MAY -I. 1S99. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



569 



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Astrocaryum Argenteum. 



pipe through a house in case of any 

 accident to the hot water system. 

 Simply a length of pipe without re- 

 turn will answer in an emergency, us- 

 ing a piece of hose at the end to 

 carry the condensation to a drain, 

 though of course it is better to have 

 a return. Another expedient for an 

 emergency is a number of small steam 

 radiators that can be placed where 

 wanted, connecting them with com- 

 mon hose. 



He finds a run of steam pipe through 

 a house very convenient when he 

 wants to give that house a little high- 

 er temperature without disturbing the 

 hot water system. And this is espe- 

 cially useful in the forcing of back- 

 ward lilies. 



One reason for the change from the 

 upright to the horizontal type of boil- 

 er was that the water he uses pro- 

 duces a good deal of scale, and with 

 the horizontal boiler there is oppor- 

 tunity to remove the scale without 

 much difficulty, while with the upright 

 it can be done O'nly by taking out the 

 old flues and putting in new ones, at 

 a considerable annual expense. 



ASTROCARYUM ARGENTEUM. 



The astrocaryums form a small 

 group of palms that are chiefly found 

 in South America, the total number of 

 species that have been introduced up 

 to this time being probably less than 

 one dozen. The one we now illustrate 

 is one of the best of the genus, and al- 

 though in cultivation for about 25 

 years, it is seldom seen outside of a 

 few private collections. This fact is 



not due to its lack of beauty, but as we 

 have before noted spiny palms are not 

 generally popular, and consequently 

 seldom cut much of a figure in trade 

 collections, and the astrocaryums are 

 abundantly protected with spiny ar- 

 mor, a feature that becomes more 

 prominent as the plant attains age. 



The plant in question is a palm of 

 rather slender stem and usually holds 

 its foliage fairly well, providing the 

 plant is well supplied with water, the 

 latter being a point of some impor- 

 tance in connection with this genus, 

 for the various species are, I believe, 

 without exception, found growing nat- 

 urally along the banks of rivers or in 

 low and swampy ground. The leaves 

 of A. argenteum grow to a consider- 

 able size, possibly to a length of ten 

 feet, are divided into rather narrow 

 pinnae, and these are dark green on 

 the upper side, but the under sides are 

 covered with a silvery coating or scurf 

 as are also the stems, and from the 

 latter characteristic the title of Silver 

 Palra has been applied to this species. 



In common with many of the pin- 

 nate leaved palms the foliage of the 

 astrocaryums does not show its per- 

 fect shape during the early years of 

 the plant, and it is not unusual to see 

 leaves composed of several broad seg- 

 ments on a young plant instead of the 

 narrow divisions that will ultimately 

 appear. As to the most suitable tem- 

 perature for this plant, we can get a 

 hint from the fact that its native place 

 is the lowlands of Columbia, and we 

 therefore find a warm house to be best 



adapted for its culture, and that free 

 syringing is required to avoid the at- 

 tacks of red spider, and also abundant 

 water at the root. 



A good palm soil, such as one would 

 use for Areca lutescens, will give sat- 

 isfaction to the astrocaryum, though 

 I am of the opinion that the latter 

 plant can utilize a larger proportion 

 of manure than would be advisable for 

 the areca, for the astrocaryums are 

 strong rooters. W. H. TAPLIN. 



DR. TALMAGE ON FLOWERS. 



Extract From His Easter Sermon. 



The lily is the queen of Bible flow- 

 ers. The rose may have disputed her 

 throne in modern times, and won it; 

 but the rose originally had only five 

 petals. It was under the long-con- 

 tinued and intense gaze of the world 

 that the rose blushed into its present 

 beauty. In the Bible train, cassia and 

 hyssop and frankincense and myrrh 

 and spikenard and camphire and the 

 rose follow the lily. Fourteen times 

 in the Bible is the lily mentioned; 

 only twice the rose. The rose may 

 now have wider empire, but the lily 

 reigned in the time of Esther, in the 

 time of Solomon, in the time of Christ. 

 Caesar had his throne on the hills. 

 The lily had her throne in the valley. 

 In the greatest sermon that was ever 

 preached, there was only one flower, 

 and that a lily. The Bedford dreamer, 

 John Bunyan, entered the House of 

 the Interpreter, and was shown a clus- 

 ter of flowers, and was told to "con- 

 sider the lilies." 



* * * 



The flowers are the angels of the 

 grass. They all have voices. When 

 the clouds speak, they thunder; when 

 the whirlwinds speak, they scream; 

 when the cataracts speak, they roar; 

 but when the flowers speak, they al- 

 ways whisper. I stand here to in- 

 terpret their message. What have you 

 to say to us, O ye angels of the grass? 

 This morning I mean to discuss what 

 flowers are good for. That is my sub- 

 ject: What are flowers good for? 



I remark, in the first place, they are 

 good for lessons of God's providential 

 care. That was Christ's first thought. 

 All these fiowers seem to address us 

 today, saying: "God will give you 

 apparel and food." We have no wheel 

 with which to spin, no loom with 

 which to weave, no sickle with which 

 to harvest, no well-sweep with which 

 to draw water; but God slakes our 

 thirst with the dew, and God feeds 

 us with the bread of the sunshine, 

 and God has appareled us with more 

 than Solomonic regality. 



* * * 



If you ask me the question: What 

 are flowers good for? I respond, they 

 are good for the bridal day. The 

 bride must have them on her brow, 

 and she must have them in her hand. 

 The marriage altar must be covered 

 with them. A wedding without flow- 

 ers would be as inappropriate as a 

 wedding without music. At such a 



