 advan tage add a pound of bone 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 grow ing nymphaeas in tubs or boxes is as undesirable. 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 must 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 grow ing fine plants with an abundance of fine flowers is a good depth of loam, to which has been added a liberal allowance of animal manure. Since the above was written it has been our good fortune to have had con siderable experience with the beautiful nymphaeas, and particularly gratifying was our effort with the hardy species. The bottom of the pond was a stiff brick clay on which was placed one foot of heavy loam with a good third of cow manure. We had but one foot of water when the small plants were put into these artificial ponds and they were planted at intervals from July 1 to end of August. The following summer all semed to have about the same vigor and covered immense areas of surface. Not being able to keep any water over the plants in the winter we covered the surface with a foot of strawy manure and another foot of evergreen boughs. The frost did not reach the soil and on the removal of the winter's protection and water again covering them they started vigorously and more than fulfilled our greatest expectations, and we had flowers by the acre. This is not quoted to tell you how to do it, but simply how to get over such an emergency. The ease with which these beautiful water lilies can be grown and the short time it takes to produce a fine display of bloom make them deserving of a place in every private pleasure ground as well as public park. No display of flower gardening will attract more attention. They want the fullest sunlight. Small fish in abundance should be introduced into the ponds, for they destroy the larva; of injurious insects. Ducks, geese and swans should be banished, for they eat leaves, buds and rhizomes. The following are all fine desirable kinds, but there are a great number of beautiful hybrids all worthy of cultiva tion by the lover of these plants. TENDER NYMPHAEAS, day blooming. — Zanzibariensis, 30 to 12 inches, deep blue; Capensis, 6 to 8 inches, sky blue; Zanzibariensis rosea, same as type, color rose; Mrs. C. W. Ward, 8 to 10 inches, deep rosy pink; Kewensis, 6 to 8 inches, THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Araucaria Excelsa. light pink; O'Marana, 10 to 12 inches, pinkish red, very fine; Kubra rosea, 8 to 10 inches, rosy carmine, one of the best. TENDER NYMPHAEAS, night blooming. — Devoniensis, pure red, 6 to 10 inches; dentata, white, large, 10 to 12 inches; Frank Trelease, crimson, 8 to 10 inches; George Huster, described as an improved O 'Marana ; Jubilee, pure white with deli cate flush of pink at base of petals. HARDY NYTVIPHAEAS. — These are most ly natives of the United States and tem perate Europe, and the fine hybrids now raised are numerous. The flowers are mostly from three to seven inches across. Tuberosa is the common white pond lily of our northern ponds and creeks. It is not fragrant, but so robust it crowds out other sorts, so that it should be planted alone. Odorata is another beau tiful white and odorata rosea is the famous Cape Cod lily. Some fine sorts are: odorata, white; odorata rosea, pink; tuberosa rosea, fine pink; Mar- liacea albida, splendid large white; Mar- liacea chromatella, bright yellow, most desirable; Gladstoniana, largest pure white; Laydekeri purpurata, rosy crim son; Laydekeri rosea, delicate rose pink; odorata Caroliniana, rosy flesh pink, strong grower. There are numerous other newer hybrids of great beauty and dis tinct, but as yet rather expensive. Nclumbium. This stately aquatic is now generally 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 possession of some of the smaller lakes of Indi ana. The large peltate leaves rise above the surface of the water, and the beau tiful 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 yel low flowers. Other Aquatics. To accompany the nymphaeas and ne- lumbiums in the artificial lake or water 21 garden, and of smaller growth, you can have the following: ElCHHORNIA CRASSIPES MAJOR: Often called the water hyacinth. They spread rapidly and float without the roots be ing in any soil. Some of them must be removed to tubs of water in the green house during winter to furnish a sup ply for the following season. This cu rious little aquatic is also known as Pontederia. LIMNANTHEMUM : In appearance a miniature water lily with a pretty white flower. LlMNOCHARIS HUMBOLDTII: Yellow, poppy-like flowers. Good for the mar gins of ponds, but inclined to become a weed. PAPYRUS (OR CYPERUS) ALTERNIFOL- IUS: 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 appear ance. Both this and alternifolius must be removed to the greenhouse 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 found among the best, easily ob tainable and good, free growers. ABAUCARIA. 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 twenty to thirty 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 greenhouse. A. excelsa is called the Norfolk Island pine, being a native of that far away island. It will endure a very cool tem perature, but not freezing. The plants are imported in large quantities 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 cut tings, the lower branches being always shorter and weaker, spoiling the sym metry of the plant. These are propa gated from the leading shoots of the tops and branches inserted 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 recov ering from the journey and starting to grow. I have had the best success importing in the spring, the plants reach ing here in May. You can then grow them on during summer and have well established plants for winter trade. Anji good, fresh loam lightened up with a fifth or sixth of leaf-mold or very rotten manure will suit the araucaria. 22 THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 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 uni form and moderate amount of water the year around. In the winter months 50 degrees is sufficiently 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 is little grown, being neither very hand some nor showy. 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 require it. The follow ing spring they can be given their flow ering, or rather fruiting, pot, plunged on a light bench in the greenhouse. If sown Ardisia Crenulata in White Pot Cover. glauca and compacta are more expen sive but are improvements on the type. ARDISIA. Dwarf, hard-wooded trees that flower and fruit when quite small; the best of the berried plants with handsome glossy foliage, and densely covered with bright red berries. Ardisia Japonica has white berries but in March or April they will flower the following spring, and will bear their first crop of berries for the coming win ter. The berries hang on frequently a whole year and two crops of berries on the same plant are frequently seen. When over two feet in height they be come bare and unsightly. A night temperature o± 50 degrees in winter is about right. Brown scale is their great est enemy and to keep those down a sponging of soap and nicotine must be used. ARISTOLOCHIA. Nearly all hothouse climbers, several of them having most curious and re markable flowers. They are best planted out in the houses where they grow free ly. They are, however, of little value commercially, except the hardy species, A. Sipho, the familiar Dutchman's pipe, which is one of the handsomest of vines. For covering a veranda, sum mer house or trellis it is admirably suited. Its peculiarly formed little flower, from which it takes its familiar name, is inconspicuous, being overshad owed by its large leaves. You are constantly asked for a good hardy vine. Few plants are better than Aristolochia Sipho. It needs some sup port 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 nurseryman, who will supply you with strong plants at a price that will enable 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 handsome and has anything but a pleasing odor. ASPARAGUS. Of this genus there are three or four species that are very useful and orna mental plants. The one having • the greatest commercial value is A. plumosus. There seems to be some confusion about the name of this species, or there are two varieties. English catalogues make a distinction and call one variety A. plu mosus 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 evi dently a misnomer. Seed can be sown at any time. Sow in flats and cover with an eighth of an inch of leaf-mold or light soil 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 fre quently germinates poorly, but the home grown seed conies freely. We pot the seedlings into 2-inch pots, and if in tended 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 production of long strings should be oa the ground. My own experience has given me a les son 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 flour ishes best in rich soil; a good, heavy loam with a fourth or fifth of cow ma nure is the best compost for it, and in addition put a good dressing on the sur face of the bed every midsummer. Al though the same bed will last indefinitely, I think it more profitable to renew the THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 23 Asparagus Plumosus. feeder 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 shad ing. It is easily raised from seed, which is best sown in early spring. By the fol lowing winter the plants will give fine sprays, i'or hanging baskets it has scarcely a rival, either for the conserva tory, the veranda or parlor window. The magnificent baskets that remain in good condition while hanging for months in a florist's window are evidence of its great adaptability to unfavorable sur roundings. Three small plants put in a 10-inch basket in July or August will make fine ornamental baskets for win ter, most useful for decoration or to sell at a good profit. While the Sprengeri lacks a little of the grace and fineness of plumosus and tenuissimus, it is for certain purposes their superior, and when the sprays are matured their lasting qual ities are equal to the well known dura bility of plumosus. Depth of soil Spren geri must have or it will soon be ex hausted. We know a rose grower who grows it most profitably in some con necting houses beneath the gutters. He plants in English glass boxes which are eight inches wide, sixteen inches deep and two feet long. In these, with liberal liquid manure, he cuts large quan tities of fine sprays for two and three bed every three 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, par ticularly 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-inch or 8-inch pots with the view of producing sprays only. The plants will, if vigor ous, throw up the long running shoots, but by -nipping off the tops of the shoots when eighteen to twenty-four inches long the production of branchlets is stimu lated. 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 3-inch pots, though for large arrange ments of flowers and foliage bushy plants in 4-inch pots are most useful. A. tenuissimus needs precisely the same treatment as A. plumosus, but it is not such a general favorite. Its very finely divided, graceful branchlets are, however, preferred by some above A. plumosus. A. Sprengeri is a more recent intro duction and comes from Abyssinia (the other species are from South Africa). It is a strong grower, forming 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 Asparagus Sprengeri. 24 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. years. There are other species of or namental asparagus but they are not commercially valuable. ASPIDISTRA. The species lurida and its variegated forms 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 specimen 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. This is best done in March or April. 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 oversupply 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- genus, the aspleniums are very widely dis tributed, and in consequence -we find among them species requiring warm house treatment, others that need com paratively little heat, and a few that are quite hardy in our northern and east ern 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 mod erate heat, and though in commerce for many years, is by no means so plentiful as its merits would justify. A. bulbi ferum is an evergreen fern from New Zealand, the home of many of our finest ferns, and has finely 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 numerous tiny young plants that fre quently form on the upper side of the fronds. This proliferous habit is found in sev eral of the aspleniums, but is perhaps most marked in the species under con sideration, the fronds often being studded over with young plants that are just showing their first leaf. This peculiarity is often taken advantage of in the prop agation of A. bulbiferum, a common method being to bend over these prolifer ous fronds and then peg them down on the surface of a flat filled with light sandy soil, and the latter being kept moist soon induces the young plants to Asplenium Bulbiferum. posed medicinal value that ancient prac titioners believed them to possess), form one of the largest fern groups in culti vation, over 300 species having been de scribed, though it is rather doubtful if this whole number is at the present time in cultivation. As may be expected in so large a form roots, after which they may be readily detached from the parent frond. This operation is, of course, carried out in a shaded fern house, where the at mospheric conditions are favorable for the establishment of these young plants. The aspleniums 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 prob ably more often used. No special treat ment is called for in growing this fern, and young plants grow nicely in com pany with Adiantum cuneatum and Pteris serrulata, though possibly enjoy ing a little more shade than is abso lutely 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 fields, 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 com mercial 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 importance 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 aster seed was left largely to the continental Europeans, but nowadays as good a strain as exists can be obtained here, and any of us who has the time and in dustry 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 endeavored to be explicit, as the same rules will apply to the raising of other annuals, such as stocks, zinnias, phlox, etc., and to which in their order I shall refer the reader to asters for directions for raising the young plants. The seed should bo 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 thorouhly rotted leaf- mold, then press down with a piece of board or a block, which will carry the soil down half an inch below 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 watering, sufficient 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 dry on the sur face so that the seed can be lightly pressed into the soil with the board THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 25 Field of Asters Growing for Cut Flowers for the Chicago Market. without the soil sticking to it. After we press the seed down we sift over the covering of soil. Whatever soil you use for covering it should not be of a tex ture that will bake and form a crust. Loam and leaf-mold, half and half, will do for the majority of seeds. 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 cov ered 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 suf ficient. 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, since it is poor economy to sow very thickly to save space, as the seeds occupy a comparatively small space. I would say that if with asters every seed had a little 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 crowded 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 and then copiously water) should be kept at an even degree of moisture with no extremes. The flats should be kept in a shady place till thft seedlings are above ground, when they should get the full light and not be al lowed to draw up for want of light and ventilation. When well up less watch fulness is necessary. A temperature of 55 degrees at night brings up the seed nicely and keeps the young plants grow ing till time to transplant into flats or into the hotbed or bench. As soon as they have made the first 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 rather 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 leaves are only just above the surface. In pressing the soil around the plant don't make a point of squeez ing 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 soil is firmly pressed around the roots; that is the most important operation. If watered at once, thoroughly watered, and shaded for a day or two from the brightest sun, the seedlings scarcely feel the trans planting. In the flats for plants we intend to sell to our customers in May and June we put the plants about one inch apart. If sown middle of March it is near the middle of April before they are es tablished in the flats after being trans planted, and 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 coldframe if the soil is dry and warm. If you have no greenhouse the whole operation can be done by the help of a hotbed. When extra early asters are wanted they can be taken from the flats in which they were transplanted and put into 2% -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 you get fine, 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 cutting we plant our asters in the best and deepest soil we have, and if it is inclined to keep moist, so much the better.. Plant eighteen inches be tween rows and twelve to eighteen inches apart in the rows, according to variety. When first planted out the small black jumping fly, often called the turnip fly or flea, is very troublesome, eating holes in the leaves. A syringing with a solution of Paris green and ex tract of tobacco 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 planted end of May they are out of the way during August. We have also thrown out a bed of worn out carnations and filled it up with asters. No fresh soil is needed; in fact the asters grow so rampant under glass when well supplied with water that too rich a soil is detri mental. But out of doors they want a deep, rich soil, and in prolonged dry spells must be copiously watered. Asters should be always within reach of the hose or some means of irrigation. Of late years a small beetle has given us much trouble. It is very like the squash beetle if not identical. It punc tures the leaves but is little noticed till the buds begin to show color, when it finds its way into the bud a«d chews the tips of the petals, destroying many 26 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. flowers. As soon as the plants are estab lished in the open ground spray with Paris green, a teaspoonful to a pail of water; you may have to do this two or three times before the buds appear. There are many strains and varieties of asters. The large, strong growing, branching variety raised by Mr. Sem- ple, of Pittsburg, is excellent for cut ting. Vick's Branching is of about the same character. Then there is the Truffaut 's Peony-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 sowing seed, for I consider raising many of our plants from seed the most important part of the grower's occupation. It is the most delicate, and if not requiring the most skill it certainly taxes your patience and demands closer attention They are often unevenly sown, or care less 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 wrhen just j>eeping through the surface they may be burnt up. Skill ful and proper management in sowing is one great part of it and constant 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 sufficient 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. ASTIBLE JAPONIC A. This plant was known for years as Spiraea Japonica, and by the commercial Astilbe Japonica. than any other method of propagation. Asters are by no means difficult to han dle (quite the contrary) but all seeds need care. You can put cuttings into the sand very clumsily and if shaded you can trust most anyone to water the bed and count on success, but there are many things to watch in raising seedlings. 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 soil and partially shaded by trees. It is, however, as a pot plant or for cut flowers in early spring that we are most concerned with the astilbe. At Easter, though by no means so profitable as many other plants we growT, they seem almost indispensable, and again on Memorial day they are in good demand. When used for cutting we 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. If not pre viously done, when potting them give the roots a good soaking; there is 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, 6 or 7-inch pots, or whatever size will hold the roots. A temperature of 55 to 60 degrees at night will suit them better than a higher one. Water is the great essential, for by the flowering time the little soil that you give them is one mass of living, hungry roots. It is labor saved and far more satisfactory all around to stand each pot in a 7 or 8-inch saucer, in which keep 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 burned by to-' bacco smoke and that must be avoided, either by covering the astilbe, or giving them a good syringing, before you fumi gate, or best of all, don't have them in a house that must be fumigated. The old form A. Japoniea is still large ly grown. A. compacta has rather dwarfer and denser spikes. The Glad stone is a very fine variety and so is the Washington. There is also a varie gated form of Japonica of dwarf growth and of no commercial value except for its variegation. Those wanted for Decoration day we keep out of doors till middle of April; they come into flower easily in a few weeks 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 astilbe will be satis factory, otherwise it will shrivel up. AZALEA. Of all the species of this beautiful genus, the Indian or Chinese are the THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 27 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 facilities or methods we cannot begin to raise an azalea at anything like the same cost and quality as those imported. New varieties are, of course, raised from seed, and at the third season you will be able to see whether you have any improve ments on existing varieties. They can also be propagated from cut tings by inserting the cutting in sand in March. A cutting of two and one- half or three 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 manure, would be the most favorable condition. They are slow to root, and in our climate the little plants or cut tings are so liable to the attacks of thrips and red spider during the summer months, and so difficult to remove, 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 handle them when they arrive here, and how to care for those unsold, which should make, by good care, fine plants for the second or third year. Soil. It is generally acknowledged that a soil containing lime is very unsuitable for azaleas or any of the order erica- ceae, which includes the heaths, rhodo dendrons, 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 what may have originally been a peaty soil but it is saturated with manure, and as their azaleas are always planted out it is further enriched by constant doses of liquid manure. They plant them out after danger of frost, lift them if un sold, and plant them on benches during winter, and out again the next summer; with all this disturbance of roots the greatest vigor of health is maintained. But peat is not entirely essential. Two- thirds of turfy loam, not sifted, but just broken up, and one-third of leaf- mold, will make a good compost in which azaleas will thrive. If to the above is added one-tenth of finely sifted decomposed cow 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 received would require an unwieldy pot. The ball of earth can be reduced one-third by shaking off the soil and this appears Indian Azalea Dr. Metzger, Grown in Pyramidal Form. to do the plant little or no harm. Con siderable of the ball can be reduced by slicing off an inch or so with a sharp knife or hatchet. When the ball is re duced to the required size — and it should only be aone when the roots would re quire 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 following faster. By cool I mean 40 degrees at night is ample, and to retard them still more, anything above the freezing point will do. Some varieties cannot be kept for spring, and it is well to bring early va rieties along, so that at all times during winter 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 tuat the many 28 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. complaints of our customers that their azalea has shriveled up or the flowers are wilted is nothing but the insufficiency of water. Especially is this tne case with the plants when sold the winter fol lowing their importation. 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 often attacks azaleas. Plenty of syringing will keep them down. Thrips and red spider are also very bothersome to them, but neither of these would appear if syringing were faith fully observed. They can be removed by a syringing of the tobacco extract. The nicoteen extracts diluted fifty to one 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 evidence that it in jured tne azalea. During January, February and March the plants imported the previous autumn have a great inclination to make a growth beiore they develop their flow- mer's growth. Place them in a light, warm house, and syringe frequently. When cutting back, see that the soil is in good shape and the drainage in or der. By the first of June they will have made a good growth ; that growth is what gives you the bloom the following win ter. 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 will not remain dur ing heavy rains to unduly soak the roots. Over the surface of the pots spread an inch of rotted refuse hops or rotted sta ble manure. In this position they will do till the end of September, or till there is danger of frost. They want faithful attendance in watering, never to be killing dry, and in hot weather a daily syringing. We notice when Easter is very late, as the spring of 1905, that many florists lose the sale of their azaleas because they are too early. This is bad man agement. We know the date of Easter and if very late the azaleas should be Azalea Indica. ers. If this 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 inem away. To the man who grows but a few dozen this is likely to be the most proutable way of doing business; but where there are enough to warrant systematic care, it should not be /done, for the second, third or even tenth year they are more sat isfactory plants to the purchasers than those just imported. 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 severely, even to the previous sum- kept very cool and if possible away from direct sunlight. It is much easier to do your retarding in the dark winter months than in March and April. If it is desired to grow on some plants a number of years to make fine speci mens, the above treatment in most re spects will do, but there are a few ex ceptions. Plants established in pots will seldom need those early growths rubbed off, for they have not the in clination to make them; neither will they want the hard cutting back every spring, the growth they make after flowering be ing 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 by pinch ing and stopping in what may be called 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 diameter at base, tapering to two feet at top and six or seven feet high. Contrary to what would be expected, the plants you have grown during sum mer are not the ones for Christmas blooming. The newly imported plants must be used for that purpose. Deutsche Perle, white; Simon Mardner, deep rose pink, and Vervaeneana, rose and white, are fine varieties for this early bloom ing. It would be useless to mention all de sirable varieties. There are hundreds and the Belgians grow in largest quantities the most attractive and free flowering kinds. HARDY DECIDUOUS AZALEAS. These are the so-called Ghent azaleas and hybrids of A. Mollis. The flowers appear in great abundance before the leaves are de veloped. 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 varieties are grand in color and when decorated 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 or plunged and stored away in a coldframe till they are wanted to force. The time needed to bring them into flower will de pend 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 six 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 disappointment and you should be care ful 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 cultivate except for the borders and large beds. Twenty years ago, when more flowers were used with short stems, the white balsam was large ly 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 stiJJ favorites with 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 balsam is most suitable. For cultivation of young plants see Aster, but remember that the balsam is a very tender plant and instead of the THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 29 coldframe should have a light, warm house or the hotbed. They are very strong growing and should have a deep, ' rich soil, plenty of water, and they de- Pyramidal Bay Tree. serve a space of at least eighteen 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 be procured anywhere. BASKET PLANTS. There are quite a number of climbing or vine-like habit of plants that are useful for this purpose. Many that would be useless to use in vases make pretty basket plants because in the vase they are exposed to drought, sun, wind and neglect, while the basket has more or less shelter and is under the care of some one whose duty it is to keep it well supplied with water, the chief need of a successful hanging basket. The soil in the basket should be rich and daily it should be taken down and dipped in a tub of water or thoroughly soaked with the hose, but never left sitting in a foot of water for half an hour, as 1 have seen, for that will drown the plants. A goou selection can be made from the following. The upright or center plants can be a selection of zonal gerani ums, fuchsias, coleus. achyranthes, pe tunias, but a free flowering, compact growing zonal geranium is best of all. The climbing and drooping plants can be chosen from nasturtium, lobelia, thun- bergia, Nierembergia gracilis, senecio, Kenilworth ivy, ivy geranium, Pilogyne suavis, Abutilon vexillarium, maurandia, double sweet alyssum, glechoma, money vine, saxifraga. What constitutes a good basket is the profusion of drooping plants that hide the material that forms tUp basket, whether it be a frame of wire lined with green moss or earthenware. BAY TREES. The sweet bay, Laurus nobilis, has been imported from Belgium to this country in large numbers the past fifteen or twenty years. Although the rather stiff, formal shapes into which they are trimmed, and to which they so readily conform, are entirely inappropriate ' in the decoration of a drawing room, yet there are many situations where they have a striking effect and are certainly not out of place. A single pair of per fect 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 ap pearance 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 be cause "they are not natural" should be confined to the backwoods eternally. Their formality sets off the brighter the natural grace of the birch, the elm, the maple or linden 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 ap pearance and withstand the ordeal un harmed? Considering the years they must be grown, the labor entailed and great skill in producing such a large tree in such a comparatively small tub, their cost to us is, I think, very moder ate. It is often a surprise to us that such a stout stem and large head of branches and leaves can subsist on such a relative ly 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. You should commend to your customers who invest in these sweet bays for the adornment of their grounds the great benefit to the plants by sinking the tubs into the ground; much drying out and exhaustion will be saved, which means vigor and color of leaves. From No vember to April a cold shed will keep them in good order if it is not too dark and where they won 't get more than 5 degrees of frost. Some late experience with these sweet bays makes us hesitate to say what amount of frost is safe to expose them to. While we have seen naturally grown large plants of these sweet bays in the ground withstand a frost of 20 degrees unhurt, it is en tirely different with these plants in tubs; and in their unnatural conditions, and perhaps dry at the root, it is safe to expose them to but little frost. A coacn house is an excellent place. It is usually light and seldom too cold. Less water will do than in the summer time. . . --T . '..-, "-. - - ?--c^w- t/^ft/*s*3 fc^*-' ;££ -. v •;;,-. -:.- - -; .^ : 2'- A'-xi \.*p;- •-& Columnar Bay Tree. 30 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. The sweet bay is a native of southern Europe. All good boys should have read in the Good Book that if they are right eous in their lives they will ' ' flourish like the green bay tree." This fine evergreen grows well and is much planted in the milder parts of the Brit ish Isles. I expect that all over Ireland it grows finely and is seldom or never injured by frost. In the south of Eng land it grows and flourishes 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 wish a still more trim ap pearance you will 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 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 gar dens of old, with their circles and squares and ovals of showy plants, just as well kept as our gardens are today, 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 the margin of grass or box edging, then a variegated geranium, next Cal- we noticed much less carpet bedding than we expected to see and remember the remark 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 the leading plants used in carpet bed ding. They do better in our climate. I cannot believe that the alternantheras would grow there as they do with us, except in the warmer parts of southern Europe, and if you take the alternan theras out of carpet bedding you leave a large hole. Carpet bedding never was a great item with the commercial florist simply because it was too expensive for the great majority of our patrons. A bed that could be well filled with gera niums or eoleus for $15 would cost $40 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 appear a cumbersome plant to occupy valuable greenhouse room. They don't want it. If never coddled up under glass they will stand 5 degrees of frost without harm, but rather give them a little higher temperature. BEDDING PLANTS. Although directions for the manage ment of all our familiar bedding plants will be found under their respective heads, a few words on the general sub ject are* in order. The earliest bedding that the writer can remember was not very unlike that of the present day. Fifty years ago we had (I am speak ing now of the gardens of Great Britain, for the American flower garden had then scarcely an existence) beds of ver benas edged with a variegated geranium, beds of heliotrope, beds of Tom Thumb geraniums, masses of yellow calceolarias. A Bed of Ficus, Grevillea Robusta and Ivy. ceolaria aurea floribunda, back of that Salvia patens (a most beautiful blue), then a row of dahlias, and, if the bor der was wide, backed up by a stately line of hollyhocks. The ribbon 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 Mith us and is a poor, stunted, dull col ored plant in the gardens of Great Biitain. Then thirty-five years ago, or perhaps a little more, the carpet bedding was evolved and was carried out most elab orately in many places, both private and public. Perhaps in no place in the world was it carried to greater perfection or more ingeniously than in the South Park system, of Chicago, under the direction of Mr. Frederick Kanst. It was ad mired 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 grati- fving to the millions, and harmless surely, and therefore served its purpose. On u' visit to the "Old Country" in 1885 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 today is to use flowering plants as much as possible ; even the coleus is not as popular as it was a few years since. To be candid, the zonal geranium, with its splendid habit and beautiful trusses of flowers of brilliant and pleasing colors, is such a universal favorite as was the horse Eclipse in the mythical story: "It is the geranium first, the rest nowhere." There is, however, another style, or rather another arrangement, of bedding 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 cannas, cala- diums 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 hothouse plants that are bedded or plunged out during the summer months, including crotons, palms, bamboos, etc. They are interest- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Various Styles of of Bedding. Combination Canna and Carpet Bed. 32 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. ing 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 delighted with the bed this year. Don't you think it is beautiful?" It was surrounded 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, nar row leaved, dark — almost blood red — canna (I wish I could give you its cor rect name) surrounded by Caladium escu- lentum, then two rows of Coleus Ver- schaffeltii and next the grass a circle of Golden Bedder coleus. This is quite a conventional arrangement with us, but hard to beat and generally pleasing. The landscape architect, especially of the most approved style, would, I feel sure, declaim against this bed on the lawn find 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 doesn 't want you to plant a golden elder or variegated cornus or Prunus Pissardii in shrubbery group ings because the coloring is abnormal and not in accordance with nature. What does the proprietor care about such things? He wants to be cheerful. This natural coats of the animals they had slain very comfortable on their own backs, and now clothing has developed into adornment and frills as well as be come a necessity. It is the mission of the florist to sug gest the most appropriate style of bed ding to his customers where advice is asked for, and poor policy to crowd in more than is discreet when it is left to his judgment. In residence 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 veran das 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 several 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 majority of the florists of the country raise bedding plants for their spring crops and de pend 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 your ability to keep a good stock of A Long Bed of Geraniums. sticking to nature is carried to excess. To be true to nature we would have to undergo a great change. We would not cut our hair or pare our finger nails or use knives and forks and would retro grade to ,the days of the fig leaf. Our early ancestors, when crawling or leap ing from limb to limb, or wading through bogs when emigrating to the northern regions of the globe, found the flower garden plants in a comparatively 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 carnations. Ge raniums 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 caladi- ums can be kept in flats till middle of April and then make fine plants by June 1. Petunias can be pricked out in pans and then in six weeks will make the best of bedding plants. Centaurea, co leus, achyranthes, verbenas, heliotropes, many of the geraniums, lobelias, aloy- sias, and all the carpet bedding plants, are far better in the hotbeds than in the greenhouses, giving you plenty of room for the spreading out of your fine zonal geraniums, cannas and calad- iums. 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 during winter, they feel the suns of spring and must have attention when it is needed or it is too late. How often you hear the remark: "No, I am short on this or that. Was too busy and neglected them. ' ' This attention is not science ; it is only close application and good management; and having sufficient help at the right time, and setting the men at the work most suited to them, is the very best of good management. I don't know any business where neg lect 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. 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 or more. If not prepared we charge for labor, manure, etc. We always prefer to plant where there is only a coachman 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 are 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 people 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 ground. That watering is worth ten T.HE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 33 Various Styles of Bedding. 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. Tn 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 circular bed filled with geraniums again this year you will refer to her charge of last year and find that it took seventy-five Mt. of Snow for a double row on the outside and the center required 140 Ernest Lauth. These fig ures are at random. But wrhether you plant the same or vary it you will know exactly how many are needed. Again you are asked a hundred times this question: "I have a flower bed eight feet across. How many geraniums will it take to fill itt 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 specified distance for all the plants we commonly use. You can have a card with the sizes of the beds and quantities needed all made out so that you can give an an swer in a few moments, whereas, if. you had not the thing figured out you would have to begin a sum in mathematics while somebody else is waiting for an inter view. The bedding plant business is not go ing 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. BEGONIA. There is no more interesting class of plants, either for the amateur or pro fessional florist, than this large genus. It embraces hundreds of species, besides thousands of varieties. Begonias are roughly divided into four sections as fol lows: Fibrous rooted or shrubby, old Fuchsioides being a good type of these; semi-tuberous, of which the now famous Gloire de Lorraine is an example; the true tuberous-rooted, summer flowering, and the well known Rex section, which is grown almost solely as an ornamental foliage plant. The writer can well re member, about 1857, a small plant of the Rex begonia being purchased in London with two leaves. The price was about $5 per leaf. We have since sold thou sands at 10 cents a plant. The above division is quite rough, for there have been such innumerable crosses between the many species that it would be dif ficult to determine to which section many belong. Semperflorens is classed with the shrubby, but is very different from, say, incarnata, for it flowers more pre cociously and freely as a summer bed ding plant. Begonias are not very par ticular as to soil. A good loam with the addition of sand, if heavy, and a fifth of rotted manure will suit most of the flowering kinds, while the Rex section and kinds grown for their foliage will delight in a third or fourth of leaf- mold. Although begonias are all na tives of warmer climates, they thrive in the winter at a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees. The Shrubby Section. The shrubby section is the most pop ular and the most useful to the florist, the winter flowering kinds being in good demand. They flower for months. They are propagated during winter and we find they root in late spring without bottom heat; but propagated in Feb ruary you can have fine plants for the following fall. They may not be an important florists' flower although some are very useful as cut sprays, but as a plant for the window they are in de mand. Rust attacks some of the begonias, notably that fine variety incarnata grand- iflora, and it is caused by heavy shade and dampness under glass in the sum mer months. They should be shaded only from brightest sun and need a free, dry atmosphere. Many of them can be plunged out of doors in the summer months without any shade and will make stout, robust plants. Gloire de Lorraine is such an impor tant plant that cultural directions for its management by a specialist are in cluded in this article. Another splendid variety we made the acquaintance of this past winter is in carnata Sanderii. It is a robust grower, growing two feet high and from Christ mas into April just smothered with its pink blossoms. The following are some of the most at tractive in this section: Winter Flowering Shrubby Begonias. Suaveolens, dark green foliage, pure white flowers. Nitida, robust grower, waxy pink. Incarnata, upright stout growth, soft rose pink. Incarnata Sanderii, is much superior to above, in fact, it is the grandest begonia, not excepting any. Rubra, very strong, large plant, coral red flowers. President Carnot, reddish colored foli age, bright carmine. Metallica, very handsome in both flower and foliage. 34 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Saundersonii, bushy and always bear ing flowers. Haageana, handsome foliage, large rosy pink. Nightingale, green foliage, large pink panicles. tea rosea and it is in flower about the whole year. Semperflorens varieties are most numerous, are easily raised from seed and their flowers borne so constantly and profusely are from pure white through all shades of pink to scarlet. Begonia Gilsoni. A bed of Erfordii in the broad sun we will not soon forget. Its dark bronzy foliage and deep pink flowers and splen did compact habit made it as handsome as any geranium bed and far more in teresting. Undoubtedly they are fine bedding plants and should be used more extensively. They all root easily from cuttings, but for bedding plants sow seed in No vember or December, transplant into flats as soon as large enough to handle, and later into 2% or 3-inch pots. Tuberous-rooted Section. The tuberous-rooted section comes from the cooler parts of South America and is very distinct from the shrubby sorts. They are entirely deciduous. They make fine bedding plants as well as splendid pot plants for the greenhouse from June to October. 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 cer tainly in variety, any bed of geraniums, it must be recognized as a good bedding plant. The cooler the summer the bet ter they do and in localities where the heat is excessive they may not be de sirable. 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 Thurstonii, under side leaves rich pur ple red, flowers not conspicuous. Manicata and its variegated form are scarcely shrubby, but they have hand some foliage and profusely send up their strong erect stems of pink blossoms. There are several other most desirable kinds of the manieata type. Rex Type. These are grown entirely for their very handsome foliage. We have used them largely in veranda boxes in shady situation, but to see them at their best they should be in large pots or pans in a warm shaded conservatory. They like a more humid atmosphere than any other class of begonias. Well matured leaves should be cut up in November or as soon as you have good oottom heat in the sand (a stout piece of midrib should be with each sec tion) and insert one inch in the propa gating bed. Keep the sand moderately moist and in six or seven weeks small leaves will start from base of cuttings. Pot into 2%-inch pots using a light soil with sand and leaf-mold. If the young plants are kept at a temperature of 60 degrees they will make good useful plants by end of May. Semperflorens Class. Some of these are tall, robust plants, others like the Vernon type are dwarf and very free flowering. The former is •well represented by Semperflorens gigan- Group of Begonia Semperflorens Gigantea Rosea. The dwarf Semperflorens Vernon type are splendid bedding plants. This may not be the case in the hotter and dryer parts of the country but in the north eastern states we can bear witness to their great excellence for this purpose. 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. . 35 A House of Tuberous Begonias Grown for Exhibition in England. to be nearly touching put into 2-inch pots and grow on. The seedlings hardly make bedding plants the first year, but can be planted on a good piec.e of soil and will make fine bulbs for the succeed ing year. When the tops are killed, be fore 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 (dry sand will do), till it is time to start them again in the spring. For the busy florist it is, however, ad visable to leave the raising of seedlings to the specialist who grows them by the hundred thousand and be content with buying the dormant roots each year. It is cheaper, for the price is now lower than you could anord to raise them for. The double varieties are about twice as costly as the single ones and are no more effective as bedding plants. The middle of March is early enough to start them, which is best done by putting the tubers into flats of ^sandy soil. Half leaf-mold and half 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. \Ve place the flats above the hot-water pipes and remove to the bench as soon as the young leaves are showing. 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 hotbed. No great heat is needed. We pot into 4-inch and plunge in the bed. By middle of May the glass can be re moved 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 Begonia Globe cU Lorraine. and not run off to the sides to nourish the grass. They should not be watered overhead as you would a bed of gera niums, but the hose, running an unob structed stream, should be guided among the plants. I said unobstructed because the different kinds of sprayers and at tachments they have for spraying with a hose are an abomination to a gardener. A good light soil into which has been dug a liberal dressing of rotten 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. Bust is their greatest trouble under glass and this is caused by heavy shade and a damp, stagnant atmosphere. Semi-tuberous Section. The popular Begonia Gloire de Lor raine belongs to this class, Socotrana being one of its parents. More care is needed to grow them well. Gloire de Lorraine is now a Christmas plant of the first importance. The following cultural directions are by Mr. J. A. Peterson, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and there is no more successful grower of this beautiful plant: ' ' I now wish to call your attention to another highly decorative plant which, in my estimation, stands without a peer, the incomparable Begonia Gloire de Lor raine. This begonia, by far the most useful and truly magnificent of all be gonias, is a hybrid between Begonia Socotrana and Begonia Dregei. and was raised by that celebrated horticulturist, M. Lemoine, of Nancy, France. "To derive the best results this plant should be propagated from leaf-cuttings in October and November. Select only good mature leaves ; take the leaves, in cluding the stalk, and insert the latter about one-half its length in the sand- bed; press firmly; by all means do not let the leaves rest flat on the sand, as 36 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. they damp easily. This operation should be done carefully. Water sparingly only on bright days. If possible, a tempera ture of from 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit should be maintained in the sand-bed at all times. In about eight weeks the leaves should be sufficiently rooted to be potted into 2-inch pots. The small growths that form at the base of the leaves should also appear; take care not to break or otherwise injure these in potting, as they form the foundation of the future plant. ' ' For the first potting use equal parts of loam and sand; after potting place in a rather dry house, close to the glass, where a light shade should be given. Watering should be done very sparingly from now on by watering each plant separately and only when very dry; keep on the dry side rather than too wet. Also, deep potting should be avoided. They may remain in 2-inch pots from January and February (the time of pot ting) until June, at which time you should have nice little plants with from three to five shoots, if propagated from leaf -cuttings ; then your trouble is all over. "Bepot directly into 4-inch pots and, from now on, they will continue to grow freely, as you can almost see the plants growing. "About August 15 to September 1 the final repotting will be in order. For compost use three parts good turfy loam, ' two parts sand and one part very old manure. Use 6-inch or 7-inch azalea pots, according to the size of your plants; one plant is sufficient for each pot, if you have plants propagated from leaf-cuttings. ' ' I will here say that this plant can also be propagated easily from cuttings during May, June and July; but these will not make as fine, sturdy plants as by the above method. They will, how ever, make nice little plants for 3-inch pots for the holidays, suitable for jar dinieres or table decorations. If large plants are desired from cuttings you will have to put from five to eight plants in a 6-inch or 7-inch pot in order to be properly furnished. Then, again, one plant in a pot always looks better than where a lot are massed together. "During the summer the plants should be pinched back, each shoot to two or three joints, so as to form shapely speci mens; this should be discontinued after August. In pinching this way you not only have no flowers during summer but A Ball of Gloire de Lorraine Begonias. rapidly; more water may also be given as needed. More shoots will appear from the bottom of the plants as they grow stronger. Place in a cool, airy house, ventilating top and bottom ; also shade well at this time of the year. A good plan is to put a few tobacco-stems be tween the pots as a preventive of green aphis. Water may now be given more you also insure a stronger growth. About September 1 they are ready for tying; this may be done by using one stake in the center of the plant, looping each shoot loosely to same with raffia; this should be done as often as required. By November 1 the first blooms will ap pear; these should be removed if you desire a lot for late flowering. "Begonia Gloire de Lorraine is not only useful as a single specimen, but it may also be used very effectively in table decoration. Small plants in 3-inch pots are very effective for this purpose. It is also very useful for floral designs. Let me say finally that Begonia Gloire de Lorraine is a plant that has come to stay. "Begonia Turnford Hall, a white variety with a pleasing shade of delicate pink as in the apple-blossom, is a sport of Begonia Gloire de Lorraine which appeared a short time ago in the Lon don market. It gives promise of being a grand companion to Gloire de Lor raine, and will be quite as useful as its parent. It will in all probability be in the market next season. ' ' BELLIS. The perennial daisy is a favorite gar den plant with many and some of the improved varieties are grown under glass, in a cool house, for cutting. 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 pansies. They are easily divided either in spring or fall. The commercial man who has need to grow them had better divide the roots in September, plant in a coldframe a few inches apart and cover with glass during the coldest months. There are many fine varieties, red, pink and white. 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 when few cuttings were thought to root well without the aid of bottom heat, unless it were the cuttings of the ericas and conifers. Prac tice has taught us that to have the heat of the sand or propagating material greater than the temperature of the house is with many cuttings entirely un necessary. Ten or 15 degrees warmer will certainly hasten the rooting of most of our soft-wooded plants, and with some it is a decided advantage, while with others, carnations and geraniums, for in stance, 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 so that the heat will remain under them. The hotbed (primitive greenhouse) is ideal as a means of affording bottom heat, but it is of short duration, 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 ma- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 37 Begonia Feastii. trouble with these thin slates is that they heat rather violently and cool very quick ly. On these slates we have seen bricks laid, and then the four inches of sand. This is an excellent bed, keeping a mod erate, uniform heat. There is also a clay tile made some 12x18 inches and one and a half inches thick. These make an excellent bottom for the propagating bed, much preferable to the slate. Whether the heat is supplied with hot- water pipes or steam, you should have control of them; that is, you should have valves to turn the heat on or off as desired. The heating pipes should be at least eighteen inches below the floor of the bed, so that the heat will be well diffused and not strike the tile or slate too violently on one spot. We have had three 4-inch hot-water pipes in a bed three feet six inches wide. It was too much. Three 2-inch pipes would be plenty, or two 1*4 -inch steam pipes. For a bed six feet across three 1^4-inch steam pipes would be ample, with valves on every one. For the construction and shape of the propagating house see Greenhouse Building. 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 ornamental ap- terial to afford heat to plants. That, however, is past and only the hot-water and steam pipes are now used. You yet see, in many extensive places, the propagating bench made of boards and cypress boards would last many years. If you wish to build more sub stantially, then the walls could be cement, or rather what should be" called concrete, six inches thick. If the walls are of concrete then a frame should be built into the wall every three or four feet to afford a sliding shutter to let heat escape from beneath the bed in extreme cold weather. These openings may be one foot to two feet long. If your walls are wood then one of the 12-inch boards the whole length of the bed can be hinged and can be closed or open, just as desired. It may be well to say just here that in small establishments the propagating bed is more often a bench against a side wall. In larger establishments, where cuttings are rooted by the hundreds of thousands, the propa gating bed is removed from the wall, is perhaps six feet wide, with a path on each. In this case openings should be made on both sides of the bed. The floor or bottom of the bed should be of slate or slate and brick. A 1-inch board would be a poor conductor of heat; in fact, none at all. Across the walls should run pieces of tee iron (not at all expensive) every twelve inches. These will bear the slates or tiles. Large slabs of slate are ex pensive and we have used for years a common roofing slate 12x24 inches. The Begonia Nitida. 38 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. pearance. Long sprays of the bougain- villea 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 border, Easter plant, but by starting them at in tervals they can be had in flower from January on. If kept cool the bracts will hang en for months. In June they can be cut back, some worn-out soil reduced Bougainvillea Sander'ana. but where it has unlimited root room it grows too freely and does not flower so well. During winter the supply 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 previous year's growth. The variety of B. 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 suc cessful 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 windows or rooms and unless a plant has fair keep ing qualities under such conditions it will never be popular. The bracts of B. Sanderiana, while hanging on the plants for months in the greenhouse, soon drop with the leaves when removed to the dry heat of the living-room. The cuttings of half ripened wood root readily in March, April or May. In the former two months, bottom heat is needed. The cuttings should be of strong growth, five or six inches long. Keep the sand moderately moist and lit tle shade is required. They take about three weeks to root. Pot carefully and spray frequently, but do not keep the soil very wet. They will soon start to grow and should be given the full light under glass, with copious waterings and daily syringing. By September they should be in 6-inch pots. In October they will begin to ripen their growth and as the temperature gets cooler less water must be given. This is their rest ing time. The bougainvilleas are now a great from the old ball, and started growing again. After they are once in 4-inch pots they should be well drained, for although they want copious watering when growing fast, stagnant water at the roots would be most injurious to them. The bougainvillea is a tropical plant, but in November, December and Jan uary, while slightly resting and with less water, it will do very well in a tem perature of 50 degrees. When started into active growth it should have 60 to 65 degrees. A good, friable loam with the addition of some sand and leaf-mold will suit it well. In large pots the loam should be merely chopped. Soft wood cuttings of this plant root easily and in June can be planted out in some good, rich loam and will lift before cold weather and, with a few months' rest, will flower in spring. But these plants will not be as large as those from the strong cuttings and grown entirely under glass. 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 important of tfie plants we grew, but of late years, with the advent of the 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 occupy but a small place, if any, notwithstanding they are beauti ful and easily grown, and that the flower lias grace and refinement. In these days of keen competition, the question is, "Do they pay?" That you must judge by experience in your own locality. Begonia Rubra. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. The best time to begin propagation is early March, with the roots of plants that have been grown on a bench for winter flowering. The bouvardia roots very slowly and unsatisfactorily from the young top growths, and in ordinary practice that is not considered a prac tical method of propagating this plant. We will begin with the 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 cuttings. 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 treat ment 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 appear. 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 conse quence, and can before lifting be en tirely cut away. It is the strong, vigor ous 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 tne 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 newr 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 distance apart, be guided by size of the plants. A foot apart is little enough for any of them. Anybody, with almost any tem perature, can get the first crop of bou vardia, 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 flower 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 at 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 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 Buffalo Botanic Gardens Begonia Minicata. 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 larger thsffc those propagated the first year. Eed spider attacks them and so does mealy bug, but their presence is in excusable, for a proper use of the hose will prevent both. Greenfly 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 every fiber," 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 syringe frequently. The bou vardia is worth the care it requires, for if well grown the price realized is usu ally satisfactory. now possess the very valuable collec tion brought together by the former firm of Pitcher & Manda, with many ad ditions, making it the most complete collection in this country, and it is in the finest possible condition. Besides the ananas, the most familiar genera are the tillandsia and the bro- melia. The leaves are stiff, variously colored, and fluted or concave, always carrying the moisture to the base of the leaf, the flowers are often handsome. They are mostly from tropical Amer ica. 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. 40 By their channeled leaves they ac cumulate 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 sure ly be there, and in this respect at least we cannot improve on nature. A com post such as described, plenty of mois ture and'a minimum winter temperature of 70 degrees is what they want. Fol lowing are named some of the most distinct genera and species: Tillandsia utriculala and T. fenes- tralis. Guzmania fragrans and G. tricolor. Aechmea fulgens and A. crocophylla. Karatis spectabilis and K. Moritzia- num. Vriesia musaica and V. splendens. Billbergia zebrina. For the culture of the variegated pineapple (Anana sativa variegata) see Ananas* BROWALLIA. The best known species is elata, of which there are two varieties. One has THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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. Eemove to the green house before any danger of frost. BULBS. Under this head, instead of under their respective names, is given the cul ture of those bulbs that are generally forced, especially those known as Dutch bulbs and which have been so important an item with us for the past twenty years. Boots 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 Single Tulips. white flowers, but the variety grandi- flora 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 want about the same treatment, with some variation, which will be 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. 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 six inches deep. The closer together the better the effect. A thinly planted tulip bed looks bad and is not worth doing. I call a foot apart thin. Six inches apart will make a gorgeous bed. Some extensive experience with these Dutch bulbs in beds has convinced us that late planting gives the best re sults. Tulips planted as late as the end of November will remain longer in bloom than those planted the middle of October. A Ded that has received a good addition of manure in the spring before the summer bedding plants were planted needs no more manuring, but the richer the soil the finer will be your blossoms. The great majority of our bulbs when planted to succeed the flower gar den 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 neg lected or thrown away. The bulbs may either be lifted or leit in the bed, as desired. If lifted, the tops should be about ripe before the bulbs are dis turbed, if lifted as soon as the flower is faded you have arrested the forma tion of the buio that was storing up its strength for the following year. The early tulips and hyacinths bloom with us early in May. As our bedding plants do not go out till nearly or quite dune 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 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 tvuip bed?" Tnese 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 *frost out as to prevent the surface from continuously alternating between a freeze and a thaw, which often occurs in the months of March and April. In planting a bed of bulbs to any set pattern or design look out for time of flowering of the several sorts. Crocuses are always best alone and should not oe used with the tulips and hyacinths. Von Sion narcissus is about as early as the hyacinths, which are several days THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 41 Dutch Hyacinths. 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 used) all flower about the same day and go well to gether. The early double tulips are all right with the early single tulips. We noticed La Candeur, the inexpensive 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 tne single varieties Murulo is the sort; it is early and a grand flower. Yellow Prince, Chrysolora, La Belle Alliance, all the Pottebakkers, La Eeine, Keizerskroon, Proserpine, Vermilion Brilliant, 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. We have noticed some people exca vate six inches of soil, spread an inch of sand, then place the bulbs on the sand, covering witu the soil that was thrown out. This is a useless waste of time and labor. The best display of tulips we have ever seen was planted at the end of November in a heavy clay loam with a third of cow manure. It was at least one foot deep. The bulbs were planted with a stout stick and the bulb just dropped into the hole, and previ ous snowfalls had made the soil almost the consistency of mud. The extraordi nary size of the blossoms and the long time they remained in perfection con vinced us the roots were relishing the manure, and, not having made much roots in the fall, there was younger, fresher and more vigorous root action when the bulbs were flowering, and that sustained the flowers a week longer than is usually the case. Bulbs for Forcing. Witiiin thirty years, and with many more recently, the forcing of tulips, hya cinths and narcissi has become a most important part of our winter operations. About twenty years ago it was at its zenith, but as the best methods of forc ing became widely known and in conse quence vast quantities were imported and the blooms thrown on the market, the public began to tire of the flowers, till during the last few years they have dropped seriously in price and hundreds of thousands of fine flowers were sold at about the cost of the bulbs. These remarks do not apply to the good old Dutch hyacinth that we grow in a 4-inch pot. They have 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. People 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 window for ten days. Large quantities of fine hyacinths are also grown for Easter in pans, from three to a dozen in a pan. The latter quantity of some fine distinct variety in a 12-inch pan is a rich affair anu gener ally attracts the purchaser who is look ing for something nice to send to his or her friend on Easter morn. The Von Sion narcissus, or daffodil, as it is familiarly called, also makes fine pans. Eoman hyacinths are still flowered in immense quantities, and fashion has not changed the demand. They are grace ful, waxy white flowers and can be used in several ways, either by themselves or in combination with roses, violets or carnations. If you want tulips or Von Sions, Paper White narcissi or Eoman 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 watereu and covered at once. The Eomans arrive in August, the Pa per White a little later, and the tulips, hyacinths and narcissi along in Septem ber. While the soil need not be of any spe cial preparation, it should not be a very poor, worn-out quality, for the better the soil, the finer -will be your flowers. We have noticed a marked increase in the size of tulips and narcissi by feed ing with liquid manure after being brought in to force. In that case they were for exhibition. For ordinary pur poses the soil that conies from a car nation bed will be founu to answer the purpose, for that has received a liberal amount of manure. I found out many years ago that boxes and flats of every size and shape for forcing bulbs was a poor plan, how ever cheap, and for years have made boxes of one pattern, which is twenty- four inches long, twelve inches wide and three inches deep, all inside measure. I buy strips sixteen feet long (any length will do, but you don't want waste), three inches wide and half an inch thick, and some strips three inches wide and one 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 42 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. three boys will make 150 of them in a few hours. These boxes will last sev eral years if cleaned out and piled with their bottoms up, but not if allowed to lie around the yard half full of soil till the following fall, or run over by tue wagon, or when used to carry plants to a bedding job to be left there ana not called for. Oh, florists, I am not immaculate myself in this respect, Dut how many dollars you do waste in letting your boxes, pots, flats, tools and implements lie around in disorder. You are about as bad as the slovenly farmers in a poor, poverty-stricken farming district which is always to be found wuuout going very far. It is well known anu ad mitted by the manufacturer that +± the .t-merican farmer took good care of his thing from decent potting soil to broken glass, hoop iron and empty beer bot tles. He rather peevishly replieu that he had no time to spare and was glad to get rid of the stuff out of the green houses. 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 purely rubbish and another for old soil and plants and vegetable mat ter 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 sixty Romans, fifty Paper Hyacinths in Basket Trimmed with White Ribbon. agricultural implements 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 the last furrow to bleach and rot in the sun and rain, the harrow may be dignified by being tilted up against the fence, and the costly reaper lies out in the yard for the children and chickens to perch on. There is no time to clean and put things away. The gossip of the village smithy or rural postoffice must be attended to. The prosperous farm er's place is all contrary to this, and as the florist is farming on a high grade' and costly plan, where the out lay and receipts to the acre are enor mous, it behooves him to take care of all his implements and have them ship shape and in place where they are al ways ready to his hand. Some men can do twice as much on an acre as another. It is order, system and cleanliness that enable 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 every- Whites and from sixty to seventy-two tulips, according to the size. Yellow Prince is a large bulb, La Eeine is a small one. I believe, as Mr. Ernst As- miis said at Chicago years ago, that it makes little difference in the flowering how close the bulbs are. Even if touch ing they will flower all right and save room. We always 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 hand- fuls of the soil fill up between the bulbs and the job is done. All this is a very quick operation. A good man will box 8,000 to 10,000 a day if supplied with boxes and soil and another 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 under the bench of a very cool house, covered with an inch of soil. It was an en tire 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 widths between beds. We lay down strips of old boards to keep the bot tom 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 be tween the beds and cover the bulbs with this soil about three 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 beds from the sides, if any where. 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. Remem bers 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 oulbs 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 before covering with the manure, as it will stop the bulbs from growing up too long. If too much manure is put on it will en courage the bulbs to draw up to a great length before spring, which will greatly injure their handling. In many years we have never had any difficulty in getting them in to force. A mild day is sure to come, and you can then get in enough for sev eral weeks, keeping some of them in reserve in a cool shed. If unprotected 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 narcissi we do not al low to freeze, giving them the protec tion of glass in addition to the manure, but they are mostly into the houses be fore very hard weather. Roman hyacinths will stand some freezing, 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 cov- gring with soil and litter prefer to cover with shutters or glass to prevent very hard freezing. Freezing may not hurt the bulbs, but it breaks the pots and pans. Roman hyacinths and Paper White narcissi 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 43 Paper White Narcissus. have seven weeks in a light house at a temperature of 60 degrees; then it will be in good order for Christmas. As the season advances Komans require less and less time under glass. During March and April two weeks in any house will bring them into flower. The Von Sion narcissi differ some from the tulips in their handling. While the tulips are best left out of doors till you want to start them in heat, the Von Sion that you want to cut through Jan uary and February you can bring in aoout the end of November and place beneath a cool bench. They will go on rooting and in January will be sending up their flowers, which will develop a good stem in a temperature of 55 or 60 degrees. These should be, of course, the earliest planted bulbs. 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 success ful. But what is there in it when you have succeeded? There are plenty of other flowers for all purposes, and fancy trying to sell a dozen forced and sickly tulips Avhen a dozen fine carna tions can be had. So we" have left tulips alone till after New Year's, when, if brought in, they can be had in fine qual ity by the end of January or a few days before, and that is as soon 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 ma terial to produce a good stem. Up to the 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 apt 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 flowers are about fully developed and covering 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 fixed time to allow for these bulbs to come into flower, as seasons vary so much. Besides the Von Sion narcissus there are several Trumpet varieties that force well and are most desirable. Incom parable, Trumpet Major, Emperor, Em press, and especially fine is Golden Spur. This very spring a Holland bulb grower cautioned us that these narcissi were by no means as hardy as a tulip and in Holland they had lost many in the ground when there was only 10 degrees of frost. It is well to bear this in mind and give them more protection than we do the tulips. The Polyanthus narcissi are beauti ful in form and color and are fragrant. They force well, but should not be ex posed to frost at any time. They are not profitable for the commercial man, but are beautiful for the private con servatory. The Narcissus poeticus and its fine variety ornatus 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 them is altogether too small. You will, how ever, 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 intelligent 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 unrivaled in its magnifi cent form, lovely colors, the beauty of its stamens and general appearance, as well as great fragrance. The mammillarias are the most use ful for bedding, making a beautiful ap pearance 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 grow ing, nor in winter, when they are at rest, should the soil ever remain satu rated. 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,, especially if you are keeping the plants cool, water suffi cient to lieep 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 plaster crumbled up. They need little pot room and should not be shifted for several sea sons. 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 severe 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 44 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 epi- phyllum are most numerous and its vari eties have colors varying from deep scarlet to almost pure white. The type is a deep rose color. Lake all the cacti, the epiphyllum wants perfect drainage and must not be overpotted. Keep cool in the late fall months till they uegin to show flower, when they should have more heat till the flowers are fully expanded, 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 simple. Pieces of the pereskia of any desired length will root in moderately moist sand. When potted off and established in pots the top of the stem is split for an inch or so, a branch of the epi phyllum inserted, and nothing more is 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. A genus of most ornamental hothouse 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 decora tions in the months of August and Sep tember, after their growth is fully ma tured. They lose their beautiful leaves in the winter and must rest till the fol lowing March or April. There are several species, of which we all remember argyrites as one of the oldest and prettiest, with its small sil very marked leaf. The almost innumer able varieties that are now cultivated are hybrids and surpass in beauty the original species. The tubers can be bought at a very reasonable price from any good commercial house. Their cultivation is easy. The tubers can be placed in 3 dr 4-inch pots in March in a temperature of 60 to 65 de grees. A little bottom heat will much help their starting. Water sparingly till they begin to root. When a few leaves are maue they can be shifted on. A 6-inch pot will grow a fine specimen, but they are seen occasionally of im mense size in 12-inch pots. Many will remember the dozen or more plants ex- iuwited at the New York convention in 1888 from Wootton, 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 treat ment as to size of pot is a requirement. The soil can be a good loam, rather coarse, with a fourth of leaf-mold 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 bulbs are lost from keeping them too dry in the winter and sometimes from winter ing them too cold; 60 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 names are legion and all are beautiful. C. Esculentum. Caladium esculentum is an important plant with tne florist and it enters largely into his spring business. Every one 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 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 over the hot-water pipes. You will save two or three weeks by this method over starting them in the pots on a cool bench, and will save much valuable space. We plant them in the flats in time so they will be ready to Caladium Esculentum at St. James Park, Los Angeles, Cal. knows this caladium and some of our customers know it by the descriptive and artistic name of elephant's ears. They are multiplied by the small tu bers that are always found on tire large ones, but at the low cost of a tuber 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 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 pot off just after Easter, when the pres sure for space has been relieved. When taken out of the flats they have made a growth of five or six inches and are a mass of roots. They are then pot ted into 5-inch pots or extra strong ones' into 6-inch. You do not want them too large when bedded out, as the wind breaks them, nor too late, or your cus tomers^ 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, warm nouse. When you are growing 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- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 45 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. Tu bers that are one and three-quarters to two 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 edible and its other name is Colocasia esculentum. CALAMUS. The rattan palms, or calamus, include twenty or more species of slender grow- vided pinnate leaves. The leaves of this species are light green, the pinnae nar row and arranged very closely on the stem, and the foliage is rather soft to the touch, owing to its being covered with short, hairlike bristles. C. ciliaris is essentially a warm house palm, flourishing in a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees, with abundant moisture, its tropical jungle habitat giving us some idea as to its cultural wants. The leaves of this species being rather thin in texture, it is liable to attacks 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 Calamus Ciliaris. ing and very graceful palms that are found in a wild state in various parts 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 tne tops of forest trees in Java and Borneo, but the sub ject of our illustration is one of the smaller growing species and not likeiy 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, reedlike stem and finely di- effective plant for many special occa sions. C. ciliaris suckers freely around the base and by careful handling these suckers may be removed and established, 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. 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 elevation, for calceolarias dislike great heat at any time of their growth. Little attention is paid to the spe cies, the beautiful hybrids of the her baceous section being what we are in terested in. Seed can be obtained of any reliable seedsman that will produce a great variety of beautiful flowers. Sow from June to end of September. If wanted in bloom by March, the ear lier 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 directions 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 sufficient. 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 flow ering 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 difficult plant to manage they are easily ruined by neg lect or mismanagement. The following conditions if faithfully observed will in sure success: Watering — At no time must they be allowed to wilt for want of water, and, like the cineraria, must never be over- watered or that will kill them; avoid extremes both ways. No syringing is needed. Temperature — In the dull, dark days of winter 40 degrees at night is plenty warm enough. In Europe they are largely grown in coldframes. Here that is not as practicable, but from seed sowing till middle of November a coldframe is much the best for them. Let them at all times be so situated that they can have light, room to grow, plenty of fresh air and a low tempera ture. Bright sun coming suddenly in early spring is liable to burn their leaves, so a temporary shade should be provided, but not a permanent one till they are near flowering time. Soil— A rather light loam, not chopped 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 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 mor sel and too often a fine batch of young 46 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. plants is utterly ruined by them. Don't wait till you see the fly, but smoke mild ly 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 im portant 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 so orna mental as the herbaceous varieties. The same cultural directions will apply to them, excepting that they are usually propagated by cuttings, which root read ily 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 neither seen nor spoken of. The cause is not far to seek. Our largest and best tea roses are as beautiful in form, of warm er 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 remember in the first days of the use of elaborate mechani cally made designs when camellias were dimcult but because the demand both lor the plants and flowers is too meager. In cool conservatories they make grand bushes planted out *n the border. The writer well remembers the day when it was his duty to jar the stem of a large double white camellia every morn ing when in flower and then rake up from the perfectly kept oorder hundreds of fallen petals, but that was in a cli mate 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 grow ing time, should have plenty of water anu an occasional syringing. They can be hau in bloom from October till -\'ay, but eudure no such thing as forcing. 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 mois ture 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 lat tice-work, which gives partial shade and coolness. They will do very well in win ter in a temperature of 40 degrees at night. Calceolaria Flowered in 6-inch Pot. indispensable, and more than one of us can remember the request or order of our patrons of thirty 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 August in a coldframe 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 cultivation is at all 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. I remember about the 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 intention of applying the radical treatment 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 decorative flowers. I learn from a Philadelphia firm that a great many camellias are now sold to go to the southern states. Where planted out they would be very fine. CANNA. The canna 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 wonderful hybrids the flower is of more importance than the leaves. Our summers are admirably adapted to the perfect development of the canna and as a decorative plant for our summer gardens it easily Jakes the front rank. Gorgeous beds are seen in the parks, cemeteries, private grounds and even in the humble little garden of the day laborer. In an 8 or 9-inch pot they make grand plants for the decora tion of a large conservatory, Avhere 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 attrac tion and flowyers small and few, have sunk into desuetude and are rarely cul tivated, 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 equaled by any of the large flowering ones. We call it La Grande Eouge. It grows six feet high in any ordinary soil, has narrow, long, pointed leaves, in color a deep, almost purple, -bronze, and 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 somber pines keep green, 'tis true, but we are without the broad-leaved evergreens of the south. Our giants of the forest are bleak and bare and the snowbird flies noiselessly across the waste. Our woods are solemnly still. Our wild plants have scattered their seeds and herbaceous plants are covered with their welcome overcoat of snow. Except for man and his necessities 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 irugal 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL 47 peep is the time to sow canna seed. When spring once comes our vegetation awakens and grows apace. Trees leaf 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 keep ing with all this and is our ideal deco rative plant. root and grow immediately. Large growers of cannas have cut up the old clump of roots, covered a vacant bench in a warm house with two inches of sphagnum moss or cocoanut fiber and then placed the roots on this material, with a sprinkling of the same over the roots. All that are sound will soon make a start and then can be lifted up and potted. By middle of April you have pre sumably got rid of your lilies, etc., and can find room to pot off the cannas into A Bed of Canna Niagara. 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 excellent place, or anywhere the temperature 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 experience, very bad for them, as the roots will rot. It is better when placing 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 a her baceous plant, and it is called so by high authorities, but in their tropical home they are by no means herbaceous, spreading and growing and flowering the year round. You can lift, divide and propagate new and rare varieties the year round, and you can lift large clumps before frost has touched them and use them in decorations. It is difficult to pick out even a dozen varieties, for new sorts are constantly appearing, and what is considered the finest this year may be eclipsed by seed lings 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 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 not only to soak it in a bag suspended in hot water, which you can renew occasionally, but is all the bet ter if you take each seed, held firmly 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 over the hot water pipes, which quickens the growth of the seed. If you have a propagating bed with a good brisk heat in the sand you can sow in drills an inch deep. If you have any seed from your own plants sow as soon as gathered. Canna seed soon loses its vitality. 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 1, which is plant ing 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 win ter 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 hotbed manure in flats about the middle or end of March and place the flats over the pipes where the heat is not too violent. They start to Canna Duke of Marlborough, Edged Buttercup. 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 abun dance of water. They are usually plant ed fifteen to eighteen inches apart. When the foliage is destroyed by frost the tops are cut down to within six be lost sight of. Italia and Austria, FO beautiful as individual 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 VaugEan: Fine yellow, mot tled with crimson. Souvenir de Antoine Crozy: A grand variety; an improvement on Mme. Crozy. Tarrytown: Rich, bright red; great bloomer. 48 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. Charles Henderson: Deep crimson. Egandale: Soft red; fine dark fo liage. Chicago: Vermilion scarlet; fine green foliage. President Cleveland: Orange scarlet; one of the best. Admiral Avellan: Orange scarlet; fine dark foliage. Mrs. Kate Gray: Orange scarlet, yel low throat. President McKinley: Brilliant crim son. The Express: Fine scarlet; very dwarf. Buttercup: Pure rich yellow. Black Beauty: The darkest of all foliage; small flower. Madame Berat : Deep pink. Niagara: Dwarf growing, large truss, rich crimson and golden yellow. 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 fact is seldom met with outside of private collections. C. atrovirens is a stemless or nearly stemless plant of bushy habit, the leaves of which are bifid, plaited somewhat 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 ught, rich soil with good drainage, the latter point being the Carludovica Atrovirens, And dozens of others. Test carefully the new varieties as they appear, unless you have a chance to see a whole bed of them growing. CANDYTUFT. See Annuals. 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 with out difficulty and soon become estab lished plants. The carludovicas are said to be na tives only of tropical South America, where a number of handsome species has 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 permit ted to grow a plant of Carludovica pal- mata and by exercising the imagination we may see the patient South American native selecting one large young leaf, carefully removing the stiff veins or ribs from it, then slitting it into narrow strips and finally plaiting it into a shape ly head cover without separating the strips at the stem end. Such ingenuity deserves a proper financial reward, but in all probability the larger portion of the profit is secured by the European or American hatter who ultimately re tails 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 tions 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 witn 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 varieties that pro duce a strong growth and few flowers, and some again are croppers. The splendid varieties we have today have been produced not suddenly but by the slow operation of the law of evolution, aided by artificial selection. The first carnations that I attempted 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 al ways 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 vari eties. 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 1875 to 1885 there were no carnation specialists and tfce few varieties introduced during that tirne are gone and forgotten. About the latter date appeared Grace Wilder, the first of its 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 existing varieties. Silver Spray, J. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 49 The Modern Type of House for Growing Carnations. J. Harrison, Portia, Tidal Wave and, greatest of all, Daybreak, were sent out by him. To trace further the subsequent intro ductions would make too long a chapter. It is about fifteen years since the carna tion was taken up and specialized by many of our best horticulturists, with the result that we have attained what ten years ago would have been consid ered the absolute ideal. But who can tell what Dorner, Hill, Fisher, Ward, Witterstaetter, Hartshorne, Dailledouze, Patten or other enthusiasts will do? Size has been attained almost or quite to the desired point. Length and stout ness of stem with most of the latest in troductions is about ideal, some very fine varieties having a little more length of stem than is essential; that, however, is a fault much easier to remedy than in sufficiency of stem. 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 future promises most for the raiser of new va rieties. 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 han dling, good gardeners fail with some va rieties 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, because we shall want the disseminator of new va rieties always with us. Whether under our continuous winter culture varieties should gradually lose health and vigor is a question that has led to some con troversy. We don 't ' ' force ' ' carna tions by any means, yet to a great ex tent we reverse the seasons and propa gating by cuttings is not raising a new individual, as is growing from seed. We are merely dividing and perpetuating the old original plant. And my experi ence is that after five or six years a va riety loses its vigor and is a prey to all carnation diseases. And even if it did not it would be superseded by improved varieties. 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 they would flower in their 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 better material can be had than that from your flowering plants. And the earlier you take the cutting, say in October, the less can it be said the plants have been forced. Much has been said of late in ad vocacy of early propagation, say in No vember and December, and in these days of early planting there is much in its favor. If by New Year's or the middle of January you have the young plants rooted in pots they could be removed to a cool house at a night temperature of 40 degrees. This would give them a partial rest of two or three months and they would be in good order to grow vigorously when warmer weather came. Where large quantities are need ed you cannot raise all you need in one batch, or three or four, and propaga tion will be carried on into April, but what you can take out of the sand be fore New Year's will make excellent stock and this slight rest will be a bene fit to them. Although we don't truly force our carnations by reversing their season of flowering, we keep up a per petual active growth. Thirty years ago we considered bottom heat a necessity for rooting carnations. Then later we were converted to the theory that the sand should not be warmed at all. Now we believe that if the atmosphere is kept as near 50 degrees as possible and the sand at from 55 to 60 degrees we have the ideal conditions. That mild heat of the sand cannot injure the cut tings and it will hasten their rooting by several days. Avoid a direct draught either from a door or ventilator. Carnations want the light and little shading is needed during December, January and Febru ary. When the sun gets high enough 50 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 ten years I have propagated in bank sand containing even some loam in fine particles, and I have not lost on an average ten per cent of the cuttings, and in free root ing varieties like Lawson scarcely that. There is little danger of the trouble some fungus among your carnation cut tings, because the temperature should not be high enough for its vegetation. But as a preventive and for another reason Ave always water the sand with the animoniaeal solution before each batch of cuttings is put in. \Ve have also rooted carnation cut tings very successfully in sifted coke and hard coal ashes. They will root about as quickly in ashes as in sand and i see no reason wThy ashes are not more often used where sand is not easily procured. 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 sun- plants. Those cuttings nowadays seem to run up to flower and are not what we want for making a stout free grow ing plant. 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 healthiest plants, and it will pay to also choose from the plants bearing the largest and most perfect flowers, for like begets like. The offshoots from the flowering stem make fine cuttings (these are the cuttings uni formly taken by good growers for their stock), 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. The size of the cutting is not material; it is its proper age or firmness that is of con sequence. Some growers just tear off the cut tings and put them in the sand as they are pulled off. I prefer to cut the small est possible piece off the bottom. As to trimming the leaves, generally the two lower ones are best removed. 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 cuttings into the same surface of sand. The distance apart to place the cuttings in the sand is merely a question of variety. Some A House of Carnation Cuttings. ny, allowing plenty of ventilation, then every second day. And if you have oc casion to propagate late in March the cuttings will take water every day. In the early days of carnation grow ing, before flowers were picked with long stems, we used for cuttings mostly the young growths from the bottom, those that would grow up and produce flowers, and they made good vigorous 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 propagating 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 five weeks, but varieties differ considerably in this respect. 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 roots an inch long. Some plant from the cutting beds into flats or on benches in three or four inches of soil, giving them room enough to re main till planting out time. Some pot them first into 2-inch, or perhaps 2%- inch pots and later shift them into 3-inch pots. If early propagated an excellent plan is to pot into 2-inch and in six or seven weeks, or as soon as the roots are crowded, to plant them out in four inches of soil. This way they lift with a fine ball of roots and should be strong plants with several breaks from the bottom. 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 stop ped 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 coldframe is quite as good a place and even better as you can re move 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 stopped 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 for 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 twelve inches between plants and fifteen inches between rows and leave out every sixth row. Be sure to plant in straight rows both ways; that allows 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 muse 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 opera tion ^ a pleasure and it's a blessing to the plants. You can almost see them grow. Yet we do not always wait for a rain. In long dry spells we cultivate once a week. For years I practiced and preached watering when the plants were put out. Not surface watering, but a little water THE FLORISTS MANUAL. A Bunch of White Carnations. 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 ad vantage in getting the plants out early. The weather is cool and you will catch the spring rains. I have always con demned watering during summer under any conditions and know that it is un necessary 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 stopping the plants early in August and did not lift them till September. The plants would then be full of buds and we ex pected to go right on cutting flowers from the newly lifted plants. Such flowers as we then produced would not sell at any price today. All flower bearing shoots should be made inside, 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 me transplanting from field to bench and the buds and flowers would be the greatest hindrance to a speedy and successful start under the new conditions. 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 thoroughly 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 re tain any of the soil that they occupied 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. At the risk of being thought egotisti cal I will say that we do not lose any plants through transplanting. I have time and again noticed that in houses holding about 2,500 plants we have lost none up to the following May; in oth ers, perhaps one plant. I have read of growers who thought they had fair success if they did not lose more than ten per cent. A loss of five per cent would worry us. When we consider the crude and ungardenerlike way in which trans planting is done by men who have per haps taken to the business after a fail ure at many other callings, it is no won der that the losses are ten or even twenty per cent. The great evil in this simple but important operation is that the be ginner who is without a gardener's edu cation attempts to attain speed before he has gained the knowledge of "how to do it." I have had to listen more than once to an ex-farmer carnation grower who would inform me with pride and pleasantry that his boy could plant four carnations to my one. The best answer to this is : " You don 't say so ! ' with pleasure and surprise on your fea tures. When you notice in a month's time that half of those "my boy plant ed" are dead or dying you are recon ciled 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 properly first, and then when performing any of these opera tions speed will never interfere with the quality of work. The distance Between plants on the bench will vary some with the varieties and also with the size of the plants. McGowan used to do with eight inches between the plants and ten inches be tween the rows. Lawson and Enchant ress when fine plants should be ten inches apart and twelve inches between rows. But every one's plants are not the same size, and neither are your own. You may begin digging the best plants of a bed of a certain variety and ten inches will appear to suit them; after the oest plants are dug smaller plants will come in and you can shorten up on distance by an inch or two. Your own goo« sense must guide you in this, only remember the plants have nearly the whole twelve months to grow and wil greatly increase in size. To plant too far apart is not economical, but it is better to err in this direction 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 rotted 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 return a profit nowadays. 52 ' THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 seems 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 va ried texture of soil suits them. Mr. W. N. Budd, of Mt. Greenwood, 111., grows prizetakers in the fat prairie land of his state, and my neighbors, W. J. Palmer & Son, grow magnificent flowers 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 re newing 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 summer. Now that we have come down to only four inches of soil, I of soil and the remainder ashes, clinkers or rubble stone. If the 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 making 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 position, and is finished off neatly in every way. An earnest workman will do all this well and neat ly much quicker than I can describe it. Some may ask what may "be considered a good day's work for a man planting, supposing 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 faster The White Sport of Carnation Enchantress. would certainly advocate a change of every particle of soil annually. Much has been written lately about semi- solid beds. There are low brick walls one foot to eighteen inches high, or planks, for the sides of the bed. Al though often called solid oeds, no one advocates there being a solid foot of soil — only the usual four or five inches than this would raise doubts as to the quality of the work. Soil, however, makes a difference, and some varieties are easier to handle than others. 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 man agement is needed to insure best re sults. I am very particular about the first watering. It should be sufficient to thoroughly wet every particle of soil on 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 simply 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 spring. 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 inac tive, so keep the ventilators almost closed for the first few days, and if the nights are still give all the ventilation 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 their salvation and the hot, dry air of daytime is their severe ordeal. We throw water around the house and lightly 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 entirely discon tinue all syringing. No part of my endeavor to impart my simple knowledge to the reader is done more earnestly than that regard ing the summer and fall management of the carnation. It is during the months of July, August and September that so many promising houses of carnations 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 ventilation that they have. A strong, sturdy, healthy plant in the latter part of September will endure a lot of mismanagement 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 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 ue preposterous. If you can't tell bf , sight or touch when the beds 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 53 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 preciated 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 beds 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 occasion to have any if the plants are properly treated during the first month on the bench, particularly the first week. Some of our best grow ers clean the surface of the beds thor oughly in August and then put on a half or three-quarters of an inch of mulch, which feeds surface roots, pre vents the drying out of the beds and the necessity of continually stirring the sur face of the soil. It is an excellent plan. This should be repeated again by the middle of February. For the mulch we use finely broken up cow manure, and before putting it on the bed we stir the surface and sprinkle on a good dusting of bone flour, covering the bone with the mulch. If you are going to carry your carnations on into June 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. Enchantress flowers freely in a night temperature of 45 de grees, Lawson wants 55 degrees at night, or does very well at that, but 50 de grees at night will be found to suit the great majority of rarieties very well, House of Mrs. Lawson Carnation in Full Crop. and is high enough for any if first-class flowers and a continuous supply is ex pected. All of them should go up to 65 degrees in the daytime, unless the weather is very cold and it is all fire heat; then stop at 60 degrees. If the sun is shining let the house go up to 70 degrees; that is only the carnation's natural temperature. Some growers at tribute bursting of the calyx largely to a very uneven temperature; that is, let ting the house get down some nights as low as 40 degrees or less. But this may be theory omy. 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 severest 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 nfteen 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 neces sity. Disbudding should be done every week. The buds develop very quickly, and they should be rubbed off when quite small, not left on till they are al most showing color, or disbudding will be of little avail. The object of dis budding 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 to the flower which is to remain. Tying. The matter of tying is of the greatest 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 adays it is uselws, and the advent of the long-stemmed flower has compelled us to use some better method. A great many devices have been thought 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 invented, and which it seems to me is about per fect. 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 quan tities used by our largest growers is evi dence of this. The large, stiff 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) along both sides of the bench about six inches above the soil, and between each row, lengthwise of the bed, two lighter wires. 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 each row of plants crosswise two strings are needed, one against each row. The common white string used by grocers, which is very 54 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. inexpensive, is good enough for this pur pose. Each plant is then confined in a square made by* the wire and string. 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 arrangement must be added as the plants grow, and with some va rieties even a third will be needed eight een inches above the soil. This plan The rust was a few years ago most discouraging. There are few varieties now grown that are troubled with the rust. There have been many mixtures advocated for its cure or prevention, chief of which is the Bordeaux mixture with which we sprayed the plants. Lit tle 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 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 Daybreak 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 sul phur for the benefit of the roses. While several establishments on every side of this house had their Daybreak 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. Time of Planting. No feature in carnation growing has undergone such a change as the time of getting them from the field to the houses. From end of September twenty- five years ago the lifting time has been moved year by year forward till now early July is the time our best growers, lift their plants from the field, and from what we have observed and from our experience the past two years the first or second week of July is the time. If you could lift them all at once we would say let that be done about July 10, but it necessarily must take a week or answers every purpose, sis very inexpen sive, is quickly 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 its cost spread over three years would make it the cheapest of all methods. Insects and Diseases. For many years we had no pests to contend with except our common enemies, the aphis and red spider. Some years ago the rust was imported and be came a great scare. Several other dis eases were lectured upon, and the dis ease 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. There is no neglect more inexcusable than allowing your carnations to become infested with aphis, and their attacks result in the greatest harm to the plants. They puncture the leaves, disrupt the cellular tissue and weaken the plant. Tobacco smoke, burning tobacco dust and diluted nicotine sprayed on the plants are all used to keep down the aphis. We have not seen red spider for several seasons, although never syringing. More air, more room, and perhaps the sulphur which is put on the heating pipes frequently may have helped to prevent the spider from flour ishing. If it does appear in May, syring ing is the best cure, but it is difficult to dislodge. Mr. Dorner's Method of Tying. or its spores, but because we have bet ter understanding of the conditions least favorable to the rust 's existence, chief of which are absence 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 use the ammoniacal mixture for the pur pose, but if you prefer the Bordeaux two, so begin at the first of July. There are several good reasons why this early planting is the thing, and let us re mark that early lifting calls for early propagftting and getting them into the field in *the early days of May, or, per haps, in more favored latitudes, the last days of April. This seven or eight weeks in the open ground has given them a robustness; they have laid the foun dation for sturdy plants ; they have made a good ball of roots, but they are not THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 55 spread out, and when lifted every parti cle of root can be preserved. We used to wait for a rain in the old days. With these comparatively small, compact plants there is no need of that, for there are no long roots to lift and the plants relish the change from the often hot, dry field to the moisture of the bench. I have never seen a bench of plants planted in early July wilt to any extent. The plant is in no condition to wilt. The best all round carnations we ever saw, of more than six varieties, were benched from July 5 to July 10. They then will quickly take hold of the new soil, and all the growth they make inside is strong and vigorous and the first flowers you get are perfect. With many growers, particularly those who retail their own flowrers, it is a serious loss to throw out their plants before school graduations are over, somewhere along after the middle of June. This al lows you to get all there is in your car nations and gives you time to clean out houses, renew soil and in with your new crop. Within five or six years an entire in side culture has been tried and in some cases with the greatest success. Some varieties may be better adapted for this method. We believe if you should find yourself with an empty house at the first of April or even up to first of May that it would be the very best plan to put your carnations on the bench at once, instead of in the field, but we do not believe it would pay to throw away a bench on May 1 that was yielding, or would yield within a few weeks, a fine cut p.f flowers. There is no doubt that some varieties, notably Lawson and En chantress, grown entirely under glass, will yield as many flowers, and magnif icent flowers, and what is more con tinue to bear flowers as long as the plants lifted from the field. If you are after long-stemmed, perfect flowers in early fall, say September and October, then the inside culture is the plan. That we have proved. We think the earlier they can be planted the better the re sult and that if you want to try this system, but can't get them on the bench till first of June, you had better have put them in the field at the first of May, and for two months they would be do ing better than cramped in pots and run the very likely risk of suffering for water. The greatest hindrance to this method with the average florist is that he loses a valuable part of his crop and it is more expensive to carry his young stock over the month of May in pots than planted out. The specialist who supplies the fancy trade of a large city it may pay to throw out his carnations after Easter and on his young plants he may gain largely in early fall with his perfect flowers what he loses in May and June. Yet they lift so per fectly and take hold so quickly in July that two months in the field will be found the better plan and least expen sive. No doubt circumstances will in duce us to adopt both plans, for they are both good. The great forward strides we have made is in early plant ing. Carnation Lady Bountiful. Sub-watering. This has been given an extensive trial. Mr. C. W. Ward, of Queens, N. Y., has most thoroughly tested the system. While it has been proved that good flow ers can be produced, they do not surpass those grown on a well drained bench in any respect. The sub-watered benches need greater care in handling than the ordinary benches, and being very expen sive to construct it is not likely we shall hear much more of that unnatural method of watering the benches. Houses. When the carnation first became an important flower with us any house was used to grow them in. Now thousands of houses are built expressly for the purpose. An ideal house would be an equal span twenty-two or twenty-eight feet wide. The 22-foot house will give you three benches, each five feet, and four paths. The side walls should be five feet and half of it glass. About half the heating pipes should be on the side walls and the other half distributed near the floor in the paths. No need of it be neath the benches, but there will be a better circulation of air among the plants if there are some heating pipes through the center of the house. The ridge should run east and west, or bet ter still, northeast and southwest. Ample ventilation should be given by continu ous ventilating sash on both sides of the ridge and if you can afford it ven tilation on side walls is a great benefit in summer, but that is not absolutely necessary. Blocks of connected houses are now built for carnations with high gutters. These are very light houses and less expensive to build, as well as to heat. Yet they are not so prefectly light as the equal span detached house with side glass. Much has been written of late about different kinds of benches. There is nothing that gives better results than the wooden bench from two feet to thirty inches high, and now we are using what is known as pecky cypress we shall not have to renew these wooden benches every three or four years. Some build a 4-inch brick wall some fifteen or sixteen inches high, fill in with ashes, then lay a floor of tile or hollow7 brick and finish off with a cement edging about five inches high and two inches thick. This must be a most excellent bench as nothing can be better drainage than the tile. Others build concrete walls four inches thick, but tapering thinner at top, and fifteen inches high, fill in with clinkers or rubble stone to within five inches of the top, and then the soil. We have proof that a bench of this pattern will grow good carnations, but prefer it higher, and also the tiles for drainage. There is also a bench made entirely of cement or concrete that must be everlast ing, and you can have it any height or width you want. The great essential in any bench is a perfect drainage, and in a low bed, unless you have the heat well dis- 56 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. tributed among the paths, the plants so near the floor will not have the free cir culation of air among the plants that a higher bench will have. Soil The foundation of all is the soil. Car nations are grown in different kinds of soil and often in a very indifferent kind. Whether it be a yellow loam or the dark, fat soil of the prairie, it should be from a grass or clover pasture or sod ploughed up four inches deep in October and stacked up with a fourth its bulk (not weight) of cow or horse manure. In the spring this should be chopped and turned over and by the time it is again moved over in filling the houses it will be thoroughly mixed. The bone dust or ashes is usually added after the soil is in the houses. Another plan is to select a piece of sod and plough it at the end of September and let it lie so all win ter. In the spring spread a good dress ing of manure and again plough and well harrow; another ploughing and harrowing will put it in good condition for the house. A pound of bone meal to a bushel of soil is not over strong. Wood ashes are often given as a light dressing during winter. Liquid manure is of great benefit after the benches are of today will be back numbers. Our Lawson and Enchantress and Lady Bountiful and Cardinal, ideal as they seem, will be sure to give way to either improvements or kinds of more vigor and health, and great as has been our progress in twenty years, who can tell what is in store for another generation? CELOSIA. Celosia cristata (the cockscomb) is not as often or generally seen as its strik ing and novel appearance deserves. It is seldom seen in our greenhouses, per haps because when at its best the glass structure is a hot, sweltering place, Au gust and September 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 dotted a cocks comb. Tt was a ' ' pin cushion ' ' 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 han dled transplant into flats one inch apart. When still larger they should be shifted into 3-inch pots, from which they can be bedded out. Celosia Cristata. crowded with roots, either from horse, cow, sheep or chicken manure, bearing in mind their relative strength, and al ways being on the safe side. Over feeding may produce large flowers and long stems but of poor substance, the flowers soon wilting and closing after being cut. Varieties. The varieties of ten years ago are now scarcely mentioned and maybe in five years those I could name as our choicest 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 perfec tion unless they are grown in hotbeds, 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 particu larly when forming their immense "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 summed up thus: A very rich soil, abundance of water; perfect light, and a warm, humid atmosphere. Few 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 pots, but here our summers suit them finely out of doors. They can be planted out in .the border after all danger of frost has passed. Celosia pyramidalis makes a fine plant. It grows eighteen inches to two feet high and should not be planted closer than fifteen 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 be ragusina) is a very fine, silvery leaved plant and was once more largely grown than at present. Its fine entire lea? was grand for the edge of beds or long rib bon 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 bedding out time you will have a plant in a 3-inch pot, which is none too large. If propa gated by cuttings lift a number of old plants i» 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 divided, feathery leaves, is not as clear and dis tinct a bedding plant, but is more gen erally useful. It is used largely 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 January. 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 3^ -inch pot THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 57 and be plunged in a coldframe, where they will make sturdy, useful plants. CHEIRANTHUS (Wallflower.) If it were not for seeing a plant of this old favorite perennial occasionally in our public markets we would forget them entirely. The Germans have raised some fine strains of these most fragrant flowers and their people 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 prevail ing colors are red, brown and yellow. Were it not for its odor the flower would not be highly prized, but few flowers have a fragrance that pleases everybody as does the wallflower. For the border the seed can be sown in August and the seedlings planted out in a coldframe, protected during winter and transplanted to their permanent 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 coldframe, or better yet, in a very cool house, where they will throw up their spikes of flowers in May or earlier. CHORIZEMA. This is one of the many hard-wooded plants or dwarf shrubs introduced to Europe in the early days of Australian discovery. They are very popular in Chrysantheumm Wm. Duckham. British gardens, more so than with us. The chorizema can scarcely be called a valuable commercial plant, although either for cutting or well grown moder ate sized plants we can think of several plants that have become popular with us and not so worthy the florist's time or labor as this pretty pea flowered 'orange and red chorizema. It is usually raised from cuttings put into sand with a little bottom heat in January or February, and once well rooted grows on. Those who have written of this plant recommend loam and peat for a compost. If you can't get peat conveniently it is not essential. A turfy loam broken up with some leaf- mold or old hotbed compost will do it very well. Like all Australian plants a slight rest during summer is natural. With large plants this can be done by plunging them outside during the sum mer months, but young plants for the first two years are better kept under glass and all the rest wanted will be a slight shortening of water. Give them the fullest light at all times. To make the plants bushy and compact they can be pruned or cut back, which is best done in spring after blooming. There are three or four species besides varieties or forms of these, but C. illicifolium is the most valuable to a florist. The chorizema is grown in the open in southern California and southern Flor ida. When not grown too soft they will stand slight frost at times. Excellent for training on pillars and rafters. CHRYSANTHEMUM. For a hundred years the chrysanthe mums have had periods of great popu larity and then of neglect. As a cut flower every fall the chrysanthemum is as welcome as ever. The Australian varieties have added many splendid varieties to our exhibition sorts as well as some valuable commercial kinds. There are no longer a dozen firms each sending out a new set annually at Klon dike prices, for which we must be de voutly thankful. An aspirant for pub lic favor now must be about perfect and a slight advance on preceding kinds. A few new ones each year are an abundance and even these are offered at a price that allows us to give them a trial. We do not believe that chrysanthemums will ever drop from public favor, as has for instance the camellia, for it has many noble attributes to make it annually welcome. The perfection to which they are now grown is something former gen erations knew nothing of and the flower buying public of thirty years ago was so insignificant compared with today that it could be truthfully said to be non-existent. The commercial florist is interested 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 standards and large specimens are left to the private gardener who has time, money and space for them. 58 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. Commercial Flowers— Care of Stock. Take notice of varieties that have clone well with you, as well as individual plants that have produced the best flowers. Of some varieties you may only need a few, as they send up large quan tities of thrifty cuttings. Other as equally good varieties propagate slowly, making few cuttings. These latter you must save more plants of. Lift your required number of plants and plant in four or five inches of soil in flats or boxes. They will do in any light house or even a coldframe, where you can keep them a little above freezing. Very little water is needed during the dark cold weather. In this condition they will do well till end of February, when the in creased light and heat will start them sending up cuttings. A new variety or one that you are very anxious to increase can be transplanted on a bench after flowering and in a temperature of 50 degrees will be giving you cuttings all winter, but where you have plenty of stock the rest during winter is most bene ficial to the vigor of the future plants. Propagation. Cuttings are propagated all winter, but end of February, March, April and May is the time best suited. Chrysan themums root very easily, especially in February, March and April, when the sand is a trifle warmer than the atmos phere. Either sand or coke ashes will do and three inches of it is enough. While there is a little bottom heat and the sun is not powerful a good watering every day is essential. The cuttings will then be rooted in eight or nine days. After first of May the bed will need some cheese-cloth tacked overhead and later a heavy shade on the glass, and to keep the cuttings from wilting a copious watering will be needed two or three times a day. They will take longer to root as the season advances, but will be helped greatly by never letting them wilt from sun or dryness. The cuttings should be two to three inches long and stout; a few of the lower leaves stripped off and clean cut at the bottom is all that is necessary. Avoid long, weak growths. Hard, woody cuttings should not be used. Moderately soft young growths will root quicker and grow better. Cuttings should be potted off as soon as rooted and not allowed to make long roots; the sooner they come out of the sand after roots appear the less will be their cheek. The cut tings are usually put into 2 or 2% -inch pots, in which, if not too early propa gated, they can remain till they go on the bench. Some growers of large quan tities transplant from propagating bench to a bench of three or four inches of soil, and there they can be again trans planted to the permanent bench. This saves a good deal of water and you run the risk of neglecting them for water in the month of May. These young plants must have at all times the fullest light and ventilation in abundance. Plants will sometimes need stopping be fore planting. When but one flower is needed the strongest shoot can be selected. If two or three flowers are wanted to each plant then that number of shoots are wanted. This stopping can be done before planting out on the bench if plants are early or still better done after the young plants have started to grow in the benches. Planting. A heavy, free loam that the water will pass through freely, with the addi tion of one-fifth of rotted cow manure and a liberal sprinkling of pure bone flour will be an excellent compost. A A Type of Good Commercial Flower. ' ' 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 be fore planting, so much the better. The chrysanthemum is called a free and even rank grower, but an overrich soil produces very large, soft flowers. The flowers produced on a soft, forced growth are in poor condition to with stand the handling they have to undergo before they reach the retail counter and to produce durable, firm flowers a well matured growth of the wood is as nec essary as is a good, dry house and abun dance of fresh air. It is a fallacy to think that a deep soil is a benefit to chrysanthemums. Four inches of soil has grown the finest flowers and no more is needed. If the largest flowers are looked for then planting is begun by middle of May, but good commercial flowers can be produced if planted from middle to end of June. If only one flower is wanted on a plant they can be planted six inches apart; if three blooms are wanted on a plant, or speci men blooms are expected, then eight to ten inches apart will be the thing. Plant firmly and leave a depression around each plant. As soon as the young plants have hold of the new soil go over the entire bed and make the soil solid by pounding with a brick or block of wood. Tying. Soon after the benches are planted it is very necessary that the young plants be supported with stakes or string. A wooden stake may do or an iron rose stake, but quicker applied and less ex pensive is the string which we have used this past ten years. It is also cleared out with the least trouble and no sacrifice of material. A wire of the size known as stove wire is stretched across the bed close to each row. A corresponding wire above the plants, either fastened to the sashbar, or an other stout wire run lengthwise of the house. It is well to have the upper wires six or seven feet above the bench, as they can remain in the house perma nently. From the wire at the bench to the one above run a piece of coarse, cheap string, one for each plant, and the plant is tied, as it needs support. When the crop is cut the lower wires can be loosened and either raised up to the roof or stored away for future use. The upper wires are not in your way. Unless this tying is done promptly the plants sprawl about, get crooked and bent, and it will take you much longer to do the job, and be poorly done at that. Watering, etc. 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. There is more danger of overwatering in the early stages of their growth, when the soil is not crowded with roots. Up to time of set ting buds they grow fast and vigor ously and must be well supplied with water. While forming buds less water is needed. And then again till the buds show color they want plenty of water. Liquid manure is seldom given till after the buds are selected. 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 formation. By care in keeping the bench at an even degree of moisture you can bring in a crop evenly, which is a considera tion, 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 allow 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 overfeeding and feeding snould be discontinued entirely after the flowers show color. In concluding these remarks on watering 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 FLORISTS* MANUAL. 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 seventeen points out of twenty towards being a good gardener. Mulching, Fertilizers, etc. Mulching, if done before the buds ap pear, is mostly done to prevent the bed drying out too rapidly in July and Au gust. After the buds are taken and they begin to swell is the time they need mulching. That most thorough and excellent book, "Smith's Chrysanthe mum Manual," by Elmer D. Smith, a little book that every one who grows a chrysanthemum should own, has very valuable information regarding mulch ing and liquid manure, and in the fol lowing remarks I have been much guided by his sound advice. The first mulching in' July may con sist of old spent hotbed or very rotten horse manure. For commercial flowers that is usually enough till the buds are selected. Then apply pulverized cow or sheep manure. If the* latter, it should be well ground up and mixed with an equal quantity of loam and used an inch thick. If cow' manure it should also be dried and pulverized and used, without loam, an inch and a half thick. The greatest danger with a heavy mulch is you can not see readily the condition of the bed and it must be carefully examined as to water. Great benefit as mulching is, careless watering or neglect of it may both do much harm. The quantity of mulch should also be determined by the vigor of the plant. A variety like the yellow Lager is so vigorous 'and strong that any amount of stimulant would not seem to harm, while Maud Dean could be easily overdone. If you can afford the time a lighter and more frequent mulch is much better than one heavy dose. Liquid manure is better withheld till the buds begin to swell and continued till the buds begin to expand. It is then dropped entirely. In addition to liquid made from horse, cow or sheep manure, chemical manures are used by experts, but you can get along without them. Lime is of benefit to the benches, but most soils have it in sufficient quantities. Where there is none in the soil a slight dusting of air-slaked lime is a benefit. It should be rubbed or lightly raked in and then watered. It is not easy to give quantities for these animal liquid manures. The color is the best guide. If, after it has settled in the tub or tank, the liquid is the color of weak tea, you will be safe, and begin with the liquid weak and increase a little in strength for two or three applications. Be ever on the safe side that you don't overdo the stimulant. Insects and Diseases. Chrysanthemums are troubled with several of our insect pests. The daily syringing which should be done every bright morning will effectually keep down the red spider. Thrips we are very seldom troubled with. Syringing must also prevent the appearance of Exhibition Vase of 100 Timothy Eaton. these worst of creatures, and if not the nicotine does. The commonest but easiest to combat is the green and black aphis. A weekly fumigating by burn ing tobacco dust will effectually keep them down. Where it may be incon venient to fumigate the nicotine sprayed over the plants with a knapsack bellows will thoroughly clean the plants or aphis. It is diluted something like 400 to one and it does not stain in the slightest, either the leaf or flower. Mildew troubles some varieties, nota bly that splendid old yellow Golden Wedding. It appears a draught is the cause of it. We noticed only last win ter that seven or eight feet of a bench near a door that was continually open was attacked with mildew, while beyon^ the influence of the draught it disap peared. If late in the season, say Octo ber, the mildew appears, and you can occasionally fire up, then some flour of sulphur, mixed with linseed oil, till it is about like paste and patches of it smeared on a pipe at intervals of every three or four feet is the best remedy for it. If you cannot fire up then the flour of sulphur must be lightly scat tered over the leaves, but this is not nearly as effective as putting it on the pipes. The majority of blooms are cut without the aid of any fire heat, but often towards the end of October and during November a little fire heat is nec essary, not only for a frosty night, but for cool, rainy weather, when the damp ness will settle on the plants and unless quickly dispelled will rot and spot the petals. A dry atmosphere must be maintained with all open flowers. When the plants are growing fast and we should get a few days dull, moist weather, growth will be very soft and on the return of a very bright, sunny day the tender tips will wilt and scald. Look out for this and spray frequently to keep the atmosphere moist, or a tem porary shade may be applied, and for this purpose there is nothing so quickly applied as clay and water, and if a shower does not take it off in a day or two the hose soon will. There is a brown, hairy caterpillar, some one to two inches long, that is very troublesome just about the time the buds are opening. The plants must be looked over frequently for these caterpillars. They will be found on the underside of the leaf and if let alone they will de stroy many a fine bud. We know no way but hand picking to destroy them. Grasshoppers seldom bother us, yet we have seen seasons in rural districts when chrysanthemums would have been stripped of leaves and buds, but we were not growing "mums" in that neighborhood. To put some kind of net ting over the ventilating spaces would have been our o»ly salvation. 60 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Of all the discouraging diseases we have to fight, the rust is the worst. It is a fungus and quickly spreads. The underside of the leaf has a varnished appearance and the sides of the leaf begin to curl under. When pressing the two sides together the leaf does not bend but cracks. If badly affected the flower is worthless. It does not usually ap pear till middle or late in September, when we get cool nights, and is encour aged by dampness. We have again no ticed that it usually begins near a door. That dampness or stagnant water lying around on the floor is a fruitful cause of it we have had ample proof years ago. There is a good deal of difference between the moisture created by a spray ing in a well drained and well venti lated house and the dampness of a poorly drained and poorly ventilated one. Some varieties can resist this rust much bet ter than others, but if it once gets a good foothold and conditions are fa vorable for its spreading, any variety will succumb. Bordeaux mixture is the usual remedy, and if you think the con ditions in your house are favorable for the appearance of rust begin when the plants are small and spray with Bor deaux or ammoniacal mixture every two weeks. With a dry, well drained house, no sharp draughts, plenty of ventila tion and no moisture on the foliage dur ing night, you will not likely see any rust. Chrysanthemums want no shade, even in our hottest months, and the yellow and white varieties want none at any time, but the red and pink fade under bright sun and should, to retain their bright colors, have a slight shade as soon as the buds begin to open. A light shade of naphtha and white lead will do for this. It can be syringed on, but can be put on much better with a whitewash brush with a long handle. Disbudding. Occasionally you see a bench of plants grown for sprays of cut flowers. Tney are usually free-flowering, compact growing kinds. The pompon varieties are beautiful as natural sprays and this is what they are grown for. When sorts like Ivory are grown for sprays they are usually pinched or stopped once and then let grow naturally. When grown to a single stem, either one stem or two or three stems to a plant, it is the intention to have one flower to a stem. Plants that are heavily fed or mulched, ^and all more or less, as the flowering time approaches send up growths from the roots, suckers or slotting, as it is called. They should be removed and all lateral growths on the stems should be removed, leaving only the central lead ing growth. The crown buds with us usually begin to show from August 20 to middle of September. The crown bud so called is not generally what the com mercial florist wants unless he is growing for exhibition, or if he finds some variety does easily and uniformly well. The crown bud appears on the top of the growth and is alone, not surrounded with other buds, but surrounded with other growths, what Mr. Smith calls "vegeta tive growth." If this crown bud is selected, then of course all growths must be pinched off and the strength of the plant will nourish that bud. If you de stroy that crown bud select the strongest of the lateral growths and shortly it will lengthen out and develop a cluster of buds, usually a center one and three surrounding it. This is called a terminal bud, and if the center of this group of buus is perfect the other three should as soon as large enough to handle be rubbed off. Mr. Smith suggests most sensibly that instead of designating these buds ' ' crown ' ' and ' ' terminal, ' ' which is ambiguous and not descriptive, they be called respectively "single" and *' clus ter" bud. The objection to crown buds for the ordinary commercial man is that many colored varieties are inclined to come off color and frequently they have long bare necks. For exhibition pur poses the crown bud has size, earliness and many petals. However, the terminal bud is generally suited to our wants. At all times till flowers are cut should all lateral growths be kept removed. Cutting. All flowers should be cut and placed in water at least eighteen hours before being put on the counter or shipped to they arrive at their destination as per fect as when they were cut. Unless with the very early blooms where a fancy price is obtainable, all flowers should be well developed. An immature flower will wilt quicker than one fully out. It is an advantage if you have to put several varieties on the same bench that they be all early or mid-season or late or planted in such arrangement that the bench can be cleared out as you cut, for you are often very pressed for room about this time. Pot Chrysanthemums. 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 carnations. 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. Chrysanthemum Midge as a Pot Plant. the retailer. Varieties that easily drop their petals, as some of the most beauti ful do, and yet desirable, should be in water thirty-six 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 Plant fifteen to eighteen inches apart. They will make « fine growth during summer and should liave 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 keeping THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 61 the aphis subdued. From August 15 to about August 25 is a good time to lift these plants from the bench, 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 or 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 twelve to twenty buds, each branch dis budding 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 inconspicuous. 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 Bonnaffon, And there must be many newer varieties of a compact growth suited for this purpose. 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 common use as an orna mental plant in our greenhouses, a won derful improvement 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 neglect or mismanagement, for what is a cine raria 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 grower is never though of, neither is it at all neces sary, for a fine strain is readily pro duced from seed supplied by our leading houses. Double varieties were also a novelty a few years ago and supposed to be a great acquisition, but the cine raria, like some other florist's flowers, is not in the 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 vanished. If flowering plants are wanted by November and the holidays, you must sow at the end of May or early in June. Except on private places this is not to be recommended. For the commercial florist they would not be very profitable, 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 sowings, the first early in August, the latter 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 -mold 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, never 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 better. I have seen hundreds of cinerarias 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 profitable 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 Those that are summered over do much the best in a pit or coldframe, but it should be deep enough so that when ven tilation from the raised sashes is given it should pass over their tops and not be playing too freely on their soft leaves. Specimens can be given an 8 or 9-inch pot, but the commercial florist will find that a 6-inch will flower them sufficient ly 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 hotbed. 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 the root of any strong Cineraria. "keep plants near the glass," in other words this means light. They must have light, room to spread out, a cool tem perature, 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 temperature, the remaining great object to watch in their successful culture is never to let a greenfly be seen on them. Fumigate regularly and faithfully. growing variety. The florist buys his clematis and is more interested in know ing how to make them grow satisfactor ily than how to propagate them. Very strong plants of Jackmanii and other large flowering varieties are imported every fall, arriving here early in Novem ber 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 provokingly after living one or two or more years. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. We spread out the roots and lay them in trenches in the eoldframe during win ter and in severe weather cover with glass, removing it before they get any way forced by the suns of March. We believe they are more satisfactory to our customers planted this way than potted and given any time in the greenhouse. The potted plants look well when sold, but are more liable to suffer from neg lect after planting. In very strong plants there is such a mass of roots that it is impossible to spread them sufficient ly 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 overhanging 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 brickbats to feed on, which is often the result of the grading and sodding that is done around a pretty house. In milder countries the gorgeous Jack manii and its kindred varieties may re tain 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 seven, eight and nine feet high, and five or six feet across. All these flower from the growth of the same year. Plants of Jackmanii, Henryii or any of that type make splendid decorative plants grown on a balloon or flat trellis an large pots. For this purpose they should not be cut down, as the frost does our outside ones, but wintered in some cool house and merely thinnned out and tied in spring before starting into heat. There are a great number of species and some of them are very distinct. A few of them are natives of North Amer ica and make splendid plants for cover ing fences, railings, etc. C. paniculata is very hardy and is covered from July on with its white, finely divided flowers, resembling almost balls of cotton. C. coccinea is a very distinct species with yellow and vermilion flowers of an odd shape; fine for verandas. C. flammula has white flowers, is very hardy and one of the strongest growers. O. ±ortunei, small, white fragrant; fine hardy climber. C. Virginiana, a very strong growing 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 immortal ized the name of the raiser, Mr. Jack- Clematis Paniculata. man, 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 are 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 distinct variety, approaching a bright red. Miss Bateman, an attractive variety; white flowers with dark anthers; medium flower, dense grower and free bloomer, but not continuous. COBAEA. The species best known and most useful is C. scandens and plants are annually raised in large quantities to be used as outdoor climbers. It is a perennial, but it is much better for us to treat it as an annual. As a quick growing plant of fine appearance to cover verandas, summer houses and stumps of trees it has scarcely an equal. It flowers profusely^ in August and Sep tember, 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 im- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 63 patient of results we recommend the cobsBa for immediate 'effect, or till the hardy vines make a show. When this is done be careful not to let the cobseas smother the permanent vines when young. The variegated form of Cobsea 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. Cobaea scandens is always raised from seed. We sow in March in flats con taining two inches of light, sandy soil, and keep in a temperature of 60 de grees. Press the soil down evenly and moderately firm, and press the seeds into the soil, always on edge. No cover ing is needed; the upper edge of the seed can be even with the surface of the soil. Give them a good watering 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 five or six inches high we shiff 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 other and it would be impossible to get them apart. There are few of our customers 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 satisfac tory shape. COLDFRAMES. What we call a coldframe (low walls of wood or brick supporting some glazed sash) is a miniature greenhouse with out any artificial heat. Every grower should1 kiiow the great value of them and how much they add to his capacity for raising many plants and temporarily increase the area of his glass. There are times, especially with the man who raises bedding plants, when his place is fearfully congested and the addition of another thousand feet of bench room is the greatest relief. Coldframes 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 Eoman 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 coldframes, viz.: the sed- tims, lysimachia (money vine) and the variegated glechoma. In the spring these frames are of still greater use; not only do they relieve our crowded benches, but many plants do far better in them than in a greenhouse. In the frames you have perfect light, an abun dance of air, and on fine, warm days the sashes can be removed, when full exposure to sunlight and air can be given. Carnation growers can put their young plants into the coldframes the first part of April and a few weeks in them will condition the plants for the open field much better than a lofty hothouse. By the middle of April all the annuals in flats or planted can go into the cold- frames, and many of our bedding plants will be greatly benefited by a few weeks in the coldframes. It 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 plung ing out our azaleas, acacias, hardy roses in pots, and many plants that are kept in pots during summer. Boards fast ened up to keep your plunging material 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 coldframes, and in ease of very heavy rains are much better covered with the sash. Those you keep for East er and later flowering must be kept in the frame till December or later, and there is where your coldframe will come in right; in fact, it 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 nat urally dry position make provision to carry off the rains from the surround ing surface. Where a large lot of sash is used for this purpose some of the frames at least can be permanent. By that I mean they can be built of cedar or cypress posts (4x4 is a good size) driven into the ground every eight feet for the back and front line of the frame, which can be any desired length. I have one of thirty 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 movable and is made in length to fit three or four sash, 1-inch lumber will do. The sashes are made of various sizes, but it is wrong to have them an awkward size; six feet long by three feet six inches wide is large enough, and some prefer three feet wide. For a great majority of our frames, whether permanent or portable, the height at back is eighteen inches and the front twelve inches, giving the sash a slope of six inches to the sun; that is plenty. For a few larger plants we have some frames that are two feet at back and eighteen inches in front. I prefer the cypress sash, butting the glass. Al ways use double thick glass; these sash get a good deal of handling and occa sionally one blows off in a gale. They run risks of breakage far more than a fixed roof; they are moved repeatedly to ventilate and are raised to enable you to water, so the double thick glass will save the extra price of 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 blowing 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 en sue from neglect quite placidly, but de pend upon it when they do they are sluggish, 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 helped, 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 eighteen inches by one foot and the ends should be fastened to a 2x4 post in the four corners. All sashes 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 %x*4 inch. In summer, when of little use, see that the sashes are laid or stood on tim bers, 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. This handsome tropical foliage plant is not so largely used as it was ten years ago. A change of fashion in flower gardening will account for this. A re turn to less formal style and the larger use of flowering plants lessened the popularity of the coleus; still there will always be some demand for them. Ver- schaffeltii is a variety raised from Blumei, which species is also the parent 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 strug gling 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 64 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. growing so luxuriantly outside, they are not appreciated as pot plants, unless it be for filling up in the summer and fall. It would not be at all difficult to start with a 4-inch plant in February and by the following October have a plant six feet across and as even in outline as an umbrella, but few would stop to admire it. They would only remark or reflect: "How long it must have taken John Smith to grow that plant ! ' ' The plant is not worth the pains. To digress a moment. To me it is no pleasure (simply a bore, in fact) 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 in stead of being amused by such mon strosities 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 untiring perse verance of some men; the result is noth ing 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 pulling a ten-ton cannon and showing his majestic strength, and it's about the same with this specimen coleus. It only shows the patience ana skill of the work man; the result is meager after all the labor and cost. To obtain a good stock of coleus for bedding purposes it is better to carry over a few each of the leading varieties in pots during summer, say in 5-inch 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 bot tom heat will save several days. Coleuses are sold cheap and must be raised expeditiously or there will be no profit. We endeavor to have several sizes. The largest are in 4-inch pots. Perhaps these have been stopped at least twice, their cuttings having been used for propagation. The 3-inch pot plants were stopped once and the smaller plants in 2% -inch pots had the top pinched out. We find customers want different sizes. Some are willing and able to pay for the largest plants; others think the smallest plants 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 coleuses, for sale at the end of May, just when they should be 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 trouble had some whitwash on the house. A sudden drop in tempera ture with a cool, damp house is the very worst thing for coleuses. 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 hotbeds. There is no place like them to grow good bedding coleus. They need not be built up as if you were growing cucum bers 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 pro duce in three weeks_ a better 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 hotbed in 3-inch pots, and that is their finish. One more g~reat advantage is that on warm days toward bedding out time you can remove the sash, which finely prepares these tropical plants for their next and last move. We use coleuses of several varieties for veranda boxes and vases. They al ways do well. The only trouble with them is that they grow so freely that if allowed they will smother the geraniums, the flowers of which are always looked for. Any light loam with a third of sifted rotten manure will grow coleuses, 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 isedder is such a fine golden yellow that nothing is equal to it in its color. If you grew 5,000 coleuses 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. We have long since neglected to keep record of the names of the fancy coleuses, 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 border, but more especially for cutting. Its finely divided foliage and handsome flowers are now produced in various shades, there being crimson, pink, white, and last, a yellow. By the cross ing 'of species and selection great im provements have been made and still more are confidently expected. In the south and in California it flowers beau tifully but in the northern and eastern states it is too often cut off before or just when beginning to flower. Special ists in the cultivation of this graceful flower have enlarged it from one inch to three or four inches in diameter. Let us hope they will give us varieties that will bloom abundantly before any dan ger of frost. They have already con siderably advanced their season of flow ering. While a tendency to early flow ering 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 be given it or it would grow too strong. Plants that have many blooms yet to open can be lifted, 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. Growing in a position where a deep coldframe could be put over them in fall to protect them from the first severe frost will well repay the trouble. They are best sown in March, transplanted into flats, kept in cold- frame and planted out middle to end of May, or when there is no longer danger of frost. COTYLEDON. These now include what we have so long known as the echeveria and sem- pervivum. They are dwarf 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 promi nence 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 number of offsets, which can be removed from the parent plant in fall and planted into sandy loam thickly in flats. The species such as metallica and retusa that form stems should not be exposed to frost, and will do very well in a night temperature of 50 degrees. But for wintering most of them a much lower temperature will do; and give them little water during the dark months. 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 hand some species: C. sempervivum, house leek; per fectly hardy. C. gibbiflora metallica, fine for cen ter of carpet beds, or worthy of pot cul ture; broad, thick leaves of a metallic hue. C. agavoides, beautiful form, resem bling 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 un*jjualed; there are several varieties, all useful. Some recent experience with this va riety so largely used is worth recording. Our park department, having many thou- THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 65 sands on hand and being short of room, put the flats into coldframes that had been excavated two feet below the sur face. With the use of mats the plants kept in excellent condition the entire win ter, and were not watered once from No vember to April, but frequently must have been frozen. If kept very cool or exposed to frost, the soil must be dry and at all times avoid drip. No doubt 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 Croton Reidii most of the echeveria section will endure a severe freezing. C. Peacockii, is perhaps the most orna mental of all, and much less common than most others. C. Kuthenicum, 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, is the only one we ever 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 succulent, 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 dan ger 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- when of sufficient size can be potted and started growing. You frequently see the bedding spe cies used on the margins of beds where the edge of the bed is nearly perpendicu lar. 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. CRINUM. These amarylhs-like plants are grand subjects for both outside decoration in large pots or tubs and for the conserva tory. Some are evergreen, some decidu ous, several species will thrive in our southern winters. The only kinds of value to the commercial florist are ten der. The bulbs of the deciduous species and varieties are imported from Holland and Belgium. After the deciduous varieties have flowered there should be no neglect of watering until the foliage shows signs of ripening, and they should be kept in the same soil all winter, starting them again in early spring. The evergreen species should only be little reduced in water supply. They can be grown several years with out shifting. An inch of top dressing should be applied and liquid manure given previous to flowering. Most of them bear seed freely and can be rapidly increased. Handsome bulbous plants that they are for the conservatory, they will not be found profitable for the commercial man. A rough, turfy loam with a fourth of cow manure and some broken up char coal is a good compost, and the pots should be well drained. 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 always 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 sur face and will grow and flower every spring for years. They are not suitable for grouping with the tulips and hya cinths, being much too early. In fact, they appear as soon as the snow disap pears and are often caught in a snow storm after they 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 without any harm if you don't disturb the soil too deep. There is no need of transplant ing them; they will take care of them selves 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 hothouse evergreen shrubs or trees, which they really are. As large decora tive plants for the conservatory they have few equals. In the latitude of .fniladelphia 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 protected situ ations. For decorations they are valuable, but not in cold weather, for a chill (even a low temperature) soon takes off their beauty, and a croton must be in perfect condition or it is useless. They also dis like 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 potted, and when established are readv for sale. 66 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 cro- tons at their best they should not go below 70 degrees at night at any time of the year, but for a short time will en dure 20 degrees lower than that. Unlike a palm or dracaena, however,, anything near the freezing point for an hour or two wTill greatly damage them. They are subject to the ravages of the mealy bug, red spider and tbrips, but tnere is no excuse for them, as the plants 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 potted, and when the water passes properly 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 hand some 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, Chal- CYCAS. There is one species of this handsome palm-like plant that is known to all florists — the C. revolufa. It is not only one of the finest of our decorative plants, but its handsome leaves are large ly used simply tied together or with the addition of roses, etc., for funeral de signs. Cycas leaves of all sizes and perfect in outline and color are now im ported either from China or climes where this plant grows freely out of doors the year round. Although they are beau tifully preserved and put into fine ar tistic forms, they are not quite the thing with all our customers, and do not entirely taKe the place of 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 tempera ture 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 unharmed in the broadest and hottest suns if plenti fully supplied with water. It makes a grand specimen for a lawn during the summer months. They should not have a larger pot or Cycas Revoluta. lenger, Disraeli, elegantissimus, Johannis, Mortii, Langii, Kuberrinum, Sunbeam, Reidii, gloriesum, 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 anything else here. Yet modern horticultural dictionaries say that they are not crotons but co- diaeums. tub than is necessary, but must have a shift every two years if they are mak ing a strong growth. The soil should be a strong turfy loam, lightened up with leaf-mold and sand, or a fifth or sixth of well rotted cow manure. 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 syr inging at all times. Their great enemy is brown scale, and to remove or rather pre vent it, they must be sponged with the kerosene emulsion. Mealy bug will at tack them, but there is no excuse for that, as the hose should keep them down. A temperature of 60 degrees will do very well in winter and as hot as you like in spring and summer. When cut ting 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 by the ton and sold by weight. When first received they should be put into pots not much larger than the diameter 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 al though 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 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 pot ting 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 valuable to the florist for all purposes. Of the other species for private collections, media and circinalis are fine plants. CYCLAMEN. Of all the winter-bloomnig greenhouse plants as wyell 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 flower that few of our customers can resist buying one, and when to that is addeu its good qualities as a house plant it is worthy of our greatest7 care and atten tion. There are several species of cycla men, but only one that is of importance to the florist. We often hear people from Central Europe (not gardeners), when they see the Cyclamen 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 conti nent. 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 annually from seed. There are many fine strains. If you will select each winter some of your best plants that have both fine, com pact foliage and large, finely colored, stiff-stemmed flowers, and save seed from these, you will soon have a strain of your own as good "^s any. If in flower in mid-winter the seed will not be ripe till April or May, too late for next winter's crop. If you have to buy seeds don 't look for the cheapest ; only the THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 67 Cyclamen in 10-inch Pot. best are inexpensive, and get the best you can hear of. Also if you raise a thousand or more plants buy the seed in colors. Sow from middle of September till New Year's; 'the former date if you ^want them in flower in early winter. If not till February or March, then Decem ber will do. 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, but sometimes several weeks longer. When the small leaves are up you should give the pan or flat plenty of light in a tem perature of about 55 degrees. When the little bulbs (as we will call them) are the size of a small pea they should be transplanted into pans of very light loam, sand and leaf-mold. In six to eight weeks they can go into 2% -inch pots, or, what is just as good, be again transplanted into other flats of similar soil, and given more room. No definite time can be given for these transplant- ings or shiftings, for that depends upon when you sowed. Beginners often ask how deep to put the little bulb when shifting. You can put the top of bulb even with surface of soil; the bulb will soon force itself to the surface. Cyclamen are free root ing plants, but by no means want over- potting; yet when the roots have filled the pots they should not be stunted, but should at once be given a shift. From the pans they will need a 3-inch pot and from 3-inch to 4-inch and finish with a 6-inch or 7-inch, or perhaps from 3-inch to a 5-inch, and the last shift into an 8-inch. This will depend on size and vigor of plant. The question of soil best suited to the cyclamen is not so easy. There can be no doubt that high class cyclamen are grown in many different soils in many different parts of this country and Eu rope. We think a moderately firm loam sod that has had time to decay is the main thing in the proportion of two parts loam and two parts genuine leaf- mold and one part well rotted cow ma nure and sand. If me loam is sandy then omit the sand. We often speak of drainage, and with a cyclamen it is es sential, especially after they are in 5-inch or over. I call good drainage for a 6-inch pot one inch of broken-up crocks covered with a piece of green wood moss, which does not decay like sphagnum. Frames or the House. Good plants are grown both ways. I am told that most of the expert growers of Europe use hotbeds largely, and doubtless many do here. A friend told me he saw in far-away Denmark the most wonderful plants of cyclamen, and they never saw, or rather felt, anything but a hotbed. There is no doubt that if you used hotbeds and watched the plants as a mother watches her infant, that larger plants could be grown in these miniature greenhouses than any other way, yet there must be no let-up to the incessant care, and therefore the one who does not make a specialty of this plant had better use the ordinary green house bench, or, for the summer months, what is just as good — a coldframe. If a bench in a greenhouse then it should be a detached narrow house, so that a temporary shade can be applied on bright, hot days, and removed by 4 p. m. This shade can be in the form of lattice-work, a frame the size of an ordinary sash, say 6x3, and laths nailed on one inch apart, or nail some long strips of wood on the roof and have cheese-cloth on a round stick, which can be unrolled or rolled up as occasion re quires. You may think of some better method. I consider a shade during the scorching hours a necessity, while shade in early morning and evening and on dull days is doubtless an injury. Now, a coldfr-ame affords ample opportunity to easily do this shading, and whether on a bench or in the frame, plunge the plants in tobacco stems. Every bright morning the cyclamen- should be lightly syringed. If syringing is properly attended to the thrips and spider are seldom trouble some, but the aphis is a persistent enemy of this beautiful plant, getting down among the young leaves and flower buds. A faithful weekly fumigating must be followed up. With the pie dish and to bacco dust this is as easily done in a frame as in a greenhouse. I tried one winter an experiment on the best tem perature to flower them; 45 degrees at night was too cool and 55 was too hot; 50 degrees seemed to be just right, open ing the flowers fast enough without drawing them up. If once clean of aphis when brought 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 be tween the pots. This will keep down the fly, but it should be renewed every three or four weeks. There is another enemy of the cycla men of which too little is known. After the greatest promise and splendid plants are produced, this "mite" attacks the plants in October. The flowers come streaked and sadly off color, in fact use less. We have not heard of any specific remedy for this minute insect, and if it appears, throwing away the affected plants at once is generally advised. We think plenty of pure air, light and the frequent fumes of tobacco will go far toward keeping away this enemy. A se vere check, such as neglect of watering, is at any time very bad for the cycla men. 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 growing in smaller pots and shift again as re quired. Old plants, if well managed, give an enormous lot of flowers that are usually not so fine as those on the year- old plants, and the plants are not so perfect. If a plant can in fifteen months be grown in an 8-inch pot, the foliage fifteen to eighteen inches across, with 100 fine flowers, what better is needed ? IH 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. The crested and so-called double forms are curious, but no improvement in beauty over the older forms. The double is in fact a monstrosity without beauty. 68 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 cyclamen; they should have no check, no setback of any kind from the time the seed germinates till they are in bloom, but should be con tinually growing. CYTISUS. These are often called genista, but cytisus is the correct name, of which the beautiful tree or shrub, laburnum, is one. They are profuse blooming, branch ing evergreens. Small plants in 4 and 5-inch pots are most useful, but a lim ited 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 consider them at all a good house plant, the leaves and flowers soon dropping, and the reason must be the dry air of the room. can be kept in a very cool house; 40 degrees at night will be plenty. They are of most use as an Easter plant "and if not kept very cool will be too early for Easter unless that festival comes on an early date. Unsold plants can be sheared off and if kept warm and syringed will soon make a fine growth, and when shifted they can be plunged outside in summer and will want at in tervals an occasional clipping. They can be made very round, compact, hand some bushes or allowed to grow more freely if you wish. Canariensis is a trifle darker than racemosus, but the latter is the better grower and better plant. DAHLIA. These magnificent herbaceous plants have long been favorites of the garden and were, I think, once more frequently seen than at present. They do not re ward you with their grand flowers if just shoved into the ground as the use ful geranium does. They want cultivation Cyclamen Grandiflora Fimbriantum. 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 dur ing 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 because 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 and they are well worth it. Excepting as to odor what flower is more perfect than a dahlia? There are several classes: The show dahlia is the large double flower. The francies are identical except in the markings of the flower. The pompons are perfect little double flowers, not more than one-half or one-third the size of the show flower. The single flowers are very handsome and are used more for bedding. Some twenty years ago they were very much in fashion. At present the most decorative type is the cactus dahlia and for the commercial florist it is the most desirable. The pop ularity of the dahlias was on the wane some thirty years ago because of the formal shape of the show type. Then the single varieties came in and quickly became popular as bedding plants as well as decorative flowers. The first cactus dahlia was so called on account of its resemblance to a cereus. There is now as great a variety in this handsome type as there formerly was in the show va rieties and they are decidedly the most decorative. With the exception of the single class, or in case you want to raise new varieties of the double ones, the dahlias are easily raised from cuttings. The clumps of roots which have been resting all winter should be placed on a bench in Febru ary or March in 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 pot, 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 conse quence with the majority of plants but is important with dahlias. When well rooted in the small pots shift into a 4-inch pot and give plenty of light and air, and as planting time approaches they should be in a cold- frame, where they can be hardened off. The planting time will depend on when you are sure of no more frosts. The aahlia 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 deeply dug, and a fourth of its bulk of ma nure added. The single varieties can be planted two feet apart, the pompons two feet six inches, and the show and fancy kinds to do real well should have four feet. All should have stakes to sup port them and in a dry time an abun dance 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 three or four feet 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 Toron to some thirty years ago, I have not for gotten his method. From plants prop agated in March he showed and won a prize the following July 1 for the ' ' best twelve flowers of show dahlias. ' ' By the end of May the young plants were fifteen to eighteen inches high in 4-inch pots. For every ptgnt on a long border (five feet between plants) he dug a hole eighteen inches in diameter and fifteen inches deep, working in a third of manure. The surplus soil THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Cytisus in Basket. will keep so will dahlias — cool as you like but no frost. If the amateur has no means of prop agating, the old root can be planted 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. Dahlias are easily forced and will yield a great quantity of cut flowers during April, May and June. The pom pon and cactus types are good for this purpose. Plant the roots two feet apart in six or seven inches of good compost on a low bench or on the floor of a house where you can keep the night tem perature 55 degrees. A daily syringing will keep down spider and thrips; fumi gation is necessary to destroy aphis. Several strong growths should start from each clump of roots. A stake should be provided to keep the stems from break ing, and when they once show buds keep the lateral growths pinched off. We picked an immense number of blooms off a few dozen plants. Plants that have been grown in 4-inch pots the previous summer and early ripened are better for forcing than those lifted from the ground. In the temperature quoted and was spread on the border. Near the center of the hole he drove down a stout stake which was left four feet 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 about May 20 they were planted. Frequently they were watered and you could almost see them grow. July 1 is extremely early to cut dahlias, but there was a flower or two on several of the plants and after that they were a gorgeous sight. This method could not possibly be followed with growers of acres of these plants and some New Jersey growers cultivate up wards of 100 acres. We have seen them a mass of bloom without stakes or any other care except perhaps water. Al though the dahlia is from Mexico it is at its best in the cooler and moister months of September and October. It 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 anywhere and for years the superb flowers of Grainger Bros., Toronto, have been ex hibited 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 innumer able. The show varieties have the magnificent self colors of crimson, red, yellow and white and intermediate shades. The fancy flowers are most beautifully blotched, spotted and striped. The pret ty little pompons are all colors; some of the pink shades among them are fine for florists' use and the singles are of every color. The cactus type embraces almost all shades ana varies greatly in size and form. Anything but a very stiff clay will do for soil. The best I ever saw were grown Show and Cactus Dahlias. in a sandy loam with a third of good ma nure added. Deep soil, plenty of ma nure 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 lift ing the roots and store in a cool, dry cellar or under a bench. Where potatoes if good ripened roots are started, about New Year 's you can expect the first flow ers in ten to twelve weeks. DECORATIONS. Keeping step with our business in other lines, the decoration of the house, the hall and the church has evolved apace 70 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. and is with many a florist a leading fea ture of his trade. Looking back twenty- five or thirty years we can hardly imag ine what material we then had with which to fill an order when we were fa vored with a decoration. Smilax we 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 people you occasionally see a bouquet Single Dahlia. had, and some flowe. "ing plants of very common sorfs. With the exception of the chandelier the deco rations must have been of cut flowers, anc 1 they were hard ly worth calling cut flow ers> for a11 were short-stemmed and jamm ed into frames and designs in a very con ventional way. We can all remember (at least a11 those whose hair is gray) ti 1&t at a wed ding or reception the chiei c decoration was the banking of the n mantelpieces with cut flowers, and I think 1 have seen such a bank of flowers, six fe* ^ by two feet, that contained as many ore 1ers> §en" era, species and varieties as are usually found in a botanic garden. Ot palms there were scarcely any. A fe ^ °*" latanias and occasionally a shop 'worn Seaforthia elegans comprised the x "tock in trade. Of the ornamental kentias anc| arecas there were none, and it wo\ 7" not be far wrong to say that with t. ie great majority of those who undertook . a decoration, of palms or decorative plantt 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 filled 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 mantelpiece) gone never to return. The passing away of that style, as well as the bouquet de scribed in Peter Henderson's fine little work, ' ' Practical Floriculture, ' ' is not a change of fashion; not at all. It is the that in form and make-up reminds you of the dark ages. Jt is a question what brings about these great changes. Was it the supply 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 taste and originality of the florist? We think decidedly it was the latter, for material of some kinds we always had, 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 imitators? There are in our line only a few men of bright and original ideas in the whole country and I am without the post-office address of those few. All reformers are abused and reviled, or considered cranks by the common herd. All discoverers and demonstrators of everlasting truths are held in con tempt and spoken of by fossilized brains and robed hypocrites as enemies of man kind. Saints never lived; they are saints when they die. Linnaeus, the colossal-brained Swede who demonstrated and published the facts about the sexes in plants, had to eat his words at the command of the church. Just 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 re veal it. Let him be penniless, he is yet nch, and a king compared to ignorant affluence, who, ostrich-like, hides its head to all true knowledge except that of ac quiring wealth far beyond its necessi ties. This is a deviation from floral decora tions, but I will apply the argument 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 argument against a new idea only that the author was ' ' getting gay, " or " thinks he 's smart. ' ' Every time some man of bright ideas brings out an artistic move we ought to be thankful, for by slow degrees our ideas of the artistic part of our business have been moved upward and onward. Dwarf Dahlias in Pots. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 7J A move in the wrong direction will soon die out, for upward and onward and progress 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 ourselves of, the Magnolia grandiflora sprays, the moun tain laurel (kalmia). Holly was scarce ly ever seen. Lycopodium (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 American Beauty rose. And the glo rious buds of Bridesmaid or Bride and other beautiful roses were not to be had thirty years ago. We had to be content with Safrano, Isabella Sprunt and Bon Silene. As for palms, the use of them with the majority of florists began about twenty years ago and has yearly in creased 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 a thousand to one. Some houses and rooms lend them selves to our decorations. Where the permanent decorations of a room are elaborate it needs but little of the florist's assistance and that only of the very choicest material. Where the rooms are little embellished, more of our plants and vines will be appreciated. It is quality and good taste rather than quan tity that are looked for in a handsome room. Wedding Decorations. At a wedding 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 graceful, not thick and dense. If the chandeliers and mir rors are ornamented with greenery, as paragus should always be used and no attempt be made to follow the outlines of the chandelier, but thrown on very loosely. Instead of clearing off all the costly and beautiful ornaments from the mantelpiece, as we used to, and putting on a slab of flowers, it is now deco rated with two or three vases of the finest, long-stemmed flowers, such as roses, carnations or chrysanthemums. All flowers are wanted on long stems, and all can be so supplied wTith one impor tant 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 particularly, that wherever there is an arrangement of them they are used in baskets or some low arrangement, and nothing accom panies them better than maidenhair ferns. Instead of banks of palms, except when occasion demands such, the plant decorations are made by standing singly in every available spot a perfect speci men of palm or dracaena or croton, or that splendid plant, a specimen Boston fern. No such thing as a flower pot, however clean, should be exposed. The florist should have on hand handsome 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 greatest advan tage, as the halls are generally bare of any permanent decoration and well repay the florist 's work. Here is where your wreathing of laurel the best of all comes in. Pillars and balconies are draped Church Decoration for a Wedding. jars in which the single specimens 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, Asparagus Sprengeri, must finish the bottom 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 supply them. None will differ with me when I assert that nothing embellishes a flower like its own foliage. Eoses should have nothing more, nor lily of the valley, tulips or any of the bulbous stuff, or chrysanthemums. If your chrysanthemum foliage is not good cut some that is. Anything else would be ridiculous. But carnations are weak in foliage and sprays of Asparagus Sprengeri go well with them. Christmas Decorations. Christmas decorations are of many kinds. Many good society people prefer to rent a public hall or assembly room when they are going to give a dance to 500 people, 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 with wild smilax, chandeliers and gas jets are adorned with holly branches, the mistletoe bough hangs in some conven ient nook, and the evening has all the features of old England (except the accent of the people) a hundred years ago. Christmas, once so coolly kept in this country, is now the great 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 holly and red berries. ' ' The mistletoe hung in the castle hall, the holly branch hung on the castle wall. ' ' Laurel and Ieucotho3 are always used in wreathing and are very effective, look ing much richer than wreathing of ground pine. The magnolia sprays 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. Just wound around 72 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. pillars, covering ceilings, or on the out lines of arches, it is grand and becom ing. There is usually a stage in the hall and there is a place to make a palm dis play of the finest kind. If flowering plants are used they are usually colored azaleas and poinsettias. The latter is now a standard decorative plant in many cities, and always wanted in decorations around the holidays. It is associated •with Christmas as much as the holly berries, and with us is known as the Christmas flower. Church Decorations. Church decorations are sometimes very elaborate, palms being of the greatest service, and many times the flowers used must be only white. There is where our Lilium Harrisii and L. longiflorum are of so great a value, and early white chrysanthemums in the fall. to their sacred ideas they have also secular notions, and among them is one that it is a waste of money for the con gregation to donate a hundred dollars, more or less, 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 exists among our regular orders, but there are just as many plants sold which are sent as offerings to the church, and "the ladies of the congregation, assisted by the deacons, arrange the donations, ' ' and then the Monday morning paper says: "The interior of beautiful St. William's was a bower of beauty, blending its in cense with the heavenly music so ably rendered by the efficient choir under the direction of Prof. Flat." Some churches still give you a fixed sum and ask you to make as good a show as you can for the money. And as no flowering plants should ever be Work with Wild Smikx. In addition to the palms, some perfectly fresh, clean, handsome bay trees, both the standard and pyramidal, can be used with great effect; their formal shape, that might look stiff and awkward in a drawing-room, is in keeping with the solemn tone and architecture of a church. Easter decorations have undergone a great change, and it has been largely by the will of the pastors. In addition loaned they ask that the plants be those that can be given to the poor and sick of the parish after the festival is over. It is a beautiful practice. You have given joy to the poor who received them and helped the poor who grew them. jJesigns as memorials to those who have gone before are now entirely out of fashion. Even the Easter cross, once so universally used on this occasion, 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 denomina tions, but Episcopal and Methodist, Presbyterian and Unitarian, celebrate with flowers and music. This is right. If it is a glad day for one sect it must be for all. Other Decorations. I have made mention of the leading events at which the florist and his ma terial are called for to make the home, the hall or the church radiant 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 only a bunch of flowers. The use of palms, however, is getting to be almost overdone. At the most commonplace 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 Britt's and Nelson's corners. 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 grandstand I am ashamed of my calling and wish I were a walking dele gate. The basket of flowers for Miller and 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 they cost nothing, 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 orna mental plants will turn our wealthier people against them. Since the above was written some decisive action has been taken in some cities against this gratuitous loaning of plants for all sorts of occasions. Our florists have agreed and signed an agree ment to donate neither plants nor flow ers to anyone. When approached for a donation we can point to a little docu ment hanging in our store and signed by every florist in town. It has most effectually cured the evil and offended no one. Decorations of any kind, plants or flowers, great or little, when well done, add to the beauty of the home, the church, the hall, and to the enjoyment of all, but when shabby and shoddy they are an abomination. There is noth ing so beautiful as a flower, and it is more beautiful on the plant than any where else. A faded flower can *jae cherished only for some sentiment and is kept in the leaves of the book you THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 73 refer to when receiving a curtain lecture from your second wife. You will expect me to say something about prices, but it is impossible. Sea sons alter prices. There is, however, one thing we should observe. The charge for loaning palms in January should be double that in June. You may think it and a pleasure to me. It was both. It brought vividly to mind the days of "auld lang syne" and the mother coun try, which, however 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. Dining-room Decorations for a Reception. all right to cut down your neighbor's price on plants 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 reputation for hav ing 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 occa sion 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 was the much greater observance of Christ mas day as a church festival and our greatest and most joyous holiday. The hundreds of carloads of holly used in our northern cities today had a very small beginning. It is just twenty-five 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 For a few years the use of holly in creased slowly, but for several years past immense quantities have been sent north, and it must grow in unlimited 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 pre serve them in good order is of chief im portance. Holly arrives from beginning to end 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 enor mous quantities. The large wreaths of holly, two and three feet in diameter, are handsome and look well in large decorations. It should when 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 coldframe 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 excessive 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 Mr. 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 crates or made into wreaths or wreathing, if kept cool and dark; be neath a bench in a cool house or in the coldframe 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 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 purpose) 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 privilege 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 fo^ a few days till there was nothing but the bare twigs left. We placed it in a cool, moist, dark cellar, and han dled 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 furnish 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 decorations. It lasts a long time in good appearance, fresh and no dropping of leaves. It is clean and pleasant to handle. Though not so cheap as the ground pine wreath ing, it is a hundred times richer in effect. Laurel is procured from the Allegheny mountains at any time and is widely distributed. 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 be low 15 degrees of frost, make a fine decoration, and should always be used in sprays 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 freezing or allowed to shrivel from dryness. The leucothoe sprays are very orna mental. They make magnificent wreaths or wreathing, being exceptionally easy to handle for this purpose. Their use is not confined to the holidays; like the laurel, they are used throughout the win ter months. Keep cool and moist. Though small in bulk, the greatest in value of all the wild plants is the galax, 74 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. the leaves of which are used for wreaths, panels, all designs emblematic and of good luck. It is, however, 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 great quality, for whatever purpose used they are most lasting, and when a design has to be sent away a few hun dred miles they are often chosen for that excellent quality. Harlan P. Kelsey, of Boston, who introduced the galax leaves to our north- considerable lot exported to Europe the past two seasons, and Mr. Kelsey says Germany 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 occasionally from those who understand keeping them in cold storage. We saw a case of about 20,000 put down in a warm cellar one November, just as they arrived in the box, and we saw most of those come up the cellar stairs again at intervals that winter and spring heated and useless. If they had been unpacked, the bunches laid out and a little damp sphagnum Wreath of Leucothoe, Galax and Flowers. ern market in 1890, says the sale has steadily increased till last year he alone handled many 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 laid between each layer, this careless and ignorant mistake would not have occurred, 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 5-inch stiff collars and part their hair in the middle, it hurts their feelings to in struct them. There are besides the southern mate rial, evergreens from our northern woods that we use for different decorations. The common hemlock (Abies Canadensis) is quite graceful in wreathing, and the American arbor-vita?, often called white cedar, is useful. A drive of a few miles to the music of sleigh bells and frozen toes brings us to the home of our ever greens, and the white spruce, so much used for Christmas trees, is also found, although the well-grown Norway spruce makes the ideal Christinas tree. Fancy what beautiful Christmas trees they get in Leadville, Colo., where the beautiful Colorado blue spruce grows on the moun tain side, and with us it is about $2.00 a foot. We 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 establishments, are devoted to the growing of plants used in a decorative way, either as perma nent adornments of the house or for the florist's use when filling an order. 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 temperature 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 graceful. Next the kentias, Forsteriana and Belmoreana. These, like the areca, are fine in effect whether used singly or in a group. The phoenix, especially rupicola, comes next, although these do not blend in a group and are best as small or medium sized specimens, where they can show off their graceful out lines. The Latania Borbonica is fine 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 spreading growth makes it not so well suited for mixing in with the tall growing palms, however hand some it is individually. The graceful little Cocos Weddeliana is very valuable on many occasions. When two or three feet high and in good order, ther^ is nothing more beautiful. There are many other palms that are THE FLORISTS' MANUAL 75 Wreath of Boxwood Sprays. just, as ornamental as the well-known kinds mentioned, but their scarcity and value forbid their use. And again, the kentias and arecas have entirely dis placed such quick-growing but soft kinds as seaforthia. Cycas revoluta makes a grand orna ment wrhere 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 is the best. We have a pair of P. rupicola that in the course of five or six years must have heard the con gratulations of the bride's friends, or endured the orchestra's strains, the East er and Christmas sermons, the orator's eloquence, and the chilly ride to and fro, a thousand times, and still they come up smiling. There is nothing like the phoenix in this respect. The kentias come next for keeping in fair order, but kentias, grand house plants as they are, do not 'like the slight est frost. I have noticed that where latanias and arecas have been careless ly exposed to a degree of frost they will recover, but not so with t^e 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 un sightly. I remarked under the head of decora tions that the charge should be about twice as much in January as in June. This is quite true, after May 1 till No vember 1 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 carefully tied with raffia they can be sent out in an open wagon. When the thermometer is 10 degrees De- low zero it is very different. In addi tion to the wagon that is heated you have to tie up each plant ami cover with paper or a bag, for the distance from the curbstone to the door of the house is frequently enough to ruin your palms if not protected. Others use long boxes, each holding a half 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 vestibule be fore they are unpacked, the palms sel dom 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, sideboards or tables perfect specimens of D. terminalis tricta, D. amabilis, 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 al ways be so situated that the entire plant can be seen. D. indivisa is, of course, 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 fra grans type want no exposure to the cold, but they are easily packed and their leaves can be brought up and tied close to the stem with strips of tissue paper without 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 temperature of 40 degrees for an hour it will drop its handsome leaves, and in the winter we sometimes expose our palms and dra caenas to a lower temperature than that without much or any damage. So large plants of crotons 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 decoration with vases of flowers, or for plants for a banquet table noth ing can be finer than the many grand varieties of crotons. Adiantum. Several species of ferns are among the leading articles of our decorative stuff. It must depend upon how elabo rate and expensive the decoration is whether you can use the very choicest ferns. Sometimes at the bottom of a mirror a bank of Adiantum Farleyense is made as a background to a display of orchids, and what could be finer? Adiantum cuneatum, besides its great usefulness in supplying cut fronds, is many times used as a fringe or bank, and if the fronds are well matured will keep pretty well, but if young growth they will soon shrivel up in a warm, dry room. Asparagus. The Asparagus Sprengeri is a great acquisition, and is and will be largely used. Its pendent growths make it •just the plant to hang from mantels or bookcases, or to cover unsightly pots. Some plants in 4 and 5-inch pots, with 76 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. a good growth, should always be on hand, and so should baskets of this useful plant. There is scarcely a plant that so readily adapts itself to the very unnatural conditions of a hanging basket. Its great freedom of growth and hardiness under neglect and abuse may make it too common, but not just yet. It is unnecessary to say that this plant thrives under the most unfavorable conditions — sun or shade, wet or dry. I have tried it in many places and find it endures the gas, the wild exaggerations, the anecdotes and classical quotations of a suburban barber shop; and the aspi distra is the only other plant that is known to have lived through that ordeal. The Ficus elastica has been tried in tonsorial environments, but says: "I have got some credit as a stretcher, but that last yarn kills me." Nephrolepis. Most of our ornamental ferns are too tender for decorative purposes except est harm from an occasional trip to a party or ballroom. It is in fact a first- class house plant, so it must be valuable as a decorator. And again, although the Boston variety is by no means super seded by anything we have as a variety, the useful Scottii, the glorious Piersoni and the still more graceful Piersoni Elegantissima for a place where a medium size plant is wanted are most exquisite. Flowering Plants. Unless you are well paid for the deco ration you cannot afford to loan many flowering plants. For a church decora tion we are never asked, but for a private function we have to, and must make out our bill or estimate accord ingly. Beginning in the fall the chrysanthe mums are most in favor. Groups of yellow or pink or white varieties are often called for. However good the care given these plants they are shaky Deutzia Gracilis Trimmed with Ribbon. that splendid genus, the nephrolepis. N. tuberosa is now superseded for in door use by N. exaltata and Bostonien- sis. The latter is one of the greatest acquisitions that we have had for decades. Whether in a mass or a large specimen, or in a large hanging basket, it is most ornamental, and receives not the slight- 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 mention that the cause of carnations (and per haps other flowers) closing up in 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 also noticed in one of the plant houses at Sehenley Park in Pittsburg, where many thou sands of people passed through in one day. The carnations collapsed, other flowers did not. But if it has this effect on carnations the breath of the multi tude in one room can't be good for any flowers. And as a rule when a plant goes to a decoration we expect it to return much the worse for 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 Har- risii and longiflorum are always in de mand. Spiraea wilts worse than any other plant, and should receive an extra soak ing 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 decorat ing, 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 foliage- and flowering, that are useful in decorat ing. 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 order.. 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 expected 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 if you are not careful your whole col lection, perhaps a fine one to look at in the aggregate, will be hurt, and 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.. THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 77 Give your -worn-out palms to the nearest botanic garden, or to the rubbish pile when beyond a certain degree of shabbi- ness. It is most unprofitable to occupy space with useless old runts. As most of our orders for decorations come during late fall, winter and spring, seldom can we use our native flowers. Wheii you can don't despise them. We have used the kalmia very largely at weddings in June. Also our native haw- thorne, and beautiful it is. If the sea son suited, the common field daisies would make a fine decoration, and for a summer occasion sprays and branches of Kambler roses are gorgeous. DEUTZIA. Several of the species are among our earliest and best known flowering shrubs, and gracilis, the smaller growing 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 Lemoinei, quite double, a beauti ful flower and more lasting than the single. The double form is not yet quite so common and consequently is more ex- An Exhibition Group of Decorative Plants. pensive, but it will soon be grown as plentifully as gracilis. Plants for forc ing 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 can 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 out side cuttings in June put into sand in a hotbed. 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 voyage are poorly prepared for a hard freeze. The stems are studded to their tips with their flowering 'buds, so they want no pruning or you will get no flowers. Keep them protected by a coldframe 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 degrees, 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 other 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 coldframe and when the plants are large enough transplanted into flats or placed at once in the bor ders where they are to flower. They will make fine spreading plants, and be ing entirely hardy will send up a mass of bloom the following spring. They are biennials, but a few straggling 78 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. plants and flowers are often .seen to sur vive two or three years. The Dianthus Chinensis and its splen did varieties, Heddewigii and its many forms, are the most useful to the florist. They also are biennials but are invar iably treated as annuals and sown every spring. For their .culture follow instruc tions given under 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 interchange able, but I prefer to call them dracaenas, by which name they are commonly known, although botanical authorities class some of our draeaenas as cordy- lines. The dracaenas are noble, erect growing foliage plants, grown entirely for the beauty of their leaves and stately habit, for the flower is small and inconspicuous compared to the plant. They do not usually flower till they attain consider able size, although occasionally they flower when quite young, possibly through some check to the vigor of the plant. Though not of equal commercial value to the palms as greenhouse and hothouse decorative plants, they certainly rank Pandanus utilis, the ideal house plant, could not beat this. Some of the species may grow six feet or thirty feet tall 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 medium sized decorative plants is to preserve the leaves to the very bottom of the stem, and with the best cultivation they will carry their bottom leaves for some years. Tt 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 terminalis type will do very well in a minimum winter tempera ture of 55 to 60 degrees, while fragrans and its varieties and Goldieana require 10 degrees 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. Except in the darkest days of winter 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 necessitates a good condition of the soil that the water will pass freely through. The moisture arising from the syringing is conducive Dracaena Massangeana. very high. Some of them are excellent plants for the house. I have in mind a plant of D. fragrans Lindenii some three feet high in a 9-inch pot, furnished to the pot with its beautiful leaves, that has stood several feet from a window in a sitting-room for the past six months, and is to all appearances in perfect health. to growth, but a necessity as well to keep down thrips and red spider, which are very fond of dracaenas, especially the terminalis 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 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 two inches long, or the whole length of the stem can be laid in the propagating bed. A good mixture for the propagat ing 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 the surface of bed. From the eyes or joints will spring young shoots which when two or three inches long can be cut from the stem, 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-mold, 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. Draco, very suitable for subtropical gardening or for vases. Goldieana, beautifully marked with dark green and silvery grey. Fragrans, this is one of the finest species, requiring a good heat in winter and shade in summer. 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. Massangeana, another variegated form of D. fragrans, the chief distinction from Lindenii being that the variega tion appears in a broad band of yellow or cream color throughout the center of the leaf. Australis, a fine plant for outside decoration. Novo-Caledonica, a fine bold species with large bronze leaves. Sanderiana, an upright striped green and white species of recent introduction,, which has proved very good for the center of large ferneries, and which stands the dry air of rooms admirably. Terminalis, green or bronze, when young, with age the leaves assume fine shades of scarlet or crimson; most gen erally cultivated of all dracaenas and the parent of scores of the finest varie ties. The following will be found to be beautiful and distinct sorts: Metallica,. dark purplish bronze; amabilis, fine habit, glossy green suffused with pink and white ; Baptistii, green margined! with yellow and pink; imperialis, broad1 deep green leaves, the younger leaves crimson and pink; terminalis stricta grandis, the most highly colored and best of the terminalis form; Youngii,. bright green streaked with deep red; and Lord Wolsley, Gladstoneii, Kebecca,. Bella, Scottii, and Annerleyense, are all beautiful varieties. Indivisa, a distinct species from New Zealand. It will thrive in a much lower temperature than any of the others ex- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Dracaena Fragrans. cept Draco. There are several varieties of indivisa, the best of which are Veitchii and lineata. Unlike the other clracaenas this one is easily and quickly raised from seed. If it were prop agated only by cuttings how highly prized it would be, for no dracaena has more grace. What makes it most valu able to the commercial florist is its abil ity to withstand the sun and drought to which it is exposed throughout the sum mer in our cemetery vases. It not only lives under 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 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 sec ond spring plant them out in some good light, rich soil. The following fall they are lifted and potted in 4-inch 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 winter they should have 50 degrees at night, plenty of syringing 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. plants, especially as some authors of re cent 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 garden ers 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. Years ago it was carried out to an absurdity. A piece of crock in the bottom of a 4-inch geranium or canna is absurd and no one does such a thing now. If a plant is going to stay 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 stay a year, or perhaps 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 in 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 freely. Much as plants enjoy the watering when in need of it, terrestrial plants Dracaena Lindenii. DRAINAGE. There is nothing much more puzzling to the beginner in floriculture than the word ' ' drainage ' ' when applied to potted 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 80 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 remain any time in the same pot (azaleas are a good example) they should have- what we call drainage. With pots not over five inches in diameter a broad crock at the bottom covered with a piece of green moss, is enough, and with larger pots in ad dition to the piece of crock covering the hole an inch or so of broken crocks. The green wood moss is much better for the purpose than sphagnum because the sphagnum soon rots and the com post gets down among the crocks. You will sometimes see the healthiest and strongest roots of a plant down among the crocks. I believe it is because they find there the conditions to suit them best — perfect drainage. How particular we are that the benches of our carnations and roses are plant has taken its place. It is the day on which thousands visit the cemeteries, perhaps the first visit of the spring to the resting place of the departed, that for montns 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 flowering plant and Easter greet ing surpasses 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, just in perfection, so much as at Easter. Nine- tenths of all the plants are delivered on the Friday and Saturday, and must be at their best on Easter morning. If a batch of flowering plants are at their best one week ahead of time, they will be very unsatisfactory to your custom ers, and if a few days too late it is often nearly a total loss. Many of us 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 many more will be added to the calendar. 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 recently (for five centuries is but a speck in the history of man) emerged from the feudal system, and but yesterday emanci pated millions of slaves. Hopeless starv ation wages is also slavery with a tinc ture of uncertainty added to its bitter- Easter Lilies in Celluloid Basket. Hydrangea Trimmed with Crepe Paper. drained by simply keeping the boards one-half or three-quarters of an 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 provision to let water escape freely. The author who thirty years ago laughed at the old fogy notion of draining a flower pot lived to alter his opinion and freely acknowl edged it. 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 can remember having some hundreds of lilies that would have sold for a dollar each on Easter morning, or rather the day before, had they each two or three flowers open, but were sold the follow ing week at 10 cents a stalk, and the same with other plants. The quantity grown for Easter, if attractive, would bring a good price, but if late the sup ply is ten times in excess of the de mand, the day is over, and they are given away. Another feature of the Easter trade is the fact that it is a movable festival and occurs any time be tween March 22 and April 25, and we have seen Easter Sunday a day of ice and snow, and again, late in 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 days of common sense this ness. The "white man's burden" is not so much a care to the 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 burden of all of us is to bring about a better and happier condition of the fellow being whom we meet and see 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 thou sands mourn, ' ' but every 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 for them quite equal to that which pro duces the plants and flowers, and at Easter time is when you want to exer- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. else that particular line of ability to the greatest extent. It will tax your knowledge and experience, however great they are. Not only is the day of the month variable by two or three weeks, but the weather also is never two sea sons alike. It is a question whether it is better to be what is called on the safe side — that is, have your plants a little early, or have them rather back ward, so that they will improve from the day they are delivered. Of course, the ideal is to have them in their best appearance on Easter Sunday. If people wanted these plants for their own con servatory or house, then a lily with one flower open and four or five buds would suit tne great majority. They ask for a lily or azalea "not so much blowed out. ' ' But ninety per cent of all the plants bought are sent as presents, 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 unless well in flower. 1 may add here that flowering plants greatly predominate at Easter. Occa sionally Mr. Goodman buys a ten-dollar palm for his dear, plump little ducky, but 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 find that novelties go 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 communities in our very large cities will purchase a basket or collection of plants put up in a fancy basket and decorated with rib bon. In this arrangement there would be no end to the varied combinations to tempt the corpulent purse. These baskets of plants are sold for $10, $15 or even $25, and are works of art, but they have not yet reached the general trade. We find a few customers willing to spend $10 or $15 on a single plant, a great many willing to purchase a five- dollar azalea, but a far greater number whose limit is $2. Then there is the school child, or the poor person, who wants to make his window bright and who can hardly afford 25 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 at tentive to the delegation" of little girls who have clubbed together to buy their school-teacher a 50-cent plant as to the millionaire who orders a dozen Beauties at $20 a dozen. A little different man ner, 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 till dawn breaks what kind of a day it is going to be on the Friday or Saturday before The Conventional Form of Azalea. Easter. A cold Saturday is a great loss to our trade, not only in the great expense of wrappfng and delivery, and breakage of our plants, but we miss hundreds of sales that never come again. A man " may put off buying 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 thinking more about a cock tail and forgets that his wife told him to buy a plant and send to her friend, Mrs. Expectant. 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 who make sales should not be expected to wrap up the plants. If the address and card are 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 -,vhat 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 participant, and he can notice whether a clerk by aiistake (?) 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 Saturday 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 answer, 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 papej so that the pots when washed won 't get mussed up again with sand or ashes. Thursday begins the delivering. Cus tomers often say when buying a plant : "You can send it home Thursday or Friday," or another will say: "Satur day 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 are all of Thursday 's deliveries, the card of the donor fastened on with babv 82 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 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 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 deliveries should be gone, the space devoted to Thursday should be clear, and so with the other days. Friday's orders should be looked out 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 Japan grown longiflorum is the favorite; a single plant in a 5-inch 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 An Easter Automobile. 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 freez ing point during winter and open quickly when put into a heat of 60 de grees at night. There is always a good demand for azaleas from Christmas on, but don't have many left after Easter, for people have seen so many then that they are tired of them. Ehododendrons are seldom too early and you do not want many of them. A warm house with abundance of syringing will bring their fine flowers out. The Ghent or hardy deciduous aza leas want five or six weeks in a mod erately warm house. They are very at tractive and do not drop their flowers at Easter, as they do later in wrarmer weather, and the colors are such beau tiful shades of yellow, orange, red and pink that when decorated with suitable crepe paper they sold well last year. Lilacs need about five weeks in the greenhouse and always sell well and are good for cutting if not sold. Metrosideros (bottle brush) 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. Several varieties of erica are great favorites at Easter and are very largely used in the baskets of plants. All the ericas are known to the public as- and got ready on Thursday and what is sold on Friday 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 deliveryman is a very important personage these days. He should know the city well and also know a great many of the residents. Never send a load of twenty or thirty different de liveries 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 study ing out his next call. Drivers or de- liverymen are just like those of any other calling; there are good and bad, but a good one is a jewel. Only smile at calamities that can't be helped, such as hail storms 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 are always a great number of plants that you are reasonably sure you will sell, and these should all have their pots washed a clay or two ahead. Nothing can be more disgusting than a greasy, dirty pot, and no plant Hyacinths and Asparagus in Twig Basket. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 83 heather, but heather is the Scotch name of its native erica or heath. 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 com pact, pretty plant that it is always worth growing. Keep very cool or it will be gone too early. Spirasa (astilbe) is always wanted for church decoration, and when people learn that a spiraea should always be stood in a saucer with an inch of water in it they will find it a long lasting house plant. Mignonette in 4-inc-h and 5-inch pots sells well and should command a good price, as it takes six or seven months to grow a good pot. Plants can't be forced; they must come along slowly, 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 Easter Plant Arrangements. full bloom they are just as lasting as if grown in the pot and a much 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 believe 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-inch or 12-inch pan containing a dozen grand spikes of one variety of hyacinth 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- inch, 7-inch and 8-inch pans and find a ready sale because they are inexpensive. Eoses 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 greenhouse. The best pot roses I have ever seen of this class were a lot of American Beauty that had grown on a bench the previous summer, slightly dried off at the end of October and lifted the mid dle of November, potted into 6-inch pots and kept in a cold pit away from severe freezing till the middle of Jan uary, when they were brought in and st.-irtod very cool. By Easter, which was then in about eleven weeks, they wen- 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 Kambler, the Farquhar Eambler, Dorothy Perkins — all make splendid Easter plants. Our experience 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 thirteen or fourteen weeks under glass, the first half of which they must be cool. If the plants have made their growth the previous summer in pots, the wood will be better ripened and the roots, not being disturbed, 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 win ter, 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. Hardy 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 50-cent customers. A good 4-inch zonal geranium, a hya cinth or a 6-inch pan of pansies will fill the bill. 84 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Erica and Epacris in Silver Jardinieres. 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 coldframe 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, fk-us. e procured, is what they like. In its absence half turfy loam and half leaf-mold will do. For propagation re fer to Erica. Most of the species are from Austra lia and New Zealand, but the hybrids from these species are the most valua ble. The colors are mostly white, pink and red of manv shades. Plants" that ' have flowere'd 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 one to two feet long, which gives you the flowers the following winter. Yfheu 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 dislike ex tremes of moisture, but if properly 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 green house pests of any kind. EPIPHYLLUM TRUNCATUM. There are several species of this South American cactus, but the above is much the most useful and attractive and wherever good pot plants are grown it should be in the collection. It grows as clusters on trees, as do orchids, but can be grown in a pot in ordinary soil. Its leaflike branches propagate freely in sand, but if grown Soupert Roses in a Raffia Hamper. THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. on its own roots the branches hang so close to the flower-pot and its growth is so pendent that it does not give the plant a chance to exhibit its beauty, and they are mostly grafted on stocks of pereskia with stems six to twelve inches long, which elevates them from the pot. If grown on their own roots the com post best suited for them is two-thirds fibrous loam, one-third leaf-mold, with some broken-up brick rubble and char coal added to keep the soil open and porous. They should never be over- watered and in the fall and early win ter need only sufficient to keep the leaves from shrivelling. From January on through the spring and summer months they need much more water. Few people but what have seen the epiphyllum in flower, but not all have seen a plant well grown. For the private conservatory there are few plants more brilliant, covered as they are in midwinter with such a profusion of brilliant scarlet flowers. A tempera ture of 50 degrees will do very well in winter. Keep them under glass the entire year, with lots of ventilation in the summer months. 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 handmade 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 axillary. The hard-wooded section is seldom seen except in a private collection. They want most careful watering 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 tempera ture is not over 40 degrees 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-mold and some sand will do very well. The hard-wood ed, slow-growing heaths are never like ly 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 quantities 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, Erica Melanthera. 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 flats or pans with a layer of light loam and leaf -mold, 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 one or one and a half inches long, of the young, tender growth stripped of the bottom leaves, they will root in seven or eighi^weeks. As they show signs of growth give them more air. Don't pot off till t hex- are well rooted and keep them only just moist till they are rooted. The young plants will do very well in a coldframe during the fall months and in a cool, dry house during win ter. In May they can be planted out i the open ground, where they will mak a good growth, and must be lifted i September or October. When first lifl ed and potted be careful not to If them wilt. Careful lifting, to get a their roots and fibers, is the essenti:i object. They will do finely in a ten perature of 40 degrees, but will do x\ -it more heat as their flowering time ap preaches. Two-year-old plants that are unsol should be cut down to within a fe\ inches of the pot after flowering an again planted out. The young plant will need stopping when they first be gin to root, and perhaps again \vlie planted out, but not after that. Some of the best ericas fur florist are E. caffra (s:nall floxver. but ver free), E. gracilis, K. hybrida. K. hyeni alis (a beautiful pink that flowers i: early spring; one of the best). E. me! ant hern (flnxvers in xx'inter), E. perse THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. luta (May), E. ventricosa, E. Wil- moreana (spring; a grand hybrid). All of these are fine commercial kinds. The propagation of ericas is mostly in the hands of a few specialists and it is -well to depend on them for your stock of plants, for from several causes they are difficult plants to manage. If you have any good plants that did not sell shorten back the last year's growth, keep them in a well ventilated house and spray occasionally, but always early in the day so that they will not be wet on the foliage at night. As soon as fear of frost is gone plunge out of doors in the full sunlight, and be very careful about watering. While a severe drying out might kill them or at least destroy all hopes of a future crop of flowers, a wet stagnant condition of the soil is very injurious to them, hence the pots should be well drained. 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 ihey are seldom seen in commercial places, but they are fine, in teresting plants and are not difficult to pimelia and all that class, a good turfy loam with some rotten manure or leaf- mold will grow them. As they will remain several years in the same pot i^ey should be well drained. There are many species, and Nichol son selects the following as being the most desirable: E. buxifolius, pink, April to June; E. intermedius, white and pink, April; E. neriifolius, rose, April; E. salicifolius, pink, June; E. scaber, white tinged pink, April and May. EUCHAEIS. Hothouse evergreen bulbs bearing beautiful, fragrant flowers, which either cut as stalks bearing four or five flow ers or as single flowers, are invaluable to the florist. Their white, star-shaped, elegant flowers are admired by all, but are not seen in quantity, as they should be. In Europe they figure most prom inently in all the cut flower markets, but in this country I have not heard of their being grown systematically in large quantities anywhere, and I believe there is a great opportunity for their cultivation, for as long as designs of Bowers are used (and they will always be to some extent) there is no flower more beautiful for the purpose than the Bench of Eucharis Grandif lora. grow. 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 great profusion. All the species flower in March,. April, May or June. As small plants they are not attractive, but when of a good size, and slightly trained to stakes, they are fine ornamental plants. 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. Th^y are much the best plunged out of doors in summer, and in the winter 40 to to degrees will suit them. A? with tne acacia, metrosideros, eucharis. There is scarcely a plant grown ox which you hear so often the same remark made, and it is this: "Yes, a grand plant. I wish I knew how to make IL 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. grandiflora, so generally called Amazonica, is the fine species we all know, bearing an umbel of four to six flowers four to five iffches 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 so large a flower as Amazonica. I would advise the beginner 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 walked over arid plains in the dry season with scarcely a sign of vegetation and returned in six mouths over the same 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 dry ing off as you would a hyacinth or tulip is certainly not advisable or anything approaching it. The bulbs multiply readily by send ing out offshoots, and when once you have a few healthy plants your stock is easily increased. As the plant is from New Granada, a warm house is 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-inch to 12-inch, or on a bench in six inches of good soil, feed them when making their growth 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 cow manure. As the soil is to remain un disturbed 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 dormant, plant three in an 8-inch pot or five in a 10-inch, the top of bulb two inches be low the surface. If on a bench plant six inches apart in the 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 freely 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 leads 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 conditions may be a rest is cfily a lessening of the water, not a drying off, and their foli age should not suffer at any time. We have all heard English garden ers say that they could produce three crops of flowers in twelve months. Pos sibly so. Two crops will do very well. I will just add that two years ago I saw exhibited at Toronto's great fair THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 87 in September a plant of E. Amazonica in an 8-inch pot that had nine flower stalks bearing a total of thirty-three flowers and buds; so it can be done, and is worth while. Mealy bug often bothers the leaves. As the plants want and thrive with any amount of syringing, there is little 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 E. jacquiniaeflora. The poin- settia also belongs to the euphorbias, 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 temperature 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 establishment. E. fulgens is a beautiful plant and twenty years ago was one of our stand ard winter flowering plants, thought then to be indispensable. When bas kets were made of a variety of flowers it was a favorite with us for an edg ing, and it is a rich-looking, graceful flower wherever you use it. It makes annually long growths, and the flowers, which are orange scarlet, are placed close to the stem, forming long, hand some wreath-like flowers. Plants that have flowered during winter can be cut up into cuttings. Anything but the old, hard wood will root. If cut back in April young shoots will start, which, of course, root the quickest. April and May are good months to put in the cut tings, and keep them wet and shaded. Be careful when potting off to not let them wilt from sun or dryness. Grow on in a warm, light house, and in July plant them on the bench in excuse for that. Here is a plant that when growing should never be watered with our hydrant water, which is too often near ice water. The water in win ter 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 florist, although some years ago, in the absence of better flowers, some of the species were largely 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 suffi 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 easily. After frost is gone plant out eighteen 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 five 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 for too long a time to be profit able. A Florist's Store and Conservatory at Easter. 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 color, and four or five inches of good, rich soil, eight to ten inches apart. In a warm, unshaded house 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 Christmas they will break and THE FLORIST MANUAL. give another growth and flowers in March and April. Like the poiusettia, 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 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 in the Amazon valley and in the Cape de Verde Islands as well as in the Azores, Madeira, Teneriffe — in fact, 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 between which till a very recent date communi cation was impossible need not wonder at finding the same species of ferns in many parts, because it would be quite possible for the spores to travel hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles by currents of air. "Ferns have no flowers, and that is their great distin guishing mark from all other plants that are perennial, evergreen or arbores cent. The order includes the lowly creeping selaginella to the majestic giant, the dicksonia and alsophila of the Australian forest. Ferns are first of all the most graceful of plants. A few may *be called more curious than bjfeutiful, such as the platycerium (stag's horn fern), but all are hand- Adiantum Decorum. spread in many parts of the world but a single species is found on every con tinent and island of the sea. One in stance will suffice. The we'll known Adiantum C'apillus-Veneris, the British maidenhair fern, is found in the warm parts of England and Ireland, and so it is a native of central and southern Europe. In China and Japan, Persia and Syria, the Polynesian Islands, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Abyssinia, Mas- cerene Islands, Nepal, Simla, Assam and 6,000 feet up on the Himalaya moun tains in Thibet and Afghanistan; in the United States it grows in North Carolina and westward to Arizona, and some and interesting and many so graceful that both as ornamental plants and cut fronds they are now indispens able, 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, what ever flowers we use. The native ferns of our latitude are mostly all deciduous, but they make handsome plants for the rockwork 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 usu ally 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 superior 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 his pets, their wants and when they are flourishing and happy — there is where you will find the intelligent, honest and contented individual. A hardy fernery in our latitude would have to be confined largely to our north ern species; still for six or seven months it would be highly interesting. They are best shaded by lofty trees and sunk some few feet below the sur face and cut out with winding .paths, with rocks and mounds for the ferns. The cool as well as the tropical fernery is usually found in all fine gardens of Great Britain. There may be some here, but as yet they are not common, although there is nothing to prevent their perfect success. They are usually sunk a few feet below the surface of the surrounding ground, simply to in sure a more uniform temperature. With a proper selection and planting these ferneries are most beautiful and inter esting. When planted out where the roots enjoy a uniform degree of mois ture, many species display a beauty that it is impossible to produce in a pot. All students of ferns or those inter ested in their culture, whether for pleasure or profit, should most assured ly avail themselves of that grand work, ' ' The Book of Choice Ferns, ' ' published by the same firm as Nicholson 's ' ' Dic tionary of Gardening. " It is in seven handsome volumes, most comprehensive, and in paper, type and illustrations mag nificent. To it I must often refer, for no better authority exists. The author makes a classification of ferns for "decorative purposes" which is a "guide to those who are seeking species for any particular purpose. He classes them as follows: 1, tree ferns ; 2, gigantic, non-arborescent ; 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 transparent; 9, viviparous or bulbil bear- 'ing; 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. 1. Tree Ferns. Alsophila australis, Cyathea deal- bata, Dicksonia antarctica, Lomaria Gibba. Of these, Dicksonia autarctica THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. is the best known and easiest to man age. Cyathea dealbata is a magnificent 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 does 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 includes many of the ferns that are most useful to the commercial flo rist. Though many ferns of this class arc classed as tropical, there are only a few that Avill 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 divaricate, Xephrodium macrophyllum, Nephrolepis davallioides, Xephrolepis exaltata, Poly- podium aureum, Pteris tremula, Wood- wardia orientalis, and hundreds of others, both genera and species. In that class are our large decorative plants of pteris, nephrolepis and polypodium. 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 commercial 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 For- mosum, Asplenium flabellifolium, Cheil- anthes fragrans, several davallias and many other genera. Some of the tropi cal 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 descrip tion, these form one of the most orna mental classes, and in classifying no re gard to size has been considered. All are acquainted with the exquisite tints of Adiantum Farleyense, the bluish tint of Polypodium aureum. the variegated Xephrodium (Lastrea) opaca, and the beautifully colored fronds of Pteris tri color. 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, pellsea, polypodium, pteris and selaginella. Polypodium Subauriculatum in Hanging Basket. 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 Knglish roadside. Several of these forms the old gentleman claimed to have discovered and named, and we be lieved him. He found the public was not craving for distinct and odd forms of his scolopendriums, and being withal too honest for this country, returned to his native land. Just here an innocent little storv 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 among 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 zoology he would most likely have said the same about the variations in the species of animals. and back of species genera have been evolved in the same way, but not with animals as freaks of nature or orna ment to the individual, as by their de velopment in some direction that best THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Nephrolepis Exaltata Bostoniensis. 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 ber of genera. Perhaps the most fa miliar to us is Pteris argyrea, a fine free growing fern. The variegated form of Adiantum'cuneatum is only in teresting to the specialist. Variegation is found among adiantums, aspidiums, aspleniums, nephrodiums, polypodiums, pteri?, 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 gro tesque and sometimes very ornamental. And sometimes the tips or outline of the whole frond are divided and multi plied. It has been noticed that when these forms or monstrosities occur they reproduce themselves by spores with lit tle variation. The most familiar forms we know are the crested pteris, cretica and serrulata; Adiantum cuneatum has several forms, and the grand Nephrole pis davallioides furcans. Among other genera that give us crested forms are aspidium, 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 win ter night temperature of 55 degrees. The very attractive golden and silvery gym- nogrammes owe their beauty to the un der side of the frond, which is covered with a thick coating of powder, giving the plant a marvelously rich appear ance. In cheilanthes the silvery appearance is produced by scales or hairs evenly and thickly distributed over the under surface of the fronds, and in tne noble Cyathea dealbata the under side of the fronds have the appearance of being painted. Of all this class, the gymno- grammes are the best known and most useful, and if I could grow only two of them it would be G. chrysophylla, a perfect cloth of gold, and G. chrysophylla Peruviana, with grand silvery fronds. Other handsome ferns of this class will be found among the cheilanthes, glei- jchenia and nothochlaena. 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 perfect ball, and we have all seen magnificent baskets of Nephrol epis exaltata and N. exaltata Boston iensis. There are at present several hanging baskets of the latter as well as of old N. tuberosum at our botanic gar den that are at least eight feet in di ameter; they are grand objects for large conservatories. 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 Nephrolepis Piersoni Elegantissima. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Nephrolepis Exaltata Bostonicnsis Scottii. sembling the paw of some small animal, give rise to their popular name of hare's foot, squirrel's foot, etc. Poly- podium aureum is often called the hare's foot. The nephrolepis need more soil for their roots and are not so truly trailers 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, spread out in all directions, sometimes above and sometimes below the 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 the parent stock. We think the nephrolepis is the most useful of ferns grown, especially to a commercial florist, and at the present there is more glass devoted to their cul ture than any other six genera except the adiantums. Years ago N. tuberosa was our standard fern for veranda boxes. It is now seldom seen because we have the N. exaltata Bostoniensis, and now Scottii promises almost to sup plant it in popular favor. N. Scottii is not more graceful and as a decorative plant not more useful than the Boston variety, but it has the ad vantage of making a perfect specimen in a small pot. There seems an unlim ited use for these beautiful ferns. In vases and windows or veranda-boxes they are grand. If not neglected for water they do well in the broadest sun. There is scarcely a single plant that does so well in a living room, always species of lygodium and an interesting item appears in the ' ' Book of Ferns, ' ' which says that our native Lygodium palmatuni, which grows from Massachu setts southward, was likely to become extinct in the state of Connecticut, and was protected by a law passed by the state legislature forbidding its being gathered, under a penalty of $100. 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 fern ery as well as to the commercial man for bankets, etc. They cover walls, trunks of large ferns and rocks. The davallias are best known and are grand for this purpose, spreading out into large masses. Their rhizomes (or creeping stems) creep on the surface and are ornamental as well as the fronds. Many of the beautiful species are from warm countries, but will thrive wherever 50 degrees is kept in winter. Little- soil but thorough drainage is the great requisite. Their surface rhizomes when growing should always be kept moist, and when partially resting in winter never allowed to get dry. Some of the finest of this beautiful genus are: D. Canariensis, D. bullata, D. Tyermanni, D. dissecta, D. immersa, D. Mariesii, D. Novse-Zelandia?, D. pen- taphylla. The last six species are espe cially adapted for hanging baskets. Their curious and hairv rhizomes, re- Nephrolepis Rofescens Tripinnatifida. 92 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Nephrolcpis Davalttoides Furcans. satisfactory, and what is finer than a specimen plant? N. Piersoni is still more beautiful, and the still newer N. Piersoni ele- gantissima is simply superb and charms all who see it. And there are others. Grand as they are either in large or small specimens, they are not so useful for general use as Scottii or the old Bostoniensis. The gleichenia is another beautiful genus that spreads by rhizomes, and for the private fernery is among the handsomest but not so easily managed as the davallia. 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. Billardieri, P. Paradiseae, P. repens, P. sororium and P. verrucosum are highly com mended 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 is better known or better for the purpose than the splendid genus nephrolepis. By their stoloniferous habit young plants soon emerge from the outside of the baskets in all directions. Bostoniensis 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. N. cordifolia is known among florists generally as tuberosa because the un derground 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 hard iest of all; N. davallioides, 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. Several , of the adiantums have a drooping form and for private collec tions are beautiful, but not florists' plants. A. corcinnum is a beautiful species, and with it are recommended for baskets caudatum, digitatum, lunulatum, Moorei and others. Class 8. Filmy or Transparent Ferns. To embrace all the classes it is neces sary not to neglect the above, although even if of interest to the florist 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, tricho- manes and todea. To these may almost be added the Xephrolepis Piersoni and elegantissima. 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 Odontoglossum crispum among orchids : our hot, dry summers and the necessity of fire heat in winter. To this class belongs the world famous Killarney 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 extinct saint, of which that island has been so prolific, and leave the gem Trichomanes radicans in peace. Some forty-five years ago, in fact, ex actly that, the waiter had charge of a cool conservatory. In that house on the south side of the north path, about half way between the east and the west paths, and partly shaded by the fine heads of a Dicksonia antarctica and a C'yathea 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 (Triehomanes radicans) and the other British filmy fern, Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense. I have ueen particular in locating this little greenhouse within a greenhouse because I can see the Kil larney fern now, although I have not seen one since it was my duty to lift up the lid and let in a little air if there Avas too great a degree of moisture on the delicate fronds. There was an older Pteris Tremula Smithae. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 93 Pteris Victoriae. and wiser mind than mine who inspect ed these plants daily, and when I now read today of the most approved meth ods 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 surface 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 anu an atmos phere charged with moisture, but no syringing overhead. A dry, cutting draught, even in the greenhouse, would soon destroy them. The British spe cies will withstand a temperature far below freezing, and the species from India and the West Indies, as weil as those from China, Tasmania and Xe\\ Zealand, are found at high elevations. The hymenophyllums ' ' forming a green matting over constantly wet rocks. ' ' A low temperature, shade and mois ture are the essentials to success with these beautiful ferns, which the com mercial florist Avill let severely alone. Class 9. Viviparous and Proliferous Ferns. This peculiar class includes many species of many different genera. While in some genera of this class only two or three species are represented, in others they predominate. The large genus as- plenium is of the latter. This class is known from its curious way of multi plying or reproducing its 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 bul- biferum and Aspidium angulare pro- laying the whole leaf on' the surface of some pan of suitable soil where the young plants soon root and can be after wards 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 con stantly sending up fronds and forming young plants. As we all know, to sever this wiry rhizome or stolon from the par ent plant is not felt by either, so our stock of the Boston fern and other nephrolepis is most rapidly increased by planting out medium sized plants in four or five inches of soil during summer. Besides those mentioned there are a num ber of viviparous or proliferous ferns, many of them highly interesting and handsome, but not desirable to the plant grower. These are adiantum, gymno- gramme, marattia, nephrodium, platy- cerium, poly podium, 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 species that is very unlike the great majority of ferns, but the author I have so liber- Cyrtomium Falcatum. liferum. 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 ckt.-u-liing the young plant and potting or ally quoted does not include any of the crested, or what he calls malformed, varieties of originally elegant species. I'l;, species lie selects for this class are so unlike ferns in appearance that they are not readily taken for ferns. The THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Microlepia Hirta Cristata. tember 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. There is no doubt a much larger plant of any of the nephrolepis can be ob tained in a short time by planting out than if grown in a pot, and they lift wijh a mass of roots perfectly, without losing a single frond. Yet specialists •growing these nephrolepis into medium sized specimens prefer growing them en tirely in pots, at least from a 3 -inch or 4-inch size. Few of the commercial sorts are pro liferous on the leafy frond, but those that are lend themselves to propagation most easily, as described in the remarks on that class. Some species that grow in tufts, such as Adiantum cuneatum, the com mon maidenhair, can be divided. The crown should be 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 Lygodium scandens would hardly be thought a fern, and Platycerium alci- corne, the well-known stag's horn fern, differs widely from our usual idea of ferns. The Acrostichum crinitum of the West Indies must be a remarkable look ing 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 resemblance 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 com mercial 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 rear ing their plumed heads 100 feet high in the tropical forest, inhabitants of the earth in the dark ages of the dim past, contemporaries, perhaps, of the giant horse tails that formed our coal, sur viving the glacial period. 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 (Capillus-Veneris is one), are easily and quickly divided. A rhizome that has run out and thrown up a few- fronds will have also made some roots and can be severed from the parent plant and potted. Never overpot ferns. It is true that some of the stronger grow ing kinds, especially 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. Platycerium Alcicornc. Those that have stolons or ground rhizomes, such as the nephrolepis, are most easy of- all to -multiply, young plants often coming 1?», at th^%side of the pot and on the aerial roots, the young plants appearing at intervals. In June, when your bedding plants are gone, select a bench that will let the water through freely, and in four or five inches of soil plant out young plants from 2-inch or 3-inch pots. They will by Sep- .most cases resting and before 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 ex isted, all came from one plant found growing on Farley Hills, in the Island THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 95 Platycerium Grande. of Barbadoes, the thickest populated island of the world, where the children's stomachs are distended like balloons 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 advantage of producing possibly either an improved form or variation from the parent which by division, or by proliferous stolons, or divisions of the rhizomes, never hap pens. 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 few 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 are any spore-bearing ferns in the house. Adiantum 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 cleanliness. Before giving any directions for sow ing, just a word about these spores. The whole order of ferns has no flow ers, consequently no sexual organs, and from the spore to the young perfect fern frond like its parent is a profound, com plicated and mysterious phenomenon. When the spore vegetates 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 liverwort so often seen on the sur face 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 organs in the flowering plants. To de scribe the complicated and marvelous 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 have been produced, and this is getting deep into science. One word as to the fertility or fecund ity of ferns. Mr. Charles T. Druery, who is quoted in the "Book of Choice Ferns," says: "We have estimated the spores upon a single frond of our native (British) Polypodium 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 subdivisions and the tree fern would probably bear thirty or forty fronds every season. A little calculation, therefore, will show that inconceivable numbers have to be dealt with. ' ' Truly inconceivable; countless millions on every frond. Another illustration by the same author was the shaking of the spores of an asplenium out and collect ing them, about filling a teaspoon in which he estimates he had eighty million spores. So if one in 10,000 of the spores we sow vegetates, 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 cases have burst, and if not convenient to sow at once, put them away in paper bags. The soil or material you sow on, which can be a light, sandy loam, cover ing an inch or so 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 surface 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 water ing till the prothalli appear in the way above described. When thlfl^about cov ers the surface of the pan they should be divided by taking small patches, say a quarter of an inch square, and placing them on the surface of other pans or flats. Soon the true fern leaf will ap pear, when in time the little 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. Platycerium Willinckii. It is generally conceded that in soil ferns are not at all particular. At mospheric conditions are of far more consequence. A good fibrous loam, with 96 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. a third of leaf-mold, will suit any of them, and many of the free growing kinds, such as nephrolepis, will flourish with a liberal addition of animal manure. Bone meal will help ferns if soil is thor oughly watered after repotting. Some growers of Adiantum cuneatum add about one-sixth of well rotted and sifted cow manure to their compost. Pot firm ly 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 70 degrees, will do very well in our houses if not below 55 degrees. Grow ers 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. Cun eatum 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 all 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 Farleyense a 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 com mercial man has not yet obtained. Next to that is a north house, where light comes in, but not the direct rays e needed a new heater, wrongly called boiler, and purchased the Burnham. Let me say here that I have reason to deeply regret recommending boilers in the past without sufficient experience with them. Still, after two years' trial I must say that the Burnham boiler has proved most satisfactory. It is of heavy castings, sim ply put together and easily and thor oughly cleaned. In place of one 2-inch flow pipe we hung two 2-inch and at the farther end ran each flow pipe into a manifold with three 1*4 -inch openings. The 2-inch could amply supply the three 114 -inch and they were hot back to the shed. I should have started at the boiler. Will say now that the Burnham boiler, or the size we have, has a 5-inch opening for flow, same for return. We ran up as near as possible to the joist with a 5-inch pipe, then branched with a tee into a horizontal 4-inch pipe. I now remember there were eight 2-inch pipes to be sup plied from this 4-inch. On reaching the south side of the north house we branched with a tee into a 3-inch and rose to the level of the flow pipes. Eemember, the 4x3x3 tee came out of a 4-inch horizontal, not an upright, pipe. After supplying that run the flow was reduced to 3-inch and went on to supply the north run of the north house. From the shed end to the farther end the 2-inch flow pipes have a rise of two inches. On reaching the manifolds provision had to be made to let air escape, so we tapped into each mani fold a small petcock. For the first ten days after we begin to fire with a new supply of water there is a considerable accumulation of air. After a week or two there seems no more in the water, and if these petcocks are neglected for weeks no harm results. This I have found re peatedly to be the case. You may not have a tank of Water raised up thirty feet, and there is no need of it. A bar rel or box holding twenty gallons of water, or a metal boiler, such as is used in our kitchens, will do equa^y as well. Let it be seven or eight feet above the bottom of your heater, and when there is a gallon of water in the barrel your system is full. In this case you do not need petcocks, but in place of them sim ply tap in a ^-inch pipe and let it run up a rafter or anywhere out of the way ; that, of course, will constantly and with out watching vent the heating pipes of any air. See that the top of this little pipe is a foot or two above the highest point of the water in your feeding cis tern. This rearrangement of pipes was a great satisfaction and unqualified suc cess, so much so that in seven or eight other houses where the overhead and rise and fall delusion had existed it was all pulled down and common sense and a smooth, quick circulation exists. If an amateur came to me and asked for advice about heating a house 20x100, J36 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. or 20x75. and wanted it so arranged that he could leave it at 11 p. m. till 6 a. m., I should without hesitation tell him to get plenty of boiler power and use the 4-inch pipe for radiation. Use the heavy cast iron pipe used by horticultural build ers, 9-foot lengths and four inches out side diameter, not what many greenhouse men have used, Mott's soil pipe, 5-foot lengths, four inches inside diameter; this is a thin, brittle metal, unsatisfactory in many ways. I have had no experience with water under pressure, unless the pressure of our city mains constitutes that system. Our city water has a pressure of about thirty-five pounds to the square inch, and in my experience it is a very cheap heating system for a store or office. Wish ing to heat a flower store in this city, which is something like 19x80 feet in area, I put a small heater in the cellar. 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 floor is the li/4-iEch flow, which leads off, and by the help of some tees connects with three radiators on the floor of the 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-ineh 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 thirty-five pounds on the pipe and radiators. The highest part of the system is the top of the radiators, and in them is a petcock 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 conse quence. There is nothing more about it, only the radiators can be made very hot; a great success. If a strong fire should ex pand 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 con sumed 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 petcocks at the highest point. The architecture of many greenhouse establishments, the smaller and older places more especially, is so complicated and houses are on so many different levels, that sound advice as to how to ar range pipes is impossible unless you are on the spot. Three rules can be accepted as sound. Provide plenty of capacity in both flow and return pipes. Don't use less than 2-inch pipes, and reserve all the drop on your return pipes till just before you enter the boiler. Watch these points and vou will save coal. HEDERA— Ivy. Until the introduction of galax leaves, the ivy was of much importance, and large quantities are still used, and possi bly always will be. H. Helix is the com mon English and Irish ivy, and it has in numerable forms and varieties. Some of the variegated varieties make beautiful pot plants, and if they could be produced cheaply enough would make the best of basket and vase plants. The common ivy is not a success here out of doors. It will do fairly well on a north wall for some years, and then we get a winter that kills. In Europe on dead trees, and live ones, too, and on ruined towers and old buildings 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, the moping owl does to the moon complain." So the ivy must have crept tiful residence streets and the uncommon feature always noticeable to Eudyard Kipling and less illustrious ' ' Outlaud- ers" is the absence of fences or hedges. There is nothing but the well kept lawn, the group of shrubs and trees, or perhaps a flower bed, between the sidewalk and the residence. There is no finer specimen of this beautiful style of street in Amer ica than our own Delaware avenue, Buf falo, N. Y. We would never be guilty of advocating any other style, but whether we would or 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 hedge that where an iron fence is used we think a well kept hedge behind it is an im provement. Or where there is a retain ing wall a small hedge on the bank is a finish to it. Or where the lot finishes on the street with a terrace we think a hedge is in place. And a well kept hedge can Hedge of Spiraea Van Houttei Three Years After Planting. 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 the following Octo ber, when they should be lifted and potted in 4-inch pots. One advantage of the ivy is that 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 beneath a bench. Although I planted a lot be neath 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 beau- 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 passerby 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 fostered by ad miring your own lot alone. You see in a month more of your neighbor's than you do of your own, and a resident keeps his grounds neat and trim and beautiful because others will admire them, the knowledge of which gratifies the owner. It resolves 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 very few hedges seen in our cities that are properly kept, either of the ever green or deciduous kind. The best speci mens of hedges I have seen in this conn- TI-IE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 137 try were at Newport, mostly privet. And the finest evergreen hedges I have seen are in Toronto, 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 & Son. Hemlock is without doubt the finest and most perfect in form of all evergreen hedges. There are some ter rible specimens of privet hedges scattered over our city and others. Before they are three feet high a western hog could run through them without disturbing many of their twigs. When like this they are simply an abomination. The fault is mostly with the proprietor, who insists on immediate 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 spring before growth and again in mid summer. In planting evergreen hedges you must begin with small, compact, perfect 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 that no other evergreen hedge has. Next the Norway spruce, and then the Ameri can and Chinese arbor-vitas. The deciduous hedges will always be more planted in city lots, and for this purpose are certainly to be preferred. The finest for most purposes is the Cali fornia and English privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium and L. vulgaris). The Cali fornia was considerably killed this past winter. If a fine, dense hedge is wanted, a double row of the privet should be al ways 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 previ- Hcdge of Spiraea Van Houttei Four Years After Planting. see is that they are seldom trimmed prop erly. Let it be an evergreen or a decidu ous 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 to 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 eighteen inches through, and the hedge not over four and a half or five fe«t 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 bottom. Midsummer is the best time to prune evergreen hedges and they look much better cut with a knife than with the shears. Hedges of decidu ous shrubs like privet are best and quick est sheared, which can be done in early ous season 's growth, then you will have a solid hedge that a cat would have dif ficulty in squeezing through. I am sorry to say that in our locality, and even in New England, the California privet has suffered severely during the past two winters, so, although not so pretty in foliage, the English or L. vul garis is the one to depend on. Berberis Thunbergii makes a magnifi cent hedge. Its habit is spreading and the worst treatment will not prevent 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, coloring to beauti ful tints in the autumn, and covered with its fruit. It is a most hardy, easily transplanted shrub. There is a hedge of Pyrus (Cydonia) Japonica here and there throughout the country. One I have in mind is on a re taining wall near the home of the late Mr. Parkman, the Indian historian, 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 trees and shrubs can be used for the purpose. I have only made a selec tion and my chief object was to tell you that a hedge cannot be made 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. Peruvianum. It always was a favorite for our summer flower 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. You 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 in creased 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 hotbed after the 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 greenhouse covering a large space. Such a one I have. It gets cut back to the main shoots every September, and during winter yields bushels of flowers, which are occa sionally 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 stand ards and are used as conservatory plants or plunged out in the flower garden. They certainly make a fine appearance. Have a bed of heliotrope of the ordinary size of plants, into which plunge a dozen of the 3-foot standards; or any other dwarf flowering plant could be the groundwork. They are easily grown. Choose a strong, healthy, young plant, and without any pinching encourage it to run up three 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 lit tle water during winter and start grow ing 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 for the florist, but when time and space THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. allow it is 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 injure it, but after a few fumigations it does not notice it more than a geranium. 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 slightest frost. There are constantly new varieties being sent out. A few good ones are: Le C'id; semi-dwarf, robust, large pan icles, mauve, with clear white eye. Le Poitevine; great size, mauve, violet and azure; very free and continuous in bloom. The Giant; enormous panicle of bloom, color a rosy violet, white eye. Cameleon; bright blue, large panicles and florets. Albert Delaux; pretty variegated foli age, purple flowers. White Lady; the best of the white or light varieties. HIBISCUS. The species we see in the greenhouses is H. Eosa-Sinensis and its varieties. It is hardly a florist's plant, yet its bright, shining leaves and showy, brilliant flow ers make it desirable for the private con servatory. Hibiscus plants thrive in any good, coarse loam, with some well rotted ma nure added. They soon make large plants and need a liberal size pot, and plenty of water and syringing when growing. Their brilliant flowers come on the young growths. In winter they will do in a temperature of 50 degrees, 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. H. Syriacus is one of our finest hardy shrubs, known as althaea, or rose of Sharon. It makes a compact, much branched shrub, thickly studded with its showy flowers in August and September and growing five to eight feet high. We have within a few years imported many of the fine French varieties with flowers as perfect and pretty as a gardenia, or small camellia, but did not find them quite hardy, although they may be a lit tle farther s~outh. HOLLYHOCK. This stately plant is seen in the large grounds of the millionaire and in the small piece of garden that the farmer or his wife devote to "posies." It is handsome anywhere, and it is particular ly suitable for a border whose back ground is a hedge or belt of trees. There appears to be an increased call for them of late. Some years ago the hollyhock disease discouraged many would-be grow ers 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 ef fect. 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 four or five years will deteriorate in quality and re vert back to the single-flowered form. Little regard is now paid to named va rieties, because the best strains give you all the desirable colors and the finest flowers; in fact, plants less than one year old give the finest flowers. Plants that have flowered and are carried over win ter are hardy in our ordinary winters, but should be protected by some litter placed around the plant and a few ever green boughs over them. Where the winters are not so severe, seed is sown in May or June out of doors and the young plants transplanted 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 coldframe in early August. If you have no other ac commodation, you can transplant four or five inches apart in the frames, and in the three or four months of severest win ter weather protect with glass, and trans plant to their permanent position as soon as the ground is dry in the spring. Still better, transplant from the seedbeds into flats or 2-inch pots, and in October shift into 4-inch pots, keeping them plunged in the coldframe 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 grandest results. Hollyhocks like a heavy soil, dug deep ly and with plenty of animal manure 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 manure. They want a good stout stake to keep the wind from l)lowing them over, and sometimes when the side shoots are loaded with flowers they will want supporting to the main stem. Chater's strain was for years the best obtainable, and is, I think, still offered by some of the leading seedsmen. When the plants are small, as a preven tive of fungous diseases, they can be dipped into a pail of the ammoniacal so lution. 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. In attempting to grow these stately plants two seasons ago and wintering them in a cool greenhouse the dreaded fungus made its appearance. A copper solution was applied at once and at time of planting the following April every plant was immersed in it, but to no avail. They were a total failure. Yet down the village street 100 yards were healthyr vigorous hollyhocks growing in a narrow strip by some farmer's home. We have experienced the greatest success with hollyhocks by sowing in September and wintering in a cool house, but where you don't have those advantages you can sow in April and during summer shift them on, or several times transplant, and by September you should have a strong plant which can be planted out in its perma nent place in the garden. HDTBEDS. These primitive greenhouses 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 assist ance. As is well known, there are a num ber 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 the florist does not need to, and in our lati tude the hotbed is of most use from early April on to the end of May, and occa sionally during summejr, where plants like cyclamen want a little bottom heat. The frames are usually eighteen, inches at back and twelve inches in front, and for convenience made to flit three or four sashes six feet long and thirty-six inches wide. When hotbeds are used on a large scale and where drainage is good the earth is excavated to a depth of eighteen inches to two feet, and either boarded or bricked up to a foot above the sur face. There is an advantage in this be cause the late frost does not cool the fermenting material. Wherever you have them, let them be all together, for the larger 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 leave? of the previous fall you can mix in ft third of those, and if you are on good terms with the local brewer the spent hops of the brewery are a splendid m;i terial for the purpose. Hops heat vio lently, and should not be used alone, or the heat will be too violent for a time- and will too quickly subside. I would' call one-half stable manure, one-fourth' leaves and one-fourth fresh hops a fine mixture. You cannot get all your material ir« one day, but when you have collected enough to begin operations the whole mass, whatever it is, should be tin- nod over once into a big pile and thoroughly shaken out, mixing the long with the short. When the pile begins to sho^' signs of heating, then form your hotbed*. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J39 Hydrangea Otaksa. Lay out a space eighteen inches larger and broader than the frame or frames, and allow for an 18-inch path be tween 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 sprinkling. It will prevent the heat being so violent, but will make it last longer. When the bed or material has reached a height of two 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 material. Tliis could be sawdust, tanbark, or even sifted ashes, but for the sake of the hot bed material for after use, which is in valuable to the plantsman, 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 little ventila tion on to allow the vapor to escape. When the violent heat has subsided get in your plants and the growth they will make will be remarkable. 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 acceler ate the heat of the bed, and if they are neglected till, say 11 a. m., you run a good chance of having your whole crop burned up, which has happened occasion ally 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 moisture and heat at the roots and the ammonia -charged atmosphere, the growth of many plants is prodigious. AYhen hotbeds are started early, about April 1, you should always cover them . nightly with mats or shutters, the former much preferred both for warmth and con venience. You must not trust to the bare glass on nights of sharp frost. The surface of the soil gets quickly cool and then Jack Frost touches the plants, whose tops are .very near the glass. The hotbeds are a great relief to us in our crowded state in April and May. And more than that, when the beds are emptied the material is tossed up on a pile and chopped down once or twice dur ing fall, and there you have an excellent substitute for leaf-mold, with some am monia in it. If not, its mechanical con dition is what you want for all of your soft-wooded, and many of the hard- wooded, plants. HOYA. These hothouse climbers are seldom seen now. The days of short -stemmed flowers are gone, and hoyas are only found in the private collection. H. car- nosa was once a very common plant in our greenhouses, and we have all heard the dear old lady tell us hundreds 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 root easily in the spring from the tops of the growths. If a specimen is wanted they should be trained on a wire frame. They like plenty of sun and ventilation in sum mer time, and in winter should be given a rest by keeping 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. HYACINTH. See Bulbs. HYDRANGEA. These are among the most important of our decorative flowering plants. Large quantities are sold for Easter church decorations, and later on large plants are in demand for outside decoration. The hardy Hydrangea paniculata grandi- flora is one of the finest of our hardy shrubs. H. hortensis and its variety Otaksa is the common hydrangea of our green houses. 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 varies with certain soil, and in some parts they assume a beauti ful blue color. Iron dust or filings in the soil are said to produce this. If so, it cannot be done with one season's treat ment, 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 Febru ary 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 the very latest growth, THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. which root quickly in the sand. For early spring use the cuttings should be propagated in February, potted on till June and have the tops pinched out, when they can go into a 5-inch pot and be plunged outside on a dry bottom, giving them plenty of room between the plants. If they grow freely give them a 6-inch pot in August. If strong plants in 4-inch pots, one stopping of the leading shoot is all the pinching that is necessary. If growing strong they are then shifted into 6-inch and plunged in frames in May or June in some material. Here they will grow- vigorously. I must quote here what I saw last sum mer, the latter part of August, at the establishment of a very large and suc cessful Philadelphia grower of these Easter plants. A number of these plants were lifted out of the frame where their roots had been uniformly moist and the growth vigorous, and were stood in groups on the dry ground. Now this was evi dently done to arrest the vigorous growth, ripen the growths and form the flower buds. It was a clever move and much can be learned from it. This is much better than subjecting the plants to early frosts, the degree of which no man can control. When forcing these plants a shift from a 6-inch to 8-inch would be very bene ficial, but it would give them an un wieldy and unsalable appearance; being crowded with roots, you should tell your customers that they must have abundance of water. The very name of the genus implies that they are gluttons for water. 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 trouble with hydrangeas from insects. You can fumigate them should fly trouble them, and although 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 eyes of the pot. Remove some of the soil and give them a shift and plunge outside for the sum mer. They will make fine plants for an other spring. The principal 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 lessening of the supply of water are the requisites. When hydrangeas get into 10-inch 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 occasional 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 pro vided for large plants, as the greenhouse, however cool, will bring them on too fast. Some growers adopt a different plan with the young plants. Instead of grow ing 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 hortensis. 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 handsome. H. hortensis Otaksa is the finest variety, giving the largest head of bloom, and forcing well. There is now a magnificent variety, or species, known, I believe, as rosea, a love ly shade of pure pink. The experts have not yet mastered the flowering of this beautiful sort. IMPATIENS SULTANI. This little perennial flowering balsam is not so much seen as it was a dozen years ago. Nearly all the year it is cov ered 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 in warm sand, or can be raised from seed. A rather rich, open soil suits it, with plenty of water. Plants in 4-inch and 5-inch pots are 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. INSECTICIDES. See Fungicides and Insecticides. IRESINE— Achyranthes. These are known almost entirely under the name of achyranthes, but iresine is correct. They, with the coleus, are the principal plants used to furnish color to the tropical and foliage 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 coleus would starve. Outside, though injured by the first frost, they will not drop their leaves when the thermometer gets down to 40 degrees, as do many coleuses. We grow them not only as bedding plants, but for our vases and veranda- boxes they are most useful, and do not monopolize the whole space to the sacri fice of other plants, as do the stronger growing coleuses. Greenfly attacks them if smoking is neglected, and mealy bugs like them, but they can be thoroughly cleaned off when you start a new batch of cuttings. Nothing can possibly root better than iresine at all times of the year. We se lect a few cuttings from outside that are clean and healthy in September, and from a few dozen of each kind a large lot- can be produced by bedding time. A hotbed grows them thriftily and quickly and gives you a chance to harden them off. To grow fast for cuttings they should have a temperature of 60 degrees, but will thrive finely in 10 degrees less. I. Herbstii is tho useful sort we know as Verschaff eltii ; finely colored, habit spreading and free. I. Herbstii aurea reticulata is the vari egated form. I. Lindeni is more erect ; narrow leaves, deep rich color; a fine bedding plant. There is also another variety, or I be lieve a species (the correct name I can not find) with smaller, rounded leaf, of a fine bottle green color; in contrast with a lighter foliage 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 most often conspicuous by its absence. But we all know J. grandiflorum. A plant that I 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 hardy. J. grandiflorum needs a temperature of 50 degrees during winter. The young growths root readily in the spring, and if planted out after frost is gone and kept pinched they make fine bushy little plants and can be lifted and potted, and will flower in October and November. They cannot be called showy plants and would receive 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 and in the spring prune it back, and during summer keep it pinched so that the flowering is retarded to late fall, when for weddings there is often a call for it. Unfortunately when asked for jasmine 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 moun tain laurel, and is the plant that fur nishes the fine glossy sprays that make such admirable wreathing for our winter THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 14* festivities. This is a truly broad-leaved evergreen, but as I had occasion to re mark under the head of Hardy Shrubs, it is in most soils and localities very dis appointing 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 appearance is fine, 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 suitable for forcing. They can be potted and kept in coldframe till time to start them in the houses. If wanted for Easter give them six weeks in a temperature 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 veranda- boxes and vases. Sprays of its small white flowers were formerly much in de mand for funeral designs, and plants were often grown on the edges of carna tion 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 September, cutting them back, and from the young tender growths get lots of cuttings, 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 find 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 at the end of May. The large, double-flowering kind is the most useful. The single or true species 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 Febru ary. LANTANA. A genus 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 effective. The odor of the leaf is not at all agreeable and the flower is useless for cutting, 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 com post. Grow a plant or two of each of the most desirable varieties in 4-inch or 5-inch pots over summer plunged outside and at the approach of frost bring them in and store in any house where the temperature does not go below 50 degrees. After New Year's cut these 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 ordinary propagating bed. From the time you bring in the plants in the fall till you start them growing, keep them rather dry. We sell them in 3-inch pots, which are large enough, as they grow very fast when planted out. LAPAGERIA. This is one of the handsomest green house climbers. The pendent flowers are so rich looking that when a long .spray of the plant is cut with its flowers attached nothing can surpass it in beauty. Such sprays were seen at the Boston convention in 1890, being part of the decoration of the exhibit that re ceived the first premium for wedding ar rangement. The flowers are three or four inches long, resembling a miniature inverted wine glass, and of great sub stance. They appear 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 the roof (or did) in the glazed corridor at the entrance to Veitch 's nursery, Chelsea, England, and I was informed it had many times had to endure several degrees of frost. It was then (August) covered with its magnifi cent 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 cut ting 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 bor 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 where you can shade during summer and give plenty of air. A thor oughly good drainage to the border or tub in which it is planted is of first im portance. A good compost would be coarse fibrous loam with a tenth of de cayed cow manure, and to that add an other tenth of old broken up mortar or Crushed charcoal. They are propagated by layering the ends of strong snoots or from seed. Young plants were once very expensive. 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-batting will stop them. Tobacco smoke will keep down fly and thrips, and syringing, which the plant delights in throughout the spring and summer, will prevent red spider and mealy bug. There is only one species (Lapageria rosea), but there is a pure white form and from seedlings have been produced intermediate colors. It is not a florist's plant, but yet one that any gardener should be proud to grow well for its aris tocratic 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 surrounded by a weedy, ill-kept lawn. I have remarked some years ago, perhaps only to myself, that the lawns of the temperate and moist parts of Europe (such as Great Britain) were made to walk on; ours are made to look at. "Keep off the grass" is assuredly 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 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 privi lege of frequently spoiling them, but withal I must say that for trinmess and neatness and greeness in our cities our lawns will compare most favorably with those I saw in England twenty years 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 cannot 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 sodding, 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 excava tions have been made for sewers, there is no rammer equal to the hose. Flood it with water, if practicable, and that will take it down solid. This is particu larly 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 sel dom 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 inequalities. There is noth- J42 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. ing more to do but give the sod a good soaking of water. In a few days pass the mowing machine 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 around, but it is far cheaper. The same care in digging deep and manuring is essential, 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 pleas ing slope in any direction. When I say you can, I mean you can if you have an eye and know how to handle the rake, and you are not supposed to be leveling or grading 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 seeding 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 plainer then any little inequalities than when the ground was left rough by the rake. Mend any imperfections and roll those places again where you disturb 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 rub- "bish 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 exercised with a rake as well as with a bat, a ball, or a billiard cue. Don 't handle the rake like the interesting schoolmarm among the hay fields of her country cousins dur ing 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 about June 1, 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 the end of May, as we frequent ly get a dry spell, and unless you can reach it with the hose it may be a fail ure. 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 last of August, and if within reach of the hose you are not dependent on show ers, and if sown at that time or very early in September you have a lawn well established before winter sets in. Further experience has taught us that lawns can be made from sowing seed any time during the entire summer, from spring till the last of August, providing you are within reach of the hose. When the delicate little cotyledon first emerges from the seed a severe drought, if only many of our florist 's plants suffer in the for a few hours, may destroy it, as so seed pans, but if the surface of your grass plot is kept continually moist no harm is done, and in two weeks you have a lawn even in the hottest weather. In fall sowing, which is the best, there is no need of sowing anything with the grass seeds. Sometimes in spring sow ing 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 un necessary where you sprinkle occasion ally. 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 suitable 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 always have to pay high, whether it be in a coat or in 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 are of little consequence in such an important and permanent undertaking as making a lawn. Most of the grass seeds are very light and will fly in every direction, much pre ferring 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 distance accordingly. About thirty to forty pounds of grass seed are usually sown to the acre and five or six pounds of white clover. If a small plot of ground, it is easy to know when you have sown enough. And don 't be afraid of sowing too thickly. There may be two little plants spring up where one would do, but it will be a case of the survival of the fittest. The stronger will crowd the weaker out. Therefore sow plenty of seed. Neither in spring nor fall is it advisable to keep the newly made lawns mowed closely, so you must waive appearance for the benefit of the grass, at least for the first season. 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 mis managed. The only time our lawns want rolling is in the spring. Then they cer tainly need it. Winter 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 per ishes if not pressed back by the roller. Rolling (and this time it should be done with a good heavy one) must be done when the ground is drying after the Irost has left it; when it is soft and pli able but not wet and sticky. The mow-- ing machine will do the rest for the re mainder of the season. Boiling is all right, and if you have time roll often ; no harm done. The practice of strewing stable ma nure 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 idea of nourishing the roots you are mistaken. The fertiliz ing properties of the manure have passed through the soil while the roots were in active and have not benefited the plants. With excessive watering the roots are often brought near the surface and at the same time continually sprinkling im poverishes the surface soil. So one inch of good loam to which has been added one-half pound 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 will see great results in a few weeks. Although an inch over the whole surface 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 surrounding 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 before poured out its liquid gifts in copious 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 resodded or seeded every season, or at most every alternate year, and simply because it is drowned out. ' ' I can 't get the grass to grow under the trees," is the contin ual plaint. It grows under the shade of trees in our orchards and so it does in our large cemeteries and public parks, THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 143 A Well-Kept Lawn1 and greener than it does in the sun, sim ply because the farmer and the park and cemetery superintendents do not water it. They do not have the time, and would not if they 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 keep ing 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 lawn 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 thor oughly 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 soaking once in two weeks is ample for grass that is heavily shaded with trees. Unfortu nately 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 drought grass will turn brown. The poorer the soil the browner the grass, but it can be kept green with an occasional watering. And leave alone this ever lasting 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 ear lier in the spring and later in the fall, but more important than that, it is bet ter for the roots of the grass than land that is boggy and saturated with mois ture. All lawns may not need it, but most do. The mowing machine keeps down all troublesome weeds except dandelion and plantain. The latter perishes if 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 ef fectual method for its extermination. LIBONIA. This is a very pretty little free-flow ing plant that has been largely crowded out by other perhaps more showy plants. It makes in one sea son a compact little plant from eight inches to a foot 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 at the end of May in good, light loam, grow nicely during summer. It needs little pinching, as its growth is branching. They lift well in September 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 genus of bulbous plants gives us a few species that are of first importance to the florist. All are beautiful and where there is an opportunity for their cultivation in the garden few flowering plants can be of more interest. They are widely scattered over the northern hemisphere and the majority of them are hardy in our north ern clime. The most important species to the florist is L. longiflorum. I will say here that there are several varieties of some species. The variated character is prin cipally difference of color 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 cultivation produced. There are cer tainly characteristics possessed by it suf ficient to make it a distinct variety. The leaves are thinner and less glaucous, 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 substance of the true longi florum. All of these traits are what could be expected after years of cultiva tion in a semi-tropical climate, for ex cept in coloring what is it that produces variations but environment? Within ten years the Japan-grown bulbs of L. longi florum have almost exclusively been grown for Easter. They are free of dis ease and in stoutness of texture of leaf and flower more nearly resemble the orig inal species. Mr. Farquhar, of Boston, who has traveled extensively in the islands of Japan, tells us that the lily industry is confined to the temperate northern islands and the bulbs are too often dug before being ripe, and this accounts for the Japan bulbs being oc casionally very unsatisfactory. Mr. Far quhar further adds that if the lily indus try was taken up in the southern islands they would have climatic conditions that would produce as early matured bulbs as Bermuda. Another reason why we should not be too severe on the dealers who sell us Japan bulbs is the fact that they don't always get what they have bought ana paid for. Although the Jap anese deserve and have received the ad miration of the world for their ability and conduct of war ; yet as business men they are very unreliable and do not al ways stick to a bargain. The following cultural directions are suitable for the Harrisii, Bermuda-grown longiflorum and Japan longiflorum, ex cept some slight differences which will be noticed. At present the Harrisii and what we know as Bermuda 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 be found where the longi- florum can be grown and ripened early enough to give us bulbs for Easter forc ing. As soon as you receive the bnlbs get them potted without delay. The bulbs are loose-scaled, quite different from a tulip, and would be injured by lying around exposed to the air. We once tried (as a means of saving labor) to J44 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. force our 5x7 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 for some reason not ac counted for a large percentage came blind. Large growers of early forced lilies find from experience that the 7x9 bulbs pay them best. They get a few more flowers to the plant, they stand high forcing better and fewer come blind, so for these important reasons we must recommend the 7x9 bulbs for Christmas flowering. We put the 7x9 bulbs in 6-inch pots, leaving the top of bulb about even with surface of soil. For those we want early, say for December cutting, 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 dry ing out and does not prevent the lily from pushing up. Eemove it as soon as the growth is up an inch. Water spar ingly till the growth starts. As there are few roots they don't want much water. Later batches of this size we put outside in frames and there the few inches of covering are of still greater service, as the sun would daily dry out and bake the soil. Be sure that the frames you stand them in have dry bottoms and that water does not remain under the pots. I like to have the lilies in frames, because if we get several days of copious rain, say in September, it would be alto gether too much for them. And there you have at hand the means of covering them with glass. Whether started in the house or in a frame these lilies should be well rooted before they are given much forcing. By early November many of them will be well advanced and can be given a good heat, and as they show their buds they will endure strong forcing. The man ager of a largre establishment who said he would have 15,000 lilies for Thanks giving, answered to a query : ' ' Yes, they will take all the heat you can give them. We often give them 80 and 90 degrees at night. ' ' But don 't expect them all in so early. They come along in suc cession and are always in demand. We have often had occasion to re mark that the lily was one of the most profitable of plants. No matter whether it be the well grown Easter plant or the cut spike in December or January, there is no time when the lily is not welcome Lilium Longiflorum. and does not find admirers; the short season they occupy the benches and the comparatively small space they are grown in make them a profitable crop. You should have one house or at least part of a house where you have the means of keeping a night temperature of 70 degrees in any weather or you can't get the Bermuda lilies in bloom by Christ mas. This house would not only force the lilies, but it would hasten your Christ mas azaleas, finish off your azaleas and a number of other things. It is not only at Easter or Christmas or Decoration day that we want the lilies. From November on till June there is use for them. At weddings they are often a leading feature and at funerals they are in constant use. Although lilies are in demand from November to June, and for that matter the entire year, it is at Easter we most desire our main crop. The Japan bulbs are usually grown singly in (5-inch or 7-inch pots, yet within a few years there is a liking for a deep pan or pot (say a 9-inch) with three or four handsome plants. Many of our customers will pay handsomely for such an arrangement. The ordinary pan is too shallow and the common pot is unwieldy. What is known as the azalea pot is just the thing for this purpose. It is made by all the lead ing manufacturers. Now if you planted three bulbs in this 9-inch pan in October there would be a strong probability of their flowering at different dates and a good chance that it would not be a success. You can adopt a much surer and easier plan. When the 6-inch pot plants are just expanding the buds, or even if some are wide open, se lect three or four plants of uniform size and after removing the pot take a large, sharp knife (your wife's carving knife is the thing) and cut off two- thirds of the soil and roots of the 6-inch ball, or reduce the ball of earth till you can get them into the azalea pot. You may think this is brutal treatment, but experience will teach you that there is no ill effect resulting. All the buds will open and the plants will remain in ap parently perfect health. There is no fraud in this, for ninety-nine per cent of all lilies sold are thrown in the garbage barrel as soon as done flowering, and these you have doctored will last as long as the undisturbed. For this purpose the dwarf-growing Japan variety is much the best. When we forced entirely the Bermuda- grown lilies for Easter we tried for sev eral seasons the plan of first potting them in 4-inch pots and later after they were three or four inches above the pots shifting into 6-ineh. It saved space and perhaps pots if short on them at that time. We heard several growers report that it retarded their plants at least two weeks. If carefully repotted we doubt whether it would do so. However, eventually there is no saving in space or pots and for the average grower I would not recommend the plan, but would rather put the bulb at once into its flow ering pot, a 6-inch or 7-inch, according to size of bulb, for some growers force the large 9x11 bulbs. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J45 If let alone in one house at one tem perature 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 tempera ture that you can get 900 out of a thou sand lilies to be in flower the same week. We will go back to the 7x9 bulbs we left in the frame in 6-inch pots. If you leave them there till middle of Decem ber, which for want of room you may have to do, don't let a sudden hard frost sweep down on them. Though almost or quite a hardy plant they have been grown somewhat artificially and 10 t<> 15 degrees of frost without any cover ing will hurt the foliage and greatly dis figure them. I can speak from expe rience 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 November. We start in with a night temperature 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 nicely, 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 degrees at night and 85 to 90 in day time. You cannot get your Easter crop of 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 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 Field of Lilium Harrisii in Bermuda. more than if it were April 24. Be in time and before you move lilies into a cool house let them be opening the flowers. I have noticed that when moved, say from a night temperature of 60 degrees to one of 45 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 they want a stake or they swing about and often get loose and frequently 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 hotbed manure, and we pot rather firmly. For the early crops 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 fumigating, which the lilies need so much. There fore we think it safest to evaporate some of the tobacco extract rather than burn it. The vapor cannot possibly harm any thing, and it penetrates into the thick rosette of leaves which is formed just before the buds are seen. Lilies are much troubled witli aphis, in fact against them it is a continual fight, still 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 tender flower buds, and if undisturbed will puncture the small bud, which causes a deformed and twisted flower. So in addition to to bacco fumes or vapor you should go over the crowns of the plants occasionally and in the center of them with a rubber plant sprinkler squirt in some nico tine 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 Japan bulbs are now almost en tirely used for Easter. They arrive later than the Bermuda bulbs and sometimes require more forcing to get them in good shape for Easter. There should be no delay in getting them potted as soon as received, and there should not be any forcing done till they have made plenty of roots; so don't be alarmed if your Japan bulbs have made little top growth by New Year's. If you have a warm house at your command they will come along very fast if well rooted. There is also a good demand for these beautiful flowers on Memorial day. To have a supply then it is more a problem of retarding than forcing. Keep them in a coldframe protected with glass till New Year's and then remove to a very cool house and with little artificial heat and plenty of ventilation in April and May they will be about right for the last of 'May. Here at least is where you could adopt the plan of starting them in 4-inch pots, for they would not want their flowering pot till the last of Janu- J46 THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. ary. In a batch of 2,000 bulbs treated thus we did not have a single diseased plant, so the Bermuda disease is not bad in the land of the Shinto. The longiflorum in good, well drained loam is hardy in this latitude, but would be benefited by a covering of litter every fall after the stems are dry. We have frequently planted out the plants of Har- risii that had been grown and cut at Easter. If a good piece of stem is left, so much the better. Many of them will send up a flower stalk from which you will get a few flowers in July and Au gust. 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 future sup ply us with a higher grade of bulbs. One of the advantages I intended to mention roseum and rubrum are merely varieties of speciosum. They are all about identi cal in growth. They are not forced for winter or spring, but are very accepta ble in July arid August, when we are often short of flowers. 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 coldframes during winter, but it was not a success, and now we never fail by potting them in 7-inch 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 be neath your coolest bench, where there is the least drip. If 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 Lilium Rubellum. in starting the large bulbs in small pots was that by shifting 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-inch or 7-inch. Lilium lancifolium (which correctly is L. speciosum) is next to the longiflorum most valuable to the florist; album given the light and grown on, but coolly. Any of the lilies, either the longi florum or lancifolium, want little water 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 wrater. 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 flowers 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 greenfly and need fumigating occasion ally. 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 flowers are 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 off 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 auratum, most gorgeous of all the family, has flowers sometimes a foot across, with broad bands of yellow 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 flowers. We can very well remember the introduction of this magnificent lily and the sensation it created when first flowered. It has long, narrow leaves. 1 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 lancifolium sec tion. 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. Unfortunately many im ported 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 Bermuda was not an industry as it now is, we used to grow and force the beautiful Lilium can- didum. 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 fore- ing (although it differed little from that of the longiflorum), because it is en tirely 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 the end of June and July. There are no other lilies grown in pots for commercial use. Many species doubtless could be, but would not be profitable. Beds of L. longiflorum and candidum should be on every florist's place. And if you have the room, many other species are beautiful plants for the THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. J47 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 per fection, 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-mold from the woods, and plant the bulbs when per fectly dormant. August is a good month. Plant six inches deep. In addition to the longiflorum and lancifolium type, these will be found per fectly 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, four to five feet. L. Hansonii, reddish orange, three to four feet. L. Humboldtii, orange, very fine, four to five feet. L. pardalinum, 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 Washingtoniannm, 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, Lilium Candidum. deep orange, purple spots, very hardy, two to three feet. And several others, both species and varieties. LILY OF THE VALLEY-Convallaria Majalis. We can remember pots of lily of the valley being grown in our greenhouses in March and April many years ago. These pots (a 5-inch or 6-inch) con tained a solid mass of roots and were not disturbed or shifted for several years. After flo\vering 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 nat ural way, and a very great addition they were to the attractiveness of the con servatory. As pot plants they are of little consideration. Within twenty-five years the flower must now be supplied the year around. When first lily of the valley was pro duced in the summer and fall months it commanded a most lucrative price, but nowadays at the close margin at which it is sold you must be successful or you had far better not attempt it; rather leave the growing to the specialist and buy your flowers from the grower or commis sion man. A few years ago in the columns of one of the trade papers appeared several ar ticles from the pen of Mr. B. Simpson, who can not only write plainly, and ex plicitly convey his knowledge to us, but has been one of the largest and most successful growers of this dainty little flower, and though not copying him ver batim, I acknowledge to him many of the important 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 win ter is the natural cold storage for the pips that give us the flowers from the middle of January to possibly the eno! 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 ex pect them to come out in seven or eight months and give good results was at all the reasonable or proper plan. When first received, which is usually in No vember, unpack at once. Large growers place them in trenches in coldframes 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 quan tity 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 weakest 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 be retarded longest should be the strongest. THE FLORISTS MANUAL. Sometimes \ve find the roots very dry. 1 prefer to dip the roots for a few mo ments 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 excelsior over them and cover with shutters 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 con ditions 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 removed to the cold storage the roots that are wanted for summer and autumn. The time to put them in cold storage may vary by a month because the weather varies. They must be absolutely dor mant when removed to the cold storage, and that must be closely watched. We have tried repeatedly to store away a few thousand 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 building one of your own. But it is very uncer tain work and we have often blamed our selves when perhaps it was the cold- storage management that was at fault. Mr. Simpson at some length gives in structions how to build a cold-storage 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 he says a cold-storage house that will hold 400,- 000 valley roots can be built for $600. The interest on that sum seems very trifling when the success of even a quar ter of the above number is grown. Whether you have your own cold storage or hire it, the conditions which you should try to preserve are these : Get boxes of convenient size, 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 storage this would be a great con sideration. When first 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 removing the roots from the frame to cold storage they appear dry, give the whole box a watering be fore putting 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 arrested lilies may as well put them in suitable boxes when first receiving them in tho fall; then with the addition of some moist sphagnum over the pips 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 obtaining a uniformly high Flower Spray of Lily of the Valley. grade of roots and being very particular that they are first-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. Un less you get a well developed crown that contains a good spike of flowers in an embryonic size your most skillful and faithful care will not produce a good flower. When brought in to force 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 conveniently go in the trench of sand and three inches between the rows. Some growers place an inch of sphagnum between the pips on the sur face of the box and when the boxess 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 con ditions it is not necessary. I have grown 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 some pipes that are not so warm and a little more light, and when color begins to show remove them to the top of a bench, but still shaded from the sun. Always avoid wetting the bells after showing color, but before that syringe frequently and water the sand daily. When lily of the valley is about fully expanded (that is, the top bells) the sprays can be cut and placed in water in bunches for twenty- four hours. They travel and keep bet ter than those freshly cut, as do most all flowers. Large growers (and this plan is better far than the boxes with those that want, say, from 1,000 to 2,000 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 excellent place to grow the valley. Top, or atmospheric, heat is not of consequence, but one or two pipes on the side of the wall or path are 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, for 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. The bench should be of roofing slate over which you spread half an inch of cement, all of which is a good conductor of heat. Mr. Simpson says that under the bench should be four 2-inch pipes or three 4-inch. If steam, that would do, but better have five 2-inch hot wrater pipes or four 4-inch. There should be a 12-inch board above the bench, back and front, the front one movable for convenience in planting, cutting, etc. These boards should be high enough so THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 149 that when the shading is put on it would be four or five inches above the tops of the fully developed flowers. It is bot tom heat that is the great requisite, as we all know7, and the earliest forced bulbs want about 85 degrees, gradually lessen ing the heat, till in April, near their natural time of growing, 65 to 70 is enough. I would like to be very explicit about or planted in permanent frames. Then when winter was over you could put on the sash and with water and shade pro duce some very fine flowers and foliage several days ahead of the common, un protected stuff. Some six years ago we planted several thousand roots of imported valley which cost only $3 per thousand. They did not flower till last year, but increased in Lily of the Valley Forced on Hot Water Pipes. would be much cheaper than the most ready way of forcing the imported pips. Lily of the valley can never recede in public favor. It has all the attributes that appeal to the most refined and deli cate senses. Its grace and simple beauty are unsurpassed and its delicate odor is loved by all. Even supposing you don't get more than seventy-live per cent of good flowers, then it is a more profitable flower to the grower and retailer than almost anything you handle, and there is no greenhouse where provision could not be marie for its successful culture. Pans and pots of it sell at Christmas and Easter. They can be treated just as described above, but a better way is to select roots with some perfect 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 will have a better appear ance. I have never had any satisfaction from the imported clumps and would not advise any one 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 spe cies that is sold for a winter blooming plant. It is not likely to become very popular as a house plant on account of its dropping its petals so quickly, al though for the conservatory it is a most showy plant and is always in the best of the making of a forcing bed, for there are some points of importance. The top board on the front or path side of the bed should be one foot ana it should be hinged just at the surface of the sand. Why this is important is that when the little plants are in flower or just open ing their bells you can let down this top board and water the bed without wTetting the flowers or buds, and this is very im portant. For the first ten days, or till the pips have grown three or four inches, they are covered with wooden shutters which almost entirely exclude the light, then these are replaced by cloth shutters; cheese-cloth oiled and fastened 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 handling valley that was in boxes that even if fully developed it quickly wilts if exposed to any draught. This same place will do for the summer and fall growing, but little bottom 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 many of the flowers during the short week they are in bloom out of doors, and very poor stuff they often are. A heavy shower will quickly ruin them. 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 Lily of the Valley from Pips out of Cold Storage. strength each year. This spring one bed was covered with sash and shaded, with the result that we cut a crop of grand flowers which you would not believe were from the same roots as those unpro tected. The trouble with the outside beds is that they are left too long without transplanting and become a mass of roots with no soil left to feed on. It would be also possible with the aid of some ice and shade to retard your crop a week or ten days after the out side flowers were gone, all of which order about Christmas time with its bright yellow blossoms. 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 planted out of doors in a light soil at the end of May. It will need constant pinching to keep it J50 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. compact, and lifts with the greatest ease in September. Its flowers come in clus ters 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 more are ex tremely 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 August and wintered in a coldframe and placed in their permanent 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 species of lobelias are of most interest to us, although they are not of such value here as flower garden plants 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, Avhere they can be depended on to flower all summer. Here they are very gay out in color when first used, and are not so much missed later, as stronger growing droopers take their place. Select a few of the best plants in Sep tember, cut them back a trifle, and be fore 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, which 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 supplied with plenty of lobelias in 3-inch pots with a thick growth of eight or ten inches long and just ready to flower about the middle or 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, with its varieties is the one most useful to us, the variety called speciosa being most in use. If seed of speciosa is sown you will get a number of varied forms, and some of those grown by us have originated locally. A Martinezia Caryotaefolia. of doors till perhaps 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 veranda- boxes they are to us indispensable, and if not lasting all summer they add greatly good, free growth and a fine blue flower is what we select in speciosa. 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 hotbed 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 better. LYSIMACHIA. There is one species, nummularia, the creeping, little, yellow-flowered money vine, or moneywort, that besides being one of our best hardy rockwork plants is with us a standard so-called vine for baskets and vases. Its long, pendent 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 during 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 prominent com mercial plants, 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. cor- difolia, scarlet; M. micans, orange; this species is more suited for inside. MARANTA. These very ornamental-leaved hot house plants are now known botanically as calathea, but it is not likely that we shall ever know them commercially as anything but marantas. There are many species, all from tropical America, entirely grown for their handsome leaves. They have creeping rhizomes and Avhen shaken out the roots can be readily divided. June and July is a good time for this operation. Some of the smaller growing species make beau tiful plants 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 chiefly 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 they want abundance 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 abundance of moisture. In win ter 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL 151 Metrosideros, the Bottle Brush. divided 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 gar dener will remember this old species, probably one of the first introduced. Here is a description of M. Veitchii, from Nicholson 's ' ' Dictionary of Gar dening. ' ' "Leaves large, ovate elliptic, over one foot long, very rich, glossy green, marked along each side the mid-rib with crescent-shaped blotches of yellow, soft ened by shades of green and white; un der surface light purple. Height of plant three feet. Introduced in 1866 from west tropical America. Probably the handsomest of the genus. ' ' But there are any number of other species with various beautiful markings, 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 steins, but also the backs of the leaves being armed with these needle- like protectors, and nearly all plants having this characteristic receive but scanty attention from the general pub lic, 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, ex cept that the latter is without spines, but the peculiarly wedge-shaped pinnae of the martinezia are arranged in irregu lar groups along the leaf stem, there be ing 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 dim- cult 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 recommended in such a case, an experience with kerosene emulsion some years ago on both martinezias and daemonorops 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 suitable condi tions for Areca lutescens, that is, tem perature of 65 to 70 degrees, moderate 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 for such use, though a large plant of this species would undoubtedly 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 de grees. 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 tangled up. They make a very quick growth and cover quickly a small trellis. The flower is not conspicuous, being of a greenish color, about two inches long. M. scandens, often called Lophosper- mum scandens, is a larger leaved, strong er growing climber, and one of the very best vines for our vases. The flowers are pinkish violet. This can be raised from seed precisely as we do M. Bar clayana, but we prefer to take a few cuttings from outside plants in the fall and grow on during winter. It roots easily from any part of the growth and by this means we get much more serv iceable 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 de grees. METROSIDEROS- Bottle Brash. This is one of the many hard-wooded* evergreen shrubs that we get from the Southern Pacific islands. The species we import is M. robusta, and its pecul iar, terminal, densely flowered 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 the last 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 attractive, 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 45 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. At the end of April cut them back to within an inch or two of the old growth and put them into a good heat and and keep syringed. They will make a bushy growth with a number of shoots. Early in June plunge them out J52 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. in the broad sun, well covering their pots, and in the hot weather don't let them suffer for water. In July or earlier mulch the surface of the pots with an inch of half-decomposed cow manure; this will add greatly to their robustness. Bring in before any dan ger of frost and keep in a temperature of 45 degrees; warmer if you want them earlier than Easter.. These will be far better plants and be much more satis factory 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 Ms garden as soon as the ground is dry, and makes another sowing later, in shallow drills in deep, rich soil. If continuous cutting 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 hun dred it must have a suitable place and room to grow. A solid bed in a light house would without doubt be the best place, but it can be grown very well on a bench in five or six inches of soil. 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 strong est plant. When a few inches high they will branch from the bottom 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 tem perature should never be over 50 degrees, and I should prefer it when heavy firing is going on to be only 45 degrees. There are few plants that will fill the bill more acceptably for an inexpensive Easter gift than a well-grown mignon ette. A 4-inch pot will grow a nice plant, but a 5-inch is much better. For this purpose sow not later than the 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 unsuccessful. The former is much the safer plan. Put a crock and a piece of green moss in the bottom of the pot and fill up sol idly 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 lightly. 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 cooler end. If showing flower 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 which will, if unmolested, soon chew up your young mignonette. This green worm, the larva of the sul phur butterfly, is so identically the color of the mignonette foliage that it is really difficult to discover it, and it will do great damage to the small plants that are intended for your winter crop. A dusting of the plants with hellebore or a teaspoonful of Paris green in a com mon pail of water, sprayed over the plants will quickly destroy the worms, so there is little excuse to let them thrive. I have never noticed that tobacco Bench of Mignonette. pots, and perhaps three small stakes is better, just to hold the branches from breaking. Don't attempt to grow mig nonette in a dark, ill ventilated house; you will only get weak, spindling stuff. Like many other plants, the more perfect the light and the more you can give air the less you will hurt with a higher tem perature. Mignonettes do not like transplanting; that is why they are sown on the bench where they are to grow, and in pots in which they are to flower. Simple as this plant is to sow outside as a hardy annual, we always sell a good many plants with other summer flowering plants. For this purpose we sow a num ber of seeds in 3-inch pots on some light bench in early March. Later we thin out to three or four of the strongest and in April plunge them in a mild hotbed, where by the 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 September get your double- barreled, hammerless 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, smoke did any harm to the mignonette, 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 selection it is better than when first obtained. But mignonette is very like asparagus; it is the growing and rich, heavy soil that make the giant or colossal qualities ; any of the strains are good when well grown. Besides new advertised strains, some standard ones are: Bird's Mam moth, Miles ' Hybrid Spiral, Machet, Golden Queen and Machet 's Perfection. MIMULUS. As a boy I thought there were very few plants so beautiful as M. luteus (monkey flower). I 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 propagated by cuttings. In a shaded, moist place it will do well planted out, and in a liberal size of pot in a cool house it would thrive, and when well grown its showy flowers will sell it. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 153 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 cover ing, 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 around the edge of a 3-inch or 4-inch pot, which they wTill 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. MOONFLOWER- Ipomoea Bona Nox or Noctiflora. This is one of the many evergreen ipomoeas that make us a splendid summer climber. We have seen pic tures of windmills in Georgia where the moonflower had grown to a height of seventy-five feet. There are many of these ipomoeas that make fine climbers for the conservatory and hothouse, and doubtless could be used out of doors in our summers, but the moonflower 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 sum mer. 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 protected 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 quickly grow and can be in creased by cuttings. There is nothing that surpasses the moonflower 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 chemical fertilizers are added to the compost. Its purpose is twofold. It feeds the roots and encourages them to come to the surface, which they do, feeding on the mulch which is applied, and it prevents the hot sun from parch ing the soil, which necessitates such fre quent watering. The good effects of an inch of cow manure applied 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 nourishment. On plants in beds, such as roses and carnations, it is a most important opera tion. The soil is shallow and the appli cation 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 prevents evapora tion. 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, how ever scientifically you have planted it, and to water on the 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 ex tending 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 mulch ing of newly-planted trees is of the ut most importance. Many young trees, evergreen or deciduous, shrubs and fruit trees, all alike, are saved from death by the simple and inexpensive operation of mulching. It is also the only way we can fertilize our hardy herbaceous plants. An inch or two of manure laid between the rows in early spring prevents drying 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 are required. Occa sionally we see a bunch of M. Cavendishii in our northern hothouses, and if I had the chance of some millionaires I would raise my own bananas. That would be as reasonable as Levi P. Morton produc ing 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 vessel or heated warehouse and finished off in the sleeping apartment of Giuseppe Gari baldi, the fresh yellow fruit ripened on the plant is as Mr. Morton's Jersey cream to a very thin sample of skim milk. You are not, however, .likely to embark in the banana industry, and as our gov ernment 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 subtropical 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 tropical plants, 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 un der a bench, or they will keep in a root- house or cellar when not below 40 de grees, but 50 degrees is better. In sheltered places they make fine specimens on a lawn with their broad tropical leaves, especially M. ensete, but iii windy places their leaves rip and tear, giving the plant a very ragged appear ance. MUSHROOMS. This word is used by some to include all the edible fungi, while many take it to apply only to the well known Agaricus campestris, all the rest being classed as toadstools. There are many edible fungi, but unless you are an ex pert you had better steer clear of them. Many years ago there was a writer in the Gardeners' Chronicle whose articles and tales of his wanderings in the Eng lish fields and woods were most charm ing. He was not only a dry, matter of fact botanist, but a writer of great fas cination. I think his name was Worth- ington G. Smith. Although it is thirty- five years since I read his stories I re member that ,in one of his articles he mentioned a banquet in London attended by a number of fungi enthusiasts where thirty species formed part of the bill of fare and none of the guests died from the effects. To none of these will this article have any reference, it is with Agaricus campestris we are dealing, the common mushroom of our pastures in September and an important product of our commercial greenhouses. It is a mistake to think that beneath a greenhouse bench is a place especially adapted to the growing of mushrooms. It is often laborious and awkward to handle the material to compose the bed, but few things worth having are ob tained without labor. Then there is often a drip from the plants above, and again as spring approaches a great fluc tuation of temperature and when sum mer heat comes the mushroom becomes maggoty. With all these drawbacks tons of mushrooms are grown under green house benches. The writer has often thought a regular and easily worked mushroom house would not be costly to build. It would need no permanent light and should be built so that it would re sist the winter 's cold and summer 's heat. The cold would be much easier to control than the heat of summer. We have seen many different places M'here mushrooms have been cultivated and a few are worth mentioning. One was a deserted beer . cellar many feet under ground, where the temperature varied little at any time during the year. It was an excellent place, although perhaps expensive to operate. Another was the basement of an abandoned malt-house. This also was successful, although it got too warm in midsummer. In many dry cellars we have seen them cultivated with success, but the ideal place in our opinion exists in the village of Akron, Erie county, J54 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. N. Y., whose chief industry is the manu facture of quicklime and hydraulic ce ment. There you find a deserted stone quarry from which millions of tons of carboniferous limestone have been taken out. Some fifteen years ago I wrote up my visit to these caves and afterwards I rewrote it, and again after a lapse of time I can recall the chief features of conditions and methods of that industry. You enter the caves on the level at the foot of a slight eminence, rising perhaps twenty feet at its highest point above the surrounding land. In a few seconds you are in dense darkness, but are pro vided with a torch. The .rock has been taken out to about eight feet in thick ness. In many places the strata you are walking on as well as the strata that forms the roof are as smooth as asphalt pavement. After traveling what seems a long walk, but is perhaps only 100 yards, the familiar odor of fermenting horse manure reaches your nostrils and soon you are looking at half an acre of mushroom beds, of course in all stages of development. The beds are placed on the rock flooring wyhere it is quite dry. They are sixteen feet long and eight feet wide and the manure is ten to twelve inches deep. The beds have the usual covering of loam, but no hay or straw covering; being perfectly dark there is no need of it. The cave covers an area of several acres and near where opera tions are carried on a hole has been bored up through the flint rock above and through the earth covering the rock BO that a team has only to drive up to this hole and dump the material down. The manure is obtained from several neighboring cities by the carload. This I consider a disadvantage, because the growers have no control over its treat ment before shipping, or accidents in the way of rain during transit. The president of the company told me the temperature of the cave did not vary 5 degrees summer or winter and the mean temperature for the year was about 58 degrees. I asked him when there was the best demand for his products. He re plied in June, July and August, because greenhouse mushrooms were then in fested with maggots and largely out of the market. The attempt to grow mushrooms is very fascinating, largely because of its mystery. While many of the opera tions a gardener enters into are gam bles, there is none so much a gamble as raising mushrooms. There is a mystery about it. Yoli may think you know all the essential points and even meet with success for several crops and then you are mystified by a total failure. You have deviated in some slight degree from conditions that were successful and you don't know where, perhaps a little too warm or a little too cold, the bed too dry or too wet, the material fermented too violently and many other causes not evident but sufficient to make the differ ence between success and failure. This should not discourage the man who has made up his mind to grow mushrooms. Keep at it and you will, to use slang, "get the hang of it," and failure after that does not often occur. Many a good thing is made or done without scientific facts, but from a sort of instinctive knowledge and experiment, and that 's the knowledge you want in growing mush rooms. The literature of the mushroom is aged and extensive. Never mind whether you study Abercrombie 's work on the mush room, published in 1779, or London's, written seventy years ago, or contem porary writers on the subject, they all agree on the simple and substantial points, such as proper material, tem perature of the house, depth of bed, covering, time of spawning, etc. All this is easily repeated. The mystery of the thing is to follow and that I believe no man can impart, but experience will teach you and when you have struck it right adhere to it rigidly. Here is what all authors agree on: The horse droppings should be col lected daily. If you have the facility to collect quantity enough to put in your desired bed all on one day so much the better. Keep it in a dry shed and turn the whole mass daily for eight to ten days. This is to prevent its violent heat ing. It is then in proper condition to make the bed. Choose a dry bottom al ways and where no drip will occur. Many writers say remove all straw from the manure. In the beds of the caves described they were not at all particular about this and there was considerable straw mixed with the droppings. Some modern writers advocate that at the last turning of the manure an equal amount of good fresh loam be added to the drop pings, equal in weight but not in bulk. As mushrooms were grown for years without the addition of loam we do not believe it a positive essential. Its ob ject is to prevent the bed heating too violently and we would recommend that loam to one-half the weight of the manure be added, and decomposed sod is better than soil from a garden because there would be less danger of dangerous fungi being introduced. Spread two inches of the compost on the floor, or whatever the be'd is made on, and with a broad smooth mallet or brick pound down the material till it is quite firm and solid, then add two inches more and firm the same way, adding successive lay ers till the bed is of the desired thick ness or depth. There is little difference of opinion as regards depth of bed, most authors say eight inches, some one foot. If much more than the latter depth too great a heat is likely to be generated. If less than eight inches the heat will be too weak and a small crop will be the result. I think ten inches of uniform depth is about right. A thermometer should be sunk a few inches into the bed and it will be found that in two days the heat of the bed will rise to 100 degrees, perhaps more. When the heat is declining is the time to insert the spawn, and 90 degrees is generally agreed as the right tempera ture. A blunt stick or dibble is used and holes three inches deep are made at four or five inches apart over the sur face of the bed. If the spawn is the English, which comes in compact bricks, then drop into each hole a piece of the spawn the size of a hen 's egg. If the French spawn or material from an old bed, which may be much broken up, then fill the hole half full of the spawn and tamp it firm with a blunt stick, filling up the holes with the same material as the bed. Do nothing more till nine or ten days after spawning, when two inches of good virgin loam should be spread evenly over the bed and beaten down firmly until you have a smooth, even surface. This loam covering is to keep the manure at an equal temperature of heat and prevent dryness. The my celium, or spawn, which should be vege tating before this covering of earth is put on, will soon spread and thickly occupy the covering of loam. The mush room is really the fruit of the mycelium. If your bed is exposed to the light, as it would be beneath a greenhouse bench, then it is usual to cover the bed with two or three inches of hay to exclude the light so as to bleach or whiten the mushrooms. If exposed to light the top may be brown, which would render the mushrooms less attractive or salable. In totally dark situations the covering of hay would be quite unnecessary. This completes all there is to say of the modus operandi to produce mush rooms, and as a cautious writer says, in six or seven weeks ' ' expect ' ' mushrooms. He does not say cut mushrooms, or you will have mushrooms, but ' ' expect ' ' them. And we can readily believe and know from experience that in many in stances the expecting or anticipation is greater pleasure than the realization. One important item remains., and that is watering. If the bed is not exposed to fire heat and the surrounding atmos phere is moderately moist, as it would be in cellars or caves, or even under a greenhouse bench, then seldom will any water be needed till you have cut the first crop of mushrooms, which may last three or four months. After that and after the manure becomes so dry that the mycelium ceases to vegetate, a water ing at a temperature of 80 to 90 degrees will often produce a second crop equal to the first, and in some cases if on examination the bed is found very dry a watering to help the first crop may be necessary. We all know that after a warm August or September shower we expect to find a fine picking in our fields in the morning. It is not so generally known that mushrooms bear seeds or spores innumerable that when ripe and detached from the gills float away to other pastures. Not many florists have the opportunity to study or read "London's Encyclo paedia of Gardening." I am the lucky owner of this great gardening work and prize the volumes greatly, for my father is the author of the article on orchids for Mr. Loudon, at that time little known plants. In his exhaustive article on mushrooms he quotes a score of dif ferent authors and it appeals to me that a few extracts might be amusing or entertaining and maybe instructive. On light he says: "Abercrombie, Nichol and most gardeners and authors consider light as quite unnecessary for the pro- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J55 Bed of Mushrooms. duction of mushrooms. It is very prob able, however, that it contributes in some way to their perfection, since in their natural situation they enjoy a con siderable portion of it. Our opinion is that it should not be entirely excluded from mushroom houses or beds. ' ' On gathering the crop he quotes Aber- crombie, who says: "When the bed is in full production and the season fine they can be gathered two or three times a week. Turn off the straw carefully and return it after each gathering. They should always be cut and never pulled, as by pulling many young ones may be destroyed. There are always a number of these forming or clustering about the roots of the old ones, ^'hich should not be disturbed." Wales says: "I have ever found the best adapted and most productive heat to be from 55 to 60 de grees, and the nearer the beds are kept to this heat the greater the success." This alludes to the temperature of the beds after fermentation has subsided. In conclusion I will say that a good part of the literature of the mushroom is confined to the production of spawn, but that is a business entirely apart from the cultivation of the edible fungus and one that is left to the specialist. The English imported spawn is generally used, yet the remains of an old prolific bed are as good as any spawn that can be bought. The mycelium or spawn ceases to vegetate when the bed becomes dry and then rests and remains dormant as it does in the manufactured bricks, which are dried and if kept dry will last in good order for years. MYOSOTIS. We are always asked for some plants of these in early spring. They do not last long in our hot, dry summers. M. alpestris makes a compact little tuft, full of flowers in the spring. You can sow the seed in August and plant in coldframes, where they will winter all right, but if you have any stock it can be divided quite easily and planted in coldframes in September, a few inches apart. For years we grew a very useful spe cies of myosotis for cutting in winter. 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 car nations except what strength it took from the soil, and that we could afford. We propagated a few dozen by cuttings in late spring, kept them in 3-inch pots during summer, and after the carnations were planted we put in a plant of myo sotis, not too thickly, one about every three feet. From them we picked sprays of their beautiful flowers all winter, am not positive, but the species was, I feel sure, M. Azorica. M. dissitiflora has large, deep blue flowers, fine for borders, but not so good for cutting as Azi rica. NARCISSUS. Some allusion to these will be found under the head of Bulbs, but they are entitled to some special remarks. The narcissus, especially of the trumpet type, is now quite as important a forcing flower as the tulip. The narcissus can be broadly divided into the trumpet forms, the jonquils and the Tazetta or polyanthus narcissus. Besides many true species there are innumerable garden hybrids. Besides these there have been discovered some splendid species or va rieties in old gardens of Europe, sur vivals of ancient gardens and of a day when great attention was given to these beautiful spring flowers. The Paper White is known to all ; it is our earliest forcing bulb. Neither bulb nor leaves should ever be exposed to frost. Can be flowered in early November. Many of the polyanthus type are beau tiful, but are not in favor with flower buyers on account of their strong odor. Narcissus poeticus is a very useful and pretty flower, but does not force well, that is, not as do our early tulips and trumpet narcissi. The well known daffo dil, Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus, is found wild in most parts of temperate Europe, and is supposed to be entirely hardy in our northern states. It forces well, can be flowered finely with us by the middle of January. The single trumpets are, however, the favorites of the day, and many fine hybrids have been produced of late years and given to the trade at a moderate price. The single daffodil, or Trumpet major, was for years our best forcing trumpet narcissus, but that is far surpassed by Golden Spur, which we had in flower this year by January 20. It is deep yellow in all its parts. Emperor, trumpet yellow, sepals pale yellow. Empress, trumpet deep yellow, sepals white. Bicolor Victoria; a splendid variety, and there are many other named varie ties, but a few of the choicest are all you need. Treatment for their forcing will be found under the head of Bulbs ; the same conditions that suit tulips will be found proper for narcissi with a few slight exceptions. The polyanthus sec tion must not be exposed to frost at any time. The jonquils will not force read ily before March, but the trumpet sec tion forces as easily as the early tulips. We have found in practice it was best to leave the tulips out of doors till the day you wanted to put them on the forc ing bench. This, however, is different with the trumpet narcissus, particularly Von Sion. You can bring in a quantity of flats of these and put them under a cool bench, to be placed on your forcing bench at intervals as wanted. I must not fail to mention one of the finest of all narcissi, expensive but grand. It is Bicolor Victoria, pure white perianth with yellow trumpet, extra large. To my surprise one of the leading nar cissus growers of Holland informed me that in his experience the trumpet nar cissi were not hardy as supposed. His assertion was: "The tulip is absolutely hardy, as hardy as the oak tree, but the Von Sion narcissus is not. I have known it to be killed by 12 degrees of frost. ' ' He certainly ought to know, but we should have said no amount of frost would hurt, but then again I could not be sure that we ever exposed the bulb or young growth to even that amount. Most likely we did not and I consider his caution worth remembering. NASTURTIUM. See Tropseolum. 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 some times for flower beds or long ribbon J56 THE FLORISTS' MANUAI/. borders, but are more valuable as vase plants, for Avhich their graceful but free growth and free flowering qualities are well adapted. They cannot be called drooping plants, 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 they don't root freely un less 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 interested in a knowledge of them. They are an important genus in that bacteria which are capable of digesting nitrogenous matter, if an insect, a fly or bee once explores the depths of the pitcher he is gone. They are incapable of climbing 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 condition 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 diffi cult to grow providing you have heat and moisture. I have enumerated sev eral of the finest and best known, but Nepenthes. 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 Dionsea muscipula (Venus' fly trap), from Caro lina, is the most familiar of the insec tivorous plants. Others are its close re lative, the drosera, of our northern swamps, and again the familiar sar- racenia. The nepenthes are called pitcher 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 remind you much of the large German 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 determined, but the fluid held in the pitcher contains 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. Eooted plants should be grown in hanging wooden baskets. Shade in the summer is necessary. Our summer nights are often too cool to grow the nepenthes well and a gentle fire heat is essential the year around. 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 fern roots and good sphagnum moss, rounding up the surface of the basket with good live sphagnum. The daily spraying will be sufficient without water, and in summer spray them twice a day. What they want is an atmosphere fairly reeking with moisture. The more moist your atmos phere the more your pitcher plants will thrive. The following all have grand pitch ers: N. Dominii, Mastersiana, Mor- ganiaua, Kafflesiana, Veitchii, Williamsii, 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 collection 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 pitch ers on some of the largest are eight inches long by three inches in width. OLEANDER-Neriom. There is a marked inclination among our patrons the past year or two to decorate their grounds, particularly where the grounds are confined 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 fine shrub is too often an unpleasant one. Some worthy matron may possess an oleander too large for her window, and she en quires how much you will charge to store it for the winftr. You are bound to charge about as much as the plant is worth, so the deal is off. Still, where you have a house entirely devoted 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 labor. It is no more reason able that we should take in a palm or sweet bay or an oleander for little recompense 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 Qf them in Bermuda. In the cooler parts of Eu rope they are almost entirely green house plants. 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 ana shifting on as required soon make large plants. It is with the care of large plants that we are most con cerned, and to obtain a fine lot of flow ers in the summer. The flower comes on the matured wood of the spring growth or previous THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 157 Otaheite O/ange, in Gilt Basket, Tied with Ribbon. fall, so the ideal treatment would be to store them in October, after flower ing, in a very 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 Xerium Oleander, and sev eral handsome varieties exist: Album plenum, double white; Henri Mares, pink, double; Madonna grandiflornm, 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 kerosene emulsion. In California the oleander is very popular, but a const. -nn warfare must be waged against the ever- present scale. 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, aud more than one winter can I re member that the old heating flues which ran beneath the white and spotless paths were never lighted. Such is, or was, the climate of the south coast of Eng land. 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 northeast corner, close by a veteran Fuchsia fulgens; opposite them were two bushes of the tea tree, a n< I 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 thou sands of blossoms, the single red a more beautiful tree than any of them. But the chief feature of this old house, that was torn down about forty years ago, Avas the large orange trees which were planted out in the borders. There were flowers or oranges in some degree of ripeness all the year around, and there were several varieties. Per haps it was the cool, dark house that Avas 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 Avere much superior to those that ripened on those old trees. Quantity there Avas by the bushel, but the quality was not tempting, and the writer was at that age when anything good to eat Avas tempting. An accidental (?) shake of a tree Avould ahvays bring a few of the big yelloAv felloAVS to the ground, but they suffered less from the omnivorous appetite of a fifteen-year-old than the peaches and nectarines in the same gar den. Yet we hear travelers and resi dents of our orange-groAving states de clare that the ripe fruit, freshly picked, is far superior to that picked prema turely and sent to our northern markets. This little diversion on oranges is not Avhat Ave are after, and Ave must cease. Small dwarf oranges in pots have been grown for several years past, and are now seen in all the florists' stores at Christmas. A plant in an 8- inch pot and tAvo feet high, well cov ered Avith fruit, is very attractive, and many people Avant one. We have not found them to hold their foliage as could be Avished in a parlor or sitting- room, but the golden fruit hangs on. It is surprising to how many people the orange tree is yet a stranger. The majority of our people don't know Avhether they grow like a muskmelon or a chestnut. The varieties of the orange are said to be almost as numerous as those of the apple, and tne large, fine flavored kinds, such as the navel, would not be precocious and free fruiting enough to make very small specimens in pots bear ing tAvo or three dozen fruits. The variety or species grown for this pur pose is, I believe, the Otaheite, which floAvers 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 groAv- ing of the plant to a specialist, Avho Avill 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 perhaps larger. I shall merely attempt to tell you how to pro duce another crop of fruit for the fol- loAving AA-inter on any that you may happen to have left oA'er. 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 Avill soon set, and from that on they want a light, airy house, plenty of water and only shade enough to keep the leaA-es from burning. Many growers, as soon as they haA*e flowered and the young J58 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. fruit is set, plunge the plants in frames out of doors and leave them there till the middle of September. This is doubt less better than keeping them under glass. We noticed large quantities in frames in August last in the city of Philadelphia, robust and healthy in foliage and covered with their then green fruit. In September or October the fruit will begin to color, and from that on they can be kept in a tempera ture 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 thoroughly understands the most en lightened culture of orchids, has adopted in its 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 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 disseminated throughout the country, and many of them were not the easiest species to grow, or even good commercial kinds. Cattleya Mossiae. 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 concerned. 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 successfully is something they may dream of but never achieve, so they think; but fortunately, much of this mystery re garding their culture is rapidly passing away. Special houses are no longer deemed essential for the successful cul tivation of orchids. It would be rash to say that orchids are among the easiest f plants to grow, because there is a wide difference between keeping them alive only and growing them to perfec tion, or as near perfection as we can with our artificial conditions. Yet it is the truth to say that no plant we grow will stand as much abuse or is more lifficult to kill, providing the neglect is not too prolonged. A commercial firm that, I have every reason to believe, Disappointment occurred in hundreds of cases, and for several years you have heard less said of orchids, at any rate, less favorable mention. But another change is about us. Many of our enter prising commercial men realize that orchid fl owers are going to be in de mand, whether they grow them or not, and many of them are going into orchids in a businesslike 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 valuable commercial species and - varieties. The writer cannot conceive that there can be a doubt of the ever increasing admiration and fondness for these flow ers, 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 aggre gate of our flower sales for the year. I am far from wishing to see the profit, or even liberal 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 busi ness 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 Calanthe Veitchii. THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 159 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 in quality and moderate in price, while their rosebuds are rubbish. The genera of which cultural direc tions follow embrace all the orchids that are desirable or essential for the com mercial man to handle. All can be grown easily and profitably, and the dif ferent genera, species and occasionally a variety, cover the entire season, giving you every form, color and shading of this gorgeous family, which may be called the birds of paradise of Flora's Kingdom. The student or specialist 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, Londpn, 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. This quality of peat is seldom found here, but a very good substitute is found in the chopped-up fibrous roots of our strong growing na tive ferns, a good quality of which, is sold by several firms, and this is the peat referred to below. I trust the would-be grower of orchids will dispel from his mind the idea that there is any secret or mystery in grow ing orchids. The cardinal qualities that will grow a house of roses will grow orchids — attention to the requirements of the plants, cleanliness, air, light, mois ture, 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. Wil liam 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 Eichmond, afterwards being con stantly associated with orchid culture in several places in the vicinity of London. After arriving in this country he was the practical cultivator of the wonder ful collection of Mrs. Morgan, 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 under stood 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 hardwood, 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- Dendrobium Wardianum. pelago, and requires a rather high tem perature. 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 resting season is from about November to March, after which period the temperature can rise 10 to 15 degrees as the growing season advances. They can be grown in either pots or baskets, but I prefer the latter. Fill the pots or baskets two-thirds full of clean broken potsherds or charcoal; place your plant well up and finish off with a good top dressing of live, clean sphagnum moss. Care should be taken to keep the plants clean; remove all de cayed matter from their roots and re place with fresh when occasion requires. Give a liberal supply of water during their growing season; in fact, they should never be allowed to become 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 be come useless. Aerides Fieldingii, a very free flower ing species with bright, rose-colored spikes, commonly called the fox-brush orchid. It generally blooms during June and July and lasts about three weeks in perfection. Aerides crispum, another beautiful species, a free bloomer and of easy cul ture. 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 spe cies, does well in a basket, blooms dur ing June and July, the spikes of pink flowers from twelve to eighteen inches long and perfectly round. This is a grand variety. Aerides odoratum majus, a grand ( variety, very free bloomer, beautiful, aromatic odor, flowers in summer, last ing about two weeks in perfection; should find a place in every collection. ANGRAECUM.— This peculiar genus re quires the same treatment as aerides, only they all grow best in pots and re quire abundance of drainage and plenty of moisture during their growing 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 mostly natives of Madagascar. The" following I consider the best va rieties for commercial purposes: Angraecum eburneum, greenish-white flowers, very sweet and very large, strong spikes; blooms during the win ter months. Angraecum sesquipedale ; this species I consider the best of the genus. It is a good grower and has large, peculiarly- formed flowers, with long white tails of ivory whiteness, and very fragrant. I J60 THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. have seen these tails from ten to fifteen 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. CALANTHE. — A terrestrial orchid, and many are also deciduous. They are best frown in pots, " well drained, and the ulbs well elevated. Pot in a compost 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 Decem ber and January. They require a brisk heat and plenty of water in their grow ing season. An occasional watering with good liquid manure is very helpful to them. Place the plants in a cool house a few days before cutting the flowers for market, as this greatly adds to their strength and color. They should be rested in the same temperature as they were grown, but withhold water alto gether until you wish to start them growing again. This variety is subject to thrips and should therefore be watched. Calanthe Veitchii, a beautiful sort, with large, branching spikes of flowers of a fine rosy pink color. Calanthe vistita rubro-oculata ; this variety has flowers the same as the pre ceding, only differing in color, which is white, with crimson eye. Calanthe lutea, a beautiful variety, with fine spikes of white and lemon col ored flowers. CATTLEYA. — This genus is undoubted ly one of the best for commercial pur poses, on account of its easy culture and the varied and extreme beauty of its flowers, which are produced at all times of the year and always find a ready saJe in the large cities. Most of the species can be successfully grown where a tem- Cattleyas Mounted in Various Ways. perature 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 sus pended from the roof, if the room is limited. All eattleyas 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 insure stronger growth and better flowers. Have plenty of air and moisture around them and you will seldom if ever fail to be satis fied with the results. 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 eat tleyas commences as soon as they have finished their growth, when water must be withheld just enough to keep the plant from shriveling. The white scale is an enemy of the plants, and if al: lowed to accumulate, will soon destroy 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. CattJeya labiata, one of the very best, from Brazil, with beautiful rose and crimson flowers, which come in Novem ber and December. This variety grows best in a pot. Cattleya Mendelii, a beautiful species from South America, flowers in April or May. Color white and crimson; will do well in a basket, and on no account over-pot this variety. Cattloya Mossiae; this fine, old spe cies is perhaps the best known of this genus, and should be in every collection. 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, suspended among the palms, will grow finely. Cattleya Trianaj; 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 gen eral favorite with all; can be grown oil a block. CattJeya Pereivaliana h a fine winter- flowering variety from South America, grows best in a basket or pot, profuse bloomer under proper treatment; should be in every collection. Cattleya Bowringiana, a magnificent species, producing on one spike as many as twelve or fifteen blooms of rosy 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 crim son lip and throat. Blooms in July or August, and will grow well in a basket suspended from the roof. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 161 COELOGYNE. — This genus has many spe cies and varieties, though very few are of much value to the commercial florist. The most useful is the beautiful 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 ma tured, when water should be withheld 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. Ele vate the bulbs on a compost of good fibrous peat, broken charcoal, or pot sherds about the size of hazel nuts, and sphagnum moss, and finish off with live sphagnum as a top dressing. Potting should be done as soon as the flowering season is over. This plant will do well in a night temperature of 50 to 55 de grees in winter. CYPRIPEDIUM. — This peculiarly inter esting 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 broken charcoal is beneficial, as it prevents 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 water 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 de light in a strong light. Most all va- Cattleya Gigas. rieties require a warm temperature. 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. Cypripedium Harrisianum, a fine hybrid, often flowering twice a year, is a fine bloomer and stronger grower than most cypripediums, therefore requires plenty of pot-room and should be grown in a warm house. Cypripedium Lawrenceanum, another species requiring a warm, moist atmos phere, is a good bloomer, with bold, straight stems and beautifully marked flower. Blooms in summer and autumn; do not over-pot it. Cypripedium Spicerianum, 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 mar ket. It requires a warm temperature, flowers in early spring, and lasts a long time. Cypripedium villosum, a grand species from India ; similar in color to insigne, but the flowers are much larger, and have the appearance of being varnished. This is a very useful 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 in clude 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 char coal or potsherds mixed with it. They require a warm temperature during their growing season, 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 ad vanced, when they may go into a little warmer house to flower. If this treat ment is followed up you will be seldom, if ever, disappointed in the results of your labors. Watch for the thrips on 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 fol lowed, but be sure you do not over-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, sus pended. Dendrobium nobile is a well-known old species from India, requiring the same treatment as Wardianum, but can, if 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 flowers of pure white, with yellow blotched lip on THE FLORIST MANUAL. the top of the stems, from two to five flowers on a spike. This variety 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 thrips, which is particularly partial to this sort. It is by many considered hard to grow, 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 Lselia auceps; 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 fixed 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 plenty of water during the grow ing 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 considerably cooler. Laslia 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 basket, has a grand spike of beautifully marked flowers, with crim son purple lip. Do not over-pot it and Freshly Imported Cattleyas. 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. LAELIA. — Of this genus only two species are useful to the commercial grower. watch out for white scale. This spe cies should be in every collection. LYCASTE. — This genus is of easy cul ture and can be grown best in a cool or intermediate house. Pot in a com post of good, fibrous peat and a little sphagnum and broken charcoal. Give abundance of water during the growing season; in tact, this plant should never be allowed to become too dry at the roots, even during its season of rest. The growing season is from about April to October. Lycaste 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 flowers of white, rose- color, and crimson, and 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 destroyed. 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. 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 ter, when possible. A northern aspect suits many of them, as they do not like the sun, and should in any case be shaded 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 spikes very often. Cotton-batting placed about the spikes is a good preventive. They are also subject to thrips if allowed to get dry. Odontoglossum Alexandra? (crisp- urn), 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 Miltouia 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 conies from Brazil and blooms freely during summer and autumn under proper treatment. 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 twelve to eighteen inches long of beautifully marked flowers, pure white, with heavy cinnamon spots. It grows THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 163 Coelogyne Cristata. ONCIDIUM. — This interesting genus is perhaps the most useful commercially of any for its gracefully delicate spikes of beautifully marked flowers, some of which can 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 ventilation. 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 delight to be sus pended 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 drainage. They can be grown in either peat or sphagnum, or both, but I prefer the latter for most sorts, with some bro&en charcoal. During their resting season 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 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 al most invisible lavender spots; blooms in June or July. Odontoglossum maculatum, a charm ing species that also comes from Guate mala, and produces its beautiful, erect spikes of yellow and crimson flowers during the winter. Grow in a pot in the cool house. Odontoglossum Phalsenopsis, 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 five large tiger-striped yellow and brown flowers. It is sub ject to thrips if allowed to become dry. Should be grown in the cool house. Odontoglossum Eosii majus, is a sweet little variety from Mexico. It grows best on a block, with a little fibrous 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. Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. 164 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. Cymbidium Lowianum. 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 ! ?.a-~a block if plenty of water is 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 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 \\Tinter 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 native of Guate mala. Although when in good health it produces very large foliage, I do not think it needs a pot or pan in propor tion to its size, as nothing is more in jurious to it than being over-potted. It requires careful watering during the dull months of winter, which is its rest ing season. PHALAENOPSIS. — There are many species of this genus, all beautiful, given. Oncidium incuryum, 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 Metxico, produces numerous spikes of beautiful yellow flowers dur ing autumn. It is a general favorite with both grower and purchaser and should be handled by all orchid grow ers. Vanda Suavis. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J65 Dendrobium Thyrsiflorum. 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 ted with pink. This is one of the best for market purposes and requires the same treatment as Schilleriana. 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 sphag num 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 grow ing freely. Give a little air when pos sible in "winter and plenty in summer. Some species bloom twice and even three times a year. The flowers have a de lightful 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 cserulea, the beautiful blue though many are not productive enough to warrant them a place in the com mercial 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 perforated pots, or baskets, well drained with good, clean potsherds or broken charcoal, or both, with a lib eral top dressing of good, live sphag num, which should be removed as soon as decay begins and replaced by fresh. As phalaenopsis delights 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 removed without the aid of a knife, and this is ;i very delicate operation, often re- suiting 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 sphagnum, and not disturb the 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; arid never allow them to suffer for want of water. Group of Vc ntJa Caeru1a. 166 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Cypripedium Instgne. orchid, should be in every collection. 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 flow ers 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. 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 purpose. 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 pendent 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 anywhere. OXALIS. A very large genus, of which a few are very familiar plants. 0. rosea (floribunda) and O. lutea (yellow) 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. They dislike a wet, heavy soil, and need a good, light loam, well drained, and an airy, sunny ex posure. In the fall give them less water, and for December, January and Febru ary 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 flow ers, all greenhouse perennials, besides a Laelia Anceps. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 167 The Lower Box Shows the First Layer of Blooms. The Upper Box is Filled and Iced, Ready for Closing Up. few that are annuals. The two well- known species mentioned are easy to grow and very free blooming. PACKING FLOWERS. The author might have called upon one whose business it is daily, and perhaps all day, to pack flowers, ' but since he received a letter from Chi cago a year or so ago which acknowl edged the receipt of a box of orchid flowers which conveyed the pleasant tid ings, ' ' The coelogyne flowers arrived 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, Horace 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! Gentlemen, 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 flow 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 express 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. Koses 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. If they have any distance to go there should be a layer of tissue paper be tween every row of buds, and in warm weather, with varieties like American Beauty and Ulrich Bruuner, every rose should be wrapped in tissue. The box should be long enough to take the steins 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 box 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 there is 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 flow ers 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 offer ing them for sale then you can lay them in the box in bunches of twenty- five, 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 twenty-five J68 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. and fifty, 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 tissue 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 flowers 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 and even if every flower was stuffed full of batting and every flower sur rounded with it, there would be a great many damaged flowers. We have found the best plan is to get a box of suf ficient depth and across it, say a foot from the bottom and the same from the end, fasten a strip of wood (an inch square will do). Then take half a dozen spikes of lilies and bunch them up with their flowers fitting 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 riot touch bottom, sides or any part of the box, or another bunch of flowers. The lily flowers will swing, but move all together, and will not bruise 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, Plants in Pots Prepared for Packing. cattleya, odontoglossum and co3logyne, but with plenty of batting they travel well and two days' journey to them is the same as two hours. The Lilium Harrisii and longiflorum are the most troublesome flowers to pack and have arrive without a grumble. If you let them rest on tissue paper their own weight will break their petals, they would swing into each other and many would be broken; but if half a dozen are tied together 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 have any chance to do so. Bulbous stuff does not travel well when unexpanded. You should not at tempt to pack them more than oue 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 pacjting, and there is a vast army of young florists who perhaps never handled one. The slightest tifuch of your fingers on the petals of a camellia would leave a mark. You had to handle them from the under side of the petals and in traveling each one had to lie on a bed of batting and be covered with a layer of the same. And the same care must be taken with gardenias or their petals will soon be a dirty yellow. Eueharis 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 mov ing. 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 October and November is when our chrysanthe mums are mostly handled. Fine flow ers 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 succeeding row lying just behind the 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 of 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 weather is considered, but when going a journey by rail in the winter months always pack for 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. This question of good packing is of great importance to the grower who ships most of his product to the whole sale house or commission man. The lat ter may be a very conscientious man, there are a few, but he can't possibly unpack all he receives and that is left to more or less careful help. Then your THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 169 Plants Prepared for Packing. shipments are nearly always at once exposed for sale. If they make a good appearance they are quickly snapped up. If crushed and bruised they are ignored. The packing is the crowning effort of all your work. There are other boxes besides pine now used for transporting flowers, but for very severe weather %-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. Newspaper is all right for the 'lining of the flower boxes, but should never come in contact with the flowers or the stems, for it will absorb the moisture from whatever it comes in contact with. Tissue paper only should touch the flowers or the stems. News paper on the outside of boxes is a splen did thing to resist the cold. 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 un dershirt (you may as well have the un dershirt, too). Paper is, although thin, airtight, and a number of layers will resist the coldest weather 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 mostly suitable for shipping flowers some dis tance. 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 de livers them, has not all this care and trouble. We know from experience that when we are quite sure our boxes will be carefully handled and promptly de livered, our carnations and roses and violets, mums or gladioli or asters, can be just laid in the box, giving them lots of room, and they will arrive at our store in an 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, whore he can store his flowers a day or a night before shipping. I may differ with some, but if the cellar is moist as well as cool, none the worse; for roses I am sure it is better to be moist; for carnations, perhaps not. Roses are cut several times a day when they are fit and should be in water a few hours before shipping. 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 evening, or if it suits better, to cut in the evening and ship in the morning, but never ship the freshly cut flowers. Violets we like to pick towards evening and put their stems in water, 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 get charged with water and last longer and are stiffer. Chrysanthemums can be cut a day or several days ahead, just before they are fully developed. Here again my experience tells me that if the cel lar is moist as well as cold it will keep the mums in fine order. 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 ment is heartbreaking. You have built the houses, watched and labored at the crops; perhaps through the curling smoive of a 10-cent domestic you have viewed your Flora Hill carnations or Marie Louise violets and through a hazy but pleasant daydream figured on the proceeds, pencilling on the nearest plate or rafter so many thousands at so much per hundred, and all this is wrecked by some poor or careless hand ling at the last moment. We are often called upon to send designs away by. rail. There is only one way; they must be so fastened to the box, bottom and sides, by wire that they cannot move, and lightly cov ered with tissue paper and protected from frost. If any considerable amount and the distance is not too far, it is always more satisfactory to send a com petent man with the flowers, to unpack and fix any little damage done in transit. When receiving a box of flowers that you think are frozen, put the box with out 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 store, when frozen, they would be useless. 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 admir ably 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-fashioned and antediluvian packers, but one 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 170 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. System of "Slatted** Packing, First Layer. in horticulture are so old-fashioned in packing a few plants. Possibly it's be cause the English 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 epacris or heath there would be more reason for it) are sent thirty miles to the Kev. Archdeacon Slowpay, D. D., The Frogs, Froging- ham, 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 Eussian mat or mats which with a large sail needle are care fully sewed to the basket and stakes to prevent a cyclone from removing them. The whole when completed would make a most comfortable dog house or coun cil chamber for a Lilliputian king and his cabinet. We must make one excep tion to these rather sweeping remarks. 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 puable quality of brown paper is best), a plant or bundle of plants is laid flat in the box with the roots against the end of the box. The next row is reversed so that the papers that protect the tops overlap each other and so you proceed 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 be fore 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 plants where the bloom is not considered is entirely satisfactory with the lid of the box tightly nailed down. In summer the sides and top of the 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 week or less, but it would never do to send plants this way in the hold of a vessel across the At lantic, for they would rot. Small plants that are wanted for im mediate use in the spring, such as gera niums, eoleuses or cannas, should be stood up straight 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 harm to the plants. These boxes, how ever 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 altogether if unprotected. When the express people see that they are growing 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 18x24 inches, of 1x2 pine, strongly nailed; these are the ends and to the bottom and sides of these nail 6-inch boards, any length, and when packing is done two or three of them on top. Except for the bottom, to carry the weight of the plants, %-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 re main in position. Palms and dracsenas of all kinds are easy to pack and very seldom can we make a complaint that any leaves are bruised or broken. If 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 Drought 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 framework built around them. In cold weather, or at least when there is danger 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 box, well wrapped in paper, and any moving prevented by plenty of pack ing- material, but when a considerable number they are better packed in the same way that we receive our azaleas, acacias, etc., so excellently packed, from Belgium, with this difference, that Finished for Closing Up. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. \i\ System of Upright Packing, Ready for "Closing In." while the imported plants 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 for 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 material, 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 from Belgium. They wrap well in moss, which is tied on securely on 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 crossing the Atlantic several holes a few inches square are cut in the sides and top of the box to let in a circulation of air; without it the plants would lose their leaves. It is very important 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 azaleas we received and a ship rodent had made a stateroom of our box, and from the twigs and mincemeat he had made of many of the plants he doubtless con sidered himself a first-class saloon pas senger. With our boxes of plants going by express a thousand miles there is 110 need of any air holes, in fact weather would not permit. Whenever plants are going away, sum mer or winter, they should be watered, 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 wrapping or pack ing 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 orchids. With cattleyas they put several small stakes around the edge of the pot and a stout one in the center, and every leaf and bulb is securely tied with cot ton-batting and raffia; a plant from J. Veitcb & Son of Vanda Lowii ten feet 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 for packing and we charged nothing. This was in Toronto in the Queens Hotel in 1891. He very naturally replied, not in coarse, horse- trading Yorkshire, but in genteel Eng lish: "Yes, I know, but your folks put the charge on to the plants, don't you know?" Now this is the natural and reasonable supposition, but yet largely it is erroneous, and in the great ma jority of cases nothing is tacked on for compensation. 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 "Closed In." 172 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. no need of any charge for packing, and if a man buys 100 geraniums of us in the spring, we are pleased enough 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 some where 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 lot of trouble and time to pack properly. Perhaps we will never make a specific charge for our packing, but there should be an under standing 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 forty 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 would get a severe black eye, figuratively speaking. PALMS. These are our chief ornaments in the conservatory of the wealthy, or the room or veranda of the more humble home. As fine ornamental plants they stand preeminently at the head. For many years they have been grown in hothouses and conservatories, but it is only within thirty years that they be came the plant for the million. In Europe hundreds of acres of glass are 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. I am one who has never seen the palms flourish in the tropics, but I have seen many species in the Botanic Garden of Kew, and Kentia Belmoreana. in proportion where much tying and labor are needed. This question will of course always be one to be decided by ourselves, and 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," other botanic gardens, where you have to ascend a 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 eighty or 100 feet high, and novel and majestic they must first ap pear to the traveler from the temperate zones, but they are associated with dark skins, a hot climate, crocodiles and poisonous insects, and the resident Caucasian among them would doubtless often sigh for his native maple, pine, oak or hickory, or a handful of his child hood 's flowers, the primrose, heather, goldenrod, 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, are much handsomer to me than the large but well kept specimens at Kew. Large specimens of the cocoanut palm, Phoenix dactylifera, Caryota urens, Latania Bor- bonica. 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 nothing, either in beauty or hardiness, that compares with the palm, and it is these qualities that make it so universally popular, and it is a popularity that there is not the slightest fear will ever recede. Years ago fine specimens were grown to be looked at, admired and discussed, and rarely seen in small, useful sizes. Now they are used everywhere and on all occasions. Besides the universal use of them to adorn the lawn and veranda in summer and the drawing-room and parlor in winter, they are now seen at every social function, marriages and funerals, receptions, dances, orations and commencements, store openings, dog shows, and Midway plaisances; some of the performances in the latter resorts being peculiarly Oriental, the palm ia a most appropriate adjunct to the trop ical dance, etc. Palms are widely distributed over the warmer parts of the globe, and the na tives of these regions have found a use for their fruit. The date palm (Phoanix dactylifera) is the chief sus tenance of millions. The milk and pulp of the cocoanut 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 country. We are continually told by tourists of the fine ehama?rops and braheas that are seen in California, and that most splendid palm, Latania Borbonica, thrives in the Channel Island, where only a few de grees of frost occur. It is this ability 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 suffocation 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 uneqnaled house plants. It would be quite interesting if some statistician could trace the annual in crease in the output of the palms for THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 173 Areca Lutescens. ** ' 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 Bel gium are handsome in appearance, 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 ma jority of greenhouse men as well, will find out (if that is not already dis covered) 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 subservient to quantity. They are stood very close together, kept very warm summer and winter, altogether inadequate 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 direct rays of the sun, is very marked. The former are run up with long leaf stalks, the growth is soft, and the color the past tUrty 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 variety, two or three. Then, when the best patterns or varieties came on the market and manufacturers and growers turned out so cheaply the best kinds, warranted not to break at the 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 Banger" paid for on the dollar-a-week, installment plan. Within a very few years some firms are importing a useful size of kentia; they are grown and we receive them in small green wooden tubs. These tubs are a vast improvement over the ordinary pots, particularly so when you have to use these palms in decorating. The light wooden unbreakable tub will appeal to you at once as having many advantages* over the heavy, brittle pot. 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 use ful species. We may have a colder climate to contend with in winter, a matter of trifling consequence in a house or acre of palms, and surely with proper cnre and management we havo Kentia Forsteriaoa. J74 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 the least susceptible to any harm from sun, wind or rain; in fact, they are grand plants for a vase or the center of a tropical bed. Some experience with kentias a few years ago may be of interest. A Cocos Wcddelliana. 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 latanias: they make an effective appearance at a decoration, but are so soft that a few journeys to ' ' society ' ' soon deprive 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, chamajrops and phoenix receive not the slightest injury in the broad sun. If allowed to get dry in 10-inch or 12-inch pots, they 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 well to put them out in the sun. They are better al ways under glass. The phrenix are the palms came very near being re turned. Being faithfully watered they made one or two new leaves during the summer, leaves which did not burn and now at the end of the fourth year they have grown into splendid specimens standing on the lawn every summer, and we have the satisfaction of being re minded often by the owner of these kentias: "You were right about the palms; glad I kept them, they are splendid. ' ' Temperature. All the palms we grow, either for sale or for decorative purposes, are na tives of a warm climate, and although submitting for weeks to a lower temper ature than they would ever be subject to in their native climate, yet that is not what they should be grown in. Men who raise thousands of young plants to sell to the trade must, to make it profit able, give them a good, high tempera ture, particularly in summer, although a slow-grown palm is much better than one quickly grown. A good tempera ture 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 daytime 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 daytime, providing you have plenty of air. Large palms that you keep for deco rations solely are better kept not higher than 55 degrees during winter. You don't want them to make young leaves Latania Borbonica. wealthy patron desired six large palms. They were duly supplied from a large Philadelphia firm. They had been stand ing in a warm shaded house and when exposed to our bright June suns burnt slightly. Then the cunning busybody came along and informed Mr. W. that they would never do out of doors and 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J75 Livistona Rotundifolia. and piece of green moss are enough for plants in a 5-inch or 6-inch pot, but when in larger, and more especially 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-inch or 14-inch, then the drainage is all right. If it does not, and it is slow in disappearing from the surface, then it is all wrong. In spring and summer, when making leaves fast, they want copious watering, but usually when thoroughly 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 watering 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 their growth, and then again it cleans their foliage of insects, more especially that nuisance, the mealy bug. If the house is paved with stone or cement, 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 rising, 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 upwards at the underside of the leaf. Constant syringing on such palms as 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 occasionally in the morning, and when firing hard damp down the houses; 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 confiding 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 you a good price for a 6-inch ken tia or latania expect it to thrive in the house a few weeks at least, and the plaintive cry of "My palm is turning Latania Rubra. 176 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 complacently as the departure of an elderly wealthy aunt. Palms thrive in a small pot compared 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 florist who keeps only a few hundred had better do his shifting in the months of March and April, when there is a strong roots. When shifting, lower the plant to the base of the stem, but not lower. It is never advisable to shift a plant, say from a 6-ineh to an 8-inch, just before selling it to your customer; far better let it go in the smaller pot and tell him it will do very well in that pot till spring; 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 laver of two inches of cow Kentia Canterburyana. constantly increasing temperature. Al ways pot firmly. Up to a 5-inch or 6-inch size this can be done by squeezing the soil with your fingers, but in large size, and particularly 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 fur one, raise the stems bv the manure. When this is 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 each bushel of the compost. Insects. If a proper degree of moisture is maintained and syringing properly done, red spider and thrips are seldom seen. If thrips are very persistent, then vaporize with tobacco several successive nights. Mealy bug is sometimes very troublesome and more often when the plants are crowded. If not removed by ordinary syringing, then have the plants brought to some nearby place, where water runs off quickly, and by laying the plant down and turning it on all sides with a sharp, strong stream they can be washed off clean. 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 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 thoroughly cleaned. You can see the large scales, but the very small ones 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 is also used, and applied with a sponge. Other methods are applying water to which has been added a hundredth of its bulk of nicotine extract, of a weak solu tion of/ fir tree oil; this also is recom mended by some. You 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 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 perfectly free from these pests, and whenever a new con signment of plants is received take such measures with them as will insure their being thoroughly clean before in troducing them among those already in his possession. As a preventive 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 suitnble size vessel filled with lukewarm water, 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 potted 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 sponged or syringed thoroughly with the same concoction. After this treat ment pot them up, syringe with clear water, 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 Areca Baueri. Verschaffeltia Splendida. are in too large numbers to go over them by hand, take five gallons of 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 deferred, while at the same time the danger of the insects spreading to other stock is greatly mini mized. ' ' Propagation. Palms are always raised from seed. Of our commercial species the cham- a?rops 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-mold, sand and loam in equal parts, will clo finely. Just cover the seeds, and place the pans over some heat. the compost is at a temperature 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-inch or li^.-inch pots. Don't pot them too deep; jusit to the base of the young j.hint. Keep close and warm till they 178 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 added that the seed can be sown very thickly, as the young growths go straight up and do not interfere with each other at all before time to pot. 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 temperature and the heavy shade prevents the sun from raising it in the daytime. A hotbed with the sash shaded will bring them along fast in the summer 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 Shading. In this place I might say what 1 should have said 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 all we can afford 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 which 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 Kentia Dumoineana. not forcing them because we also have the ventilators 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. Not as I have seen in some plant manu facturing establishments, fire heat with ventilators shut, 75 degrees outside and 110 degrees inside. 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 fee 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 1 would be the same as it would February 10. 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 shading, 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 collection. In mention ing some of the leading palms it is not easy to decide which to place first, for the graceful and finest decorative palm is not always the hardiest or best house plant, the latter a most important ques tion 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 Bor- bonica 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 fan palm and they would remember it. Peo ple who don 't know Begonia Eex by name know it very well as the beef steak 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. Forsteriana. These well-known palms are deservedly the most popular of all. Quick growing, splendid plants for the house, beautiful either when one foot high or twenty feet. Belmoreana is dwarfer and more compact than Forsteriana and has grace ful recurved leaves when well grown. This plant with light and room to spread is the very perfection of form. For steriana 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 phrenix alone excepted. Other species not so valuable commercially, but making fine specimens are, K. Baueri, £. Canter- buryana, K. Lindenii, K. McArthurii, K. Mooreana, K. Wendlandiana. Areca lutescens ; this magnificent palm is unrivalled as a decorative plant. It has bright, shining golden steins, with feathery and most graceful leaves. It prows quickly and soon makes plants of THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 179 Phoenix Pumila. 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, grace ful palms. Latania Borbonica (Livistona Chinen- sis) ; this palm has been in commerce 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 yel low 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 specimens 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 crowding and wear and tear of a decoration better than any other palms we have ever handled. For any unfavor able situation that a palm can be ex pected to thrive in at all, recommend a phoenix. Some beautiful species are not common among us, but they should be. The principal species are: P. rupicola; wide spreading, weeping leaf stems, with finely divided leaves. A rapid grower, most graceful 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 Weddelliana ; 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 make fine decorative plants and they thrive admirably in the dry air of a living-room. Livistona rotundif olia ; this neat little palm could be called a miniature La tania 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 decorations it can be used with good effect. The above palms include the principal species recommended to our patrons for conservatory or house culture 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 species have been selected and grown in such enormous quantities be cause they have the necessary qualities. They are easily and quickly raised, have a fine decorative appearance, are not easily hurt by the vicissitudes of our treatment, and are all good house plants. Other genera that are well known, handsome palms and 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 species. The Muru-Muru palms are best known. They attain a height of forty feet. The leaves are dark green above and silvery white below. A. argenteum 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 pla.n.t has the appear ance of a small latania. Two fine spe cies are C. palmata and C. atrovirens. 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. sobolifera and C. urens. 180 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Ceroxylon niveum, often called the wax palm, comes from the Andes. Hand some for subtropical gardening, and thrives in a cool greenhouse in winter. Chamffirops; low growing, compact 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 ideal plant when two or three feet high and as much through, for a tropical bed. C. macrocarpa is a very robust species, fine for any purpose where hu milis 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. Australis and flexuosa are two ornamental species. The handsome little Weddelliana has re ceived notice. Corypha Australis; a low growing, compact, hardy palm. Makes a fine plant. Euterpe; tall growing, graceful palms. those of the earyota or fish tail palms. Caryotsefolia 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. Phrcnicophorium sechellarum or Stevensonia grandifolia; this handsome palm is from the island of Mauritius and should be always warm; it thrives in a moisture-charged atmosphere. It would not be either a house or a decora tive 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 cov ered with long black spines. Justly con sidered one of the handsomest and most imposing of the whole race. ' ' Phoenix Rupicola. Would not be so useful as the kentias for decoration. E. edulis and E. mon- tana are the best. Geonoma, a very large genus of low growing hothouse palms. All the species are handsome, but not to be recom mended as house plants. The species gracilis has handsome slender fronds, resembling those of Cocos Weddelliana. Martinezia; medium growing palms, the segments of the leaf resembling Pritchardia ; this is a most imposing genus, but should always be kept in the palm house. The leaves are large and broad, fluted, and a deep green. The leaves of P. grandis when well grown are five feet across. They make but a short stem or trunk, but send out many of their remarkable leaves. P. grandis (or Licuala grandis) is the finest. P. pacifica has dark green leaves, covered with a white down when young; a fine species. Several other species are in commerce. Ptychosperma Alexandra? and P. Cun- ninghamiana ; these are known as the Australian feather palms. Tall palms of rapid growth, with fine arching fronds. In general appearance they re semble the kentias, but they are coarser in growth and much softer, and will not endure the rough treatment that the kentias will, which for all commercial purposes is much superior. But for tall palm houses the ptychospermas 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 kentia. Khapis; a useful genus of but a 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 decorating, and can be used on the lawn or in the tropical garden in summer. Khapis flabelliformis is the most useful. R. humilis is almost identical, but smaller. 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, natives of Central and South America, but they are not of any special value to the com mercial florist. I have never mentioned the flower of the palm, that feature by which botanists classify them into genera, because we 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 pho3nix (the date) and the seed of the cocos (the cocoanut), and the seeds or nuts of many others are edible. In conclusion, let me give my opinion that the use of palms, great as it is at present, is yet to be largely increased. The supply of the useful kinds has bare ly kept up with the demand in spite of great increases in glass area. The return to the greenhouse of a scrubby palm to be doctored or recu perated is one of the disagreeable fea tures 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 he is away, that 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 four years to make a respectable looking plant of their palm, and the charge would 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 tele- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J8J phone order to "do what you like with it, ' ' which means throw it away. If not, and you must attempt to make a plant of it, the least you can charge would be $1 per square foot of bench room per annum that its spread of leaves occupied. But let us hope you will have 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 Pandanus Veitchii. of the windows doing well if kept vn\ dry. When growing fast they want plenty of water, but if you have to win ter them in a cool greenhouse, say be low 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 cus tomers. From the fact that pandanus plants are natives of the tropics, a rather high tem perature is required to secure the best results, a night temperature of 65 to 70 degrees being best adapted to their needs, and during the winter months lit tle or no shading is needed, especially for the variegated species. A good loam enriched with old manure forms a satisfactory soil, and as the plants make many coarse roots it is found best not to pot them too firmly, and during the summer to give an abun dance of water. If grown in a moist atmosphere there is but little need for syringing overhead, and particularly dur ing the winter an excess of water may lead to an attack of "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 obtained there is but little difficulty in rooting them at any season, this operation being quick ened (as in the case of a pineapple) by keeping the cuttings rather on the side of dryness until they are calloused, very little of it, for the sight of a lot of scrubby, half dead palms is most depressing, and the occupation of jani tor of a pesthouse would be preferred to their care. PANCRATIUM OR HYMENOCALLIS. 1 have taken the liberty to confuse these two genera because there is only a slight botanical difference and pancra tium is an old world genus, while hymenocallis belongs to the new world. They are often called spider lilies. They are bulbous plants and include several species. Winter is their flowering time and with ordinary care the same bulb will go on flowering for many years. Like the crinums they should rest in sum mer. Use a coarse, fibrous loam with some broken up charcoal through the soil and repot if needed in September. When active growth appears they will re quire abundance of water. As they are evergreen the resting should be only a diminishing of the water supply. Spe- ciosa is a fine species. PANDANUS. For many years past some few species of pandanus have occupied quite a promi nent place among decorative plants, and this is deservedly so, from the fact that the members of this genus in general are not difficult to manage, and are also quite rapid growers under favorable conditions. The well-known P. Veitchii and P. utilis are two of our very best house Pandanas Utilis. water once a month only." "You mean once a week, Mr. H.?" "No, I don't. I mean once a month. ' ' We have noticed ourselves plants of utilis in rooms far away from the light and by giving them a fair amount of bottom heat. Seeds should be planted in light soil, .in* I placed in a warm house, and the .should preferably be set with the J82 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. bottom end up, this being the end from which the germs emerge. These seeds are a little 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 contain eight or ten germs, the latter being enclosed in cells of a tough, horny substance within the body of the fruit. Soaking of the seeds is sometimes resorted to prior to planting them, but I have not found any gain in rapidity of germination after soaking seeds of P. utilis for forty- eight 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- ceding, and is usually to be had in much greater quantities, owing to the readi ness with which seeds may be obtained and germinated. This species, like P. Veitchii, is native in some of the South Sea islands, notably Madagascar and the island of Borneo, and on the latter island P. utilis is said to reach a height of sixty 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 Pandanus Candelabrum Var. ( Javanicus Var.) questionably among the best variegated plants for decorative purposes, while its endurance as a house plant depends largely on the conditions under which it has been grown, for soft and sappy specimens have an unfortunate 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 satisfactory in troductions among foliage 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 pre- pots of 4-inch to 8-inch sizes, there being 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 little trouble in its management, unless it may be in those cases where an outbreak of spot is developed. The latter trouble is caused by the burrowing of a minute insect in the tissues of the leaf, and its progress seems to be favored by over- watering. If plants become badly af fected with this disease it is most profit able to throw them away at once, as they are likely to be permanently dis figured by it, but light attacks 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 hand- some variegated form, and a more recent introduction than P. Veitchii, having been introduced from Java in 1875. Our illustration indicates the very grace ful habit of this plant, the leaves of which are narrow and pendulous, and grow to a length of three to six feet, the white variegation being very clear and sharply defined on the dark green ground color. Unfortunately this plant is very thoroughly armed, the leaves be ing edged with sharp spines, while the midrib possesses another line of spines which are turned the reverse way to those on the edges, thus making it al most 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 abundance of spines it has never become a very popular plant in the trade. P. graminifolius is one of the small growing kinds that have 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 two to three feet when fully developed. This species is of tufted habit, being much branched, and having dark green leaves about half an inch wide, not so stiff as those of most of the species of pan danus, and armed with short whitish spines. P. graminifolius is readily increased by means of cuttings, and in 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, aoid gives an excellent idea of its general character. P. heterocarpus, also known as P. ornatus, is one of the handsomest of the green-leaved pandanuses, being a strong growing species with broad, dark green foliage, edged with whitish spines. The underside of the leaves of 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 spot, but with a little caution in that particular 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 native of the Philip pine islands, from whence it was intro duced about 1866. P. reflexus is another notably hand some species, and though one of the old est in cultivation is by no means com mon. This species produces very long and pendulous leaves, in a large speci men often growing five to six feet in length, dark green and shining and pro fusely armed with strong spines, those THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 183 on the underside of the midrib being turned the opposite direction to those on the edges of the leaves, similarly to the arrangement of spines on P. candela brum. 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 comparatively rare species that would probably be use ful in the trade if grown in quantity, being of somewhat similar character to P. utilis, but stouter in growth and usu ally more upright. The leaves of P. Vandermeechii are broad and stiff, dark green and slightly glaucous, the edges of the leaves and also the 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. Vander meechii was introduced from the island of Borneo, 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 and P. caricosus, but while both these spe cies are attractive, neither is of much value commercially. Pandanus Reflexus. P. Baptistii is a rapid growing plant, the leaves of which are striped with yel lowish 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 VARffiGATUM. A very pretty free growing, creeping plant with white and pink striped, pointed leaves. It requires heat in win ter 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 sum mer, either entirely filling the basket, or with other plants. Its variegation is pretty. Its cultivation is of the simplest kind, as it roots from cuttings most easily, either in the sand or a few pieces put around the edge of a small pot in any ordinary soil. Excepting as a conserva tory 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. THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. PANSY- Viola Tiicolor. 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. A doctor 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 other nationalities which I forget. He failed to find one that reflected the bronze features of our Pocahontas-likt Indian maiden, the real American girl, although 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 4of our American girls he has taken a 'large pale blue to impersonate the Bos ton type, and a large, ragged-edged yel low 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 allu sion to a lamented maternal parent. Now did you ever notice, good reader, that the youth who seldom or never works but who holds down a chair in some third-class drinking place all day, where a stray treat or two fall to his lot, and toward closing time a sufficient number of treats have excited his vocal powers and then with a squeak, or a rasp, with sloppy eyes and expression we are edified with a few verses, and it is not a song for the occasion, such as "We won't go home 'till morning," or something appropriate, 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 like wise. Nothing is said about father, but the motto of the house that this young man staggers 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 op pression and torture of bigotry, the fight for liberty, the emancipation by educa tion of the masses, and now at the close of this nineteenth century, in this "age of reason" and humanity, you see the humble but free citizen taking home his basket of pansies to make his little gar den prettier and to please the children. The cooler climate of Northern. Eu rope 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 Pansies. 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 dooryards and there is where you often sec them well taken care of. I have frequently heard Mrs. Buckwheat exclaim, ' ' I guess, Mariah, you didn 't wet them 'ere pansies last night. I see they be a drupen. ' ' They are raised in large quanti ties by some farmer-gardeners and sent to our cities in small baskets holding one dozen plants, and usually sold al the popular price of 25 cents per dozen. For this purpose the seed is sown in beds out of doors at the end of July. A very successful and large grower of pansies has told me that he finds about July 20 the most suitable date for seed sowing. The first part of pansy growing is sow ing the seed. We once thought the seed beds must be shaded. This is a mistake and the farmer-gardener alluded to who perhaps needs 100,000 seedlings, never bothers with shade. Prepare your seed beds by raking off all sticks or stones and coarse lumps of earth, leaving only a fine friable loam to receive the seed. Sow either in very shallow drills or sow broadcast and cover by raking in the seed. The latter is much the more expe ditious plan. Now those seedbeds can and should be in the broad sun, and watering must be never neglected. In two weeks the little plants will be up and so close attention will not be neces sary, but from time of sowing till the little seed leaves are expanded you may have to water the beds ten times a day. The surface of the beds must be con stantly moist. The advantage of hav ing these seedbeds in the fullest light is that the plants from their earliest in fancy are stout and stocky, which raised under shade it is almost impossible to produce. Kept watered they come along all right and make showy little plants. At the end of August or early Septem ber 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 dur ing our coldest months these strong plants (for they are strong plants in flower before winter comes) come through all fight, 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. When you get two weeks zero and be low on bare ground it goes hard with these little plants; thousands perish. 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 sterns upwards are an excellent covering ; they do not lie heavily on the plants. Whatever you use don't put them on early; there is never any harm done till the middle of November. Florists who have a demand for some good pansies by the end of April, either for those who have the good sense to plant early or for vases in our ceme teries, should sow not later than the mid dle of August. You can sow in cold- frame and shade the seedbed, but un cover as soon as well up or the little plants will be drawn. At the middle of September trans plant into a coldframe four or five inches apart, and after one good watering sel dom anything more is needed till the first of December, or even later if win ter keeps off. Then cover with glazed sashes, 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 sashes, and as soon as frost is out of the ground re move them entirely. The above method is only commended for those who can get a good price for THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. J85 choice early plants, especially for vases, and the care and labor bestowed on them warrants your asking double and treble the price of the field-grown plants. Yet the latter will generally fill the bill. After you have raised them and have fine beds in full bloom in the month of October, it is a shame to let them perish for want of winter protection. Straw is best of all, but if there is a deficiency of that the evergreen boughs are good, and branches of the common hemlock spruce are best of all. 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 wagon-loads 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 green house in flats in January or February, and by pricking out in other flats and giv ing them the coolest, lightest bench you have, and putting the flats into a cold- frame early in April, you will have plants to sell that for continuous sum mer blooming, if cared for, will be more satisfactory than either your own cold- frame or the farmer 's field-grown plants. I failed to mention that those sown out of doors in July will be ready to transplant into the winter beds in about six weeks, or as soon as they are large enough to handle. You are bound to have sown thickly, so transplant before the plants become spindling. The pansy, like all the viola family, is little af fected by a disturbance of the roots and immediately starts growing. About four inches apart is a good distance between plants. Give them a thorough watering after transplanting, and if the weather is dry a good soaking once a week; be fore snow flies you will have beds of stout, healthy plants, many blooming, and here is where their meek faces should appeal to you that they deserve an over coat of some sort through the long winter. Pansy flowers are favorites 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 45 degrees at night will do, and 60 degrees in daytime if 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 noth ing troubles except the hot weather. In Europe where they give 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 cer tainly, 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, 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 angle of it into the ground. The pansy is a cold-blooded little plant of the northern temperate zone, and it likes water. Above all, to pro duce fine flowers and a good plant it takes an abundance of manure. A good, friable 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 to pick off all withered flowers. It is not the flower that ex 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 thirty-five years ago, when the firm was Peter Henderson and James Fleming. On in quiry 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; that you can do yourself. The best of -every thing is either nature 's or man 's selec tion. It is a mistake to think that pansies must be discarded from flower gardens about the middle of June. During the summer of the Pan-American Exposition we had a dozen small pansy beds that were beautiful every day from May to October, but this was the result of faith ful watering and the removal of all faded flowers. The Giant Trimardeau is a large, finely marked pansy, but not of great sub stance. Butterfly pansies are beautifully marked. Other well-known strains are the Odier, very rich in color; Bugnot's Parisian strain, Belgian, German and English strains. Several of our own florists have selected the finest flowers from thcso and have now a strain that T prefer to any of them. Any grower can work up a strain of his own equal to the best. PELARGONIUM. .^11 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 its rich, hand some effect, it deserves all the popular ity that it gets. Magnificent plants for exhibition purposes were grown by sev eral of the English firms, chief among which was the firm of Charles Turner, of Slough. Plants six or seven -feet across, 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-inch 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 compared to the semi-double geraniums. The pelargoniums are much more troubled with aphis; in damp weather in spring without fire heat they drop their petals, and their season of flowering is not con tinuous. Two, or at most three, months of spring and early summer is their period of flowering; after that the plant makes a strong growth without flower. As bedding or vase plants they are useless and to use them for such a pur pose is a fraud on your customers. With all their lack of the ever-blooming qual ities of the zonal geraniums, they are far superior as decorative flowering plants, and they are frequently seen in the windows of the dwelling house, growing and flowering as if 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. From the end of August to the end of 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 breaking 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 cuttings with two eyes, one above and one be low the sand. They will root in soil readily, as we do our geraniums, but 1 prefer to put them in sand, either in the bed or in flats. Keep only moder ately moist, and after the first few days very little or no shade is needed. In five cr six weeks they will be 186 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. ready to put into 2 Ms-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 pot, previous to which they should have had their tops pinched out. This pinch ing, 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 February, 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 gera niums in 2-inch pots till after New Year's, and if they get hard and some what stunted no matter; but the show pelargoniums want the opposite treat ment; grow them on as fast as you can without 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. I don 't at tribute any advantage to the fact that on a shelf they are nearer the light, but I do realize that on the shelf they get a purer, warmer and altogether bet ter circulation of air, and that is why these and many other plants show a great improvement when raised up on a shelf. By January they will be stout plants with several side shoots, and be fore the end of the month should be shifted into their flowering pots, 5 -inch 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 little water, but in the bright and warmer days of spring they will take plenty. Avoid 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-inch or 6-inch pots, or larger, give them a crock and piece of moss for drainage, as they never want a wet, soggy soil. From a 4-inch to their flowering pot they 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 say that from the middle of November to the first of March 45 degrees at night was just what suited them, and 50 de grees at night by fire 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 dampness by fire heat or you will lose the blooms. Nothing troubles them but aphis, but unlike the common geraniums they are much troubled with it and must be con stantly and regularly fumigated. To bacco does not hurt them in the least, so there is no excuse for their being injured by greenfly. The old plants that were cut down in 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 quite small, say in three weeks 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, Tree Peony Queen Elizabeth. warm house, can be had in flower by April 1. They can be used as one of our Easter plants, although there are many other plants that are to be pre ferred. Pelargoniums can be 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 September. There has been a great improvement in the pelargonium the last 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 difficult 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: Crim son King, an early red; Gen. Taylor, same color, but brighter and an improve ment; Desdemona, an early, free flow ering white; Lord Clyde, scarlet, with maroon blotch; Ketreat, rose, white center. Of the semi-double flowers some of the best known are: Capt. Eaikes, 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 smaller leaves and smaller flowers, but borne in the greatest profusion. The plants have a neat, compact habit, and we have found them to be grand window plants. 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 flowering 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 most desirable plants and there is of late a returning 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 lavender, lower white. It is a most beautiful plant and we frequently see them in the win dows of the village home flowering for months. Any of the fancy flowers are fine and the few varieties of the other sections mentioned are merely what I remember; there are hundreds of varie ties. 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. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 187 PENNISETUM. Within a few years these free flower ing dwarf grasses have become very popular. There are many species, but only a few are used in our summer flower gardening, where they are a great addition to our subtropical gardening. The best of them all is P. longistylum. They are easily raised from seed which should be sown soon after New Year's, Larger and stronger plants can be pro duced by lifting some old plants be fore frost, preserving them in flats dur ing winter and dividing them towards spring. PEONIES. While there are many species of this popular genus there are only three that have come into popular favor. These are Pasonia albiflora, P. Moutan and P. tenuifolia. Paeonia albiflora, the Chinese hardy herbaceous peony, is the section the florist is mostly interested in. P. tenuifolia is interesting and can be used with good effect in the herbaceous garden. Its finely divided foliage is very distinct, with solitary terminal flowers. The typical color is scarlet or crimson, but other colors have been produced of late. The Moutan section is the so-called tree peony. These varieties are shrubby and much branched. The double forms have beautiful flowers. Most of the varieties now in cultivation have large double flowers of various colors. They are propagated by grafting the dormant eyes on strong roots of the herbaceous species. The tree peony makes a hand some subject for the lawn, or is fine in masses in a bed, and it also is much used for forcing for conserva- A Nursery Block of Peony Festiva Maxima. tory decorations, but it will scarcely pay the American florist to attempt the forc ing of this showy plant. We have tried it. In the first place the plants of useful size are expensive, and if not large enough to give you a profusion of bloom they are not attractive. If the practice of grafting the tree peony be comes common in this country and moderately bushy plants can be pur chased from specialists at a reasonable price, they would soon become popular forcing plants. Pseonia albiflora, the herbaceous peony of China, is the commercial plant which of late years has grown greatly in popular favor. It comes from China, northern Asia, and Siberia. This ac counts for the extreme hardiness. The single varieties are the typical form and have wide-spreading petals with a bunch of yellow stamens and anthers in the center, making a very showy flower, but it is the double varieties that are in fashion and demand. Of these there are hundreds of garden varieties, so a list of names given today may be out of fashion in five years. All I shall say about varieties is that at least seventy-five per cent of all you plant for cutting should be white and light pink. There is great variation in these shades, so consult the catalogues of the peony specialists. If planting with the intention of dividing and selling divisions of the roots, they can be planted three feet apart each way, or even closer in the rows, but if planting for future cutting of the flowers, then four feet apart each way is little enough room. While the peony will exist in almost any soil, it will give only poor flowers in a shallow, sandy or gravelly soil and it should be deep, heavily manured and inclined to be moist. To get the best results the soil should be not only ploughed or dug, but it should be trenched to a depth of two feet, work ing in thirty tons of cow manure to the acre. Frequently in our northern summers we get a protracted spell of dry weatuer the latter part of May and early June; then ~the peony blossoms suffer. I have seen them much injured at this time in a dry spell, so if plant ing for cut blossoms it would be well to choose a piece of ground with a slight fall to the south, so that when occasion arrives you can irrigate the plot. No other means of watering would be practical or efficient. Peonies do very well in partial shade. Bordering a plantation of hardy shrubs and shaded by trees, they are very satisfactory; but for the com mercial man, give them the full sun. Next to a deep, rich soil is the necessity of keeping the peony field clear of weeds and, therefore, if the plants are planted four feet apart each way in straight rows, much of the clean ing and cultivating can be done by horse cultivator, leaving only a small space to be tended with the hand hoe. If the dandelion and other coarse weeds and grasses are allowed to get a foot hold in the crown of the peonies, they will be very troublesome, so they should be kept rigorously free of weeds. The herbaceous peony sends up long, strong flower-stalks mostly terminating in four to six buds. The largest and most perfect bud should be selected and the others removed unless you wish to have some flowers later, when later buds can be left and the others removed. Peonies should be cut in the bud state and kept for twenty-four hours in a cool room or cellar. If allowed to »pen J88 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. Howard's Star Petunias. in the field they travel badly and soon have a wilted appearance. Their sea son of use is often prolonged by cutting the flower stalks and buds when quite tight, or as soon as the buds show color, and keeping them in water in cold storage, a degree or two above the freez ing point. They are propagated or increased most easily, either in early spring or fall. September or October is the most favorable time. If you wish to slightly increase your stock you can divide strong clumps into two or three sec tions, but if desirous to greatly increase some choice variety, any piece of strong root with an eye will do and in three years from a single root and eye you will have a strong clump of flowering roots. The autumn is the most favorable time for planting peonies, and it is then nurserymen usually ship. FORCING. — To me it is doubtful if forcing of the peony can be made profit able. If you receive an order for some special occasion you would have to get it two months ahead of time. The forc ing of peonies is exactly like that of rhubarb. The roots should be dug be fore frost, placed in a coldframe and protected by some material like light stable litter or leaves, and brought into heat about eight weeks before the flow ers are wanted. We think that the price obtained does not warrant the operation, unless for a special occasion, and then notice must be given in time. The extent of the latitude of our con tinent admits of the peony being in sea son for several weeks. The southern flowers command a high price and grad ually the flowers of Pennsylvania, Ohio, southern New York, and at last our northern flowers, are coaxed into blos som by the strengthening sun, and wherever they blossom they are favorites and in demand. One word of advice to the florist of small ground or capacity — fifty clumps of well cultivated plants will make you more profit than an acre of neglected peonies. 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. pubi folia 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 tempera ture for weeks without any apparent harm. A pan of these beautiful little plants is very attractive and their fleshy, succulent leaves enable them to with stand the dry air of a living-room bet ter 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 rockwork 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 Bex, 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 illustrated herewith makes a compact plant of great Peperomia Saundersii (P. Arifolia Argyreia). THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 189 beauty. All the species that are de sirable for the commercial florist can be said to be of easy culture. PERILLA NANKINENSIS. This strong-growing foliage plant is useful for subtropical flower garden ing. It has dark bronze 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 variety 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 effective 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 seed. Obtain the best strain you possibly can. I have received seeds from a firm that were splendid, hardly two flowers identical 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 forty per cent double flowers, and that will leave you plenty of single. There are some distinct strains that come true in form and color. A New York firm advertises a strain called Adonis, valuable for bedding, medium size flow ers of a carmine color. The California strain of doubles is magnificent. 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 ob tained. 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 Herbaceous Phloxes. 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 cuttings, 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 reed a small stake to support them. Many such plants are sold in our markets. Seedlings are the cheapest ard most satisfactory. The seed of the petunia is very small. Sown in early March on a well watered, fine surface, no cover ing 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 days 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 the end of April we give each plant a 2%-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, but 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 bedding 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 elevations, for they want a high temperature at no time and grow and flower weeks after many of our bedding plants are killed. PHLOX DRUMMONDIL This is one of the very best of our summer annuals. There are now mag nificent strains of distinct colors, and w here large masses of brilliant color are desired there are few plants equal to this dwarf phlox. In very dry sum- 190 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. mers they go out of flower, so they should be within reach of the hose; and the dead flower heads should be picked off. For culture see Aster. In making a flower bed put the plants five 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 they are among the best of our hardy border plants. These fine varieties are obtained from several species: P. suffruticosa, P. maculata and P. paniculata. They are not of great value as cut flowers, but you will never make a mistake in rec ommending them wherever a hardy border flower is wanted. New varieties 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 the hardy clove pink is a favorite with all. Her Majesty is a splendid white, and Abbottsford is an equally fine pink. With our continuous blooming carna tion they would not be of value to force, but are most useful to pick in the sum mer 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 October, 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. POINSETTIAS. The showy Poinsettia pulcherrima is now botanically classed with the euphor bias, 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 subjected to a low A Bench of Poinsettias. are so many fine 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 variety of almost all shades of color, and their flowers are as large as our carnations 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, but without going into them, we can grow a good assortment of colors and temperature. Since its introduction it has been a favorite in all collections of hothouse plants, its brilliant scarlet bracts making it unequaled as a decora tive 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 poin settia may be 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. When cut the bracts of the poinsettias, as well as the foliage, will often wilt badly and when used for decorating this is very disappointing. This can be pre vented to a great extent by putting the stems as soon as they are cut into very hot water. If the ends of the stems are immediately immersed in almost boiling water and before there has been any wilting the flowers and foliage will stand up in good condition. Some growers, to carry out this method faith fully, will carry a pail of hot water around the house with them to receive the stems the moment they are severed from the plants. Although their fine leaves soon drop in a dry room, the showy bracts remain on the plants 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 sea son" 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, potted into 4-inch, 5-inch 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 another break will give you another lot of cut tings. As most of your cuttings will go into the sand after you have dis continued firing, there will be no bot tom heat; so the cuttings want shade and the sand must have a thorough 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^ -inch 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 warm months the greatest possible amount of fresh air. The old plants that you are propa gating from can after June 1 be plunged outside, and cuttings taken from out side growth make better plants than those grown inside. You can propagate at intervals till the middle of August, the last cutting struck making fine dwarf plants. We seldom make use of the old plants, but shifted on in Septem ber and given plenty of heat and light they will give you a number of medium size flowers. Or if you have a spare bench or bed with six inches of soil, plant out the old stumps. The vigorous growth they will make will surprise you. They will when planted out thrive and flower in a much lower temperature than the plants in pots, but to have in bloom at Christmas they must have 60 to 65 degrees at night. It is well known by all growers of these plants that they will endure 10 degrees lower tempera ture when planted out where the roots have abundance of room. j..ie 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 calls the bloom. Two shifts are enough; THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 191 A Pan of Poinsettias. from the 2% -inch 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 the end of August, the very latest propagation often making most useful little plants. The poinsettia is very unsightly with out 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 degrees at night is the lowest they should ever be) ; second, starvation at the roots, either through an impoverished soil or insufficient root room, and third, as common a cause as any, their roots being disturbed after they begin to form their bracts. A very important point to re member is that they should have their last shift never later than the middle of October and two weeks earlier is bet ter. 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-foot to 6-foot stems are desired, you can plant out in six inches of rich soil some thrifty young plants in August. In this way you can get bracts twenty to twenty- four 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 \\ater will touch them, and allowed to rest perfectly dry till started again the following May. This is an important point. Florists who are strangers to the poinsettia are afraid to let the plants become as dry as is good for them. From New Year 's till at least the middle of April the soil in the pots can be dust dry. If you are starting to grow them get plants that have been grown in pots. They will give you better cut tings and more of them than the plants torn up from a bench. There is a so-called white variety seen occasionally which is certainly not worth growing, and there is a variety named P. pulcherrima plenissima, 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 although not mak ing such a wide stretch of bracts is most desirable in every way. Of late years most of the poinsettias sold as plants are grown in half pots, or as we know them, azalea pots. These pans are more attractive than a single plant in a 5-inch or 6-inch pot. A few small Boston ferns planted in the pans will add immensely to the at tractiveness of the arrangement. To make a good pan the cuttings are put in the sand the .latter half of August. After the little plants have started to grow in the 2*A-inch pots select five or six plants of uniform size and vigor that will insure you a handsome pan. If you put the rooted cuttings from the sand into the pan there might be some failures and blanks. In concluding this article the subject of which we have been growing for thirty-five years and have known for many more, I must pronounce the poin settia a very easy plant to grow (a warm house is the only requisite), and one of the most profitable plants we handle, and it is yearly increasing in popular favor. 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 fifty-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 who 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 fifteen years old and made experts at it, but when over twenty 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 sees at a glance that a plant needs shifting and the size shift or pot it wants. It is the mechanic that expertly shifts the plant from the 3-inch 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 favor able 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 horti cultural centers. We must put up with a slow gait sometimes, but I have suf fered more than once by right down bad and careless potting; carelessness is not the word, it is right-down stupidness, thick-headedness, with awkward-handed- ness. 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 itch ing of the skin and the mastication of a large lump of profanity that has to be 192 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. swallowed instead of coloring the at mosphere. You will see a man take hold of a cutting between his finger ana 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 bot- ton 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 revolutions of the pot and a few extra pressures 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 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 the little rodent. When potting see that your soil is 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 plow share 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 excellent plan to dip all new pots a moment 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 sometimes ex pensive. Piled up in neat rows with some 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 morning after his arrival at Dothe- boy '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 Primula Obconica Grandiflora. in just the right consistency. It should never be too dry, and to be wet and sticky would be ruination. Some 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 Avhen thrown on the' bench it would crumble to pieces. That is just about the same condition 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 somebody 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 be cause we see plants thriving in a green 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 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 perpendicu larly 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 the 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, who 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 moment on the edge of the pot, fill the pot nearly a third full, and then lean the plant toward you and put in some soil, give the pot just one half turn and lean the plant again toward 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 put the soil solid all around the ball, firmer near the bottom, because 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 0-inch, especially with those that get a small shift, say 6-inch to 8-inch or 10-inch to 12-inch, you 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 of an 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 be shift ing plants within a few minutes of their being watered, but it would be far 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 thor oughly soakp d, which all plants won 't stand. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 193 Primula Veris. We are able to shift a plant from a 4-inch to a 6-inch or 6-inch to 8-inch with absolute safety at any time, because when properly clone the plant does not lose a fiber, but many of our soft- wooded plants soon recover from a little disturbance 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 it should be kept very near the same height. This is particular in palms; they should never be potted below the base of the stems. Many palms will raise themselves several inches above the ground by the roots. Lower them down when shifting, but not below the bottom of the stem. The best work of potting I ever kept the watch on was done by an expert at any greenhouse work. It was very com mon 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 lamplight. For the first week or two after Easter we ^requently have to put in some ' ' bees, ' ' and during several evenings last spring, two men in three hours, with plenty of help, shifted 2,500 geraniums from 3-inch 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 expertness and smartness will apply to all of them. 1 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 cytisus, and this man makes them growr. 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 noticed 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 upside down. Perhaps some will say that in our com mon plants in springtime anything will do. It may do, but in the aggregate the difference in the result between the right and the wrong way will be con siderable. 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 spring to it. And it should be high enough so that a man can work his hands conveniently without bending his back. It is the bend ing 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 have 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 oxlip (P. elatior) was still less common. Many primroses are hardy with us, but our severe winter, and often hot, dry summer, are 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 it you plant a cowslip or common prim rose upside down it will come red, double, etc. This strange phenomenon never oc curred in the garden that you are visit ing, but it did happen, because our Aunt Jane or old Bill Jones did it many times. The polyanthus is sometimes seen do ing very well here, and where it can be shaded, but not in a wet soil, and pro tected in winter, it is a most charming 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 de signs, but we have gotten over that, and although we had no difficulty in cutting 194 THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 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 propa gation. We have now a double white equal to the old variety from seed and have every shade, double and single, from pure white to crimson. The varie ties of P. Sinensis come true from seed and it is upon such we depend for our fall, winter and spring flowering plants, and they are now one of our most im portant plants. Besides P. Sinensis we have P. ob- conica and P. Forbesii, the baby prim rose. For some years we did not realize the great beauty and usefulness 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 fine window plants, and being easily raised can be sold at a very moder ate price. Other species may be found very attractive 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 begrudge paying - for a good strain.* The foliage as well as flowers of the P. Sinensis are hand some. We have fern-leaved, parsley- leaved, curl-leaved, and in flowers most beautiful colors and markings. The flow ers of obconica have been greatly im proved 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 seedpan 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 moderately firm. The leaves, or rather, leaf stems, break easily and here is where careful and skil ful 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 fingers, and you can pro tect every leaf. I noticed some years ago that the English florists had small sticks pushed down on three sides of the stem of the primula just after shift ing, to keep them from wobbling about, as they were potted what we would call ' ' high. ' ' We never found any neces sity for that, for they can be potted with care just right, sufficiently deep to hold them firmly upright, but not by any means to bury their crowns. This is particular; don't get them too low, but just so that they sit firmly on the soil. If you wish to have primroses by October you should sow in April, and if you wish to have them in spring you should sow again at the end of August. You can with care sow any time from March to September. We usually sow about May 1, which gives us flow ering plants from November on to March, after which we think there are 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 coldframe is an excellent place to summer over the primroses. With the glass shaded and the sashes 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 lightly ; 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 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 coldframe, then give them a bench where it is shaded overhead, and they can get plenty of air. By the 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 de veloped, but to grow a fine plant they 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 the spread of their pretty leaves, or they are useles. They need little syringing, 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 seedpan to flowering. The soil should be always in that condi tion that it will take plenty of wTater. 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 growing 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 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 rhododendron warranted (till the bill was paid) to grow and blossom even more beauti fully 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 are , any number of good, honest, hardy shrubs. It is said that the rhododendron, or any of the Ericaceae order, will not thrive where the soil is impregnated with iime. So there cannot be lime in some parts of the Alleghany mountains, for there the kalmias cover the moun tain side. R. Catawbiense is widely distributed 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 forcing plants that we are chiefly interested in them. They take up much room and we have several times declared we would leave them alone, but as the drummer pays his annual visit we relent and say: "Well, we will try just 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. For the past two or three years well flowered rhodo dendrons of medium size have sold well. The rhododendrons that you see planted by the landscape gardener (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- riponed wood, by laj^ers and by graft ing. The last method is the usual one to increase the fine named varieties. The business of propagating and grow ing the rhododendron is a specialty with those who have the suitable soil, such as the fine peat of Surrey, Eng land, or the black peaty soil of Hol land 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 fine young plants, well set with buds, that 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 azaleas are, with proper treatment, much better plants the second year. When potting the newly imported plant 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 firmly around the old ball and store the plants 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 t'.ie azaleas they would come along in a cool house. They wron 't do it; THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 195 Bed of Callas. 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 i-ountless 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. When you realize that the rhododen dron is perfectly hardy, you will under stand better the treatment the plants need before you start to force them. You will frequently see them put at once into the greenhouse, perhaps at a night temperature of 50 degrees. This is waste of room and is uncalled for. A cold shed or coldframe where shad ing can be applied is just as suitable for them, but when you do start to force they need a brisk heat. 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 yon see the buds set you can plunge them out of doors for the summer and re move to a cool house when 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-inch or 6-inch pots, keeping them in a frame as long as there is no danger 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 decomposed cow manure. They want lots of syringing and fumigating, for thrips and red spider trouble the leaves. If you want to raise some specimens that will require a 9-inch or 10-inch pot and bear three or four flowers 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 at the end of September 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. They can be kept during the winter in 3-inch pots and in May shifted into 5- inch and plunged in a frame. They want a copious supply of water during summer. It is remarkable the strong flowering plants you will get from these little bulblets in a few months. As previously said, the calla, when planted out and given liberal space for root growth, is inclined to grow very strong and give few flowers in the dark days. In the bright days of spring you will get lots of flowers from these beds, but the flowers are often of unwieldy size. Growing a good strong corm in a 6- inch or 7-inch pot during winter in a bright, warm house will be found as practical and profitable as any method. The calla tubers will bear resting or allowing the soil in pots or beds to be come perfectly dry. Those grown in pots are usually placed outside in June on their sides so that the soil may be come dry. The top withers and they are kept in this state till early Sep tember, when they should be shaken out, given new soil and started grow ing, and will soon flower. For this seemingly unnatural rest they are not in the least any the worse in health or vigor. Eichardia 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 growing in February. Keep rather dry till leaf growth begins. In June plant them out, lift in fall and store in dry soil till time to start again. There is a magnificent yellow calla; it is B. 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 sev eral years ago by the late George Sav age, of Bochester, with the advice to start it in sand and give little water till growth began. This was good ad vice, for the following June it threw i-p a gorgeous bloom. They should be dormant 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 the following spring. This is such a magnificent 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 fine 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- iuch or 4-inch pots. There are now several varieties. J96 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 flow ers. 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 favorite love, the rose. In this country Mr. H. B. Ell- wanger, and others, have published volumes on the rose. And for centuries the literature of the rose has been pour ing 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 longer a sanguinary war between the roses of York and Lancaster, in which thou sands perished and a fair island 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. grace of form, the beautiful leaves, the fine stem and the sweetness of the flow er that place it preeminently 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 ary of our national S. A. F. So far it has 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 car nation society. It is sincerely wished that it may, and if so what magnifi cent 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 "Eose Book for Amateurs," and "A Book About Roses, " by Eev.1 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. This is far mor.e edifying litera ture 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 Eose, " by S. B. Parsons, a noted Roses on the Wooded Island, Jackson Park, Chicago. 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 seventy-five per cent of our bills with the commission man are for roses. Although I believe that orchids are bound to become great fa vorites with the wealthier flower buy ers, yet they nor any other flowers can displace the rose as queen of all of Flora's gifts. It is the perfection and horticulturist; and "The Secrets of Eose Culture," by W. J. Hatton, a practical florist. One more foreign book is that by William Paul, "The Eose 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 could have improved on that mysteri ous and ambiguous story of the Garden of Eden had I been the learned Israel ite 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 thtit 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 in our early youth 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 neces sity. 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." 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 fa vorable to the rose, and in Great Brit ain the tea and Noisette roses are hardy out of doors. In our northern states the hybrid perpetuals, while be ing quite entitled to be called hardy, are often injured by the severe win ters, and the tea and Noisette sections, unless most thoroughly protected, are entirely 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 Ma netti exist. I believe that where there is a good expanse of lawn 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-inch or 4-inch pot plants of the old Bon Silene, Safrano, Isabella Sprunt and Duchess de Brabant, and from June on till the middle of November we cut thousands of handsome buds, which I know would more than gratify THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 197 any of our customers. For such is the Jove 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 usually ordained these interesting domestic events to occur. This summer in an open field far re moved from the refreshing influence of the hose and also the "madding crowd," 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 greatest 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 200 species of roses have been described, but there are probably fifty species well defined, and of varieties and hybrids of these many species there are thousands. The culti vator has done marvelous things with the rose, and some of our cultivated varieties are as far removed from the original type as any deviation from nature in the vegetable kingdom. Yet a few of the original species are in cultivation and are most useful plants. Noisette Roses. These were much oftener seen in our northern greenhouses thirty years ago. Since the introduction of the beautiful tea varieties little attention is paid to them, but in the private conservatory they are fine plants for pillars and raft ers. They are useless to us outside, but where they do not get more than 15 de grees of frost they must be grand plants, 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 tour ists 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 perfection. The Noisette roses are easily propa gated by cuttings from the half-ripened wood at any time of year, either July or January. 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 old. 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 the spring and resting in August and September you Rose Beauty of Glazenwood, Growing on a Great Dracaena in California. 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; Orphirie, a fine copper yellow; Gloire de Dijon, a beautiful creamy am ber; and old La Marque, the old white rose that came in clusters with such luxu riant, dark green foliage. Where these, beautiful plants will do out of doors there are many fine varieties. Moss Roses. Every one 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 per- petuals. Lord Penzance's Sweet Briar. This is a new section, but they have proved themselves the past winter per fectly hardy. They are as sweet scented as the old English sweet briar and have showy flowers. They are a great addi tion *to our hardy flowering shrubs, and will doubtless be much planted. Like the hybrid perpetuals they can be propagated from the half-ripened wood in sand, or from the matured wood in autumn and winter. Rosa Rugosa. Eosa 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. Immense masses of these are now planted and they make splendid low plantations to the margins of taller shrubberies. They are easily propagated from young or matured wood. Hardy Climbing Roses. While in the more temperate parts of our country the Noisette roses cannot be planted, we must confine ourselves to the J98 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. hardy varieties. They are too well known to need any comment. They propagate easily, and when planting them out they should be protected 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 Seed ling, pure white^ Gem of the Prairies, rosy carmine; Dundee Rambler, pure white; Allister Stella Gray, orange; and several others. For this purpose, too, we have the mag nificent 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 un equalled. The hardy climbers have a fine burst of bloom in June, but do not flower again that season. V/ichuraiana Roses. This is a very new and distinct strain, and produced by crossing the Wichurai- ana with many of our cultivated roses, including some of the well-known teas. I cannot speak from experience, but some of them are said to be valuable plants for forcing in pots. W. A. 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 Triumph, a splendid climber, bearing large clusters of flowers. Those crossed with the tea varieties have the evergreen 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. Undoubtedly the greatest acquisition of all these rambler roses is the well- known Crimson Eambler. Either in a mass in a bed, or treated as a climber for a veranda it is unequalled. And grown in pots it is now a leading Easter plant. One of the handsomest beds of this rose was the exhibit of F. E. Pier- Bon at the Pan-American Exposition, and as the writer had the handling of Rose Mme. Alfred Carriere at Portland, Ore. Some of them will take high rank as climbers, and some being creeping or low-growing, will be adapted for cover ing roekwork and for cemetery use. Some have their flowers distributed along the stem, which gives them a handsome wreath-like appearnnce, and others flower in clusters like Crimson Rambler. Others have the fragrance of the sweet briar, so their pedigree is of vtiriou? sources. these plants a brief account of their care may not be out of place. The bed was about 30x75 feet, of ir regular form. The plants were not re ceived till the second week in June, and were dry little sticks that gave little promise of ever breaking into growth; the date was at least six weeks later than it should have been to expect good re sults. They were planted in the only correct way, watered in the hole that held the roots, and the tops were cut so low that it was difficult to locate the plant; that was their salvation. Slowly they almost all started into growth and with a mulching a few weeks later and copious watering every week till September, they had covered the ground with strong growths. As much of the growth was made late in the fall, it was soft and immature and therefore would have winter killed had the plants not been protected by a heavy covering of evergreen boughs. In the spring some of the strongest shoots were tied up to iron stakes, but most of the plants were left to grow and flower in their natural way. In the early days of July the bed was a sight. I shall never forget it. Now, the only lesson to gain from that great success was the severe cutting back of the almost dry stumps at planting time, and the liberal treat ment they received after they did start to grow. As is generally known, the rambler roses make growth and canes during the summer of one season, and flower from the lateral growths of these canes the following year, so that little pruning in the spring is needed. In fact all the pruning that is wanted is to cut out old growths that have lost their vigor. So in the case of the bed of ramblers de scribed above there was not the slightest pruning done of any sort. In this they differ widely from the remontants. 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 perfectly hardy. There is a small class of roses that are truly monthly or continuous-blooming and yet perfectly hardy. Hermosa is a good type of this class, which botanic- ally may belong to several classes, but for our purpose we will treat them all as monthly. Agrippina 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 protection should be given them in win ter. 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 coldframe, 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 cold spell again caught them before they were brought in. When you bring them in start slowly and in crease the heat as flowering time ap- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 199 Cut Sprays of Rose Dorothy Perkins. preaches.^ 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 perfectly hardy they are splendid plants for a group, a hedge, or a single specimen. 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 recom mend the hybrid tea and common tea roses, knowing that they will give the greatest satisfaction. We know they will grow and bloom continuously weeks after our tender plants are killed by frost, and months after the green worm and aphis have 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 cannas, and if they get killed, which they expect, they have lost no more then they have in their ordinary bedding plants. In this class we have a great variety. Not all the teas are good for this pur pose, but many are, and the hybrid teas are splendid ; with a slight protection they will come through the winter with out 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. Sclnval- ler, Crimson Redder, Mme. Pernet- Ducher, Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, Countess of Pembroke, and others. Perhaps the most satisfactory of all is Maman Cochet, white, and its pink sport. This rose seems wonderfully adapted to our hot summers, and flowers, or rather buds, of Cochet can be gathered in August and September almost equal to our indoor-grown Brides and Maids, but the best results cannot be obtained by just sticking them out as you would geraniums or cannas. They are worth a deep prepared bed, a fresh yellow loam preferred, and the beds should be bordered with a 6-inch board so that when watering them, which they deserve, the roses will get the benefit of it. Cochet may winter perfectly in Phila delphia and Baltimore, but with us it needs a covering of evergreen boughs as well as a covering of six inches of stable litter over its roots. Among the tea scented there is a still greater variety for this purpose. Those I have proved as most satisfactory for summer bedding are: Bon Silene, Isa bella Sprunt, Safrano, Duchess de Bra bant, Coquette de Lyon, Perle des Jar- dins, 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 the lat ter 's fine sports were 'not satisfactory bedded out in summer. Hyb id Perpetuals. These are the roses that are mostly planted to make a permanent bed. Many thousands of the budded stock are annually sold. Our department stores are now selling the imported stock at ten plants for a dollar. There can't be a great margin for the department 200 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. store or a great profit to the grower, but the popular price catches the men and women who are looking for bargains, and they are numerous. They get well dried out before they get into the pur chaser's garden, 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 of the finest sorts, the Baroness Kothschild type 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 coldframe during winter, and when fill ing 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 fall; a pot that will just hold the roots is large enough. These plants will come along slowly in April and be well rooted by about May 1, and if lots of ventila tion has been given, or better still the sashes removed, they must be satisfactory to your . customers, as you should not lose one. But you want more than the department store jarice for them; you should get at least $6 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 satis factory 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 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 thou sands are grown. Here they look very charming the first season perhaps, and perhaps the next, but the third usually finishes them. They are budded on the wild briar. The briar stalks are col lected from the hedgerows and thickets, and are sold to the nurseryman tied up in bundles like an English tourist trans ports his walking sticks; and there is little more apparent 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 if you live north of 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 nvuch better for us. Since the above was written I have had some very gratifying experience with hybrid perpetual roses, some ex perience that I am justified in looking back upon with pride and most happy memories, yet success or failure all hinged on a few very simple conditions of treatment, as is often the case. I am certain that the great disappoint ments that ensue with many of our patrons when they make a bed of roses is the impatience to have roses the first year. It can 't be done, and your patrons should be given a lecture and convinced. To return to our story. We received in the spring of 1900 about 4,000 hybrid perpetual roses from two firms of nur serymen. It was about June 8 when they were received. They were plants that had been dug the previous fall and were left over after their spring sales, so by the time they reached us they were badly in need of more congenial environment. They were duly planted with care and science, and well do we remember on the scorching days of June planting these dried-up roses with but a forlorn hope of any good results. Work is unpleasant unless you have confidence that your work will be fruitful. A good gardener or florist, when he sows a seed or puts in a cutting or plants an apple- tree, should see in his mind 's eye the seed develop into a flowering plant, the cutting grow into a strong plant and the tree bearing fruit, and then he should be happy — if not he is in the dark and working in a fog. I must say here that the soil of the beds for these roses was about the ideal, and perhaps their great success should be principally attributed to the splendid soil. It was a heavy clay loam, cut the previous fall off a pasture, about four inches thick, and piled up and added to it was one- fourth of cow manure chopped down in early spring. Of such ma terial, at least a foot deep, were the rose beds formed. The roses had been pruned rather low when they arrived, so we planted them without further pruning. In two weeks many showed no signs of breaking into growth, so the shears were again brought into use and two or three inches more were taken off. This left them very like the Crimson Ramber, difficult to locate, but it saved their lives and very soon they were bursting into growth all over the stems. As soon as the little plants started to grow we spread two or three inches of rotted manure over the entire surface of the beds. This may have been a stimulant to the feeding roots, but it was put on more as a mulch to keep the beds from getting parched on the surface. With a heavy watering every week if there was an absence of rain, by September these roses had made five or six shoots or canes and three to five feet high^ Varieties differ greatly in strength of growth, but I remember many growths of Ulrich Brunner fully five feet and as thick as your little finger. Now this great growth was rather soft and not well ripened, and protection was needed, so after there was an inch of frost in the ground we covered the beds with eight inches of strawy manure and leaves, of which we had an abundance. This was evenly spread over the beds and well up around each plant. No further attention was given to the tops, because I knew they would be killed whatever we did, and that was not of the slightest consequence. As it happened, during very severe weather we had a steady blanket of eight inches of snow. When the bluebird arrived and the snow melted away we found our leaves and straw had shrunk to three or four inches, and down to the snow line the rose canes were killed back. This was as it should be, for if winter had not killed tue tops we should have cut them down anyway. I shall bother you with no more de tails, but simply say that from the end of June, and lasting a full month, these beds were a sight that I hardly expect ever to see again. As a pleasant recol lection and evidence that they were a great success, I must be pardoned for recalling an incident tuat occurred about July 1, 1901. I was proudly showing some New York florist these beds and was standing near a bed of 500 Brun- ners, when a venerable old gentleman hobbled across the grass and on finding that I was the man he was looking for, he gave me a paternal slap on the shoulder and said : ' ' Mr. S., these are the grandest rose beds I ever saw. ' ' It was Mr. Ellwanger, of Rochester, N. Y., wno had supplied 2,000 of the roses. What more praise did I need! None. It is such words that make you thank ful you are here. Now all this may seem formidable to read, yet it is very simple if a few rules are remembered. First, don 't expect to pick roses the first summer from plants, nor the follow ing summer if planted in the fall. Al ways give them a fresh soil, and es pecially avoid one that has already grown roses. Roses are seen growing in very different qualities and textures of soil, and while the heavy loam is most assuredly the best suited for these hardy plants, of greater importance is it that it shall not be worn out. No amount of manure will restore what is essential to the rose. A soil that for years has been saturated with animal manure and will grow prize celery or cauliflower, would be a total failure with roses. The remaining important thing is the use of the shears. Without pruning low down, without a vigorous growth the first sum mer, you cannot expect fine roses. The second year of their flowering and the thira and every succeeding year there may be less need of protection or per haps artificial watering, but the same pruning must be done every spring. That is just as necessary as the first year they flowered. This will be best understood by saying that if a strong shoot has borne a flower, the following spring cut it back to within three eyes of the previous year 's growth. In concluding these reminiscences I will add that the roses offered by our American nurserymen are to be pre ferred to the imported stock. They are almost always budded lower and should be much fresher, which means a better chance of living. Don't think the date quoted, first days of June, is the time to plant. That only proves how you can overcome a poor start. As soon as the ground is dry in April or early May is the time to plant hardy roses, as it is for any deciduous THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 20J shrub or tree. In these 4,000 plants there were many fine varieties. All hybrid perpetual roses are beautiful if treated as they deserve. 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 the end of November. Among the hybrid perpetual roses that do well on their own roots are: Gen. Jacqueminot, crimson; Ulrieh Brunner, deep pink; Mme. Laffay, red; Alfred Colomb, cherry red; Anna Alexieff, rose; Baron de Bonstettiu, 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 this list contains some splendid sorts. Among the finest of those that do better when budded on the Manetti or briar stocks are: Baroness Eothschild, a beautiful light pink; Captain Christy, flesh 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 ma roon. In this short list will be found some of the finest roses in cultivation. Hybrid perpetual roses can be propa gated as follows, and this includes the hardy climbers or any of the deciduous 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 the middle of June. Prepare a frame in which you have trodden 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 in sert your cuttings. Two eyes 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% -inch or 3-inch pots and stood in a coldframe, but they must be carefully watered and shaded till they get hold of the soil. These plants could be planted out the following October, "but I would prefer to keep them plunged in a coldframe and planted out the following April, when they will make fine plants. Another plan is by using the dormant wood in the fall. Before very hard frost, say in the middle of November, cut off the well-ripened growths of the previous summer and cut them into lengths of two or three eyes. Tie them in bunches of twenty-five or fifty, 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 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 Pillar Rose. go out till danger of frost is past. This is the simplest and surest way of propa gating any of the deciduous roses. Forcing Hybrid Perpetuals. Since the American Beauty has been grown in such quantity there are much fewer of the hybrid perpetual roses grown for their flowers, but they are wanted in pots, and such sorts as Jacque minot, Brunner, Magna Charta, Anna de Diesbach, Baroness Rothschild and Mme. Gabriel Luizet force well, and if prop erly prepared make fine pot plants, or their blooms can be cut. The fall im portations of these roses are not satis factory for this purpose. The long journey and the length of time is a poor preparation for spring forcing, so strong plants with good stems should be obtained of our American nursery men. You will receive these home-grown plants from your nurseryman in the first part of November, and should get them into their pots without delay. If the roots are dried it is a good plan to puddle them. This is a nurseryman's word and practice, which is dipping the roots in a tub of water to which has been added enough loam or clay to make what may be called liquid mud. This covers every particle of root and fibre and keeps them moist for a long time or till you can surround the roots with moist ground. Unless the growths of the roses when received are long and straggling they should not be pruned at the time of pot ting. The pruning will come later. The ends of the roots if mutilated or long and spindling can be cut back with advan tage. A good, strong rose will need a 6-inch pot, a few may go into a 5-inch and extra strong into a 7-inch. Such soil as described for the beds would be ideal, but any good loam with a fourth of manure will do. Pot quite firmly so that every root is firmly surrounded with soil. When all are potted give them enough water to penetrate every particle of soil, and when that is soaked away and the soil in the pots is moderately firm, choose a level piece of ground in the garden where surface water will never stand. Begin at one end of what we will call the bed and lay on their sides a row of the roses with their tops lying flat on the ground. Then behind the first row of pots place another row with their pots as close as convenient to the first row, with their tops over the first row, and so on till you have filled the space allotted. Now if the ground on which these roses are laid is a friable or sandy loam all that is to be done is to dig up enough from each side of the bed to cover the roses four inches deep. Cover pots and tops thoroughly. If you should be in a latitude where the whole mass will freeze up tight it would make the getting out of the roses awk ward and might crack many of the pots, so we have to cover with strawy manure or leaves after an inch or two of frost has penetrated the beds, to keep out severe freezing. In bringing these plants in you will find the wood fresh and plump, and in much better order than had they been in a coldframe subject to great changes of temperature and neglect. The time to bring in these roses to begin forcing will, of course, depend on the time you want them in flower. In another place I have mentioned why these freshly potted roses cannot be forced satisfactorily before Easter, so the date of Easter will be your guide. The latter half of January will be time. One thing is sure, a hybrid perpetual rose that is brought along in a tempera ture of 55 degrees is much superior in every quality to one that is hurried for two or three weeks at 65 degrees. With in a day or so of their being in the greenhouse is the time for doing the 202 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. all-important pruning. Sometimes the first two or three eyes from the base of the plant would make a leaf growth, but no flower. Then again if you cut the stems a foot high from the pots you would have bare stems, which are very unsightly in a pot rose, so it is im possible to make an arbitrary rule. You must have two ffr three eyes that you are pretty sure will give you flowering shoots, and each individual plant will differ. Here is where no written in structions can teach, but experience and good gardening sense comes in. An average of six inches will be found a satisfactory length to leave a fairly strong cane or growth. Like any plant that is suddenly brought from dormancy into a growing temperature, the start must be slow; 40 degrees at night will be high enough for the first two weeks, then the eyes will swell and prepare to burst into leaf, and 5 degrees higher will be needed. Slowly you will reach the flowering temperature, and as remarked above, 55 degrees at night will leave the growth strong and the blossoms at their best. From their start indoors till they are in full bloom they should be sprayed daily, and during the period when the eyes are swelling, a light syringing two or three times a day will be of great benefit. When in full leaf the daily syringing will keep down red spider, and the common aphis is all that will trouble you; you know how to destroy that. I may observe that there are few plants that will sell as easily as a well-flowered rose, or are in more demand than a nice well flowered rose. There are many more gay and showy plants than the rose, but young and old, rich and poor, have the in herent love of the rose. Yet how seldom you see them in decent shape. Mostly long, bare stems with a few short- stemmed flowers, or overforced plants with the flowers hanging their heads in shame that they have been so misunder stood. We have seen and read much of the grand bushes of these roses that are grown in Europe, and flowered as early as New Year 's. To accomplish this would be impossible with a plant lifted from the open ground only a few weeks, and plants that can be forced this early must have been established in pots the previous summer. I shall go but very briefly into the methods followed with these plants, because it would not pay here, and is not likely to become com mercially popular. Plants for this pur pose could have the same treatment as our Easter roses, but instead of a flower a strong growth would be the object, and during summer one or two shiftings and feeding, solely to produce fine strong growths. In early fall they would be prematurely rested to ripen the wood and the pots being filled with roots, they could be started again in growth in October. One whole year is occupied in producing growth that will flower the succeeding year, therefore however charming a rose bush may be at Christ mas, it is too expensive to be popular or profitable in our expensive country. Forcing Hybrid Roses on a Bench. Jacqueminot, Brunner 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 encour aged to make a strong growth that sum mer, 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 the cold air you can, and if some frost is inside, so much 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 plenty 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 temperature till flower ing time. These forcing hybrids are sometimes planted out in solid beds and forced year after year. It is precisely the same process. A growth in summer, a ripen ing in fall and pruning back and start ing with heat again at whatever time you want your crop. Since the advent of the American Beauty, which deserves the name of hy brid perpetual, and the immense quan tity of them grown, much fewer flowers of the beautiful Brunner and Jacque minot are forced. 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 flow ers, 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 win ter price they do; still they keep sending up flowering shoots. In another place I intend to say something about this wonderful variety as grown for cut flowers, but here I wish to say that al though I have never seen it satisfactory when planted out of doors, it has been to me the most profitable of pot roses. Some ten or twelve years ago a gleam of inspiration fell on us or around us. The word inspiration is often abused or misplaced. .We don't by any means believe many things which we are sup posed to accept as inspired. For in stance, we scarcely believe the narrative of Jonah and the whale was inspired, although the old Scotch woman said she would believe Jonah swallowed the whale if she found it in the inspired Word. Yet we believe that even in weak and ordinary mortals there are times when a bright and abnormal light or thought comes to them. In less pretentious, language you hear people say, ' ' A bright idea struck me, ' ' and depend on it when you do get such a visit you should carry it into effect at once and not let it dissi pate itself. That kind of inspiration I do believe in. It occurs with the orator in some bright peroration, and many a commonplace poem is saved by one bright stanza which is a gem. They slipped from the tongue of a Henry Clay or the pen of a Robert Burns all unconsciously and without effort. That is truly inspiration. My little inspiration was of the earth, earthy. It struck me that the Ameri can Beauty rose would make a good pot rose. I went immediately at it, and it was a phenomenal success. Now as; it was done once it can be done again. 1 will admit that several attempts since have never equalled the first, but a cause for this result could always be discovered. If I describe just what was done the successful year it would be safer than telling you how to do it, and some of the conditions might be improved on. That year when inspiration visited these parts I had successfully rooted in mid winter about a thousand American Beauties. In March they were in 4-inch pots and doing fine. I also had a middle- bench in a house running north and south, about 7x100, which the previous summer had grown a crop of chrysan themums. The soil was not removed and during winter and up to Easter it was occupied by lilies in 6-inch pots. Beneath each pot was a small square of tar paper that kept the common worms from entering the pots, and with a little care in watering, the soil never became sticky or pasty, so that it was in good physical condition when the sale of the lilies left it vacant. One important fact was that Easter Sunday was March 25 (very early). One warm, sunny day dried out the bench and it was in excellent condition to fork over, which was done. Then a heavy coat of bone dust covered the surface of the soil. I can't say what the quantity in proportion to soil was, but it was at least a 5-ineh pot to a bushel of soil. This was lightly forked in and then on April 1, the young Beauties were planted. They seemed to start and grew at once, and as the lead ing shoot terminated with a flower bud that was picked off, the lateral growth and growths from the base of the plant sent up flowering shoots that produced flowers worth cutting. The first flowers were cut and sold on June 15, and one fine Sunday morning about- the middle of July was chosen for a photograph. At 5 a. m. the camera had done its work and I began to cut. They numbered 145 for that morning, and retailed in THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 203 Rose Crimson Rambler. the shop at $2.50 and $3 per dozen. They had stems twelve to eighteen inches long and were perfect flowers. The fact is, we had a corner on them and did not know it. They had escaped thrips and all other troubles. Now this crop of flowers — and for months they produced a few dozen daily — was a side issue. It was the plant we wanted, yet I am certain the cut of flowers was as profitable as any crop we have ever had, I think about thirty-seven times as profitable as chrysanthemums, which you grow all summer and wait for one grand crop in November. About November 1 we discontinued watering the bench, but kept up daily syringing, so the roots were not ex tremely dry, but just sufficiently dry to induce a firmness of the stems and stronger growths. November 15 we lifted the roses and lost very few of the roots. They were potted firmly into 6-inch pots, well watered and plunged in a very substantial coldframe. The roses were left with growth about eighteen inches long, only the very long straggling growths were shortened back at the time of lifting. They remained in the frame till the enu of January. This treatment while in the frame was of critical importance, although it might seem of little moment. At least on two subsequent occasions failure was easily traced to the roses being allowed to become almost dust dry and then sub jected to nearly a zero frost. This is a fatal mistake and often occurs not only with roses, but with other hardy shrubs. When the roots are dry there is little sap in the wood; there is noth ing to resist the freezing and the wood perishes. This occurs with our hardy trees and shrubs planted in orchards or pleasure grounds. A beech or elm will stand all winter with a foot of water covering its roots, but let that occur in June when the tree is in full leaf and a day or two will kill it. Well, these roses were brought in about January 20, plump and fresh, and of course at that time needed the final pruning or cutting back, and here again I would say that the strong growths were left from six to eight inches long. For the first three weeks they were given 45 degrees at night with plenty of syringing. When an American Beauty that is cut back first breaks, it starts with a little Juft of leaves, very un promising, and we thought there would be nothing but blind growth. As the roots became active these feeble little breaks lenghtened out and made strong growths, each crowned with a bud. We can skip over the next two months by merely saying that by Easter they were in a temperature of 58 degrees, and al most every plant would average twelve good buds and flowers, and many ex ceeded that. I remember that a good many of the plants were in their best shape two weeks before Easter, but there was no occasion to wait for that harvest. These plants sold at sight and brought $2 to $3 apiece. Today with our modern fixing they would bring fifty per cent more. The flowers were not puny specimens, but handsome, full many- petaled blossoms. This proved to us that with correct management there is no so-called hybrid perpetual rose capable of making such an attractive plant, and our subsequent failures have been either too severe cold when dry at the roots, not getting them planted early enough in the spring to get a good strong growth started before very hot weather set in, or they were cut too high or too low when brought in to start forcing. You will ask, why these mistakes or neglects were allowed. We thought other and younger heads had the same love and watchfulness as ourselves. The reason of success, the plants, from the cutting till they blossomed in the pots, were our hobby, our pets, our love, and unless you are as close to your charge you will never meet with any thing but ordinary success. The Rambler Roses. The Crimson Eambler, Dorothy Perkins and the Farquhar, both beautiful pink ramblers, and all popular Easter plants, require the same treatment. You can obtain strong, field-grown plants in No vember, and if their shoots are six or seven feet long shorten them back to three or four feet. They require a 7-inch 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. 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 «anes should not be al lowed 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 one-year- old plants in April and put them in 5-inch or 6-inch pots and start growing in the coolest house you have. Then give them a light bench and some long wires to support them, and by midsum mer you will have five or six strong, long growths. Other growths should be rubbed off. If you have too many canes you will get a weaker growth. Put them 204 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. out of doors in July and by the end of August try to shorten up on water and the wood will ripen. As cold weather comes they will want little water and will lose their foliage. These plants can be forced at any time and, although the canes are not quite so 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 coldframe and cover with boards, and a little hay or straw on the plants, where they can remain till you want to bring them in. This plan of growing them the previous summer in pots assures free-flowering plants and no excuse for failure, yet we must admit that the trusses and florets are not so large, or the leaves so deep a green, as on the plants dug from the ground in the fall, because they have been growing so long in the same pot that the soil is somewhat exhausted. This can be helped by a heavy mulching of almost fresh cow manure soon after you commence to force, or frequent feedings with liquid manure. Nitrate of soda, one pound in thirty-six gallons of water, will have the vigor and freshness of the field-grown. Mildew often attacks the summer grown ramblers in the month of June, when making their fastest growth, and is nearly always caused by a severe dry ing of the roots. Avoid that if you want best results. Extremes of heat or cold, dryness or wetness, will quickly invite mildew, although on tea roses a cold draught is the most common forerunner of mildew. We have tried many times to force the plants lifted from the field in No vember, but have not yet acquired the secret; still it can be done, for the Philadelphia growers are very success ful that way. We once succeeded with a few very fine plants. It must have been an accident, but growing them the previous summer in pots leaves scarcely a chance for failure and they occupy lit tle valuable space in the houses. 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 Rose Bridesmaid. is excellent for intensifying color in both flower and foliage. Another plan, still better, is used when you procure the dormant plants in the spring. One-year-old are strong enough. Try to start them in 5-inch pots, for with good care and feeding strong canes can be produced in a 5-inch. This admits of a liberal shift into a 7-inch at time of starting to force, and your plants then 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 florist. They are everything to him. They are used on each and every occasion and every day in the year. And what an improve ment in them in twenty-five years! And the method of growing them has kept pace with the improved varieties. It is to the Frenchmen we are mostly in debted for the finest tea roses. Perhaps that will not always be so. Our Ameri can nurserymen and florists are doing a great deal in hybridizing and raising seedlings. E. G. Hill told me this sum mer that he had, I am afraid to say how many thousand, but I am sure it was 5,000 young seedlings of every conceiva ble cross. Surely we shall have some young Hoosiers that will startle the rose world. Let them come! We can stand several more shades. The above paragraph was written seven years ago and sounds prophetic, for Eichmond and other offspring of Mr. Hill's genius and industry have become great acquisitions to the commercial florist and more are to come to gladden the eye and fatten the pocketbook. I don't mean Mr. Hill's pocketbook in particular, but those of all up-to-date rose growers.. Is it not remarkable that with the hundreds of fine teas our demand seems filled with so limited a number of varie ties? It is almost, or perhaps quite, correct to say that of all the millions of roses cut and sold, four varieties would cover seventy-five 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 Merniet, Bridesmaid and The Bride, and the hybrid tea, the crimson Meteor. New varieties come and go, their advent her alded with shouts of praise and loud advertising, and their exit is a quiet re treat. They have answered two pur poses — they have made money for the raiser and introducer and given us a little more experience. What a lot of ex perience 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 Novem ber till April 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 anu February. Then you have time to get the young plants into 3-inch pots for a couple of months before planting time. One au thor says the cutting should be of only one eye and another says it should be from only flowering wood. Some years ago there was a lively discussion in the trade papers on "flowering wood versus blind wood. ' ' I recently heard a remark by an expert rose grower which THE FLORISTS* MANUAL 205 View Through a Range of Connected Rose Houses with Raised Benches. struck me as reasonable. He said, "Yes, blind wood will do for the first or sec ond year because it has recently come from a flowering plant, but continue for five or six generations wTith blind wood and you will end up with a plant that is totally blind." While on the subject of propagating, it is well known that in most large rose factories grafting is the method of propagating. Grafting is the order of the day in many professions besides horticulture. While I have observed and asked many pertinent questions in an establishment where the tea rose was most successfully done, I could not ex pect to give you all the details or exact knowledge that you can obtain in Mr. Montgomery's little book on the sub ject. It covers tne entire operation and can be purchased for the small sum of 25 cents. If you are a beginner at the method its value cannot be measured by dollars and cents. Get it. I would much rather have the cutting of two eyes, one below and one above the sur face of the sand, leaving a leaf or part of the leaf on the upper eye. If the wood is of any size, not too spindling and wTeak, it makes no difference to the future plant whether it is blind or flow ering. That I have proved, and although I am by no means an extensive 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 the end of May and keep on till July. Those planted the end of June should be in good bearing by the middle of Octo ber, and many buds could have been cut before that if it were wise to let them flower, 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 mulch ing to add another half or three-quarters of an inch. The rows on the bench fif teen 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 wider 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 they 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 or 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 ; unless 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 very slightly disturbed by planting. If you shade let it be only a very tem porary kind. A lump 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 this 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 scratch ing over of the surface for a month or so after planting, but later the sur face 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 80 degrees in the shade. From the time the joses 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, produce 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, but you want a dry, healthy atmosphere. All along 206 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. about this time when using any artifi cial heat try to keep the house down to 55 degrees, and just aoout this time put a dab of liver of sulphur on the pipes. When there is little or no occasion for artificial heat in September and October is the most trying time for the man in charge, and with the greatest care mildew will often get a lodging. We used to put flour of sulphur mixed with linseed oil on the steam pipes, thinking its fumes could do no harm. Be careful about that. If you do it at all it must be only a small spot here and there. The dry sulphur blown on the leaves with a Peerless bellows is much safer, and syringe it off the first fine, sunny day. A strong smell of sul phur in the house will cause many of the mature leaves to turn yellow and drop, and, denuded of foliage, your plants cannot be vigorous. Be cautious of sulphur on steam pipes. On hot water pipes the fumes will be less strong and less dangerous. There are times when from various causes yon may not be able to fire till the end of October and have been with out fire on chilly nights. By shutting np the rose houses tight on these nights you will notice in the morning the dewdrops in tiny teads on the edges of the pretty littie 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 euectually 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 learned what this fungus will do years ago, and have not 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 like to keep higher than others. A reason ably low temperature means fewer buds and higher quality, and a higher temperature means more buds and poorer quality. From 55 to 58 degrees at night for all the ordinary teas seems to be agreed upon, and I incline to the lower mark, believing that quality Rose Mme. Chatenay. is better than quantity. American Beauty should have 60 degrees, and the useful crimson Meteor should have from 65 to 68 degrees. Without a high tem perature the Meteor is useless in the coldest months. Richmond is said to grow and flower freely in a Bridesmaid temperature, 56 to 58 degrees, one great advantage over the old Meteor, for every extra de gree in winter means a bigger coal bill. This fall at John H. Dunlop's, of Toronto, I saw some grand houses of roses ventilated by a thermostat, which was controlled by water pressure. He was delighted with it, and if it works perfectly it must be the thing, for it never forgets. You can of course set it to any degree. I will have more to say about ventilation in another chap ter, but must say here that it is one of the most important parts of rose growing. Seventy at day would be a good temperature; when any above that ventilation should be given, and where the ventilators are continuous and open at the ridge it is much safer given than with a ventilator 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 experi enced gardener can tell at once 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 ther mostat, but if you were you could not divide yourself into twenty sections; and those gardening attributes are no more transmitted than the art of music or poetry or telling a story. So you must 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 off. 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 a little 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 are better. The neatest and best support for roses is a straight wire stake, one for each plant, and they are held in place at the top by some lighter wire run ning over each row of plants three or four 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 stovepipe wire across THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Rose Richmond. 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 the top one runs 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 Panama ditch is dug. I have said nothing yet about water ing, and it is the hardest part to de scribe. To a gardener it should be only necessary to say, "Water when they 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 on the beds in a hard stream. A coarse rose is a good thing; it will leave the surface of the bed in a more friable state, and you should only give water enough to wet through to the boards. A soaking that drenches the beds and runs out through the boards must carry with it lots of the fertilizing properties of the soil and manure. Neither will a bed be uniformly wet or dry. There will be spots or spaces that from some causes dry out faster than others. Only the man in charge knows this. If he is a rose grower he will be familiar with every square foot of surface and will let no part suffer for want of water or the other extreme. 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 the 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 water ing. 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 lazy with a hand syringe that they would never keep down the red spider? and fancy a man, or two 207 men, syringing a house 600 feet long and fifty feet wide! They would have to begin on the Fourth of July to get it syringed by Thanksgiving. The %-inch hose will not only syringe as well, but much better, for you will do it thor oughly with that beautiful ' ' 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 spicier, then don't syringe on wet, damp days or very cold stormy days; no harm at all in missing a day or a week, but when firing very hard, damp down the paths, under the benches, etc. The thrips have become very troublesome of late. We have known of their injur ing the buds of American Beauty for many years, especially in the summer and early fall months, but it seems of late to have grown more troublesome and has spread to the tea roses and also carnations. Cayenne pepper is the best destroyer. We heat a number of bricks almost red hot and put down four bricks on the path of a house 21x150. On each brick we spread a tablespoonful of cayenne pepper. Be sure the pepper is of the best quality and fresh. We have found quite a difference if it has been on the country storekeeper's shelf a year or two, for it has lost its strength; so get the freshest and best quality you can. 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, which must be ever floating 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 were no re ward for watchfulness, care and brains there would be nothing in it and the wise man would be no better off 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, ventilation forgotten till too late in the day, or a 208 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. sudden drop at night from, say 56 degrees — their usual temperature — to 46 degrees or less, will produce mildew, and all these causes must be guarded against. Sulphur is the great antidote for mil dew, and while painting the heating pipes with a mixture of sulphur and linseed oil, or sulphide of potassium dis solved and mixed with clay, will kill the mildew, if applied too strong it will take the leaves off the rose plants; that we have proved to our cost. As a pre ventive of mildew or to destroy it when it first appears we much prefer to dust the plants with flour of sulphur and syringe it off the first bright day. For aphis smoking is not advisable. I am certain I have seen its ill effects. Vaporizing, as described in the chapter on Insecticides, is best, -and the plan of putting a hot, but not red hot, piece of iron into an iron vessel containing diluted nicotine extract 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 dropped 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 a % -inch or, perhaps, a 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 day ahead, and when used the water is about the same temperature as your shed. Those who are away from the cities and towns usually have 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. We don't think that spraying or syringing the roses with water near the freezing point would do any harm, for the scattered and small bulk of it would almost at once become the temperature of the house; but satu rating the soil with ice water is quite different and must be deleterious. Soils of different textures grow good roses. William Paul & Son some years ago in an advertisement and descrip tion of their place said: "At one nurs ery 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 obtained. 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 pas ture that the cows had been grazing on for a few years. If it's still more on the heavy side, no harm. The poor est soil of all would be a fiberless sand. Soil is such an important considera tion in rose growing that it deserves some further comments. A clever rose grower remarked to the writer recently: "Oh, you make the soil," meaning that with manure and chemical ingredients you could restore the qualities that Nature had left out. Perhaps so, yet I doubt it. I often think the average florist is short-sighted in procuring his soil, both for his pot plants and his crops that are planted out. He will cheerfully pay $10 for a load of coal, because he has no choice, but he would see nothing but bankruptcy if asked to pay one-half of that for a good sod, and the soil is the very founda tion of his business. It is worth going miles for, and the rose grower who has or can procure a clay loam sod has a big start toward success. Quantity you may get in a manufactured soil, but quality will not be there. And it is most advisable to make your com post pile in the fall. You have much more time to spare, the manure gets more evenly distributed, and there are other advantages. Make up your com post pile in the month of October — spring brings its own many chores. 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 portion getting moro manure or bone meal than another. 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 it 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, spread ing manure and bone dust over the sur face. The frame is then lifted up and that lot is shoveled away into a pile. By this means there is no guesswork; 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. Although a greater proportion of manure is often used, we believe a good, strong sod chopped up would need less manure than a fibrous loam or clay, and in quantity of ma nure you must be guided by quality and texture of soil. There is one point. In mixing cow manure with your sod in the fall don't take that which is rotten or half rotten; let it be per fectly fresh, and then you will get all there is in it. 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 the 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 formula, published some time ago, said to be excellent for roses, car nations or chrysanthemums. It is a formula published 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 flowers is the same, and I will say that in propagating it I have never found the slightest difficulty at any time from THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 209 American Beauty Roses at a Western Flower Show. November to April, or even May. Choose wood that is medium in strength and don't use either the green top or the hard base. \Yhen potting them off ] have lost quite a number by their be ing 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. I'n growing them on into 3-inch or pos sibly 4-inch pots, give 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 off till the end of August. From then till the first of November you will get a good many nice buds with 18-inch to ;!0-incli 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 .$l.oO each, you must let the flower 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 gd ting a dollar for your flower instead of l?5 cents, or in that vicinity, which is worth while. 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. Some growers carry over for the sec ond winter their beds of roses, both on benches and in solid beds. Should you intend to carry over a bed of tea rose^ in four inches of soil, don't do any severe drying of roots. It is very in jurious. Keep up your daily syringing in July and August; that will usually keep the soil about right and be rest enough. All the pruning that is neces sary is to cut out weak growths and shorten back the blind wood. If in a shallow bench, you can with care re move one inch of the surface soil and replace with a compost of soil, manure and a little bone meal. A bed that is carried over will give you more and bet ter buds in the fall than a young bed. When you go to the exhibition and see vases of Brides and Maids, large buds on 30-inch stems, it makes you shrink when you think of the 12-inch stems on your young beds at home. The strong growths of a carried over bed of roses after they get a good start will often send up strong shoots which at 18-inch length Avill show a bud; that bud is picked off and the shoot keeps growing another foot before showing a bud. Perhaps, if time allows, the second bud is pinched out and another twelve inches of growth follows, to be crowned with a fine bud. You have obtained a stem of thirty inches or three feet. We have found by experience that the pretty rose Cusin and its valuable sports, particularly Mrs. J. P. Morgan, are inclined to flower too freely. If these short-stemmed flowers are pinched off, a foot or more of strong growth will ensue Mhich will produce a splen did flower and of course a good stem, worth three times the price of the little short-stemmed growth. Thus are these long-stemmed roses produced in the fall. We know excellent rose growers who prefer to plant every year. Yet many of our largest growers carry over the majority of their stock. 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 terribly exhausted. Plants in four or five inches of soil will not bear to be dried out but very slightly, and that had 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 untouched. Those in solid beds, in a foot or so 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 tlian 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 thihk 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, except that it affords a most excellent drainage and would be a fine bottom to any solid bed. Roses for sivaimer blooming are not ohm the attention that they deserve. Mniiy of the hybrid teas are used for this p-irpose. Kaiserin Auyusta Victoria and Souv. du President Carnot art- superb for this purpose. There is just 210 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. hybrid blood enough in these roses to make them inclined to rest in December and January, but nine months in the year they are invaluable. In June, July and August we frequently have a diffi culty in getting large, clean flowers. Houses for this purpose should run north and south, because they are 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 and syringing. With a lower temperature growth will cease, and in December and January 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 forget your water pipes if you let the frost in. Early in March or the middle of February start them up again. As the wood is firm and ripe and the roots in active, these roses can be pruned hard when starting them in spring, and will bear a good heavy mulch of cow manure. Don't start with 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. As all the varieties you would grow for this purpose belong to the tea or hybrid tea class, you can make the sea son of rest still shorter and pick good flowers up to the middle of November, and merely lower the temperature down to 35 or 40 degrees till the end of 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 thbm, 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, Catherine Mermet, is still a beautiful pink. Meteor is the standard red or crimson, but the beautiful Liberty is likely to depose it. Since the above was written we have Eichmond, which gives promise of superseding all red roses for winter blooming. If Liberty proves to be a good winter bloomer the fate of Meteor is sealed, for it is a far better flower, a true Jacqueminot color, bright and rich, and it does not have the bad fault of Meteor in winter. Perle des Jardins has no rival in yel low. Sunset, its sport, is a fine orange yellow. The above will cover ninety per cent of all the roses grown for cut flowers, but many fine varieties find favor in some localities. Mme. Hoste, Mme. de Watte- ville, Belle Siebrecht, Mrs. J. Pierpont Morgan, Mme. C. Testout, Papa Gontier, Mrs. E. Garrett, and others, are grown. In conclusion I will say that in my humble opinion there would be no need of grafting as a method of renewing our rose stock if we were to treat our plants more rationally. I am well aware it is not a new and original idea with A Modern Range of Even-Span Connected Rose Houses. 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 La France will flower to perfection with this treat ment. me, but I have thought of it very much of late and can recall a few instances where circumstances 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 variety 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 ex hausted. The tea rose is an evergreen, or nearly so, and a continuous bloomer, or we make it so, but its parent or par ents had a period of rest at some time of the 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, set out in June and forced along in growth, and it continues to grow until propagating time again. Not a day of actual rest, and so the cycle revolves, but no rest for the roses. Now, the instance I remember was, first, a lot of young stock coming from a nursery firm in Pennsylvania which makes a spe cialty of roses. They arrived in April; the cuttings had been strong shoots taken off the previous fall and the plants had been wintered little if any above freezing. They were what we would say of a tramp, ' ' hard looking citizens, ' ' having a scrubby looking appearance. They were put into 3-inch pots and be gan to grow immediately, and when planted out at the 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 winter, 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, they were abused. Being short of fifty plants when planting in June 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 coldframe, 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 thousand sur plus of his own stock, and never study the price of 2 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. One word more in conclusion. The matter of cleanliness in forcing tea roses under glass is of the utmost importance. If the man in charge is a real rose grower, you may think he is fussy and spending too much time in keeping the surface of the beds free of decayed leaves, weeds or minute vegetable growths. He is not wasting any time. Cleanliness is of the first importance, and cannot be too thoroughly carried out, not only on the plants and beds, but in the paths and beneath the benches. Aphis, the common greenfly, is very troublesome on the young shoots of tea roses. Besides fumigating, there are THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 2U A House of Young American Beauty Roses. other methods of destroying them which will be found under the article In secticides. SALVIA. A large genus of plants of which few are used by the florist. S. splendens is one of our showiest flowering plants. There are now several varieties or forms •of it. It is used as a mass where brilliant colors are wanted. The plants are often rather late in flowering, es pecially in wet seasons, and should not toe planted in too rich a soil or you will get a large growth with late flowering, so procure a strain that grows compactly and is early to flower. Lifted before frost and potted, they make showy plants 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 con tains 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. It should never be kept over 50 degrees. It grows so fast and strong that it is best to put off propagating till March. This common plant has become very popular of late, and deservedly popu lar. It is out of place in any formal flower gardening, but what is more beau tiful than a mass in front of shrubbery or in a border against a wall or house? The bright scarlet blossoms have a Avarmth and gaiety in keeping with the scarlet and orange tints of our sumachs, maples and oaks, and has a most pleas ing effect after autumn 's first chills have shrivelled the coleus and other exotic plants. Grow lots of it. S. patens we have not seen grown 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 slightly larger; the color is of the most beautiful 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 designs. The coloring is not bright, but very pleasing. Lift a few plants when the flower garden is dismantled and in Jan uary shorten back the shoots. You will soon get any amount of cuttings that root most easily. And when in 2-inch or 2% -inch pots there is no place to make nice 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 gray or frosted appearance. Occasion ally, when covered with snow, it comes through the 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 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 so 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 by cuttings in May. If wanted in quantity the cuttings can be put in the coldframe in May in the ground, and when rooted remove the sashes and leave the plants to grow all summer, protect ing them with sashes in winter. As soon 2J2 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. as the ground is thawed in the spring they should be lifted and potted, when they will make their growth, the ap pearance of which is so useful in hang ing baskets or veranda-boxes. Few 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 coldframe or pots. They can be divided and planted at once in their permanent posi tion. S. speciosum, rose pink, good for rockery, border or florists' use; S. Sieboldii, pink, very good basket plant; S. pulchellum, pink, dwarf, fine for borders; S. Khodiola, pink, dwarf, fine for borders; S. ternatum, white, vases or baskets; S. Kamtschaticum, yellow, very fine species 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. SEED SOWING. Sowing seed is the only method by which 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 a bellglass for propa gating some of the hard-wooded plants, but I can remember, and so can thou sands of gardeners, when verbenas and petunias were put under a bellglass. Just fancy how we have progressed in this line. Selling carnation plants in pairs, charging for boxes or baskets and using bellglasses belong to another continent and past age. But this is about seeds, and not cuttings. In the article on Asters I gave in detail a method of sowing them or any other seed 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 thick ness, 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 seed will send up its leaves to the light when covered an inch. And these depths are a hundred times the diam eters of the seeds. However, we are not considering the seeds in the garden, but how to raise them without failure under glass. The great Prof. Lindley, in his ' ' Introduc tion to Botany," says: "It is well known that seeds will not germinate in the light." That we know to be per fect nonsense, for we have all seen many kinds of seed grow in the light. The old seedsman's way of testing seeds was to wrap a piece of wet flan nel around a bottle, and, sticking the seeds in the flannel, keep 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 mi nute seeds the operation is one of great care. Fred L. Atkins gives the correct method in an article on glox inias in the Florist's Eeview, March 3, 1898, page 569, all of which is ex cellent. 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 putting 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 sprin kler, 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 germi- 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 Selaginella Viticulosa. The soil should be well baked or 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-mold. 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 minutes 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 be exercised. The smallest pinch between your finger and thumb and a very slight movement of the same will with care drop the seeds equally distrib uted. Then the smallest quantity of clean sand distributed over the sur face, not enough to hide the color of the soil, but just a snrinkle. Then 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 being occasionally on the dry side and then getting soaked. Small seedlings, particularly at the critical time of ger mination, should be kept at a uni- from moisture. Seedpans can be ki-pt 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 for- getfulness to shade is often disastrous. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 2J3 At the same time it is most essential that the little plants should have the fullest light, for if you start off with a drawn, spindling plant you have seri ously handicapped your future 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, leave his watch for a week, then return 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 thoughtfulness that make the gardener, 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. small and deep green in color, and it not only forms a very pretty plant in a 4-inch or 5-inch pot, but is also well adapted for growing into a large ex hibition specimen, or for use among foliage plants in a veranda-box, the branches of this plant often reaching 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 from cuttings, it being necessary, however, 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 ijrown into very attractive pot plants. It is true that selaginellas in general prefer moisture and shade, and in con sequence are somewhat tender in foli age, but this rule does not hold good in all cases, some of the species bearing 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 Jong in cultivation and that is fre quently though incorrectly labeled S. AVilldenovii. The branches of this spe- <-ies are very tough and wiry, the leaves 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 latter 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 beauti fying otherwise bare spaces beneath 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 resemblance to S. Emmeliana, 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. Emmeliana is simply a form of S. cuspidata. Cuttings of this species soon take root in sand or sandy soil, and be come compact, tufted, 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 illustration. 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 is found in its changes of color during the day, the foliage be ing bright green in the morning, but gradually becoming much paler, as though bleached by the light, finally resuming its lively green hue at night./ Of the selaginellas that are especially 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. Willdenovii, 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. Willdenovii. Also S. hsema- todes, S. atroviridis, and S. rubricaulis, all of which are worthy of more ex tended cultivation, though not all are quite so easy to manage as the few we have specially referred to for com mercial purposes. \V. H. T. SHADING. I have had occasion to mention shad ing many times in reference to plants that need it under glass. We are as yet without any portable shading that can be adjusted to our commercial greenhouses. The wooden slat shading applied to some private conservatories 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 ami P. Forbesii and several kinds of flower ing 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. 214 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 during summer. A stout pole a little longer than the width of the frame with cheese-cloth tacked to it is easily and. quickly unrolled 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 the sun is strong er, and if you will go to the trouble of plunging many of our common plants in refuse hops or decayed leaves, you will find their 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 at the end of May or in early June, will be filled with chrysanthe mums. If you shade for these plants you must certainly brush it off again for the mums, for they don't want and must not have any shade. Quite as im portant as putting it on early with such plants as palms and ferns is tak ing it off in good time. Begin at the end of August to remove the shade and by the middle of October have it all off. 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 instead of naph tha, but it is too greasy. Try the mix ture 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 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 when the berries are set, it can be plunged in a frame out of doors and removed to a cool greenhouse before frost. S. oblata is said to be still more handsome; it needs the same treatment. Any good loam will grow them, and except when growing in the spring they thrive in a cool house. SMILAX — Myrsiphyllum Asparagoides. This useful climber and twiner seems to have been grown here commercially long before its great usefulness was ap preciated in Europe. Though the more Skimmia Japonica. graceful looking asparagus has super seded it in our decorations it is still a standard article with all commercial florists, and in funeral 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 seed is now always supplied. When two or three inches high, pot off into 2-inch pots and keep in a temperature anywhere above 50 de grees. If you expect the best results from your newly planted bed you ought by the middle of May to give these lit tle plants another shift into 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 ; 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 the 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 hind 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 also be fumigat ed, 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 2J5 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 off 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 other strings. By planting at the 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. T am sure it is wisest to plant every year. You get more strings; they are a more useful size, and more easily man aged. After the second crop is cut, about New Year 's, the bed will be greatly bene fited by a top dressing of an inch of loam and cow manure. Their strong asparagus-like crowns of roots soon work 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 suit it. necessary article of our business. We too frequently are careless and often falsely economical in not buying a good pile of soil. Greenhouse establishments in or near cities, or where they have been surrounded by a city's growth, have often a difficulty in getting a good supply, and it is too often a case of 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 shall have done you some good. Those having five or six acres, or bet ter, fifteen acres, can help themselves The way a Pennsylvania Rose Grower "Works the SoiL The Same House After Planting With Young Stock. 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 get what you can. I have learned late ly 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- off their own place, and they should take care to 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 vio lets the second year, and these crops take a great deal of soil. Yet take care of the soil that you throw out annually from your rose and carnation benches. There are always many uses for it. If it is given one winter outside it will be found good enough for most of your bedding plants, or a third or one-half can be used with your new carnation soil, especially with varieties that make a strong growth. 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. Put 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 animal ma nure, bone meal and other fertilizers. You can grow a crop of potatoes on it the first summer, or use it for your planted out crops for a couple of years, or better still, after the potatoes 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 carnations. I have proved within a few years what I only knew by report, not being a farmer, that a growth of a foot of clover plowed under is a wonderful 2J6 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. agency in mellowing and fertilizing any land unless it be a black muck. Farm ers consider red clover a foot high plowed in for wheat equal to an ordi nary dressing of farm-yard manure. Other pieces of your farm should be after a year's tillage laid down with timothy or redtop, 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 big mort gage on it, dares not or Mr. Mortgage- holder will step in and forbid, and quite right he should. The majority of un thinking men are very glad to get the loan on their property, but when in terest comes due they turn round and abuse the leaner 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 under which the soil can be hauled 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 usable in a short time; if in the open and saturated with water when frozen and brought in, it will be days and perhaps weeks before it can be used. It takes a long time in winter in our sheds to dry out. The plant man uses the great bulk of his soil from March 1 to the 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 about May 1. 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 ma nure several months before using than mixed on the potting bench just before potting. A good pile of soil (sod if possible) should be piled up in July 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 four 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 knowledge 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 acquaint ance and use of soils. Soils the world over have very much the same prop erties. 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 matter which is the de posit of centuries of forest leaves; and the others, clays and sands or loams, are the grinding up of surface rocks which have been largely distributed and deposited during the glacial period. Feat, 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 re mains of the moss can be plainly seen near the surface, but a few feet down it is so decomposed that it is not discern ible. 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 remains of the moss in it. Ja- The Cut Flower Display Case in an Up-To-Date Store. THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 2J7 Show House of a Chicago Retailer Photographed Just Before Easter. doo was simply that with some chemical fertilizer 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 na ture cannot be improved on, and be cause you find a plant struggling along in a certain soil in a state of nature is no proof that with a richer and better soil it will not improve. 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 ma terial that is found in Europe, and nota bly in Bagshot, Surrey, where the rho dodendrons are cultivated by the hun dreds of acres in such excellence and profusion. The bulb fields of Holland are 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, were many thousand years ago one vast moss bog, and most likely they were, for there are the re mains of ancient primitive man who built his hut on stilts and lived on the shallow lakes and subsisted on crusta- cea, for there are the remains of his kitchen refuse. The Hollander and Bel gian would not raise such crops did they not 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 indispensable and our most im portant 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-mold. Hundreds of us see thousands of loads of leaves of ma ple, oak and elm burned 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 invaluable for many of our plants. Boses and car nations 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 use. 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 vou can alwavs find in some hardwood forest places where the wind has laid up for years deposits of these leaves, and you should always have a good sup ply on hand. When leaves are collected the same fall that they drop, it will take two years before they are fit to use, and more than that, unless they get fre quent turning. I would consider a heap of rnaple 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 veritable heap of gold dust for adding to your loam for cyclamen, or most any other plant. Kefuse hops, turned frequently, make a good substitute for leaf-mold, and I have even used them 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 one* or twice, makes the most useful ingre- 2J8 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. client for our potting soil. In fact, for geraniums, coleus, cannas and most bed ding plants it is all you want added to your loam if you are minus that good pile that I first spoke of. There are great growing qualities in clay soils, even in clay taken a foot be low 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 considerable 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 de sirable. The worst of all soils is a gritty sand, and you sometimes find this on the sur face. Our cuttings grow in sand for a short time, 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, whatever its appear ance. If a soil feels smooth, or as it is technically called, ' ' silky, ' ' you have the right stuff. Sometimes 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 and fibers may emit bacteria that are of great usefulness to the roots. As we depend on one kind of 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 quality 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 %-inch or %-inch mesh, after that we never sift soils except for seeds. From a 3-inch to a 4-inch and upwards we only chop the soil. This is most im portant. Somebody, I forget who, cursed tiie 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 tu ber is called the Irish potato. Perhaps Stcvia Serratifolia. 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 equaled by any soil that has been tilled, however much manure has been used. The roots of the grass keep it open and in a good mechanical condition, however firm yon make it, and there may be something more; im decaying the roots it is because its jacket comes off so easy when it's hot, or perhaps Sir Wal ter Raleigh first introduced it at Cork. If he had overlooked it John Smith would have taken it to Europe, and if Sir Walter had gone 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 edibles consisted solely of fried potatoes and a blessing. The latter lighter commodity came first, so its inappropriateness was not so appa rent. And with pleasure we look back to the evening and hope we may never want for a fine dish of potatoes. A vol ume could be written on the many ways of cooking potatoes in this their native land, but at a cheap boarding house of our first experience we do not think there was so much variation 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 plenty of flowers. If the fruit is set before you lift them, so much the better. They must have no frost. They come in fine ly 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. There is another very ornamental spe cies, regarding the specific name of which I am not certain. It is known among florists as the celestial pepper. It must be S. aviculare. The fruit is largo, oblong in shape, and on the same plant varies from green and white to orange red. Small, well berried plants of this species have had a great sale. When any of these peppers are grown large, requiring a large pot, their use fulness is gone. Seeds of the celestial pepper should be sown in April and planted out late in June. They will then be more likely to flower and fruit when small. If planted early they would make too strong a growth. Give them a light soil and of course lift be fore there is any danger of frost. 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 delicious fragrance commend it to all who have a warm house. It 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 prop agation is not of consequence; one or THE FLORISTS' MANUAL 2\9 Tea Weeks' Stocks. two plants are 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 vir tue of coal ashes; but it has been long known and frequently demonstrated 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 succeeds quite as well as when he used sand. 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 highly 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 at the end of May. Any garden soil will do. They should be at least two feet apart. Stop them frequently till the last of August. Before any danger of frost lift and pot into 6-inch 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 tem perature. STOCKS. The ten weeks' stocks are beautiful summer flowers, favorites with all. Their cultivation is very simple; for sowing seed and after-care see Aster. They embrace many and varied colors, from crimson to purest white. We grew for many years a pure white strain of the ten weeks' stocks which made a handsome dwarf pot plant, as well as being useful for the flowers, but there is not now the same use for it. The intermediate and East Lothian stock is much raised in Europe for win ter blooming. Sow in August and Sep tember, 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 coldframe. The Brompton stock is the most hand some of all, and where it does not freeze more than 15 degrees in winter it is a grand flower. 1 have seen spikes of the Brompton that I am sure were more than a foot long and three inches in di ameter, and in a cottage garden. It is a biennial, and if attempted here should be sown in August, wintered in a cold- frame and planted out in spring. In a more temperate climate it 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 old est not more than forty years, is re markable. It has kept pace with the enormous increase in the use of flowers and perhaps has been no little incentive to our patrons in the laudable luxury of the use of flowers. We can all remember when the seeds man in many of our cities combined cut flowers and plants with his business. Now the line is as distinctly drawn be tween the seed store and the flower store as between a bank and a barber shop, although I have heard with sur prise and regret that one of our most widely known New York wholesale and retail seed, bulb and requisite houses has recently opened a cut flower depart ment. This is to be regretted; it is a step towards the department store and is to be condemned, in our line particu larly and on principle generally. We all remember 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 be interesting to note, were it any bene fit, and what will be the appearance, appointments and tempting luxuries of fered to the public by a florist of a future generation would be highly in teresting could we foresee the higher development of our business. Instead of a basement or a narrow, cheap store, the florist now demands the best stores in 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 shopmen) must have the reputation for good temper, civility and a most patient and obliging disposition, for the florist is asked more questions and more little favors than any other class of shopkeepers. If a lady faints in the street-car she is car ried 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 given to all. Perhaps by discreet affability you have made a friend. Your store should never be known as a place where other florists congregate. 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 fe male, should be tolerated during business 220 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 growers in the rear of vour store discussing with animation the merits of the new carnations. If you are a grower yourself break up the meeting by leading them around the corner; it is cheaper and there they can argue with lubricated energy while you step back to attend to your busi ness, for in these days of keen competi tion and all trying to excel, nothing but the closest attention to all departments of your business will bring even mod erate success. To be known as a reliable and prompt business man among your patrons is a blessing. To have the reputation of a good-natured, jolly fellow among your brother florists is a misfortune. You can be good, you can be jolly, even a philanthropist, but in self-defense and self-preservation subordinate the effer vescence of your good nature till the appropriate occasions arrive. Your lady customers notice loungers and it makes an unfavorable impression, deeper and more lasting than their pleasant fea tures indicate. Every wideawake 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 shop ping district of our cities is the place for a florist's store, and I think I have seen some cities where with advantage a good store could be opened a long way from the business center of the city, but in the residence part of the town. Your store should be always clean, neat and attractive, and your clerks neatly if not richly clothed, with breaths smelling neither of beer, cigar ettes nor cloves. Your window is the chief advertisement of your business and that should never be two days alike. Some men may have a large stock of flowers and place a large quan tity in their window; yet they are put in, or rather jammed in, regardless of color or taste and are no attraction to the cultivated taste of the passer-by. You may not be able to have 360 vari eties in one year, but you can always change it sufficiently so as to appear to the public fresh and new each day, and let there be some distinctive fea ture each day. A first-class florist in one of our large western cities who keeps six or seven young men in the store allots to each one in turn the duty of arranging the window display. Some may say inany flowers can be used up and wasted in these window decorations. There need be little waste if properly managed, for it is not the quantity, but the taste, displayed that makes an attractive window, and if it does cost something in sacrifice of flow ers it is far cheaper than any other 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, extending the whole width of the window, and on it at intervals were tied sprays of Cattleya Triana?. Thousands were stop ping 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 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 chew gum, eat onions, drink beer or any thing stronger during business hours. The ability or genius to make a sales man is a gift with birth. Ability can 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 cer- Conservatory of a Back Bay Store in Boston. their authors. Longfellow's "Village 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 busi ness is done there must be some little confusion, but the making up or boxing of flowers can be done in the rear and not at the counter where sales are made. The ice-box is a great feature of the present flower store. Next to the win dow it is the principal attraction 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 carna tion for his buttonhole he may be at tracted by the beautiful flowers in the glass case, and if they have not tempt ed him sufficiently to affect his pocket they have made a favorable impression, tain object. Such is the definition by some modern philosopher (Carlyle, I think) of genius. My humble opinion is that genius is inherited from an an cestor 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 sales man seek other departments of the busi ness. If a man has no faculty behind the counter he may be a good decorator, or in the packing and dispatch of or ders he may show great executive 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 library 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- THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 22 1 cantile walks of life, and every chapter finished off strongly and impressed on the reader, "Be polite." Over and over again was given the simple in struction, "Be polite." The latter part of the book could be summed up in a few words, which are simply these: 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 great fac tor in success, and cannot possibly be out of place with any class of your customers. The quantity and quality of the affability shown your customers is pure 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 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 petals in slumber, will be very disappointing and leave with your patron an impres sion that takes a lot of good behavior 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 Exterior of a Boston Florist's. Store. hard to acquire. The hurried man of business, often our most liberal buyer, 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 atten tive 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 pleasant people to purchase our goods than we can ex pect all church members to be virtuous people. We must adapt ourselves to our customers' temperament as far as possible without losing self-respect. This is not hypocrisy; it is fitting our selves to the requirements of our busi ness. All articles should be just what they one-price system. "What do you charge 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 $1.50 per dozen, these $1.00, these 75 cents, and we have some not so fine worth 50 cents." The same with roses and violets and all other flowers. It is the same with 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 prompt ness. Many an elderly man is worrying to get his orders off promptly 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 oc- <-ur is no business of yours; you have promised the order at a certain hour and you should never fail to keep your promise. There may be several reasons why the order was wanted at a certain hour, of which you were entirely un aware. No part of the business is more important than promptness, and in no part do I notice a greater inclination to ignore it. A reputation for a late and disappointing delivery is a deplor able handicap to success. Finally the three great requisites to 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 you are asked for an article which you do not have, procure it if possible to oblige, 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 a great offense by promising and not fulfilling. SWAINSONA GALEGIFOLIA ALBA. There are red, pink and white forms of this plant and the last named is the only 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 lor a long time. They are hardly of consequence enough to 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. 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 flowers. And what can be more truly springlike? These you cannot have any day in the year, as we now have many of our other flowers. For several years we struggled with sweet peas, getting perhaps a few scat tering flowers in December. So \\v came to the conclusion that peas could not be flowered profusely till March ami April. Then again we blamed too ricli and deep a soil as the fault. And then, noticing that the original growth or vine from the seed did give a few flowers, but was soon overwhelmed by growths from the base of the plant and lateral growths, we tried pinching off the lateral growth, but the result was still anytning but a successs. Finally we discovered we had been attempting something that could not be done. And not until we procured the Zvolauck strain of seed did it appear that our trouble was the atteiipt to flower in the dark of winter siu-h beautiful varieties 222 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. House of Sweet Peas and Violets. as Blanche Ferry, Emily Henderson and other varieties so grand in June and July. They slumbered till the bright suns of March and April. Here is what the Zvolanek type will or the office, and we have even known where they have left the pulpit for the pulpit's good and made horribly bad florists. When a young man is wavering bctwen the church and the greenhouse always take the church. There is less dirt and more spirituality about the church, and you would not be always thinking about what you might have been as you would if you had become a florist, while looking for your salary in the church will always prevent your pin ing 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 suc cess of it, setting us all a bright ex ample by their systematic management and orderly and business-like methods. Their places are models of neatness. But they are the great exception 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 ouglit most assuredly to be carried into the greenhouse, for ours are most perish able goods and disorder is not only un sightly but a great pecuniary loss. These remarks are not intended for the bright, well trained greenhouse man, for he fully untidy and dirty and then has a is solely the habit of not putting things grand clean up. People will form an in their right places at the right time, impression of your place as they usually Some men don't know the difference be- see it and perhaps won't see it just af- tween a heap of old soil that is sure to ter you have had the great house clean- come in handy for some purpose and a ing. heap composed of broken glass, wood, A New York Store at Christmas. Untidiness is not accident or press of business, it is pure carelessness. Fif ty dead or cut down plants standing on the edge of the path are too many for you to carry back to the shed at one time, but if the workman who put the A New York Store at Christmas. knows the value of order and system, but there are hundreds who keep their places in a dirty muddle from one year's end to the other. I have no patience with the man who lets his place get fear- first one or half dozen there had carried them back and dumped them and put •the pots away there would have been none there. Untidiness does not arise from want of time, not in the least ; it old plants and dead cats. It's all alike to them, and is thrown out with the in difference that you see the refuse of the tenement house go out of the back win dow. 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 rol ler, that you are not warranted in buy ing. Borrow nor loan no tools. They are far worse in the country at borrow ing 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." An other 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. Keep your tools where they belong. Keep your flats piled up neatly. Let your sashes 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 always 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 de livery man brings home an azalea out of bloom and two or three other flowering plants that are past, or perhaps a flat half full of geraniums that were not used at the flower-gardening job. He 224 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. The Salesroom of a Well Appointed Store Photographed at Easter. jumps off the wagon, throws the flat and its contents on the ground by the shed wall, and then asks for another job. The next man that wants a flat in a hurry throws out the plants and runs off on his errand. A pot or two are 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 others in the shed where they would be attended to. All that may be a trifle, but a lot of such performances create great con fusion. You can do your work quicker, 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 there is still more need of system -and order. The old-fashioned way of years ago of having a bench all mixed up with fifty 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 Begonia Rex and Hoya carnosa were beautifully (?) arranged. A show hpuse 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 pos sible. Let your show house undergo a transformation pcene very frequently, as your store window does daily. Tn 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 frequently, small, fast growing plants especially, 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 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 time will not be missed, for it will only take a second and will be better for the plants, better in appearance, and much better for the man who waters. And so with all your plants. Stand all rows of plants straight across the bench, and never crowd for want of room, nor spread them out for Appearance's sake. There is a right dis tance for the plants and they should have it, .neither more nor less. I cannot mention all the details of 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 useless stock is only second to the ability to grow good plants. Having everything in at the right time it is wanted is one of the greatest ac complishments of a good florist, and next is having your stoc-k well balanced, not propagating or growing twice as much of any article as you can dispose of. You have your past experience to guide you und should know the probable demand for the next season. 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 be bothered with the best meaning people who bring you seeds or plants for you to grow because they are curiosities; (ion. Candbeef 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 persons that you are afraid they would not get attention among your men. who only have a knowl edge of common commercial plants, but you are sure Mr. Private Gardener, your neighbor, or the Hotanie Gardens would be delighted with them. Division of labor is a great thing. The operations in a greenhouse are very di verse. Put men at what they can do well and quickly. And there is no labor, either in potting, watering, tying or set ting over plants, but what should be done quickly and with a rush. When men get accustomed to work quickly at THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 225 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. auran- tiaca. Its flower resembles a miniature convolvulus. It is an annual and easily raised from seed sown in March. Being a true climber, it is 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 ^A-inch pots; the rea son they should have i^o-inch pots is to give the plants 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, for the foliage would not stand it. The Workroom of a Well Appointed Store. TORENIA. These pretty plants are grown for con servatory decoration, T. Fournierii being one of the, prettiest species, but not a florist 's flower. T. Asiatica is often used with us as a bedding plant, being a fine plant for an edging. Its blue and violet flowers are very pretty and give 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 planted out when settled warm weather arrives. It can also be carried over winter by putting in cuttings in August and fur ther propagated during winter and spring. Any good ordinary soil will grow it. Fumigate, for it is troubled wiijh 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 nasturtium is used as a bedding plant and in mixed borders its round, compact clumps have a fine ap pearance. They are always treated as annuals and although growing most freely in our summers they will not endure the slightest frost. The dwarf varieties of the nasturtium are not always a success as bedding plants, because they are planted in too rich a soil and the leaves hide the flow ers. Plant in rather poor soil in the full sun, and you will have better re sults. The double forms of the nastur tium were formerly used as bedding plants, but we have many better plants for the purpose. A dark scarlet variety of the tall form is often grown in an 8-inch or 10-inch pot and trained up a rafter where it will give many (lowers in any greenhouse where the temperature is not under 50 degrees. Both the tall and dwarf forms are too easily raised from seed for us to think of them as bedding plants, but as plants for our veranda-boxes they air of conse quence, their fine, bright jjreen leaves and showy flowers being always liked by our patrons and soon filling up and mak ing a fine show. We never remember having any left when trade was over by the middle of June. Obtain the best strain you can of the tall growing kinds, and sow the middle of March. As soon :is they have formed 226 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Tuberoses. their seed leaves pot into 2% -inch and keep them in a temperature of 50 de grees. They will grow 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 be occasionally short of water, which does not hurt them at all, but induces them to flower. 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 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 as finely as the common nasturtium. The foliage is somewhat smaller, but they flower in great profusion. TUBEROSE -Polianthes Tuberosa. We can remember in another country when, if asked to deliver a dozen tube rose bulbs to a customer, they were as much trouble to procure as it would be now to get a young kangaroo from Tas mania. And we can also remember when they were used here with us to such an extent that the people utterly tired of them, or fashion said so. Twenty-five years ago they were flowers of the first importance. But how nave the mighty fallen! To put in cheap cut flowers is about all you can do with them. Never theless they are beautiful, sweet flowers. The bulbs are now offered so cheaply that the cost is of no consideration if you have the room to grow them. The raising of bulbs is done by planting the young offshoots in the spring in good, rich land, and in favorable seasons they will make a flowering bulb by the follow ing fall. But that had 'better be left to those who have a suitable 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 injure them. When unpacked keep them in flats in a 'shed which is never below 50 de grees. We pull off all offshoots, scrape off all signs of any side growth and cut square off the hard root growtn 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 the bottom of the bulb 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 hotbed. This gives us good, strong plants by starting them in March to sell at bea ding 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 cheaply, but you should always raise a thousand or more, for you can raise them very cheaply, and although there is or was a foolish prejudice against them, they are sweet and most beautiful flowers and will come in very useful on many occa sions. VALLOTA PURPUREA. This is generally called amaryllis, but is botanically a genus of its own, and one of the most beautiful of its class. Having seen some plants of it recently groAvn in 8-inch pots with nine to twelve spikes and thirty flowers, under the care of a matron who had nothing but a cot tage window, it seems worthy of sonic notice. It flowers during summer. Three bulbs in an 8-inch pot will make a fine display when they are well estab lished. Dry 'bulbs can be bought in the spring, but they should be treated a* evergreen bulbs and during winter they should be kept cool with less water, but not dust dry, and should not be dis turbed. Plant the bulbs four 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. pur- purea eximia is grand. 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 227 give them plenty of water. Drain the pot when starting new bulbs, and use good fibrous loam with a fourth of de cayed manure. VASES. The florist adjacent to or in a town or city, who does a general retail business, will have many vases to fill, and if his establishment is near a leading cemetery it will be one of the principal features of his trade. I know several who con sider it their most important business. Filling vases for cemeteries in some cities is at a price very close to any profitable margin, and if one or two set the price low the rest have to follow, for few people will pay more than their neighbor does. In some cemeteries 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 the service from June 1 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 perhaps 200 or 300 of them. I know some florists who have almost a ' ' corner ' ' on certain cemeteries, and there they charge a good price for fill ing, 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 mon uments and statuary which in their glar ing whiteness dispel at once any comfort able or cheerful feeling that might other wise 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 advanced idea of our final resting place will be shown by subduing the ostentatious dis play of wealth and marble. Graves will be leveled and a small marker will de note the spot where the departed lies, and the whole cemetery will be a beauti ful garden with its necessary features reduced to inconspicuousness. Monu ments are not by their size and cost the slightest indication of the worth or genius of the person gone before. The most commonplace man lies at the foot of an imposing column, while the remains of a President of the United States rest near a humble stone. The remains of ex-Prfsiuent Fillmore lie in our beauti ful Forest Lawn, known or noticed by few, and till within a few years in a sadly neglected grave. But this lavish display is good in one way — it distributes 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 have done so, but not enough. Most of our vases, whether for the grounds or cemeteries, are iron, stone, or rustic woodwork. The stone vases are usually large, and are costly but much superior to any in appearance. I have never noticed any difference in the health of the plants in any of these styles. Sometimes the handsome, massive, stone vases are left without any outlet for the water to escape; always 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 drain age is most perfect they take a large amount of water in August and Septem ber to keep them green. Plants do excellently in iron vases. The great majority of the iron vases are now what is called the reservoir pattern. There is an iron basin which holds three inches of water immediately 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 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 up side 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. Our people are mostly steady customers 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 neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celes tial fire; Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or walked to ecstasy the living lyre. All now is neat and cared for. Even rural cemeteries are now well kept. Be- A Rustic Vase. which we fill with sphagnum. The in ventor 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 ease of sub-water ing to excess. I prefer the vases without reservoir. The reservoir vases look all fore I leave the precincts of what should be a most pleasant and beautiful 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 authorities, who treat all alike and study general appearance and not individual, is a vast improvement over these cemeteries where the lot own er pays some outside person for its care. It is "the whole locality or section that should be pleasing and beautiful, not one 228 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 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 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 as many as 200 or 300 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 with out 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 every one wants his or her vase to look just perfection the day it is put out and expects it to continue to keep looking so till October, the unreasonable ness of which we have to strive with and do our best to please. Watering- 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. Clean ing 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 phoenix or Dracaena indivisa can be used in the red; there is hardly a variety as good; Ernest Lauth, fine for the purpose; Al- phonse Eicard, orange scarlet; S. A. Nutt, crimson ; Tower Eiffel, bright scar let; Emile de Gerardin, pink, but now superseded by F. Perkins, a pink un- equaled; Beaute Poitevine, salmon; La Favorite, double white. The silver-leaved Mountain of Snow is most useful as an edge, and so is the compact Mme. Sal- leroi. Sometimes the geranium vases have only one of the variegated 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 of pink geraniums with the pink ivy leaf for an edging. The mixed vases are in the majority and are the least profitable to the florist and the least satisfactory. In the center we use a small phcenix or a dwarf canna, but nearly all ask and expect us to use a Dracaena indivisa. This wonderfully useful plant not only thrives under the worst kind of treatment, but actually im proves 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 geraniums mentioned; coleus, in great variety; three kinds of achy- ranthes, Begonia Vernon, and some other flowering kinds ; Abutilon Souv. de Bonn (and we think Savitzii will be a great addition to our vase plants), anthericum, Centaurea gymnocarpa, aspidistra; fuch- cio), lysimachia, double sweet alyssum, lobelia, nasturtium, Abutilon vexillarium, lopospermum, Solanum jasminoides, Pilo- gyne suavis, nierembergia, petunias, Kenilworth ivy, etc. The prettiest vase in our cemetery this entire summer is a vase of tuberous- rooted begonias. It is grand, but it is in the shade of trees. Where this is the case it makes a splendid plant. Aspara gus Sprengeri seed is yet a little ex pensive; when as cheap as smilax seed we believe this asparagus will be one of our finest drooping vase plants, and par ticularly for our veranda-boxes. In a Avarmer 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; use 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. 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 workmen very guilty of neglecting that part of it, and we find when 300 or perhaps 400 vases have been filled in a week that there has to be some system 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 Continuous Top Ventilation With Alternating Side Sashes. broad sun. It is impossible to give water enough to keep the latanias 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 eoleus, 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 are wanted, but it 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 kinds, for this pur pose, are of little use. Of those we have tried for the purpose the best are Prokop Daubeck, a very robust, large, double sias, but these should only be used in partial shade, and Black Prince and old speciosa are the best two for the pur pose; variegated euonymus; and per haps 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. rihe weaker kinds get crushed out, but look pretty for the first month. We use first the variegated and green trailing vincas. We consider this the most important of all our vase droop ers. Several varieties of the ivy gera nium, English ivy, gramanthea (a small creeping succulent), glechoma (varie gated), the so-called German ivy (sene- 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 the 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 01 plants on hand, a great many vases can be filled in a day. I had almost forgotten the important item of moss. We cover the surface of the soil, or at least four inches all around from the edge, with green wood moss. We used to load up wagons and drive to the cemetery with plants and soil, but find a much better plan is to bring home the top or bowl of the vase, THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 229 Ventilation Sashes Alternating on the Two Sides of the Ridge. fill it and return it the same or next day. People ask you to get their vase started in the greenhouse. We should need 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 time 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 faithfully attended to at the proper time great harm is done, rind in the case of roses months of hard and faithful labor 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 engine, 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 thermome ter registers a certain degree, but to that should be added some knowledge and judgment. In rose growing it is perhaps 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 without even looking at the thermometer whether the sashes are too much or not enough open. The thermometer is of course an infallible guide and authority, but there are times when even a few degrees higher is of less injury to the plants than a keen, cutting draught of air. Often the sashes are opened six inches when two inches would be plenty. There is one good rule and that is to begin ventilating early and take it off early. Too many are 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 afternon you have utilized the sun heat and saved coal, 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, car nations 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 venti lation can only be given on the two ex terior walls, and in any rose house we would not have any ventilation in the side wall or glass, even if it cost nothing, because we could not use it. In plant houses or in carnation houses side venti lation 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 sashes on the south side large sashes about 3x5 hinged on the north side, eight feet between each. We have no ventilating gear attached, but after set tled warm weather, or when there is no longer danger of weather that would hurt carnations, we raise these sashes eight or nine inches on blocks of wood, and then tie them securely down, leaving them so till October 1. Believing that if ample ventilation is provided on one side of the ridge it is enough, and we do believe it from experience and observation of other people 's houses and crops, then it is use less to discuss the matter further. Ventilation should be provided the whole length of a house. If it is wanted 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. This will apply not only to a rose house but any green house for whatsoever use intended. Though you may need but one inch of ventilation throughout the whole month of January, in June our climate demands the utmost you can give. It takes no more glass to have continuous ventila tion, 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 house the ventilation is always on the south side of the ridge, and the same in equal-span houses whose ridges run east and west. In the short-span-to-the-south the ventila tion is on the north side of the ridge. In houses where the ridge runs north and south, always equal-span, the ventilation should be on the east side. You can open the sashes earlier and our prevailing winds are frqm the west. We are often able to give an inch of air at the ridge when cold outside 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 plant it certainly is for all. So that is the way to hang your ventilators ; let them all open at the ridge. Since writing the above we built a number of equal-span rose houses run ning east and west. After considerable study of the question we decided to place the ventilators on the north side of the ridge, hinging them on the headers and opening at the ridge, and it has turned out satisfactorily. If the latter plan is followed one lifting apparatus will do the work that would require two if the ventilators were hinged at the ridge. It is a difference between lifting a fifty-six- 230 THE FLORISIS' MANUAL. pound weight over your head with your elbow bent and raising the same weight with your arm perfectly straight. Aspect and prevailing winds must be your 'guide in ventilating. While you are having sashes made have them large enough. If the house is from nineteen to twenty-three feet wide the ventilators should be from thirty to thirty-six inches deep and continuous. The length of each section should be not over five feet or the sashes 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 ad mirably. They will pay for themselves easily in labor saving in one year, 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 sashes are moved by ropes or rods or sticks. To raise or lower a lot of sashes 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 shirking the job, but how easy to say, "Jim, put on a crack of air, ' ' and Jim turns the handle and up go a hundred feet of sashes in a moment, and only fun to do it. There are several good appliances. I have five different makes, and like best the ' ' Challenge ' ' ventilator. yellow Calceolaria aurea floribunda was one of the most useful and gaudy plants, and with the blue lobelia made a most striking show. The calceolaria is useless here. Veranda-boxes are not suitable in con nection with a brownstone castle, and they don't have anything so common as a veranda, but in many of our beautiful homes where part of the front or side of the house is a veranda they are most ap propriate. 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 boxes 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 of the wood of the veranda. A very good size is six inches deep, nine inches wide at top and eight 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 drainage. If they are made in sections of six feet they are easy to handle and can be taken to the green house to fill, but if very large we cart the soil and plants to the lawn. Such a box as I have given the size for is worth to make 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 expected from the very start. If in the afternoon sun, the same plants are used as those mentioned for vases, but more cannas can be used in the back A Window-Box Filled With Ferns and Palms. 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 window-box which I noticed was very much in use in humble dwellings of European cities, where the of the box, and don't use too many colcuses or they will smother the gerani ums. The drooping vines will be the chief beauty of these boxes and it mat ters not how common they are if they grow freely. The pilogyne and lophos- permum- are two splendid droopers for this, purpose. Mignonette and lemon ver bena can be used for their sweet odor. If the boxes get only the morning sun, or very little at all, the geraniums 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 latania and kentia, and better for fine effect than all is the beautiful nephrolepis, both the Boston form and tuberosa. Nothing is equal to these ferns, and if kept watered they stand the sun finely. Veranda-boxes are nearly always satis factory. They are more or less sheltered and get plenty of water. Instruct your patrons that, the soil being crowded with roots, the plants 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 it is well wet. VERBENA. The garden varieties 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 dispensed with. If you wish to propagate fine varieties tuey should be shortened back about Sep tember 1, and kept watered. By the end of the month there will be plenty of nice, fresh cuttings, and only a quick, tender growth should be used. Put the cuttings in the propagating house, or what is as good, in flats with some soil in the bot tom and sand on the surface. Keep the flats in a coidframe and keep moist and shaded from the sun. They will take a copious watering every day. Verbenas will stand quite a- frost, but it is not well to let the cuttings freeze. When rooted they can be kept in a cool but light house and be kept in the flats till after New Year's, when they can be potted off into 2% -inch pots and kept in a temperature of 50 degrees. You will soon get plenty of cuttings which root very freely, and before spring you can have a large stock. Plants propagated from cuttings 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 ad vantage 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 they are 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 suit these seed lings, 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 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 231 A Bed of Vinca Rosea. grow very fast, and quickly get rooted in the soil of the bed, which will delay their flowering, particularly the seed lings, 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 important to get them into flower. Verbenas are much troubled with greenfly, and they should be perfectly clean when they go into the hotbed. If affected with the rust so troublesome to the verbena when we grew named varie ties, throw them away; it is much cheaper to buy clean stock. Verbena venosa is a true species and is 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-leaved gera nium. Verbenas can be planted out early in May. A slight frost will do them no harm, but our customers seldom look for them till the end of May. VINCA. The trailing V. major with 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 flower is, however, of little consequence. Plant out a sufficient stock of young 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 hard est part of the stems, and should always be of two eyes, as we depend on growths from the bottom eye. We like the propa gating bed for these cuttings. They root rather slowly, but surely. Keep in 2-inch pots till January 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 from the field in October and stand on the edge of the benches. They make fine decorative plants for some occasions, as their numerous growths will be several feet long. In February the large plants are divided and potted into 3-inch or 4-inch pots. The young growths are troubled with greenfly. 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-inch to 3-inch, as you want them to grow fast. Vincas are most useful and popular vase and veranda-box droopers, and plants in 3-inch or 4-inch pots with sev eral long drooping growths are always in demand in late spring. I should say the demand for them is always in excess of the supply. Another plan to give you for these desirable plants is to plant out a number of plants from 2-inch pots. They propagate most easily in spring; the end of June is early enough to plant out, and you can put them six inches apart. 1 n ( )ctober lift them, cutting off the tops to within three or four inches of the ground and pull to pieces or divide the plants till you can get each division into :i H'L>-inch pot. These will winter on any cool light bench, and in February will be sending up a number of strong shoots from the roots. They can then be shifted into 3-inch or 3% -inch pots and given a place on the edge of a bench. These will make splendid useful plants for your vases. A large effective growth in the smallest possible pot is the desired object witn a vinca. 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 quickly 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 flower garden, where it makes a very pretty bed, and a change from the high colored geraniums. It can be easily raised from seed sown in January and grown 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 of Viola odorata. There is ever an increasing love of the violet, and it seems that the last three or four years the quantity grown and sold is enormous. Violets are rather a precarious crop here; if you fail you fail entirely. In milder climates where only the protection of a coldframe is needed there is not so much fear of failure. South of Baltimore violets are grown in coldframes and covered with 232 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. mats in cold weather. That would not do for us, although with careful attention you can have a lot in the coldframes that will give you flowers sometimes till Christmas, and again in April, and for later they are better than those grown all winter inside. Prof. B. T. Galloway, of Washington, D. C., in his grand little book, "Com mercial Violet Culture, ' ' gives us a list of desirable double and single varieties. We can remember when the old Neapoli tan was the only double grown, now diffi cult to find. We also well remember the advent of the beautiful Marie Louise, and what a sensation it caused among the florists. This variety has been grown in Europe for seventy years, but did not find its way across the Atlantic till 1871. And we think it was due to the large size and the beautiful color of the Marie Louise, greatly increasing the demand for the sweet flowers, that was the in centive for many men going extensively into the precarious business of violet culture. Lady Hume Campbell is undoubtedly a distinct variety, but Mr. Galloway con- provided because it was thought most necessary for the plant to be near the glass, and so frail are we all that if one man was successful with one of these little houses a hundred followed suit. Then gash houses were built because it was thought' a great advantage to be able to remove the sashes in the summer months to avoid the heat of the glass and give the plants full benefit of light and air; there are some advantages in such houses. But gradually the specialists be gan to grow them under a fixed roof, as the great majority are now grown. We have passed through and been a victim of almost all these evolutions. About seven years ago we built espe cially for violets what we still think a good house with one important exception. The house is 20x125. The side posts are two feet six inches above the ground to the plate, even-span, running north and south. This gives two side benches of four feet each with two paths eighteen incnes each, and a 7-foot center bed. From nineteen to twenty-four feet will do. It will only mean difference of width of benches. I am sure this is a beds. There would also be continuous ventilation at the ridge. I put two 2x12- inch planks against the side posts and the same for each side of the paths, then I excavated the paths a foot, throwing the soil into the bottom of the beds. This left the bottom of the paths and height of the beds very convenient. A house twenty feet wide should have five runs of 2-inch pipe on each wall, two flows and three returns. If you had the boiler power to make these pipes good and hot it may be a little in excess of what is needed, but it is better to have the five pipes moderately heated than three pipes almost the temperature of steam. I have seen excellent violets grown in almost every style of house, on benches in six inches of soil and on solid beds in a north lean-to house where scarcely a ray of direct sunlight reached them from November till March; they were forty feet from the glass, growing as compact and healthy as if only forty inches from the roof, and many other variations. They were new, clean houses and new, vigorous stock ; that had much more to do with success than the A House of Violets. siders Farquhar and Imperial as merely vigorous strains of Marie Louise. In the great violet growing region of the Hud son river, it is Marie Louise, or one of its selected forms, that are exclusively grown. Of single violets the best all-round variety is Princess of Wales. It is worth noting that some three years ago it ap peared as if the single violet would be grown in larger quantities than any of the doubles. You may say, they were slightly the fad. It passed away. They are now little asked for, and popular favor has returned to the lovely Marie Louise. In the days of the old Neapolitan structures were built for violets, often a lean-to on the south side of larger houses. It was a gymnastic feat to gain access to them, not to mention working in them. These awkward, cramped quarters were better house than one of ten or twelve feet, from the simple fact that, in pro portion to the plants it will hold or the bench room afforded, the larger house is cheaper to build and easier to heat. I put the hot water pipes properly on the side walls, a foot above the plants. The exception I alluded to above was the absence of ventilation in the side walls. That was a big mistake. I had a lingering belief that the glass in the roof should be removed, and as it was butted glass we removed the glass at every third bar for a distance of six feet up the roof. This was ventilation, but it also let in the rain when it was not needed. If I were to build again I should make the walls three feet high, of double boards (no need of glass), and continuous ventilation of not less than a foot deep. The ventilators would be above, not level with the surface of the style of the house or the skill of the grower. Yet of course it is most de sirable that we should have houses where the most favorable conditions can be maintained. For several years the house 1 have described above grew good vio lets, and if there was not continuous suc cess it was the fault of the management and not the house. Soil. We don 't all have the ideal soil on our places, even if we are in the country with twelve acres to skin. It will pay to pro cure the right quality, even if at infinite trouble. Some think that one variety is better suited by a heavier soil than others. The soil we have seen used by the Hudson river growers was a heavy, yellow loam. Perhaps the ideal soil would be the top three or four inches off THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 233 a pasture, where the grasses were red- top and white clover. The roots of tim othy and red clover would be rather coarse. What is it that gives so much merit and virtue to decaying sod? It must largely be its physical condition, or mechanical, the presence of the fibre making it porous and enabling water to pass freely through. One of the most successful growers of Ehinebeck called lately and in alluding to violets re marked: "I am not patricular about soil so long as it is leachy, for they want lots of water, ' ' meaning that he wanted a soil that he could water freely with out its retaining too much moisture. When this sod can be secured it should be made into a pile of convenient size. In October you have much more time than in the short spring. Add to the pile one-fourth of cattle manure. If your soil pile is made in the fall there is no need of the manure being rotten, for by spring, and with a chopping down and one or two turnings, the manure will be absorbed by the soil. At the last turning over of the soil heap, one peck of bone flour can be added to every cubic yard of the compost. Whether you grow on shallow benches, deep benches of one foot, or solid beds, at least six inches of new soil should be supplied every spring, for violets are deep rooters and go a long way in search of food. In case of solid beds, when removing the top six inches of soil you should fork over and mix in some manure another six inches deep. Propagating. Many years ago violet growers thought division of the clumps a good way to propagate, and I can recall instances where that method produced good violets for several successive years. But one trouble or another overtook them and the bad luck was attributed to some other cause. All growers, especially of the Marie Louise variety, propagate entirely by true cuttings. They are really run ners, and start from the plant in quan tity in the early spring months. If they have made any roots into the soil, or air roots, remove them entirely, and put the cuttings into the propagating bed in the ordinary way. No bottom heat in the sand is necessary, therefore if you are short of room in the bed you can fill flats with two inches of sand and they will do just as well. Don't crowd them in the sand, let them be so that the foliage will become dry after a watering. Shade only from bright sunlight. In four or five weeks they will be rooted and should not long remain in the sand after being rooted. For years we potted the cuttings into 2-ineh pots and of course that did very well, but they are in much greater dan ger of drying out in the little pots, and now we think a well drained flat of two and one-half or three inches of soil " a decided advantage over pots. See that the bottom of the flat has ample drainage to let water freely pass through, and let the compost be finely sifted loam and one-third well rotted horse or cattle manure. In place of manure we have \isnl thoroughly rotted leaves, and the The Lady Home Campbell Violet. young violets delight in it. We thought once that a coldframe was the only place for the flats till the young violets were put into the permanent beds, and it is a good place, but there is the great danger of neglect, not ventilating at proper time, neglect of syringing, etc. One year we placed the flats beneath the shade of "the old apple tree." A long, wet, showery time came on and ninety per cent of our plants perished with spot. So the greenhouse which you can venti late and where the plants are always un der your eye is the safest and best place. I am writing for the man who grows many other things besides violets, and not the specialist who will have a house for the special care of his young stock. Cut tings are usually plentiful from early February on, and that is the time to propagate. The plants are transferred to the beds from the first part of May till the middle of June. I think the earlier date the better. Planting should be done on a cloudy or dull day if possible, or it will be necessary to apply shading to the glass, and some shading will be necessary through the summer, or till the end of September. This shading problem is a difficult one. It is easy to put on a heavy coat of white lead and naphtha (a good* medium for shading). When the temperature outside was 90 degrees and the sun's rays fierce you would realize that the shaded glass was a blessing, and then again' on a rainy, dull day it would be gloomy, damp and lifeless, the reverse of what any growing plant enjoys or thrives in. I must still believe that in an even- span detached house with a sashbar twelve feet long, a light pine pole per fectly round and twelve feet long by three inches in diameter, on which cheese cloth was tacked sufficient when unrolled to cover ten or more lineal feet of your roof, is the thing. One end of this pole would roll along the ridge, the lower end on a strip of wood nailed over the top of the bars a foot from the plate. To roll up and unroll these poles appears like labor and time, but it would pay. In 10-foot or 12-foot houses where the sashbars are not over six or seven feet then lath shading on frames is preferable to permanent shade of the whitewash type, which is there when you want it and a nuisance and injury when you don 't want it. The principal attention during summer is syringing on all fine mornings to keep down red spider. Always do this in the morning, so that by night the foliage is dry. Look sharp for absolute cleanliness. Decayed leaves, abortive flowers, weeds, etc., should constantly be removed, and don't pull decayed leaves, but cut them off and see that all cleanings from your beds are burned, not allowed to lie around on the paths. Watering is of first importance, but no set rule can be laid down. Hundreds of times during the year we are asked by amiable ladies, ' ' How often shall I water my palm, ' ' or some other plant. It is tempting, and we feel like it every time, to reply, ' ' Whenever it wants water, ' ' but that would not do and might be taken as flippant and an attempt to be smart. Yet it ought to do for a gardener at tempting to grow violets. If the water ing passes quickly away it is not likely you will err on the side of too much 234 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. House 35x200, Planted to Marie Louise Violets. water. I admire the idea of Prof. Gal loway on the subject of watering, although it is contrary to what I have heard from expert rose growers, whose theory was to keep l^ieir beds in a con tinual, uniform degree of moisture. A plant either in a pot or bed I like to see occasionally on the dry side. Instinct seems to teach* me that the plant is not suffering but that it is going to enjoy it and thrive greatly when refreshed with water; so while anything like wilting dryness must be avoided let the beds get occasionally on what florists call the dry side. When November 's dark aays set in be still more careful not to allow the bed to get overwet. Evaporation is slow at that time. Some growers put on a mulch in early August. It keeps down weeds and pre vents too rapid a drying out of the soil, and is also a cleaner resting place for the recumbent blossoms of Marie Louise. Sifted decayed refuse hops make a nice clean mulch, but there are few fertilizing qualities about them, and sifted dry horse manure is generally used for the pur pose. Unless your plants are making a strong, healthy, vigorous growth there is no need of any mulching. Temperature must be guided by com mon sense and judgment; 40 to 45 de grees for night temperature after firing commences is known to give best results, but that can be varied some without harm. For instance, if it was 20 degrees outside, then 45 inside the house would be all right. If it was down to zero out side and took much fire heat to keep the house above 40, then be satisfied with 40, and if a few degrees lower no harm. A very good rule for day temperature would be to let the sun raise the tempera ture 10 degrees higher than night tem perature. But if it is to be raised purely by fire heat then don't try to get it over 45 degrees, and very seldom by sun heat over 60 degrees. When Easter has come at the middle of April or later we have more than once been much disappointed in our violets. We looked lor a pick of many thousand blue beauties, but when the great day came our violets were a mass of leaves with but a few small and poorly colored flowers. The cause of this was that for some weeks in March we were unable to keep the temperature down and started them into an unnatural growth. There is no plant we grow that needs and de lights more in abundance of fresh, pure air, yet a cutting draught is to be avoided. Better let the temperature go above the rule by sun heat than subject the plants to cold draughts; here is where judgment comes in, and never- ceasing watchfulness is the only sure road to success. The diseases of the violet are not con sidered numerous or formidable, yet if we consider tne effects of aphis and other insects as disease they are bad enough. I must beg of the reader who is inter ested in violet culture to obtain Prof. Galloway's splendid little book. There he will find correct descriptions with causes and best known antidotes or cures for all the troubles that the violet is heir to. The Plant Bureau of the Depart ment of Agriculture has done great work with some of our commercial plants and it will do much more in the future with its widely scattered stations for observa tion and experiments. It has done good work with the violet and it would be im possible for me to give you such scientific but explicit information on this subject as will be found in Mr. Galloway's ex cellent work. Then there is another most valuable contribution to violet literature, "How to Make Money Growing Violets, ' ' by George Saltford. Mr. Saltford is almost the father of that great industry, violet growing, along the Hudson river, and is not one of that great army who have dropped out of the industry due to bad luck (?), but with good common sense and the exercise of a big brain he is still at the front as a violet grower. Both books are indispensable to all in terested in violet culture and are sold at a nominal price, out of all proportion to their value. I am going to conclude this long but important chapter by saying that it is proverbial that men by the hundreds have started into violet growing with all kinds and shapes of houses and the majority met with success for a few years. We have heard of scores, we know iptimately a dozen such cases. The collapse or en tire failure does not come suddenly. There is a decreasing crop of several THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 235 TO-BAK-INE PRODUCTS They Kill The Bugs TO-BAK-INE us S CONCENTRATED SOLUTION OF PURE NICOTINE .... The most powerful insecticide known, for vaporizing or spraying TO-BAK-INE LIQUID is the article for us: it does the work effectively without injuring the moat sensitive blooms and is easily applied.— JOHN BREITMEYEE'S SONS, Mt. Clemens, Mich. TO-BAK-INE LIQUID is the stuff for Thrips, Spider, or any such stubborn pests.— A. P. J. BAUR, Indianapolis. TO-BAK-INE Fumigating: Paper O-BAK-IN ;Tt>.~ PREPARED ONLY BY ,' £?IT NICOTINE jT^urers of Nicotin,. ,LJ!' HUNT. Florists' Siippl"*^^ il ENDORSED BY THE GOVERNMENT INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION Office of the Secretary EDWARD A. MOSELKY, Secretary. WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. 21, 1904. E. H. HUNT, Chicago. Dear Sir:— Please send me a sufficient amount of your product, To-Bak-Ine, to fumigate four times a carnation house 22x100 feet. I want the same as that sent the Department of Agriculture some time ago, which was Fumigating Paper. My friends there speak of it in the very highest terms. I want it at once, please. Very truly yours, EDWARD A. MOSELKY. A. F. J. BAUR says:— "For fumigating carnation houses in full crop. To-Bak-Ine Fumigating Paper is the finest thing we have ever come across; no fading of blooms; no odor left." TO-BAK-INE liipting Papn N and BLACK FLY. TH"1'. 10»I.RS; I'LAMi. IKI KS. * "•" ^"T INJURE; SCENT, NOR i "WDHLICATU i I.U\M;H <* TO-BAK-INE Fumigating Powder This powder contains a definite amount of nicotine and will be found uniform at all times. Slow burning. Sure death to Aphis. TO-BAK-INE FUMIGATING POWDER has kept down all signs of Aphis in carnation and rose houses, it Jeaves no odor on the flowers and has not in the slighest hurt either flower or foliage on the roses, as does burning tobacco stems.— WILLIAM SCOTT, Buffalo. WE FIND TO-BAK-INE FUMIGATING POWDER very satisfactory. We would like ICO Ibs. shipped at once.— AKLIN & AHLIX, Clyde, Ohio. TO-BAK-INE FUMIGATING POWDER killed the black fly on the chrysanthemums.— GKO. A. RACKHAM, Detroit. Send for our booklet "WORDS OF WISDOM," by Leading Growers, containing full directions as to exterminating all greenhouse pesta. 76-78 Wabash Avenue, Ell H \\\ 70-73 Wabash Ave • 11. nUll I 9 CHICAGO, ILL 236 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. years, till at last there is no revenue at all and the violet growing is given up in disgust. Perhaps the houses have become so infested with the spores of fungoid diseases and the eggs of injurious insects that they want a thorough cleansing, but the failure we must more often attribute to a relaxing of vigilance. You were successful for a few years; you became master of the profession of violet grow ing and became careless. Many little attentions that in the early days you would not dream of neglecting became in your opinion of slight consequence. This I believe is why so many men drop out of the business. An incident that oc curred in my own neighborhood may illus trate. Two young men in my neighbor hood added to their glass about twelve years ago two small violet houses, each 10x100, and grew their plants on shallow benches. One of the houses was much shaded by the high north wall of a long- span-to-the-south carnation house, but it seemed to make no difference. In every spot in those houses they grew good vio lets of fine quality, and lots of them. They made money. They admit it. For several years past I knew their violet growing was less successful, but a few weeks ago I had a chat with one of them and my question was, "How are your violets this year?" The reply was about this, "Oh, we have thrown them all out, not a violet on the place. Perhaps in two or three years our houses will be free of fungus and aphis and we will start in again with the same close attention we gave them years ago and I hope again to make a success." That was an admis sion that they had not fought their ene mies and had let up on close attention. Eternal vigilance is the price of a good violet crop. WATERING. No subject connected with horticulture is more difficult to handle than this. You cannot give any specific directions; you can only give general ideas. Watering occupies much of the labor of a florist and its proper execution is of the great est importance. Plants in the ground are assisted occasionally by artificial watering, but with our entirely artificial way of growing them on benches and in pots and tubs they are entirely dependent on our attention for their most important 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 mechanical applica tion is considerable, but not nearly so important as the knowledge and judg ment required to know just when to water. A gentleman at the Canadian Horticultural convention, assembled some years ago at Ottawa, expressed his admi ration for the exclusive use of the water ing 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 watering pot or its use. We don 't believe that the production of fine plants has anything to Dracaenas- Harrlv Plants 'Qe finest and most complete iidiuy Idllia collection to be found in one establishment. Water Lilies of all kinds and plants for the aquarium. Dependable Dutch, Bermuda, French and other stock. Flf»wf»r Spf>rl& Extra selected strains of all i IVVYGI OCCUJ9 the wanted kinds. Wholesale price list issued quarterly. Mailed free to Florists. HENRY A. DREER, 7 14 Chestnut St., PHILADELPHIA Our Wholesale Price List of SEEDS in larger quantities, is mailed on application to MARKET GAKDKSERS. IP YOU PLANT FOR PROFIT You should write at once for this Wholesale List, BUT we cannot send it to private planters, even' if requested to do so. W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. Seed Growers PHILADELPHIA CHRYSANTHEMUMS •OUR SPECIALTY- Eighteen years' experience ia growing and disseminating ONLY THE BEST for American growers. Our introductions lead in all collections. All European and Australian Novelties always on hand. Send for catalogue. NATHAN SMITH & SON, - ADRIAN, MICH. Do you grow Vegetable Plant* for sale ? Do you sell Vegetable Seeds? Do you wish to increase your sales ? Send for my Wholesale Price List FRANCIS BRILL SEEO6ROWER Hemp stead, Long Island, N. Y. PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY OF PLANT NAMES Reprinted from COPYRIGHT 1904, FLORISTS* PUBLISHING CO. Frequent inquiry as to the correct pro nunciation of plant names has led us to compile the following list of names, selecting those in most common use in the trade, and including botanical terms most frequently met with in articles upon plant culture. As many names of plants are derived from Greek roots, we feel sure the follow ing brief list of Greek root words, cover ing only those most readily recognized in names in common use, will be helpful. Ampelos — A vine. Anthemon — A flower. Anthera — An anther. Argyros — Silver. Bios— Life. Botrys — A cluster. Brachys — Short. Galos — Beautiful . Cephale — A head. Ohamae — Dwarf. Chlamys — A cloak. Chloros — Green. Chroma — Color. Chrysos — Gold. Codon — A bell. Cyanos — Dark blue. Cyathos — A cup. Dactylos — A finger. Deca — Ten. Derma — Skin. Didymos — T win . Dolichos — Long. Dory — A spear. Dracon — A dragon. Echinos — A hedgehog. Erythros — Red. Gala — Milk. Glossa — A tongue. Glottis — A mouth. Gonos — Offspring. Gyne — A woman. Hedys — Sweet. Helios — The sun. Hemera — Day. Hemi— Half. Hesperos — Evening. Hymen — -Marriage . Hyper — Above. Hypo — Beneath. Lycos — A wolf. Macros — Long. Micros — Little. Monos — One. Myrios — Countless. Nephros — A kidney. Odontos — A tooth. Ornithos — A bird Oxys — Sharp. Pachys — Thick. Pedilon — A shoe. Peri — Round. Petalon — A petal. Philos— Fond. Phlebos— A vein. Phyllon— A leaf. Phyton — A plant. Platys — Broad. Pogon — A beard. Polys — Many. Podos — A foot. Pteris — A fern. Pyros — Fire. Rhinos— The nose. Rhiza— A root. Rhodon — A rose. Rops — A shrub. Sciados — -An umbrella. Sideros — Iron . Siphon — A tube. Solen — A pipe. Soros — A heap. Spira — A coil. Sporo — A seed. Stemma — A wreath. Stichos — A row. Stoma — The mouth. Stylos — A column. Trichos — Hair. With this help to an understanding of the construction of plant names derived from Greek roots, we will proceed to pro nunciation. This is a matter upon which the best authorities are apt to disagree, in spite of the great amount of study that has been devoted to the subject. Though the greater part of our list of plant names has been derived from Greek and Latin, many other languages have been drawn upon, including those spoken by barbarous peoples, and no present day scholar can be positive as to the correct pronunciation of many names. But all we of the trade desire is to know the pronunciation adopted by the best authorities, that we may have uni formity among ourselves. Our principal authorities in the compilation of this list have been The Century Dictionary and the Pronouncing Dictionary in Nicholson's Dictionary of Gardening. Other dic tionaries have been consulted, but the two mentioned have, in practically every case, determined the pronunciation adopted in this list. Where these two happened to radically disagree, preference has generally been f'ven to the pronunciation adopted by he Century. It may be well to add that of the two systems presented by Nicholson's Diction ary, we have drawn from the ' ' Old Style." The " New Style" may be of interest to students, but it will never be current in trade circles. In our list we have used the following Key to Pronunciation. a as in fat e as in met 6 as in note a as in fate e as in mete o as in move a as in far e as in her 6 as in nor a as in fall i as in pin u as in tub a as in fare • 1 as in pine u as in mute a as in Persia o as in not ii as in pull The syllables to be accented are marked thus'. " THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 241 r Blooming Plants = FOR EASTER and CHRISTMAS E i } 1 We make a specialty of Cyclamens, Azaleas ...AND... Lorraine Begonias. Florists in all states west of the Missouri River will save money by buying of us. All Texas points reached quickly and at low rates. C E 3 1 The Park Floral Company, J. A. VALENTINE, Pres. DENVER, COLORADO TWO GRAND PRIZES, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904. GOLD MEDAL, Paris Exposition, 1900. GOLD MEDAL, Pan-American Exposition, 1901. Our Wholesale Seed List for Florists is ready for Mailing January 1. Our Bulb Catalogue in July. BOTH MAILED FREE ON APPLICATION. J. M. Thorburn & Co. 33 Barclay St.* Through to 38 Park Place NEW YORK Founded 1802 Incorporated 1894 Over 100 Years in Business in New York City PETER REINBERG 51 Wabash Avenue, CHICAGO The Largest Grower of Cut Flowers— 1,400,000 feet of glass. HEADQUARTERS FOR Carnation Cuttings, Rose Cuttings, Rose Plants, Grafted Rose Plants, Rose Plants From Benches, CARNATION PLANTS FROM FIELD. THE BEST Bug Killer and Bloom Saver For PBOOF write to P. R. Palethorpe Go. LOUISVILLE, KY. ROOTS, PLANTS AND CUT FLOWERS in season Our collection of Dahlias embraces all the finest of the new Century, Cactus, Show, Decorative, Pompon and Single Dahlias in addition to all the standard sorts. Each year we place on the market new introductions of our own, also offer all the best European varieties. We also have a very valuable book, "The Dahlia," a treatise on the habits and cultivation of the Dahlia which is especially interesting and beneficial to all growers of Dahlias. Price, 30 cents. Orders booked at any time for Fall or Winter delivery. DAVID HERBERT & SON Catalogues Furnished Free Upon Application. ATCO, N. J, THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Abelia— (ab-el'i-a). Abies — (ab'i-ez). Abroma — (ab-ro'ma). Abruptum — (ab-rup'tum) Abrus — (a'brus). Abutilon — (a-bu'ti-lon). Acacia — (a-ka'shia). Acalypha— (ak-al'i-fa). Acanthus — (a-kan'thus). Acclimate — (a-kli'mat) . Acclimatize — (a-kll'ma-tlz). Acer — (a'ser). Achillea— (ak-i-le'a). Achimines — (a-kim'e-nez) . Achyranthes — (ak-ir-an'thes) Aconite — (ak'6-nlt) . Aconitum — (ak-6-ni'tum). Acorus — (ak'8-rus) . Aculeate— (a-ku'le-at). Acuminata— (a-ku-mi-na'ta) Ada— (a/da). Adansonia — (ad-an-so'ni-a) . Adiantifolia — (ad-i-an-ti-fo'li-a). Adiantum — (ad-i-an'tum). Adlumia — (ad-lo'm i-a) . Adnate— (ad'nat). Aerial— (a-e'ri-al). Aerides— (a-er'i-dez). ^sculus— (es'ku-lus). .fflthiopica— (e-thi-6'pi-ka). Affinis— (af-fi'nis). Af ricana — (af-rik-a'na) . Agapanthus— (ag-a-pan'thus). Agaric— (ag'a-rik). Agaricus— (a-gar'i-kus). Agave — (a-ga've). Ageratum— (a-jer'a-tum). Aglaia— (ag-la'a). Agrostemma — (ag-rost-em'ma). Agrostis— (a-gros'tis). Ailantus — (a-lan'tus). Ajuga— (aj-u'ga). Akebia— (a-ke'bi-a). Alata— (al-a'ta). Alba— (al'ba). Albescens — (al-bes'enz). Albicans — (al'bik-anz). Albida— (al'bid-a). Albus— (al'bus). Alcicorne — (al-si-kor'ne) . Alder— (al'der). Alexandras— (al-ex-an'dre). Algae— (al'je). Allamanda— (al-a-man'da). Allium— (al'i-um). Alnus — (al'nus). Aloe— (al'6). Aloe— (al'o-e). Alsophila— (al-sof'i-la). Alternanthera— (al-ter-nan'the-ra). Althaea— (al-the'a). Altis sima — ( al-tis' i-ma) . Alyssum — (a-lis'um). Amabilis — (am-ab'U-is). Amarantus— (am-a-ran'tus). Amaryllis — (am-a-ril'is). Amelanchier — (am-el-an'chi-er) . Amellus — (am-el'us). Americana — (am-er-i-ka'na). Ampelopsis — (am-pe-lop'sis). Amygdalus— (am-ig'da-lus). Ananas — (an-an'as). Anceps — (an'seps). Anders oni — (an-der-so'ni) . Andreanum— (an-dre-a'n urn). Andromeda— (an-drom'e-da). Anemone — {a-nem'6-ne). Angraecum— (an-gre'kum). Angusta — (an-gus'ta). Angustif olia — (an-gus-ti-f 6'li-a) . Annua — (an'u-a) . Antarctica — (ant-ark'tik-a) . Anthemis — (an'the-mis) . Anther — (an'ther) . Anthericum — (an-ther'i-kum) . Anthracnose — (an-thrak'nos), Anthurium — (an-thu'ri-um) . Antigonon — (an-tig-o'non). Antiquorum — (an-ti-quo'rum). Antirrhinum — (an-t 1-rI'num) . Aphid— (af 'id). Aphides — (af'i-dez) . Aphis— (a'fis). Apios — (ap'i-os). Aponogeton — (ap-on-oj-e'ton). Aquatica — (a-k wat'i-ka) . Aquilegia— (ak-wi-le' j i-a) . Arabica — (ar-ab'i-ka) . Arabis — (ar'a-bis). Aralia — (a-ra'li-a) . Araucaria — (ar-a-ka'ri-i) . Arborea — (ar-bo're-a) . Arborescens — (ar-bo-res'enz). Arboretum — (ar-bo-re'tum) . Arbor-vitae — (ar'bor-vl'te). -Arbutus — (ar-bu'tus). Ardisia — (ar-dis'i-a) . Areca — (ar'g-ka). Arenaria — (ar-e-na'ri-a) . Argemone — (ar-je-mo'ne) . Argentea — (ar-jen'te-a). Argyraea — (ar-ji-re'a). Argyrites — (ar-ji-rl'tez). Aristolochia — (ar-is-to-lo'ki-a) . Armeria — (ar-me'ri-a) . Artemisia — (ar-te-miz'i-a) . Arthurianum— (ar-thur-i-a'num) . Arum — (a/rum). Arundinaria — (a-run-di-na'ri-a) . Arundo — (a-run'do) . Arvensis— (ar-ven'sis) . Asclepias— (as-kle'pi-as) . Asiatica— (a-shi-at'ik-a) . Asparagus — (as-par'a-gus) . Aspidistra — (as-pid-is'tra) . Aspidium — (as-pid'i-um). Asplenium— (as-ple'ni-um). Aster — (as'ter). Astilbe— (as-til'be). Astilboides— (as-til-bo-i'dez) . Astrocaryum— (as-tro-ka'r i-um) . Atamasco — (at-a-mas'ko) . Atavism — (at'a-vism). Atropurpurea — (at-ro-per-pur'e-a) . Atrosanguinea — (at-ro-san-gwin'e-a) . Atrovirens — (at-ro-vi'renz). Aucuba— (a'ku-ba). Augustifolium— (a-gus-ti-fo'li-um). Aurantiacum — (a-ran-t i-a' k um) . Aureum— (a're-um) . Auricula— (a-rik'u-la) . Australis— (ds-tra'lis) . Autumnale— (a-tum-na'le) . Avena— (a-ve'na). Axil— (ak'sil). Axillary— (ak'si-la-ri) . Azalea — (a-za'le-a) . Azurea — (azh-ur'e-a) . B Babylonica— (bab-i-lo'n i-ka) . Baccata — (bak-a'ta) . Baccili — (ba-sil'I). Baccillus— (ba-sil'us) . Bacteria— (bak-te'ri-4) . Bacteriosis— (bak-te-ri-6'sis) . Balsam— (bal'sam). Bamboo — (bam-bo')- Bambusa — (bam-bu'sa) . Banksia — (bangk'si-a) . Baptisia — (bap-tiz'i-a) . Barbata— (bar-ba'ta). Barclayana— (bar-kla-a'na) . Batemanianum — (bat-man-i-a'num). Begonia— (be-go'ni-a) . Begoniace as— (be-go-ni-a'se-e) . Bella— (bel'a). Belladonna— (bel-a-don'4). Bellis— (bel'is). Bellum— (bel'um). Belmoreana— (bel-mo-re-a'na) . Berberis — (ber'be-ris). Bessera — (bes'e-ra) . Betula— (bet'u-la). Bicolor — (bi'kul-or) . Bicornis — (bl-kor'nis) . Bicuspidata — (bi-kus-pi-da'ta). Biennial — (bi-en'i-al). Bifid— (bl'fid). Bigeneric — (bi-je-ner'ik) . Bignonia — (big-n6'ni-a). Billbergia— (bil-ber'je-a) . Biota— (bi-6'ta). Bipinnate — (bl-pin'at). Bipinnatifid — (bl-pi-nat'i-fid). Blechnum— (blek'num). Bocconia — (bo-ko'ni-a) . Boltonia — (bol-to'ni-a) . Bomarea — (bo-ma' re-a) . Bona Nox — (bo-na-noks'). Borbonica — (bor-bo'nik-a). Boronia — (bor-6'ni-a) . Botrychium— (bo-trik'i-um). Botrytis— (bo-tri'tis). Bougainvillea — (bo-gan-vil'e-a). Bouquet— (bo-ka'). Boutonniere — (bo-ton-iar'). Bouvardia — (bo-var'di-a). Bowringiana— (bo-rin g-i-a'na) . Bract — (brakt). Bracteata— (brak-te-a'ta). Brahea— (bra'he-a). Braziliensis — (bra-zil-i-en'sis). Briza — (brl'za). Bromelia — (bro-me'li-a). Bromus — (bro'mus). BrowaUia — (bro-wal'i-a) . Bulbif erous— (b ul-b if 'e-rus) . Bulbous— (bul'bus). Bullata— (bul-a'ta). Buxus— (buk'sus). Cactaceae— (kak-ta'se-e). Cacti— (kak'ti). Cactus— (kak'tus). Caerulea— (se-ro'le-S,). Caladium — (ka-la'di-um) . Calamus — (kal'a-mus) . Calanthe — (kal-an'the) . Calceolaria — (kal-se-6-la'ri-a) . Calendula— (ka-len'du-la). Calla— (kal'a). CaUirrhoe — (ka-lir'6-e) . Callistephus — (ka-lis'te-fus). Calluna — (ka-lu'na). Calochortus — (kal-6-kor'tus). Caltha— (kal'tha). Calycanthus— (kal-i-kan'thus) . Calypso — (ka-lip'so). Calyces — (kal'i-sez). Calyx— (ka'liks). Camellia — (ka-meria) . Campanula — (kam-pan'u-la). Campanulaceae — (kam-pan-u-la'sg-e) Campanulate — (kam-pan'u-lat) THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 243 Our Block of Festiva Maxima. QUR list of Peonies is the largest in the United States and We Guarantee All Stock true to name. Send for lists and let us quote prices on any stock you need. ...HEADQUARTERS FOR... Ornamental Nursery Stock Sizes for Immediate Effect. Send for Catalogue. PETERSON NURSERY 1301 Stock Exchange Building, CHICAGO EIGHTY ACRES SPECIALTIES Hyacinths Cottage Tulips Daffodils Early Gladioli Iris Hispanica Early Tulips Darwin Tulips Narcissi Late Gladioli Peonies Iris Hispanica, new strain. S. A. van K onijnenburg & Co. Wholesale Bulb Growers NOORDWIJK, HOLLAND al Catalogue free on application. PEONIES The Cottage Gardens Co., Queens, L. I. Has the Largest, Finest and Most Complete Collection of PEONIES IN THE WORLD Send for Peony Catalogue. Do You Use Manetti Rose Stocks, for grafting or bud ding; Hybrid Roses, tree shape or low budded; Crimson, Baby or other Ramblers, budded or own roots, imported or home-grown; Azaleas, Forcing Lilacs, Rhododen drons, Lilies, Lily of the Valley, Dutch, French or other forcing Bulbs; Aiso Palms, Araucarias, Box or Bay Trees, or any other Decorative Plants for greenhouse or garden use, Spring or Fall Delivery? We Furnish These to The Trade Only in Satisfactory Quality. -ADDRESS- August Rolker & Sons ^HORTICULTURAL IMPORTERS 31 Barclay St.] P o. BOX 752 New York 244 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Candidissima — (kan-did-is'i-ma). Candidum — (kan'did-um). Canina — (ka-nl'na). Canna — (kan'a). Capillus Veneris— (kap-il'us-ven'er-is). Capsicum — (kap'si-kum) . Capsule — (kap'sul) . Cardinalis — (kar-di-na'lis). Carex — (ka'reks). Carludpvica — (kar-lu-do-vl'ka) . Carnation — (kar-na'shun) . Carpel — (kar'pel). Cary ophyllus — (kar-i-6-f il'us) . Caryota — (kar-i-6'ta). Cassandra — (ka-san'dra). Cassia — (kash'ia). Cassiope — (ka-sl'6-pe) . Castanea — (kas-ta'ne-a) . Catalpa — (ka-tal'pa). Catasetum — (kat-a-se'tum), Catkin — (kat'kin). Cattleya— (kat'le-a). Caudata — (ka-da'ta). Caudex — (ka'deks). Caulescent — (ka-les'ent). Ceanothus — (se-a-no'thus). Cedrus — (se'drus). Celastrus — (se-las'trus) . Celosia — (se-lo'si-a). Centaurea — (sen-ta're-a;. Cephalotaxus — (sef-a-lo-tak'sus).' Cerastium — (se-ras'ti-um). Cerasus — (ser'a-sus). Cercidiphyllum — (ser-si-di-fil'um) . Cercis — (ser'sis). Cereus — (se're-us) . Chalcedonica — (kal-se-do'ni-ka) . Chamaecyparis — (kam-e-sip'a-ris). Chamaerops — (ka-me'rops). Cheilanthes— (ki-lan'thez) . Cheiranthus — (ki-ran'thus) . Chionanthus — (ki-6-nan'thus). Chlorophyl— (klo'ro-fil) . Chlorosis — (klo-ro'sis). Chromatella— (kro-mat-el'a,. Chrysanthemum — (kri-san'the-mum), Chrysophyllum — (kris-6-fil'um). Cibotium — (sib-o'ti-um). Cineraria — (sin-e-ra'ri-a) . Circinate — (ser'si-nat) . Cirrose — (sir7 6s). Cirrus — (sir7 us). Cissus — (sis'us). Cistus — (sis'tus). Citrina — (sit-ri'na) . Citriodora — (sit-ri-od-0'ra, Citrosmum — (sit-ros'mum) . Citrus — (sit'rus). Clarkia— (klar'ki-a). Claytonia— (kla-to'ni-a) . Clematis— (klem'a-tis) . Cleome— (kle-6'me). Clerodendron— (kle-ro-den'dron). Clethra— (kleth'rax Clianthus — (kll-an'tliugj Clitoria— (kli-to'ri-a). Gneorum — (ne-6'rum). Cnicus — (nl'kus). Cobaea— (ko-be'a). Coccinea — (kok-sin'e-a) . Coccoloba — (ko-kol'6-ba). Cocos — (ko'kos). Codiaeum — (ko-di-e'um) . Coelogyne— (se-loj'i-ne). Colchicum — (kol'chi-kum) Coleus— (ko'le-us). Colocasia — (kol-6-ka/si-a) . Columbine— (kol'um-bln ) . Compacta— (kom-pak'ta). Compositae — (kom-poz'i-te). N Composite — (kom-poz'it). Concolor — (kon-kul'or). Confervas — (kon-fer've). Congener — (kon' j e-ner) . C onif er — (ko'n i-f er ) . Conif er ae — (ko-nif 'e-re) . Coniferous — (ko-nif 'e-rus). Conspicua — (kon-spik'u-a). Convallaria — (kon-va-la'ri-a) . Convolvulus — (kon-vol'vu-lus). CoraUina — (kor-a-ll'na). Cordata — (kor-da'ta). CordyUne — (k6r-di-li'ne). Coreopsis — (ko-re-op'sis). Coriaceous — (ko-ri-a'shius). Conn — (korm). Corniculata — (k6r-nik-u-la'ta). Cornus — (k6r'nus). Corolla — (ko-rol'a). Corona — (ko-ro'na). Coronilla — (kor-6-nil'a). Cortex — (kdr'teks) . Corydalis — (ko-rid'a-lis) . Corymb — (kor'imb) . Corypha — (kor'i-fa). Cosmos — (koz'mos) . Cotinus — (kot'in-us). Cotoneaster — (ko-to-ne-as'ter). Cotyledon— (kot-i-le'don) . Crambe— (kram'be) . Crassula — (kras'u-la). Crataegus — (kra-te'gus) . Crenata — (kre-na'ta). Crenulata — (kren-u-la'ta) . Crinita — (krl-ni'ta). Crinum — (kri'num). Crispa — (kris'pa). Cristata — (kris-ta'ta). Crocus — (kro'kus). Crotalaria — (kro-ta-la'ri-a) . Croton — (kro'ton). Cruciferse — (kro-sife-re). Cryptogam — (krip'tp-gam). Cryptogamous— (krip-tog'a-mus). Cucurbitaceae — (ku-ker-bi-ta'se-e) Cuneatum — (ku-ne-a'tum). Cuphea— (ku'fe-a). Cupressus — (ku-pres'us). Cuspidata — (kus-pi-da'ta Cyanus — (si-an'us) . Cyanea— (si-a'ne-a). Cyathea— (sl-ath'e-a). Cycad— (si'kad). Cycadaceae — (sik-a-da'se-e). Cycas— (si'kas). Cyclamen — (si'kla-men or sik'l Cydonia — (si-do'ni-a). Cymbidium — (sim-bid'i-um). Cyme — (slm). Cyperus— (sl-pe'rus) . Cypress— (si'pres). Cypripedium— (sip-ri-pe'di-um) Cytisus — (sit'i-sus). Dactylis— (dak'ti-lis). Dactylifera— (dak-til-if'er-a). Daffodil— (daf'6-dil). Dahlia— (da'lia). Dalea— (da'le-a). Daphne— (daf'ne). Darlingtonia— (dar-ling-to'ni-a). DasyUrion — (das-i-lir'i-on). Datura— (da-tu'ra). Davallia— (da-val'i-a) . Davidiana— (da-vid-i-a'na). Davidsoni— (da-vid-so'ni). Dealbata— (de-al-ba'ta). Deciduous— (de-sid'u-us) Decumbens — (de-kum'benz). Decussata — (de-ku-sa'ta) . Deliciosa — (de-lis-i-6'sa) . Delphinium — (del-fin'i-um) . Dendrobium — ( den-dro'bi-um) . Dendrocalamus— (den-dro-kara-mus). Dendrology — (den-drol'6-ji). Dentata — (den-ta'ta). Denticulata — (den-tik-u-la'ta). Deodar — (de-o-dar'). Desmodium — (des-mo'di-um). Deutzia — (doit'si-a) . Dianthus — ( di-an' thus) . Dicen tr a — ( dl-sen' tra ) . Dicksonia — (dik-so'ni-a). Dicotyledon — (di-kot-i-le'don) . Dictamnus — (dik-tam'nus). Dieffenbachia — (de-fen-bak'i-a). Dielytra— (di-el'i-tra) . Diervilla — (dl-er-vil'a). Digitalis— (dij-i-ta'lis). Dice cious — (dl-e'shus) . Dionaea — (di-6-ne'a) . Dioscorea — (dl-os-ko're-a) . Diosma — (di-os'ma) . Diospyrus — (dl-os'pi-ros) . Discolor — (dis'ko-lor) . Distichous — (dis'ti-kus) . Dodecatheon — (do-de-kath'e-on). Dolichos — (dol'i-kos). Donax — (do'naks). Doodia— (do'di-a). Doronicum — (do-ron'i-kum) . Dracaena — (dra-se'na) . Draco — (dra'ko). Dracocephalum — (dra-ko-sef'a-lum). Dracunculus — (dra-kun'ku-lus) . Drosera — (dros'e-ra). Dulcamara — (dul-ka-ma'ra) . Eche veria — (ech-e-ve'ri-a) . Echinacea — (ek-i-na'se-a) . Echinocactus — (e-ki-no-kak'tus) . Echinop s — (e-kl'no ps) . Elaeagnus — (el-e-ag'nus). El Dorado — (el do-ra'do). Elegans — (el'e-ganz) . Elliottianum — (el-i-o t-i-a'n urn) . Encephalartos — (en-sef-a-lar'tos) . Endogen — (en ' do- j en ) . Ensete — (en-se'te). Entomology — (en-to-mol'6-ji). Epacris — (ep'a-kris). Epidendrum — (ep-i-den'drum) . Epigaea — (ep-i-je'&). Epigynous — (e-pi j ' i-n us) . Epilobixim — (ep-i-lo'bi-um) . Epimedium — (ep-i-me'di-um). Epiphyllum — (ep-i-firum) . Epiphytal— (ep'i-fi-tal) . Epiphyte— (ep'i-flt). Epiphytic— (ep-i-fi t'ik) . Erecta— (e-rek'ta). Eremurus — (er-e-mu'rus) . Erianthus — (er-i-an'thus) Erica — (e-ri'ka). Ericaceae — (er-i-ka'se-e). Ericaceous — (er-i-ka'shius). Erigeron — (e-rij 'e-ron) . Erinus — (er-i'nus) . Eryngium — (e-rin'ji-um). Erythraea — (er-i-thre'a). Erythrina— (er-i-thri'na) . Erythronium — (er-i-thro'ni-um) . Escallonia — (es-ka-lo'ni-a) . Eschscholtzia — (e-sholt'si-a) . Esculentum — (es-ku-len'tum) . Eucalyptus — (u-ka-lip'tus) . THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 245 RIBBONS and CHIFFONS OF are especially adapted to floral use. Being The Largest Floral Ribbon Manufacturers in America, we are offering what we deem to be the best values on the market. Convince yourself of these facts by writing for our Catalog and you will know why the leading florists in the country are using our goods. LION & COMPANY, lu and iif Spring St., NEW YORK I SRNOTT'S CHEMICAL MANURES ARK THE Best Plant Foods For Florists and Early Vegetable Growers and for the Lawn, Garden and Conservatory Odorless, Concentrated and 98 per cent Soluble / in water. The most highly endorsed Plant Foods on the Continent. We prepay freight and all charges to all parts of the U. S. Sample package mailed free on receipt of 25c. .Particulars and descriptive booklets free on application to the Sole Manufacturers. THE ARNOTT CHEMICAL CO. rertili/er Experts and Agricultural Chemists 114 Victoria St., Toronto, Canada Established In Great Britain In 1853. To Keep Your Plants in Health, Use The Peerless Sulphur Blower EVERY GROWER SHOULD HAVE ONE. SAVES TIME AND MONET. Distributes equally well Lime, Slug Shot, Tobacco Dust, Paris Green or any oowder. Circular with testimonials on request. If your seedsman does not handle it, order direct. Price, $4.00, F. O. B., Chicago. EDW. E. McMORRAN & CO., 16-21 North Clinton St., CHICAGO. 246 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Eucharis — (u'ka-ris) . Eulalia— (u-la'li-a). Euonymus — (u-on'i-mus) . Eupatorium — (u-pa-t6'ri-um) . Euphorbia — (u-f 6r'bi-a) . Euryale — (u-ri'a-le) . Euterpe — (u-ter'pe) . Exaltata— (eks-al-ta'ta) . Excelsa — (ek-sel'sa) . Exochorda — (ek-so-kdr'da) . Exogen — (ek'so-jen). Exotic — (eg-zot'ik). Fagus— (fa'gus). Falcatum — (f al-ka'tum) . Farfugium — (far-fu'ji-um). Farleyense — (f ar-li-en'sS) . Fasciate — (fash'i-fit) . Fastigiate — (f as-tij'i-at) . Fatsia— (fat'si-a). Ferruginous — (fe-ro'ji-nus) . Festuca — (fes-tu'ka) . Fiancee — (fe-on-sa') . Ficus — (fi'kus). Filamentosa — (fil-a-men-t6'sa) . Filices— (fil'i-sez). Filicifolia— (fil-i-si-fo'li-a) . Filifera— (fi-lif'er-a). Filipendula— (fil-i-pen'du-la) . Fimbriata— (fim-bri-a'ta) . Fittonia— (fi-to'ni-a) . Flabellifonnis— (fla-bel-i-f6r'mis). Flaccida— (flak'sid-a) . Flagellum— (fla-jel'um) . Flamingo — (fla-ming'go). Flammula — (flam'u-la) . Flava — (fla'va). Flavescens — (fla-ves'enz) . Flora— (flo'ra). Florida— (flo'rid-a). Floriculturist— (flo-ri-kul'tur-ist) Florif erous— (flo-rif ' e-rus) . Florist— (flo'rist). Foemina — (f e'min-a) . Foetida— (fg'tid-a). Formosum — (for-mo'sum) . Forsterianum — (f6rs-ter-i-a'num) . Forsythia— (f 6r-si'thi-a) . Fortunei— (f 6r-tu'ne-l) . Fourcroya — (fdr-kroi'a) . Fragrans — (fra'granz) . Fragaria— (fra-ga'ri-a) . Franciscea — (fran-sis'e-a) . Francoa — (frang'kO-a) . Fraxinella— (frak-si-nel'a) . Fraxinus— (frak'si-nus). Freesia— (fre'si-a). Frittilaria— (frit-i-la'ri-a) . Frutescens — (fr6-tes'enz) . Fruticpsa— (frd-ti-kos'a) . Fuchsia — (fii'shia or f6k'si-a) Fugacious— (fu-ga'shus) . Fulgens — (f ul'jenz) . Fungal — (fung'gal) . Fungi— (fun'jl). Fungicide— (f un' j i-sid) . Fungoid— (fun g'go id) . Fungous— (f ung'gus) . Fungus — (f ung'gus) . Funkia — (fung'ki-a) . Furcraea — (fer-kre'a) . Fusiform— (fu'si-fdrm) . Gaillardia— (gal-yar'di-a) . Galanthus— (ga-lan'thus) . Galax— (ga'laks). Oandavensis— (gan-dav-en'sis) . Gardenia — (gar-de'ni-a) . GaskelUana — (gas-kel-i-a'n a) Gaultheria— (gal-the'ri-a) . Gaura— (ga'ra). Gazania — (ga-za'ni-a) . Genera — (ien'e-rS.) . Generic — (je-ner'ik) . Genista — (je-nis'ta) . Gentian — (jen'shian) . Genus — (je'nus). Geonoma — (jg-on/6-ma) . Geranium — (j e-ra'ni-um) . Gesnera — (jes'ne-ra) . Geum — (je'um). Giganteum — (jl-gan-te'um) . Gigas— (gig'as). Gilia— (jil'i-a). Gingko— (ging'ko). Ginkgo — (gingk'gS) . Glabra— (gla'bra). Gladioli— (gla-dr 6-11) . Gladiolus— (gla-di'6-lus) . Glauca— (gla'ka). Glaucophylla— (gla-ko-fil'a) . Glechoma — (gle-ko'ma) . Gleditschia— (gle-dich'i-a) . Gleichenia — (gli-ke'ni-a) . Globosa— (glo-b6'sa) . Gloripsa — (glo-ri-6'sa) . Gloxinia — (glok-sin'i-a) . Gnaphalium— (na-fa'li-um) . Godetia — (go-de'shia) . Gomphrena — (gom-fre'na) . Gracilis — (gras'i-lis) . Graminif olious — (gram-i-ni-fo'li-us) . Grande — (gran'de) . Graveolens — (graVe-o-lenz) . Grevillea — (gre-vil'e-a) . Guano — (gwa'no) . Guava — (gwa'va). Gunnera — (gun'e-ra) . Guttata— (gut-ta'ta) . Gymnocarpa— (jim-no-kar'pa) . Gymnpgramme — (jim-no-gram'6) . Gynerium — (ji-ne'ri-um) . Gypsophila — (jip-sof'i-la) . H Haageanum— (hag-i-a'num) . Habenaria— (hab-e-na'ri-a) . Haemanthus— (he-man'thus) . Halesia— (halz'i-a). Halleana--(hal-i-a'na) . Hamamelis — (ham-am-e'lis) . Hansoni — (han-s6'ni) . Harrisii— (hSr'is-i-I) . Harrisoniae — (har-is-o'ne) . Hastata— (has-ta'ta) . Hedera— (hed'e-ra). Hedychium— (he-dik'i-um) . Helenium — (he-le'ni-um) . Helianthemum — (he-li-an'the-mum) Helianthus— (he-li-an'thus) . Helichrysum — (he-li-kri'sum) . Heliconia — (hel-i-ko'ni-a) . Heliopsis — (he-li-op'sis) . Heliotrope — (he'li-6-trop) . Helleborus — (he-leb'6-rus) . Hemerocallis— (hem-e-ro-kal'is) . Hendersonii — (hen-der-so'ni-i) . Henryi — (hen'ri-i) . Heracleum — (her-a-kle'um) . Herbaceous— (her-ba'shius) . Herbarium— (her-ba'ri-um) . HeterophyUa— (het-er-of-il'a) . Heuchera — (hu'ker-a) . Hibiscus — (hl-bis'kus) . Hippeastrum— (hip-e-as'trum) . Hirta— (her'ta). Hispida— (his'pid-a) . Hollyhock— (hol'i-hok) . Horsfieldii— (hors-feld'i-i) . Hortensis — (h6r-ten'sis) . Horticulture — (hor'ti-kul-tur) . , Houstonia — (hos-to'ni-a) . Hovea— (ho've-a). Howea — (hou'e-a) . Hoya— (hoi'a). Humea — (hu'me-a) . Humilis — (hum'U-is) . Humulus — (hu'mu-lus) . Hyacinth — (hi'a-sinth) . Hybrida— (hi'brid-a) . Hybridist— (hi'brid-ist) . Hydrangea — (hi-dran'je-a) . Hymenanthera — (hl-men-an-the'ra) . Hymenophyllum — (hi-men-6-fil'um) . Hypericum — (hi-pe-ri'kum) . I Iberis — (I-be'ris). • Ilex— (i'leks). Illicium — (i-lis'i-um) . Imbricata — (im-bri-ka'ta) . Impatiens — (im-pa'shi-enz) . Imperator — (im-per-a'tor) . Incarnata— (in-kar-na'ta) . Indica — (in'di-ka) . Indivisa — (in-di-vi'sa) . Inflorescence — (in-flo-res'ens) . Inga— (ing'ga). Insecticide — (in-sek'ti-sld) . Insigne — (in-si'ne or in-sig'ne) . Insignis — (in-sig'nis) . Involucre — (in'vo-lu-ker) . Involute — (in'vo-lut) . Ipomsea— (ip-6-me'a) . Ire sine — fi-re-sl'ne) . Iris — (I'rurt Isolepis— (is-ol'ep-is) . Iwa— (i'te-a). Ivy — (I'vi). Ixia — (ik'si-a). Ixora — (ik'so-ra). Jackmanni — (j ak-man'ni) . Jacobinia — (jak-6-bin'i-a) . Jacquinisefolia — (jak-wi-ni-e-fo'li-a). Japonica — (ja-pon'i-ka) . Jardiniere — (zhar-de-nyar') . Jasmine — (jas'min) . Jasminoides — (jas-min-o-i'dez) . Jasminum — ( j as'm i-n um) . Johnspni — (jon-so'ni) . Jonquil — (jon'kwil) . Juglans — (jO'glanz) . Juncus — (jung^kus) . Juniper — (j6'ni-per) . Juniperus — (j6-nip'e-rus) . Justicia — (j us-tish'i-a) . Ksempferi— (kem'fer-I) . Kalanchoe — (kal-an-ko'e) . Kahnia — (kal'mi-a) . Kentia — (ken'ti-a) . Kerria — (ker'i-a). Kniphofia — (nip-ho'fi-a) . KcBh-euteria— (kel-ro-te'ri-a) . Krameri — (kra'mer-I) . Kraussiana — (krous-i-a'na) . Labiate— (la-bi-a'ta) . Laburnum — (la-ber'num) . Laciniata — (la-sin-i-a'ta) . Lselia— (le'li-a). THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 247 Lambert's Pure Culture MUSHROOM SPAWN Produced by new grafting process from selected and prolific speci mens, thoroughly acclimatized, has never failed to run. This spawn is made from cul tures taken by the selective meth od recently dis covered by Dr. Duggar, from choice specimens of the best varie ties of mushrooms known to be thor oughly acclima- tized.andselected with special reference to their vigor, size, flavor and prolificness. The elements of uncertainty surrounding the old chance method of producing spawn are therefore eliminated, and a uni form crop of the best marketable variety, to the exclu sion of all other and inferior fungi, is thus assured. This spawn is admirably adapted to grow in the dark waste space of greenhouses, under the benches, thus giving florists an additional and material source of revenue. For sale by all leading Seedsmen. Practical instructions on "Mushroom Culture" mailed free on application. AMERICAN SPAWN COMPANY, ST, PAUL, MINN, R. D. HERR Grower of Foliage Plants Begonia Rex A SPECIALTY 50 to JOO named varieties always on hand. REFTON, LANCASTER CO., PA. ANCHOR GREENHOUSE HOSE BEST FOR FLORISTS Long Service Moderate Prices Samples free on application MINERALIZED RIBBER CO. NEW YORK .-. NOVELTIES /. Begonia Triomphe de I'Est A splendid variety, bearing a profusion of flowers, from February till August (M. Lemoine). Begonia Agathe A cross from Begonia Socotrana and Moonlight, introduced by Veitch; this variety promises to be even superior to Gloire de Lorraine. SPECIALTIES Begonia Gloire de Lorraine, Begonia Turnford Hall, Pandanus Veitchii, Adi- antum Farleyense. MOTTO, "Quality Guaranteed" J. A. PETERSON WESTWOOD, CINCINNATI, OHIO Anything a Florist or Grower Needs ...APPLY TO... WM. F. KASTING i olesale Florist BUFFALO, ::: N. Y, 248 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Laevis — (le'vis). Lagerstrcemia — (la-ger-stre'mi-a) . Lanata — (la-na'ta) . Lanceolata — (lan-se-6-la'ta) . Lancifolium — (lan-si-fo'li-um) . Lantana — (lan-ta'na) . Lanuginpsa — (la-nu-ji-no'sa) . Lapageria — (lap-a-je'ri-a) . Larix — (la'riks) . Larpentae — (lar-pen'te) . Larva — (lar' va) . Larvae — (lar've). Lastrea — (las-tre'a) . Latania — (la-ta'ni-a) . Lathyrus — (lath'i-rus) . Latif olius — (lat-i-f 6'li-us) Laurus — (la'rus) . Laurustinus — (la-rus-ti'nus) . Lavandula — (la-van'du-la) . Lavender — (lav'en-der) . Lawsonianum — (la-so-ni-a'num) . Leguminous — (le-gu'mi-nus) . Leichtlini— (likt'lin-1) . Lemoinei — (lem-oi'ne-1) . Lespedeza — (les-pe-de'za) . Leucanthemum — (lu-kan'the-mum) . Leucoium — (lu-ko'i-um) . Leucophyllum — (lu-ko-fil'unO . Leucothoe — (lu-koth'6-e) . Liatris — (H'a-tris) . Libocedrus — (li-bo-se'drus) . Libonia — (li-bo'ni-a) . Lichen — (lich'en or H'ken). Licuala— (lik-u-a'la) . Ligustrum — (li-gus'trum) . Lilium — (lil'i-um) . Lily— (lil'i). Limnanthemum — (lim-nan'the-raum) . Limnochares — (lim-nok'a-rez). Limonia — (li-mo'ni-a) . Linaria — (li-na'ri-a) . Lineata — (lin-e-a'ta) . Linum — (li'num). Liquidambar — (lik'wid-am-bar) . Liripdendron — (lir-i-6-den'dron) . Livistona — (liv-is-to'na) . Lobelia— (lo-be'lia) . Lomaria — (lo-ma'ri-S,) . Longiflorum — (lon-j i-flo'rum) . Lonicera— (lon-i-se'ra) . Loquat — (lo'kwat) . Lowei — (lo'e-I). Luculia — (lu-ku'li-a) . Ludwigia— (lud-wij'i-a) . Lupine — (lu'pin) . Lupinus— (lu-pl'nus) . Lutescens — (lu-tes'en z) . Lycaste— (ll-kas'te) . Lychnis— (lik'nis). Lycium— (lis'i-um) . Lycopod — (li'ko-pod) . Lycop odium — (Ii-ko-p6'di-um) . Lygodium — (li-go'di-um) . Lysimachia — (lis-i-ma'ki-a) . Ly thrum — (lit h' rum) . M Macaf eeana — (m ak-af-e-a'na) . Macrantha— (mak-ran'tha) . Macrophylla — (mak-ro-fil'a) . Maculata — (mak-u-la'ta) . Maculosa — (mak-u-lo'sa) . Magna Charta— (mag/ni kar'ta; Magnifica — (mag-nif i-ka) Magnolia — (mag-no'li-a) . Mahaleb— (ma'ha-leb) . Mahernia — (ma-her'ni-a) Mahonia — (ma-h 6'ni-a) . Majalis— (ma-ja'lis) . Malesherbia — (mal-e-sher'bi-a). Mall— (mal). Malva — (mal'va) . Mamillaria — (mam-i-la'ri-a) . Mande villa — (man-de-vil'a) . Manicata — (man-i-ka'ta). Manihot — (man'i-hot) . Maranta — (ma-ran'ta) . Marckgravia— (mark-gra' vi-a) . Marechal — (mar'e-shal) . Marguerite— (mar'ge-ret) . Maritima — (mar-it'i-ma) . Marmorata — (mar-mo-ra'ta) . Martagon — (mar'ta-gon) . Martynia— (mar-tin' i-a) . Masdevallia — (mas-de-val'i-a) . Massangeana— (ma-san-je-a'na) . Mastacanthus — (mas-ta-kan'thus) . M atricaria — (mat-ri-ka'ri-a) . Matronalis — (ma-tro-na'lis) . Matthiola— (mat-thi'5-la) . M aurandia — (ma-ran'di-a) . Mauritia — (ma-rish'i-a) . Maxillaria — (mak-si-la'ri-a) . Maxima— (mak'si-ma) . Maximiliana — (mak-si-mil-i-a'na) . Media— (me'di-a). Medinilla— (med-i-nil'a) . Meleagris — (mel-e-a'gris) . Melia— (me'li-a). Mendelli — (men -del'!) . Menispennum — (men-i-sper'mum) . Mertensia — (mer-ten'si-a) . Mesembryanthemum — (me-sem-bri- an'the-mum) . Metake — (met'ak-e) . Metallica — (met-al'i-ka) . Meteor — (me'te-or) . Metrosideros — (me-tro-si-de'ros) Mexicana — (mek-si-ka'na) . Michelia— (ml-ke'li-a) . Micrantha — (mi-kran'tha) . Microphylla— (mi-kro-fira) . Mignonette — (min-yo-nef) . Mimosa — (ml-mo'sa) . Mimulus — (mim'u-lus) . Minima — (min'i-ma) . Minor — (mi'nor). Mirabilis — (ml-rab'i-lis) . Mistletoe — (mis'l-to) . Monarda — (mo-nar'da) . Monocotyledon — (mon-6-kot-i-le'don) . Monoecious — (mo-ne'shus). Monstera — (mon'ste-ra) . Monstrosa — (mon-stro'sa) . Montana — (mon-ta'na) . Morello— (mo-rel'o) . Moschata — (mos-ka'ta) . Multiflorus — (mul-ti-flo'rus) . Musa — (mu'za). Muscari— (mus-ka'ri) . Mycelium — (mi-se'li-um) . Myosotis — (m!-6-so'tis) . Myrica — (mi-ri'ka) . Myripphyllum — (mir-i-6-fil'um). ; Myrsiphyllum— (mir-si-firum) . Myrtus — (mer'tus) . N Nana— (na'na). Narcissi— (nar-si'sl) . Narcissus — (nar-sis'us) . Natans — (n at'anz) . Nasturtium— (nas-ter'shi-um) . Neapolitanum— (ne-a-pol-it-a'n um) Negundp — (ne-gun'do) . Nelumbium— (ne-lum'bi-um) Nelumbo— (ne-lum'bo) . Nematode — (nem'a-tod) . Nematoid — (nem'a-toid) . Nemophila — (ne-mof i-la) . Nepenthes— (ne-pen'thez) . Nepeta — (nep'e-ta) . Nephrodium — (nef-ro'di-um) . Nephrolepis — (nef-rol'e-pis) . Nerine — (ne-ri'ne) . Nerium — (ne'ri-um) . Nertera — (ner'ter-a) . Nicotiana — (ni-ko-shi-a'na) . Nidus— (ni'dus). Nierembergia — (nl-e-rem-ber'ji-a). Nigella— (ni-jel'a). Nigra — (ni'gra). Nobile— (no'bil-e). Noctiflora — (nok-ti-flo'ra) . Nodule— (nod'ul). Noisette — (nwo-zef) . Nomenclature — (no'men-kla-tQr) . Nothochlsena — (noth-o-kle'na) . Nucifera — (nu-sif e-ra) . Nuphar— (nu'far). Nymphaea— (nim-fe'a) . Nyssa— (nis'a). Obconica — (ob-ko'ni-ka) . Obovata — (ob-6-va'ta) . Obvallaris— (ob-va-la'ris) . Occidentals— (ok-si-den-ta'lis) . Ocellata — (os-el-a'ta) . Ochroleuca — (ok-ro-lu'ka) . Odontoglossum— (6-don-to-glos' um ) CEnothera — (e-no-the'ra). Officinalis— (o-fis-i-na'lis) . Oidium — (6-id'i-um) . Olea— (6'le-a). Oleander— (6-le-an'der) . Olearia — (6-le-a'ri-a) . Oleraceous — (ol-e-ra'shius) . Omphalodes — (om-fa-lo'dez) . Oncidium. — (on-sid'i-um) . Onoclea — (on-o-kle'a) . Onychium — (6-nik'i-um) . Opulus — (op'u-lus) . Opuntia — (6-pun'shi-a) . Orchid— (or'kid). Orchidaceae — (6r-ki-da'se-e) Orchis — (or'kis). Oreodoxa — (6-re-o-dok'sa). Orientahs — (or-i-en-ta'lis) . Ornithogalum— (6r-ni-thog'a-lum). Osmanthus — (os-man'thus) . Osmunda— (os-muu'da) . Otaksa — (6-tak'sa) . Othpnna — (6-thon'a) . Ouvirandra — (6-vi-ran'dra) . Ovata — (6-va'ta). Ovule — (o'vul). Oxalis — (ok'sa-lis) . Paeonia — (pe-o'ni-a) . Pahn — (pam). Pahnace as — (pal-ma'se-e) . Panax — (pa'naks). Pancratium — (pan-kra'shi-un^) . Pandanus — (pan-da'nus) . Paniculata — (pan-ik-u-la'ta) Panicum — (pan'i-kum) . Pansy — (pan'zi). Papayer — (pa-pa' ver) . Papilio — (pa-pil'i-6) . Papilionaceous— (pa-pil-i-6-na'shius) . Pappus — (pap'us) . Papyrus — (pa-pi'rus) . Pardanthus — (par-dan' thus) . Paronychoides— (pa-ron-i-ko-I'dez) . Parterre — (par-tar') . THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 249 SOME FEW OF THE THINGS WE SELL. — Sashbar. — Column Span Supported Sashbar. — Truss Construction. — Iron Frame. — "Burnham" Sectional Boiler. — Pipe and Pipe Fittings, Headers.Hooks, Chairs, etc. — Benches and Fittings. — Clamp Column Fittings. — Gutters — Iron and Wood. The new V shaped gutter with drip gutter. — Ventilating Apparatus. Greenhouses and Materials. WE ARE PUSHING Our Iron Frame Greenhouse because we believe it's the strongest, lighest and most enduring house made — the one that's a long way the cheapest in the end. Lord & Burnham Go. Greenhouse Designers and Manufacturers. 1133 Broadway, corner 26th St., NEW YORK, BOSTON BRANCH. 819 Tremont Buildiorf. Don't forget that phrase. "Not what It costs, but what it keeps on costing' — that's the test. Send for Iron Frame Cat alog—Edition 3-1. IF YOU WANT A BOILER THAT WILL HEAT THE WATER AND CIRCULATE IT QUICKLY WITH A LOW FIRE, INSTALL A BERN H ARP-EASI EST CLEANED AND EASIEST FIRED, AND GUARANTEE WITH EVERY BOILER-WRITE FOR PRICES. COMPLETE HEATING PLANTS INSTALLED OR MATERIALS FURNISHED WITH WORKING PLANS. JOHNSTON HEATING CO. 1133 BROADWAY NEW YORK YOUR GREENHOUSE should be properly constructed with the BEST MATERIAL if you wish to grow the BEST grade of stock. For forty years the John C. Moninger Co. has been the foremost in the manufacture of greenhouse ma terial and you should write for our catalogue and prices when in need of anything. 123 Blackhawk St., CHICAGO 250 Parvum— (par'vum) . Passiflora— (pas-i-flo'ra) . Patens— (pa t'enz). Paulo wnia— (pa-lo'ni-a) . Pavonia— (pa-vo'ni-a) . Pectinate— (pek-ti-na'ta) . Pedata— (pe-da'ta). Peduncle— (pe-dimg'kl) . Pelargonium— (pel-ar-go'ni-um) Pellaea— (pe-le'a). Peltate— (pel-ta'ta). Pennisetum— (pen-i-se'tum) . Penstemon— (pen-ste'mon) . Peony— (pe'6-ni). Peperomia — (pep-e-ro'mi-a) . Perennial— (pe-ren'i-al) . Perennis— (pg-ren'is) . Pereskia— (pg-res'ki-a) . Perffla— (pg-ril'a). Periploca— (pe-r ip'lo-ka) . Peris teria— (per-i-stg'ri-a) . Peronospora — (per-6-nos'po-ra) . Persica— (per'si-ka) . Petal— (pet'al). Petunia— (pg-tu'ni-a) Phajus— (fa'jus). Phalaenopsis— (fal-g-nop'sis) . Phanerogam— (fan'e-ro-gam) . Philadelphus— (fil-a-del'fus) . Philodendron— (fil-6-den'dron) Phlox— (floks). Phoenix— (fg'niks). Phormium— (for'mi-um) . Photinia— (fo-tin'i-a) . Phrynium— (fri'ni-um) . PhyUanthus— (fi-lan'thus) . Physalis— (fis'a-lis). Physostegia— (fl-so-ste'ji-a) . Phytolacca— (fl-to-lak'a) . Picea— (pi'se-a). Picotee— (pik-6-te'). Picturata — (pik-tu-ra'ta) Pilea— (pl'lg-a). Pimelia— (pl-me'li-a) . Pinna— (pin'a). Pinnae— (pin'e). Pinnata— (pin-a'ta) . Pinnule— (pin'ul). Pinus— (prnus). Piper— (pi' per). Pistia— (pis'ti-a). Pittosporum — (pi-tos'po-rum) . Platenus— (plat'a-nus) . Plateau— (pla-to'). Platycerium— (plat-i-se'ri-um) . Plena— (plg'na). Plicate— (pli-ka'ta). Plumbago— (plum-ba'go) . Plumosus— (pls-mo'sus) . Poeticus— (po-ef i-kus) . Poinciana— (poin-si-a'na,) . Poinsettia— (poin-set'i-a) . Polemonium— (pol-e-mo'ni-um) . Polianthes— (pol-i-an'thez) . Poa— (po'a). Polyantha— (pol-i-an'tha). Polyanthes— (pol-i-an'thez) . Polyanthus— (pol-i-an'thus) . Polygala— (po-lig'a-la) . Polygonum— (po-lig'6-num) . Polypodium— (pol-i-po'di-um) . Polypody— (Pol'i-po-di) . Pomelo — (pom'e-lo) . Pomology — (po-mol'o-ji) . f Pontederia— (pon-te-de'ri-a) Populus— (pop'u-lus) . Portulaca— (por-tu-la'ka) . PotentUla— (po-ten-til'a) . Pothos— (po'thos). Prascox— (pre'koks). THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Pratensis— (pra-ten'sis) . Primula— (prim'u-la) . Princeps — (prin'seps) . Pritchardia— (pri-char'di-a) Privet— (pri' vet). Procumbens — (pro-kum'benz) . Prothallium— (pro-thal'i-um) . Prunus— (pro'nus). Pseudobulb— (su'do-bulb) . Psidium— (sid'i-um) . Psittacina— (sit-a-si'na) . Ptarmica— (tar'mi-ka) . Ptelea— (te'le-a) Pteris— (te'ris). Ptychosperma— (tl-ko-sper'm&) Pubescens— (pu-bes'enz). Puccinia— (puk-sin'i-a) . Pudica— (pud'i-ka). Punctate— (pungk-ta'ta) . Pungens— (pun'jenz) . Pupa— (pu' pa). Pupae— (pirpe). Purpurea— (per-pu're-a) Pyracantha — (pir-a-kan'tha) Pyramidah's— (pi-ram-i-da'lis) Pyre thrum— (pir'e-thrum) . Pyrus — (pl'rus). Q Quercus— (kwer'kus) . Quinquef olia— (kwin -kwe-f o'J i -A ) . R Raceme— (ra-sem') . Racemosa — (ras-e-mo'sa) Rachis — (ra'kis). Raffia— (raf'i-a). Ranunculus— (ra-nung'ku-lus) . Ravenala— (rav-e-na'la) . Recurvata — (re-ker-va'ta) Reflexed— (re-fleksf) Regia— (re'ji-a). Regina— (re-ji'na). Remontant — (re-mon'tant) . Repens — (re'penz). Reseda — (re-se'da) Reticulate— (re-tik-ii-la'ta) . Retinospora— (ret-i-nos'p6-ra) Rhamnus— (ram'nus) . Rhapis— (ra'pis). Rhizome— (ri'zom). Rhodanthe— (ro-dan'th6) . Rhododendron— (ro-dO-den'dron) . Rhodora— (ro-do'ra) . I?Jius— (rus). Rhynchospermum— ( rin-kos-per'- mum). Ribes— (rl'bez). Riceana— - (ri-se-a'na) . Richardia— (ri-char'di-a) . Ricinus— (ris'i-nus). Robinia— (ro-bin'i-a). Rochea— (ro'ke-a). Rondeletia — (ron-de-let'i-a) Rosa— (ro'za). Rosace 83— (ro-za'se-e) . Rose— (roz). Rotundifolia— (ro-tun-di-fo'li-a) Rubra— (r6'bra). Rubus— (ro'bus). Rudbeckia— (rud-bek'i-a) . Ruellia— (ro-el'i-a). Rufescens— (ru-fes'enz) . Rugpsa— (ro-go'sa). Rupicola— (r6-pik'6-la) . S Sabal— (sa'bal). Saccolabium— (sak-6-la'bi-um) . Sagittaria— (saj-i-ta'r i-a) . Sagittate— (saj'i-tat) . Salisburia— (sal-is-bQ'ri-a) . Salix— (sa'liks). Salpiglossis— (sal-pi-glos'is) . Salvia— (sal'vi-a). Sambucus— (sam-b u'kus) . Sandersoni— (san-der-so'ni) . Sanguineum— (san-gwin'e-um) Sanse vieria — (san-se v-i-g'ri-a) Santolina — (san-to-ll'na) Barcodes— (sar-ko'dez) . Sarmentosa— (sar-men-to'sa) . Sarracenia — (sar-a-se'ni-a) . Sativa— (sat-i'va). ' Saxatile— (sak'sa-til) . Saxifraga— (sak-sif 'ra-g&) Saxifrage— (sak'si-f raj) . Scaber— (ska'ber). Scabiosa — (ska-bi-6'sa) Scabra— (skab'ra). Scandens— (skan'denz). Scape— (skap). Scherzerianum— (shert-ser-i-ft'num) . Schinus— (ski'nus). Schizanthus— (skl-jian'thus) . Schomburgkia— (shom-ber'ki-a) . Sciadopitys— (sl-a-dop' tis) . Scilla— (sil'a). Scion— (sl'on). Scirpus— (ser'pus). Scolopendrium— (skol-o-pen'dri-um) Scoparia— (sko-pa'ri-a) Scutum— (sku'tum) . ' Seaforthia— (se-for/thi-a) Secunda— (se-kun'da) . Sedum— (se'dum). SelagineUa— (se-laj-i-nel'a) . Semperflorens— (sem-per-fl6'renz) . Sempervivum— (sem-per- vl' vum) Senecio— (se-ne'si-6) . Sepal— (sep'al). Sequoia— (se-kwoi'a) . Serrate — (ser-a'ta) . Serrulate— (ser'S-lat) . Sesquipedale— (ses-kwi-pg-da'li) . Sessile— (ses'il). Silene— (sl-le'ne). Sinensis— (sin-en'sis) . Sisyrinchium— (sis-i-ring'ki-um) . Skimmia— (skim'i-a) . Smilax— (smi'laks). Socotrana— (sok-o-tra'na) . Solanum— (so-la'num) . Solidago— (sol-i-da'go) . Son— (so'ri). Sorus — (so'rus). Souvenir— (s5-ve-neY) . Spadices— (spa-dl'sez) . Spadix— (spa'diks). Sparaxis— (spa-rak'sis) . Spathe— (spath) (th as in the). Species — (spe'shez). Speciosa— (spes-i-o'sa) . Spectabilis— (spek-ta'bil-ls) . Sphagnum— (sfag^num) . Spicerianum — (spi-ser-i-a'num). Spiraea— (spl-re'a). Spiranthes— (spl-ran'thez) . Splendens— (splen'denz). Sprekelia— (spre-ke'li-a) . Sprengeri — (spreng'er-I) . Spruce— (spr6s). Squarrosa— (skwar-6'sa) . Stachys— (sta'kis). Stamen— (sta'men). Staminate— (starn'i-nat) . Stanhopea— (stan-ho'pe-a) . Stapelia— (sta-pe'li-a) . Staphylea— (staf-i-lg'a) . THE FLORISTS MANUAL. TAND 25 1 YOU CAN'T BEAT our kind of greenhouses — either sashbar or iron frame — they are the right thing for the right place at the right price. We sell all sorts of Greenhouse Materials, Ventilating Machinery, etc. Our kind of Boilers — the corrugated Fire Box and the Improved Sectional — What they have done is our only guarantee for what they will do. HITCHINGS AND CO. GREENHOUSE DESIGNERS AND BUILDERS. Manufacturers of Heating* and Ventilating Apparatus. 1170 Broadway, NEW YORK. Hammond's Paint SSr 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. 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, Fislikill-OH-Hudson, H. Y. PERFECT FLOWER POT HANDLE AND HAN6ER „ It is just the thing you require to display your plants by H i hanging them on walls, etc.. especially when you are crowded for room. Also for lifting plants out of Jardinieres; will ~~ sustain a weight of one hundred pounds. No. 1 will fit from2 to 6-inch pots perdoz., 3Oc No. 2 will fit from 5 to 8-inch pots 4Oc No. 3 will fit from 8 to 12-inch pots 5Oc By mail. lOc extra per doz. Sample pair lOc, postpaid. W.C. KRICK, 1 1 64-66 Greene Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. USE KRICK'S Florists' Immortelle Letters,' Inscriptions, etc, Highest Awards wherever Exhibited These Letters and Designs are made of the best Immortelles, wired on wooden frames, having holes drilled in them to insert toothpicks by which they are fastened to the design. Give them a trial. You will find these letters to be superior to any in the market. 1^-inch Letters and Figures per 100, f 5J.5O 2-inch Letters and Figures 2.5O 2^-inch Letters 3.OO Add lOc per 100 on 2 and 2^-inch Letters if by mail. 252 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. Statice — (stat'i-se) . Stellata— (ste-la'ta). Stephanotis — (stef-a-no'tis) . Sternbergia — (stern -ber' ji-a). Stevia — (ste'vi-a) . Stigma— (stig'ma) . Stipa — (stl'pa). Stipule — (stip'ul). Stokesia — (sto-ke'si-a) . Stolon — (sto'lon). Stratiotes — (strat-i-6'tez) . Strelitzia — (stre-lit/si-a) . Streptocarpus — (strep-to-kar'pus) . Striata — (stri-a'ta) . Strobilanthes — (strob-i-lan'thez) . Stuartia — (stu-ar'ti-a) . Styrax — (sti'raks). Suffruticosa — (su-fro-ti-ko'sa) . Swainsona — (swan'son-a) . Sylvestris — (sil-ves'tris) . Symphoricarpos — (sim-fo-ri-kar'pos) Symplocos — (sim-plo'kos) . Syringa— (si-ring'ga) . Tabernsemontana — (ta-ber-ne-mon- ta'na). Tacsonia — (tak-so'ni-a) . Tagetes — (ta-je'tez) . Tamarix — (tam'a-riks) . Taxodium — (tak-so'di-um) . Taxus — (tak'sus) . Tecoma--- (te-ko'ma) . Tenuifolius — (ten-u-i-fo'li-us) . Tenuis — (ten'u-is) . Tessellata — (tes-e-la'ta) . Thalictrum — (tha-lik'trum) . Thrinax — (thri'naks) . Thrips — (thrips). Thunbergia — (thun-ber' ji-a) . Thuya— (thu'ya). Thuyopsis — (thu-yop'sis) . Thyme— (tim). Thymus — (thi'mus) . Thyrse — (thers). Tigridia — (tl-grid'i-a) . Tigrinum — (ti-gri'num) . Tilia— (til'i-a). Tillandsia — (ti-land'zi-a) . Tinctoria — (tink-to'ri-a) . Tinus — (ti'nus). Tomentosa — (to-men-to'sa) . Topiary — (to'pi-a-ri) . Toxicodendron — (tok-si-ko-den'dron). Tradescantia — (trad-es-kan'shia) . Tremula — (trem' u-la) . Trianae— (tri-a'n e) . Trichomanes — (trl-kom'a-nez) . Trif olium— (tri-f o'li-um) . TrilUum — (tril'i-um). Tripinnate — (trl-pin'at) . Tripinnatifid — (trl-pi-nat'i-fid) . Tritoma — (trit-o'ma) . Tritonia — (tri-to'ni-a) . Trollius— (trol'i-us) . Trop ae olum — (tro-pe' 6-1 um) . Truncate — (trung' kat) . Tsuga— (tsu'ga). Tuberosa — (tu-be-ro'sa) . Tuberous — (tu'ber-us). Tulipa— (tQ'li-pa). U Uliginosa — (u-lij-i-no-sa) . Ulmus — (ul' mus) . Umbel— (um'bel). Umbellatum — (um-bel-a'tum) . Urens — (u'renz). Utilis— (u' til-is). Vaccinium — (vak-sin'i-um) . Vallota— (va-16'ta). Vanda — (van'da) . Varicosum — (var-i-ko'sum) . Variegata — (var-i-e-ga'ta) . Veitchii — (vetch'i-1) . Venosa — (ve-no'sa) . Ventricosum — (ven-trik-6'sum) . Vera — (ve'ra). Verbascum — (ver-bas'kum) . Verbena — (ver-be'na). Vernalis — (ver-na'lis) . Veronica — (ve-ron'i-ka) . Verrucosa — (ver-ru-ko'sa) . Verschaffeltii — (ver-shaf-fel'ti-i) . Versicplor — (ver'si-kul-or) . Verticillata — (ver-ti-si-la'ta) . Vexillarium — (veks-i-la'ri-um) . Viburnum — (vi-ber'num) . Victoria — (vik-to'ri-a) . Villosa — (yi-lo'sa) . Vinca — (ving'ka) . Viola— (v!'o-la). Violacea — (vi-6-la'se-a) . Violet — (vi'6-let). Virgilia — (ver-jil'i-a) . Viscosa — (vis-ko'sa) . Vitalba— (vi-tal'ba) . Vitis— (vi'tis). Vittata — (vi-ta'ta) . Vulgaris — (vul-ga'ris) . W Washingtonia — (wosh-ing-to'ni -a). Weddeliana — (wed-el-i-a'na),. Weigelia — ( wi-j e'li-a) . Weltoniensis — ( wel-ton-i-en'sis) . Wistaria — (wis-ta'ri-a). Woodwardia — (wud-war'di-a) . Yucca — (yuk'a). Zamia — (za'mi-a) . Zanzibarensis — (zan-zib-a-ren'sis). Zebrina — (ze-bri'na) . Zephyranthes — (zef-i-ran'thez) . Zinnia — (zin'i-a). Zygopetalum — (zl-go-pet'a-lum) . THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 253 FOLEY MATERIALS FOLEY Best Quality and Workmanship For Any Size GREENHOUSE RANGES and CONSERVATORIES Plans and Estimates Quickly Furnished. Illustrated CATALOGUE Sent Postpaid. CYPRESS SASHBARS Air-dried, clear, no sap; exact sizes) any lengths. PECKY CYPRESS BENCHES Economical and lasting. HOTBED SASH AND FRAMES Various styles on hand; any size to order. FOLEY VENTILATING APPARATUS Acknowledged the best. Works perfectly. PIPE, FITTINGS, GUTTERS, GLASS, ETC. Prompt Shipment. Lowest Figures. FOLEY MFG. CO. O. V. ZANGEN Seedsman to the Grower Only Importer and Exporter of High Class Flower Seeds, Bulbs and Plants HOBOKKN, N. J. If you expect truly what you order, write to me; I have life experience. Wm. Swayne CARNATION SPECIALIST Box 226, Kennett Square, Pa. If you want a good GREENHOUSE HOSE that will wear, — write — J. G. & A. ESLER SADDLE RIVER, N. J. quickly can sell your surplus stock by advertising in the CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT of the... STS* 10 CENTS A LINE OF 7 WORDS. JOHN WELSH YOUNG Wholesale Grower of Pandanus Veitchii UPSAL STATION, PENNA. R. R. GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA, PA. CHRISTMAS BLOOMING Sweet Peas Over 60 varieties, all colors. Try them. Order directly from ANT. C. ZVOUNEK, The Originator, BOUND BROOK, N. J. J. A* McDowell Apartado 167, CITY OF MEXICO Original Headquarters for Orchids, Cacti, Bulbs, Resurrection Plants and Seeds Grand Premium and Five Gold Medals St. Louis Exposition. Shipping Trunks CRANE BROS., West field, Mass. Manufacturers Llnenoid Seamless Trunks and Boxes for snipping Cut Flowers. Send for price list. LINENOID.-A molded material made of Puie Linen. THE ELM Gin NURSERY GO. NEW HAVEN, CONN. QROWERS of the worth-having kinds of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Vines, Herbaceous Plants, Etc. Send for our Catalogue. RALPH M. WARD & GO. Wholesale Bulb Merchants 12 West Broadway, NEW YORK STAND4RD THERMOSTATS AND Standard Recording Thermometers For Greenhouse Use Mfg'd by PARKER MFG. CO. BOSTON, MASS. VOU quickly can sell your surplus stock by advertising in the CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT of the~. 10 CENTS A LINE OF 7 WORDS. 254 THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. .Trade Books. How to Make Money Growing VIOLETS BY GEORGE SALTFORD nHE cultural directions are clear and concise and every detail of successful growing is covered in this neatly printed, freely illustrated pamphlet of 48 pages. Price, postpaid, 135 cents. The History and Culture of • GRAFTED ROSES FOR FORCING BY ALEX. MONTGOMERY, Jr. [FHjONTAINING practical description of the l^SI process of grafting with full details of planting and culture, also directions for treat ment to carry the plants a second year. Fully illustrated. Price, postpaid, 25 cents. . ...THE CHRYSANTHEMUM BY ARTHUR HERRINGTON 0most complete and comprehensive work on the cultivation of the chrysanthemum. The book will be welcomed for the practical character of its contents. Handsomely illus trated. 168 pages, 5x7 inches. Price, postpaid, 50 cents. SMITH'S CHRYSANTHEMUM MANUAL ELMER D. SMITH 0 Complete Practical Treatise, concise direc tions for every stage of the work of propagator and grower. The result of 20 years' experience. Second edition. The latest book on the subject. Fully illustrated. Price, postpaid, 40 cents. These and any Other Books on Horticulture or Floriculture Sent on Receipt of Price. ADDRESS FLORISTS' PUBLISHING Co. Caxion Building, 334 Dearborn Street, Chicago, III, T,HE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 25f |E beg to announce that we have always on hand large quantities of imported Orchids in all varieties in their season. Also fine assortment of established Orchids in perfect condition. Write for our price list before buying elsewhere. It will interest you CARRILLO & BALDWIN Orchid Growers and Importers SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. JUL Q 25 1948 — JAN 0 3 9 2m LD 21-100m-12,'43 (8796s) The Floriat Nov 14' 21 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY